Labour suspends four MPs after welfare cuts rebellion

"I don't see myself as a rebel" says suspended MP Rachael Maskell

It comes after all four of the suspended MPs and the former trade envoys voted against the government's welfare reform bill earlier this month.

Three other Labour MPs - Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin - have been stripped of their trade envoy roles.

Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Rachael Maskell have had the party whip removed, meaning the MPs will sit as independents in the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has suspended four MPs from Labour over repeated breaches of party discipline.

In all, 47 Labour MPs rebelled against the government's proposed cuts to welfare and forced ministers to water down their plans.

The rebellion undermined Sir Keir's authority, which was weakened after a series of policy reversals, such as restoring the winter fuel allowance to millions of pensioners.

The MP for York Central, Maskell was a key figure in organising the rebellion against the welfare bill, and said this was behind her suspension.

In a debate in the Commons, Maskell called the bill an "omnishambles" and described the benefits changes as "Dickensian cuts belong to a different era and a different party".

Maskell told the BBC she had been elected to Parliament to speak up for her constituents.

"I don't see myself as a rebel," Maskell said. "But I'm not afraid to speak up about whatever is in my constituents' interests."

In a message to the prime minister, she insisted she was loyal and suggested she was open to further negotiation, saying "I'm here to build a bridge with you," and adding: "I want to support a Labour government, and for it to be successful."

Duncan-Jordan, Leishman and Hinchliff were all elected as Labour MPs for the first time last year.

Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole, organised a letter warning the government's welfare changes were "impossible to support" without a "change of direction".

In a statement, Duncan-Jordan said: "Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn't support making disabled people poorer.

"Although I've been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today, I've been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values.

"To my constituents: it's business as usual. I remain your hardworking local MP, I will continue to take up your concerns and speak up for Poole."

Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, has also been an outspoken critic of the government's shake-up of the benefits system.

He said: "I am a proud Labour member, and I remain committed to the party. I wish to remain a Labour MP and deliver the positive change many voters are craving.

"I have voted against the government on issues because I want to effectively represent and be the voice for communities across Alloa and Grangemouth. I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.

"It is the honour of my life to be the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, and my priority remains representing and fighting for constituents, whether they voted for me or not."

Hinchliff said: "I remain proud to have been elected as a Labour MP and I hope in time to return to the Labour benches.

"In the meantime I will continue to fight every day for the needs of my constituents and nothing will change in how I engage with and represent those I was elected to serve."

The four suspended MPs had also rebelled against the government in votes on elements of different legislation, including the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the Public Authorities Bill.

MoD offered to speed up resettlement case of Afghan who posted data breach names on Facebook

4 hours ago Share Save Joel Gunter and Hannah O'Grady BBC News Share Save

PA British troops leaving Camp Bastion in Helmand Provice, Afghanistan, in 2014

The Ministry of Defence offered to expedite the review of a rejected resettlement application of an Afghan national after he posted sensitive details from a data breach on Facebook, the BBC understands. The man published nine names from a dataset containing details of thousands of Afghans who applied to be relocated to the UK after the Taliban seized power, and indicated he could release the rest. He obtained the details after they were sent out from UK Special Forces headquarters in an accidental data breach in February 2022. British authorities tracked the man down and strongly requested he take the data down, offering an expedited review of his rejected resettlement application in return.

The BBC understands the man is now in the UK, having had his rejected application overturned. He is not believed to be facing any criminal charges in relation to his conduct. Government sources close to the process told the BBC the individual had essentially blackmailed his way into the country using the leaked dataset. When asked about the actions of the individual and his subsequent relocation to the UK, the MoD declined to comment on the case. A spokesperson said "anyone who comes to the UK under any Afghan relocation schemes" must go through "robust security checks in order to gain entry". The BBC has also approached the Met Police for comment.

Getty Images Protesters in London in 2021 called for the safe evacuation of Afghans that had worked with the British military

Johnny Mercer, the former veterans minister, who was covered by the super-injunction because of his knowledge of the events, told the BBC the breach was representative of the "chaos" around the relocation process, and the individual brought to the UK had used the data to get in. "He put the names on Facebook and essentially bribed the MoD to get in the country. The Ministry of Defence offered to expedite his case and next thing you know he's in the UK," Mercer said. "There were multiple data leaks from the MoD regarding these applications. I think that gives you some sense of the chaos and lack of care in how things were being run at that time."

The breach occurred in February 2022 after someone working in UK Special Forces (UKSF) headquarters accidentally emailed the personal data of every applicant to the UK's Afghan resettlement scheme to date – nearly 19,000 people – to someone outside government. The data was sent to an Afghan person living in the UK, who passed the information onto others, including people in Afghanistan. One individual in Afghanistan, after having his application rejected, posted some of the data on Facebook. Alerting a defence minister to the presence of the data on Facebook in August 2023, an MoD case worker helping people seeking relocation called the possibility the Taliban might get hold of it "bone-chilling". The data came from the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) resettlement scheme, set up in 2021 as the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. It was highly sensitive because Afghan nationals who worked with the British government during the conflict with the Taliban were at risk of serious harm and even execution with the group back in power. The breach led to the previous government setting up a secret £850m emergency resettlement scheme to bring some of those in the database to the UK. Both the breach and subsequent scheme were kept secret by an unprecedented super-injunction, until it was lifted by High Court judge Mr Justice Chamberlain on Tuesday. The emergency scheme – known as the Afghanistan Response Route and set up in April 2024 – has resulted in about 4,500 Afghans being brought to the UK so far, with a further 2,400 expected. The government announced this week the scheme was being closed down, but said relocation offers already made to those who remain in Afghanistan would be honoured.

Special forces veto had role in breach

The UKSF official who inadvertently leaked the data was assisting with the verification of a small number of applications from Afghan special forces when the accidental breach occurred. The official was in possession of the full dataset because UKSF – the umbrella group containing the SAS and SBS – was given a secret veto over Arap applications from former members of Afghan special forces. The BBC revealed last year that UKSF had used that veto to block hundreds of Afghan commandos who had fought alongside the SAS and SBS from relocating to the UK. Documents obtained by Panorama showed special forces had rejected applications despite some containing compelling evidence of service alongside the SAS on dangerous night raid operations. The personal information of many of those Afghan special forces were included in the massive data breach revealed this week. But sources told the BBC they were sidelined in the emergency evacuation process and their cases were essentially paused, while case workers were instructed to prioritise people who had worked on British military bases for urgent evacuation. Downing Street refused to say on Tuesday whether the UKSF official who accidentally leaked the data had faced disciplinary action. The BBC has confirmed he is no longer in the post he occupied at the time of the breach. The MoD refused to comment on how many applicants affected by the breach had been harmed by the Taliban in the years since it happened. It said some of those whose data was compromised by the breach were not informed until after the lifting of the super-injunction.

Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC on Wednesday he was "unable to say for sure" that no Afghans were killed as a result of the data breach, and the Taliban would "almost certainly" have held the same type of information. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, he offered a "sincere apology" to those whose details had been included in the breach, which he described as a "serious departmental error" and a "clear breach of strict data protection protocols". Healey told MPs an independent review had found it was "highly unlikely" an individual would have been targeted solely because of the breach. In a 2024 High Court judgement made public on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said it was "quite possible" that some of those who saw parts of the leaked document in a Facebook group "were Taliban infiltrators or spoke about it to Taliban-aligned individuals". Erin Alcock, a lawyer for the firm Leigh Day, which has assisted hundreds of Arap applicants including dozens of former Afghan commandos, said the breach represented a "catastrophic failure" of the government to "protect the personal information, and therefore the safety, of what is an extremely vulnerable group of individuals".

Babies made using three people's DNA are born free of hereditary disease

2 hours ago Share Save James Gallagher • @JamesTGallagher Health and science correspondent Share Save

Watch the moment DNA from a mum and dad is injected into the fertilised egg of another woman - the critical step in the creation of a baby made from three people

Eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions, doctors say. The method, pioneered by UK scientists, combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman. The technique has been legal here for a decade but we now have the first proof it is leading to children born free of incurable mitochondrial disease. These conditions are normally passed from mother to child, starving the body of energy.

This can cause severe disability and some babies die within days of being born. Couples know they are at risk if previous children, family members or the mother has been affected. Children born through the three-person technique inherit most of their DNA, their genetic blueprint, from their parents, but also get a tiny amount, about 0.1%, from the second woman. This is a change that is passed down the generations. None of the families who have been through the process are speaking publicly to protect their privacy, but have issued anonymous statements through the Newcastle Fertility Centre where the procedures took place.

'Overwhelmed with gratitude'

"After years of uncertainty this treatment gave us hope - and then it gave us our baby," said the mother of a baby girl. "We look at them now, full of life and possibility, and we're overwhelmed with gratitude."

The mother of a baby boy added: "Thanks to this incredible advancement and the support we received, our little family is complete. "The emotional burden of mitochondrial disease has been lifted, and in its place is hope, joy, and deep gratitude."

Getty Images

Mitochondria are tiny structures inside nearly every one of our cells. They are the reason we breathe as they use oxygen to convert food into the form of energy our bodies use as fuel. Defective mitochondria can leave the body with insufficient energy to keep the heart beating as well as causing brain damage, seizures, blindness, muscle weakness and organ failure. About one in 5,000 babies are born with mitochondrial disease. The team in Newcastle anticipate there is demand for 20 to 30 babies born through the three-person method each year. Some parents have faced the agony of having multiple children die from these diseases. Mitochondria are passed down only from mother to child. So this pioneering fertility technique uses both parents and a woman who donates her healthy mitochondria. The science was developed more than a decade ago at Newcastle University and the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a specialist service opened within the NHS in 2017.

The eggs from both the mother and the donor are fertilised in the lab with the dad's sperm. The embryos develop until the DNA from the sperm and egg form a pair of structures called the pro-nuclei. These contain the blueprints for building the human body, such as hair colour and height. The pro-nuclei are removed from both embryos and the parents' DNA is put inside the embryo packed with healthy mitochondria. The resulting child is genetically related to their parents, but should be free from mitochondrial disease.

A pair of reports, in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed 22 families have gone through the process at the Newcastle Fertility Centre. It led to four boys and four girls, including one pair of twins, and one ongoing pregnancy. "To see the relief and joy in the faces of the parents of these babies after such a long wait and fear of consequences, it's brilliant to be able to see these babies alive, thriving and developing normally," Prof Bobby McFarland, the director of the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders told the BBC. All of the babies were born free of mitochondrial disease and met their expected developmental milestones.

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There was a case of epilepsy, which cleared up by itself and one child has an abnormal heart rhythm which is being successfully treated. These are not though to be connected to defective mitochondria. It is not known whether this is part of the known risks of IVF, something specific to the three-person method or something that has been detected only because the health of all babies born through this technique is monitored intensely. Another key question hanging over the approach has been whether defective mitochondria would be transferred into the healthy embryo and what the consequences could be. The results show that in five cases the diseased mitochondria were undetectable. In the other three, between 5% and 20% of mitochondria were defective in blood and urine samples. This is below the 80% level thought to cause disease. It will take further work to understand why this occurred and if it can be prevented.

Getty Images A picture of a mitochondrion taken with a microscope - there are up to half a million in a fertilised egg.

Prof Mary Herbert, from Newcastle University and Monash University, said: "The findings give grounds for optimism. However, research to better understand the limitations of mitochondrial donation technologies, will be essential to further improve treatment outcomes." The breakthrough gives hope to the Kitto family. Kat's youngest daughter Poppy, 14, has the disease. Her eldest Lily, 16, may pass it onto her children. Poppy is in a wheelchair, is non-verbal and is fed through a tube. "It's impacted a huge part of her life," says Kat, "we have a lovely time as she is, but there are the moments where you realize how devastating mitochondrial disease is".

BBC/Josh Elgin Kat Kitto (R) in black top with her daughter Lily and Monty the dog

Despite decades of work there is still no cure for mitochondrial disease, but the chance to preventing it being passed on gives hope to Lily. "It's the future generations like myself, or my children, or my cousins, who can have that outlook of a normal life," she says.

'Only the UK could do this'

The UK not only developed the science of three-person babies, but it also became the first country in the world to introduce laws to allow their creation after a vote in Parliament in 2015. There was controversy as mitochondria have DNA of their own, which controls how they function. It means the children have inherited DNA from their parents and around 0.1% from the donor woman. Any girls born through this technique would pass this onto their own children, so it is a permanent alteration of human genetic inheritance. This was a step too far for some when the technology was debated, raising fears it would open the doors to genetically-modified "designer" babies. Prof Sir Doug Turnball, from Newcastle University, told me: "I think this is the only place in the world this could have happened, there's been first class science to get us to where we are, there been legislation to allow it to move into clinical treatment, the NHS to help support it and now we've got eight children that seem to free of mitochondrial disease, what a wonderful result."

US says 'specific steps' agreed to end Syria violence after Israeli strikes hit Damascus

1 hour ago Share Save David Gritten BBC News Reporting from Jerusalem Share Save

Watch: How a day of bombing unfolded in Damascus

Israel's military struck the Syrian defence ministry in Damascus and government forces in southern Syria on Wednesday, as deadly sectarian fighting in the mostly Druze province of Suweida continued for a fourth day. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its forces were "working to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime's gangs". The Syrian foreign ministry accused Israel of "treacherous aggression". More than 300 people are reported to have been killed in Suweida since Sunday, when clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was "very worried" about the violence in the south but believed it would end within hours.

