How my investigation led to sex trafficking charges against ex-Abercrombie boss

BBC Barrett Pall showing a diary entry about his experience to BBC correspondent Rianna Croxford

In a federal courtroom in New York, for the first time I’m face to face with Mike Jeffries – the multi-millionaire ex-fashion boss I’ve spent three years investigating for the BBC. He stares at me directly, lips pursed, and chin raised, as he sits before the judge. As a result of my reporting, he was arrested this week by the FBI and charged with running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business along with his British partner, Matthew Smith, and their middleman James Jacobson. Authorities acted after hearing my podcast series, The Abercrombie Guys, in which I unearthed evidence that Mr Jeffries, 80, and Mr Smith, 61, had been at the centre of a sophisticated global operation involving a network of recruiters and a middleman scouting young men for sex. As CEO of teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries was described to me as an eccentric and superstitious genius who, with his highlighted hair and penchant for flip-flops and plastic surgery, personified the youthful All-American brand he created. But now, his hair white, his fillers dissolved, and wearing an ankle monitor – he seemed a shadow of the mogul said to have used his power and strength while in charge to abuse vulnerable models. US prosecutors say he and the others accused used force, fraud and coercion to make men engage in violent and exploitative sex acts from at least 2008-2015. If convicted, they face a maximum of life in prison. Shoulders slouched, Mr Jeffries’ face was blank as his lawyer entered his plea of not guilty. His life partner Matthew Smith - a UK citizen - is yet to appear in court. He’s considered a flight risk by authorities and is currently detained until trial.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts

Reuters Mr Jeffries, pictured here, and his partner have previously denied wrongdoing

When I think back to how my own investigation began, in January 2021, I never imagined it would lead to this moment. During the pandemic, I was researching the fashion industry when I stumbled across a cryptic Instagram comment written by a former model named Barrett Pall. He was part of a group discussing how they felt abuse against male models was being ignored. “We’ve seen it happen with #MeToo, how about #UsToo?” one wrote. We soon got on the phone. After an hour of talking, he said he felt he could trust with me a secret he’d never really shared before. “It’s probably like the darkest experience I’ve ever dealt with,” he told me. “They had someone come and shave me, like my whole body, because that’s how they like the boys.” In 2011, then aged 22, Barrett said he’d been referred by an older model, who was a close friend, to meet a mysterious middleman he described as having a missing nose covered with a snakeskin patch. He said this man - who I later identified through phone and property records as James Jacobson - had made him perform a sex act as a “tryout” before sending him to Mike Jeffries, then CEO and chairman of Abercrombie & Fitch, and his British partner. Barrett claimed that, for years, the duo had been throwing elaborate sex events at their palatial home in the Hamptons. He said the one he had attended was facilitated by chaperones in Abercrombie polos and flip-flops, carrying silver platters of alcohol, poppers and lube.

An old-school investigation

Barrett Pall, a former model turned life coach and activist, said he felt pressured into attending an event in the Hamptons in 2011

What Barrett told me sparked my initial two-year investigation. I travelled across America, from the suburbs of Ohio to the desert of Palm Springs, tracking down men affected and confronting those involved – including the middleman himself. Usually when I’m investigating, I can find a few loose threads to pull at by searching newspaper archives, court records or social media. But there was absolutely nothing in the public domain about these allegations. So I took an old-school approach, piecing together my own trail through word of mouth, knocking on doors, and sending handwritten letters to potential sources. I traced and contacted hundreds of people including former Abercrombie & Fitch models and Mr Jeffries’ ex-household staff, earning trust over months. Then, a massive breakthrough. Barrett Pall had an old iPad that wouldn’t turn on - but we got it fixed. Through that, I obtained an itinerary and flight ticket corroborating the event he attended in the Hamptons. It was sent by the middleman James Jacobson and contained some first names and numbers of others involved. I later recovered more than a dozen of these itineraries from different sources, finally giving me concrete leads. But it took me months to figure out their roles, not wanting to tip the wrong person off while I was still in evidence-gathering mode. Many men were wary of speaking. Two accused me of being a “spy” for Mike Jeffries – initially fearful of his “money and clout”. I, too, became increasingly paranoid after I began facing hundreds of hacking attempts each day from unknown IP addresses.

The BBC found regular sex events were held at Jeffries and Smith's home on New York's Long Island

We were right to be cautious. In their indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, prosecutors said Mike Jeffries had employed a full-service security company to oversee non-disclosure agreements (NDA), conduct background checks, and surveil and intimidate anyone who threatened to expose them. I have since spoken with more than 20 men who attended or helped organise these events for Mr Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith. Some like Luke, an aspiring model who told me he was recruited under the guise of attending an A&F photoshoot, said they had been misled and not told sex was involved. How did this operation stay hidden for so long? The answer I reached was that the shame some men felt talking about same-sex abuse had silenced them as effectively as any NDA. Some told me they had felt suicidal, others completely broken. In many instances, I was the first person they had confided in. One man, who I’m calling Alex, broke down as he told me he believed he was drugged and raped by an unknown assailant at an opulent event hosted in Marrakesh for which dozens of men had been flown in. He believed this led to him contracting HIV. “Jeffries was the kingpin,” he told me at the time. “Without him none of this could have happened.”

