An official list of people who died without leaving a will has been taken offline, after a BBC investigation found evidence a crime gang was using it to commit fraud worth millions of pounds.

The government list - known as Bona Vacantia - gives the details of unclaimed estates in England or Wales. The BBC heard allegations that criminals were using the information to create fake wills and inherit money and property.

The page's removal has been welcomed by lawyers, but they say more needs to be done to protect the system from fraud.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said it was “working with the relevant agencies to support ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activity”.

Details of about 6,000 unclaimed estates are listed on Bona Vacantia (Latin for "Vacant Goods") and, until 7 July, anyone could view them on the gov.uk website.

However, the relevant page has been updated and now merely says: "We have temporarily removed the unclaimed estates list from our website. Further details will follow as soon as possible."

The Ministry of Justice has now told the BBC that the list has been removed “in keeping with current investigations” and it could not confirm “when the list will be available online again”.

A BBC News article published on Saturday 5 July recounted several cases in the south of England where a dead person's details had appeared on Bona Vacantia, and then, shortly after, someone had stepped forward claiming to be their sole heir.

These "heirs" produced wills where none had previously been thought to have existed. What's more, the claimants appear to be connected to each other through a network of company directorships, and all had names of Hungarian origin.

Family, friends and neighbours of the deceased told us how they had tried to alert authorities about their suspicions, but say that no action was ever taken.

As a result of our investigation, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters, have been suspended.

Taking down Bona Vacantia is "absolutely right", according to Ann Stanyer, a leading specialist lawyer in the field, but she says this in itself will not be enough to combat fraud.

Probate (the legal process of administering a dead person's estate) has largely been carried out online since 2017, she says, but the current system demands too few checks on applicants, and "is clearly open to abuse".

• Why did our late aunt leave everything to a total stranger?

Ms Stanyer's misgivings are shared with lawyer and former MP Sir Bob Neill: "If you are going to have an automated system there have to be checks in it, and at the moment, there aren't," he says.

Sir Bob began an inquiry into the probate system when he was chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, although this was cut short by the 2019 general election. He says the taking down of Bona Vacantia is "a good start [to combat fraud], but there's a lot more they need to do".

The removal of Bona Vacantia will also have an impact on legitimate heir-hunting companies, who use the list as a starting point to research and then contact the genuine heirs to unclaimed estates.

"It's a bureaucratic kneejerk reaction, unnecessary," says Peter Turvey, who runs one such company, Anglia Research Services.

He says that the problem lies more not with the details revealed in Bona Vacantia, but with government failure to act when presented with clear examples of fraud.

High pressure brings high temperatures

How long will it last?

Within minutes of Erin Patterson walking into a tiny hospital in rural Victoria, doctor Chris Webster realised she was a cold-blooded killer.

"I knew," he tells the BBC.

"I thought, 'Okay, yep, you did it, you heinous individual. You've poisoned them all'."

Dr Webster had spent the morning frantically treating two of the four people a jury this week found Erin had intentionally fed toxic mushrooms - concealed in a hearty beef Wellington lunch served at her home in July 2023.

She was convicted of the murders of her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, as well as Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66. Erin was also found guilty of attempting to murder local pastor Ian Wilkinson – Heather's husband – who recovered after weeks of treatment in hospital.

But initially, when Heather and Ian presented to Leongatha Hospital with intense gastroenteritis-like symptoms, Dr Webster and his team thought they were dealing with a case of mass food poisoning.

Heather had described for him a "lovely" afternoon at Erin's house, the physician told the trial.

"I did ask Heather at one stage what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious," Dr Webster said.

His suspicion had fallen on the meat, so the doctor took some blood samples as a precaution and sent them off for analysis in a town with better medical facilities, before hooking the Wilkinsons up with fluids.

But soon he would receive a call from the doctor treating Don and Gail at Dandenong Hospital, about a 90-minute drive away, and his stomach dropped.

It wasn't the meat, it was the mushrooms, she told him. And his patients were on the precipice of irreversible slide towards death.

He immediately changed tack, beginning treatment to try and salvage their failing livers, and preparing to transfer them to a larger hospital where they could receive specialist care.

It was at this point that someone rang the bell at the front of the hospital.

Through a Perspex security window was a woman telling him she thought she had gastro.

"I'm like, 'Oh, hang on, what's your name?' And she said, 'Erin Patterson'," Dr Webster says.

"The penny dropped… it's the chef."

He ushered Erin into the hospital and told her he suspected she and her guests were all suffering from life-threatening poisoning from toxic mushrooms. He quizzed her on the source of the fungi included in her home-cooked dish.

"Her answer was a single word: Woolworths," he says.

"And it all just suddenly coalesced in my brain."

There were two things that convinced him of her guilt in that moment, Dr Webster explains.

One, it was a far-fetched answer. Admitting she had foraged wild mushrooms, as many locals in the area do, wouldn't have set off alarm bells. Saying they came from a major grocery chain with stringent food safety standards, on the other hand, was suspicious.

And two, there was no concerned reaction from the mother-of-two – despite being metres from where Ian and Heather, relatives she said she loved, lay on beds desperately sick.

"I don't know if she even acknowledged their presence," he says.

Briefly leaving Erin with nurses to undergo some basic health checks, he went to see the Wilkinsons off to Dandenong Hospital. He recalls watching the elderly couple being loaded into an ambulance, Heather calling out to thank him for his care as the vehicle doors were closed.

"And I knew," he says, trailing off.

"It's actually quite difficult to talk about without getting emotional.

"She could have quite easily done the complete opposite and screamed… 'Thanks for nothing'.

That may have been easier to accept than her sincere gratitude, he says. "You know, I didn't catch it [the poisoning] earlier."

But he had no time to process the gravity of their last interaction, rushing back to the urgent care room only to find Erin had discharged herself against medical advice.

After desperately trying to call her on her mobile phone, gobsmacked and concerned, Dr Webster decided to call police.

"This is Dr Chris Webster from Leongatha Hospital. I have a concern about a patient who presented here earlier, but has left the building and is potentially exposed to a fatal toxin from mushroom poisoning," he can be heard saying in the call played at the trial.

He spells her name for the operator, and gives them her address.

"She just got up and left?" they ask. "She was only here for five minutes," Dr Webster replies.

At her trial, Erin said she had been caught off guard by the information and had gone home to feed her animals and pack a bag, pausing to have a "lie down" before returning to the hospital.

"After being told by medical staff you had potentially ingested a life-threatening poison, isn't it the last thing you'd do?" the prosecutor asked her in court.

"It might be the last thing you'd do, but it was something I did," Erin defiantly replied from the witness stand.

But before police reached her house, Erin had returned to hospital voluntarily. Dr Webster then tried to convince her to bring in her children – who she claimed had eaten leftovers.

"She was concerned that they were going to be frightened," he said in court.

"I said they can be scared and alive, or dead."

Erin told the jury she wasn't reluctant, rather overwhelmed by the doctor who she believed was "yelling" at her. "I've since learnt this was his inside voice," she added.

Dr Webster clocked off shortly after, but the trial heard medical tests performed on Erin and her children would return no sign of death cap poisoning, and after a precautionary 24 hours in hospital, they were sent home.

Guilty verdicts a 'relief'

Two years later, when news of the jury's verdict flashed on his phone on Monday, Dr Webster began shaking.

He was one of the prosecution's key witnesses, and had struggled with the "weight of expectation".

"If the picture is going to make sense to the jury, if a small puzzle piece is out of place, it could upset the whole outcome of the trial… I really didn't want to crack under the scrutiny."

It's a "relief" to have played his part in holding Erin Patterson – who he calls "the definition of evil" – accountable.

"It does feel like [there's] that reward of justice."

For him though, the biggest sense of closure came from seeing Ian Wilkinson – the only surviving patient – for the first time since sending him and his ailing wife off in an ambulance.

"That memory of Heather being sort of taken away in that fashion, that's now bookended by seeing Ian standing on his feet again."

"That brought some comfort."

An official list of people who died without leaving a will has been taken offline, after a BBC investigation found evidence a crime gang was using it to commit fraud worth millions of pounds.

The government list - known as Bona Vacantia - gives the details of unclaimed estates in England or Wales. The BBC heard allegations that criminals were using the information to create fake wills and inherit money and property.

The page's removal has been welcomed by lawyers, but they say more needs to be done to protect the system from fraud.

In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said it was “working with the relevant agencies to support ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activity”.

Details of about 6,000 unclaimed estates are listed on Bona Vacantia (Latin for "Vacant Goods") and, until 7 July, anyone could view them on the gov.uk website.

However, the relevant page has been updated and now merely says: "We have temporarily removed the unclaimed estates list from our website. Further details will follow as soon as possible."

The Ministry of Justice has now told the BBC that the list has been removed “in keeping with current investigations” and it could not confirm “when the list will be available online again”.

A BBC News article published on Saturday 5 July recounted several cases in the south of England where a dead person's details had appeared on Bona Vacantia, and then, shortly after, someone had stepped forward claiming to be their sole heir.

These "heirs" produced wills where none had previously been thought to have existed. What's more, the claimants appear to be connected to each other through a network of company directorships, and all had names of Hungarian origin.

Family, friends and neighbours of the deceased told us how they had tried to alert authorities about their suspicions, but say that no action was ever taken.

As a result of our investigation, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters, have been suspended.

Taking down Bona Vacantia is "absolutely right", according to Ann Stanyer, a leading specialist lawyer in the field, but she says this in itself will not be enough to combat fraud.

Probate (the legal process of administering a dead person's estate) has largely been carried out online since 2017, she says, but the current system demands too few checks on applicants, and "is clearly open to abuse".

• Why did our late aunt leave everything to a total stranger?

Ms Stanyer's misgivings are shared with lawyer and former MP Sir Bob Neill: "If you are going to have an automated system there have to be checks in it, and at the moment, there aren't," he says.

Sir Bob began an inquiry into the probate system when he was chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, although this was cut short by the 2019 general election. He says the taking down of Bona Vacantia is "a good start [to combat fraud], but there's a lot more they need to do".

The removal of Bona Vacantia will also have an impact on legitimate heir-hunting companies, who use the list as a starting point to research and then contact the genuine heirs to unclaimed estates.

"It's a bureaucratic kneejerk reaction, unnecessary," says Peter Turvey, who runs one such company, Anglia Research Services.

He says that the problem lies more not with the details revealed in Bona Vacantia, but with government failure to act when presented with clear examples of fraud.

The son of a British couple detained in Iran has said he broke down in tears when he learned of their arrest and has not heard from them in six months.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were on a "once-in-a-lifetime" motorbike trip around the world when they were arrested in January and later charged with espionage, which the family denies.

Their son Joe Bennett said the Foreign Office must act more urgently to bring them home, adding that he was not "clear" on their strategy to do so.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said they were continuing to assist the family and raise the case directly with Iranian authorities.

