Labour suspends MP after CCTV appears to show him punching man

Daily Mail

Labour MP Mike Amesbury has been suspended from the party and has had the whip withdrawn, after CCTV footage emerged appearing to show him punching a man to the ground. In footage obtained by the Daily Mail, the Runcorn and Helsby MP is apparently seen continuing to hit the man as he lies in the street. Cheshire Police said a 55-year-old man has been voluntarily interviewed under caution in relation to the incident and has since been released pending further enquiries. Amesbury has been contacted for comment.

It comes after a different video, posted on X, purported to show Amesbury shouting and swearing at the man lying in the street in Frodsham, Cheshire. A Labour party spokesman said: “Mike Amesbury MP has been assisting Cheshire Police with their inquiries following an incident on Friday night. "As these inquiries are now ongoing, the Labour Party has administratively suspended Mr Amesbury’s membership of the Labour Party pending an investigation.” He has also lost the Labour whip in the House of Commons. It is not clear what happened in the build-up to the moments caught on film. In the initial clip, Amesbury can be heard shouting: "You won't threaten the MP ever again, will you?" In a statement issued before the Daily Mail footage emerged, Cheshire Police said: “At 02:48 BST on Saturday 26 October police were called to reports of an assault in Frodsham. “A caller reported he had been assaulted by a man in Main Street. Enquiries are ongoing.” Posting on his own Facebook page on Saturday, the 55-year-old backbencher said: "Last night I was involved in an incident that took place after I felt threatened following an evening out with friends. "This morning I contacted Cheshire Police myself to report what happened. "I will not be making any further public comment but will of course cooperate with any inquiries if required by Cheshire Police."

A clip, which emerged on Saturday before the new CCTV footage, appears to show Amesbury shouting at a man lying on the pavement.

Faisal Islam: Don't expect rabbits, this will be a Budget for boffins

Jessica Taylor/Reuters

There is no special Budget red box commissioned for Rachel Reeves when, mid-morning on Wednesday, she becomes the first woman to brandish one outside Number 11. There will be no such frills, few jokes and don’t expect a big rabbit out of the hat. The number crunchers, bean counters, and abacus economists, so derided by Liz Truss, have taken back control. In that reused Red Box will be a boffin’s Budget. Indeed, it could be defined by being the polar opposite of everything in Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous mini-Budget two years ago. They notoriously declined the offer of an Office of Budget Responsibility forecast, with Truss later deciding the forecaster was part of a “deep state” conspiracy against her premiership. This time the OBR has carried out its full 10-week, back-and-forth audit of both the public finances and all the tax and spend policy measures, Reeves is planning, adding to what has felt like a drawn-out timetable of pre-Budget preparation. The long three-month post-election wait has cast a cloud over consumer and business confidence, and so the economy too. Business leaders tell me they can cope with tax rises, but prolonged uncertainty is an economic mood-killer. Some think and opportunity was missed, after three years of rolling crises, to jump on a significant summer turning point, with a new stable government and with interest rates finally falling.

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Rachel Reeves is defining her Budget as the polar opposite of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng's "fiscal event" two years ago

Still, the turning point could come now. This Budget forms part of a significant global economic pivot. The years of higher government spending and borrowing, alongside higher interest rates to dampen down rampant inflation, have given way to the opposite. Looser monetary policy, that is falling interest rates, and tighter fiscal policy, or higher taxes plus limits on borrowing, are the new normal. In that Budget box are a wide range of tax rises. It might have been easier to list the ones that will not be going up. The most prominent, as I reported, will be the rise in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs). I understand that Reeves was advised internally in July simply to reverse the “unfunded” 2% cut to employees’ National Insurance that was introduced by the Conservatives. But she was adamant she could not breach the election promise not to raise this form of NICs. Of course there will be a fierce row over whether raising the employer NICs amounts to the same thing. Labour insiders point to a footnote on their election material that clarified the manifesto commitment only applied to employee NICs, and say they were attacked on this point in Conservative ads and speeches. That implies the words of the Labour manifesto were carefully crafted to allow for a rise in employer NICs.

Last week, at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, I challenged the chancellor directly over why she had not been clearer with the electorate about potentially widespread tax rises, including National Insurance. She told me there were three factors behind this tough Budget. She repeated her calculation of an inherited “£22bn black hole” – that she says she inherited from her predecessor but had not foreseen. She now says that deficit will continue “in future years”. She said the OBR would be publishing its review of how the overspend was “allowed to happen”, alongside the Budget. The Treasury sees this as an important sub-plot to Wednesday’s main Budget narrative. Reeves also pointed to compensation payments for the infected blood and Horizon Post Office scandals which she said “the previous government did not put money in place for”. Thirdly, the UK cannot continue on the path it is currently on when it comes to public spending, she told me, given the state of public services, such as prisons and the health service, and the new government’s promise that there “would not be a return to austerity”.

Getty Images If Reeves gets it right, markets, and borrowing costs, should remain calm

What we have heard so far about the Budget sounds rather austere, but the chancellor is defining austerity as real-terms cuts in government departments. It appears departments will get top-ups to cope with the rising cost of services. The trade-offs in her Budget are driven by her new fiscal rules. A new rule governing borrowing to invest, the “investment rule” will replace the previous debt rule, allowing the reversal of a planned £20bn cut to spending on major capital projects. The new, broader measure of debt will have to fall in five years’ time. But it is the new “stability rule” that will be the binding constraint for Wednesday. All day-to-say spending in departments, on welfare and on debt interest, will have to be funded by tax revenue over a certain, as yet unspecified, timeframe. This could be a really quite fierce rule, far tougher than the Conservatives’ rule. Borrowing will only be for investment. These two rules together will frame not just this Budget, but the next half decade, affecting every penny that the government spends. Labour has calculated that its landslide majority is rooted in a public desire to sort out underperforming public services, such as the NHS, and a decline in the quality of the public realm, from transport to town centres to housing. The real “black hole” in this view is in public services. The “fiscal fiction” of unrealistic spending plans will become fiscal fact. By mandating that the spending gaps will be filled by significant tax rises, the strategy here is to communicate overwhelming political pain tolerance to markets that lend money to the exchequer. Essentially a massive majority will be used to credibly guarantee surpluses on “current” spending. Some taxes will go up, but the return is that it should help keep interest rates down for households, businesses and government itself. As one prominent central banker told the margins of the IMF meeting, what is important in terms of market credibility is not just the amount of borrowing, but the coherence of the story and the strategy around that borrowing. A new chancellor needs to establish their financial credibility, after all, credibility is famously hard to gain and much easier to lose. That is the purpose of these self-imposed rules. But in recent years chancellors have also struggled with political credibility. More than one were in the job for too short a time to even have an official Budget. It has not been an absolute given that all Budget measures will actually be enacted by a rebellious and unruly governing party. Over the Channel that is precisely the problem in France, where Reeves’ counterpart Antoine Armand has to convince he can actually pass tough measures as a minority government. Rachel Reeves has no such problems. Indeed, at an event in Washington addressing bankers, congressmen and senators at the British ambassador’s residence, the chancellor had a moment for reflection. Exactly two years before, Kwarteng had made this same address, amid widespread mini-Budget turmoil, including jokes about his shared role with Isaac Newton, who had solved a historic sterling crisis. As a result of the aftermath of Kwarteng’s “fiscal event”, board members of British clearing banks were having to reassure their counterparties that Britain was “ok”. Developing country finance ministers were making the same half-joke about Britain, the old master, now being the crisis economy. For a chancellor who, two decades ago, was seconded to the British embassy as an economist, during one of Argentina’s debt crises, it was an anathema. It is why on Thursday morning she and her team are expecting some anger from wealthier taxpayers and bad headlines in certain newspapers. But the flip-side will be relief for hard-pressed users of many public services, and especially what the Treasury hopes will be tranquil financial markets as she embarks on a long-term programme of long-delayed investments in Britain’s economic future. It is a Budget that will be unpacked and unpicked for months, perhaps years to come.