Jeffries' partner Matthew Smith has rarely been photographed, but the BBC obtained images of him from the 1990s

Ahead of publication, I worked with BBC Panorama to meticulously fact-check my evidence. This involved speaking with those inside the operation - including James Jacobson. When podcast producer Ruth Evans and I knocked on his door one sweltering day in rural Wisconsin in August 2023, he sank onto his steps, put his head in his hands and swore. He asked me for a deal. “Leave my name out and I’ll tell you everything,” he said. Mr Jacobson repeated this request dozens of times the following day, when he agreed to meet for coffee. We spoke for two hours. At times it was bizarre - he admired my shorthand, commented on my British accent and seemed to patronise me - calling me “sweetheart”. He’s a former actor and at one point put on a bunch of accents, and pretended to wear a cloak, trying to convince me he could do an anonymous interview. But he was charismatic too, and joked about his missing nose, saying the only job he could get these days was as a Bond villain. Eventually, Mr Jacobson said he was just “doing his job” and hadn’t spoken to Jeffries or Smith since 2015. Ultimately, he didn’t get his deal, and in court, he again sat with his head in his hands as his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty.

James Jacobson worked as a middleman for Jeffries and Smith, scouting young men for sex events

After we published in October 2023, some of the men in this story took legal action against Mike Jeffries, Matthew Smith and Abercrombie & Fitch, who they are suing for rape, assault and sex trafficking. All deny wrongdoing. The lawsuit claims it’s likely that more than 100 men were abused during Jeffries' tenure. Sources also began contacting me to say they had been approached by law enforcement. We were not involved in the FBI’s investigation - which was totally independent of mine. Protecting sources is integral to my work. So, it would be the men’s decision to talk. Looking back, there were moments I considered giving up. I initially faced dead end after dead end. But the more I heard, the more I felt a duty to bring this to light for the first time and hold those involved to account. More than two years on from our first conversation, I asked Barrett Pall why he decided to speak to me. He started crying and said: “My gut said trust her. Tell her your story. And maybe, just maybe, someone will listen.” Announcing the charges, US attorney Breon Peace said: “To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called 'casting couch' system, this case should serve as a warning. Prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.”

Michelle Obama makes fiery abortion pitch as Trump courts Muslim vote

We can't just sit around and complain, we've got to do something - Obama

Polls show the two locked in a tight race in Michigan, with Harris holding an extremely narrow lead 10 days before the 5 November election.

At another event in Michigan, Donald Trump vowed to breathe fresh life into the state's automotive industry and met with Arab-Americans he said could "turn the election".

In a fiery speech in Michigan - a key battleground state - Obama said the election was "too close" for her liking.

In her first appearance on the campaign trail alongside Vice-President Kamala Harris, former First Lady Michelle Obama urged Americans to cast their votes to protect the country from the "dangers" of Donald Trump.

The state, with 15 electoral college votes, could lend a deciding edge to either candidate.

President Joe Biden won Michigan by a narrow margin of 2.78% in 2020 - about 150,000 votes - helping to propel him to the presidency.

In 2016, the state went to Trump by an even narrower margin of 0.23% against Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to a crowd of thousands at an events centre in Kalamazoo, Obama made repeated jabs at Trump, pointing to what she termed his "erratic behaviour" and "obvious mental decline".

The bulk of her speech, however, focused on a "genuine fear" of how a Trump administration could impact abortion rights, telling an enthusiastic crowd of voters that she believes a failure to elect Kamala Harris could have deadly consequences.

Many abortion rights advocates have raised concerns that abortion bans have threatened women's lives by denying them life-saving medical treatment.

"I'm deeply concerned that so many people are buying into the lies of people who don't have our best interests at heart," Obama said, adding that "ugliness will touch all of our lives".

Harris largely echoed Obama's comments, and told young Generation Z voters she understands why they might be "impatient" for change.

"I want to tell you that I see you and I see your power," she said.

At his own rally in Novi, Michigan, Trump largely stuck to frequent campaign promises about immigration, energy and the economy.

He was also joined on stage by a number of Arab-American and Muslim community leaders, including Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi.

"We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine," Mr Bazzi said. "The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make it happen."

Trump said he believes that the Arab-American voters can "turn the election" one way or another.

The state is home to the 'Uncommitted' movement, which does not support Trump, but has refused to endorse Harris for what they see as a failure to take a more firm stance against Israel during the war in Gaza, such as committing to a weapons ban.

At the Democratic rally in Kalamazoo, however, some voters said they were much more preoccupied with abortion rights and perceptions that Trump is "undemocratic", than they were about conflicts abroad.

Kelly Landon, a resident of Canton, Michigan, said that her primary motivation in this election was allowing female relatives to be safe and be in charge of their bodies and their own futures."