"We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight," he wrote on X on Wednesday evening. Syria's foreign ministry said the country "welcomes the efforts made by the US and Arabian sides" to "resolve the current crisis" peacefully. Israel has not yet commented on the ceasefire bid. Syrian troops have started to withdraw from Suweida, according to Syria's state news agency Sana. It says the military is leaving the city as part of an agreement between the Syrian government and the Suweida's religious leaders, following the "completion of the army's pursuit of outlaw groups". The Israeli military began striking Syrian security forces and their weapons on Monday, after they were deployed to the city of Suweida for the first time since Sunni Islamist-led rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Minority groups including the Druze - whose religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs - are suspicious of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his government, despite his pledges to protect them. Their fears have been heightened by several outbreaks of sectarian violence over the past eight months, including one in May in which dozens of people were reportedly killed in clashes between Druze, security forces, and allied Islamist fighters in Damascus and Suweida. In the wake of that fighting, the government reached an agreement with Druze militias to hire local security forces in Suweida province from their ranks. Netanyahu has said he is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria because of their deep ties to those living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Wednesday afternoon that "the warnings in Damascus" had ended and that the Israeli military would "continue to operate vigorously in Suweida to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until they withdraw completely". He later posted that "the painful blows have begun", above a video clip showing a TV presenter diving under a desk live on camera as an Israeli air strike hit the nearby entrance to the Syrian defence ministry in Umayyad Square, in central Damascus. Fadi Al Halabi, a London-based Syrian filmmaker who is visiting Damascus, said he was nearby when he heard the Israeli fighter jets approach. "People's faces were so afraid. Everyone started running [in] the street. No-one knew where to go. Suddenly the air strike[s] began, targeting some of the most crowded areas, including the ministry of defence," he told the BBC. The Israeli military said it also struck a "military target in the area" of the presidential palace in the capital, as well as armoured vehicles loaded with heavy machine guns and weapons on their way to Suweida, and firing posts and weapons storage facilities in southern Syria. Syria's foreign ministry said the strikes targeted government institutions and civilian facilities in Damascus and Suweida and killed "several innocent civilians". "This flagrant assault, which forms part of a deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, spread chaos, and undermine security and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law," it added. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, meanwhile reported that the humanitarian situation in Suweida city had rapidly deteriorated. It cited sources as saying there were clashes in several area of the city and that tanks had attacked the national hospital, causing panic among the scores of casualties from the fighting being treated there. They also said there were acute shortages of water and medical supplies. Later, the Syrian health ministry said government forces had entered the hospital and found "dozens of bodies" after "outlaw groups withdrew", according to the official Sana news agency. A man named Hosam told the BBC he was in the centre of Suweida city and had witnessed civilians coming under fire from artillery and snipers. "I lost my neighbour today on the street. One of the snipers shot him. We tried to [get an] ambulance [to take] him to hospital, but we couldn't," he said. The SOHR says more than 300 people have been killed since Sunday in Suweida province. They include 69 Druze fighters and 40 civilians, 27 of whom were summarily killed by interior ministry and defence ministry forces, according to the group. At least 165 members of the government forces and 18 Bedouin tribal fighters have also been killed in the clashes, while 10 members of government forces have been killed in Israeli strikes, it says. The BBC is not able to verify the SOHR's casualty figures.

Reuters The Syrian interior ministry said a ceasefire had been agreed on Wednesday night to end the fighting in Suweida city

'Sparring in space' – BBC gains rare access to US base tracking global missile strikes

7 hours ago Share Save Jonathan Beale Defence correspondent Reporting from Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado Share Save

Watch: US Space Force Guardians spring into action during training exercise

There's a short sharp shout: "Launch Yemen!" The men and women in uniform sitting in front of computers all respond in unison, "Copy, launch Yemen." In the US Space Force, they're called Guardians, not troops. Staring into their screens at a base in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, they're able to track a missile launch from anywhere in the world - and follow it from its launch site to its likely point of impact. We're the first international journalists to be allowed inside the US Space Force's missile warning and tracking operations room at Buckley Space Force base, a nerve centre where Guardians are on alert 24/7. They're surrounded by giant monitors which provide maps and data sent from a constellation of military satellites in space. These Guardians are the first to detect the infra-red heat signature when a missile is launched. Moments later there's another shout – "Launch Iran" - followed by a chorus of "Copy launch Iran." This time, it's a drill. But last month they were doing it for real – when Iran fired a salvo of missiles towards the US military base at al-Udeid in Qatar, in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Colonel Ann Hughes describes the mood on that day as "heavy". Unlike most launches, they'd been warned about that one in advance. They were able to track those Iranian missiles and then feed that information to the air defence batteries on the ground. "Ultimately we saved the entire installation and the personnel that were there," she says, expressing relief.

Matthew Goddard/BBC Lt Col Ann Hughes was relieved her unit was able to protect US soldiers in Qatar last month

Col Hughes says they've been exceptionally busy in recent years, with wars raging in both the Middle East and Europe. When I ask her whether they've been giving warnings to Ukraine, Col Hughes says: "We provide strategic and tactical missile warnings to all US and allied forces." The US won't publicly confirm it but it seems likely they might also have given Kyiv a heads up when it was about to come under Russian attack. Buckley Space Force base will form a key part of President Donald Trump's plans for a US missile defence shield, known as the Golden Dome. He has earmarked $175bn (£130bn) for the ambitious programme – inspired by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system. Many believe it will cost a lot more. But the foundations are already in place at Buckley. Its skyline is dominated by massive radomes, round covers which protect powerful satellite dishes inside. They look like giant golf balls on the horizon. These satellite arrays have detected radio frequency waves from a supernova 11,000 light years away. Lieutenant General David Miller, the commander of the US Space Operations Command, says the development of the Golden Dome, still in its early days, is a recognition of the increasing threats to the US homeland. He specifically mentions China and Russia. Both have developed hypersonic missiles which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound. Both have tested Fractional Orbital Bombardment Systems which are harder to track. "The speed and physics associated with intercepting those requires the consideration of space-based interceptors," General Miller says. He prefers to talk about "capabilities" to defend America's interests, rather than weapons in space.

Matthew Goddard/BBC There are some 12,000 satellites in orbit in space - and that number is expected to skyrocket

The creation of the US Space Force five years ago is proof that space is now a warfighting domain. President Trump launched the force in his first term, describing space as "the world's newest war-fighting domain". Both China and Russia have tested anti-satellite missiles, as well as ways of jamming their communications. General Miller says Russia has "demonstrated the capability to potentially put a nuclear payload" in space. He says space is already an area "that is highly contested", adding that "we also have to be prepared for conflict in space". Colonel Phoenix Hauser oversees the Space Forces Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit known as Delta 7. Their job is to find out what's happening in space. At their base near Colorado Spring, teams monitor screens showing thousands of small dots around the globe. There are already around 12,000 satellites in space. By the end of the decade that could grow to 60,000. Col Hauser says their primary focus is on China. "It's the pacing threat," she says. China already has about a thousand satellites, half of them military ones. Over the next decade, Col Hauser says it will have tens of thousands more in low earth orbit. Space is increasingly congested and contested. "We're already sparring in space," she says. "We see close unprofessional and unsafe engagements from our adversaries." That includes satellites fitted with electronic jamming, lasers and even nets and grappling arms, which could be used to move another satellite off course. Some have suggested there are already "dog fights" taking place in space. "I don't know that we're quite there in the type of Top Gun like dog fighting perspective," Col Hauser says. "But it's something certainly that we need to be ready for."

