Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

I've never seen a case like Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's - it was jaw-dropping

Julia Quenzler Constance Marten, a woman with long dark-brown hair who is wearing a black jacket with a blue scarf and white top, sitting behind glass in a court dock Julia Quenzler

I've reported on many criminal cases, but nothing like Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's. Their trials were extraordinary.

A couple who were twice in the dock over the death of their baby, they appeared to be completely in love and still fiercely united. And yet they had utter contempt for the court process.

They caused chaos across their two trials, which both overran by months. At one point, the Old Bailey's most senior judge accused them of trying to "sabotage" and "manipulate" their retrial. It nearly collapsed a number of times.

Their behaviour - from refusing to turn up to court and claiming to be ill, to sacking countless barristers and Gordon's trousers even being misplaced one day - left His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC exasperated on many occasions.

At one point he said two teenagers, who had been in his court the previous week, were "rather better behaved" than Marten, adding: "And they pleaded guilty to murder."

Over the last 18 months I've sat through Marten and Gordon's two criminal trials.

The first, which started in January 2024, resulted in the pair being found guilty of concealing the birth of their baby, Victoria, of perverting the course of justice and child cruelty.

But in late June, the jury in that trial was dismissed, unable to decide on one of the two, more serious charges about Victoria's death.

A second trial began almost nine months later. They have now both been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Now their case is over, we can report some of the remarkable moments when jurors were not in court. At times what happened across the trials was jaw-dropping.

'Will you stop flirting with me'

Marten and Gordon were highly unusual defendants. They would often talk during proceedings - as if completely unaware they were on trial. They knew their conversations were disruptive, but they didn't seem to care.

One day, while a witness was giving evidence, Marten sent a note to the judge asking: "Could I nip out for a coffee as we're falling asleep?"

The judge said it "doesn't look good" if defendants aren't interested in the evidence. They were, of course, on trial over the death of their baby.

It was obvious from the moment I first saw Marten and Gordon that they were still very much in love. They presented as a couple in court, rather than as co-defendants.

"Will you stop flirting with me," Marten said loudly to Gordon one day after the judge left court.

On her 38th birthday, they had a lingering embrace in the dock. "Where's my present," she playfully asked.

They appeared fixated on each other. "Obsession" was how Gordon described his love for Marten to police, saying he would have done anything for her.

Later, while giving evidence in their retrial, as if reading an open love letter to court, he declared "it was love" between him and his "noble" and "beautiful" wife.

"She was one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life."

Julia Quezler A court sketch showing Constance Marten, a woman with long brown hair wearing a dark top, and Mark Gordon, who has a peach-coloured headscarf and is wearing a shirt, looking at each other past a dock officer while sitting in a glass dock in court. The dock officer is a woman wearing a white shirt and black tie, with brown hair tied back and to the sideJulia Quezler

Marten and Gordon were often excited to see each other when they were brought up from the cells. Her face would light up when he appeared at the dock door. Sometimes she would blow Gordon kisses.

They were affectionate. They hugged and kissed on the cheek. Sometimes they tenderly stroked each other's hand. When Marten became tearful Gordon put his arm out to comfort her.

During proceedings, sitting with a dock officer between them, Gordon would often try to catch Marten's eye and smile. She would frequently lean towards him, with her chin resting on her hand.

At the end of the day, before being led back to their cells, they'd sometimes say "love you" to each other. It seemed like they looked forward to coming to court, a place they got to spend time together.

But there was a sense of chaos before the couple's first trial began in the early weeks of 2024. Marten and Gordon's legal representation kept changing - a running theme throughout their protracted case.

Some they sacked. Others withdrew. Sometimes they didn't have lawyers at all. It caused unending disruption.

In trials like this, involving serious charges, a defendant would typically have two barristers representing them. Marten got through an extraordinary number.

From her first appearance at the Old Bailey, in March 2023, to the end of the second trial, more than two years later, she had been represented by 14 barristers.

Why had she got through so many?

"Because she thinks she's entitled and doesn't listen to instructions," a source close to one of her former legal teams told the BBC.

Gordon also changed his legal team and ended up representing himself.

It caused significant delays - the couple's first trial overran by about three months, while the second overran by nearly two months.

'She is not running this trial'

Their "antics", as the judge put it, got increasingly worse as the second trial went on and on.

They repeatedly didn't turn up, meaning many court days were lost and jurors were hugely inconvenienced.

Often one of them would say they weren't well enough to come to court, only to be assessed as being medically fit to do so.

"Constance Marten is not running this trial," Judge Lucraft said firmly one day after she refused again to come to court.

Marten spent days complaining about her tooth pain. Court days were lost because of it. On one of those days she was found to be "medically fit" but "refused" to come.

"She is on trial for extremely serious offences and I've bent over backwards," the judge said. "I've given her more latitude than I suspect I ought to in some situations."

"In my view this is a complete sham," he said later referring to Marten's absence. Despite Marten's complaints of tooth pain, she declined treatment.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing Constance Marten, a woman with long brown hair wearing a dark top, and Mark Gordon, who has a peach-coloured headscarf and is wearing a shirt, looking at each other while sitting in a glass dock in court with the judge before them wearing a wig and red and black robes.Julia Quenzler

There were other highly unusual delays.

Marten refused to attend court one day after she had become "very argumentative and abusive to the staff in prison", according to the note from HMP Bronzefield.

The judge expressed his frustration again and again.

"This trial has had so many delays and quite frankly it is an insult to this court and to the jury", he said one day without jurors in the room.

On that particular day, the judge asked for Marten to join on a remote link from prison to explain why she wasn't at court.

She said she had been "lied on" and had asked to see a nurse but none were available.

"I am happy to come to court," she told the judge, "but yesterday at the Old Bailey I was abused for three hours by a guy in the cells next to me, shouting I am a baby killer."

One day Gordon, who normally wore a shirt and tie, turned up in a blue and yellow prison escape suit - used to spot runaway prisoners. On another occasion it emerged his court trousers had gone missing.

The judge, who said he could not be allowed in court in prison wear, remarked: "It would be a great shame to lose any more time through a lack of trousers."

'Don't touch me man'

Marten and Gordon repeatedly ignored the judge's instructions not to speak to each other during breaks in their evidence.

Unusually, he started coming into court before they were brought up from the cells to stop it from happening, with a warning that if they didn't, he would put them in different courtrooms.

One day Marten repeatedly exhaled so loudly during the evidence that the whole courtroom heard.

"Huffing and puffing at the back of the court is not the way these proceedings are done," said the unimpressed judge. Other days she yawned repeatedly.

She complained of feeling tired and said she had never experienced anything like travelling to court and back. "There are women locked in a metal cage in a van."

Julia Quenzler Judge Mark Lucraft, who is wearing red and black judges robes, a white legal wig and glasses. He is looking at a tablet in front of him and there are two microphones to the sideJulia Quenzler

Sometimes Marten and Gordon would abruptly blurt things out from the dock when they took issue with the evidence.

They were rude to some of the dock officers: When one tried to separate them after they tried to hug in the dock, Gordon kicked off.

"Don't touch me, man," said an irate Gordon amid the commotion before telling the dock officer to "shut up" when the judge and jury weren't in the room.

During the first trial, Gordon refused to return to the dock unless a dock officer was changed and then demanded to speak to the cell manager.

Sometimes we heard loud arguing in the corridor behind the dock door between Marten and Gordon and dock officers.

'Deliberate attempt to sabotage'

One of the most explosive moments in the couple's retrial happened when Marten was giving evidence. She suddenly blurted out to the jury that her husband had a "violent rape conviction".

We all knew about Gordon's previous conviction. But the jury didn't.

To ensure he received a fair trial, an order preventing the media from reporting Gordon's previous offences was put in place. It was never mentioned in front of the jury.

It was a jaw-dropping moment, which set off an unforeseen chain of events.

"This is plainly a deliberate attempt by the defendant to sabotage the trial," the judge said after the jury was ushered out quickly.

One of the prosecutors, Joel Smith KC, described it as a "deliberate attempt to take a wrecking ball" to the the trial.

Marten claimed Mr Smith had already told the jury about the conviction. He hadn't. She said she had been exhausted and later blamed her "agonising toothache".

"I'm extremely tired and I am irate that this word 'deliberate' keeps being expounded in this courtroom," she said.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing a barrister addressing the court and Constance Marten in the witness box next to the judgeJulia Quenzler

From then on it was difficult to keep up with the flurry of twists and turns that followed. Gordon initially wanted the jury discharged in his case.

The judge agreed. He said he had "little choice" and that Gordon would be tried next year. But the case against Marten would continue "alone", he decided during legal discussions.

Gordon then quickly changed his mind. "I can't do another year in prison," he pleaded with the judge. "I really beseech the court to allow this trial to continue," he added.

In the end, the case against Gordon continued. But the couple's behaviour appeared increasingly impulsive.

The number of barristers in court started to dwindle. Marten sacked her lead barrister but kept her junior. Not long after, Gordon's barristers withdrew their services.

He said he had sacked them and then declared that he was representing himself with the help of a solicitor. She also eventually withdrew.

The retrial had entered a whole new dimension.

Unlike at the first trial, when Gordon would often sit looking zoned out with his eyes half shut, now he appeared emboldened.

The problem was he wasn't a trained lawyer. It became hugely complicated. He often went on lengthy rants.

Without the jury in the room he would flip flop between complaining that things were "not fair" to turning the charm on, telling the judge that he was "tolerant", "kind", "patient" and gracious".

Other days he would shout at the judge as he left the courtroom.

He complained that he didn't have the same access as barristers. He wanted a desk, power to make legal applications and Archbold, a criminal law book running to more than 3,000 pages.

He repeatedly asked for more and more time to get his head around the case. It led to huge delays.

"Do you want me to adjourn for three years while you do a law degree?" the judge said to him one day.

At times Gordon appeared overwhelmed. He even pleaded for a royal intervention, describing the monarch as "compassionate and merciful".

"I ask the King in his mercy and those who work for him to help me," he said.

As the weeks went by, the judge warned Gordon a number of times that he might still remove him from the retrial because of the continued delays.

"It's simply him manipulating the system," the judge said on one occasion.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing Mark Gordon, who is wearing a shirt and peach-coloured headscarf while holding some papers, questioning Constance Marten, a woman with dark brown hair who is wearing a dark jumper and sitting in the witness box with microphones in front of her,  from the glass dock. Julia Quenzler
In a highly unusual turn of events Gordon questioned his own wife while representing himself

One of the most gripping and unusual moments of the retrial was when Gordon cross-examined Marten.

Normally a barrister would be expected to be forensic, but there was a tenderness in how he asked questions.

"Who was hands on and gentle with the kids?" he asked. "Both of us… especially you," she replied.

"Was the baby always a priority?"

"Absolutely, that's why we did what we did," Marten responded. "Our number one priority was Victoria. We were doing what we were doing for her."

Marten cried when Gordon asked her about their four other children who had been taken into care. "Alright, babes," he said trying to comfort her.

There was a marked change in her demeanour too.

When questioned by her husband she spoke softly, but when she was cross-examined by the prosecution she bristled and became increasingly strident, before cutting short her time on the stand.

'I'm actually happy'

When it came to the moment of the verdicts, the courtroom filled. There was silence. "Would the defendants please stand," the clerk said. They refused.

Guilty of gross negligence manslaughter for Gordon, the jury foreman told the court. Marten shook her head and crossed her arms.

Guilty of the same for her. She looked intensely at her partner. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"It's a scam," Marten later shouted from the dock.

"It was an unfair trial," Gordon said loudly.

He told a dock officer: "I'm actually happy with the result because I will win the appeal."

He then thanked the court usher. "It's been a pleasure."

Up until the very last moments of their case Marten and Gordon were still disrupting, doing things their way.

A couple who were so fixated on each other, they were unable to grasp what the jury was sure of: that it was their chaotic and dangerous choices that ultimately led to the death of their baby, Victoria.

Additional reporting by Claire Ellison, Levi Jouavel and Daniel Sandford.

Gaza father's outrage after Israeli strike kills son 'searching for sip' at water point

Reuters A Palestinian boy inspects the site of an Israeli strike that killed 10 Palestinians, including six children, who were queueing at a water distribution point, in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza (13 July 2025)Reuters
Ten people were killed as they gathered near a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp

Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Ahmed says his son, Abdullah, was "searching for a sip of water" when he took the family's jerrycans on Sunday morning and headed as usual to one of the water distribution points in the urban Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza.

"That area was inhabited by displaced people, others who were exhausted by the war, and those who have seen the worst due to the imposed siege and limitations, and the ongoing aggression," Mahmoud said in an interview with a local journalist working for the BBC.

"The children, Abdullah among them, stood in a queue with empty stomachs, empty jerrycans, and thirsty lips," he added.

"Minutes after the children and thirsty people of the camp gathered, the warplanes bombed those children and the water distribution point, without prior notice."

Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Ahmed speaks to the BBC in Nuseirat refugee camp after his son Abdullah was killed in an Israeli air strike that hit a water distribution point on 13 July 2025
Mahmoud called on the world to put pressure on Israel to end the 21-month war

Graphic video filmed by another local journalist and verified by the BBC showed the immediate aftermath of the Israeli strike on a street in the New Camp area of Nuseirat.

He passes two men carrying young children before coming across a destroyed structure, beneath which dozens of yellow plastic jerrycans are clustered.

Women scream as bystanders pull a man from the rubble, while others try to help another man covered in blood. Other adults and children are seen lying motionless nearby.

Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat said 10 people, including six children, were killed in the strike, and that 16 others were injured.

Along with Abdullah, they named the children who died as Badr al-Din Qaraman, Siraj Khaled Ibrahim, Ibrahim Ashraf Abu Urayban, Karam Ashraf al-Ghussein and Lana Ashraf al-Ghussein.

When asked about the strike, the Israeli military said it had targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad "terrorist" but that "as a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target".

The military said it was "aware of the claim regarding casualties in the area as a result" and "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians", adding: "The incident is under review."

However, Mahmoud claimed that Israel "intended to convey a message: it won't allow people to drink even the drinking water that they crave."

He also lamented that dreams of Abdullah and the other children would never be realised.

"They were looking at reality with the hope of it changing, and of becoming like the other children of the world - practicing their normal role of playing, moving, traveling, eating, drinking, and living in safety," he said.

Reuters Abandoned jerrycans at the site of an Israeli strike that killed 10 Palestinians, including six children, who were queueing at a water distribution point, in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza (13 July 2025)Reuters
The Israeli military said a "technical error" caused a munition to land dozens of meters from its target

The UN says water shortages in Gaza are worsening due to the lack of fuel and spare parts for desalination, pumping and sanitation facilities, as well as insecurity and inaccessibility due to Israeli military operations against Hamas and evacuation orders.

As a result, many people are receiving less than the emergency standard of 15 litres per day, amounting to what the UN calls "a human-made drought crisis".

"You see children queuing up, by the side of the road, with yellow jerrycans every single morning, waiting for the daily water truck to come and get their five litres [or] 10 litres, of water used for washing, cleaning, cooking, drinking, etc," Sam Rose, the acting Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), told the BBC.

"Every death is a tragedy. This one is particularly emblematic, given the circumstances in which it took place. But it's one of many," he added.

Last Thursday, 10 children and three women were killed as they waited for nutritional supplements outside a clinic in the nearby town of Deir al-Balah.

The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas "terrorist" nearby and, as with Sunday's incident, that it regretted harming any civilians.

"We focus on these incidents, but of course these weren't the only children killed in Gaza [on Sunday]," Rose said. "Every single day, since the start of the war, on average of classroom full of children have been killed."

The executive director of the UN children's agency (Unicef), Catherine Russell, meanwhile called both incidents "horrific" and demanded that Israeli authorities "urgently review the rules of engagement and ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law".

Men and boys pray beside the body of a child killed in an Israeli air strike that hit a water distribution point on 13 July 2025
Sam Rose of Unrwa said a "classroom full of children" had been killed on average every day in Gaza since the war began

Later this week, the UN Security Council will convene to discuss the situation of children in Gaza, following a request by the UK.

However, Israel's permanent representative Danny Danon said council members would be "better served to apply pressure on Hamas for prolonging this conflict".

"The children in Gaza are victims of Hamas, not Israel. Hamas is using them as human shields and the UN is silent," he claimed.

Mahmoud said it was Israel which should be pressured to end the war.

"We have no power and no strength. We are victims. We are civilians just like other people in the world, and we don't own any nuclear weapons or arms or anything," he added.

"This war needs to stop, and so does the ongoing massacre happening in the Gaza Strip."

'My disabled son was punched' - how a CCTV error exposed a major abuse scandal

BBC Glynn Brown stands in his white kitchen holding a framed photo of his disabled son Aaron. He looks into the camera with a serious expression and the photo of Aaron features him smiling. BBC
Glynn Brown says he was told his son had been kicked, punched and trailed across the floor

Warning - this story contains details some people may find distressing.

