Cash cards to pay for gluten-free food in UK first

3 hours ago Share Save Lola Mayor & Jordan Davies BBC Wales News Share Save

BBC Cherylee Barker has used preloaded cash cards for almost six years and says they help with the high cost of gluten-free foods, but do not cover the full cost

People in Wales who cannot eat gluten will be given debit-style cards preloaded with money to help pay for their food. The UK-first move, which begins later this year, will be an alternative to the current system where those with conditions such as coeliac disease - which affects about one in 100 people - get food on prescription from the pharmacy. Coeliac Cherylee Barker, 54, from Narberth, Pembrokeshire, took part in a pilot scheme and got £14 a month, which she said "scratches the surface of the cost". A Coeliac UK report said a gluten free diet added 35% to food bills and Health Minister Jeremy Miles said the Welsh government wanted to "de-medicalise the supply of gluten-free foods".

The new card will work like a chip and Pin bank card and be taken in most places that sell gluten-free food, including supermarkets, shops, community pharmacies and online stores, according to the Welsh government. It would not say how much people will be given - just that it will vary by person and be regularly reviewed - or how much would be spent on the scheme. Ministers anticipate it will be "cost neutral" and not add any more to the NHS budget. The prescription model will still be available in Wales, which is similar to schemes in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Those with coeliac disease cannot eat gluten as their immune system attacks their own tissues and their body cannot properly take in nutrients. It results in symptoms including bloating, vomiting and diarrhoea. There is also an added cost . with gluten-free food more expensive Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, the four leading supermarkets. The average price of a own brand loaf of bread was 63p, compared with £2.26 for a gluten-free equivalent. Supermarket penne pasta averaged 56p per 500g whereas the lowest gluten-free option averaged £1.22.

Ms Barker has been part of the pilot scheme in the Hywel Dda health board area for the past five years. She gets £42 every three months, which equates to £14 a month, and described the previous prescription system as "slightly embarrassing" and the food "not that edible". She said: "I didn't want to take the money from the NHS. I thought 'just suck it up and see' but after a little while I just found it was just becoming more and more expensive. "It isn't a lifestyle choice, it is a need." Despite saying the card was "fantastic" she said the amount she got was only "scratching the surface" of rising costs for everybody, especially coeliacs.

Bethan Williams says having to "budget for bread" can be damaging to people's health

Bethan Williams, 24, from Cardiff, said prescriptions did not work for her as the food was low quality. As a vegetarian, she said the cash cards could give people with additional dietary needs the freedom to make healthy choices. "I am in a good position that I can afford the higher quality bread but that is not the case for all people," she said. "Eating food and being able to eat a balanced diet isn't a privilege, it's something everyone should be entitled to."

Gemma Beere from Plumvanilla cafe says businesses need to weigh up supporting the community with high costs

For businesses such as Plumvanilla Cafe and deli in Narberth, which accepts the cash card, making sure they can serve the community's needs is becoming more necessary. Gemma Beere, who works at the cafe, said: "We've noticed more and more people shopping with gluten-free requirements so we like to keep a big stock." But she added it was a challenge balancing stocking the shelves with the high cost items and making sure nothing goes to waste.

Miles said the move would cut "administrative burdens on GPs and pharmacies". He added: "For people living with coeliac disease, following a strict gluten-free diet is not a lifestyle choice but a medical necessity. "We want to de-medicalise the supply of gluten-free foods in Wales, giving people more freedom to access the food they want to eat, more conveniently, to help them to manage their condition."

Tristen Humphreys from Coeliac UK said: "We need to recognise that a gluten-free diet is the treatment for coeliac disease, it's a serious autoimmune disease not a lifestyle choice – we want that recognised." He added supporting people's diets would help prevent health complications down the line and was "cost efficient" for the NHS and called on other UK nations to follow suit.

Pro-Palestinian convict to be freed by France after 41 years

2 hours ago Share Save Hugh Schofield Paris correspondent Share Save

AFP Georges Abdallah will be released on Friday after 40 years behind bars

Georges Abdallah, a 74-year-old Lebanese teacher who became a left-wing symbol for the Palestinian cause, is to be freed by France on Friday after 41 years in jail. Described by his lawyer as "the man who has spent the longest time in prison for events linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Abdallah is expected to be put on a flight directly to Beirut. Convicted in 1987 for complicity in the murders in France of two diplomats – one American, one Israeli – Abdallah has gradually been forgotten by the wider public. But his release remained a cause célèbre for activists on the Marxist-Leninist left, with which he still identifies.