Matthew Goddard/BBC Col Phoenix Hauser (left) says the US has to be ready for conflict in space

The US Space Force is preparing for the possibility of conflict in space. Col Hauser says a year ago they "weren't able to talk about having offensive space capabilities". Now, she says their focus "is to generate options for the president so that we can gain and maintain space superiority through offensive and defensive space control". Gen Miller says the only way to prevent conflict is "through strength and we have to have our own capabilities in order to defend our assets". He won't give detail as to what that precisely means. But the recent US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme, Operation Midnight Hammer, gives a glimpse of what the US Space Force is already able to do. Those attacks by B-2 bombers also underline why continuing dominance in space remains crucial to the US military. "You have to understand how much the United States military assumes the advantage that we derive from space," Gen Miller says. That includes the ability to navigate and communicate over the horizon, and to deliver precision strikes using GPS. The BBC has been given the first details about how US Space Force Guardians were involved in the operation. "One of the things we did was leverage our electromagnetic warfare capability in order to ensure dominance throughout the operation", Gen Miller says. The electro magnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infra-red, and visible light. "We knew the environment was going to be jammed," he says. The US Space Force ensured that jamming was denied so that US B-2 bombers could arrive at their target and deliver their GPS guided Massive Ordnance Bombs with precision.

Matthew Goddard/BBC Space Force units are on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Prevent missed chances with Southport killer, says review

6 hours ago Share Save Dominic Casciani • @BBCDomC Home and legal correspondent Share Save

Getty Images Three young girls were murdered and 10 children and adults were seriously injured by Axel Rudakubana in July 2024

The Prevent counter-terrorism scheme missed an opportunity to intervene in the life of the Southport killer, a major review has concluded. Axel Rudakubana could have been monitored, treated and potentially turned away from violence by the programme, said Lord David Anderson KC. He said the government programme must focus on changing people obsessed with extreme violence, even if counter-terrorism police find no evidence of an ideological motive. Teachers warned Prevent officials three times that Rudakubana was obsessed with violence - but on each occasion his case was closed because he did not seem to have a identifiable terrorist motive. The review also looked at failings by Prevent in the separate and earlier handling of an Islamic State supporter who went on to murder MP Sir David Amess at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea in 2021.

Lord Anderson, the independent Prevent commissioner, called for the Prevent system to do more to identify future attackers from their public social media activity - and said the scheme should be part of a wider plan to identify people who may carry out acts of extreme violence. Rudakubana is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years for murdering Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, after he walked into a Taylor Swift-themed workshop in Southport, armed with a knife. He seriously injured eight more girls and two adults who had tried to stop him. Between 2019 and 2021 teachers referred Rudakubana to Prevent three times, under a national duty to alert police and other agencies to potential extremists. In each area of the UK a local panel of agencies, headed by the police, assesses whether a flagged individual needs specialist help, such as counselling, to change their views. But on each occasion that teachers flagged Rudakubana, his case was rejected.

PA Media Rudakubana is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years for murder

Lord Anderson said he commended the teachers who had raised concerns but said Prevent had failed to take an opportunity to act. It would be for the judge-led Southport public inquiry to investigate the decisions taken by individual officials. "It's a failure of the system. What I have seen is enough for me to be pretty sure what Prevent needs to learn the lessons from Rudakubana," said the senior barrister. "It has to be made clear that these so called violence-fascinated individuals do fall within its scope. "Although Axel Rudakubana had an obsessive interest in extreme violence... he did not have a fixed ideology. "That means, in strict law, he couldn't be sentenced as a terrorist. "Does that mean that Prevent should have had nothing to do with him? It doesn't. "There was already guidance saying that if people had these so called mixed, unclear or unstable ideologies, or indeed, if they were obsessed with school massacres, which was certainly one of his interests, they very much were eligible for Prevent."

Lord Anderson said Rudakubana could have been referred to an expert mentor who, in turn, may have been able to change him. "It doesn't always work, but if you get the right mentor saying the right things at the right time, the effects can be quite remarkable," he said. "Nobody can know whether that would have happened in Rudakubana's case. But Prevent was given a chance. It didn't take that chance. And that is very, very regrettable." Lord Anderson said Prevent had to "up its game" in the online world where most radicalisation now takes place. He said that in the case of Rudakubana a teacher had reported some of the extreme material he was looking at in school - and there may have been opportunities to look at what he was posting online. Prevent should spend more time looking at what potential extremists are posting publicly, he said, and that this work could be done without asking the police and MI5 to devote covert resources and secret intelligence-gathering techniques to someone who may not turn out to be dangerous.

Chris Walker, a solicitor representing the three bereaved families in the public inquiry into the Southport killings, said the review highlighted "failings" in Prevent. "Lord Anderson is right that lessons must be learned and we call upon the government and authorities to ensure they do more than simply paying lip service," he said. He added: "We now turn to the inquiry in establishing the key decisions that were made in this case, who made them and how, if they had not been made, would the results have been different."

Metropolitan Police Islamic State fanatic Ali Harbi Ali was given a whole-life sentence for murdering Sir David Amess MP

In the case of the murder of MP Sir David Amess in 2021, teachers had flagged to police that Ali Harbi Ali was potentially dangerous, and a Prevent panel in London sent an expert mentor to meet the teenager and to challenge his evolving ideology seven years earlier. But the mentor only had one meeting with him and his case was closed without anyone being sure whether he had changed. "In the case of Ali Harbi Ali, there was a string of failures in the way Prevent worked," said Lord Anderson. "They were a consequence, largely of human error. Since that time, Prevent has professionalised enormously. "All sorts of procedures are in place, all sorts of guidance, all sorts of training, and I conclude that, taken together, those changes make it much less likely that human error of that kind will occur again."

Faisal Islam: Surprise inflation jump complicates interest rate decision

While the economy started this year strongly, Wednesday saw another example of a surprise to the markets in the wrong direction.

In May the economy slowed again, and now inflation has quickened faster than expected. It is expected to stay well above the Bank of England's target level until autumn.

For consumers, still reeling from years of higher prices and a recent pickup in food prices, the new number is less a surprise, more the confirmation of their ordinary day-to-day challenges.

On top of that, and just as important for some people, the bounce in inflation complicates the Bank's rate cut plan.

Investors have been treating it as pretty much nailed on that rates will come down again in August, from the current 4.25%.

Now there is definitely a sense of renewed caution.

A former rate setter at the Bank, the economist Andrew Sentance, even said it would be "irresponsible" for interest rates to be cut next month.

Expectations remain that the cut in August and another one later in the year will go ahead.

But the Bank will have to explain why it is looking beyond this current rise in inflation, into next year's expected drop-back to the 2% target.

It will mean the return of old questions around whether the UK is more inflation-prone than other countries, for example because of increasing wage and tax costs being passed on in the form of higher prices.

A weakening jobs market is another part of the deliberations. The latest employment figures will be published on Thursday.