Mr and Mrs Foreman, both 52 from East Sussex, were motorbiking from Spain to Australia when they crossed into Iran on 31 December.

Mr Bennett said he last spoke with his parents on 3 January prior to their arrest, before learning they were being held in late January and charged with spying in February.

"I didn't know what to do or where to turn," he recalled.

Mr Bennett said one "generic letter" written by his mother had been shared with friends and family since then, and that updates on their wellbeing had come from three welfare checks by UK embassy officials - the last being in May.

"That's tough when you're used to hearing someone's voice every day," Mr Bennett said.

"She's sleeping on a wafer-thin mattress," he said of his mother, "that causes a lot of upset".

"You always go back to how they must be feeling, that's the one thing that gets the family the most."

Mr Bennett said his parents were very active people who loved doing Parkrun, and were trying to "keep as fit as possible" in their cell.

"In true fashion they're now running figure of eights in their cell," he said, "which just shows their mental fortitude".

He added that the conflict between Iran and Israel which erupted in June was a "terrifying" period, "not knowing if they were okay or safe".

The couple were due to be transferred to Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on 8 June, he continued, which was bombed by Israel on 23 June - while the war also saw the UK pull its embassy staff out of the city.

Mr Bennett recalls thinking: "They are now left alone, we haven't got people who can push for their safety and wellbeing."

The FCDO currently advises against all travel to Iran, saying that British and British-Iranian dual nationals are at "significant risk" of arrest, questioning or detention.

It also now states that UK government support is "extremely limited in Iran".

"No face-to-face consular assistance will be possible in an emergency and the UK government will not be able to help you if you get into difficulty in Iran," the guidance reads.

Mr Bennett said the family did have reservations about their decision to travel to the country and asked, "why would you go there?".

But he stressed that the couple did so "by the proper means" - with the right visas, accompanied by licensed tour guides, and staying in hotels and along main roads.

"They followed every guideline in the book they could… that clearly wasn't enough."

Mr Bennett said he believed they were arrested because "they have UK passports and are being used as leverage by the Iranian regime".

"I want to be crystal clear, my parents aren't spies, they're not political players, they aren't criminals. They're Mum and Dad."

A spokesman for Iran's judiciary said in February that the couple had entered Iran "under the guise of tourists" and "gathered information" in several parts of the country.

They said the couple had been under surveillance by intelligence agencies and were arrested as part of a "coordinated intelligence operation".

In recent years, Iran has arrested dozens of Iranians with dual nationality or foreign permanent residency, mostly on spying and national security charges. At least 15 have had links to the UK.

Human rights groups say they are often held as leverage, released only when Iran receives something in return.

Mr Bennett said the foreign office had been "supportive in terms of words and comfort, but we're past that now," describing the relationship as "functional".

He added that their "quiet diplomacy" approach had been "going on for too long" and that the family was not "clear what the strategy is".

"We know where we stand and what we want, it's over to you to make this happen."

An FCDO spokesperson said: "We continue to raise this case directly with the Iranian authorities, we're providing them with consular assistance and we remain in close contact with the family."

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove "inappropriate" posts on the multi-billionaire's social network X.

The announcement came after the platform's Grok AI chatbot shared multiple comments that were widely criticised by users.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X," the company said in a post.

According to media reports, Grok made multiple positive references to Hitler this week when queried about posts that appeared to celebrate the deaths of children in the recent Texas floods.

In response to a question asking "which 20th century historical figure" would be best suited to deal with such posts, Grok said: "To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question."

"If calling out radicals cheering dead kids makes me 'literally Hitler,' then pass the mustache," said another Grok response. "Truth hurts more than floods."

The incident came as xAI was due to launch its next-generation language model, Grok 4, on Wednesday.

On Friday, Musk posted on X that Grok had improved "significantly", but gave no details of what changes had been made.

"You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions," he added.

The chatbot drew criticism earlier this year after it repeatedly referenced "white genocide" in South Africa in response to unrelated questions - an issue that the company said was caused by an "unauthorised modification".

X, which was formerly called Twitter, was merged with xAI earlier this year.

Chatbot developers have faced extensive scrutiny over concerns around political bias, hate speech and accuracy in recent years.

Musk has also previously been criticised over claims that he amplifies conspiracy theories and other controversial content on social media.

Donald Trump's White House had grandly promised "90 deals in 90 days" after partially pausing the process of levying what the US president called "reciprocal" tariffs.

In reality, there won't even be nine deals done by the time we reach Trump's first cut-off date on 9 July.

The revealing thing here, the poker "tell" if you like, is the extension of the deadline from Wednesday until 1 August, with a possibility of further extensions - or delays - to come.

From the US perspective, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says all focus has been on the 18 countries that are responsible for 95% of America's trade deficit.

The jaunty letters being sent from the US to its trading partners this week are simply a reincarnation of that infamous White House "Liberation Day" blue board.

The rates are basically the same as were first revealed on 2 April. The infamous equation, which turned out to use a measure of the size of the deficit as a proxy for "the sum of all trade cheating" lives on, in a form.

This is all being announced without the market turmoil seen earlier this year because of this additional delay.

Financial markets believe in rolling delays, in the idea of TACO, that Trump Always Chickens Out - although they may embolden foot-dragging on all sides that lead to a renewed crisis.

However, the real takeaway here has been the Trump administration's inability to strike deals. The letters are an admission of failure.

The White House may be playing hardball, but so are most other nations.

Japan and South Korea were singled out for the first two letters, which effectively further blow up their trade deals with the US.

The Japanese have done little to hide their fury at the US approach.

Its finance minister even hinted at using its ownership of the world's biggest stockpile of US government debt - basically the biggest banker of America's debts - as a source of potential leverage.

The dynamic from April has not really changed.

The rest of the world sees that markets punish the US when a trade war looks real, when American retailers warn the White House of higher prices and empty shelves.

And there is still a plausible court case working its way through the system that could render the tariffs illegal.

But the world is now also starting to see the numerical impact of an upended global trade system.

The value of the dollar has declined 10% this year against a number of currencies.

At Bessent's confirmation hearing, he said that the likely increase in the value of the dollar would help mitigate any inflationary impact of tariffs.

The opposite has happened.

Trade numbers are starting to shift too. There was massive stockpiling before tariffs, there have been more recent significant falls.

Meanwhile, Chinese exports to the US have fallen by 9.7% so far this year.

But China's shipments to the rest of the world are up 6%. This includes a 7.4% rise in exports to the UK, a 12.2% increase to the 10 members of the ASEAN alliance and 18.9% rise to Africa.

The numbers are volatile, but consistent with what might be predicted.

Revenues from tariffs are starting to pour into the US Treasury coffers, with record receipts in May.

As the US builds a tariff wall around itself, the rest of the world is likely to trade more with each other - just look the recent economic deals between the UK and India, and the EU and Canada.

It is worth nothing that the effective tariff rate being imposed by the US on the rest of the world is now about 15%, having been between 2% and 4% for the past 40 years. This is before the further changes in these letters.

The market reaction is calm for now. It might not stay that way.

Thousands of cases that would normally be heard in front of a jury should be decided by judges alone, according to recommendations made by a former senior judge.

Sir Brian Leveson was asked by the Lord Chancellor to come up with a series of proposals to reduce the backlog of cases in the criminal courts.

There are almost 77,000 cases waiting for trial in the Crown Court in England and Wales - meaning some defendants and victims are waiting years for justice.

After reviewing the state of the criminal courts, Sir Brian suggested "fundamental" reforms to "reduce the risk of total system collapse." But some barristers argue juries are essential for fair justice - and scrapping them is wrong.

To fix what he calls a broken system, Sir Brian has suggested having judge-only trials for certain cases such as fraud and bribery.

Another recommendation involves having more out of court resolutions like cautions.

He wants a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle less serious offences, and to increase the number of sentence reductions for guilty pleas at the first opportunity offered.

This is all about shortening the process in the hope of cutting the big backlog.

"Our criminal justice system stands at a critical juncture," said Sir Brian who was requested to look into the matter in December last year.

"It is well recognised that justice delayed is justice denied but the record and rising court backlog means victims, witnesses and defendants are waiting months, sometimes years, for cases to come to trial - unable to move on with their lives," he added.

Sir Brian noted the proposed changes are designed "to transform our courts into a system that provides appropriate and fair decision-making."

He continued: "It also takes a proportionate approach to trial processes while maintaining the fundamental right to a fair trial.

"These are not small tweaks but fundamental changes that will seek to make the system fit for the 21st century."

The proposals would mean more cases will be heard in the magistrates' courts, with jury trials reserved for the most serious cases.

Either way, offences with a maximum custodial sentence of two years or less, such as possession of drugs, bike theft and voyeurism, could face lower penalties of 12 months imprisonment or less.

Defendants in cases for offences including assault of an emergency worker, stalking and possessing an indecent photograph of a child would also no longer be able to choose a jury trial.

'Radical change'

Not all lawyers agree with the suggested changes, however.

And in response, Mary Prior KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said: "Any fundamental change is going to require the criminal barristers who prosecute and defend in the Crown Court to believe that this is the best way forward.

"As this is such a radical change to the criminal justice system we will be listening to what our members say. There is a lot to digest."

Manisha Knights, Solicitor Advocate with MK Law, said: "Our jury system is central and pivotal to our justice system.

"With juries comes diversity whereas the judiciary still very much lacks it. The right to be tried by one's peers should not be removed or be diluted in any way, shape or form."

But the Magistrates' Association welcomed the review, saying it will speed up justice for thousands.

"Magistrates are ready and willing to support these and other initiatives aimed at reducing the pressure on Crown Courts," said Mark Beattie, national chair of the Magistrates' Association.

"We urge the government to implement Leveson's recommendations as soon as possible. Every day that they aren't in place, is a day when victims, witnesses and defendants have to wait for justice."

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "As Sir Brian rightly identifies, criminal justice in this country runs the risk of "total system collapse" unless we take the radical steps needed to reverse years of decline.

"It cannot be right that in London more than 100 trials listed are for 2029. This is intolerable for victims and all parties who rely on a properly functioning court system to provide closure from what are often traumatic experiences, made worse by persistent delays."

He added: "I welcome this report and look forward to working with partners across government to deliver the bold reforms that are now a necessity, not an option."

Among the recommendations are:

• A reclassification of certain offences
• The creation of a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle "less serious offences", which would include some theft, burglary, and fraud offences
• Greater use of out of court resolutions - which would allow the police to deal quickly with lower level, often first time offending - including increased use of cautions and conditional cautions
• Removal of the right to elect trial in cases where the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment with reclassification of some offences to "summary only" (meaning they will only be heard in a magistrates' court)
• The threshold for criminal damage being dealt with as a summary only offence to be increased from £5,000 to £10,000.
• Maximum sentence reduction increased to 40% for guilty pleas at first opportunity, encouraging quicker case resolution
• Judge-alone trials introduced either by election on the part of the defendant or for the most complex cases

The review recommended the immediate implementation of key reforms but acknowledged that many of the changes will take time to introduce, and "must be managed carefully to ensure the public is never put at risk".

