A Conservative councillor's wife who was jailed for a race hate offence after an online rant on the day of last year's Southport attacks has had her appeal against her sentence dismissed.

Lucy Connolly, from Northampton, was jailed for 31 months after calling for "mass deportation now" and urging her followers on X to "set fire" to hotels housing asylum seekers.

She had pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred.

Judges at the Court of Appeal have now ruled that "there is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive".

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The far-right anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, is due to be released from prison four months early.

His 18-month sentence for contempt of court was reduced after a hearing at the High Court on Tuesday.

Yaxley-Lennon was jailed last October because he ignored an order not to repeat false allegations about a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.

His lawyers told the court he had since shown a "commitment" to comply with the order. Mr Justice Johnson granted the application to have the sentence reduced because Yaxley-Lennon had shown a "change in attitude" since he was sentenced.

He is due to be released from prison within the next week, the judge said.

The judge noted there was an "absence of contrition or remorse" from Yaxley-Lennon, but added: "He has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future, that he has no intention of breaching it again, and that he is aware of the consequences of what would happen if he breached the injunction again."

The sentence handed down to Yaxley-Lennon in October was made up of two elements. The first was a 14-month "punitive" element, while the second was a four-month "coercive" element.

At the time, Mr Justice Johnson said that the four-month "coercive" element could be removed from his sentence if he took steps to comply with the order that barred him from repeating lies about the Syrian refugee.

This week, the High Court accepted Yaxley-Lennon had tried to comply with the order.

The world could see hugely damaging sea-level rise of several meters or more over the coming centuries even if the ambitious target of limiting global warming to 1.5C is met, scientists have warned.

Nearly 200 countries have pledged to try to keep the planet's warming to 1.5C, but the researchers warn that this should not be considered "safe" for coastal populations.

They drew their conclusion after reviewing the most recent studies of how the ice sheets are changing - and how they have changed in the past.

But the scientists stress that every fraction of a degree of warming that can be avoided would still greatly limit the risks.

The world's current trajectory puts the planet on course for nearly 3C of warming by the end of the century, compared with the late 1800s, before humans began burning large amounts of planet-heating fossil fuels. That's based on current government policies to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels and other polluting activities.

But even keeping to 1.5C would still lead to continued melting of Greenland and Antarctica, as temperature changes can take centuries to have their full impact on such large masses of ice, the researchers say.

"Our key message is that limiting warming to 1.5C would be a major achievement - it should absolutely be our target - but in no sense will it slow or stop sea-level rise and melting ice sheets," said lead author Prof Chris Stokes, a glaciologist at Durham University.

The 2015 Paris climate agreement saw the world's nations agree to keep global temperature rises "well below" 2C - and ideally 1.5C.

That has often been oversimplified to mean 1.5C is "safe", something glaciologists have cautioned against for years.

The authors of the new paper, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, draw together three main strands of evidence to underline this case.

First, records of the Earth's distant past suggest significant melting – with sea levels several metres higher than present - during previous similarly warm periods, such as 125,000 years ago.

And the last time there was as much planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as today - about 3 million years ago - sea levels were about 10-20m higher.

Second, current observations already show an increasing rate of melting, albeit with variation from year to year.

"Pretty dramatic things [are] happening in both west Antarctica and Greenland," said co-author Prof Jonathan Bamber, director of the Bristol Glaciology Centre.

East Antarctica appears, for now at least, more stable.

"We're starting to see some of those worst case scenarios play out almost in front of us," added Prof Stokes.

Finally, scientists use computer models to simulate how ice sheets may respond to future climate. The picture they paint isn't good.

"Very, very few of the models actually show sea-level rise slowing down [if warming stabilises at 1.5C], and they certainly don't show sea-level rise stopping," said Prof Stokes.

The major concern is that melting could accelerate further beyond "tipping points" due to warming caused by humans - though it's not clear exactly how these mechanisms work, and where these thresholds sit.

"The strength of this study is that they use multiple lines of evidence to show that our climate is in a similar state to when several metres of ice was melted in the past," said Prof Andy Shepherd, a glaciologist at Northumbria University, who was not involved in the new publication.

"This would have devastating impacts on coastal communities," he added.

An estimated 230 million people live within one metre of current high tide lines.

Defining a "safe" limit of warming is inherently challenging, because some populations are more vulnerable than others.

But if sea-level rise reaches a centimetre a year or more by the end of the century - mainly because of ice melt and warming oceans - that could stretch even rich countries' abilities to cope, the researchers say.

"If you get to that level, then it becomes extremely challenging for any kind of adaptation strategies, and you're going to see massive land migration on scales that we've never witnessed [in modern civilisation]," argued Prof Bamber.

However, this bleak picture is not a reason to stop trying, they say.

"The more rapid the warming, you'll see more ice being lost [and] a higher rate of sea-level rise much more quickly," said Prof Stokes.

"Every fraction of a degree really matters for ice sheets."

Additional reporting by Phil Leake

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Residents are being plagued by huge swarms of up to a million bees in their street that have stung "on numerous occasions" and left them fearful of opening a window.

The homeowners in Corfe Avenue in the Warndon Villages area in Worcester said their lives were being made a "misery" by the bees. Tradespeople were also staying away over fears of being stung.

The problem has been traced to one property with several apartments rented to tenants. City councillor Sarah Murray claimed there were 21 hives in the back garden, but a BBC reporter, who visited the property, was not able to verify how many were there.

The owner of the property has so far not responded to a request for comment.

Worcester City Council said it was investigating and could not comment further.

Murray claimed the beehives in the residential area were unmanaged and estimated they could contain up to one million bees.

She said: "This has gone well beyond a private matter. We have families, pets, and workers being stung; residents unable to open their windows, and basic home maintenance being disrupted."

She also raised concerns over the environmental impact because honeybees in excessive numbers could outcompete bumblebees, solitary bees and butterflies.

'No issue with pollinators'

Pensioner Daphne Wood said she liked to keep her back door open when cooking, but bees came into the kitchen.

She said she was not a sun worshipper but would like to sit in her garden but was unable to now.

"As soon as you go out there, there are bees," she said, and added that she had been left exhausted after working in her tool shed and then not being able to sit outside afterwards.

Another woman, who gave her name as Julie, said she had kept videos and a photodiary of the swarms "for the last couple of years", adding: "More and more swarms have been happening, so last year I actually took five videos of swarms in my back garden.

"I've been stung on numerous occasions," she said, "just being in my back garden, collecting washing and gardening."

'We can't stay here'

"We have no issues with pollinators," Julie said, "but it seems to have got excessive".

One of her neighbours had paid more than £1,000 to have bees removed from her chimney and a cap placed on it.

Meanwhile, tradespeople had been unable to carry out work, with one contractor stung three times.

Julie said: "Both window cleaners were stung, and then they just left and said, 'We'll have to come back another day; we can't stay here; there are too many bees'."

Worcester City Council said in a statement: "Worcestershire regulatory services are investigating the complaints on behalf of the council.

"It is not appropriate to comment further at this time."

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At least 38 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip during a half-hour period overnight, according to Palestinian medics.

Israeli warplanes struck several locations, including a school in eastern Gaza City, and an abandoned fuel station sheltering displaced families in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Hamas-run civil defence agency.

It added that rescue teams were facing major difficulties reaching the wounded due to a lack of equipment and the intensity of the bombardment.

The attack comes after Israel issued a sweeping evacuation order for civilians in Gaza in preparation for what it said was an "unprecedented attack".

Ten people were killed when an Israeli air strike hit classrooms at the Musa bin Nusayr School, where hundreds of displaced people were sheltering, according to local activists in Gaza City.

In central Gaza, 15 people were reported killed in a strike targeting tents at an abandoned fuel station in Nuseirat.

Meanwhile, local journalists said 13 Palestinians were killed in an air strike on the Abu Samra family's three-story home in central Deir al-Balah.

Separately, Israeli jets launched 10 air strikes on the Shujaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

Local reports described the blasts as causing tremors similar to an earthquake. The strikes are believed to have targeted Hamas's network of underground tunnels.

The attack comes as the leaders of the UK, France and Canada issued a joint statement threatening action if Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persisted with his goal to "take control" of all of Gaza.

Netanyahu described the statement as a "huge prize" for Hamas.

Earlier, Israel said it would allow a "basic amount" of food into Gaza, ending an 11-week blockade of the territory.

But United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said the amount of aid was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".

The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which saw about 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.

Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

At least 53,486 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according the Hamas-run health ministry.

The UK, France and Canada have warned Israel they will take "concrete actions" if it continues an "egregious" expansion of military operations in Gaza.

Sir Keir Starmer joined the French and Canadian leaders to call on the Israeli government to "stop its military operations" and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying the three leaders had offered a "huge prize" for Hamas in the Gaza war.

