At 20 years old, Pierre Poilievre already had a roadmap for Canada.

Canada's Conservative Party leader - now 45 - laid out a low-tax, small government vision for the country in an essay contest on what he would do as prime minister.

"A dollar left in the hands of consumers and investors is more productive than a dollar spent by a politician," he stated.

Poilievre is one step closer to making his vision a reality, and even gave a nod to the essay in a recent interview with conservative psychologist and commentator Jordan Peterson.

For months, Poilievre's Conservatives have enjoyed a large lead over the struggling Liberals in national surveys, suggesting they would win a majority government if an election were held today.

Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he's standing down, and with an election likely to be called soon, Poilievre is promising a return to "common sense politics".

For Canadians frustrated with a sluggish economy and a housing and affordability crisis, he is offering an alternative to what he has labelled as Trudeau's "authoritarian socialism".

A win would make him part of a wave of populist leaders on the right who have toppled incumbent governments in the west.

While it has invited comparisons to Donald Trump - and he has fans like Elon Musk and others in the US president-elect's orbit - Poilievre story is very much a Canadian one.

A Calgarian with his eyes set on Ottawa

Poilievre was born in Canada's western province of Alberta to a 16-year-old mother who put him up for adoption. He was taken in by two school teachers, who raised him in suburban Calgary.

"I have always believed that it is voluntary generosity among family and community that are the greatest social safety net that we can ever have," he told Maclean's Magazine in 2022, reflecting on his early life.

"That's kind of my starting point."

As a teenager, Poilievre showed an early interest in politics, and canvassed for local conservatives.

Poilievre was studying international relations at the University of Calgary when he met Stockwell Day, who served as a cabinet minister under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At the time, Day was seeking the leadership of the Canadian Alliance - a right-wing party with Alberta roots that became part of the modern-day Conservatives in a 2003 merger - and he tapped Poilievre to help with campus outreach.

"He impressed me from the start," Day told the BBC in an interview. "He seemed to be a level-headed guy, but full of energy and able to catch people's attention."

Day's leadership bid was successful, and he set out for Ottawa with Poilievre as his assistant. Some time after, Poilievre walked into his office on a cold winter night to ask his opinion about potentially running for office.

Poilievre went on to win a seat in Ottawa in 2004 at the age of 25, making him one of the youngest elected Conservatives at the time. He has held that seat since.

From "Skippy" to party leader

In Ottawa, Poilievre was given the nickname Skippy by peers and foes alike due to to his youthful enthusiasm and sharp tongue.

He built a reputation for being "highly combative and partisan", said Randy Besco, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

Behind the closed doors of Conservative caucus meetings, Poilievre showed his diplomatic side, Day said.

"Pierre was always good at saying, 'Okay, you know what? I hadn't thought of that,' or he would listen and say: 'Have you thought of this?'" said Day.

Still, confrontational politics became a cornerstone of Poilievre's public persona. After becoming Conservative leader in 2022, he would target Trudeau with biting remarks as a way to connect with disaffected voters.

It has landed him in trouble at times. In April, he was expelled from the House of Commons for calling the prime minister a "wacko".

Poilievre told the Montreal Gazette in June that he is a fan of "straight talk".

"I think when politesse is in conflict with the truth, I choose the truth," he said. "I think we've been too polite for too long with our political class."

His combative style has also been divisive, and he has been criticised for oversimplifying complex issues for political gain.

While Canadians have been open to the opposition leader's message as a change from Trudeau's brand of progressive politics, just over half of them hold an unfavourable opinion of him, according to the latest polls.

Poilievre has also had to shift his sights since Trudeau's resignation announcement, to get ahead of the inevitable match-up between him and the next Liberal leader.

Poilievre on populism, immigration and Trump

The Conservative leader has been described as a "soft" populist for his direct appeals to everyday Canadians and criticism of establishment elites, including corporate Canada.

He came out in support of those who protested vaccine mandates during the 2021 "Freedom Convoy" demonstrations that gridlocked Ottawa for weeks.

He has pledged to deliver "the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history", promising to keep repeat offenders behind bars.

On social matters, Poilievre has rarely weighed in - something Prof Besco said is typical of senior Conservatives, who see these topics as "a losing issue".

While Poilievre voted against legalising gay marriage in the early 2000s, he recently said it will remain legal "full stop" if he is elected.

The Conservatives also do not support legislation to regulate abortion, though they allow MPs to vote freely on the issue.

"I would lead a small government that minds its own business," Poilievre said in June.

Amid a public debate in Canada in recent months on immigration, the party has said it would tie levels of newcomers to the number of new homes built, and focus on bringing in skilled workers.

Poilievre's wife, Anaida, arrived in Canada as a child refugee from Caracas, Venezuela.

The Conservative leader has pushed for the integration of newcomers, saying Canada does not need to be a "hyphenated society".

One of his major promises - to cut Trudeau's national carbon pricing programme, arguing it is a financial burden for families - has raised questions over how his government would tackle pressing issues like climate change.

Canada also faces the threat of steep tariffs when Trump takes office later this month, with the US-Canada relationship expected to be a major challenge.

Poilievre has pushed back at Trump's comments suggesting Canada become a 51st US state, vowing to "put Canada first".

He has not stepped much into foreign policy otherwise, with his messaging focused instead on restoring "the Canadian dream".

Above all, Poilievre says he wants to do away with "grandiosity" and "utopian wokesim" that he believes has defined the Trudeau era, in favour of the "the things that are grand and great about the common people".

"I've been saying precisely the same thing this entire time," he told Mr Peterson.