His stern-looking bearded face continued to peer from banners in left-wing demonstrations; and once a year protesters gathered to demand his freedom outside his prison in the Pyrenees. Three left-led French municipalities declared him an "honorary citizen". Though eligible for parole since 1999, he saw successive requests for liberty turned down. According to supporters, this was because of pressure on the French government from the US and Israel. Interviewed recently by the French news agency AFP at his cell in Lannemazan jail, he said he had kept sane by focusing on the Palestinian "struggle". "If I had not had that… well, 40 years – it can turn your brain to mush," he said. On the walls of his cell, Abdallah kept a picture of the 1960s revolutionary Che Guevara and postcards from supporters around the world. A desk was covered with piles of newspapers.

AFP The septuagenarian has postcards from supporters and a Che Guevara picture on his cell walls

Born in 1951 into a Christian family in northern Lebanon, in the late 1970s Abdallah helped set up the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) – a small Marxist group dedicated to fighting Israel and its closest ally, the United States. At the time Lebanon was embroiled in a civil war. In 1978 and again in 1982 Israel invaded south Lebanon to combat Palestinian fighters based there. Abdallah's group decided to hit Israeli and US targets in Europe, and carried out five attacks in France. In 1982 its members shot and killed US diplomat Charles Ray in Strasbourg, and Israeli diplomat Yakov Barsimantov in Paris. In addition a car bomb blamed on LARF killed two French bomb-disposal experts. Abdallah was arrested in Lyon in 1984. Tailed by French intelligence officers, he thought he was being followed by Israeli assassins and gave himself in at a police station. Initially he was charged only with having false passports and criminal association. A short time later a French citizen was kidnapped in northern Lebanon, and the French secret service entered a negotiation via Algeria to engineer an exchange. The French citizen was freed, but just before Abdallah was to be released police in Paris found a cache of weapons at his flat, including the gun used to kill the diplomats. This made his liberation impossible. Two years later in the run up to his trial, Paris was hit by a spate of terrorist attacks which killed 13 people. These were blamed by politicians and the media on allies of Abdallah trying to pressurise France into freeing him. Later it was established that in fact they were the work of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, under instructions from Iran. In the trial, Abdallah denied involvement in the murders but defended their legitimacy. He was given a life sentence.

Getty Images Georges, seen here between two police officers, was convicted in the 1980s

The Bill's PC Reg Hollis helps arrest thief

7 hours ago Share Save Marcus White BBC News, Southampton Share Save

Watch: The Bill's PC Reg Hollis helps arrest thief

A former star of ITV's The Bill has helped real-life officers arrest a suspected shoplifter. Jeff Stewart, who played PC Reg Hollis for 24 years, came to the aid of police in Ocean Way, Southampton, on Wednesday. The fleeing suspect fell off a bicycle before being handcuffed and Stewart, who lives locally, sat on his legs. In video of the arrest released by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, officers thanked the actor before asking for a group photo.

The star replied: "No, sure, man. Well, I was in The Bill for 24 years, in the TV show. Yeah, I played Reg." The body-worn police video showed officers running across a car park in pursuit of the suspect who was wheeling a bicycle. He fell off as he started to pedal away and was wrestled to the ground. The actor, wearing shorts and sunglasses, was on the scene seconds later, helping the two officers.

PA Media PC Reg Hollis (left) was a key character in the long-running drama series

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn't on The Bill for this week.” Describing Stewart as a "local TV legend" the spokesman added: "Long since retired from Sun Hill station - but he's still got it." The actor left the long-running police drama in 2008. He went on to appear in a music video for indie pop band Miike Snow. Stewart also won a prize at the Manhattan Film Festival in New York in 2011 for a role in low-budget film Under Jakob's Ladder. Police said the thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, of Anglesea Road, admitted stealing alcohol and food in five separate incidents in Southampton. He was released on bail and will be sentenced by Southampton magistrates in August.