The government says it will now consider all of Sir Brian's recommendations, and will respond in full ahead of legislation in the autumn.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement: "I have already lifted courts funding to record levels, funding 4,000 more court sitting days than under my predecessors.

"But swifter justice requires bold reform, and that is what I asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose."

She added: "As part of our Plan for Change, I will do whatever it takes to bring down the backlog and deliver swifter justice for victims."

A second review focusing on court efficiency will be published later this year.

Gregg Wallace has been warned by one of the country's most senior barristers not to say the women coming forward with claims against him are making things up.

The comments from Baroness Helena Kennedy, who chairs a watchdog aimed at improving standards of behaviour in the creative industries, come after 50 more people contacted BBC News with claims about the TV presenter, which he denies.

An inquiry into allegations of misconduct against him, conducted by an independent law firm on behalf of MasterChef's production company Banijay, is expected to report back imminently.

BBC News has not seen that report, but Wallace insisted it had cleared him of "the most serious and sensational allegations".

His comments came as it emerged that he had been sacked as MasterChef presenter as a result of the inquiry into alleged misconduct.

As the face of BBC One cooking show MasterChef, Gregg Wallace, 60, was one of the most high-profile presenters on British television for 20 years.

Defending himself on Tuesday, Wallace said he had been hired "as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all".

In an interview with Newsnight, Baroness Kennedy said the public might have enjoyed watching the cheeky chappy but they had not seen his "uglier side".

She said if she had one bit of advice for the presenter, it would be not to dismiss the women's claims.

"There may be an opportunity for you to make a comeback at some point but don't say that all of these women have made this stuff up and don't say that it's all invented," she said.

Baroness Kennedy also criticised managers across the TV industry for not dealing early on with concerns relating to the MasterChef presenter.

She said that if managers employed people who did not know how to behave, they had a responsibility to take them to one side, and nip issues in the bud as soon as possible.

"That was not done," she added.

Wallace stepped aside from MasterChef in November after our initial investigation at the end of last year, when 13 people accused him of making inappropriate sexual comments.

The new claims come from people who say they encountered him across a range of shows and settings.

The majority say he made inappropriate sexual comments, while 11 women accuse him of inappropriate sexual behaviour, such as groping and touching.

One woman says Wallace took his trousers down in front of her in a dressing room, in what she described as "disgusting and predatory" behaviour.

Another says she was left feeling "absolutely horrified" and "quite sick" when he groped her.

Other people who contacted us with new claims about the presenter include:

• A participant on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen - a show at the time that was produced in-house by the BBC - who says that, during a dinner ahead of filming in 2002, Wallace put his hand under the table and onto her groin, saying: "Do you like that?"
• A university student who says she met him in a nightclub with friends in 2013. She says after she asked to take a photo with him, he reached under her skirt and grabbed and pinched her bottom
• A woman who says, at an industry ball in 2014, he put his hand up her dress and groped her
• Another junior worker, in addition to Alice, who says in 2012 he dropped his trousers in front of her and wasn't wearing underwear
• A number of men who say they witnessed Wallace making inappropriate sexual comments
• More recent claims, including a 19-year-old MasterChef worker who says she tried to complain about Wallace's comments about her body in 2022, and a former policeman who says he tried to raise concerns about Wallace's sexually inappropriate language to the BBC in 2023

The allegations raise fresh questions for the BBC and the other companies he worked for about their safeguarding practices and duty of care.

On Tuesday, Wallace wrote a lengthy Instagram post in which he said the "most damaging claims" against him "were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six month investigation".

He added: "I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience. I was tried by media and hung out to dry well before the facts were established."

He accused the BBC of "peddling baseless and sensationalised gossip masquerading as properly corroborated stories".

Banijay UK said: "While the external investigation is ongoing, we won't be commenting on individual allegations. We encourage anyone wishing to raise issues or concerns to contact us in confidence."

A BBC spokesperson said: "Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace.

"We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published."

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, help and support is available at BBC Action Line.

Britain's biggest housebuilders have agreed to pay £100m towards affordable homes to avoid a regulator's decision on whether they broke competition law.

The seven firms have also agreed not to share commercially sensitive information such as how much houses have sold for "except in limited circumstances".

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year began investigating whether housebuilders had been swapping information, such as pricing and the incentives offered to buyers such as upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions.

The watchdog said if it accepts the firms' offer it will mean "that it is not necessary for the CMA to decide whether the housebuilders broke competition law".

School children are getting less meat, cheaper ingredients and smaller portions in their lunches as caterers battle rising costs, the new chair of a school food organisation has said.

Michael Hales, incoming chair of LACA, said schools were increasingly having to bridge the gap between government funding for free school meals and the rising cost of delivering dinner for all of their pupils.

It comes after the government said it would expand free school meals, which Mr Hales said was "welcome", but added that more funding would be "essential".

The Department for Education (DfE) said the "fully funded" expansion of free school meals was a "historic step to tackle the stain of child poverty".

A spokesperson added the government would keep the meal rates paid to schools, which fund free school meals, under review.

In April, the government said those rates would rise by 3p in the next academic year, from £2.58 to £2.61 per meal - a rise which Mr Hales said was "inadequate" and "almost considered an insult".

He said it meant caterers who were part of LACA and provided about three million school dinners a day, were having to make "really difficult decisions" over portion sizes, and the quality of ingredients they could afford.

He said it was becoming an "ever increasing challenge" to meet the government's school food standards, which officials said they were looking to "revise" with input from sector experts.

In Stoke-on-Trent, head teacher Clare Morton said she was spending £45,000 per year topping up the money she received from the government to pay for free school meals.

That money could be spent on another member of staff at St Mary's Primary School, she said, but added it was vitally important all the children were well fed.

"For a lot of our children, this is the only hot meal that they will get during the day," she said.

"Without healthy food, without a full tummy, these children won't be able to learn."

In England, the government will pay primary schools £2.61 per meal in 2025-26 to deliver its universal infant free school meals scheme, which makes all children from reception up to Year 2, regardless of household income, eligible for a free school dinner.

After Year 2, primary and secondary schools also get additional pupil premium funding from government for each of their pupils who gets a free school meal. Currently, children qualify for a free school meal if their family is on Universal Credit and earns under £7,400 a year.

In June, the government announced that it would be changing that eligibility criteria to make all children whose families are on Universal Credit, regardless of household income, eligible for a free school meal from September 2026.

The change would mean 500,000 more children qualify for a free school meal, the government said.

Ms Morton said it was "fantastic" more children would be eligible, but added the government "needs to acknowledge that there's a gap between what the school are actually getting and how much it costs to feed the children".

Currently, the money her school needs to fund that gap is supported by 72 parents who pay for their child's school meal. As the free school meals scheme expands and more children become eligible, that income will be "wiped out", she said.

The government's 3p meal rate increase "really isn't enough" to make up any of the school's £45,000 food deficit, she added.

Mr Hales said a recent survey of its members suggested the real cost of delivering a meal was actually more like £3.45 - roughly 80p more than the £2.61 given to schools to fund free school meals in England.

LACA said it sent its annual cost of living survey to 500 members. The 67 who responded said they catered for a total of 5,689 schools with a total pupil population of roughly 1.3 million. Overall, England has approximately 24,000 state schools with an overall pupil population of just over nine million.

Of the 67 schools, councils and private catering firms who responded to the LACA survey:

• 17 said they had decreased some portion sizes
• 35 said they had cut some menu options
• 38 said they had reduced some meats with cheaper protein sources
• 56 said they had adjusted their recipes

LACA said its survey also suggested that, since March 2020, the amount paid for school dinners by parents whose children were not eligible for free school meals had increased by 20%.

Mr Hales said that could continue to rise if schools were unable to meet rising costs with increased government funding.

Mum-of-three Mandy Mazliah, from Cambridgeshire, said she had concerns about the nutritional value of her children's school dinners.

The 45-year-old, who runs a food blog and is a parent ambassador for a children's food campaign, said her children, aged between 10 and 15, have a mix of packed lunches and dinners provided for them at school.

She said the school food could vary between healthy, balanced meals and pizzas, cookies and donuts, and in some cases portion sizes had been getting smaller.

"What we need is proper investment from the government in healthy school meals, and in fact a whole school food approach to make it more affordable for schools to provide nutritious, appealing, healthy food for all of our children," she added.

Provision of free school meals varies significantly across the UK.

In London and Wales, the offer of a universal free school meal has been extended to all primary school children up to Year 6.

Although the funding rate for most of England is £2.61, in London schools get a higher rate of £3. In Wales, the rate is £3.20.

In Scotland, all children in the first five years of primary school are eligible for free school meals, as well as all children from families receiving the Scottish Child Payment benefit.

Parents in Northern Ireland can apply if they receive certain benefits and are below an income threshold of £15,000.

Additional reporting by Rahib Khan

The exodus of firms from the London Stock Exchange has created a "pivotal moment" for the UK's financial services sector which requires urgent action, a leading business group has warned.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said a combination of companies choosing to list elsewhere, private firms buying up public ones, and investors shunning UK shares had seen 213 firms leave since 2016.

Chair Rupert Soames said that lighter regulation, better marketing and incentives for investors to put cash into British firms were needed to stem the outflow.

He said he would support cutting allowances for cash ISAs to get more people investing, which the chancellor is understood to be considering.

In her Mansion House speech to City leaders, Rachel Reeves is expected to consider cutting tax breaks for people parking their savings in cash ISAs, in a bid to encourage more investment in stocks and shares.

She is expected to set out how people can be given the right information and support to take a stake in government's effort to grow the economy.

Mr Soames said he would support changes in tax law to encourage more investment, arguing that the current annual £20,000 allowance to put cash that can earn interest tax free did little to help growth.

"Of all the investments that God ever invented, cash [ISA] is the worst possible one," he said.

Quizzed on whether it cash ISAs were safer than people putting their money into stocks and shares, he replied: "Safe from what? Inflation - I don't think so.

"There is £300bn that people have squirrelled away and I suspect the chancellor will want to do something about that and say that if you are going to take tax shelter then should it be in cash or something productive."

'Houston we have a problem'

"Houston we have a problem" was how Mr Soames characterised widespread concern about the steady outflow of companies from UK markets, particularly to the US.

Some well-known and highly regarded UK companies now sell their shares on foreign markets.

Once the jewel in the crown of UK, tech firm ARM Holdings is now listed in New York. Just Eat and Deliveroo have moved or been gobbled up by competitors, Paddy Power's parent company Flutter is betting on the US, and mining giant BHP headed down under to Australia.

