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Today — 16 July 2025BBC | Top Stories

Three key questions after Afghan data leak sparked unprecedented secret evacuation

16 July 2025 at 04:10
EPA A monument inscribed with the word Afghanistan outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in LondonEPA

It has been more than three years since a British official inadvertently leaked a dataset containing the names and contact details of thousands of people who were attempting to flee possible Taliban revenge attacks.

In April 2024, the government began relocating some of them to the UK - but we are only learning this now because extraordinary lengths were gone to in order to prevent the breach and subsequent response coming to light.

As the full picture is finally disclosed to the public, these are the questions still facing Britain's security establishment.

What can be done about the danger of leaks?

It has happened before and it will doubtless happen again.

Think Wikileaks, Snowden and all the countless cyber-hacks and ransomware suffered by companies on an almost daily basis.

Data leaks are not new but sometimes – and it is quite possible that this is one of those times – they can be life-threatening.

The revelations that have come to light will have sent a chill down the spine of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Afghans who fear retribution by the Taliban.

For those already spirited out to Britain, it means they can probably never go back home as long as the Taliban are in power.

For the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1,800 dependants still in Afghanistan, the news will mean they are unlikely to breathe easily until the UK delivers on its promise to get them safely out.

It's important to bear in mind that all this was not the result of some deliberate, sophisticated cyber attack by a state-backed hacking group.

It evolved from an unintentional mistake made by just one individual working for the Ministry of Defence.

What does this say about Britain's moral responsibility?

UK forces were deployed to Afghanistan, alongside US and Nato allies, over a period of almost 20 years, from October 2001 to August 2021.

During this time they worked closely with their Afghan government allies, relying heavily on their local knowledge and expertise.

The most sensitive area was in Special Forces (SF), for whom the Taliban reserved a particular hatred.

When Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in the summer of 202, there was a realisation that those now-former Afghan SF soldiers and their families were a priority for relocation to safety.

But thousands more Afghans also risked their lives to work with the British over those two decades.

Many did it out of patriotism, believing they were working to secure a better Afghanistan.

Some did it for the money, some did it because they trusted Britain to safeguard their lives and their personal details.

A data breach like this now threatens to undermine any future promises by a British official who says: "Trust us, your data is safe with us."

Was there a cover-up?

When this "unauthorised data breach" was finally discovered, a full 18 months after it occurred, the UK government obtained what is known as a super-injunction, preventing its publication by the media.

A super-injunction is so draconian that it means you cannot even report the fact that you cannot report it.

That measure has only just been lifted now, following an independent review.

There is a logical case to be made that this measure was necessary to protect the lives of those affected by the data breach.

However, questions are now being raised about whether the injunction - applied for by the previous, Conservative government - might also have been for political purposes.

The High Court judge who lifted the super-injunction, Mr Justice Chamberlain, said that it had "had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy".

Trump says attorney general should release any 'credible' information on Epstein

16 July 2025 at 08:12
Bloomberg via Getty Images US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks to members of the media while arriving for a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister on July 8, 2025.Bloomberg via Getty Images
"We should put everything on the table and let the people decide," says Johnson

US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the justice department to release all its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a split with President Donald Trump, who has sought to draw a line under the matter.

"We should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson, an ally of the president, said in an interview.

It came as Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on Epstein. At the weekend, the president urged supporters not to "waste time and energy" on the controversy.

Bondi is under fire after she said last week there was no evidence Epstein kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures.

Convicted paedophile Epstein's 2019 death in a US prison while awaiting federal trial was ruled to be a suicide, but many in Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement suspect a cover-up.

Asked about the Epstein files on Tuesday by US conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Speaker Johnson said he was in favour of "transparency".

The Republican congressman from Louisiana added that he trusted President Trump and his team, and that the White House was privy to facts that he did not know.

But he said Bondi "needs to come forward and explain it to everybody".

Trump is facing a rare backlash from his staunchly loyal political base over their theories that details of Epstein's crimes are being withheld in order to protect influential figures, or intelligence agencies.

On Tuesday, he praised his attorney general's handling of the matter, saying: "She's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release."

Last week the president vented frustration in the Oval Office about his supporters' fixation on Epstein and implored them to move on.

But other Republican allies of the president are not letting go of the matter.

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene told Benny Johnson in a separate interview on Tuesday: "I fully support transparency on this issue."

She praised Bondi's work as attorney general, but said that leaders and elected officials should keep their promises to voters. President Trump had previously pledged to release all details of the Epstein investigation.

Getty Images US Attorney General Pam Bondi photographed testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images
Pam Bondi has said the memo released last week on Epstein by the Department of Justice "speaks for itself."

Another conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said if more Epstein files were not released, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the financier's crimes.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the voters expect more accountability.

"I think it's perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he [Epstein] trafficked those women to and why they weren't prosecuted," Kennedy told NBC News.

But other influential Republicans – including Senator John Thune and congressman Jim Jordan – deferred to President Trump on the matter.

At an unrelated news conference on fentanyl on Tuesday, Bondi brushed aside questions about the controversy.

"Nothing about Epstein," she told reporters. "I'm not going to talk about Epstein."

She said last week's memo by the Department of Justice, jointly released with the FBI, declining to release any further files on Epstein "speaks for itself".

The government's findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data.

On Tuesday, House Democratic lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on releasing Epstein files.

Republicans pointed out the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, also had access to the files, but did not release them.

Physician associates should not diagnose patients, says review

16 July 2025 at 07:02
Getty Images Two healthcare professionals wearing white coats, with one holding a tablet, talk to a patient with grey hair who is sitting on a hospital bedGetty Images
The review recommends PAs wear a different uniform to doctors

Physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), who assist doctors in GP surgeries and hospitals, should be known as "assistants" to avoid confusing patients, an independent review says.

The review recommends PAs and AAs wear standardised clothing and badges to distinguish them from doctors, and that they should not diagnose patients.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the review last year, following a heated debate over the roles and responsibilities of the healthcare positions.

The doctor's union, the BMA, says the review should have gone further.

Review author Prof Gillian Leng talked to doctors, patients and the public to collect evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the roles of PAs and AAs.

She said a clear vision "was largely missing" when they were introduced in 2000 and there was no national plan for how the new roles would fit into existing teams, resulting in growing "confusion about the roles' purpose and remit".

"Where capacity was limited in local services, gaps in medical posts were sometimes covered by PAs, without taking into account their more limited training or ensuring that supervisors had the necessary understanding of the roles and the time and skills required to provide appropriate oversight," Prof Leng added.

She also listened to families of relatives who died after being treated by PAs, believing them to be qualified doctors.

Emily Chesterton was told the calf pain she was experiencing in October 2022 was a sprain but it was in fact a blood clot. She died, aged 30, after being seen twice by a physician associate.

Susan Pollitt, 77, was being treated by a PA in hospital two years ago after a pump was left in her stomach for 15 hours longer than it should have been. She died from an infection two days later.

Her daughter Kate says the family have never blamed the PA involved but want more clarity.

"As a family, when you've got someone in hospital, you don't think straight because you're just worried about your relative," she says.

"Even though people are telling you who they are, you're not registering it. So I do think it needs to be made clear, with the uniform and the badges and the name. So we do welcome that," Kate says.

In other cases, patients said they were satisfied after seeing a PA and felt listened to, the review says.

The review recommends physician associates should:

  • be renamed "physician assistants" to reflect their supportive role in medical teams
  • not see new patients in primary or emergency care or make a diagnosis
  • have at least two years' hospital experience before working in a GP surgery or mental health trust
  • be part of a team led by a senior doctor
  • wear badges, lanyards and clothing to set them apart from doctors

Anaesthesia associates should be renamed "physician assistants in anaesthesia" or PAAs.

In addition, patients should be given clear information about the role of a PA and there should be a faculty to represent PAs and set standards for training.

Physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) were introduced into the NHS in the early 2000s to ease doctors' workload.

As their numbers grew, concerns were raised about the safety of the roles, the lack of clarity around their responsibilities and the impact they had on junior medics' work and training.

PAs are not authorised to prescribe medication but they can order certain scans, take medical histories and conduct physical examinations.

Anaesthesia associates (AAs) support surgery teams and are a much smaller group.

There are now more than 3,000 PAs and AAs in England but the NHS workforce plan envisages that increasing to 12,000 by 2036.

Both PAs and AAs have to complete a two-year postgraduate course. To be eligible they need to have either a science-related undergraduate degree or be a registered healthcare professional already.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said there was a growing campaign against their use, fuelled by unsubstantiated claims on social media. It requested an independent review to set out the jobs they can safely do.

PAs and AAs have been regulated by the General Medical Council, the body which also regulates doctors, since December 2024.

Doctors' training takes many years longer, and anti-social hours and exams are a regular occurrence.

The British Medical Association has said PAs and AAs were being asked to do tasks they were not meant to do and the lines with doctors were getting blurred.

Dr Emma Runswick, from the BMA, says the name change to physician assistants is "positive" but doctors haven't got everything they wanted and more still needs to be done.

"Patients can know who they are seeing, but it does not make the key changes that we are looking for in terms of setting out what they can and cannot do."

"But we would be a fool to say that it wasn't some progress."

Dr Hilary Williams, incoming vice president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the review was "thoughtful" and "thorough", and showed that "reform is urgently needed" to ensure safe teamworking in the NHS.

Israel bombs Syrian forces entering Druze city after sectarian clashes

16 July 2025 at 05:44
Reuters Smoke rises as Syrian security forces personnel sit in the back of a pick-up truck while entering the predominantly Druze city of Suweida, Syria (15 July 2025)Reuters
Syria's defence minister announced a ceasefire as government forces entered Suweida city on Tuesday

Israel says it has bombed Syrian government forces around Suweida, as they entered the predominantly Druze city following two days of deadly clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes.

About 100 people have reportedly been killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday.

Syria's defence minister announced a ceasefire in Suweida on Tuesday morning, saying an agreement had been reached with local dignitaries for security forces to deploy there. However, one Druze spiritual leader urged local fighters to resist.

Later, Israel's prime minister said he had ordered strikes on forces and weapons in the Suweida area because the government "intended to use [them] against the Druze".

Benjamin Netanyahu said he was committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria because of their deep ties to those living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

This is the first time that Syrian government forces have been deployed to Suweida since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Minority communities are suspicious of the country's new leaders despite their pledges to protect them, and until now the province of Suweida had remained largely under the control of Druze militias which resisted calls to join the government's forces.

More than 150 farms in England caught using local water illegally

16 July 2025 at 07:01
Getty Images A drone view of a spray of water from farm irrigation machinery across a dry field planted with crops. An arch of a rainbow crosses the water as the light hits.Getty Images
Farmers often need high volumes of water abstracted from nearby rivers to keep their crops irrigated

More than 150 farms in England have been caught illegally taking too much water from rivers, lakes and underground sources, a BBC analysis reveals.

Since mid-2022 there have been nearly 200 breaches of permits allowing farmers to use water from local sources, according to Environment Agency data obtained through a freedom of information request.

Of these incidents, 141 threatened environmental damage - but just one farmer has been prosecuted.

The Environment Agency said in response that it carried out 3,000 licence inspections each year, with prosecution a "last option for persistent offenders".

Getty Images On a bright spring day, a clear chalk stream runs through the countryside, shaded by bushes growing on the grassy riverbanks. In the distance lies a field bathed in sunlight.Getty Images
England's internationally important chalk streams are particularly vulnerable if too much water is taken from them

River campaigners said the breaches of so-called abstraction licenses were "the tip of the iceberg" and England's current enforcement system had "no deterrent effect".

The violations date from the beginning of the record-breaking hot spell of 2022, which put pressure on water supply, to this spring, which has been the UK's sixth driest spring since records began in 1836.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has been approached for comment by the BBC.

In England, water is abstracted by water companies for public supply, by industry and for use in electricity generation, such as power station cooling.

But agriculture often needs large volumes from local sources for irrigation, particularly for water-intensive crops like potatoes in prolonged dry spells.

Over-abstraction of water, particularly during a drought, can severely impact river levels and adversely affect fish and other wildlife and their habitats as well as intensify pollution levels.

Under the Water Resources Act 1991, the licensing system is in place to control how much water is taken and a licence is needed by anyone taking more than 20,000 litres a day.

'No deterrent effect'

The Environment Agency inspects and monitors farms for any licence breach, which can be a prosecutable offence.

Using a request under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), BBC News found that, of the 199 breaches committed by 154 farms between 2022 and June this year, 141 incidents were category one, two or three breaches, all classed as having a foreseeable impact on "human health, quality of life or the environment".

But only one farmer was prosecuted and one was given a fine as a civil sanction while 137 were simply given warnings or advice and no action was taken against three.

There are currently 12 ongoing investigations.

Ten farms breached their licences during the first five months of this year.

A further four farms were found to be abstracting water without the necessary licence at all.

The figures come after a report last week by green watchdog The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found that some licence-holders would only be inspected once in 20 years and, in 2023/24, 84% of licences were not being inspected.

Dr Justin Neal, from the river campaign group Wildfish, said the number of farm over-abstractors uncovered was "the tip of the iceberg".