When Glynn Brown was told that his severely disabled adult son, Aaron, may have been assaulted by staff at a psychiatric hospital, he was shocked and suspicious.

He wanted to know exactly what had happened, but could not ask Aaron, who is non-verbal and whom he describes as having the mental age of a two-year-old.

Glynn was told there was no video evidence because CCTV cameras, installed throughout Muckamore Abbey Hospital six months earlier, had never been switched on.

But this was far from the case.

In fact, what police officers found when they visited the hospital in September 2017, triggered the UK's largest adult safeguarding investigation and made the hospital one of the nation's biggest ever crime scenes - according to data released by the police.

Unbeknown to staff, the CCTV cameras had been mistakenly left running for the six months since their installation, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

A staggering 300,000 hours of footage was discovered - equivalent to 34 years' worth. It revealed not only the alleged assault on Aaron, but hundreds of other incidents carried out by hospital staff.

However, almost eight years after the discovery, no cases have come to trial and the hospital has not been closed. A separate public inquiry is also yet to report back.

What is more, the patients' families still have not been allowed to see the CCTV footage.

BBC File on 4 Investigates has now obtained descriptions of what the footage shows.

These include accounts of patients facing appalling cruelty and physical abuse, and being ignored while seriously unwell. They describe:

  • Vulnerable young adults being punched, kicked, dragged across floors, tipped off furniture and having balls kicked at them
  • Possessions being taken away, shoes being dangled from one patient's ears and crisps packets pushed into another's face
  • Emotional abuse, including patients with severe learning disabilities being provoked into a reaction and then restrained and placed in seclusion

Families say they have been told they are unable to view the footage to prevent any prejudice of criminal investigations.

"We're left to conjure up these images in our own mind as to what has happened to our loved ones," Glynn told us.

Aaron and his dad Glynn captured side by side with wide, open smiles - as if caught laughing. Aaron, on the left, is wearing a grey hoodie and his dad is wearing a dark blue jacket.
Every Friday for months, Glynn was called by CCTV reviewers who detailed new incidents about Aaron

The task of reviewing the footage was originally undertaken by Belfast Health Trust, even though it was responsible for managing Muckamore Abbey.

It watched samples of the footage from eight different cameras, at up to eight times normal speed - an "impossible" task, according to one of the team.

Hearing fresh horrifying details about Aaron's treatment became a regular occurrence for his father.

Every Friday for months, Glynn received a grim phone call from the reviewers, detailing new incidents. He says he lost count at about 200.

"I was told there were videos of him being kicked, punched, trailed across the floor with his genitals exposed," he says.

Eventually, the PSNI seized all the footage themselves and appeared astonished by what they found. After an early police review of the CCTV, officers said in just one of four wards with cameras being investigated, they had identified 1,500 "crimes".

One of the most striking features of the descriptions of footage obtained by the BBC is the scale of staff neglect. Patients are frequently described as being ignored - even when seriously unwell.

According to the descriptions, one was locked in a room for 18 hours on one day, and frequently left without access to a bathroom, despite being incontinent.

Muckamore Abbey hospital - a lowrise white and brick building - in the background with grass and shrubbery in the foreground, with a path alongside.
Staff wrongly believed that cameras positioned throughout Muckamore Abbey Hospital had never been switched on

Muckamore Abbey is the largest systemic abuse case uncovered in the UK, according to Prof Andrew McDonnell, a clinical psychologist, who advised BBC Panorama on a 2011 investigation into abuse at Winterbourne View, a private hospital near Bristol.

"The sheer volume and scale of it - it dwarfs anything I've ever seen before," he says.

Prof McDonnell says he can't understand why there is such little public awareness of the scandal outside Northern Ireland.

A public inquiry, which sat from 2022 until March 2025, is expected to deliver its final report and recommendations later this year.

However, it has attracted criticism from the families of patients, who do not think that hospital managers have been rigorously cross-examined.

Glynn says it feels like nobody is to blame and nobody will be held culpable.

"We expected a robust interrogation," Glynn says. "We thought we'd find out all the answers to all our questions."

Disappointment has also been expressed that the inquiry did not call any of Northern Ireland's health ministers to give evidence - unlike the Post Office Inquiry where a minister was questioned over his refusal to meet campaigner Sir Alan Bates.

The criticisms are echoed by public health expert Dr Gabriel Scally, who has led a number of reviews into health service failures, including an NHS panel on Winterbourne View.

He agrees that managers have not been sufficiently held to account at the inquiry: "Imagine that the people representing the families and the patients cannot directly ask questions to the witnesses - I find that astounding."

Dr Scally also says the inquiry has been needlessly protracted and has lost its "sense of outrage".

In a statement, the Muckamore Abbey Inquiry expressed disappointment with Dr Scally's comments, ahead of the publication of its report. It said that lawyers for families of patients were able to make an application to the chair to ask witnesses questions directly - but none had been received.

More than 180 witnesses had given evidence, including senior figures, a spokesperson said, and the decision not to call any ministers was the subject of a judicial review which had been dismissed.

A close-crop of Catherine looking into the distance. She looks serious and pensive and her blonde shoulder-length hair is half in shadow.
Catherine Fox says she repeatedly complained to authorities about her daughter's treatment prior to the discovery of the footage

Senior officials from Belfast Health Trust told the inquiry they did not have concerns about Muckamore prior to the CCTV footage being found.

But the BBC has learned that three meetings were held between a health watchdog and the Trust over concerns about the hospital in the three years before the discovery.

More than 200 substantiated reports of abuse were also recorded there in 2014, according to inspections by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority - although these may have included incidents where patients abused staff.

Another parent, Catherine Fox, says she had repeatedly complained about the treatment of her daughter, Alicia, before the CCTV footage was discovered.

She says Alicia was being kept in seclusion - something meant to be used only as a last resort - for hours on end, in a very small room. There was no bathroom and the buzzer to call staff did not work.

"I would say it was a form of torture, and it was also a form of instilling fear, and no-one else will convince me of anything different," she says.

Catherine was so "horrified" she took her complaints to a Stormont health minister, who replied to say her concerns were a matter for the health trust.

Aaron on a trip to a farm. He is smiling and holding a can of fizzy drink. He is sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his knees. In the background there is black goat grazing on grass behind a fence.
Aaron is now in supported living and doing "brilliantly", according to Glynn

Patients' families have formed a group called Action for Muckamore which campaigns for mandatory CCTV installation in places where vulnerable people are cared for - a move supported by PSNI.

The force told the BBC that 122 people have been reported to Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS). To date, 38 people have been arrested - and some have gone on to plead not guilty. PSNI said it submitted its first file to the PPS more than five years ago.

The PPS said 15 suspects are currently before the courts and that the progress of cases is also the responsibility of the defence and judges.

In a statement to the BBC, the Belfast Health Trust apologised to families and said some staff have been dismissed. It said it would be inappropriate to comment on other specific issues while the inquiry was ongoing - as did the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Aaron is now in supported living and doing "brilliantly", according to Glynn.

His son is able to go on trips every day, he says - especially to the donkey park and his beloved Nando's.

Glynn is still frustrated that nobody yet has been held responsible for the events at Muckamore Abbey, but he carries on campaigning for justice.

"Once the world sees the footage," he says, "there will be a profound understanding of how bad and malign the scandal is."

  • You can reach Noel directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +44 7809 334720, by email at noel.titheradge@bbc.co.uk or on SecureDrop

World's biggest human imaging project scans its 100,000th volunteer

Bourigault et al. 2024 An image from the UK Biobank project. It shows for MRI scans of the body showing the legs and major organs including the heart, spine and stomach in different colours.Bourigault et al. 2024
Thousands of scans of each participant are recorded and stored as part of the imaging project. Here showing images of the abdomen and major organs

Scientists say they can study our bodies as we age in greater detail than ever before, thanks to more than a billion scans of UK volunteers.

The world's biggest human imaging project says it has now hit its target of scanning the brains, hearts and other organs of 100,000 people - the culmination of an ambitious 11-year study.

"Researchers are already starting to use the imaging data, along with other data we have, to identify disease early and then target treatment at an earlier stage," says Prof Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank.

The data is made available at low cost to teams around the world to find new ways of preventing common health conditions from heart disease to cancer.

The 100,000th volunteer to be scanned was Steve, who recently retired from a job in sales and now helps out at a charity run by his daughter.

The BBC watched as he entered a full-body MRI scanner in an industrial park outside Reading, and detailed images of brain cells, blood vessels, bones and joints appeared on the screens.

"My mum was diagnosed with early-stage dementia a few years ago and has not been well," he says.

"So with that in mind I want to give more back to research so the next generation can learn from people like me."

A portrait of Steve (we are not using his surname) who is staring straight at camera. He is a man in his 60s with white hair, black glasses and a tan. He is wearing a green medical overall and standing in a corridor outside the scanning room. He is smiling.
Steve from southern England was the 100,000th person scanned in what's become the world's largest medical imaging project

The giant medical imaging project has been running for 13 hours a day, seven-days-a-week across four sites in England.

Participants are given a five-hour appointment to be scanned using five different types of MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines.

The data gathered is anonymised and volunteers like Steve receive no individual feedback unless the radiographers happen to spot a potentially serious health problem.

The project does not allow personal data, such as a volunteer's surname or the precise area where they live, to be published.

What is UK Biobank?

UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge A shot of the operation room at UK Biobank. In the distance is a window showing a person being scanned in an MRI machine. They are being attended to by two radiographers operating the machine. In the foreground is a picture of a brain scan on a monitor and another video screen showing the internal MRI scanner tube.UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge
Volunteers have been scanned at four sites across the UK over an 11-year period

Launched in 2003, UK Biobank is one of the largest collections of biological samples and health data in the world.

In total, half a million people – all middle-aged volunteers – have been asked to complete physical tests, answer regular health and lifestyle questions, and provide DNA and other biological samples.

Their blood, urine and saliva are frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at temperatures of -80C (-112F) in huge refrigerators in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

The imaging part of the project began in 2014, and involves taking detailed scans of 100,000 of those same participants.

All of that group will be invited back to repeat the process every few years to see how their bodies and organs change as they grow older.

By combining those scans with the other data collected by UK Biobank, scientists can test whether early changes to the make-up of the brain or body then lead to diseases or other health problems in later life.

The whole UK Biobank project, which is non-profit making, was set up by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust charity, along with the Department of Health and the Scottish government.

Two decades later it is now reaching maturity.

Over 30 petabytes, or 30,000 terabytes, of anonymised health data is already available to researchers working for universities, charities, governments and the private sector.

Scientists in the UK and the rest of the world can apply for access and most are charged between £3,000 and £9,000 to help cover running costs.

Louise Thomas, professor of metabolic imaging at the University of Westminster, says it is "completely transforming" how she and other researchers do their jobs.

"We thought it was a crazy idea, there was absolutely no way anybody could scan this number of people," she says.

"To analyse these images manually would have taken us thousands of years but now... we can extract all the information automatically, so we can measure everything in the body in a matter of minutes."

Researchers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to process the huge amounts of data generated by the project.

Almost 1,700 peer-reviewed papers have been written using all types of Biobank data since work started in 2003, with dozens more now published every week.

The scans and images taken so far have already been used to show that:

UK Biobank is one of the 10 largest stores of personal health data in the world alongside similar initiatives in Germany, China and the United States, although those projects don't all make their data available to scientists globally in the same way.

The imaging element of the project is also funded by a number of other organisations including the British Heart Foundation, Calico, a subsidiary of Alphabet which also owns Google, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

As theories swirl about Air India crash, key details remain unknown

Government of India / Ministry of Civil Aviation Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau Vertical Stabilizer adjacent to the building referenced as building A in the report. The Aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire. A total of five buildings, shown in the image on the right, were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages.Government of India / Ministry of Civil Aviation Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau

While the preliminary report into what caused the loss of Air India Flight 171 last month has provided some answers, it has also prompted a wave of speculation about its cause.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a building less than a minute after take-off from the city of Ahmedabad in western India en route to London, killing 241 people on board, along with 19 on the ground. One passenger survived.

Information contained in India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau report, the first official account of what happened, has raised questions about the role of the pilots.

However, experts within the aviation industry claim investigators have been highly selective in what they have chosen to say.

What the report says

Under international protocols, the state leading an air accident investigation is meant to issue a preliminary report within 30 days. The 15-page document published by India's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday fulfils this requirement.

Although the AAIB has been leading the investigation, US interests are also represented, because Boeing, the maker of the aircraft, and GE Aerospace, the engine manufacturer are American.

The report does not set out any conclusions as to the cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it has sparked considerable controversy.

In its account of the accident flight, the AAIB states that two fuel cut-off switches were moved from the 'run' to the 'cut-off' position seconds after take-off.

This deprived the engines of fuel and caused them to lose thrust. Although data from the flight recorder shows the engines were subsequently restarted, it was too late to prevent the crash.

These switches are normally only used to turn the engines on before a flight and off afterwards. They have a locking mechanism, which means they need to be pulled out before being flipped, a system designed to prevent accidental deployment.

The report also states that one pilot asks the other "why did he cutoff", while his colleague "responded that he did not do so".

However, it does not provide any direct transcript of the conversation, which would have been picked up by the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Nor does it identify which pilot asked the question.

It is worth remembering that preliminary reports are not intended to offer a full picture of what happened or draw firm conclusions. They are meant to be a factual summary of the information obtained in the early stages of what could be a lengthy investigation.

The investigating authority is also under no obligation to make their preliminary reports public.

Reuters Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad, India July 12, 2025. Reuters

Missing information

The information released so far has prompted a number of commentators to claim, in the media and online, that the accident was the result of deliberate and intentional action by one of the pilots.

It is a view that has attracted an angry response from the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association, which warned that "invoking such a serious allegation based on incomplete or preliminary information is not only irresponsible – it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved".

It added that "to casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting".

In a memo to staff, the chief executive of Air India struck a similar note. Campbell Wilson warned against drawing "premature conclusions".

Since the report was issued, the BBC has spoken to a range of people within the industry, including pilots, accident investigators and engineers. While theories as to what actually happened vary widely, the dominant view is that important information is currently missing.

"They've told us stuff they want us to know at the moment, and withheld what they don't want us to know," explained one pilot, who asked not to be identified. "It's not a complete report."

One of the main criticisms is the lack of a transcript from the cockpit voice recorder, which would enable the reported conversation between the pilots about the fuel cut-off switches to be put in context.

Bjorn Fehrm, an aeronautical analyst at consultants Leeham News said this was "totally unacceptable".

"They have all this technical detail. Then you have this reference to dialogue, but it doesn't even tell you who's speaking," he said.

Mr Fehrm was also concerned that there was no reference to what happened in the cockpit between the switches being flipped from run to cut-off, and the first switch being pushed back into position to relight the first engine 10 seconds later.

"It's someone trying to hide something," he said.

Close-up view of Dreamliner 787 aircraft cockpit control panel with labelled components. The thrust levers are prominent in the centre. Engine fuel control switches, which cut fuel supply and shut down engines, are on the left. Switches with a stop lock mechanism that must be lifted before turning are on the right. Guard brackets prevent accidental movement of the switches

An engineering source, meanwhile, said the report was "very selective", and did not have any detailed information about what the engines were doing immediately before the switches were flipped. The document does say that the engine speed began to decrease from take-off values "as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off."

This, they said was important - because flipping the switches to cut-off and back was something a pilot would be trained do to in order to restart an engine that was already losing power.

Tim Atkinson, an aviation consultant and former air accident investigator in the UK said, "it is very disappointing to read a report which does provide a few salient facts, leaves many more questions".

Another element of the report that has caused controversy is a reference to a safety bulletin – known as a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin – published by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2018.

This was used to alert the aviation community that operators of some Boeing 737 models had reported cases in which the fuel cut-off switches had been fitted with the locking feature disengaged - potentially enabling the switch to be flipped by accident.

At the time, the FAA described this as an "airworthiness concern", but said it was "not an unsafe condition" that would require mandatory action via what is known as an Airworthiness Directive.

Operators of a number of different Boeing models fitted with similar switches, including 787s, were advised to carry out simple inspections.

The investigation report says Air India did not carry out those inspections - prompting speculation that the accident could have been caused by faulty switches being flipped by accident.

However, in an internal note seen by the BBC, the FAA has since reiterated its belief that the issue did not compromise safety.

Engineering sources have also pointed out that the report says the throttle control module on the crashed aircraft was replaced on two occasions, most recently two years before the accident. This would have involved replacing the cut-off switches as well.

According to Bjorn Fehrm of Leeham News, the reference to the FAA's advice contained in the report was "totally irrelevant" in the context of the accident.

Nevertheless, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked the operators of all aircraft covered by the FAA's original bulletin to carry out inspections by 21 July.

For former accident investigator Tim Atkinson, the vagueness of the report may have been deliberate - in order to suggest an explanation for the crash, while avoiding being too explicit.

"The very worst reports are those written to be read 'between the lines', and if that is what we have here, then it does no credit to the investigators," he said.

Meanwhile those seeking firm answers to what happened on Flight 171 may well have to wait.

