Reform MP James McMurdock has lost the whip over allegations against him related to business propriety, the party says.
Chief whip Lee Anderson said McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, "removed the party whip from himself" pending an investigation into allegations since published by the Sunday Times.
"At Reform UK we take these matters very seriously and James has agreed to cooperate in full with any investigation," Anderson said.
The party will not be commenting further, he added.
The BBC has approached McMurdock for comment.
Anderson said the allegations relate to business propriety during the pandemic, before McMurdock became an MP last year.
He won the seat by 98 votes, beating Labour into second place, and taking the seat from the Conservatives.
"There's only one relationship that really matters," a senior figure in government told me in the middle of Labour's dreadful week, where ministers lost control of their backbenchers.
"It's the one with the voters." Well, quite.
And that relationship has soured since Labour has been in power. After days of frenzied coverage in Westminster around an anniversary the party might rather forget, what is the state of that vital relationship?
We gathered a group of Labour's 2024 voters together to delve into what's gone wrong, according to those who matter the most – the public.
Our participants were from two constituencies in Kent: Dartford and Gravesham. Both seats were won by Labour in the heady days of July 2024, thanks not only to Labour's campaign itself, but the collapse of the Conservative vote. And the swing to Sir Keir Starmer's party in both places was enormous, nearly 20%.
Our panel was selected by the political research group, More in Common, and the questions were asked to the group not by me, but by its director, Luke Tryl.
Jack Hill/The Times/PA Wire
It's worth knowing too, when our panel was recruited, they were not told they would be asked about politics.
It could have been for any other market research exercise, for washing powder or water bills, rather than anything to do with Westminster - so it wasn't a gathering of political junkies.
But our group, who all voted Labour last time, certainly had a strong sense of what has happened to the government they elected just twelve months ago, and it wasn't pretty.
First of all, we asked the group about their impressions of Labour's first year back in office, overall.
The overwhelming sense, and one of the words used most often, was "disappointed".
From top left (L-R): Yvette, Kirsty, Ramesh, Hayley. On the bottom row (L-R): Adam, Veronica, Kelly and Sodiq
"I've always been Labour, but I expected much more from them," Yvette, who's 57 and a nutritionist said. "I thought they'd be there for the people."
Kelly is 35, and a stay-at-home mum. She was frustrated about what she sees as a lack of progress on immigration. "Everything they promised, nothing has come of it yet," Kelly said. "Immigration is a big thing for me."
Adam, is an illustrator aged 37. He was a bit more forgiving of Sir Keir's problems: "They are patching things up, the first year is not the year to push the big ideas, let's steady the ship."
But 30-year-old Sodiq, who owns his own business, reckons Labour hadn't been completely straight about what its plans were to start with.
"I think a lot of the things that were promised were never going to happen," Sodiq said.
Kirsty, who's 35 and a teacher, even told us, "I feel lied to".
House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire
What about the chaos of Parliament this week, and Labour's many changes of direction since they've been in office? The group had definitely noticed what had gone on in the last seven days, not always the case when it comes to shenanigans in SW1.
Veronica, a 64-year-old carer, had seen the chancellor's tears and had some sympathy.
"I think she's trying her best - there are going to be teething problems, it's only the first year." But she said, "crying at the Commons the other day and Keir Starmer didn't even notice, but everyone else did? Sometimes I think, 'Is it the pressure getting to her?'".
Hayley, who is a personal assistant, was also dubious that Sir Keir didn't notice, but reckons the government deserves more time.
"You can't turn the country round in a year," the 40-year-old said.
But it was clear the group had reservations about Labour's repeated shifts in position - whether on welfare this week, or winter fuel before.
While praising Sir Keir for listening, Adam said: "What happened this week - another U-turn - was worrying, it pushes the idea that there is no direction."
Yvette said "if he makes a decision he should stand by it", changes of heart were like "lastminute.com".
Jacob King/PA Wire
In the general election there were big shifts towards Reform UK, even though they didn't win either the Dartford or Gravesham seat.
But Kent was one of the 10 councils Farage's party took control of in the local elections this May.
Reform's progress has certainly been noticed. Kelly said: "They are picking away at figures and picking away at other things – they seem to be doing things, and proactive."
Given how Reform is doing in the national polls, consistently ahead of the other political parties, it was no surprise that some of the group were thinking about giving Nigel Farage a chance next time round.
"If there were an election tomorrow I would vote for him," Yvette said, suggesting he should be given a chance even though "a lot of bad things are said about him".
Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
But Sodiq said: "I'm at the other end of the scale. He's a politician, like others, who says things people want to hear, and people generally are not comfortable with the two main parties, and just want to try something else."
Labour is worried by their grisly position in the polls, and there's something of a sense of bewilderment too about just how shaky things have got in the last few weeks.
But at senior levels, sources believe if they keep on keeping on, eventually, many voters like those we met this weekend will return to them if hopes for improvements in the NHS and the economy come to pass.
Sign up for the Off Air with Laura K newsletter to get Laura Kuenssberg's expert insight and insider stories every week, emailed directly to you.
Watch tomorrow to hear the advice that our group would give Sir Keir Starmer in order to improve, to make that happen.
Of course this is only a taste of what's on some voter's minds in just two constituencies, but the mood was certainly disappointed with what has, and has not happened since Labour moved back into power. But there was a sense, a grudging willingness among these Labour voters to give Sir Keir and the government more time.
After twelve months, Labour is most certainly down, but not necessarily out.
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.
More than 20 people have been arrested in London after a protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police has said.
Pictures from the demonstration showed a small group holding placards reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" in Westminster.
As of Saturday, the group is proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, after lawyers acting on its behalf failed with a court bid to block the ban on Friday.
The designation means that being a member of, or showing support for Palestine Action, is a criminal offence and could lead to up to 14 years in prison.
In an earlier statement, the Met said: "Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square.
"The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence."
The government moved to ban the group after an estimated £7m of damage was caused to planes at RAF Brize Norton last month during a protest Palestine Action said it was behind.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe the group last month, calling damage to two military aircraft "disgraceful" and claiming the group had a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage".
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
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Footballers Diogo Jota and André Silva have been honoured by their family, friends and teammates at a joint funeral in Portugal.
Jota, 28, was laid to rest alongside his brother, Silva, 25, after they died in a car crash on Thursday.
Hundreds of locals and supporters gathered at the Igreja Matriz in Gondomar, where the brothers are from, on Saturday.
The funeral also brought together huge names from across football, including Jota's teammates Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, who were seen carrying floral tributes into the church ahead of the ceremony.
The service was held in Gondomar, a small Portuguese city near Porto, that has been left reeling after the brothers died.
Jota and Silva died at about 00:30 local time in the Spanish province of Zamora.
The Portugal forward had undergone minor surgery and doctors had advised him against flying.
The accident came just 11 days after Jota married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso, with whom he had three children.
PA Media
As a celebrated striker for Liverpool, Jota was known for his skills as a "natural finisher"
Players from Liverpool FC, who only three months ago were celebrating their Premier League win, arrived at the funeral together.
Watching them walk in line with each other, almost as they do when walking onto the pitch, was an emotional experience.
There was a strong feeling of community, but also a shared sombreness.
Many were visibly upset, with supporters on the other side of the barrier applauding the players. One woman in the crowd shouted towards them as they walked in: "Força!" - strength.
Family and close friends walked into the church in complete silence, many of them with their heads bowed down as the church bell rung.
One person in the procession held up a sign with Silva's photograph, which read: "Para sempre um de nós." (Forever one of us.)
So much was the brothers' impact on football and their local community that some of the guests had to watch the ceremony from outside of the church, often hugging and comforting one another.
Locals and football fans in the crowd watched silently for most of the service, which went on for about an hour.
Many wore football shirts and carried merchandise from the different teams across Portugal and abroad where Jota and Silva, who played for local club Penafiel, spent some time in.
Sofia Ferreira Santos/BBC
Antônio says the brothers' family is a humble, nice local family
One of these fans was Antônio Moreira, who set off early in the morning to be one of the first outside the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar where the funeral took place.
"I know I won't be able to go inside, but I wanted to pay my respects," he told me from the barrier outside the church.
Antônio later showed me his phone case - a little old, he said - with the emblem of FC Porto.
Antônio recalled fond memories of Jota on the field, as he spent a year playing for the local club, but added that the brothers were so much more than football stars.
Getty Images
André Silva played for FC Penafiel in Portugal
"They were good people, from a humble family, people like us."
This has hit him especially hard, he said, as 40 years ago his family went through a similar tragedy. His aunt, uncle and young cousin died in a car accident three days before Christmas, leaving his other cousin behind.
Jota and Silva may not have been his direct family, he said, but their deaths felt personal.
"This is what I think: losing your parents is hard, really hard. But losing your children is unimaginable," he added.
Sofia Ferreira Santos/BBC
One fan wore a Liverpool shirt, marked with Jota's autograph
Jota's journey as a player inspired many people here in Gondomar, football fan Fábio Silva told me.
He has kept up with the brothers since they started in the local clubs - and said he had to be here for their final journey.
"Despite the impact they had on football, and even financially, they never let it show," he told me, adding the family are well-loved in the town.
"The community is sad, devastated," he said.
Having spent some time with them over the years, Fábio said there was only one reason he was here: "Respect for the brothers, the family."
Sofia Ferreira Santos/BBC
Rafaela and Fábio said it was their duty as football fans and Portuguese locals to be at the brothers' funeral
Avid football fans Fábio and Rafaela travelled from the nearby town Lordelo to honour Jota and Silva.
Wearing Jota's shirt, Fábio said it was important to him to be here "for Jota's final day". Both said it meant a lot to the community that so many people showed up to pay their respects.
They watched the ceremony from outside the church, like hundreds of other fans - which Fábio said was hard. Nodding, Rafaela agreed, but said it was also beautiful.
"This is an example that you need to live life to the max," Rafaela said, "because you never know when will be your last day."
"Say everything you want to say, and need to say - tomorrow could be too late," Fábio added.
Jota's final goal for Liverpool wins Merseyside derby
Reform MP James McMurdock has lost the whip over allegations against him related to business propriety, the party says.
Chief whip Lee Anderson said McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, "removed the party whip from himself" pending an investigation into allegations since published by the Sunday Times.
"At Reform UK we take these matters very seriously and James has agreed to cooperate in full with any investigation," Anderson said.
The party will not be commenting further, he added.
The BBC has approached McMurdock for comment.
Anderson said the allegations relate to business propriety during the pandemic, before McMurdock became an MP last year.
He won the seat by 98 votes, beating Labour into second place, and taking the seat from the Conservatives.
In July 2022, as Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses were celebrating being crowned champions of Europe, Germany's Lena Oberdorf was named the inaugural young player of the tournament.
Three years on and a new crop of players, from 16 countries, will arrive in Switzerland hoping to shine at this summer's Women's Euros.
BBC Sport has selected seven players under the age of 23 to look out for.
Aggie Beever-Jones (England)
Age: 21 Position: Forward Club: Chelsea
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
England head coach Sarina Wiegman says Beever-Jones "scores goals very easily"
Before England's penultimate Women's Nations League group game, all of the attention was on Mary Earps' retirement. After the match, a different name dominated the headlines: Aggie Beever-Jones.
The forward seized her opportunity in the absence of injured duo Alessia Russo and Ella Toone, scoring a 33-minute hat-trick against Portugal.
Tipping her to make an impact at Euro 2025, former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley praised her versatility, movement and goalscoring prowess.
"She can play on the right, left, and in central areas. She's constantly on the move, hunting for the right opportunity to pounce on defenders," she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"She is rarely offside. She is a true goalscorer, putting herself about, making a nuisance of herself."
Beever-Jones, who joined Chelsea's academy aged nine, was the Blues' top goal-scorer in the WSL last season with nine and also claimed the winner in their FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool to keep them on track for a domestic treble.
Carrie Jones (Wales)
Age: 21 Position: Midfielder Club: IFK Norrkoping
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Carrie Jones moved to Sweden following Bristol City's WSL relegation in 2024
Wales will make history this summer by competing in their first major women's tournament and Carrie Jones, despite her tender years, is already well established in the squad.
Jones has been an international footballer for six years having made her Wales debut at 15 - before she was eligible to play for club side Cardiff City - and spent four seasons in the WSL with Manchester United, Leicester City and Bristol City followed by a move to Swedish side IFK Norrkoping in 2024.
A versatile forward player, she is commonly deployed on the left flank for Wales but can also play in central midfield or a lone striker.
"She's such a talent. So composed, got two great feet, but most importantly for me, her work ethic is outstanding, a real team player," she said.
Salma Paralluelo (Spain)
Age: 21 Position: Midfielder Club: Barcelona
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Paralluelo is a former junior champion sprinter and hurdler
At 21, Salma Paralluelo already boasts a heavyweight CV.
A member of the 2023 World Cup-winning squad, she started five of Spain's seven matches, came off the bench to score in the quarter and semi-finals, and earned young player of the tournament honours. That triumph meant she became the first player to hold world titles at Under-17, Under-20 and senior level.
She has also won the 2024 Nations League, while domestically she is a two-time Champions League winner with Barcelona.
Paralluelo, who had to choose between football and athletics, is a physical winger who drives hard at defenders and possesses a prolific left foot.
She will be a key attacking threat for Spain, although she took a break after last summer's Olympics - because of mental and physical exhaustion and an issue with her left knee - and she has found playing time harder to come by on her return.
Wieke Kaptein (Netherlands)
Age: 19 Position: Midfielder Club: Chelsea
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Wieke Kaptein won the domestic treble with Chelsea during the 2024-25 season
At 19, Wieke Kaptein has already won multiple domestic trophies, first with FC Twente and now with Chelsea.