Weekly quiz: Who rescued England's Lionesses against Italy?

This week saw a drugs ring run by a "gangsta" granny sent to prison, the preliminary report into last month's Air India disaster, and Prince George celebrate his 12th birthday.

But how much attention did you pay to what else happened in the world over the past seven days?

Quiz collated by Ben Fell.

Renée Rapp: Media training is boring, I can't give fluffy answers

47 minutes ago Share Save Mark Savage Music Correspondent Share Save

Zora Sicher Renée Rapp scored a worldwide hit last year with the song Not My Fault

"Would you like me to source you a paper towel?" Less then two minutes into an interview with Renée Rapp – pop star, film star, Broadway actress, media sensation – and I have spilled an entire bottle of water onto the table. Luckily, as a father of two, I carry a permanent supply of tissues (and plasters and sun cream and antiseptic) everywhere I go. Within seconds, the mess is mopped up. "You literally have tissues with you? I'm so impressed," Rapp squeals... Then admits her parents are basically the same. "My dad brings hair bands everywhere because I'm always without a hair tie," says the 25-year-old. "So I know I'm going to be an insufferable parent. I'll be saying, 'please let me brush your teeth', and the kid's going to be, like, 17."

YouTube Rapp's "speak first, think later" interviews went viral on YouTube last year

We meet in London's King's Cross, near Rapp's record label offices. She's a little frazzled after two days of live shows; and somewhat sleep deprived, thanks to a group of kids who have been running races in the corridor outside her hotel room. Yet she's friendly and engaging, full of zingy quotes that confirm her reputation as pop's most unfiltered star. That's a label she acquired while promoting last year's Mean Girls film. Rapp played central villainess Regina George, reprising a role she originated on Broadway, and spent the press tour gleefully going off script. She tore into the owner of a bus company whose boss had been an "asshole" to her mum, declaring, "I can't stand you and I hope your business burns"; and praised co-star Megan Thee Stallion for having "the best ass I've ever seen in my life". Elsewhere, she confessed to being "very publicly ageist" and said her only male crush was Justin Bieber, because he "looks like a lesbian". YouTube is full of compilations with titles such as: "Reneé Rapp making her PR team question their life choices for 5 minutes straight". The singer knows what media training looks like, she just doesn't vibe with it. "I got on a phone call years ago where they were telling us how to answer certain kinds of question, and what not to say," she recalls, "and I just remember being like, 'This feels so boring to me'. "I think it's a skill to be able to give a thought-out, fluffy answer. It's just not something that I want." "Good interviews, to me, are like a conversation that illustrates how you get on with the other person... or you don't. And that's fun. That's something I want to watch."

Zora Sicher Rapp's mother deliberately gave her an alliterative name "just in case you want to be a star"

When she first discovered her interviews were attracting attention, however, it caught her off guard. "Everybody on my team was like, 'Oh, there's a trend going on where you just say whatever [comes into your head]. "It was confusing because, to me, I didn't really understand what I was doing, other than speaking exactly how I've always spoken since I was a kid. "And I actually got insecure about it a bit last year - because I never imagined my personality and the cadence of my speech would be analysed." Eventually, Rapp summoned the courage to watch some of those YouTube compilations, "and I was like, OK, this is kind of funny". "I just realised that I couldn't stop it or tone it down. So I just ran with it." She even pokes fun at the situation on her recent single Leave Me Alone. "Signed a hundred NDAs but I still say something," she snarls with punky brio over an Oh Mickey drumbeat.

'Get off my back'

Leave Me Alone is a bratty, witty response to the people who've tried to sand off Rapp's rough edges. But it was born of real frustration. Last March, she had just wrapped up a European tour, at the same time as the Mean Girls single Not My Fault gave her the biggest hit of her career so far. Suddenly, she was under pressure to follow it up. "I was told that, basically, everybody wanted me to put a single out in the summer and an album in the fall," she says. "I started panicking. I was like, 'Holy crap, how am I gonna do that?', because I was really, really, really depressed last year. I was so overworked, and I was so run down. I didn't have any time to get myself together. "I was crying to my girlfriend about it, like, 'I have no idea how I'm going to do this'. And she was literally like, 'You don't have to, and, by the way, you shouldn't'." Rapp agreed with the advice but she went to work regardless, a by-product of career insecurity and a need for approval. "I was like, 'This is what somebody's asking of me, so I can't not fulfil that, because that means I'm not working hard enough, and that means I don't want it enough'." When she got to the studio, her frustrations spilled over. "I was basically saying I wished people would get off my back - and everybody in the room said, 'That's the song'."