International protocols stipulate that a final report should be published within a year of the accident. However, in practice, it can take a lot longer than that.

Constance Marten spent months at 'torture' church, friend tells BBC

BBC An image of Constance Marten, a young woman with long brown hair smiling and holding a cigarette, next to an image of a building with The Synagogue Church of All Nations written on itBBC

Constance Marten was a disciple of infamous Christian preacher, TB Joshua, who was accused of rape and violence in a BBC News investigation.

Marten spent four months at Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria as a teenager.

A fellow disciple, who knew Marten when she was at the church, told the BBC it was "a place of torture" and sexual assault. The BBC has no reason to believe Marten was subjected to any abuse there.

Marten, 38, has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of her baby, Victoria.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of physical and sexual abuse

Now the retrial is over BBC News can report Marten, who comes from an aristocratic family with royal connections, was a disciple at the Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan) from September 2006, when she was aged 19.

She lived at a compound while at Scoan, one of the world's biggest Christian evangelical churches.

The BBC Eye investigation, published last year, found evidence of widespread abuse and torture by Joshua. A televangelist who had an immense global following, Joshua died in 2021.

As part of the investigation, dozens of former members alleged atrocities by Joshua, including rape and forced abortions, spanning almost 20 years.

Marten was taken to Scoan by her mother, Virginie De Selliers, after leaving school. She remained in Lagos, Nigeria, to become a disciple when her mother returned to the UK.

Speaking to the BBC, Angie said she shared a dormitory with Marten while the pair were at the church.

"It's no wonder she just ended up distrusting normal institutions - because clearly, something broke within her at some point," she said.

Angie
Angie was a Scoan disciple who knew Constance Marten while she lived at the church compound, in Lagos

Joshua had a worldwide following among some evangelical Christians thanks to videos of his "miracles" posted online by the church. After meeting him, people in wheelchairs were seen to walk again, and people with HIV and Aids showed off certificates saying they had been "cured".

However, the BBC Eye investigation revealed those videos had been faked and found how disciples had been discouraged from contacting their families, deprived of sleep, forced to denounce one another, and sometimes physically assaulted by Joshua - a man they called "Daddy".

One woman told the investigation it was her role to recruit teenage female visitors as live-in disciples, because Joshua liked to prey on them, especially virgins. Other interviewees said they were stripped and beaten with electrical cables and horse whips.

Scoan did not respond to allegations in the BBC investigation but has said previous claims were unfounded.

"Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated," it wrote.

Nigerian pastor TB Joshua speaks at his Lagos megachurch on 31 December, 2014. He wears a brown and white shirt with a white scarf and is holding a black book in his left hand and speaks into a microphone.
TB Joshua was hugely influential in Nigeria - and across the world

Angie, who was a Scoan disciple for 10 years, recalls Marten as being "bright, witty, compassionate, funny, kind, and very independent".

She told the BBC how the church was "a place of torture, psychological abuse, physical abuse, spiritual abuse, and sexual abuse" under Joshua's leadership.

Angie said: "I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone and I feel very sad that she [Marten] was taken there in the first place."

Unlike some Scoan disciples, who remained under Joshua's control for years, Marten was thrown out after a few months and returned to the UK, where she went to Leeds University to study for a degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies.

But messages seen by BBC News suggest she was still affected by her experiences in Nigeria years later. In October 2012, she got in touch with Angie via Facebook Messenger.

"I haven't spoken to anyone about what happened at the synagogue," Marten wrote. "All my university friends are secular, and if I told them about what I'd seen in Lagos, they'd think I was lying or mad!"

Marten wrote about how TB Joshua had abruptly thrown her out of the church and explained that, for years, she thought it was her fault. She said she didn't want to acknowledge Joshua was effectively running what she and others felt was a cult at the time.

Marten said she had tried to deal with what she experienced "silently and with a lot of confusion". "It's taken me years to get back to normal," she wrote.

She said it would be a great help "both emotionally and spiritually" to talk to Angie, who replied and later met Marten twice.

Inside Synagogue Church of all Nations in Lagos, founded by TB Joshua. It is a vast hall with a raised platform and rows of chairs.
Inside Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos, founded by TB Joshua

In another message, Marten said she couldn't talk about her experiences with her mother, who BBC News understands continued to donate small sums to the church at the time, prior to allegations about Joshua surfacing.

"I honestly think that she needed help back then and that she needs help now," Angie said of Marten. "I feel extremely sad to see what has happened subsequently."

"The story that I see is very different from what you see on the headlines. The story that I see is a young girl who was taken to an awful place, was broken down, doesn't understand what happened to her, and is therefore unable to process what's happening to her now. She really, really needs help."

For Angie it has been difficult to watch how events have unfolded for her former friend. "My heart breaks for her because I don't wish this on anyone - at the same time I wish I could shake her," she added.

Marten's first job after leaving university was as a researcher at the Al Jazeera news channel, where she tried to make a documentary about TB Joshua's megachurch - a project she mentioned in messages sent to Angie in early 2013.

"I really want this film to give an understanding to viewers of how cults work, and the very subtle manipulation that happens, so subtle that you can't even notice it," Marten wrote.

She said Joshua's "hoodwinking of innocent people" must "come into the light".

Bisola Hephzibah Johnson, another former disciple, told the BBC she persuaded Marten not to return to Scoan in 2013 to carry out secret filming for her documentary, saying it would be too dangerous.

She says everyone who spent time at Scoan has been deeply affected by their experiences there. "Some cannot until today co-ordinate their lives," she said.

The last message Angie received from Marten was in September 2014.

AFP Headquarters of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in the Ikotun neighbourhood in Lagos on 17 September 2014AFP
Headquarters of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in the Ikotun neighbourhood

Marten and her husband Mark Gordon were found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter on Monday, following the death of their baby daughter, Victoria.

At an earlier trial, which ended last year, they were found guilty of child cruelty, concealing a birth of their daughter and perverting the course of justice.

That trial heard Marten and Gordon, 51, were "arrogant" and "selfish individuals" who were in a toxic relationship.

Their baby had been "neglected and exposed to dangerous conditions", the trial heard.

The BBC approached Constance Marten's mother, Virginie de Selliers, for comment but she did not respond.

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

Reuters US president Trump is speaking in the Oval Office. He wears a navy suit and red tie. Reuters

Donald Trump has said that he is disappointed but not done with Vladimir Putin, in an exclusive phone call with the BBC.

The US president was pressed on whether he trusts the Russian leader, and replied: "I trust almost no-one."

Trump was speaking hours after he announced plans to send weapons to Ukraine and warned of severe tariffs on Russia if there was no ceasefire deal in 50 days.

In a wide-ranging interview from the Oval Office, the president also endorsed Nato, having once described it as obsolete, and affirmed his support for the organisation's common defence principle.

The president made the phone call, which lasted 20 minutes, to the BBC after conversations about a potential interview to mark one year on since the attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Asked about whether surviving the assassination attempt had changed him, Trump said he liked to think about it as little as possible.

"I don't like to think about if it did change me," Trump said. Dwelling on it, he added, "could be life-changing".

Having just met with Nato chief Mark Rutte at the White House, however, the president spent a significant portion of the interview expanding on his disappointment with the Russian leader.

Trump said that he had thought a deal was on the cards with Russia four different times.

When asked by the BBC if he was done with Putin, the president replied: "I'm disappointed in him, but I'm not done with him. But I'm disappointed in him."

Pressed on how Trump would get Putin to "stop the bloodshed" the US president said: "We're working it, Gary."

"We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv."

The conversation moved onto Nato, which Trump has previously criticised as "obsolete".

Asked if he still thought this was the case, he said: "No. I think Nato is now becoming the opposite of that" because the alliance was "paying their own bills".

He said he still believed in collective defence, because it meant smaller countries could defend themselves against larger ones.

President Trump was also asked about the UK's future in the world and said he thought it was a "great place - you know I own property there".

He spoke about how he was looking forward to an unprecedented second state visit to the UK in September this year.

On what he wanted to achieve during the visit, Trump said: "Have a good time and respect King Charles, because he's a great gentleman."

I've never seen a case like Marten and Gordon's - it was jaw-dropping

Julia Quenzler Constance Marten, a woman with long dark-brown hair who is wearing a black jacket with a blue scarf and white top, sitting behind glass in a court dock Julia Quenzler

I've reported on many criminal cases, but nothing like Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's. Their trials were extraordinary.

A couple who were twice in the dock over the death of their baby, they appeared to be completely in love and still fiercely united. And yet they had utter contempt for the court process.

They caused chaos across their two trials, which both overran by months. At one point, the Old Bailey's most senior judge accused them of trying to "sabotage" and "manipulate" their retrial. It nearly collapsed a number of times.

Their behaviour - from refusing to turn up to court and claiming to be ill, to sacking countless barristers and Gordon's trousers even being misplaced one day - left His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC exasperated on many occasions.

At one point he said two teenagers, who had been in his court the previous week, were "rather better behaved" than Marten, adding: "And they pleaded guilty to murder."

Over the last 18 months I've sat through Marten and Gordon's two criminal trials.

The first, which started in January 2024, resulted in the pair being found guilty of concealing the birth of their baby, Victoria, of perverting the course of justice and child cruelty.

But in late June, the jury in that trial was dismissed, unable to decide on one of the two, more serious charges about Victoria's death.

A second trial began almost nine months later. They have now both been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Now their case is over, we can report some of the remarkable moments when jurors were not in court. At times what happened across the trials was jaw-dropping.

'Will you stop flirting with me'

Marten and Gordon were highly unusual defendants. They would often talk during proceedings - as if completely unaware they were on trial. They knew their conversations were disruptive, but they didn't seem to care.

One day, while a witness was giving evidence, Marten sent a note to the judge asking: "Could I nip out for a coffee as we're falling asleep?"

The judge said it "doesn't look good" if defendants aren't interested in the evidence. They were, of course, on trial over the death of their baby.

It was obvious from the moment I first saw Marten and Gordon that they were still very much in love. They presented as a couple in court, rather than as co-defendants.

"Will you stop flirting with me," Marten said loudly to Gordon one day after the judge left court.

On her 38th birthday, they had a lingering embrace in the dock. "Where's my present," she playfully asked.

They appeared fixated on each other. "Obsession" was how Gordon described his love for Marten to police, saying he would have done anything for her.

Later, while giving evidence in their retrial, as if reading an open love letter to court, he declared "it was love" between him and his "noble" and "beautiful" wife.

"She was one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life."

Julia Quezler A court sketch showing Constance Marten, a woman with long brown hair wearing a dark top, and Mark Gordon, who has a peach-coloured headscarf and is wearing a shirt, looking at each other past a dock officer while sitting in a glass dock in court. The dock officer is a woman wearing a white shirt and black tie, with brown hair tied back and to the sideJulia Quezler

Marten and Gordon were often excited to see each other when they were brought up from the cells. Her face would light up when he appeared at the dock door. Sometimes she would blow Gordon kisses.

They were affectionate. They hugged and kissed on the cheek. Sometimes they tenderly stroked each other's hand. When Marten became tearful Gordon put his arm out to comfort her.

During proceedings, sitting with a dock officer between them, Gordon would often try to catch Marten's eye and smile. She would frequently lean towards him, with her chin resting on her hand.

At the end of the day, before being led back to their cells, they'd sometimes say "love you" to each other. It seemed like they looked forward to coming to court, a place they got to spend time together.

But there was a sense of chaos before the couple's first trial began in the early weeks of 2024. Marten and Gordon's legal representation kept changing - a running theme throughout their protracted case.

Some they sacked. Others withdrew. Sometimes they didn't have lawyers at all. It caused unending disruption.

In trials like this, involving serious charges, a defendant would typically have two barristers representing them. Marten got through an extraordinary number.

From her first appearance at the Old Bailey, in March 2023, to the end of the second trial, more than two years later, she had been represented by 14 barristers.

Why had she got through so many?

"Because she thinks she's entitled and doesn't listen to instructions," a source close to one of her former legal teams told the BBC.

Gordon also changed his legal team and ended up representing himself.

It caused significant delays - the couple's first trial overran by about three months, while the second overran by nearly two months.

'She is not running this trial'

Their "antics", as the judge put it, got increasingly worse as the second trial went on and on.

They repeatedly didn't turn up, meaning many court days were lost and jurors were hugely inconvenienced.

Often one of them would say they weren't well enough to come to court, only to be assessed as being medically fit to do so.

"Constance Marten is not running this trial," Judge Lucraft said firmly one day after she refused again to come to court.

Marten spent days complaining about her tooth pain. Court days were lost because of it. On one of those days she was found to be "medically fit" but "refused" to come.

"She is on trial for extremely serious offences and I've bent over backwards," the judge said. "I've given her more latitude than I suspect I ought to in some situations."

"In my view this is a complete sham," he said later referring to Marten's absence. Despite Marten's complaints of tooth pain, she declined treatment.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing Constance Marten, a woman with long brown hair wearing a dark top, and Mark Gordon, who has a peach-coloured headscarf and is wearing a shirt, looking at each other while sitting in a glass dock in court with the judge before them wearing a wig and red and black robes.Julia Quenzler

There were other highly unusual delays.

Marten refused to attend court one day after she had become "very argumentative and abusive to the staff in prison", according to the note from HMP Bronzefield.

The judge expressed his frustration again and again.

"This trial has had so many delays and quite frankly it is an insult to this court and to the jury", he said one day without jurors in the room.

On that particular day, the judge asked for Marten to join on a remote link from prison to explain why she wasn't at court.

She said she had been "lied on" and had asked to see a nurse but none were available.

"I am happy to come to court," she told the judge, "but yesterday at the Old Bailey I was abused for three hours by a guy in the cells next to me, shouting I am a baby killer."

One day Gordon, who normally wore a shirt and tie, turned up in a blue and yellow prison escape suit - used to spot runaway prisoners. On another occasion it emerged his court trousers had gone missing.

The judge, who said he could not be allowed in court in prison wear, remarked: "It would be a great shame to lose any more time through a lack of trousers."

'Don't touch me man'

Marten and Gordon repeatedly ignored the judge's instructions not to speak to each other during breaks in their evidence.

Unusually, he started coming into court before they were brought up from the cells to stop it from happening, with a warning that if they didn't, he would put them in different courtrooms.

One day Marten repeatedly exhaled so loudly during the evidence that the whole courtroom heard.

"Huffing and puffing at the back of the court is not the way these proceedings are done," said the unimpressed judge. Other days she yawned repeatedly.

She complained of feeling tired and said she had never experienced anything like travelling to court and back. "There are women locked in a metal cage in a van."

Julia Quenzler Judge Mark Lucraft, who is wearing red and black judges robes, a white legal wig and glasses. He is looking at a tablet in front of him and there are two microphones to the sideJulia Quenzler

Sometimes Marten and Gordon would abruptly blurt things out from the dock when they took issue with the evidence.

They were rude to some of the dock officers: When one tried to separate them after they tried to hug in the dock, Gordon kicked off.

"Don't touch me, man," said an irate Gordon amid the commotion before telling the dock officer to "shut up" when the judge and jury weren't in the room.

During the first trial, Gordon refused to return to the dock unless a dock officer was changed and then demanded to speak to the cell manager.

Sometimes we heard loud arguing in the corridor behind the dock door between Marten and Gordon and dock officers.

'Deliberate attempt to sabotage'

One of the most explosive moments in the couple's retrial happened when Marten was giving evidence. She suddenly blurted out to the jury that her husband had a "violent rape conviction".

We all knew about Gordon's previous conviction. But the jury didn't.

To ensure he received a fair trial, an order preventing the media from reporting Gordon's previous offences was put in place. It was never mentioned in front of the jury.

It was a jaw-dropping moment, which set off an unforeseen chain of events.

"This is plainly a deliberate attempt by the defendant to sabotage the trial," the judge said after the jury was ushered out quickly.

One of the prosecutors, Joel Smith KC, described it as a "deliberate attempt to take a wrecking ball" to the the trial.

Marten claimed Mr Smith had already told the jury about the conviction. He hadn't. She said she had been exhausted and later blamed her "agonising toothache".

"I'm extremely tired and I am irate that this word 'deliberate' keeps being expounded in this courtroom," she said.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing a barrister addressing the court and Constance Marten in the witness box next to the judgeJulia Quenzler

From then on it was difficult to keep up with the flurry of twists and turns that followed. Gordon initially wanted the jury discharged in his case.

The judge agreed. He said he had "little choice" and that Gordon would be tried next year. But the case against Marten would continue "alone", he decided during legal discussions.

Gordon then quickly changed his mind. "I can't do another year in prison," he pleaded with the judge. "I really beseech the court to allow this trial to continue," he added.

In the end, the case against Gordon continued. But the couple's behaviour appeared increasingly impulsive.

The number of barristers in court started to dwindle. Marten sacked her lead barrister but kept her junior. Not long after, Gordon's barristers withdrew their services.

He said he had sacked them and then declared that he was representing himself with the help of a solicitor. She also eventually withdrew.