During the 2024-25 campaign, the central midfielder forced her way into Sonia Bompastor's star-studded XI, starting seven of their 10 Champions League games, and was identified by BBC Sport as one of the unsung heroes of the Blues' invincible WSL season thanks to her contributions in the middle of the pitch.
Bompastor has been full of praise for Kaptein's work rate, stating: "She brings a lot of quality out of possession. She is really confident but also works hard off the ball. She works so hard for the team."
Team-mate Kadeisha Buchanan added: "She's a unique player. She's cool, laid back. She shows that on the field - she's very composed. She's a fun, young talent."
Internationally, she has amassed 20 caps since making her debut in April 2023, typically playing on the right of a midfield three, and made history as the youngest player to represent the Netherlands at a Women's World Cup later that year.
Franziska Kett (Germany)
Age: 20 Position: Defender Club: Bayern Munich
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Franziska Kett was named in the team of the tournament at the 2023 Under-19 European Championships
The second-youngest player in the Germany squad and set to play in her first major tournament, Franziska Kett has long been on the radar of national team head coach Christian Wuck, who described her as a dynamic defender.
The left-back made her debut for Bayern Munich in 2022 - one month before her 18th birthday - and has gone on to feature for the German champions in both the Frauen-Bundesliga and Women's Champions League.
A member of the Under-19s squad which finished as runners-up at the European Championships in 2023, she was handed her senior debut in April 2025.
"We have been keeping tabs on Franziska Kett and her development for some time now," Wuck said. "She provides a great deal of dynamism with her explosive style of play. We believe that she can do a job for the national team."
Sydney Schertenleib (Switzerland)
Age: 18 Position: Midfielder Club: Barcelona
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Schertenleib previously played for FC Zurich and Grasshopper Zurich before joining Barcelona
In a Barcelona squad brimming with top talent, you could be forgiven for not knowing Sydney Schertenleib's name.
However, since moving to Spain from Grasshopper Zurich last summer, the 18-year-old has quickly established herself as a first-team regular, starting all but two of Barcelona's league matches since the beginning of March and coming off the bench in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final against Wolfsburg.
Although she typically plays on the left side of a midfield or forward three for Barcelona, Switzerland boss Pia Sundhage has preferred to use her as a right-sided striker, yielding two goals in her first 10 appearances.
In her first senior tournament, and playing on home soil, the setting is perfect for Schertenleib to make an impact.
Alice Sombath (France)
Age: 21 Position: Defender Club: Lyon
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Alice Sombath came through the youth ranks with Paris FC and Paris St-Germain before signing her first professional contract with Lyon aged 16
Sombath is one of a number of promising young French defenders looking to capitalise on the omission of the previously immovable Wendie Renard from the squad for the Euros.
Born in France to Thai parents, she joined Lyon aged 16 from rivals Paris St-Germain and 12 months later she made her senior debut alongside club legend Renard at centre-back in their opening game of the season.
Former Lyon manager Joe Montemurro said: "I think she's going to become a special player. She has all the qualities to become a top defender.
"At a big club like Lyon, there are more experienced players, so she needs a little patience. But in the future, I think she'll be a great player for the French national team."
Comfortable at right-back or in central defence, Sombath made her France debut in November and was then paired alongside new captain Griedge Mbock in France's 4-0 win over Switzerland in May.
She also got the nod ahead of Renard at centre-back for Lyon's Champions League semi-final first leg win over Arsenal.
This week, there's more drama among friends, as Sydney Jo's viral TikTok series about a girls' group chat returns for season 3.
But that's not all the next seven days have in store.
Superman hits the big screen, Last Pundit Standing drops on BBC iPlayer, and it's the Esports World Cup.
Read on for what's coming up this week...
'The internet's favourite show'
It's scary just how relatable Sydney Jo's TikTok series is.
The 27-year-old content creator from New York posted her first video, about friends communicating in a group chat, back in March. She told me me her social media account has blown up since then.
We see the girls bicker, talk in side chats, and send passive aggressive messages to each other, something Sydney said is "a universal experience".
"My friends, work colleagues and sisters all had similar stories about their texts and group chats," she said. "This is something that's only going to continue, as we start having bachelorettes and weddings."
Sydney says she filmed the first episode hungover on a Sunday morning.
But as her followers rocketed from 264,000 to 1.6 million in just a few months, she now has a huge fan base, with Today calling her series "the internet's favourite show".
With season three now out, Sydney said we can expect more camaraderie, more feel good moments, but also more shared common enemies.
She also hinted there could be a boys' group chat series next. "I didn't anticipate the male audience I would draw. I had a 50-year-old dad recognise me recently," she said.
Superman hits cinemas
Getty Images
James Gunn's hotly awaited reboot of Superman, a film that Hollywood is hoping can break the plague of "superhero fatigue", is out on Friday.
American actor David Corenswet, 31, plays the Man of Steel in the movie that's intended to kick-start a new era for DC Studios, which writer-director Gunn and producer Peter Safran took over in 2022.
Corenswet, who has previously appeared in TV series The Politician, Hollywood and We Own This City, is the fourth person to play the role in a major Superman movie, and the first for a decade.
It also stars Rachel Brosnahan as the latest Lois Lane and British actor Nicholas Hoult as a bald and menacing Lex Luthor.
DC has struggled to find major hits in recent years, with films like Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman 1984 and Joker: Folie à Deux - part of the wider DC stable - each earning less than $60m (£48m) at the North American box office.
So there's a lot of anticipation to see how this film does - and to drum up excitement, a life-like Superman figure was seen suspended at the top of The Shard in London earlier this week as part of a one-day-only installation.
Think you're good at video games?
By Andrew Rogers, Newsbeat reporter
Well you’re almost certainly not as good as the professional players heading to Saudi Arabia for the Esports World Cup, which starts on Tuesday.
Over seven weeks, the best in the world will compete for a record combined prize pot of $70m (£50m).
Now in its second year, the EWC brings together 25 different esports into one event. That means games fighting games like Tekken 8, first person shooters such as Call of Duty, and battle arena juggernauts Dota 2 and League of Legends, will all be there.
The format has encouraged some consolidation in the esports world, because the Club Competition encourages teams to field players in as many different games as possible. The team with the most points at the end gets a bonus $7m (£5m).
Some fans and players haven't been keen on the EWC though. It's been criticised for taking place in a country where women have fewer rights and being gay is illegal. Others say only with Saudi Arabia's cash can esports grow and compete with traditional multi-sport events like the Olympics.
Finding the next football pundit
BBC/Boom Cymru TV Ltd & JLA Productions
On Monday, a new BBC competition series to find the next football pundit starts on iPlayer as well as on BBC YouTube and TikTok channels.
Fronted by footballing legend Troy Deeney and YouTuber and presenter James Allcott, Last Pundit Standing follows 12 football fanatics as they compete to become BBC Sport's next big football content creator.
Think the X-Factor meets the beautiful game, as they face a series of kick-off challenges in their bid to land their dream job.
There will also be star guests, including Alex Scott, Rebecca Welch and Max Fosh, on hand to set tasks and offer expert insight.
The seven-part competition series comes shortly after Gary Lineker left the broadcaster after apologising for sharing an antisemitic social media post.
In May, he was presented with a commemorative cap and golden boot by pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards as he signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day after 26 years in the hot seat.
Other highlights this week
Building the Band season 1 is released on Netflix on Wednesday
Too Much, Lena Dunham's new series, drops on Netflix on Thursday
Bless Me Father: A life story, by musician Kevin Rowland, is out on Thursday
Moisturiser, the new album by Wet Leg, drops on Friday
Modi: Three Days on the Wings of Madness, directed by Johnny Depp, is released on Friday
The earliest records of Kolhapur sandals date back to the 12th Century.
The Western Indian town of Kolhapur has found itself in an unlikely global spotlight, as thousands of local artisans who hand-craft traditional leather footwear are mounting a collective attack on luxury fashion label Prada for plagiarising their designs without credit.
The rhythmic pounding of the hammer in 58-year-old Sadashiv Sanake's dimly lit workshop bears witness to the hard grind behind handcrafting the iconic Kolhapuri leather sandals.
"I learnt the craft as a child," he tells the BBC. A day's toil goes into making just "eight to 10 pairs" of these sandals he says, that retail at a modest $8-10
Barely 5,000 artisans in Kolhapur are still in the profession – a cottage industry that struggles to compete in a mechanised world, caught in the funk of dismal working conditions and low wages.
It's no surprise then that when Italian luxury brand Prada released a new line of footwear that bore a striking resemblance to the Kolhapuri sandals - but didn't mention the design origins - local artisans were up in arms.
Reuters
Prada's leather footwear at the Milan Fashion Week sparked a major controversy
The backlash was swift. Social media was flooded with accusations of cultural appropriation, prompting Prada to issue a statement acknowledging the sandals' roots.
Now local politicians and industry associations have thrown their weight behind the artisans who want better recognition of the craft and its cultural legacy.
Mr Sanake was not aware of Prada's show until the BBC showed him a video of it. When told that that the sandals could retail for hundreds of pounds in luxury markets, he scoffed. "Do they have gold in them?" he asked.
Prada hasn't revealed the price tag but its other sandals retail at between £600 to £1,000 in the UK as per its website.
Women try on Kolhapuri sandals at a store in Kolhapur
The earliest records of Kolhapur sandals date back to the 12th Century.
"These sandals were originally crafted by members of the marginalised Charmakar (cobbler) community, also known as chamars," said Kavita Gagrani, a history professor at the New College in Kolhapur.
Chamar is a pejorative caste term used to describe Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) who work with animal hides.
"But in the early 20th Century, the craft flourished when the then ruler of Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj granted royal patronage to this community," Ms Gagrani said.
Today, nearly 100,000 artisans across India are engaged in the trade with an industry worth over $200m, according to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA), a prominent industry trade group.
Yet, most of them continue to work in unorganised setups under dismal conditions.
"I was never educated. This is all I know, and I earn about $4-5 a day, depending on the number of orders," said 60-year-old Sunita Satpute.
Women like her play a critical role, particularly in engraving fine patterns by hand, but are not compensated fairly for their long hours of labour, she said.
That's why Sunita's children don't want to continue the craft.
A short distance away from her workshop lies Kolhapur's famous chappal gully, or sandal lane, a cluster of storefronts - many of them struggling to stay afloat.
"Leather has become very expensive and has pushed up our costs," said Anil Doipode, one of the first sellers to open a shop here.
Traditionally, artisans would use cow and buffalo hide to make these sandals. But since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, there have been several reports of vigilantes - self-appointed protesters or activists - cracking down on alleged cow slaughter, sometimes with physical violence. The cow is considered sacred by Hindus.
In 2015, Maharashtra state banned the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef, forcing artisans to rely on buffalo leather sourced from neighbouring states, pushing up their production costs.
Traditional sellers are also struggling to compete with synthetic copies flooding the market.
"Customers want cheaper sandals and can't always tell the difference," said Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a second-generation Kolhapuri sandal seller.
Women artisans engrave fine patterns in the leather sandals by hand
Industry experts say the controversy highlights the need for a better institutional framework to protect the rights of artisans.
In 2019, the Indian government had awarded Kolhapuri sandals the Geographical Indication (GI) - a mark of authenticity which protects its name and design within India, preventing unauthorised use by outsiders.
Globally, however, there is no binding law that stops other countries or brands from aesthetic imitation.
Aishwarya Sandeep, a Mumbai-based advocate, says that India could raise the issue at the World Trade Organization under its TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement, of which it is a signatory.
But the system is cumbersome, expensive and often lacks enforceability, both in India and abroad, she adds.
Lalit Gandhi, the president of MCCIA, says his organisation is planning to patent the Kolhapuri sandal design, hoping to create a legal precedent for future cases.
But some say real change can only happen when India starts seeing its traditional heritage in a different light.
"It's about ethical recognition. India must push for royalty-sharing and co-branding," says Ritu Beri, a renowned designer. "The more we take pride in our culture, the less we will be exploited."
Kolhapur is home to thousands of artisans who have been making these sandals for generations
Of course, this isn't the first time a global fashion brand has been accused of appropriating Indian handicrafts.
Many big labels have featured Indian fabrics and embroidery work with little to no artist collaboration. "Take Chikankari (a delicate hand-embroidery style from the northern Indian city of Lucknow), Ikat (a cloth-dyeing technique), mirror work; they've all been used repeatedly. The artisans remain invisible while brands profit from their inspiration," Ms Beri says.
Mr Gandhi, however, says that Prada's endorsement of Kolhapuri sandals could also be beneficial for artisans.
"Under their label, the value [of Kolhapuri sandals] is going to increase manifold," he says. "But we want some share of that profit to be passed on to artisans for their betterment."
Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a sandal-seller in Kolhapur, agrees - he has already begun to see the difference.
"The design Prada used wasn't even very popular, but now people are asking for it, with clients from Dubai, the US and Qatar" placing orders, he says.
"Sometimes, controversy can help," he adds. "But it would be nice if it also brought respect and better prices for those keeping this tradition alive."
The issue is unlikely to die down soon.
For now, a plea has been filed in a high court, demanding Prada pay damages and compensation to artisans, along with a court-supervised collaboration between the luxury label and artisan associations.
Prada has told BBC in a statement that it is in talks with the MCCIA on this matter.
Mr Gandhi, its chief, says a meeting between the two sides is going to take place next week.
As Donald Trump cheered the passage of his self-styled, and officially named, Big Beautiful Budget Bill through Congress this week, long-sown seeds of doubt about the scale and sustainability of US borrowing from the rest of the world sprouted anew.
Trump's tax-cutting budget bill is expected to add at least $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion) to the US's already eye-watering $37tn (£27tn) debt pile. There is no shortage of critics of the plan, not least Trump's former ally Elon Musk, who has called it a "disgusting abomination".
The growing debt pile leaves some to wonder whether there is a limit to how much the rest of the world will lend Uncle Sam.