Inflation, interest rates and tariffs mean 2025 is shaping up to be an intriguing year for the global economy. One in which growth is expected to remain at a "stable yet underwhelming" 3.2%, according to the International Monetary Fund. So what might that mean for all of us?

Exactly a week before Christmas there was a welcome gift for millions of American borrowers - a third interest rate cut in a row.

However, stock markets fell sharply because the world's most powerful central banker, US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, made clear they shouldn't expect as many further cuts in 2025 as they might have hoped for, as the battle against inflation continues.

"From here, it's a new phase, and we're going to be cautious about further cuts," he said.

In recent years, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have led to sharp price rises around the world, and although prices are still increasing the pace has slowed markedly.

Despite that, November saw inflation push up in the US, eurozone and UK to to 2.7%, 2.2% and 2.6% respectively. It highlights the difficulties many central banks face in the so-called "last mile" of their battle against inflation. Their target is 2%, and it might be easier to achieve if economies are growing.

However, the biggest difficulty for global growth "is uncertainty, and the uncertainty is coming from what may come out of the US under Trump 2.0", says Luis Oganes, who is head of global macro research at investment bank JP Morgan.

Since Donald Trump won November's election he's continued to threaten new tariffs against key US trading partners, China, Canada and Mexico.

"The US is going into a more isolationist policy stance, raising tariffs, trying to provide more effective protection to US manufacturing," says Mr Oganes.

"And even though that is going to support US growth, at least in the short term, certainly it's going to hurt many countries that rely on trade with the US."

New tariffs "could be particularly devastating" for Mexico and Canada, but also be "harmful" to the US, according to Maurice Obstfeld, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, and a previous economic advisor to President Obama.

He cites car manufacturing as an example of an industry that "depends on a supply chain that is spread across the three countries. If you disrupt that supply chain, you have massive disruptions in the auto market".

That has the potential to push up prices, reduce demand for products, and hurt company profits, which could in turn drag down investment levels, he explains.

Mr Obstfeld, who is now with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, adds: "Introducing these types of tariffs into a world that is heavily dependent on trade could be harmful to growth, could throw the world into recession."

The tariffs threats have also played a role in forcing the resignation of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Even though the majority of what the US and China sell each other is already subject to tariffs from Donald Trump's first term in office, the threat of new tariffs is a key challenge for the world's second-biggest economy in the year ahead.

In his new year address President Xi Jinping acknowledged the "challenges of uncertainties in the external environment", but said the economy was on "an upward trajectory".

Exports of cheap goods from its factories are crucial to China's economy. A drop off in demand because tariffs push prices up would compound the many domestic challenges, including weak consumer spending and business investment, that the government is trying to tackle.

Those efforts are helping, according to the World Bank, which at the end of December increased its forecast for China's growth from 4.1% to 4.5% in 2025.

Beijing has yet to set a growth target for 2025, but thinks it's on course for 5% last year.

"Addressing challenges in the property sector, strengthening social safety nets, and improving local government finances will be essential to unlocking a sustained recovery," according to the World Bank's country director for China, Mara Warwick.

Those domestic struggles mean the Chinese government is "more welcoming" of foreign investment, according to Michael Hart, who is president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

Tensions between the US and China, and tariffs have grown under the Biden presidency, meaning some companies have looked to move production elsewhere.

However, Mr Hart points out that "it took 30 to 40 years for China to emerge as such a strong supplier manufacturer", and whilst "companies have tried to mitigate some of those risks... no one's prepared now to completely replace China."

One industry that is likely to continue to be at the heart of global trade battles is electric vehicles. More than 10 million were made in China last year, and that dominance led the US, Canada and European Union (EU) to impose tariffs on them.

Beijing says they're unfair, and is challenging them at the World Trade Organization.

However, it's the prospect of Donald Trump imposing tariffs that is concerning the EU.

"Restrictions on trade, protectionist measures, are not conducive to growth, and ultimately have an impact on inflation that is largely uncertain," the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said last month. "[But] in the short term, it's probably net inflationary."

Germany and France are the traditional engines of Europe's economic growth. But their poor performance amid political instability over the past year means that, despite a recent uptick in growth, the eurozone risks losing momentum in the year ahead.

That is, unless consumers spend more and businesses increase their investments.

In the UK higher prices could also come as a result of tax and wage increases, according to one survey.

One barrier to cutting eurozone interest rates is that inflation remains at 4.2%. That's more than double the target of 2%, and strong wage pressure has been a barrier getting it down further.

It's been similar in the US according to Sander van 't Noordende, the chief executive of Randstad, the world's biggest recruitment firm.

"In the US, for instance, [wage inflation] is still going to be around 4% in 2024. In some Western European countries, it's even higher than that.

"I think there's two factors there. There's the talent scarcity, but there's also, of course, the inflation and people demanding to get more for the work they do."

Mr van 't Noordende adds that many companies are passing those extra costs on to their customers, which is adding upward pressure to general inflation.

A slowdown in the global jobs market reflects a lack of "dynamism" from companies and economic growth is key to reversing that, he says.

"If the economy is doing well, businesses are growing, they start hiring. People see interesting opportunities, and you just start seeing people moving around".

One person starting a new role in 2025 is Donald Trump, and a raft of economic plans including tax cuts and deregulation could help the US economy to continue to thrive.

Whilst much won't be revealed before he's back in the White House on 20 January, "everything points to continued US exceptionalism at the expense of the rest of the world," says JP Morgan's Mr Oganes.

He's hopeful that inflation and interest rates can continue to come down around the world, but warns that "a lot of it will depend on what are the policies that get deployed, particularly from the US."