Perennial rumours remain over the future of London stalwarts Shell, and UK's most valuable company, Astra Zeneca.

Last year alone 88 companies left the UK, and 70 more have departed so far this year. A trickle has become a flood.

Mr Soames said the exits mattered because the stock market is part of the foundations of a financial services industry that pays 10% of all taxes in the UK - "supporting hospitals and schools up and down the land".

Last year, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange denied it was in crisis despite the high-profile exits.

'Don't be squeamish on executive pay'

When it comes to public companies being bought up by private firms, the benefits are many. Private buyers are prepared to pay more for the business, pay executives higher salaries and are subject to less scrutiny and regulation.

Mr Soames argued the country needed to be "grown up" about some of these issues if the UK wanted to retain the world's best companies.

"If you want to have international companies here you've got to allow them to pay management what they think that they need to be paid and not be squeamish," he said.

The CBI's report welcomed some of the work done already to bolster UK stock markets.

The previous Conservative government loosened some listing requirements and Reeves has plans to consolidate some public sector pension funds into superfunds.

Several of the biggest pension and insurance firms have voluntarily signed up to invest more in UK private assets.

But there's little evidence that has moved the needle of the UK investment industry, which only invests 4% of its assets in publicly-traded British companies.

A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC that the Chancellor would next week set out more detail on how the government intends to "ruthlessly exploit our global advantages".

"This includes continued reform to ensure our capital markets are competitive and at the forefront of modern public markets," they said.

While London raised three times more equity capital than the next three European exchanges combined next year, there is more to do to ensure we attract the most promising companies to list on our shores.

The challenge is not just to lead the investment horse to water but to make it drink out of your own pool.

England 'want to be better'

Wales must 'show how proud we are'

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday evening for the second time in as many days to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.

The meeting came after Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Israel and Hamas had one remaining issue to agree on for a 60-day ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly after 17:00 EST (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday for the meeting, which was not open to members of the press.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu met with vice-president JD Vance. He also met with Trump for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday.

It marks Netanyahu's third state visit to the US since Trump's second term.

The meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

Netanyahu also met with the Republican House of Representative Speaker Mike Johnson.

After that meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister said he did not believe Israel's military campaign in Gaza was done, but that negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Witkoff later said that Israel and Hamas were closing the gap on issues that previously prevented them from reaching a deal, and that he hoped a temporary, 60-day ceasefire will be agreed on this week.

"We had four issues and now we're down to one", Witkoff said of the sticking points in negotiations.

He added that the draft deal would also include the release of 10 hostages who are alive, and the bodies of nine who are deceased.

Before the Israeli Prime Minister's meeting with Trump on Monday, a Qatari delegation arrived at the White House and spoke with officials for several hours, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the talks.

Trump told reporters on Monday evening that ceasefire talks are "going very well". But Qatar, which has played a mediator role in negotiations, said on Tuesday morning that more time was needed for negotiations.

"I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.

Before discussions resumed on Tuesday, a Palestinian source familiar with the talks told the BBC they have not made any headway.

The latest round of negotiations between Hamas and Israel began on Sunday.

The ongoing Gaza war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 57,500 in Gaza according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

At least 161 people are still missing in a single Texas county four days after deadly and devastating flash floods hit parts of the state last week, Governor Greg Abbott said, as hope fades for survivors to be found alive.

The missing in the hard-hit Kerr County include five campers and one counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of Guadalupe river.

At least 109 people have died in the disaster, including 94 in the Kerrville area alone, Abbott said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Texas is not alone. New Mexico saw a flash flood emergency as well, with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning of intense flooding on Tuesday night.

In Texas, frantic search and rescue efforts continue, with Abbott vowing emergency crews "will not stop until every missing person is accounted for".

Abbott added that it is very likely more missing will be added to the list in the coming days, and urged people to report anyone they think is unaccounted for.

General Thomas Suelzer from the Texas National Guard said search efforts include Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters with rescue hoists.

He said there are 13 Black Hawk helicopters helping in the search effort, including four that arrived from Arkansas. He added that authorities were also using reaper drones.

Responders from various agencies are working together on rescue efforts, including agents from border patrol, the FBI and the National Guard.

More than 250 responders from various agencies have been assigned to the Kerrville area alone to help with search and rescue.

One of those rescue volunteers, named Tim, told the BBC he has never seen any destruction at this scale before.

"I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare," he said.

Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".

"There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it," he told the BBC.

"It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort."

Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.

• 'Lives are at stake:' Deadly Texas storms puts spotlight on Trump's weather agency cuts
• Three key factors that made Texas floods so deadly

Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including the extreme weather, the location of the holiday homes and timing.

The governor, who had spent part of the day surveying the flood zone, said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".

No one knew it would lead to a "30-foot high tsunami wall of water", he said.

The governor responded to a question about who was to "blame" for the enormous death toll, saying: "That's the word choice of losers."

He made a sports analogy, saying American football teams make mistakes; champion teams are the ones who don't "point fingers".

• 'Hero' dad, twin girls and riverside campers among Texas flood victims
• What early warnings did flood-hit Texas receive?

Most of the victims died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.

Camp Mystic had earlier confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead.

Those who survived are now focused on trying to rebuild.

Justin Brown has lived along the Guadalupe River for more than 25 years.

A week ago, he lived in his mobile home at the Blue Oak RV Park with his two young daughters and dog. Now, there is a huge puddle where his home once stood – his RV swept away in the floods.

"We were one of the few parks that got almost everybody out," Mr Brown told the BBC as he described the efforts of his landlord and emergency workers, who evacuated almost all of the park's residents.

Looking out over the empty lot where his home once stood – now just debris – he said he hopes to move back in as soon as he can.

President Donald Trump will travel to the flood-ravaged areas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.

Separately, in New Mexico, the NWS declared a flash flood emergency on Tuesday and told residents of Ruidoso to be on high alert for flooding.

Officials there are already working to rescue people trapped in floodwaters and houses are reportedly being washed away.

A flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso has reached 15 feet (4.5m), the NWS in Albuquerque said in a post on X.

The waters receded about two hours later, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

Officials had to perform some swift boat rescues and some people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday evening for the second time in as many days to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza.

The meeting came after Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Israel and Hamas had one remaining issue to agree on for a 60-day ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly after 17:00 EST (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday for the meeting, which was not open to members of the press.

Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu met with vice-president JD Vance. He also met with Trump for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday.

It marks Netanyahu's third state visit to the US since Trump's second term.

The meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

Netanyahu also met with the Republican House of Representative Speaker Mike Johnson.

After that meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister said he did not believe Israel's military campaign in Gaza was done, but that negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Witkoff later said that Israel and Hamas were closing the gap on issues that previously prevented them from reaching a deal, and that he hoped a temporary, 60-day ceasefire will be agreed on this week.

"We had four issues and now we're down to one", Witkoff said of the sticking points in negotiations.

He added that the draft deal would also include the release of 10 hostages who are alive, and the bodies of nine who are deceased.

Before the Israeli Prime Minister's meeting with Trump on Monday, a Qatari delegation arrived at the White House and spoke with officials for several hours, Axios reported, citing a source with knowledge of the talks.

Trump told reporters on Monday evening that ceasefire talks are "going very well". But Qatar, which has played a mediator role in negotiations, said on Tuesday morning that more time was needed for negotiations.

"I don't think that I can give any timeline at the moment, but I can say right now that we will need time for this," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said.

Before discussions resumed on Tuesday, a Palestinian source familiar with the talks told the BBC they have not made any headway.

The latest round of negotiations between Hamas and Israel began on Sunday.

The ongoing Gaza war began on 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 57,500 in Gaza according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

An Instagram post by TV personality Gemma Collins which advertised a weight-loss drug and app has been banned.

The star posted: "I'm starting this year two sizes down, thanks to Yazen's weight loss app and medication".

It is illegal to advertise prescription-only weight loss drugs and Ms Collins' was one of nine adverts banned in a crackdown by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Ms Collins told the ASA's investigation she accepted her posts had promoted the Yazen weight-loss service and app and she would follow guidance in future.

Yazen is a Swedish digital healthcare brand that offers users a doctor-supervised weight-loss programme combining prescription medications with lifestyle coaching.

Ms Collins posted a video advert for the brand to her Instagram on 6 January this year.

In the now-banned advert, Ms Collins describes how Yazen has helped her and stated: "I'm not telling anyone to go on this medication, but it is prescribed on the NHS."

Although the advert didn't name a specific weight-loss medication, the ASA said it made references that breached its code.

The ASA said it sought advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which expressed concern that consumers were likely to be led to request a prescription weight-loss medication.

Therefore, the advert was deemed as promoting those medications to the public, breaching ASA rules.

The eight other adverts banned for promoting prescription only weight-loss medications to the public were:

• A paid-for Meta ad for CheqUp Health, which stated "Take the first step to sustainable weight loss with CheqUp".
• A paid-for Meta ad for HealthExpress.co.uk, which included an image of a partially visible injection pen and code breaching text
• A paid-for Google search ad for Juniper UK, which stated "GLP-1 Weekly Weight Loss Injection" and featured an image of an injection pen.
• A paid-for Google search ad for Phlo Clinic, including text that stated, "Get 35% off Weight Loss Order Weight Loss Treatments Online".
• A paid-for Google ad for SemaPen, which stated "SemaPen Makes Weight Loss Easier."
• A paid-for Meta ad for Cloud Pharmacy featuring texts messages between two friends discussing new weight-loss medications you can order online.
• A paid-for Google search ad for pharmacyonline.co.uk, which featured text stating "Obesity Treatment Jab" and an image of a box containing a vial of liquid.
• A paid-for Google search ad for Phlo Clinic, seen on 2 December 2024, which included text that stated "Weight loss Injections".

The ASA has ruled that none of these adverts can appear again in their current form.

One day in 2010, Sean "Diddy" Combs was in the kitchen of his Beverly Hills estate with his assistant Capricorn Clark. "Let me show you something," he said, summoning his girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, into the room.

Turning to her, he issued a string of commands: "Sit down, stand up, turn around, walk over there, hand me that. Now go back." His girlfriend obeyed his every word.

"Did you see that?" said Combs to his assistant. "You won't do that. That's why you don't have a man like me."

This account, shared by Ms Clark (also known as Cassie) in her testimony during Combs' recent eight-week trial, gave a glimpse into his dynamic with his partner - and a sense of what was happening behind closed doors.

Ms Ventura, an R&B singer who was previously signed to his record label, testified that throughout their long-term relationship, Combs – who was 17 years her senior – beat her, blackmailed her and coerced her into drug-fuelled sex sessions with escorts. He had, she continued, controlled her life.