Amy Dowden taken to hospital during Strictly show

PA The dancer first joined the Strictly cast in 2017

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage during last night's main show. An ambulance was called to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood on Saturday when the dancer began feeling unwell. Dowden returned to the Strictly line-up in 2024, having missed the previous series after being diagnosed with breast cancer. A spokesperson for the dancer said the ambulance "was called as a precaution" and that she was now "feeling much better".

PA This season the dancer has been paired up with JLS singer JB Gill

Dowden did not appear in Sunday evening's results show as she was taken to hospital before it was filmed. An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called just after 21:00 BST on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. "An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care." In a statement, Dowden's spokesperson said: "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. "She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern." They added: "We request Amy's privacy in matters of health is kindly respected."

PA Dowden opened up about her experience with breast cancer in a recent BBC documentary

Chief thought Skripal poisoning could be 'act of war'

BBC

A former counter terrorism chief has described how he initially wondered if the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter could have been "an act of war". Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were exposed to the deadly nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in March 2018. Neil Basu, who led the counter-terrorism investigation, said the "true horror" of the "colourless and odourless" poison was not knowing how to warn people or what to look for. In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Salisbury Poisonings podcast, he said: "To leave that lying around anywhere on foreign soil is the most unbelievably reckless disregard for human life I've ever witnessed."

Mr Basu said it was near impossible to track down an invisible murder weapon

Just four months later Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being inadvertently exposed to Novichok eight miles away in Amesbury, Wiltshire. It was concealed inside a perfume bottle which had been gifted to her and contained enough poison to kill thousands of people. Traces of the chemical weapon were later discovered on the doorknob of Mr Skripal's home, where police believe it had been planted in a "targeted" attack. Two men, believed to be part of Russia's military intelligence service, were named as suspects for their attempted murders in September 2018, with a third suspect added in 2021. The Russian government and the suspects themselves have always denied any involvement with the attack.

'Weapon of mass destruction'

Mr Basu said that following the Skripals falling ill, the entire counter-terrorism team were on high alert. "One of the things I was thinking was, is this war. You know, is this an act of war? "You think of a 'weapon of mass destruction' as being an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear tipped warhead. "You don't think of it being in a perfume tester bottle. We didn't know what we were looking for." He recalled not knowing how to describe Novichok to the people searching for it and worrying that half the diners at the restaurant would be admitted to hospital and not be able to be treated.

Reuters The inquiry heard the designer perfume bottle carrying the nerve agent contained "enough poison to kill thousands of people"

When the news broke of Ms Sturgess' death, Mr Basu recalled that it "became infinitely more serious because it was now the murder of a British citizen". He said the weight of the responsibility was "incredibly hard to bear". "I had to go to the community meeting and explain to Amesbury citizens whether they could feel confident that they wouldn't be the next victim, and there was no way of giving them 100% reassurance. "I could tell from the look on their faces that they were utterly terrified. "One of my responsibilities in charge of counter-terrorism was trying to reduce the fear of it, not just the effect of it. "But how do we give reassurance without causing mass panic?"

Public Health England (PHE) released precautionary advice following Ms Sturgess' death, that "if you didn't drop it, then don't pick it up." Mr Basu said he wishes the guidance had been given sooner to prevent the death of an innocent civilian. "The reality of spending any time in national security at any level is that people will die on your watch," he said. "What you've got to do is try and get justice for the people who died, and to stop it from ever happening again. "By the time I retired, 42 innocent people were killed on my watch. I'd rather it hadn't been a single one. "If you asked me to rate my performance, I would say zero, which I've spent a long time trying to come to terms with."

Metropolitan Police Ruslan Boshirov (left) and Alexander Petrov (right) were named as possible suspects in the Salisbury poisonings

No one has ever been charged for the murder of Dawn Sturgess but in September 2021, an arrest warrant was issued for the suspects in the Skripals' poisonings. However, as the Russian constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals, they cannot be formally charged unless they try to leave the country. "If you ask for my professional hunch, I think we have the murder weapon and we have the murderers," Mr Basu added. "If they need anyone to arrest them as they take one foot off the aircraft, I'll be there to do it." He added that one of the things that weighs heavily on his mind is if there is still more Novichok out there. In the first week of the Novichok inquiry Ms Sturgess' partner Charlie Rowley said he had to cut in to packaging with a knife to retrieve the bottle of perfume he later gave as a gift to her. Mr Basu said: "But the reality is, is because we didn't know what it was contained in originally, we didn't know whether it was the only one. "We didn't know how they got it into the country. And we don't know how they disposed of it because we don't know how Charlie Rowley picked it up. And he doesn't. And, you know, poor man. I mean, I don't think he ever will."

BBC Sounds: Salisbury Poisonings Listen to the interview with Neil Basu in full and keep up to date with the latest from the inquiry with our podcast. Listen to the episode on BBC Sounds.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Tourists flock to street used as a film set - and Airbnb row is 'final straw'

BBC Chalcot Crescent is known for its pastel-coloured townhouses

With its idyllic Regency-style terrace houses, Chalcot Crescent has long caught the eye of the many visitors that descend on Primrose Hill. But the north London street is now attracting another type of visitor: the film tourist. It featured in Paddington - the film franchise used a house there as the home of the fictional Brown family. ”I've seen people taking selfies right in front of someone's living room window, and you're thinking, you know, if that was me, I'd be a bit annoyed to have my living room put straight on Instagram,” Matt Cooper, a Labour councillor for Primrose Hill, tells the BBC of the many tourists who visit the area. A spat has now flared between local residents and Airbnb, which is running a competition for three families to stay in a house on Chalcot Crescent to mark the release of Paddington in Peru in November. The holiday booking site has told them it's spending two weeks renovating the property to resemble the film set for three days of stays - painting the facade blue, blocking five parking spaces and also bringing noise disruption during the week. Some residents have protested in a letter to Airbnb, claiming that the competition will feed into issues the street already faces with over-tourism. The row appears to be "the straw breaking the camel’s back," says Mr Cooper. In response, Airbnb tells the BBC it has not disclosed the location of the house and is making a “sizeable donation” to the Primrose Hill Community Association. It's not the only film set tourism row of recent years - and the others might tell us a thing or two about how to resolve them.

