Welcome to your early morning news briefing from The Telegraph - a round-up of the top stories we are covering on Friday. To receive twice-daily briefings by email, sign up to our Front Page newsletter for free.

       1. Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election result: Tories hold off Labour challenge

       Boris Johnson has held onto his party’s seat in the Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election, but seen the Conservatives’ majority slashed from almost 19,000 to just 4,478.

       Louie French, the Tory candidate, won the election with a 51.4 per cent share of the vote, compared to Labour’s 30.8 per cent.

       Turnout in Thursday’s by-election was just 34 per cent, compared with almost 70 per cent in the seat at the last general election in 2019. Local sources speculated that cold weather, concern about the Omicron variant of coronavirus and voters working from home contributed to the low turnout. Read the full story.

       2. Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: ‘A bruise for every day of lockdown

       A six-year-old boy was tortured, poisoned and eventually beaten to death by his father and stepmother after authorities missed a string of opportunities during lockdown to save him.

       On Thursday, Emma Tustin, 32, was found guilty of the “wicked and evil” murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, while his father, Thomas Hughes, was convicted of his manslaughter.

       When Arthur died, he had more than 130 areas of bruising on his body, which Jonas Hankin QC, the prosecutor, described as "a bruise for every day of lockdown". Read the full story.

       3. Fears raised over judge-led privacy laws after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s legal victory

       A former culture secretary said on Thursday that it was a “matter of great concern” that judges were creating far-reaching privacy laws without parliamentary scrutiny in the wake of the Duchess of Sussex’s legal victory over the Mail on Sunday.

       John Whittingdale led a chorus of outrage over the Court of Appeal ruling on Thursday that prevented the Duchess’s "credibility" from being tested at trial. Read the full story.

       4. Royal College of Midwives apologises after calling mothers ‘postnatal people’

       The Royal College of Midwives referred to mothers as “postnatal people” in new guidance before issuing an apology hours later for “erasing” women.

       The RCM published “safer sleep” guidance for those sharing a bed with their newborns and for helping them get to sleep.

       However, the guidance, published on Wednesday evening, makes no reference to “women” or “mothers”, instead referring to “postnatal people”. Read the full story

       5. Shop manager who stood up to ‘world’s worst customer’ wins unfair dismissal claim

       As every good shopkeeper knows, the customer is always right. But, an employment tribunal has ruled that does not apply when the “world’s worst customer” shouts and swears before demanding staff step outside for a fight.

       Garry Hardy, a 60-year-old store manager at Topps Tiles, had been serving a “large, loud and aggressive” man demanding a discount after wrongly claiming his order was late in November 2019. Read the full story.

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