Those doubts have been showing up recently in the weaker value of the dollar and the higher interest rate investors are demanding to lend money to America.
It needs to borrow this money to make up the difference between what it earns and what it spends every year.
Since the beginning of this year, the dollar has fallen 10% against the pound and 15% against the euro.
Although US borrowing costs have been steady overall, the difference between the interest rates paid on longer-term loans versus shorter-term loans - what's known as the yield curve - has increased, or steepened, signalling increased doubts about the long-term sustainability of US borrowing.
And that is despite the fact that the US has lowered interest rates more slowly than the EU and the UK, which would normally make the dollar stronger because investors can get higher interest rates on bank deposits.
The founder of the world's biggest hedge fund, Ray Dalio, believes that US borrowing is at a crossroads.
On its current trajectory he estimates the US will soon be spending $10tn a year in loan and interest repayments.
"I am confident that the [US] government's financial condition is at an inflection point because, if this is not dealt with now, the debts will build up to levels where they can't be managed without great trauma," he says.
The first option is a drastic reduction in government spending, a big increase in taxes or both.
Ray Dalio suggests that cutting the budget deficit from its current 6% to 3% soon could head off trouble in the future.
Trump's new budget bill did cut some spending, but it also cut taxes more, and so the current political trajectory is going the other way.
Secondly, as in previous crises, the US central bank could print more money and use it to buy up government debt - as we saw after the great financial crisis of 2008.
But that can end up fuelling inflation and inequality as the owners of assets like houses and shares do much better than those who rely on the value of labour.
The third is a straightforward US default. Can't pay won't pay. Given that the "full faith and credit of the US Treasury" underpins the entire global financial system, that would make the great financial crisis look like a picnic.
'Cleanest dirty shirt'
So how likely is any of this?
Right now, mercifully, not very.
But the reasons why are not actually that comforting. The fact is, whether we like it or not, the world has few alternatives to the dollar.
Economist and former bond supremo Mohamed El-Erian told the BBC that many are trying to reduce dollar holdings, "the dollar is overweight and the world knows it, which is why we have seen a rise in gold, the euro and the pound, but it's hard to move at scale so there's really very few places to go".
"The dollar is like your cleanest dirty shirt, you have to keep wearing it."
Nevertheless, the future of the dollar and the world's benchmark asset - US government bonds - is being discussed at the highest levels.
The governor of the Bank of England recently told the BBC that the levels of US debt and the status of the dollar is "very much on [US Treasury] Secretary Bessent's mind. I don't think the dollar is fundamentally under threat at the moment but he is very aware of these issues and I don't think it is something that he underestimates."
Debt of $37tn is an unfathomable number. If you saved a million dollars every day, it would take you 100,000 years to save up that much.
The sensible way to look at debt is as a percentage of a country's income. The US economy produces income of around $25tn a year.
While its debt to income level is much higher than many, it's not as high as Japan or Italy, and it has the benefit of the world's most innovative and wealth creating economy behind it.
At home I have a book called Death of the Dollar by William F Rickenbacker in which he warns of the risks to the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. It was written in 1968. Mr Rickenbacker is no longer with us - the dollar is.
But it doesn't mean that its status and value is a divine right.
In late 2023, sisters Lisa and Nicole were told they had inherited a substantial sum from their late Aunt Christine. But while they were absorbing this life-changing news, the windfall was just as quickly snatched away.
A man unknown to Christine's family, friends or neighbours, appeared - apparently from nowhere - and produced a will, naming him sole heir to her entire estate.
Doubts about the man's claim grew as troubling details emerged. However, the police and probate service said they would not investigate.
Lisa and Nicole's is one of several similar cases investigated by BBC News in the south of England.
We found mounting evidence that a criminal gang has been carrying out systematic will fraud by exploiting weaknesses in the probate system, stealing millions of pounds from the estates of dead people, and committing serious tax fraud.
'My dear friend'
Lisa and Nicole were upset to hear about the death of their aunt, Christine Harverson, whom they had not seen since their early childhood. They were also shocked to be told that they stood to inherit her entire estate, including a house in Wimbledon, south London, which could be worth nearly £1m. She had not left a will, and they were her closest living relatives.
The sisters were alerted to their inheritance by an "heir-finder" company, Anglia Research Services. Heir-finders use an official government register that lists estates where no will has been made. They research the dead person's family in order to identify, locate and contact the rightful heirs.
In return for a portion of the inheritance, these companies act on the heirs' behalf and apply for what's known as a grant of probate. This gives them the legal right to deal with a deceased person's estate – in other words, their property, money and possessions.
However, on this occasion, the application for probate on behalf of Lisa and Nicole was stopped in its tracks.
A Hungarian man by the name of Tamas Szvercsok contacted the probate service, and produced a will describing him as Christine's "dear friend".
It named him the beneficiary of her entire estate, as well as sole executor - the person legally responsible for carrying out the instructions in the will.
The possibility that Mr Szvercsok was genuine, initially was not dismissed out of hand.
"It happens - sometimes cases slip through the net and a will is unearthed," says Matt Boardman, a former police officer who works for Anglia Research.
However, there were clear signs something was amiss:
Christine's neighbour and friend, Sue, said she had never mentioned a Hungarian friend at any point in the years they had known each other
The will was dated 2016 - Christine was housebound and disabled by this time, and receiving practically no visitors
The terms of the will meant that Christine would have disinherited her husband and carer Dennis, who in 2016 was still alive (he died in 2020)
Moreover, because Dennis was the joint owner of their house, Christine could not have legally bequeathed the house without his consent
After Dennis's death, Christine entered a care home, but there was no record of Mr Szvercsok ever visiting her
Joe Dixey/BBC
Sue (pictured in front of Christine Harverson's house) cast doubt on the authenticity of her late neighbour's will
Other even more troubling details stood out.
Christine's home address was misspelled on the will, and even though it was dated 2016, the address given for Mr Szvercsok was a block of flats that had not been built until 2021.
Matt Boardman contacted Mr Szvercsok, who replied by email: "I never heard of any family. I'm the sole executor of her will."
Despite presenting what they thought was a strong case to police and the probate service, Lisa and Nicole were told they would have to bring a civil action if they wanted to prove that the will was a fake. That would cost tens of thousands of pounds which they do not have.
Lisa now says she sometimes wishes she had never been told about the will in the first place: "All it's done is bring misery really, and heartache. It's just a whole nightmare."
'Vacant goods'
Stealing a dead person's property and financial assets appears to be extremely easy under UK law, if no will can be located.
The official government register of unclaimed estates in England and Wales is called Bona Vacantia (Latin for "vacant goods"), and is freely accessible online. It currently contains about 6,000 names and is updated daily.
Legitimate heir-hunting companies use Bona Vacantia to research potential clients, but it also appears to have become a valuable resource for criminals.
To claim an estate where there is no known heir, a fraudster simply has to find a promising name on Bona Vacantia, produce a will quickly enough, and be awarded grant of probate.
Since 2017 it's been possible to apply for grant of probate online, but critics of the system say it is failing to detect suspicious applicants, and it also appears to increase the opportunity for tax fraud.
When someone dies, their estate has to be assessed for inheritance tax. This is not payable on estates worth £325,000 or less, but any amount over that threshold – with some exceptions - is taxed at 40%.
It's the responsibility of the person awarded grant of probate to make sure inheritance tax has been paid.
Applicants for grant of probate must complete a form to say this has been done, but under the current arrangements, they need do no more than declare on the online form that no tax is due.
It is a system that relies largely on trust, but gives ample opportunity for that trust to be roundly abused.
During our investigations we have come across cases where estates have been valued at just under the inheritance tax threshold, even though they include property worth far more.
One of these was the estate of Charles Haxton.
Whose house?
At the time of his death in 2021, Charles Haxton was living alone in a terraced house in Tooting, south London.
He was reclusive and only occasionally spoke to neighbours, although one of them, Roye Chapman, was there for him near the end when he suffered a bad fall outside.
"I rang the police and then got him up and got him into the ambulance," he says. "His head was all cut open, and then two weeks later, he died."
No will was initially found for Mr Haxton, and his name and address appeared on Bona Vacantia. This prompted Anglia Research to look for possible heirs, and they told several of his cousins that they could be in line to inherit Mr Haxton's estate.
Joe Dixey/BBC
Roye Chapman stands in front of the house of his late neighbour, Charles Haxton
Then, as with Lisa and Nicole, the cousins were told that a will had appeared after all, leaving everything to one man - also Hungarian - called Roland Silye.
The family initially accepted his claim, to have been an old friend of Mr Haxton, but one relation, Barry, obtained a copy of the will and was struck by how odd it looked.
It left Mr Silye two properties - not only Mr Haxton's home in London, but also a house in Hertfordshire.
Together, the two properties would have been worth about £2m. However, Mr Silye listed the value of the estate as £320,500 – just £4,500 short of the amount at which inheritance tax kicked in.
What was even stranger was that Mr Haxton had never owned, and had no connection to, any house in Hertfordshire.
We visited this property. It was large and dilapidated, and neighbours told us it had been unoccupied for a long time.
The puzzle of the extra house also caught the attention of Neil Fraser, a partner in another heir-hunting company. He thinks that Mr Silye may have bundled the Hertfordshire property into a will in an attempt to fake ownership.
"He must have gone past that house and thought, 'I'll just take that derelict house. How can I get that house? Well, I can put it inside a will!"
Crucially, the will was accepted by the probate service, who did not check or raise any questions about the Hertfordshire house.
We were unable to trace Roland Silye in our investigation, and his motivation remains a mystery.
The will would not give him possession of the Hertfordshire house - the property registry and the electoral roll name the owner as a woman who would be in her 70s.
However, Mr Fraser speculates that the will could be used in future as leverage to take ownership when the real owner dies.
Despite reporting his suspicions to the police and the probate service, he says action was not taken.
Mr Silye cleared probate not only for Mr Haxton's estate, but also that of George Woon, an elderly man from Southall, west London.
Mr Woon also died in 2021, and shortly afterwards, his name appeared on Bona Vacantia. Mr Silye came forward with a will which named him as sole heir. Mr Woon's house was later sold at auction for £360,000.
A complex web
We asked an expert in financial fraud, Graham Barrow, to check whether there could be any connection between Roland Silye and Tamas Szvercsok.
Both have names of Hungarian origin, and, according to Companies House, both appear to be directors in a complex and interlinked web of companies.
Mr Barrow established that the address Mr Szvercsok gave in Mrs Harverson's will was also used by Mr Silye for some of his companies.
What these companies do is unclear, although some have been struck off for fraudulent addresses, and others have been warned for failing to provide accounts.
The pattern - multiple businesses, related addresses, similar names - is one which often indicates a criminal network, says Mr Barrow.
He adds that owning multiple companies can allow criminals to disperse funds across different accounts and locations, and makes life more difficult for law enforcement.
Another Hungarian name featuring in this web of companies is Bela Kovacs, who, according to a will dated 2021, was heir to the entire estate of Michael Judd, from Pinner, west London.
Michael Judd's estate included his bungalow in Pinner, west London
According to his neighbours, Mr Judd was a multi-talented individual with a distinguished record in the security services. However, in his final years he had become something of a hoarder, seldom leaving his house.
One neighbour, Chris, told us he thought the will had sounded strange and not only because Mr Judd had never mentioned Bela Kovacs.
A few months before his death in 2024, Mr Judd told Chris he had made a will long ago, but the people named on it were all now dead. In any case, he added, he did not know where it was.
"I suppose I better try and dig it out some time," Chris remembers him saying.
He feels it's inconceivable that Mr Judd would have troubled himself with these decisions if he had made a will three years previously.
We tracked Mr Kovacs down to a luxury estate in the Watford area but he refused to talk to us.
Joined-up writing
Other factors seem to connect these cases.
The wills made out for Charles Haxton, George Woon and the others we have seen, appear to have been written by the same person, according to handwriting expert Christina Strang.
"The numbers two, four and seven are all written in the same way on several addresses," she says.
She also sees other similarities, such as the spacing of the letters in different signatures, and the positioning of the signatures on the line.
"It seems to be one person actually signing, forging all of these."
Handwriting expert Christina Strang says it seems one person signed all the wills
Ms Strang also thinks this same person may have also forged signatures for the witnesses named on the wills, none of whom, we found, were apparently known to the deceased, and some of whom might have been completely fictitious.
There are disturbing similarities in the way that properties were treated during and after the probate process:
Shortly after Mr Szvercsok made his initial claim on Mrs Harverson's estate, her nieces discovered her Wimbledon house had been ransacked
A workman employed to empty Mr Judd's house told us he had been instructed to empty it quickly, even though this meant having to destroy what appeared to be valuable heirlooms
After Mr Haxton's house was cleared, the windows and doors were blacked out, and the locks strengthened; a year later, it emerged that it was being used as a cannabis farm (a fact that only emerged when a rival gang tried to force entry and neighbours alerted the police)
Joe Dixey/BBC
Charles Haxton's neighbours, Delorie, Roye and Sharon (L-R), alerted police to strange goings-on at their late neighbour's house
A system in trouble
As a result of our investigation, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters, have been suspended.
In addition, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has told us it now wants to question Roland Silye about inheritance tax which he might owe on the estate of Charles Haxton.
Bela Kovacs was granted probate over the estate of Michael Judd, which was valued at £310,000 - just below the inheritance tax threshold. However, HMRC's interest was also piqued by this case, and it has now suspended a planned sale of Mr Judd's bungalow in Pinner.
Meanwhile, the dispute over Christine Harverson's estate means the probate process has been frozen, and it looks unlikely to be resolved soon. Tamas Szvercsok cannot take possession of her Wimbledon house, but Lisa and Nicole lack the funds to go to the civil court and prove his will is fake.