Harry Potter and Downton Abbey

Scotland's Glenfinnan Viaduct is best known for appearing in Harry Potter. Its dramatic arches, cutting through the striking West Scottish Highlands, were used as part of the Hogwarts Express’ route. But an influx of Harry Potter fans to Glenfinnan itself - a tiny village with just 150 residents - has caused some complaints. Nearly half a million tourists visited the viaduct in the first 10 months of 2023, according to National Trust Scotland.

Getty Images Glenfinnan Viaduct is a popular destination for film fans

One local resident told the Mirror in July that traffic reaches “complete gridlock” while others told the National last year that a lack of sufficient public toilets had led to some visitors urinating in public. It's been a similar story in the village of Bampton, Oxfordshire - better known as the backdrop for Downton Abbey. Some residents said in 2019 that coach-loads of tourists were arriving to take snaps of locations used in the hit ITV period drama - before leaving and spending little money in the local economy. An agreement was reportedly later struck with coach companies to resolve issues with parking in the area.

And in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, some locals last month complained of an uptick in stag and hen parties after the town was popularised by BBC crime series Happy Valley. As well as broad issues associated with tourism - like overcrowding, litter and parking troubles - film tourism brings its own specific problems, says Dr James Cateridge, senior lecturer in film at Oxford Brookes University. “There may be a huge boost to tourists when the film is released or immediately after its release, and then that can tail off quite quickly,” he explains. “So that's quite difficult to plan for and mitigate for.” That does not appear to have been the case for Primrose Hill, which is already used to people visiting local Bridget Jones film backdrops and Primrose Hill Park with its sweeping views of London's skyline.

Getty Images Primrose Hill Park has long attracted visitors

Finding a happy balance

It's not all doom and gloom - sometimes films being shot on real streets, as opposed to behind closed doors in studios, can fuel a boom in local trade. According to a 2021 report by the British Film Institute (BFI), film-related screen tourism from other countries to the UK was estimated at nearly £900 million in 2019, including increased spend at attractions, hotels and restaurants. High-end TV-related tourism brought almost £500 million to the economy that year too. No wonder then that residents of Barry Island in south Wales appeared to welcome the recent filming of Gavin & Stacey's Christmas special, due to air on Christmas Day. Crowds of onlookers were pictured on the street watching stars like James Corden, Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon arrive for filming. “Every time they come down here, there’s always a boom," local resident Marco Zeraschi told Barry & District News.

PA Media Gavin and Stacey's cast returned to Barry Island this year to film the upcoming Christmas special

Chalamet makes surprise appearance at look-alike event

Watch: Timothée Chalamet crashes own lookalike contest

Timothée Chalamet has stunned fans after making a surprise appearance at a lookalike contest for the actor. The Wonka star crashed the event in New York City attracting a chorus of screaming fans. Chalamet was seen posing for pictures with his curly-haired doppelgangers during a brief appearance at Washington Square Park. The city's police moved on the crowded event which attracted hundreds of people.

Variety reported that Chalamet sneaked his way through the crowd hiding behind a mask and baseball hat, before creeping up to two lookalikes who had been posing for photos, sparking shrieks across the park.

@fizzysodatoes

The contest, organised by YouTuber Anthony Po, promised a $50 (£39) prize for the winner and had attracted thousands of RSVPs to an online invite. A fan of the Call Me by Your Name and Dune actor, Lauren Klas, described what made a good Chalamet. "It’s all in the nose," he told AP news agency. “All of his bone structure, really.” Contestants were also asked about their French language skills, plans to make the world a better place and romantic intentions with Kylie Jenner, who the star is rumoured to be dating, AP reported. Eventually Miles Mitchell, 21, from Staten Island, was crowned winner dressed in a Willy Wonka outfit, before he tossed candy to the crowd from a briefcase.

Allow Twitter content? Twitter’s cookie policy privacy policy ‘accept and continue’. This article contains content provided by Twitter . We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to readandbefore accepting. To view this content choose Accept and continue

Allow Twitter content? Twitter’s cookie policy privacy policy ‘accept and continue’. This article contains content provided by Twitter . We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to readandbefore accepting. To view this content choose Accept and continue

Iran leader says Israeli attack should not be 'exaggerated or downplayed'

Reuters

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has given a measured response to Israeli strikes on the country, saying the attack should not be "exaggerated or downplayed" while refraining from pledging immediate retaliation. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would "give an appropriate response" to the attack, which killed at least four soldiers, adding that Tehran did not seek war. Israel said it targeted military sites in several regions of Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iranian attacks, including a barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles fired towards Israel on 1 October. On Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had crippled Iranian air defence and missile production systems. He said the strikes had "severely damaged Iran’s defence capability and its ability to produce missiles".

"The attack was precise and powerful and achieved its goals," Netanyahu said at a ceremony commemorating the victims of last year's 7 October attacks. "This regime must understand a simple principle: whoever hurts us, we hurt him." Official Iranian sources have publicly played down the impact of the attack, saying most missiles were intercepted and those that weren't caused only limited damage to air defence systems. In his first public comments since the attack, Khamenei said: "It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country." President Pezeshkian largely echoed the supreme leader's language, telling a cabinet meeting: "We do not seek war, but we will defend the rights of our nation and country." The Israeli strikes were more limited than some observers had been expecting. The US had publicly pressured Israel not to hit oil and nuclear facilities, advice seemingly heeded by Tel Aviv. The Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran had "received indications" about an impending attack hours before it took place. "We had received indications since the evening about the possibility of an attack that night," Abbas Araghchi told reporters, without going into more detail. Western countries have urged Iran in turn not to respond in order to break the cycle of escalation between both Middle Eastern countries, which they fear could lead to all-out regional war. Iranian media has carried footage of daily life continuing as normal and framing the "limited" damage as a victory, a choice analysts said was intended to reassure Iranians.

No new freeports in Budget after 'comms cock-up'

Getty Images

The chancellor will not unveil new freeports in the Budget on Wednesday, despite a government announcement on Friday saying she would. In the flurry of pre-Budget briefings, it seems Downing Street went too far, promising the new low tax sites would boost growth and jobs. Instead of announcing five new freeports as was widely reported, the chancellor Rachel Reeves will outline plans and funding for some existing designated freeport sites to become "operational". There had been "a cock-up with the comms", a government official confirmed to the BBC on Sunday.