No food, fuel or medicine had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, a situation the UN previously described as taking a "disastrous toll" on the Palestinian population.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said his country would allow a "basic amount of food" to enter the territory after a 11-week long blockade but it planned to take "control of all of Gaza".

The three Western leaders criticised this as "wholly inadequate" as the "denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law".

They added the level of suffering in Gaza was "intolerable".

UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat, said the number of aid trucks which had been cleared to enter was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".

Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken in the "heinous attack" on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack which saw around 1,200 people killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign.

The statement from the UK, France and Canada reiterated support for a ceasefire as well as the implementation of a "two-state solution", which proposes an independent Palestinian state which would exist alongside Israel.

Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: "By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."

He also called on "all European leaders" to follow US President Donald "Trump's vision" for ending the conflict.

As a British teenager is held in jail in Georgia on suspicion of drug offences, a report by inspectors sheds light on what life is like inside Rustavi's prison number 5.

Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, Teesside, is behind bars after being arrested in Tbilisi and charged with importing large quantities of narcotics.

She is currently detained for 55 days while the prosecution investigates, but the BBC understands this could be extended by up to a further seven months.

The latest inspection of the prison, carried out by the ombudsman of Georgia, found a range of issues from a lack of exercise time to intermittent drinking water supplies and frequent verbal conflict between inmates.

The BBC has approached the Georgian Ministry of Justice for comment.

Ombudsman inspectors made monitoring visits to prison number 5 in March and May 2023 to assess the treatment of female prisoners and the implementation of previous recommendations.

The visits were reportedly prompted by inmate complaints about the lack of access to proper hygiene.

The inspection found new inmates spent up to two weeks in internal classification cells before being assigned to a block.

According to the resulting report: "Even though they are legally guaranteed the right to exercise, they are unable to benefit from this right.

"The internal classification cells are located in the C residential building of the facility, and there is no designated outdoor space available for the inmates housed there to get fresh air."

The watchdog advised that the lack of exercise for new prisoners should be investigated by the ministry in charge of penal reform.

The report acknowledges that in recent years improvements had been made to cleanliness at the facility.

However, "it was found that the facility frequently does not receive drinking water".

Both prisoners and staff are forced to collect and store water in containers.

• BBC Sounds: Bella Culley - what we know so far

Inmates reported instances where the water was unexpectedly cut off while they were taking a shower, forcing them to continue their showers using cold water stored in containers.

Prisoners in closed-type residential units were only allowed showers twice a week.

The report also stated the "ventilation systems in the showers and kitchen areas were insufficient" and that "these issues contribute to an unsatisfactory environment for the inmates".

Monitoring also revealed conflicts between inmates did occur at the prison.

According to the facility's internal documentation, "verbal altercations among prisoners are frequent", while incidents of physical violence were relatively rare.

In 2022, there were 11 recorded cases of physical altercations between inmates, but in 2023 only two such cases were documented.

The report stated: "Conflicts among prisoners are primarily triggered by gossip, the spreading of false information about one another, and various domestic or day-to-day issues."

Any fights were broken up by prison staff and those involved were given sanctions, the report said.

Miss Culley was charged by police with illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics, after officers said they had seized marijuana and the narcotic drug hashish in a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.

A spokesperson said the arrest was the result of a joint operation between multiple departments and, if found guilty, Miss Culley could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

Cleveland Police confirmed an 18-year-old woman from Billingham was arrested in Georgia "on suspicion of drugs offences" and remained in custody.

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Israel went to war after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 armed with an arsenal of weapons mostly paid for, supplied and then resupplied by the United States.

Its other allies gave Israel something just as potent in its own way: a deep credit of goodwill and solidarity, based on revulsion at the killings of 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and the sight of 251 people being dragged into captivity in Gaza as hostages.

Now it seems that Israel's credit has gone, at least as far as France, the United Kingdom and Canada are concerned. They have issued their strongest condemnation yet of the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza.

Israel, they say, must halt its new offensive, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will destroy Hamas, rescue the remaining hostages and put all of Gaza under direct Israeli military control.

• Israel lets aid into Gaza after 11-week blockade but UN calls it 'drop in ocean'

Their statement dismisses Netanyahu's arguments and calls for a ceasefire. Together, the three governments say that they "strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza" adding: "The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable."

They call for the release of the remaining hostages and recall that after the "heinous attack" on 7 October they believed that the Israeli state "had a right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate".

Netanyahu's decision to allow what he called "minimal" food into Gaza was they said "wholly inadequate".

Netanyahu has hit back, saying the "leaders in London, Ottowa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities".

He insisted the war could end if Hamas returned hostages, laid down its arms, agreed for its leaders to go into exile and Gaza was demilitarised. "No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't," he said.

Netanyahu - who is sought under an International criminal Court warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he has dismissed as "antisemitic" - had been under heavy international pressure to end the blockade of Gaza after a respected international survey warned of imminent famine.

At the London summit between the EU and the UK the President of the European Council, António Costa, called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza "a tragedy where international law is being systematically violated, and an entire population is being subjected to disproportionate military force".

"There must be safe, swift and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid," he said.

Netanyahu's reluctant decision to allow in limited supplies was condemned by his ultra nationalist coalition partners.

The Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, convicted in 2007 for incitement to racism and supporting an extremist Jewish group that Israel classifies as a terrorist organisation, complained that Netanyahu's decision would "fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels".

Only five trucks made it into Gaza on Monday, as Israeli troops advanced and air and artillery strikes killed more Palestinian civilians including many young children.

Opponents of Israel's destruction of Gaza and the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians will say the governments of France, the UK and Canada are speaking out far too late.

Many of them have held months of demonstrations protesting about the death and destruction in Gaza – and more killing of Palestinian civilians and confiscation of land in the West Bank, the other side of the Palestinian territories, during military operations and raids by armed Jewish settlers.

But sometimes in the politics of war, a single incident carries symbolic power that clarifies and crystallises so sharply that it can force governments to action. This time it was the killing on 23 March by Israeli forces in Gaza of 15 paramedics and aid workers.

It came after Israel, on 18 March, had broken a ceasefire that had held for two months with a series of massive air strikes.

Five days into the renewed war an Israeli unit attacked the medical convoy, and covered the men they had killed and their bullet ridden vehicles with the sand. The Israeli account of what happened was shown to be untrue when a mobile phone was recovered from a body in the mass grave.

Its owner had filmed the incident before he was killed. Far from proving Israel's claim that the emergency workers were a potential threat to the Israeli combat soldiers, the video from the grave showed that clearly marked and well-lit ambulances and emergency vehicles were attacked systematically until almost everyone inside them was killed.

Alarm has been growing fast since then, not just among Israel's usual opponents. Its European allies, with President Macron of France leading the way, have been toughening their language. The statement calling for an end to Israel's offensive is their harshest criticism of Israel so far.

A senior European diplomatic source involved in their discussions told me that the tough language reflected a "real sense of growing political anger at the humanitarian situation, of a line being crossed, and of this Israeli government appearing to act with impunity".

More ominously for Israel, the statement says that "we will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete steps in response".

They do not specify what those might be. Sanctions could be one possibility. A bigger step would be to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

France has been considering joining the 148 other states that have done so at a conference it is co-chairing with Saudi Arabia in New York in early June. The UK has also talked about Palestinian recognition with the French.

Israel, pushing back hard, has told them they would be presenting Hamas with a victory. But the tone of the statement made by the French, the Canadians and the British suggests that Israel is losing its ability to pressurise them.

A second man has been charged in relation to fires at two properties and in a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, from Romford, was charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life following the fires in north London.

He was arrested on 17 May at London's Luton Airport and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday morning.

The charges relate to three incidents - a vehicle fire in Kentish Town, north London, a fire at the prime minister's private home on the same street and a fire at an address that he previously lived at in north-west London.

Carpiuc is accused of conspiring with Roman Lavrynovych and others "unknown to damage by fire property belonging to another, intending to damage the property, intending to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would thereby be endangered", the Met said.

Lavrynovych, of Sydenham, appeared in court on Friday charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life.

He was remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

A third man, aged 34, was arrested on Monday in the Chelsea on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

A distributor to the UK's major supermarkets has said it is being held to ransom by cyber hackers.

Logistics firm Peter Green Chilled says it supplies supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Aldi, but it is not in the top 30 of UK food distributors.

It told BBC's Wake Up to Money clients were "receiving regular updates" including "workarounds" on how to continue deliveries.

One of its customers, Black Farmer founder Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, said pallets containing thousands of his products could go to waste.

It comes after recent major cyber-attacks on Marks & Spencer and Co-op.

A ransomware attack is where hackers encrypt a victim's data and lock them out of computer systems, demanding payment to hand back control.

In an email sent on Thursday, seen by the BBC, Peter Green Chilled said it had been the victim of a ransomware attack.