Getty Images

Written on the spur of the moment, Leave Me Alone quickly became the obvious choice to launch Rapp's second album, Bite Me. Before the interview, she plays me six of the 12 songs, including an irresistibly catchy tribute to her girlfriend, Towa Bird. Titled Shy, it describes how Rapp became tongue-tied around the British musician when they toured together in 2023. "I am not a shy person whatsoever, so that made me realise how madly in love I was with her," she says. "I'd just got out of a relationship and I was so relieved to be on my own, then I was smacked in the face by these feelings. "I was a nervous wreck, like, 'I want to throw up'." She's still besotted today. Her opal blue eyes light up as she rhapsodises about her "British princess". "Not only is she my best friend and my most trusted confidant, but also she wants me to win just as much as I want her to win – and that feeling is so scarce."

Getty Images Towa Bird joined Renée Rapp on stage for her performance at the 2024 Coachella Festival

Elsewhere, the album reflects on Rapp's former flames, including a pair of tracks that explore what happens when a third person inserts themselves into a relationship. On Why Is She Still Here, Rapp confronts her partner about a girl who's gotten a little too close: "You tell me you don't love her/ but you should probably tell her, too." Flipping the script, Rapp severs ties with a friend when the temptation to stray becomes too strong on the melancholy ballad I Can't Have You Around Me. She sings it quietly, like an apology, with a subtlety that wasn't always present on her debut album, Snow Angel. "Being a theatre girl, transitioning to pop music can be really difficult," confesses the star, who literally has the phrase Plus De Voix (more vocals) tattooed on her left wrist. "You go from singing your guts out, to trying to tailor that voice and that volume to a studio setting. "It was really hard for me, working out how to give the same quality of performance, but also pulling back 5,000 per cent. "But I realised that if I want to have a really successful pop career, I have to make music that doesn't use the same parts of my voice that I use live."

Renée Rapp / Interscope Records "The willingness to go full throttle into my emotions is a such strong suit," says the singer.

Too hot for Santa as Lapland buckles under record heatwave

1 hour ago Share Save Erika Benke BBC News, Rovaniemi Share Save

BBC/Erika Benke

"Make sure the reindeer have plenty of water - and don't forget to drink a glass every hour too," Santa reminds a team of elves busy making presents for next Christmas as Lapland swelters in a record heatwave. It's not every day that Father Christmas finds himself briefing his elves about the hazards of sunstroke, but this summer northern Finland has seen temperatures hover around 30C for days on end. As for Santa, he will be staying indoors most of the day - his bright red costume trimmed with fur is very warm. "I'm only going out for a swim in the lake in the forest after 18:00, when the weather has started to cool off," he says.

While Santa's workshop in the city of Rovaniemi is adapting with cheerful resilience, the unusually warm temperatures in the Arctic are a serious matter – and scientists are pointing at climate change as the culprit. After an unusually cold and rainy spring and early summer, the whole of Finland – including the far north of Lapland, 500km (310 miles) above the Arctic Circle – suddenly became caught up in a continuous spell of hot weather. By 25 July, the heatwave in Rovaniemi will have lasted 15 days.

In Finland a heatwave is defined as a period of at least three consecutive days where the daily maximum temperature exceeds 25C. Finnish Meteorological Institute's meteorologist Jaakko Savela explains that in Lapland, where temperatures over 30C are extremely rare, heatwaves like the current one are exceptional. "The last time Finnish Lapland had a similarly long heatwave was in 1972," Savela says. But even that only lasted 12 to 14 days, depending on the exact location. "That record has now been broken." It's not just Rovaniemi that's been gripped by scorching temperatures. Several other weather stations across Lapland have registered their longest ever heatwaves since records began. The highest temperature of the heatwave, 31.7C, was measured at two locations, Ylitornio and Sodankylä, earlier this week. That's about 10C above the seasonal average for Lapland.