Probate for Christine Harverson's estate has been frozen because of the dispute between her nieces and Tamas Szvercsok
We wrote to Mr Szvercsok and Mr Silye at the addresses supplied with their probate applications, offering them a right of reply, but we did not hear back.
When we shared our findings with the Ministry of Justice, which is ultimately responsible for the probate system, it told us that it was "working with law enforcement to ensure criminals feel the full force of the law".
However, a different picture emerges from others who know the system.
"Because probate isn't high profile – it's not sort of, for want of a better word, politically sexy, it doesn't stay in the headlines," says former MP Sir Bob Neill, who until the 2024 general election was the chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee.
In 2023, the select committee launched an inquiry into the probate system, but it was cut short by the election.
Sir Bob believes an over-eagerness to cut costs by digitising the probate system, has produced weaknesses which fraudsters are now exploiting.
"When you had regional offices you had human awareness, contact and scrutiny that was better suited to pick up cases where things have gone wrong," he says. "A purely sort of automated system isn't really good at doing that."
Sir Bob Neill
He says the system introduced in 2017 was a cheap and quick fix. It lacks the sophistication, he says, of programs used by insurance companies to deal with fraud, which can detect patterns of suspicious behaviour.
His concerns are echoed by Anglia Research's investigator, Matt Boardman, who says that previously, executors of wills would have had to attend their local probate registry to swear an oath, which "would allow the registrar to evaluate every single case on its own merit".
He says the system's move online "completely eliminated" the chance to question the executor's demeanour or behaviour.
"Goodness knows just how many of these have already gone through and been processed by the probate registry," he says, "and how rich we're making these people."
Pictures of a weepy Rachel Reeves dominated the newspaper front pages and TV news after her tearful appearance at Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week.
The markets were spooked so much by her emotional appearance that the cost of government borrowing immediately jumped and the pound took a dive.
The sight of most of us crying in the workplace is unlikely to move financial markets, but does it matter if you do?
Does it show weakness, or strength, or simply that you're in touch with your emotions?
Anecdotally, it's not unusual to have a bit of a sniffle at work. Several people got in touch with the BBC to say they had let it all out.
Clara, 48, from Lancaster, said she had become emotional when she was a young graduate getting a "blasting", and years later "in frustration".
"I've also cried after receiving bad news from home and left work immediately."
Emma, meanwhile, felt she had to keep her emotions under wraps because she worked in "a tough male-dominated environment" and would give herself a hard time for "showing emotion or 'weakness'."
Although some research has suggested women are more likely than men to cry, plenty of men told us they had also shed tears in front of colleagues.
Guy Clayton, a doctor, said he had often cried "with patients, colleagues and families over the years, when I've shared their sadness".
A 38-year-old from London who works in finance said he had become emotional at work when dealing with personal issues and felt it showed "a professional dedication" to still turn up.
'Strength, not a liability'
So is crying a strength or a weakness? Executive coach and success mentor Shereen Hoban says it's old-fashioned to think weeping at work is unacceptable.
"We've moved beyond the old-school idea that professionalism means leaving emotion at the door," she says. "In today's world, emotional intelligence is a strength, not a liability."
Career coach Georgia Blackburn says it's not unusual for people at work to be upset, so firms need to know how to handle and support staff who are feeling a bit fragile.
Ultimately, she says it will mean workers get more done.
"An employer that truly listens, shows compassion and understanding, is so much more likely to keep their staff motivated and happier in the long run," she says.
Amanda
Amanda cried during an interview - and still got the job
That's been the case for Amanda in Stockport who contacted the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2.
She cried at a job interview at the University of Manchester 17 years ago, just after her father had been diagnosed with cancer.
She got the job and is still there.
"I cried every day for about nine months until my dad sadly passed away. It just made me realise what an amazing person I work for, and what an amazing place I work at, where that was OK."
'Bring back crying'
Getty Images
Amy Powney thinks showing your emotions at work has become demonised
Fashion designer Amy Powney was having a bit of a rough time at the end of last year.
She was having an "intense" time leaving a job, and it coincided with traumatic things happening in her life.
Amy, who founded sustainable fashion brand Akyn earlier this year, also felt pressure to be a "poster child" for ethical fashion.
"My to-do list at that time was: feed the kids, pick them up from school, sort that nursery thing out, design the next collection, make sure the staff are OK, sort out that VAT return... and then save the world," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
"I went through this period of time where I just could not stop crying and I was doing it in public places, I was doing it on stage."
She thinks that showing emotion at work has been "demonised" and is unapologetic about breaking down.
"I just think bring back the crying, bring back the emotions," she says.
"Women in leadership should be able to show their emotion. I think it's a superpower. I think it's a strength."
Men v women, staff v bosses
But not everybody thinks that way. Some people are still a teensy bit judgemental, says Ann Francke, chief executive at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Women who weep are seen as "too emotional" while men who mope can be shamed for being soft and vulnerable, she says.
Junior staff can get away with it more than their bosses, but this shouldn't necessarily be the case, she adds.
"When a senior leader cries, it can be seen as shocking or even inappropriate. But when handled with authenticity, it can also be powerful. It shows that leaders are human and care deeply about what they do," she says.
But if you want to climb the greasy pole, it could be best to keep a stiff upper lip, at least in some organisations, says executive coach Shereen Hoban.
Crying could affect your promotion prospects, she says. "Let's be honest. There's still a bias in some workplaces that sees composure as strength and emotion as instability."
But she says some organisations see things differently, and value leaders who are "real, self-aware, and able to navigate complexity, including their own emotions".
She adds that if you break down once at work it "won't ruin your career", and that what matters more is the bigger picture:
"Your performance, your presence, and how you bounce back or move forward with intention," she says.
What to do if you become tearful at work
Give yourself permission to step back and take a moment
You don't need to hide your emotions, it often shows you care deeply about your job – that's not a bad thing
But you should feel supported, so maybe talk to a trusted colleague, take a short break or ask for support from your manager or HR
Managers and colleagues need to acknowledge when their staff are crying – offer a tissue to them, don't pretend it's not happening
England & Wales bid to survive 'toughest group of all'
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
England and Wales are in Group D along with France and the Netherlands
Published
England and Wales are flying the flag for the home nations at Euro 2025 this summer.
But the two teams have found themselves paired together in the trickiest group, alongside the Netherlands and France.
That means three of the four teams in the group are in the top 11 of Fifa's world rankings.
Wales take on the Dutch (17:00 BST on Saturday) in a game you can watch and listen to across the BBC, before England face France (20:00), with radio commentary on 5 Live and BBC Sounds, with live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.
But what makes Group D so difficult and who is most likely to make it through?
'The most lopsided draw I have ever seen'
Group D, according to Netherlands boss Andries Jonker, is the "toughest group of all" at Euro 2025.
And Opta have backed up his claim, with the stat experts' supercomputer predicting there's a 37% chance a Group D team will win the tournament.
That's 7% higher than the second-favourite group.
"It's the most lopsided draw I have ever seen," football journalist Tom Garry told the Football Daily podcast.
"The doomsday scenario for England and Wales is that they could both be out before they play each other in the third game."
Two former champions
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Sarina Wiegman led the Netherlands to Euros success in 2017 before guiding the Lionesses to the trophy in 2022
England arrive in Switzerland as the defending champions while the Netherlands won the previous tournament in 2017 - both were managed by Sarina Wiegman.
Both teams won all three of their group-stage games when they won the title.
The defending champions have never failed to progress past the group stage at a European Championship.
"Straight from the beginning, we need to be really sharp and strong but that's also the case for the other teams," England head coach Wiegman said when the draw was made.
The Lionesses have won their past 14 group-stage matches at major tournaments while the Netherlands are unbeaten in their past 13.
Jonker said: "This is the toughest group of all with three top countries. We have to accept this and go for the challenge and believe in ourselves.
"We are not coming to participate, we think we can beat every country."
France on fine form
France have never won a major trophy but they have an impressive group-stage record, progressing in each of their past eight major tournament appearances.
And Laurent Bonadei's team have form on their side. They are on an eight-game winning run and have only conceded two goals since February while they last tasted defeat in December - to world champions Spain.
England full-back Lucy Bronze says Saturday's opening match between the sides is not to be missed.
"Both teams are full of exciting attacking talent and I think it's the game everyone is going to be watching because it's surely the most exciting group game coming into a Euros," right-back Bronze said.
Les Bleues left-back Selma Bacha also said she is "very happy" to play England first, adding: "That's going to put us straight into the thick of things for the Euros."
However, this will be the first time since 2005 that France have been at a Euros or World Cup without both Wendie Renard and all-time leading scorer Eugenie le Sommer, who were controversially left out of Bonadei's side.
"The experience and the amount of caps that Renard and Le Sommer have is absolutely huge," said former England forward Ellen White.
"To have that completely wiped from your squad is a really interesting dynamic to go into this tournament."
Former Scotland defender Jen Beattie said: "They've obviously seen something and made a big decision, and they were also quoted saying 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'."
Wales will 'embrace' underdog status
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Wales beat the Republic of Ireland in December's play-offs to qualify for Euro 2025
Competing in their first major tournament and as the lowest ranked team in the compteition, Wales are not only the underdogs for Group D but for the whole of Euro 2025.
"People can call us underdogs and write us off as much as they want but our belief in ourselves will be the most important thing," said Wales forward Jess Fishlock.
"I think we will embrace it and we will use it as an advantage."
Despite their lower ranking, Wales have shown they can compete with top teams under coach Rhian Wilkinson, claiming two impressive draws against Sweden earlier this year.
"It absolutely terrifies me playing Wales in the last game and trying to get points because it will be such a hard game," White said.
"It will be a European final for Wales. They've got enthusiasm, you don't know what to expect, they're competitive, the fans are going to be amazing. That's going to be a really hard test for England."
However, history isn't on Wales' side. Only one of the past six teams making their debut in the Euros have made it out of the group.
Casks of beer were blessed at an Oktoberfest event in 2022 at Bangor Cathedral
Priests and choristers at a cathedral mired in controversy did a "seven last shots of Christ" drinking game at a pub on Good Friday after services at the Archbishop of Wales' cathedral.
People who sang with the choir at Bangor Cathedral have told the BBC there "seemed to be any excuse to bring out the wine" and "go to the pub" because of a "binge drinking culture".
Mr John will also retire as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August but the church has called for a series of reviews and investigations of his diocese and cathedral.
This comes after reports highlighted "a culture in which sexual boundaries seemed blurred", excessive alcohol consumption and governance and safeguarding weaknesses.
While there is no suggestion the then archbishop, the leader of the Church in Wales, behaved inappropriately, the church's representative body said there must be a "change in leadership, procedures and governance in the diocese of Bangor".
Andrew John retired as Archbishop of Wales last month and will retire as Bishop of Bangor on 31 August
Jessica, not her real name, said she was assaulted by someone who was trying to become a priest who had been drinking at a Bangor Cathedral Oktoberfest event in 2022.
"He had had considerably too much to drink," she told the BBC.
"I'd already warned people that night he's drinking a lot more than everyone else. So these warning signs were ignored and that led to that assault."
Jessica, now in her early 20s, said another person was also sexually assaulted by the man at the event in the 6th Century Gwynedd cathedral.
She reported it and he apologised, but she said the drinking culture did not change.
"Several bottles of prosecco would be gone through on a Sunday morning," Jessica added.
"Any sort of external event or big internal event there was prosecco or wine."
The Church in Wales confirmed that Jessica was one of two people who complained about the man's behaviour and his priest training was not taken forward.
'Seven last shots of Christ'
After a cathedral concert on Good Friday in 2023, members of the choir went for drinks.
"A few of the priests came out with the choir," recalled Jessica. "It was deemed appropriate to do the seven last shots of Christ."
The Seven Last Words of Christ refers to seven last sentences that Jesus spoke from the Cross on Good Friday as quoted in the Bible.
"Because Christ has seven last words, therefore we sang seven pieces of the seven last words in the concert - and that somehow translated into seven shots of Christ," she recalled.
"I think I left after the first shot because I was like 'I don't think this is appropriate'. There's too many people taking shots in dog collars for me to be comfortable."
Jessica said she went on a tour to Rome with the choir in June 2023.
"Every night we'd go to a bar first and then a restaurant," she recalled.
"At the time I was teetotal. I would be like I don't want wine, I don't want to drink in this situation. I don't want alcohol.
"That would not be an okay answer, that would be questioned beyond belief. Like, this alcohol is free. Why are you not taking it? You should have it."
Esme Byrd
Esme Byrd said she left her position as a lay clerk at Bangor Cathedral because no-one listened to her concerns about the culture at the diocese
Esme Byrd was a lay clerk at Bangor Cathedral for six months and regularly sang with the choir until leaving in January 2023.
The 29-year-old said the culture and attitude to alcohol was "deeply unhealthy" with some people getting "really catastrophically drunk".
"There was a culture of binge drinking," said Esme.
"Not necessarily all the time, but certainly there was a lot of alcohol around almost all the services or various events. It seemed to be any excuse to bring out the wine, any excuse to go to the pub."
Esme, who sometimes worked directly with the children in the choir, said she became concerned about the wellbeing of younger members of the choir, especially the language used around them.
"It was the level of 18-rated sexual jokes, crude sexual humour done in front of children as young as six or seven," said Esme.
"In terms of safeguarding training, there was absolutely nothing. There was no training, so in terms of certainly me starting and me doing my job, there was no training of anything whatsoever."
Esme Byrd
Esme Byrd sometimes worked directly with the children in the choir at Bangor Cathedral
Esme said she was only asked to do a DBS check a couple of weeks after starting, despite being appointed months in advance.
"I looked around and I just thought, this is not safe," Esme told BBC Wales Investigates. "This is not a safe and nurturing and good environment for children to be in."
She added: "It felt a lot more like a badly run after school club rather than a professional organisation."
Esme said she raised her concerns but eventually left because she became frustrated with the lack of action.