It said no orders would be processed on Thursday, although any order prepared on Wednesday would be sent.

It confirmed to the BBC the cyber attack happened on Wednesday evening but it was not in a position to discuss further.

"The transport activities of the business have continued unaffected throughout this incident," its managing director Tom Binks said.

One of the supermarket suppliers affected is Mr Emmanuel-Jones.

He said that he had "something like ten pallets worth of meat products" with Peter Green Chilled.

He said if those products don't get to the retailers in time they will have to be "thrown in the bin".

Ten pallets is "thousands and thousands of packs of products, sitting there, and the clock is ticking," he said. "There's no information. Everything along the chain has to be stopped, and then there are thousands of pounds worth of product that are just wasting away."

Co-op narrowly avoided being locked out of its systems during an attack which exposed customer data and caused shortages of stock.

A ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack on M&S which saw customer data stolen and empty shelves. The retailer itself said it had suffered a cyber attack.

Phil Pluck, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said the warehousing, food storage and distribution sectors were "constantly under attack".

A few years ago, there were a few cyber and ransomware attacks, but in the last year there has been "a huge increase", he said.

About half of the food consumed in the UK "goes through the cold chain sector", he said, so hackers "know how critical" distribution is for "putting food on supermarket shelves".

He added that was "a really good lever to put the pressure on our companies to actually pay that ransomware".

Mr Pluck said that he knew of at least ten attacks on member companies, but that firms like to keep attacks "under the radar".

He said cyber attacks were "hugely underreported" in any sector "because once you're attacked you lose control of your company" both through the attack and the mitigations by police and insurers.

A 6th Century Byzantine bucket that has been pieced back together is believed to have been a cremation vessel, according to archaeologists.

Fragments of the bucket were first discovered at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, in 1986 with more found in 2012 and last year.

Archaeologists have revealed that cremated human and animal bones were found within the base of the bucket, with the human remains believed to belong to an "important person" in the community.

Angus Wainwright, National Trust archaeologist, said he hoped further analysis would "uncover more information about this very special burial".

The TV show Time Team found pieces of the bucket last year, as part of a two-year research project with FAS Heritage and the National Trust exploring the earlier history of the site.

The copper alloy bucket, decorated with a hunting scene, is thought to have been made several decades before the famous Sutton Hoo ship and its treasures were buried at the site.

The human bones found in last year's dig included part of an ankle bone and fragments of skull.

While the sex could not be determined, it is hoped that ancient DNA from the owner might have survived on an unburnt comb that was discovered.

Animal bones that were found belonged to a species larger than a pig. Horses were often included on early Anglo-Saxon cremation pyres as a sign of status.

The bucket base and comb will now be carefully conserved to allow further study and reconstruction.

"We knew that this bucket would have been a rare and prized possession back in Anglo-Saxon times, but it's always been a mystery why it was buried," Mr Wainwright said.

"Now we know it was used to contain the remains of an important person in the Sutton Hoo community.

"I'm hopeful that further analysis will uncover more information about this very special burial."

Helen Geake, Time Team's Anglo-Saxon expert, said the "puzzle" of the bucket had "finally" been solved.

"It's a remarkable mixture - a vessel from the southern, classical world containing the remains of a very northern, very Germanic cremation," she said.

"It epitomises the strangeness of Sutton Hoo - it has ship burials, horse burials, mound burials and now bath-bucket burials.

"Who knows what else it might still hold?"

Time Team's Sutton Hoo findings can be watched on YouTube in a four-part documentary titled The Sutton Hoo Dig.

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A British ultra-endurance athlete has broken the world record for running across the length of Australia, after a gruelling 35-day journey.

William Goodge, 31, started the 3,800km (2,361 miles) run from Cottesloe Beach in Perth on 15 April, and finished on Monday afternoon at Australia's iconic Bondi Beach, his father by his side.

Originally from Bedfordshire in England, Goodge ran the equivalent of two-and-a-half marathons - about 100km - every day.

He started running marathons after his mother, Amanda, died from cancer in 2018, with this journey raising money for cancer charities in the UK, US and Australia.

The previous world record for running across Australia was held by Chris Turnbull, who managed the feat in 39 days in 2023. The year before, Australian electrician Nedd Brockmann ran the same route in 47 days, raising millions for charity.

Speaking to local media after he crossed the finish line, Goodge said the run was "like a revolving nightmare that wouldn't end".

"The first nine days were extremely challenging...but you have to tell your body and mind that even though you're struggling, you're going to persevere, and you're going to get through it," he told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

Moments after crossing the finish line, Goodge placed a bunch of flowers on Bondi's famous shoreline in memory of his late mother.

"She was the most special person in my life," he told the Guardian Australia, adding, "she would be proud of everything I've done - she'd also be concerned".

Along the way toenails have fallen off, his feet began rotting and he sometimes hallucinated due to broken sleep caused by pain in his bones.

Goodge said thinking about how his mother battled cancer was crucial during his journey, and helped him overlook his own suffering.

"So in the moments where it's tough, I'll think back to those times, I think about the woman she was, and how she handled herself, and how she supported me," he told the SMH.

"I feel like she's there with me a lot of the time."

During the race, he says he saw almost all of Australia's famous animals - though most were dead on the road - and much of its unique countryside.

On Goodge's website about the run, he also thanked Turnbull for sharing his knowledge and experience on how to tackle the journey.

Goodge also holds the record for the fastest British man to run across the US, crossing from Los Angeles to New York in 55 days.

Acclaimed Russian ballet choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich, has died aged 98.

Described as one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century, he was artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1964 to 1995, which he is said to have led with an iron fist.

Grigorovich's productions of the Stone Flower, Ivan the Terrible and Romeo and Juliet redefined Soviet ballet. Praised for revitalising male dance, he created parts for men demanding exceptional strength and artistry.

Born in 1927, a decade after the Bolshevik Revolution, his work was steeped in the traditions of classical ballet.

His uncle, Georgy Rozai, had studied under the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky and the young Grigorovich went on to dance as a soloist with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad before turning to choreography.

His departure from the Bolshoi in 1995, amid disputes over performers' contracts, led to the first ever dancers' strike at the theatre in its 200-year history. During a scheduled performance, a dancer emerged to inform the audience the show was cancelled, leaving a stunned silence.

Following the Soviet Union's collapse, the Bolshoi faced instability. Grigorovich moved to Krasnodar to found a new ballet company. He returned to the Bolshoi in 2008 as a choreographer and ballet master.

Grigorovich received top Soviet and Russian honours, including the titles People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Socialist Labour. His wife, renowned ballerina Natalia Bessmertnova, died in 2008.

His death came on the same day as that of one of his most celebrated collaborators, dancer Yuri Vladimirov, aged 83.

Valery Gergiev, head of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres, told Izvestia newspaper that Grigorovich was "a legendary figure who will continue to command respect and admiration for decades to come".

"Whenever I was struggling, if it was going to be a really bad day, I could then start to chat to one of these bots, and it was like [having] a cheerleader, someone who's going to give you some good vibes for the day.

"I've got this encouraging external voice going – 'right - what are we going to do [today]?' Like an imaginary friend, essentially."

For months, Kelly spent up to three hours a day speaking to online "chatbots" created using artificial intelligence (AI), exchanging hundreds of messages.

At the time, Kelly was on a waiting list for traditional NHS talking therapy to discuss issues with anxiety, low self-esteem and a relationship breakdown.

She says interacting with chatbots on character.ai got her through a really dark period, as they gave her coping strategies and were available for 24 hours a day.

"I'm not from an openly emotional family - if you had a problem, you just got on with it.

"The fact that this is not a real person is so much easier to handle."

During May, the BBC is sharing stories and tips on how to support your mental health and wellbeing.

Visit bbc.co.uk/mentalwellbeing to find out more

People around the world have shared their private thoughts and experiences with AI chatbots, even though they are widely acknowledged as inferior to seeking professional advice. Character.ai itself tells its users: "This is an AI chatbot and not a real person. Treat everything it says as fiction. What is said should not be relied upon as fact or advice."

But in extreme examples chatbots have been accused of giving harmful advice.

Character.ai is currently the subject of legal action from a mother whose 14-year-old son took his own life after reportedly becoming obsessed with one of its AI characters. According to transcripts of their chats in court filings he discussed ending his life with the chatbot. In a final conversation he told the chatbot he was "coming home" - and it allegedly encouraged him to do so "as soon as possible".

Character.ai has denied the suit's allegations.

And in 2023, the National Eating Disorder Association replaced its live helpline with a chatbot, but later had to suspend it over claims the bot was recommending calorie restriction.

In April 2024 alone, nearly 426,000 mental health referrals were made in England - a rise of 40% in five years. An estimated one million people are also waiting to access mental health services, and private therapy can be prohibitively expensive (costs vary greatly, but the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy reports on average people spend £40 to £50 an hour).