"They have already tortured me and repressed me, but they will not silence me. My voice is the only thing I have left."

This is how Juan, a young man aged around 20, begins his story. He alleges he was physically and psychologically tortured by Venezuelan security forces after being detained in connection with the presidential elections on 28 July.

He was one of many hundreds of people arrested during protests after the electoral authorities - which are dominated by government loyalists - announced that the incumbent, Nicolás Maduro, had won.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) did not make the voting tallies public and the Venezuelan opposition has described the official result as fraudulent, pointing out that the voting tallies it got hold of with the help of election observers suggest an overwhelming victory for its candidate, Edmundo González.

Juan was released from prison in mid-November, days after Maduro called on judicial authorities to "rectify" any injustices in the arrests.

The BBC spoke to him via video call. For his own safety, we have decided to withhold some of the details of his case and have changed his name.

The young man alleges that many of the detainees are mistreated, given "rotten food" and that the most rebellious are locked up in "torture chambers".

He showed the BBC documents and evidence that corroborate his story, which coincides with other testimony and with the complaints of non-governmental organisations.

Juan, an anti-government political activist, says the election campaign and the days leading up to the election were "marked by hope" and many people were keen to vote for change.

But the announcement of Maduro's victory shortly after midnight that Sunday turned what for many was a celebratory mood into confusion and anger.

Thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to protest against a result they decried as fraudulent.

The opposition and international organisations say what followed was police repression which caused the deaths of more than 20 protesters.

Maduro and some of his officials in turn have blamed the opposition, the "extreme right" and "terrorist" groups for the deaths.

Gonzalo Himiob of Venezuelan non-governmental organisation Foro Penal says people were arrested for as little as "celebrating the opposition's declaration of Edmundo González as the winner, or for posting something on social media".

"We also have cases of people who were not even protesting, but for some reason they were near a protest and they were arrested," he added.

Juan says that is what happened to him.

'It felt like a concentration camp'

The young political activist says he had been running an errand when a group of hooded men intercepted him, covered his face and beat him, accusing him of being a terrorist.

"They planted Molotov cocktails and petrol on me, and then took me to a detention centre," he continued.

He was held in a prison in the interior of Venezuela for several weeks until he was transferred to Tocorón, a notorious high-security prison about 140km south-west of the capital, Caracas.

There he would go through what he describes as the worst experience of his life.

"When we arrived at Tocorón, they stripped us, beat us, and insulted us. We were forbidden to raise our heads and look at the guards; we had to lower our heads to the floor," Juan recounts.

Juan was assigned a small cell measuring three metres by three metres, which he had to share with five other people.

There were six beds arranged in three bunk beds, and in one corner there was a septic tank and "a pipe that served as a shower". That was the bathroom.

"In Tocorón I felt more like I was in a concentration camp than in a prison," says the young man. He describes the beds as "concrete tombs" with a very thin mattress.

"They tortured us physically and psychologically. They wouldn't let us sleep, they were always coming to ask us to get up and line up," he explains.

"They would wake us up around 05:00 to line up behind the cell. The guards would ask us to show our passes and numbers."

He adds that at around 06:00 they would turn on the water for six minutes so they could bathe.

"Six minutes for six people and just one shower, with very cold water. If you were the last one there and you didn't have time to take off the soap, you were left covered in soap for the rest of the day," he says.

Then, he adds, they waited for breakfast, which sometimes arrived at 06:00 and other times at 12:00.

Dinner was sometimes at 21:00, and sometimes at 02:00.

"Apart from waiting for meals, there was nothing else to do. We could only walk around inside the small cell and tell stories. We also talked about politics, but in low voices, because if the guards heard us, they would punish us."

'I thought I was going to die'

Juan says that many of his fellow inmates were depressed and acted like zombies.

"They gave us rotten food – meat scraps like you would give to chickens or dogs or sardines that had already expired."

Some detainees were routinely beaten or made to "walk like frogs" with their hands on their ankles, he says.

He describes "punishment cells" where those considered the most rebellious would be sent, or those who dared to talk about politics or ask to make a phone call to relatives.

Juan says that he had been in one of the punishment cells in Tocorón, and that he had only received one meal every two days.

"It's a very dark cell, one metre by one metre. I was very hungry. What kept me going was thinking about all the injustices that were happening and that one day I would get out of there," he says.

Another torture cell is known as "Adolfo's bed", Juan says, named after the first person who died there.

"It's a dark, oxygen-deprived room the size of a vault. They put you in there for a few minutes until you can't breathe and you faint or start banging on the door in desperation. They put me in there and I lasted just over five minutes. I thought I was going to die," he recalls.

Reports of crimes against humanity

The young man says that in this prison, inmates have 10 minutes to exercise outside three times a week, but many just stay in their cells.

Foro Penal's Gonzalo Himiob describes the conditions in Tocorón as "deplorable" and says that detainees' fundamental rights, such as having access to a lawyer of the detainee's choosing, are being violated.

"They all have public defenders - the government knows that if it allows access to a private attorney who is not a public official, he or she can document all the due process violations that are occurring."

In October, United Nations (UN) experts reported serious human rights violations committed in the run-up to the presidential election and during the protests that followed, including political persecution, excessive use of force, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions by state security forces and related civilian groups.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently investigating the Venezuelan government for possible crimes against humanity.

The Venezuelan government denies the accusations and says this investigation "responds to the intention of instrumentalising the mechanisms of international criminal justice for political purposes".

The BBC requested an interview with the Public Prosecutor's Office about the allegations of mistreatment and torture of detainees, but had not received a response by the time of publication.