"It's not a sense of malevolence, but a huge sense of negligence and neglect and not following good practice," added Esme.
"Creating the space where a malevolent actor could have done almost whatever they wanted."
The Church in Wales said "concerns about a drinking culture" prompted them to investigate and said alcohol was "not now generally available" after services.
A spokesperson said they did not believe that Bangor Cathedral was unsafe for children, but said improvements to policy and practice were required.
The spokesperson said: "Previous concerns about a drinking culture at the Cathedral contributed to the decision to undertake a Bishop's visitation.
"The Implementation Group who are addressing the recommendations from the visitation are developing a policy concerning alcohol use. Alcohol is not now generally available after services.
"The inappropriate use of alcohol within and during cathedral-related activities included encouragement by some towards others to consume alcohol.
"This inappropriate behaviour is addressed in the actions which are required following the visitation process.
"DBS checks are required and safeguarding training delivered in line with UK legislation, and the Church in Wales policies."
Regarding the blessing of beer, the spokesperson said this was occasionally practised in churches but that "the abuse of alcohol is always inappropriate".
"We rode this wave together and I loved him," said co-star Dylan Walsh in his tribute
Australian actor Julian McMahon, famed for roles in popular series like Nip/Tuck and Charmed, has died aged 56.
His wife said the actor passed away in Clearwater, Florida, on Wednesday. He had been diagnosed with cancer.
"Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible," Kelly Paniagua said in a statement carried by Deadline.
McMahon's career took off with the hit supernatural television series Charmed before he gained wider recognition with Nip/Tuck, the medical drama in which he played the role of plastic surgeon Dr Christian Troy.
Running for six seasons from 2003 to 2010, the show earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Co-star Dylan Walsh told Dealine he was "stunned".
"We rode this wave together and I loved him.
"Jules! I know you'd want me to say something to make you smile — all the inside jokes. All those years you had my back, and my god, we laughed. My heart is with you. Rest in peace."
McMahon also played Doctor Doom in two Fantastic Four films in 2005 and 2007 and later appeared in three seasons of FBI: Most Wanted.
Dick Wolf, the producer of FBI: Most Wanted, said McMahon's death was "shocking news".
McMahon was the son of a former Australian prime minister and went on to play an Australian prime minister's role in Netflix's The Residence - one of his recent appearances.
McMahon married three times - the first to Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie Minogue.
Several people have died and others are missing after flash flooding hit parts of central Texas on Friday morning.
Disaster declarations have been issued for the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions.
Rescues and evacuations have been underway since the early morning, but there are warnings of more potential flash flooding to come.
"Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas," Acting Governor Dan Patrick said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state was providing "all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods".
The region is to the north-west of the Texas city of San Antonio.
Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.
Exactly how many people have died or are missing has not yet been confirmed by authorities.
"Folks, please don't take chances. Stay alert, follow local emergency warnings, and do not drive through flooded roads," Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.
Kerr County Sheriff's Office said the area had suffered a "catastrophic flooding event" and confirmed that fatalities had been reported.
It told residents near creeks, streams and the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground.
A Palestinian man looks at buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza
Hamas says it is consulting other Palestinian groups before giving a formal response to the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US.
President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that expected to know within 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to the plan.
On Tuesday, Trump said Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the 20-month war.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip.
Local journalists reported hearing explosions and gunfire as Israeli helicopter gunships and artillery struck the southern Khan Younis area on Friday morning.
Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, the local Nasser hospital said.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but it did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".
In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.
Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially.
The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross.
It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza.
Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire.
The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one.
Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas.
The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week.
"We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday.
"One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."
Netanyahu meanwhile promised to secure the release of all the remaining hostages during a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Israel-Gaza border where a total of 76 residents were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war.
"I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them," he said. "We will bring them all back."
He did not, however, commit to ending the war. He has insisted that will not happen until the hostages are freed and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
In late 2023, sisters Lisa and Nicole were told they had inherited a substantial sum from their late Aunt Christine. But while they were absorbing this life-changing news, the windfall was just as quickly snatched away.
A man unknown to Christine's family, friends or neighbours, appeared - apparently from nowhere - and produced a will, naming him sole heir to her entire estate.
Doubts about the man's claim grew as troubling details emerged. However, the police and probate service said they would not investigate.
Lisa and Nicole's is one of several similar cases investigated by BBC News in the south of England.
We found mounting evidence that a criminal gang has been carrying out systematic will fraud by exploiting weaknesses in the probate system, stealing millions of pounds from the estates of dead people, and committing serious tax fraud.
'My dear friend'
Lisa and Nicole were upset to hear about the death of their aunt, Christine Harverson, whom they had not seen since their early childhood. They were also shocked to be told that they stood to inherit her entire estate, including a house in Wimbledon, south London, which could be worth nearly £1m. She had not left a will, and they were her closest living relatives.
The sisters were alerted to their inheritance by an "heir-finder" company, Anglia Research Services. Heir-finders use an official government register that lists estates where no will has been made. They research the dead person's family in order to identify, locate and contact the rightful heirs.
In return for a portion of the inheritance, these companies act on the heirs' behalf and apply for what's known as a grant of probate. This gives them the legal right to deal with a deceased person's estate – in other words, their property, money and possessions.
However, on this occasion, the application for probate on behalf of Lisa and Nicole was stopped in its tracks.
A Hungarian man by the name of Tamas Szvercsok contacted the probate service, and produced a will describing him as Christine's "dear friend".
It named him the beneficiary of her entire estate, as well as sole executor - the person legally responsible for carrying out the instructions in the will.
The possibility that Mr Szvercsok was genuine, initially was not dismissed out of hand.
"It happens - sometimes cases slip through the net and a will is unearthed," says Matt Boardman, a former police officer who works for Anglia Research.
However, there were clear signs something was amiss:
Christine's neighbour and friend, Sue, said she had never mentioned a Hungarian friend at any point in the years they had known each other
The will was dated 2016 - Christine was housebound and disabled by this time, and receiving practically no visitors
The terms of the will meant that Christine would have disinherited her husband and carer Dennis, who in 2016 was still alive (he died in 2020)
Moreover, because Dennis was the joint owner of their house, Christine could not have legally bequeathed the house without his consent
After Dennis's death, Christine entered a care home, but there was no record of Mr Szvercsok ever visiting her
Joe Dixey/BBC
Sue (pictured in front of Christine Harverson's house) cast doubt on the authenticity of her late neighbour's will
Other even more troubling details stood out.
Christine's home address was misspelled on the will, and even though it was dated 2016, the address given for Mr Szvercsok was a block of flats that had not been built until 2021.
Matt Boardman contacted Mr Szvercsok, who replied by email: "I never heard of any family. I'm the sole executor of her will."
Despite presenting what they thought was a strong case to police and the probate service, Lisa and Nicole were told they would have to bring a civil action if they wanted to prove that the will was a fake. That would cost tens of thousands of pounds which they do not have.
Lisa now says she sometimes wishes she had never been told about the will in the first place: "All it's done is bring misery really, and heartache. It's just a whole nightmare."
'Vacant goods'
Stealing a dead person's property and financial assets appears to be extremely easy under UK law, if no will can be located.
The official government register of unclaimed estates in England and Wales is called Bona Vacantia (Latin for "vacant goods"), and is freely accessible online. It currently contains about 6,000 names and is updated daily.
Legitimate heir-hunting companies use Bona Vacantia to research potential clients, but it also appears to have become a valuable resource for criminals.
To claim an estate where there is no known heir, a fraudster simply has to find a promising name on Bona Vacantia, produce a will quickly enough, and be awarded grant of probate.
Since 2017 it's been possible to apply for grant of probate online, but critics of the system say it is failing to detect suspicious applicants, and it also appears to increase the opportunity for tax fraud.
When someone dies, their estate has to be assessed for inheritance tax. This is not payable on estates worth £325,000 or less, but any amount over that threshold – with some exceptions - is taxed at 40%.
It's the responsibility of the person awarded grant of probate to make sure inheritance tax has been paid.
Applicants for grant of probate must complete a form to say this has been done, but under the current arrangements, they need do no more than declare on the online form that no tax is due.
It is a system that relies largely on trust, but gives ample opportunity for that trust to be roundly abused.
During our investigations we have come across cases where estates have been valued at just under the inheritance tax threshold, even though they include property worth far more.
One of these was the estate of Charles Haxton.
Whose house?
At the time of his death in 2021, Charles Haxton was living alone in a terraced house in Tooting, south London.
He was reclusive and only occasionally spoke to neighbours, although one of them, Roye Chapman, was there for him near the end when he suffered a bad fall outside.
"I rang the police and then got him up and got him into the ambulance," he says. "His head was all cut open, and then two weeks later, he died."
No will was initially found for Mr Haxton, and his name and address appeared on Bona Vacantia. This prompted Anglia Research to look for possible heirs, and they told several of his cousins that they could be in line to inherit Mr Haxton's estate.
Joe Dixey/BBC
Roye Chapman stands in front of the house of his late neighbour, Charles Haxton
Then, as with Lisa and Nicole, the cousins were told that a will had appeared after all, leaving everything to one man - also Hungarian - called Roland Silye.
The family initially accepted his claim, to have been an old friend of Mr Haxton, but one relation, Barry, obtained a copy of the will and was struck by how odd it looked.
It left Mr Silye two properties - not only Mr Haxton's home in London, but also a house in Hertfordshire.
Together, the two properties would have been worth about £2m. However, Mr Silye listed the value of the estate as £320,500 – just £4,500 short of the amount at which inheritance tax kicked in.
What was even stranger was that Mr Haxton had never owned, and had no connection to, any house in Hertfordshire.
We visited this property. It was large and dilapidated, and neighbours told us it had been unoccupied for a long time.
The puzzle of the extra house also caught the attention of Neil Fraser, a partner in another heir-hunting company. He thinks that Mr Silye may have bundled the Hertfordshire property into a will in an attempt to fake ownership.
"He must have gone past that house and thought, 'I'll just take that derelict house. How can I get that house? Well, I can put it inside a will!"
Crucially, the will was accepted by the probate service, who did not check or raise any questions about the Hertfordshire house.
We were unable to trace Roland Silye in our investigation, and his motivation remains a mystery.
The will would not give him possession of the Hertfordshire house - the property registry and the electoral roll name the owner as a woman who would be in her 70s.
However, Mr Fraser speculates that the will could be used in future as leverage to take ownership when the real owner dies.
Despite reporting his suspicions to the police and the probate service, he says action was not taken.
Mr Silye cleared probate not only for Mr Haxton's estate, but also that of George Woon, an elderly man from Southall, west London.
Mr Woon also died in 2021, and shortly afterwards, his name appeared on Bona Vacantia. Mr Silye came forward with a will which named him as sole heir. Mr Woon's house was later sold at auction for £360,000.
A complex web
We asked an expert in financial fraud, Graham Barrow, to check whether there could be any connection between Roland Silye and Tamas Szvercsok.
Both have names of Hungarian origin, and, according to Companies House, both appear to be directors in a complex and interlinked web of companies.
Mr Barrow established that the address Mr Szvercsok gave in Mrs Harverson's will was also used by Mr Silye for some of his companies.
What these companies do is unclear, although some have been struck off for fraudulent addresses, and others have been warned for failing to provide accounts.
The pattern - multiple businesses, related addresses, similar names - is one which often indicates a criminal network, says Mr Barrow.
He adds that owning multiple companies can allow criminals to disperse funds across different accounts and locations, and makes life more difficult for law enforcement.
Another Hungarian name featuring in this web of companies is Bela Kovacs, who, according to a will dated 2021, was heir to the entire estate of Michael Judd, from Pinner, west London.
Michael Judd's estate included his bungalow in Pinner, west London
According to his neighbours, Mr Judd was a multi-talented individual with a distinguished record in the security services. However, in his final years he had become something of a hoarder, seldom leaving his house.
One neighbour, Chris, told us he thought the will had sounded strange and not only because Mr Judd had never mentioned Bela Kovacs.
A few months before his death in 2024, Mr Judd told Chris he had made a will long ago, but the people named on it were all now dead. In any case, he added, he did not know where it was.
"I suppose I better try and dig it out some time," Chris remembers him saying.
He feels it's inconceivable that Mr Judd would have troubled himself with these decisions if he had made a will three years previously.
We tracked Mr Kovacs down to a luxury estate in the Watford area but he refused to talk to us.
Joined-up writing
Other factors seem to connect these cases.
The wills made out for Charles Haxton, George Woon and the others we have seen, appear to have been written by the same person, according to handwriting expert Christina Strang.
"The numbers two, four and seven are all written in the same way on several addresses," she says.
She also sees other similarities, such as the spacing of the letters in different signatures, and the positioning of the signatures on the line.
"It seems to be one person actually signing, forging all of these."
Handwriting expert Christina Strang says it seems one person signed all the wills
Ms Strang also thinks this same person may have also forged signatures for the witnesses named on the wills, none of whom, we found, were apparently known to the deceased, and some of whom might have been completely fictitious.
There are disturbing similarities in the way that properties were treated during and after the probate process:
Shortly after Mr Szvercsok made his initial claim on Mrs Harverson's estate, her nieces discovered her Wimbledon house had been ransacked
A workman employed to empty Mr Judd's house told us he had been instructed to empty it quickly, even though this meant having to destroy what appeared to be valuable heirlooms
After Mr Haxton's house was cleared, the windows and doors were blacked out, and the locks strengthened; a year later, it emerged that it was being used as a cannabis farm (a fact that only emerged when a rival gang tried to force entry and neighbours alerted the police)
Joe Dixey/BBC
Charles Haxton's neighbours, Delorie, Roye and Sharon (L-R), alerted police to strange goings-on at their late neighbour's house
A system in trouble
As a result of our investigation, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters, have been suspended.
In addition, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has told us it now wants to question Roland Silye about inheritance tax which he might owe on the estate of Charles Haxton.
