£1.10

Wednesday 26 August 2026

No. 4,917 theipaper.com

NATURE

Wildlife Photographer of the Year contenders

P17

LIFE They think it's all over... Meet the 'unretirees' who quit work and then went back

THE i PAPER

IMPARTIAL NEWS + INTELLIGENT DEBATE

WORLD

CIA director's secret mission to Moscow

+ Rattled Putin diverting warships to protect his shadow fleet tankers

FAMILY Generation game

I'd like to give money to the grandkids - but my children want it for themselves

P34

Future of UK state pension triple lock in doubt - with older population growing faster than workers

»Extra 2.9 million people are projected to reach pension age in Britain between 2024 and 2049, outpacing the rise in working-age population of just 2.2 million forecast over the same period »Public finance time-bomb calls into question long term future of the UK state pension, welfare system and raises the prospect of higher taxes to pay for ageing population »Tough new conversations in Whitehall about how long Government can honour its current commitments, with other Western democracies and Japan grappling with similar social trend »Life expectancy was around 65 for men when state pension introduced in 1948 – now it’s 83

P6

CONSUMER

Food price warning as farming faces 'biggest crisis since 1973'

PEOPLE

Juliet Stevenson I've always hated marriage. I only did it for tax reasons

OPINION Richard Curtis The romcom king made Britain fall in love with its own decline

P23

Anniversaries

WEDNESDAY

AUGUST

Quote of the day

Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling WALT WHITMAN

Birthdays

Valerie Simpson, singer-songwriter, 80; Branford Marsalis, jazz saxophonist, 66; Shirley Manson, singer, 60; Lord Gove, politician, 59; Chris Boardman, retired cyclist, 58; Melissa McCarthy, actress/comedian, 56; Macaulay Culkin (below), actor, 46

Saturday 26 August 1346 King Edward III's English army defeats a much larger French force at the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War. English and Welsh longbowmen devastated the French cavalry, demonstrating the growing power of disciplined infantry.

index

Crossword....25 TV & Radio....26 Puzzles....27 Culture....38 Money....42 Weather....49

The News Matrix

The day at a glance

What does Donald Trump want to change the name of Lake Ontario to? See p.12

POLICE

Young man stabbed at council office

A murder investigation has been launched after a young man died after a stabbing at a council headquarters building. Emergency services were called to Brent Civic Centre in Wembley, north-west London, at 2.25pm yesterday. It is the home of Brent Council and has a library on site.

POLITICS

Burnham to attend UN meeting in US

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said he plans to travel to the US next month to join European leaders in lobbying President Donald Trump on support for Ukraine's defence. In an interview with Bloomberg Media Burnham said he was “looking forward to going to New York” when the UN General Assembly meets.

NORTHERN IRELAND Police officer sacked for sectarianism

A police officer has been dismissed for sending “sectarian, racist, homophobic, antisemitic” and “misogynistic” messages to members of the public and PSNI colleagues. Eight other officers who received the messages and failed to report or challenge them were referred to PSNI over potential breaches of its code of ethics.

SCOTLAND Birth rate falls to its lowest ever level

Scotland's birth rate has fallen to a record low.

For the third year running, the birth rate is at the lowest level since records began in 1855.

A report from National Records Scotland (NRS) showed there were 45,067 live births registered in 2025.

That is 696 fewer than in 2024, which also had a record low.

There were 61,726 deaths registered. It was the 11th year running of more deaths than births.

NRS also reported that dementia and Alzheimer's disease narrowly overtook ischaemic heart disease as the leading causes of death in Scotland during 2025.

Newspapers support recycling. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2024 was 37.2%.

WALES

Minister 'positive' about devolution

A Welsh Cabinet minister has said he is hopeful for devolution of more powers after initial talks with the Prime Minister. Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Trystan Davies, the Minister for Government Effectiveness and the Constitution, said conversations with Andy Burnham in recent weeks had been “positive”.

The List

Mapping out a better future is child's play

When it comes to making the world a better place, children have definite views on what would help - including a ban on homework, helping those in need and more parks and playgrounds. Research for Maped Helix UK found 42 per cent of six- to 16-year-olds would introduce longer playtimes and 37 per cent would make people happier by giving them more time to rest. The top ideas are:

1 Help people in need more - 48% 2 No homework - 47% 3 Take care of the planet - 44% 4 Build more parks/ playgrounds - 43% 5 Longer playtimes - 42% 6 More time to rest - 37% 7 Have animals visit school - 36% 8= More time to play sport - 34% 8= Sit with lonely people - 34% 10 Include everyone in games - 31%

COURTS

'Obsessive' stalker of actress Piper jailed

An “obsessive” fan with a “sexual interest” in actress Billie Piper has been jailed for 12 months for breaching a stalking prevention order against the former Doctor Who star. Philip Jerome appeared at Basingstoke magistrates’ court on his 49th birthday to be sentenced after pleading guilty to four charges.

MUSIC

Styles took break to 'focus on living'

Former One Direction singer Harry Styles said he took a break from recording music from 2023 until this year as he was “a little bit in my head” and struggling with expectations of “what people want from me”. Styles told W Magazine he needed “time off” so he could focus on “living from the inside out”.

INDONESIA

Prayers said in fight against wildfires

Authorities in Indonesia's South Sumatra province turned to spiritual measures yesterday as huge blazes in central and western regions scorched wide areas of forests and peatland. A prayer gathering in one of the regions hardest hit came as the country faces prolonged dry weather that has heightened the risk of forest and peatland fires.

WESTMINSTER

DUP MP in expenses investigation

Parliament's expenses watchdog has opened an investigation into the Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) said it had opened an investigation into whether the East Londonderry MP had breached spending rules.

Ipsa said the probe related to office costs, specifically “printed constituency cards, signage and bought-in services”.

It added: “No further information will be published until the investigation has been concluded.”

Campbell is the first MP to face a new investigation by Ipsa this year.

ThePage3Profile WOODY HARRELSON AND MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY, KIN?

Brother from another mother? Long-standing rumours that Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are secretly siblings has reached the big screen.

The new Apple TV comedy Brothers leans into the speculation,

AUCTION

Wrestling figures come out fighting

A wrestling fan's collection of 1990s WWF figures has sold for thousands of pounds at auction.

The toys, still in their original packaging, were purchased by a collector more than 30 years ago.

They included figures of The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Bret "The Hitman" Hart when they were at the height of their fame.

The WWF (later rebranded WWE) toys were made by Hasbro, which released figures of wrestlers between 1990 and 1994.

They cost around £5 each at the time but now seven of them fetched £2,600 at Vectis Auctions in Stockton-on-Tees.

featuring the duo playing heightened versions of themselves.

The plot kicks off as Harrelson's household moves onto McConaughey's Texas estate, setting the stage for a chaotic family reunion.

It's all relative... So all the familial speculation smacks of just another internet conspiracy theory. Or does it? After all, they do have rather similar piercing blue eyes.

McConaughey has neither confirmed nor denied suspicions, but he did say candidly in a 2023 interview on the podcast Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa that his mother "knew" Harrelson's dad.

The True Detective star said: "We went on to unpack this, what 'knew' meant, and did some math and found out that his dad was on furlough at the same time that my mum and dad were in their second divorce.

"Then there's possible receipts in places out in west Texas where there might have been a gathering, or a meeting, or a 'knew' moment."

The ultimate bromance? Whether fact or fiction, the eight-part series will depict their genuinely close bond.

McConaughey and Harrelson first crossed paths in 1998 while filming Ron Howard's satirical comedy EDtv. They went on to become close pals.

McConaughey also said on the 2023 podcast: "Where I start and he ends and where he starts and I end has always been like a murky line – and that's part of our bromance."

Frankie Lister-Fell

NATURE

'Bounty of barn owl chicks' celebrated

Conservationists are delighted after the birth of a “bounty of barn owl chicks” in Northern Ireland. Two barn owl pairs were discovered to have bred successfully on farm visits in Co Fermanagh by Ulster Wildlife. The charity described the brood of five chicks as being above the average for barn owls.

AUSTRALIA AI-generated music banned from charts

Australia's national music chart is to ban music generated by AI. Aria Charts said that while “wholly AI-generated tracks” will be banned from next week, songs that “use generative AI in a supporting role” would remain eligible. Artists can dispute decisions by giving evidence of a track’s traditional background.

RUSSIA Stadium cancels two gigs by rapper Ye

The stadium in Russia scheduled to host two gigs by Ye has cancelled them. The Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg had sold out for two nights in October. Ye has been blocked from performing in many countries after antisemitic social media posts by the American rapper previously known as Kanye West.

SNOOKER Dott removed from sport's hall of fame

Graeme Dott has been removed from World Snooker's Hall of Fame after being found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 2006 world champion was found guilty at a Glasgow court on Monday of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards a boy and girl.

Letter from the Chief Political Correspondent

Richard Vaughan i@theipaper.com

Farmers will need help to stay viable

As temperatures begin to return to something like normal across the UK this week, the impact of this record-breaking summer heatwave on the country's farmers is expected to linger for some time yet.

The farming sector is undergoing a crisis that has not been experienced for more than 50 years and could even be unparalleled in recent times as a result of a series of unfortunate events that risk tipping many farms into bankruptcy.

The year started with rainfall that was well above average, which meant many farmers' ‘newly planted crops rotted in the fields. This was then followed by the Iran war, in which costs soared for necessities such as red fuel and fertiliser.

A bad situation turned worse with what has been described as the biggest drought since at least 1976, leading to wildfires, which have devastated crops and the harvest in some areas.

The industry is now in the grips of a bluetongue outbreak, a midge-borne disease that has already led to thousands of sheep being culled and is unlikely to peak until later next month.

It stands to reason that farmers already challenging capacity to make ends meet are being stretched to the absolute limit.

The question now is what will Andy Burnham do about it?

The Prime Minister has already announced £65m in support to help with the effects of the drought, but the National Farmers' Union has warned that fresh cash will be needed to keep the farming industry viable.

It places another demand on Burnham's ever-diminishing coffers two months out from a crucial Budget.

SAMSUNG

Split the view Max the productivity

MEET THE NEW STANDARD OF BUSINESS

Now available on EE Trade in and save up to £580

Secured by Knox Samsung account login is required for certain AI features.

PEOPLE

Dolly Parton, legendary Queen of

By Alex Dakers

Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family has announced.

The 11-time Grammy-winning artist, best known for her genre-defining hits including “9 to 5”, “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene”, died peacefully on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a statement released by her PR team.

In a video shared to Parton's Instagram page, the singer's nephew announced her death, saying: "My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean.

“Sister, sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.”

He continued: “This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.

"As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father

"It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.

“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others.”

'A rhinestone life' Family pays tribute

Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now.

Parton's husband, Carl Dean, died last year.

Confirming the news of Dolly Parton's death, her family released the following statement:

"Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old.

"Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942–2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923–2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921–2000).

enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth and kindness that made us all feel like family.

"A rhinestone life that shone bright

"Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact."

"Dolly Parton's legacy is one of love, compassion and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place.

Dolly Parton at Dollywood, the world-renowned, 165-acre theme park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in 1987 JOHN SEAKWOOD/DISNEY/GETTY

The singer wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a goodbye to her former creative partner Porter Wagoner, who hired her to be his sidekick on The Porter Wagoner Show and helped her land a record deal.

The song became a blockbuster hit when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Parton's own film career began in 1980 when she starred in 9 to 5 with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. The theme song became her first No 1 single on the Hot 100 chart in the US.

Other notable film appearances include The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas alongside Burt Reynolds, Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone and Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts and Sally Field.

Parton's 1973 track “Jolene” is widely considered to be one of country music's greatest songs.

Parton was born in a single-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, in 1946, as the fourth of 12 children.

She began her musical journey at the age of six, singing in church where her grandfather was the pastor. By 13, she had reached the pinnacle of country music success – an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Flags are to be lowered throughout the US in honour of Dolly Parton, President Donald Trump announced last night.

Top: Dolly Parton at Glastonbury in 2014; with Miley Cyrus in 2022 (left); in 'Steel Magnolias' (above) in 1989; with Kenny Rogers (below) in 1987; starring in '9 to 5' in 1980 (right) SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP

Country, dies peacefully aged 80

'Not blonde' Best quotes

Dolly Parton's long career, iconic look and sense of humour meant she had a litany of quotes gathered through her time in the public eye. Never afraid to poke fun at herself, some of her lines

- especially “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap” – have become part of everyday speech.

On starting out: "You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try."

"I had to get rich so I could afford to sing like I was poor again."

On her career: "I look like a woman but I think like a man. I've done business with men who think I'm as silly as I look. By the time they realise I'm not, I've got the money and gone"

"After you reach a certain age, they think you're over. Well, I will never be over. I'll be making records if I have to sell them out of the trunk of my car. I've done that in my past, and I'd do it again."

"I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don't work for money. Never did."

On her look: "I describe my look as a blend of Mother Goose, Cinderella, and the local hooker."

"I'm not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb... and I also know that I'm not blonde."

CHARITY

Star used wealth to help others

By Frankie Lister-Fell

The Dollywood Foundation was created in 1988 by Dolly Parton to inspire the children in her home country to achieve educational success. Its support included offering scholarships to high school students to help further their education.

In 1991 she partnered with the American Eagle Foundation and opened a shelter for “non-releasable” bald eagles at her theme park in Tennessee called Dollywood.

In 1995, the Foundation implemented Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee, which posts free books to children under five. It was set up partly because Parton's father couldn't read or write.

She hosted a 2007 benefit concert that raised \$500,000 (£370,000) for a new medical facility in Sevier County, Tennessee, which later opened as the LeConte Medical Centre in 2010.

She established the My People Fund to support families affected by the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires. She supported over 900 families who lost their homes by giving them \$1,000 a month, raising \$12.5m in total.

APPRECIATION

In 2024, she donated \$1m to aid flood victims of Hurricane Helene in East Tennessee.

Singer's coat of many colours lit up entire world

Her songs went far beyond country music and US. By Ben Sutherland

Country music is a genre that is rooted in a specific place of a specific nation – but curiously, in Dolly Parton, it created

someone as famous in Wagga Wagga as she was in Chattanooga.

Her stance, her silhouette and her sayings made her simply one of the world's most iconic figures,

Her contribution to music was incredible enough. In a career that began in the 1960s, she had hits throughout every subsequent decade: from 1967's Hello, I'm Dolly to her 49th and final studio album, Rockstar – released in 2023, and which made it to number 3 in the US, and of course topped the country music charts.

The hits in the near six-decade interim were legion. Her theme song from the movie 9 To 5 – in which, being an accomplished actress, she also starred – and the track “Transamerica’s Travelin’ Thru” were both nominated for Academy Awards, while “Jolene” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

She holds Guinness World Records for most consecutive decades with top 10 album entries on the Billboard country chart, most studio albums released by a female country singer and most Grammy nominations for a female country artist.

But she has another entry in the Grammy Hall of Fame – “I Will Always Love You”, although that song is now more associated with the late Whitney Houston thanks to its use in the 1992 smash hit movie The Bodyguard.

The story behind that song showcased a lot about Parton's personality. It was inspired by her mentor, Porter Wagoner, who she had worked closely with before taking the decision to manage her career herself.

But shortly after its initial 1974 release, Parton was approached by Elvis Presley, who asked if he could release a cover version.

"This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me as a songwriter," Parton thought.

But Presley's manager, Colonel Parker, said Elvis could not record anything that he did not have half the publishing rights for – even when he had not written anything. So, despite it breaking her heart to not have her song recorded by someone whose work she adored, Parton turned him down.

Instead, she said she waited for someone who would sing it better than she could herself, and Houston became that person. Whatever she might have made from agreeing to Parker's deal was dwarfed by that later success: "When Whitney covered it, I made enough to buy Graceland," Parton later said.

The story also reflected something Parton said about herself – that she would want to be remembered as a songwriter.

“You’re putting something in the world that wasn’t there yesterday and which you hope people are still going to be singing after you’ve gone,” she once said.

But while the songs will last forever, she will remembered for much more. Like Muhammad Ali, she became a global star in the 1960s through a combination of exceptional talent, an unmistakable look and an ability with one-liners, of which “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap” is perhaps the most famous.

She once joked that, just as Betty Grable had once had her famous legs insured, “I should get my boobs insured since I’m famous for them.”

And that was undoubtedly true

And that was undoubtedly true – to the extent that the first cloned mammal, Dolly the Sheep, was named after her as the cells from which Dolly was grown were taken from a mammary gland.

Having accumulated so much wealth through her works, in the late 1980s Parton set about putting it to work.

Setting up the Dollywood Foundation she became one of America's most generous philanthropists.

Initially it provided books and scholarships to schools. But in 2020 it emerged a \$1m donation from Parton had helped fund the development of the Moderna vaccine against Covid.

And it is also notable that, despite coming from a genre that is more conservative-inclined, Parton was considered a gay icon.

Few people ever bridge a political divide that way. Donald Trump last night wrote of Parton: “There has never been anyone like her, and never will.” It may sit alone as the least divisive thing he has ever said.

COVER STORY

Future of triple lock under threat from pensions timebomb

By Caroline Wheeler

POLITICAL EDITOR

Britain is facing a pensions time-bomb as the number of people reaching pension age rises far faster than the working population – piling pressure on the future of the state pension triple lock, and increasing the prospect of higher taxes.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show the working-age population increasing by about 2.2 million, or 5 per cent, between 2024 and 2049.

Over the same period, the number of people of pensionable age is projected to increase by 2.9 million – or almost 24 per cent.

The Government Actuary's Department highlighted the changing ratio in a bulletin published last week. For every 1,000 people of working age, there are currently 280 people of pensionable age.

But by 2049, that figure is projected to rise to 329, while the number of people aged 85 and over is expected to roughly double, from 1.8 million in mid-2024 to 3.6 million.

This demographic shift will add to pressure on health and social care, and also points to a growing reliance on migrant labour to sustain the workforce as Britain ages.

Separate ONS projections showed deaths outnumbering births by 2.5 million over the next 25 years, while net migration of 5.6 million is expected to provide the only source of overall population growth.

The figures will place even more pressure on the long-term future of the state pension triple lock, which guarantees that the state pension rises each year by whichever is highest of inflation, average

This has seen large increases in the state pension over the last few years, due to high inflation and wage growth.

But with the cost of the state pension standing at £146.1bn – almost half the entire £333.7bn welfare budget – the cost of the triple lock is being seen as unsustainable in the long term.

Reforming it, however, will be difficult as older people are the most likely to vote. Labour has pledged to keep it for the length of this Parliament, despite the Office for Budget

The figures come as the Government faces immediate choices over how to pay for its spending commitments, with Andy Burnham refusing to rule out tax rises on Monday.

Responsibility saying last year it would cost £15.5bn annually by then – and will add £43bn to state pension spending by 2070.

Lord Jim O'Neill, the former Goldman Sachs chief economist and an adviser to Burnham, has called for what he described as "genuine welfare reform".

He specifically said he would include the state pension triple lock in that reform, arguing for a “more sensible approach to welfare spending”.

David Gauke, vice-chair of Prosper UK, a cross-party organisation

campaigning for economic growth, investment and productivity, and former Tory chief secretary to the Treasury, told The i Paper:

“Given the forthcoming demographic changes and the urgent need to reassure the financial markets of our fiscal credibility, our political parties need to face up to the reality that the triple lock is unsustainable.”

However, Burnham told The i Paper in an exclusive interview in June that he would leave the triple lock untouched, insisting Labour must honour its manifesto promise to millions of pensioners at a moment of collapsing public trust.

ECONOMY

Ageing population ‘will become biggest drain on public finances’

By Arj Singh DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

Britain's ageing population could become the overwhelming source of pressure on the public finances over the coming decades and could account for almost 80 per cent of the additional fiscal burden by 2075, according to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research.

The cost of supporting an older population through pensions, healthcare and social care could add almost 10 per cent of GDP to the pressures facing the public finances by 2075, the report added.

Ageing accounts for less than half of the additional fiscal pressure expected over the next decade, according to the analysis, but rises to around two-thirds by 2050 and almost four-fifths by 2075.

The analysis, by Oxford professor Ben Ansell, argues that the figures will make changes to the tax system increasingly difficult to avoid.

He said: "Britain cannot meet the fiscal challenges of the coming decades simply by asking people in work to pay more and relying on another round of stealth taxes.

“Ageing is going to become by far the biggest source of pressure on the public finances. Yet our tax system has increasingly shifted responsibility towards younger workers while protecting many of those who have benefited most from decades of rising property and asset wealth.

“Reform is politically difficult, but avoiding it has simply given Britain an ever more complicated tax system. We need a new fiscal contract: one that raises the revenue the country will need, shifts more of the burden from work towards wealth and property, and is honest with the public about who pays and why."

The cost of supporting older people will increase in the coming decades

The problem of who pays for an ageing population is one many Western democracies, as well as countries like Japan and South Korea, are grappling with.

Advances in medicine and nutrition have enabled people to live much longer, but retirement ages have not risen alongside.

When the UK state pension was introduced in 1948, for example, the retirement age for men was 65 - which was also the same age men lived to on average.

But in 2026, British men can expect to live an average of 18.7 years past their 65th birthday, while the retirement age has only increased by a year, to 66 – although it will nudge to 67 by April 2028.

Tax rise risks What are Burnham's budget options?

Raising income tax, national insurance or VAT

The biggest revenue raising levers that the Chancellor, John Healey, has at his disposal relate to income tax, national insurance and VAT, which make up 54 per cent of the tax base.

However, Labour's 2024 general election manifesto committed not to raise any of them, and Burnham has repeatedly said he will stick to that commitment. Political risk rating: 4/5

Equalising Capital Gains Tax One of the more likely options would be to raise capital gains tax (CGT), now at 18 per cent for basic-rate income taxpayers and 24 per cent for higher and additional-rate taxpayers.

Raising the tax is popular in the Labour Party, but how much money CGT equalisation would raise is fiercely contested.

The Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank has claimed that it could raise £14bn a year, but sceptics suggest it could end up costing the Treasury money.

Nimesh Shah, chief executive of tax firm Blick Rothenberg, said that if full alignment is rejected, it could still be tightened. Political risk rating: 2/5

Andy Burnham has already targeted vape vendors and betting shops

Wealth tax Burnham has faced calls from figures on the left to introduce some sort of wealth tax. Last month, farmer

Gary Lineker was among 120 so-called “Patriotic Millionaires” who signed a letter backing paying more tax in the form of a 2 per cent levy on wealth over £10m. Economists and

academics at the Paris School of Economics and

School of Economics and King's College London claim such a tax could raise £10bn a year.

But sceptics such as tax expert Dan Neidle have said that the policy would be highly vulnerable to a small number of wealthy individuals

Song for the boys in blue

Members of the Zurich Opera House rehearse Verdi's 'A Masked Ball' at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, ahead of a UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival. JANE BARLOW/PA

ceasing to be UK tax residents or "gaming" the valuation of their assets. Political risk rating: 2/5

Pension tax changes

There has been speculation that the Government could cut the size of the tax-free lump sum people can take from their pensions, which is either 25 per cent of the amount or £268,275 – whichever is lower.

Another option would be to limit pension tax relief. For pensions, you receive relief at whatever income tax rate you pay, so higher rate payers get more generous tax relief. Political risk rating: 3/5

Sainsbury's offers '10,000 opportunities'

Sin taxes

Burnham could target business sectors or activities which he thinks are “anti-social” or damaging.

The Prime Minister has already signalled a shift in this direction, saying that the 20 per cent business rates cut for pubs, clubs, and small live music venues will be funded by reducing reliefs for stores perceived as causing social harm – specifically vape shops and betting establishments.

EMPLOYMENT

With the exception of alcohol, sin taxes incur little political cost. The bigger problem with them is that they tend to raise trivial sums.

Capital Economics has suggested that sin taxes could raise £1bn. Political risk rating: 1/5

Will Hazell

By Sophie Wingate

Sainsbury's is to offer 10,000 work experience opportunities to young people in deprived areas, the Government has said, as it seeks to tackle the UK's youth unemployment crisis.

The retailer will launch a programme designed to help more young people into work from October, including workplace visits, careers sessions and practical work experience across England, Scotland and Wales.

The scheme will target communities with a high number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) – which has topped one million nationwide – and free school meals.

Last month, the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, unveiled plans for new technical education routes for 14-year-olds that will be put on an equal footing with traditional academic pathways.

Burnham said: “It’s great to see Sainsbury’s stepping up with 10,000 opportunities to help young people build confidence, gain experience and get a foot in the door.

"I encourage more businesses across the country to do the same."

SOCIETY

Housing crisis risks councils being pushed over the edge

Rural areas face ballooning bills to provide shelter to families living in homelessness. By Vicky Spratt

Britain's rural child homelessness crisis is worsening, but nobody is talking about it. Exclusive data from the County

Councils Network (CCN) reveals the issue. The group fears the increase is because of a focus on major cities with regional mayors.

As the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner; Prime Minister, Andy Burnham; and housing and planning minister, Matthew Pennycook, finally announced the first wave of their allocations from the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) earlier this week, concern started to grow in rural areas that the lion's share was going to urban locations.

While it is true that major cities have high levels of homelessness and a growing number of families languishing in temporary accommodation, the CCN warn there are now 23,000 homeless children across England's counties.

That is enough to fill an average market town and councils caution that rural homelessness is becoming a “deepening crisis” – with areas such as North Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Durham reporting a more than sixfold increase in households in temporary accommodation.

In March, there were a record 23,186 children in county council areas growing up in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs, hostels, hotels and privately rented homes, which councils are often charged expensive rates to let.

According to the CCN, the number of homeless children in rural areas has risen by 74 per cent since 2019-20.

This is almost double the national increase of 38 per cent.

While many headlines have focused on the strain on migrant accommodation in recent months, asylum seekers cannot be housed in temporary or social council accommodation and are sheltered by private providers.

The rise in homeless families with children has been brewing for years. Experts say it is because there is less social housing than there once was, leaving more low-income families to rely on private rents, which they increasingly cannot afford.

Rents have outpaced overall consumer inflation in recent years – private rents have grown 3.7 per cent in the last year, compared to an inflation rate of 2.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the state support available to pay those rents (the housing benefit portion of universal credit) has mostly remained frozen. Homelessness charities, such as Crisis, have said they are being approached for help by people in work who do not qualify for

state support but, equally, cannot afford local rents. In places like Hastings on England's south coast, temporary accommodation costs have pushed local councils' finances to the brink. English councils spent a total of £2.2bn in the two years between 2023 and 2025, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

For years, the focus has been on the impact this is having on local councils in major cities. However, today the CCN warns that rural councils' costs are “ballooning” beyond a sustainable level.

Councils in county areas spent £124m on temporary accommodation in 2019-20, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. Five years later, they were spending £373m.

The CCN says that as well as soaring rents, a lack of affordable homes in many areas is fuelling the problem and has called on the Government to step in.

Reform UK councillor Andrew Husband, the CCN's housing and planning spokesperson, said that while they recognise the SAHP funding, they are concerned "virtually all the funds announced are going to England's major cities".

He added: “It is vital that the Government recognises that homelessness is now both an urban and rural challenge, and provides funding to support the delivery of more social and affordable housing in England’s counties.”

Husband, leader of County Durham Council, where the number of households living in temporary

The amount spent by councils in English county areas on temporary accommodation in the past year accommodation has risen more than 500 per cent, from 19 to 118, says the authority is “swimming against the tide” as “more and more people” need support.

“Since taking over as leader of the council almost 18 months ago now, I’ve seen first-hand how the problem has worsened, despite us supporting record numbers of people who have become homeless and progressing plans for more affordable homes,” he says.

“We’ve had to open homeless hubs not only in Durham city itself, but even smaller

rural towns such as 'Tow Law,' Husband added, before urging the Government to develop a "homelessness strategy for rural areas".

Rayner (inset) said this week that the

Government's intention is to focus on funding the building of homes for social rent, which could help families out of temporary accommodation.

However, whether there will be more funding for rural areas and, crucially, whether any of the worst-affected rural councils will be able to bid for funding to build new housing in the next round of the SAHP remains to be seen.

In the meantime, children will be stuck – sometimes for years – in temporary emergency accommodation which is often unsuitable, unsafe and, sometimes, even dangerous.

There are just three councils on their list of 33 “strategic partners” who have been allocated funding in the SAHP – Cambridge City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and Newcastle City Council.

Rayner said the Government would be “tilting” towards council house building and that this is just the start, but it looks like it is going to be a slow rebirth.

An aerial view of Hastings Harbour and Old Town TIARA ANGGAMULIA/GETTY

5 LUNCHES FOR UNDER £4.50

SCHOOL LUNCHES PACKED WITH VALUE

NEWS

NEWS OPINION TV 2-33 18-22 26-31

LIFE 34-37

CULTURE 38-41

MONEY 42-45

SPORT 50-56

WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST 2026

SERVICES

Burnham faces backlash over Thames Water

By Richard Vaughan

CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

Downing Street has sought to head off growing anger among Labour MPs after it emerged that Andy Burnham has backtracked on plans to put Thames Water into administration.

The Prime Minister had been expected to set out taking the beleaguered water giant into temporary public control as one of his first acts as leader amid growing government concerns over the financial viability of the company.

The i Paper revealed last month that he had shied away from making an official announcement after the company's creditors came back with a new deal to avoid administration.

Fresh reports have since come to light this week revealing that Burnham has shelved the plans to put Thames Water into a special administration regime (SAR), which would see the Government taking

But No 10 says the option remains on the table, with the Prime Minister now seeking views from his own MPs as to how the water system should be reformed.

A Government source

said: “Our water industry has not been working for people for far too long. That’s why this Government is looking at how we can give the public more control and help keep bills as low as possible.”

Water Minister Emma Hardy (inset) held a virtual roundtable meeting with Labour MPs and peers yesterday to discuss “colleagues’ ideas for water reform”, as the Gov-

ernment seeks to develop plans to hand greater say over how water companies are run.

One Labour MP questioned why the Prime Minister was now looking for ideas on how to overhaul the water system, having spoken repeat-

edly of the need to bring water companies under public control ahead of his election as an MP earlier this year.

“Andy was the overwhelming favourite [to become leader] because he had made no secret of his own ideas on water reform," the MP pointed out.

Shelving the plans has gone down poorly elsewhere within the Labour movement, with John McTernan, former adviser to Tony Blair, branding the decision “an error”.

Labour backbencher Ian Byrne he shared a statement by campaign group We Own It: “Andy Burnham cannot allow Thames Water’s US hedge fund creditors to continue to hold 16 million Britons to ransom.”

Thames Water's creditors plan to appoint four new directors to the board of the stricken supplier if their rescue bid is given the green light to avoid it being nationalised.

Former Yorkshire Water chief executive Liz Barber is among the first tranche of proposed non-executive directors unveiled by the London & Valley Water consortium.

Details of the proposed board are seen as an effort to reassure about governance and leadership of Britain's biggest water supplier.

Opposition parties have also criticised the backtracking, with the Liberal Democrat's environment spokesman Tim Farron stating: "This is really weak and frustrating. We will never clean up our water ways and our water industry if government will not tackle Thames, the worst offender."

AGRICULTURE

Farmers have been hampered by the driest weather in 50 years TOBY SHEPHEARD / AFP

Farmers call for help in ‘worst crisis for 50 years’

By Richard Vaughan

CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

The farming sector is facing its biggest crisis in more than half a century with farms on the brink of going bust, food prices likely to rise and widespread shortages in supermarkets, farmers' leaders have warned.

The industry has been hammered by an unseasonably wet spring, rising costs caused by the Iran conflict, followed by the worst droughts in 50 years, wildfires and a fresh outbreak of bluetongue.

The National Farming Union (NFU) president, Tom Bradshaw, has warned that without immediate support from the Government, many farmers face going to the wall, undermining Andy Burnham's pledge to increase food security, and prices for consumers will be pushed up.

Bradshaw (inset) said "you would probably have to go back to before EU support schemes were in

“Support policies were introduced” in 1973 when the UK entered the Common Agricultural Policy to find a bigger crisis hitting the sector.

"We've moved from trying to look at this strategically to this being the worst farming crisis that the industry has faced in the time I've been involved in the NFU," he said.

At least a fifth of farmers are feared to be facing going out of business. The latest NFU survey of farmers was carried out in December and found two-thirds of farmers said their profits were falling while 18 per cent feared losing their farms. Since then they have been hit by drought and the costs of the Iran war.

Bradshaw added that previously during periods of crisis, support payments would kick in to help the sector through tougher times, but these have since been removed, meaning farmers are facing severe cash flow problems.

He warned that farm closures that have been witnessed in recent years “will only accelerate” without support from the Government.

He also cast doubt on supermarkets being able to import produce from overseas to fill shelves, warning of shortages in the future.

“Where do those extra imports come from? What is the cost of them when the drought has been so widespread? What I can say is we’ve already seen a period where there were no cucumbers in some of our retailers,” Bradshaw added.