Ms Landon said, in her view, other issues are secondary to the health and safety of women, as well as "their right to live the way they want to live".

National polling averages tracked by the BBC show Harris with a slight lead nationally, although with Trump narrowly ahead in five of the seven battleground states that could decide the election.

A puff on a joint - then six months of forced rehab in a concrete cell

Singapore Prison Service A guard monitors CCTV in the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) control room

Kim* is a young professional who started using cannabis when family life became messy. Things improved, but her drug habit stuck - and by then, her social circle was primarily made up of people who also used. With a reliable local supplier of weed, Kim’s friends asked her if she would get some for them. “That’s what I did,” Kim says. “I never marked up the price in any way, because this was friendship... It’s like, I’m helping you to purchase something we both use anyway.” Singapore, where Kim lives, has some of the harshest drugs laws in the world. If you sell, give, deliver, administer, transport or distribute narcotics, that’s drug trafficking. And the law also presumes you’re a trafficker if you possess drugs in quantities that cross certain weight thresholds.

Kim’s life unravelled very fast when one of the friends she sourced cannabis for was caught by the state’s Central Narcotics Bureau. Kim was named as the supplier of the marijuana, and picked up too. After the authorities trawled through her phone, another friend was arrested - and Kim was charged with drug trafficking. “I was wracked with horror,” she says. “To have charges of trafficking levelled at me? That was just overwhelming. I felt complete and utter fear of what was going to pan out for me.” Cannabis for recreational use has been decriminalised in many places around the world. In the US, 24 states have legalised it. While cannabis is illegal In the UK, punishments for its possession have plummeted in recent years. In Singapore, if you’re found with 15g you’re assumed to be trafficking - and with 500g or more, the death penalty is mandatory. It’s a controversial policy and there have been several recent cases. The most recent execution - of a 64-year-old on a heroin charge - took place on 16 October. The Singaporean government won’t tell the BBC how many people are currently on death row.

Singapore’s death penalty becomes mandatory in drug cases involving 15g diamorphine (heroin)

30g cocaine

500g cannabis

250g methamphetamine

Kim’s not facing execution, but she could be looking at a lengthy prison term. “The minimum sentence would be five years,” she says. “The worst-case could be up to 20 years.” While Kim awaits judgement on trafficking charges, her friends have already been dealt with. But they weren’t prosecuted. Classed as drug consumers - not traffickers - they faced very different treatment. They were sent to the state-run Drug Rehabilitation Centre for six months each. When anyone’s caught using an illicit substance in Singapore, they’re assessed as low, medium or high risk. Only those deemed at low risk of reoffending are allowed to stay at home, where they are monitored in the community. Everyone else - even a first-time offender - is sent for compulsory rehabilitation.

Singapore Prison Service The BBC was given rare access inside Singapore's austere Drug Rehabilitation Centre

There’s no private, residential rehab in Singapore - no mooching around in fluffy bathrobes and then retreating to your own en-suite room. The Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) is a vast complex run by Singapore’s Prison Service, which makes sense because this is incarceration by any other name. There’s barbed wire, a control room, and CCTV everywhere. Guards patrol the walkways. In December 2023, 3,981 Singaporeans were inmates - about 1 in 8 of them women. Institution S1 houses around 500 identically-dressed male inmates, most first or second-time drug offenders. A cell accommodates seven or eight men. There are two toilets, and a shower behind a waist-high wall. There are no beds. The men sleep on thin, rush mats on the concrete floor. And a detainee will spend at least six months here - even if they’re a casual, rather than addicted, drug user. “While it is rehabilitation, it’s still a very deterrent regime,” says Supt Ravin Singh. “We don’t want to make your stay too comfortable.”

Singapore Prison Service

The men spend up to six hours a day in a classroom on psychology-based courses. “The aim is to motivate inmates to want to stay away from drugs, to renew their lives without them, and to address negative thinking regarding drugs,” says Lau Kuan Mei, Deputy Director for the Correctional Rehabilitation Service.

Singapore Prison Service Inmates take part in sessions including on mindfulness, during which they are taught how to control runaway thoughts

“They teach us a lot about how to manage our triggers for using drugs,” says Jon*, who’s in his late 20s and close to the end of a six-month stay. Jon has a history of using methamphetamine and is one of the inmates prison authorities have selected to talk to the BBC. Meth (also known as crystal or ice) is a powerful, highly addictive stimulant, and the most commonly abused drug in Singapore and the region. Earlier this year, on a weekday afternoon, Central Narcotics Bureau officers arrived at Jon's house where he lives with his parents. Before they took him away, he spoke to his shocked mother. “She said, ‘learn your lesson, pay your dues, and come back clean,” Jon remembers. And that’s what he’s aiming to do - but he knows it won’t be easy. “It’s exciting leaving,” he says. “But I’m also nervous... In here you’re locked up and not faced with drugs.” Jon’s worried he might be tempted to take meth again. His rehab programme has been obligatory, not voluntary as it might have been if he lived in North America or Europe. Even so, it might not impact his chances of staying drug-free.