'I'm no longer afraid of the government'

Juan was released in November, but according to Foro Penal's figures, there were still 1,794 political prisoners in Venezuela as of 30 December.

According to Juan, many of those detained in Tocorón have pinned their hopes on one date: that of the presidential inauguration on 10 January 2025.

It is the day that opposition candidate Edmundo González, who has been living in exile in Spain, has said that he will return to Venezuela and take up office as president.

He bases his claim to the presidency on official voting tallies the opposition managed to gather with help of election observers.

These tallies, which amount to 85% of the total, have been uploaded to a website and reviewed by independent observers who say that they suggest an overwhelming victory for González.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden met González and called him the "true winner" of the Venezuelan election.

However, it is not clear how González, for whom the authorities have issued an arrest warrant, plans to enter Venezuela or who would swear him in given that the National Assembly is dominated by Maduro loyalists.

Nevertheless, Juan says that the prisoners held in Tocorón are hoping against hope that Friday will see a change of government and their release from jail.

Meanwhile, the Maduro government has labelled any talk of a political transition as "a conspiracy" and has threatened that anyone who backs a change of leader "will pay for it".

Juan admits feeling a certain sense of guilt for being free when hundreds of his "comrades are still suffering" in prison.

But he says he is determined to return to the streets to show his support for Edmundo González on 10 January.

"I no longer fear the Venezuelan government," he explains.

"They already accused me of the worst crimes, such as terrorism, even though I'm just a young man who has done nothing more than love his country and help those around him."

"I'm not afraid," Juan repeats, before admitting that he has left some written testimony in a safe place "in case something happens to me".

Illustrations by Daniel Arce-Lopez.

More than half of the county councils in England with elections scheduled for this year could seek to have the votes postponed, the BBC can reveal.

At least 12 out of 21 county councils due to hold elections in May are poised to ask ministers to delay the ballots to explore options set out in a major redesign of local government announced in December.

The government has set Friday as the deadline for areas to show interest in the first tranche of devolution plans.

But a delay in elections would see millions of voters "deprived of their local democracy," according to the District Councils Network, which represents smaller local authorities.

The government said no decisions had been taken.

Elections are due to take place in 21 county council areas in England in May, as well as some unitary authorities and elections for some regional mayors.

When it announced its devolution plans in December, the government suggested some of these elections, especially in county councils, could be delayed by a year or more. Scheduled mayoral elections will not be affected.

Under the plans, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, smaller district councils and larger county councils could be merged to create single councils to handle all services.

Ministers see the reorganisation of local government as a key part of their plan to devolve powers out of Westminster to local communities.

Local government minister Jim McMahon wrote to councils in affected areas asking them to express their interest in taking part.

Several councils are holding urgent meetings this week to decide whether to press ahead.

County councils that have indicated they are interested and could see elections postponed include:

• Devon
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Warwickshire
• West Sussex
• Worcestershire

Ministers will make the final decisions on whether local elections are postponed.

Cllr Kevin Bentley, the Conservative leader of Essex County Council, said it was a "once in a lifetime chance to improve outcomes for Essex".

Cllr Tim Oliver, the Conservative leader of Surrey County Council, said: "We owe it to Surrey's residents to get the best devolution deal possible for our county."

Not 'dictating'

The elections in May are set to be the first electoral test for Labour since the party took power at Westminster in July last year, and an important measure of the public mood.

Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf criticised the potential delay, saying: "Labour and the Tories are so terrified of Reform's rise that they are colluding to rob the British people of their democratic rights."

Rayner told a select committee this week it would be "ludicrous" for councils to hold elections if they were planning to reorganise their structures.

But said the government was not "dictating" what should happen in council areas.

In 2021 the previous Conservative government delayed local elections in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Somerset when councils in those areas were undergoing reorganisation.

But the current plans have prompted a backlash from some local leaders.

The District Councils Network claimed ministers had "rushed" the proposals to reorganise local government and were depriving residents of having a say.

The organisation's chairman Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen said: "The cancellation of the local elections comes after the government's general election manifesto neglected to mention that it sought to take power away from communities by replacing district councils with mega councils.

"Democracy is being side-lined with the local electorate being deprived of any democratic opportunity to give their verdict on a major reorganisation that will have far-reaching repercussions for the destiny of thousands of English towns and villages."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "No decisions have been taken on postponing elections.

"We will only consider postponing elections for areas where the council concerned have requested it and where it helps an area to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeline."

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

A former police officer who led a grooming investigation in Oxford has said a similar type of sexual abuse is still happening, warning that the "guys we couldn't catch are still out there".

Simon Morton, former senior investigating officer for Thames Valley Police, told the BBC that perpetrators in the area are operating in plain sight and are "influencing and arranging others to do the same thing".

He added that it is "obvious" grooming is "happening in every city around the country" - a claim supported by another police source.

His comments come as a Tory amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would have forced a national inquiry into grooming gangs, was voted down on Wednesday evening.

The government has already said it would adopt the recommendations made in 2022 by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), led by Professor Alexis Jay.

Mr Morton led Operation Bullfinch, then the biggest criminal investigation in Oxford's history, which resulted in the convictions of 21 men for offences spanning the late 1990s to the late 2000s.

He said calls for a new public inquiry are "pointless" and would be a waste of money.

"We've done the public inquiry. Every single investigation has been thoroughly reinvestigated and checked. We've had seven years worth of Prof Jay and her team looking at child sex exploitation and made the recommendations.

"Let's get it going. Don't waste your money on more pointless inquiries," he added.