The sector is asking for an interest-free loan to help farmers get through the next 12 months after what has been described as the worst drought in more than 50 years.

There is also the demand for urgent government support to help farmers that have lost livestock as a result of the bluetongue outbreak, which has led to thousands of animals being culled.

CONSERVATIVES

Badenoch to reshuffle Shadow Cabinet

By Ben Sutherland

Kemi Badenoch is to reshuffle the Conservative front bench within days, according to reports.

Significant changes to the Shadow Cabinet will be announced when MPs return from their summer break next week, The Daily Telegraph has said.

It will be Badenoch's second reshuffle since she took over as Tory party leader following the 2024 general election in which the party suffered its worst ever defeat.

One certain departure is the shadow Energy Secretary, Claire Coutinho, who will be starting maternity leave, Tory sources said.

She has been linked with a more high-profile role, such as shadow Chancellor, when she returns next year.

The shadow solicitor-general, Helen Grant, will also leave voluntarily, while Julia Lopez's role as the shadow science and technology secretary is no longer after the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, abolished the department with that brief.

Sources said Tory backbenchers are frustrated at not having more front-bench roles and the reshuffle is partially intended to address that.

One said: “A lot of the new intake... think that the Shadow Cabinet are lazy and they are having to pick up a lot of the slack.”

Helen Grant, left, is leaving and Claire Coutinho is on maternity leave

SOCIETY

Man dies after police pursuit in Warwickshire

By Stephanie Wareham

A man has died and a woman is critically injured after a crash following a police pursuit in Warwickshire.

Officers attempted to stop a black Audi on Birmingham Road in Stratford at around 5.23pm on Monday, but the vehicle failed to stop and made off in the direction of the A46, Warwickshire Police said.

The driver of the car then travelled back towards Stratford on the A439 Warwick Road before the Audi was in a collision with a white Ford Puma at around 5.44pm following a police pursuit lasting around six minutes.

The male driver of the Audi was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, while the Ford driver, a woman in her 70s, was taken to hospital where she remains in a critical condition.

Another woman, who was a passenger in the second car, suffered potentially serious injuries which are not believed to be life threatening, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said.

Warwickshire Police said their families have been informed and are being offered specialist support.

Superintendent Steve Flavell said:

The A439 Warwick Road where the police pursuit took place

The pursuit lasted for around six minutes before the crash, Warwickshire Police said.

"Our thoughts are with the families of everyone involved in this collision and we're providing specialist support to them at this extremely difficult time.

"We made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) because a death had occurred following police contact.

“They have declared an independent investigation and we will co-operate fully with their investigation.”

A spokesman for the IOPC said their investigation into the involvement of Warwickshire Police prior to the fatal collision was at an early stage.

They said: “We were notified by the force at 7.40pm and IOPC investigators attended the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering information. We declared an independent investigation at 9.38pm.

"We understand that the driver of a black Audi A3 failed to stop for police and was then pursued for around six minutes before the vehicle was involved in a collision with a car being driven by a member of the public.

"The male driver of the Audi sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

"The driver of the other car, a woman in her 70s, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries."

A number of other vehicles were also damaged during the pursuit.

WMAS said it sent two ambulances, three paramedic officers and air ambulances run by two regions to the scene.

POLICE

Flowers at Cleveland Police HQ in Middlesbrough yesterday after the deaths of two officers OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

Five more arrests over A66 crash that killed 7

By Ted Hennessey

Five more people have been arrested following investigations into events surrounding the crash on the A66 last weekend in which two police officers and five people in a Volkswagen Passat died, police have said.

It brings the total of arrests to 17 following the horrific crash near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday.

Yesterday, Cleveland Police said it had arrested five more people with the assistance of the National Crime Agency and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

The force said they were a boy aged 16, an 18-year-old and a man of 21, all on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group; a 55-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 23-year-old on suspicion of making threats to kill.

Cleveland Police said two of the 12 people previously arrested have now appeared in court.

Kai Beattie, 19, of Redcar, appeared before Teesside magistrates' court charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, according to the force.

Cameron George, 26, also of Red-car, was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on 21 September charged with drugs offences and possession of criminal property, it said.

Police have previously said that the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when the Passat, which had been pursued by police, was driven the wrong way along the dual-carriageway and hit their armed response vehicle.

Meanwhile, Paul Williams, acting deputy national chairman for the Police Federation of England and Wales, told BBC Breakfast the “baiting” of officers with dangerous driving was becoming “a real problem”.

UNITED STATES

Tate brothers 'playing a role' to make income

By Josh Payne

Social media influencer Andrew Tate rented supercars to appear “uberwealthy” in order to generate more online engagement, his lawyers have said.

Legal representatives for the former kickboxer, and his brother Tristan Tate, claimed the pair deliberately portray themselves as far wealthier than they are because their “business model depends on online attention”.

The submissions come after British police sought the brothers' extradition from the US over an investigation into alleged sexual offences, which they deny.

Andrew Tate, left, drives a sports car in Bucharest in 2024 and, right, Tristan Tate was seen in the city in a luxury sports car on the same day

The brothers, who hold dual US and British citizenship, were arrested in Miami, where they remain in a detention centre, in July after new charges were brought against them.

In a filing to a Florida federal court, the lawyers added: "The more hyperbolic and outlandish the post, the more likely it will generate views and likes, which generates income.

"In short, they are playing a role."

The brothers' legal representatives said images of luxury yachts, supercars and expensive watches shared by the pair online should not be taken as evidence of their wealth.

Their submissions continued: "The ‘superyacht’ does not belong to the Tates. It is in their interest to portray themselves on social media as uberwealthy.

"For example, the \$2.1m [£1.5m] Aston Martin and \$5m and \$7m Bugattis featured in Tristan's videos were rented."

Separately, Andrew Tate is being sued in England by four women over allegations of sexual violence.

The brothers have previously “unequivocally” denied wrongdoing.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Orange parade restriction quashed

By Jonathan McCambridge

A decision by the Parades Commission to impose restrictions on the annual Orange Order parade at Drumcree in Portadown has been quashed in the High Court in Belfast.

The court was told that the restriction had not been considered in its “final form” by all members of the commission.e

The legal challenge, which was launched last month, had been brought by a Portadown Orangeman.

The Parades Commission, which adjudicates on contentious marches, had blocked the order from marching along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in July every year since 1998.

High Court judge Mr Justice McAlinden said he had “no hesitation” in making a ruling to quash this year’s blocking order.

The Orange Order was stopped from marching to Portadown in 1998

He added: “This is simply a case which does not stand up to any scrutiny at all.”

In 1998 and previous years, there was widespread disorder because of sectarian tensions around the march along the nationalist Garvaghy Road.

DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart called on commissioners at the Parades Commission to resign.

Leith hails the 'revolution' in school food

By Ellie Ng

Dame Prue Leith has hailed a “revolution” in school food, but suggested taking reforms one step further and banning lunchboxes.

The former Great British Bake Off judge (inset) said she would like to see free school meals for every child, and for the meals to be compulsory.

It comes as all pupils in England from families on universal credit becomes eligible for

In families on universal credit become eligible for free school meals from next month amid a school food standards overhaul to tackle childhood obesity and tooth decay.

Leith said: "It's the first time in my long life of campaigning for better school food that I've actually school food that I've actually felt there's a Government that's at least a little bit interested."

She said feeding children tasty, nutritious food would not only help them be healthy but will also be an “opportunity for pleasure”.

"If children eat junk and are not given healthy food, they will not be healthy." she added.

“But I’m not only keen on learning to like good food for health. I think it’s an opportunity for pleasure. It’s such a joy and such an interest.”

The 17th series of 'The Great British Bake Off' will air next month CHANNEL 4

TELEVISION

Channel 4 teases ‘Bake Off’ viewers with first sight of judge Lawson

By Carla Feric

Nigella Lawson can be seen making her ‘Great British Bake Off’ debut alongside her new co-stars in a sneak preview at the Channel 4 baking show.

The TV cook was recently announced as a new judge on the programme, after Dame Prue Leith said in January that she was stepping down after nine series on the show.

Before the new season premieres next month, viewers have been given a glimpse of

Lawson in her new role alongside fellow judge Paul Hollywood, and presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond.

A trailer released yesterday shows Hollywood, Fielding and Hammond squabbling while holding forks, before

new colleague Lawson is heard clearing her throat and pushing her way through the crowd, as she makes a beeline for the camera with her own fork.

A graphic on screen appeared saying “the bake is back” over a brightly coloured background.

PEOPLE

Boy hurt in crocodile enclosure returns home

By Sam Russell

A three-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a zoo's crocodile enclosure has been discharged from hospital and is settling back in at home, his family said.

The child returned home “a few weeks ago” and is “happy to be home, playing with his toys, sleeping in his own bed and being a big brother”, his parents said in an update posted online.

Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, said in a previous social media post it was “alerted to reports that a child had allegedly been thrown into one of our crocodile enclosures" on 18 June.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the incident and was later bailed, as police said he was “assessed as not being fit for interview”.

The suspect in the case is understood to have learning difficulties and had been on a trip with carers, and an investigation has been launched into his care.

In an update issued on Monday, the boy's family said it was “nice to have us all back together in the comfort of our own home”.

A fundraising page was set up to support the family financially and help the boy's recovery and rehabilitation. It has raised more than £113,000 to date.

"Now that we are home, our son's rehabilitation journey continues and we can focus on ensuring our son has the best possible chance at recovery," his parents posted on GoFundMe.

“Both of us will continue to stay by our son’s side as we support him on his rehabilitation journey.

"We attend the hospital frequently to find out the next steps and we work on them together as a family.

“All of his immediate surgeries are over with for now, which means we can now focus on rehabilitation at home.”

They said the money donated so far “has supported us financially to cover immediate costs such as our bills and mortgage”, and “also allowed us to cover our loss of wages during this time”.

Donations have also enabled them

In a previous update, the family said the boy had undergone seven operations.

to give new toys to the paediatric intensive care unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and to the children's play team on the ward.

The boy was “very fond of the play team” and “they helped him be a little three-year-old boy by inventing new games and teaching him new ways to use his feet in play”, his parents said, adding that they had donated to the Sick Children’s Trust charity.

The family, thanking everyone who has “shown such kindness and generosity during what has been a considerable ordeal for us all”, also said they want to donate to the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT).

ENTERTAINMENT

Swift: music shut out 'hate frenzy'

By Casey Cooper-Fiske

Taylor Swift has said she used her music to overcome a “hate frenzy”.

The singer made the comments when speaking about the making of her 2017 album, Reputation, in an interview during the Grammy Museum's Icon Sessions.

She said: "It was a time in my life when, for the very first time – not

Taylor Swift says people were purposely misinterpreting her lyrics

the last – people had really actively tried to misunderstand me... and to misunderstand what I was trying to say, and to purposely misinterpret it.

"It felt very stifling as a person, as a human being, but ultimately as a writer, it gave me this... sort of gnarled-like bite when I would write.

"This is when I learned when people are in a hate frenzy about a public figure, or anyone... when people decide we're all going to stand around someone and point, and mock them, you can't respond with outward sincerity."

WEATHER

Flood warnings as rain makes return

By Frankie Lister-Fell

Flooding, heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to hit large parts of the UK this week.

A yellow warning was issued by the Met Office for today and tomorrow, covering most of England and Wales and cities including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff and Sheffield.

It is feared downpours could cause flash flooding after weeks of prolonged drought as the ground is too dry to absorb rain quickly enough.

Some areas will see 40-50mm of rainfall within a few hours, and other parts will experience strong winds and big hail stones.

Niamh Murray, operational meteorologist at the Met Office, told The i Paper a wet Bank Holiday weekend is likely, with more “settled” weather arriving on Monday.

Forecast, page 49

A large billboard bears the slogan 'Great Victory' in both Persian and English at Rah Ahen Square in Tehran yesterday FATEMEH BAHRAMI/ANADOLU/GETTY

DIPLOMACY

Iran hits out at bullying and ‘gross lawlessness of new US sanctions

By Yasmine Ghana and David Lawder

Iran yesterday denounced expanded US sanctions aimed at isolating its economy as an act of “gross lawlessness”, expressing confidence that many countries would not join the pressure campaign.

Almost six months into a conflict the US has struggled to resolve, the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent (inset), unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing options.

While he said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, he declined to give a timeline or identify which may be targeted, saying he would give them time to comply with the directive.

There have been signals of a potential return to mediation to end the war, which began with US and

Israeli strikes on Iran and has shut down most shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Iran and Oman said they had discussed a proposal vester.

day for a “joint temporary navigational corridor” through the strait and a plan to clear it of mines.

The US President, Donald Trump, repeated earlier assertions that all mines had been removed or detonated, adding that Iran had been told that any ship or boat placing new mines would be destroyed.

Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator in the conflict, said it has made “significant progress” in the latest talks with Tehran, which focused on preventing further escalation and reopening the strait.

But Iran's foreign ministry described the latest US sanctions as a threat to international law and the UN charter, saying in a statement that “the issue is no longer limited to Iran”.

It added: "No honourable state that values its sov

state that values its sovereignty and national interests will accept the normalisation of such gross lawlessness and systematic bullying."

The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on 60 individu-

als, entities and vessels, but the list did not feature any of the Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating Iran's oil trade.

China has been the biggest buyer of Iranian oil for several years.

However, the US blockade of Iran's ports has cut those oil flows to China.

Trump has said he expects to host the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, next month – and the US is keen to avoid any curbs on China's exports of critical minerals.

Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, warned yesterday that China will “take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests”.

Iran's economy minister, Ali Madanizadeh, said neither China nor Russia had “accepted” the US measures, predicting that other countries would resist them.

There have been no major US or Iranian strikes for weeks.

MIDDLE EAST

US preparing to return evacuated diplomats to embassies

By Bipasha Dey

The US State Department is preparing to return diplomats to embassies in the Middle East that were evacuated before and during the war with Iran, it was reported yesterday.

The return of foreign service officers and the scaling back of emergency measures at US missions in the region could begin as early as this week, according to the New York Times.

Embassies slated to restore higher staffing levels include those in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait, it reported.

Dan Shapiro, a former ambassador to Israel and US Defence Department official, told the paper: "Returning personnel to missions that were partly evacuated suggests the administration believes the war is winding down."

In a statement quoted by the New York Times, the US State Depart-

views the security posture at our diplomatic missions around the world".

“Based on our latest assessment, we are adjusting our staffing posture at certain posts in the Middle East to ensure we can continue advancing US foreign poliadvancing US foreign policy objectives while protecting the

News in brief

UNITED STATES

Trump: I'll rename Lake Ontario

Donald Trump has said he is considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” as the trade war between the US and Canada intensifies.

Such a change would be reminiscent of his executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

"The US is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America... we don't expect to be doing much business with Ontario," Trump said yesterday.

News, p32

SECURITY

US removes Syria from terrorism list

The US has removed Syria from its state sponsors of terrorism list, lifting what Damascus called “the last major impediment to investing in the country”.

The removal took effect after a 45-day congressional review triggered by President Donald Trump notifying Congress of intent to rescind the designation.

Syria had been on the list since 1979, when Washington accused the then-government of supporting militant groups.

Current President Ahmed al-Sharaa replaced Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

GAZA

Israel threatens Hamas over kites

Parents in Gaza have been warned to stop children flying kites in the enclave after Israel threatened a forceful response if the Hamas militant group revives a tactic of launching incendiary kites over the border.

The popular committees, comprising representatives of local non-government organisations and charities that run Gaza displacement camps and shelters, issued the warning in a statement late on Monday.

The announcement was co-ordinated with Hamas, a source in the militant group said.

DIPLOMACY

CIA chief ‘flown into Moscow for secret talks’

By Isabella Bengoechea and Jack Hillcox

The director of the CIA was in Moscow yesterday for secret talks with his Russian counterparts, US media reported.

John Ratcliffe travelled to Russia on board a C-17 for meetings in Moscow, sources told CBS and Axios. The US spy chief's visit had not been publicly announced.

The outlets did not say who Ratcliffe was meeting or what the talks were expected to cover. High-level US and Russian officials rarely meet for in-person talks.

The reports were not confirmed by US or Russian authorities. The i Paper contacted the White House for comment.

Reports of Ratcliffe's visit emerged after a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III – a military plane used to transport troops, heavy equipment and supplies – arrived at Vnukovo International Airport, 17 miles south-west of the centre of the capital, yesterday morning.

CIA director John Ratcliffe (right, with Donald Trump) is said to have landed at Vnukovo International Airport near Moscow on board a C-17 (left) on Monday

Video circulating online appeared to show a motorcade of cars with US diplomatic licence plates driving through Moscow.

The plane, with flight number RCH4555, departed the Latvian capital, Riga, just before 7am UK time and landed at Vnukovo slightly more than an hour later, around

10am Moscow time, flight tracking data showed. It departed Moscow around 6.30pm.

The plane had flown from Camp Springs in Maryland, just outside Washington DC, where Joint Base Andrews is located, on Sunday evening and landed in Riga early the next morning, according to Flightradar24.

Donald Trump and other top US officials fly from Joint Base Andrews.

The last known visit by a CIA director to Russia came in November 2021, months before the Ukraine war began, when William Burns met with senior Russian officials and spoke with President Vladimir Putin directly to warn him against invading.

The Financial Times reported that Trump administration officials last week asked Ukraine not to strike Moscow, St Petersburg and northern Russia with long-range missiles and drones on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, when a senior official would be flying to Moscow, according to people familiar with the request.

There have been questions in recent weeks over further high-level diplomacy between Russia and the US after talks on ending the Ukraine war largely stalled. But Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said there were no plans to hold meetings with representatives of the US administration this week.

The arrival of the C-17 sparked speculation about high-level diplomatic activity or another prisoner swap. A US plane reportedly travelled to Russia as part of a swap in February, when the American teacher Marc Fogel was released.

However, US investigative journalist Michael Weiss said: "If I had to wager, I'd say Ratcliffe is in Moscow to warn about Russian escalation against Europe/Nato," pointing out that this visit came amid a "noticeable uptick in suspected GRU sabotage operations and Russian drone activity" across European countries.

Last week, the Kremlin said there was no information yet on another visit to Moscow by US envoys Jared Kushner – Trump's son-in-law – and Steve Witkoff, a former property developer, who have been involved in previous talks.

RUSSIA

Putin sends warships to protect shadow fleet near UK waters

By Sanya Burgess

INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT

Vladimir Putin is diverting some of his most advanced warships to escort sanctioned and shadow fleet oil tankers near to UK waters – including a frigate armed with hypersonic missiles earlier this month.

Experts tracking Russian flagged and “shadow fleet” ships are monitoring whether the Kremlin will look to sail through the English Channel and North Sea to send a message after making fresh threats of retaliation over Britain’s increasing support for Ukraine.

Open-source evidence reveals that earlier this month the Russian warship Admiral Kasatonov escorted a cargo ship through the Baltic Sea before entering the North Sea and heading north past Norway.

The Admiral Kasatonov is regarded as one of the most advanced warships in the Russian navy, equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles and nuclear-capable Zircon hypersonic missiles, which would have been in range of the UK during the journey.

Flight tracking software shows that it was being followed by the RAF's P-8A Poseidon aircraft, which circled as the frigate and the cargo vessel sailed past Norway.

The shadow fleet has become a lifeline for Putin's war effort, with ships suspected of sailing under false flags to evade blockades and continue to make money from sanctioned oil. Around 75 per cent of Russia's crude oil is transported by the decrepit and ageing fleet of ships.

The Royal Navy monitoring a Russian warship passing UK waters LPHOT LOUISE GEORGE UK MOD/CROWN COPYRIGHT

In June, the UK seized the shadow oil tanker Smyrtos, which spooked the Kremlin and led to a four-day freeze of Russian-linked vessels passing through the Channel.

Days later another of Putin's warships, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired "warning" shots at British couple Alan and Jane Kelvey's sailing boat Bright Future.

An open-source expert monitoring the vessels, who did not want his identity to be published and who goes by Russian Forces Spotter on X, said that since mid-June, 75 per cent of the sanctioned crude tankers he was tracking had avoided the English Channel, instead routing north via the Faroe and Shetland corridor.

“Many of the same vessels were previously using the Channel routinely,” he said. “I would be cautious about attributing this to any single event, including the seizure of Smyrtos, but the persistence of the routing change suggests that operators increasingly perceive the Channel as the riskier option."

Offshore tug and supply ship FS 'Aries' alongside oil tanker 'Smyrtos'

British military ships and helicopters spent 21 days monitoring Russian activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic in July, up 25 per cent from last year, according to the latest available Ministry of Defence data.

The use of the Admiral Kasatonov as an escort vessel is notable, according to Russian Forces Spotter: "Russia increasingly appears willing to dedicate high-end naval assets to protecting its maritime trade.

"The routing data suggests continued caution around British waters, while the escorts show that Moscow considers protecting these maritime flows important enough to commit valuable naval assets to the task.

“It is harder to prove whether that reflects anxiety or fewer resources.”

SECURITY

UK drone works face attacks, warns ex-aide

By Christopher McKeon and Rhiannon James

A Kremlin adviser has suggested UK factories producing drones for Ukraine could come under attack from “unknown sources” after Britain agreed to share long-range missile blueprints with the war-torn country.

Former deputy foreign minister for Russia Andrei Fedorov said he could not “100 per cent exclude” the prospect of “semi-military” action against Britain as Andy Burnham made a visit to Kyiv on Monday.

During the trip, the Prime Minister's first overseas since

entering No 10, the UK reiterated its "unwavering" support for Ukraine, which in turn handed over what officials have called a "goldmine" of battlefield data to help bolster British security.

Fedorov (inset) told BBC News-night that “sooner or later, there might be not only verbal, but maybe some visible reaction from Russia towards the UK”.

Asked to elaborate, he said: "There are different discussions how it should look like – it might be so-called technical reaction, maybe some hackers attack from unknown source, not from official level...

"There might be different political steps and I cannot exclude 100 per cent that there might be some semi-military, for example."

Pressed to define “semi-military” he said: “For example, something might happen with enterprises, with the factories which are producing drones for Ukraine, etc etc.”

UNITED STATES

Maxwell loses bid to overturn sex trafficking conviction

By Frankie Lister-Fell

her conviction and free her from nothing that could upend the out-a 20-year prison sentence, come of her trial.

Ghislaine Maxwell's bid to overturn her sex trafficking conviction and be freed from prison was rejected by a federal judge who said the claims by Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and longtime associate that new evidence had emerged were “demonstrably meritless”.

Maxwell filed a habeas petition last December seeking to set aside claiming exonerating information was withheld and false testimony presented at her trial.

Judge Paul A Engel-mayer rejected her arguments, saying in his written ruling they “all or almost all are frivolous” and that she had presented

“Nearly all its claims are procedurally barred; the overwhelming testimonial and documentary evidence adduced at trial conclusively established her guilt; and her petition’s claims are demonstrably meritless, lation, distortions and/or outright falsehoods," Engelmayer wrote.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges. He was found dead in his cell at a New York federal jail in August 2019 and his death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell (inset), a British socialite, was arrested a year later and was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021. She was moved from a Florida jail to a prison camp in

Texas last year, shortly after she was interviewed by the Justice Department's then second-in-command, Todd Blanche.

The judge noted that many of Maxwell's claims of “new evidence” stem from documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Engelmayer said that material is “largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error”.

Like a pygmy hippo to water...

A baby pygmy hippo has been pictured taking its first ever swim at Edinburgh Zoo. Three-week-old Piper followed her mum Gloria into the pool, before gaining the confidence to begin exploring the water on her own. After a lap of the pool and a tentative nibble on some driftwood, Piper patiently waited by mum as she snoozed in the water. ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND/SWNS

NHS

Heatwaves hit blood donation

By Ella Pickover

Health officials have urged blood donors to come forward after facing a “triple whammy” of higher demand, the impacts of hot weather and fewer donations.

By Storm Newton

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said warmer weather can impact a donor's iron levels, meaning fewer people are eligible to donate, while some patients who need regular transfusions may need more transfusions than usual.

NHSBT said that it has seen higher demand from hospitals during the heatwaves in June and July.

Darren Bowen, assistant director for blood supply at NHSBT, said: "We urge donors, especially those with B negative, O negative and the Ro subtype, as well as more donors of black heritage, to keep coming forward."

HEALTH

25% unaware of dementia risks

Around one in four people in the UK over the age of 40 are unable to name one habit or health condition that can increase the risk of developing dementia, according to a survey.

The lack of awareness is depriving millions of people of the chance to take simple steps to protect their brain health, the Alzheimer's Society has warned.

It is estimated that there are around 982,000 people with dementia in the UK, although a third do not have a formal diagnosis.

Lifestyle habits that increase the risk of developing dementia include high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, lack of exercise and drinking too much alcohol, along with conditions such as hearing loss, depression and type 2 diabetes.

TELEVISION

‘Huge Potter fan’ Harington to take over TV role of Professor Lockhart

By Frankie Lister-Fell

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington will soon be seen strutting the corridors of Hogwarts, as a change in cast will see him star in the new Harry Potter series.

Best known for playing Jon Snow, Harington has been cast as the charming fraudster professor Gilderoy Lockhart for the second series of HBO's adaption of the wizard-

The character was previously played by Kenneth Branagh in the 2002 film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Harington will fill the role left by Nicholas Hoult (inset), who has said that he had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts.

Hoult shot to fame through his role as schoolboy Marcus Brewer in About A Boy.

The change was announced two weeks after he was chosen for the role. Hoult, like other members of the cast, had drawn criticism for accepting the role due to JK Rowling's anti-transgender views.

Dominic McLaughlin plays the boy wizard in the HBO adaptation

Fans had left comments on Hoult's Instagram posts condemning his decision. He has not commented publicly on quitting the series.

Harington is already acquainted with the “defence against the dark arts” teacher, having voiced Lockhart for Audible’s full-cast audio-book releases last year.

He is a self-described lifelong enthusiast of the fantasy books and had previously expressed his passion for taking on the character.

He told Collider: "I'm thrilled. I've said a million times, for anyone who cares, that I'm a huge Potter fan. I've got to be honest, he's one of my

favourite characters. So, to be offered to play him is a real dream. I think he's going to be so fun."

Harington added the way he played Lockhart in the audiobooks “is not the exact way” he’ll play him in the show because of the difference in media. But he added he’s “had a taste” for the character, which he thinks is “a wonderful creation”.

With cameras scheduled to begin rolling this autumn, the second season expands HBO's ambitious reimagining of the famous story. The core young trio features Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter joined by Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout portraying Ron Weasley.

The first series, based around JK Rowling's debut novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, has not aired yet. It's scheduled to hit screens across HBO and Max platforms on Christmas Day.

A trailer for the series that was released in March became the most viewed trailer in HBO's history with over 277 million views in the first two days.

Kit Harington, who played Professor Lockhart in the 'Harry Potter' audiobooks, will replace Nicholas Hoult, who has left the series GETTY

Harington joins a cast featuring John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost stepping into the rugged boots of Rubeus Hagrid.

Gracie Cochrane, who portrays Ginny Weasley throughout the inaugural season, is departing the show and the role will be recast for the second season.

PEOPLE

'Outlander' star: don't be a model

By Sean O'Grady

Outlander star Caitriona Balfe has said she would not encourage young women to enter the modelling industry.

The actress (inset) is best known for her role as Claire Fraser in the historical fantasy series but prior to becoming an actress she was a catwalk model for Chanel and Louis Vuitton.

Speaking to Tatler, Balfe, who was spotted by a model scout aged

18 while studying drama in Dublin, admitted that although she enjoyed travelling the world as a young model, it is not a career she would advise others to pursue.

She said: “Would I be rushing to say to somebody, ‘Your daughter should be a model’? Probably not.”

Balfe, who was raised in

County Monaghan, said one of the most difficult things was dealing with the pressure of always being compared with others.

Solution, page 51

The Five-Clue Cryptic Crossword No 4917

Across
3 Cliff concealing short break with student (7)
5/6 I'm already low about what might obsess a hobbyist (5,7)
Down
1 Depth in lagoon somehow needed for this boat (7)
2 Spanish rice dish from Father Fitzgerald? (6)
4 Fighting doctor in outdoor garment (6)

CULTURE

‘Pride’ musical to transfer to West End this autumn

By Laura Harding

The stage adaptation of the hit film Pride will transfer to the West End, after a sell-out run at the National Theatre (inset).

The musical is based on the 2014 film that tells the true story of the group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by

the British miners' strike in 1984.

The show reunites director Matthew Warchus and writer Stephen Beresford, who were also behind the film, which starred

Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy and Dame Imelda Staunton.

It will open at London's Bridge Theatre on 12 November.

Beresford said: "I had a suspicion that the effect of the story would be intensified in a live setting with other people around you.

“Obviously in a cinema you’ve got other people around you, but you’re in the dark. It isn’t quite the same, the screen is flat.”

CULTURE

'A Christmas Carol' to be read out for charity

By Casey Cooper-Fiske

Actors Bella Ramsey (inset) and Dame Imelda Staunton are to feature in a star-studded cast for a one-off reading of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

The pair will be joined by Adjoa Andoh, Jim Broadbent, Emma Corrin, Paapa Essiedu, Alex Lawther, Matthew Macfadyen, Tanya Reynolds, and Grace Sav-

age for the West End show, which will raise money for the homelessness charity Crisis.

The reading, which is inspired by Dickens's own public readings that began in 1853, will take place at the will take place at the Lyric Theatre and be directed by Bessie Carter.

Bridgerton actress Andoh said: "A Christmas Carol is a story rooted in compassion. It is a powerful reminder of the precarity of life and the shared value of all human beings.

“It feels incredibly powerful to be bringing this story to life during the Christmas season alongside such an amazing cast while supporting people experiencing homelessness.”

HEALTH

People with ADHD and autism ‘falling through gaps’

By Ella Pickover

People with ADHD and autism are “falling through the gaps” as services are “under significant pressure”, an ombudsman has said.

Both children and adults with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and autism face “long waiting times, variations in access and fragmented care” as demand for care is outstripping capacity, according to a new review by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

Ombudsman Paula Sussex said people “should not have to fight their way through a confusing system” to get care in England and that “too many feel forced to pay to go private, which is not what good public services should look like”.

The PHSO review highlights a “growing tension” between national ambitions and local delivery of services for ADHD and autism.

The review warned that a “post-code lottery of care” has developed and highlighted how complaints to the Ombudsman have risen from 410 in 2021/22 to 1,257 in 2025/26.

It comes ahead of a Government-commissioned review into

ADHD, autism and mental health services, which is expected to be published imminently.

Themes identified by the review team included long assessment waits, poor communication and difficulties accessing medication.

Sussex said: “ADHD and autism services are under significant pressure, with demand outstripping capacity.

“Right now, the system is too complex and inconsistent, leaving too many patients falling through the gaps.”

Experts analysed 3,000 complaints about ADHD and autism over the past six years in the PHSO review.

In Store | Click & Collect | Delivery Selected stores. Subject to availability. In store prices shown. Bic Cristal Pens, 10 pack was £3.25, now £1.50. Sistema Bento box, 1,65L was £8 now £4. Short Sleeve School Polo Shirt, from £1.50 each or sold as a 2 pack from £3. New York Bagels Sesame, 5 pack was £1.87, now £1.35. Fruit Shoot Apple & Blackcurrant, 8x200ml was £3.54, now £2.75. Delivery, collection and minimum basket charges may apply. Delivery/collection slots subject to availability. May exclude Asda Express and small stores, see ASDA.com/smallstores

CONSUMER

Mistakes to avoid if you're buying a plug-in solar panel

They go on sale tomorrow. But they're not for everyone, writes Tom Bawden

Even before news last week that energy bills will increase to a three-year high this winter, plug-in solar panels were expected to fly off the shelves.

But with energy prices forecast to rise by 4 per cent in October (and after six heatwaves and counting this year) that demand looks set to be turbocharged when new rules allowing them to be legally sold come into force on tomorrow – with B&Q, Lidl, Currys and Amazon expected to be among the first sellers.

Figures released last week showed that sales of traditional plugless solar panels – which are typically mounted on the roof – soared by 14 per cent in the first half of the year to a record 150,000 certified installations.

Now, a new type of solar panel which comes with a self-install plug attached will mean many people living in flats or rented properties – who have largely been excluded from solar power so far – will also be able to get in on the action by

£350

The expected price of plug-in solar panels. It is likely to take about four years for savings to recoup the cost putting them on balconies or in gardens. These plug-in versions take the sun's energy and convert it to power for your home, cutting energy bills in the process.

Sales of plugless solar panels soared by 14 per cent in the first half of 2026

But they still are not for everyone. For starters, those savings will vary considerably depending on how much sun you get.

The average plug-in unit is expected to cost around £350, with the average annual energy saving forecast to be about £85 a year – meaning it will take about four years to pay off the purchase price.

For south-facing homes with average sunshine, the saving on a typical 800 MW plug-in system would be around £110 a year, the Government says.