"With a minimal risk of being caught and few prosecutions, there is absolutely no deterrent effect.

"That means taking too much water is now an acceptable occupational risk," he explained.

He added that the exemption that allows farmers to take up to 20,000 litres a day without a licence meant no-one could be sure how much water was being abstracted by farms across England.

Wildfish is now calling for more inspections and a new enforcement strategy with less focus on advice and greater use of "suitable sanctions" for those who break the law.

'Proportionate approach'

The Environment Agency said it would be improving inspections using technology such as satellite monitoring to detect how much water is being put on fields and crops, and making better use of intelligence to identify the highest risk abstraction.

A spokeswoman for the Agency said that it took its role as a regulator of how the country's water resources are used "extremely seriously".

"If sites are found to breach their abstraction licence, we take an advice-led and proportionate approach with prosecution as a last option for persistent offenders," she added.

Last month, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) announced the number of farm inspections would increase to 6,000 a year by 2029.

In June, the Environment Agency also published its five-year National Framework for Water Resources, which sets how water companies, farms, businesses and the public should best manage water usage into the future.

It set out plans to make all water abstraction environmentally sustainable, with particularly sensitive areas, such as chalk streams, given greater protection.

It recognised the impact of water shortages on food production but said it would work with farmers to identify how they can become more resilient by sharing water resources and building jointly-owned reservoirs.

Kew Gardens' Palm House will close for five years for major makeover

16 July 2025 at 07:01
RBG Kew The Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. A large building made of iron and glass overlooks the lake  and foliage. RBG Kew
The renovation will begin in 2027 and will take an estimated five years

It's a makeover on a massive scale - it involves moving 1,300 plants, replacing 16,000 panes of glass and cleaning up hundreds of tonnes of iron.

This is the ambitious £50m plan to renovate the world-famous Palm House, which sits at the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

The hot and humid conditions inside have taken their toll on the building, which opened in 1848 and houses a tropical rainforest.

Kew will also use the refurbishment – which will see the glass house closed for five years from 2027 – to reduce emissions from the Palm House to net zero.

Kevin Church/BBC News The inside of the Palm House in Kew Gardens - a huge glass and iron structure. There is a palm-like plant called a cycad is in a large wooden pot. It has a huge stem stretching for about 4 metres with palm like fronds at the end. The BBC's Rebecca Morelle and Kew's Thomas Pickering stand next to it - the plant towers over them.  Kevin Church/BBC News
Kew's oldest pot plant will be one of the trickier specimens to relocate

The planning permission for the project has now been submitted, and some of the plants that make up the indoor tropical rainforest have started to be relocated.

"This is probably the plant that I worry about moving the most," says Thomas Pickering, head of glasshouses.

He's standing next to one of Kew's most precious specimens: a plant called Encephalartos altensteinii, which is a type of cycad.

It's growing in a pot, and at 250 years old, it's older than the Palm House itself. It's also enormous - weighing more than a tonne and standing about 4m tall.

"It's the sheer size of it. It has a huge weight in that root ball, but also this incredibly long stem, which is very old because they're incredibly slow-growing plants," says Pickering.

The horticulturists will use scaffolds, supports and braces to protect the plant when the time comes for it to be moved. Other plants, that are a bit easier to shift, have already been taken to a temporary greenhouse.

Kevin Church/BBC News A plant inside Kew's Palm House - a large glass an iron structure. The image has a close up of a red and yellow flower with large green leaves in the background.Kevin Church/BBC News
The Palm House is packed with plants from all over the world

"It's going to be a long term project," explains Pickering.

"And over the next two years, it's going to be a process of selecting which plants we need to containerize (place in pots) and keep, which ones we need to propagate - and also some of the plants will be felled because we won't be able to move them."

RBG Kew A black and white image of the Palm House, a glass and iron building in Kew Gardens, being constructed which was taken in the 1840s. Scaffolding is running up the building. Men in top hats look on.RBG Kew
The Palm House under construction in the 1840s
RBG Kew A black and white image taken inside the Palm House, a glass and iron building in Kew Gardens. It shows it part way though  construction.  Scaffolding and tall ladders run from the floor to the ceiling.RBG Kew
This is what its interior looked like when it was being built
RBG Kew A black and white image taken inside the Palm House, a glass and iron building in Kew Gardens. Tropical plants fill the glass house and a man in a flat cap sits on a bench reading a book.  RBG Kew
It was completed in 1848 and was an engineering marvel of its time

The Palm House was built more than 175 years ago and was a wonder of the Victorian age.

No-one had ever constructed a glass house on that scale before and the engineers borrowed techniques from the shipping industry to build the huge structure.

It was last renovated in the 1980s, but now the iron is heavily rusting in places, so it will be stripped back to the bare metal work, repaired and repainted.

All of the thousands of single glazed panes of glass will be replaced and tests are underway to find the best type of glass to provide maximum insulation.

Kevin Church/BBC News Inside of the Palm House, a huge glass and iron structure. This shows the top level of the building, with an ornate spiral staircase and platform that runs next to the glass.  the iron is painted white but clearly rusting. The tops of the tropical plants fill the space. Kevin Church/BBC News
Techniques were borrowed from the shipping industry to build the huge structure
Kevin Church/BBC News Inside of the Palm House, a huge glass and iron structure. A close up of the iron frame, with an ornate floral detail, and glass windows. The iron is painted white but has become orange with rust.Kevin Church/BBC News
The heat and humidity that help the plants to thrive have damaged it

Maintaining the Palm House's temperature at 21C uses a lot of energy, but now gas boilers will be replaced with air source and water source heat pumps.

"This is an incredibly challenging building to make net zero," said Rachel Purdon, head of sustainability at Kew.

"We can do a huge amount with things like sealing the glass and improving the heating systems to massively reduce the carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of the Palm House without impacting the aesthetics."

The Water Lily House, which is located next to the Palm House, will also be made over as part of the renovation. The public will still be able to visit both for the next two years before they're closed for the works.

Kevin Church/BBC News An aerial view exterior of the Palm House, a huge iron and glass building, taken directly overhead. The grass surrounding it is scorched and yellow and brightly planted flower beds can be seen.  Kevin Church/BBC News
The Palm House will use huge heat pumps to provide the warmth the plants need

The team at Kew acknowledges this will be a big undertaking that will have a temporary impact on people coming to their botanic gardens. But they say the results will be worth it.

"The really important aspect of this is to try and ensure that the structure can last as long as possible, before we have to do another refurbishment," says Rachel Purdon.

Physician associates need new job title, says review

16 July 2025 at 07:02
Getty Images Two healthcare professionals wearing white coats, with one holding a tablet, talk to a patient with grey hair who is sitting on a hospital bedGetty Images
The review recommends PAs wear a different uniform to doctors

Physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), who assist doctors in GP surgeries and hospitals, should be known as "assistants" to avoid confusing patients, an independent review says.

The review recommends PAs and AAs wear standardised clothing and badges to distinguish them from doctors, and that they should not diagnose patients.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the review last year, following a heated debate over the roles and responsibilities of the healthcare positions.

The doctor's union, the BMA, says the review should have gone further.

Review author Prof Gillian Leng talked to doctors, patients and the public to collect evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the roles of PAs and AAs.

She said a clear vision "was largely missing" when they were introduced in 2000 and there was no national plan for how the new roles would fit into existing teams, resulting in growing "confusion about the roles' purpose and remit".

"Where capacity was limited in local services, gaps in medical posts were sometimes covered by PAs, without taking into account their more limited training or ensuring that supervisors had the necessary understanding of the roles and the time and skills required to provide appropriate oversight," Prof Leng added.

She also listened to families of relatives who died after being treated by PAs, believing them to be qualified doctors.

Emily Chesterton was told the calf pain she was experiencing in October 2022 was a sprain but it was in fact a blood clot. She died, aged 30, after being seen twice by a physician associate.

Susan Pollitt, 77, was being treated by a PA in hospital two years ago after a pump was left in her stomach for 15 hours longer than it should have been. She died from an infection two days later.

Her daughter Kate says the family have never blamed the PA involved but want more clarity.

"As a family, when you've got someone in hospital, you don't think straight because you're just worried about your relative," she says.

"Even though people are telling you who they are, you're not registering it. So I do think it needs to be made clear, with the uniform and the badges and the name. So we do welcome that," Kate says.

In other cases, patients said they were satisfied after seeing a PA and felt listened to, the review says.

The review recommends physician associates should:

  • be renamed "physician assistants" to reflect their supportive role in medical teams
  • not see new patients in primary or emergency care or make a diagnosis
  • have at least two years' hospital experience before working in a GP surgery or mental health trust
  • be part of a team led by a senior doctor
  • wear badges, lanyards and clothing to set them apart from doctors

Anaesthesia associates should be renamed "physician assistants in anaesthesia" or PAAs.

In addition, patients should be given clear information about the role of a PA and there should be a faculty to represent PAs and set standards for training.

Physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) were introduced into the NHS in the early 2000s to ease doctors' workload.

As their numbers grew, concerns were raised about the safety of the roles, the lack of clarity around their responsibilities and the impact they had on junior medics' work and training.

PAs are not authorised to prescribe medication but they can order certain scans, take medical histories and conduct physical examinations.

Anaesthesia associates (AAs) support surgery teams and are a much smaller group.

There are now more than 3,000 PAs and AAs in England but the NHS workforce plan envisages that increasing to 12,000 by 2036.

Both PAs and AAs have to complete a two-year postgraduate course. To be eligible they need to have either a science-related undergraduate degree or be a registered healthcare professional already.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said there was a growing campaign against their use, fuelled by unsubstantiated claims on social media. It requested an independent review to set out the jobs they can safely do.

PAs and AAs have been regulated by the General Medical Council, the body which also regulates doctors, since December 2024.

Doctors' training takes many years longer, and anti-social hours and exams are a regular occurrence.

The British Medical Association has said PAs and AAs were being asked to do tasks they were not meant to do and the lines with doctors were getting blurred.

Dr Emma Runswick, from the BMA, says the name change to physician assistants is "positive" but doctors haven't got everything they wanted and more still needs to be done.

"Patients can know who they are seeing, but it does not make the key changes that we are looking for in terms of setting out what they can and cannot do."

"But we would be a fool to say that it wasn't some progress."

Dr Hilary Williams, incoming vice president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the review was "thoughtful" and "thorough", and showed that "reform is urgently needed" to ensure safe teamworking in the NHS.

Trip drink ad banned over claim it makes you calm

16 July 2025 at 07:01
Trip An advert showing four pastel coloured cans of Trip drink with the words 'a new way to unwind'Trip

An advert by Trip drinks has been banned for making unauthorised claims it can "help you feel calm".

The ad for the drink, which includes cucumber, mint and magnesium also claimed it could help or reduce stress and anxiety.

This was not in line with rules on marketing food or drink ingredients as having health benefits, the advertising watchdog's investigation found.

Trip said it had removed the claims while it awaited external advice but hoped to be in a position to make the claims in the future.

Trip drinks has tapped in to a burgeoning market for non-alcoholic drinks, advertising widely on social media and positioning itself as a brand that uses ingredients that, it claims, relax people.

It calls itself the "UK's No.1 CBD brand". CBD, short for cannabidiol, is an extract of the marijuana plant and is commonly advertised as a relaxant, though it does not induce a "high" like other compounds found in the plant.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld three complaints made against Trip's advert for its cucumber and mint flavoured drink. It appeared on its website in December with the words: "Try me in the morning to help find some calm before a long day, or take a Trip to unwind when work is over."

The ASA found the company made a host of claims about its "Mindful Blend" range having "viral ingredients", that were "calming". These included supplements Lion's Mane extract, L-theanine and ashwagandha.

Trip Part of a screen shot of the Trip banned advert from its website, showing a light blue can of Trip drink. In text it says a host of ingredients are "crafted for calm".Trip
Trip's banned advert made health claims which are prohibited, the ad watchdog said

The Great Britain nutrition and health claims register sets out which nutrition and health claims are permitted in adverts for food or supplements. These were not permitted, the ASA found.

Some of the language used in the advert, such as "crafted for calm" and "simply help you feel calm" would lead consumers to deduce that Trip drinks reduce anxiety, the ASA ruling said. These were implications that were prohibited by the GB register, it said.

The watchdog also found the advert's suggestion that the magnesium in the drink could reduce serum cortisol levels breached the code. Cortisol is commonly known as the stress hormone.

The ASA also found that Trip's claim of "0g added sugar" were inaccurate and therefore breached the ASA's codes of advertising.

The watchdog ruled that the ad must not appear again in the same form, and said it had told Trip not to make claims that its drinks could prevent, treat or cure human disease.

'It felt personal': Si King on avoiding Sycamore Gap tree felling site until now

16 July 2025 at 07:02
BBC Hairy Biker Si King is stood in front of a fence surrounding the stump at Sycamore Gap, wearing a blue scarf and dark green jacket on a cloudy dayBBC
Hairy Biker Si King has made an emotional return to Sycamore Gap for the first time since its felling

When the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree was illegally felled in September 2023, TV chef and Hairy Biker Si King was among those devastated by the wanton destruction. He was so angry he could not bring himself to visit the site again - until now.