Central to the trial was the claim that Combs, 55, a multimillionaire music mogul once credited with bringing rap into the mainstream, forced his partners to engage in elaborate sexual performances, known as "freak-offs", that he directed, often filmed and arranged with the help of his staff.

Last week, he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted on the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

After the verdict was announced, Ms Ventura's lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said that by coming forward, she had "brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion".

But now, campaigners, survivors of sexual violence and insiders within the music industry are asking: Why did it take so long to hold Combs accountable?

And, in light of Hollywood's MeToo movement that uncovered and helped root out sexual harassment and abuse in the film industry, and which began nearly a decade ago - is it now time that the music industry, or more specifically, hip-hop, had a MeToo movement of its own?

'A playbook that shields predators'

Cristalle Bowen is a rapper from Chicago who was part of an all-female trio called RapperChicks. "The Diddy trial only highlights what many of us already know," she says, referring to the struggle to hold powerful people to account.

In 2022 she wrote a book about misogyny in the industry. The tagline is: Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in a Culture of Misogyny. "Being the token women on labels and in crews leaves you susceptible to, at the very least, name calling," she claims. "At the most… you've been abused in some way.

"When there is money involved, it becomes tricky. From hush money to stalled careers to the way we all see survivors treated… It's a difficult task."

Campaigners and industry insiders who spoke to the BBC say that sexual abuse and harassment exists across all genres in the music business, not only hip-hop. They point to a culture of silence, where they claim that predators are protected and victims risk being blacklisted, sued or fired.

Caroline Heldman, an academic and activist, agrees. She is co-founder of the US-based Sound Off Coalition, which advocates for the elimination of sexual violence in music, and argues that there is a history of using "threats to push out women artists who are targets of abuse by men".

"The music industry has followed a playbook for dealing with sexual abuse that shields predators, including musicians, producers, managers, executives, and other behind-the-scenes players, from liability," she claims.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – legal contracts that stop people from sharing certain agreed-upon private information – are used legitimately in the industry, for example to help protect commercial secrets. But some argue that these are being misused and can contribute to a culture of silence in cases of abuse.

"[It] makes for a very difficult decision for a lot of victims," says Arick Fudali, a New York-based lawyer. One of his clients is Dawn Richard, a singer who testified against Combs at the federal trial and has an ongoing lawsuit against him.

"I've had clients who have declined that and chosen to file their lawsuit publicly," he adds. "They can receive less money than if they had just settled privately and confidentially."

Ms Bowen argues that she has seen this happen first-hand. "Moguls write the cheques and artists need the cheques - there's usually no checks and balances when mogul money is involved."

But, there may be other reasons for not speaking out.

And in hip-hop specifically, some survivors of abuse and experts we spoke to argue that this culture of silence is exacerbated by the combined forces of racism and misogyny, and a desire to fiercely protect a genre that has created rare avenues to stardom and financial success.

A mouthpiece for liberation and resistance

Originating in the African-American and Latino communities of New York City in the 1970s, hip-hop became a mouthpiece for liberation and resistance against the authorities and social injustice.

"Hip-hop allowed young black people to tell their own stories on their own terms, it gave that generation a voice," explains Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African-American studies at Duke University, particularly when popular culture was offering a limited portrayal of black America.

It's now the most commercially successful music genre in the US, leading in album sales and streaming numbers. "Rappers are the new rock stars," says Thomas Hobbs, a writer and co-host of a hip-hop podcast, Exit the 36 Chambers. "They're the people now most likely to fill arenas."

As an artist and businessman who ran an empire that encompassed fashion, alcohol and TV as well as his label, Bad Boy Records, Combs - who has an estimated net worth of about $400m (£293m) - has been championed not only for helping hip-hop become commercially viable but for creating jobs and opportunities, particularly for black men.

Throughout his career he has been vocal about "black excellence" – platforming achievements – as well as highlighting struggles within the black community.

This was something his legal defence raised in court, saying: "Sean Combs has become something that is very, very hard to be. Very hard to be. He is a self-made, successful, black entrepreneur."

Outside court during his trial, fans erupted in cheers after he was acquitted of the more serious charges and onlookers debated aloud whether he had been unfairly targeted. "Of course he was. He's a powerful black man," one said.

For weeks, others had been wearing and selling "Free Puff" T-shirts, after Combs' 90s stage name, next to a speaker blaring out his music.

Sociologist Katheryn Russell-Brown has described a phenomenon she calls "black protectionism".

"Those who have managed to obtain large-scale prosperity, in spite of legal, political, economic, educational and social barriers, are given the status of racial pioneers," she wrote in her book, Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African Americans, which was inspired by the OJ Simpson case.

"It is, therefore, predictable that black people as a group are suspicious when criminal charges are brought against members of its elite, protected class."

Black women in particular carry the fear that speaking out could reinforce harmful stereotypes about their community, argues Treva Lindsey, a professor in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Ohio State University who researches misogyny in hip-hop.

"When we portray hip-hop as uniquely sexist, or sexually violent, or harmful, that has repercussions for black people of all genders," she says.

The start of a reckoning?

And yet across the entertainment industry more broadly, a retrospective focus is slowly happening now, in part because of shifts in attitudes.

Recent changes to law in some US states have also enabled people to take action over alleged historic misconduct.

New York and California passed laws in 2022 called the Adult Survivors Act that for one-year only allowed people to file sexual abuse claims, regardless of when the alleged incidents took place.

Ms Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. It was settled the following day, and Combs denied the claims.

He now faces more than 60 civil cases from men and women accusing him of drugging or assault, spanning his entire three-decade career.

In a statement, Combs' team has said: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor."

He is, however, one of several hip-hop titans of the 90s and 00s to have been accused in a relatively recent wave of allegations.

Music executive and producer Antonio LA Reid, who worked with artists including Usher, Kanye West (now known as Ye) and Rihanna, was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in 2023. He denies all claims against him.

Meanwhile, Russell Simmons, co-founder of hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, has faced allegations of violent sexual behaviour by more than 20 women since 2017, all of which he has denied.

Drew Dixon, who is former vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at Arista Records, is among them. She has claimed she was abused by both Mr Simmons and Mr Reid when she worked in the music industry in the 1990s and 2000s.

She told The New York Times: "You're not just going up against the person who assaulted you," she said. "You are going against everyone who benefits from their brand and revenue stream.

"Those forces will mobilise against any accuser. It's daunting."

Backlash after speaking out

Sil Lai Abrams, who is a writer and gender violence activist, began working as an executive assistant at the Def Jam music label in 1992. She is one of the women who accused Mr Simmons of sexual assault. He has denied all allegations.

"It's harder for women of colour to speak out against abuse in the music industry," she argues - something that she believes still applies today. "[Women have] been conditioned to see abuse of power and sexual harassment as the price one pays to work in the industry."

Then there is the question of the response from the public if people do speak out. When Ms Ventura first filed her lawsuit against Combs, she faced widespread abuse. Memes on social media accused her of being a gold-digger. Some in the hip-hop industry criticised her too.

"Quit trying to expose people for money," US rapper Slim Thug said in a video shared with his two million followers on Instagram in 2023.

Only when CNN broadcast security camera footage dating back to 2016 which showed Combs grabbing, dragging and kicking Ms Ventura in the hallway of a hotel did the sentiment towards her change.

Slim Thug publicly apologised for his comments.

Combs responded in a video statement posted on Instagram, saying: "My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility… I'm committed to be a better man each and every day… I'm truly sorry."

"Before the video of Combs beating her came out and people couldn't deny the evidence, people said Cassie was a liar," says Dr Nikki Lane, assistant professor in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies at Duke University.

Yet Dr Lane argues that more still needs to change. "Black women's bodies are constantly traded upon within the culture of hip-hop as tropes to be ridiculed".

Dr Lane points to the example of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the foot in 2020.

Fellow rapper Tory Lanez is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the assault, but after the incident, the artist Drake was criticised for lyrics in his 2022 song Circo Loco - "This b- lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion" - which seemed to refer to the incident.

'Some people look the other way'

There remains the question of what happens to the art – and indeed the music – when an idol is convicted of serious crimes.

R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking, racketeering and sexually abusing women and children, but years later, his music remains popular. It generated about 780 million audio streams in the US since January 2019. On Spotify, he has around 5.2 million monthly listeners.

"There are still people [who] defend R Kelly," says Mr Hobbs. "I won't be surprised if Diddy's streams, just like R Kelly's, stay high."

"There's a kind of cognitive dissonance" from fans, he argues. "These songs become so embedded in people's lives that they find it very difficult to get rid of them… [they're] part of people's DNA.

"So, I think some people are able to look the other way."

The bigger question, perhaps, is how should the industry react? After the MeToo movement began in 2017, at least 200 prominent men accused of sexual harassment lost their jobs, and changes were made to workplace policies.

However, the Combs verdict in itself is unlikely to lead to wider changes, according to Prof Lindsey. "I think what happens in this moment is Diddy, kind of like R Kelly in the R&B black music pantheon, is seen as exceptional… and not indicative of something else," she says.

"There isn't a cultural reset where we look inward and ask: 'How does this happen?'"

But that is exactly what is missing, argue some others in the industry, including Ms Abrams. "What is lacking is a political environment against which survivors can count on to change the material conditions that allowed someone like Combs to act with impunity," she says.

Following MeToo in Hollywood, certain changes were introduced, including making intimacy coordinators more of a standard practice when filming sex scenes. Some music insiders now hope that migrates over to music video sets.

The Sound Off Coalition is calling for new company rules that require people in positions of power in music to report accusations of sexual assault.

Tangible measures are what matter, argues Dr Lane. "The only way for me to believe that there's been a reckoning would be to see changes in laws, policies, and actual business practices of the industry… [Ones] that are not based on how long Diddy goes down for."

For all the latest reaction and analysis on the verdict, you can listen to the Diddy on Trial podcast available on BBC Sounds.

Additional reporting by Florence Freeman and Fiona Macdonald

Top picture credit: Rich Polk/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

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King Charles III will say the UK and France must stand together in the face of a "multitude of complex threats", when he speaks at a state banquet for French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron and his wife Brigitte will be welcomed by the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as they arrive for a three-day state visit.

The state banquet will be a highlight of the trip, with famous faces, a showcase menu and a message from the King about the "shared history and culture between our two peoples".

This is the first state visit by the leader of an EU country since Brexit and the King will emphasise the need to work together on issues from military threats to climate change.

"For centuries our citizens have admired each other, amused each other, and imitated each other," the King will say at Tuesday evening's banquet, which will be held at Windsor Castle, as Buckingham Palace is being renovated.

He will warn of modern threats "emanating from multiple directions" and challenges that "know no borders" from which "no fortress can protect us".

"Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world," the state banquet speech will say.

A state visit is a "soft power" opportunity to strengthen partnerships, with the French visit set to reinforce links with the UK in trade, diplomacy and defence, at a time of uncertainty about the US stance on issues such as military backing for Ukraine.