But for east and west-facing panels, the savings are expected to be more like £70 a year – while for the six million or so Britons with north-facing gardens it will be much lower still.

It is also worth thinking about how much your garden is shaded by trees or buildings.

You might also want to consider how much time you spend at home because, unlike with traditional solar panels, you won't be able to sell any unused electricity generated by your plug-in to the grid (although this may change further down the line).

Plug-in panels don't have built-in batteries to save power for later, so if you are not in, you won't get the benefit.

You should also let your electricity distribution network operator – the body which delivers electricity to your home – know within 28 days of connecting the panels.

And if you rent, you need to get written permission from your landlord because, despite the Government push, the tenancy agreement won't necessarily allow it.

'Split-Second Escape', by Jens Cullmann from Germany, captured an African bullfrog lunging for an African babul butterfly, in Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR/PA

PHOTOGRAPHY

Natural world captured in all its glory... 65,403 times

By Rebecca Speare-Cole

An African bullfrog lunging for a butterfly, an oxpecker cleaning its bill against a rhino's skin and an inquisitive polar bear staring into a seal's breathing hole are among the 100 winning images in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

The contest, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, released the preview of winning images from its 62nd year, which saw a record of more than 65,000 entries.

The museum said photographs were judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, technical excellence and storytelling by an international panel of photography, filmmaking, science and conservation experts.

The full set of winning images will be exhibited from 16 October.

Those released today include Jens Cullmann's photograph of the bullfrog in Botswana, showing the amphibian trying to capture an African babul butterfly.

Audun Rikardsen's image shows an inquisitive polar bear gazing down a seal's breathing hole in the Arctic sea ice, while Ernest Porter captures an oxpecker cleaning its bill against a rhinoceros's skin in South Africa.

Kathy Moran, chairwoman of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury, said: "Every year I think the entries to our competition can't get any stronger... and every year I am proven wrong.

"Selected from a recordbreaking 65,403 images, this preview presents just a small insight into the 100 incredible images in store for visitors to our exhibition in October.

"These images pave the way for a deepened appreciation and commitment to our natural world."

Doug Gurr, Natural History Museum director, said: "At a time when nature is under more pressure than ever before, these photographs remind us of both what is at stake and what is worth protecting."

'Mutual Friends' (left), by Ernest Porter, caught an oxpecker cleaning its bill on a rhino's skin in South Africa, while Audun Rikardsen's 'Icy Window' captured a polar bear in Svalbard, Norway

The Opinion Matrix

COMMENT FROM HOME AND ABROAD

CANADA/US TRADE WAR

Canadians are angry and feel betrayed

The Guardian

The Canadians are exceedingly angry. It's an emotion born of a sense of betrayal: that the people we trusted with shared security and military obligations, that the nation with which we allowed ourselves to grow economically interdependent, has turned on us. (Jen Gerson)

POLICING POLICY

Enforcement needs to be proactive

The Critic

How to solve the proliferation of low-level disorder and antisocial behaviour on the streets of Britain? Police forces subscribe to a reactive model of policing – a crime occurs, a crime is reported, and then action is taken. Britain must see a return to a more proactive model. (Matthew Bowles)

DEPRESSION TREATMENT

How should drugs be managed?

Canada has already proven that it can cause economic pain in the US. Even before trade talks broke down, a decision by most provinces to ban US alcohol from liquor store shelves dealt a devastating blow to that industry in the US. (Jessica Murphy)

UnHerd

The Government's Sentencing Act will introduce "restriction zones" for offenders. Victims groups have welcomed the initiative. I wonder, though, whether they will find themselves disappointed with the policy in practice. (Dominic Adler)

BBC

The Independent It's the experience of people trying to come off antidepressants that has currently taken centre stage: withdrawal effects are now on the radar of patients and clinicians, raising new questions about how these drugs should be prescribed and managed. (Zoë Beaty)

Such a mess in such a short time

Mad in America

Over time, my initial intense depression evolved into chronic fatigue, lingering loss of drive, intermittent sadness and excessive sleep. Something was obviously wrong with me, but was it the disease or the drugs' ever-rising mountain of side effects? (Frank V Alejandro)

ANDY BURNHAM

The Telegraph Immigration and asylum, like Brexit, are gravitational issues within Labour. And it's fair to say that few would have predicted the Burnham Government making such a mess of immigration in such a short time. (Tom Harris)

The Times

The move to more unitary, single-tier councils is meant to be the answer to who's in charge, along with Burnham-style metro mayors in many areas. Yet in Wales, three decades after unitary local government and national devolution arrived, confusion still reigns. (William Hague)

Leaders have to stick with Zelensky

SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

The Scotsman If Ukraine falls, Putin has made clear that it will not be the end of his military aggression. Indeed, his regime would probably fall without the nationalist sentiments aroused by war. He has gambled on victory, the democratic world must ensure that he loses. (Editorial)

LeMonde

European leaders reiterated that support remains steadfast and unwavering. If they want to preserve peace on the continent, democratic values, and future prosperity, they have no choice but to continue backing Ukraine and its wartime president. (Editorial)

FOOD LABELLING

Overhaul would clash with Trump

The New York Times Robert F Kennedy Jr has named ultraprocessed foods as a root driver of chronic illness and called for an overhaul of the US food system. Achieving those goals would require regulating the food industry, clashing with Donald Trump's anti-regulatory agenda. (Lindsey Smith Taillie)

Euronext Markets Indian regulators

Indian regulators since 2017 have floated proposals that indicate a product's nutritional value. After the March meeting with industry, however, they backed off on interpretive labelling, saying it was “difficult” to match international standards. (Aditya Kalra)

Quote of the day

I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain. I think it would be interesting, having a young female villain

Saoirse Ronan The actor on her desire to do a darker film role

Jimmy Rimmer was one of the finest goalkeepers of the 70s and early 80s. He was also perhaps one of the unluckiest.

He collected two European Cup winner's medals but was not on the pitch at the end of either game.

In 1968, with Manchester United, Rimmer was an unused substitute as his team beat Benfica 4-1.

Then in 1982 he played for only nine minutes for Aston Villa against Bayern Munich before being forced off with a neck injury to be replaced by Nigel Spink.

He did make it back to see the end of the match, which Villa won 1-0, which meant he became only the second player to win European Cup winners' medal at two clubs after Saul Malatrasi.

He won his only England cap in 1976 while playing for Arsenal.

John James Rimmer, who has died aged 78, was born in Southport in

Life In Brief

JIMMY RIMMER GOALKEEPER

1948. He joined United as a schoolboy in 1963 and turned professional two years later.

He began his career as the back-up keeper to Alex Stepney and spent 11 years at Old Trafford, including a loan spell at Swansea City in 1973.

He signed for Arsenal in 1974 as a long-term replacement for Bob Wilson. He made only one appearance that season, keeping a clean sheet against Liverpool.

Wilson's retirement the following season elevated Rimmer to the first team and he stayed at the Gunners for the next three seasons, winning Player of the Year in 1975 and making 124 appearances.

While at Arsenal, he was called into the England team against Italy in a friendly, but let in two goals and was substituted at half time. England eventually won the match 3-2.

The arrival of Terry Neill as the new Arsenal manager forced a move to Aston Villa, where Rimmer was first-choice keeper for six seasons, gaining a winners' medal in 1981 as Villa won the First Division title.

The next season brought his second European Cup final and that neck injury. He was one of just five Villa players to figure in the starting line-up in all nine of their European Cup matches that season. He was also part of the Villa team that won the European Super Cup in 1982.

He left Aston Villa in 1983 to rejoin Swansea, where he made 66 appearances.

After retiring from playing, Rimmer became Swansea's goalkeeping coach. He also had two spells as caretaker manager before becoming the goalkeeping coach of the Chinese and Canadian national teams.

After retiring from football, Rimmer moved back to Swansea, where he opened a golfing shop.

Following his death on 14 August, Swansea City said: "Jimmy was a much-loved figure, with a deep knowledge and love of the game. He was one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation."

The club's Supporters' Trust said that Rimmer was “arguably, the greatest goalkeeper to play for the club”.

Born 10 February 1948 Died 14 August 2026 Jonathan Maynard

My View

James O'Brien

Farage desperate to play Trump cards Look closely at both men and something clearly unfunny emerges

Of course Nigel Farage and his chums are benefiting financially from a “gold-plated” pension scheme of a type they intend to

prevent other people from enjoying. It could hardly be more on-brand.

No matter that the Reform UK leader has described “defined benefit pensions” which guarantee some public sector workers an income for life, as “the single biggest ticking bomb in our government finances”, he and his fellow Reform MPs are, as this newspaper revealed on Monday, all signed up for the scheme despite pledging to abolish it for future council workers.

Weapons-grade hypocrisy seems to be a job requirement for these people. Their self-styled “shadow home secretary” Zia Yusuf, not even an MP despite his grandiose job title, complained this week that: “For too long Westminster has run on who you know and what school you went to. That’s how Britain got the rotten political class it has.”

How shocked he must have been to discover not only that he himself attended an exclusive west London private school, but also that of his colleagues actually in Parliament, almost all attended fee-paying institutions. Danny Kruger, for example, went to Eton and Farage to Dulwich College. Perhaps most surprisingly, Richard Tice apparently received a first-class education at Uppingham School.

But apart from providing yet more evidence of extraordinary double standards and “for thee but not for me” thinking, the gold-plated pensions story confirmed a theory that has been percolating for some time. Namely, that for every moral or fiscal outrage attributed to Donald Trump, there is a smaller, shabbier version being presided over by Farage.

Where the latter enjoys a pension arrangement he would deny to others, the former sought to prevent himself, his family and his businesses from having their past tax returns audited by the Internal Revenue Service, in a way unavailable to ordinary taxpayers.

In Washington DC, Trump celebrated his (and the country's) birthday with a wrestling extravaganza on the White House lawn in which organisers, the UFC, chalked up losses of \$30m (£22m).

In Clacton, Farage celebrated his essentially uncontested by-election victory by claiming police told him to stay away from the official announcement (the police dispute this) and instead charged supporters to celebrate with him at a so-called “FarageFest”.

In a new twist on the old adage about piss-ups in breweries, organisers are now being investigated for failing to get permission to hold it. Reform has said it is “confident that no rules were broken”.

Nigel Farage, right, and Donald Trump share many similarities into how they conduct themselves and their policy approaches NIGEL FARAGE/FACEBOOK

According to his own mandatory financial report, Trump reported more than \$1.4bn in income last year from business dealings in cryptocurrency. Farage, meanwhile, was revealed earlier this year to have trousered £5m in a previously undisclosed gift from the Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.

By an extraordinary coincidence, a little over a year after receiving, but failing to tell anyone about, the “gift”, Farage unveiled his party’s draft “crypto assets and digital finance bill” at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas. By another extraordinary coincidence, the party quietly removed the bill from its website after news of the secret gift broke, though Reform claimed it regularly updates its website and that it was still party policy. Both men also seem committed to the rehabilitation of a particular type of criminal.

In March 2025, Trump pardoned the founders of a crypto exchange after they pleaded guilty to failing to maintain anti-money laundering programmes. The next month he pardoned a nursing home chief executive, Paul Walczak, whose mother is a major Republican donor, for tax crimes, and in October it was Changpeng Zhao, a billionaire with connections to the Trump family's crypto investments.

was travelling with him when US authorities arrested him in 2016. Farage later said: "I always stand by my friends." And this is where, when you think about it properly, all the parallels between Trump and Farage stop being funny.

Back in Britain, the Temu Trump remains loyal to George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster who reportedly calls Farage “daddy” and

Cottrell has been accused of making undeclared “donations in kind” to Farage, allegations both men deny. The Guardian reported last month that he had transferred more than \$2m to his mother, Fiona, in 2024 shortly before she made donations both to Reform and a business controlled by its deputy leader, Richard Tice.

The Metropolitan Police is now investigating the source of the donations to Reform and whether their ultimate source was disguised.

Tice's company, Britain Means Business, made two donations of £250,000 to Reform in the weeks before the 2024 general election. At around the same time, Yusuf donated £200,000 to the party.

Yusuf, of course, subsequently became party chairman and now has a regular place on the party platform alongside elected politicians like Robert Jenrick (whose ill-fated Tory leadership campaign is being investigated by police over £37,500 in donations).

It is surely time to ask why so many people, both within and without the party ranks, are donating so much money to Reform and, in Harborne's case, directly and in an undisclosed manner to Farage. The question is what they believe they are really getting for their money?

Alex Andreou, on the excellent Quiet Riot podcast, suggested last week that one way to understand reported frictions between Reform's donor class like Yusuf, Cottrell and Tice and recent arrivals like Kruger, Jenrick and Suella Braverman is to see it as disquiet among “ground-level investors” about the performance of their investments.

It is impossible to look at events on the other side of the Atlantic without wondering precisely what it is that these people think they have invested in.

James O'Brien is the author of 'How They Broke Britain'. His radio show is on LBC weekdays from 10am

It is surely time to ask why so many people are donating so much money to Reform

i@theipaper.com

@i

Your View

Tweets, emails or letters to: The Editor, The i Paper, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY

Get defence in proportion

Alan Rycroft says the UK must invest in defence systems (Your View, 25 August).

I agree, but using round numbers, a Patriot missile costs at least 50 times as much as a cheap long-range attack drone; a large hammer to crack a small walnut.

We need to invent and develop appropriate low-cost defences to this relatively new form of warfare. MICHAEL GOLDMAN KNUTSFORD, CHESHIRE

Root is right man for job

Your cricket correspondent, Chris Stocks, is right to describe English professional cricket as “unserious and

unprofessional" (The i Paper, 25 August).

In these circumstances, appointing Joe Root as captain for a second time was undoubtedly the right decision.

Root has consistently represented both his country and his team with the utmost respect and professionalism.

For this current England side, where trust appears to be in

Stain Release Polo Shirts from £1.50 each Sold as a 2 pack from £3

THE SCHOOL SHOP George.

A reader argues that Joe Root shows the right level of professionalism to lead English cricket GETTY

very short supply, having a captain whom you can trust off the field is just as important as being able to trust them on it. ROB SHARRED TAMWORTH, STAFFORDSHIRE

Self-service is bad for country

My local Tesco Express has increased the number of self-service tills from two to four and cut the staffed tills down to just one from three.

This, I assume, is to reduce staff numbers and therefore boost long-term profits.

Unfortunately these tactics also increase unemployment figures, which doesn't help the county's general situation. J HALLEN KNARESBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE

I stand against new 'Playboy'

I agree with Lucy Mangan that the relaunch of Playboy is deeply depressing (Opinion, 24 August).

The progress of women's rights and status in society appears to be regressing and misogyny is rife. This type of publication can only feed the objectification of women.

Even if Lucy feels she will be called a prude and a killjoy for stating her views, I stand with her. SUSAN HILTON ASHFORD, KENT

Speak proper, can't you?

While we are delving into the correct

pronunciation of words (Your View, 22-23 August), I always get a little vexed when the letter H is mispronounced.

As I was told at school many moons ago, say it like “aitch” not “haitch”. The huh is reserved for actual words starting with the letter H.

Are these speech clangers happening because we are losing the art of speech with too much communication via social media? HOWARD GREAVES SPALDING, LINCOLNSHIRE

Now that Škoda has taught us how to correctly pronounce its name, perhaps we could turn our attention to certain other “foreign” words?

A particular bête noire is the name Epstein, which is, of course, German in origin.

With the honourable exception of one BBC journalist, all the others pronounce it “Epsteen”.

Why? We don't say "Einsteen", do we? MIKE RICKETTS LONDON

Art of making children notice

Victoria Derbyshire's article regarding the transition of children from pupil dependents to adult “house sharers”, described the situation of the homemaker perfectly (Comment, 22-23 August).

It reminded me of an article about training children early on to "notice" what needs to be done around the house.

Our commitment

This doesn't always happen, particularly as both parents are now typically working outside the home. MRS R SLACK GLASGOW

We take very seriously our responsibility to maintain high editorial standards, and are grateful to readers for pointing out any errors. The i Paper adheres to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) code of practice. If you wish to complain about our editorial coverage, especially with relation to inaccuracy or intrusion, please write to The Editor, The i Paper, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY, or email reader@inews.co.uk. You can contact Ipso directly at Gate House, 1 Farringdon Street, London, EC4M 7LG, telephone 0300 123 2220, or by email on inquiries@ipso.co.uk.

MORE COMMENT on theipaper.com

Tomorrow, in THE i PAPER

CULTURE 'We always had her back'

Amy Winehouse's band relive life on the road with the troubled star

'Strictly's' toxic brand is dragging show into the abyss

Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe front the new 'Strictly'

ENTERTAINMENT Eleanor Halls

Oh, for those halcyon days when Strictly's only scandal was the fact its contestants kept cheating on their

spouses. In the past two years, the Saturday night show – which returns next month – has become the subject of much darker behind-the-scenes business.

In 2024, junior staffers spoke of a “toxic” on-set atmosphere, while 2023 contestants Zara McDermott and Amanda Abbington both raised serious concerns about their dance partners’ conduct.

It emerged that Graziano Di Prima “kicked” McDermott during rehearsals, for which he apologised and left the show, while Abbington made 17 allegations of bullying, abuse and physical violence against Giovanni Pernice after abruptly withdrawing from the competition. Pernice has denied all allegations and rejected “any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour”.

Pernice, who had joined Strictly in 2015, was dropped from its 2024 line-up, with the BBC's investigation upholding six of the verbal bullying and harassment complaints while clearing him of the most serious accusations, of physical aggression.

Abbington received a five-figure payout, and the BBC announced a set of new duty of care measures for Strictly including supervised training and welfare support roles.

But in the latest development in Strictly's ongoing PR disaster, Pernice is about to publish a memoir, Gio: Taking the Lead, in which he says BBC bosses “hung me out to dry to cover their backs” and writes of being abandoned by “the famous Strictly family”.

He also raises a thorny question that cuts to the heart of Strictly's existential angst: can a show centred around perfectionism always play nice?

Part of Strictly's appeal is that we are watching amateur dancers pushed to a level of excellence they never thought possible.

Such toxicity breaks the spell: viewers don't want to sense the kind of HR dysfunction they left behind in the office. Following Abbington's 2023 allegations, Strictly's 2024 launch show attracted nearly three-quarters of a million fewer viewers than the previous year: 5.5 million to 2023's 6.2 million.

It is perhaps no wonder, then, that the BBC has found such staggering success with its murder mystery game show The Traitors, which, launched just after the pandemic, seemed to single-handedly boost national morale.

The show prioritised camaraderie over competition. But of course even $Traitors$ isn't totally immune from negativity. Last

Viewers don't want to sense the kind of HR dysfunction they left at the office

year the main show was accused of unconscious racial bias, and its now familiar premise has attracted some conniving contestants that jar with its once guileless spirit.

As The Traitors' celebrity spin-off continues, it feels like only a matter of time until unchecked egos and a few skeletons in the closet lead to the media seizing on something a little less innocent than a bit of trapped wind.

For now, however, The Traitors has usurped Strictly as the new jewel in the BBC's crown – and, with another potentially doomed series just around the corner, Strictly may never sparkle in the same way again.

Eleanor Halls is a freelance writer and co-host of chart-topping pop culture podcast 'Straight Up'.

Book today

This tax rise makes most sense, but you might hate it

POLITICS James Kirkup

That Andy Burnham has raised the possibility of tax rises in the autumn Budget is unsurprising.

The real question is how he can raise more money without harming the economy. There is a way, but it means taxing houses more.

Britain has a large gap between the money the state raises in tax and the money it spends. That gap is filled by borrowing, which leads to a national debt close to £3trn and an annual interest bill on that debt exceeding £100bn.

Raising taxes is both easy and difficult. Easy, because a government has near-complete control of the tax system: if a chancellor wants to increase a tax, they just order it so and Parliament nods through the paperwork.

Advertising Standards Authority asa.org.uk

Difficult, because making people or organisations pay more tax makes them unhappy.

It also has economic consequences. Generally, raising taxes is bad for growth. Money you pay the government in tax is money you can't spend on stuff that generates profit for the people making and selling it. It's also

money you can't invest in stuff that makes your business more efficient.

Rachel Reeves learned this lesson the hard way. Like John Healey (inset), she was fenced in by the Labour manifesto, which rules out increasing the biggest revenue-generators: income tax, VAT and corporation tax.

That's how she ended up increasing national insurance for employers. It didn't deliver pain for voters, but it made it more expensive for companies to employ people. Burnham's tax puzzle then is how to find more money for the state without smothering the UK's already feeble growth.

tax in England, which absurdly remains based on 1991 property values. A revenue-raising reform would add more and higher bands at the top end of the value scale.

Second, fix stamp duty, which most economists agree punishes people for moving house. Better to tax the asset rather than

the transaction.

With the right set of property tax reforms, it would be technically straightforward for a Burnham government to raise between £5bn and £10bn without harming growth.

All that's left is the politics. People who own homes don't like the idea of

paying more tax on them. And because of the skewed nature of the UK economy and property market, this plan would hit London and the South East hardest.

So the ASA regulates UK ads, including online? Oh yes.®

Happily, economists have already answered this puzzle. Long-standing research from the OECD, accepted widely across the spectrum, shows that the most growth-friendly way is via a recurring tax on immovable property. Taxing property more, and better, would have two strands.

First, revalue and reband council

UNITED STATES

James Ball

That might fit with Burnham's pledge to rebalance the country away from the capital, but what about his colleagues? Labour holds 56 out of 76 seats in London and 35 more across the South East. Taxing property remains the least bad way to find more money, but that doesn't mean it would be easy for Burnham and Healey.

James Kirkup is a political journalist and senior fellow of the Social Market Foundation

'Economic D-day' won't beat Iran

D-Day, the counter-offensive that turned the course of the Second World War, was the culmination of years

of painful, methodical planning by a coalition of more than a dozen nations – involving sophisticated contingency planning, decoys to throw off the Nazis and careful logistics to make sure the landing of more than 150,000 troops onto hostile beaches was a success.

Donald Trump's latest plan to beat Iran – dubbed by his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, as an “economic D-Day” – is... not that. Rather, it looks like a haphazard collection of sanctions, thrown together at short notice, which could be largely shrugged off by the USA's adversaries.

The threat of the US deploying a massive package of sanctions against you would be a terrifying one for most countries.

But it is hard to terrify an opposing regime with sanctions when you have been bombing them for months. In the opening days of Trump's war on Iran, he assassinated almost every senior leader the regime had. He has spent the months threatening to obliterate the country's infrastructure.

Bessent is promising to launch “the single greatest financial offensive ever” against Iran, and to target any nation that trades with Iran against the USA’s wishes.

This would be enough to devastate the economy of almost any world nation. But Bessent is threatening Iran with its status quo from before this latest war.

The plan has had some, limited, success already: the UAE has promised to cut off trade with Iran.

But Iran's main trading partners are Russia and China. Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia is already a pariah state, sanctioned to the hilt by most Western nations.

The US economy is reliant on cheap Chinese imports to keep ticking over – any trade war with China would mean huge economic disruption, and surging inflation.

No one believes Trump would start a trade war with China just months before crucial midterm elections.

In truth, Trump has never been further from a win in Iran, and his “economic D-day” is set to be another embarrassing bust.

James Ball is the political editor at 'The New World'

CULTURE

Romcom king Curtis made Britain fall in love with its own decline

'Bridget Jones' celebrates Colin Firth's stiff, awkward human rights lawyer, Mark Darcy (left) UNIVERSAL/STUDIO CANAL

He is a creative genius but his effect on Britishness is deeply irritating, says Ben Sixsmith

Anyone who only wrote Blackadder, or Mr Bean, or Four Weddings and a Funeral could die knowing that they had

had an unusually successful life. To have written, or co-written, them all – as well as Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary (the film, that is) and The Vicar of Dibley – makes for an exceptional creative life.

Yes, Richard Curtis has been massively successful and he is both talented and industrious. But one has to be talented to have an impact on the national psyche – whether or not it is actually positive. It would take a lot of luck to be that influential without being gifted.

Curtis, more than any other filmmaker, helped to shape the British sense of itself between the 1980s and 2010s. His influence, alas, has been a profoundly annoying one.

Perhaps the most persistent criticism of Curtis's filmography is that it wasn't diverse enough. True, it was as white and British as the Cliffs of Dover. White or not, the artistic problem was that Curtis made his characters seem so tedious and irritating.

Any honest person watching Four Weddings and a Funeral should admit that its parade of charmless dullards makes one wish that the film had been Four Funerals and a Wedding. And Love Actually is populated by such an insufferable pageant of idiots that it almost ruins Christmas and the concept of love. Bridget Jones is a sweet and funny character, but the choice between Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver is surely enough to rationalise lifelong singledom.

But Curtis, inevitably, wasn't just portraying Britons – he was portraying an image of Britishness. With the country far poorer and weaker than it used to be – at least in relative terms – Curtis framed Britain as a country that somehow got by on its charms.

William, in Notting Hill, inexplicably seduces a Hollywood superstar. Mr Bean clumsily, carelessly inflicts chaos on the United States before improbably and undeservedly wriggling out of it. The prime minister in Love Actually stands up to a US president by bragging about David Beckham's prowess (I'm sure that meant a lot to an American).

Curtis, in other words, portrayed a Britain that somehow thrived on the basis of soft power, bumbling humour, decency and cultural landmarks. What his characters, and his narratives,

don't have are teeth: confidence, ambition, experimentation.

It would of course be stupid to call Curtis an architect of British decline – he was its enabler. As institutions decayed around them, Curtis's viewers could wallow in a safe, cosy, utterly unthreatening form of Britishness.

If this sounds hyperbolic, consider the fact that Mark Darcy, the successful love interest in the Bridget Jones series, is the cinematic equivalent of Keir Starmer – stiff, awkward, repressed and a human rights lawyer. Not only did Curtis's

He portrayed a Britain that thrived on soft power, bumbling humour, decency and cultural landmarks

Richard Curtis is one of Britain's most successful comedy writers

film depict Starmer before Starmer was Starmer but it made him the guy who gets the girl.

In the works of Curtis, British culture orbits the same tropes with a deep yet naive loyalty. It is flattened and sanitised. Yesterday is an especially airless example. A songwriter is knocked unconscious and wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed. He becomes one of the most famous singer-songwriters on the planet by acting as if their songs are his own.

But the greatness of the songs is doing all the work here amid a reed-thin story. Insultingly, John Lennon appears in amiable obscurity in the film – mewling clichés about loving people and being honest – when the real Lennon was an ambitious, hard-edged, uncompromising man (as well as an admitted domestic abuser, though he later expressed his regret).

Curtis has been active in politics

- and one must salute his dedication and sincerity. Comic Relief, which he spearheaded along with Lenny Henry, has backed a lot of worthy causes. But his activism, like his films, too often approaches the world in simple, sentimental terms.

Just look at the names of his causes: Make Poverty History and Stamp Out Poverty. Eliminating poverty – the underlying thought appears to run – need not take hard political and economic work. It would just require a neat tweak like a “Robin Hood tax” on financial transactions like stocks and bonds.

With Curtis being decades on from his commercial and creative peak, a lot of this would be ancient history were it not for the wagon-circling bourgeois fever that has gripped Britain's cultural establishment of late.

Much of it is in response to the successes of right-wing populism. One anonymous essayist at J'Accuse magazine branded this “the posh turn”.

This phenomenon reacted to the shock upheaval in British politics by blending vintage aesthetics with modern liberal-centrist values, creating something “decked out with the appearance of Merry England idyll and rigmarole”.

Think of Paddington Bear telling us to wear a mask, the rise of the Centrist Dad, the cloying tone of The Great British Bake Off. This, truly, is Curtisland – a fantasy of old English privilege and New Labour moralism.

I have no desire to sound like a killjoy. If you love Blackadder, Notting Hill or Bridget Jones's Diary then that is no bad thing. Again, Curtis is a very talented man and he has played an integral role in a lot of quality entertainment.

But, whether he knew it or not, Curtis was sketching out a modern form of Britishness – quirky without being interesting, sentimental without being profound and earnest without being informed.

Ben Sixsmith is online editor for 'The Critic'

WILDLIFE

Salmon return to rivers due to improved water

By Ben Sutherland

Salmon are making a comeback in the rivers of Lancashire due to an improvement in water quality, conservationists have said.

One location in the Ribble catchment area has seen the first sign of the fish in 10 years, while at another spot over 100 juvenile salmon were recorded in only a few minutes.

The area includes the Rivers Ribble, Hodder, Calder, Darwen and Douglas. Salmon – which require clean water and quality habitats to survive – were once abundant here, but decades of water pollution had virtually eliminated them.

The Ribble Rivers Trust has spent 25 years working to improve the water quality of the rivers.

“While there is still a huge amount of work to do, these early results suggest that targeted, science-led river restoration is paying off,” said the trust’s chief executive, Jack Spees.

CONSUMER

Somerset cider apples wiped out by drought

By Ben Sutherland

The orchards of Somerset that provide many of the apples that make Britain's cider have been "decimated" by the summer drought, producers have said.

Some trees dropped their fruit early due to their being stressed by the lack of water and the heat, resulting in rotting – and others have produced no fruit at all.

Orchard manager Neil MacDonald told the BBC he had lost half of his apples before they ripened, and as a result there was no more cider to produce.

“Nothing sells cider like sunshine, and we’ve emptied our tanks,” he said.

And Kimberly Jones of Honey's Cider near Bath – whose orchard has only produced 10 per cent of its usual crop – said: "It's gut-wrenching."

One-minute Wijuko

How to play Place 1 – 9 once in the grid, obeying the sums between pairs of squares

Impartial news & intelligent debate. £1 for one month.

Unlock full digital access to our website and app, subscriber-only newsletters and daily puzzles for just £1 for your first month.

Subscribe now at: theipaper.com/onepound

Terms & conditions: 18+ only. £1 for the first month, then £8.99 per month or £79.99 for the whole year. T&Cs apply, please refer to the website for full details

COURTS

Families speak out as Lockerbie trial postponed

By Lucinda Cameron

Relatives of victims of the Locker-bie bombing have said they are “absolutely floored” after the trial of a man charged over the explosion was postponed in the US.

Jury selection was due to begin today in Washington DC for the trial of Abu Agila Masud (inset), who is charged with making the bomb that destroyed the plane. He has denied the charge.

All 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded above Lockerbie on 21 December 1988, 40 minutes into its flight from London to New York

On Monday, a federal judge in the US postponed the trial.

The discovery of new evidence that defence lawyers want to examine was cited in the order for a postponement from US District Judge Dabney Friedrich.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only man convicted in relation to the bombing, after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting at a special court in the Hague in 2001.

He was sent to prison in Scotland but was controversially granted compassionate release in 2009 after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, returning home to Libya where he died in 2012.

Kara Weipz, president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, lost her brother Rick Monetti in the atrocity and said she was shocked to hear of the postponement.

She told BBC Radio Scotland's Breakfast programme: “As we're processing the shock, there's a lot of ‘I can't believe this is happening’.

"People were getting ready to travel at the end of the week – and

then knowing that all of a sudden it's not happening right now, it's just we have to live in this anxiety for however long until we actually get to trial.

"And you know, everyone needs to stay healthy. You know, everything needs to fall into

place. Everything still needs to work out right so that we can have this trial."

She added: “I was floored today when I found out, absolutely floored.”

However, she said that while the postponement has come as a surprise, the delay could be worth it if the evidence helps discover more of the truth.

A hearing is scheduled to take place in Washington next month to discuss the status of the case. Scottish prosecutors have always maintained that Megrahi acted with others in carrying out the attack.

A Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot crosses the finish line in 8.86 seconds during the 100m semi-final race in Beijing yesterday TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS

TECHNOLOGY

Robot beats Bolt's 100m record for a second time

By Eduardo Baptista and Qiaoyi Li

China's Tiangong Ultra humanoid robot ran 100 metres in 8.86 seconds in a semi-final at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing yesterday, improving on the 9.39-second time it set in an opening day heat.

The robot, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, extended its lead over the 9.58-second men's world record set by Usain Bolt in 2009.

The results mark a sharp improvement from last year's inaugural games, when Tiangong Ultra won the 100 meters in 21.50 seconds.

The 100 metres is among 51 events at the games, which include football, dancing and industrial-task contests.

This year's games have drawn 2,056 robots from 666 teams across 16 countries and six continents, up from 280 teams at the inaugural event.

UNITED STATES

Leeds United co-owner jailed for soliciting sex

By Frankie Lister-Fell

The co-owner of football clubs Leeds United and Rangers FC has been given a jail sentence for soliciting prostitution.

Jed York, who also owns the San Francisco 49ers American football team, was arrested at a mobile home park in Ohio on Sunday morning. Authorities initially charged the 45-year-old executive with engaging in prostitution. US media reports said he arranged to pay a woman £103 (\$140) for sexual activity.

The charge was downgraded in a plea deal.