"If you look at evidence-based policies in drug addiction... it doesn’t really matter whether the treatment offered is voluntary or non-voluntary,” says Dr Muni Winslow, an addiction psychiatrist who worked in Singapore’s government institutions. He believes the treatment offered to drug users has improved. “It’s much better now because the whole criminal justice system has a lot of psychologists and counsellors who are trained in addictions.” Historically, drugs have been viewed as a criminal justice issue, rather than a health issue in Singapore. While the state execution of traffickers still sets the tone for how the government and most Singaporeans view narcotics, it hasn’t prevented changes to how drug users are treated. For example, no-one who spends time in the rehab centre gets a criminal record. “We talked to psychologists and addiction specialists and our thinking evolved,” explains Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam. “If they’re not a threat to society, we don’t need to treat them as criminals.”

Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam suggests thinking on how to treat drug users has shifted in Singapore

Singapore commits huge resources to enabling people to stay clean once they leave the DRC. Most importantly, they’re helped to find work. But although authorities say the system has changed, critics believe it's still humane. The Transformative Justice Collective, a group which campaigns against the death penalty, describes the DRC as a form of mandatory detention where prisoners face "humiliation" and "loss of liberties". The group says programmes in the centre are superficial and focused on "shame" - failing to tackle the root causes of drug dependence. "We've seen a lot of lives disrupted and a lot of trauma inflicted from being arrested, from being thrown into prison, from having to share a cell," says Kirsten Han. "It causes a lot of stress and instability. And these are not harms caused by drugs. These are harms caused by the war on drugs."

Singapore Prison Service Urine testing cubicles are the first of their kind in the world

Surveillance remains a critical part of the country's mission to keep former inmates clean. At a supervision centre, a neat-looking man in his 50s arrives. He’s been in and out of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre six times, struggling with heroin. But for the last 26 months he’s been drug-free, living at home, monitored by an electronic tag. Now his sentence is over. When the tag’s snipped off, he’s delighted, and leaves quickly after exchanging a few words with Karen Lee, the director of the Community Corrections Command. “He looks healthy,” she says. “And that’s what we hope for all our supervisees… While three out of 10 do come back as repeat drug abusers, we shouldn’t forget there are seven supervisees out there, successfully living their lives as reintegrated citizens of Singapore.”

While tagged, the ex-heroin user had another incentive to stay clean: regular urine analysis. Singapore’s state-of-the-art Urine Supervision Cubicles are the first of their kind in the world. Once a supervisee enters a cubicle, the door locks behind him. After he pees into the urinal the technology tests for drugs including cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. It takes about seven minutes. “It’s not so boring - we’ve also prepared videos for him to watch, like Mr Bean!” says Karen Lee. If the test is negative, a green light goes on, and the man’s free to go. A red light indicates a positive test result - and the supervisee will be re-arrested. Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy doesn’t distinguish between casual drug users and those with an addiction. And although punishment is no longer front and centre of the system, Singapore retains draconian practices - including a legal requirement for doctors to report patients to the authorities if they disclose use of narcotics. This may well deter people from getting help with problematic drug dependency. But the harshest treatment is reserved for those convicted of trafficking. Kim - who sourced cannabis for her friends - is trying to keep busy while she waits for the court’s decision about the charges against her. “Once I heard there was very little possibility of me not serving a sentence, I took some time,” Kim says, “to mourn almost, for the period of my life I would lose. I think I've accepted prison on a deeper level. It just never gets easier as the day draws nearer.” If Kim’s incarcerated - as she expects - she won’t be unusual. In December 2023, around half of the country’s convicted prison population - 2,299 people - were serving time for drug offences.

* All names have been changed.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by addiction, there are details of organisations who may be able to help at BBC Action Line.

Japan voting for new leader in shadow of scandals

Reuters

Japanese voters are today heading to the polls in a snap election, following a tumultuous few years for the ruling party which saw a “cascade” of scandals, widespread voter apathy and record-low approval ratings. The election was announced by Shigeru Ishiba three days after he was selected as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) - before he had been officially sworn in as prime minister. The decision was made despite the LDP seeing approval ratings of below 20% earlier in the year, in the wake of a political fundraising corruption scandal. Yet the LDP still remains the strongest contender against opposition parties which have failed to unite, or convince voters they are a viable option to govern. The main opposition party had an approval rating of just 6.6% before parliament was dissolved. “It is so hard to make decisions to choose parties, I think people are losing interest,” Miyuki Fujisaki, a long-time LDP supporter who works in the care-home sector, told the BBC ahead of polls opening. The LDP, she said, has its problems with alleged corruption, “but the opposition also does not stand out at all”. “They sure complain a lot, but it’s not at all clear on what they want to do,” the 66-year-old said.