If, as expected, they show a continued fall in vacancies, then that strengthens the argument for going ahead with a cut in rates. Bloomberg is predicting a 4.9% unemployment rate, up from the 4.6% reported last month.

But as always it is important to keep all the figures in perspective.

True, other major economies have not seen a similar bounce in inflation. The eurozone's latest inflation rate is just 2%. But inflation is nowhere near the highs of the energy crisis, and will come down as energy prices fall in the autumn.

Growth is definitely slowing, but we are not in recession, and the very latest activity figures suggest recovery in some sectors.

'It's just better!' Trump says Coca-Cola to change key US ingredient

1 hour ago Share Save Ana Faguy BBC News, Washington DC Share Save

Getty Images

President Donald Trump says Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its drinks sold in the US. Coca-Cola uses corn syrup in its American products, but Trump's Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has voiced concern about the ingredient's health impacts. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on social media. "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola." Without explicitly confirming the recipe tweak, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said they "appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm" and "more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon".

Germany to tighten people-smuggling law as chancellor visits UK

1 hour ago Share Save Becky Morton Political reporter Share Save

AFP via Getty Images

Germany is set to tighten its laws to crack down on gangs smuggling migrants to the UK by the end of the year, Downing Street has said. The announcement comes alongside a new agreement between the UK and Germany covering areas including migration, business and defence, which will be signed during Friedrich Merz's first official visit to the UK as German chancellor on Thursday. The changes will make it illegal in Germany to facilitate illegal migration to the UK. Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany currently, if it is to a country outside the European Union - which, following Brexit, includes the UK.

Downing Street said the move will make it easier for German authorities to investigate and take action against warehouses and storage facilities used by smugglers to conceal small boats intended for illegal Channel crossings to the UK. Berlin agreed to tighten its legislation in December under the previous government but the new chancellor is now expected to commit to changing the law by the end of the year. A BBC investigation last year exposed the significant German connection to small boat crossings, with the country becoming a central location for the storage of boats and engines. Sir Keir said: "Chancellor Merz's commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome." The German agreement comes a week after the UK announced a new pilot returns scheme with France, during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit. Under the "one in, one out" deal, some small boat arrivals would be returned to France in exchange for the UK accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers with connections to the UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to tackle the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. More than 21,000 people have made the dangerous journey so far this year - a 56% increase on the same period in 2024. The Conservatives' shadow home secretary Chris Philp claimed the figures showed " the crisis in the Channel continues to spiral". "This is just more of the same tired, headline-chasing from Keir Starmer," he said. "He's scrambling to stay relevant with yet another gimmick, but this latest press release is not a plan but a distraction... "This government has clearly lost control of our borders and left the country exposed when they cancelled our returns deterrent."

Defence and security is also on the agenda for the visit, with the leaders set to discuss support for Ukraine. The pair will unveil a new agreement to boost UK defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, through joint export campaigns for co-produced equipment. Downing Street said the agreement was likely to lead to billions of pounds of additional defence exports in the coming years, boosting the economy and jobs. A cooperation treaty will also establish a new UK-Germany Business Forum to facilitate investment in the two countries. A series of commercial investments in the UK are being announced to coincide with the visit, worth more than £200m and creating more than 600 new jobs. Among the companies involved are defence tech firm STARK, which will create 100 jobs through a new facility in Swindon - marking the the company's first expansion outside of Germany.

A volcano has erupted in Iceland spewing out streams of bright yellow and orange lava - the latest in a string of volcanic events in the region in recent years.

Iceland has seen about 12 eruptions since volcanic systems on the Reykjanes peninsula - close to the capital Reykjavik - became active again in 2021.

According to Iceland's meteorological office, magma breaking through the Earth's crust created a large fissure estimated to be between 0.7 and 1km (0.4 to 0.6 miles) long.

Scientists have warned that eruptions in this region could continue for decades or even centuries.

On Wednesday, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Syria, including near the presidential palace and on the defence ministry headquarters in central Damascus.

Images show the ministry's building was severely damaged, with a clean-up operation now under way.

Some of the attacks were caught on camera by news crews broadcasting at the time.

Syria's health ministry says three people were killed in the strikes - a further 34 were injured.

Israel says it is taking action to protect Syria's minority Druze community.

Could axing two national holidays save France from its mountain of debt?

8 hours ago Share Save Hugh Schofield BBC News in Paris Share Save

Getty Images The French have 11 public holidays a year, an average number for a European country

Prime Minister François Bayrou has put the cat among the pigeons in promising to cut two of France's national holidays in order to rescue the country's finances. Predictably enough, his proposal on Tuesday to axe the Easter Monday and 8 May holidays triggered howls of protest from the left and the populist right – with his own centrists and the conservative right expressing at best guarded support. In a country with such a strong tradition of worker protest, the sudden removal of two statutory days off was never going to be an easy sell. Essentially, men and women would be made to work two extra days a year for no increase in salary. The gain in productivity would help pull the country out of its ever-deepening hole of debt.

The French are indeed very attached to their jours fériés. The month of May is awaited with glee every year, not just because it heralds spring – but also because of the succession of long weekends that regularly occur. If 1 May (Workers' Day) and 8 May, marking the end of World War Two, fall on a Tuesday or Thursday, then the weekends become four-day treats because the Monday and the Friday will automatically be taken as holiday too. On top of that there is Ascension (always a Thursday) plus Easter Monday and Whit Monday (or Pentecost). If the Church calendar obliges, an early Easter can combine with 1 or 8 May to provide not just a pont or bridge - meaning a four-day weekend spanning a Monday or Friday, but a veritable five or six-day viaduc (viaduct). November is another feast of feasts, with All Saints' on the first of the month and Armistice on the 11th offering relief from autumn blues. And on top of that, there are the famous "RTT" days, which many get in return for working more than the legal 35 hours a week. But before we lapse into humorous self-satisfaction about "those incredibly lazy French and their God-given right to endless downtime", we need to bear in mind a couple of other considerations. First, far from the popular image, the French actually have fewer national holidays than the European average. France has 11, like Germany, the Netherlands and US. Slovakia has the most, with 15, and England, Wales, and the Netherlands have the fewest, with 8. Ireland and Denmark have 10. Second, according to the UK's Office for National Statistics, French productivity (output per worker) is 18% higher than the UK's, So any gloating about holidays from across the Channel is misplaced. Third, this is not the first time in recent years that France has proposed to axe national holidays. It has happened before – and worked (kind of). In 2003, the conservative government under President Jacques Chirac wanted to do something radical after the deadly heatwave of that summer which killed 15,000 people. So Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin decided to turn Whit Monday into a Day of Solidarity. People would work instead of taking the day off, and the money gained by employers would be paid to the government for a fund to help the elderly and disabled. There was an outcry, and a few years later the change was watered down so that now the Day of Solidarity is voluntary. It is all highly confusing, and no-one really understands how it functions, but non-Whit Monday still generates €3bn (£2.6bn; $3.5bn) every year in receipts. Another precedent goes back to the 1950s and Charles de Gaulle.

