Welcome to your early-morning news briefing from The Telegraph - a round-up of the top stories we are covering on Wednesday. To receive twice-daily briefings by email, sign up to our Front Page newsletter for free. 1. A-level grades could be scrapped to end top marks ‘free-for-all’

       Traditional A-level grades face being scrapped under government plans, amid fears that record numbers of top marks have rendered the results "meaningless".

       An overhaul of the marking system to tackle grade inflation could see alphabetical A to E grades replaced by numbers, The Telegraph understands. Read the full story.

       2. Delta variant has wrecked hopes of herd immunity, warn scientists

       The delta variant has wrecked any chance of herd immunity, a panel of experts including the head of the Oxford vaccine team said as they called for an end to mass testing so Britain can start to live with Covid.

       Scientists said it was time to accept that there was no way of stopping the virus spreading through the entire population, and monitoring people with mild symptoms was no longer helpful. Read the full story.

       3. Not out: Lord’s to keep stand named after England captain with family ties to slavery

       The MCC will not remove paintings of its past president Pelham Warner or re-dedicate the stand in Lord’s named in his honour, despite the former England captain being descended from a family that made a fortune from slavery.

       A review carried out by the club, at the spiritual home of cricket, is understood to have concluded that his controversial family links do not override his importance to the club’s history. Read the full story.

       4. Government climate tsar’s dirty secret: he still drives a diesel car

       The president of the Cop26 UN climate change conference has revealed he still drives a diesel car.

       Alok Sharma, a Tory MP and member of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet, added swiftly that his next car would be electric. Read the full story.

       5. Ghislaine Maxwell prepared to give evidence on behalf of Prince Andrew

       Ghislaine Maxwell is prepared to give evidence on behalf of Duke of York after he was sued for the sexual assault of a teenage girl 20 years ago.

       Friends of Ms Maxwell said the socialite would support Prince Andrew’s insistence that he had never had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Read the full story.

       Stay up-to-date with breaking news and the latest politics from The Telegraph throughout the day.