Miyuki Fujisaki says she can't decide who to vote for

For all the apathy, politics in Japan has been moving at a fast pace in recent months. Shigeru Ishiba took over as prime minister after being voted in by the ruling party following his predecessor Fumio Kishida - who had been in the role since 2021 – making a surprise decision to step down in August. The move to call the election came at a time when the LDP is desperate to restore its tarnished image among the public. Ishiba - a long-time politician who previously served as defence minister - has described it as the “people’s verdict”. But whether it’s enough to restore trust in the LDP - which has been in power almost continuously since 1955 – is uncertain. A series of scandals has tarnished the ruling party’s reputation. Chief among them is the party’s relationship with the controversial Unification Church - described by critics as a “cult” - and the level of influence it had on lawmakers. Then came the revelations of the political funding corruption scandal. Japan’s prosecutors have been investigating dozens of LDP lawmakers accused of pocketing proceeds from political fundraising events. Those allegations - running into the millions of dollars - led to the dissolution of powerful factions, the backbone of its internal party politics. “What a wretched state the ruling party is in,” said Michiko Hamada, who had travelled to Urawa station, on outskirts of Tokyo, for an opposition campaign rally. “That is what I feel most. It is tax evasion and it’s unforgivable.” It strikes her as particularly egregious at a time when people in Japan are struggling with high prices. Wages have not changed for three decades – dubbed “the lost 30 years” – but prices have risen at the fastest rate in nearly half a century in the last two years.

This month, as voters were getting ready to go to the polls, saw more price hikes on thousands of food products as well as other day-to-day provisions like mail, pharmaceuticals, electricity and gas. “I pay 10,000 yen or 20,000 yen ($65 - $130; £50 - £100) more for the food per month (than I used to),” Ms Hamada said. “And I’m not buying the things I used to buy. I am trying to save up but it still costs more. Things like fruit are very expensive.” She is not the only one concerned with high prices. Pensioner Chie Shimizu says she now must work part-time to make ends meet. “Our hourly wage has gone up a bit but it does not match the prices,” she told the BBC as she picked up some food from a stand at Urawa station. “I come to places like this to find something cheaper and good because everything in regular shops is expensive.” Ms Shimizu has not voted for years but might this time - although she is not sure which candidate or which party to vote for. “I can't find anyone that I want to vote for. I feel like there's no one who I can trust to be our leader. I wonder about those who become an MP for their own greed.”

Against this backdrop, it might look like Ishiba has taken a political gamble. His party had held 247 of 465 seats in the lower house, while its coalition partner, Komeito, had 32. A party needs 233 seats to control the house, known as the Diet. There are now fears Komeito may fail to reach that number again, while the main opposition - which had 98 seats in the previous parliament - began to pick up momentum with voters ahead of Sunday’s election. “I think the LDP has dug itself a very deep hole to climb out of. It does not enjoy public trust, and why should it? There's just been a cascade of scandals,” Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University Japan, told the BBC. But he does not think any of this will necessarily lead to the party losing the elections. “I think they (LDP) are worried they're going to lose some marginal seats, and there are questions hanging over Komeito and how effective a coalition partner they will be,” Prof Kingston said. Should they pull off a win, Miyuki Fujisaki, the care-home sector worker, warns they will have to do more than just pay lip service to change. “I want them to show us what they are going to do so this [the scandals] doesn’t happen again,” she said. “They need to prove it - not just say it like they often do in the election time.”

Billions of levelling-up cash in limbo

Getty Images Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he wants levelling up to be more than a slogan

Some of the most deprived areas of the West Midlands fear they could lose millions in levelling-up money promised by the previous Conservative government. The Labour government has not confirmed whether councils will receive money from levelling-up funds worth billions of pounds. This includes £1.5bn for 75 "overlooked" towns across the country offered £20m each to invest in regeneration projects. One government source said all levelling-up spending was under review and described some of the commitments as "unfunded".

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to clarify what's happening with funds in the Budget, following a spending review. Speaking just before the election, the Conservatives said they had allocated a total of £15bn since 2019 on levelling up - their big idea to spread prosperity more evenly across the country. But since winning the general election, Labour has dropped the name levelling up from the title of a government department and accused the Conservatives of leaving a £22bn "black hole" in the public finances. The chancellor is reportedly looking to find £40bn through tax rises and spending cuts in the budget, while increasing investments in Labour's economic priorities. Last month, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC levelling up had to be more than a slogan. He said: "We have to go through a review to see what is deliverable. What I'm not going to do is make false promises, to pretend to people that money is there when it isn’t." This year, a report by a committee of MPs found that as of December 2023, the government had only given out £3.7bn of levelling-up cash out of a promised £10.7bn. Of that £3.7bn, councils have only been able to spend £1.24bn.

Talk of the towns

Six councils in the West Midlands were due to be handed £120m in total under a long-term plan. All six councils - Dudley, Sandwell, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Nuneaton and Bedworth - told the BBC they they had not started any projects, but some had received a bit of money to set up town boards. The town boards were supposed to be panels of prominent local figures who would decide what to do with the funding.