Getty Images Charles de Gaulle took office as president in 1959 and then axed a public holiday

What we know so far about Afghan data breach

1 hour ago Share Save Sean Seddon BBC News Share Save

Getty Images Afghans feared revenge attacks by the Taliban in 2021 following 20 years of Western occupation and tried to flee the country

A major data breach which led to thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK became public knowledge for the first time this week. On Tuesday, the High Court ruled it was time for the details to see the light of day - but the revelations have raised as many questions as they answered.

What data was leaked and how was it discovered?

A spreadsheet containing the personal details of almost 19,000 people who had asked to come to the UK in order to flee the Taliban was accidentally leaked by an official working at UK Special Forces headquarters in February 2022. That unnamed official emailed the document outside of the government team processing Afghan relocation applications and it made its way into the public domain. The police decided no investigation was needed. The BBC has confirmed he is no longer in the post he occupied at the time of the breach The leaked document contained the names, contact details and, in some cases, family information of a huge number of people who believed their association with British forces during the Afghanistan war could leave them at risk of harm. The leak only came to light in August 2023, when the names of nine people who had applied to move to the UK appeared on Facebook. BBC News understands an Afghan national who had been turned down for relocation was responsible for sharing the information on Facebook, and was offered an expedited review of his application in return for taking it town. It is understood he is now in the UK and is not believed to be facing any criminal charges. Fearing the document could fall into the hands of the Taliban, the government sought to supress any knowledge of it by getting a court injunction.

How many people were relocated after the breach?

In September 2023, it was feared as many as 100,000 could be impacted by the leak, when taking into account family members. In April 2024, the government covertly set up the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) for people whose details were included to offer them a way out of Afghanistan - but they were not told about the leak. This new, secret route was separate from the main Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme. By May 2024, the court had seen evidence that around 20,000 people could be eligible for relocation under the new scheme. Defence Secretary John Healey said on Tuesday that around 900 people are already in the UK or are on their way, along with 3,600 of their family members. A further 600 offers having been made, though he did not specify whether that included those people's families. We do not know how many people who were on the leaked list are still in Afghanistan, but a court document from May 2024 indicated around 80,000 people at increased risk would not be offered relocation. In total, around 36,000 Afghans have moved to the UK since the withdrawal of international troops. Of those, the MoD confirmed to the BBC that more than 16,000 individuals deemed to have been at risk because of the leak - either because they appeared on the list or their family member did - had come to the UK as of May 2025, either via the secret emergency scheme or via another route. Both the ARR and Arap schemes are now closed.

Did anyone die as a result of the leak?

It is not possible to say definitively whether anyone came to harm as a direct result of the leak, and the MoD has refused to be drawn on this matter. However, a review carried out for the government in early 2025 by retired civil servant Paul Rimmer found the leaked document "may not have spread nearly as widely as initially feared", and cast doubt on previous assessments that the information would have been of great value to the Taliban. Mr Rimmer concluded that, given the Taliban already has access to masses of data about the population of Afghanistan, it was "unlikely" it would have been the sole reason for a reprisal attack. He said while killings and human rights abuses against former officials are carried out, concern about a widespread retribution campaign had "diminished". But those included in the leaked document consider it a catastrophic failure which has increased the risk to them and their families.

What we know about the Afghan data breach... in one minute

What was the financial cost of the secret relocation plan?

The government has spent £400m on the scheme so far and anticipates spending a further £450m. That is far below estimates heard in secret in the High Court in May 2024, which said it could cost "several billions". In total, the eventual cost of all efforts to relocate Afghans since 2021 will be around £5.5-£6bn, the government has said.

What is a super-injunction and why was one put in place?

Then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace made an application to the High Court on 1 September 2023, seeking an injunction which would criminalise making the leak public. The Taliban could seek out the list and use it to target people, the government feared. Mr Justice Knowles said the request was "exceptional" and went "further" than the government had asked, upgrading it to a super-injunction. This made it illegal to both reveal details of the leak and refer to the existence of the court order. It was regularly reviewed by another judge, Mr Justice Chamberlain, who in November 2023 said it was the first injunction of its kind and raised freedom of speech concerns. He sought to lift the order the following May but the government appealed and it remained before being lifted on Tuesday. Another injunction was granted to prevent some of the most sensitive details in the leaked document being made public.

Who knew what in government, and when?

From August 2023, efforts were made to restrict the number of officials within the MoD who knew about the leak, and it is unclear when then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other cabinet ministers were made aware. In December 2023, Healey - who was then shadow defence secretary - was briefed on the leak by then-Armed Forces Minister James Heapey. Healey said the shadow cabinet more widely was not told until after the general election. At no point were MPs made aware of the leak, which has led to questions about the ability of the Commons to scrutinise the matter. BBC News understands that Labour ministers decided last Autumn that they needed to look at whether to lift the super-injunction. Hearings were held in November 2024 and a senior MoD source told BBC News the government's position at that time was that the super-injunction should be kept in place "pending further work". But the source said ministers had privately agreed that a review looking at the possibility of ending the super-injunction was needed. By the time the super-injunction was lifted, seven media organisations had become aware of the leak and had been blocked from publishing details.

US deports five 'barbaric' migrants to Eswatini

Eswatini, the last absolute monarchy in Africa, said it acknowledged "widespread concern" within the country regarding the deportations.

"This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back," McLaughlin wrote on X.

On board the flight were five deportees from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen who have been convicted of crimes ranging from child rape to murder, US Homeland Security Department Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an online post .

The US has deported five people who it described as "criminal illegal aliens" to the southern African kingdom of Eswatini.

Earlier this month, the US sent eight migrants from several countries to South Sudan after a court lifted restrictions on sending people to countries where they have no ties.

Eswatini and the US will work with the United Nation's immigration agency to "facilitate the transit" of the deportees to their country of origin, Mdluli added.

"Five inmates are currently housed in our correctional facilities in isolated units, where similar offenders are kept. The nation is assured that these inmates pose no threat to the country or its citizens," government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli said in a statement.

Tricia McLaughlin from the US Department of Homeland Security says the men have been convicted of serious crimes (file photo)

In a series of posts on the X social media platform, McLaughlin listed the crimes the five deported to Eswatini had been convicted of, describing them as "depraved monsters" who had been "terrorizing American communities".

"A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed," she said, adding: "They are off of American soil".

The Eswatini government declined to say whether any payments were made as part of the arrangement.

The US is the fourth largest market for the country's biggest export, sugar. Analysts suggest that Eswatini may be trying to safeguard this trade and avoid the imposition of tariffs.

A pro-democracy group, the Swazi Solidarity Network, has condemned the deal as deplorable.

Spokesperson Lucky Lukhele told the BBC that Eswatini must not become a dumping ground for criminals, and that citizens needed protection.

The news has sparked public concern over whether local prisons are equipped to securely house such inmates.

Previously known as Swaziland, Eswatini is a small, landlocked country that is surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique. It has been led by King Mswati III since 1986.

Last month, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own.