That is a view echoed by a child sexual abuse survivor, who cannot be named, who said the focus in recent days has been misplaced with much of the debate surrounding whether there should be a public inquiry, rather than on what can be done to help victims.

"It's naïve to think [grooming] is not still happening and the political debate is not focused on the problem but on trying to outdo one another," she told the BBC.

"My life has been destroyed by this. People need to focus on us and how to stop this and not on scoring points."

On Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced those who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions under a new offence to be introduced this year.

But Mr Morton said survivors of abuse often don't trust anyone – including the police or social services.

He claimed perpetrators have been driven underground by the recent publicity about abuse but are still active.

Mr Morton said feelings of fear and shame often lead victims to cover up for their abuser by refusing to testify against them.

"When we did this investigation, we spoke to lots of girls and there were even more offenders or suspects," he said.

"We weren't able to turn some of the girls to talk to us and tell us their story. We took nine men to court, and we had only a small amount of victims come and give evidence. It was much bigger than that."

In response to Mr Morton's allegations, Thames Valley Police said that information uncovered during Operation Bullfinch, which was launched in 2011 to investigate allegations of historical sexual abuse, led to "24 convictions with sentences totalling over 250 years' imprisonment".

"There are now more police officers and detectives working in child abuse investigation and the management of sexual offenders and a new dedicated team monitor all investigations into missing people and identify patterns or underlying issues," it said.

The force added that the exploitation of children "is and continues to be a priority".

There is "little hope" of food prices "going anywhere but up" in the second half of 2025 due to changes announced in the Budget, a retail lobby group has warned.

The costs of higher wages and National Insurance tax changes coming in April will be passed on to consumers, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

It forecast food price inflation would rise from 1.8% last month to 4.2% in the latter half of this year, and that price rises will continue for vegetable oil, orange juice, butter, and coffee. It added that overall shop prices, which have been falling, will start rising again.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously said "the right thing to do was to ask businesses and the wealthiest in our country to pay a bit more".

In her October Budget Reeves said the National Living Wage for over 21s would increase from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April and that employers' National Insurance contributions would rise from 13.8% to 15%.

Retailers hit back, warning in November that higher wages and taxes would make job cuts "inevitable", and lead to price rises and shop closures.

On Thursday, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said that modelling by the lobby group, combined with predictions from 52 chief financial officers, had led it to forecast much higher food price inflation in the latter half of the year.

"As retailers battle the £7bn of increased costs in 2025 from the Budget, including higher employer National Insurance, National Living Wage, and new packaging levies, there is little hope of prices going anywhere but up," she said.

The lobby group said food price inflation in December was running at 1.8%, which was its lowest rate since November 2021.

The BRC uses a different basket of goods to measure inflation compared to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, but they are broadly similar.

In the run-up to Christmas, prices went down in shops overall, but this was due to non-food goods deflation, BRC said.

The pace of price rises for fresh food such as fruit and vegetables went up 1.2%, while inflation for store cupboard goods was 2.8%.

Retailers have been warning about price rises due to the Budget measures.

This week Next announced that it will raise prices on some clothing from April to offset "an unusually high" £73m increase in staff wages and taxes.

Next said it expected prices to increase by 1% over a year, which is below the current rate of inflation. UK inflation hit 2.6% in the 12 months to November, the highest level for eight months.

How can I save money on my food shop?

Look at your cupboards so you know what you have already

Head to the reduced section first to see if it has anything you need

Buy things close to their best before date which will be cheaper and use your freezer

Read more tips here

The affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades typically has strangers walking around, trying to catch a glimpse of celebrities' houses.

Now, though, its streets are filled with firefighters battling a 3,000-acre wildfire that is ravaging the area.

Across the city, more than 30,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes as winds stoke three fires. A state of emergency has been declared, leaving roads gridlocked as people flee.

Among them, a number of famous faces have been forced to flee their usually idyllic California homes, including Star Wars' Mark Hamill and Schitt's Creek actor Eugene Levy.

James Woods, who has starred in films including Nixon and Casino, described evacuating his home on social media, and said he was not sure if it was still standing.

"It feels like losing a loved one," he wrote.

Pacific Palisades is known for being exclusive, with a house costing $4.5m (£3.6m) on average as of November 2024, according to Realtor.com.

The north LA neighbourhood is bordered on the south with a three-mile (4.8km) stretch of beaches on the Pacific Ocean, nestled between Malibu and Santa Monica.

It is a hub for trendy shops, cafes and a farmers' market.

But the Palisades fire - which grew from 10 acres to over 2,900 in a matter of hours - has shattered they area's idyllic nature.

Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, called the blaze the "most horrific fire since '93" - which burned 18,000 acres and destroyed 323 homes in nearby Malibu - in a post on Instagram.

He said he evacuated his home in Malibu "so last-minute there [were] small fires on both sides of the road".

Levy, who rose to fame for his role in film series American Pie, told local media he was forced to evacuate his home.

"The smoke looked pretty black and intense over Temescal Canyon. I couldn't see any flames but the smoke was very dark," he recounted to the Los Angeles Times.

Reality star's Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag lost their family home in the fire, his sister wrote on Instagram.

"I am beyond heartbroken for my brother, Heidi and the kids," she said. "Even the fire station in the Palisades has burned down."

Miles Teller, best known for his role in Top Gun: Maverick, and his wife Keleigh, also live in the area.

Posting on Instagram, Mrs Teller shared a picture of the fires and a heart-break emoji. She urged people to leave bowls of water for animals as they evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, Actor Steve Guttenberg, known for Police Academy, stayed to help firefighters by moving cars in order to make room for incoming fire trucks.