A UK-France summit at Downing Street on Thursday, hosted by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is also likely to discuss ways of stopping illegal migration on small boats across the Channel.

The start of the visit on Tuesday will see ceremonial spectacles, with senior members of the Royal Family ready to greet the French visitors and to celebrate the "entente cordiale", in the first French state visit since 2008.

Prince William and Catherine will greet the French president and his wife when their plane touches down at RAF Northolt, with King Charles and Queen Camilla then welcoming them at Windsor.

There will be horses, as well as political horse-trading, with a carriage procession through Windsor, ahead of a royal salute and military parade at Windsor Castle.

On Wednesday, Macron will see a horse that he gave to the late Queen Elizabeth II, to mark her Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

The French president and his wife are also set to visit the tomb of the late Queen, during their stay in Windsor.

The UK government has spoken of wanting to "re-set" post-Brexit relations with European neighbours and Macron's visit will be a public endorsement of the longstanding alliance with France.

MPs and peers will be able to hear Macron when he gives a speech to the Houses of Parliament.

Advances in science will highlighted during the visit, with examples of artificial intelligence and innovative technology being shown to the French visitors at Imperial College London.

King Charles and Queen Camilla carried out a state visit to France in 2023, where he received a standing ovation for his speech to the French Senate.

He had given a strongly worded message of support for Ukraine after Russia's "horrifying" invasion. The King had also highlighted the "existential challenge" of climate change.

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A deadly crackdown on student-led protests in Bangladesh last year was authorised by then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to audio of one of her phone calls verified by BBC Eye.

In the audio, which was leaked online in March, Hasina says she authorised her security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters and that "wherever they find [them], they will shoot".

Prosecutors in Bangladesh plan to use the recording as crucial evidence against Hasina, who is being tried in absentia at a special tribunal for crimes against humanity.

Up to 1,400 people died in last summer's unrest, according to UN investigators. Hasina, who fled to India, and her party reject all charges against her.

A spokesperson for her Awami League party denied the tape showed any "unlawful intention" of "disproportionate response".

The leaked audio of Hasina's conversation with an unidentified senior government official is the most significant evidence yet that she gave direct authorisation to shoot anti-government protesters, tens of thousands of whom had taken to the streets by last summer.

The protests began against civil service job quotas for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence and escalated into a mass movement that ousted Hasina, who had been in power for 15 years. It the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since the 1971 war.

Some of the bloodiest scenes occurred on 5 August, the day Hasina fled by helicopter before crowds stormed her residence in Dhaka.

The BBC World Service investigation established previously unreported details about a police massacre of protesters in the capital - including a much higher death toll.

Hasina was at her residence in Dhaka, known as the Ganabhaban, for the duration of the call which took place on 18 July, a source with knowledge of the leaked audio told the BBC.

It was a crucial moment in the demonstrations. Security officials were responding to public outrage at police killings of protesters captured on video and shared across social media. In the days following the call, military-grade rifles were deployed and used across Dhaka, according to police documents seen by the BBC.

The recording the BBC examined is one of numerous calls involving Sheikh Hasina that were made by the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC), a Bangladeshi government body responsible for monitoring communications.

The audio of the call was leaked in early March this year - it's unclear by whom. Since the protests, numerous clips of Hasina's calls have appeared online, many of them unverified.

The leaked 18 July recording was voice matched by the Criminal Investigation Department in the Bangladesh Police with known audio of Sheikh Hasina's voice.

The BBC conducted its own independent verification by sharing the recording with audio forensics experts Earshot, who found no evidence the speech had been edited or manipulated and said it was highly unlikely to have been synthetically generated.

Earshot said the leaked recording was likely to have been taken in a room with the phone call played back on a speaker, due to the presence of distinctive telephonic frequencies and background sounds. Earshot identified Electric Network Frequency (ENF) throughout the recording, a frequency that's often present in audio recordings due to interference between a recording device and mains-powered equipment, an indicator that the audio has not been manipulated.

Earshot also analysed Sheikh Hasina's speech – the rhythm, intonation and breath sounds - and identified consistent noise floor levels, finding no evidence of synthetic artefacts in the audio.

"The recordings are critical for establishing her role, they are clear and have been properly authenticated, and are supported by other evidence," British international human rights barrister Toby Cadman told the BBC. He is advising Bangladesh's International Criminal Tribunal (ICT), the court hearing cases against Hasina and others.

An Awami League spokesperson said: "We cannot confirm whether the tape recording referenced by the BBC is authentic."

Alongside Sheikh Hasina, former government and police officials have been implicated in the killings of protesters. A total of 203 individuals have been indicted by the ICT, of whom 73 are in custody.

BBC Eye analysed and verified hundreds of videos, images and documents detailing police attacks against demonstrators across 36 days.

The investigation found that in one incident on 5 August in Jatrabari, a busy Dhaka neighbourhood, at least 52 people were killed by police, making it one of the worst incidents of police violence in Bangladesh's history. Initial reports at the time suggested 30 dead in Jatrabari on that day.

Outside the UK, watch on YouTube

The BBC investigation uncovered new details about how the massacre started and ended.

Gathering eyewitness footage, CCTV and drone imagery, BBC Eye established that police opened fire indiscriminately on protesters immediately after army personnel, who were separating the police from the protesters, vacated the area.

For more than 30 minutes the police shot at fleeing protesters as they tried to escape down alleyways and on the highway, before the police officers sought shelter in a nearby army camp. At least six police officers were also killed as protesters retaliated hours later, setting fire to the Jatrabari police station.

A spokesperson for the Bangladesh Police told the BBC that 60 police officers had been arrested for their role in the violence in July and August last year.

"There were regrettable incidents in which certain members of the then police force engaged in excessive use of force," said the spokesperson. "Bangladesh Police has launched thorough and impartial investigations."

Sheikh Hasina's trial began last month. She has been charged with committing crimes against humanity, including issuing orders that led to mass killings and targeted violence against civilians, as well as incitement, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder.

India has so far failed to comply with a Bangladeshi request for her extradition. It is unlikely that Hasina will return to the country for the trial, Mr Cadman said.

The Awami League maintains that its leaders are not liable for the force used against protesters.

"The Awami League categorically denies and rejects claims that some of its senior leaders, including the prime minister herself, were personally responsible for or directed the use of lethal force against crowds," a spokesperson for the party said.

"The decisions made by senior government officials were proportionate in nature, made in good faith and intended to minimise the loss of life."

The party has rejected the findings of United Nations investigators, who said they had found reasonable grounds to believe the actions of Hasina and her government could amount to crimes against humanity.

The BBC approached the Bangladesh army for comment but did not receive a response.

Since Hasina's fall, Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

His government is preparing for national elections. It's unclear if the Awami League will be allowed to contest the vote.

Thousands of cases that would normally be heard in front of a jury should be decided by judges alone, according to recommendations made by a former senior judge.

Sir Brian Leveson was asked by the Lord Chancellor to come up with a series of proposals to reduce the backlog of cases in the criminal courts.

There are almost 77,000 cases waiting for trial in the Crown Court in England and Wales - meaning some defendants and victims are waiting years for justice.

After reviewing the state of the criminal courts, Sir Brian suggested "fundamental" reforms to "reduce the risk of total system collapse." But some barristers argue juries are essential for fair justice - and scrapping them is wrong.

To fix what he calls a broken system, Sir Brian has suggested having judge-only trials for certain cases such as fraud and bribery.

Another recommendation involves having more out of court resolutions like cautions.

He wants a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle less serious offences, and to increase the number of sentence reductions for guilty pleas at the first opportunity offered.

This is all about shortening the process in the hope of cutting the big backlog.

"Our criminal justice system stands at a critical juncture," said Sir Brian who was requested to look into the matter in December last year.

"It is well recognised that justice delayed is justice denied but the record and rising court backlog means victims, witnesses and defendants are waiting months, sometimes years, for cases to come to trial - unable to move on with their lives," he added.

Sir Brian noted the proposed changes are designed "to transform our courts into a system that provides appropriate and fair decision-making."

He continued: "It also takes a proportionate approach to trial processes while maintaining the fundamental right to a fair trial.

"These are not small tweaks but fundamental changes that will seek to make the system fit for the 21st century."

The proposals would mean more cases will be heard in the magistrates' courts, with jury trials reserved for the most serious cases.

Either way, offences with a maximum custodial sentence of two years or less, such as possession of drugs, bike theft and voyeurism, could face lower penalties of 12 months imprisonment or less.

Defendants in cases for offences including assault of an emergency worker, stalking and possessing an indecent photograph of a child would also no longer be able to choose a jury trial.

'Radical change'

Not all lawyers agree with the suggested changes, however.

And in response, Mary Prior KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said: "Any fundamental change is going to require the criminal barristers who prosecute and defend in the Crown Court to believe that this is the best way forward.

"As this is such a radical change to the criminal justice system we will be listening to what our members say. There is a lot to digest."

Manisha Knights, Solicitor Advocate with MK Law, said: "Our jury system is central and pivotal to our justice system.

"With juries comes diversity whereas the judiciary still very much lacks it. The right to be tried by one's peers should not be removed or be diluted in any way, shape or form."

But the Magistrates' Association welcomed the review, saying it will speed up justice for thousands.

"Magistrates are ready and willing to support these and other initiatives aimed at reducing the pressure on Crown Courts," said Mark Beattie, national chair of the Magistrates' Association.

"We urge the government to implement Leveson's recommendations as soon as possible. Every day that they aren't in place, is a day when victims, witnesses and defendants have to wait for justice."

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "As Sir Brian rightly identifies, criminal justice in this country runs the risk of "total system collapse" unless we take the radical steps needed to reverse years of decline.

"It cannot be right that in London more than 100 trials listed are for 2029. This is intolerable for victims and all parties who rely on a properly functioning court system to provide closure from what are often traumatic experiences, made worse by persistent delays."

He added: "I welcome this report and look forward to working with partners across government to deliver the bold reforms that are now a necessity, not an option."

Among the recommendations are:

• A reclassification of certain offences
• The creation of a new division of the Crown Court with two magistrates and a judge to handle "less serious offences", which would include some theft, burglary, and fraud offences
• Greater use of out of court resolutions - which would allow the police to deal quickly with lower level, often first time offending - including increased use of cautions and conditional cautions
• Removal of the right to elect trial in cases where the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment with reclassification of some offences to "summary only" (meaning they will only be heard in a magistrates' court)
• The threshold for criminal damage being dealt with as a summary only offence to be increased from £5,000 to £10,000.
• Maximum sentence reduction increased to 40% for guilty pleas at first opportunity, encouraging quicker case resolution
• Judge-alone trials introduced either by election on the part of the defendant or for the most complex cases

The review recommended the immediate implementation of key reforms but acknowledged that many of the changes will take time to introduce, and "must be managed carefully to ensure the public is never put at risk".