Bela Kovacs was granted probate over the estate of Michael Judd, which was valued at £310,000 - just below the inheritance tax threshold. However, HMRC's interest was also piqued by this case, and it has now suspended a planned sale of Mr Judd's bungalow in Pinner.
Meanwhile, the dispute over Christine Harverson's estate means the probate process has been frozen, and it looks unlikely to be resolved soon. Tamas Szvercsok cannot take possession of her Wimbledon house, but Lisa and Nicole lack the funds to go to the civil court and prove his will is fake.
Probate for Christine Harverson's estate has been frozen because of the dispute between her nieces and Tamas Szvercsok
We wrote to Mr Szvercsok and Mr Silye at the addresses supplied with their probate applications, offering them a right of reply, but we did not hear back.
When we shared our findings with the Ministry of Justice, which is ultimately responsible for the probate system, it told us that it was "working with law enforcement to ensure criminals feel the full force of the law".
However, a different picture emerges from others who know the system.
"Because probate isn't high profile – it's not sort of, for want of a better word, politically sexy, it doesn't stay in the headlines," says former MP Sir Bob Neill, who until the 2024 general election was the chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee.
In 2023, the select committee launched an inquiry into the probate system, but it was cut short by the election.
Sir Bob believes an over-eagerness to cut costs by digitising the probate system, has produced weaknesses which fraudsters are now exploiting.
"When you had regional offices you had human awareness, contact and scrutiny that was better suited to pick up cases where things have gone wrong," he says. "A purely sort of automated system isn't really good at doing that."
Sir Bob Neill
He says the system introduced in 2017 was a cheap and quick fix. It lacks the sophistication, he says, of programs used by insurance companies to deal with fraud, which can detect patterns of suspicious behaviour.
His concerns are echoed by Anglia Research's investigator, Matt Boardman, who says that previously, executors of wills would have had to attend their local probate registry to swear an oath, which "would allow the registrar to evaluate every single case on its own merit".
He says the system's move online "completely eliminated" the chance to question the executor's demeanour or behaviour.
"Goodness knows just how many of these have already gone through and been processed by the probate registry," he says, "and how rich we're making these people."
In an interview with the Guardian, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says it is impossible for her to rule out tax rises in the autumn budget and insisted she never thought of quitting despite a turbulent week for her. It comes after she was spotted crying in the Commons. She tells the paper "there are costs" to watering down the welfare bill and acknowledged it has been a "damaging" week for Downing Street.
"Reeves hints at more tax rise pain", says the Daily Express as it reports the chancellor "may target millions of middle earners with punishing income tax hikes". It also suggests Reeves could put up VAT and National Insurance in a bid to plug a £40bn black hole. "It's a centre court delight for Mary" says the headline on the paper's main image as it shows Dame Mary Berry watching tennis at Wimbledon.
The Times writes tax rises in autumn are likely to be smaller than last year's but Reeves is expected to have to raise tens of billions of pounds more. The paper notes there are also suggestions she could raid pension savings. The paper also highlights the UK's "25 prettiest villages" on its front page.
The Daily Mail leads with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accusing Sir Keir Starmer of a "year of lies and U-turns". She says the prime minister has "taken a wrecking ball to the economy and presided over a record surge in Channel crossings. Ex-GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips is also pictured as she gives an update on her life with Alzheimer's.
The Daily Telegraph picks up a Boris Johnson interview with a Swiss magazine in which the former prime minister is quoted as saying the best strategy to counter Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is to ignore him. He said: "My strategy with the individuals that you mention is don't talk about them... Talk about what you are going to offer the people." Emma Raducanu is also pictured following her exit from Wimbledon in the third round against Aryna Sabalenka.
"Oasis back together at last" writes the Daily Mirror. "Oasis exploded back into life last night" in front of 70,000 fans, according to the paper . Liam Gallagher told the crowd: "Yes beautiful people, too long."
The Gallagher brothers stand on stage with arms outstretched during their concert on the front of the Daily Star. "The crowd were mad for 'em," writes the Daily Star.
The Sun called the comeback gig "historic" with the feuding brothers performing together after 16 years.
The Times reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has told the Cabinet that the decision to abandon welfare reforms means that taxes will have to rise to cover the cost. The paper says her comments "went significantly further than her public statements". To underline that point, "I can't rule out tax rises" is how the chancellor's interview with the Guardian is headlined.
The Daily Express suggests Reeves may target millions of middle earners with income tax rises as she is forced to clear up what the paper calls "Labour's welfare mess". Experts reportedly believe she may have to plug a black hole of £40 billion.
"Just ignore Farage", is the advice from Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph to Conservatives concerned about the rise of Reform UK. The paper quotes an interview the former prime minister has given to a Swiss magazine, in which he says the Tories should focus on what they are going to offer people. A Reform source says Mr Johnson did "unprecedented damage" to the country.
"A decidedly mixed record", is how the Times describes Sir Keir Starmer's first year as prime minister. The Daily Mail leads on comments from the leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, in which she accuses the PM of presiding over a "year of lies and U-turns". According FT Weekend, many Labour MPs believe there have been "too many mistakes". But in its school report for the PM, the Daily Mirror says he "coped well" with Trump and Putin and "excelled" on defence and NHS spending.
"One for the bucket hat list", is the Guardian's take on the Oasis reunion gig in Cardiff. Liam and Noel Gallagher walked on stage hand-in-hand, but according to the Daily Star they had "lost none of their sneering cool and arrogant indifference". The Daily Mirror says the brothers "found their stride" with "Morning Glory and Some Might Say". "The best reunion ever?" asks the Daily Mail. The answer: "Definitely (not maybe!)".
On Saturday more than one million people are expected to attend Pride in London, the UK's largest LGBTQ+ event.
But despite huge visitor numbers, organisers say the event - and others like it around the country - face an uncertain future due to a drop in funding and falling volunteer numbers.
More than 85 Pride organisations say they've seen a reduction in corporate sponsorships or partnerships, according to a questionnaire by the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON), which said it represents the majority of UK Pride events.
Some celebrations have already been cancelled or postponed, while others are scaling back plans or charging for tickets to what have previously been free-to-attend events.
The UK's Pride movement began in 1972 when a group called the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) decided that, as well as protesting, it was also important to celebrate the community.
At the time, same-sex couples showing affection in public could have seen them arrested.
Now, Pride events take part across the world, often combining protest, in the form of marches and rallies, with parties and live entertainment.
BBC News has spoken to a number of Pride organisers about their worries for the future of Pride events, and what they believe is behind the drop in funding.
'If America sneezes, the UK catches a cold'
Dee Llewellyn
Dee Llewellyn believes what is happening in America can affect Pride events in the UK
Dee Llewellyn is volunteer chair of UKPON, and also works full-time as Pride in London's head of partnerships.
She said: "There's an old saying, if America sneezes, then the UK catches a cold, and I think we're really feeling that right now.
"Global corporations, with head offices based in America, have had their DEI funding cut, which has meant that some corporations, even ones that have been really long-standing supporters of Pride in the UK, have no longer got a budget to do so."
Despite the difficulties it faces, London continues to be the UK's largest Pride event and over the past few years attendance has grown to 1.5 million people, making it one of the city's largest public events.
Asked why a Pride event - which is seen by many as a form of protest first and foremost - costs this much to run, Dee told the BBC: "It's about making safe spaces, not just emotionally safe but physically safe for everybody there as well - it means paying for security staff, barriers, road closures.
"As Pride grows, and the numbers grow, the cost and the level of health and safety and other infrastructure grows as well. No Pride would be able to go ahead without meeting those health and safety regulations."
Although the focus this weekend will be very much on the capital, UKPON told the BBC that Pride events up and down the country are facing similar issues.
In April UKPON asked its 201 members whether they were facing any financial or operational pressures.
Of the 112 organisations that responded:
More than 85 reported lost revenue from corporate sponsorships and partnerships this year
More than 40 said that the drop was between 26% - 50% compared to last year
21 said they'd experienced their revenue fall by more than half in that same period
More than 60 said they'd seen reductions in grants from corporations or charities
In recent weeks, several Pride organisations have taken the decision to cancel events.
Liverpool City Region Pride announced in June that rising costs and difficulty securing funding "made it impossible to bring Pride to Liverpool this year".
Alex MacDonald (left) hopes Plymouth Pride will come back stronger next year
Plymouth Pride, which organisers say usually has an estimated 6,000-7,000 attendees, will this year also not go ahead in its official capacity.
Organisers told the BBC they were £12,000 short of the estimated £35,000 it costs to put on their annual event, which includes a march through the city and a number of stages showing entertainment.
Alex MacDonald, chair of Plymouth Pride, told the BBC that rising costs for things like security, first aid and toilet facilities, combined with a drop in grant funding, had left the organisation with no choice but to cancel the official event.
He said: "Ultimately it was [grant] funding that was the make or break for us and this year it didn't work.
"I'm just absolutely gutted because I think it's more important this year to have Pride than any other year."
A smaller group, Plymouth Community Pride, has now raised funds to host an alternative event in the city.
"We've been very lucky this year, the community rallied together and a separate organisation is putting on lots of little events. We'll hopefully come back bigger and stronger next year," Alex added.
Charging for tickets is 'one of the most difficult decisions'
OhMyMedia / Olly Rigby
Reece Holmes said some events, like The Pink Picnic, would not be able to go ahead without charging for tickets
In June, more than 6,000 people attended The Pink Picnic, an event organised by a team of volunteers from Salford Pride in the city's Peel Park.
Started in 2011, it's marketed by organisers as a small, community-focused Pride event and is seen as a quieter alternative to Manchester Pride, a ticketed multi-day event with celebrity headliners which takes place a few miles down the road.
In 2025, Salford Pride took the decision to charge for tickets for the first time in order to plug what they say was a £40,000 shortfall in sponsorships from corporate partners.
The team, made up entirely of volunteers, decided to charge £5 per ticket, but estimate that the event costs around £18 per head.
Reece Holmes, event lead for Salford Pride, said it was "one of the most difficult decisions" his team of volunteers have had to make and that it led to some "being subjected to quite a lot of abuse online."
Despite The Pink Picnic being a relatively small event, costs such as security and stewards - which Reece said are essential to run a public event - mean it costs around £100,000 a year to run.
He told the BBC: "We've had a 28% increase in costs from 2024, but we've also lost three corporate sponsors since then.
"It's a mixture of economic issues and I think the political climate at the minute, I think [companies] are a little bit scared to support Prides."
Reece said that without charging for tickets to cover some of the costs, the event would not have been able to go ahead.
"We're being forced to make these kinds of decisions due to a lack of funding, due to economic issues and due to the political climate."
Although many Prides have told the BBC they are struggling financially, and may have to scale back or charge more for events in the future, Dee Llewellyn said there is "no chance" Pride as a movement will stop.
She added: "We need to remember that we as a community are incredibly resilient.
"We have always been resilient and we always will be, so while we might go through this ebb and flow, and we've fallen off a cliff this year with corporate partnerships, we will find ways around that.
"We are going to club together, stand together and be stronger and more united and we will come back stronger."
Liam and Noel Gallagher raised their hands together as they took to the stage in Cardiff's Principality Stadium
Oasis blew off the cobwebs and swept away the doubters as they kicked off their reunion tour in Cardiff.
Taking to the stage after a 16-year break, the band sounded refreshed and rejuvenated, tearing into classics like Cigarettes and Alcohol, Live Forever and Slide Away - as 70,000 fans clasped each other and spilled beer all over themselves.
They opened with Hello, with its chorus of "it's good to be back", following up with Acquiesce - one of the few songs that features vocals from both Noel and Liam Gallagher.
The lyric "we need each other" felt like a reconciliation - or a sigh of relief - as the brothers buried the hatchet of a decades-long feud and reconnected with their fans.
Liam, in particular, attacked the gig with wild-eyed passion - stalking the stage and biting into the lyrics like a lion tearing apart its prey.
The audience responded in kind. A communal fervour greeted songs like Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger, both pulled from Oasis's 1995 masterpiece, (What's The Story Morning Glory) - one of the biggest selling British albums of all time.
All night, it was one singalong after another: Some Might Say, Supersonic, Whatever, Half The World Away, Rock 'n' Roll Star.
During Live Forever - which they dedicated to Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota - the audience even sang Noel's guitar solo.
"You sound like a load of Charlotte Churches," said Liam, impressed, after Stand By Me.
The frontman sounded fresh and powerful himself, putting to rest the vocal issues that had plagued him on previous tours - a result of Hashimoto's disease, an auto-immune condition that can affect the voice.
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Liam was in fine form throughout the night
As fans will know, Oasis were never the most dynamic act on stage. Noel, in particular, wears the studious look of a man trying to remember his National Insurance number - but somehow, it's impossible to take your eyes off them.
Although they came out hand in hand, there were few other signs of chemistry between the brothers, who never addressed one another during the two-and-a-quarter hour show.
But just hearing them harmonise again, after all the animosity, and the turbulent waters under the bridge, was hugely emotional.
"Nice one for putting up with us over the years," said Liam, introducing the night's last song, Champagne Supernova. "We are hard work, I get it."
As they left the stage, the Gallaghers shared a brief hug.
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Fans paid hundreds of pounds to see the band kick off their reunion tour
But the band's volatility was always part of the appeal.
Half the fun was working out which act of the Shakespearean drama was being enacted in front of you.
Still, Liam’s antics often frustrated his brother.
"Noel is the guy who's chained to the Tasmanian devil," Danny Eccleston, consultant editor of Mojo, once said. "A lifetime of that would wear you down."
It all came to a head at a gig in Paris in 2009. Oasis split up after a backstage altercation that began with Liam throwing a plum at his older brother's head.
In the intervening years, they engaged in a long war of words in the press, on stage and social media.