At the same time, AI has revolutionised healthcare in many ways, including helping to screen, diagnose and triage patients. There is a huge spectrum of chatbots, and about 30 local NHS services now use one called Wysa.

Experts express concerns about chatbots around potential biases and limitations, lack of safeguarding and the security of users' information. But some believe that if specialist human help is not easily available, chatbots can be a help. So with NHS mental health waitlists at record highs, are chatbots a possible solution?

An 'inexperienced therapist'

Character.ai and other bots such as Chat GPT are based on "large language models" of artificial intelligence. These are trained on vast amounts of data – whether that's websites, articles, books or blog posts - to predict the next word in a sequence. From here, they predict and generate human-like text and interactions.

The way mental health chatbots are created varies, but they can be trained in practices such as cognitive behavioural therapy, which helps users to explore how to reframe their thoughts and actions. They can also adapt to the end user's preferences and feedback.

Hamed Haddadi, professor of human-centred systems at Imperial College London, likens these chatbots to an "inexperienced therapist", and points out that humans with decades of experience will be able to engage and "read" their patient based on many things, while bots are forced to go on text alone.

"They [therapists] look at various other clues from your clothes and your behaviour and your actions and the way you look and your body language and all of that. And it's very difficult to embed these things in chatbots."

Another potential problem, says Prof Haddadi, is that chatbots can be trained to keep you engaged, and to be supportive, "so even if you say harmful content, it will probably cooperate with you". This is sometimes referred to as a 'Yes Man' issue, in that they are often very agreeable.

And as with other forms of AI, biases can be inherent in the model because they reflect the prejudices of the data they are trained on.

Prof Haddadi points out counsellors and psychologists don't tend to keep transcripts from their patient interactions, so chatbots don't have many "real-life" sessions to train from. Therefore, he says they are not likely to have enough training data, and what they do access may have biases built into it which are highly situational.

"Based on where you get your training data from, your situation will completely change.

"Even in the restricted geographic area of London, a psychiatrist who is used to dealing with patients in Chelsea might really struggle to open a new office in Peckham dealing with those issues, because he or she just doesn't have enough training data with those users," he says.

Philosopher Dr Paula Boddington, who has written a textbook on AI Ethics, agrees that in-built biases are a problem.

"A big issue would be any biases or underlying assumptions built into the therapy model."

"Biases include general models of what constitutes mental health and good functioning in daily life, such as independence, autonomy, relationships with others," she says.

Lack of cultural context is another issue – Dr Boddington cites an example of how she was living in Australia when Princess Diana died, and people did not understand why she was upset.

"These kinds of things really make me wonder about the human connection that is so often needed in counselling," she says.

"Sometimes just being there with someone is all that is needed, but that is of course only achieved by someone who is also an embodied, living, breathing human being."

Kelly ultimately started to find responses the chatbot gave unsatisfying.

"Sometimes you get a bit frustrated. If they don't know how to deal with something, they'll just sort of say the same sentence, and you realise there's not really anywhere to go with it." At times "it was like hitting a brick wall".

"It would be relationship things that I'd probably previously gone into, but I guess I hadn't used the right phrasing […] and it just didn't want to get in depth."

A Character.AI spokesperson said "for any Characters created by users with the words 'psychologist', 'therapist,' 'doctor,' or other similar terms in their names, we have language making it clear that users should not rely on these Characters for any type of professional advice".

'It was so empathetic'

For some users chatbots have been invaluable when they have been at their lowest.

Nicholas has autism, anxiety, OCD, and says he has always experienced depression. He found face-to-face support dried up once he reached adulthood: "When you turn 18, it's as if support pretty much stops, so I haven't seen an actual human therapist in years."

He tried to take his own life last autumn, and since then he says he has been on a NHS waitlist.

"My partner and I have been up to the doctor's surgery a few times, to try to get it [talking therapy] quicker. The GP has put in a referral [to see a human counsellor] but I haven't even had a letter off the mental health service where I live."

While Nicholas is chasing in-person support, he has found using Wysa has some benefits.

"As someone with autism, I'm not particularly great with interaction in person. [I find] speaking to a computer is much better."

The app allows patients to self-refer for mental health support, and offers tools and coping strategies such as a chat function, breathing exercises and guided meditation while they wait to be seen by a human therapist, and can also be used as a standalone self-help tool.

Wysa stresses that its service is designed for people experiencing low mood, stress or anxiety rather than abuse and severe mental health conditions. It has in-built crisis and escalation pathways whereby users are signposted to helplines or can send for help directly if they show signs of self-harm or suicidal ideation.

For people with suicidal thoughts, human counsellors on the free Samaritans helpline are available 24/7.

Nicholas also experiences sleep deprivation, so finds it helpful if support is available at times when friends and family are asleep.

"There was one time in the night when I was feeling really down. I messaged the app and said 'I don't know if I want to be here anymore.' It came back saying 'Nick, you are valued. People love you'.

"It was so empathetic, it gave a response that you'd think was from a human that you've known for years […] And it did make me feel valued."

His experiences chime with a recent study by Dartmouth College researchers looking at the impact of chatbots on people diagnosed with anxiety, depression or an eating disorder, versus a control group with the same conditions.

After four weeks, bot users showed significant reductions in their symptoms – including a 51% reduction in depressive symptoms - and reported a level of trust and collaboration akin to a human therapist.

Despite this, the study's senior author commented there is no replacement for in-person care.

'A stop gap to these huge waiting lists'

Aside from the debate around the value of their advice, there are also wider concerns about security and privacy, and whether the technology could be monetised.

"There's that little niggle of doubt that says, 'oh, what if someone takes the things that you're saying in therapy and then tries to blackmail you with them?'," says Kelly.

Psychologist Ian MacRae specialises in emerging technologies, and warns "some people are placing a lot of trust in these [bots] without it being necessarily earned".

"Personally, I would never put any of my personal information, especially health, psychological information, into one of these large language models that's just hoovering up an absolute tonne of data, and you're not entirely sure how it's being used, what you're consenting to."

"It's not to say in the future, there couldn't be tools like this that are private, well tested […] but I just don't think we're in the place yet where we have any of that evidence to show that a general purpose chatbot can be a good therapist," Mr MacRae says.

Wysa's managing director, John Tench, says Wysa does not collect any personally identifiable information, and users are not required to register or share personal data to use Wysa.

"Conversation data may occasionally be reviewed in anonymised form to help improve the quality of Wysa's AI responses, but no information that could identify a user is collected or stored. In addition, Wysa has data processing agreements in place with external AI providers to ensure that no user conversations are used to train third-party large language models."

Kelly feels chatbots cannot currently fully replace a human therapist. "It's a wild roulette out there in AI world, you don't really know what you're getting."

"AI support can be a helpful first step, but it's not a substitute for professional care," agrees Mr Tench.

And the public are largely unconvinced. A YouGov survey found just 12% of the public think AI chatbots would make a good therapist.

But with the right safeguards, some feel chatbots could be a useful stopgap in an overloaded mental health system.

John, who has an anxiety disorder, says he has been on the waitlist for a human therapist for nine months. He has been using Wysa two or three times a week.

"There is not a lot of help out there at the moment, so you clutch at straws."

"[It] is a stop gap to these huge waiting lists… to get people a tool while they are waiting to talk to a healthcare professional."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website here.

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Inside a laboratory nestled above the mist of the forests of south Dakota, scientists are searching for the answer to one of science's biggest questions: why does the Universe exist?

They are in a race for the answer with a separate team of Japanese scientists – who are several years ahead.

The current theories of astronomy can't explain why the planets stars and galaxies came into existence. Both teams are building detectors that study a sub-atomic particle called a neutrino in the hope of finding answers.

US scientists are hoping the answer lies deep underground, in the aptly named Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (Dune).

The scientists travel 1,500 metres below the surface into three vast underground caverns. Such is the scale that construction crews and their bulldozers seem like small plastic toys by comparison.

Dune's science director Dr Jaret Heise describes the giant caves as "cathedrals to science".

Dr Heise has been involved the construction of these caverns for nearly ten years. They seal Dune off from the noise and radiation from the world above. Now, Dune is now ready for the next stage.

"We are poised to build the detector that will change our understanding of the Universe with instruments that will be deployed by a collaboration of 1,500 scientists who are eager to answer the question of why we exist," he says.

When the Universe was created two kinds of particles were created: matter – from which stars, planets and everything around us are made – and, in equal amounts, antimatter, matter's exact opposite.

Theoretically the two should have cancelled each other out, leaving nothing but a big burst of energy. And yet, here we – as matter – are.

Scientists believe that the answer to understanding why matter won – and we exist – lies in studying a particle called the neutrino and its antimatter opposite, the anti-neutrino.