The retrial had entered a whole new dimension.

Unlike at the first trial, when Gordon would often sit looking zoned out with his eyes half shut, now he appeared emboldened.

The problem was he wasn't a trained lawyer. It became hugely complicated. He often went on lengthy rants.

Without the jury in the room he would flip flop between complaining that things were "not fair" to turning the charm on, telling the judge that he was "tolerant", "kind", "patient" and gracious".

Other days he would shout at the judge as he left the courtroom.

He complained that he didn't have the same access as barristers. He wanted a desk, power to make legal applications and Archbold, a criminal law book running to more than 3,000 pages.

He repeatedly asked for more and more time to get his head around the case. It led to huge delays.

"Do you want me to adjourn for three years while you do a law degree?" the judge said to him one day.

At times Gordon appeared overwhelmed. He even pleaded for a royal intervention, describing the monarch as "compassionate and merciful".

"I ask the King in his mercy and those who work for him to help me," he said.

As the weeks went by, the judge warned Gordon a number of times that he might still remove him from the retrial because of the continued delays.

"It's simply him manipulating the system," the judge said on one occasion.

Julia Quenzler A court sketch showing Mark Gordon, who is wearing a shirt and peach-coloured headscarf while holding some papers, questioning Constance Marten, a woman with dark brown hair who is wearing a dark jumper and sitting in the witness box with microphones in front of her,  from the glass dock. Julia Quenzler
In a highly unusual turn of events Gordon questioned his own wife while representing himself

One of the most gripping and unusual moments of the retrial was when Gordon cross-examined Marten.

Normally a barrister would be expected to be forensic, but there was a tenderness in how he asked questions.

"Who was hands on and gentle with the kids?" he asked. "Both of us… especially you," she replied.

"Was the baby always a priority?"

"Absolutely, that's why we did what we did," Marten responded. "Our number one priority was Victoria. We were doing what we were doing for her."

Marten cried when Gordon asked her about their four other children who had been taken into care. "Alright, babes," he said trying to comfort her.

There was a marked change in her demeanour too.

When questioned by her husband she spoke softly, but when she was cross-examined by the prosecution she bristled and became increasingly strident, before cutting short her time on the stand.

'I'm actually happy'

When it came to the moment of the verdicts, the courtroom filled. There was silence. "Would the defendants please stand," the clerk said. They refused.

Guilty of gross negligence manslaughter for Gordon, the jury foreman told the court. Marten shook her head and crossed her arms.

Guilty of the same for her. She looked intensely at her partner. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"It's a scam," Marten later shouted from the dock.

"It was an unfair trial," Gordon said loudly.

He told a dock officer: "I'm actually happy with the result because I will win the appeal."

He then thanked the court usher. "It's been a pleasure."

Up until the very last moments of their case Marten and Gordon were still disrupting, doing things their way.

A couple who were so fixated on each other, they were unable to grasp what the jury was sure of: that it was their chaotic and dangerous choices that ultimately led to the death of their baby, Victoria.

Additional reporting by Claire Ellison, Levi Jouavel and Daniel Sandford.

The fate of the Sycamore Gap tree has shed light on a deeper concern

Joe Daniel Price via Getty A treated image of the Sycamore Gap TreeJoe Daniel Price via Getty

James Canton spent two years sitting beneath an 800-year-old oak tree near his home in Essex, watching acorns fatten and butterflies land on the massive knurled grey trunk. Sometimes he sat in the branches too.

Canton, a lecturer at the University of Essex, recalls how it helped him feel a "sense of connection". "We're happier sat in an oak tree ten foot from the ground, watching blue tits feeding on caterpillars – involved and immersed in that natural world." He went on to write a book called The Oak Papers about that time spent studying the Honywood Oak.

For years, it was easy to forget that we used to be a woodland nation: around 6,000 years ago untouched swathes of oak, hazel, birch and pine blanketed an estimated 75% of the UK. But in recent months the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland has put our relationship with trees, and the natural world more widely, back under the spotlight.

Two men are due to be sentenced today for the crime that has been called a "mindless destruction". Canton calls it a "symbolic" moment. The felling of the Sycamore Gap has prompted calls for stricter legal protections for trees, not only to help prevent similar crimes in future but also to help the public appreciate the value of trees at a time when many of our woodlands are in poor health and targets for tree-planting are not being met.

PA Media The Sycamore Gap tree which was illegally felledPA Media
The Sycamore Gap tree stood in a natural dip along Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland for over a century before it was felled in the early hours of 28 September 2023

But even if the government were to back calls for greater legal protections, other questions remain - namely, which trees should be afforded greater legal protection? And arguably even more pressingly: should Britain be thinking more broadly about how to save our depleting woodlands - and is legal protection enough or is a fundamental rethink required?

UK's 'odd relationship' with trees

The Sycamore Gap wasn't a particularly ancient tree, nor a native species, but its position gave it a totemic status. Tucked into a fold of the hills in an area of outstanding beauty, the tree was famous around the world. People went there to have picnics, propose marriage, scatter ashes and to seek solace during lockdown.

Experts at Northumbria University say the single tree's "dramatic and photogenic setting made it a culturally significant landmark", and it was often used as a symbol of the surrounding Northumberland region. Local people spoke of their sense of devastation at its loss, while Northumberland National Park Authority received thousands of emails, letters and messages.

Northumbria Police Handout photos issued by Northumbria Police of Daniel Graham, 39, (left) and Adam Carruthers, 32Northumbria Police
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were both found guilty of two counts of criminal damage in connection with the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree

And yet despite being a nation of tree lovers, we live in one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth - while we still aren't planting enough trees, despite calls by successive governments. The UK has 13% woodland cover, compared to an average of 38% in Europe, according to Prof Mary Gagen of the University of Swansea.

We've been planting more woodland in recent decades, with woodland creation rates much higher now than they were in the 2010s, yet even they remain off track, according to statistics from Forest Research. The target set by the previous Conservative government was to plant 30,000 hectares a year by 2025 across the UK, in line with the heyday of tree planting in the 1970s.

Statistics show that 20,700 hectares of new woodland was created in the UK between April 2023 and March 2024, a big achievement. However, this fell to 15,700 hectares over the year to March 2025, largely as a result of a drop-off in planting in Scotland. Rates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went up – though from a low base.

Mike Kemp via Getty Images Bucknell Wood ancient woodland in mist and sunlight Mike Kemp via Getty Images
Experts warn that the UK's native woodlands are in crisis, with only 7% currently in good ecological condition

And the woodlands that already exist aren't in great shape. Only 7% of it is in good ecological health, says Prof Gagen.

She is among those who think that this all nods to an "odd relationship" with trees – one of "simultaneously adoring and denuding woodlands".

Andrew Allen of the Woodland Trust warns there could be a knock-on effect: "While money goes into getting new trees in the ground, we continue to spend very little on looking after the trees we already have - and this risks serious consequences."

'Why would a tree older than Stonehenge go unprotected?''

Ancient trees provide a home to hundreds of different bird, insect and mammal species, yet they have no automatic right of protection. This is unlike some other countries, including Italy and Poland, where so-called "heritage" trees have specific legal protections.

Some UK trees are protected through being in a nature reserve or a site of special scientific interest, while Tree Preservation Orders can be made by a local planning authority to protect specific trees or woodland from deliberate damage or destruction.

PA Media The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, shining over the Sycamore Gap PA Media
The Tree Council has published a report urging stronger protection for the country's most significant and irreplaceable trees, like the one at Sycamore Gap

Yet many fall through the gaps. Only a fifth of our "oldest and most important veteran trees" are in protected areas, says Prof Gagen. Veteran trees are trees that through their own decay act as a habitat for other species, promoting biodiversity.

The Tree Council charity has written a report calling for greater protections for the country's "most important trees", such as at the Sycamore Gap. The outpouring of emotion and anger after the felling of the tree shows how valued these "socially, culturally and environmentally important trees are", says Jess Allan, science and research projects manager at the charity.

On the back of a Heritage Trees Bill, introduced in December 2023 as a private members bill in the House of Lords, the charity is calling for legislation to create a statutory list of the most valuable trees and to impose stricter penalties for damaging them, mirroring the system for listed buildings.

Crucially, this could protect trees that are much-loved and culturally important because of their place in the landscape, as well as protecting ancient trees that are vital in preserving nature.

PA Media People gather around the stump of the Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland National ParkPA Media
Backed by the proposed Heritage Trees Bill in the House of Lords, the Tree Council is calling for a legal register of the UK's most valuable trees, along with tougher penalties for damaging them

Jon Stokes, the charity's director of trees, science and research, points out that in Portugal, the maximum fine for destroying a notable tree is €500,000 (£433,000).

He says protecting our "most celebrated trees" is a no-brainer. "There are yew trees in this country that are older than Stonehenge – nobody would ever contemplate not protecting Stonehenge so why would a living thing that's older than Stonehenge not receive some protection?"

He hopes something positive could come out of the felling of the Sycamore Gap: it's made people realise that some of the UK's trees are "truly vital to our culture and heritage and history – and our biodiversity - we should be looking after them better than we are at the moment".

The Tree Council's report is currently being assessed by the government, but there is no date on when any decision will be released.

'You can't stop reckless acts'

There are some who believe legal reforms are not enough. Even the proposed new measures might not have saved the famous sycamore: its felling involved trespass onto land owned by the Northumberland National Park. And a Tree Preservation Order wouldn't have made a difference either, says Sarah Dodd of Tree Law in Barry, Wales, a law firm that specialises in legal issues involving trees.

"Ultimately, you can put all the protection you want on trees, but some people are just going to break the law, you can't stop some people doing some reckless acts," she says.

PA Media Dame Judi Dench is presented with a seedling from the Sycamore Gap treePA Media
At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Dame Judi Dench was presented with a seedling from the Sycamore Gap tree

The bigger question, she says, is how we get people to appreciate the value of trees and therefore not want to fell them. She hopes that giving trees special legal status will raise their profile, and therefore make people recognise their importance.

Mr Stokes, of the Tree Council, says if we are to maximise the biodiversity value of our trees we've got to celebrate and protect the old ones. And we need to build up new trees next to our older ones, so that wildlife can flow "from these ancient bastions into the new woods and hedges and individual trees that we're planting", he says.

A recent report by the Woodland Trust found that the current health of our woods and trees is "concerning", and proposed solutions include more woodland creation, better woodland management, agroforestry (combining agriculture and trees), ancient woodland restoration, and natural flood management, whereby trees are planted to slow down water flow.

Difficult choices ahead

This will not be easy and Prof Gagen of Swansea University says saving the UK's woodlands is a complex problem that demands difficult choices around building.

"Unfortunately, for most people if asked if they'd like more new, cheaper housing or faster transport, or to protect nature, they are going to sacrifice a woodland," she says.

She says there is a need to ensure people are aware of the "true value of nature".

"A single big tree in the right place is providing thousands of pounds worth of carbon store, flood protection, free air conditioning, habitat, wellbeing provision, pollution control and a hundred other benefits, and no one is asked to pay those costs if the tree is felled for development. That needs to change to save UK woodlands."

As for Canton, he stills visits the Honywood Oak near his home, and is involved in projects to turn around the fortunes of the "forgotten forests", areas of ancient woodland that were historically turned into timber plantations and now need to be restored.

He hopes that years from now we will have learned from the loss of the Sycamore Gap tree and others like it, and changed our attitude.

"I'd really like to think that in a generation's time, there will be rights for trees – trees that are over say 100 years old that you cannot do this, and you get much worse punishments than currently exist," he says.

"Hopefully in time we will gradually get there – our society is naturally catching up with our natural emotional connection with the natural world."

Top image credit: Joe Daniel Price via Getty

BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.

Drivers offered up to £3,750 discount to buy electric cars

Getty Images Woman with dark hair plugs in electric vehicle to charging pointGetty Images

The cost of a new electric car will soon be reduced by up to £3,750 after the government introduced grants to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

The discounts will apply to eligible vehicles costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly vehicles seeing the biggest reductions, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

Carmakers can apply for funding from Wednesday, with the RAC saying discounted cars should start appearing at dealerships "within weeks".

But some drivers have previously told the BBC that ultimately, the UK needs more charging points to spur people to buy electric vehicles (EVs).

The government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030.

Under the scheme, discounts will range between £1,500 and £3,750 and buyers will be able to claim a discount at the dealership.

The grants to lower the cost of EVs will be funded through a £650m scheme, and will be available for three years.

There are around 1.3 million electric cars on Britain's roads but currently only around 82,000 public charging points.

At the weekend, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government would invest £63m to fund EV charging points.

But it will not arrive soon enough for Carolyn Hammond, 49, from North Devon.

"We would like to invest in an electric car, but we only have "single phase" electricity in our home," she told the BBC. "That means there isn't enough electricity to run the household and charge an electric car."

She says that is the case for her neighbours too. "To upgrade our electricity connection would be £20k plus VAT, then there are more costs when putting in charging points, and buying a car," she said.

"Just makes it, sadly, too pricey."

Carolyn Hammond Carolyn Hammond smiling, wearing a knitted hat with a sunset and a field in the background.Carolyn Hammond
Carolyn Hammond says upgrading her electricity connection makes an EV "too pricey"

Alexander said: "This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money, it'll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century."

But Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon said: "Labour are forcing families into more expensive electric vehicles before the country is ready," adding that EVs were a "product people demonstrably do not want".

"Labour are putting net zero ahead of common sense and ahead of the family finances," he said.

The government said: "The discount means that zero emission cars are now cheaper to buy and run than ever before, and comes on top of preferential tax rates, delivering real savings for working families."

'I don't regret switching'

Jimmy Kim, a 43-year-old from London, has been weighing up whether or not he can afford to move to electric.

"The financial argument for an EV vehicle compared to a efficient petrol or hybrid vehicle doesn't add up at all," he said.

He added that the long-term cost of EV ownership, "coupled with the fact that cars devaluate after 10 years", mean it "doesn't make any logical sense to buy one in the current economic climate".

But Paul Cole, 38, also from London, said he wouldn't go back to a petrol car.

Paul Cole Paul Cole smiling and looking at the camera.Paul Cole
Paul Cole says he saves money by charging his EV overnight

"I would say having made the switch that it is brilliant and you should do it if you have the infrastructure to do so," he told the BBC.

"We had recently moved house and there was a charging point already in the driveway when we moved in. We had since had solar panels installed as well, so an electric car made perfect sense," he added.

He adds that to save money on the electricity needed to charge the car, he charges the car overnight when electricity is the cheapest.

"We've now had it two years, and we haven't regretted getting it for a moment."

Drivers buying electric cars can get tax breaks if their employer has a company car scheme.

Grants for EVs have previously been available, but were scrapped in 2022 under Conservative leadership.

First started in 2011, the grants were designed to make buying new electric vehicles more affordable by providing a discount of £1,500 for cars under £32,000.

When the scheme ended, the Department for Transport said funding would be "refocussed" towards the main barriers to the electric vehicle transition, such as public charging, and supporting the purchase of electric vans, taxis and motorcycles.

Additional reporting by Your Voice, Your BBC and Connie Bowker.

How a massive database of body scans aims to unlock the secrets of ageing

Bourigault et al. 2024 An image from the UK Biobank project. It shows for MRI scans of the body showing the legs and major organs including the heart, spine and stomach in different colours.Bourigault et al. 2024
Thousands of scans of each participant are recorded and stored as part of the imaging project. Here showing images of the abdomen and major organs

Scientists say they can study our bodies as we age in greater detail than ever before, thanks to more than a billion scans of UK volunteers.

The world's biggest human imaging project says it has now hit its target of scanning the brains, hearts and other organs of 100,000 people - the culmination of an ambitious 11-year study.

"Researchers are already starting to use the imaging data, along with other data we have, to identify disease early and then target treatment at an earlier stage," says Prof Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank.

The data is made available at low cost to teams around the world to find new ways of preventing common health conditions from heart disease to cancer.

The 100,000th volunteer to be scanned was Steve, who recently retired from a job in sales and now helps out at a charity run by his daughter.

The BBC watched as he entered a full-body MRI scanner in an industrial park outside Reading, and detailed images of brain cells, blood vessels, bones and joints appeared on the screens.

"My mum was diagnosed with early-stage dementia a few years ago and has not been well," he says.

"So with that in mind I want to give more back to research so the next generation can learn from people like me."

A portrait of Steve (we are not using his surname) who is staring straight at camera. He is a man in his 60s with white hair, black glasses and a tan. He is wearing a green medical overall and standing in a corridor outside the scanning room. He is smiling.
Steve from southern England was the 100,000th person scanned in what's become the world's largest medical imaging project

The giant medical imaging project has been running for 13 hours a day, seven-days-a-week across four sites in England.

Participants are given a five-hour appointment to be scanned using five different types of MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines.

The data gathered is anonymised and volunteers like Steve receive no individual feedback unless the radiographers happen to spot a potentially serious health problem.

The project does not allow personal data, such as a volunteer's surname or the precise area where they live, to be published.