Rwanda has confirmed discussions have taken place, while Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Moldova have also been named in media reports as potential recipient countries.

Trump's administration has already deported people to El Salvador and Costa Rica.

South Sudan recently agreed to hold eight men deported from the US and said they were not in handcuffs and appeared to be in good condition.

The war-torn country said the deportees were kept in a civilian facility in the capital Juba, under the watch of police and the national security service. Only one of them is from South Sudan.

In April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked all visas for South Sudanese passport holders blaming the country for failing to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a "timely manner".

It is not clear if that has now changed.

Last week, Nigeria said it would not bow to pressure from the Trump administration to accept Venezuelan deportees or third-country prisoners from the US.

President Donald Trump's pledge to conduct mass deportations was a centrepiece of his election campaign and an issue on which he drew widespread support, including many Hispanic voters.

He said he wanted to deport people living in the US illegally but White House efforts have been much broader in scope - taking aim at people in the US on student visas, suspending admissions of refugees except white South Africans, and moving to revoke temporary work permits and other protections that had been granted to immigrants by previous presidents.

To crack down on immigrants, Trump's administration has resumed raids at workplaces, a tactic that had been suspended under his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Additional reporting by Nomsa Maseko

Legend of Zelda movie casts two British actors in lead roles

6 hours ago Share Save Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter Share Save

Getty Images Benjamin Evan Ainsworth starred in 2022's Pinocchio, while Bo Bragason is well known for Renegade Nell

The new film adaptation of the Legend of Zelda video game series will see two young British actors take on the leading roles, Nintendo has announced. Renegade Nell star Bo Bragason, 21, has been cast as Princess Zelda, while Pinocchio's Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, 16, will play the role of Link. Announcing the news on X, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto said he was "very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen". This will be the first attempt to make a Zelda film, although the franchise previously had an animated TV series in 1989.

Bragason has previously appeared in Disney+ series Renegade Nell and the BBC series Three Girls and The Jetty. She has also appeared in horror films Censor and The Radleys. Ainsworth's screen credits include the 2022 live-action remake of Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks, as well as The Haunting of Bly Manor, Everything's Going to Be Great, and All Fun and Games opposite Sex Education's Asa Butterfield. The Legend of Zelda film is scheduled to be released in May 2027.

Director plans 'serious but whimsical' adaptation

The game follows Princess Zelda and the elf-like warrior Link as they fight to save the land of Hyrule from an evil warlord-turned-demon king called Ganon. In the games, Link never speaks, but fans have speculated this won't be the case in the film. Similarly, Princess Zelda is expected to have significantly more screen time in the film adaptation than she does in the games. The live-action film was announced in 2023, when Sony confirmed it would collaborate with Nintendo to co-finance the project. It will be directed by Wes Ball, best known for The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Maze Runner. Ball previously told Total Film: "I know it's important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie... a real movie that can give people an escape." "That's the thing I want to try to create – it's got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical." Jurassic World's Derek Connolly was previously announced as the film's writer, but the latest draft has been written by Ball's previous collaborator TS Nowlin.

Getty Images The video game series has sold more than 150m copies across its multiple instalments over various consoles

Former US President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance on the IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson podcast and video show, which aired on Wednesday.

"There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man," Michelle said to address rumours that she and the former president were going through a divorce.

Speculation that the pair had split began earlier this year after the former first lady did not join her husband at several high-profile events – including Donald Trump's inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

Flat owners planning legal claim over 'secret' insurance charges

31 minutes ago Share Save Michael Buchanan Social affairs correspondent Share Save

BBC David Walsh is one of the leaseholders who is part of the planned action

Thousands of people who own flats are seeking millions of pounds in compensation as part of planned legal action against the companies that own their apartment blocks. Legal letters, seen by BBC News, allege freeholders - those who own the blocks of flats - took secret commission fees for arranging buildings insurance policies. The letters claim the commission was then added to the service charges paid by the owners of the flats – or leaseholders – without their knowledge. Lawyers suggest each flat owner could get up to £2,000 in compensation. The companies all deny they broke any rules.

The fees were paid to the freeholders by insurance companies for buying their products. Leaseholders allege they were then added to the cost of the buildings insurance by the freeholder or their agents, and the total amount was charged to them in the form of service charges. They say this was done without their knowledge. For instance, if the insurance on a block of flats cost £80,000, the insurer might pay £20,000 in commission to the freeholder for buying its product. But they claim the entire £100,000 would then be charged to the leaseholders, without them knowing the total included the commission fee.

Legal firm Velitor Law has written to four large freeholders – E&J Estates, Consensus Business Group, Long Harbour and Ground Rents Income Funds – on behalf of 2,500 flat owners. They allege the companies received commissions for arranging insurance policies that were "unlawful because it amounts to a secret commission received without our clients prior informed consent". They are seeking not just the return of the commission, but also interest and any Insurance Premium Tax their clients have paid. As insurance costs on blocks of flats have spiralled since the Grenfell Tower fire, and commissions are usually a percentage of the insurance costs, the lawyers allege that property owners have benefitted as a result of the disaster. More companies are likely to be targeted, says Liam Spender, from Velitor Law, as 20,000 leaseholders have already signed up to the class action lawsuit. "We started with those [four] for a variety of reasons – the number of claimants and to get the best spread across the country. But we think there might actually be 20 different landlord groups we could potentially go after."

Cost of summer holiday clubs rises to £1,076 a child

31 minutes ago Share Save Colletta Smith Cost of living correspondent Share Save

Chiara Del Vescovo Chiara Del Vescovo with her daughter

Summer holiday clubs to cover Britain's six-week school break now cost parents an average of £1,076 per child, new figures suggest. The price varies by region with some areas seeing hikes of up to 13% on last year, according to research by children's charity Coram. High demand and a lack of cheaper council-run activities are driving up prices, it found. "It's the amount you'd spend going on holiday, but you're working and you don't get to see your child," says mother Chiara Del Vescovo.

Most families depend on some form of childcare for part of the school holidays as an increasing number of households have two parents in full-time work and it is less common to live close to relatives. That's true for Manchester mum Chiara as she and her partner try to juggle work alongside looking after their seven-year-old daughter. "We are trying to co-ordinate with her friends so they can spend a few days in a holiday club together, but it's difficult and expensive, especially if you go for the full day," she says.

Last year, the average cost for a child in full-time holiday clubs for six weeks was £1,045, Coram found. This year, Wales has seen a 6% increase and has the most expensive holiday clubs at £209.60 per week. Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the biggest jump in price, up 13% this year to £194.41 per week.

Elaine Doran/BBC Gilly Balfour says the price of art materials and food have gone up as well as wages

Gilly Balfour is in charge of free holiday activities at Z-arts Children's Centre, in Manchester and says she understands why costs have had to increase for many providers. "Art materials have gone up, food for lunches is up, we want to make sure that we're paying people well and have to get the correct ratios in terms of adults to children," she says "so you've got to factor in the whole cost." In every area, childminders play a crucial role in plugging gaps in care, especially outside of normal school hours, but this data shows that they are, on average, £55 a week more than holiday clubs.