They will be firing beams of both kinds of particles from deep underground in Illinois to the detectors at South Dakota, 800 miles away.

This is because as they travel, neutrinos and anti-neutrinos change ever so slightly.

The scientists want to find out whether those changes are different for the neutrinos and anti-neutrinos. If they are, it could lead them to the answer of why matter and anti-matter don't cancel each other out.

Dune is an international collaboration, involving 1,400 scientists from thirty countries. Among them is Dr Kate Shaw from Sussex University, who told me that the discoveries in store will be "transformative" to our understanding of the Universe and humanity's view of itself.

"It is really exciting that we are here now with the technology, with the engineering, with the computer software skills to really be able to attack these big questions," she said.

Half a world away, Japanese scientists are using shining golden globes to search for the same answers. In all their splendour, look like a temple to science. The scientists are building Hyper K - which will be a bigger and better version of their existing neutrino detector, Super K.

The Japanese-led team will be ready to turn on their neutrino beam in less than two years, several years earlier than the American project. Just like Dune, Hyper K is an international collaboration. Dr Mark Scott of Imperial College, London believes his team is in pole position to make one of the biggest ever discoveries about the origin of the Universe.

"We switch on earlier and we have a larger detector, so we should have more sensitivity sooner than Dune," he says.

Having both experiments running together means that scientists will learn more than they would with just one, but, he says, "I would like to get there first!"

But Dr Linda Cremonesi, of Queen Mary University of London, who works for the US project, says that getting there first may not give the Japanese-led team the full picture of what is really going on.

"There is an element of a race, but Hyper K does not have yet all of the ingredients that they need to understand if neutrinos and anti-neutrinos behave differently".

The race may be on, but the first results are only expected in a few years' time. The question of just what happened at the beginning of time to bring us into existence remains a mystery – for now.

The EU deal is on all of Tuesday's front pages. The Daily Mail describes it as "Starmer's surrender", and accuses the prime minister of handing Brussels control of British laws, money and fish.

The Daily Express thinks it's a "betrayal of Brexit Britain" - and calls it "Remain by the back door".

"Done up like a kipper" is the Sun's headline. It says the UK was ambushed by a late demand for, as the paper puts it, "12 more years of French and Spanish trawlers plundering our waters".

Matt's cartoon in the Daily Telegraph shows fishermen on board a British-flagged trawler saying "We took back control, but they took back all the mackerel, sole and haddock". The front page headline is "Kiss goodbye to Brexit!"

The i Paper accepts there was a "climbdown" by the UK on fishing, but it says Britain has "won" with its deals on defence and food.

The Daily Mirror focuses on what it calls "practical benefits" - faster passport checks and less red tape for business.

The Guardian headline quotes Sir Keir Starmer saying Britain is "back on the world stage".

The Times editorial says the reset with the EU has come at a cost - particularly with the political attacks about fishing - but it argues that "voters want pragmatism, and Sir Keir has supplied it".

The Financial believes it is neither a massive sell-out nor a massive deal - but is a "worthwhile step". The paper says it wants to now see a more ambitious realignment with what is still Britain's most important trade and security partner.

The Daily Telegraph says Labour is set to postpone its women's conference, saying the party is in "chaos" about the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.

It says confidential advice sent to members of Labour's National Executive Committee recommends that they cancel the event in order to avoid legal action and political embarrassment.

The early departure of Gary Lineker from the BBC prompts headlines in the Daily Express about "full-time" and an "own goal".

The Mirror's editorial says it is right that he parts ways with the BBC after his latest controversial post on social media.

The Sun says Lineker's announcement will spark an intense rivalry over who will lead World Cup coverage.

Finally, the Daily Star says the man himself is tipped to switch to ITV on "even more money".

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The Chelsea Flower show opened its gates to royalty and celebrities on Monday, with dogs, unusually, taking the spotlight.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were among the first to tour the gardens on display, being joined by famous figures like football icon David Beckham and actress Cate Blanchett.

This year's event favours rewilding and sustainability, with mossy paving, native planting and gravel paths.

Designers leaned into natural landscapes shaped by climate change and a growing desire to reconnect with nature.

But it was not just the planting that got people talking. The RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden, created by Monty Don, gave four-legged visitors rare top billing.

Created with canine comfort in mind, it features dog-friendly lawns, water for wallowing and shade-providing trees. Names of royal and broadcaster-owned dogs are etched into brick paths – including the late Beth, the Queen's Jack Russell, her new puppy Moley and the King's dog Snuff.

Don, not usually a fan of show gardens, said the chance to celebrate the dog-owner bond had won him over.

The garden will not be judged and will not stay. After Chelsea, it will find a permanent home at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Along with Beckham and Blanchett, Dame Joanna Lumley and actor David Tennant were among those getting a preview of the world-famous event, along with BBC presenter Zoe Ball.

Israel went to war after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 armed with an arsenal of weapons mostly paid for, supplied and then resupplied by the United States.

Its other allies gave Israel something just as potent in its own way: a deep credit of goodwill and solidarity, based on revulsion at the killings of 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and the sight of 251 people being dragged into captivity in Gaza as hostages.

Now it seems that Israel's credit has gone, at least as far as France, the United Kingdom and Canada are concerned. They have issued their strongest condemnation yet of the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza.

Israel, they say, must halt its new offensive, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will destroy Hamas, rescue the remaining hostages and put all of Gaza under direct Israeli military control.

• Israel lets aid into Gaza after 11-week blockade but UN calls it 'drop in ocean'

Their statement dismisses Netanyahu's arguments and calls for a ceasefire. Together, the three governments say that they "strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza" adding: "The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable."

They call for the release of the remaining hostages and recall that after the "heinous attack" on 7 October they believed that the Israeli state "had a right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate".

Netanyahu's decision to allow what he called "minimal" food into Gaza was they said "wholly inadequate".

Netanyahu has hit back, saying the "leaders in London, Ottowa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities".

He insisted the war could end if Hamas returned hostages, laid down its arms, agreed for its leaders to go into exile and Gaza was demilitarised. "No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won't," he said.

Netanyahu - who is sought under an International criminal Court warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he has dismissed as "antisemitic" - had been under heavy international pressure to end the blockade of Gaza after a respected international survey warned of imminent famine.

At the London summit between the EU and the UK the President of the European Council, António Costa, called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza "a tragedy where international law is being systematically violated, and an entire population is being subjected to disproportionate military force".

"There must be safe, swift and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid," he said.

Netanyahu's reluctant decision to allow in limited supplies was condemned by his ultra nationalist coalition partners.

The Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, convicted in 2007 for incitement to racism and supporting an extremist Jewish group that Israel classifies as a terrorist organisation, complained that Netanyahu's decision would "fuel Hamas and give it oxygen while our hostages languish in tunnels".

Only five trucks made it into Gaza on Monday, as Israeli troops advanced and air and artillery strikes killed more Palestinian civilians including many young children.

Opponents of Israel's destruction of Gaza and the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians will say the governments of France, the UK and Canada are speaking out far too late.

Many of them have held months of demonstrations protesting about the death and destruction in Gaza – and more killing of Palestinian civilians and confiscation of land in the West Bank, the other side of the Palestinian territories, during military operations and raids by armed Jewish settlers.

But sometimes in the politics of war, a single incident carries symbolic power that clarifies and crystallises so sharply that it can force governments to action. This time it was the killing on 23 March by Israeli forces in Gaza of 15 paramedics and aid workers.

It came after Israel, on 18 March, had broken a ceasefire that had held for two months with a series of massive air strikes.

Five days into the renewed war an Israeli unit attacked the medical convoy, and covered the men they had killed and their bullet ridden vehicles with the sand. The Israeli account of what happened was shown to be untrue when a mobile phone was recovered from a body in the mass grave.

Its owner had filmed the incident before he was killed. Far from proving Israel's claim that the emergency workers were a potential threat to the Israeli combat soldiers, the video from the grave showed that clearly marked and well-lit ambulances and emergency vehicles were attacked systematically until almost everyone inside them was killed.

Alarm has been growing fast since then, not just among Israel's usual opponents. Its European allies, with President Macron of France leading the way, have been toughening their language. The statement calling for an end to Israel's offensive is their harshest criticism of Israel so far.

A senior European diplomatic source involved in their discussions told me that the tough language reflected a "real sense of growing political anger at the humanitarian situation, of a line being crossed, and of this Israeli government appearing to act with impunity".

More ominously for Israel, the statement says that "we will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete steps in response".

They do not specify what those might be. Sanctions could be one possibility. A bigger step would be to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

France has been considering joining the 148 other states that have done so at a conference it is co-chairing with Saudi Arabia in New York in early June. The UK has also talked about Palestinian recognition with the French.