York entered a no-contest plea to misdemeanour counts of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools. A no-contest plea allows a defendant to accept a conviction without admitting guilt.

He was fined \$1,150 (£843) in total and received concurrent one-day jail sentences for each charge with credit for time served.

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD No 4853 BY MONK

ACROSS

ACROSS 8 Underground bar making a comeback, ending in failure (4) 9 When reported, mother must call on old prison (10) 10 America again exposed monstrous European citizen (8) 11 Wounded setter guarding train depot's entrance (6) 12 Bum quaffing new port (6) 13 I'm guilty of a choice about hosting nude show (3.5) 15 Tradesmen partly reversed across red light (7) 17 Appeared as a swelling in fruit (7) 20 Desperate northern miner swinging both ways for money overseas (8) 22 Expelling all adults from area, a great sorrow emerges (6) 24 Heavyweight punches champion immediately (2.4)

26 Bond villain's rent included in retrograde old type of payment (6,2) 27 City centre has developed next to motorway (10) 28 Row concerning sex from behind? (4)

DOWN

1 Regularly strip away lustre when breaking tektite (10) 2 The most modern in a couple of ways? (6) 3 Potentate supporting American state's Sikh centre? (8) 4 Short fit relative (7) 5 Husband into odd side of barn dance (6) 6 Eminence of pound dropping one place in range (8) 7 Pool nothing more (4) 14 Pin bulk of credit crunches on former financial guide (5,5)

Stuck on the cryptic crossword? For today's solutions, call 0905 789 3580. Calls cost 80p per minute plus your network access charge. If you are having trouble accessing this number, please call our helpdesk on 0333 202 3390. Full terms and conditions can be found on page 29

16 Rob unlicensed taxi mainly in republic (8) 18 Officially noted by coroner: unexpectedly died (2,6) 19 Trouble about entering boring item on advanced CV (7) 21 One wanting masseur examined by auditors? (6) 23 Probe excessively, intermittently moving up (6) 25 Concern over pitfall (4)

Television Wednesday 26 August

CRITIC'S CHOICE BEN WALSH

PICK OF THE DAY Fake Or Fortune: What Happened Next? 8pm, BBC One

"I never had you down as a fan of Black Sabbath, Philip," Fiona Bruce teases Philip Mould (both left). Turns out Bruce was in a few bands herself, but "they were all pretty rubbish". This week they're investigating music memorabilia, tracking down a piano potentially owned by John Lennon, now by Chesney Hawkes, and a silver guitar that may have belonged to Ronnie Wood. Bruce concentrates on the piano, with Mould on the guitar. Nik Kershaw pops up, too, as he writes songs with Hawkes. The likeable duo's investigation leads to colourful characters from the 1970s music scene, but separating fact from fiction proved far from straightforward.

==

Kirstie And Phil's Love It Or List It: Brilliant Builds 8pm, Channel 4

The enduring presenting duo return yet again to advise and (gently) chastise homeowners. Here they interrogate the “cardinal sin” of wasted space, as they look back on two builds where smart solutions, practical thinking and Kirstie Allsopp’s ethos of “look at what you have before you add to it” helped save the day. In Wolverhampton, she and Phil Spencer step into a domestic deadlock. Gordon and Suky live with their three children in a four-bed home. But despite having space to spare, the awkward layout and poorly defined rooms has left Suky desperate to leave, but Gordon is sure Allsopp can fix it with a clever redesign.

==

Rome Season From 8pm, BBC Four

Rome season kicks off with Simon Sebag Montefiore charting Rome's rise to become the capital of Western Christendom in Rome: A History Of The Eternal City (8pm), exploring its impact on the lives of its citizens, elites and high priests as the empire cast aside its pantheon of pagan gods and a radical new religion took hold. Christianity was just a persecuted sect until Emperor Constantine took a massive leap of faith, promoting it as the religion of empire. That's followed by Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit (9pm), which tackles one of the biggest puzzles of all, examining how and when the Roman Empire fell. Beard attempts to redefine our understanding of

the so-called Barbarian Invasions, before ultimately asking whether the Empire was transformed rather than destroyed and still lives on in the world today. The splendid 1976 BBC production I, Claudius, follows with a double bill at 10pm.

The Murder Detective 9pm, Channel 4

==

A new three-part observational documentary telling the inside story of the seven-year-long mission to find out who murdered journalist Lyra McKee in Derry in 2019 and secure justice for her family. What begins as a murder investigation becomes a mission to identify those responsible and take on the organisation that claimed responsibility for her death.

Daytime

6pm

7pm

8pm

BBC ONE

9pm

10pm

11pm

Late

6.00 Breakfast (S). 9.30 Morning Live: Top Tips And Best Bits (S). 10.30 Garden Rescue (R) (S). 11.15 Homes Under The Hammer (R) (S). 12.15 Bargain Hunt (R) (S). 1.00 BBC News At One; Weather (S). 1.35 BBC Regional News; Weather (S). 1.45 BBC News At One; Weather (S). 2.00 Money For Nothing (S). 2.45 Escape To The Country (R) (S). 3.30 The Repair Shop (R) (S). 4.30 The Answer Run (R) (S). 5.15 Pointless (R) (S).

6.00 BBC News At Six; Weather (S). 6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather (S).

7.00 The One Show With JB Gill and Clara Amfo (S). 7.30 EastEnders Alfie throws Kat a surprise party (S).

8.00 Fake Or Fortune: What Happened Next? Last in the series (S).

9.00 Celebrity MasterChef Zoe Ball asks the celebrities to make their ultimate pudding (S).

10.00 BBC News At Ten (S). 10.30 BBC Regional News (S). 10.40 MOTD: UEFA Champions League (S).

11.25 FILM: The Shallows (Jaume Collet-Serra 2016) Thriller, starring Blake Lively (S).

12.50 BBC News (S).

BBC TWO

6.30 Escape To The Country (R) (S). 7.15 Money For Nothing (R) (S). 8.00 Sign Zone: Great Continental Railway Journeys (R) (S). 8.30 Sign Zone: Great Continental Railway Journeys (R) (S). 9.00 BBC News (S). 1.00 Richard Osman's House Of Games (R) (S). 1.30 The Edge (R) (S). 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (R) (S). 2.45 Animal Park Summer (R) (S). 3.30 Serengeti III (R) (S). 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (R) (S). 5.10 Flog It! (R) (S).

6.00 Richard Osman's House Of Games (R) (S). 6.30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (R) (S).

7.00 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Leslie Ash and Phil Daniels compete against each other (R) (S).

8.00 Inside The Factory Paddy McGuinness finds out how Warburtons make their products (R) (S).

9.00 9/11: Inside The President's War Room (R) (S).

10.30 Newsnight (S).

11.05 Couples Therapy (S). 11.30 Couples Therapy (S).

12.00 Buried With Michael Sheen (R) (S). 1.00 Sign Zone: Celebrity MasterChef (R) (S). 2.00 Sign Zone: Brexit: A Very British Civil War (R) (S). 3.00 This Is BBC Two (S).

itv1

6.00 Good Morning Britain (S). 10.00 This Morning (S). 1.30 ITV News; Weather (S). 1.55 ITV Regional News; Weather (S). 2.00 Dickinson's Real Deal (R) (S). 3.00 Deal Or No Deal (R) (S). 3.59 ITV Regional Weather (S). 4.00 Tipping Point (R) (S). 5.00 The Chase (R) (S).

6.00 ITV Regional News; Weather (S). 6.30 ITV News; Weather (S).

7.30 Celebrity Lingo Judy Murray and Mark Pougatch take on Helen Skelton and Rav Wilding (R) (S).

8.00 Emmerdale Dawn has a big decision to make (S). 8.30 Coronation Street (S).

9.00 Professor T Jasper probes a murder at a retirement home (S).

10.00 ITV News At Ten (S). 10.30 ITV Regional News (S). 10.45 FILM: Spectre (Sam Mendes 2015) (S).

1.10 Shop On TV 3.00 Love & Death (R) (S). 4.00 Inside The Langham: Britain's First Grand Hotel (R) (S). 4.20 Unwind With ITV (S). 5.35 Tom Kerridge Cooks Italy (R) (S).

4

6.30 The King Of Queens (R) (S). 7.20 The King Of Queens (R) (S). 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (R) (S). 8.10 Everybody Loves Raymond (R) (S). 8.40 Everybody Loves Raymond (R) (S). 9.10 Frasier (R) (S). 9.40 Frasier (R) (S). 10.10 Frasier (R) (S). 10.40 Frasier (R) (S). 11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours To Hell And Back (R) (S). 12.05 Channel 4 News Summary (S). 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R) (S). 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (R) (S). 2.10 Countdown (S). 3.00 A Place In The Sun (R) (S). 4.00 The Great B&B Challenge (R) (S). 5.00 Chateau DIY (R) (S).

6.00 American Pickers An Oktoberfest gem has Frank Fritz's name written all over it (R) (S).

7.00 Channel 4 News (S).

8.00 Kirstie And Phil's Love It Or List It: Brilliant Builds New series (S).

9.00 The Murder Detective New series. The investigation into the murder of Lyra McKee (S).

10.00 The Never Ending Murder New series. The case of Nicola Payne, who went missing in 1991 (S).

11.05 The Never Ending Murder The police begin their forensic investigation (S).

12.05 Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story (R) (S). 1.00 Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story (R) (S). 1.55 Celebrity Hunted (R) (S). 3.50 Couples Come Dine With Me (R) (S).

5

6.00 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (S). 11.30 Storm & Alexis (S). 12.45 5 News At Lunchtime (S). 12.50 Matt Allwright (S). 2.20 FILM: Murder For Mortgage: Secrets On Maple Street (Paula Elle 2024) Thriller, starring Frances Leigh (S). 4.00 Castle (R) (S). 4.55 Love Nature (R) (S). 5.00 5 News With Dan Walker (S).

6.00 Motorhoming With Merton & Webster (R) (S). 6.55 5 News Update (S).

7.00 Cycling: Vuelta A España 2026 Action from stage five (S). 7.55 5 News Update (S).

8.00 Call The Bailiffs: Time To Pay Up New series (S).

9.00 The Great Wall Of China With Dan Snow Dan Snow heads to China (S).

10.30 A&E: Crash Scene Emergency Two sisters are badly injured when their car flips over (R) (S).

11.30 Ambulance: Code Red A 52-year-old man is injured after being thrown off his motorbike (R) (S).

12.30 Cops (R) (S). 12.55 Entertainment News On 5 (S). 1.00 Cruise TV With LoveitBookit (R) (S). 2.00 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (R) (S). 2.50 Castle (R) (S). 3.40 Friends (R) (S). 4.10 Friends (R) (S).

BBC FOUR

Phil Spencer looks back in 'Kirstie And Phil's Love It Or List It: Brilliant Builds' 8pm, Channel 4

7.00 Villages By The Sea (S). 7.30 Canal Boat Diaries Robbie Cumming breaks down in Nottingham (S).

8.00 Rome: A History Of The Eternal City Rome's rise to become the capital of Western Christendom (S).

9.00 Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit Last in the series (S).

10.001, Claudius Caligula announces he is leaving to fight the Germans (S). 10.55 I, Claudius (S).

11.50 The Australian Wars The absence of memorials for the conflict in Tasmania (S).

12.50 Canal Boat Diaries (S). 1.20 Rome: A History Of The Eternal City (S). 2.20 Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit (S). 3.20 Villages By The Sea (S). 3.50 Close

4FILM

The late activist Susi Newborn on Greenpeace 10pm, Sky Docs

Mary Beard examines Rome's downfall 9pm, BBC Four

6.45 FILM: Entrapment (Jon Amiel 1999) Crime thriller, starring Sean Connery (S).

9.00 FILM: The G (Karl R Hearne 2023) Crime thriller, starring Dale Dickey (S).

11.10 FILM: Memento (Christopher Nolan 2000) Thriller, starring Guy Pearce (S).

1.25 FILM: The Day Shall Come (Christopher Morris 2019) Crime comedy, starring Andrel McPherson (S). 3.15 Close itv2

6.00 Backyard Builds (S). 6.30 Dress To Impress (S). 7.30 The Real Housewives Of Potomac (S). 8.20 The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills (S). 9.15 The Only Way Is Essex (S). 10.15 Dawson's Creek (S). 11.10 Charmed (S). 12.10 Deal Or No Deal (S). 1.10 Celebrity Supermarket Sweep (S). 2.10 Wheel Of Fortune (S). 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex (S). 4.10 The Real Housewives Of Potomac (S). 5.00 The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills (S).

6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase With Jeff Stelling and Charlotte Hawkins (S).

7.00 Wheel Of Fortune Graham Norton hosts as Hannah, Samuel and Sophie compete (S).

8.00 The 1% Club Rollover The third of five special editions of the quiz, hosted by Lee Mack (S).

9.00 Family Guy Chris is expelled from school (S). 9.30 Family Guy Lois runs for mayor (S).

10.00 Family Guy Peter searches for his biological father (S). 10.30 Family Guy (S).

11.05 Family Guy Quagmire loses his job as a pilot (S). 11.35 American Dad! Stan bullies Steve (S).

12.05 American Dad! (S). 12.35 Bob's Burgers (S). 1.05 Bob's Burgers (S). 1.30 G'wed (S). 2.00 Transaction (S). 2.25 Unwind With ITV (S). 3.00 Teleshopping

Dominoes

How to play All of the 28 domino pieces from 0-0 through to 6-6 have been placed once into the grid. Can you work out where each of them is placed?

0	3	1	1	5	2	6	1
5	4	0	5	6	6	4	4
4	4	0	2	2	5	5	0
5	1	6	2	3	0	3	2
1	6	0	1	4	3	5	4
0	1	2	6	6	3	6	2
3	3	2	0	4	5	3	1

Journey Finder

How to play Move between the numbers in order 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 and so on, starting with the grey 1 and ending with the grey 4. On each step you may move one square in any direction (including diagonally). You must form a continuous path that visits every square exactly once.

Making Tracks

How to play Numbers around the outside indicate how many squares in each row and column the track passes through between A and B. The track either passes straight through a square or turns at right angles in it.

4	4	4	1	4	5	6	1

Binary

How to play Complete the grid so that each row and column contains five Os and five 1s. The same number cannot appear in more than two consecutive squares in any row or column. In the finished puzzle, each row must have a different sequence of Os and 1s to any other row, and likewise for each column.

Chain Link

How to play Place the numbers 1-6 in each row, column and along each series of squares linked by the chain.

Number Hexagon

How to play Each hexagon is divided into six triangles. The sum of these six triangles is always 25. Place a number from 1-9 in each empty triangle to complete the puzzle: you cannot repeat a number within a hexagon.

Daily Quiz

1. Which West Country museum and art gallery has been named as 2026 Art Fund Museum of the Year?

2. Which Italian deep-water port was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until 1918?

3. What is the name of the process by which raw rubber is transformed into an elastic and heat-resistant material?

4. The Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End was renamed this year in honour of which playwright who died in 2025? Answers, page 51

Pathfinder

How to play Moving from letter to adjacent letter, can you create a continuous path that visits every square once and spells out all the words listed to the right of the grid? Start on the shaded square.

P	L	R	E	B	I	G	I	L	E
I	I	K	E	M	B	L	E	L	Y
L	C	R	W	I	T	N	O	E	T
L	A	E	H	E	E	L	S	S	I
E	Y	S	I	D	G	D	R	A	L
L	R	E	S	A	N	O	O	T	C
L	I	U	M	R	I	T	M	I	E
O	L	P	I	S	C	D	E	N	N
W	E	G	N	A	O	U	R	T	N
P	Y	J	A	M	R	N	Y	C	O

Acres Connect Corny Disarming Doting Eligible Intrude Lesson Like Morality Pill Puerile Pyjamas Timber Wheel Yellow

Battleships

How to play Locate the position of each of the ships listed below in the grid. Numbers around the edge tell you the number of ship segments in each row and column of the puzzle. Ships are surrounded on all sides by water, including diagonally.

	1	2	3
	1	2	3
	2	3	3
	6	2	3
	1	3	3

◀ □ □ ▶

◀◀◀◀◀

◀ □ ▷ ◀ □ ▷

Barbecued prawns

Games&Puzzles

SERVES 4 (STARTER/LIGHT LUNCH)

3tbsp fresh chilli jam

10-12 skewers (soaked if wooden) To serve

Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped Dressed green salad

Lime wedges Extra fresh chilli jam for dipping

In a bowl, mix together the fresh chilli jam, garlic, lime juice and black pepper. Add the prawns and toss well until evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Thread four to five prawns on to each skewer. Barbecue over a medium-high heat, or cook under a preheated hot grill, for three to four minutes on each side, basting occasionally with any remaining marinade until the prawns are pink, lightly charred and cooked through.

Arrange the skewers on a serving platter, scatter over the chopped coriander and serve immediately with a dressed green salad, lime wedges and an extra pot of fresh chilli jam for dipping.

Recipe from tracklements.co.uk

PUZZLES The country's best barred crossword every Saturday

+ much more in your eight-page pullout

Kakuro

How to play Fill the white squares so that the total in each across or down run of cells matches the total at the start of that run. You must use the numbers from 1-9 only and cannot repeat a number in a run.

Jigsawdoku

How to play Place the numbers 1-9 once in each row, column and bold-lined jigsaw region.

Killer Sudoku

How to play Each row, column and 3 by 3 box must contain each number (1 to 9) only once. The sum of all numbers contained within grey lines must match the number printed in its top-left corner. No number can appear more than once in an area formed by grey lines.

8	13		3		15	24	8
	21		16					9
				17		10
23		14		18				15
7						18	15
	17		15
16					12		18
	12		16			8		12
8				17

Zygolex® In The i Paper every day

Find the missing words by following the RHYME, LETTERS and MEANING links – eg, a word that rhymes with ‘cheek’, has one letter different from ‘pear’ and has the same meaning as mountain, would be ‘peak’. Full rules at zygolex.com. Solution, page 51

Futoshiki

How to play Place the numbers from 1-5 exactly once in each row and column. The greater than and less than signs ( $>$ and $<$ ) indicate where one cell is greater/less than the adjacent cell indicated.

Minesweeper

How to play Find all the mines in the grid. Numbers in certain squares indicate how many mines there are in the neighbouring squares, including diagonally touching squares. Mines cannot be placed in squares with numbers.

		0		0		0						2
	1		1				2			3					4
	3			1		0	2		4			1
	3			3					6		4	2	2
	4	3		3							4			3
					4	4		5						1
0	1	3				3	2	4		2			3	1
						3	2								1
0					4		2		2	2	1		1	2
		0		4				3					4
1	2					4			4		4				3
1			2		3					2	3		4

Number Square

How to play Fill the empty squares with numbers that will make the across and down calculations produce the results shown in the grey squares. Each numeral from 1 to 9 must only appear once. The calculations should be performed from left to right and top to bottom, rather than in strict mathematical order.

Easier

	+	7	+		17
+		×		-
1	+		-		2
×		×		×
	×		-		49
81		168		-5

Harder

Codeword No 4595

		23		8		12		22		8
		23	22	16	26	21	2		13	6	17	10	21
7		16		1		5		13		7		17
26	14	24	26	1		11	26	19	4	2	17	19
24		22		15		26		22				7
19	17	12	18		21	19	2	12	6	17	19	26
26		6		3				13		24		5
12	19	2	12	18	26	19	15		13	6	17	3
20				26		20		3		26		2
22	25	17	22	13	20	12		12	6	22	3	10
13		24		12		6		19		4		26
26	24	2	12	6		1	26	26	9	22	15
		5		15		15		9		1
1L	2	3	4	5	6	7	8J	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20I	21	22	23	24	25	26

How to play The numbers in the grid correspond to the letters of the alphabet. Solve the puzzle and fill in the letters in the key as you discover them. Three letters are provided to give you a start. The solution will be printed in tomorrow's paper, the solution to Tuesday's codeword is on page 51.

Need a little help getting started? Then call for up to four extra clue letters on 0901 292 5204. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company's network access charge (if you are having trouble with the phone service, call the helpline: 0333 202 3390). Or text THEI CLUE to 85100 to receive your clues. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge (if you are having trouble with the text service, call the helpline: 0333 335 3351). Clues change each day at midnight.

Conditions

By using The i Paper's text services, you are agreeing to receive occasional SMS messages from DMG Media. You will not be charged for receiving these messages and may opt out at any time by texting STOP to the originating number. SMS services on this page are provided by BBA Digital Ltd, KT18 5AD, helpline: 0333 335 3351. Phone services on this page are provided by Spoke AL10 9NA, helpline: 0333 202 3390, and by Advanced Telecom Services, EC1M 4BH. Helpline: 0330 333 6946.

Terms &

Concise Crossword No 4917

ACROSS

ACROSS 1 Nose (Informal) (4) 4 Compass point (4) 8 Metal currency (4) 9 Goal part (8) 10 Formal attire (7,5) 11 Sort (4) 13 Apartment (4) 17 Crime prevention device (7,5) 20 Contiguous (8) 21 Depend (4) 22 Nuisance (4) 23 Delicate shot (4)

DOWN

2 Unit of weight (5)
3 Take effect (Informal) (4,2)
4 Spendthrift (7)
5 Corsets (5)
6 Stir up (6)
7 Evade (5)
12 Elaborate parade (7)
14 Fall (6)
15 Yorkshire valleys (5)
16 Sought by the police (6)
18 Excessive (5)
19 Pinny (5)

Stuck on the concise crossword?

Stuck on the concise crossword? For today's solutions, call 0905 789 3590. Calls cost 80p per minute plus your network access charge. If you are having trouble accessing this number, please call our helpdesk on 0333 202 3390.

PUZZLE BOOKS

Our range of puzzle books includes crosswords, codewords, jigsawdokus, children's games, sudoku and more. Available on Amazon for £7.99 each

See the full range at minURL.co.uk/ibooks

Word Ladder

How to play Convert the word at the top of the ladder into the word at the bottom of it, using only the five rungs in between. On each rung, you must put a valid four-letter word that is identical to the word above it, apart from a one-letter change. There may be more than one way of achieving this.

ACROSS 1 Star, 3 Tout (Start out), 8 Tornado, 9 Worth, 10 Peeve, 11 Delight, 12 Opportunity, 16 Buffalo, 18 Trout, 20 Lycra, 21 Another, 22 Idle, 23 Defy. DOWN 1 Sit-ups, 2 Agree, 3 Towel, 4 Upright, 5 Make do, 6 Conditional, 7 Shut, 13 Po-faced, 14 Nation, 15 Storey, 16 Bulk, 17 Aware, 19 Ochre.

Today's other puzzles Cryptic Crossword, page 25
Five-Clue Cryptic, page 15; One-Minute Wijuko, page 23
Puzzle solutions See page 51

idoku Exclusive to i

How to play Each numeral from 1 to 9 must appear (once only) in the squares forming the red letter i.

		4	1	2			9	7
	5				4
	2			7
		5						6
7		2		6		8		1
8						9
				9			4
			2				8
4	6			3	1	7

Sudoku Easier

	1	7			2			3
			9				1	6
3				1		8		7
	2	5			1			4
9		3		8		6	5
	8		5			9	3
7		8		2				5
	5				9	3	7
4		1	7				6

Tomorrow: Harder

ABC Logic

How to play Place the letters A, B and C only once in each row and column. Each row and column has two blank cells. The letters at the edge of a row/column indicate which of the letters is the first/last to appear in that row/column.

A A B

Word Wheel

How to play How many words can you find using the letters in the wheel? Each must use the centre letter and at least three others. Letters may be used only once. You may not use foreign words, proper nouns or plurals though you may use verb forms ending in 's'. There is at least one nine-letter word to be found.

How you rate 24 good, 36 very good, 45 excellent, 54 genius

Children's Corner Number Pyramid

How to play The value of each square in the number pyramid is the sum of the two squares directly under it.

Knight's Tour

31	28		44		26				24
				56				58
			92	43	64	89	82		60
46	35							86
	48				54		84		22
	51	96	99			80	75
	100	37	94	53
6	3		15	40	79	72			67
1					18		10	71
			17	14	9			68

How to play A chess knight visits each square of the grid exactly once, starting at 1 and ending at 100 (these squares are shaded). Deduce the whole path of the knight – some of which is already given – and thus complete the grid. The knight moves either two squares horizontally followed by one square vertically, or two squares vertically followed by one square horizontally.

Cells

How to play Divide the grid into square or rectangular blocks, each containing one digit only. Every block must contain the number of cells indicated by the digit inside it.

2				3
2		2		2	6
	4	2	5			4
	2			3
		3
			6			3

Word Fit

Word Square

How to play Can you fit all the words into the grid to complete the puzzle? Some words may initially fit in more than one place, but there is only one way to fit all the words together to complete the grid.

How to play Simply answer the clues alongside the grid, writing the answers in the respective rows. The solution must read the same horizontally in each row as it does vertically in each column.

Bridges

How to play Connect every island (represented by circles) into a single interconnected group. To do this draw bridges between islands. The number in each circle states how many bridges must be connected to that island. Bridges cannot cross each other, can only be drawn horizontally or vertically, and there can be a maximum of two bridges between any pair of islands.

Word Search

How to play The classic word-search puzzle: find all the words in the grid. Words may be hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and in either a forwards or backwards direction.

W

F

Y

E

M

I

T

T

U

O

B

A

G

I

E

N

S

Y

A

D

E

N

I

F

E

N

O

K

I

M

R

K

P

Y

D

F

U

N

N

Y

F

A

C

E

A

U

S

G

L

L

I

H

G

N

I

T

T

O

N

L

Y

A

D

I

R

F

L

R

I

G

S

I

H

W

A

Y

Y

G

F

I

X

O

O

T

E

F

L

I

Y

S

L

A

H

W

O

L

L

A

H

S

G

M

X

S

O

G

N

Y

A

J

N

Z

C

M

E

B

A

E

H

P

U

Y

Z

G

P

S

U

A

Y

L

H

L

V

H

O

E

T

C

H

A

U

M

J

E

F

E

T

E

C

R

T

H

X

C

G

M

E

D

U

U

Y

P

O

T

P

O

I

J

P

A

C

O

L

L

Z

B

D

Z

I

E

Y

N

T

M

K

N

O

C

K

E

D

U

P

H

H

O

G

I

Y

O

B

A

T

U

O

B

A

A

N

T

C

A

P

R

E

T

T

Y

W

O

M

A

N

G

V

ABOUT A BOY ABOUT TIME CLUELESS COYOTE UGLY FUNNY FACE HIS GIRL FRIDAY HITCH JUNO KNOCKED UP

MAMMA MIA! NOTTING HILL ONE FINE DAY PRETTY WOMAN SAY ANYTHING SHALLOW HAL THE HOLIDAY THE PROPOSAL WIMBLEDON

Solutions: page 51

Calcudoku

How to play Place the numbers 1-6 once in each row and column, obeying sums in bold-lined regions. The number in each region indicates the total for the region, and the symbol shows which type of operation should be applied to the numbers: addition, subtraction, division or multiplication. Numbers may repeat within bold-lined regions. With subtraction always take the lower numbers away from the highest number in a region, and with division divide the highest number by the lower numbers.

10×	12×		8+
	4+		3-	24×
9+	5-			8+
		2÷		1-	3-
360×
6×		1-		5-

Hexalex

How to play Place each of the letters below once into the empty hexagons, crossing them off as you do so. Enter the letters in such a way that it is possible to find all the words listed alongside the grid by moving from hexagon to adjacent hexagon to spell out each word.

A, C, F, H, I, J, L, M, N, O, R, T, U, V, W, Y

==

Rainbow Warrior 10pm, Sky Documentaries

In July 1985, two bombs exploded in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand, sinking a ship belonging to the environmental pressure group Greenpeace. Investigators suspected an act of terrorism, describing it as a “major criminal act with terrorist overtones”. However, they quickly uncovered clues that would lead directly to French secret service agents. This absorbing feature-length documentary draws on interviews with key figures – including, in a real coup for filmmaker Edward McGurn, one of the actual bomb makers – to reveal an unsettling story involving everything from cult members and political corruption to disastrous mishaps and acts of sheer madness.

FILM CHOICE

LAURENCE PHELAN

FILM OF THE DAY Paddington

7.30pm, BBC Three (Paul King, 2014)

The makers of this heartwarming British comedy put Michael Bond's endearingly polite ursine hero (left) on a skateboard and send him kite-surfing, give him a villainous taxidermist from whose clutches he must escape, fill every scene with witty gags and slapstick, find parts for some of Britain's most recognisable acting and comedy talent, and do all the other things that make successful family movies. But through it all runs a touching story about the immigrant experience: the story of an outsider from darkest Peru making a new home for himself and discovering that in the end, whatever our differences, "anyone in London can fit in".

==

Upgrade

9pm, Legend Xtra

(Leigh Whannett, 2018) High-grade cyberpunk thrills and droll laughs from the writer of Saw, in which a quadriplegic man gets a top-secret microchip implant that turns him into a superhuman fighter and lets him go avenge his late wife.

==

The Shallows 11.25pm, BBC One

(Jaume Collet-Serra, 2016) Blake Lively puts in a compelling solo performance in this survival thriller about a surfer who endures extraordinary tests of courage, resilience and ingenuity after she's stranded offshore and encircled by a shark that just won't quit.

ON DEMAND

Colin Farrell convinces as a gumshoe in this deeply odd but compelling crime drama.

Death Valley BBC iPlayer

Timothy Spall has a blast as the acting sleuth partnering Gwyneth Keyworth's DS.

Abbott Elementary Disney+

Janelle James is a scream as a disgraceful head teacher in this often touching comedy.

6.00 George And Mildred (S). 6.35 George And Mildred (S). 7.05 Classic Emmerdale (S). 7.35 Classic Emmerdale (S). 8.05 Classic Coronation Street (S). 8.35 Classic Coronation Street (S). 9.10 Agatha Christie's Poirot (S). 10.25 Agatha Christie's Poirot (S). 11.30 Heartbeat (S). 12.35 Heartbeat (S). 1.35 Midsomer Murders (S). 3.35 Classic Emmerdale (S). 4.05 Classic Emmerdale (S). 4.40 Classic Coronation Street (S). 5.15 Classic Coronation Street (S). 5.50 Heartbeat (S).

6.55 Heartbeat Peter Pyke's warehouse goes up in smoke (S).

8.00 Midsomer Murders The launch of a new sculpture park is marred by murder (S).

10.00 Lewis The detective comes out of retirement to assist on a murder case (S).

11.50 Inspector Morse A case takes Morse to the Australian Outback (S).

2.00 George And Mildred (S). 2.30 Teleshopping

6.00 Hollyoaks (S). 6.30 Hollyoaks (S). 6.55 Rude(ish) Tube Shorts (S). 7.00 Couples Come Dine With Me (S). 8.00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA (S). 9.00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA (S). 10.00 America's Funniest Home Videos (S). 11.00 Below Deck: Mediterranean (S). 12.00 The Simpsons (S). 12.30 The Simpsons (S). 1.00 The Simpsons (S). 1.30 The Simpsons (S). 2.00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S). 2.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S). 3.00 Modern Family (S). 3.30 Modern Family (S). 4.00 Modern Family (S). 4.30 Modern Family (S). 5.00 The Simpsons (S). 5.30 The Simpsons (S).

6.00 The Simpsons Professor Frink plays matchmaker (S). 6.30 The Simpsons (S).

7.00 Hollyoaks (S). 7.30 The Simpsons Homer asks Patty and Selma for help (S).

8.00 Ladies Of London: The New Reign Missé organises a day of wine tasting (S).

9.00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA New series. The chef helps a steak house in Indiana (S).

10.00 Gogglebox My Mum, Your Dad and Welcome to Wrexham are appraised (S).

11.00 First Dates Those taking part include self-confessed man-eater Caroline (S).

12.05 Naked Attraction (S). 1.10 Gogglebox (S). 2.10 Ladies Of London: The New Reign (S). 3.00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA (S). 3.50 The Goldbergs (S). 4.40 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (S).

More

8.55 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (S). 10.00 Four In A Bed (S). 10.35 Four In A Bed (S). 11.05 Four In A Bed (S). 11.35 Four In A Bed (S). 12.10 Four In A Bed (S). 12.40 Come Dine With Me (S). 1.10 Come Dine With Me (S). 1.40 Come Dine With Me (S). 2.15 Come Dine With Me (S). 2.50 Come Dine With Me (S). 3.20 Four In A Bed (S). 3.50 Four In A Bed (S). 4.20 Four In A Bed (S). 4.50 Four In A Bed (S). 5.20 Four In A Bed (S). 5.50 Car S.O.S (S).

6.50 Car S.O.S Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw secretly restore a Japanese off-roader (S).

7.55 Grand Designs A couple planning to create a hybrid structure in Cumbria (S).

9.00 The Roman Empire By Train With Alice Roberts Alice catches a train up and across the Alps (S).

10.0024 Hours In A&E A 78-year-old man is rushed in with breathing difficulties (S).

11.05 24 Hours In A&E A 77-year old man is rushed to St George's after collapsing at home (S).