He takes several deep breaths, steeling himself, then walks slowly up to the stump.

Inside the fence surrounding the remains of the sycamore, several green shoots are growing.

"Dear me," Si says simply, before turning away, too overwhelmed by the "big yawning gap" in the landscape.

"I've put off coming to see it, because I didn't want to," he says.

Si inspects the scars left by a chainsaw blade.

"Absolutely mindless," he adds.

On the morning of 28 September 2023, when news that the much-loved landmark had been felled spread globally, Si was among those expressing their fury.

"You've just murdered a sentinel of time and elemental spirit of Northumberland," he raged on social media. "For whatever warped reason you've done it, it's shocking."

The TV chef, best known as one half of the Hairy Bikers, had to postpone filming that day because of his "visceral reaction" to the news.

South Shore Productions/PA Si King is a man in his 50s wearing a dark jacket and jeans with a white beard and hair standing on a beach in front of a motorbike. Sitting on the bike is Dave Myers who is a similar age and wearing a leather jacket and jeans with a motorbike helmet in his hands South Shore Productions/PA
Si King found fame as one half of the Hairy Bikers, appearing with Dave Myers on the BBC cookery series

In his direct message to those responsible - a 44 second clip that's had almost two million views on X - he furiously ranted that he hoped they had a conscience.

Coming from the north-east of England, where the tree had grown for more than 100 years, Si knew its importance.

"There was a magic and majesty to it," he says, calling it an "absolute exclamation mark of who we are in this part of the world".

Si had been sent the news of its felling in a text message by a close friend, who had come to cherish the tree following a personal tragedy.

He hoped she was mistaken, but links to news articles sent in follow-up messages brought the dreaded confirmation.

Such was his anger, he had to record his condemnation video several times because of the swearing in the original versions.

Si King is standing at the stump of Sycamore Gap, which has a fence around it. On one side there are the paving stones that make up Hadrian's Wall. He has grey hair and a beard. He is wearing a blue jumper and a jacket and black trousers. In the background you can see two cars parked on a grass track and green hills
Si King said he had a "visceral reaction" to the news the tree had been felled

Following a third expletive-free attempt, he asked fellow Hairy Biker and best friend Dave Myers if it was acceptable to be shared with their one million followers on X.

"I was absolutely raging," Si says.

"That level of vandalism and brutal bitterness was beyond my comprehension.

"I can't comprehend the mindset that would just do that. I don't understand that character and personality. That was just plain nasty.

"It felt so personal."

That sentiment was shared by millions both in the UK and around the world.

Northumbria Police Police shots of Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham side by side. They both have beards and have short hair and look sad and angry Northumbria Police
Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham have never admitted that they felled the tree

Sycamore Gap was the scene of marriage proposals, wedding photographs and somewhere grieving families scattered ashes.

For Si, it was a "special place" that provided moments of "peace", "solace" and "counsel."

It was also somewhere he visited when "in crisis."

Five months after the tree was cut down, his on-screen partner and "best mate" Dave died at the age of 66, two years after revealing he had cancer.

Had the tree still been there, Si says he would have gone there to reflect on his loss, "given the year everybody involved with the Hairy Bikers has had".

PA A view taken from above of the tree at Sycamore Gap on its side soon after it was felled. People are standing around looking at it, there is a police cordon and two officers standing inside it. It is lying on it's side on the north side of Hadrian's Wall.PA
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers felled the Sycamore Gap tree during a storm on the night of the 27 to 28 September 2023

However, with only the stump remaining, it was "too much" for him to visit in the immediate aftermath of Dave's death.

On one occasion he drove to the road adjacent to Sycamore Gap, but his emotions halted his return and he "looked away", unable to bring himself to stop his car.

It was only in June, after Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both from Cumbria, had been found guilty of chopping down the tree, that he says he felt ready to return, accompanied by a BBC film crew for the documentary The Sycamore Gap: From Roots to Ruin.

"It's quite difficult to put into words," he says, as he surveys the scene.

"I'm an emotional human being and it's sorely missed - tragically so."

PA/Owen Humphries The Sycamore Gap tree at night sitting in a gap in Hadrian's Wall with the Northern Lights - in greens and pinks behind it. PA/Owen Humphries
Sycamore Gap was one of the most photographed trees in the UK

Sycamore Gap had extra poignancy to Si because of another personal tragedy.

The close friend who had texted him on the day to say the tree had been cut down had lost her son when he was just 18.

Following the teenager's death, Sycamore Gap became a natural place for them to gather and grieve.

"The impact of that, because we were all very close, was enormous," Si says.

The peacefulness of Sycamore Gap was "of solace" to them all, so much so the tree was depicted on the young man's gravestone.

"Sycamore Gap is that important," Si says.

"It's not just a tree."

Follow BBC North East on X and Facebook and BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram.

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The Papers: '£7bn Afghan migrant cover-up' and 'Kitchen nightmare'

16 July 2025 at 07:05

The headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph reads: "£7bn Afghan migrant cover-up".
News that the UK government secretly relocated thousands of Afghans after a data leak put their lives at risk from the Taliban dominates Wednesday's papers. The Daily Telegraph leads with its take on the "£7bn Afghan migrant cover-up", saying the UK secretly offered asylum to 24,000 Afghans after a 2022 data breach exposed the names and personal details of 19,000 people. The paper says the scheme was kept secret for almost two years due to a super-injunction requested by the government.
The headline on the front page of the i Paper reads: "UK offers asylum to 24,000 Afghans after email blunder and cover-up cost billions".
The UK government fought for two years to keep the "fiasco" hidden using an "unprecedented" super-injunction to gag the media and public, says the i Paper. The paper also quotes former defence secretary Ben Wallace who defended the court order saying "The judge did the right thing... It saved lives".
The headline on the front page of the Metro reads: "£850m Afghan airlift cover-up".
The Metro reports the gag order was finally lifted by a High Court judge on Tuesday, who says the injunction had "given rise to serious free speech concerns".
The headline on the front page of the Times reads: "Revealed: Cover-up after leak risked lives of 100,000 Afghans".
The Times features quotes from Labour chairman of the defence select committee Tan Dhesi, who says the data breach and super-injunction were "an absolute mess and wholly unacceptable". Alongside is a photograph of UK troops and Afghans sitting on the ground as military helicopters fly over them.
The headline on the front page of the Financial Times reads: "UK secretly relocated Afghans after data leak put them in peril of Taliban".
The Financial Times follows with its coverage of the "secret multi-billion pound scheme", saying the plan was to relocate 25,000 people at a "potential cost of £7bn" according to a government estimate. The paper reports that the government has moved about 18,500 Afghans to the UK so far.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Mail reads: "Ministers still won't come clean on secret Afghan airlifts".
"Ministers still won't come clean on secret Afghan airlifts" declares the Daily Mail. The paper says taxpayers and MPs were "kept in the dark" as the cost of the scheme was signed off.
The headline on the front page of the Guardian reads: "Thousands of Afghans relocated to UK in secret scheme after data leak".
"Panicked" minsters and officials at the Ministry of Defence learned of the data breach in August 2023 and feared publicity of the incident could put the lives of thousands of Afghans at risk, the Guardian reports. Elsewhere, the paper also reports on the firing of Masterchef John Torode after an allegation of racist language was upheld.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror reads: "BBC's kitchen nightmare".
The Daily Mirror headlines their lead on Torode's firing with "BBC's kitchen nightmare". The paper says the incident has left Masterchef's future "in doubt".
The headline on the front page of the Daily Star reads: "Sackings don't get tougher than this".
"Sackings don't get tougher than this" says the Daily Star, as it features a story on Torode breaking his silence after "getting the boot".
The headline on the front page of the Daily Express reads: "Gap Years!"
Finally, the "moronic mission" of two men who cut down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree takes top spot on the Daily Express. The paper reports the men have both been jailed for four years after felling the world-famous Northumberland landmark in a fit of "drunken stupidity".
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Man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio dies

16 July 2025 at 07:00
BBC Breaking NewsBBC

Bradley Murdoch, the Australian man convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001, has died.

Murdoch, 67, was serving a life sentence at a prison in Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern Territory.

He was being treated at hospital in Alice Springs in recent weeks for terminal throat cancer.

The Northern Territory Department of Corrections told the BBC there had been a death of a man in custody.

In 2005, Murdoch was convicted of murdering Mr Falconio, but had never revealed the location of his body.

Mr Falconio was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway near the Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek, about 300km (186 miles) north of Alice Springs in July 2001.

The 28-year-old was travelling around Australia with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, also from the UK, at the time.

Murdoch was also convicted of the attempted kidnap and assault of Ms Lees, who managed to escape by hiding in outback scrub for several hours before she was able to signal for help.

Murdoch was 43 when he committed the crimes.

The ordeal partly inspired the 2001 horror film Wolf Creek.

Last month police in Australia announced a new reward of up to A$500,000 (£240,000) for information leading to the discovery of the remains of the murdered British backpacker.

Acting Commander Mark Grieve of Northern Territory Police told a press conference in late June: "Police still hold out hope that someone might be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search."

"We recognise the passage of time that has transpired but it is never to late to reach out and start that conversation with police," Grieve said.

He said in that press conference police had "made numerous approaches" to Murdoch, including in June, but said that "unfortunately... on all occasions he has chosen not to engage with police".

Acting Commander Grieve said he wanted to "try and at least bring some sliver of resolution to Peter's family by bringing home his remains" - and said they had spoken to family about the reward.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Adolescence star Owen Cooper becomes Emmys' youngest supporting actor nominee

16 July 2025 at 06:14
Getty Images Woman in white and black ensambleGetty Images
Quinta Brunson plays Philadelphia teacher Janine Teagues in the show Abbott Elementary

Severance, The Penguin, and The White Lotus lead the nominations for this year's Emmy TV awards.

Britt Lower, Quinta Brunson, Harrison Ford and Jeremy Allen White are among the stars competing for the top prizes for acting.

The Studio, The Bear, Abbott Elementary and Shrinking are among the contenders in the comedy categories.

The best TV shows and actors of the past year will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 14 September.

Here is the full list of nominees announced on Tuesday.

The most nominated shows

The most nominated shows

27 - Severance

24 - The Penguin

23 - The White Lotus

23 - The Studio

16 - The Last of Us

14 - Andor

14 - Hacks

Getty Images Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper attend Netflix's "Adolescence" ATAS Event at Television Academy's Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center on 27 May, 2025 in North Hollywood, California.Getty Images
British drama Adolescence stars Stephen Graham (left) and Owen Cooper

Major categories

Outstanding drama series

  • Andor (Disney+)
  • The Diplomat (Netflix)
  • The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Paradise (Hulu)
  • The Pitt (HBO Max)
  • Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
  • The White Lotus (HBO Max)

Outstanding comedy series

  • Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • The Bear (Hulu)
  • Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)

Outstanding limited or anthology series

  • Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Black Mirror (Netflix)
  • Dying for Sex (Hulu)
  • Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • The Penguin (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

  • Sterling K Brown - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Gary Oldman - Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
  • Pedro Pascal - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Adam Scott - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Noah Wyle - The Pitt (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

  • Kathy Bates - Matlock (CBS)
  • Sharon Horgan - Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
  • Britt Lower - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Bella Ramsey - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Keri Russell - The Diplomat (Netflix)

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

  • Adam Brody - Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Seth Rogen - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Jason Segel - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Martin Short - Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Jeremy Allen White - The Bear (Hulu)

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

  • Uzo Aduba - The Residence (Netflix)
  • Kristen Bell - Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Ayo Edebiri - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Jean Smart - Hacks (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Colin Farrell - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Stephen Graham - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Jake Gyllenhaal - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Bryan Tyree Henry - Dope Thief (Apple TV+)
  • Cooper Koch - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)

Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Cate Blanchett - Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
  • Meghan Fehy - Sirens (Netflix)
  • Rashidah Jones - Black Mirror (Netflix)
  • Cristin Milioti - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Michelle Williams - Dying for Sex (Hulu)
Getty Images Hannah Einbinder at the 2025 PaleyFest LA "Hacks" Screening held at Dolby Theatre on 28 March, 2025 in Hollywood, CaliforniaGetty Images
Hannah Einbinder portrays Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck comedy writer, in Hacks

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

  • Zach Cherry - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Walton Goggins - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Jason Isaacs - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • James Marsden - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Sam Rockwell -The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Tramell Tillman - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • John Turturro - Severance (Apple TV+)

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

  • Patricia Arquette - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Carrie Coon - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Katherine LaNasa - The Pitt (HBO Max)
  • Julianne Nicholson - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Parker Posey - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Natasha Rothwell - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Aimee Lou Wood - The White Lotus (HBO Max)

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

  • Ike Barinholtz - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Colman Domingo - The Four Seasons (Netflix)
  • Harrison Ford - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Jeff Hiller - Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max)
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Michael Urie - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Bowen Yang - Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

  • Liza Colón-Zayas - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Hannah Einbinder - Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Kathryn Hahn - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Janelle James - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Catherine O'Hara - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Jessica Williams - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Getty Images Jeremy Allen White attends a dinner for the cast and producers of "The Bear" at Musso & Frank Grill on June 9, 2025, in Hollywood, California.Getty Images
Jeremy Allen White recently reprised his role as chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto in series four of The Bear

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Javier Bardem - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • Bill Camp - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Owen Cooper - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Rob Delaney - Dying For Sex (Hulu)
  • Peter Sarsgaard - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Ashley Walters - Adolescence (Netflix)

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Erin Doherty - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Ruth Negga - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Deirdre O'Connell - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Chloë Sevigny - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • Jenny Slate - Dying For Sex (Hulu)
  • Christine Tremarco - Adolescence (Netflix)

Outstanding reality competition programme

  • The Amazing Race (CBS)
  • RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV)
  • Survivor (CBS)
  • Top Chef (Bravo)
  • The Traitors (NBC)

Outstanding talk series

  • The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Getty Images Seth RogenGetty Images
Hollywood satire The Studio is Seth Rogen's latest venture

Children at risk of being recruited by hostile states, police warn

16 July 2025 at 05:19
Getty Images A silhouette of a boy reading the screen of a laptopGetty Images

Counter-terror police have warned the activity of hostile states on British soil is posing a growing threat and urged families to watch for signs their children are being manipulated.