What is UK Biobank?

UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge A shot of the operation room at UK Biobank. In the distance is a window showing a person being scanned in an MRI machine. They are being attended to by two radiographers operating the machine. In the foreground is a picture of a brain scan on a monitor and another video screen showing the internal MRI scanner tube.UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge
Volunteers have been scanned at four sites across the UK over an 11-year period

Launched in 2003, UK Biobank is one of the largest collections of biological samples and health data in the world.

In total, half a million people – all middle-aged volunteers – have been asked to complete physical tests, answer regular health and lifestyle questions, and provide DNA and other biological samples.

Their blood, urine and saliva are frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at temperatures of -80C (-112F) in huge refrigerators in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

The imaging part of the project began in 2014, and involves taking detailed scans of 100,000 of those same participants.

All of that group will be invited back to repeat the process every few years to see how their bodies and organs change as they grow older.

By combining those scans with the other data collected by UK Biobank, scientists can test whether early changes to the make-up of the brain or body then lead to diseases or other health problems in later life.

The whole UK Biobank project, which is non-profit making, was set up by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust charity, along with the Department of Health and the Scottish government.

Two decades later it is now reaching maturity.

Over 30 petabytes, or 30,000 terabytes, of anonymised health data is already available to researchers working for universities, charities, governments and the private sector.

Scientists in the UK and the rest of the world can apply for access and most are charged between £3,000 and £9,000 to help cover running costs.

Louise Thomas, professor of metabolic imaging at the University of Westminster, says it is "completely transforming" how she and other researchers do their jobs.

"We thought it was a crazy idea, there was absolutely no way anybody could scan this number of people," she says.

"To analyse these images manually would have taken us thousands of years but now... we can extract all the information automatically, so we can measure everything in the body in a matter of minutes."

Researchers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to process the huge amounts of data generated by the project.

Almost 1,700 peer-reviewed papers have been written using all types of Biobank data since work started in 2003, with dozens more now published every week.

The scans and images taken so far have already been used to show that:

UK Biobank is one of the 10 largest stores of personal health data in the world alongside similar initiatives in Germany, China and the United States, although those projects don't all make their data available to scientists globally in the same way.

The imaging element of the project is also funded by a number of other organisations including the British Heart Foundation, Calico, a subsidiary of Alphabet which also owns Google, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

Antisemitism report finds 'unacceptable' increase in anti-Jewish discrimination

Reuters Penny Mordaunt is pictured walking outdoors. She wears a dark suit. Reuters

A new report into antisemitism has laid out a number of recommendations, including that the NHS tackle what it found was a "specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism".

Launched by the Board of Deputies of British Jews in 2024, the report made 10 recommendations after taking evidence from a range of organisations, including the NHS, the arts industry and the police.

Lord John Mann, the government's independent advisor on antisemitism, who led the review with ex-Conservative cabinet minister Dame Penny Mordaunt, said the commission heard "shocking experiences".

He said it was "unacceptable" there had been what he called an "onslaught of antisemitism" in the UK since 7 October.

He added that they hoped the recommendations would provide guidance and action.

About 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, while 251 others were taken hostage.

The Israeli military launched an ongoing campaign in Gaza in response to the attack. At least 57,823 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The majority of the recommendations in the report pointed towards antisemitism training in different capacities.

One was the creation of an "Antisemitism Training Qualification" for those who carry out training on what it called "contemporary antisemitism".

It explained that Jewish communal organisations wanted to increase knowledge on anti-Jewish discrimination, which could be done if there was a standard training given by a "credible provider".

On Jewish identity, it said Judaism "should always be seen and understood... as an ethnicity as well as a religion", which the commission said would ensure antisemitism is dealt with appropriately.

The report found many Jewish employees within the NHS felt antisemitism was not being addressed in the workplace, as well as some Jewish patients feeling "uneasy about using the service".

Among its recommendations are that the NHS should hold a summit to tackle the "specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism" within the health service.

It also suggested that antisemitism should be included in all Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training, which it said would increase the number of people "educated" about it and "confident in tackling it".

"No person should face abuse or discrimination whilst going about their business, whether it is pursuing the career of their choice or accessing public services," Dame Penny said.

On education, the report claimed to have received evidence of some Christian primary school teachers "inadvertently using antisemitic tropes" in subjects such as religious studies.

It said it welcomed an initiative proposed by the Winchester Diocese and the local Jewish community to teach the teachers how to avoid doing so, and recommended that it be evaluated and applied to all faith schools.

The Board of Deputies said that while it believed "everyone should have the right to express their opinions and beliefs", those in a role of "welfare, safety or security... have an additional duty to ensure people feel able to ask for their assistance".

Other recommendations asked that Jewish members of the arts industry and unions be treated equally.

Another key recommendation was on policing and devising a "consistent approach" to dealing with antisemitic crimes.

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said the report could be "summarised as one of a failure to apply the protections rightly afforded to different vulnerable groups equally to Jewish people in the same positions".

Animals react to secret sounds from plants, say scientists

Listen to the sounds three different plants might make if they were stressed

Animals react to sounds being made by plants, new research suggests, opening up the possibility that an invisible ecosystem might exist between them.

In the first ever such evidence, a team at Tel Aviv University found that female moths avoided laying their eggs on tomato plants if they made noises they associated with distress, indicating that they may be unhealthy.

The team was the first to show two years ago that plants scream when they are distressed or unhealthy.

The sounds are outside the range of human hearing, but can be perceived by many insects, bats and some mammals.

"This is the first demonstration ever of an animal responding to sounds produced by a plant," said Prof Yossi Yovel of Tel Aviv University.

"This is speculation at this stage, but it could be that all sorts of animals will make decisions based on the sounds they hear from plants, such as whether to pollinate or hide inside them or eat the plant."

The researchers did a series of carefully controlled experiments to ensure that the moths were responding to the sound and not the appearance of the plants.

They will now investigate the sounds different plants make and whether other species make decisions based on them, such as whether to pollinate or hide inside them or eat the plant.

"You can think that there could be many complicated interactions, and this is the first step," says Prof Yovel.

Another area of investigation is whether plants can pass information to each other through sound and act in response, such as conserving their water in drought conditions, according to Prof Lilach Hadany, also of Tel Aviv University.

"This is an exciting question," she told BBC News.

"If a plant is stressed the organism most concerned about it is other plants and they can respond in many ways."

TAU A brown moth laying white eggs on a green tomato plantTAU
Moths layed eggs on plants based on the sounds they made, which indicated their health

The researchers stress that plants are not sentient. They sounds are produced through physical effects caused by a change in their local conditions. What today's discovery shows is that these sounds can be useful to other animals, and possibly plants, able to perceive these sounds.

If that is the case, then plants and animals have coevolved the ability to produce and listen to the sounds for their mutual benefit, according to Prof Hadany.

"Plants could evolve to make more sounds or louder ones if they were of benefit to it and the hearing of animals may evolve accordingly so they can take in this huge amount of information.

"This is a vast, unexplored field - an entire world waiting to be discovered."

In the experiment the researchers focused on female moths, which typically lay their eggs on tomato plants so that the larvae can feed on them once hatched.

The assumption was that the moths seek the best possible site to lay their eggs - a healthy plant that can properly nourish the larvae. So, when the plant signals that it is dehydrated and under stress, the question was whether the moths would heed the warning and avoid laying eggs on it?

The answer was that they didn't lay eggs, because of the sound the plants were producing.

The research has been published in the journal eLife.

US tariff threat leaves Russia less rattled than relieved

Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles duting a meetng, while visiting a military base of nuclear submarines, March 26, 2025, in Murmansk, RussiaGetty Images
Trump has threatened further sanctions unless Russia strikes a deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days

In the Oval Office on Monday, Donald Trump was talking tough, announcing new US arms shipments to Ukraine paid for by European governments, and threatening new tariffs which, if imposed, would hit Russia's war chest.

But, back in Moscow, how did the stock exchange react? It rose 2.7%.

That's because Russia had been bracing for even tougher sanctions from President Trump.

"Russia and America are moving towards a new round of confrontation over Ukraine," Monday's edition of the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets had warned.

"Trump's Monday surprise will not be pleasant for our country."

It wasn't "pleasant". But Russia will be relieved, for example, that the secondary tariffs against Russia's trading partners will only kick in 50 days from now.

That gives Moscow plenty of time to come up with counter proposals and delay the implementation of sanctions even further.

Nonetheless, Donald Trump's announcement does represent a tougher approach to Russia.

It also reflects his frustration with Vladimir Putin's reluctance to sign a peace deal.

On his return to the White House in January, Donald Trump had made ending Russia's war in Ukraine one of his foreign policy priorities.

For months, Moscow's response was: "Yes, but…"

Yes, Russia said in March, when it welcomed President Trump's proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire. But first, it said Western military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv should end, along with Ukrainian military mobilisation.

Yes, Moscow has been insisting, it wants peace. But the "root causes" of the war must be resolved first. The Kremlin views these very differently to how Ukraine and the West see them. It argues that the war is the result of external threats to Russia's security: from Kyiv, Nato, 'the collective West.'

Yet, in February 2022, it wasn't Ukraine, Nato or the West that invaded Russia. It was Moscow that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering the largest land war in Europe since World War Two.

Reuters A Russian contract soldier looks out of a T-72 tank during military drills held at a firing range amid Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the southern Krasnodar region, Russia, December 2, 2024.Reuters
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago

For quite some time, the "Yes, but…" approach enabled Moscow to avoid additional US sanctions, while continuing to prosecute the war. Keen to improve bilateral relations with Russia and negotiate a peace deal on Ukraine, the Trump administration prioritised carrots to sticks in its conversations with Russian officials.

Critics of the Kremlin warned that with "Yes, but"… Russia was playing for time. But President Trump hoped he could find a way of persuading Vladimir Putin to do a deal.

The Russian president has appeared in no rush to do so. The Kremlin believes it holds the initiative on the battlefield. It insists it wants peace, but on its terms.

Those terms include an end to Western arms shipments to Ukraine. From Donald Trump's announcement it is clear that is not going to happen.

President Trump claims that he is "not happy" with Vladimir Putin.

But disillusionment is a two-way street. Russia, too, has been falling out of love with America's president. On Monday, Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote:

"[Trump] clearly has delusions of grandeur. And a very big mouth."

Who's missing from the BBC salaries list, and why?

BBC Claudia Winkleman on The Graham Norton ShowBBC
Claudia Winkleman hosts The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing, and filled in for Graham Norton on his chat show

The BBC's annual report will be published later, with Gary Lineker and Zoe Ball likely to top the star salaries list for the last time.

The pair have occupied the top two slots on the rankings every year since 2020, but both have recently exited their respective programmes.

Ball left the Radio 2 Breakfast show in December, three quarters of the way through the financial year, while Lineker recently stood down from the BBC sooner than planned after reposting a controversial Instagram reel about Zionism.

Scott Mills has taken over the Radio 2 breakfast show (Ball now hosts Saturday afternoons), while Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan are the new faces of Match of the Day. Their new salaries are all expected to appear in full next year.

But there are plenty of other stars who make huge sums of money from the BBC whose names never appear on the list, due to the criteria used to compile it.

As a result, the corporation's salary disclosure is far from a complete picture of what top talent at the BBC earn.

Why are some names missing from the BBC salary list?

Rylan Clark on stage presenting Comic Relief 2025
Rylan Clark's BBC work includes Eurovision, an Italian travel documentary, interview programmes and a Radio 2 show

The BBC publishes the names and salaries of stars and executives who earn above a certain threshold (currently £178,000) every year.

But while there are many stars the BBC employs directly, the corporation also contracts a large number of production companies, including the corporation's own commercial arm, BBC Studios, to make some of its programmes.

The stars who are subsequently employed by those production companies are not directly employed by the BBC, and therefore not on the salaries list.

Because BBC Studios is a commercial organisation, not underpinned by the licence fee, it is in competition for business with the BBC, streaming services and other broadcasters.

As a result, its salaries aren't included, so that there is a level playing field for it to compete in the commercial market.

To make things more complicated, some shows which air on the BBC are not solely funded by it. Industry, for example, is a co-production with HBO, while the last series of Doctor Who was partly funded by Disney+.

That means it's not necessarily the case that the salaries of big stars associated with these shows are funded exclusively from licence fee money.

Which stars do not appear on the salaries list?

David Mitchell, Rob Brydon and Lee Mack on the set of Would I Lie To You>
L-R: David Mitchell, Rob Brydon and Lee Mack would all be listed for BBC work such as Would I Lie To You?

It would be almost impossible to come up with a full, exhaustive list, but here are a few examples of names who are absent, in no particular order.

Rylan Clark is missing, despite hosting a weekly Radio 2 show, covering the Eurovision Song Contest, fronting an Italian travel series with his friend Robert Rinder, and his special one-off interview programmes with Cher and Mariah Carey.

His fellow X Factor graduate Stacey Solomon is also not listed, even though she fronts Sort Your Life Out and appears on her own reality TV series with husband Joe Swash.

Rob Brydon would be included on a more comprehensive list for hosting Would I Lie To You?, as well as his role in Gavin & Stacey's Christmas special, and his new job fronting the corporation's forthcoming competition format Destination X.

His Would I Lie To You? co-star Lee Mack would also be listed if directly employed by the BBC, thanks to his role as team captain, as well as for writing and starring in sitcom Not Going Out.

David Mitchell would also have made the list, not just due to his role as the show's other team captain, but also for BBC work such as his lead acting role in drama Ludwig.

Another popular Friday night panel show, Have I Got News For You would also see team captains Paul Merton and Ian Hislop appear on the list.

On one tetchy exchange on Have I Got News For You in 2019, then-MP Johnny Mercer suggested Hislop earned £20,000 per episode - a figure Hislop did not dispute.

Other stars who do not appear include Alan Carr (Interior Design Masters), Alison Hammond (Florida Unpacked and Alison Hammond's Big Weekend), Jools Holland (Later) and Dannii Minogue (I Kissed A Boy).

Romesh Ranganathan on the set of The Weakest Link, and Richard Osman on the set of House of Games
Most quiz show hosts such as Romesh Ranganathan, Richard Osman (both pictured), and Ross Kemp are absent

Quiz show hosts as a breed are generally nowhere to be seen. Ross Kemp does not appear for Bridge of Lies, nor does Sandi Toksvig for QI.

Victoria Coren-Mitchell does not appear for Only Connect, while Sue Perkins is absent for Chess Masters: The Endgame (she also hosts Radio 4's Just A Minute).

The weekday edition of Pointless would almost certainly land Alexander Armstrong on the list if compiled differently, along with his Pointless Celebrities co-star Richard Osman, who also fronts BBC Two's House of Games.

Romesh Ranganathan hosts a variety of programmes for the BBC, including a weekend Radio 2 show, The Weakest Link and his Misinvestigations series, but is unlisted.

The huge number of high-profile actors who appear in BBC dramas and comedies are missing, too.

These include Sherwood (starring Lesley Manville and David Morrissey) Mr Loverman (Lennie James), Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis), Ludwig (Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin), and The Responder (Martin Freeman).

Other popular BBC dramas and comedies not eligible to appear on the list include The Gold, Rebus, This City Is Ours, Blue Lights, Mrs Brown's Boys, and the Gavin & Stacey Christmas special, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones.

Stars who appear in continuing dramas such as Death in Paradise, Waterloo Road, Casualty, EastEnders and Call The Midwife also do not appear.

Elsewhere, Morning Live presenters Michelle Ackerley and Gethin Jones are absent, as are the stars of Homes Under The Hammer, Bargain Hunt, The Repair Shop and Saturday Kitchen.

Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke
Strictly's four judges (pictured) and host Tess Daly do not appear on the salaries list

There are some other stars who fall into a middle category - those who do appear on the list, but only for some of their BBC work.

For example, Vernon Kay is listed for his weekday Radio 2 show, the most popular radio programme in the country.

But, if he co-hosts an episode of The One Show, his fee for that is not included in his published salary.

Similarly, Lauren Laverne does not have her One Show appearances included, but she appears for hosting Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and her BBC Radio 6 Music show.

The One Show's other presenters, such as Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Clara Amfo, Angellica Bell, Ronan Keating, Alex Scott and countless others also wouldn't be listed - although some appear for other BBC work.

Elsewhere, presenters such as Clive Myrie, Fiona Bruce, Evan Davis and Amol Rajan are listed for their work on news programmes, but not for the entertainment and documentary formats they also front.

Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies, Emma Grede, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett, Peter Jones on Dragons' Den
The investors who appear on Dragons' Den do not have their own appearance fees listed

As we reported last year, one name who would potentially be at the very top of a more complete list is Michael McIntyre. He is effectively the corporation's equivalent of ITV's Ant & Dec, hired to front Saturday night shows throughout the year such as The Wheel and his Big Show.

Elsewhere, Bradley Walsh would likely feature for anchoring Gladiators and Blankety Blank, while Graham Norton would appear for commentating on Eurovision and his BBC One chat show.