Tory councillor Damon Brown says the £20m grant was a vote of confidence in Bedworth

One of the towns expecting £20m was Bedworth. A former coal-mining town in Warwickshire, Bedworth is using other levelling-up money for market renovations and to build a new state-of-the-art leisure centre. "Funded by HM government," a banner says at the building site. "Bedworth is improving with the levelling-up funds and it was much needed," said Nicky King, the Labour councillor in charge of the town's regeneration. In an unusual display of unity, Labour and Tory councillors are urging the government to cough up the £20m. "It represents the biggest investment in the future of this town that it has seen in decades," said Tory councillor Damon Brown. "The £20m was a vote of confidence in the future of our town and to take that away would be to knock the aspiration of the town."

Sarah Windrum of MIRA Technology Park says well-paid jobs have a role in town regeneration

There were high expectations of what the money could do for Bedworth. The chairman of Bedworth United FC, who's put thousands of pounds of his own money into the club, said he would welcome more investment in grassroots football. And down the road, the Civic Hall venue reopened in the summer after securing funding, and could benefit from an further injection of cash. But the Labour government wants to move away from levelling up and towards giving more power and money to local leaders, particularly metro mayors. Attracting more business investment is also crucial to Labour's economic plans. A 15-minute drive from Bedworth, MIRA Technology Park was named in Labour’s industrial strategy as an example of a UK strength. The automotive research hub has a "pivotal role in regeneration", says Sarah Windrum, the future mobility cluster leader at MIRA. “We're creating high-value employment here. That means disposable income for local people." At the moment, Labour seems more interested in high-tech businesses than high-street revival. As the government counts the cost of levelling up, towns like Bedworth could be let down if the chancellor feels the sums don't add up.

Appeals made after WW2 plane crash discovery

Jonny McNee Part of the cockpit of the Grumman Hellcat

On 6 August 1945, the same day the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, an English soldier lost his life in a plane crash on the Sperrin mountains. Petty Officer Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head, Yorkshire, serving with the Royal Navy’s Fleet in Eglinton, County Londonderry. He died when his Grumman Hellcat plane crashed into the summit of Sawel, the highest peak in the area. Wreckage from the crash was recently recovered by aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee, assisted by a group of pupils from Foyle College. An appeal has been issued to trace the relatives of the fallen soldier.

Jonny McNee A memorial for the airmen that have perished on Sawel mountain

Mr McNee told BBC News NI that PO Smith died whilst preparing for further possible conflict. "He was with his air squadron, training to fly carrier-based aircraft in anticipation of them being sent to carry on the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific." The plane in which PO Smith was flying was "a primary weapon of the war in the Pacific". "Little did he know the Americans were at the last stages of the Manhattan project that subsequently helped end the war in the east." Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the countries surrender nine days later on 15 August 1945.

'Wreckage found is important to our family'

Rose Mary Murphy Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head serving with the Royal Navy’s Fleet in Eglinton

Following an appeal, on BBC Radio Leeds, to discover relations of Doulgas David Smith, BBC News NI spoke to one relative with a distant connection to the soldier. Jill Anderson, from Exley Head, heard the appeal on BBC Radio Leeds, her grandfather married Douglas David Smith's mother, who at this stage had lost both her son and husband, before remarrying. "My dad and Douglas also knew each other, they were of a similar age before he died. Exley Head is a small place, the type of area where everybody knows everyone." "Knowing that his wreckage has been found is nice and important," Jill said. "There is also a memorial for 'Dougie' in Exley Head, we go every year on Remembrance day. I just wish my dad was around to experience the unique news we've just heard."

Jonny McNee Pupils at Foyle helping to recover the wreckage of the Hellcat

For the last seven years Mr McNee has been working alongside pupils at Foyle College in Derry to excavate and recover wreckages of plane crashes in Northern Ireland. He has issued an appeal to help find family members and relatives of PO Smith. Mr McNee added: “The pupils, all aged 16 to 17, have a great interest in their local aviation history." The school and its pupils have undertaking licenced projects with Mr McNee for seven years, including several for BBC programmes such as Digging for Britain and being part of the first licensed dig for a WW2 aircraft in NI. Mr McNee also mentioned his efforts in bringing family members to crash sites over the years, which he said is "always a great experience to be able to give them the opportunity to see these sites."

Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the New York Yankees on his World Series debut as his Los Angeles Dodgers team closed out a 4-2 win to lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.

The hosts also thrilled the raucous Dodger Stadium crowd with three home runs, and survived a last-gasp Yankees rally as the National League champions took charge of the 'Fall Classic'.

In contrast to the scoreless first half of game one, both teams were on the board early as the Dodgers' Tommy Edman and the Yankees' Juan Soto traded solo home runs.

But the hosts then staged a home run derby of their own in the third inning, with Teoscar Hernandez and Friday's walk-off hero Freddie Freeman both going deep to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

Yamamoto, who penned a 12-year contract worth $325m (£251m) - a Major League Baseball record for a pitcher - when he joined the Dodgers from the Japanese league last December, pitched into the seventh inning, with Soto's homer the only hit he allowed.