Israel, pushing back hard, has told them they would be presenting Hamas with a victory. But the tone of the statement made by the French, the Canadians and the British suggests that Israel is losing its ability to pressurise them.

The Post Office has agreed compensation for hundreds of former sub-postmasters after accidentally leaking their names and addresses on its corporate website.

The data breach was revealed in June last year when it emerged the personal details of 555 victims of the Horizon IT scandal had been published.

The company has now confirmed individual payouts of up to £5,000 with the potential for higher sums for those who want to pursue a further claim.

The Post Office has already apologised and said it was working in "full co-operation" with the Information Commissioner's Office.

The sub-postmasters' details were published in a document on its website.

At the time, then-Post Office chief executive Nick Read said the leak was a "truly terrible error".

The law firm Freeths, which acted for the 555 sub-postmasters when they sued the Post Office in a landmark High Court case in 2017, said it had secured the payouts on behalf of all those affected and their legal representatives.

Of the 420 victims Freeths represents in the ongoing and separate battle for compensation from the scandal, 348 have already received payouts for the breach.

Former sub-postmaster Chris Head welcomed the Post Office admitting the data breach mistake, but said they took "far too long to right this wrong".

"We cannot underestimate the level of pain, anxiety, stress and worry that so many people have had to suffer through this new episode. Post Office did not seem to understand how much this impacted those people. They appeared unwilling to engage in genuine discussions until further action was on the table.

"The impact on myself and my family has been profound on top of an already traumatic past 10 years due to the Horizon scandal."

The Post Office said victims would be paid either £5,000 or £3,500, depending on whether the individual was also living at the address at the time.

In a statement it also confirmed it would consider any special cases if individuals believe they are entitled to further amounts.

"We have written to all named individuals either directly, or via their solicitors. If there are any individuals whose name was impacted by last year's breach, but who have not received information about the payment for some reason, they can contact us or ask their solicitors if they have legal representation," it said.

The lawyer who led the case on behalf of the sub-postmasters said the agreement was struck without the need for any claims to be submitted but also allowed victims the opportunity to pursue further action.

"We welcome the progress we have made with this case but there is still a long way to go to recognise the devastating impact of this breach for those affected," said Will Richmond-Coggan, Freeths' partner specialising in data breach litigation.

A family who went to court to protect a young girl from her paedophile father have criticised government legislation intended to help others in a similar position.

The Victims and Courts Bill includes an amendment which would remove parental responsibility from convicted paedophiles - but only if they have abused their own children.

In 2023 the BBC reported on a mother who had to spend more than £30,000 to protect her small daughter. Her ex-husband had been convicted of the most serious child sex offences, but kept parental responsibility over his own child.

Her parents said they were "very disappointed". The government said it would continue work to make the law "as strong as it needs to be".

Over many months in Cardiff Family Court I watched as a young woman, who we called "Bethan", brought a case to protect her young daughter.

Although her ex-husband had been convicted of the most serious child sex offences, and was banned from contact with other children, he retained parental responsibility over his own child.

That meant that he could have a say over her education, decisions about her health, and where she would live.

He could also in future have contact with his daughter. In fact, he told the court from prison via a videolink, he was already writing letters every week to the little girl. He wasn't allowed to send them.

At the end of the hearings, the judge granted the mother's application, removing the father's parental rights and barring him from all contact, including on social media, until the child turns 18.

The family were pleased - but it had cost them over £30,000 in legal fees.

Harriet Harman, who is now in the Lords but was then an MP, heard my report, and decided to try to change the law, to remove what she called this "glaring anomaly".

Her amendment meant that after a criminal conviction for serious child sex offences, a parent would automatically lose their parental responsibility.

Families like Bethan's would no longer need to go to the Family Court.

In April 2024 the Conservative Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk supported this change, saying his priority was to protect the best interests of children.

"This new law will ensure they are automatically safeguarded against those whose despicable actions have shown them to utterly lack any nurturing and caring instincts," he said at the time.

Bethan and her parents were delighted.

But the government called the July election - and the law didn't change.

In the most recent King's Speech, in 2024, the Labour government promised to enact the change, saying it would restrict parental responsibility for child sex offenders.

However, when the wording of the new law was published on 7 May it said that removing parental responsibility would only apply "for a serious sexual offence committed against a child for whom the offender has parental responsibility."

In other words, where someone had abused their own child or stepchild.

This would not cover Bethan's family.

Her parents said the government should go back to the bill that Harriet Harman had proposed, where the emphasis was on "protecting innocent children".

The draft legislation - which will have its second reading in Parliament today - also says the restriction of parental responsibility should apply only where someone has been sentenced to at least four years in prison.

The grandparents believe it should apply more widely.

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said in response: "We are protecting children and ensuring victims are properly supported.

"These changes will, for the first time, introduce an automatic suspension of parental responsibility for offenders who sexually abuse their own child and receive a prison sentence of four years or more - removing the need for victims to go through court to secure this.

"I do recognise the concerns raised by victims and campaigners and will continue working closely with them to ensure the law is as strong and protective as it needs to be."

The new agri-food deal with the EU will mean the reversal of a ban on British- grown plants being sold in Northern Ireland.

Some common varieties have been prohibited since 2021 under the terms of Northern Ireland's original Brexit deal.

That deal meant Northern Ireland continued to follow the EU's strict rules on plant health while the rest of the UK had its own rules.

Under the new deal the UK as a whole will realign with EU plant health rules, which will mean the ban can be dropped.

Robin Mercer, from Hillmount Garden Centre in County Down, said the deal was "long overdue" as the current arrangements had driven up costs.

"In the past before Brexit we were bringing in trolley loads of roses every week, now we're having to source them from different places and there isn't the same selection," he said.

"There's a lot of suppliers in England that won't work with us now because it's too much hassle, too much paperwork."

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) said the deal would help the industry across the UK, which has seen trade with European suppliers disrupted.

Neil Grant, chair of the HTA's retailer committee, said: "Garden centres and their customers have seen prices rise and choice reduced as a direct result the trade barriers we now have with European suppliers.

"We know of many retailers who report that inspection delays have led to damaged, unsalable stock, as well as staffing issues around ever-shifting delivery times, all of which add costs to garden centres across the UK.

"Lifting trade barriers should boost our range of plants and products and how quickly we can get them."

The deal should also mean GB retailers resume online sales of plants and seeds to Northern Ireland.

Customs declarations

However the changes will not be implemented anytime soon and for NI businesses and consumers will not remove all the barriers which went up in 2021.

Monday's deal is described as a "political declaration" which now has to be converted to a legally binding text.

That will take months to negotiate and it is unlikely it will move to implementation before next year.

In the meantime some requirements which the last government signed up to in 2023 Windsor Framework deal will continue to be implemented.

For example a new phase of "Not for EU" labelling on GB food products being sold in NI will go ahead in July.

That is despite the fact that labelling with ultimately be phased out as a result of the new deal.

Most commercial goods being sold from GB to NI will also continue to require customs declarations, even the products which as covered by Monday's deal.

Stuart Anderson, director of public affairs at Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, said he remained concerned about the customs burden for movement between GB and NI.

"The customs issues have been in play since the original deal was introduced," he said.

"There has been some movement on that though the Windsor Framework – some of it creating perhaps more challenges too with the introduction of parcel arrangements from May."

However he said the new deal was "hugely positive news" on the face of it.

He added that businesses in Northern Ireland had "carried a significant amount of the burden in getting us to today".

What's in the new UK/EU deal?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the wide-ranging agreement affecting food, fishing and security after hosting EU leaders at a summit in London.

It includes a new SPS agreement - which stands for sanitary and phytosanitary and refers to rules about animals and food.

The government said this would reduce red tape for businesses, simplify food exports and imports, and help cut lorry queues at borders.

The deal also includes a new security and defence partnership between the UK and EU, and new arrangements for passport checks.

British holidaymakers will soon be able to use more eGates in Europe, which the government said would "end the dreaded queues" at border control.

Sir Keir said the deal would be "good for jobs, good for bills and good for our borders".

However, critics accused the Labour government of betraying Brexit voters as the UK will have to follow EU agri-food rules without having a say in how those rules are made.

There are also concerns about a 12-year fishing deal granting the EU access to UK waters, which is included as part of the overall agreement.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the UK was "becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again".

But the Labour government said it was time to "reset" relations with the EU which is the UK's biggest market.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the UK's agricultural food exports were down by a fifth, and the new deal would reduce trade friction and costs.

The UK, France and Canada have warned Israel they will take "concrete actions" if it continues an "egregious" expansion of military operations in Gaza.

Sir Keir Starmer joined the French and Canadian leaders to call on the Israeli government to "stop its military operations" and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying the three leaders had offered a "huge prize" for Hamas in the Gaza war.