Stretch to pay upfront

For parents on Universal Credit, help is available through the childcare element of the benefit - but not in time to pay for clubs upfront. The benefit is paid in arrears, so many families find it a stretch to pay for holiday clubs in advance before their childcare payment arrives four weeks later. Rasheeda Anwar works part-time as a nurse in Reading and says paying for summer childcare for her two children simply isn't an option. She is taking annual leave to cover as much as she can, and feels fortunate to have got her 14-year-old daughter into a free camp run by the organisation Sport in Mind. "They're getting out in the fresh air. It's good for them so they're not glued to their phones. That's always my worry. I want her to experience different things, and they provide fruit and a healthy lunch," she says.

Rashida Anwar Rashida Anwar is taking unpaid leave to look after her two children

Lack of places

In England, that free care is paid for by the Holiday Activities and Food programme. It funds local authorities to provide holiday clubs for children on free school meals. However, places on council-run schemes are often oversubscribed, and these figures suggest that on average private holiday clubs cost 21% more than those run by councils. There are fewer holiday club places for children over seven, and availability drops significantly for children over 11. Those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) of any age have even fewer options available. Just 9% of local authorities in England said they had enough provision for 75% of children with SEND in their area.

'Year-round reality'

The Local Government Association says: "While councils recognise the importance of ensuring there is sufficient provision available for children with SEND, it can be difficult to ensure the right provision is available, particularly given the challenging situation that many providers face at the moment." Lydia Hodges is head of Coram Family and Childcare, and says that for many families, there are no other options. "It's absolutely vital for parents to take work, to stay in work, and for children to be engaged in something positive during the school holidays," she says. "So we think it's vital that we address the true reality of the situation of working childcare and that reality is a year-round one."

Ways to save money on childcare

What Do We Know About The Afghan Data Breach?

What Do We Know About The Afghan Data Breach?

Why can’t Donald Trump shake off the Epstein Files? Why can’t Donald Trump shake off the Epstein Files?

For Peake - who began playing golf aged 10 - being a "bikie" was like having a "hobby that you live and breathe as well".

However, aligning himself with that lifestyle ultimately landed him in jail for his part in assaulting someone who, in his words, was making "threats towards us".

"We just went to deal with it, and honestly, it wasn't meant to happen like that," Peake recalled.

"We were generally just going there for a chat and he was probably going to get a couple of punches along the way and it was left at that.

"It just happened to be that the threats he threatened us with were true. He was armed and it escalated from there."

Having played in the same Australian junior golf teams as future Open champion Cameron Smith, adjusting to "appalling conditions" in a maximum security correctional facility represented a dramatic downfall.

But while inside, he began the process of rehabilitation.

"I wanted to achieve better things in my life as far as I was never going to profit from being a bikie, and I didn't profit from being a bikie," said Peake.

"I enjoyed the lifestyle while I was living it, but it wasn't going to get me ahead in life, and I was just always going to fall further and further behind and probably lead to more jail.

"But I've had great support networks that have always helped me. And this time I took the advice that they were giving me and followed the path they were trying to pave for me."

'They' include Ritchie Smith, the experienced Australian coach who contacted Peake while he was in prison.

Smith, whose students Min Woo Lee and Elvis Smylie are also competing in Northern Ireland this week, believed there was a way back to golf for Peake.

"I obviously didn't believe it at the start, but like he says, he did," explained the heavily tattooed left-hander.

"And, you know, like I said before as well, he coaches major winners. He coaches the world's best. He's not going to dedicate his time in something that he doesn't believe in himself, so that's what got me believing it would happen.

"I gave it a go. I probably didn't think it was going to exactly get to where it's got to now, and we're trying to progress further obviously, but it was definitely a stepping stone, and it came from there."

Liverpool have spent more than £170m this summer already - and now are interested in a player they would have to break the British transfer record to sign.

With a package for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak thought to cost up to £130m, their summer spending would soar to £300m.

It's quite the jump.

The Premier League champions last year spent just £10m on Italy winger Federico Chiesa and £25m on Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in last year's summer window.

Liverpool have already signed midfielder Florian Wirtz in a potential British record £116m deal this summer and paid £40m and £30m respectively for full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

Their sights are now firmly set on a striker.

BBC Sport understands that, while Liverpool have explored other centre-forward targets, they have made a move towards a deal for Isak in recent days.

While he remains the dream target, the Reds also have serious interest in Hugo Ekitike for whom Newcastle had a £70m bid turned down on Tuesday by Eintracht Frankfurt.

Liverpool have also checked in on Brentford's Yoane Wissa and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins as they work through a range of striker options.

So how can Arne Slot's side afford to spend so much on players, and do they have the budget to spend even more?

'McIlroy's got it going, you need to see this' - Rory's Portrush record

A group of Liberal Democrat MPs have asked the culture secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene over Uefa's "disgraceful" decision to demote Crystal Palace from the Europa League for breaching its multi-club ownership rules.

The seven politicians from London - including party leader Sir Ed Davey - wrote to express "deep concern" over what they called "a highly unusual and severe punishment on the club that raises serious questions about fairness and transparency in the governance of English football".

The Eagles, who qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup - their first major trophy - in May, were demoted to the lower tier Conference League on Friday.

The rules of European football's governing body state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.

American businessman John Textor owns a stake in Palace and is the majority owner of French club Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Uefa's rules set a deadline of 1 March 2025 to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring - a deadline which Palace missed.

In a letter seen by BBC Sport, the group of Lib Dems described the saga as "heart-breaking for fans".

"Other clubs seem to go through much more protracted disputes with less severe outcomes," they said.

"Many believe that this process has been opaque and disproportionately punitive [and] risks undermining not only the club's achievement but also public confidence in the fairness of football governance."

England produced a below-par performance as India sealed a four-wicket win in the first one-day international in Southampton.

Chasing 259 for victory, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma's unbeaten 62 helped the tourists reach their target with 10 balls to spare.

The dismissals of Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh in quick succession, with 24 runs still needed from 27 balls, gave England a glimmer of hope and the prospect of a tense finale but Amanjot Kaur held her nerve with 20 not out to see India to their second-highest successful chase in ODIs.

Amid a sloppy fielding effort, England also paid the price for failing to review an lbw against Sharma when she was on 40.

It is a crucial series for England, who are looking to gain confidence from their final three matches in the format before the autumn's World Cup in India.

The positives included Sophia Dunkley's well-paced 83 from 92 balls, and Alice Davidson-Richards made 53 as they rescued an innings that was teetering at 97-4.

Openers Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones both fell cheaply to young seamer Kranti Goud, before Nat Sciver-Brunt and Emma Lamb fell in consecutive Sneh Rana overs, having added 71 for the third wicket.

Dunkley and Davidson-Richards dropped anchor with a steady and sensible stand of 106, and despite scoring 36 from the final three overs, England left it too late to accelerate with five wickets still in hand.

The three-match series continues at Lord's on Saturday.