Teenagers, along with petty criminals and disillusioned people, may be more vulnerable to recruitment by Russia, Iran and China, they warned.

Hostile states are increasingly using proxies to carry out acts of sabotage and targeted violence in the UK, counter-terror police said, adding that investigating such activity now accounts for about 20% of their workload.

Parents and teachers should "be inquisitive" and "seek help" if they think a child is at risk, police advised.

Since the Salisbury poisonings in 2018 – which targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal – there has been a five-fold increase in police work to tackle hostile activity, commanders said.

"The breadth, complexity and volume of these operations has continued to grow at a rate that I'm not sure that us, or our partners internationally, or any intelligence community predicted," Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter-Terrorism Command, told reporters.

"We are increasingly seeing these three states, but not just these three states, undertaking threat to life operations in the United Kingdom."

The youngest person arrested or investigated on suspicion of involvement is aged in their "mid-teens", he added.

Vicki Evans, Counter Terrorism Policing's senior national co-ordinator, expressed concern other children may be encouraged online to carry out activities to earn money, without realising the implications of their actions.

"We really encourage people, parents, teachers, professionals just to be inquisitive," she said.

"If they're concerned, ask those questions, and if they think there's something they need to be concerned about, seek help and act, because we want to make sure that we're protecting people from inadvertently being drawn into this sort of activity."

The Metropolitan Police is now putting additional resources into tackling hostile state activity, with training for officers in "foreign interference" and hundreds taking part in recent exercises in how to respond.

"We're working with local force chiefs up and down the country to raise awareness and ensure that there really is an increased understanding about this threat," Ms Evans said.

Earlier this month, two low-level criminals were among five people convicted of involvement in an arson attack on a warehouse storing communications equipment for Ukraine.

Police said the attack had been ordered by Russia's Wagner group, and that one of the ringleaders, 21-year-old Dylan Earl, had been plotting to kidnap its owner, a Russian dissident.

Metropolitan Police Mugshot photos side by side of Dylan Earl (left) and Jake Reeves (right)Metropolitan Police
Small-time drug dealer Dylan Earl, left, and Jake Reeves were among the group that carried out the arson attack

The Met said it was also dealing with a "high volume" of threats from Iran, focused on those considered to be opponents of the Islamic Republic.

"We know that they are continuing to try and sow violence on the streets of the United Kingdom, they too are to some extent relying on criminal proxies to do that," Mr Murphy said.

The use of criminal proxies offers "arms-length deniability," according to Ms Evans, who blames the rising threat on the "continued erosion of the rule-based international order".

The warnings came in the first specific briefing for journalists from counter-terrorism police on the threat of hostile state activity.

"Foreign regimes are more willing than ever to undertake aggressive actions overseas," Ms Evans said.

Retrial for spy chief who assassinated South Korean president begins

16 July 2025 at 06:36
Watch: 1979 news report on the assassination of President Park Chung-hee

Two gunshots.

That is how Yoo Seok-sul begins recounting the night of Friday, 26 October, 1979.

A former security guard in the Korea Central Intelligence Agency, or KCIA, as the South's spy division was known, Yoo has many stories to tell. But this is perhaps the most infamous.

He remembers the time - nearly 19:40 - and where he had been sitting - in the break room. He was resting after his shift guarding the entrance to the low-rise compound where President Park Chung-hee entertained his most trusted lieutenants. They called it the "safe house".

In his 70s now, wiry with sharp eyes, Yoo speaks hesitantly at first - but it comes back to him quickly. After the first shots, more gunfire followed, he says. The guards were on high alert but they waited outside for orders. The president's security detail was inside, along with the KCIA's top agents.

Then Yoo's boss, a KCIA officer who oversaw security for the safe house, stepped outside. "He came over and asked me to bury something in the garden." It was two guns, bullets and a pair of shoes. Flustered, Yoo followed orders, he says.

He did not know who had been shot, and he didn't ask.

"I never imagined that it was the president."

National Archives of Korea Kim Jae-kyu sitting between soldiers during the trial in 1979National Archives of Korea
Kim Jae-kyu in military court during the trial in 1979

The guns Yoo buried were used to assassinate Park Chung-hee, who had ruled South Korea for the previous 18 years, longer than any president before or since. The man who shot him was his long-time friend Kim Jae-gyu, who ran the much-feared KCIA, a pillar of Park's dictatorship.

That Friday shook South Korea, ending Park Chung-hee's stifling rule and ushering in another decade under the military. Kim was executed for insurrection, along with five others.

Now, 46 years later, that night is back in the spotlight as a court retries Kim Jae-gyu to determine if his actions amounted to treason. He has remained a deeply polarising figure - some see him as a killer blinded by power and ambition, others as a patriot who sacrificed himself to set South Korea on the path to democracy. The president he killed is no less divisive, lauded for his country's economic rise and reviled for his authoritarian rule.

Kim's family fought for the retrial, arguing that he cannot be remembered as a traitor. They will now have their day in the Seoul High Court just as impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol goes on trial for the same charge that sent Kim to the gallows.

Yoon's martial law order last December was short-lived but it threw up questions about South Korean democracy - and that may influence how the country sees a man who shot dead a dictator he claimed was on the brink of unleashing carnage.

Was Kim trying to seize power for himself or to spark a revolution, as he claimed in court?

Getty Images Park Chung-hee standing in front of a painting a flower vase  Getty Images
Park Chung-hee ruled South Korea for 18 years

When news of the shooting broke in the morning, it sent shockwaves through South Korea. Initial reports called it "accidental".

What was left of Park's coterie tried to make sense of what had happened. Kim had been a close ally since Park seized power in a coup in 1961. They shared a hometown and had started out together at the military academy.

Veteran journalist Cho Gab-je acknowledges that Kim seemed uncomfortable with some of Park's actions, but "there's no record that Kim actually acted on those concerns, no evidence he released political prisoners, clashed with Park, or submitted formal objections".

Kim told the court he had thought about killing Park at least three times. But history shows he supported Park as he tightened his grip, abolishing direct presidential elections and term limits, allowing him to control the National Assembly and even suspend constitutional rights.

"My brother was never the kind of person who would commit such an act just to become president," insists his sister Kim Jung-sook, who is now 86.

But he ran the KCIA, which was notorious for jailing, torturing and even framing innocent students, dissidents and opposition figures with false charges.

"They tortured people, fabricated charges, and imprisoned them… and if you criticised that, you'd get arrested too," says Father Ham Se-woong, who was imprisoned twice in the 1970s for criticising the government.

Kim was not a saviour many could accept. But that is the mantle he took on, according to court transcripts that were not widely reported at the time. He told the judges he believed it was imperative to stop Park, whose ruthlessness could plunge South Korea into chaos and cost them a critical ally, the United States.

"I do not wish to beg for my life, as I have found a cause to die for," he said, although he asked the court to spare his men who followed his orders - "innocent sheep", he called them. He said he had hoped to pave the way for a peaceful transition of power, which had eluded his country so far.

On hearing about this back then, even a fierce critic like Father Ham tried launching a campaign for him. "He wanted to prevent further bloodshed. That's why we had to save him," he says.

Father Ham ended up in prison again for his efforts, as the trial became a sensitive subject. The country was under martial law. Days after the trial started - on December 12 - the man who led the investigation into the assassination, General Chun Doo-hwan, seized power in a coup.

Suhnwook Lee/ BBC News A grey-haired Kim Jung-sook in a white blouse in front of stacked bookshelves.Suhnwook Lee/ BBC News
Kim Jung-sook has been fighting for years for a retrial of her brother's case

Proceedings in the military court moved at lightning speed. On 20 December, it convicted Kim of trying to seize power through murder, and six others of aiding him. Yoo was sentenced to three years in prison for hiding the guns.

By 20 May the following year, Kim had lost his final appeal. Four days later he was hanged, along with three others. One was spared and another had been executed earlier. Kim died as the army brutally suppressed a pro-democracy uprising, killing 166 civilians in the city of Gwangju.

"I got the impression that Chun Doo-hwan was trying to quickly wrap up anything related to the previous regime in order to seize power for himself," says Kim Jung-sook.

She says she saw her brother just once through all this, a week before he was executed: "I think he sensed it might be the last time. So he bowed deeply to my mother as a goodbye."

Yoo survived but he says after he was free, he was followed for years: "I couldn't get a job. Even when I returned to my hometown, they kept tailing me. I couldn't say a word about the case." He now works as an attendant in a private parking lot outside Seoul.

Ms Kim says her family did not speak up until about 10 years ago. After South Korea became a democracy, Park's image recovered, improved by time and wealth. His daughter became president, often defending his legacy for its economic record.

It was her downfall - following massive protests over a corruption scandal - that threw open the door to revisit Kim Jae-gyu's conviction.

National Archives of Korea Kim Jae-gyu, left, shaking hands with Park Chung-hee - both of them in suits in a black and white photo.National Archives of Korea
Kim Jae-gyu (L) and Park Chung-hee were close friends

"This case should never have gone to a military court because the assassination happened before martial law was declared," says Lee Sang-hee, the lawyer in charge of his retrial. She adds that the "sloppy transcripts" would have influenced his appeal because the defence was not allowed to record the proceedings.

"When I reviewed the documents, I couldn't understand how he could be convicted of insurrection when there was such little evidence. And above all, there was torture," she says, which the court cited as a valid reason when it agreed in February to a retrial.

It accepted Kim's statement, which he submitted in his unsuccessful appeal in 1980, alleging "the investigators beat me indiscriminately and used electric torture by wrapping an EE8 phone line around my fingers".

Reports at the time alleged that Kim Jae-gyu's wife had been detained and tortured too, along with her brother-in-law and brothers, which officials at the time denied.

Now in her 90s, his wife has always been opposed to a retrial.

"She never talked about what she had gone through and trembles even now," Kim Jung-sook, the spy chief's sister, says.

Ms Kim is resolute in her defence of her brother, repeatedly emphasising that "he was a man of integrity".

"Because we believe that he did not kill the president and his security chief for personal gain, we have been able to endure all of this."

Kim family A black and white family photo of Kim Jae-gyuKim family
Kim Jae-gyu is the first man standing from the left in this old family photo

The security chief was Cha Ji-cheol, who had been growing closer to Park, and often clashed with Kim as the two men vied for the president's ear.

In the weeks before the assassination, they differed on how to deal with Kim Young-sam, an outspoken opposition leader who Park saw as a threat. In an interview with the New York Times, the opposition leader had called on the US to end Park's dictatorship. The National Assembly, controlled by Park, expelled him.

The decision kicked off huge protests in Kim Young-Sam's strongholds. Cha wanted to crush the uprising, while Kim Jae-gyu advised caution, which would also reassure a Washington that was growing impatient with Park's rule.

Kim told the court he warned against firing at protesters, which would only ignite anger - to which Cha said, "three million died in Cambodia, and nothing happened. If we kill one million demonstrators, we'll be fine".

That evening at the safe house, the public broadcaster reported that the US ambassador was going to meet Kim Young-sam.

An angry Park criticised Kim Jae-gyu for not arresting the opposition leader. When Kim pushed back, the court heard, Park retorted: "The agency should be feared, it should prosecute those who deserve it."

Alamy Kim holding a gun as he re-enacts the scene of the shooting, while investigating officers watch .Alamy
Kim holding a gun as he re-enacts the scene of the shooting, while investigating officers watch

They sat across from each other, sipping Scotch and sharing a meal. Park sat between two women, a popular singer and a young model. Cha and Park's chief of staff were also there.

The terse exchanges continued, and mid-way through a love song, Kim Jae-gyu said, he pulled out the gun, aimed it at Park and told him he needed to change his politics: "Sir, you should approach things with a more magnanimous vision - so this is not just about you."

Turning to a shocked Cha, he cursed as he pulled the trigger, wounding him in the hand as Cha tried to block the shot. Then Kim fired into Park's chest. Outside, acting on his orders, KCIA agents shot dead the president's security detail - two were eating dinner, and two were on standby.