Liam repeatedly called Noel a "massive potato" on Twitter and, more seriously, accused him of skipping the One Love concert for victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Noel responded by saying Liam was a "village idiot" who "needs to see a psychiatrist".
But relations thawed last year, with Liam dedicating Half The World Away to his brother at the Reading Festival last August.
Two days later, the reunion was announced, with the band declaring: "The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised."
A scramble for tickets ensued, with more than 10 million people applying to see the 19 UK dates alone.
Those who succeeded were shocked by the high prices - especially when standing tickets advertised at £155 were re-labelled "in demand" and changed on Ticketmaster to £355 plus fees.
On stage, Liam made light of the scandal, asking the audience: "Is it worth the £4,000 you paid for a ticket?"
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The band stuck to their 1990s output for the majority of the setlist
For many, the answer was yes. Cardiff was awash with Oasis fanatics from all over the world - including Peru, Japan, Argentina, Spain and South Korea.
An Italian couple had "live forever" inscribed in their wedding rings. A British woman, expecting her first child, had scrawled "our kid" - Noel's nickname for Liam - across her baby bump.
The city was awash in bucket hats and branded tracksuit tops. Outside the stadium, an enterprising busker drew a massive crowd by playing a set of Oasis songs. Everyone joined in.
Inside, the band stuck to the classics, with a setlist that only strayed out of the 1990s once, for 2002's Little By Little.
The songs held up remarkably well.
The youthful hunger of tracks like Live Forever and Supersonic crackled with energy. And Cigarettes and Alcohol, written by Noel in 1991, about the discontent of Manchester's working classes after 15 years of Conservative rule, sounded as relevant in 2025 as it did then.
"Is it worth the aggravation to find yourself a job when there's nothing worth working for?" snarled Liam. Fans, young and old, roared along in recognition and approval.
I have seen Oasis many, many times and this was the best they've been since 1995, when I caught them supporting REM at Ireland's Slane Castle, as they limbered up for the release of (What's The Story) Morning Glory.
The Manchester band blew the headliners away - instantly making them seem dated and irrelevant - in a show that threatened to devolve into chaos after Liam threatened a fan who'd thrown a projectile on stage.
They might not have that sense of danger in 2025, but there was a hunger and a passion that was missing from their last shows in 2009.
Fans, and some parts of the British press, are already speculating over whether Liam and Noel's rapprochement will hold – but from the evidence on stage in Cardiff, the Gallaghers are finally, belatedly mad fer it once more.
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Noel Gallagher performed several songs solo during the set
British number one Emma Raducanu is out of Wimbledon after falling agonisingly short of top seed Aryna Sabalenka in a gripping third-round match on Centre Court.
Raducanu, 22, put the three-time Grand Slam champion - and clear title favourite - under extreme pressure before succumbing to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat.
"Emma played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win," said 27-year-old Belarusian Sabalenka.
"I had to fight for every point to get this win."
Raducanu, ranked 40th in the world, played with clarity and confidence throughout most of a captivating contest on Centre Court.
Had the 2021 US Open champion served out the opening set at 6-5, or converted a set point in the tie-break, the momentum of the lead might have carried her to a notable victory.
However, the deficit proved too much to overturn - even though Raducanu broke to lead 4-1 in the second set.
The long rallies she needed to break down Sabalenka eventually took their toll and Raducanu began to look fatigued as the favourite fought back.
Sabalenka, who is aiming for a first SW19 title, goes on to face Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens in the fourth round on Sunday.
Palestine Action will be banned from midnight after a judge refused its request to temporarily block the government from proscribing it as a terror group.
On Friday, a High Court judge refused the group more time to pursue legal action against the government's decision.
The proposed ban, which amends the Terrorism Act 2000, will come into force after being approved by both the House of Commons and House of Lords earlier this week.
It means supporting Palestine Action will become a criminal offence, with membership or expressing support for the direct action group punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The move was taken to ban the group after an estimated £7m of damage was caused to planes at RAF Brize Norton last month, in action claimed by Palestine Action.
At a hearing earlier on Friday, Raza Husain KC, barrister for Palestine Action's co-founder Huda Ammori, told the court banning the group would be "ill-considered" and an "authoritarian abuse" of power.
"This is the first time in our history that a direct action civil disobedience group, which does not advocate for violence, has been sought to be proscribed as terrorists," he said.
Pictures of a weepy Rachel Reeves dominated the newspaper front pages and TV news after her tearful appearance at Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week.
The markets were spooked so much by her emotional appearance that the cost of government borrowing immediately jumped and the pound took a dive.
The sight of most of us crying in the workplace is unlikely to move financial markets, but does it matter if you do?
Does it show weakness, or strength, or simply that you're in touch with your emotions?
Anecdotally, it's not unusual to have a bit of a sniffle at work. Several people got in touch with the BBC to say they had let it all out.
Clara, 48, from Lancaster, said she had become emotional when she was a young graduate getting a "blasting", and years later "in frustration".
"I've also cried after receiving bad news from home and left work immediately."
Emma, meanwhile, felt she had to keep her emotions under wraps because she worked in "a tough male-dominated environment" and would give herself a hard time for "showing emotion or 'weakness'."
Although some research has suggested women are more likely than men to cry, plenty of men told us they had also shed tears in front of colleagues.
Guy Clayton, a doctor, said he had often cried "with patients, colleagues and families over the years, when I've shared their sadness".
A 38-year-old from London who works in finance said he had become emotional at work when dealing with personal issues and felt it showed "a professional dedication" to still turn up.
'Strength, not a liability'
So is crying a strength or a weakness? Executive coach and success mentor Shereen Hoban says it's old-fashioned to think weeping at work is unacceptable.
"We've moved beyond the old-school idea that professionalism means leaving emotion at the door," she says. "In today's world, emotional intelligence is a strength, not a liability."
Career coach Georgia Blackburn says it's not unusual for people at work to be upset, so firms need to know how to handle and support staff who are feeling a bit fragile.
Ultimately, she says it will mean workers get more done.
"An employer that truly listens, shows compassion and understanding, is so much more likely to keep their staff motivated and happier in the long run," she says.
Amanda
Amanda cried during an interview - and still got the job
That's been the case for Amanda in Stockport who contacted the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2.
She cried at a job interview at the University of Manchester 17 years ago, just after her father had been diagnosed with cancer.
She got the job and is still there.
"I cried every day for about nine months until my dad sadly passed away. It just made me realise what an amazing person I work for, and what an amazing place I work at, where that was OK."
'Bring back crying'
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Amy Powney thinks showing your emotions at work has become demonised
Fashion designer Amy Powney was having a bit of a rough time at the end of last year.
She was having an "intense" time leaving a job, and it coincided with traumatic things happening in her life.
Amy, who founded sustainable fashion brand Akyn earlier this year, also felt pressure to be a "poster child" for ethical fashion.
"My to-do list at that time was: feed the kids, pick them up from school, sort that nursery thing out, design the next collection, make sure the staff are OK, sort out that VAT return... and then save the world," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
"I went through this period of time where I just could not stop crying and I was doing it in public places, I was doing it on stage."
She thinks that showing emotion at work has been "demonised" and is unapologetic about breaking down.
"I just think bring back the crying, bring back the emotions," she says.
"Women in leadership should be able to show their emotion. I think it's a superpower. I think it's a strength."
Men v women, staff v bosses
But not everybody thinks that way. Some people are still a teensy bit judgemental, says Ann Francke, chief executive at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Women who weep are seen as "too emotional" while men who mope can be shamed for being soft and vulnerable, she says.
Junior staff can get away with it more than their bosses, but this shouldn't necessarily be the case, she adds.
"When a senior leader cries, it can be seen as shocking or even inappropriate. But when handled with authenticity, it can also be powerful. It shows that leaders are human and care deeply about what they do," she says.
But if you want to climb the greasy pole, it could be best to keep a stiff upper lip, at least in some organisations, says executive coach Shereen Hoban.
Crying could affect your promotion prospects, she says. "Let's be honest. There's still a bias in some workplaces that sees composure as strength and emotion as instability."
But she says some organisations see things differently, and value leaders who are "real, self-aware, and able to navigate complexity, including their own emotions".
She adds that if you break down once at work it "won't ruin your career", and that what matters more is the bigger picture:
"Your performance, your presence, and how you bounce back or move forward with intention," she says.
What to do if you become tearful at work
Give yourself permission to step back and take a moment
You don't need to hide your emotions, it often shows you care deeply about your job – that's not a bad thing
But you should feel supported, so maybe talk to a trusted colleague, take a short break or ask for support from your manager or HR
Managers and colleagues need to acknowledge when their staff are crying – offer a tissue to them, don't pretend it's not happening
Abbie was 16 years old when she started using ketamine. It was the first time she had felt in control.
The negative thoughts that had swamped her mind since a young age began to dissipate.
Twelve years later and fresh out of rehab she's still battling with the addiction that almost took her life.
She wants to speak out to explain why ketamine has become such a popular drug - especially among young people with mental health problems - and to talk about the damage it can do long term.
Abbie's warning comes as the first NHS clinic in the UK - dedicated to helping children struggling with ketamine use - opens on Merseyside, with patients as young as 12 needing help.
Ketamine is unlike many other street drugs due to the way it interacts with the brain.
Small amounts of the Class B drug can give a sense of euphoria and excitement, while large amounts can lead to a state known as the "K-hole," where users feel detached from reality - an out-of-body-type experience.
The number of under 16s reporting a problem with the drug has nearly doubled over the past two years, overtaking cocaine in popularity with children and young people.
Nearly half those (49%) who started treatment for drug misuse in 2023-24 said they had a mental health problem, with more than a quarter not receiving any treatment for the latter.
Details of help and support with addiction are available in the UK at BBC Action Line
Experts are warning that some young people are taking dangerous amounts of ketamine not only due to it's low price and ease of availability, but also because of the dissociative feelings it brings.
"What we are seeing is a perfect storm," David Gill, the founder of Risk and Reliance, a company which trains front-line workers on emerging drug trends.
"We have more young people struggling with depression, trauma, anxiety, a lack of services - and we have a very cheap street drug that helps them disconnect."
Abbie's first line of ketamine did exactly that. She says it "felt like such a powerful place to be".
"My thoughts no longer had a negative effect on me - life was passing me by, but I didn't have to engage with it."
Abbie's childhood had been hard. Struggling with mental health problems and undiagnosed ADHD, she had left school at 14 and found herself in a whirlwind of drink, drugs and unhealthy relationships.
Abbie
Abbie's weight dropped during the course of her addiction
Although addiction cast a long shadow throughout her 20s, Abbie managed to secure a place at university, staying clean throughout, and obtained a healthcare degree.
She is smart, articulate and wants to do well, but after two abusive and controlling relationships ketamine became the only means she had to block out the trauma.
Yet when she went to her GP to seek help she was prescribed sleeping tablets and told to "come off the ket".
"The withdrawals were so bad I would be shaking and vomiting," she says, "it wasn't that easy to just come off it."
Then a deeper level of addiction took hold.
"I always prided myself in the early stages of addiction of keeping my morals and my values and not lying to people," Abbie says, "but I couldn't stop the drugs and I found myself hiding my use to my friends."
Things escalated. Eventually Abbie was taking ketamine every day - incessantly. The only time she would take a shower, she says, would be when she went out to meet her dealer on the street.
The physical effects of overuse began to kick in - horrific abdominal pains, known as K-cramps, would leave her screaming in agony. She would place boiling hot water bottles on her abdomen - burning her skin. And then she would take even more ketamine to numb the pain.
What is ketamine?
Often referred to as ket, Special K or just K, ketamine is a powerful horse tranquilliser and anaesthetic. It is a licensed drug and can be prescribed medically
When misused, it can cause serious and sometimes permanent damage to the bladder
It is currently a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
The penalty for possession is up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine - or both
Abbie documents her recovery on TikTok and gives support to other young people
This cycle of drug abuse is something public health consultant Professor Rachel Isba also sees in her new clinic for under 16s experiencing the physical side effects of ketamine use.
Chronic use of the drug can cause ketamine-induced uropathy, a relatively new condition, which affects the bladder, kidneys and liver. The bladder lining becomes so inflamed it can result in permanent damage and it has to be removed.
Prof Isba says the first signs of ketamine bladder are severe abdominal pains, urinating blood and jelly from the damaged bladder lining.
"Patients referred to the clinic will receive a holistic approach," she says, "care from the specialist urology team to treat the physical effects of the drug, and then they will be supported - and referred if necessary - to community services who can help with the often complex reasons behind their drug use."
'Completely helpless'
Maisie
Maisie started taking ketamine at festivals - but her use spiralled out of control
Sarah Norman, from St Helens, says she felt like a "silent watcher" as her daughter began to "fade in front" of her eyes.
Last September she discovered that Maisie, 25, was addicted to ketamine, which had caused potentially irreversible damage to her kidneys.
"We are just an average family," Sarah says. "I never thought Maisie would have ended up addicted to any drugs - she doesn't even drink alcohol."
Maisie had kept it quiet - ashamed of the stigma attached to her ketamine use. But what had started as a party drug she'd take at festivals had become a substance she couldn't function without.
In the end her partner moved out with their three-year-old son.
"I had nothing left to live for," Maisie says. "It got to the point I was doing bump after bump [snorting small amounts of it].
"For a short time I would be knocked out of reality - then I would take more."
Sarah Norman
Sarah documents her daughter's addiction and offers advice to other parents online
Eventually, Maisie's mum and sister carried her into hospital - she weighed just five stone (32kg).
"The doctors said her body was failing her," Sarah says. "We thought we might lose her."
As a parent, she says, she felt completely helpless.
"It's hell on earth, there is nothing you can do. You ask yourself what you should have done."
Maisie's kidneys were fitted with nephrostomy tubes, which drain the urine out into two bags - which she now carries around with her.