He urged residents to leave the keys to their abandoned cars so they could be moved out the way of firefighters.

"We really need people to move their cars," he told news outlet KTLA: "This is not a parking lot."

It is not just famous residents affected by the wildfire - notable buildings in the area are under threat as well.

The Palisades Charter High School - which has served as a set for movies and counts several notable people as former students - has been damaged by fire, local media reports.

The fire-stricken school has been used in films including 1976 horror classic Carrie and Project X, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Former students include director JJ Abrams, musician Will.i.am, and actors Forest Whitaker and Katey Sagal.

The Getty Villa is an art museum in the Palisades that has a large collection of artworks and artefacts, including works by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

The museum confirmed on Tuesday that it had closed to the public and that some trees and vegetation on site had burned - but said that "no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe".

Star studded events due to take place in the area have also been cancelled.

Film premiers for Unstoppable, Better Man and Wolfman have been called off, as has the Screen Actors Guild Awards live nominations event.

The government of Chad has insisted the situation in capitol N'Djamena is stable after gunshots were heard near the presidential palace.

Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said in a video apparently recorded within the palace complex that there had been a "little incident" but that "everything is calm".

Sources close to the African state's government said clashes had occurred between security forces and "terrorist elements".

The French news agency AFP quoted Koulamallah as saying that 18 attackers and a member of the security forces had been killed.

Following the incident, tanks were seen in the area and all roads leading to the palace were closed, the agency said

In the video, posted to Facebook, Koulamallah is seen surrounded by members of the government forces.

"Nothing serious has happened," he says.

"We are here and we will defend our country at the price of our blood. Be calm.

"This whole attempt at destabilisation has been thwarted."

He is then seen taking photos with, and raising his fist with, the soldiers.

Koulamallah was quoted by AFP as saying the assault had been launched by a 24-man commando unit, adding that six of the attackers had suffered injuries.

A further three members of the government forces also suffered injuries, he added.

The incident came just hours after a visit to the former French territory by China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who met President Mahamat Déby and other senior officials.

It had all the hallmarks of a cold-blooded, professional assassination.

Next to a well-known temple in Bangkok's historic royal quarter a man is seen on a security camera video parking his motorbike, removing his helmet, so that his face was clearly visible, and walking calmly across the road.

A few minutes later shots are heard. Another man falls to the ground.

The assassin walks quickly back to his motorbike, appearing to throw something away as he does, and drives off.

The victim was Lim Kimya, a 73-year-old former parliamentarian from the main Cambodian opposition party, the CNRP, which was banned in 2017. He had been hit in the chest by two bullets, according to the Thai police. He had just arrived in Bangkok with his wife on a bus from Cambodia.

A police officer attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"He was courageous, with an independent mind," Monovithya Kem, daughter of the CNRP leader Kem Sokha, told the BBC.

"No-one but the Cambodian state would have wanted to kill him."

Lim Kimya had dual Cambodian and French nationality, but chose to stay in Cambodia even after his party was outlawed. The CNRP – Cambodia National Rescue Party – was an amalgamation of two earlier opposition parties, and in 2013 came close to defeating the party of Hun Sen, the self-styled "strongman" who ruled Cambodia for nearly 40 years before handing over to his son Hun Manet in 2023.

After his close call in the 2013 election Hun Sen accused the CNRP of treason, shutting it down and subjecting its members to legal and other forms of harassment. In 2023 Kem Sokha, who had already spent six years under house arrest, was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

High-level political assassinations, though not unknown, are relatively rare in Cambodia; in 2016 a popular critic of Hun Sen, Kem Ley, was gunned down in Phnom Penh and in 2012 environmental activist Chut Wutty was also murdered.

From the security camera video the Thai police have already identified Lim Kimya's killer as an ex-Thai navy officer, now working as a motorbike taxi driver. Finding him should not be difficult.

Whether the killing is fully investigated, though, is another matter.

In recent years dozens of activists fleeing repression in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand have been sent back after seeking sanctuary, or in some cases have been killed or disappeared. Human rights groups believe there is an unwritten agreement between the four neighbouring countries to allow each other's security forces to pursue dissidents over the border.

Last November Thailand sent six Cambodian dissidents, together with a young child, back to Cambodia, where they were immediately jailed. All were recognised by the United Nations as refugees. Earlier in the year Thailand also sent a Vietnamese Montagnard activist back to Vietnam.

In the past Thai anti-monarchy activists have been abducted and disappeared in Laos, it is widely presumed by Thai security forces operating outside their own borders. In 2020 a young Thai activist who had fled to Cambodia, Wanchalerm Satsaksit, was abducted and disappeared, again it is assumed by Thai operatives.

The Cambodian authorities did little to investigate, and announced last year that they had closed the case. It is possible the same will now happen in the case of Lim Kimya.

"Thailand has presided over a de facto 'swap arrangement'," says Phil Robertson, director of the Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates in Thailand.

"Dissidents and refugees are traded for political and economic favours with its neighbouring countries. The growing practice of transnational repression in the Mekong sub-region needs to be stopped in its tracks."

When the US and UK-educated Hun Manet succeeded his father as Cambodia's prime minister there was some speculation over whether he might rule with a lighter hand. But opposition figures are still being prosecuted and jailed, and what little space was left for political dissent has been almost completely closed.

From his semi-retirement the figure of Hun Sen still hovers over his son's administration; he is now calling for a new law to brand anyone trying to replace him as a terrorist.

Thailand, which lobbied hard for, and won, a seat on the UN Human Rights Council this year, will now be under pressure to show that it can bring those behind such a brazen assassination on the streets of its capital to justice.