Kim tried shooting the president again, but the pistol malfunctioned. He ran out to one of his men, who gave him a revolver. Having returned, he killed Cha a fleeing Cha, walked towards Park, who was leaning against the model as he bled, and shot him in the head.

The two women left unharmed after being paid to keep quiet. The president's chief of staff was never targeted.

Kim then went to the next building, where the army chief he had summoned earlier was waiting. The men left in a car for KCIA headquarters.

It's likely he didn't argue with Kim - even a shoe-less, suspiciously rattled Kim was powerful, and his men guarded the compound. But en route he was persuaded to go to army headquarters, where he was arrested soon after midnight.

Kim told the court he had planned to use the army, perhaps even impose martial law, to complete the "revolution" and transition to democracy.

This is the crux of the retrial. The prosecution had argued it was a premeditated coup, while Kim claimed far loftier motives.

But sceptics point to the lack of planning. The gun that jammed was plucked from a safe before dinner, there were enough witnesses to derail the plot, and he did not seem to have a strategy for his "revolution". He did not even make it to the KCIA headquarters.

Alamy A black and white photo of Kim Jae-gyu  Alamy
Kim Jae-gyu during the trial

They say it may well have been an impulsive act of revenge by a man whose power was waning.

That's what the army general investigating the murders alleged two days later - Kim, second only to the president, had so much to lose as Park sidelined him in favour of Cha Ji-cheol.

The following month, he also charged Kim with attempting a coup.

"For a charge of insurrection to be proved, the accused must forcibly halt the function of constitutional institutions, but that didn't happen in this case," says lawyer Lee Sang-hee.

Unlike in impeached president Yoon's case - where the court will decide if he directed the military to block parliamentary proceedings - there is no evidence Kim Jae-gyu tried to seize control of state institutions, she argues.

For South Korea though, the retrial is more than that. Many see it as a defining moment to reflect on the trajectory of a democracy threatened just six months ago.

It is also an opportunity to re-evaluate Park Chung-hee, whose legacy some say is overstated. "His achievements were real, but so were his faults," says Kim Duol, an economics professor at Myungji University. "Would South Korea's growth have been possible without such an authoritarian regime?"

Kim's family hopes his retrial will shed a kinder light on his legacy. Killing Park was "a painful decision", Kim had told the court, but he had "shot at the heart of Yusin [the regime] with the heart of a wild beast".

Is that enough to make the former spy chief a hero? That is a question the court cannot answer.

Under-pressure BBC boss getting tough after controversies

16 July 2025 at 04:39

The past weeks have put serious pressure on Tim Davie's leadership. Today, I saw that up close.

For a usually very slick performer, he looked shaken. I wanted to know if he had considered resigning in the face of the recent controversies. He said he had not, but admitted it had been "a very, very tough time".

Earlier Davie had launched the BBC's annual report on Zoom, with journalists remotely asking questions in the Q&A box and no cameras allowed into the room for us to record and use his answers.

We were considering making clear to our audiences that - on such an important day for the BBC - nobody from the top of the corporation was being put in front of a camera to be interviewed on a range of issues, which were both of public interest and specifically relevant to licence fee payers.

Hours later, Mr Davie agreed to a face-to-face interview, which took place just after it was announced that the BBC and Banijay UK were not renewing John Torode's contract as MasterChef presenter.

I usually interview the director general at times of crisis for the BBC. That's the way these things work. To be fair to him, he always makes it clear that my job is to ask him questions without fear or favour. He knows part of his job is to be held to account.

But it's been a very bumpy time, even by BBC standards. The Gaza documentary with a child narrator who later turned out to be the son of a Hamas official, another film about doctors in Gaza pulled before transmission, issues around the BBC livestreaming the punk duo Bob Vylan's set at Glastonbury and the growing controversy surrounding MasterChef - all land at his door.

His leadership has been called into question, not least recently by the culture secretary. She called it a "series of catastrophic failures".

'I felt pressure'

It was obvious today it had been taking its toll. As director general, he's insistent and wholehearted in his defence of the BBC and his role leading that. But as a man, you can sense the last weeks have been testing.

His interview style is to look straight at the person doing the interview. He usually measures his words carefully, although today, on a couple of points he was a little less fluent. Some of his answers - for example when he was talking about he and his team making "clear, strong decisions" in the face of challenges - sounded a bit rehearsed.

However, an unexpected by-product of him sounding less confident was that he also managed to sound, at times, more human. The last week has clearly left him frustrated and for once, he let that show. There was no hiding it when he said rather plainly: "I felt pressure".

It brings to mind the recent public debate about Rachel Reeves and her tears in the Commons. Whatever we think of the decisions made by those in public service, what impact does it have on them as people when they are under such intense scrutiny. Should that even matter?

But they don't call him Teflon Tim for nothing - and he survives, for the moment. Even if he is wounded.

The BBC today was signalling it is getting a grip on bad behaviour in the workplace. It's something Samir Shah, chairman of the BBC, promised after the Huw Edwards scandal.

Now Gregg Wallace is gone, John Torode is gone. Three staff members have been asked to "step back" from their roles after Glastonbury. And we've now learnt that several people have been sacked in light of the BBC's culture review.

The clear messaging: Teflon Tim and his team are getting tough.

Frank Gardner: Three key questions after Afghan data leak

16 July 2025 at 04:10
EPA A monument inscribed with the word Afghanistan outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in LondonEPA

It has been more than three years since a British official inadvertently leaked a dataset containing the names and contact details of thousands of people who were attempting to flee possible Taliban revenge attacks.

In April 2024, the government began relocating some of them to the UK - but we are only learning this now because extraordinary lengths were gone to in order to prevent the breach and subsequent response coming to light.

As the full picture is finally disclosed to the public, these are the questions still facing Britain's security establishment.

What can be done about the danger of leaks?

It has happened before and it will doubtless happen again.

Think Wikileaks, Snowden and all the countless cyber-hacks and ransomware suffered by companies on an almost daily basis.

Data leaks are not new but sometimes – and it is quite possible that this is one of those times – they can be life-threatening.

The revelations that have come to light will have sent a chill down the spine of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Afghans who fear retribution by the Taliban.

For those already spirited out to Britain, it means they can probably never go back home as long as the Taliban are in power.

For the 600 former Afghan government soldiers and their estimated 1,800 dependants still in Afghanistan, the news will mean they are unlikely to breathe easily until the UK delivers on its promise to get them safely out.

It's important to bear in mind that all this was not the result of some deliberate, sophisticated cyber attack by a state-backed hacking group.

It evolved from an unintentional mistake made by just one individual working for the Ministry of Defence.

What does this say about Britain's moral responsibility?

UK forces were deployed to Afghanistan, alongside US and Nato allies, over a period of almost 20 years, from October 2001 to August 2021.

During this time they worked closely with their Afghan government allies, relying heavily on their local knowledge and expertise.

The most sensitive area was in Special Forces (SF), for whom the Taliban reserved a particular hatred.

When Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in the summer of 202, there was a realisation that those now-former Afghan SF soldiers and their families were a priority for relocation to safety.

But thousands more Afghans also risked their lives to work with the British over those two decades.

Many did it out of patriotism, believing they were working to secure a better Afghanistan.

Some did it for the money, some did it because they trusted Britain to safeguard their lives and their personal details.

A data breach like this now threatens to undermine any future promises by a British official who says: "Trust us, your data is safe with us."

Was there a cover-up?

When this "unauthorised data breach" was finally discovered, a full 18 months after it occurred, the UK government obtained what is known as a super-injunction, preventing its publication by the media.

A super-injunction is so draconian that it means you cannot even report the fact that you cannot report it.

That measure has only just been lifted now, following an independent review.

There is a logical case to be made that this measure was necessary to protect the lives of those affected by the data breach.

However, questions are now being raised about whether the injunction - applied for by the previous, Conservative government - might also have been for political purposes.

The High Court judge who lifted the super-injunction, Mr Justice Chamberlain, said that it had "had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy".

Stop being negative about savers buying shares, Reeves tells business leaders

16 July 2025 at 05:02
Getty Images Chancellor Rachel Reeves wearing a green jacketGetty Images
Chancellor Rachel Reeves

The chancellor has told the financial industry it must change the "negative" narrative around savers investing money in stocks and shares in order to help grow the economy.

In a speech, Rachel Reeves said: "For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks without giving proper weight to the benefits."

The government is working with the financial regulator to provide support for would-be investors.

It comes as Reeves stepped back from cutting the tax-free limit on cash Individual Savings Accounts (Isas) after a backlash from lenders - she is keen to shift some of the £300bn in these accounts to being invested in the UK and its companies.

At the annual Mansion House dinner in the City of London, Reeves told business leaders: "Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves."

She said the government is consulting with the Financial Conduct Authority "to introduce a brand-new type of targeted support for consumers ahead of the new financial year".

The government is under pressure to ignite growth after figures revealed the UK economy shrank in May following a contraction in April.

Meanwhile, U-turns on welfare benefits and the winter fuel allowance have stoked speculation there could be tax rises in the Budget later this year.

Reeves said the new measures would help "boost retail investment so that more savers can reap the benefits of UK economic success".

But the value of investments in assets such as shares can go down as well as up, and savers have tended to be cautious over the risks involved, although the spending power of savings can be eroded by rising prices.

The government has in the past encouraged the public to buy shares in UK companies, including in 2013 when Royal Mail was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

But perhaps the most famous example was in 1986, when the state-owned British Gas was privatised and Margaret Thatcher's government launched the "tell Sid" campaign. TV adverts featured characters urged each other to "tell Sid" about the chance to buy shares in British Gas.

In reference to her recent travails - including a tearful appearance in the House of Commons - Reeves said that during a visit to a school, a girl had asked her what job she would do if she could have any job in the world.

"Given the events of the last few weeks, I suspect many of you would sympathise if I had said "anything but chancellor"," she joked with the audience. "But I didn't."

In her speech, Reeves said she would "continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months".

She also provided more details about changes to the UK's financial services sector including reforming regulation.

"In too many areas, regulation still acts as a boot on the neck of businesses," she said. "Choking off the enterprise and innovation that is the lifeblood of growth."

She said regulators in other sectors "must take up the call I make this evening not to bend to the temptation of excessive caution but to boldly regulate for growth in the service of prosperity across our country".

Adolescence star Owen Cooper becomes Emmys' youngest ever nominee

16 July 2025 at 02:19
Getty Images Woman in white and black ensambleGetty Images
Quinta Brunson plays Philadelphia teacher Janine Teagues in the show Abbott Elementary

Severance, The Penguin, and The White Lotus lead the nominations for this year's Emmy TV awards.

Britt Lower, Quinta Brunson, Harrison Ford and Jeremy Allen White are among the stars competing for the top prizes for acting.

The Studio, The Bear, Abbott Elementary and Shrinking are among the contenders in the comedy categories.

The best TV shows and actors of the past year will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 14 September.

Here is the full list of nominees announced on Tuesday.

The most nominated shows

The most nominated shows

27 - Severance

24 - The Penguin

23 - The White Lotus

23 - The Studio

16 - The Last of Us

14 - Andor

14 - Hacks

Getty Images Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper attend Netflix's "Adolescence" ATAS Event at Television Academy's Wolf Theatre at the Saban Media Center on 27 May, 2025 in North Hollywood, California.Getty Images
British drama Adolescence stars Stephen Graham (left) and Owen Cooper

Major categories

Outstanding drama series

  • Andor (Disney+)
  • The Diplomat (Netflix)
  • The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Paradise (Hulu)
  • The Pitt (HBO Max)
  • Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
  • The White Lotus (HBO Max)

Outstanding comedy series

  • Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • The Bear (Hulu)
  • Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)

Outstanding limited or anthology series

  • Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Black Mirror (Netflix)
  • Dying for Sex (Hulu)
  • Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • The Penguin (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

  • Sterling K Brown - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Gary Oldman - Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
  • Pedro Pascal - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Adam Scott - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Noah Wyle - The Pitt (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

  • Kathy Bates - Matlock (CBS)
  • Sharon Horgan - Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
  • Britt Lower - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Bella Ramsey - The Last of Us (HBO Max)
  • Keri Russell - The Diplomat (Netflix)

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

  • Adam Brody - Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Seth Rogen - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Jason Segel - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Martin Short - Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Jeremy Allen White - The Bear (Hulu)

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

  • Uzo Aduba - The Residence (Netflix)
  • Kristen Bell - Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
  • Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Ayo Edebiri - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Jean Smart - Hacks (HBO Max)

Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Colin Farrell - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Stephen Graham - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Jake Gyllenhaal - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Bryan Tyree Henry - Dope Thief (Apple TV+)
  • Cooper Koch - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)

Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Cate Blanchett - Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
  • Meghan Fehy - Sirens (Netflix)
  • Rashidah Jones - Black Mirror (Netflix)
  • Cristin Milioti - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Michelle Williams - Dying for Sex (Hulu)
Getty Images Hannah Einbinder at the 2025 PaleyFest LA "Hacks" Screening held at Dolby Theatre on 28 March, 2025 in Hollywood, CaliforniaGetty Images
Hannah Einbinder portrays Ava Daniels, a down-on-her-luck comedy writer, in Hacks