Yet even this major operation didn't end Maisie's addiction. But finally, after fighting for a place in rehab she has now been clean for five months.
Sarah posts about her daughter's drug journey on Tik Tok where many parents reach out to her for help and advice with their own children.
"This drug is just horrific, so many other young people are struggling with it," Sarah says. "I am so proud of Maisie though, she's going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings every night.
"The pain she must have been through - and still goes through - I'm not sure if I'd have been as resilient and strong as she is."
Maisie
Maisie's kidneys were badly damaged and she needed two tubes fitted to drain the urine
Abbie was rejected from NHS rehabilitation services twice, and reached a point where she considered taking her own life.
"There was so much chaos around me and the services weren't going to help me, I just wanted to end it all," she says.
But after sending a five-page letter to the panel that decides on eligibility she finally managed to access a detox and rehabilitation service.
"I had three choices," Abbie says, "rehab, section - or in a coffin."
Abbie was treated in the same rehabilitation unit as Maisie. She is now out, clean and proud of herself but says the treatment she received failed to deal with her trauma.
"I can look after myself on a daily basis and I'm doing OK. The real work starts now I'm out of rehab," she says, " and now I am clean, hopefully I can get the mental health support I so desperately needed when I was using."
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said that as part of its 10 Year Health Plan to reform the NHS, it was going to be much "bolder in moving from sickness to prevention".
"This government is driving down the use of drugs like ketamine, ensuring more people receive timely treatment and support, and making our streets and communities safer."
A tiny, obscure animal often sold as aquarium food has been quietly protecting our planet from global warming by undertaking an epic migration, according to new research.
These "unsung heroes" called zooplankton gorge themselves and grow fat in spring before sinking hundreds of metres into the deep ocean in Antarctica where they burn the fat.
This locks away as much planet-warming carbon as the annual emissions of roughly 55 million petrol cars, stopping it from further warming our atmosphere, according to researchers.
This is much more than scientists expected. But just as researchers uncover this service to our planet, threats to the zooplankton are growing.
Prof Daniel J Mayor @oceanplankton
Female copepods (4mm) with cigar-shaped fat stores in their bodies
Scientists have spent years probing the animal's annual migration in Antarctic waters, or the Southern Ocean, and what it means for climate change.
The findings are "remarkable", says lead author Dr Guang Yang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that it forces a re-think about how much carbon the Southern Ocean stores.
"The animals are an unsung hero because they have such a cool way of life," says co-author Dr Jennifer Freer from British Antarctic Survey.
But compared to the most popular Antarctic animals like the whale or penguin, the small but mighty zooplankton are overlooked and under-appreciated.
Prof Daniel J Mayor @oceanplankton
This copepod has hair-like arms for feeding
If anyone has heard of them, it's probably as a type of fish food available to buy online.
But their life cycle is odd and fascinating. Take the copepod, a type of zooplankton that is a distant relative of crabs and lobsters.
Just 1-10mm in size, they spend most of their lives asleep between 500m to 2km deep in the ocean.
Prof Daniel J Mayor @oceanplankton
Sacs of fat, or lipids, form in Southern Ocean copepods' bodies and heads after they eat phytoplankton (the green material in the bodies in this image)
In pictures taken under a microscope, you can see long sausages of fat inside their bodies, and fat bubbles in their heads, explains Prof Daniel Mayor who photographed them in Antarctica.
Without them, our planet's atmosphere would be significantly warmer.
Globally the oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat humans have created by burning fossil fuels. Of that figure, the Southern Ocean is responsible for about 40%, and a lot of that is down to zooplankton.
Prof Daniel J Mayor @oceanplankton
Millions of pounds is being spent globally to understand how exactly they store carbon.
Scientists were already aware that the zooplankton contributed to carbon storage in a daily process when the animals carbon-rich waste sinks to the deep ocean.
But what happened when the animals migrate in the Southern Ocean had not been quantified.
The latest research focussed on copepods, as well as other types of zooplankton called krill, and salps.
The creatures eat phytoplankton on the ocean surface which grow by transforming carbon dioxide into living matter through photosynthesis. This turns into fat in the zooplankton.
"Their fat is like a battery pack. When they spend the winter deep in the ocean, they just sit and slowly burn off this fat or carbon," explains Prof Daniel Mayor at University of Exeter, who was not part of the study.
"This releases carbon dioxide. Because of the way the oceans work, if you put carbon really deep down, it takes decades or even centuries for that CO2 to come out and contribute to atmospheric warming," he says.
Jennifer Freer
Dr Jennifer Freer analysed the zooplankton on board the Sir David Attenborough polar ship
The research team calculated that this process - called the seasonal vertical migration pump - transports 65 million tonnes of carbon annually to at least 500m below the ocean surface.
Of that, it found that copepods contribute the most, followed by krill and salps.
Plankton sampling often happens at midnight when the animals are closest to the ocean surface.
The latest research looked at data stretching back to the 1920s to quantify this carbon storage, also called carbon sequestration.
But the scientific discovery is ongoing as researchers seek to understand more details about the migration cycle.
Earlier this year, Dr Freer and Prof Mayor spent two months on the Sir David Attenborough polar research ship near the South Orkney island and South Georgia.
Using large nets the scientists caught zooplankton and brought the animals onboard.
"We worked in complete darkness under red light so we didn't disturb them," says Dr Freer.
"Others worked in rooms kept at 3-4C. You wear a lot of protection to stay there for hours at a time looking down the microscope," she adds.
Prof Daniel J Mayor @oceanplankton
Antarctic krill (50-60mm) with green guts showing they've recently eaten algae
But warming waters as well as commercial harvesting of krill could threaten the future of zooplankton.
"Climate change, disturbance to ocean layers and extreme weather are all threats," explains Prof Atkinson.
This could reduce the amount of zooplankton in Antarctica and limit the carbon stored in the deep ocean.
Krill fishing companies harvested almost half a million tonnes of krill in 2020, according to the UN.
It is permitted under international law, but has been criticised by environmental campaigners including in the recent David Attenborough Ocean documentary.
The scientists say their new findings should be incorporated into climate models that forecast how much our planet will warm.
"If this biological pump didn't exist, atmospheric CO2 levels would be roughly twice those as they are at the moment. So the oceans are doing a pretty good job of mopping up CO2 and getting rid of it," explains co-author Prof Angus Atkinson.
The research is published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.
The earliest records of Kolhapur sandals date back to the 12th Century.
The Western Indian town of Kolhapur has found itself in an unlikely global spotlight, as thousands of local artisans who hand-craft traditional leather footwear are mounting a collective attack on luxury fashion label Prada for plagiarising their designs without credit.
The rhythmic pounding of the hammer in 58-year-old Sadashiv Sanake's dimly lit workshop bears witness to the hard grind behind handcrafting the iconic Kolhapuri leather sandals.
"I learnt the craft as a child," he tells the BBC. A day's toil goes into making just "eight to 10 pairs" of these sandals he says, that retail at a modest $8-10
Barely 5,000 artisans in Kolhapur are still in the profession – a cottage industry that struggles to compete in a mechanised world, caught in the funk of dismal working conditions and low wages.
It's no surprise then that when Italian luxury brand Prada released a new line of footwear that bore a striking resemblance to the Kolhapuri sandals - but didn't mention the design origins - local artisans were up in arms.
Reuters
Prada's leather footwear at the Milan Fashion Week sparked a major controversy
The backlash was swift. Social media was flooded with accusations of cultural appropriation, prompting Prada to issue a statement acknowledging the sandals' roots.
Now local politicians and industry associations have thrown their weight behind the artisans who want better recognition of the craft and its cultural legacy.
Mr Sanake was not aware of Prada's show until the BBC showed him a video of it. When told that that the sandals could retail for hundreds of pounds in luxury markets, he scoffed. "Do they have gold in them?" he asked.
Prada hasn't revealed the price tag but its other sandals retail at between £600 to £1,000 in the UK as per its website.
Women try on Kolhapuri sandals at a store in Kolhapur
The earliest records of Kolhapur sandals date back to the 12th Century.
"These sandals were originally crafted by members of the marginalised Charmakar (cobbler) community, also known as chamars," said Kavita Gagrani, a history professor at the New College in Kolhapur.
Chamar is a pejorative caste term used to describe Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) who work with animal hides.
"But in the early 20th Century, the craft flourished when the then ruler of Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj granted royal patronage to this community," Ms Gagrani said.
Today, nearly 100,000 artisans across India are engaged in the trade with an industry worth over $200m, according to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA), a prominent industry trade group.
Yet, most of them continue to work in unorganised setups under dismal conditions.
"I was never educated. This is all I know, and I earn about $4-5 a day, depending on the number of orders," said 60-year-old Sunita Satpute.
Women like her play a critical role, particularly in engraving fine patterns by hand, but are not compensated fairly for their long hours of labour, she said.
That's why Sunita's children don't want to continue the craft.
A short distance away from her workshop lies Kolhapur's famous chappal gully, or sandal lane, a cluster of storefronts - many of them struggling to stay afloat.
"Leather has become very expensive and has pushed up our costs," said Anil Doipode, one of the first sellers to open a shop here.
Traditionally, artisans would use cow and buffalo hide to make these sandals. But since 2014, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, there have been several reports of vigilantes - self-appointed protesters or activists - cracking down on alleged cow slaughter, sometimes with physical violence. The cow is considered sacred by Hindus.
In 2015, Maharashtra state banned the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef, forcing artisans to rely on buffalo leather sourced from neighbouring states, pushing up their production costs.
Traditional sellers are also struggling to compete with synthetic copies flooding the market.
"Customers want cheaper sandals and can't always tell the difference," said Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a second-generation Kolhapuri sandal seller.
Women artisans engrave fine patterns in the leather sandals by hand
Industry experts say the controversy highlights the need for a better institutional framework to protect the rights of artisans.
In 2019, the Indian government had awarded Kolhapuri sandals the Geographical Indication (GI) - a mark of authenticity which protects its name and design within India, preventing unauthorised use by outsiders.
Globally, however, there is no binding law that stops other countries or brands from aesthetic imitation.
Aishwarya Sandeep, a Mumbai-based advocate, says that India could raise the issue at the World Trade Organization under its TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement, of which it is a signatory.
But the system is cumbersome, expensive and often lacks enforceability, both in India and abroad, she adds.
Lalit Gandhi, the president of MCCIA, says his organisation is planning to patent the Kolhapuri sandal design, hoping to create a legal precedent for future cases.
But some say real change can only happen when India starts seeing its traditional heritage in a different light.
"It's about ethical recognition. India must push for royalty-sharing and co-branding," says Ritu Beri, a renowned designer. "The more we take pride in our culture, the less we will be exploited."
Kolhapur is home to thousands of artisans who have been making these sandals for generations
Of course, this isn't the first time a global fashion brand has been accused of appropriating Indian handicrafts.
Many big labels have featured Indian fabrics and embroidery work with little to no artist collaboration. "Take Chikankari (a delicate hand-embroidery style from the northern Indian city of Lucknow), Ikat (a cloth-dyeing technique), mirror work; they've all been used repeatedly. The artisans remain invisible while brands profit from their inspiration," Ms Beri says.
Mr Gandhi, however, says that Prada's endorsement of Kolhapuri sandals could also be beneficial for artisans.
"Under their label, the value [of Kolhapuri sandals] is going to increase manifold," he says. "But we want some share of that profit to be passed on to artisans for their betterment."
Rohit Balkrishna Gavali, a sandal-seller in Kolhapur, agrees - he has already begun to see the difference.
"The design Prada used wasn't even very popular, but now people are asking for it, with clients from Dubai, the US and Qatar" placing orders, he says.
"Sometimes, controversy can help," he adds. "But it would be nice if it also brought respect and better prices for those keeping this tradition alive."
The issue is unlikely to die down soon.
For now, a plea has been filed in a high court, demanding Prada pay damages and compensation to artisans, along with a court-supervised collaboration between the luxury label and artisan associations.
Prada has told BBC in a statement that it is in talks with the MCCIA on this matter.
Mr Gandhi, its chief, says a meeting between the two sides is going to take place next week.
A Palestinian man looks at buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in al-Shati refugee camp, northern Gaza
Hamas says it is consulting other Palestinian groups before giving a formal response to the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US.
President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that expected to know within 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to the plan.
On Tuesday, Trump said Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the 20-month war.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip.
Local journalists reported hearing explosions and gunfire as Israeli helicopter gunships and artillery struck the southern Khan Younis area on Friday morning.
Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, the local Nasser hospital said.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but it did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".
In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.
Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially.
The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross.
It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza.
Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire.
The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one.
Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas.
The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week.
"We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday.
"One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."
Netanyahu meanwhile promised to secure the release of all the remaining hostages during a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Israel-Gaza border where a total of 76 residents were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war.
"I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them," he said. "We will bring them all back."
He did not, however, commit to ending the war. He has insisted that will not happen until the hostages are freed and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
British number one Emma Raducanu is out of Wimbledon after falling agonisingly short of top seed Aryna Sabalenka in a gripping third-round match on Centre Court.
Raducanu, 22, put the three-time Grand Slam champion - and clear title favourite - under extreme pressure before succumbing to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 defeat.
"Emma played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win," said 27-year-old Belarusian Sabalenka.
"I had to fight for every point to get this win."
Raducanu, ranked 40th in the world, played with clarity and confidence throughout most of a captivating contest on Centre Court.
Had the 2021 US Open champion served out the opening set at 6-5, or converted a set point in the tie-break, the momentum of the lead might have carried her to a notable victory.
However, the deficit proved too much to overturn - even though Raducanu broke to lead 4-1 in the second set.
The long rallies she needed to break down Sabalenka eventually took their toll and Raducanu began to look fatigued as the favourite fought back.
Sabalenka, who is aiming for a first SW19 title, goes on to face Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens in the fourth round on Sunday.