12.10 999: On The Front Line (S). 1.15 24 Hours In A&E (S). 2.20 24 Hours In A&E (S). 3.25 The Perfect Pitch (S). 3.55 Close

6.00 Mornings (R). 6.30
Mornings (R). 7.00
Mornings With Ridge And Frost (R). 7.30
Mornings With Ridge And Frost (R).
8.00 Stargate SG-1 (R) (S).
9.00 Stargate SG-1 (R) (S).
10.00 La Brea (R) (S). 11.00
The Simpsons (R) (S). 11.30
The Simpsons (R) (S). 12.00
Africa's Hunters (R) (S).
1.00 Hawaii Five-0 (R) (S).
2.00 Hawaii Five-0 (R) (S).
3.00 S.W.A.T (R) (S). 4.00
S.W.A.T (R) (S). 5.00 The Simpsons (R) (S). 5.30 The Simpsons (R) (S).

6.00 Rob & Romesh vs Ballet The comedians perform in Swan Lake (R) (S).

7.00 The Simpsons (R) (S). 7.30 The Simpsons Lisa enters a singing competition (R) (S).

8.00 Surviving Earth A look at the end of the Carnian pluvial episode and its aftermath (S).

9.00 FILM: The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone 2010) Action thriller, with Sylvester Stallone (R) (S).

11.00 Grimm A prison escapee comes looking for revenge (R) (S).

12.00 Evil (R) (S). 1.00 The Force: North East (R) (S). 2.00 Road Wars (R) (S). 3.00 Hawaii Five-0 (R) (S). 4.00 S.W.A.T (R) (S). 5.00 S.W.A.T (R) (S).

6.00 Urban Secrets (R) (S). 7.00 Urban Secrets (R) (S). 8.00 Billions (R) (S). 9.05 Billions (R) (S). 10.15 House Of The Dragon (R) (S). 11.25 House Of The Dragon (R) (S). 12.40 Homicide: Life On The Street (R) (S). 1.35 Homicide: Life On The Street (R) (S). 2.30 Billions (R) (S). 3.35 Billions (R) (S). 4.40 The White Lotus (R) (S). 5.45 The White Lotus (R) (S).

6.45 House Of The Dragon The search for Aemond and Vhagar continues (R) (S).

7.50 House Of The Dragon Rhaenyra and Daemon focus on how best to deal with Ormund (R) (S).

9.00 The Terror: Devil In Silver Supernatural horror, starring Dan Stevens (R) (S).

10.05 The Terror: Devil In Silver Pepper is attacked by a mysterious entity (R) (S).

11.05 Station Eleven An argument sends Jeevan on an unexpected path (R) (S).

12.05 Station Eleven (R) (S). 1.10 Possession (R) (S). 2.00 Fightland 3.05 Fightland (S). 4.05 Fightland 5.05 Fish Town (R) (S).

Radio

BBC Radio 1

6.58am Newsbeat 7.00 Radio 1 Breakfast With Greg James 11.00 Rickie, Melvin And Charlie 12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 Matt And Jerry 3.30 Newsbeat 3.33 Going Home With Vick, Katie And Jamie On Radio 1 5.45 Newsbeat 6.00 Radio 1's New Music Show With Jack Saunders 8.00 Radio 1's Future Pop With Maia Beth 10.00 Radio 1's Power Down Playlist With Sian Eleri 11.00 Benji B 1am Radio 1 Dance Presents Hideout Festival 2026 2.00 Radio 1 Anthems 4.00 Radio 1 Pop Anthems 5.00 Radio 1 Early Breakfast With Dean McCullough

BBC Radio 1Xtra 6.32am 1Xtra Playlists 7.00 1Xtra Breakfast With Nadia Jae 10.00 DJ Day Day 12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 Kaylee Golding 4.00 Remi Burgz 5.45 Newsbeat 6.00 Remi Burgz 7.00 DJ Target 9.00 1Xtraïs AfroSounds Show With DJ Edu 10.30 1Xtraïs AfroSounds Show With DJ Edu 11.00 1Xtra's Throwback Party 12mdn't Throwback Thursday 1.00 1Xtra Salutes Carnival 2.00 1Xtra Salutes Carnival 3.00 1Xtra Salutes 4.00 1Xtra's Rave Show With Jeremiah Asiamah 4.30 Throwback Thursday 5.30 1Xtra's Throwback Party

BBC Radio 2

6.30am The Radio 2 Breakfast Show 9.30 Mark Goodier 12noon Tina Daheley 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00 Jason Manford 7.00 Jo Whiley's Shiny Happy Playlist 7.30 Jo Whiley 9.00 The Folk Show With Mark Radcliffe 10.00 The Good Groove With Melvin Odoom 12mdn't OJ Borg 3.00 Alternative Sounds Of The 90s With Dermot O'Leary 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans

BBC Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1pm Classical Live 3.00 Choral Evensong 4.00 Composer Of The Week: Sally Beamish. Sally Beamish reminisces on swapping London life for rural Scotland. 5.00 In Tune. With mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. 7.00 BBC Proms 2026. The Met Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin performs an all-Strauss programme. 9.30 Classical Mixtape. A sequence of music. 10.00 Night Tracks. Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents a soundtrack for late-night listening. 11.30 'Round Midnight 12.30am Through The Night

BBC Radio 4

6am Today 9.00 Sideways 9.30 Breakin' The Cycle 10.00 Woman's Hour 11.00 The Coroners Question 11.40 This Week In History 11.45 Book Of The Week: All The Beauty In The World 12noon News 12.04 You And Yours 12.57 Weather 1.00 The World At

One 1.45 Human Intelligence 2.00 The Archers 2.15 Drama: Broken Colours 3.00 Ringing The Bullring 3.30 Lab-Grown Life 4.00 NatureBang 4.15 The Media Show 5.00 PM 5.57 Weather 6.00 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Best Medicine 7.00 The Archers. It's an emotional day for Robert. 7.15 Front Row. Arts programme. 8.00 The Moral Maze. Debate on ethical issues, chaired by Michael Buerk. 9.00 Invisible Hands. David Dimbleby tells the story of Paul Wolfowitz. 9.30 Michael Sheen Gets Into Character. Michael explores the shift from Stanislavski's system to Strasberg's method. 10.00 The World Tonight. With James Coomarasamy. 10.45 Book At Bedtime: Mr Sidhu's Post Office. By Amman Brar. 11.00 Nora Meadows' Week Of Wellness. Nora has trouble with a client who will not open up. 11.15 Follow The Rabbit. Chris is down in the dumps over his lack of progress. Last in the series. 11.30 Everything Is Fake And Nobody Cares 12mdn't News And Weather 12.30 Book Of The Week: All The Beauty In The World 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As BBC World Service 5.00 News Summary 5.04 Sideways 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer For The Day 5.45 Farming Today

BBC Radio 4 Extra

6am Five Red Herrings 6.30 Kill The Pharaoh! 7.00 Men Of Intelligence 7.30 Hancock's Half Hour 8.00 You Heard It Here First 8.30 Underland 8.45 Breathing Underwater 9.00 Best Medicine 9.30 Human Hosts 9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Generation Games 11.00 Five Red Herrings 11.30 Kill The Pharaoh! 12noon Men Of Intelligence 12.30 Hancock's Half Hour 1.00 You Heard It Here First 1.30 Underland 1.45 Breathing Underwater 2.00 The Ultimate Choice 2.30 Getting Nowhere Fast 3.00 Word From Cupid 3.45 Summer Picnic 4.00

BBC Proms 2026 7pm, BBC Radio 3 The Met Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin (above) performs an all-Strauss programme, including the final scene of Salome with Elza van den Heever.

Generation Games 5.00 Five Red Herrings 5.30 Kill The Pharaoh! 6.00 Men Of Intelligence 6.30 Hancock's Half Hour 7.00 You Heard It Here First 7.30 Underland 7.45 Breathing Underwater 8.00 The Ultimate Choice 8.30 Getting Nowhere Fast 9.00 Word From Cupid 9.45 Summer Picnic 10.00 Comedy Club: Best Medicine 10.30 Comedy Club: Delve Special 10.55 Comedy Club: The Comedy Club Interview 11.00 Comedy Club: Welcome To Wherever You Are 11.30 Comedy Club: Drop The Dead Panda 12mdn't Generation Games 1.00 Five Red Herrings 1.30 Kill The Pharaoh! 2.00 Men Of Intelligence 2.30 Hancock's Half Hour 3.00 You Heard It Here First 3.30 Underland 3.45 Breathing Underwater 4.00 The Ultimate Choice 4.30 Getting Nowhere Fast 5.00 Word From Cupid 5.45 Summer Picnic

BBC 5 Live

6am 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Rima Ahmed 11.00 Emma Vardy 2pm Nick Watt 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport 8.00 Football 10.30 Laura McGhie 1am Dotun Adebayo 5.00 Wake Up To Money

BBC 6 Music

7am Nick Grimshaw 10.00 Lauren Laverne 1pm Craig Charles 4.00 Huw Stephens 7.00 New Music Fix Daily 9.00 Riley & Coe 11.00 6 Music Artist In Residence: Loyle Carner 12mdn't Freak Zone Playlist 1.00 Gideon Coe – A Tribute To The Upsetter 3.00 6 Music Live Hour 4.00 6 Music's Jukebox 5.00 Chris Hawkins

Classic FM

6.30am Classic FM Breakfast With Dan Walker 9.00 The Classic FM Hall Of Fame Hour With Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones 1pm Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing Evenings With Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm Classics 1am Bill Overton 4.00 Early Breakfast

Absolute Radio 6am Dave Berry 10.00 Leona Graham 1pm Ben Burrell 4.00 Hometime With Bush & Richie 7.00 Danielle Perry 10.00 Jay Lawrence 1am Dan Noble

Heart

6.30am Heart Breakfast With JK And Kelly Brook 10.00 Pandora Christie 1pm Matt Wilkinson 4.00 Rob Howard 7.00 Heart's Feel Good Weekend With Dev Griffin 10.00 Ben Atkinson 1am Guy Howard 4.00 Early Breakfast With Lindsey Russell

TalkSPORT

6am TalkSPORT Breakfast With Alan Brazil 10.00 Jim White And Simon Jordan 1pm Max Rushden & Charlie Baker 4.00 TalkSPORT Drive 7.00 Kick Off 10.00 The Sports Bar 1am Extra Time With Paul Ross 5.00 Early Sports Breakfast

Panorama

Around the world in 10 stories

CANADA

Carney imposes retaliatory tariffs on US as rift grows

By Rob Gillies

IN TORONTO

Canada struck back at the United States yesterday with retaliatory tariffs on about \$20bn (£14.7bn) worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, as the trade war between the neighbours es-

calated sharply.

The tension threatens one of the world's largest trading relationships.

The new tariffs extended well beyond industrial goods, hitting everyday purchases such as seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics and toilet paper, with some facing duties as high as 50 per cent.

Standing Strong for our workers and business

“We did not choose this conflict, but when our economic integration is used as a weapon rather than the foundation for a win-win partnership, we need to stand up,” Canada’s finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne (inset), said, speaking in French.

The Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade talks.

Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said US demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to “destroy our major industries”.

The US President, Donald Trump, intensified the rift on Monday, telling Canadian leaders to “fall in line” or face consequences “far WORSE” and threatening 50 per cent tariffs on vehicles, auto parts and steel.

The tariffs will take effect on 8 September at rates of 15, 25 and 50 per cent, with Canada matching the corresponding US rate on more than 700 products.

The largest share of the new measures will affect steel and aluminium.

Canadian officials said the goal is to protect its own companies and reduce US imports.

Canada also announced a C\$7.5bn support package for workers and businesses affected by the dispute.

Trump yesterday insisted that a disagreement over Canada's French-language requirements did not contribute to the collapse in talks.

The US has demanded Canada roll back new legal requirements for streaming services providers to prioritise French language content for Quebec. AP

TURKEY

European court wants activist freed

By Suzan Fraser

IN ISTANBUL

The European Court of Human Rights yesterday criticised Turkey's courts over the imprisonment of prominent philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying it highlighted a “systemic problem” that was “marked by the detention and prosecution of political opponents, human-rights defenders and journalists”.

Kavala, 68, the founder of a non-profit organisation promoting peace and dialogue, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2022 on charges linked to 2013 protests and a coup attempt in 2016.

Human rights advocates and opposition groups say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has weaponised the judiciary to target critics and rivals after more than two decades in power.

Reiterating a call for Kavala's release it first made in 2019, the court said his conviction should be regarded “as null and void”.

In a statement, the court said Turkey had violated several of Kavala's fundamental rights. AP

CHINA

Artist jailed for three years over satirical Mao works

By Frankie Lister-Fell

A well-known artist has been sentenced to three years in prison over sculptures satirising Mao Zedong.

Gao Zhen, 70, has been jailed for art he made with his brother, Gao Qiang, more than 15 years ago.

His controversial works include seven statues of Mao pointing guns at Jesus and “Miss Mao”, a bust of the former Chinese Communist Party leader with a long Pinocchio nose and breasts.

Zhen was found guilty of smearing “the reputation of heroes and martyrs”, a crime President Xi Jinping introduced in 2018.

When Zhen, who lives in the US, visited China with his family two years ago, he was detained and his studio near Beijing was raided.

Zhao Yaliang, Zhen's wife, told The Guardian: "For two years he has suffered in the detention centre, while my son, our closest family members and I have also endured this torment."

She and her son have not been allowed to leave the country.

While in detention, Zhen sent a letter to his son that said: "I hope I can finish my work as soon as possible and return to you and Mum. Son, remember: Dad will always love you!"

Campaigners fear the sentencing will have a chilling effect on creativity in China.

The Gao brothers (inset) were raised dur-

lution, which started in 1966. Widespread purges targeted individuals, especially artists and academics, who refused to align with Maoist doctrine. Among them was the brothers' father, a labourer who vanished after being detained.

Zhen's time in custody counts towards the total term – he is due to be released in August next year.

ARMENIA

Ex-president held over corruption while in office

By Lucy Papachristou

State prosecutors yesterday detained Robert Kocharyan, a prominent opposition leader and a former president, and formally charged him with a slew of corruption-related offences during his time in office.

Armenia's prosecutor general said that Kocharyan, who served as president from 1998 to 2008, had used his position to transfer state-owned property to himself and his associates at “advantageous terms”.

Kocharyan has denied any wrong-doing during his time in office.

Since winning re-election in June, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pursued what his critics view as a wide-ranging crackdown on his fiercest opponents.

The head of Armenia's church is currently on trial, while two other leading opposition figures, Gagik Tsarukyan and Samvel Karapetyan, are being held ahead of pending trials. REUTERS

HUNGARY

Orbán regime suspected of Covid fraud

By Justin Spike

IN BUDAPEST

Hungary's foreign ministry has filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors over what it says was possible fraud related to the previous government's purchase of ventilators worth around £708m during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Viktor Orbán's government purchased the roughly 17,000 ventilators from China in 2020, drawing criticism at the time that it was buying far more units than could be realistically deployed and paying more than other European countries.

Yesterday the foreign ministry said the results of a investigation into the purchase “raises suspicions of breach of fiduciary duty causing particularly substantial financial loss and other criminal offences”. AP

Postcard From... Lima

Peru will welcome Pope Leo XIV in November with a hymn in honour of a Catholic nun killed by Maoist insurgents, celebrating the pontiff's return to the country where he worked for decades as a missionary.

The song, featuring Andean rhythms and titled “Leon, Hermano del Camino” or “Leo, Brother on the Journey”, will be performed by members of the Aguchita youth choir, named after Peruvian missionary Maria Agustina Rivas.

Rivas was killed by Shining Path rebels in 1990 while carrying out humanitarian work in Peru's remote Amazon jungle region.

Known as "Aguchita", she was beatified by the Vatican in 2022 under Pope Francis after the Church ruled she had been killed out of hatred for the Catholic faith.

Pope Leo returns to Peru, where he used to be a bishop, in November

Keverly Escobar, one of the lead singers, said she was proud to be part of the choir honouring a Peruvian saint who gave “her life for the most humble”.

The song's composer and musician, Jaime Montoya, said he was inspired to write the

hymn because he saw a common thread – sacrifice – that unites the missionary and Pope Leo.

Peru endured a brutal conflict between security forces and Shining Path, a guerrilla movement that sought to establish a communist state.

The violence left roughly 69,000 people dead or missing between 1980 and 2000, according to official estimates.

Pope Leo's visit comes soon after President Keiko Fujimori took office in July, pledging to unite the country following years of political turmoil.

The hymn won a national competition to find a song symbolising unity ahead of the Pope's visit to Peru from 11 to 16 November.

Leo, the first US-born pontiff, first arrived in Peru in 1985 and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015 after being appointed bishop of Chiclayo, where he stayed until 2023. REUTERS

Marco Aquino

Market gets a bit of magic

Larger-than-life artwork has been unveiled at the Mushuihua Wild Mushroom Trading Centre in Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province. Yunnan is known for mushrooms and the centre is the largest of its kind in China. Mushroom growing peaks in the rainiest months from June to August. WANG MINGFU/VCG

NEW ZEALAND

Labour backs social media ban

By Alasdair Pal

Labour, New Zealand's main opposition party, said it would support a ban on social media for under-16s, removing a major obstacle for the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, after his coalition partners said they would block the legislation.

Luxon said on Monday that the proposed laws would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users' ages. Platforms could face fines of up to 10 per cent of global revenue for non-compliance.

“With Labour’s support there is no reason for the government to delay the bill,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.

The New Zealand First party and the ACT Party said they would not support the bill, raising the possibility it may fail to pass through parliament. REUTERS

FRANCE

Rare tornado hits homes and leaves dozens injured

By Sudip Kar-Gupta IN PARIS

A tornado swept through a village in the Aude region of southwestern France late on Monday, destroying homes and injuring 39 people, authorities said, describing it as a rare and traumatic event.

Two of the injured are in a critical condition and around 300 houses in the village of Pomas have been damaged, officials said.

Everyone in the village has been evacuated while authorities verify if homes are still safe to live in.

“It felt as though death itself was falling upon us,” Severine, a Pomas resident who did not give her surname, told BFM TV.

Speaking in front of her house, now flattened by the tornado, she said yesterday that the car her family piled into was shaken by the tornado before they managed to speed up and escape.

“We fled, it was survival instinct,” she said, as people helped the family of four sort through the ruins to see what could be salvaged.

The tornado arriving in the village of Pomas on Monday: it left 1,400 households without power

The tornado struck as this summer's intense heatwave gave way this week to thunderstorms in many areas of southern France.

Many of the homes caught in its path had their windows smashed.

Yesterday morning, 1,400 households in the area were still without electricity, the local prefecture said. REUTERS

UNITED STATES

Soldier's wife deported to Honduras

By Jack Brook

The wife of a US soldier has been deported to her native Honduras.

Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of a military service member to be deported under Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Villafranca-Trejo's husband, Army Sgt Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, said he has been struggling to manage his military duties since she was detained on 11 July outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas. The couple have a six-year-old daughter.

Villafranca-Trejo has no known criminal record and entered the US in 2016 at age 18. The couple did not know there was an order for her deportation until they applied for her green card after marrying in 2022.

Originally from Honduras, Turcios Juarez became a US citizen in 2024. AP

i travel offers

JUST £50 $^{pp^}$ DEPOSIT

Concorde Lunch, Subterranean Bristol, Snowdrops, Bath, Cider & Cheese 5 days from

What's included

- Starts February 15, 2027 – self-drive to hotel with car parking

- Four nights' half-board accommodation at Warner Littlecote House, Wiltshire, with live entertainment every night

- Welcome sparkling reception and half a bottle of wine per person with dinner

- Escorted excursions by coach to: Aerospace Bristol Museum & Concorde – go on board and enjoy lunch alongside this aviation icon, Bristol WWII and subterranean guided walking tour, Bath with guided walking tour and afternoon tea in The Pump Room, a day in the Cotswolds featuring Painswick Rococo Gardens' snowdrops, Cheltenham guided walk and a Cider and Cheese tasting

• Escorted by a tour manager

Holidays operated by GN Holidays & Voyages (ABTA Y0291, ATOL 9362) a company wholly independent of Associated Newspapers and I Travel Offers. Open Monday to Friday 9.00am-5.30pm (closed Bank Holidays). *From price is per person based on standard twin or double room, singles and upgrades available. ^£50 per person deposit or full payment if booking less than 12 weeks before holiday. Over 40s only. Price correct at the time of print.

Lifestyle

Living the high life Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan range offers serenity and stunning views Page 36

Culture

Suede The band discuss a new biography about their second coming ▶▶ Page 38

When parents divide money between their children, equal can seem like the obvious definition of fair. But real families are rarely that simple.

Over the years, people have told me stories about inheritances, financial help and family decisions that have left siblings feeling grateful, guilty, overlooked or resentful. Often, nobody has behaved particularly badly. They have simply had different ideas about what fairness means.

Karen, 88, knows this only too well. Her two daughters are now in very different financial positions, Donna has been sensible with money and moves into retirement with good investments. Sally, the youngest, lived for today, with just a small private pension and worries about how she will manage when she stops her part-time job. Over the years, Sally received considerably more financial help from their parents than her sister..

Donna became independent very young. “Donna was always the one who just got on with things,” Karen says. “Her sister was much more likely to come to us and say she couldn’t afford something, and of course we helped.”

Looking back, Karen estimates the difference could run into tens of thousands of pounds. “I do feel guilty about it sometimes. It wasn’t that we loved one of them more. It was just that one asked for help and one didn’t.”

Karen has consequently talked about leaving Donna a larger share of her estate. But Donna doesn't want her to. "She has said, 'No, we're in different circumstances now. Just divide it equally.'"

It leaves Karen wondering what fairness actually requires. "Part of me thinks I should make up for what happened before. But then I think, am I supposed to add up everything I've ever spent on each of them? Where would you start?"

Lucy, 55, has encountered a rather different solution. She and her brother will eventually share their mother's estate equally, including the value of her home. Yet, their circumstances are very different: Lucy's brother has considerably more wealth than she does.

Her mother has not tried to compensate for that by changing the division of the house. Instead, Lucy knows that some of the possessions within it will come to her, including highly collectable vintage Ercol furniture and jewellery that she values. Her brother is happy with this; the furniture and jewellery aren't to his taste.

"The house will be divided equally between us," she says. For Lucy, that feels fairer than trying to put a monetary value on the difference between their circumstances. "I don't think everything has to be worked out to the last pound. Some things have value because you love them or because they've always been part of the family."

It is a reminder that an inheritance is not simply a sum of money. Possessions can carry memories and emotional value that bear little relationship to what they would fetch at auction.

The dilemma of leaving money directly to the grandchildren

Skipping a generation is emotionally loaded, even if it might make financial sense. By Dr Denise Taylor

And then there is care. I have heard plenty of stories from the child who stayed nearby. They are the one taking mum or dad to hospital, sorting out prescriptions, doing the shopping, responding to emergencies while a brother or sister lives hundreds of miles away.

Jayne, 73, described the resentment she felt when, after years of being the person her father relied upon, the estate was divided equally. “I know my brother was his child just as much as I was,” she told me, “but I was the one who was there. I gave years of my life to looking after Dad. My brother could come down for a visit and then go home again. When everything was divided exactly in half, I remember thinking: did none of what I did count?"

For the sibling living further away, there may be an entirely different story. Work, geography, children and other responsibilities can all make caring difficult. But after years of unequal responsibility, an equal inheritance does not necessarily feel equal.

Patrick, 69, faced a different version of that dilemma. He was one of six children in a large family. His mother had wanted him, as the eldest son, to inherit her house. "I didn't think that was right," he says. "My sister was living there with Mum and she didn't have a house of her own. I had somewhere to live. The others did too. She needed it."

His view was that his sister should have the house. “For me it wasn’t about dividing everything into six equal pieces. What would have been the point if that meant she lost her home?” His sister kept the house, with token payments to her siblings.

I encountered another version of this dilemma in my own family. When my grandmother died, she did not want her relatively modest amount of money to go to her children. She believed it should skip a generation and go directly to her grandchildren, and only to the eldest grandchild in each family. That meant me and my cousin. Our younger sisters would receive nothing.

The amount involved was not life-changing, around £5,000, but my mother did not think that was fair. “You’re sharing it with your sister,” I was told. So I did.

Every generation involved had a different definition of fairness. My grandmother believed her money should bypass her own children and benefit the next generation, and that the eldest grandchildren should receive it.

My mother believed sisters should be treated equally. And I accepted her view.

Today, the question of skipping a generation has become particularly interesting because the circumstances of parents, children and grandchildren can be so different.

Margaret, 81, has been considering giving some of her money to her grandchildren rather than leaving everything to her adult children. Her children are approaching retirement.

They own their homes and have pensions. Her grandchildren are in their twenties, paying high rents and struggling to save enough for a deposit.

"I keep thinking, what's the point of them getting this money when they're old?" Margaret says. "They [the grandchildren] need it now. If I can give them enough to help them towards a deposit, it could change their lives."

To Margaret, the logic is compelling. "My children aren't rich, but they've got houses. They've got pensions. They've had the chance to build something up. It's

I gave years of my life to looking after Dad. Did none of what I did count?

so much harder for the grandchildren." Her children are less convinced. "They don't particularly like the idea of being skipped," she admits. "They've worked all their lives, too and I think they'd quite like some extra money to enjoy their retirement."

That leaves Margaret caught between two generations, both of whom could make perfectly reasonable claims. “I don’t want anyone thinking I love them less because I’ve given somebody else more. But I also don’t see why I should wait until I’m dead to help the people who need it now.”

Perhaps that is why inheritance becomes so emotionally loaded. It is rarely just about the money. A difference of £10,000 can be interpreted as evidence of who was loved more, who did more, who mattered more or who a parent believed deserved more.

The moment parents begin taking differences into account, equality disappears. But that does not necessarily make the decision unfair.

Perhaps the more useful question isn't whether every child or grandchild receives precisely the same amount. It is whether the person making the decision has thought carefully about what they mean by fair, and whether the family understands their reasoning.

Because there can be perfectly good reasons for giving one person more than another. But if those reasons are never discussed, the people left behind may create explanations of their own.

Dr Denise Taylor is a chartered psychologist and author. Her latest book, 'ThriveSpan: Walking Gently into What Matters Now', is out now

THE MAKING OF ME

'Marriage never really made sense - I only did it for tax reasons'

Juliet Stevenson on her 30-year relationship, her political campaigning and playing a therapist

Essex-born JULIET STEVENSON is one of the UK's most well-established actresses. Known for films such as 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' and 'Bend It Like Beckham', she studied at stage school Rada and swiftly found success performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

She has appeared on stage with lead performances in 'Burn This' and 'Death and the Maiden', for which she was awarded an Olivier Award for Best Actress. Stevenson currently plays therapist Dr Helena Goldberg in 'Professor T' on ITV. She is a human rights campaigner and ambassador for charities such as Amnesty International.

Stevenson, 69, is married with two children and lives in London.

I met my husband, Hugh, at a dinner party at 36.

I arrived very late and felt excruciatingly embarrassed, but when I was introduced to him, I just looked at him and felt something. I have no words for it. It was just like, “Oh, there you are. Fantastic.”

We talked all evening. He's an anthropologist and had just returned from India and told stories of how he walked to tribal villages in India. I had never met someone as interesting. He was the most beautiful human being I'd ever laid eyes on.

We married in lockdown after 29 years together.

I'd grown up in that wave of the women's movement which was questioning convention. I mean, what the hell are women doing taking their husband's surnames? What is that about? It's about something so ancient... such a patriarchal sort of bloodline craziness. None of that made any sense to me and it still doesn't.

But we decided to get married for tax reasons – to not leave the kids with huge tax debts and all that stupidity.

My feelings about marriage changed significantly when same-sex marriage was legalised. It was a progressive move and liberated this institution from its historical origins. But I also wanted to marry because he's the love of my life.

Juliet Stevenson based her role in 'Professor T' on a therapist she consulted

I based my role as Dr Helena Goldberg in 'Professor T' on a therapist I saw briefly - after a very difficult relationship. The therapist was elegant, slightly grand and quite aloof. But also a bit too interested in me as an actor. She would come and see my shows, which I think is breaking a rule.

I've never had therapy for very long but I have dipped into it occasionally. I'm not sure I'm right for it; I don't have trouble talking.

What we're living through now is a world tipping into terrifying authoritarianism. There are hugely powerful, extremely right-wing networks operating globally. We are entirely in the grip of capitalism run rampant, which is having hideous consequences globally, on climate change, on inequality, on racism and on gender inequality.

I've long been involved in Palestinian rights and freedom. I can't personally see all that going on and feel OK about myself without doing something.

I wonder why more people with profiles across the arts aren't standing up too.

Very often producers, directors, and writers will say to me: “We so support you,” and then I sort of say: “Great. Do something.” I do wish that the older generation in my industry – who are established, who have nothing to lose – would stand up and talk about these things.

I'm rubbish at looking after myself.

I don't do anything. I don't do tai chi or Pilates. I don't go for massages. But we eat quite healthily. I try not to eat too much crap. I used to smoke quite a lot and didn't quit till about 10 years ago. I don't sleep nearly as much as I should. I rob from sleep to have time to myself.

I only did an advert when my brother went bankrupt.

I've tried to avoid working on adverts as I don't really want to sell stuff. I wouldn't do them for years, but then my late brother became bankrupt around the time our father died, and he really couldn't support his young family. He was probably going to have his house taken away from him, so I did an advert for sanitary towels.

My agent was furious. But I earned quite a lot and the money just went to him, and that was a great solution.

As told to Suzanne Bearne

'Professor T' is available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player

High altitudes, zero crowds: trekking the Tien Shan

You need to be fit to tackle Kyrgyzstan's mountain trails, but the rewards are more than satisfying, writes Diana Jarvis

“You can eat these,” says Vadim Savin, my Kyrgyz guide, pointing to tiny red bulbous ber-

ries attached to spear-like stems. He pops one into his mouth. “Go on, try,” he implores. It’s sharp, tart and vaguely sour all at once. “They’re hallucinogenic, ancient shamans used them,” he claims. I gasp and contemplate spitting it out, but he adds, reassuringly, that “you’d have to eat a lot before you could get high”.

I'm in Konorchek Canyon, an arid, wind-sculpted valley a couple of hours' drive east of Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek. I've been walking along a dry riverbed, occasionally scrambling up rock faces, and snaking through a rusty landscape of towering, cathedral-like shapes.

It's more akin to something you'd find in Australia's Red Centre around Uluru or Kings Canyon than the "Alps of the East" moniker I had heard ascribed to Central Asia's Tien Shan mountains.

The canyon's appearance is a result of geological changes millions of years ago when layers of red sandstone and clay-rich sedimentary rock collected deep beneath the sea. When the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided, creating the Tien Shan system, it pushed these softer rocks upwards and sideways and into contact with the wind, sun and rain, which carved them into their art gallery-worthy shapes.

The ground is fertile enough for shrubs to grow. Thanks to Vadim, and his plant knowledge, I've been nibbling wild cherries, sea buckthorn and barberries, as well as little nodules from the ephedra plant. Parts of the plant contain a stimulant that is extracted to create the drug ephedrine (which has medical uses).

It's my first day of trekking in the Tien Shan on tour operator Intrepid Travel's Kyrgyzstan itinerary. I'm already captivated by this landlocked country, the second smallest of the five "Stans", which shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Diana spent one night in a yurt camp close to Issyk-Kul lake DIANA JARVIS

Karen Zhao, Intrepid's Central Asia product manager, says: "The region is often known for cultural tourism [because of its Silk Road past], but its reputation for adventure tourism is growing. The country is investing more into tourism infrastructure – like expanding its trekking network in the Tien Shan mountain ranges."

Mountains cover 90 per cent of the country and this 10-day trip focuses on the Terskey

Alatau range in eastern Kyrgyzstan, part of the Tien Shan system. Our route follows braids of the Silk Road, an important trading artery through Central Asia that dates back more than 2,000 years, as well as trails created by generations of nomads, some of whom still graze their sheep, goats and cattle in higher summer pastures.

Most overnight stays in this area involve tents or yurts. There are seven guests in my tour group, a mix of Britons and Americans aged between twentysomething and 70. You need to be fit to tackle the steep inclines and it's no surprise that I'm the slowest – heavily reliant on my partner, Jay (both inset), to motivate me and to push me up the slopes at times.

After visiting the canyon, we are driven along the southern edge of Issyk-Kul, the world's second largest alpine lake. The shores are lined with new yurt camps and half-constructed alpine chalets, and there are occasional hold-ups on the road while the tarmac is upgraded. It is a country readying itself for an influx of visitors.

My first night is at Barbulak yurt camp, which includes toilet and shower facilities. It's staffed by local people and we're welcomed with a traditional Kyrgyz meal of beef stew, roasted vegetables and rice.