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

  • Zach Cherry - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Walton Goggins - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Jason Isaacs - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • James Marsden - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Sam Rockwell -The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Tramell Tillman - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • John Turturro - Severance (Apple TV+)

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

  • Patricia Arquette - Severance (Apple TV+)
  • Carrie Coon - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Katherine LaNasa - The Pitt (HBO Max)
  • Julianne Nicholson - Paradise (Hulu)
  • Parker Posey - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Natasha Rothwell - The White Lotus (HBO Max)
  • Aimee Lou Wood - The White Lotus (HBO Max)

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

  • Ike Barinholtz - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Colman Domingo - The Four Seasons (Netflix)
  • Harrison Ford - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Jeff Hiller - Somebody Somewhere (HBO Max)
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Michael Urie - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
  • Bowen Yang - Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

  • Liza Colón-Zayas - The Bear (Hulu)
  • Hannah Einbinder - Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Kathryn Hahn - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Janelle James - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Catherine O'Hara - The Studio (Apple TV+)
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph - Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • Jessica Williams - Shrinking (Apple TV+)
Getty Images Jeremy Allen White attends a dinner for the cast and producers of "The Bear" at Musso & Frank Grill on June 9, 2025, in Hollywood, California.Getty Images
Jeremy Allen White recently reprised his role as chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto in series four of The Bear

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Javier Bardem - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • Bill Camp - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Owen Cooper - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Rob Delaney - Dying For Sex (Hulu)
  • Peter Sarsgaard - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Ashley Walters - Adolescence (Netflix)

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

  • Erin Doherty - Adolescence (Netflix)
  • Ruth Negga - Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
  • Deirdre O'Connell - The Penguin (HBO Max)
  • Chloë Sevigny - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
  • Jenny Slate - Dying For Sex (Hulu)
  • Christine Tremarco - Adolescence (Netflix)

Outstanding reality competition programme

  • The Amazing Race (CBS)
  • RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV)
  • Survivor (CBS)
  • Top Chef (Bravo)
  • The Traitors (NBC)

Outstanding talk series

  • The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Getty Images Seth RogenGetty Images
Hollywood satire The Studio is Seth Rogen's latest venture

John Torode sacked as MasterChef host after racist language allegation upheld

16 July 2025 at 00:45
BBC A picture of John Torode in a blue shirtBBC

John Torode has been sacked as MasterChef presenter after it emerged that an allegation against him of using racist language was upheld.

On Monday, the TV chef said he had "no recollection" of the incident, adding: "I do not believe that it happened."

But on Tuesday, it emerged he had been dismissed.

It plunges the BBC cooking show into a deeper crisis, after more than 40 separate allegations against Torode's co-host Gregg Wallace were also upheld as part of an inquiry into his conduct.

The controversy over MasterChef started last year, when BBC News first revealed claims of inappropriate sexual language against Wallace.

Wallace was sacked last week as dozens more people came forward to BBC News with allegations against him. He has always denied the claims.

Men who felled Sycamore Gap tree in act of 'sheer bravado' jailed

16 July 2025 at 00:13
Northumbria Police Mugshots of the men. Graham is balding with brown dishevelled hair and a ginger beard. Carruthers has short fair hair and a ginger stubble beard.Northumbria Police
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers denied criminal damage at their trial but have since made admissions

Two men who chopped down the "irreplaceable" Sycamore Gap tree in an act of "sheer bravado" have each been jailed for four years and three months.

Daniel Michael Graham 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, were convicted of criminal damage after filming themselves using a chainsaw to illegally fell the landmark tree by Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.

Sentencing them at Newcastle Crown Court, Mrs Justice Lambert rejected a claim of "drunken stupidity" and said, while a full motive was not clear, felling the tree and the ensuing outrage gave the men "some sort of thrill".

The National Trust, which owned the more than 100-year-old tree, said the landmark could "never be replaced".

The pair, whose friendship imploded in the aftermath as the public revulsion became clear to them, drove to the site under the cover of darkness in the early hours of 28 September 2023.

They used the winds of Storm Agnes to help them topple the tree on to the Unesco World Heritage Site wall, the court heard.

The value of the tree was disputed with prosecutors saying it was worth about £458,000 and Graham's team claiming it to be about £150,000, but Mrs Justice Lambert said the exact financial price did not really matter.

Prosecutors said a video was filmed of the moment the Sycamore Gap tree was felled

The judge said the tree was a landmark of Northumberland and "symbol of the untamed beauty" of the landscape around Hadrian's Wall.

It was a place of "peace and tranquillity" which people returned to year after year, the judge said, adding it held great personal significance to many.

She said Carruthers used spray paint and a chainsaw to mark and then cut a wedge out of the tree, while Graham filmed it on his mobile phone.

Mrs Justice Lambert said a full motive was not clear, but she was "confident a major factor was sheer bravado," adding the action of felling the tree and the outrage it caused gave the men "some sort of thrill".

The men then "revelled in [their] notoriety" in the aftermath, the judge said.

She also rejected Carruthers' claim that he was drunk as the mission required skill and coordination as well as a "high degree" of planning by the two "experienced tree surgeons".

Watch: 'Felling the tree gave you a thrill' judge tells Sycamore Gap duo

The tree had been planted in the late 1800s to be a "feature in the landscape", fulfilling that ambition and more by becoming a much-loved visitor destination and landmark at the former frontier of the Roman Empire.

It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and was popular with photographers and artists.

In a statement read to the court, National Trust manager Andrew Poad said: "This iconic tree can never be replaced."

He said the trust cared for the "totemic symbol" on behalf of the nation and it "belonged to the people".

PA Media Aerial view of a large sycamore tree lying severed from its stump. It is lying partly over a stone wall and several police officers are nearby looking at it.PA Media
The tree's felling sparked global outrage

The tree was a "place of sanctuary" for many and its destruction led to an "unprecedented" outpouring of love and emotion, Mr Poad said, with the "overwhelming sense of loss and confusion felt across the world".

He said the reason for the "malicious" and "mindless" vandalism was "beyond comprehension" and the way it was felled to land across the Roman wall was "reckless in the extreme".

But, he added that there were "signs of life" with shoots emerging from the stump, while seeds taken from the tree had been used to grow saplings which would be placed around the country.

Kris Hodgetts A time-lapse at night showing circles of white stars on a dark purple sky behind the silhouette of a tree.Kris Hodgetts
The tree, which was popular to photograph, had been planted in the 1800s to be a feature on the landscape

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said there had been "significant planning" with the tree felled in a "deliberate and professional" manner.

The court heard both men had since admitted involvement in the expedition to probation officers.

In mitigation, Carruthers' barrister Andrew Gurney said the mechanic from Wigton would carry the burden of regret for his "stupid act" as a "personal penance" for the rest of his life.

Mr Gurney also said many people had asked why he did it, to which the reply was: "Unfortunately it is no more than drunken stupidity."

Christopher Knox, for Graham, said the groundworker from near Carlisle had had multiple struggles and mental health problems and had made a "serious attempt" to take his own life in December which resulted in a long hospital stay and then him being remanded into prison.

He also said people had attacked Graham's caravan and sent him hate mail showing "unpleasant" and "malign intent" towards him.

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Trump woke me up for a surprise interview - these are the key takeaways

15 July 2025 at 18:42
Listen: ‘I don't like dwelling’ on the assasination attempt, Trump tells BBC

Donald Trump makes a habit of calling reporters out of the blue. The US president seems to prefer an off-the-cuff telephone conversation to a sit-down interview on camera.

On Monday evening it was my turn. And I'll be frank with you - I was asleep when the White House rang.

I'd spent the best part of five days believing there was an outside chance I would get an interview with him, to mark a year since the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

My reporting from that shooting had made global headlines and probably caught the president's attention. So I judged that perhaps that connection might be a way of securing a presidential interview - pretty rare things for foreign news organisations in the US.

On Sunday night I was told I was minutes away from the call so my team and I were standing by ready to record, but it didn't come.

By last night, I'd given up on the interview happening and after a long few weeks on the road without a day off, I was exhausted and taking a nap. Then the phone rang.

I blearily answered, and the voice of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came over the speaker: "Hi Gary, I'm here with the president, here you go."

I dashed into my living room, scrambling for my digital recorder; the line dropped and I thought I'd lost it. But they came back on the line and I spent almost 20 minutes speaking to Trump about everything from that fateful night in Butler, to his frustrations with Vladimir Putin, to his new-found belief in Nato and to his view of the UK.

Here are my five key takeaways from our surprise conversation.

1. Trump shows a different side, touching on Butler

He was very reflective on a couple of things and he sounded pretty vulnerable talking about the assassination attempt - it's clear he's uncomfortable talking about that.

For a president often seen in public shooting from the hip, and loved by his supporters for doing so, there were moments of reflection and some long pauses before answers that are rarely seen.

When asked if the assassination attempt had changed him, the president conveyed a hint of vulnerability as he said he tries to think about it as little as he can.

"I don't like dwelling on it because if I did, it would be, you know, might be life-changing, I don't want it to have to be that."

Elaborating, he said he liked "the power of positive thinking, or the power of positive non-thinking".

There was also a very long pause when I asked him if he trusted Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Eventually he replied: "I trust almost nobody to be honest with you."

2. No commitment to US deportation numbers

Turning to domestic American politics, I asked whether the president's plan for mass deportations was working - both in terms of speed, and given that some individuals were being swept up who the president perhaps wouldn't want to see deported.

The president insisted his team had done a "great job" at fulfilling his campaign promises, citing the drastic decrease in migrants crossing into the US from southern neighbour Mexico.

Some of Trump's team have expressed frustration that deportations are being carried out too slowly. When I pushed him on the question of how many deportations in this second presidential term would mark a success, Trump refused to give a figure.

"Well I don't put a number on but I want to get the criminals out quickly, and we're doing that, as you know," he said. "We're bringing them to El Salvador, lots of other places."

3. More frustration with Putin

Trump expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin - capping off a day in which he threatened to hit Moscow's economy with secondary sanctions if a deal over the war in Ukraine was not reached within 50 days.

Having campaigned on a promise to quickly end the war, Trump seemed perplexed that he had not yet managed to strike an agreement with his Russian counterpart to end the years-long conflict.

He again indicated there was a gap between words and actions on Putin's part: "I thought we had a deal done four times and then you go home, and you see, just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv. I said: 'What the hell was that all about?'"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders have long accused Putin of not being serious about ending the war. To them, feelings of doubt will be nothing new.

But, when I asked Trump whether he had finished with the Russian leader, he continued to leave the door open: "I'm not done with him, but I'm disappointed in him."

Listen: I'm 'disappointed but not done' with Putin, Trump tells BBC

4. New tone on Nato

I pointed out to Trump that he once suggested Nato was obsolete, and he replied that he now thought the Western military alliance was "becoming the opposite of that".

He was fresh from hosting Nato chief Mark Rutte - a man he seems to be able to work well with. The pair exchanged warm words in front of the world's cameras, and announced that the US would sell weapons to Nato which would then be passed on to Kyiv.

During our call, Trump indicated that he was shaking off his grudge that his country spent proportionately more on defence than its allies.

"It was very unfair because the United States paid for almost a hundred percent of it, but now they're paying their own bills and I think that's much better," he said, appearing to refer to a pledge last month by Nato members to ramp up defence spending to 5% of each country's economic output.

"We changed Nato a lot," he told me.

5. Respect for Starmer and UK

Trump emphasised his respect for the UK and its prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, with whom he last month signed an agreement to remove some trade barriers. "I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he's a liberal," Trump explained.

Trump emphasised that the relationship between the two countries was just as "special" as many Britons like to believe, adding that he believed the UK would fight alongside the US in a war.

He sounded relaxed over perceived slights against him. Although his state visit to the UK later this year will not entail a speech to Parliament, he was not insistent that lawmakers be recalled. "Let them go and have a good time," he said.

Trump labelled his future host King Charles "a great gentleman". He shrugged off a recent speech that was given to Canada's parliament by the monarch that was seen as an endorsement of Canadian sovereignty in the face of Trump's threats.

He even had a joke. "You have many different names you go by," he said. "England, if you want to cut off a couple of areas. And you go UK, and you have Britain and you have Great Britain. You got more names than any other country in history, I think."

Listen: World leaders have 'come to respect me', Trump tells BBC

Thames Water 'extremely stressed', warns boss

15 July 2025 at 19:27
Getty Images Thames Water worker Getty Images

Thames Water will "take at least a decade to turn around", its boss has said, as the struggling company posted huge annual losses.

Thames reported a loss of £1.65bn for the year to March, in which its debt pile climbed to £16.8bn.

The UK's largest water and waste company claimed "significant rainfall and high groundwater levels" led to pollution incidents increasing by more than a third, but said it had tried to address "many of the underlying causes of our poor performance".

The results come as bosses are set to be quizzed by MPs later, with the company's future still uncertain since fears it could collapse first emerged two years ago.

Thames serves about a quarter of the UK's population, mostly across London and parts of southern England, and employs 8,000 people.

Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said the company had made "good progress" on its performance, "despite the ongoing challenging financial situation".

But he firm continues to face heavy criticism over its performance in recent years, following a series of sewage discharges and leaks.

In May it was handed a a £122.7m fine, the biggest ever issued by the water industry regulator Ofwat, for breaching rules on sewage spills and shareholder payouts.

Thames said the number of pollution incidents increased to 470 from 350 in the last calendar year.

Mr Weston said "prolonged wet weather meant further rain had nowhere to go other than to inundate our ageing and fragile sewer network".

"Reducing pollutions and discharges is something we're really focused on, and we plan to invest record amounts in our waste network during the next five years," he added.

On Monday, Thames became the latest supplier to announce a hosepipe ban, which will begin next Tuesday for customers in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, most of Wiltshire and some parts of Berkshire.

The dire state of the company's finances emerged in June 2023, but Thames managed to secure a £3bn rescue loan earlier this year to stave off collapse.

However, the company suffered a major blow in its bid to secure its future in June when US private equity firm KKR pulled out of a further £4bn rescue deal.

The setback has increased the possibility that the company could collapse into a government-supervised administration.

Mr Weston said Thames recognised that its current gearing, which indicates how much a company depends on debt to fund its operations, was "too high".

"To address this, we are progressing with our senior creditors' plan to recapitalise the business which will see us return to a more stable financial foundation," he added.

"This will come with a requirement to re-set the regulatory landscape and acknowledge it will take at least a decade to turn Thames around."

Regardless of what happens to Thames or who owns the company, its water services will continue as normal.

Thousands of Afghans were moved to UK in secret scheme after data breach

15 July 2025 at 23:37
EPA The exterior of the Ministry of Defence's headquarters in central LondonEPA

The UK government set up a secret Afghan relocation scheme after the personal data of thousands of people was inadvertently leaked, it can be revealed.

A dataset containing the details of nearly 19,000 people who applied to move to the UK following the Taliban takeover of the country was released in error by a British defence official in February 2022.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) learned of the breach in August 2023 when some details were anonymously posted on Facebook.

Nearly 9,000 Afghans have arrived in the UK or are en route via the previously secret scheme, which is estimated to have cost £850m.

The existence of this confidential Afghan Response Route, which was established in April 2024, was kept confidential by an injunction but can now be reported following a High Court ruling on Tuesday.

The MoD declined to say how many have been arrested or killed as a result of the data breach.

Defence secretary John Healey is expected to confirm further details in the House of Commons later on Tuesday.

The unauthorised data breach was committed by an unnamed individual at the MoD. The data related to Afghans who worked with international forces following the 2001 invasion of the country.

As US troops completed their withdrawal in August 2021, the UK government set up Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which was designed to rapidly process applications by people who feared reprisals from the Taliban and move them to the UK.

But it emerged on Tuesday that thousands of those who applied for that scheme had sensitive personal data leaked by a British official.

Arap has already been heavily criticised in the years since it was launched, with a 2022 inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee finding it was a "disaster" and a "betrayal".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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BBC sacks several people over 'abusive behaviour'

15 July 2025 at 22:39
PA Media A picture of Gary Lineker holding a mic while wearing a dark suitPA Media

Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has emerged as the BBC's top paid presenter for the eighth year running, the corporation's annual report shows.

Lineker earned between £1,350,000 - £1,354,99 in the last financial year, followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball on £515,000 - £519,999.

Lineker's salary remained the same as last year's, while Zoe Ball's has dropped from the previous year's £950,000-£954,999, reflecting her departure from the Radio 2 breakfast show to take up a new role fronting Saturday afternoons on the station.

The report comes as the BBC confirmed that several members of staff have been dismissed following a review into the corporation's culture which was published in April.

Red barchart  showing the highest earners at the BBC and indicating whether their salaries have gone up or down. At the top is Gary Lineker, followed by Zoe Ball, Alan Shearer, Gregg James, Fiona Bruce, Nick Robinson, Stephen Nolan, Laura Kuenssberg, Vernon Kay and Justin Webb.

Samir Shah, chairman of the BBC, acknowledged that over the past year, there had been a "string of revelations" about abuses of power in the workplace.

The comments came following a report on Monday which upheld 45 allegations about TV presenter Gregg Wallace's behaviour on BBC show MasterChef.

Later on Monday, Wallace's co-host John Torode said a separate allegation against him of using racist language had also been upheld, as part of the same inquiry.

Star salaries

As usual, the BBC's annual report does not paint the full picture of what star presenters at the BBC earn.

A huge number are not listed because the corporation does not have to make public the salaries of stars who are paid through its commercial arm BBC Studios or via independent production companies.

Lineker signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day in May after 26 years in the hot seat and officially left the BBC.

He had been due to remain with the BBC to front coverage of the men's FA Cup and the World Cup, but in the end, left the corporation completely after apologising for sharing a social media post that included an illustration considered antisemitic.

His salary is still included in the BBC's latest annual report as he's only just left, but next year he will no longer be included.

Zoe Ball hosted her final Radio 2 breakfast show in December after six years in the slot, and earlier this year took up her new Saturday afternoon role.

Elsewhere, director general Tim Davie's salary has gone up by £20k from last year (£527) to £547k, representing a 3.8% pay rise.

Zoe Ball in the BBC Radio 2 studios in 2019
Zoe Ball signed off from her final Radio 2 Breakfast show in December

The BBC's licence fee is set by the culture secretary Lisa Nandy.

This year income generated by the licence fee increased from £3.7 to £3.8bn after inflation.

The report stated there was a drop in the number of households paying for the licence fee, from 23,131,000 in 2024 to 22,772,000 in 2025 - a drop of 359,000.

This represents a decline of 1.56%, compared with last year's figure of 1.26%.

That number is holding up fairly well, declining less quickly than might be expected given the competition from streaming services.

The report also revealed 50% of UK adults think the BBC is effective at providing news and current affairs that is impartial, an uptick of 5% on last year's 45% of those surveyed.

A further 63% of UK adults think the BBC is effective at providing news and current affairs is accurate, compared to last year's 59%.

The number of adults using BBC services weekly last year declined slightly from 75% to 74%, though 70% of under 16s use BBC services including TV, iPlayer, radio and online content on a weekly basis.

Of those platforms, iPlayer is the fastest growing platform for long-form content.

The report also showed that 10 out of 10 of Christmas Day top shows were from the BBC - but that includes King's speech which is also broadcast on other channels.

The BBC's annual report comes in the wake of a series of controversies faced by the corporation. As well as Masterchef, they include Glastonbury and the decision to broadcast Bob Vylan's set.

Earlier this year, a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

On Monday, a report concluded the documentary breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.

It stated the BBC bears "some responsibility" for "not being sufficiently proactive" in the early stages of the project, and for a "lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions" - although the the party with most responsibility for this failure".

Immigration status of benefit claimants published for first time

15 July 2025 at 23:23
Getty Images A shot of several objects including a pen, a smartphone open on a page to log in to a universal credit account, a calculator and two cash notes of £20 and £10 respectively. Getty Images

Data showing the immigration status of those claiming universal credit (UC) - a benefit designed to help both employed and unemployed people with living costs - has been published for the first time.

In June, nearly eight million people received universal credit, 83.6% of whom were British and Irish nationals.

More than a million claimants were born overseas, including around 700,000 EU citizens who arrived in the UK before Brexit and have the right to live and work in the UK.

Around 1.5% of claimants were refugees and 0.7% had arrived in the UK via safe routes such as those for Ukrainians and Afghans.

More than 75,000 claimants who are in the UK temporarily and would typically not be able to receive benefits are also claiming UC. The BBC has asked the Department for Work and Pensions for more information.

The figures were published following pressure from some Conservatives and the independent MP Rupert Lowe.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister wanted to see the number of claimants reduced and insisted the government was "toughening up the system" by doubling the time a migrant has to wait before qualifying for permanent - or settled - status in the UK.

They added that people in the UK illegally are not allowed to access UC.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the "staggering figures" were "clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system".

"Under Kemi Badenoch, we've set out a clear, common-sense position. This is about fairness, responsibility and protecting support for those who've contributed to this country," he said.

The Conservatives have said foreign nationals should not get the personal independence payment (Pip) disability benefit or the health element of UC.

Lowe said the publication of the data was a "huge win" for those who had "relentlessly pushed for this".

He described the levels of foreign nationals claiming UC as "absolute insanity" adding: "We cannot afford it. The country is BROKE."

Couple guilty of murdering two-year-old grandson

15 July 2025 at 23:53
BBC 'Breaking' graphicBBC

A grandfather and grandmother have been found guilty of murdering their two-year-old grandson.

Ethan Ives-Griffiths, two, from Garden City in Flintshire, died on 16 August 2021 after suffering a "catastrophic" head injury.

Ethan's grandfather Michael Ives, 47, and grandmother Kerry Ives, 46, were both convicted of murder after a trial at Mold Crown Court.

Ethan's mother Shannon Ives, 28, from Mold, was also found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child.

Michael and Kerry Ives have also been found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child.

During a seven week trial, the jury was shown CCTV installed in the Ives' garden which showed Ethan apparently struggling for balance while other children bounced around him.

In several clips, he was seen lying on his side and despite getting to his feet, was seen falling repeatedly.

At one point, his mother Shannon climbed on the trampoline and bounced, causing Ethan to fall.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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How CCTV exposed lies of couple who murdered their grandson

15 July 2025 at 19:52
Will Griffiths A young two-year-old boy with light brown hair smiling as he looks at a phone. He is wearing a black and blue stripped jumper, with a sofa and white wooden door behind himWill Griffiths
Ethan Ives-Griffiths was just two years old when he died from a brain injury inflicted by his grandparents

Two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths arrived at hospital covered in bruises, thin and malnourished, and with a severe brain injury.

There was nothing more the medical team could do to save him so, two days later on 16 August 2021, his life-support machine was turned off.

It would be nearly four years before what happened to Ethan was finally revealed in what senior detectives described as one of the most difficult investigations they had ever faced.

"What happened, happened behind closed doors," said Det Supt Chris Bell from North Wales Police.

"Nobody has been prepared to tell the truth."

Warning: This article contains details that readers may find distressing.

North Wales Police Two custody images. On the left, Michael Ives, who is 47, with light brown hair and a short light beard. He is wearing a grey sweater. On the right, Kerry Ives, 46, who has dyed purple hair, with greying roots visible. Both are staring straight into the camera with no expressionNorth Wales Police
Ethan's grandparents, Michael and Kerry Ives, entered into a pact in an attempt to keep what they did to the child a secret

Over the course of more than a month, jurors at Mold Crown Court learned how Ethan came to die.

Shockingly, it was at the hands of his own grandfather Michael Ives, with Ethan's grandmother Kerry making a pact with her husband to hide what happened.

On Tuesday, the pair were found guilty of murder and child cruelty.

Ethan's mother Shannon Ives also played her role, with the jury deciding she did nothing to prevent her son's death and, in her own way, was just as responsible for the cruelty he suffered.

She was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty.

North Wales Police Custody picture of 28-year-old Shannon Ives. She has long hair, dyed purple, with the top pulled back from her face. She is looking directly into the camera, and has a nose stud. There is a North Wales Police watermark logo on the imageNorth Wales Police
Ethan's mother Shannon Ives was also convicted for her role in the neglect suffered by her son

Ethan went to live with his grandparents towards the end of June 2021 after a domestic dispute which saw Shannon separate from her son's father, Will Griffiths.

A few weeks later, Shannon also moved in with her parents at their home on Kingsley Road in Garden City, Flintshire.

Kerry Ives told her trial that Ethan was a "a bubbly little child" and "chubby" when he arrived in their home, but that all changed over the next two months.

By the time Ethan was taken to hospital on the night of 14 August, he was painfully thin.

Doctors discovered he was covered in bruises and injury marks - 40 in total - as well as being dangerously dehydrated, with cracked, dry lips.

The jury heard nursing staff thought Ethan looked "very malnourished" with paediatric nurse Antonia Chaddar telling them he "seemed like a child that hadn't been looked after".

She added: "He had a pot belly you would see in very malnourished children. I see a lot of children who are ill and they don't look like that."

Family photograph The image shows a child smiling at the camera standing in what appears to be a crib. The background includes a partially visible door and walls painted in light colours.Family photograph
Ethan was on a child protection register, but social workers were unable to see him in the days before he died

Medical evidence also revealed the true extent of the head injuries suffered by Ethan.

Paediatric neurosurgeon at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, Jayaratnam Jayamohan, said the whole of Ethan's brain was very swollen and he was essentially "having a stroke to a whole half of his brain".

He told the trial any operation to save Ethan would have been "hopeful" at best and he was "probably going to die".

"Sadly, everything was stacked against him by this point."

Asked how the fatal injury suffered by Ethan would have been caused, Mr Jayamhohan said there were two potential explanations.

Either Ethan had been subjected to an impact or "physical contact" such as a fist, hand or knee, or he could have been "shaken vigorously".