The government says it will now consider all of Sir Brian's recommendations, and will respond in full ahead of legislation in the autumn.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement: "I have already lifted courts funding to record levels, funding 4,000 more court sitting days than under my predecessors.

"But swifter justice requires bold reform, and that is what I asked Sir Brian Leveson to propose."

She added: "As part of our Plan for Change, I will do whatever it takes to bring down the backlog and deliver swifter justice for victims."

A second review focusing on court efficiency will be published later this year.

A rapidly spreading wildfire has reached the outer edge of Marseille, France's second largest city.

"The marine firefighter battalion is waging guerrilla warfare, hoses in hand," said the city's Mayor Benoît Payan, referring to Marseille's fire and rescue service.

The prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône area, Georges-François Leclerc, urged local residents to remain indoors and said firefighters were "defending" the city.

He said that while the situation was not static, it was "under control".

Marseille Provence airport has been closed for the rest of Tuesday.

Some residents have been advised to stay inside, close shutters and doors, and keep roads clear for emergency services.

The fire, which broke out earlier on Tuesday near Pennes-Mirabeau, north of Marseille, is said to have covered about 700 hectares (7 sq km).

Local authorities said the blaze was sparked by a car that caught fire on the motorway, and that it could continue to spread as strong winds are set to blow until late this evening.

"It's very striking - apocalyptic even," Monique Baillard, a resident of the town, told Reuters news agency. She said many of her neighbours had already left.

The local fire service said 168 firefighters had been deployed to fight the blaze, as well as fire engines and helicopters.

Marseille's mayor, Benoit Payan, asked residents to remain "extremely vigilant" and to limit their movements. Locals told French TV of dense traffic jams as people tried to evacuate the city.

Footage posted online showed huge plumes of smoke above Marseille as fire raged in a hilly area to its north.

The Bouches-du-Rhône area has not recorded a single drop of rain since 19 May, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.

Elsewhere in France, another wildfire that started near Narbonne on Monday remains active, fanned by winds of 60km (38mph) per hour. Some 2,000 hectares have burnt, local officials said.

Wildfires were also reported in other parts of Europe, including Spain's Catalonia region, where more than 18,000 people were ordered to stay at home because of a wildfire in the eastern province of Tarragona.

Emergency units were deployed alongside 300 firefighters as high winds overnight fanned the flames, which have spread across nearly 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of land.

Several other parts of Spain - which experienced its hottest June on record - were on high alert for wildfires.

In Greece, some 41 wildfires broke out across the country on Monday. Of those, 34 were contained early while seven remained active into Monday evening, according to the fire service.

Much of western and southern Europe was hit by a scorching early summer heatwave, sparking fires that saw thousands evacuated from their homes.

All the evidence so far suggests Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota was driving when his car crashed on a Spanish motorway, and he was likely speeding, say police.

The 28-year-old Liverpool player was killed with his brother André Silva, 25, when their Lamborghini car had a suspected tyre blowout in northwestern Zamora province early last Thursday.

Spain's Guardia Civil police force said at the time the car had apparently been overtaking on the A52 motorway near Palacios de Sanabria when it left the road and burst into flames.

"Everything also points to a possible excessive speed beyond the speed limit of the road [highway]," said Zamora's local traffic police.

Police said they had studied the marks left by one of the Lamborghini's tyres and that "all the tests carried out so far indicate that the driver of the crashed vehicle was Diogo Jota".

The expert report is being prepared for the courts on the accident, and their investigation is understood to have been made more complex by the intensity of the fire that almost completely destroyed the car.

• Family, friends and teammates honour Diogo Jota and his brother

The accident happened 11 days after Jota had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso in Portugal. The couple had three children.

The brothers had been heading to the Spanish port of Santander so Jota could return to Liverpool for pre-season training.

Their funeral took place in their hometown of Gondomar, near Porto at the weekend.

Tyre marks were reportedly visible about 100m (330ft) from the moment of impact.

Although there had been suggestions that the asphalt on the road was uneven where the crash took place, police told Spanish media it was not an accident "black spot" and the road should have been driveable beyond the speed limit of 120km/h (75mph).

A rapidly spreading wildfire has reached the outer edge of Marseille, France's second largest city.

"The marine firefighter battalion is waging guerrilla warfare, hoses in hand," said the city's Mayor Benoît Payan, referring to Marseille's fire and rescue service.

The prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône area, Georges-François Leclerc, urged local residents to remain indoors and said firefighters were "defending" the city.

He said that while the situation was not static, it was "under control".

Marseille Provence airport has been closed for the rest of Tuesday.

Some residents have been advised to stay inside, close shutters and doors, and keep roads clear for emergency services.

The fire, which broke out earlier on Tuesday near Pennes-Mirabeau, north of Marseille, is said to have covered about 700 hectares (7 sq km).

Local authorities said the blaze was sparked by a car that caught fire on the motorway, and that it could continue to spread as strong winds are set to blow until late this evening.

"It's very striking - apocalyptic even," Monique Baillard, a resident of the town, told Reuters news agency. She said many of her neighbours had already left.

The local fire service said 168 firefighters had been deployed to fight the blaze, as well as fire engines and helicopters.

Marseille's mayor, Benoit Payan, asked residents to remain "extremely vigilant" and to limit their movements. Locals told French TV of dense traffic jams as people tried to evacuate the city.

Footage posted online showed huge plumes of smoke above Marseille as fire raged in a hilly area to its north.

The Bouches-du-Rhône area has not recorded a single drop of rain since 19 May, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.

Elsewhere in France, another wildfire that started near Narbonne on Monday remains active, fanned by winds of 60km (38mph) per hour. Some 2,000 hectares have burnt, local officials said.

Wildfires were also reported in other parts of Europe, including Spain's Catalonia region, where more than 18,000 people were ordered to stay at home because of a wildfire in the eastern province of Tarragona.

Emergency units were deployed alongside 300 firefighters as high winds overnight fanned the flames, which have spread across nearly 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of land.

Several other parts of Spain - which experienced its hottest June on record - were on high alert for wildfires.

In Greece, some 41 wildfires broke out across the country on Monday. Of those, 34 were contained early while seven remained active into Monday evening, according to the fire service.

Much of western and southern Europe was hit by a scorching early summer heatwave, sparking fires that saw thousands evacuated from their homes.

Downing Street has said it expects to "make good progress" on tackling small boats crossing the Channel during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Britain.

The issue is a key point of discussion during Macron's state visit, and on Tuesday the government said it expects new powers allowing French police to act before boats reach open water to be "operationalised soon".

The prime minister's spokesperson refused to say if a "one in, one out" migrant returns deal would be agreed during the French president's visit.

But the spokesperson said months of negotiations between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Macron were "bearing fruit".

"We continually talk, and remain in constant contact with the French on how our joint action can go further to end the misery that these gangs are inflicting across our borders," the spokesperson added.

The prime minister is pressing to make a "one in, one out" deal the centrepiece of a new agreement with France.

The arrangement would allow Britain to return migrants who arrive by small boat to France in exchange for accepting asylum seekers with a family connection in the UK.

The purpose would be to demonstrate to those considering the perilous crossing that they could plausibly end up straight back in France, in the hope that this would deter them.

But any such exchanges would have to happen in large enough numbers to become an effective deterrent.

Getting a deal of this sort would be a big breakthrough as it would be the first clear sign of French willingness to take back migrants who have crossed the Channel.

But the optimism on the UK side of a deal being agreed this week is heavily qualified.

Downing Street is in separate talks with the European Commission to overcome opposition to the deal from a group of five Mediterranean countries who have complained they may be forced to accept people deported from the UK.

Sir Keir has also been pushing for France to revise its rules to allow police to intervene when boats are in shallow water, rather than requiring them still to be on land.

Last week the BBC witnessed French officers use a knife to puncture an inflatable boat after it had launched in an apparent change of tactics.

Asked about the tactics, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The French are now looking to bring in important new tactics to stop boats that are in the water, and we're expecting that to be operationalised soon.

"We are the first government to have secured agreement from the French to review their maritime tactics so their border enforcement teams can intervene in shallow waters.

"This is operationally and legally complex, but we're working closely with the French."

Since coming to power in July last year, Labour has announced a series of measures to tackle people-smuggling, including a new criminal offence of endangering the lives of others at sea.

Legislation going through Parliament sets out plans to use counter-terror powers against people smugglers - with suspects facing travel bans, social-media blackouts and phone restrictions.

But the latest figures show 2025 has already set a new record for small boat arrivals in the first six months of the year, since the data was first collected in 2018.

Between January and June nearly 20,000 people arrived in the UK by crossing the English Channel in small boats - up 48% compared to the same period over 2024.

The UK has repeatedly pushed France to tighten patrols along its northern coast. Since 2018 the UK has pledged more than £700m to France to boost coastal patrols and buy surveillance gear.

The majority of this came from a 2023 deal struck under the previous Conservative government to give France almost £500m over three years to go towards extra officers to help stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

Asked whether the UK, as the Conservatives have suggested, should demand a refund, a Downing Street spokesperson said "under this government, we've secured a significant ramping up of the operational capabilities from French law enforcement".

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Just before midnight on 20 March last year, two small-time criminals from south London set alight a warehouse containing vital communications equipment destined for Ukraine.

They did not do it for ideological reasons. Instead, they did it for cash. The pair were arsonists for hire - referred to as "road men" in court - working indirectly for the Wagner Group, the mercenary group now controlled by the Russian state.

The fire-setters' connection to Wagner was through a small-time drug dealer from Leicestershire, called Dylan Earl.

Five men, including Earl, have now been convicted over their involvement in the arson attack, which caused £1m of damage.

• Three men found guilty of arson attack for Wagner group

Earl had been in touch with pro-Russian accounts earlier in the month on the secure messaging app Telegram.

With one account, which had the username Minsk KGB, he discussed whether he should go and fight for Russia in Ukraine, saying: "I need a fresh start bro. Do I need to speak Russian though? Because that's not the best. Litch [literally] know 30 words if that."

But by 16 March - four days before the attack - he was being tasked by a Telegram account linked to the Wagner Group to do some work in the UK.

It used the name Privet Bot - meaning "hello bot" in Russian - a notorious Telegram account that has encouraged sabotage attacks and murder in other parts of Europe.

The account wrote to Earl: "We have our first task for you. The map shows there are a few buildings at this address. And there are warehouses among them.

"They sponsor and provide aid to Ukrainian terrorists. Today we await from you photos and videos of the warehouse and the building and of the people owners of the warehouse."

Some of the messages the group exchanged were shortened or written in non-conventional ways, something that is commonly used to prevent social media filters tracking the content.

Earl contacted another man, Jake Reeves, who was a cleaner at Gatwick Airport, through a Telegram group set up to put criminals in touch with each other.