The Yankees offence, with star batter Aaron Judge hitless and striking out three times, fared no better against the bullpen until they rallied in the ninth inning.

The visitors were in the last chance saloon when Soto led off with a base hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and was driven in by Giancarlo Stanton to make it 4-2.

Jazz Chisholm Jr singled and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Anthony Volpe struck out and, with the Yankees down to their last out, pinch-hitter Jose Trevino flew out to centre field.

A bigger concern for the Dodgers was when designated hitter Shohei Ohtani left the field in some pain after injuring his left shoulder during a failed stolen base attempt in the seventh inning.

The series now moves to New York, with game three at Yankee Stadium on Monday evening.

As Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid on Saturday, there was a Spaniard in Abu Dhabi making sure football's El Clasico wouldn't dominate every headline in Spain the following morning.

Not only did Ilia Topuria beat Max Holloway to retain his featherweight title at UFC 308, he inflicted the first knockout defeat of the American's glittering career.

The 27-year-old's devastating performance and first defence of his belt means he will be celebrated in Spain, and not for the first time.

After dethroning Alexander Volkanovski in February to become Spain's first UFC champion, Topuria appeared on the front page of Spanish publication Marca - a rare feat for an MMA fighter in a country where football dominates the sporting agenda.

Topuria, who also represents Georgia after being born to Georgian parents, then met Spain's president Pedro Sanchez, who granted him Spanish citizenship, external for his achievements.

And later, Topuria, a big Real Madrid fan, was paraded at the club's Bernabeu stadium before a game in front of 75,000 fans.

When Real spend mega money on world-class footballers they are dubbed as 'Galacticos'.

Does the UFC have a Galactico of their own in Topuria?

"Topuria did something nobody has ever done before. He's legit. If you questioned the guy after Volk, you can't question him now," said UFC president Dana White.

"When you keep clipping legends you become a legend, he's on the right path."

Appeals made after WW2 plane crash discovery

Jonny McNee Part of the cockpit of the Grumman Hellcat

On 6 August 1945, the same day the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, an English sailor lost his life in a plane crash on the Sperrin mountains. Petty Officer Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head, Yorkshire, serving with the Royal Navy’s Fleet in Eglinton, County Londonderry. He died when his Grumman Hellcat plane crashed into the summit of Sawel, the highest peak in the area. Wreckage from the crash was recently recovered by aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee, assisted by a group of pupils from Foyle College. An appeal has been issued to trace the relatives of the fallen sailor.

Jonny McNee A memorial for the airmen that have perished on Sawel mountain

Mr McNee told BBC News NI that PO Smith died whilst preparing for further possible conflict. "He was with his air squadron, training to fly carrier-based aircraft in anticipation of them being sent to carry on the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific." The plane in which PO Smith was flying was "a primary weapon of the war in the Pacific". "Little did he know the Americans were at the last stages of the Manhattan project that subsequently helped end the war in the east." Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the countries surrender nine days later on 15 August 1945.

'Wreckage found is important to our family'

Rose Mary Murphy Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head serving with the Royal Navy’s Fleet in Eglinton

Following an appeal, on BBC Radio Leeds, to discover relations of Doulgas David Smith, BBC News NI spoke to one relative with a distant connection to the sailor. Jill Anderson, from Exley Head, heard the appeal on BBC Radio Leeds, her grandfather married Douglas David Smith's mother, who at this stage had lost both her son and husband, before remarrying. "My dad and Douglas also knew each other, they were of a similar age before he died. Exley Head is a small place, the type of area where everybody knows everyone." "Knowing that his wreckage has been found is nice and important," Jill said. "There is also a memorial for 'Dougie' in Exley Head, we go every year on Remembrance day. I just wish my dad was around to experience the unique news we've just heard."

Jonny McNee Pupils at Foyle helping to recover the wreckage of the Hellcat

For the last seven years Mr McNee has been working alongside pupils at Foyle College in Derry to excavate and recover wreckages of plane crashes in Northern Ireland. He has issued an appeal to help find family members and relatives of PO Smith. Mr McNee added: “The pupils, all aged 16 to 17, have a great interest in their local aviation history." The school and its pupils have undertaking licenced projects with Mr McNee for seven years, including several for BBC programmes such as Digging for Britain and being part of the first licensed dig for a WW2 aircraft in NI. Mr McNee also mentioned his efforts in bringing family members to crash sites over the years, which he said is "always a great experience to be able to give them the opportunity to see these sites."

Georgia's pro-EU opposition says vote stolen as ruling party claims victory

Reuters The guiding force behind ruling party Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, was quick to claim victory

Pro-Western opposition groups in Georgia have refused to accept results that hand victory to the increasingly authoritarian ruling party, after a pivotal election focused on the country's future path in Europe. The Georgian Dream party of billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili claimed outright victory and the central election commission said it had won 54% of the vote based on more than 99% districts counted. The initial results were dramatically different from exit polls conducted by Western pollsters. Tina Bokuchava of the opposition United National Movement said the elections had been falsified and the vote "stolen from the Georgian people".