Claudia Winkleman is another of the corporation's biggest names, as the host of Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors, arguably the BBC's biggest new hit of recent years. She also filled in for Norton on his chat show this year.

Top Gear may have been rested, but its former lead anchor Paddy McGuinness now fronts a Sunday programme on Radio 2, and also took over from Gregg Wallace as the host of Inside The Factory.

McGuinness's former Top Gear co-star Freddie Flintoff has similarly gone on to front Field Of Dreams following the motoring show's hiatus.

Gregg Wallace may have been sacked, but until his departure he would have appeared on a more comprehensive list for the huge number of MasterChef episodes he fronted, as would his co-star John Torode.

Every big name associated with Strictly is missing, with Tess Daly, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood all unlisted.

The Apprentice has been one of the BBC's biggest hits for two decades, but the star responsible for its success, Lord Sugar, does not have his salary listed. His assistants Baroness Brady and Tim Campbell don't either.

And the BBC's other big business-based show, Dragons' Den, does not list the salaries for its investors Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett.

Freeholders begin High Court challenge over reforms

BBC Front view of a new-build block of flatsBBC
Leasehold campaigners say they don't feel represented in the legal challenge

A group of landowners is beginning a judicial review in the High Court to challenge the government's attempts to reform the freehold and leasehold system of property ownership.

Some of the country's wealthy landowners and two charities who own the freehold leases of thousands of properties - predominately flats - argue that legislation brought in by the last Conservative government contravenes their human rights.

They say the measures in a law passed in 2024 are contrary to their right to enjoy private property as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

But leaseholders are concerned the hearing will hold up reforms, and complain their voices are not represented in court.

Reuters Michael Gove pictured on a building site in a hard hat. He has his hands behind his back and he is looking out of a window. Another man, also in a hard hat and high vis jacket is just behind him.Reuters
The legislation being challenged was brought in by Michael Gove

The hearing is set to start at the High Court from Tuesday and is expected to last until Friday.

When the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LAFRA) was fast-tracked through Parliament before the 2024 general election, the prospect of new laws to "strengthen" rights of leasehold flat and house owners were widely welcomed by leasehold campaigners.

Among other things, the act aimed to simplify extending a lease - the owners' right to live in the dwelling - and buying a freehold. It would also make the process cheaper for leaseholders.

But several freeholders are challenging some aspects of the new laws concerning the price calculations for a lease extension.

In earlier court documents, it was claimed they could lose hundreds of millions of pounds and argue that the changes leave them without adequate compensation.

Some also argue it prevents them from investing in areas where their properties are and could impact the community and their charitable giving.

They also say that changing the way the amounts are calculated between leaseholders and freeholders would transfer the wealth to large landlords who own multiple flats in central London.

But leaseholders fear the legal challenge could hold up reform for years.

There are an estimated 4.5 million owners of leasehold properties in England and Wales. Scotland abolished leasehold in the 1980s, and the leasehold system in Northern Ireland is slightly different.

Phil Jones, 57, bought his two-bedroom leasehold flat in Westcliff-on-Sea 25 years ago. He recently found out that his ground rent doubles every 10 years and is now at £500 per year.

He said his freeholder said the ground rent could be scrapped if Phil paid £60,000, which he couldn't do.

He says this makes his flat unsellable because mortgage companies will not lend on a property with a doubling ground rent clause in its lease.

"Life is on hold," he said. "I'm trapped here. The effect it has on us, it's so unfair."

He questioned how the freeholders can bring such a case when the legislation has already been given Royal Assent, or become law.

"All parties have decided, it's all been passed, it was in the King's Speech, just do it," he said.

Phil Jones Man stands outside his leasehold flat. He is wearing a purple t-shirt and staring at the camera. Behind him, the windows of the flat are visible, and pink flowers in a window box.Phil Jones
Phil Jones doesn't want reforms held up by legal argument

The legislation at the centre of the case was introduced when former Conservative minister Michael Gove was housing secretary. The Labour government has promised to go further but Mr Jones worries this will delay changes that could benefit him.

Labour has promised to abolish leasehold altogether by the end of the Parliament and bring in a commonhold model. It also wants to regulate ground rents.

But it still hasn't implemented all of the laws in LAFRA and says a new bill will be introduced later this year.

The government has been cautious about setting out hard deadlines while the legal challenge is pending.

Leasehold groups are also angry that their application to speak on behalf of flat owners was not allowed to be part of the case.

Harry Scoffin, founder of Free Leaseholders, said: "Despite our best efforts to intervene, not a single leaseholder voice will be heard at the High Court. Is this how democracy is supposed to run?

"We urge the government not to cave to this campaign of intimidation by rich vested interests and to press on to end the feudal leasehold system, as they promised in their manifesto."

There are six claimants representing a number of freeholders in the case, including the Cadogan group, a family owned company which has owned land in London for 300 years; the Grosvenor Group, owned by the Duke of Westminster and the John Lyon's Charity.

Contributor Dr. Lynne Guyton, is CEO of John Lyon’s Charity. She is sitting at a desk writing. Contributor
Lynne Guyton says that under new laws, millions of pounds would be redirected from a children's charity to private wealth

The charity uses its revenue from property it owns to give grants to organisations that help under privileged children.

It says changes to the laws will have "unintended consequences" that actually benefit wealthy leaseholder landlords who own flats in its property portfolio in St John's Wood, while the charity will lose revenue.

The charity says it backs leasehold reform generally but is asking to be exempt from the changes.

CEO Dr Lynne Guyton said: "This reform pulls the rug out from underneath those who need the most support across the capital.

"Without an exemption, we will lose at least 10% of the charity's income. It will put educational, mental health, art, emotional support and youth programmes all at risk."

PA Minister Angela Rayner walking away from a car with an open door. She is wearing a white jump suit and sunglasses.PA
Angela Rayner is responsible for steering housing reform through Parliament

The leasehold system dates back to the Middle Ages but the system as we know it came about in the 1920s.

Both the previous Conservative and the current Labour governments have called it "feudal" and vowed to reform it but campaigners say they've waited decades for change.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told MPs on Monday: "This week the High Court will be hearing challenges to some of the [2024] Act enfranchisement reforms, and we'll be robustly defending those challenges, and we'll await the court's judgement."

The government said it could not comment further on ongoing litigation.

We contacted the other freeholders or their legal representatives for comment but did not get an official response.

Additional reporting by Phil Hendry

Thin, red banner promoting the Politics Essential newsletter with text saying, “Get the latest political analysis and big moments, delivered straight to your inbox every weekday”. There is also an image of the Houses of Parliament.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments.

It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

The Papers: 'Killer aristocrat' and Trump's 'warning to Putin'

The headline on the front page of the Financial Times reads: “Trump threatens 100% trade levies if Russia does not end the war in 50 days”
Donald Trump's threats of severe tariffs on Russia is leading the front pages of Tuesday's papers, with the US president pushing for Moscow to accept a deal to end the war within 50 days. The Financial Times says Trump has told Russia to expect 100% "secondary" tariffs if the Ukraine war does not end within the timeframe, with a picture of Nato chief Mark Rutte meeting the US president at the White House.
The headline on the front page of the Guardian reads: "Trump issues warning to Putin as he does deal with Nato to arm Kyiv"
The Guardian has also headlined with Trump and Putin, writing that the US president has issued a "warning" to the Kremlin after agreeing a deal with Nato to arm Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes and Shoaib Bashir are pictured embracing after a win for England in the third test against India.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph reads: "Trump threatens China over Russian oil"
"Trump threatens China over Russian oil", reads the headline of the Daily Telegraph, after the US president used the threat of "secondary tariffs" to try to leverage an end to the war in Ukraine. A photo of Constance Marten posing on a beach features on the front page, after the 38-year-old woman was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence following the death of her newborn daughter in 2023.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Mail reads: "The killer aristocrat: why daughter of privilege had four children taken into care".
Marten and her partner Mark Gordon were also splashed across the front page of the Daily Mail, with the paper revealing that the couple's first four children were all taken into care. Gordon has previously been convicted of rape in the United States, where he served 20 years in prison.
The headline on the front page of the Metro reads: "Arrogance of monster parents"
"Arrogance of monster parents," says the Metro, which also leads on the guilty verdicts of Marten and Gordon. It comes more than two years after the decomposed body of their baby, Victoria, had been discovered in a shopping bag in Brighton.
The headline on the front page of the Times reads: "New grant to push sales of electric cars for net zero".
Marten is pictured again on the front page of the Times, this time holding a young child. The main story is about a government scheme offering £3,750 to people switching to an electric vehicle, with the subsidies tiered to incentivise purchasing the most "environmentally sustainable" models.
The headline on the front page of the Star reads: "We are the champions".
A photo of Chelsea hoisting the Club World Cup trophy features on the front page of the Daily Star, with Trump pictured getting caught up in the celebrations.
The headline on the front page of the Sun reads: "End of Torode?".
Gregg Wallace and John Torode are the feature story on the Sun, pictured with the headline "End of Torode?". Torode has said he is subject to an allegation of using racist language, upheld as part of an inquiry into separate allegations against co-host Gregg Wallace. The paper says the BBC and production company Banijay had asked Torode to leave MasterChef and claim he had mental health issues following the allegation, but he refused. On Monday night, BBC insiders distanced themselves from that claim. Torode wrote on Instagram that the allegation was that he made the remarks in 2018 or 2019 and that he had apologised immediately afterwards. He added that he had "no recollection" of any of it, and that he "did not believe that it happened."
The headline on the front page of the Mirror reads: "Sacked Gregg: I won't be the last".
"Sacked Gregg: I won't be the last", declares the Daily Mirror, after the former MasterChef presenter said the BBC had failed to protect him. Wallace said he was "deeply sorry for any distress caused" after the BBC published a report upholding 45 of the 83 claims about his behaviour.
The headline on the front page of the Daily Express reads: "Next tax raid will 'pick the pockets' of the grafters".
The Daily Express has led on Rachel Reeves' upcoming budget, warning of higher taxes for middle-class workers.
News Daily banner

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

News Daily banner

Biggest human imaging study scans 100,000th person

Bourigault et al. 2024 An image from the UK Biobank project. It shows for MRI scans of the body showing the legs and major organs including the heart, spine and stomach in different colours.Bourigault et al. 2024
Thousands of scans of each participant are recorded and stored as part of the imaging project. Here showing images of the abdomen and major organs

Scientists say they can study our bodies as we age in greater detail than ever before, thanks to more than a billion scans of UK volunteers.

The world's biggest human imaging project says it has now hit its target of scanning the brains, hearts and other organs of 100,000 people - the culmination of an ambitious 11-year study.

"Researchers are already starting to use the imaging data, along with other data we have, to identify disease early and then target treatment at an earlier stage," says Prof Naomi Allen, chief scientist at UK Biobank.

The data is made available at low cost to teams around the world to find new ways of preventing common health conditions from heart disease to cancer.

The 100,000th volunteer to be scanned was Steve, who recently retired from a job in sales and now helps out at a charity run by his daughter.

The BBC watched as he entered a full-body MRI scanner in an industrial park outside Reading, and detailed images of brain cells, blood vessels, bones and joints appeared on the screens.

"My mum was diagnosed with early-stage dementia a few years ago and has not been well," he says.

"So with that in mind I want to give more back to research so the next generation can learn from people like me."

A portrait of Steve (we are not using his surname) who is staring straight at camera. He is a man in his 60s with white hair, black glasses and a tan. He is wearing a green medical overall and standing in a corridor outside the scanning room. He is smiling.
Steve from southern England was the 100,000th person scanned in what's become the world's largest medical imaging project

The giant medical imaging project has been running for 13 hours a day, seven-days-a-week across four sites in England.

Participants are given a five-hour appointment to be scanned using five different types of MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines.

The data gathered is anonymised and volunteers like Steve receive no individual feedback unless the radiographers happen to spot a potentially serious health problem.

The project does not allow personal data, such as a volunteer's surname or the precise area where they live, to be published.

What is UK Biobank?

UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge A shot of the operation room at UK Biobank. In the distance is a window showing a person being scanned in an MRI machine. They are being attended to by two radiographers operating the machine. In the foreground is a picture of a brain scan on a monitor and another video screen showing the internal MRI scanner tube.UK Biobank / Dave Guttridge
Volunteers have been scanned at four sites across the UK over an 11-year period

Launched in 2003, UK Biobank is one of the largest collections of biological samples and health data in the world.

In total, half a million people – all middle-aged volunteers – have been asked to complete physical tests, answer regular health and lifestyle questions, and provide DNA and other biological samples.

Their blood, urine and saliva are frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at temperatures of -80C (-112F) in huge refrigerators in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

The imaging part of the project began in 2014, and involves taking detailed scans of 100,000 of those same participants.

All of that group will be invited back to repeat the process every few years to see how their bodies and organs change as they grow older.

By combining those scans with the other data collected by UK Biobank, scientists can test whether early changes to the make-up of the brain or body then lead to diseases or other health problems in later life.

The whole UK Biobank project, which is non-profit making, was set up by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust charity, along with the Department of Health and the Scottish government.

Two decades later it is now reaching maturity.

Over 30 petabytes, or 30,000 terabytes, of anonymised health data is already available to researchers working for universities, charities, governments and the private sector.

Scientists in the UK and the rest of the world can apply for access and most are charged between £3,000 and £9,000 to help cover running costs.

Louise Thomas, professor of metabolic imaging at the University of Westminster, says it is "completely transforming" how she and other researchers do their jobs.

"We thought it was a crazy idea, there was absolutely no way anybody could scan this number of people," she says.

"To analyse these images manually would have taken us thousands of years but now... we can extract all the information automatically, so we can measure everything in the body in a matter of minutes."

Researchers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to process the huge amounts of data generated by the project.

Almost 1,700 peer-reviewed papers have been written using all types of Biobank data since work started in 2003, with dozens more now published every week.

The scans and images taken so far have already been used to show that:

UK Biobank is one of the 10 largest stores of personal health data in the world alongside similar initiatives in Germany, China and the United States, although those projects don't all make their data available to scientists globally in the same way.

The imaging element of the project is also funded by a number of other organisations including the British Heart Foundation, Calico, a subsidiary of Alphabet which also owns Google, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

More of England likely to be declared in drought

Getty Images A dried-up bed of a reservoir with only a narrow stream of water flowing through the middle. In the background there is a bridge and a blue sky with scattered clouds.Getty Images
Yorkshire is already in drought, with reservoirs like this one showing much lower levels than usual

More English regions are expected to join the North West and Yorkshire in an official drought on Tuesday after yet another hot and dry spell of weather.

The announcement is likely to come after the National Drought Group – which manages preparations for dry conditions in England – meets on Tuesday morning.

Declaring a drought means that water companies put in place their plans to manage water resources. That can involve hosepipe bans, but not always.

Droughts are driven by natural weather patterns, but climate change and our growing use of water are raising the risks of water shortages, the Environment Agency says.

The National Drought Group is made up of the Environment Agency, government, Met Office, water companies and others.

There are no official droughts in Wales and Northern Ireland at the moment. Scotland does not declare droughts but monitors "water scarcity".

Parts of eastern Scotland are in "moderate" scarcity – the second most extreme category – which means there is "clear" environmental impact.

In England there is no single definition of drought, but it is ultimately caused by a prolonged period of low rainfall, which has knock-on effects for nature, agriculture and water supplies.

England had its driest spring in more than 100 years, followed by three heatwaves in quick succession for some areas in June and July.

That intense warmth has drawn even more moisture out of the soil.

So while it may be raining where you live today, it's unlikely to be enough to bring water levels back to normal across the country.

The Environment Agency (EA) declares droughts in England based on reservoir levels, river flows and how dry the soil is, alongside long-term weather forecasts.

"We certainly expect more regions to enter drought status," said Richard Thompson, deputy director of water resources at the EA, adding that further details would be announced later on Tuesday.

In a "reasonable worst-case scenario" - where regions get 80% of their long-term average rainfall - another five regions across central and southern England could enter drought status by September, joining Yorkshire and the North West, according to the EA.

Current long-term forecasts suggest roughly normal levels of rainfall over the next few months, however.

If further droughts are declared, it does not automatically mean that hosepipe bans will be put in place, but these can often follow.

Some regions, such as parts of Kent and Sussex, have already declared hosepipe bans, but are not in drought status.

Getty Images Hosepipe with a yellow head rests on dry, yellow grass. A yellow hosepipe lead is in the background.Getty Images
Hosepipe bans can often follow official drought declarations

The EA warned last month that England's water supplies could face a shortfall of six billion litres a day by 2055 without dramatic action, driven by rising temperatures, population growth and other factors.

Climate change is expected to lead to drier summers on average, while more intense heatwaves mean more water can be lost via evaporation.

Thin, green banner promoting the Future Earth newsletter with text saying, “The world’s biggest climate news in your inbox every week”. There is also a graphic of an iceberg overlaid with a green circular pattern.

Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.