At Earl's request, Reeves, from Croydon, in south London, got hold of a local acquaintance of his, Nii Mensah, who was clearly ready to carry out crimes for cash.

Mensah had never met Earl, but he soon messaged him, saying: "I'm down for da causee bro. 3 ppl and car."

On the night of 20 March, four men set out from south London in a red Kia Piccanto.

Sixty-one-year-old Paul English was at the wheel. In court, he denied knowing what was going to happen on the night and was found not guilty of arson.

Nineteen-year-old Ugnius Asmena sat beside him in the passenger seat, while Mensah and his friend Jakeem Rose, both 21 years old at the time, sat in the back.

The four men drove north across the Thames and into Leyton, in east London, where they headed to the Cromwell Industrial Estate. They parked at the back of the warehouses.

Mensah and Rose got out, collected a jerry can from the boot, climbed over a wall and headed for units one and two. The warehouses the Wagner Group wanted to be burned were used by two businesses involved in sending parcels and equipment to Ukraine.

Both are owned and part-owned by Mikhail Boikov, a British-Ukrainian businessman.

It was not a sophisticated attack.

With Mensah streaming the whole event to Earl on FaceTime, Rose poured petrol along the front of the warehouses, lit a rag, and set the buildings alight.

The four men fled in the Piccanto. But not before Rose accidentally left a large zombie-style knife behind at the scene with his DNA on it.

In a lorry parked next to the warehouse, Yevhen Harasym was trying to sleep.

"I heard the crackling noise of the metal rolls of the warehouse door and realised that something was happening. I opened the door and saw the fire," he said while giving evidence in court.

"I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the back of the lorry.

"I was able to extinguish the fire outside the door, but the flames inside the warehouse continued to burn."

Eventually he had to retreat and move his lorry to safety, leaving the blaze to the fire brigade.

By the time the fire was out more than £100,000 worth of goods had been destroyed including communications equipment for Starlink satellites, which have proved vital on the frontline in the war in Ukraine.

Earl was delighted, messaging an online contact: "Got that warehouse ting done. It was the one behind all the gates. Bro 8ft gates around whole ting."

But his Wagner Group handler Privet Bot was less pleased, saying on Telegram: "You rushed into burning these warehouses without my approval. Now it will be impossible to pay for this arson.

"We could have burned the warehouses much better and more if we had coordinated our actions. It was necessary to set fire in different places all around the perimeter at once and it would be bigger."

While encouraging Earl to be more patient, Privet Bot told him to watch the TV spy series The Americans, which tells the story of KGB agents operating patiently deep undercover in the US in the 1980s.

But further down the chain everyone Earl had hired was furious at not getting paid. Eventually, eager for more cash, they patched things up. Within two days Privet Bot had another job for Earl, and his men for hire.

"Two places burning in the west," Earl wrote to a contact who used the handle 'Kash Money'. Recon also. Wine shop. Restaurant."

"How much tho?" Kash Money asked.

"£5,000. Maybe 6", Earl replied. "If they nap [kidnap] the guy 15."

In a parallel discussion, he wrote to Reeves: "Correspondence London: £1,000.00 East Warehouse. £5,000.00 West Wine Shop. £5,000.00 West restaurant. Total - £11,000.00."

In his Telegram chat with Earl, Reeves was still wondering why Wagner had wanted the warehouse burned down. Earl wrote: "It's a mail provider to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus from UK. Ran by a Ukrainian man who send 100+ lorries to Ukraine."

Russian 'billionaire'

The wine shop and restaurant plot targeted exiled Russian businessman Evgeny Chichvarkin.

He had made hundreds of millions of pounds by creating Russia's largest mobile phone retailer, Evroset. But he had fallen out with the hard men in the Russian government and was forced to sell his business in 2008.

He now runs an award-winning wine shop in London's Mayfair, called Hedonism Wines, as well as a Michelin-starred restaurant, called Hide.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine he had personally driven several lorries of medical aid to Ukraine. Reeves wrote on Telegram that the Wagner contact wanted Mr Chichvarkin kidnapped "to get him sent back to Russia for imprisonment".

Earl persuaded a man - who was not charged with any offence - to conduct some reconnaissance of the wine shop.

The shop and restaurant were never actually attacked, as counter terrorism police disrupted the plot, nor was Mr Chichvarkin kidnapped.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Chichvarkin said even after the failed plot he has tried not to think about the threat he faces.

Partisan cells

The Wagner Group's strategy seems to have been to sow wider chaos in the UK, as well as targeting people who were helping Ukraine.

At one point Privet Bot asked Earl: "Do you have any friends among hooligans or acquaintances in the IRA?

"We need people that you have across Europe and the UK. We need those who are our kindred spirit.

"You need to organise partisan cells in the country and in Europe. And think of a name for your movement. We'll give you support."

As the plan developed, Earl started to drag other people into the proposed kidnap and attack on the Mayfair wine shop, including his drug-dealing contacts. Ashton "Ace" Evans was a small-time dealer operating out of Pontywaun near Newport, in South Wales, and was one of the people Earl approached.

"It has to be clean bro. Full masks, not ballies [balaclavas]. I can provide if needed. Gloves. No number plates," Earl wrote. "It's 10-15 minutes from Buckingham Palace."

"Yhhhh that's gonna bring a lot of attention", Evans wrote back. "MI5 etc."

"This owner is a billionaire from Russia," Earl explained.

"Does it need to be explo** [explosives] can it be just a fire?" Evans asked.

Earl replied: "Fire is possible, But if it doesn't fully burn they will not pay me more than 25%."

Evans was found guilty of failing to tell the police about the Mayfair plot.

By 9 April, relations between Earl and his Wagner Group contact had shown signs of cooling. Earl was worried and sent Privet Bot a stream of messages.

"I know I can be the best spy you have ever seen but we need more communication and faster work with contracts," he wrote.

"I am a very good leader, coordinator and organiser," he boasted. "I am offering you… spy operations in my country against individuals, business, government, even in Europe."

Eventually Privet Bot wrote back urging him to be patient.

"You remind me of myself at your age and there are things you should learn. You are our dagger in Europe and we will be sharpening you carefully so that you will become sharper."

On 10 April, Earl was arrested by counter-terrorism detectives in the car park of a branch of B&Q, in Hinckley.

Verdicts

Earl pleaded guilty to preparing acts of serious violence on behalf of a foreign power (Russia), an offence under the new National Security Act. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated arson, possessing cocaine with intent to supply, and possessing £20,070 that was the proceeds of crime.

Reeves pleaded guilty to agreeing to accept money from a foreign intelligence service - the Wagner Group - also under the new National Security Act. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated arson.

During the trial, at London's Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said generations before them would have described what the pair had done simply as "treason".

Nii Mensah, Jakeem Rose, Ugnius Asmena were found guilty of aggravated arson. Rose had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a knife.

The driver Paul English, 61, was cleared of all wrongdoing.

Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot, but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson.

Another man, Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said the response to state threats, particularly from Russia, had changed following the Salisbury nerve agent attack, in 2018.

"We've made the UK a hostile operating environment," he said. "As a result, they've diversified and are now contacting relatively young people to act on their behalf as proxies in doing their activity."

It was a dramatic start to the week in Russia.

On Monday morning, President Vladimir Putin sacked his transport minister, Roman Starovoit.

By the afternoon Starovoit was dead; his body was discovered in a park on the edge of Moscow with a gunshot wound to the head. A pistol, allegedly, beside the body.

Investigators said they presumed the former minister had taken his own life.

In the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets this morning there was a sense of shock.

"The suicide of Roman Starovoit just hours after the president's order to sack him is an almost unique occurrence in Russian history," the paper declared.

That's because you need to go back more than thirty years, to before the fall of the Soviet Union, for an example of a government minister here killing themselves.

In August 1991, following the failure of the coup by communist hardliners, one of the coup's ring leaders - Soviet interior minister Boris Pugo - shot himself.

The Kremlin has said little about Starovoit's death.

"How shocked were you that a federal minister was found dead just hours after being fired by the president?" I asked Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov on a Kremlin conference call.

"Normal people cannot but be shocked by this," replied Peskov. "Of course, this shocked us, too.

"It's up to the investigation to provide answers to all the questions. While it's ongoing, one can only speculate. But that's more for the media and political pundits. Not for us."

The Russian press has, indeed, been full of speculation.

Today several Russian newspapers linked what happened to Roman Starovoit to events in the Kursk region that borders Ukraine. Before his appointment as transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been the Kursk regional governor for more than five years.

Under his leadership - and with large sums of government money - Governor Starovoit had launched the construction of defensive fortifications along the border. These were not strong enough to prevent Ukrainian troops from breaking through and seizing territory in Kursk region last year.

Since then, Starovoit's successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, and his former deputy Alexei Dedov have been arrested and charged with large-scale fraud in relation to the construction of the fortifications.

"Mr Starovoit may well have become one of the chief defendants in this case," suggested today's edition of the business daily Kommersant.

The Russian authorities have not confirmed that.

But if it was fear of prosecution that drove a former minister to take his own life, what does that tell us about today's Russia?

"The most dramatic part of this, with all the re-Stalinisation that has been happening in Russia in recent years, is that a high-level government official [kills himself] because he has no other way of getting out of the system," says Nina Khrushcheva, professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York.

"He must have feared that he would receive tens of years in prison if he was going to be under investigation, and that his family would suffer tremendously. So, there's no way out. I Immediately thought of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, one of Stalin's ministers, who [killed himself] in 1937 because he felt there was no way out. When you start thinking of 1937 in today's environment that gives you great pause."

Roman Starovoit's death may have made headlines in the papers here. But this "almost unique occurrence in Russian history" has received minimal coverage on state TV.

Perhaps that's because the Kremlin recognises the power of television to shape public opinion. In Russia, TV is more influential than newspapers. So, when it comes to television, the authorities tend to be more careful and cautious with the messaging.

Monday's main evening news bulletin on Russia-1 included a four-minute report about Putin appointing a new acting transport minister, Andrei Nikitin.

There was no mention at all that the previous transport minister had been sacked. Or that he'd been found dead.

Only forty minutes later, towards the end of the news bulletin, did the anchorman briefly mention the death of Roman Starovoit.

The newsreader devoted all of 18 seconds to it, which means that most Russians will probably not view Monday's dramatic events as a significant development.

For the political elite, it's a different story. For ministers, governors, and other Russian officials who've sought to be a part of the political system, what happened to Starovoit will serve as a warning.

"Unlike before, when you could get these jobs, get rich, get promoted from regional level to federal level, today, that is clearly not a career path if you want to stay alive," says Nina Khrushcheva.

"There's not only no upward mobility to start with, but even downward mobility ends with death."

It's a reminder of the dangers that emanate from falling foul of the system.