For years, a controversial invader has been gradually taking over Australia's beloved beaches.

Swallowing up the sand, blocking ocean views and turning the shore into an irksome maze, is a sea of large beach tents, called cabanas in Australia.

"It's chockers [crowded]. They're all over the place," Sydneysider Claire, 30, told the BBC.

For her – and most Australians – cooling off on a sweltering day means a solid drive to the coast, plus an eternity trying to find a parking space. Now, the cabana craze means there's another battle waiting for them on the beach.

Polyester covers flap in the breeze as far as the eye can see. Some are empty, set up at the crack of dawn and then abandoned for hours on end, until the owners actually want to use them.

"The sheer amount of space that people are taking up… [when] you're just trying to find a free square inch of sand to lay your towel, it can just be a little bit frustrating," Claire says.

She's not alone in her irritation. Several summers of simmering tension has, in the first days of 2025, exploded into a full-on turf war, sparking debate about Australian culture and beach etiquette.

A row over the acceptable use of cabanas has dominated social media, spawned a wave of opinion pieces and television segments, and even dragged in the prime minister.

Self-described haters say entitled cabana crews are hogging public space and disrespecting other beachgoers.

"When you're… polluting the beach with your four cabanas next to each other, where is Guncle [Gay Uncle] Nic going to go," anti-cabana crusader and TikToker Nic Salerno said on TV talk show The Project.

"I just want my space on the beach, guys."

But the pro-cabana mob say seeking protection from Australia's vicious sun isn't a crime - and it's every man for himself.

Australia is the skin cancer capital of the world, and many supporters – including national charity, the Cancer Council – argue the new trend should actually be celebrated.

"My partner and I have a cool cabana because we both burn extremely easily and we don't want to die of skin cancer by 30, hope this helps," one person wrote, responding to a TikTok rant.

No one is discounting the importance of sun safety, the cabana critics counter, but they say that's just a convenient excuse for many of the people using the beach tents.

Half the time they're not even sitting under the shade covers, they claim, and there's no need for two people to whip out an entire tent for an hour or two, when sun cream and a hat will do just fine.

Other cabana devotees are more forward about their motivations. Breakfast television presenter Davina Smith admitted that for her, it is about nabbing "the prime piece of real estate" on busy beaches.

She is one of the people who pitch their cabana castles in the early morning to reserve territory for her family later that day.

"There's a lot of research that goes into this. You get up early, you've got to watch the tides. You can't just plonk it there and walk away… you invest in it," Smith argued on Nine's Today programme.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the hordes irked by the trend: "That's not on," he told the same show.

"One of the great things about Australia, unlike some parts of the world, you go and you got to pay to go to the beach. Here, everyone owns the beach… And that's a breach of that principle, really."

Even lifeguards have opinions on the matter, with some telling local media the cabana camps can make it hard for them to do their jobs.

Why is this so divisive?

There are a number of cultural quirks which mean Cabanagate has Australians more worked up than a magpie in spring.

Firstly, the country loves to think of itself as an egalitarian society – the land of a "fair go" – and that extends to the use of one of its most precious national assets.

"Australian beaches, they always have been seen as shared spaces, democratic spaces where social hierarchies dissolve…. [they're] seen as a great equaliser," says Ece Kaya, a researcher at the University of Technology Sydney.

And Australians are "fiercely" protective of that ideal: "They see it as a birthright," says Chris Pepin-Neff, who studies Australian beach culture.

He points to the backlash in 1929 when beachgoers at Sydney's Coogee Beach were forced to pay for access to the only part of the water covered by shark nets. More recently, a bid to rent out part of Sydney's famous Bondi Beach to an exclusive beach club was met with a huge outcry.

And while the use of sprawling cabanas is a relatively new phenomenon, there's long been "enormous class tension" around the use of the country's coastline, Dr Pepin-Neff adds.

A lack of infrastructure, affordable housing and community attitudes tend to lock ordinary Australians out of waterfront areas, while those natural assets are often used by those lucky enough to live there.

"And there's a perception that it's encroaching even further, [so] that an average family can't even get a spot at the beach."

But he says there's no real data on who is using cabanas and why. He also argues there's many good reasons people might use them. Maybe they've travelled a long way so they plan to stay at the beach longer, or they may have a disability or young children they need to cater for, he says.

"There is a balance between a free and open beach that everybody can use, and making sure that you're respectful."

He offers no defence for the "land bankers" though: "As a Sydneysider, I think that is abusing the privilege… that is not a fair go."

As the debate intensifies though, there are some calls for a truce to restore the peace to Australian shores.

Beachkit Australia founder Rowan Clark, who sells equipment including cabanas, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper even he thinks cabana lovers should be more courteous.

"They should only allow set up at the rear of the beach in a line," he said. "Once this is exhausted, then no more of this style of shade should be allowed."

Others want authorities to rein it in, like some have in the United States. There are suggestions councils could limit how many cabanas can be set up on their beaches, and where.

But Sydney resident Claire, for all her wrath, worries that this could tip the scales in the other direction and exclude other people from using the beach.

"You don't want to get too precious about it, obviously… it's just the beach, first world problems right?

"I think in general, we should just try to be considerate of one another."

Out of the many mourning former President Jimmy Carter, not everyone can say he saved their life.

Rocky Sickmann was a 22-year-old US Marine stationed at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, when he and 51 other Americans were taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries on 4 November, 1979.

It defined his life - as well as much of Carter's presidency.