BBC/Erika Benke The thermometer at the Santa Claus village in Lapland this week read 33C in the sun

The heatwave has prompted renewed concern about the accelerating pace of climate change in the Arctic, which is warming four to five times faster than the rest of the Earth. Savela notes that this particular, long heatwave was not directly caused by climate change. However, he says, "Climate change has had an impact: without it, temperatures over the last two weeks would have been lower". Prof Jeff Weller, University of the Arctic Research Chair at the University of Oulu, agrees. What is climate change? A really simple guide Heatwaves and extreme weather events in summer and winter alike have become so frequent that they can only have been caused by fundamental changes to the climate system. "All over the world, every day, climate change is manifested in extreme heat and extreme precipitation events," says Prof Weller. "The fingerprint of climate change is upon us." Heatwaves are becoming more common due to human-caused climate change, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Extreme hot weather will happen more often – and become even more intense – as the planet continues to warm, it has said.

The extreme heat is also affecting Lapland's famed reindeer. Celebrated worldwide as Santa's sleigh-pullers at Christmas, reindeer here roam freely across forests and fells. But as they're hounded by mosquitoes – which thrive in hot weather – reindeer are now fleeing to roads and villages in search of relief. "For reindeer the only option would be to go to higher, windier elevations but in Finnish Lapland the highest elevation is only about 1,000m (3,300 ft)," says Prof Weller. He adds that because more extreme and longer heatwaves will occur more frequently in the Arctic in the future, "reindeer herders might end up having to build big barns to provide shade for their animals". It's not just Santa and his reindeer who are struggling. Lapland is traditionally known as a cool tourist destination – but this year, visitors are puzzled. "It's super-hot here – 30C is killing me. I came to escape the heat," says Silvia, a tourist from Prague visiting Santa's holiday village in Rovaniemi. "I expected much colder weather and packed the wrong clothes. I only have one short-sleeve t-shirt with me – I've been wearing it every day."

BBC/Erika Benke "I expected much colder weather and packed the wrong clothes," said Silvia from Prague

Artificial food colours are out, so what's next?

40 minutes ago Share Save Suzanne Bearne Technology Reporter Share Save

Fermentalg There are hundreds of thousands of microalgae species

French firm Fermentalg has been all over the planet in its search for useful microalgae. "One of our lucky scientists got to go and climb the volcanoes in the Caribbean for example, and I have to restrain myself from collecting more every time I go home to New Zealand," says Hywel Griffiths, chief scientific officer at Fermentalg. There are hundreds of thousands of species of microalgae - microscopic organisms, which mostly live in water. They are essential to the aquatic food chain and also produce half the oxygen we breath. Some are already used commercially, to make food, animal feed and fertiliser. But for Fermantalg one particular type, Galdieria sulphuraria, has a very useful trait. It can be used to produce a pigment, suitable for use in food, called Galdieria blue. "We grow the algae and make a lot of it under conditions which make a lot of this particular molecule - the blue," says Mr Griffiths. The pigment can be used for any food and drinks and Mr Griffiths expects the first products using Galdieiria blue will be on shop shelves early next year. Galdieria blue was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May, along with Butterfly pea flower extract (also a blue colour) and calcium phosphate (white). The FDA also approved Gardenia blue earlier this month.

Fermentalg Fermentalg grows a microalgae that produces a blue molecule

New sources of colour for food are needed as artificial food dyes are on their way out. In January, the FDA announced the banning of Red Dye No. 3 in food products. In addition, the FDA is looking to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes such as Yellow Dye 5 and 6 by the end of next year as part of the government's mission to "Make America Healthy Again". "For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals," FDA commissioner Marty Makary said at a press conference in April. Is food colouring bad for you? Though not an outright ban, the FDA is hoping the food industry voluntarily complies to eliminate artificial food dyes by 2026. It comes after years of pressure from parents and campaigners for the FDA to revoke approval for dyes or educate consumers more about the risks. In recent times, many US states have made their own moves to pass laws to remove artificial food colouring dyes. Countries differ on the restrictions they have in place. Historically, the UK and the European Union have been stricter than the US. The EU has been phasing out artificial colourings over the last 20 years and also introducing warnings on foods with other colours.