The mistake arose due to a confusion between the freeport sites themselves and the multiple customs areas that are contained within them. Freeports are areas near shipping ports or airports where imported goods are free from tariffs. They are designed to boost economic activity like trade, investment and job creation, and businesses operating in them get certain tax breaks, which include reliefs on property and hiring new workers. Current freeports are located around ports in Inverness, the Forth, Teesside, the Humber, Liverpool, Anglesey, Milford Haven, Plymouth, the Solent, the Thames, and Felixstowe and Harwich. However, not all of these freeports are classed as being operational due to them not having "designated" tax and customs sites. A government official told the BBC that the chancellor is set to confirm five new customs sites within existing freeports, rather than new freeports. Ports in Inverness and the Humber will get designated customs sites for the first time. The move will make the Humber site operational as a freeport and eligible for tax reliefs and funding, but the Inverness site is still waiting final approval. The three remaining new customs sites will be in Liverpool, adding to three sites already in place there. Reeves will still reveal plans for a separate investment zone in the East Midlands, which was also announced on Friday. The Financial Times, which first reported the error, said Friday's announcement, made while the prime minister was at the Commonwealth heads of government summit in Samoa, had caused "bafflement" among firms and officials involved in the freeports, as they had not heard of any plans.

Georgia PM rejects vote-rigging claims as president calls mass rally

Georgia PM Irakli Kobakhidze says that there are always "irregularities" in elections, but rejects claims of fraud

Georgia's prime minister has hailed a "landslide" election result, rejecting allegations of vote-rigging and violence. "Irregularities happen everywhere," Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream party told the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in an exclusive interview. Official preliminary results from Georgia's election commission gave the ruling Georgian Dream an outright majority of 54%, despite exit polls for opposition TV channels suggesting four opposition parties had won. Georgia's pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has condemned the "total falsification" of the vote and called for opposition supporters to rally outside parliament on Monday.

Election observers have suggested that the number of vote violations may have affected the result. However, the prime minister insisted that out of 3,111 polling stations, there had been incidents in "just a couple of precincts". Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian, passing Russian-style laws targeting media and non-government groups who receive foreign funding and the LGBT community. The European Union has responded by freezing Georgia's bid to join the EU, accusing it of "democratic backsliding". However, one EU leader, Hungary's Viktor Orban, has been especially quick to congratulate the party on its fourth term and is due to travel to Georgia on Monday. Georgian Dream says it is keen to kickstart talks on reviving its EU bid, but the sight of Orban arriving in Tbilisi two days after a contested election is unlikely to go down well in Brussels.

Georgian presidency Surrounded by opposition leaders, Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili called for a mass rally on Monday

In an initial statement on Sunday night, the head of the European Council of EU leaders, Charles Michel, said "alleged irregularities must be seriously clarified and addressed" and called for a swift, transparent and independent investigation. "Of course we have to address these irregularities happening on the day of the election or before," the Georgian prime minister told the BBC. "But the general content of the elections was in line with legal principles and the principle of democratic elections." The four opposition groups have refused to recognise the election result, condemning it as falsified, and they have accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of stealing the vote.

They will now hold 61 seats in the 150-seat parliament, while Georgian Dream will have 89 - a majority but not big enough to enact the kind of constitutional change it wanted, to carry out its threat to ban opposition parties. Two of the four opposition groups, Coalition for Change and United National Movement, have said they will boycott parliament. Surrounded by leaders of the opposition, Georgia's president said the vote could not be recognised and accused Russia of interfering in the election. In his BBC interview, Kobakhidze accused the opposition of lying, arguing that they had also said the vote had been falsified in 2016, 2020 and 2021. "Of course they have now no other way, so they have to tell their supporters that either they were lying or the government rigged the elections." An electronic vote-counting system was used for the first time on Saturday, and the prime minister said that made the election impossible to rig: "There is zero space for manipulation."

How close were hospitals to collapse in Covid?

BBC

Five times Prof Kevin Fong broke down in tears in a nondescript hearing room in West London, while giving evidence to the Covid inquiry. The 53-year-old has the kind of CV that makes you pay attention: a consultant anaesthetist in London who also works for the air ambulance service and specialises in space medicine. In 2020, as Covid spread around the world, he was seconded to NHS England and sent out to the worst hit areas to support other medics. We’ve long been told that hospitals were struggling to cope during the pandemic. In January 2021, then prime minister Boris Johnson warned the NHS was “under unprecedented pressure”. But now many hours of testimony to the Covid inquiry this autumn is offering our clearest understanding yet of what was really going on at the height of the pandemic. The inquiry restarts its live hearings this week with evidence from doctors and patient groups. Health ministers and senior NHS managers are also expected to appear before the end of the year. I was at the inquiry the day Prof Fong calmly talked through more than 40 visits he led to intensive care units, his voice cracking at times.

Prof Kevin Fong, a consultant anaesthetist, gave evidence to the Covid inquiry.

What Prof Fong discovered at the hospitals he visited was something he said could not be found in the official NHS data or the main evening news bulletins at the time. “It really was like nothing else I’ve ever seen,” he said. “These people were used to seeing death but not on that scale, and not like that.” In late 2020, for example, he was sent to a midsize district hospital somewhere in England that was “bursting at the seams”. This was just as the second wave of Covid was hitting its peak. England was days away from its third national lockdown. The first vaccines were being rolled out but not yet in large numbers. In that hospital, he found the intensive care unit, the overflow areas and the respiratory wards all full with Covid patients. The previous night someone had died in an ambulance outside waiting to be admitted. The same thing had happened that morning. The staff were “in total bits”. Some of the nurses were wearing adult nappies or using patient commodes because there wasn’t time for toilet breaks. One told him: “It was overwhelming, the things we would normally do to help people didn’t work. It was too much.” That night, Prof Fong and his team helped to transfer 17 critically ill patients to other NHS sites – an emergency measure unheard of outside the pandemic. “It is the closest I have ever seen a hospital to being in a state of operational collapse,” he said. “It was just a scene from hell.”

Getty Images During the pandemic, hospitals cancelled much of their usual planned work

The full story

In the pandemic we heard reports of swamped hospitals in danger of being overwhelmed though to what extent was never fully clear. On the face of it bed occupancy in England – that’s the total number of hospital beds taken up by all patients – did not hit more than 90% in January 2021, the peak of the largest Covid wave. That’s above the 85% level considered safe but not any higher than a typical winter outside the pandemic. That doesn’t tell the full story. At that point hospitals had cancelled all their usual planned work – from hip replacements to hernia repairs. Strict Covid rules meant the public were told to stay at home and protect the NHS. The numbers coming in through A&E in England fell by almost 40% compared to the previous year, to 1.3 million in January 2021. That was why, when anti-lockdown protestors sneaked into hospitals to film, they found deserted corridors and rows of empty seats. The pressure though was often being felt elsewhere – on the main wards and in intensive care units (ICUs), where thousands of the sickest Covid patients needed help to breathe on ventilators. “At our peak we ran out of physical bed spaces and had to resort to putting two patients into one space,” one ICU nurse at a different hospital told Prof Fong. “Patients were dying daily, bad news was being broken over the phone or via an iPad." Later research by the Intensive Care Society found that in January 2021, 6,099 ICU beds were filled across the UK, well above the pre-Covid capacity of 3,848. This huge spike in demand, equivalent to building another 141 entire intensive care units, was being driven by the length of time Covid patients needed treatment. On average they would spend 16 days in ICU, normally on a ventilator, compared with just four to seven days for a patient admitted for another reason.