• Jimmy Carter, former US president, dies aged 100

"For the first 30 days I'm sitting in this room handcuffed and blindfolded, thinking the Vietnam war had just ended, and nobody cared about these thousands of veterans coming home," said the 67-year-old. "Who's going to care about the Iran hostages?"

He said that at the time, he wasn't even sure how much President Carter cared. It was a sentiment echoed by much of the American public. Many blamed Carter for his failure to bring the hostages home for over a year.

Political historians say part of the reason Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide - and served only one term as president - was because of his handling of the hostage crisis.

Minutes after Regan was sworn in, the hostages were released, although the deal had been in the works during Carter's presidency.

Mr Sickmann said that Carter deserves to be forever admired for his relentless attempt to bring them home.

"He was a good man who wanted diplomacy. I found out after how deeply involved he was. He knew my parents. He took care of them, he would meet them in DC."

When Mr Sickmann finally got to meet Carter himself, he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.

He laughs: "We met him in our pyjamas! How do you meet your commander-in-chief dressed like that!"

Rocky was flown out with the other hostages to Wiesbaden, Germany, a year after they had been taken hostage. The day after they got there, Carter greeted them personally.

"It was a very exciting day because he used to be in the Marines and he said to meet us was the happiest day of his life."

The meeting was captured in a photograph, which Carter would send to Sickmann 10 months after he had been voted out of the White House. It was signed: 'To my friend, Rocky Sickmann".

But it was not the last time that Mr Sickmann saw him. Just 10 years ago, he ran into Carter at a baseball game in Georgia. He had an usher pass the former president a note.

"He reads it - all of a sudden he gets up and he stands up and he turns around. I stand up and we waved at each other."

Like Carter, Mr Sickmann went on to focus on charitable work. He said he was inspired by the former president to set up Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to families of Americaʼs fallen or disabled military and first responders.

"President Carter was a good Christian man, married to his wonderful wife, and continued his life of service. I don't know if I'll ever be as good as him but I hope to be able to do the same thing."

The charity was set up to honor the 8 US service men who were killed trying to rescue the hostages. In 1980, the mission, dubbed Eagle Claw, failed disastrously after three helicopters malfunctioned. It was the last straw for Carter politically - although he won the Democratic nomination, he was wiped out in the election by Ronald Reagan that year.

But while the Iran hostage crisis would be a dark mark on Carter's political legacy, Mr Sickmann said he owes his life to Jimmy Carter.

"Morning, noon, and night, for 444 days, I never prayed so hard in my life, hoping that God was on our side," he said.

"But also President Carter kept us alive. He kept us in front of the world, making sure that people were praying for us (too)."

New sanctions targeting the finances of people smuggling networks will make it harder for gangs to profit from the deadly trade, the Home Office has said.

The government has said the proposed measures aimed at curbing illegal migration into the UK are expected to come into force this year.

The sanctions, designed to disrupt the flow of money, are thought to be the world's first to specifically target people smugglers.

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would hamper "illicit finance rings allowing smugglers to traffic vulnerable people across Europe".

"We must dismantle the crime gangs facilitating breaches of our borders," the prime minister said.

Under the proposed measures, which are yet to be finalised, UK-based individuals and financial institutions would be banned by law from dealing with sanctioned groups.

The government will bring forward new legislation for the scheme, drawn up by government sanction experts alongside law enforcement and Home Office staff.

• How many people cross the Channel in small boats?

Foreign Secretary David Lammy will set out further details in a speech on Thursday.

Ahead of his address, he said the measures would "help to prevent, combat, deter and disrupt irregular migration and the smuggling of migrants into the UK".

In 2024, the number of people detected crossing the English Channel in small boats was up by a quarter, from 29,437 in 2023 to 36,816.

However, this was lower than the record 45,755 seen in 2022.

Under enhanced powers to tackle people smuggling announced in November, the UK's Border Security Command was given permission to freeze smuggling networks' bank accounts.

Meanwhile, ministers announced new laws allowing travel bans, social media blackouts and phone restrictions for suspected people smugglers earlier this month.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Labour had "no credibility on dealing with the evil trade in people smuggling".

"In Parliament they voted against tougher punishments and life sentences for people smugglers, abolished the Rwanda deterrent and campaigned in favour of the rights of dangerous criminals and foreign national offenders, over the safety of the British people."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer he risks fuelling accusations of "a cover up" by refusing to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.

She also accused the PM of not wanting questions asked "of Labour politicians who may be complicit".

Sir Keir argued that several inquires had already been held into abuse carried out by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, and that a new probe would only delay the action the victims wanted.

And he said he would "call out" anyone who prevented victims of sexual abuse from coming forward.

The Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which calls for a national inquiry.

In the unlikely event the amendment is approved the bill, which includes measures aimed at protecting children and tougher rules around home-schooling, as well as changes to academies, would be scuppered.

Sir Keir said it was "shocking" Conservative MPs would try to block a bill aimed at helping vulnerable children by voting for the Tory amendment and accused Badenoch of "weak leadership".

Making her argument for a fresh inquiry, Badenoch said "no one has joined the dots, no one has the total picture".

She noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which lasted for seven years and concluded in 2022, had not had a specific focus on grooming gangs.

"We don't need to repeat the work that has already been done. Let's look at new areas."

She said a new inquiry could explore "if there was a racial and cultural motivation to some of these crimes".

Sir Keir said "reasonable people could agree or disagree" on whether there should be a fresh probe and acknowledged that there were mixed views among victims and survivors.

However, he accused Badenoch of only recently taking an interest in the subject and said she had failed to take action when she was in government.

"I can't recall her once raising this issue in the House, once calling for a national inquiry," he said.