Later, I head down to the water for a dip. I glide through the lake's icy chill and watch the last of the day's sun glow pink and peach above jagged snow-topped mountains.

Our yurt is lined in felt and designed with traditional patterns and fabrics. I sleep well – for the rest of the trip we'll be wild camping.

The next morning, after turning off the main road and bumping

along a rough track for half an hour or so, our minibus drops us off at Sutty Bulak, a low valley flanked by ancient red sandstone rock formations on one side and jagged alpine peaks on the other.

Unlike the actual Alps, there are no ski lifts, no hairpin-bend roads, not even any planes overhead. There's little infrastructure - just temporary nomad camps with yurts and makeshift fences enclosing cattle and horses. The only way to see it is on foot or by

Our camp crew drive between stops, cooking dinner and setting up the tents

horse. From here on, we walk. Each day follows a similar trajectory: we wake to the sounds of rosefinches (sparrow-sized birds with red plumage) in wild rose bushes, wash in a nearby stream, fill our bellies with porridge and eggs, and set off uphill.

The mornings are arduous, steep slogs but, with mountains and wildflower meadows surrounding us, frequent photo stops offer excuses for a breather. The daily distances range from eight to 12 miles, but it's the altitude gain that makes the hikes so challenging. On the steepest day, we climb over 1,000 metres above sea level.

To my relief, we aren't carrying our camping kit. A two-person camp crew drive between our stops, cooking dinner and setting up our tents before we arrive.

Lunch is often taken at the highest altitude of the day – like overlooking Irdyk Valley. With a rushing stream carving the landscape in two and a snow-capped mountain backdrop, it's strik-

NEWS 2-33 OPINION TV 26-31 LIFE 34-37 CULTURE 38-41 MONEY 42-45 SPORT 50-56

Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan range is known as the 'Alps of the East'; there are gallery-worthy rocks at Konorchek Canyon DIANA JARVIS

Travel essentials

How to get there The writer was a guest of Intrepid Travel. There are no direct flights between the UK and Kyrgyzstan, but Turkish Airlines and Pegasus offer connecting routes via Istanbul.

Booking it Intrepid Travel's 10-day Kyrgyzstan: Trekking the Tien Shan Trails tour starts from £1,944pp, including accommodation, ground transport, services of a local leader, guided hikes and some meals and other activities. Trip departures May–October. intrepidtravel.com

ingly beautiful. We stumble across a nomad on horseback, accompanied by several Alsatians corralling his herd of cows. He doesn't seem surprised by our presence – a quick nod of acknowledgment and he's gone.

But, as we continue, there's more insight into local life. After a steep downhill climb through thick pine forest and over a fast-flowing stream, more cows come tumbling alongside us. As we follow them to their homestead, we're invited by Talai, a nomadic herder, to join him for a glass of fermented milk.

Our final hike follows a braid of the old Silk Road down into the city of Karakol.

Livestock grazing aside, the nature surrounding the trails of Kyrgyzstan's mountains has felt wonderfully untouched. I'm glad to have arrived in the early stages of a tourism boom.

IRELAND

Clare's remote islands have unspoilt beaches and seabirds aplenty

A pirate queen's refuge, a medieval monastery and an artisan weaver's studio captivate Kerry Spencer on a two-night trip

As I wade into the North Atlantic, I'm blown away by how clear the water is. There's a light, salty breeze in the air and the

gentle waves are the kind of azure blue you expect to find in Mauritius, not Mayo on the west coast of Ireland.

I'm paddling off a deserted Castle Cove, a sheltered beach on Clare, the largest island in Clew Bay, with just a couple of grazing sheep, precariously close to the cliff edge above, for company.

The previous day, crossing the bay on the Clare Island Ferry from the mainland, I watched a pod of bottlenose dolphins surf the bow. At the same time, a couple of razorbills paddled on the water and the majestic, pointed peak of Croagh Patrick glinted back on the mainland in our wake.

Clare's hidden cove is accessed via a steep cliffside path with a rope handhold, right beside Granuaile's Castle, while the neighbouring Blue Flag beach is a ribbon of pale blonde sand.

The hilltop castle is a derelict 16th-century tower, a former refuge of Gráinne Mhaol, also known as the pirate queen Grace O'Malley, an enemy of Queen Elizabeth I, who is said to be buried at Clare's 13th-century abbey.

Last year, the community-based co-operative Atlantic Island Escapes made it easier for visitors to explore Clare and the neighbouring Inish-turk Island with a two-night itinerary, designed to promote inter-island tourism. The all-inclusive package includes one night on each island, a ferry service between them and the mainland, bike hire, dinner and activities such as crab tasting on Inish-turk and sampling sea-aged whiskey on Clare.

A big draw for visitors is that the islands are mostly car-free, with the ferry service offering space for bikes, not vehicles. At just five miles by three miles – flatter in the south and more mountainous in the north – Clare is best explored by electric bike, which can be hired from Shoreline Pursuits by the harbour (full day €55/£47, half day €35).

During two days on the island, I take in rugged ridges and grassy hills filled with grazing sheep, via winding lanes bursting with luxurious fern, orange montbretia and pink fireweed.

O'Malley's Foodstore, a 30-minute walk or 10-minute cycle from the harbour, is the only place to pick up groceries, right next to Clare Island Abbey, on the island's southern stretch. The abbey, a former Cistercian monastery, was built in the 1200s, rebuilt around 1460 and has a collection of rare medieval murals. Outside the small chapel, I notice the many O'Malley-marked gravestones – the island was once clan territory.

On the opposite side of Clare, surrounding the lighthouse, which is now a B&B, the Seaward Cliffs harbour nesting kittiwakes, fulmars and guillemots. I spy diving gannets from the lighthouse's lookout, but I've missed the small colony of Atlantic puffins, which have since descended on Inishturk.

The following day, I visit Ballytoughey Loom, home to Beth Moran's studio and cottage. Beth, from Boston, Massachusetts, has been creating joyful rugs, knits and scarves on the island for more than 30 years. She spins yarn using raw fleece from the island's sheep, which she dyes using foraged lichen, onion skin and heather.

Later, I head out with local sea-farer Jack Heanue on a dock-to-dish adventure aboard Atlantic Queen, part of the Atlantic Island Escapes itinerary. Based on Inishturk, Jack reveals that cod has become scarce in the bay as a result of overzealous trawling and hungry harbour seals. "But we should catch a few pollock and hopefully some mackerel," he reassures me.

Indeed, within 90 minutes, we catch four pollock and several mackerel, with small fish returned to the water. Jack fillets two of the pollock on the boat, before throwing the guts to scavenging gulls circling above.

As I sit outside the Anchor, Clare's community centre and pub, in the evening, with a steaming seafood chowder, I watch a family pitch a tent at the campsite by the beach before being lured into the water. Inside, the bar is packed with a crowd listening to trad artist Molly Granahan, as the soothing sound of the fiddle drifts through the open window.

Travel essentials

How to get there

Ryanair flies to Ireland West Airport (Knock) from Luton, Stansted, Liverpool and East Midlands. Aer Lingus flies between Knock and Heathrow. Car hire is available from Knock with Hertz.

Clare Island Ferry operates a seasonal timetable, 1 May to 27 September. Journey time is 20 minutes; returns €17 (£14) for adults and €8 for children. Atlantic Island Escapes offers a two-night package (15–17 September and 22–24 September 2026) for €730pp.

Where to stay Clare Island Lighthouse has rooms from €310 per night. Breakfast is €15pp.

More information atlanticislandescapes.com clareisland.ie/

Grace O'Malley's castle overlooks Clare Island's Blue Flag beach and its harbour KELVIN GILLMOR/FÁILTE IRELAND

Culture

I'm a big quitter. Life's too short and there are too many good books

Virginia Evans Women's Prize for Fiction winner on not having read 'War and Peace'

"I couldn't be more bored by talking about the 90s," says Suede bassist Mat Osman of the decade when Britpop ruled all and his

Quote of the day band, led by Brett Anderson, were at their commercial peak with hits like “Trash” and “Beautiful Ones”. “There’s just very little interesting left to say. So this seemed like a chance to talk about a very different kind of thing.”

Osman is referencing a new biography by author Rodge Glass, As One: Remaking Suede. It leaves the band's 90s pomp behind to tell the newer story of Suede's remarkable and highly improbable second act.

Few were grieving when Suede split sorrily in 2003 – “it was a relief because we weren’t very good at what we were supposed to be doing,” Osman says – and there was little clamour for their return.

But since tentatively reforming in 2010 for a Teenage Cancer Trust concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Suede have forged an uncommon path forward, rebuilding themselves as a creative force across five albums that peaked with 2022's Autofiction and last year's 10th album Antidepressants. Both albums reached No 2 in the charts and remoulded Suede into a vigorous post-punk-adjacent band accruing more power with age.

It has given the band a profile and level of critical acclaim akin to the old days: last month Antidepressants gave Suede their first Mercury Prize nomination in 29 years.

A new biography charts the extraordinary revival of 90s icons Suede. And it doesn't hold back, the band tell Shaun Curran

"It's really great to be recognised," says keyboardist/guitarist Neil Codling. "We are, to most people's eyes, a legacy act that they don't know or care are making new music. But we don't rest on our laurels... We're like a shark as a band. We need to keep moving forward."

As One documents with great care and exacting detail how Suede restored themselves from the margins after, as Codling puts it, “the carnival had moved on”.

The weight of their history loomed large: Anderson and Osman migrating to London from Haywards Heath in West Sussex; their quick-selling self-titled 1993 debut winning the Mercury Prize with its songs of squalid urban glamour; guitarist Bernard Butler leaving the band in 1994 while they were making darkly florid follow-up Dog Man

Suede in 1992 (above): Mat Osman, Bernard Butler, Brett Anderson, Simon Gilbert; Anderson on stage in 2019 IAN DICKSON/REDFERNS

Star; 1996's poppy Coming Up, the first album with Codling and guitarist Richard Oakes, becoming their best seller before Anderson's crack and heroin addictions did for the quality control on 1999's stranger, colder Head Music.

Codling had left due to illness by the time 2002's dismal A New Morning sealed a miserable falling-off. Having something to prove has been continuous fuel.

There is no real precedent for Suede's creative revival. From The Stones Roses to Pixies, once-great reformed bands invariably struggle to recapture past glories. It was this aspect that Glass, a Suede fan from the start, was drawn to.

"There was a fascinating story to tell that I couldn't really believe nobody had got round to," Glass says.

He'd met Osman at the Edinburgh Festival at a literary event (Osman is now an acclaimed author). Osman was a fan of Glass's biography of the Dutch novelist Michel Faber, and in Edinburgh, Glass took the chance to pitch his Suede book idea.

It is by no means a hagiography – “I’m critical in places and loving in others,” Glass says – as he was given free rein to interpret as he wished.

Glass spent three intimate years with the band from 2022. He found a band that were “genuine, earnest, incredibly hard-working, self-critical, curious. And open, once trust was there. With Brett, maybe that trust was a little bit slower.”

But Anderson felt comfortable enough with Glass to be unusually candid, and disclose that he had endured a brief lockdown-period Valium dependency, the panicked withdrawals from which were medicated with antidepressants.

In interviews promoting Anti-depressants, Anderson was keen to stress that the music itself acted as a restorative, but chose not to disclose his own recent struggles.

“Because that would be the story,” Osman says. “It’s impossible to talk about any kind of drugs and it not get turned into a one-line, clickbait thing.”

Osman says that he wasn't aware of the extent to which Anderson was struggling. The band not conversing particularly well is a theme of the book, with the frustrations and tensions that inevitably follow.

“We are five people who fail to communicate again and again and again,” says Codling, who says the band learned things about each other by reading the book. “Oh, that’s what you thought?”

“We all agree on what Suede should be, but there’s always going to be conflicts,” Osman says. A case in point being the fraught making of 2016’s Night Thoughts, revealed for the first time to have stretched the band to their limits. On release, it was decided that it was best to present a united front. “I think we still have that 90s mindset that it’s very difficult to admit to fucking up and your vulnerabilities,” Osman says.

For Glass, As One is a human story about how five disparate characters unite with a common purpose. It forensically recounts discussions around process, songwriting and messaging from the reunion show through each album.

"When we were young, we cultivated this mystique that everything we touched turned to magic,"

We all agreed on what Suede should be, but there's always going to be conflicts

There have been key decisions that helped Suede renew. After initially struggling to get 2013's comeback album Bloodsports off the ground – “The first year of stuff that we wrote was not up to scratch,” Codling says – the band’s long-time producer, the battle-hardened Ed Buller, insisted on clearly defined creative roles: Codling and Oakes writing the music, and Anderson the melodies and lyrics.

“Ed thought that having Brett write the music, which happened more for Head Music and A New Morning, made Suede sound less like Suede,” Codling says.

Osman says. "But this is showing 90 per cent of it is just hard work."

Oakes' untold story is the book's most moving element. As One reveals his struggles with depression after Suede's split as he came to terms with "the best and worst thing that ever happened to me".

At just 17, Oakes was thrown in at the deep end, joining the band as a the deep end, joining the bank replacement for Butler, and sent straight on an 18-month tour. Being perceived by some, as Glass puts it, as “an imitation of someone else” left scars and an imposter syndrome Oakes carried for decades. But from Autofiction onwards, Oakes asserted himself, with success a clear vindication of his singular talents.

Another change has been in Anderson. While he remains starry, he has dropped his armour somewhat, and increasingly seeks genuine connection with Suede's audience. "I think he has learned to be more vulnerable, to show self-doubt," Osman says.

That live feeling played into the directness of Autofiction and Anti-depressants, and steered Anderson's lyrics about middle-aged anxieties over fatherhood, the knottiness of long-term relationships and the disconnect of modern life.

Suede's key reunion track, 2022's "She Still Leads Me On", is proof: a moving, uplifting anthem about Anderson seeking ongoing meaning from the relationship with his mother, who died when he was 21.

Suede in 2010, when reforming for a charity gig began their second act ANDY WILLSHER/REDFERNS

“Seeing the way people reacted to that song was like, ‘OK, this is actually landing,’” Osman says.

This year, Suede could be rewarded by winning the Mercury Prize for the second time. Either way,

Osman says Suede's second act recovery isn't finished. "We're trying to build. The moment we think 'everyone loves us. We're great!' it will all fall apart again."

The Culture Matrix

'As One: Remaking Suede' is published tomorrow by New Modern

The arts at a glance

culture.matrix@theipaper.com

Visual art

The Cornish fisherman Alfred Wallis was in his seventies when he took up painting, using household paint on scraps of cardboard. His bold depictions of his old life as a mariner were admired and collected by key figures in modern British art,

Wallis works sail to West Sussex

including Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. Alfred Wallis: An Artists' Artist, a new show running at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester from 21 November to 2 May 2027, will explore his extraordinary impact. pallant.org.uk

On stage

Who Killed Marilyn? Emerald Theatre, London, to 29 October

Pixie Lott (left) stars as Marilyn Monroe in a bold new play by Sharleen Cooper Cohen which re-examines the life and

death of one of Hollywood's biggest screen icons. Drawing on documented evidence, conspiracy theories and cover-ups, it frames Monroe not as a victim, but as a woman of immense intelligence and power caught within high-level US politics and organised crime. whokilledmarilyn.uk

Book now

What The World Needs Now: The Burt Bacharach Songbook Touring, 5 to 12 October After a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall, songwriting legend Burt Bacharach's musical director, Rob Shirakbari, and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra are heading out with guest vocalists Rumer, Shaun Escoffery and Ed Harcourt to perform many of Bacharach's classic hits. whattheworldneedsnow.net

Coming soon

9/11 Photography Installation IWM North, Trafford, Manchester, from 4 September The Imperial War Museum's northern branch will mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US with a new display of images by Bill Biggart, the only professional photographer killed covering the attacks. They are on show outside America for the first time. iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-north

Albums of the week... World

Clube Da Esquina (reissue) Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges

Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento helped to found the Clube Da Esquina collective in his home state of Minas

Gerais with Lo Borges and others. This 1972 LP is the finest example of the highly creative scene that arose from it. From the opening chords of jazz-dance anthem “Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser” to the baroque influences of “San Vicente”, it weaves folk, rock, pop, jazz and Beatlesque strings into something utterly beautiful. Endless Happiness

Tiga Trombone Alfonso Soliano

This collection tells the untold story of Malaysian jazz with 11 songs by composer, arranger and pianist

Alfonso Soliano, originally only issued in a run of a few dozen copies for radio broadcast. Regarded as a foundational figures of Malaysian music, Soliano blended jazz, Latin influences and traditional Malay musical forms into a uniquely local sound, featuring some of Malaysia's most important musicians of the era. Audible Beauty

Buried with Michael Sheen BBCiPlayer, streaming now This a two-part documentary follows actor Michael Sheen (inset) and investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor as they retrace the efforts of whistleblower Douglas Gowan to expose alleged illegal dumping of toxic PCB "forever chemicals" across Wales.

Extend your home in as little as four days!

Custom, high-quality Conservatories and Orangeries, installed hassle-free.

QUOTE: EY3526

Lean-To Conservatory 8 metres x 3 metres

Design your dream conservatory in 3 EASY STEPS using our simple online quote engine

Approved Installers

1 Choose your design 2 Select your size 3 See your price instantly

Scan here for your instant price

£ 0% Interest-Free Credit

Trustpilot 4.8 Excellent

10 10-year guarantee

Fantastic Quality We are proud to manufacture everything in our UK factories and offer a 10-year guarantee to give you peace of mind.

Quicker and Cleaner to Build Our unique steel base, floor, and wall system can be installed in just a single day, removing the need for traditional foundations.

We're rated Excellent For 25 years we have built trust through quality and service, earning hundreds of glowing reviews from delighted customers.

√ Visit our factory showroom

For an instant price or a FREE brochure visit: ConservatoryLand.com 0800 952 8000 Lines open 7 days

QUOTE: EY3526

'I thought Blur would get 15 minutes of fame'

Dave Rowntree: 'I can walk around unmolested' DAVE BENETT/GETTY

DAVE ROWNTREE, 62, is best known as the drummer in Blur, which he formed in 1988 with Damon Albarn, Alex James and Graham Coxon.

Away from the band, he has worked as a criminal solicitor and qualified as a pilot. He has been with his partner, Michelle, for 22 years. His photography book No One You Know: Dave Rowntree's Early Blur Photos was published last year and he has brought a spoken-word show based on it to the Edinburgh Fringe this month.

As part of our series ‘The Making of Me’, he looks back at the moments that shaped him.

dangerous household. I never knew what would happen next. One family member was an alcoholic, another a drug addict and dealer. The front door might be kicked in by rival dealers.

It was chaos and I got out of the house as often as possible. It explains a lot about what came next.

Music, photography and astronomy saved my life. Music gave me focus, peace and somewhere else to be. Photography got me outside my own head by making me concentrate on the world beyond myself. Astronomy did something similar. When you realise we are specks of dust in an unremarkable corner of an average galaxy, your problems become easier to place.

I thought Blur would get 15 minutes of fame. I wanted to remember every second. The idea that our deeply unfashionable band would amount to anything was a running joke. I knew I would remember the gigs. What I might forget was how it felt doing the ordinary work of being in a band.

So I took hundreds of photographs. Then the musical landscape shifted and the outliers became the mainstream.

I get recognised once or twice a day, but I can use the Blur card to get an interesting meeting without having people outside my front door. Damon has had people camping outside his house since 1990. Being the drummer means I have always had the best version of fame. I can walk around relatively unmolested.

I have always been shockingly healthy physically and shockingly unhealthy mentally. Bands are

refuges for people who struggle to fit into ordinary society, but also the least healthy places they could end up. In 1990, struggling with your mental health was not something you brought up at a band meeting. When everything came on top of me, I had no idea where to turn.

Stopping drinking was the

beginning of me turning a corner. The lifestyle was taking a huge toll on my mental health. Back then, you were surrounded by excess and expected to treat it as normal.

I had a midlife crisis in my forties and decided I had wasted my life hitting things. Graham had left Blur [in 2002] and the band had fizzled out. Over lunch, I told a solicitor friend that his work must be more worthwhile because he looked people in the eye and solved their problems. It was ridiculous, especially when music had saved my life.

My friend told me to spend two weeks at the Old Bailey. I found myself in extraordinary dramas with real consequences and loved it. Then I spent a week at an east end criminal firm, visiting courts,

Back then, you were surrounded by excess

prisons and police stations. I never left. Once Blur became full-time again, I had to choose.

The knickers stopped arriving once we left our twenties. There was a depressing phase when young people said: "My dad likes you." Now they are discovering Blur for themselves, which is much more acceptable.

I have only had two girlfriends. Both relationships lasted decades. I have never had to go on Tinder, which looks like my worst nightmare: examining someone on a screen and sending messages. Michelle and I have been together for 22 years.

Dave Rowntree's spoken-word show 'No One You Know' is at La Belle Angele, Edinburgh, tomorrow and Friday. His photography exhibition 'No One U Know' is at Indelible Fine Art, Brighton, until 16 September

LIMITED TIME OFFER SAVE OVER 35% ON QUALITY WINE

was £96.68 | NOW £59.88 (+4.99 p&p)

Still buying wine from supermarkets? There's a better way.

Warehouse Wines cuts out the middlemen and costly marketing campaigns, so every penny goes where it should - into the wine in your glass.

No subscription sign-ups required!

Here's what you get:

• 12 hand-selected wines

• Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Pinot Grigio and many more

- Just £4.99 a bottle

- No subscriptions, no clubs

Was £94.88

NOW £59.88 (+£4.99 p&p)

Order at warehousewines.co.uk/iWine19 or call 0343 224 1033 quoting WH1337

Expert approved by Joe Fattorini

ENERGY

Extra bills support mooted for struggling households

By Sophie Wingate

Ministers are looking at “a range of support” for vulnerable households struggling with rising bills, the Energy Secretary has said ahead of an expected energy price cap hike.

Miatta Fahnbulleh suggested that more policy costs could be removed from energy bills in a bid to drive them down, with the Government working with regulator Ofgem to examine “how fixed standing charges that are too expensive for some could be recovered in the fairest way”.

Her comments came on the eve of Ofgem being expected to announce today that a 4 per cent domestic price cap rise will come into effect from 1 October in England, Scotland and Wales, as global conflicts continue to push up wholesale energy prices.

Soaring bills have meant that household energy debt is now projected to hit a record £7bn by the end of the year.

Domestic arrears have already climbed to a £6bn in the first half of this year, trade body Energy UK said, with more than three million households in debt to their suppliers, owing an average of £1,800 per home.

As unrecovered debt is passed back to consumers, this has added a further £50 annually to a typical household energy bill.

Bills are climbing at the high-

Fahnbulleh said policy costs had “started to be removed” from bills, including ditching an energy efficiency programme to support vulnerable consumers and upgrade the energy system “to be able to lower bills”. The scheme was paid for through levies on bills.

est level for three years and are set to reach an average of £1,729 a year after today's announcement – despite the Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pledge to remove VAT from electricity bills from October.

Burnham has predicted this will knock around £45 off the annual Ofgem price cap from October, but that will be more than offset by the recent swing in global energy prices.

Fahnbulleh said: “I understand why people are worried and frustrated – we are doing everything we can to make them more affordable.”

The Peckham MP indicated that households most in need could be in line for more support beyond the existing £150 warm home discount.

She said: "I know households that are struggling need more help.

“That is why we are looking at a range of support, from long-term targeted bill support through to upgrading millions of homes with measures that can save over £500 on bills.

Miatta Fahnbulleh acknowledged that standing charges ‘are a real bugbear’

"I know for lots of people standing charges are a real bugbear.

"The reality is they cover fixed costs that we have to pay to keep the energy system running, but we understand that, for some, this is too expensive.

"Removing those costs would simply increase prices elsewhere on the bill, so we are working closely with Ofgem on recovering these costs in the fairest way.

"We know there is more to do."

Quote of the day

I'm gutted. I hate to see it wither away. I'd rather just see it end. We were a family united by the feeling this was something new and exciting for golf

Greg Norman Former LIV Golf chief executive on the demise of the \$5bn (£3.7bn) rebel tour

A child climbs on a figure of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, made of more than 30,000 bricks, at Legoland in California AFP

LEISURE

Lego builds record sales on World Cup fever

By Holly Williams

World Cup and ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ ranges helped toy group Lego to post a sales record in the first six months of this year.

The Danish firm reported a 21 per cent rise in revenues to DKr41.9bn (£4.8bn) for the period as pre-tax profits surged a third higher year-on-year to DKr11.3bn.

Operating profits jumped by 22 per cent to DKr10.9bn despite “strategic initiative” spending on sustainability, with the group now making its bricks out of

more renewable and recyclable materials. It also aims to switch to paper-based bags for its sets across all factories by next year.

More than 330 Lego products have been launched this year, with World Cup football fever and “consumer excitement” around Formula 1 and Netflix smash-hit movie ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ drawing in new customers.

New products include a replica of the official Fifa World Cup trophy, as well as interactive ‘Star Wars’ and Pokémon brick sets.

Niels Christiansen, Lego's chief executive, said the World Cup sets had been a “breakthrough” for the firm “in terms of tapping into popular demand”.

He added: "We have seen a lot of excitement around the trophies, and for the most popular football players worldwide.

“We’ve been on a trajectory over the past seven years, and have constantly been growing with adults and kids alike.

"It's very important for us to continue to expand our universe of experiences for kids and that is happening at a very high speed."

CONSTRUCTION

Vistry handed £350m lifeline with deal for 3,028 homes

By Simon Straker

Embattled UK housebuilder Vistry has been thrown a lifeline after being awarded a £350m government contract to build 3,028 affordable homes over the next decade.

The allocation – the maximum individual grant available in the initial phase of the Government's 10-year social and affordable homes programme – arrives at a critical juncture for Vistry, which has been battered by a series of severe financial and operational setbacks.

The builder has issued several profit warnings over the past two years, following a disclosure in 2024 that it had underestimated building costs. It has since overhauled its management structure and sought to tighten costs, but recently warned of a projected £30m first-half pre-tax loss, driven by heavy discounting and writedowns on lower-margin sites.

Vistry also has a mounting average net debt pile approaching £800m, and a major credit insurers, Allianz Trade, recently announced it planned to scale back supplier coverage.

The timing of the contract, awarded by Homes England, could hardly be better for the group ahead of a major strategic review next month. It solidifies Vistry's position as a core strategic partner to the Government in a wider push to construct more than 73,000 social homes in the UK.

The chief executive, Adam Daniels, said the grant would be deployed immediately across its active development pipelines, working alongside local authorities, mayoral strategic bodies, and housing associations.

EMPLOMENT

Meet the ‘unretirees’ who quit work before deciding to go back

Many people find they have more to give and retrain for a second career. By Josh Kirby

At the age of 51, Mary Cambray was set for what most people would consider to be a dream retirement.

Cambray had bought an estate agency in 2002 and spent almost two decades growing the business to seven offices and 50 staff. After selling the company in 2018, she was excited at the prospect of never working another day in her life.

“Initially, you think: ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing,’” says Cambray, now 59, from Shropshire. “But then you realise you still have things to do, things to give. Within six months I’d worked out that retirement was not going to be enough for me.”

After three years Cambray decided to re-enter the workforce in a different capacity. She began teacher training with Now Teach, which specialises in giving people a second career in education.

She has now spent four years teaching history and is one of a growing cohort of “unretirees”, with research by Standard Life finding that one in six retirees have either already returned to work or are considering it.

Mary Cambray (left) and Harpinder Walia retrained as teachers after turning their backs on retirement

Many are forced back into work due to financial reasons, with three in 10 saying their standard of living became worse in retirement.

A report from the Centre for Ageing Better published in June found 1.8 million people in their sixties in England – more than one in four – were financially insecure, with this figure set to pass two million within a decade.

Women are particularly exposed, the report found, often because they have less pension savings than men. If they are in a relationship that breaks down they are forced to restart work with no second income from a partner to fall back on.

But money is not the only driver of unretirement; a quarter said they had felt lonely or socially disconnected when not working.

If you've got the energy in you, you've got to keep going, otherwise it's all downhill from there

Dr Andrea Barry, the Centre for Ageing Better's deputy director for work, says the old model of retirement – a set date and fixed monthly income for life – is becoming a thing of the past. “More people work into their seventies and eighties now, going in and out of work well into later life,” she says.

After four decades working in the international construction business, Harpinder Walia, in his sixties, could have retired comfortably – but at the last minute, decided to do the opposite and retrained as a maths teacher.

Walia, originally from India but now living in Essex, finds his new career incredibly rewarding, and has no regrets deciding to dodge retirement.

He says: “When a kid stands in front of you saying, ‘Sir, I get it’, that feeling is unparalleled.”

Walia is earning much less than he did before but says work is no longer about the money. So happy is he in his new career that he can't imagine retiring any time soon.

"If you've got the energy in you, you've got to keep going, otherwise it's all downhill from there," says Walia. "I've always loved maths - all I needed was teacher training."

"At the moment I look forward to work, and as long as I can make a difference to even one child, I'm going to carry on," he says.

Of course, for a substantial number of pensioners, their pension income means they can take a job below their old salary purely for the structure and company.

This resonates with Cambray, who maintains that selling her business was the right decision. She tried volunteering, and even sitting as a magistrate at one point, but found these never quite scratched her itch to be active again.

She says: “I did my research during Covid and decided becoming a secondary school teacher would interest me, and that I could

1.8m The number of financially insecure over-60s in England – it could exceed two million within a decade use my experience to give something back.

"My generation has an awful lot of experience to give, to share – it's a shame when that is lost." But Cambray

But Damistry doesn't mind admitting that there have been days when she has missed

“days when she has missed working with professionals, not teenagers, “as that was a lot easier”.

Unretirees also face a tricky obstacle in the form of ageist employers, explains Barry.

“Women tell us that from around their mid-forties they’re made to feel they’re already too old for the labour market.

“But institutional experience is something people forget – someone who’s worked in a field for a long time has knowledge younger people may not have.”

GERMANY

Banker admits embezzling £500,000

By Simon Straker

A former Deutsche Bank private banking head has pleaded guilty in a Frankfurt court to embezzling more than €600,000 (£515,000) from wealthy clients.

The 39-year-old defendant, identified as Sven R, admitted to executing 21 fraudulent transactions between late 2023 and early 2025.

He siphoned funds from Deutsche's Frankfurt headquarters through his mother-in-law's account before transferring them to a brokerage account, where they were lost in derivatives trading.

The scheme was uncovered internally and the employee was dismissed immediately.

The former manager expressed deep regret for his actions, citing mounting family expenses and claiming that he had “fully intended to return the funds”.

A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank confirmed that fewer than 10 client accounts had been compromised, and all affected individuals had been fully compensated.

It added that it had now tightened its internal control mechanisms to prevent future fraud.

AUTOMOTIVE

Aston Martin creditors prepare financing lawsuit

By Simon Straker

A group of bondholders owed £1.3bn by Aston Martin are preparing a High Court lawsuit against the luxury car maker to block a £550m financing package with HPS Investment Partners, a private credit firm owned by BlackRock.

Investment firms Arini and Tresidor have filed a discovery application in the US, seeking to uncover details regarding the contentious arrangement, claiming it involves moving trademark rights into a newly incorporated Cayman Islands subsidiary, with an option to hand over a 50.1 per cent stake worth £100m in non-car branding to US firm Authentic.

Creditors allege this violates existing debt covenants, strips them of security and places key assets out of reach in a default scenario.

With Aston Martin facing mounting pre-tax losses and an overall debt load exceeding £1.5bn, the legal challenge threatens to disrupt its latest liquidity lifeline.