Surge capacity

As a result, hospitals had to rush to convert operating theatres, side rooms or other wards into makeshift intensive care units. NHS trusts often ended up juggling shortages of equipment, medicines and oxygen. But while it might have been possible to cram in more beds, finding the extra skilled workers to staff them was far more difficult. Prof Charlotte Summers, who led the intensive care team at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, said: “We can’t just magic up specialist care staff because it takes a good couple of years, at least, for minimum critical care speciality training.” “What we had, we had, and we had to stretch further and further.” As a result staffing ratios were pushed to the limit in Covid, something she said politicians, the media and the public didn’t fully understand at the time. Outside of a pandemic, specialist critical care nurses would be responsible for just a single patient. In Covid they were looking after four, five or even six – often all on a ventilator. “Staff didn’t have time to process or accept the losses,” the lead ICU matron at one large teaching hospital told Prof Fong. “As soon as one patient had passed away they had to get the bed cleared and ready for the next patient." Others in intensive care and Covid wards – from doctors to pharmacists to dietitians – saw their workloads stretched well beyond normal safe levels.

This was the main reason why temporary Nightingale hospitals, built in the first Covid wave at a cost of more than £500m, only ever treated a handful of patients. It was possible to build the critical care infrastructure almost overnight, but quite another thing to find trained medics to work in them. To help plug these staff shortages in ICU, volunteers were frequently brought in from other parts of the hospital, often with no experience of intensive care medicine or of dealing with that level of trauma and death. “They were being exposed to things which they wouldn't necessarily be [exposed to] in their normal jobs, people deteriorating and dying in front of them, the emotional distress of that,” said Dr Ganesh Suntharalingam, an ICU doctor and former president of the Intensive Care Society. Another hospital doctor said he felt some junior members of staff were “thrown in at the deep end” with little training and no choice about where they were sent. The inquiry heard that all this “inevitably” had an impact on some of the sickest patients. At no point did the NHS have to impose a formal ‘national triage’, where someone was refused treatment because they could not get a hospital bed. But using that as measure of health system collapse may be too simplistic anyway. Prof Summers said it would be mistake to think of “catastrophic failure” as a switch that goes “from everything being okay to everything not being okay the next second.” “It is in the dilution of a million and one tiny little things, particularly in intensive care.” She said when the system becomes so overstretched it feels like “we are failing our patients” and not providing the care “that we would want for our own families”. New research suggests those hospital units under the greatest pressure also saw the highest mortality rates for both Covid and non-Covid cases. Difficult decisions were having to be made about which of the sickest patients to move up to intensive care. Those Covid patients who needed CPAP, a form of pressurised oxygen support, rather than a ventilator, often had to be cared for in general wards instead, where staff may have been less used to the technology. One anonymous ICU doctor in Wales said: “We didn't have enough space to ‘give people a go' who had a very remote chance of getting better. If we had had more capacity, we might have been in a position to try." The inquiry was also told that at least one NHS trust was under so much pressure it implemented a blanket “do-not-resuscitate order” at the height of the pandemic. If a patient went into cardiac arrest or stopped breathing, it would mean they should not be given chest compressions or defibrillation to try to save their life. In normal times, that difficult decision should only be made after an individual clinical assessment, and a discussion with the patient or their family. But Prof Jonathan Wyllie, ex-president of the Resuscitation Council, said he knew of one unnamed trust that put in place a blanket order based instead on age, condition and disability. Groups representing bereaved families said they were horrified, adding it was “irrefutable evidence the NHS was overwhelmed”.

Getty Images There are almost 130,000 job vacancies in the NHS across the UK

Air ambulances

At times, the impact on intensive care was so great that some units had to undergo “rapid depressurisation” with dozens of patients transferred out, sometimes over long distances, to other hospitals. Before the pandemic, from December 2019 to February 2020, only 68 of these capacity transfers had taken place in England. Between December 2020 and February 2021, 2,152 were needed, either by road or air ambulance. Often it was the most stable patients in smaller district hospitals who would be selected for transfer as – bluntly – they were the most likely to survive in a moving vehicle for several hours. “But what that meant for the smaller units is that they were left with a cohort of patients who were most likely to die,” said Prof Fong. “Those units would experience mortality rates in excess of 70% in some cases.” In normal times between 15% and 20% of ICU patients die in hospital, according to the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine.

Prof Charlotte Summers gave evidence to the Covid inquiry.

Very human

Through the pandemic the NHS did continue to operate and, on a national basis, patients who really needed hospital treatment were not turned away. But Prof Charlotte Summers, in her evidence, said staff are still “carrying the scars” of that time. “You cannot see what we’ve seen, hear what we’ve heard, and do what we’ve had to do and be untouched by it,” she said. “You cannot and be human. And we are very much human.” Health services in all four UK nations started the pandemic with the number of beds in ICU and staffing levels well below average compared to other rich countries. Five years on and there are still almost 130,000 job vacancies in the NHS across the UK. Sickness rates among the 1.5 million NHS employees in England are running well above pre-pandemic levels, with days lost to stress, anxiety and mental illness rising from 371,000 in May 2019 to 562,000 in May 2024. All this comes as the health service struggles to recover from Covid with waiting lists for surgery and other planned treatments still hovering near record levels. “We coped, but only just,” said Prof Summers and Dr Suntharalingam in their evidence to the inquiry. “We would have failed if the pandemic had doubled for even one more week, or if a higher proportion of the NHS workforce had fallen sick. “It is crucial to understand how very close we came to a catastrophic failure of the healthcare system.” With the inquiry ongoing none of the agencies are currently commenting. Additional reporting and research by Yaya Egwaikhide Top photo credit: Getty

The Papers: Labour suspends MP and a hot Halloween ahead

The Daily Mail is dominated by Labour's suspension of MP Mike Amesbury after footage appeared to show him punching a man to the ground. The paper explains what can be seen in CCTV footage that it has obtained, and also carries interviews with people in Amesbury's constituency, who have been reacting to the footage.

That same story features on the front page of the Times, alongside images taken from the CCTV video. The paper also focuses on an upcoming speech by Keir Starmer, in which the PM will warn that Britain must face the "harsh light" of reality as he prepares for a Budget with expected tax rises.

'It's time to choose a path': Starmer takes on critics ahead of budget" is the main headline on the front page of the Guardian. It looks more at the prime minister's expected defence of Labour's approach to the economy in his speech on Monday.