Sensient Sensient processes natural products and extracts the colours

So, these are good times for firms developing natural alternatives. US-based Sensient creates natural colours by sourcing raw materials that are grown specifically for their colour content. For example, some red and purple colours are derived from carrots and potatoes. "These crops are harvested, washed, processed into a juice, and the colour is extracted with water or other solvents," says Paul Manning, chief executive officer at Sensient. "The resulting colour is further processed to stabilise the concentrate and refine it to the specific shade desired by the customer." But the hard work will be trying to match the synthetic colour. "It must be equally vivid," says Mr Manning. "There are plenty of examples of brands converting to natural colours with less vivid and vibrant shades where the product does poorly in the market and customers complain about both the colour and the flavour." Getting a stable, bright colour also involved much work for Fermantalg. "To our surprise we found that the process of growing the algae and the process of extracting the colour can actually have a fairly significant impact on the stability of the product at the end, even though it's fairly heavily purified," says Griffiths. "But something that we've done upstream is having an impact on how stable it is at the end." Will these new colours cost more? "They are more expensive, but in actual contribution to the end product, they're not actually that big an impact because these things are used at a fraction of a percentage in the final product," says Mr Griffiths. "If you had a nosebleed and stood over the sink… you know that a little bit of colour goes a long way."

Sensient There's a rush to produce alternative food colours

Prisoners using vapes to start fires, report says

5 hours ago Share Save Dale Spridgeon Local Democracy Reporting Service Share Save

Getty Images HMP Berwyn, in Wrexham, has seen a 74.1% increase in deliberate fires, with the majority started using vapes, according to a report

Prisoners have been using vapes to deliberately start fires inside a jail, according to a report. Deliberate fires at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham increased by 74.1% from 2023-24 to 2024-25, according to the report, which was presented to North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority on Monday. A total of 63 "primary" fires were started on purpose in the past year at the prison and of those, 47 had been attended by the fire service. Incidents at the Category C men's prison continued to rise and were predominately vape based, according to the report, with the battery being used as an ignition source.

The report said the service had "engaged" with the crown inspector for HM Prisons on a regular basis and assisted in an inspection programme in May 2025. "We are trying to address this situation and ignition source by looking at alternatives with the crown inspector and assisting him in his research into this problem," the document said. "Incidents are unlikely to reduce in the short term," it added.

Getty Images The report says incidents are predominately vape based, "with the dismantling of those devices and utilising the battery as an ignition source"

The fractured friendship behind the fight at the Thailand-Cambodia border

3 hours ago Share Save Jonathan Head South East Asia correspondent Share Save

Watch: People take shelter after gunfire breaks out between Thailand and Cambodia troops

Cambodia and Thailand have a history of occasional conflict. The two countries share a long and forested border with areas that both sides claim. There have been serious exchanges of fire in the past, too – in 2008 and 2011, clashes on a similar scale saw 40 people killed. However, these were de-escalated relatively quickly. Even as recently as this May, after an incident in which a Cambodian soldier was killed, both sides looked keen to prevent more violence, with meetings between army commanders from each country aimed at easing the tension. But on 24 July, it erupted. Thai authorities say 12 people, all civilians apart from one, were killed. Cambodia has yet to confirm whether it suffered any casualties. So why has this particular border skirmish – which kicked off after five Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion on Wednesday – spread into something so much larger? Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply last month, when Cambodia's senior leader Hun Sen deeply embarrassed Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra by leaking a phone conversation between them about the disputed border. In the conversation, Paetongtarn called him "uncle", and criticised one of her own military commanders, sparking public anger. She has since been suspended as prime minister and Thailand's Constitutional Court is considering a petition for her dismissal. It is not clear why Hun Sen chose to do this, burning a close personal relationship between their two families that goes back decades.

EPA Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended in early July

Many people have faulted Paetongtarn for her conversation with Hun Sen. She appeared to believe that she could resolve their differences by appealing to his friendship with her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In the past that friendship was used by Thaksin's opponents to charge him with putting Cambodia's interests above those of Thailand. In 2014, when a government headed by Thaksin's sister Yingluck was deposed by a military coup, Hun Sen allowed scores of his supporters to seek sanctuary in Cambodia. The two countries have also cooperated in more shadowy areas. Last November, Thailand sent six Cambodian dissidents, together with a young child, back to Cambodia, where they were immediately jailed. All were recognised by the United Nations as refugees.