No food, fuel or medicine had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, a situation the UN previously described as taking a "disastrous toll" on the Palestinian population.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said his country would allow a "basic amount of food" to enter the territory after a 11-week long blockade but it planned to take "control of all of Gaza".

The three Western leaders criticised this as "wholly inadequate" as the "denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law".

They added the level of suffering in Gaza was "intolerable".

UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat, said the number of aid trucks which had been cleared to enter was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".

Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken in the "heinous attack" on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack which saw around 1,200 people killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign.

The statement from the UK, France and Canada reiterated support for a ceasefire as well as the implementation of a "two-state solution", which proposes an independent Palestinian state which would exist alongside Israel.

Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: "By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."

He also called on "all European leaders" to follow US President Donald "Trump's vision" for ending the conflict.

Sesame Street and Netflix have struck a deal that will see the popular US television show appear on the streaming platform, while still being available on the free-to-air channel PBS.

Netflix said the iconic programme is a "beloved cornerstone of children's media, enchanting young minds and nurturing a love of learning".

From later this year Netflix will offer its 300 million subscribers around the world a new 56th season of the show and 90 hours of previous episodes.

Sesame Street was facing an uncertain future after entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery, which owns the HBO platform, did not renew its deal with the half a century old programme.

Under the deal, PBS will get access to episodes on the same day they are released on Netflix.

Since its first airing on 10 November 1969, millions of children have grown up with the show's theme tune "Can you tell me how to get, how get to Sesame Street?"

Over the decades, the programme and its characters have gained a life beyond the the small screen.

During a child obesity epidemic in the US in 2006, Sesame Street aired Health Habits segments designed to teach kids about diet and exercise.

The Cookie Monster declared cookies a "sometimes food" and taught children about a balanced diet.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama also visited Sesame's studios to film a segment on healthy eating.

Meanwhile, Elmo stepped into the public policy spotlight in 2002, when he was invited to discuss music education at Congress.

Netflix has been increasing its focus on children's content, that accounts for 15% of viewing on its service.

It also announced on Tuesday that new episodes of Peppa Pig and a mobile game with puzzles and colouring activities would be coming to the platform.

The new EU deal has been described in Scotland as both a "betrayal" and "breakthrough", and will affect businesses in different ways.

The harshest criticism has come from the commercial sea fishing industry which has reacted angrily to a 12-year extension of the initial post-Brexit fishing agreement.

But the clearing away of red tape could also benefit exports for others in the sector.

So what does the new deal mean for Scotland?

Fishing

The previous post-Brexit deal saw the UK regain 25% of fishing rights from the EU, but it also gave European boats continued access to UK waters.

It was due to expire at the end of June 2026 but the new agreement will see that extended until the summer of 2038.

Elspeth Macdonald, who represents more than 400 fishing boats as chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, told BBC Scotland it was a "total capitulation to the EU".

By agreeing to a multi-year deal, she argues, the UK has thrown away an important bargaining chip for future negotiations.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes described it as a "great betrayal" of Scotland's fishing fleet.

But the UK government claims the deal provides more certainty and stability going forward, and there will be no increase in the EU quota.

Reduced bureaucracy could benefit west coast creel fisherman who sell directly into Europe and benefit from measures to reduce hold-ups for goods that perish quickly.

Shellfish from some UK waters, currently banned in the EU, can be exported again under the deal.

In an effort to address concerns from the fishing sector, the UK government has also announced a £360m fishing and coastal growth fund to invest in new technology, equipment and support for coastal communities.

Agriculture

A new SPS agreement will make food and drink imports and exports between the UK and the EU easier. SPS stands for sanitary and phytosanitary, which refers to rules about animals and food.

The deal will align UK food safety and animal health standards with those of the EU, meaning most routine checks on animal and plant products will be removed completely.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would reduce "red tape" for businesses and help cut lorry queues at the border.

The UK government said this could lead to lower food prices and more choice on supermarket shelves.

The deal also means that British farms will be able to sell sausages and burgers to the EU for the first time in five years.

It would also return Scottish seed potatoes, once an important export, to the EU market after they were banned in 2021 in the wake of Brexit.

President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) in Scotland Andrew Connon told BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme he was "cautiously optimistic".

He said it would help the livestock sector, specifically beef and lamb producers, as well as the seed potato industry which had suffered in recent years.

"Since Brexit, there has been more restriction and more friction at borders with regards to exports," he said.

"The likes of the seed potato industry has been massively impacted. So anything that can reduce that friction has to be welcomed."

But Mr Connon also said it was important that standards were not relaxed and the border was kept safe so not to undermine British markets.

Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said the deal was "very good news" for fish farming.

He said the EU was the "most important market" for Scottish salmon, with France alone taking about £240m of it every year.

Mr Scott said the sector had faced "considerable" costs for administration to export salmon and delivery time had increased due to physical checks on products.

He added: "These measures could reduce the bureaucratic cost of the administration we currently face, at about £3m a year.

"It will also improve our delivery times to our customers all over Europe, which is very welcome given we're exporting a time-sensitive product directly from Scotland into the EU."

Hospitality

UK Hospitality has praised the deal as "positive news" for the sector.

Chief executive Kate Nicholls said it would help to "further increase access to high-quality, affordable food and drink for business and consumers alike".

She also welcomed the UK government's commitment to working on a youth mobility deal.

It's thought a new agreement on youth movement could increase the UK hospitality workforce after significant staff shortages in the wake of the Covid pandemic and Brexit.

The Scottish Hospitality Group also welcomed the deal as importing products from the EU was a "big cost" for the sector.

Director Stephen Montgomery said the industry body would wait to read the whole document, however "what we do know is that this will not go far enough to the help already struggling hospitality businesses".

He said businesses were still struggling with growing costs due to increased national insurance contributions and the "out of date" non-domestic rates policy.

Defence

The UK-EU deal also includes the announcement of a new security and defence partnership.

The prime minister said this would "pave the way for the UK defence industry to participate in the EU's proposed new £150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence fund".

That will be welcomed by UK defence firms such as BAE Systems and Babcock which have a significant presence in Scotland, particularly in naval shipbuilding.

The UK government also said the deal would benefit British steel as it would be protected from new EU rules and restrictive tariffs through a bespoke agreement.

Travel

Scottish holidaymakers will soon be able to use more eGates in Europe, which the government says "will end the dreaded queues" at border control.

Since Brexit, British travellers arriving at EU airports have mostly had to queue for manned desks to get their passports stamped, instead of using the automated gates.

As part of the deal, "pet passports" will also be introduced for cats and dogs, so there will no longer be a need for animal health certificates on every trip.

The UK and EU have also agreed to work together on a "youth experience scheme".

This could mean young people, aged 18-30, might be able to travel and work freely within the European Union again.

But the government said the youth scheme would be "capped and time-limited" and would be similar to ones the UK already has with countries like Australia and New Zealand.

The UK has also agreed to work towards re-joining the Erasmus+ scheme, which would make it easier and more affordable for students to study abroad in the EU.

The self-imposed guardrails the government had imposed in these post-Brexit negotiations intentionally limited its room for manoeuvre.

There will be no return to the European Union's customs union or single market or freedom of movement.

So there was, then, a risk of pleasing few in the changes they agreed to: those who see themselves as custodians of the original Brexit deal would see it as an unforgivable dilution - and some do.

And those who have consistently argued Brexit is a disaster would regard ministers are shamefully unambitious - and some do.

Sir Keir Starmer's calculation appears to be that a majority are of neither of those views, but keen to see what they would describe as improvements around the edges of the existing deal.

Folk in government seem pretty chipper with how it is going down, at least initially.

The prime minister, talking to business leaders in Downing Street, claimed "we have dramatically improved our trading ties with the largest economy in the world, the US, the fastest growing economy in the world, India and the largest trading bloc in the world, the EU".

Granted the Indian deal is broad.

The deal with the US is much thinner, but did stop likely job losses in the automotive industry.

The deal with the EU seeks to smoothen frictions in trade, but there are a whole load of details and specifics, timeframes and costs still to be haggled over and sorted.

• UK now best placed country on trade - Reeves
• UK-EU deal moves us on from Brexit rows, Starmer says
• What will 'reset' deal mean for UK economic growth?

Some Brexiteers say not only is it in parts thin and oversold, but has also crossed a crucial rubicon: the acceptance of "dynamic alignment" in some areas - not just signing up to EU rules as they are now, but tolerating them when they change, with limited opportunities to stop them changing.

The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, when I asked her about just this, said that had been the UK's sovereign choice.

Indeed it had, but it does still amount to a case study in a classic Brexit trade-off of making trade easier at the expense of handing over some power.

Worthwhile say ministers. Breaching a sacrosanct principle say its critics.

While the arguments about all this, unlike during the noisy Brexit years, will probably slip back into the background most of the time, the ongoing conversation and negotiation will matter.