The Mirror focuses on comments the prime minister made to the paper before a speech on Monday, asking the the public to "judge us by whether, in five years' time, you have more money in your pocket".

The Daily Telegraph reports on a letter sent by former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to the Budget watchdog, in which he says the Office for Budget Responsibility's plans to release a report into the £22bn alleged financial "black hole" left by the Tories on the same day as the Budget would amount to political impartiality. It also features the alleged altercation involving Labour MP Mike Amesbury.

The Express carries comments from the former Bank of England governor Mervyn King, who says Labour's claims that taxes won't be raised for "working people" is a "terrible illusion". Lord King, who spoke to Sky News, adds that the upcoming Budget could slow job growth and mean higher mortgages.

The British public have grown more cynical about politics since the Labour government, according to the i newspaper, which cites new research by policy consultancy Public First. More than three quarters of voters now believe that politicians "only look out for themselves", according to the findings.

The Sun reports on an unnamed TV star, who has allegedly been arrested on suspicion of child sex offences against five people. The actor has reportedly denied all allegations and has been released on bail.

Metro leads with the ongoing investigation into the death of a pregnant woman who fell from a tower block in Leeds on Tuesday. The paper says that mystery still surrounds what led up to Emma Atkinson's death, calling it the "tower safety riddle".

The FT carries interviews with finance officials, who warn of the dangers of countries retreating into economic protectionism and the effect this could have on the global outlook. "This could increase prices, raise unemployment and crimp growth," says Agustín Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements.

"Trick or heat" is the Daily Star's main headline. It looks at the weather forecast for Halloween, which is expected to be warmer than Spain. But it is unlikely to last, which meteorologists quoted by the paper saying that it is likely the start of November will bring with it lower temperatures.

'I struggle to speak but dream of being on stage'

BBC Scarlett first showed signs of selective mutism at the age of five, and was diagnosed three years later

A 15-year-old girl with a condition that makes it hard to talk says she wants to fulfil her dream of performing on stage. Scarlett, from Flintshire, has selective mutism, a severe anxiety disorder that leaves people unable to speak in certain situations and left her off school for two years. Along with Lucia, 17, from Swansea, she said a lack of awareness and understanding about the condition could make things worse. About one in 140 young people are affected, according to NHS estimates.

'Selective mutism makes me feel invisible'

The NHS says that a child or adult with selective mutism "does not refuse or choose not to speak at certain times, they're literally unable to speak". "The expectation to talk to certain people triggers a freeze response with feelings of anxiety and panic, and talking is impossible." Scarlett describes herself as "really chatty" and someone who loves musical theatre, but she can feel overwhelmed with anxiety around other children in school. "I’m just constantly thinking 'what is that person thinking about me?' And then you’re like 'I’m just not going to say anything'," she said. "I think it’s your mind telling you 'no, don’t say that'." At the age of 13, she stopped going to school and did not go back for almost two years. "Not many people know about it, you can feel quite lonely and isolated most of the time," she said.

Scarlett's parents say they have seen a lack of understanding of the condition, even from psychologists

Scarlett was diagnosed with selective mutism at the age of eight, although her parents, Steve and Emma, believe she started showing signs as young as five. "It’s been a really long time of struggles and appointments, referrals and just not being settled really, and not being very happy in that time either," said Emma. The couple described visiting a wide range of professionals, from psychologists to hypnotherapists, with no results. "I spoke to somebody once that they've been in the profession as a psychologist for 25 years, and they said I probably knew more than they did, so that was a bit of a worry," Emma added.

What is selective mutism?

Selective mutism can start at any age but most often begins in early childhood between the ages of two and four. The main sign is a marked contrast in the child's ability to engage with different people, a sudden stillness or frozen facial expression when talking to someone outside their comfort zone. Experts regard selective mutism as a fear or phobia of talking to certain people, the cause is not always clear, but is associated with anxiety. A child can successfully overcome selective mutism if it is diagnosed at an early age and appropriately managed.

Scarlett’s dad Steve said it could be difficult to deal with the lack of understanding from others. "She is very talkative, outgoing, very social, and she wants to do what every other boy and girl her age is doing: basically, going to the shops, going to the cinema. "The selective mutism, over the years, has stopped that," he added.

Lucia says she feels stuck unable to move on while her friends head to college

For Lucia from Swansea, selective mutism is also a barrier to her going to school, college or getting a job. "It's really hard, because it feels like everyone else is moving on with their lives, and I'm just stuck doing nothing," she said. The 17-year-old said she had whole conversations planned in her head, but her voice completely disappears. "It is like I just stand with my mouth open, and all I really want to do is just cry, because I'd love to have normal conversations with people, but the words just will not come out," she added. She has tried numerous therapies but, with limited results, she is worried about her future. "It's been really hard - because people don't know about it, they don't know how to help," she added.

Anita McKiernan, a specialised speech and language therapist, said there had been poor awareness and understanding of the condition for decades. She said more research and more specialist therapists meant things had "significantly improved" over the past five years, albeit from a "low base". Ms McKiernan, an adviser to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in selective mutism, added the condition, while thought of as rare, was relatively common, especially in pre-school children. "The entire early years in school workforce also need to be trained in how to identify and effectively manage selective mutism because they're on the front line of picking it up, and the delays tend to occur because staff may be thinking that the child will grow out if it," she said.

Born in France but searching for a future in Africa

BBC Menka Gomis is leaving his friends and family behind in France as feels he will have more opportunities in Senegal

Menka Gomis was born in France but has decided his future lies in Senegal, where his parents were born. The 39-year-old is part of an increasing number of French Africans who are leaving France, blaming the rise in racism, discrimination and nationalism. BBC Africa Eye has investigated this phenomenon - being referred to as a "silent exodus" - to find out why people like Mr Gomis are disillusioned with life in France. The Parisian set up a small travel agency that offers packages, mainly to Africa, aimed at those wanting to reconnect with their ancestral roots, and now has an office in Senegal. "I was born in France. I grew up in France, and we know certain realities. There's been a lot of racism. I was six and I was called the N-word at school. Every day," Mr Gomis, who went to school in the southern port city of Marseille, tells the BBC World Service. "I may be French, but I also come from elsewhere." Mr Gomis’s mother moved to France when she was just a baby and cannot understand his motivation for leaving family and friends to go to Senegal. "I'm not just leaving for this African dream," he explains, adding it is a mixture of responsibility he feels towards his parents’ homeland and also opportunity. "Africa is like the Americas at the time of… the gold rush. I think it's the continent of the future. It's where there's everything left to build, everything left to develop." The links between France and Senegal - a mainly Muslim country and former French colony, which was once a key hub in the transatlantic slave trade - are long and complex. A recent BBC Africa Eye investigation met migrants in Senegal willing to risk their lives in dangerous sea crossings to reach Europe. Many of them end up in France where, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugee and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), a record number sought asylum last year. Around 142,500 people applied in total, and about a third of all requests for protection were accepted. It is not clear how many are choosing to do the reverse journey to Africa as French law prohibits gathering data on race, religion and ethnicity. But research suggests that highly qualified French citizens from Muslim backgrounds, often the children of immigrants, are quietly emigrating. Those we met told us attitudes towards immigration were hardening in France, with right-wing parties wielding more influence. Since their appointment last month, Prime Minister Michel Barnier and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau have pledged to crack down on immigration, both legal and illegal, by pushing for changes to the law domestically and at the European level.