The challenge comes as Aston Martin faces mounting pre-tax losses

GOLD

Ice DATA SERVICES

The Business Matrix

The day at a glance

FTSE100 up 0.29% at 10,886.16

Company	Price	Chg %	High	Low
3i Group	2904.0	-1.02%	4497.0	1825.0
Aberdeen Group	246.8	+0.24%	265.0	177.5
AB Foods	2064.0	-0.24%	2359.0	1729.5
Admiral	4072.0	+1.80%	4076.0	2624.0
Airtel Africa	334.6	-0.42%	436.2	212.1
Alliance Witan	1374.0	+0.29%	1394.0	1178.0
Anglo Amer	4203.0	+2.06%	4239.0	2185.0
Antofagasta	4009.0	+0.93%	4475.0	2115.0
AstraZeneca	12476.0	+3.02%	15732.0	9892.0
Autotrader Group	549.2	+1.25%	828.8	418.6
Aviva	730.4	+0.33%	740.6	590.6
Babcock Intl	1092.5	+1.02%	1527.0	902.4
BAE Systems	2098.0	+0.05%	2360.0	1529.0
Barclays	496.2	+0.18%	554.1	352.9
Barratt Redrow	320.7	+1.74%	410.3	235.4
Beazley	1298.0	+0.15%	1298.0	750.0
BP	528.6	-0.96%	609.4	399.4
BritAmTobacco	4133.0	-1.45%	5326.0	3677.0
British Land	432.2	+0.79%	451.6	318.6
BT	206.6	+0.54%	242.1	173.0
Bunzl	2794.0	-0.14%	2886.0	1981.0
Burberry	1080.0	+0.19%	1376.5	976.0
Centrica	155.6	+0.48%	220.3	151.4
Coca-Cola Europac	8070.0	+0.12%	8545.0	6280.0
Coca-Cola HBC	4602.0	-0.30%	5195.0	3270.0
Compass	2259.1	-1.68%	2581.1	2000.0
Computacenter	5190.0	+1.76%	5220.0	2234.0
Convatec	228.8	+0.35%	259.3	193.0
Croda Intl	3457.0	-0.32%	3497.0	2437.0
DCC Energy	6360.0	-0.08%	6740.0	4188.0
Diageo	1735.5	-2.00%	2116.0	1295.5
Diploma	7230.0	+0.42%	7765.0	4970.0
Endeavour Mining	4793.0	+0.42%	5620.0	2472.0
Entain	540.0	-0.18%	915.6	500.4
Experian	3009.0	+1.55%	3987.0	2203.0
F&C Inv Trust	341.6	+0.41%	1332.0	325.8
Fresnillo	3176.0	-0.75%	4472.0	1693.0

Markets

Company	Price	Chg %	High	Low
Games Works	18540.0	+0.16%	23540.0	14070.0
Glencore	602.1	+1.52%	707.2	281.9
GSK	1905.5	+0.79%	2282.0	1440.3
Haleon	369.6	-0.05%	416.1	274.4
Halma	3576.0	+0.62%	4902.0	3194.0
Hiscox	1827.0	-0.27%	1904.0	1257.2
Howden Joinery	800.5	-%	981.0	713.0
HSBC Hldgs	1517.0	-0.78%	1610.0	942.8
IAG	441.9	+2.24%	492.9	332.7
ICG	2018.0	-0.39%	2340.0	1424.9
IG Group	1356.0	+0.15%	1956.0	1016.0
IMI	3102.0	+0.98%	3166.0	2216.0
Imperial Brands	2520.0	-0.59%	3632.0	2476.0
Informa	898.6	-0.16%	1000.0	719.0
IntCont Htls	11952.2	+0.13%	13305.1	8618.0
Intertek	5850.0	+0.09%	5860.0	3519.4
Investec	635.5	-%	690.0	499.4
JD Sports Fashion	85.3	-0.23%	106.2	64.0
Kingfisher	322.5	+1.51%	372.3	240.3
Land Secs	694.5	+1.02%	726.0	522.5
Legal & Gen	289.3	+0.38%	318.1	217.2
Lion Finance	13330.0	+0.76%	13620.0	6905.0
Lloyds Bk Gp	111.5	-0.13%	117.9	77.4
LondonMetric Prop	194.5	+0.26%	216.2	175.3
Lon Stock Ex	8798.0	-0.48%	10140.0	6684.0
M&G	348.0	-0.06%	367.1	247.0
M&S	391.1	+1.66%	418.3	301.1
Melrose Ind	510.2	+10.43%	685.0	409.9
Metlen Energy	4202.7	+1.15%	4846.1	2643.8
National Grid	1185.5	+1.37%	1428.5	1000.0
NatWest Group	690.2	+0.20%	726.0	500.2
Next	15635.0	+2.36%	15900.0	11200.0
Pearson	1214.5	-0.86%	1337.0	874.8
Pershing Square	3900.0	+0.41%	5095.0	3636.0
Persimmon	1184.0	+2.02%	1552.0	947.4
Polar CapTech	638.0	+2.33%	743.5	385.8
Prudential	1035.0	-0.72%	1238.0	910.2

Company	Price	Chg %	High	Low
Reckitt Ben	5150.0	-0.58%	6522.9	3664.0
RELX	2618.0	-1.28%	3575.0	1991.0
Rentokil Initial	347.7	-0.29%	507.0	329.6
Rio Tinto	7730.0	+0.83%	9117.0	4528.0
Rolls-Royce	1530.0	+1.99%	1586.0	990.0
Sainsbury(J)	335.1	-0.15%	380.3	292.3
Schroders	583.5	-%	599.5	358.6
Scot Mort Inv Tst	1477.5	+1.30%	1563.0	1015.7
Segro	968.0	+0.73%	997.4	603.0
Severn Trent	3152.0	+0.96%	3335.0	2381.0
Shell	3386.5	-0.31%	3758.5	2553.8
Smith&Neph	1068.0	-1.29%	1441.5	1046.0
Smiths Gp	2617.0	+0.27%	2754.2	2088.0
Spirax Group	7160.0	+1.78%	8050.0	5950.0
SSE	2409.0	+1.60%	2767.5	1597.0
Stan Chart	2140.0	-2.51%	2278.0	1351.5
Standard Life	937.0	+0.92%	948.5	615.0
St James's Place	1183.0	-1.13%	1575.5	1038.8
Tesco	464.7	+0.76%	510.4	411.7
The Sage Grp	1104.5	-0.05%	1181.0	771.7
Tritax Big Box	160.3	+1.33%	175.0	132.2
Unilever	4761.5	-0.44%	5542.1	3644.0
United Utilities	1436.0	+0.77%	1497.0	1072.0
Vodafone	118.2	+0.51%	131.1	83.4
Weir	2910.0	+1.11%	3580.0	2254.0
Whitbread	2475.0	+0.49%	3302.0	2098.0

For enquiries call +44 (0)20 7825 8300

FTSE 100	10886.16	+0.29%
FTSE 250	24856.0	+0.56%
FTSE All Share	5869.3	+0.32%
FTSE Eurofirst300	2623.2	+0.30%
Dow Jones *	53525.6	+0.20%
S&P 500 *	7675.9	+0.30%
Nasdaq *	26104.62	+0.48%
DAX	26266.1	+0.61%
CAC 40	8439.2	-0.16%
Hang Seng	25511.1	-0.02%
Nikkei	65856.4	+0.50%

EURO/POUND

DOLLAR/POUND

OIL Brent crude, per barrel
Per troy ounce, London pm fix

MINING

UK invests £71m to reopen Hemerdon

The UK is investing £71m to reopen the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon to secure critical mineral supplies, reduce reliance on international supply chains and boost industries such as defence, aerospace and energy. The National Wealth Fund investment will also support regional economic growth by creating 350 jobs, the Government said.

TAIWAN

Nvidia boss faces smuggling charge

Taiwanese prosecutors have charged a senior Nvidia manager, named only as Chang, and eight others with smuggling advanced AI chips into China. They alledgedly forged documents to bypass export restrictions to successfully ship 74 out of 130 servers via Japan and Indonesia. If found guilty they face up to five years in jail.

NUCLEAR

Sizewell C drops roads contractor

The £38bn Sizewell C nuclear project has dropped contractor Galliford Try after failing to agree commercial terms for building a 6.5km link road and village bypass around the Suffolk site. Project bosses have already replaced the firm with Kier and Breheny Civil Engineering to complete the works and avoid delays.

CHEMICALS

Toxic scare costs Melrose \$100m

Melrose Industries has set up a \$100m (£73m) compensation scheme after a toxic chemical scare at its GKN Aerospace plant in California. The incident in May involved an overheating tank, forcing the evacuation of 50,000 residents. There are no criminal charges but evacuees will be compensated for lost wages and accommodation.

the markets

The FTSE 100 closed yesterday up 31.84 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 10,886.16. The biggest risers were chemicals firm Melrose, up 48.2p at 510.2p, and pharma group AstraZeneca, up 366p at 12,476p. The biggest fallers were Standard

BANKING

NatWest makes US market push

NatWest is expanding into the US after receiving Federal Reserve approval to open an office in Stamford, Connecticut. It is the bank's first major US push since the 2008 financial crisis after UK ring-fencing regulations were relaxed. The office will market products and manage corporate and institutional clients, but will not be allowed to accept deposits.

PENSIONS

Buoyant Chesnara sizes up takeovers

London-listed pensions firm Chesnara is actively pursuing new acquisitions following its recent takeover of HSBC Life UK, which added £5bn in assets, and its upcoming £100m purchase of Lloyds' Scottish Widows Europe. It posted a half-yearly pre-tax profit of £61m, overturning a £4.6m loss from the same period last year.

INSURANCE

Firms 'underprice' heat mortality risk

The intensity of this summer's heatwaves across Europe has escalated health risks, with insurers feeling the effect in the pocket, S&P Global Ratings has said. Rising heat-related mortality and illness, especially among over-60s, has driven up life insurance claims and squeezed profits with policies underpricing the risks, it said.

COMMODITIES

Gold surges to three-month high

Gold hit a three-month high of \$4,691.7 (£3,441.0) an ounce yesterday before falling back to \$4,649.8 as demand for “safe-haven” investments surged on escalating US inflation fears. It followed the US Treasury’s move to double its long-term bond buybacks, driving down the US dollar, after the national debt passed \$40trn last week.

Chartered bank, down 55p at 2,140p, and drinks group Diageo, down 35.5p at 1,735.5p.

In France, the CAC40 fell by 0.16 per cent, while the DAX ended 0.61 per cent higher in Germany.

The price of Brent crude oil fell to \$88.49 a barrel.

✿✿✿

The pound gained on the dollar, rising by 0.05 cents to \$1.3639, but fell against the euro, down by 0.01 cents to €1.1682, at London's close.

PROPERTY

'I am renting but am worried about a crash if I buy'

Housing Clinic

JONATHAN ROLANDE

In a regular series, our experts answer readers' personal finance questions

Q I currently rent a three-bedroom property with my family. I've been putting off buying for a year or so as I'm worried about buying just before a massive crash! As silly as it sounds, I feel like people have been warning about this and I'm worried I'll be caught out. Should I wait, or just go for it? We'd probably opt for another three-bed and the cost would be around £400,000. Name and address supplied

A It's fair to say that property hasn't performed well in the past few years, especially compared to the returns out there on other

investments. But no – I don't see a crash coming, and waiting rarely pays off.

Growth has slowed. Zoopla puts the current rate of price increases at 1.3 per cent, down from 1.7 per cent last year, as higher mortgage costs make buyers pause and affordability has been hit.

But a slowdown isn't a crash. Zoopla's own data shows UK prices have risen in 25 of the past 30 years.

Now to your rent question, because you're right to think it through. Say you borrow £300,000 of that £400,000 at 4.5 per cent. The interest alone comes to around

Without capital growth, the true cost of owning starts to look a lot like renting

£13,500 a year. Rent on a similar three-bed often costs close to that. You'll also cover your own repairs and insurance as an owner, probably £2,000 to £3,000 a year on an older house. You'll also lose access to the capital you put in yourself as a deposit.

Without capital growth, the true cost of owning starts to look a lot like the true cost of renting.

The difference is what you get for

Waiting for a crash that keeps not arriving has cost more first-time buyers a home than any downturn

the money. Rent buys you nothing. A mortgage buys you a stake in a home. Part of every payment builds equity that's yours to keep, sell, or borrow against. Over 10 or 20 years, that gap compounds. Renters end up with nothing. Buyers end up with an asset.

Waiting for a crash that keeps not arriving has cost more first-time buyers a home than any downturn ever has.

As the saying goes, the best time to buy a property was 20 years ago, the second best time is today.

If you can afford the price and the mortgage on today's rate, not a price or rate you're hoping for, and the house suits your family, I'd go ahead and buy it.

The real risk here isn't buying too soon. It's staying tenants too long, where the only mortgage you'll ever pay off will be your landlord's.

Jonathan Rolande is a professional property-buyer and housing commentator. If you have a question for our experts, email us at money@theipaper.com

Get a guaranteed 8.08%* income for life from your pension

Also access a tax-free lump sum

Whether your retirement is just around the corner or still a few years away, now could be a good time to understand exactly how much income your pension could provide.

Why readers are choosing the iFinance Retirement Planning Service:

√ Your best available annuity rates from leading providers

√ Whether you qualify for an enhanced annuity

√ How much guaranteed income your pension could give you

√ Options for inflation protection and spouse cover

√ Clear comparisons so you can make the right choice

An independent financial adviser will compare annuities from the whole market to get you the best rate for your pension savings.

Home. Even when things change.

Step into comfort with a stylish Walk-In Shower.

£500

CASH BACK

On installations booked before 30/09/26. T&Cs apply, see website for details.

We understand that maintaining your independence and comfort at home is crucial.

Our easy-access, walk-in showers, walk-in baths, wet rooms and comfort-height toilets are installed quickly and safely, by our own dedicated team. From assessment through to installation and beyond, we stay accountable – backed by a lifetime guarantee.

Personalised Care

Which bathing solution is right for you?

Bespoke Design

'We're rated 'Excellent'

Specialist Installers • Fits in the same space as your old bath

- Fast installation, in as little as a day

• Low-level, slip-resistant shower trays

• Fold-flat, comfortable shower seat

- Secure shower grab handle rail

• Modern designs, tailored to you

Lifetime Guarantee

To book a FREE assessment or for our latest brochure Call free 0800 468 1024

Lines open 7 days a week or visit: eamobility.com

NEW LOW PRICE - BRITAIN'S BEST VALUE

NEW! 4G Model Easy-to-Use

Flip phone for Seniors

WE DESIGNED THIS PHONE JUST FOR YOU!

OPEN TO SPEAK - CLOSE TO FINISH

FLIP OPEN & CLOSE

FEATURING SOS BUTTON

√ LIGHTWEIGHT √ SLIM- POCKET SIZED √ NO ACCIDENTAL CALLS √ BIG BUTTONS √ CLEAR DISPLAY √ LOUD RING TONE √ TALKING NUMBERS

Smart BLACK finish

NO WI-FI

NO GPS

NO GAMES

FREE PAY-AS- YOU-GO SIM CARD WITH EVERY PHONE

Built-in FLASHLIGHT

CHARGING CRADLE artfone

MUM&D MONEY SAVER

ONLY £49.99 EACH WITH OUR

EASY-TO USE FEATURES include...

—simple to store your friends and family telephone numbers BIG BRIGHT BACK LIGHT DISPLAY

BIG BUTTONS, BIG NUMBERS, EASY to READ LETTERS Read and write text messages with ease

CALL AND MESSAGE ALERT ON PHONE OUTER WHEN CLOSED SPEED DIAL Just access name for AUTOMATIC DIALING OF NUMBER

BLOCK UNWANTED PHONE CALLS and MESSAGES

■ PHONE BOOK for storing up to a 1000 numbers

SMALL • LIGHTWEIGHT • POCKET SIZE

BUILT-IN CALCULATOR

BUILT-IN MAGNIFIER

■ TIME and DATE DISPLAYED ON SCREEN ■ WAKE-UP ALARM FUNCTION or REMIND YOU WHEN YOUR CAR PARK TIME EXPIRES

■ BUILT-IN SPEAKER - make and receive calls HANDS FREE or without having to put the phone to your ear. Listen to FM radio broadcasts

SOS BUTTON – store the numbers of up to 5 family or friends. In an emergency just press the SOS BUTTON and the phone will call and send a text to consecutive numbers until one of them answers.

SOS ALARM SOUND

■ SOS—BY PHONE AND MESSAGE Essential in the event of you falling over.

MUM&DAD MONEY SAVER WHEN BUYING TWO FOR £99.98 +p&p Single phone £69.99 +p&p

■ BLUETOOTH so you can connect to your car speaker for hands free operation. Also connect to most Bluetooth speakers.

■ CALENDAR so you can keep track of appointments birthdays, holidays and important dates.

■ FM RADIO listen to radio via a built-in speaker or via an earphone.

■ USEFUL TORCH light the keyhole and find dropped items more easily.

■ SIDE VOLUME CONTROL helps prevent accidental adjustment

■ LONG LASTING BATTERY A full battery charge lasts for up to 5 days on STANDBY mode

NO CONTRACT – WE SUPPLY YOU WITH A FREE PAY AS YOU GO SIM CARD that puts you in control of your spend.

SOS BUTTON

STORE THE NUMBERS OF UP TO 5 FAMILY OR FRIENDS.

IN AN EMERGENCY JUST PRESS THE 'SOS' BUTTON and the phone will call and send a text to consecutive numbers until one of them answers.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

3 EASY WAYS TO ORDER CALL OUR CREDIT CARD ORDERLINE MON - SAT 7AM-9PM & SUN 8AM-8PM

- YOUR FLIP PHONE • BATTERY - CHARGING CRADLE & PLUG - EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS Written by an English-speaking person

Speak to someone in our UK Call Centre who will assist with your order.

CALL: 0800 472 5378

ORDER ONLINE: www.pressplaydeals.co.uk/art

BY POST Complete the coupon and post today to: Pressplay Ltd. (Dept PH3434) 8 Whittle End, Great Notley, Braintree, Essex CM77 7BA. 100% GUARANTEE If you are not totally satisfied with your purchase, return goods within 14 days of receipt for a full refund.

To: Pressplay Ltd,

Please send me:

(Dept PH3434), 8 Whittle End, Great Notley, Braintree, Essex CM77 7BA.

I enclose Cheque/P.O. (made payable to Pressplay Ltd, please write your name and address on reverse) for

QUOTE REF CODE PH3434

PRIORITY ORDER COUPON

or charge my MasterCard/Visa/Maestro Account.

ITEM	PRICE	QTY	TOTAL
Easy to Use Flip Phone	£69.99
2x Easy to Use Flip Phones SAVE £40	£99.98
Spare Battery	£9.99
Earphones	£9.99
Fast Charge Plug	£19.99
Portable Powerbank 10,000mAh	£19.99
Please add £5.95 postage and packing to entire order or £7.95 for priority despatch (order before 2pm weekday)			£5.95/£7.95

My Card No. is

GRAND TOTAL

Start Date ____ / ____ Expiry Date ____ / ____ Issue No. (Maestro cards)

Security Code ____ / ____ / ____ (last 3 digits on back of card)

Name Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms_

Address

Tel. No.

Post Code

Estimated despatch within 48 hours from receipt of your order but please allow up to 7 working days for delivery. *Only mainland UK areas—check your post code with our operator. By engaging with our services, your contact details may be shared with trusted partners for relevant marketing. You can opt out of marketing anytime, withdraw consent easily and your data won't be shared without permission. By placing your order, you agree to this use. Learn more or update preferences at pressplaydeals.co.uk Registered Office: Pressplay Ltd, Manchester M17 iWD Co Reg No 02712382.

Email

THE 2027 NO-FLY Mediterranean Marvel 3 DAY FLASH SALE

EXCLUSIVE LOW DEPOSIT FROM ONLY £50 $_{PP}$

DRINKS, GRATUITIES & WI-FI INCLUDED $^{++}$

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

FREE ON BOARD SPEND OF UP TO \$600*

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

31 NIGHTS DEPARTING 25 $^{TH}$ SEPTEMBER 2027

Set sail from Southampton on an immersive 31-night Mediterranean voyage on board Sky Princess®, exploring a remarkable collection of Europe's most celebrated destinations. Journey along the coasts of Spain and France before delving into Italy's cultural heart, with unforgettable calls at Florence, Rome and Naples. Discover the meeting point of continents in Istanbul, then island-hop through Greece, visiting Athens, Mykonos and many more. The adventure continues through Sicily and Malta, blending ancient history with dramatic coastal scenery. With a balance of enriching ports and relaxing sea days, this itinerary is perfect for travellers seeking a deeper exploration of the Mediterranean.

SERVICE, QUALITY & TRUST WITH ROL CRUISE

5★ SERVICE

√ THE UK'S NO.1 INDEPENDENT CRUISE SPECIALIST

√ ABTA & ATOL PROTECTED WHAT'S INCLUDED

EXCLUSIVE LOW DEPOSIT FROM ONLY £50PP ENDS 8PM 28 $^{TH}$ AUGUST 2026

FREE ON BOARD SPEND OF UP TO \$600 FOR ALL BOOKINGS*

- 31 nights all-inclusive premium cruising on board Sky Princess® including**:

- INCLUDED Drinks Package – with sodas, speciality coffees and teas, cocktails, wine and beer up to \$15 each

- Pre-paid Gratuities INCLUDED

- Single device unlimited Wi-Fi INCLUDED EARN EXCLUSIVE CRUISE MILES® worth £££s towards your next booking††

ROL CRUISE FLASH SALE FARES

Interior from £5,039pp Ocean View from £7,119pp Balcony from £7,379pp Deluxe Balcony SOLD OUT Mini Suite (1 left) from £8,729pp HIGHER SUITES ARE SOLD OUT Solo fares are available from £8,629

BOOK TODAY WITH JUST A £50PP DEPOSIT

rolcruise.co.uk/thei

TRAVEL WITH CONFIDENCE ABTA ABTA No F9255

CALL ONE OF OUR CRUISE SPECIALISTS FREE ON

0808 258 0104

QUOTE OFFER REF 644809

WE ARE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

FROM 8:30AM – 8PM

Trustpilot

Today's Weather

Rain and thunderstorms sweep across the British Isles, affecting Ireland, Wales and central England. Sunny elsewhere, with scattered showers.

Today's high

25°

Today's low

$10^{\circ}$

Around Britain

City	Temp(1pm yesterday)		Rain(mm)	Sun(hrs)
Aberdeen	16	C	0.1	9.8
Aberporth	21	C	0.1	10.3
Aberystwyth	23	R	0.1	10.7
Aviemore	18	C	0.0	11.3
Belfast	18	C	0.1	8.8
Birmingham	23	S	0.0	8.5
Bournemouth	23	C	0.4	10.1
Bridlington	19	C	0.1	9.3
Bristol	24	C	0.3	10.1
Cardiff	23	C	0.1	9.5
Cromer	21	S	0.0	10.8
Durham	19	C	1.8	8.6
Eastbourne	22	S	0.0	11.8
Edinburgh	17	C	0.2	7.4
Eskdalemuir	16	C	0.4	7.7
Glasgow	17	C	0.1	6.7
Holyhead	19	C	0.0	10.1
Hove	24	S	0.1	11.8
Hull	20	C	0.0	7.6
Huntingdon	24	S	0.0	9.5
Ipswich	22	S	0.0	11.8
Isle of Man	17	C	0.0	10.0
Isle of Wight	24	C	0.1	10.7
Kinlochewe	20	C	0.0	10.3
Kirkwall	15	C	0.0	10.9
Leeds	20	C	0.0	6.3
Lerwick	15	C	0.0	9.5
Leuchars	17	C	1.1	8.1
Lincoln	22	C	0.0	8.8
Liverpool	21	C	0.1	8.2
London	24	S	0.0	11.7
Manchester	20	C	0.2	7.2
Margate	21	S	0.0	13.2
Milford Haven	19	R	0.6	9.5
Morecambe	20	C	0.0	10.5
Newcastle	18	C	0.6	9.2
Norwich	22	S	0.0	10.9
Nottingham	22	C	0.0	7.2
Okehampton	20	SH	1.1	8.1
Oxford	25	S	0.1	10.7
Plymouth	21	R	5.2	7.7
Portland	20	C	3.0	7.7
Portsmouth	25	S	0.0	11.4
Prestwick	18	C	0.1	9.2
Rhyl	20	C	0.1	8.9
Sheffield	20	C	0.0	5.4
Shrewsbury	22	R	0.3	8.4
Skegness	20	S	0.0	10.4
Southend	22	S	0.0	12.2
Stoke	20	C	0.0	7.9
Stornoway	18	C	0.1	12.2
Swansea	21	R	0.5	9.8
Tiree	17	S	0.0	13.0

Global

City	Temp (in °C)	Cond
Abu Dhabi	43	S
Abuja	30	F
Alicante	33	S
Amsterdam	22	S
Athens	38	S
Bangkok	33	DR
Barcelona	24	S
Beijing	30	TH
Berlin	23	S
Brussels	19	S
Budapest	30	F
Chicago	25	S
Delhi	28	S
Dubai	41	S
Dublin	18	C
Frankfurt	18	R
Geneva	25	S
Helsinki	16	F
Hong Kong	29	TH
Istanbul	31	S
Johannesburg	24	S
Lisbon	24	SH
Los Angeles	27	F
Madrid	25	F

City	Temp (in °C)	Cond
Miami	33	S
Milan	24	TH
Moscow	15	SH
Mumbai	31	SH
Munich	15	R
New York	26	SH
Nice	28	S
Palma	31	S
Paris	25	F
Prague	20	F
Reykjavik	10	C
Rio	19	R
Rome	33	TH
Stockholm	20	C
Strasbourg	18	C
Sydney	19	R
Tenerife	28	S
Tokyo	34	S
Toronto	19	SH
Vancouver	22	S
Vienna	25	C
Warsaw	21	F
Washington	28	S
Wellington	16	S

Key: C=Cloudy, DR=Drizzle, F=Fair, FG=Fog, H=Hail, M=Mist, R=Rain, S=Sunny, SH=Showers, SL=Sleet, SN=Snow, SS=Sandstorm, TH=Thunderstorm

Air Pollution Index
Region	Today	Tomorrow
Highlands	2	2
North East Scotland	2	2
Central Scotland	2	2
Scottish Borders	2	2
Northern Ireland	2	2
North West & Mersey	3	2
North East	2	2
Yorkshire & Humber	3	2
North Wales	3	2
West Midlands	3	3
East Midlands	3	3
South Wales	3	2
South West	3	2
South East	3	2
Eastern	3	2
Greater London	3	2

GENERAL SITUATION A low-

GENERAL STRUATION A low pressure area over south-west England impacts much of the UK today, bringing rain, brisk winds and thunderstorms to Northern Ireland, Wales and central England. These stormy conditions move north-eastwards as the day progresses, bringing rain to parts of northern England and south-west Scotland. North-east Scotland and the Northern Isles remain dry and bright, while north-west Scotland and the Western Isles are cloudy with sunny spells and light winds. London, SE Eng, East Anglia, Channel Is: The morning is forecast to begin overcast with a threat of showers, more likely in the most

eastern parts. By afternoon, the clouds persist but most areas stay dry, with a chance of light rain. Into the evening, the threat of showers increases, which may turn thundery, especially in the Channel Islands. Gentle south-easterly winds throughout. Max temp: 25C. Tonight, partly cloudy, with light rain and thundery showers. Min temp: 15C. Cen S England, SW England, Midlands, S Wales, N Wales: The day will start mostly cloudy with sunny spells and light rain. In the afternoon, cloud cover will persist with rain increasing, particularly in northern parts. Southern areas stay largely dry and cloudy throughout. Temperatures are mild to warm,

with gentle south-easterly winds and occasional gusts. Max temp: 25C. Tonight, showers, turning thundery. Min temp: 15C. SE Scotland, NE Eng, E Eng: The morning is expected to start with cloudy skies and mild to warm temperatures. This overcast weather will linger into the afternoon, with a slight chance of light rain. By evening, skies remain cloudy. There will be gentle easterly winds throughout, slightly stronger near the coast. Max temp: 21C. Tonight, showers. Min temp: 13C. NW Eng, SW Scotland, N Ireland, Republic of Ireland, IoM: Today will start mainly cloudy across the region, with mild temperatures,

overcast skies and a gentle easterly breeze. By afternoon, light rain will occur, especially in western areas, where showers are expected to turn heavy and thundery. Into the evening, skies remain cloudy, and rain could persist in some parts. Max temp: 22C. Tonight, partly cloudy. Min temp: 14C. NW Scotland, NE Scotland, W Isles, N Isles: The day begins with cloud cover and dry conditions across most parts. As the afternoon progresses, expect sunny spells in the east, while the most northern areas remain mostly cloudy. By evening, clear skies and sunshine are anticipated. Max temp: 21C. Tonight, rain. Min temp: 10C.

SYNOPTIC PRESSURE A deepening low-pressure system is centred over south-west England, driving bands of rain across much of the UK. It extends north-eastwards as the day progresses, impacting regions from the Midlands to south-west Scotland. Meanwhile, a high-pressure ridge lies over the Northern Isles, keeping the rest of Scotland drier with sun.

HIGHS AND LOWS (Monday, up to 11pm)

Warmest: Whitechurch, Pembrokeshire, 27C.

Coldest: Katesbridge, County Down, oC.

Wettest: Bainbridge, North Yorkshire, 1.00mm.

Sunniest: Boulmer, Northumberland, 12.6hrs.

HOURS OF DARKNESS

Aberdeen	20.22-06.00
Birmingham	20.09-06.10
Bristol	20.09-06.14
Cardiff	20.12-06.17
Glasgow	20.26-06.11
Hull	20.05-06.01
Inverness	20.30-06.05
Liverpool	20.15-06.12
London	20.00-06.05
Manchester	20.12-06.09
Stornoway	20.42-06.14
Swansea	20.15-06.20
York	20.09-06.03

Five-day outlook

THURSDAY Rain and thunderstorms continue to affect the UK, with the wet conditions also moving northwards into Scotland and northern England.

FRIDAY Widespread rain across much of the UK, especially in northern regions. Sunny spells in the south, while western areas are mostly cloudy.

SATURDAY Rain showers and cloudy skies dominate the UK, with the south-west experiencing heavier rain and stronger winds. Isolated storms in southern areas.

SUNDAY Thunderstorms across northern regions, with scattered showers in the west. Light rain in the south and east, turning to thundery showers later.

MONDAY Rain and cloudy skies continue to dominate much of the UK, with drier conditions and some sunny spells in eastern regions. Breezy winds expected.

CRICKET

Root's unprecedented anger was palpable as he addressed England drinking issue

Chris Stocks CRICKET CORRESPONDENT

The first nine words from Joe Root summed up the mood perfectly after 48 hours of negative headlines following yet an-

other off-field controversy involving an England player.

"If I'm being brutally honest I'm really hacked off," was the Test captain's opener to an eagerly-anticipated press conference at Lord's that was brought forward by 24 hours in response to Brydon Carse's Saturday night out in Derby that ended with him being led away in handcuffs by police outside a nightclub at 4am.

The events outside Molly Malone's Irish Tavern that took place barely 24 hours after Root opened his second spell as England captain with an innings win against Pakistan at Headingley are now the subject of investigations by both the England & Wales Cricket Board and the Cricket Regulator.

The England career of Carse, dropped from the squad for this week's second Test against Pakistan at Lord's, is hanging by a thread. Even though this incident took place after Carse had played for Durham, he's unlucky, or stupid, enough to be the eighth England player to have been caught up in off-field controversy over the past nine months.

And they're just the incidents we know about.

It means more than a quarter of the 30 centrally-contracted England men's players have hit the headlines over that period for their off-field behaviour. It's a fact that led former England captain Michael Vaughan, speaking on the latest Stick to Cricket podcast, to burst out laughing such is the ridiculousness of it all.

It's worth noting that the latest Tailenders podcast, which includes England's all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson, is titled "Saving Britain's nightclubs".

“In 2025 over 400 nightclubs and late-night venues in the UK closed down but help is at hand in the form of the England men’s cricket team who appear to be on a mission to keep these establishments open,” reads the episode description.

“Fair play for finding a nightclub

We have had a very robust discussion. The players are very clear on what is expected of them

in Derby that's worth staying in," was Anderson's deadpan take.

It is within this context – his team becoming the punchline to endless jokes – that Root was forced to face the media at Lord's.

He was not happy. Indeed, this was the angriest I have ever seen

Root – and I’ve covered hundreds of press conferences and media interactions with him since his Test debut at Nagpur in 2012.

Usually calm and measured, he cut a frustrated figure who while at pains to offer supportive words to Carse, was also in no mood to soft soap the issue at hand. “In the recent past, I don’t think it’s been a very good look if I’m being brutally honest, at all,” he said.

“Clearly we are not portraying ourselves how we want to. Don’t worry, the players are very clear on what is expected of them and how we need to go about things moving forward.

"We've had a very robust discussion about where we currently sit, and I think there's real clarity there. As players, you get judged on the decisions you make on the field and also off it too, and that's the world that we live in."

What made the Carse situation worse was that footage of him being handcuffed by police – shortly before he was arrested and then de-arrested and released – was filmed by a bystander and then circulated online. In an age where phones mean every misstep can end up becoming a meme, Root added: “I just think if we don’t put ourselves in certain situations, it’s not something we have to worry about. Clearly the landscape is very different now. And not every picture tells the truth. But at the same time it’s understanding the impact that could have, not just on yourselves.

“And this isn’t about individuals. This is about us collectively looking after each other, looking after the dressing room, looking after our environment and looking out for each other.”

What makes this worse for Root is the fact he scrapped the midnight curfew that was imposed after a winter of off-field incidents and became the subject of much debate when Ben Stokes, his predecessor as Test captain, and Gus Atkinson, went out beyond it after the win against New Zealand at Lord's in the first Test of the summer back in June.

Joe Root addressed England's off-field conduct becoming the punchline to ex-players' jokes on podcasts GETTY

Root has spoken to Stokes, Carse and incoming coach Stephen Fleming in the days since Derby.