A man looking directly into the camera, clean shaven, with a white shirt collar visible and the top of a dark blue suit jacket. There is dark black or grey background, with the man's face lit from right, and the left edge of his face in shadow
Det Supt Chris Bell said the evidence pointed to an almost "instantaneous" incident when only Michael and Kerry Ives were in the room

It was the job of North Wales Police's major incident team to find out who was responsible - and their focus was on Ethan's grandparents and mother.

Det Supt Bell said it was clear that the fatal injury Ethan suffered was no accident, and all the medical evidence pointed towards an almost instantaneous act.

They were also able to confirm that Ethan's mother Shannon had been upstairs on her phone at the time Ethan collapsed.

"The only people that were inside that room - and it's not in doubt, it's from their own evidence themselves - was Kerry and Michael," said Det Supt Bell.

He said he was convinced that the couple "developed a pact" between themselves to hide the truth, with an ambulance not called for nearly 20 minutes after Ethan collapsed.

"I think Kerry has stuck to a pact to defend Michael and only she can answer why that might be."

Both Kerry and Michael Ives denied they were responsible.

"I loved him," claimed Michael Ives in court.

When his wife was pressed, she told the jury: "It wasn't me or Michael."

Asked who it could have been, Kerry Ives responded: "Nobody."

During the trial, both grandparents attempted to deflect blame to their daughter, claiming she was quick tempered and would hit Ethan - an allegation she rejected.

Shannon Ives said she blamed her father Michael for Ethan's death, telling the court that she hated him and was scared of him.

North Wales Police The image shows an outdoor scene in a backyard. There is a white van parked near a wooden fence, with various items such as bags and boxes placed around it. A blue inflatable paddling pool leaning against the fence. In the foreground, there are two people: one woman sitting at a table on the left side of the image, and a woman on the right hand side, looking down the garden towards a man. He is stood in front of a trampoline, and holding a small child by his arm.North Wales Police
CCTV shown in court showed Michael Ives pulling Ethan from a trampoline in the back garden and carrying him the length of the lawn by one arm

While blame was being thrown everywhere by the Ives, the investigation team had crucial evidence - the family home was covered by CCTV cameras.

It was this footage that was critical to showing how Ethan was treated - in particular by Michael Ives.

"We had around 1,100 hours of footage from three different cameras front and back, 24 hours a day, that gave us a real insight, a detailed high-definition insight into what was happening to Ethan," explained Det Con Lee Harshey-Jones.

"The CCTV clearly shows Michael Ives was the main physical abuser of Ethan."

The image shows a person standing indoors in front of a window with partially open blinds. He is looking directly into the camera with a serious expression. He has short grey hair and a mostly grey, neatly trimmed, full facial beard, with a darker moustache. He is wearing a black suit jacket and a white shirt collar can be seen
Det Con Lee Harshey-Jones says without CCTV it would have proved difficult to get a real picture of what was happening to Ethan

Ethan is seen being placed or taken from the family car by his grandfather, held by just one arm.

It happened repeatedly, including harrowing footage of Ethan being pulled from a trampoline in the back garden and carried the length of the lawn by one arm.

"You held him like a rag doll, didn't you," barrister Gordon Cole KC asked Ives.

He replied: "Yeah."

Asked why he had carried him in that way, he said: "No reason. There's no excuse, I know."

Quizzed in court, Michael Ives admitted being "cruel and neglectful" but claimed he was "ashamed" about how he was captured carrying Ethan.

Other CCTV showed Ethan stood with his hands on his head, which the court was told was a hallmark punishment from his grandfather.

Shannon Ives told police Ethan would be made to stand in the corner of the room for up to two hours by her father and slapped if he moved.

All three, under oath and in front of the jury, accepted more should have been done to get Ethan help and protect him.

"I should've done more," agreed Michael Ives.

"Contacted the social worker, got him to a doctor's, got him checked."

Kerry Ives told the jury she regretted that she and Shannon did nothing to protect Ethan from Michael Ives "every day".

"I regret I didn't do more for the baby," she said.

The trial also heard how help was thwarted at every turn.

Ethan had been placed on a child protection register, which meant he should have been seen every 10 days by a social worker.

He was seen just once towards the end of July at the Ives' home, where it was noted he was a "small two-year-old boy who was quite shy".

A return visit was booked for 5 August, but the social worker was turned away on the doorstep and told the household was isolating due to Covid, and Ethan was asleep.

Another visit was booked for 12 August, but no-one answered the door or phone calls.

Quizzed in court Shannon Ives admitted these excuses were lies and that if social workers had seen "how skinny he was" then Ethan would have been taken into care.

A day later, events began to spiral out of control and a final opportunity to save Ethan was lost.

The toddler collapsed for the first time on 13 August, becoming unresponsive for at least five minutes before recovering.

Instead of seeking medical help, Ethan was taken shopping.

His mother also cancelled an appointment for a health visitor to see him the same day.

The next evening, the Ives were dialling 999 as Ethan lay motionless on the living room floor again.

This time he never recovered.

'I just can't forget about it'

The convictions mark the end of what police have described as an emotional investigation.

DC Harshey-Jones said it had affected the entire team: "I can't just leave it in the office and forget about it for the weekend. I'll take it home with me in my mind.

"It won't be a case I'll be able to forget easily."

"I personally feel very proud that we were able to do that for Ethan. He had his life ahead of him and he didn't deserve any of what happened to him."

Det Supt Bell said Michael and Kerry Ives stuck to their pact of silence and had shown no remorse, which he said left him "numb".

"It should have been the safest place for Ethan. It should have been somewhere he can be loved, where he can express himself, where he can develop a safe space to have fun," he said.

"It wasn't the case. In fact it appears he was treated completely differently to everyone else and only Michael and Kerry can answer as to why that was."

  • If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story you can visit the BBC Action Line for details of organisations who can offer support

The full list of the BBC's highest-paid stars

15 July 2025 at 20:41
PA Gary Lineker talking into a BBC Sport micPA
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who left in May, is the corporation's top earner still, for the eighth year in a row

The BBC has published the salaries of its highest-paid stars as part of its annual report.

Ex-Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who departed in May after apologising for reposting a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration considered antisemitic, was again the corporation's top earner in the region of £1,350,000 - £1,354,99 - the same amount as the previous year.

He is followed by former Radio 2 breakfast host Zoe Ball, who also left her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show in December - three quarters of the way through the financial year meaning her salary is lower than last year - but having already earned approximately £515,000 - £519,999. In May, she began hosting a Saturday show on the same station.

Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer, in third place, took home £440,000 - £444,999, while in fourth, Radio 1 presenter Greg James received £425,000 - £429,999. Fifth on the list is Question Time host Fiona Bruce who earned £410,000 - £414,999. The wages of all three increased year-on-year.

BBC best-paid presenters 2024-25 graphic

Some famous BBC faces such as Rylan Clark, Claudia Winkleman, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon don't make the list as the BBC does not have to disclose the salaries of stars who are paid through production companies like BBC Studios , which is classed as a commercial entity.

Here are the list of presenters who earned more than £178,000, according to the BBC's accounts.

The ▼, ▲ and ➤ icons show whether their salary has moved up, down or remained the same. A ★ icon represents a presenter making a new appearance or re-entry onto the list.

Gary Lineker - £1,350,000 - £1,354,99

Match of the Day, Premier League, FA Cup, Sports Personality of the Year

2023/2024: £1,350,000-£1,354,999

2022/2023: £1,350,000-£1,354,999

2021/2022: £1,350,000-£1,354,999

Zoe Ball - £515,000 - £519,999

Radio 2's Zoe Ball Breakfast Show

2023/2024: £950,000-£954,999

2022/2023: £980,000-£984,999

2021/2022: £980,000-£984,999

Alan Shearer - £440,000 - £444,999

Match of the Day: Premier League, FA Cup

2023/2024: £380,000-£384,999

2022/2023: £445,000-£449,999

2021/2022: £450,000-£454,999

Greg James - £425,000 - £429,999

Radio 1 Breakfast Show

2023/2024: £415,000- £419,999

2022/2023: £395,000- £399,999

2021/2022: £390,000-£394,999

Fiona Bruce - £410,000 - £414,999

Question Time and presenting on BBC One

2023/2024: 405,000 - £409,000

2022/2023: £395,000-£399,999

2021/2022: £410,000-£414,999

Nick Robinson - £410,000 - £414,999

Radio 4's Today programme, Radio 4's Political Thinking podcast

2023/2024: £345,000 - £349,000

2022/2023: £275,000 - £279,999

2021/2022: £270,000-£274,999

Stephen Nolan - £405,000 - £409,999

The Nolan Show on Radio Ulster, Nolan Live on BBC One (Northern Ireland), The Stephen Nolan Show on 5 Live

2023/2024: £405,000-£409,999

2022/2023: £400,000-£404,999

2021/2022: £415,000-£419,999

Laura Kuenssberg - £395,000 - £399,999

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, documentary series

2023/2024: £325,000 - £329,999

2022/2023: £305,000 - £309,999

2021/2022: £260,000-£264,999

Vernon Kay - £390,000 - £394,999

Radio 2 mid-morning show, Radio 2's Dance Sounds of the 90s

2023/2024: £320,000 - £324,999

Justin Webb - £365,000 - £369,999

Radio 4's Today programme, Americast podcast

2023/2024: £320,000 – 324,999

2022/2023: £280,000 - £284,999

2021/2022: £255,000-£259,999

Scott Mills - £355,000 - £359,999

Radio 2 early afternoon show and now breakfast show, plus Pop Top 10 on BBC Sounds and other appearances.

2023/2024: £315,000 - £319,999

2022/2023: £300,000 - £304,999

2021/2022: £400,000-£404,999

Naga Munchetty - £355,000 - £359,999

BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live's Naga Munchetty Programme, UK general election

2023/2024: £345,000 - £349,999

2022/2023: £335,000 - £339,999

2021/2022: £365,000-£369,999

Sophie Raworth - £350,000 - £354,999

BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten. UK General Election

2023/2024: £325,000 - £329,999

2022/2023: £365,000 - £369,999

2021/2022: £305,000-£309,999

Clive Myrie - £335,000 - £339,999

BBC News at One, Six and Ten and UK General Election, Music Matters on Radio 3.

2023/2024: £310,000 - £314,999

2022/2023: £285,000 - £289,999

2021/2022: £255,000-£259,999

Mishal Husain - 325,000 - £329,999

Radio 4's Today programme, BBC One presenting, Today debates for Radio 4 and other projects. UK General Election debates

2023/2024: £340,000 - £344,999

2022/2023: £315,000 - £319,999

2021/2022: £275,000-£279,999

Mark Chapman - £325,000 - £329,999

Radio 5 Live Sport, Match of the Day 2, Challenge Cup, European Football Championships, Olympics

2023/2024: £260,000 - £264,999

2022/2023: £325,000 - £329,999

2021/2022: £250,000-£254,999

Amol Rajan - £315,000 - £319,999

Radio 4's Today programme, Amol Rajan Interviews, Radio 4’s Rethink, The Today Podcast

2023/2024: £310,000 - £314,999

2022/2023: £335,000 - £339,999

2021/2022: £325,000-£329,999

▲Jeremy Vine - £310,000 - £314,99

Radio 2 shows and News Election shows

2023/2024: £285,000 - £289,999

2022/2023: £285,000 - £289,999

2021/2022: £290,000-£294,999

Sara Cox - £310,000 - £314,99

Radio 2 early evening show. Various other engagements across public service

2023/2024: £315,000 – 319,999

2022/2023: £285,000 - £289,999

2021/2022: £275,000-£279,999

Nicky Campbell - £300,000 - £304,999

Radio 5 Live Nicky Campbell Show, Different

2023/2024: £295,000 - £299,999

2022/2023: £295,000 - £299,999

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Yesterday — 15 July 2025BBC | Top Stories

Thousands of Afghans relocated to UK under secret scheme after data breach

15 July 2025 at 21:19
EPA The exterior of the Ministry of Defence's headquarters in central LondonEPA

The UK government set up a secret Afghan relocation scheme after the personal data of thousands of people was inadvertently leaked, it can be revealed.

A dataset containing the details of nearly 19,000 people who applied to move to the UK following the Taliban takeover of the country was released in error by a British defence official in February 2022.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) learned of the breach in August 2023 when some details were anonymously posted on Facebook.

Nearly 9,000 Afghans have arrived in the UK or are en route via the previously secret scheme, which is estimated to have cost £850m.

The existence of this confidential Afghan Response Route, which was established in April 2024, was kept confidential by an injunction but can now be reported following a High Court ruling on Tuesday.

The MoD declined to say how many have been arrested or killed as a result of the data breach.

Defence secretary John Healey is expected to confirm further details in the House of Commons later on Tuesday.

The unauthorised data breach was committed by an unnamed individual at the MoD. The data related to Afghans who worked with international forces following the 2001 invasion of the country.

As US troops completed their withdrawal in August 2021, the UK government set up Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which was designed to rapidly process applications by people who feared reprisals from the Taliban and move them to the UK.

But it emerged on Tuesday that thousands of those who applied for that scheme had sensitive personal data leaked by a British official.

Arap has already been heavily criticised in the years since it was launched, with a 2022 inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee finding it was a "disaster" and a "betrayal".

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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