AFP Riots broke out in France last year after a teenager of Algerian descent was shot by police at point-blank range

Fanta Guirassy has lived in France all her life and runs her own nursing practice in Villemomble - an outer-suburb of Paris - but she is also planning a move to Senegal, the birthplace of her mother. "Unfortunately, for quite a few years now in France, we’ve been feeling less and less safe. It’s a shame to say it, but that’s the reality," the 34-year-old tells the BBC. "Being a single mother and having a 15-year-old teenager means you always have this little knot in your stomach. You’re always afraid." Her wake-up call came when her son was recently stopped and searched by the police as he was chatting to his friends on the street. "As a mother it's quite traumatic. You see what happens on TV and you see it happen to others." In June last year, riots erupted across France following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk - a French national of Algerian descent who was shot by police. The case is still being investigated, but the riots shook the nation and reflected an undercurrent of anger that had been building for years over the way ethnic minorities are treated in France.

Homecoming - BBC Africa Eye investigates the "silent exodus" of French Africans leaving France for good to reconnect with their roots. Find it on iPlayer (UK only) or on the BBC Africa YouTube channel (outside the UK)

A recent survey of black people in France suggested 91% of those questioned had been victims of racial discrimination. In the wake of the riots, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on France to address "issues of racial discrimination within its law enforcement agencies". The French foreign ministry dismissed the criticism, saying: "Any accusation of systemic racism or discrimination by the police in France is totally groundless. France and its police fight resolutely against racism and all forms of discrimination." However, according to French interior ministry statistics, racist crimes rose by a third last year, with more than 15,000 recorded incidents based on race, religion or ethnicity. For schoolteacher Audrey Monzemba, who is of Congolese descent, such societal changes have "become very anxiety-provoking". Early one morning, we join her on her commute through a multicultural and working-class community on the outskirts of Paris. With her young daughter, she makes her way by bus and train, but as she approaches the school where she works, she discreetly removes her headscarf under the hood of her coat.

In secular France, wearing a hijab has become hugely controversial and 20 years ago they were banned in all state schools - it is part of the reason Ms Monzemba wants to leave France looking to move to Senegal where she has connections. "I’m not saying that France isn’t for me. I’m just saying that what I want is to be able to thrive in an environment that respects my faith and my values. I want to go to work without having to remove my veil," the 35-year-old says. A recent survey of more than 1,000 French Muslims who have left France to settle abroad suggests it is a growing trend. It follows a peak in Islamophobia in the wake of the 2015 attacks when Islamist gunmen killed 130 people in various locations across Paris. Moral panics around secularism and job discrimination "are at the heart of this silent flight", Olivier Esteves, one of the authors of the report France, You Love It But You Leave It, tells the BBC. "Ultimately, this emigration from France constitutes a real brain-drain, as it is primarily highly educated French Muslims who decide to leave," he says.

Abdoul Sylla is concerned about his sister Fatoumata's decision to move to Senegal

Take Fatoumata Sylla, 34, whose parents are from Senegal, as an example. "When my father left Africa to come here, he was looking for a better quality of life for his family in Africa. He would always tell us: 'Don’t forget where you come from.'" The tourism software developer, who is moving to Senegal next moth, says by going to set up a business in West Africa, she is showing she has not forgotten her heritage - though her brother Abdoul, who like her was born in Paris, is not convinced. "I’m worried about her. I hope she’ll do OK, but I don't feel the need to reconnect with anything," he tells the BBC. "My culture and my family is here. Africa is the continent of our ancestors. But it’s not really ours because we weren’t there. "I don't think you're going to find some ancestral culture, or an imaginary Wakanda," he says, referring to the technologically advanced society featured in the Black Panther movies and comic books. In Dakar, we met Salamata Konte, who founded the travel agency with Mr Gomis, to find out what awaits French Africans like her who are choosing to settle in Senegal.

Ms Konte swapped a high-paying banking job in Paris for the Senegalese capital. "When I arrived in Senegal three years ago I was shocked to hear them call me 'Frenchie'," the 35-year-old says. "I said to myself: 'OK, yes, indeed, I was born in France, but I'm Senegalese like you.' So at first, we have this feeling where we say to ourselves: 'Damn, I was rejected in France, and now I'm coming here and I'm also rejected here.'" But her advice is: "You have to come here with humility and that's what I did." As for her experience as a businesswoman, she says it has been "really difficult". "I often tell people that Senegalese men are misogynistic. They don't like to hear that, but I think it's true. "They have a hard time accepting that a woman can be a CEO of a company, that a woman can sometimes give 'orders' to certain people, that I, as a woman, can tell a driver who was late: 'No, it's not normal that you're late.' "I think we have to prove ourselves a little more." Nonetheless, Mr Gomis is excited as he awaits his Senegalese citizenship. The travel agency is going well and he says he is already working on his next venture - a dating app for Senegal.

More from BBC Africa Eye:

Getty Images/BBC

Mexican economy a mixed bag for new president

Getty Images Former President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador celebrates with successor Claudia Sheumbaum

After handing the reins of power to Claudia Sheinbaum on 1 October, Mexico’s outgoing president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, hoisted her arm aloft in a joint show of victory. López Obrador – a hugely popular but controversial figure in Mexico – bequeathed more than just the presidential sash to his political protégé. She inherits a nation, and an economy, that is performing well in some areas, and facing significant challenges in others. The good news from her government’s perspective is that Mexico has strengthened its trade position with its neighbour to the north, displacing China as the US’s biggest trading partner. Mexico has benefitted from “nearshoring” – that is, the relocation of US and Asian firms from China to northern Mexico to bypass punitive US tariffs on Chinese exports.

“Mexico has always been attractive to capital flows because of our geographical position, our free trade agreements with North America, our work force,” former Mexican trade negotiator Juan Carlos Baker Pineda told me before the election. “But over the past few years, it increasingly seems that if you [a foreign firm] want to do business with the US you need some kind of footing in Mexico.” The outlook is optimistic, he believes, pointing to Amazon’s recent announcement that it will invest $5bn (£3.8bn) in Mexico over the next 15 years, and an additional $1bn investment by German carmaker Volkswagen. Mr Baker Pineda also cites promising plans from South African, Japanese and Chinese firms. Critics are less convinced that the relocation of manufacturing from Asia to northern Mexico benefits the Mexican economy rather than just bolstering the companies involved. The key, Mr Baker Pineda believes, lies in creating the right “corporate and government decisions in this country to sustain this trend in the long-term”.