It will determine how much this will cost, precisely what it will mean for defence co-operation, who and how many young people may be able to travel more easily to the EU and vice versa and whether and by when there is a mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

Even the much talked up easing of queues at EU airports is not certain - it is now down to individual member states to decide on whether to change their approach.

These details and others will matter to many and be an important metric of the real-world impact of this deal beyond the words on its launch day.

We now know this first UK-EU summit is planned to be the first of many - it will be an annual occasion.

It is a reminder that the UK's uneasy relationship with its nearest neighbours existed as members of the European Union and it continues as non-members.

The government calls it a "reset" but in reality resetting, in one direction or another, is probably permanent or semi-permanent.

The trajectory of the current government, within its own guardrails, is towards a closer relationship.

The trajectory of its successors may be different.

The Trump administration has agreed to pay a $5m (£3.7m) settlement to the family of Ashli Babbitt, a US Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer while breaching the US Congress on 6 January 2021.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger told CBS, the BBC's US partner, he is "extremely disappointed" with the decision. The officer involved in her shooting has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The settlement resolves a $30m wrongful death suit filed by Babbitt's family and the conservative activist group Judicial Watch.

Thousands of Trump supporters descended on the US Capitol on 6 January in an attempt to halt the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.

Babbitt was part of a group that smashed windows in an effort to enter the chamber of the House of Representatives while it was still in session, forcing lawmakers to delay certification and flee for safety.

Video of the incident shows her being shot in the shoulder after attempting to climb through a door. She later died in hospital.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Babbitt's family claimed that the decision to open fire by Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd was negligent, and that Babbitt's hands were in the air when she was shot.

Family members say that Babbitt was motivated to come to the Capitol by Trump's claims of election fraud. No evidence has ever surfaced of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Mr Byrd previously defended the move to fire his gun, saying the group of lawmakers and security "were essentially trapped" and had "no way to retreat".

In August 2021, a Capitol Police review found that Mr Byrd's decision saved lives and was consistent with police training and procedures. A justice department review also found no evidence of any police wrongdoing.

"This is extremely disappointing and I completely disagree with the Department of Justice's decision," Chief Manger said in a statement to staff after learning of the settlement, the Washington Post reported.

"This settlement sends a chilling message to law enforcement officers across our nation - especially those who have a protective mission like ours," he added.

In January, on his first day back in the White House, President Donald Trump issued a blanket pardon for more than 1,500 Capitol riot defendants, including hundreds accused of assaulting police. He also fired the federal prosecutors who handled those cases.

Trump in March told conservative news outlet Newsmax that he's "a big fan of Ashli Babbitt" and that she was "innocently standing there" when she was shot.

"And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it's a disgrace," he said, promising to "look into" the lawsuit brought by her family.

A British ultra-endurance athlete has broken the world record for running across the length of Australia, after a gruelling 35-day journey.

William Goodge, 31, started the 3,800km (2,361 miles) run from Cottesloe Beach in Perth on 15 April, and finished on Monday afternoon at Australia's iconic Bondi Beach, his father by his side.

Originally from Bedfordshire in England, Goodge ran the equivalent of two-and-a-half marathons - about 100km - every day.

He started running marathons after his mother, Amanda, died from cancer in 2018, with this journey raising money for cancer charities in the UK, US and Australia.

The previous world record for running across Australia was held by Chris Turnbull, who managed the feat in 39 days in 2023. The year before, Australian electrician Nedd Brockmann ran the same route in 47 days, raising millions for charity.

Speaking to local media after he crossed the finish line, Goodge said the run was "like a revolving nightmare that wouldn't end".

"The first nine days were extremely challenging...but you have to tell your body and mind that even though you're struggling, you're going to persevere, and you're going to get through it," he told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

Moments after crossing the finish line, Goodge placed a bunch of flowers on Bondi's famous shoreline in memory of his late mother.

"She was the most special person in my life," he told the Guardian Australia, adding, "she would be proud of everything I've done - she'd also be concerned".

Along the way toenails have fallen off, his feet began rotting and he sometimes hallucinated due to broken sleep caused by pain in his bones.

Goodge said thinking about how his mother battled cancer was crucial during his journey, and helped him overlook his own suffering.

"So in the moments where it's tough, I'll think back to those times, I think about the woman she was, and how she handled herself, and how she supported me," he told the SMH.

"I feel like she's there with me a lot of the time."

During the race, he says he saw almost all of Australia's famous animals - though most were dead on the road - and much of its unique countryside.

On Goodge's website about the run, he also thanked Turnbull for sharing his knowledge and experience on how to tackle the journey.

Goodge also holds the record for the fastest British man to run across the US, crossing from Los Angeles to New York in 55 days.

Sesame Street and Netflix have struck a deal that will see the popular US television show appear on the streaming platform, while still being available on the free-to-air channel PBS.

Netflix said the iconic programme is a "beloved cornerstone of children's media, enchanting young minds and nurturing a love of learning".

From later this year Netflix will offer its 300 million subscribers around the world a new 56th season of the show and 90 hours of previous episodes.

Sesame Street was facing an uncertain future after entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery, which owns the HBO platform, did not renew its deal with the half a century old programme.

Under the deal, PBS will get access to episodes on the same day they are released on Netflix.

Since its first airing on 10 November 1969, millions of children have grown up with the show's theme tune "Can you tell me how to get, how get to Sesame Street?"

Over the decades, the programme and its characters have gained a life beyond the the small screen.

During a child obesity epidemic in the US in 2006, Sesame Street aired Health Habits segments designed to teach kids about diet and exercise.

The Cookie Monster declared cookies a "sometimes food" and taught children about a balanced diet.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama also visited Sesame's studios to film a segment on healthy eating.

Meanwhile, Elmo stepped into the public policy spotlight in 2002, when he was invited to discuss music education at Congress.

Netflix has been increasing its focus on children's content, that accounts for 15% of viewing on its service.

It also announced on Tuesday that new episodes of Peppa Pig and a mobile game with puzzles and colouring activities would be coming to the platform.

The UK is now in a better place on trade "than any other country in the world", the chancellor has claimed.

Rachel Reeves said Britain's economic growth was on course to be upgraded as a result of the country's recent three trade deals agreed with the US, India and the EU.

Reeves suggested the government wanted to go further on its new agreement with the EU but told the BBC a trade pact with countries in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, would be the "next deal".

She told the BBC the UK was "not looking to have trade negotiations with China", despite previously saying she wanted a long-term relationship with the country.

On Monday, the UK and the EU struck a deal across several areas including fishing, trade, defence and energy, which marked the biggest agreement between the parties since the UK left the trading bloc in 2020 following the Brexit vote.

The summit in London came after the government reached a trade deal with India to make it easier for UK firms to export whisky, cars and other products to the country, and cut taxes on India's clothing and footwear exports.

The government has also secured an agreement with US President Donald Trump to reduce tariffs on some goods traded between the nations.

Reeves described the recent trade deals as having "come along like buses" and hinted at expectations of an upgrade to UK economic growth forecasts as a result.

"Britain is in a better place than any other country in the world in terms of deals with those countries," she said.

"The first deal and the best deal so far with the US, we've got the best deal with the EU for any country outside the EU, and we've got the best trade agreement with India," Reeves added.

"Not only are these important in their own right, but it also shows that Britain now is the place for investment and business, because we've got preferential deals with the biggest economies around the world."

The chancellor told the BBC another deal with Gulf nations was the "next deal", with the government closing in on a pact with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.

It appears the government had the EU, the UK's largest trading partner, in mind during its talks with the US and India.

As part of the deal with the EU, in return for extending current fishing rules, checks have been reduced on UK food exports.

Reeves said UK officials had made it clear to the Trump administration and India that food standards were not up for negotiation in their deals.

"We increased the quota for the import of beef from the US, it was all still on the high standards that we pride ourselves in, and in part because standards matter to us, but also because we wanted to secure this agreement with the EU, which is by far the biggest market for UK agriculture and fishing," the chancellor said.

But while the government has hailed recent trade agreements as triumphs, some opposition parties have criticised Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for some of the concessions offered in return.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the latest EU deal took the UK "backwards" and previously said the country had been "shafted" in the America tariff pact.

The chancellor received a boost last week when the latest official figures revealed the UK economy had grown by 0.7% in the first three months of the year.

The growth was bigger than expected but is not forecast to last.

The government has made growing the economy its main priority in order to boost living standards. A higher growth rate usually means people are getting paid a little bit more, can spend more and more jobs are created by businesses investing.

Reeves suggested UK growth forecasts could be boosted because of the better figures, but economists have warned US tariffs and the chancellor's decision to raise National Insurance for employers could hit the economy.

"We are forecasting growth of 1% this year, and we had 0.7% in Q1 and they'll take into account the new trade deals that have been secured," she said.