Sir Keir heads to Rome

SIR Keir Starmer will be among world leaders and dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope Francis this weekend.

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The late pontiff will be buried on Saturday, following his death on Easter Monday, at the age of 88. His body will be laid out for public view from today in St Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, so mourners can pay their respects to a man dubbed the People’s Pope.

The Prime Minister will join other leaders, including United States President Donald Trump, who had already said on social media that he and his wife, Melania, plan to attend the funeral.

Sir Keir said the “outpouring of grief” following Francis’s death reflects the “high esteem” in which the Pope was held “not just by millions and millions of Catholics, but by many others across the world, myself included”.