Another opposition leader, Nika Gvaramia, said Georgian Dream had mounted a "constitutional coup", while analysts said its increased vote share from four years ago was scarcely credible. Both Georgian Dream and the four pro-EU opposition groups trying to end its 12 years in power had earlier claimed victory based on competing exit polls. Voters turned out in big numbers on Saturday in this South Caucasus state bordering Russia, and there were numerous reports of vote violations and violence outside polling stations. One opposition official in a town south of the capital Tbilisi told the BBC that he was beaten up first by a local Georgian Dream councillor, and then "another 10 men came and I didn’t know what was happening to me". A coalition of 2,000 election observers called My Vote said given the scale of vote-fraud and violence it did not believe the preliminary results "reflect the will of Georgian citizens". The opposition has described this high-stakes vote as a choice between Europe or Russia. Many saw the vote as the most crucial since Georgians backed independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Matthew Goddard/BBC Opposition official Azat Karimov, 35, was beaten up in the town of Marneuli

As soon as voting ended, two exit polls by Edison and HarrisX for pro-opposition TV channels gave Georgian Dream 40.9% and 42% of the vote, with the total for the combined four opposition groups put at 51.9% and 48%. But a poll for the big, government-supporting Imedi TV channel gave Georgian Dream 56%. Some time later, the central election commission (CEC) came out with initial preliminary results. The commission had said that 90% of the vote would be released within two hours of the polls closing enabled by new electronic vote-counting system, but it was only on Sunday morning the preliminary results were almost complete. The CEC has come under criticism for being too close to the government and for rushing through electoral reform ahead of the election without sufficient consultation. "The onus is on a government body to provide transparency required in an electoral process," said Dritan Nesho of HarrisX. "We analysed the data from these precincts and there’s a wide discrepancy from the data we have. In some cases they have districts in Tbilisi where Georgian Dream are winning by 45% of the vote, whereas we know most of the opposition vote came from Tbilisi."

Georgian Dream has already claimed an outright majority in parliament, as the combined four opposition blocs can only muster about 37% between them, according to the contested preliminary results. Under Georgia's new system of proportional representation, whoever wins half the vote wins half of the 150 seats. None of the other parties fighting the election reached the 5% threshold to get into parliament. Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, told supporters it was a "rare occasion in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation". However, opposition leaders and supporters had a very different take. Tina Bokuchava said her party would not accept Georgia's European future being stolen and she hoped the other main opposition groups would be able to agree on their next steps. "This is the moment. In future there may be no such moment," opposition voter Levan Benidze, 36, told the BBC. "I know there are a lot of geopolitical risks - from Russia - but this could be the pivotal moment, a turning point."

VANO SHLAMOV/AFP The leader of the biggest opposition party, Tina Bokuchava of the United National Movement, said the Georgian people and Europe had won

Although Georgia was made a candidate to join the European Union last December, that move has since been frozen by the EU because of "democratic backsliding - in particular a Russian-style "foreign influence" law targeting groups receiving Western funding. The USSR may have ceased to exist more than three decades ago, but Moscow still considers much of the old Soviet empire its own backyard and Russia’s sphere of influence. It will have appreciated Georgian Dream’s campaign promise of a “pragmatic” Russia policy, not to mention Brussels’ decision earlier this year to halt Georgia’s EU accession process. Georgian Dream has promised voters they are still on course to join the EU, but it has also accused the opposition of helping the West to open a new front in Russia's war in Ukraine. Georgia's Russian neighbour still occupies 20% of its territory after a five-day war in 2008.

Bidzina Ivanishvili's rhetoric has become increasingly anti-Western, indicating that a fourth term for Georgian Dream might pull the country back into Russia's orbit. Georgians had a simple choice, the party's founder said after voting in Tbilisi: either a government that served them, or an opposition of "foreign agents, who will carry out only the orders of a foreign country". He has repeatedly spoken of a "global war party" pushing the opposition towards joining the war in Ukraine, with Georgian Dream (GD) cast as the party of peace. For many voters the message has worked. "The most important thing - for me, my family, my grandchildren - is peace that I wish for all Georgians," GD voter Tinatin Gvelesiani, 55, told the BBC at a polling station in Kojori, south-west of the capital. "Only Georgian Dream" would bring peace, she added.

Body found in search for missing woman, 49

Police believe Joanne Jones headed on to Graigwen Road, Pontypridd, in the direction of Llanwonno Forest before she went missing

A body has been found during an investigation into the disappearance of a 49-year-old woman who went missing six days ago.

Joanne Jones was last seen at 09:45 BST on Monday in Vale Gardens, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, prompting a search by police and the wider community.

South Wales Police confirmed on Saturday night that a body had been discovered but that formal identification has yet to take place. Mrs Jones' family and the coroner have been informed.

"We thank the local community for all their assistance," said the force.