When it comes to the immediate economic problems President Sheinbaum faces, the most pressing is state-run energy firm Pemex. It has debts of around $100bn, making it the world’s most indebted oil firm. “The debt is a problem not just for Pemex but for Mexico,” says Fernanda Ballesteros, Mexico country manager for the Natural Resource Governance Institute. In recent years, the López Obrador administration has reduced the amount of tax Pemex has had to pay the government. This has been cut by 60% to 30%. At the same time, the outgoing government gave Pemex a number of cash injections, which López Obrador says he would like to see continue. However, a steady decline in productivity at Pemex in recent years has further complicated the financing of the state-owned energy giant, which employs around 1.3 million people according to the government’s own statistics.

Getty Images State-owned oil firm Pemex is struggling under a debt mountain

“President López Obrador’s policies and priorities were to double down on fossil fuels and give unconditional support to Pemex,” says Ms Ballesteros. The company is now poorly positioned, she argues, for the necessary transition to cleaner and more efficient energies in the coming decades. “Over the past six years, 90% of Pemex’s infrastructure investments have gone towards a new refinery in Dos Bocas in Tabasco state, and the acquisition of a refinery in Deer Park in Texas.” The government says it is on course to achieve its goal of total self-sufficiency in fuels by the first quarter of 2025. However, Pemex’s ongoing economic difficulties mean the Sheinbaum administration has its hands tied over servicing the colossal debt. Environmental expert Eugenio Fernández Vázquez says that Pemex is a “big challenge” for Sheinbaum. “Not just in dealing with the oil industry, which is huge in terms of Mexico’s GDP, but also in taking Pemex’s massive debt burden off the public’s shoulders,” he explains. Sheinbaum must strike a difficult balance, he adds, in getting Pemex to sell more of its products “which are obviously fossil fuels and oil-based, while at the same time addressing Mexico’s climate change responsibilities and dealing with urgent issues in our cities, like air pollution”. For a president championed as Mexico’s most environmentally conscious leader – before entering politics, Sheinbaum was an accomplished environmental engineer – that must rankle. Especially while also spending billions in public money to prop up a greenhouse gas-emitting behemoth.

Back in the realm of Mexico’s complex relationship with its northern neighbour, President Sheinbaum faces two very different prospective partners in Washington - either the first female president of the US in Kamala Harris or a second Trump presidency. Whoever wins in November, there are some tricky cross-border issues to address, whether on trade or undocumented immigration, the illegal traffic of guns into Mexico, or fentanyl into the US. Furthermore, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) free trade deal is up for renegotiation in 2026, with everything from minor tweaks to major rewrites possible. USMCA was introduced in 2020, when it replaced the previous North American Free Trade Agreement between the three countries. Sheinbaum also has to keep an eye on the peso. In the days after her election victory in June, the currency tumbled against the dollar. This was largely in response to a decision by the outgoing president to press ahead with a wholesale reform of the country’s judicial system under which all 7,000 judges and magistrates in Mexico will be chosen by popular vote. The plan is also supported by Sheinbaum. Washington’s disapproval of the measure, as publicly expressed by the US Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, suggested it could complicate, even jeopardise, parts of the USMCA renegotiation. Relations between Ambassador Salazar and the new administration are already notably frostier.

Getty Images The peso has been under pressure this year

BBC correspondent: I fled Gaza but I'm overwhelmed by guilt about family still there

REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

It's been 10 months since my family left Gaza but we continue to live with the loss, the pain, the impact of the war in all its excruciating detail. This month - just before the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict - we saw the most harrowing eight hours we've experienced in that time. We received a video message from my wife's cousin in Gaza, saying: "The tanks are surrounding us and firing at us. These could be the last moments of our lives. "Pray for us and do anything to save us.” My wife collapsed, she even lost consciousness: her uncle, aunts and their families - 26 people in total - were all under attack. Israeli raids and advances into cities and villages all over Gaza - targeting Hamas - have been common for most of this year now. We didn't hear anything from them for several hours. They were under bombardment the whole time. Then, finally, a voice note: "Four people have been injured. Your aunt Wafaa is bleeding, her condition is critical." I made countless calls, to the Red Cross, the Palestinian Red Crescent, anyone who could help. After eight hours, the Israeli army finally allowed them to evacuate and move the wounded on foot. But it was too late for Wafaa - she succumbed to her injuries shortly after reaching the hospital. We still have so many relatives in Gaza. My father is there, living in a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis, which was bombed again this week. I'm often overwhelmed by guilt when I call him from Istanbul, where I’ve fled to with my wife and two children. There are so many people like me, in Turkey, in Egypt, and further afield around the world - the UK, the US, Europe - where we’ve had to go to find safety. Not everyone can get out, only those with enough money to pay the high fees for passage elsewhere. But in Egypt alone, more than 100,000 Gazans have crossed south into the country since November.

EPA Many exiles from Gaza have settled in Egypt's capital, Cairo

They’re not under immediate threat there from Israel's bombs. But many are struggling to feed their families, provide education for their children, and just re-establish the basics of a normal life. In an open-air, bustling café in Nasr City in Cairo, dozens of newly arrived refugees huddle in small groups, puffing on hookahs, sharing stories about their homeland. They're trying to alleviate the pangs of longing for those not currently with them. They cling to hope that the war will end soon, that they can return. But there’s a constant thrum of anxiety. A loud traditional Palestinian song plays over the speakers - a hit by Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf, who won the Arab Idol competition a few years ago. “Pass through Gaza and kiss its sand. Its people are brave and its men are strong.” 58-year-old Abu Anas Ayyad is among those sitting there, listening. In his past life he had been known as the “King of Gravel”, a successful businessman who had supplied building materials to constructions sites all over Gaza. He and his family - including four children - escaped. But: “Every missile that hits a building in Gaza feels like a piece of my heart shattering. "I still have family and friends there,” he says. “All of this could have been avoided. But Hamas has a different opinion." He rues the Iran-backed group’s attack in Israel on 7 October 2023 and the consequences now. “Despite my love for Gaza, I will not return if Hamas remains in power,” he says. He doesn’t want his children to be “used as pawns in a dangerous game played by reckless leaders for the sake of Iran.” Sitting nearby is Mahmoud Al Khozondr, who before the war had run his family’s renowned hummus and falafel shop in Gaza. It's an institution in the territory - known for its food and celebrity clientele. The late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat had been a frequent patron, often spotted at its tables. Mahmoud shows me pictures of his former well-appointed family home on his phone. They now live in a cramped two-room apartment. His children can’t go to school. “It’s a miserable life,” he says. “We lost everything back home. But we must rise again,” he says. “We need food for our children, and assistance for our people still in Gaza.” Living in exile in Egypt is not easy. The authorities have allowed Palestinians to stay temporarily, but they don’t grant official residency. They limit access to education and other key services.

REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa The fees for travel out of Gaza are high and many remain there in camps