"I'm not trying to ask people to be saints," he said. "Everyone's going to make mistakes at the odd time. But it's understanding what's expected of England players."

If that message wasn't clear before, it certainly is now.

Cricket: Sri Lanka v India TNT Sports 1, 5.15am Snooker: Wuhan Open TNT Sports 2, 7am Cycling: Vuelta a Espana TNT Sports 1, 1.30pm Football: Preston v Everton Sky Sports Main Event, 7pm Football: Bradford v Burnley, Newcastle v West Brom, Tottenham v Charlton Sky Sports+, from 7pm Football: Lyon v Fenerbahce TNT Sports 1, 8pm Tennis: ATP Winston-Salem, WTA Monterrey Sky Sports Main Event, 10.30pm Cricket: Trinbago Knight Riders v Saint Lucia Kings TNT Sports 1, midnight

Results Service

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND SECOND LEG Bodo/Glimt (2) 3 NEC (0) 0 Agg: 6-1. LÄSK (1) L Celtic (1) L Usor 32, Ljubicic 48 McGregor 21 Adeniran 58, Flecker 90 Agg: 4-4; Extra Time being Played Sabah Baku (1) 5 Hapoel Beer Sheva (1) 2 AET: Score after 90 mins 3-2. Agg: 6-4. EFL CUP SECOND ROUND Barnsley (3) 3 Crewe (1) 2 Birmingham (1) 1 Brentford (3) 6 Gray 28 Wilson 6, Hickey 35 Collins 40, 77 Damsgaard 70, Thiago 73 Blackburn (0) 1 Sheff Utd (1) 2 Blackpool (1) 1 Lincoln City (1) 4 Cambridge Utd (0) 0 Millwall (1) 1 Cardiff (0) 1 Norwich (1) 2 Doncaster (0) 1 Middlesbrough (1) 3 Fleetwood Town (3) 4 Shrewsbury (0) 0 Ipswich (0) 3 Leicester (0) 1 Walle 62 Aluko 67 Nunez 71, 90 Nottm Forest (0) 0 Leeds (0) 2 James 50, Justin 75 Plymouth (1) 2 Coventry (2) 4 Irow 21 Awoniyi 3, Rudoni 5 Amaechi 54 Mason-Clark 67 Overgaard 78 (pen) Sheff Wed (0) 0 Wolverhampton (2) 2 Southampton (1) 1 West Ham (1) 4 Stevenage (0) 0 Reading (2) 3

Stoke (1)....1 Hull (1)....1 Bozenik 39 Dowell 45 Hull win 5-4 on penalties Walsall (0)....0 Leyton Orient (0)....0 Leyton Orient win 6-5 on penalties. Watford (0)....1 Peterborough (2)....5 CYCLING

VUELTA A ESPANA, Stage 4 (Andorra La Vella - Andorra La Vella, 104.8km) 1 T Pogacar (Sloven) UAE Team Emirates-XRG 2h 40m 35s, 2 J Widar (Bel) Lotto-Intermarche +2m 39s, 3 F Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM Team, 4 O Onley (GB) Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team, 5 S Kuss (US) Team Visma | Lease a Bike at same time. Overall: 1 T Pogacar (Sloven) UAE Team Emirates-XRG 7h 38m 59s, 2 P Roglic (Sloven) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe +3m 21s, 3 E Mas (Sp) Movistar Team +3.32, 4 S Kuss (US) Team Visma | Lease a Bike +3.44, 5 O Onley (GB) Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team +3.45.

TODAY'S FIXTURES (7.45pm unless stated)

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF ROUND SECOND LEG AEK Athens (0) v Levski Sofia (0)......(8) CM Celje (1) v Slovan Bratislava (1)......(8) Lyon (1) v Fenerbahce (1)......(8) Viking FK (2) v Dinamo Zagreb (2)......(8) CONFERENCE LEAGUE QUALIFYING PLAY-OFF ROUND, SECOND LEG Rapid Vienna (2) v Hearts (2)......(5.45) EFL CUP SECOND ROUND Bradford v Burnley...... Newcastle v West Brom...... Preston North End v Everton......(8) Tottenham v Charlton......

TOP TIP

BEST BET Accademia (6.30, Newbury) Opened her account with a bit to spare in a handicap at Doncaster in July. She stepped up to a mile for the first time over this course and distance a fortnight later and defied a 7lb rise in the weights with a last-gasp win.

NEWBURY GOOD TO FIRM

Ebrahim Nader 13 4 614-45 PRINCESS RASCAL Oliver Cole 4 9 13...Kaiya Fraser 6 5 417322 ZATSGOOD (D) G Boughey 4 9 13...B Loughnane C,T 1 6 31-45 MARLBOROUGH PLACE (D) A Wintle 4 9 11...

7 210- RIVER CARD (D) B Meehan 3 9 11____ T Marquand 12 8 4710 ELECTRIC DREAMS (D) J Fanshawe 3 9 10____ O Murphy 5 9 -30044 WALSON'S LAW (C)(D) E J-Houghton 5 9 10____ C Bishop 4 10 1-4335 ABUNDANT (D) T Ward 3 9 5____ S M Levey 2 11 389151 HOME HERO (D) H Palmer 3 9 5____ L Catton (3) V 11 12 44-511 ACCADEMIA (CD) E Walker 3 9 3____ K Shoemark 10 13 60-278 TRIBAL RHYTHM D Coakley 5 9 3____ R Hornby C 9

BETTING: 9-2 Accademia, 11-2 Home Hero, 6-1 Distinct Spirit, 7-1 Zatsgood, Cloud Forest, 8-1 Walson's Law, 10-1 Abundant, 12-1 River Card, 14-1 others.

7.00 DAILY RACING BET BOOSTS AT BETVICTOR HANDICAP (CLASS 4) 3YO £14,000 added 7f 1 -22764 BRISK SYMPHONY (C) J Portman 9 9....R Hornby C 3 2 23-15 ARTANIS (D)(BF) Ollie Sangster 9 8....B Loughnane 6 3 130683 COOL MOLLY (D)(BF) Ollie Sangster 9 7....T Marquand 4 4 215122 LION OF MALI (D)(BF) J Fanshawe 9 3....David Egan 1 5 441 BOLD SHOUT C Cox 8 13....H Crouch 5 6 -24192 SHOW ME GOLD (D) T Dascombe 8 12....O Murphy 2

BETTING: 2-1 Bold Shout, 11-4 Lion of Mali, 9-2 Artanis, 6-1 Show Me Gold, 8-1 Cool Molly, 10-1 Brisk Symphony.

The Sport Matrix

The day's action at a glance

Tadej Pogacar arrived in red, lit the

fuse on the climbs and turned stage four of La Vuelta into a private exhibition, powering away with almost 50 kilometres remaining to win alone in Andorra la Vella. The UAE Team Emirates rider, who is bidding to complete the Grand Tour set with the Vuelta, now leads the general classification by 3 minutes and 21 seconds over his Slovenian compatriot Primoz Roglic.

TENNIS

Briton helps to knock Djokovic out of US Open

Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka suffered a first- round exit in the US Open mixed doubles after surrendering a one-set lead to lose to Britain's Henry Patten and Czech player Katerina Siniakova.

The high-profile pair looked set to progress to the quarter-finals after clinching the first set 4-1.

But Patten (above) and Siniakova – two of the world's top-ranked doubles players – overcame some early nerves to complete a 1-4, 4-2, 10-2 comeback victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic – a 24-time grand slam singles champion – was aced by Siniakova on match point in the tie-break.

TENNIS

Vondrousova appeals against four-year ban

Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

against her four-year suspension for refusing an anti-doping test.

The 27-year-old Čzech (above) was banned in June after failing to submit a sample during an out-of-competition test attempt at her home last December.

Vondrousova, who in 2023 became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women's singles title, is suspended until June 2030.

She said in April that when she refused the test she was at “breaking point after months of physical and mental stress” and that the official who called at her home failed to properly identify themselves.

FORMULA ONE

Verstappen to join Silverstone go-kart race

Max Verstappen is set to take part in the world's biggest go-kart race at Silverstone on 16 September.

Verstappen, who put an end to speculation over his Formula One future by signing a new long-term contract with Red Bull ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, will attempt to fend off 100 other drivers, which will include sports stars and streamers as well as fans with the race set to be broadcast live on Disney Plus. He will start at the back of the field.

"In go-karts you learn all the basics: starts, defending, overtaking. Of course, I spent a long period of my life go-karting, so it is always nice to return," Verstappen said.

Puzzle solutions

Dominoes
Journey Finder

0	3	1	1	5	2	6	1
5	4	0	5	6	6	4	4
4	4	0	2	2	5	5	0
5	1	6	2	3	0	3	2
1	6	0	1	4	3	5	4
0	1	2	6	6	3	6	2
3	3	2	0	4	5	3	1

Binary

ABC Logic

Tuesday's Codeword 4594

Killer Sudoku
Minesweeper

Making Tracks

Zygolex

LEFT TO RIGHT: platter; yard; swish; tale; dish; yarn; dash; dart; darn; cash; patch; cask; latch; money; pitch.

Word Wheel

Number Square

Daily Quiz

1. The Box, Plymouth
2. Trieste
3. Vulcanisation
4. Tom Stoppard

Word Ladder

NINE-LETTER WORD PEDALLING

idoku

Sudoku

Kakuro

OTHER WORDS aged, agile, agin, algid, algin, align, aligned, angel, angle, angled, aping, dang, dangle, dealing, deign, ding, dingle, egad, gain, gained, gale, gall, galled, gape, gaped, gean, geld, gelid, genial, gild, gill, gilled, glad, glade, gland, glean, glen, glide, ingle, lading, ladling, lang, leading, leaping, legal, ligand, linage, ling, nigella, page, paged, paling, palling, pang, pealing, pillage, pillaged, ping, pinged

Jigsawdoku

Wijuko

Number Hexagon

Knight's Tour

Number Pyramid

Futoshiki
Hexalex

Calcudoku

Word Fit

Word Square

Cells

Pathfinder
Battleships

Five-Clue Cryptic Crossword Across: 3 Sc-hol.-ar, 5/6 Model railway* Down: 1 Gon-d-ola*, 2 Pa-Ella, 4 Co-MB-at

Bridges

Chain Link

Word Search

RUGBY LEAGUE BILLY BOSTON 1934-2026

Billy Boston bulldozes his way through a phalanx of Hull players in 1959 and (below) receiving his knighthood from King Charles III last year GETTY

Boston was a superstar - and changed British sporting landscape

By John Davidson

The year was 1953 and an 18-year-old Billy Boston, from Cardiff's Tiger Bay, was starring while playing rugby union for the Royal Signals in Catterick, as part of his national service. His performances drew interest and it was rugby league club Wigan who won the race for his signature.

It was the dream of Boston, the son of a father from Sierra Leone and a mother from Cardiff, to represent his city and his country in rugby union. But because of the colour of his skin, the Welshman was denied that opportunity. At his mother's encouragement, Boston joined the Cherry and Whites 77 years ago and embarked on a remarkable career that has never been, nor will ever be, emulated.

The first black player to represent Great Britain on tour in 1954, scoring 24 tries in just 31 international caps. The first player to score four tries in a game for the Lions against New Zealand. A rugby league World Cup winner with Great Britain four years later and a three-time Ashes winner; the wonderful winger went on to reach Wembley six times, winning three Challenge Cups with his club.

Over 15 seasons with Wigan, Boston amassed a tremendous try-scoring total of 478 in 488 games, putting him only behind Brian Bevan in the sport's all-time list. In his pomp, the flyer, who was built like a tank, became a household name across the UK and was renowned for his speed, strength, power and skill.

"He was a big, 15-stone man who had pace, a neat little sidestep, who had a handoff which was very similar to a shovel hitting you in the face," Ray French, the former dual international and BBC commentator, once remarked. "Billy was a sensation."

Last year, 55 years after he retired, Boston received another long-over-due honour. The 92-year-old became rugby league's first knight, awarded by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. There was no more fitting recipient.

While the 13-man code mourns the loss of an icon, the Jonah Lomu of his era, Professor Tony Collins explains the winger's impact went far beyond just the pitch.

"In the 1960s Billy Boston was famous at a time where there were no black footballers, certainly none who were household names, no black cricketers," Collins, a historian and author, told The i Paper. "In a time of racial discrimination, he showed there was a place for black athletes in British sport, and that place was rugby league.

"He paved the way for every other black athlete in Britain and what was possible. After that, other sports changed and became more inclusive."

Boston blazed a trail for other black players to star in rugby league in the decades that followed, such as Clive Sullivan, Ellery Hanley and Martin Offiah. Such was the iconic impact that he has three separate statues – one outside Wembley Stadium, one in Wigan and one in Cardiff.

For a quarter of a century after retiring, Boston ran the Griffin pub in Standishgate, close to Wigan's Central Park. There the legend of the winger grew, not merely because of what he did with the ball in his hands, but because of his kind nature.

"He was a man of great charm," Collins says. "One of the reasons why he became so popular in Wigan. despite being obviously wonderfully athletically gifted, he just enjoyed himself. Although he achieved things on the field that 99.99 per cent of people could never even hope to get near, he was still an ordinary bloke."

FOOTBALL

Mateta needs to go - and not just because of contract wrangles

Despite his record, Dan Cook argues the striker won't be missed by fans

Jean-Philippe Mateta and his representatives are arguing that the final year of his Crystal Palace deal, triggered in 2024 by a club option in the contract, is invalid.

The matter has been heard by an independent tribunal under Premier League rules, with the contract still viewed as binding, prompting the Frenchman to take his case to Fifa, who have subsequently said that it is not within their jurisdiction to overrule the agreement.

Now that the nuts and bolts of the story have been fully established, can we address how utterly bonkers it is?

A man who started Pierre Sage's managerial debut in Palace's opening defeat at Everton on Saturday is seemingly locked in a legal battle with the club.

To say that supporters' relationship with Mateta is complicated would be the definition of an understatement.

In his first three seasons with the club, he scored a combined 10 goals in 67 appearances across all competitions and eight in 58 in the Premier League, only for the arrival of Oliver Glasner to provoke a relative explosion in front of goal.

The uptick in striking form saw him bag 16 in the top flight alone across the 2023-24 campaign on his way to winning the club's Player of the Year award.

The following season brought trophy success with it, Mateta scoring 17 in all competitions as Palace went on to lift the FA Cup for the first time in club history.

He then went on to score the all-important winner from close range the following May as the Eagles got the better of Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final.

It is the sort of turnaround that feels like a footballing fairytale, but alongside the glory there are well-founded frustrations too.

First and foremost, despite the sizeable uptick in his goal return, he remains genuinely wasteful, as bizarre as that may seem.

In both of his last two seasons, he has noticeably underperformed his xG, with the 3-3 home draw against Bournemouth in October 2025 the best example I could give of just how frustrating he can be to watch.

He scored a hat-trick that day, which in isolation is fantastic, but when you consider that he had 11 (yes, eleven) shots, you start to realise that his numbers should be far better than they are in reality.

It was on display at Everton this weekend just gone too, with his second big miss of the day striking the post when it looked easier to get it on target.

There is an unfortunate pattern which any Palace fan with skin in the game will tell you isn't going anywhere soon.

Alongside that, you can point towards his refusal to sign fresh

It smacks of a player who thinks he is bigger than the club paying his wages

Mateta is arguing that the final year of his contract is invalid GETTY

terms with the club across 18 months or more, a very public push to force through a move to AC Milan at the back end of the January transfer window that eventually fell apart because his knee wasn't up to the Italians' medical scrutiny, and this latest incident regarding a contract he voluntarily signed back in 2022.

All in all, it smacks of a player who thinks he is bigger than the club paying his wages and, despite the inevitable pearl-clutching media reaction over Palace's chances of success this season if we were to greenlight his sale in the final few days of the window, I, for one, would be in favour of it. A football club and its players need to be bonded in spirit if it is to achieve its aims from year to year.

With that in mind, you simply cannot have your starting striker actively attempting to extricate himself from a contract while continuing to fluff his lines with the goal at his mercy. Dan Cook is the founder of the HLTCO Crystal Palace podcast

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

De Zerbi promises to change losing ‘mood’

By George Sessions

Roberto De Zerbi has promised to do what £300m worth of summer spending has failed to manage and change Tottenham's mentality.

And his first step along this path is to take the Carabao Cup seriously this season.

Spurs broke the £300m mark when Savinho joined from Manchester City for an overall package of £85m, but De Zerbi's new-look team suffered a humbling opening-day 3-0 loss at Brentford on Saturday.

Savinho could make his debut against Charlton due to uncertainty over his work permit status, but confirmed Pedro Porro and captain Micky van de Ven will be on the bench.

James Maddison is ruled out with a “small” shoulder problem and Mohammed Kudus is not ready, but De Zerbi said Dominic Solanke is “available to start the game”.

There could also be a second competitive Tottenham appearance for 17-year-old attacker Luca Williams-Barnett.

“He comes on the bench,” De Zerbi said: “My idea was to play with him as part of the second half in Brentford. Unfortunately it was not the right moment.”

On Savinho, De Zerbi added: "He is a player who brings energy, imagination and quality in wide positions.

“We’re very pleased to have him with us, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

De Zerbi pulled off a rescue act to keep Tottenham in the Premier League in May after he ended a 16-match winless run in the division and masterminded a final day victory over Everton, but acknowledged it is a “challenge” to change the mentality of his squad.

Ahead of tonight's second-round tie at home to Charlton, De Zerbi said: "Carabao? For me it is like Premier League.

"I can't and we are not in the condition to make differ-"

ences. There is a game, we have to play well and get used to winning the game and the matches. And matches – not match.

“Matches, one, two, three and four. We have to change the mood and we can yes, because we already did last season.

“Six games, three wins, two draw and one defeat in Chelsea in the last six and I heard last season we can’t win the game because the last game we won was in December.

“I think also the environment has to change and the players and people has to change this mentality. It is a challenge and when I said we have to become a team, I am speaking about this.”

De Zerbi was unsure whether

Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi will take the Carabao Cup seriously GETTY

ARSENAL

Guimaraes is fully on board with Arteta's dynasty vision

By Jim van Wijk

Bruno Guimaraes is relishing being part of Mikel Arteta's quest to "make a dynasty" at Arsenal.

Having swept past Mar City in the Community Shield, the Gunners opened the defence of their Premier League title with an impressive 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry at the Emirates Stadium.

Guimaraes missed the chance to make his home debut on Friday because of a groin problem picked up against City, who were beaten 3-0 in Cardiff. The Brazilian, though, has every confidence his £75m switch to Arsenal from Newcastle sees him part of a group ready to dominate on all fronts.

“Since the first time I spoke to him (Arteta), he wants to make a dynasty here, trying to win everything as possible and I am always very excited of his

dea," Guimaraes (left) said. "Everything is very new for me, and I am just trying to get used to the players, to the manager, to the staff, the way he works.

"I can say that I am still

I can say that I am still finding my best way in the group, but I love it (here).”

Guimaraes is happy to be deployed wherever needed as he looks to cement a place in Arsenal's formidable midfield.

"I can play every position in the midfield, but this just depends on Mikel's ideas," the Brazilian said.

"He said to me that I can play everywhere, and I said yes, it just depends on where he wanted me to play. I am just ready to play for Arsenal, no matter where.

"I don't have one target – we go for everything. The potential we have in this team is unbelievable.

"With this team, I have a big chance of winning trophies."

Arsenal head to Aston Villa on Monday night, when England defender Ezri Konsa could be in contention to face his former club following a £51m move. Meanwhile, Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli is reportedly closing in on a switch to Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.

Arteta is also expected to look to further strengthen Arsenal's attack ahead of the transfer deadline, with Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez said to remain the club's top target.

PLANET FOOTBALL

LIVERPOOL

Reds closer to a Barcola deal

Liverpool are reportedly edging closer to a deal for Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola. The 23-year-old (right) remains a priority for new Reds boss Andoni Iraola before the transfer window shuts, despite the Ligue 1 giants initially valuing him at £145m.

PSG are now said to have shown willing to reduce that figure, amid increasing confidence that Liverpool will

NEWCASTLE UNITED Cup videos played to entice Jaissle

come back with an acceptable offer. Barcola was an unused substitute for his side's Super

join the club using clips of the city's celebrations after the 2025 Carabao Cup triumph.

up victory over Aston Villa, and also sat out the French Super Cup loss to Lens and Sunday's Ligue 1 opener at Rennes.

Matthias Jaissle revealed Newcastle's owners attempted to persuade him to

PSG sporting director Luis Campos said: "The transfer

window isn't over, it's important to defend PSG. "(Bradley) Barcola and (Ibrahim) Mbaye – we'll see what happens."

On being shown the celebrations attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters, he said: "It was not needed [to convince me]."

Summer signings Ewen Jaouen (above) and Bazoumana Toure could make their competitive Newcastle debuts at West Bromwich Albion tonight, with Jaissle set to assess his squad after Sunday's draw at Liverpool.

BOURNEMOUTH Cherries sign Juve keeper Di Gregorio

Bournemouth have announced the signing of goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio on a

season-long loan from Juventus.

The 29-year-old (above) started his career at Inter Milan, joined Juve in 2024 and has played in the Champions League.

"I am very happy to be here. This is a very important moment for me and that's why the decision to come here to Bournemouth was the right one," he said. "I felt the club's desire to have me here and I felt the ambition to continue to grow and do great things. The Premier League is the most beautiful league in the world."

CHELSEA

Delap in late talks with Forest

Liam Delap is growing nearer to a Chelsea exit, with the striker in advanced talks with Nottingham Forest.

The 23-year-old had his squad number reassigned ahead of the new season and has been training separately from Xabi Alonso's main group, having been told he is not in the new manager's plans.

Chelsea are holding out for a £50m fee for a player they signed for £30m from Ipswich a year

ago, despite the fact he (left) managed only two goals last season in all competitions.

Talks began on Monday between Delap's camp and Forest. Should the move through, he would

go through, he would provide competition up front with Chris Wood and Igor Jesus.

LEEDS UNITED Owner jailed for two days for disorder

Leeds and Rangers co-owner Jed York was sentenced to two days in jail and fined a total

of £873 after being arrested for two criminal charges in Ohio on Sunday. York (above), also the owner of NFL's San Francisco 49ers, pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools.

MANCHESTER UNITED Rooney believes in £70m Baleba

Wayne Rooney believes Carlos Baleba (left) will improve Manchester United

"massively"after his £70m switch from Brighton. "He covers the ground really well," said Rooney before the deal was confirmed yesterday. "He's aggressive, takes the ball, and is what we need. He will improve the team massively."

CARABAO CUP SECOND ROUND

James and Justin help Leeds progress as Forest lack edge

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

LEEDS UNITED James 50, Justin 75

Familiarity did not breed contempt as Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, having been paired together on the opening weekend of the new Premier League campaign, once again renewed their rivalry in the Carabao Cup.

What it did spawn was a tie which showcased why Daniel Farke's side, who reached the third round, are regarded by many as one of the most upwardly mobile clubs in English football following another mature display at the City Ground.

Dan James' (right) second-half strike and James Justin's scrambled effort, after Ethan Ampadu's long throw wreaked havoc among Forest's rearguard, deservedly sealed Leeds progress. But it was their confidence and purpose which really caught the eye and left Oliver Glasner still chasing his first w since being appointed by the hosts

Farke has focused on quality rather than quantity during the transfer window and, with £34m signing Tarek Muharemovic involved in the move which saw Justin prod home from point blank range, the wisdom of that decision has already become

apparent.

This competition provides a realistic route towards silverware for teams outside of the supposed 'Big Six'. Despite last lifting the trophy in 1990 and 1968 respectively, both sides approached their second meeting within ly, both sides approached their second meeting within

the space of just over 72 hours with a purpose which suggested repeating that feat featured among their pre-season priorities.

It was a time-served performer, James, who caused Forest most problems during the opening exchanges. Nevertheless, for all of

Leeds' momentum, Forest carved the tie's first chances of note when Ola Aina, forcing James Trafford to scramble, and Igor Jesus both went close. Even with Morgan Gibbs-White absent through injury, Liam Delap will have been encouraged by their efficiency ahead of a proposed switch from Chelsea, hoping he can provide the finish.

Leeds' conviction, however, was impressive. The same, with Farke using the summer to boost his squad's power and athleticism, could be said of their overall work. Indeed they will have been disappointed not to have broken the deadlock before James' clinical finish soon after the restart – the Wales international turning home past Matz Sels after ghosting unnoticed into the box.

Trafford, one of four talented players recently acquired by Farke, proved his worth by denying Wood an equaliser soon after. Having been introduced as Leeds looked to preserve their advantage, Anton Stach was inches away from netting once again after condemning Forest to defeat three days earlier.

Instead, it fell to Justin to seal their fate when Ampadu launched the ball into the area and he pounced after Muharemovic's poor clearance.

Lukas Nmecha and James Justin celebrate Leeds' second goal GETTY

Leeds United

Substitutions: Nottingham Forest Murillo (Diomande, 60), Netz (Aina, 60), Hudson-Odoi (Kalimuendo, 60); Ndoye (Jesus, 61), Hutchinson (Williams, 79); Leeds Stach (Tanaka, 67), Aaronson (Okafor, 67), Wilson (Longstaff, 67), Bogle (James, 71), Calvert-Lewin (Nmecha, 83).

Coventry hold out as Hornets get stung badly

By Louis Doré

Frank Lampard's Coventry City held out to win 4-2 after League One Plymouth Argyle threatened a comeback last night at Home Park.

Early goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Jack Rudoni in the first five minutes looked to have decided the matter early, but Oliver Irow's strike on the counter put the hosts back in it. After half-time, Xavier Amaechi pounced on a Liam Kitching mistake for parity and hope, but Ephron Mason-Clark tapped in a Guthback to guilt that a cutback to quell the Victor Torp (right) sealed the tie from the spot in the 78th minute.

Croatian forward Ante Crnac scored in his first game in 10 months as he fired in the vital second goal that sent Norwich into the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time in three years with a 2-1 win at Cardiff. Brentford inflicted a 6-1 mauling on Birmingham City, with a rare brace from Nathan Collins.

Championship Watford were battered 5-1 by League One Peterborough on a night to forget at Vicarage Road. Reading beat fellow League One side Stevenage 3-0 at the SPORTa Arena, while Cambridge United fell at home, 1-0 to Championship toppers Millwall.

West Ham came back emphatically against Southampton after going behind to a 10th minute Leo Scienza strike. 19-year-old Joshua Ajala notched a brace alongside Taty Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen to win 4-1 at St Mary's.

At Portman Road, Ipswich knocked aside Leicester City 3-1, while Lincoln City routed 10-man Blackpool 4-1 at Bloomfield Road. Wolves meanwhile notched a 2-0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday. Blackburn lost to fellow Championship side Sheffield United, goals for the Blades coming from Tom Cannon and Romelle Donovan.

Middlesbrough won at Doncaster Rovers 3-1, goals from Kyle Joseph, Will Lankshear and Jeremy Sarmiento. Barnsley held out for a 3-2 win over Crewe despite Joel Ewusi's late strike on his professional debut threatening a comeback. Fleetwood added to bottom of League Two Shrewsbury's woes, 4-0.

Hull City and Leyton Orient both won by penalties, beating Stoke City and Walsall respectively in shoot-outs.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Celtic on the ropes after second half capitulation proves costly in Austria

LASK Usor 32, Ljubicic 48, Adeniran 58, Flecker 90

CELTIC McGregor 21 Extra-time: 4-4 on aggregate

By Jason Mellor

Celtic were in danger of adding a latest unwanted entry to their catalogue of ignominious European exits as they surrendered a four-goal aggregate lead to leave them in danger of crashing out of the Champions League on an astonishing night in Austria.

Twelve months on from exiting at this stage to the Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty, a second-half capitulation saw them under threat of enduring a similar fate despite taking the lead through skipper Callum McGregor's first goal at this level for more than five years midway through the first-half.

The Scottish Champions should have been out of sight by half-time as Kasper Hogh spurned a hat-trick of chances before a glaring error from Benjamin Nygren gave LASK a way back into the tie they grabbed with both hands to force extra time thanks to a 90th minute close range header in from Florian Flecker.

As they attempted to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first leg in Glasgow, head coach Dietmar Kuhbauer had promised LASK would throw the kitchen sink at their opponents but Celtic took a significant step towards pulling the plug on such a scenario when McGregor put O'Neill's side ahead.

Substitutions: LASK Schopf (Ljubicic, 81), Flecker (Jorgensen, 86). Celtic Tounekti (Hyun-Jun, 63), Hatate (Nygren, 63), McCowan (Baur, 71), Scales (Tierny 71), Murray (Donovan, 74).

Celtic's Mika Baur saw his side concede three goals in the second half GETTY

Yang Hyun-Jun made great strides down the left into the area to provide an inviting cut-back for his skipper, who hit the target with a low shot that found the net via Andres Andrade.

The advantage lasted a little over 10 minutes as Nygren needlessly gave the hosts hope. As Celtic attempted unconvincingly to play out from the back, the Swedish midfielder provided an unwanted assist when his lazy backpass pass fell straight to Nigerian winger Moses Usor, who had time to find the bottom corner past Viljami Sinisalo from 18 yards.

With a little more composure, Hogh could have put the outcome beyond doubt inside the opening half an hour. Sinisalo's right-hand post came to the rescue when the Finland international was beaten by a deflected long-range effort shortly before McGregor's deadlock-breaking goal.

Nygren's dereliction of duty gave the hosts a glimmer, and the deficit was further reduced three minutes into the second half when after a swift break down the right, Robert Ljubicic found the bottom corner from 20 yards. The Austrians scored a third on the night before the hour mark, Sam Adeniran scoring with a sumptuous curling finish from 25 yards.

With near-incessant pressure on the visitors' goal Adeniran saw a shot bounce down off the underside of the bar before Flecker ensured an extra 30 minutes when VAR ruled that the substitute had found the net from an onside position.

Football in brief

ENGLAND Cole steps back from Under-21 role

Ashley Cole has left his role as coach of the England Under-21s. The Football Association confirmed

yesterday that former Arsenal and Chelsea full-back Cole (above), 45, had decided to step down.

Alongside head coach Lee Carsley, Cole has helped oversee back-to-back European titles for the under-21s in his five-year stint in the job. Carsley said: "I want to pay tribute to Ashley who played a major part in our two Euro wins and also had a key role in the current campaign with his tactical and technical knowledge.

“I am certain he will have even more success in his coaching career whatever the future holds.”

Cole won 107 senior England caps, and featured at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

CHELSEA

Rogers promises to find more gears

Morgan Rogers promised there is more to come after his goalscoring Chelsea Premier League debut in Monday's 3-2 win over Fulham.

The club's £117m buy from Aston Villa got the Blues' second goal and contributed to a scintillating attacking display alongside Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.

“Coming to a new team, you don’t want to come in sluggish and off the pace, so I tried to keep myself in the best shape as possible and I’ve tried to get up to speed as quickly as I can,” said Rogers (above). “I still think there are more gears to go, and I’ve got to try and find them as quickly as possible because the games are coming thick and fast.

“But I felt good out there and I enjoyed it.”

WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS LGE Bompastor missing three for Sociedad

Sonia Bompastor confirmed that Erin Cuthbert is one of three players still absent for Chelsea

ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Real Sociedad.

The Blues begin their campaign tonight with a third-round qualifying clash at home against the Spanish side, with the reverse fixture taking place next week.

A third-placed finish in last year's Women's Super League sent Chelsea into the qualification rounds of the Champions League, an unusual position for the club having regularly qualified straight into the main draw, but defender Lucy Bronze (above) is relishing "another difference". She said: "It's fun, we like playing against teams from different countries".

THE IPAPER theipaper.com

26 AUGUST 2026

theipaper.com/sport The i Paper Sport @TheiPaperSport

RUGBY LEAGUE Tributes to Boston, who changed UK sport forever

FOOTBALL De Zerbi vows to tackle Tottenham's losing ‘mood’

Trouble at Palace

Mateta needs to go - and it is not because of his contract wrangles

Joe Root's emotions are plain as he addresses England's drinking culture GETTY

CARABAO CUP Bees swarm Birmingham as Hornets get stung by Peterborough

P54-5

By Chris Stocks CRICKET CORRESPONDENT

England's latest booze-fuelled episode leaves Root furious

Captain admits he is ‘hacked off’ but adds bowler Carse is ‘very upset and apologetic’

Furious England captain Joe Root said he was “really hacked off” by the latest alcohol-fuelled episode involving the players.

Brydon Carse has been dropped from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan which starts at Lord's tomorrow after he was detained by police in Derby on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"If I'm being brutally honest I'm really hacked off," Root said. "I'm really disappointed that, after last week's performance, we're sat here and we're talking about something that is not related to it at all.

"It's not the isolated incident itself, it's the fact we continuously keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it's detracting from what we are doing on the field."

» Root anger plain to see, p50