In 2020, a young Thai activist who had fled to Cambodia, Wanchalerm Satsaksit, was abducted and disappeared, it is presumed by Thai operatives. And the January gunning down of a Cambodian opposition leader in broad daylight in central Bangkok was also seen by activists as an outcome of this understanding between the two countries' security services. Against this background, the leaking of Paetongtarn's conversation appears to have caught the Shinawatra family completely off-guard. The responses from both Thaksin and Paetongtarn reveal a sense of betrayal. This has led to an increasingly bitter war of words between the two countries. But it is more than just words. Thai police have also begun investigating powerful Cambodian business figures alleged to be linked to underworld gambling and scam centres, while trade worth billions of dollars a year has stopped. At the border itself, there is a heightened risk of more serious clashes between the two armies. But rather than back off, Cambodia's Hun Sen seems to have jumped at the opportunity to ramp up rhetoric against Thailand and the Shinawatra family in particular. He claims to be in possession of secret documents that would incriminate Thaksin – documents he claims could even prove that he insulted the monarchy, an offence which comes with a hefty prison sentence in Thailand. The Thai government responded by expelling the Cambodian ambassador on Wednesday and recalling its own envoy, setting the stage for the latest confrontation.

Reuters Hun Sen (left) sits with Thaksin Shinawatra (right)

Samaritans to close more than 100 branches

The Samaritans said having more than 200 branches "is not sustainable and hinders us" from providing the best service.

Dozens of branches have voiced concerns, some fearing the proposals will lead to an exodus of volunteers: "They're dismantling something that has worked for 70 years," said one volunteer.

In a presentation to staff, the suicide prevention charity's chief executive said "at least half" of their branches will close.

The Samaritans are planning to close more than 100 branches across the UK and Ireland, the BBC has learned.

Founded in 1953, the Samaritans focus on preventing suicides by connecting trained volunteers with people who are struggling.

The charity estimates it answers a call for help every 10 seconds.

The proposals were revealed in a video message sent by the leadership of the charity to volunteers last week.

Chief executive Julie Bentley, said while there wasn't "a definitive view" on how many branches the charity needed: "It's likely that within the next seven to 10 years our branch network will have reduced by at least half.

"With less branches, we'll look to move to fewer but bigger regions," she added.

If the charity's board agrees to the plans at a meeting in September, the changes will begin in April in the UK and 2027 in Ireland. The list of branches which could close has not been decided.

The Samaritans, considered the fourth emergency service by its staff and volunteers, play a key role in suicide prevention, offering round the clock telephone support to people in distress.

Volunteers who answer the calls are based in offices around the country, many of which will now close.

The BBC has been told more than 50 branches, over a quarter of the total, have been raising concerns on an internal forum since the proposals were announced.

Plans for "virtual volunteering" where people answer calls from home, have sparked fears volunteers could leave the charity due to the pressures of dealing with calls about suicide alone.

Others only decided to help out due to feeling isolated at home.

Female volunteers have also said they would be uncomfortable with remote working due to the number of abusive and sexual calls the charity receives.

In her message to staff, Ms Bentley said some offices were failing to retain enough volunteers and "don't support the effective delivery of our services to callers".

She also expressed concern that too much of the Samaritans' income is spent on "maintaining bricks and mortars, rather than being used to improve our services".

But it is the loss of the intimacy and support the offices provide that worries many volunteers.

They fear the charity's proposals will create large, impersonal call-centres in big towns and cities, reducing the likelihood of people from rural areas being able to volunteer and undermining the meaning of being a Samaritans volunteer.

In its latest accounts, for 2023-24, almost two thirds (£15.3m) of the charity's £24.6m income was spent on staff costs and less than 4% on land and buildings.

"We're not against change," one volunteer told the BBC, "but they've not provided any evidence these changes will improve the charity. It feels more like the professionalisation of the Samaritans."

The proposals, if enacted, would also see the charity withdraw from some current activities, including talks in schools and providing the Veterans Emotional Support Line.