Faroes-style tunnels could 'transform' fortunes for Shetland isles

BBC A grey car enters a tunnel, driving past red "no pedestrian" and "no cyclist" roadsigns. The tunnel disappears into a grassy hillside. A blue and white radio station information sign reads "FM 100.0".BBC
The 18 islands which make up the Faroes are connected by 23 tunnels, four of which run below the sea

The Faroese prime minister says Shetland could boost growth and revitalise island life by following his country in replacing ageing ferries with undersea tunnels.

Shetland Islands Council says it is pushing ahead with plans to build tunnels to four outlying isles in the archipelago including Unst, the most northerly place in the UK.

"I think we have learned in the Faroe Islands that investment in infrastructure is a good investment," Aksel Johannesen told BBC News.

Shetland Islands Council says its multi-million pound project is likely to be funded by borrowing money and paying it back through tolls, potentially providing a new transport model for other Scottish islands.

Faroese prime minister Aksel Johannesen pictured in an office with two blurred out gold-framed paintings hanging on a white wall behind him. He has brown hair combed to the side and is clean-shaven. He is looking directly at the camera with a serious expression. He is wearing a black shirt and a checked blazer.
The Faroese prime minister Aksel Johannesen told BBC News tunnels had helped to grow the population and the economy of the archipelago

Critics say politicians in Scotland have wasted years talking about tunnels while the Faroes, nearly 200 miles further out into the Atlantic, have actually built them.

"It is frustrating," says Anne Anderson of salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms, which employs nearly 700 people in Scotland, including just under 300 in Shetland.

The island chain produces a quarter of all Scottish salmon - the UK's most valuable food export with international sales of £844m in 2024.

"Ten years ago Scottish salmon used to have 10 per cent of the global market. Nowadays we're slipping ever closer to five per cent," adds Ms Anderson, who blames that slide, in part, on a lack of investment in public infrastructure .

She agrees that the UK should look to the Faroes for inspiration.

"Identify what works well for them and then just copy and paste and let's get moving," urges Ms Anderson.

A windswept Anne Anderson photographed from the chest up  in a marina setting. She has grey hair - tied back -  blue-rimmed glasses and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a blue jacket with a "Scottish Sea Farms" logo on the left hand side.
Anne Anderson of Scottish Sea Farms says politicians should get moving

They have been building tunnels in the Faroes since the 1960s.

The 18 islands which make up the self-governing nation under the sovereignty of Denmark are connected by 23 tunnels, four of which run below the sea.

More are under construction.

Most dramatic is a 7.1 mile (11.4km) tunnel which connects the island of Streymoy to two sides of a fjord on the island of Eysturoy.

It includes the world's only undersea roundabout.

At its deepest point it is 187m (614ft) below the waves and has halved the driving time between the capital Tórshavn and the second biggest town, Klaksvik.

Photograph of vehicles streaking past a roundabout in a tunnel. The tunnel has a green/ blue backdrop and black silhouettes of figures on it.
A tunnel which connects the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy includes the world's only undersea roundabout, nicknamed the jellyfish

Speaking in his grass-roofed office looking out over a busy harbour in Tórshavn, Johannesen says tunnels helped to grow the population and the economy of the archipelago, which is home to some 54,000 people, in contrast to Shetland's 23,000.

"It's about ambition," says tunnel builder Andy Sloan, whose company worked on part of the Faroese tunnel project.

He adds the islands have led the world "in connecting an archipelago in the middle of the North Atlantic through blood, sweat and tears – and focus.

"They have delivered a remarkable piece of infrastructure," says Mr Sloan, who is executive vice-president of engineering firm COWI.

It is now advising Shetland Islands Council on the technicalities and financing of tunnels.

The Faroese tunnels were constructed using a technique known as drill and blast – where holes are drilled in rock, explosives are dropped in, and the rubble is then cleared away – which Mr Sloan says could also be used in Scotland.

"Without doubt, Shetland can copy what has been achieved in these islands," he adds.

Head and shoulder shot of a smiling Andy Sloan, who is bald, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a navy suit jacket, navy half-zip jumper and a white shirt with the top button open. Green shrubbery is visible in the background.
Tunnel builder Andy Sloan worked on the Faroese tunnels

Prof Erika Anne Hayfield, dean of the Faculty of History and Social Sciences at the University of the Faroe Islands, says the tunnels have delivered significant benefits.

"People can live and thrive in smaller settlements," while still participating fully in island life and commuting to "the central labour market" in Tórshavn, she explains.

"In the long term, in terms of demography, social sustainability, a lot of people on islands believe that it is necessary," adds Prof Hayfield.

But she said the costs of some tunnels had been controversial, with some Faroese arguing that they are being built at the expense of investing in schools and hospitals.

Drone footage of Tórshavn marina, with government buildings, some of which have grass roofs, visible in the foreground. A number of boats can also be seen in the picture
The capital, Tórshavn, is a shorter commute for islanders since the construction of the tunnel network

Shetland's main town, Lerwick, may be closer to Tórshavn than it is to Edinburgh – and closer to Copenhagen than London – but advocates of tunnels insist the islands are not a remote backwater but an advanced economy constrained by poor infrastructure.

The archipelago of 100 islands at the confluence of the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean boasts the UK's only spaceport and a thriving fishing industry.

"We land more fish in Shetland than we do in the whole of England, Northern Ireland and Wales," says council leader Emma Macdonald.

"Tunnels could be incredibly transformational," she continues.

Macdonald adds: "We're really excited about the opportunity."

The 20th Century oil and gas boom brought Shetland riches but the islands have since embraced the shift to renewable energy and are home to the UK's most productive onshore wind farm.

"Shetland's really integral to Scotland and to the wider UK," says Macdonald.

The council has authorised a £990,000 feasibility study into building tunnels to four islands – Unst, Yell, Bressay and Whalsay.

It has not yet published an estimated cost for construction.

Head and shoulders shot of Elizabeth Johnson, who has short grey hair, smiling at the camera. She is wearing a grey t-shirt and a darker grey jacket with a navy "Saxavord UK Space Port" patch. She is standing on a shoreline and the sea is visible under grey skies in the background
Elizabeth Johnson says tunnels would "enhance the economic viability of the island"

"Tunnels would really open up this island for businesses," says Elizabeth Johnson, external affairs manager of Saxavord Spaceport on Unst.

She adds that they would "enhance the economic viability of the island".

But with neither the Scottish nor UK governments volunteering to pay for Shetland's tunnels, the Faroese funding model of borrowing paid back by tolls looks likely to be adopted.

"I think people recognise that there is probably a need for tolling and I think people understand that," says Macdonald.

She adds: "They already have to pay to go on the ferries."

At present the council runs ferry services to nine islands, carrying around 750,000 passengers each year on 12 vessels at a cost of £23m per year.

The average age of the fleet is 31.5 years, costs have risen sharply in the past decade, and some routes are struggling to meet demand for vehicle places.

Hebridean and Clyde ferries, off the west of Scotland, run by Scottish government-owned Caledonian MacBrayne, are also ageing and have been beset by problems.

Drone shot of a white car preparing to enter a tunnel in the Faroes. The tunnel has been constructed under green fields and some sheep are also visible in the image.
The 18 islands which make up the self-governing nation under the sovereignty of Denmark are connected by 23 tunnels

Mr Sloan says tunnels could provide more robust transport links for the west coast as well as the Northern Isles.

"Quite frankly, it can be repeated in Shetland, and not just Shetland, possibly elsewhere in Scotland."

Mr Sloan agrees that tolls are the most feasible funding option.

Tolls were abolished on the Skye Bridge in 2004 after a long-running campaign of non payment, and were scrapped on the Forth and Tay road bridges in 2008.

But Ms Johnson, of the Saxavord Spaceport, reckons Shetlanders would be happy to pay their way.

"I don't think anybody that I've spoken to would be against tolls," she says.

Vehicles streak past the two lanes in a tunnel either side of a yellow sign which reads: "Klaksvik"
Four tunnels in the Faroes run below the sea

Although there is no organised opposition to tunnels in Shetland some locals do express concern about whether they would change what it means to be an island.

Pat Burns runs the northernmost shop in the British Isles, The Final Checkout on Unst.

She was not convinced about tunnels at first, fearing that they would alter the nature of island life.

"I like the challenges of trying to get from A to B," she explains.

However after years of worrying about bad weather interrupting supplies for her shop and seeing tourists turned away because ferries are full, she has changed her mind.

"I was a wee bit iffy-iffy about it before," she says, "but now I realise that if Unst doesn't get a tunnel, the challenge is going to be too big."

Trump threatens Russia with tariffs while unveiling Ukraine weapons plan

Getty Images A headshot of TrumpGetty Images
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was "very unhappy" with Russia

US President Donald Trump has announced the US will send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via Nato countries, while also threatening Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days.

"We want to make sure Ukraine can do what it wants to do," Trump said following a meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte in Washington.

Rutte confirmed the US had decided to "massively supply Ukraine with what is necessary through Nato" and that the Europeans would foot the bill.

European countries will send Kyiv their own Patriot air defence systems - which Ukraine relies on to repel Russia's deadly air strikes - and replacements will then be issued by the US, Trump said.

Neither Rutte nor Trump elaborated on the weaponry that will be sent to Kyiv but Rutte said the deal included "missiles and ammunition".

However, the president did say "top-of-the-line-weapons" worth billions of dollars would be "quickly distributed to the battlefield" in order to support Ukraine.

"If I was Vladimir Putin today... I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously," Rutte said, as Trump nodded.

On the tariffs front, Trump said that the US would impose 100% secondary tariffs targeting Russia's remaining trade partners if a peace deal with Ukraine was not reached within 50 days.

This would see any country that trades with Russia face the tax if they want to sell their products to the US.

For example, if India keeps buying oil from Russia, US companies that purchase Indian goods would have to pay a 100% import tax, or tariff, when the products reach American shores.

This would make the goods so expensive that US businesses would likely choose to buy them cheaper from elsewhere, resulting in lost revenue for India.

The intention is also to hobble Russia's economy. Theoretically, if Moscow was unable to generate money by selling oil to other nations it would also have less money to finance its war in Ukraine.

Given that oil and gas account for almost a third of Moscow's state revenue and more than 60% of its exports, 100% tariffs could make something of a dent Russia's finances.

Still, the Moscow Stock Exchange Index rose sharply following the announcement, likely as investors were expecting Trump - who last week teased a "major statement" on Russia - to pledge even harsher measures.

Although detail about both the tariffs and the Nato weapons deal was scant, Monday was the first time Trump pledged to make new military equipment to Ukraine since returning to the White House.

Reuters US President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where President Trump announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO, in the Oval Office at the White House in WashingtonReuters
Nato chief Mark Rutte met with Trump on Monday

The briefing was also notable for the tone struck by US president, whose rhetoric on Vladimir Putin has become increasingly harsh.

Not for the first time, Trump implied Kyiv bore some responsibility for Russia's decision to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But he mostly appeared frustrated at the lack of progress in ending a conflict which he once seemed to believe could be easily solvable.

Asked about his relationship with Putin, Trump said that the two speak "a lot about getting this thing done" but voiced his displeasure at the fact that "very nice phone calls" with the Russian president are often followed by devastating air strikes on Ukraine - which have been growing in intensity and frequency.

"After that happens three or four times you say: the talk doesn't mean anything," Trump said.

"I don't want to call him an assassin but he's a tough guy. It's been proven over the years, he fooled a lot of people – Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden," he added. "He didn't fool me. At a certain point talk doesn't talk, it's got to be action."

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - something Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.

Ukraine's President Zelensky is currently hosting US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv and earlier on Monday hailed a "productive meeting" - saying he was "grateful" to Trump for his support.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the announcement - but commentary trickling in from Moscow appeared to indicate a measure of relief.

Pro-Kremlin pundit and former Putin aide Sergei Markov called the tariffs announcement "a bluff" that indicated Trump had "given up on trying to achieve peace in Ukraine".

Senator Konstantin Kosachev argued that "if this is all Trump had to say about Ukraine today, then so far it's been much ado about nothing".

In 50 days a lot could change "both on the battlefield and in the moods of the powers that be in the US and Nato," Kosachev wrote.

Additional reporting by Dearbail Jordan

US weapons pledge marks major step forward for Ukraine

Reuters File picture of a Patriot air missile system being fired during an exercise between US and Philippine troopsReuters
Additional Patriot missile batteries will give Kyiv a chance to expand protection against Russian attacks (file pic)

For the first time since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine.

Under a new deal, the US will sell weapons to Nato members who will then supply them to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.

The president didn't give too many specifics about what he said was "billions of dollars' worth of military equipment". But when asked if the deal included Patriot air defence batteries and interceptor missiles, he replied "it's everything".

One European country has 17 Patriot systems and "a big portion" would soon be on the way to Ukraine, Trump said.

For Ukraine, a huge country that currently operates handful of batteries - perhaps as few as eight - this is a major step forward, giving Kyiv a chance to expand protection against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

Sitting beside the president, the Nato Secretary General, Mark Rutte, hinted at a bigger package.

"It's broader than Patriots," he said.

"It will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on really massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defence, but also missiles, ammunition..."

This is a significant moment.

Less than two weeks ago, there was horror in Kyiv at news that the Pentagon had suspended military shipments to Ukraine, including Patriots.

The decision-making surrounding that announcement remains unclear, but on Monday, Trump once again tried to make light if it, saying it had been made in the knowledge that this deal would be struck.

"We were pretty sure this was going to happen, so we did a little bit of a pause," the president said.

Now, thanks to some tortuous negotiations, many of them involving Rutte, the weapons can continue to flow without Washington picking up the tab.

"We're in for a lot of money," the president said, "and we just don't want to do it any more."

The deal is a personal triumph for Rutte, the "Trump whisperer", who has flattered and encouraged the president, in part by helping to secure a member-wide Nato commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence.

As they sat side by side in the Oval Office, Rutte continued to flatter Trump, calling the latest deal "really big" and saying it was "totally logical" that European members of Nato pay for it.

Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, on the day President Trump announces a deal to get U.S. weapons to NATO, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2025.Reuters

A number of countries, he said, were lining up to participate, including the UK, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

"And this is only the first wave," he said. "There will be more."

In a separate and rather characteristic development, Trump threatened Moscow with a new deadline: if Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire deal in the next 50 days, Russia and its trading partners will be hit with 100% secondary tariffs.

It's a novel approach, which Kyiv and members of the US congress have been urging for some time: pressure Russia by targeting countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas, like China and India.

Trump's move comes as the US Senate continues to work on a bill that would impose much stiffer sanctions.

The president said the Senate bill, which envisages 500% secondary tariffs, could be "very good" but added that it was "sort of meaningless after a while because at a certain point it doesn't matter".

As always, the precise details of the president's threat remain somewhat vague.

But whatever happens in the coming weeks and months, Monday felt like something of a turning point. A US president finally moving away from his perplexing faith in Vladimir Putin, while still giving the Russian leader time to come to the negotiating table.

It's definitely not a return to Joe Biden's pledges to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes," but nor is it quite the neutral stance that has infuriated Ukraine and its western allies.

Trump appears to have guaranteed that the all-important US weapons pipeline to Ukraine will remain open for now – provided others pay for it.

But 50 days will feel like a very long time to Ukrainians, who are on the receiving end of near-nightly drone and missile bombardment.

Nothing Trump has done seems likely to put an immediate stop to this.

John Torode says allegation he used racist language upheld in MasterChef report

Getty Images John TorodeGetty Images

MasterChef presenter John Torode has said he is subject to an allegation of using racist language, upheld as part of an inquiry into separate allegations against co-host Gregg Wallace.

In an Instagram post on Monday, the TV presenter said the allegation was that he made the remarks in 2018 or 2019 and that he had apologised immediately afterwards.

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

It comes after an inquiry ordered by MasterChef's production company Banijay found that 45 allegations about Wallace's behaviour on Masterchef were upheld.

Reddit starts verifying ages of users in the UK

Getty Images Woman looks at Reddit website on a laptopGetty Images

Reddit has announced it is introducing age verification on its UK site from Monday to stop people aged under 18 from looking at "certain mature content".

The social media platform is bringing in the measures to comply with new rules under the UK's Online Safety Act which require sites that show adult material to introduce "robust" age checking techniques.

Reddit, known for its online communities and discussions, said that while it does not want to know who its audience is: "It would be helpful for our safety efforts to be able to confirm whether you are a child or an adult."

Ofcom, the UK regulator, said: "We expect other companies to follow suit, or face enforcement if they fail to act."

Reddit said that from 14 July, an outside firm called Persona will perform age verification for the social media platform either through an uploaded selfie or "a photo of your government ID", such as a passport.

It said Reddit will not have access to the photo and will only retain a user's verification status and date of birth so people do not have to re-enter it each time they try to access restricted content.

Reddit added that Persona "promises not to retain the picture for longer than seven days" and will not have access to a user's data on the site.

The new rules in the UK come into force on 25 July.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: "Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren't suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling.

"Now, children will be better protected from online material that's not appropriate for them, while adults' rights to access legal content are preserved."

Pornhub and a number of other major adult websites recently confirmed they would introduce enhanced age checks in time for the new rules.

Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, said it would bring in "government approved age assurance methods" but is yet to reveal how it will require users to prove they are over 18.

Ofcom has previously said simply clicking a button, which is all the adult site currently requires, is not enough.

Companies that fail to meet the rules face fines of up to £18m or 10% of worldwide revenue, "whichever is greater".

It added that in the most serious cases, it can seek a court order for "business disruption measures", such as requiring payment providers or advertisers to withdraw their services from a platform, or requiring Internet Service Providers to block access to a site in the UK."

Trump threatens Russia with tariffs while unveiling new Ukraine weapons plan

Getty Images A headshot of TrumpGetty Images
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was "very unhappy" with Russia

US President Donald Trump has announced the US will send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Ukraine via Nato countries, while also threatening Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days.

"We want to make sure Ukraine can do what it wants to do," Trump said following a meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte in Washington.

Rutte confirmed the US had decided to "massively supply Ukraine with what is necessary through Nato" and that the Europeans would foot the bill.

European countries will send Kyiv their own Patriot air defence systems - which Ukraine relies on to repel Russia's deadly air strikes - and replacements will then be issued by the US, Trump said.

Neither Rutte nor Trump elaborated on the weaponry that will be sent to Kyiv but Rutte said the deal included "missiles and ammunition".

However, the president did say "top-of-the-line-weapons" worth billions of dollars would be "quickly distributed to the battlefield" in order to support Ukraine.

"If I was Vladimir Putin today... I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously," Rutte said, as Trump nodded.

On the tariffs front, Trump said that the US would impose 100% secondary tariffs targeting Russia's remaining trade partners if a peace deal with Ukraine was not reached within 50 days.

This would see any country that trades with Russia face the tax if they want to sell their products to the US.

For example, if India keeps buying oil from Russia, US companies that purchase Indian goods would have to pay a 100% import tax, or tariff, when the products reach American shores.

This would make the goods so expensive that US businesses would likely choose to buy them cheaper from elsewhere, resulting in lost revenue for India.

The intention is also to hobble Russia's economy. Theoretically, if Moscow was unable to generate money by selling oil to other nations it would also have less money to finance its war in Ukraine.

Given that oil and gas account for almost a third of Moscow's state revenue and more than 60% of its exports, 100% tariffs could make something of a dent Russia's finances.

Still, the Moscow Stock Exchange Index rose sharply following the announcement, likely as investors were expecting Trump - who last week teased a "major statement" on Russia - to pledge even harsher measures.

Although detail about both the tariffs and the Nato weapons deal was scant, Monday was the first time Trump pledged to make new military equipment to Ukraine since returning to the White House.

Reuters US President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where President Trump announces a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO, in the Oval Office at the White House in WashingtonReuters
Nato chief Mark Rutte met with Trump on Monday

The briefing was also notable for the tone struck by US president, whose rhetoric on Vladimir Putin has become increasingly harsh.

Not for the first time, Trump implied Kyiv bore some responsibility for Russia's decision to launch its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But he mostly appeared frustrated at the lack of progress in ending a conflict which he once seemed to believe could be easily solvable.

Asked about his relationship with Putin, Trump said that the two speak "a lot about getting this thing done" but voiced his displeasure at the fact that "very nice phone calls" with the Russian president are often followed by devastating air strikes on Ukraine - which have been growing in intensity and frequency.

"After that happens three or four times you say: the talk doesn't mean anything," Trump said.

"I don't want to call him an assassin but he's a tough guy. It's been proven over the years, he fooled a lot of people – Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden," he added. "He didn't fool me. At a certain point talk doesn't talk, it's got to be action."

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - something Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.

Ukraine's President Zelensky is currently hosting US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv and earlier on Monday hailed a "productive meeting" - saying he was "grateful" to Trump for his support.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the announcement - but commentary trickling in from Moscow appeared to indicate a measure of relief.

Pro-Kremlin pundit and former Putin aide Sergei Markov called the tariffs announcement "a bluff" that indicated Trump had "given up on trying to achieve peace in Ukraine".

Senator Konstantin Kosachev argued that "if this is all Trump had to say about Ukraine today, then so far it's been much ado about nothing".

In 50 days a lot could change "both on the battlefield and in the moods of the powers that be in the US and Nato," Kosachev wrote.

Additional reporting by Dearbail Jordan

Woman killed in Southend plane crash was on first shift as 'flight nurse'

UKNIP A huge billowing cloud of black, grey and white smoke coming from the edge of the airfield. It is so thick that it is hiding some of the trees - that are on the edge of the airfield. A fire engine can be seen spraying water towards the mass of smoke. UKNIP
East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance were sent to the incident

Four people who died when a small plane crashed at London Southend Airport are believed to be foreign nationals, police have confirmed.

The airport has been closed since emergency services were called to the incident involving a Beech B200 Super King shortly before 16:00 BST on Sunday.

Witnesses described a "fireball" type explosion soon after the Netherlands-bound light aircraft had taken off.

All four people were killed in the crash - two pilots and two passengers - and Essex Police said in a press conference on Monday it believed they were foreign nationals.

The names of the four who died have not been released but officers are now working to confirm their identities.

Ch Supt Morgan Cronin said the victims would be "treated with the utmost respect and dignity".

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has put in place a significant air exclusion zone surrounding the crash site.

All flights to and from the airport on Monday have been rerouted, with passengers advised to check with their airline for advice.

The Beech B200 Super King Air plane was operated by Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, which has confirmed it is "actively supporting the authorities with the investigation".

The plane had flown from the Greek capital Athens to Pula in Croatia on Sunday before heading to Southend. It was due to return to Lelystad on Sunday evening.

Aerial video showed the plane crash site and wreckage

Detectives and forensic teams are working in parallel with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the Royal Air Force, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and London Southend Airport to work out what happened.

Speaking at the press conference, Lisa Fitzsimons, a senior inspector at the AAIB, said it was "too early to speculate on what caused this tragic accident".

"If there are safety lessons that can be learned, we will make recommendations that will aim to prevent a similar accident occurring," she said.

Eight of its inspectors are now at the crash site.

A London Southend Airport spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with those affected by [Sunday's] events and all passengers impacted by this disruption.

"We will restart flight operations as soon as possible and will continue to update the public on developments."

A graphic illustrates how a plane crash unfolded in real time on a photo of the airport runway in question.
A timeline of how the light aircraft crash unfolded at London Southend Airport
Smoke rises at Southend Airport after the plane crash

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Knightsbridge murder possibly a 'targeted attack'

Met Police Blue Stevens is wearing a blue t-shirt smiling at the camera. He has short brown hair and slight stubble.Met Police
Blue Stevens was stabbed in Knightsbridge on 9 July

A man stabbed to death in Knightsbridge may have been the victim of a targeted attack, detectives have said.

Three men in their 20s have been arrested in connection with the murder of 24-year-old Blue Stevens, who was found with stab wounds in Seville Street on Wednesday evening.

Two of the men were arrested in Hounslow on 12 July; one on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and the other on suspicion of murder. The third was arrested on Monday on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Mr Stevens, from Yateley in Hampshire, died at the scene.

Blue and purple bouquets of flowers lie at the base of a black pole on a pavement. A "POLICE LINE" tape is wrapped around the pole.
Flowers and tributes have been laid at the scene

Det Ch Sup Christina Jessah said the arrests "mark a significant milestone in this complex and unfolding murder investigation".

She said detectives were keeping open minds around motive, and they were considering if this "may have been a targeted attack" and there were increased police patrols in the Knightsbridge area as a result.

The incident happened near luxury hotel The Park Tower Knightsbridge but did not involve any guests or staff, according to a Marriott spokesperson.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets

Reuters Part of the wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground. There is debris around as well as wiring.Reuters

India's aviation regulator has ordered the country's airlines to inspect fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes, after their reported involvement in a fatal Air India crash that killed 260 people in June.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the order follows Indian and international airlines already starting to carry out their own checks.

It comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that the fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes are safe.

The safety of the switches has become a key point of concern after a preliminary report on the disaster found fuel to the engines of the plane involved cut off moments after take-off.

The disaster involving London-bound Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was one of the worst aviation incidents globally in almost a decade.

Since the publication of the preliminary report on Saturday a number of different stakeholders, both in India and internationally have taken action and issued statements in response to it.

In its order, India's aviation regulator has asked for checks to be carried out by 21 July, noting that "strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations".

The checks being requested are in line with a 2018 advisory by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US's aviation authority, which was referenced in the preliminary report.

The 2018 advisory urged - but did not mandate - operators of Boeing models to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cut-off switches to ensure they could not be moved by accident.

Air India had not carried out those inspections because they were not mandatory, the AAIB said in its preliminary investigation.

The DGCA has now ordered airlines to carry out the checks and report back.

In its response to the report, the FAA said the 2018 advisory was "was based on reports that the fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged" - but added that it does not believe this makes the planes unsafe.

Separately on Monday, a group representing Indian airline pilots defended the flight's crew.

The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association said staff on board had "acted in line with their training and responsibilities under challenging conditions and the pilots shouldn't be vilified based on conjecture".

The preliminary report, published by the India Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) on Saturday, said the switches on Flight 171 controlling fuel flow to the jet's engines had been moved from "run" to the "cut-off" position, hampering the thrust of the plane.

In recovered cockpit voice recordings, the report said one of the pilots can be heard asking "why did you cut off?" - to which the other pilot replied he "did not do so".

The preliminary report states its role is "not to apportion blame or liability".

Also on Monday, the Reuters news agency reported that South Korea was waiting to order all airlines in the country which operate Boeing jets to examine fuel switches.

Close-up view of Dreamliner 787 aircraft cockpit control panel with labelled components. The thrust levers are prominent in the centre. Engine fuel control switches, which cut fuel supply and shut down engines, are on the left. Switches with a stop lock mechanism that must be lifted before turning are on the right. Guard brackets prevent accidental movement of the switches

Stokes leads England to a stunning 22-run victory over India

Stokes inspires England to defeat stubborn India

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

Highlights from day five as England secure 22-run victory at Lord's

Third Rothesay Test, Lord's (day five of five)

England 387 (Root 104, Carse 56, Smith 51; Bumrah 5-74) & 192 (Root 40; Sundar 4-22)

India 387 (Rahul 100, Pant 74, Jadeja 72; Woakes 3-84) & 170 (Jadeja 61*; Stokes 3-48, Archer 3-55)

England win by 22 runs and lead series 2-1

Scorecard

Ben Stokes once again inspired England to a 22-run win over a stubborn India on an unbearably tense final day of the third Test at Lord's.

The captain delivered a monumental shift with the ball to claim three wickets as India were bowled out for 170.

In an epic conclusion, the hosts had victory in their grasp until nerves were frayed by outstanding defiance from Ravindra Jadeja.

Chasing 193, India were 112-8 when Jadeja was joined by number 10 Jasprit Bumrah. They were together for almost 22 overs until Stokes, who bowled tirelessly from the Nursery End, drew Bumrah into a pull to mid-on. Bumrah's contribution to a stand of 35 was five from 54 balls.

Still Jadeja resisted, this time with last man Mohammed Siraj. Stokes refused to stop bowling. A delayed tea was taken with 30 required for India.

The injured Shoaib Bashir was summoned after the break, and incredibly got Siraj to defend the ball into the ground and back on to his stumps. Bashir, who has an injured finger on his non-bowling hand, set off on a delirious celebration, probably his last act of a series in which he is likely to be ruled out of the final two Tests. Jadeja was left stranded on 61 from 181 balls.

The drawn-out finale was a direct contrast to a pulsating morning, when Stokes and Jofra Archer broke open the India batting with some irresistible pace bowling.

Archer ripped Rishabh Pant's off stump out of the ground, Stokes had KL Rahul lbw on review for 39. Washington Sundar, who confidently told the media on Sunday night "India will win", was sensationally held by Archer's agile swoop in his follow-through.

Jadeja began his vigil, first alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy for 15 overs, then Bumrah. Jadeja and Brydon Carse had to be separated after an accidental collision while Jadeja was running between the wickets.

England tried everything and thought they had Jadeja until he overturned being given lbw to Chris Woakes on 26. Once again, Stokes decided it was up to him.

After a spell of 9.2 overs in the morning, the talismanic captain launched into another of 10 up to tea. Bashir had the moment of glory, but it was Stokes who carried England on his back.

Stokes conjures finale to slow-burning Test

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

Rahul is trapped lbw by Stokes

This was a slow-burner of a Test, one that occasionally ground to a halt. The finale was more than worth it, a rowdy Monday at a sold-out Lord's. By the end, England's win was the tightest in terms of runs at this famous old ground.

It took three days for this match to spring to life. When it did, it was compelling. The deterioration of the pitch helped, but the real catalyst was the tension between the two teams. They are evenly matched and, if anything, India are unlucky to be behind. The last two Tests will be box-office viewing.

England look a better team with fire in their bellies, none more so than Stokes, the arch-competitor. He contributed to this win with bat and in the field, then shouldered the bowling almost single-handedly on the final day.

Stokes was also rewarded for his loyalty to Archer, who made one of the great England comebacks after four years away from Test cricket with injuries. The wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal he took with his third ball back was an incredible moment, his spell on Monday morning final proof he remains every bit the bowler he was in his debut summer of 2019.

England will be forced into one change for the fourth Test, with Bashir set to be ruled out with an injury to his left little finger. India will wait on the fitness of Pant, who also has a finger injury.

In this wonderful year of Test cricket, with an Ashes series on the horizon, England are on the verge of winning a five-match series for the first time since 2018.

England overcome brave Jadeja

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

Best shots from Jadeja's half-century against England

Archer was below-par on Sunday evening, but back to his best on Monday when India resumed on 58-4. Although he was in discomfort, Pant was India's key man. He charged to slap Archer straight for four. Next ball, Archer was just under 90mph, Pant was stuck on the crease and off stump obliterated. A fired-up Archer had words for Pant.

Stokes, supposedly protecting his fragile body, bowled virtually all day. The delivery to get Rahul was an arcing inswinger, the appeal turned down on the field, then overturned by the replay.

England coach Brendon McCullum hung off the dressing-room balcony to point to Sundar as he arrived, and the home team had plenty to say. He lasted only four balls before a leading edge was spectacularly held by Archer.

Stokes eventually gave way to Woakes, who only needed nine balls to find the edge of Reddy. Lunch was taken, India needed 81 and Jadeja had only the bowlers for company.

What happened next was utterly unexpected. Jadeja farmed the strike and Bumrah held up his end. Bar a Jadeja flick for six off Woakes, the score crawled along. When singles were taken, they were greeted by raucous noise from the India fans. England fielders ran everywhere, the hosts looked unnerved.

Stokes launched into a back-breaking spell of bouncers to finally draw the swipe from Bumrah when 46 were required. Stokes finally ended his second spell at the tea interval.

Archer peppered Siraj, but it was the unlikely Bashir who proved England's hero. It was cruel on Jadeja, who could not have given more.

India on brink

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

'England needed that' - Archer bowls Pant

Just like the first Test at Headingley, when they failed to defend 371, India might be wondering how they lost. At Lord's they reached 254-4 in response to England's 387, then 41-1 in the run chase.

In Bumrah, they have the outstanding cricketer on either side, probably the best in the world. He was mesmerising in this Test, deserving of more than his seven wickets. The heart he showed with the bat was just as impressive.

Still, India have lost the two Tests Bumrah has played and won the one he did not, the second Test at Edgbaston. If the tourists stick to their plan of him featuring only once more in the series, they have the tricky decision of where that would be.

As much thought will go into the fitness of Pant. Dhruv Jurel is an upgrade behind the stumps, but the swashbuckling way in which Pant bats at number five is irreplaceable.

India started this series as underdogs and were written off after the first Test, yet through performances like Jadeja's, the visitors have shown they are in the fight.

'England always seem to find a way' - reaction

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

Archer takes brilliant catch to remove Washington Sundar for a duck

England captain Ben Stokes, speaking to BBC Test Match Special: "Day five, Test match on the line - I have some history of turning up in moments like that with the ball. I was pretty pumped.

"A bit of niggle out in the middle gets over-egged from people watching. A massive series, emotions are going. I'm all for it. I don't think it went over the line whatsoever. It adds to the theatre."

England bowler Jofra Archer on TMS: "I never thought about not coming back. Really, I only had two injuries. But also it was a long road back and I didn't realise how long it was.

"I am glad to be back and hopefully I'm here a bit longer than the last time."

India captain Shubman Gill on TMS: "Tough luck, but the way we went out in the position in the morning to make a comeback like this was tremendous from Ravindra Jadeja and the low order.

"When you play these kind of Test matches with both teams giving everything they have, there is always admiration at the end.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan on TMS: "England always seem to find a way, particularly at home.

"When it gets tight they have a leader who drives them forward with a will to win."

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

This video can not be played

Media caption,

Reddy is caught by Smith off the bowling of Woakes

More on this story

❌