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Trump and Netanyahu meet for a second time amid Gaza ceasefire talks

Watch: The BBC asks about the Trump administration's vision for Gaza

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

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

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

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

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

The meeting of the two leaders lasted around two hours.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gemma Collins weight-loss drug advert banned

Getty Images Gemma Collins stands in a kitchen holding a cup of tea and smilingGetty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After Diddy: Why hip-hop is still struggling to have its own 'MeToo' moment

BBC A treated image showing Sean 'Diddy' Combs in black and white as he performs on stage, with smoke coming across the image BBC

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

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

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

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

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs attending a gala with Cassie. Both wear formal black outfits and look serious
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Ms Ventura's lawyer said that by coming forward, she had "brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit"

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

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

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

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

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

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

'A playbook that shields predators'

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

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

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

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

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs holding up a drink in celebration
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Combs' label, Bad Boy Records, was praised for creating jobs and making hip-hop more mainstream. He's said to be worth around $400m (£293m)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A mouthpiece for liberation and resistance

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

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

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

WATCH: Video shared with BBC - Sean "Diddy" Combs holds pool parties at his Miami mansion

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

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

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

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

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

Bryan Bedder/CP/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs at a white partyBryan Bedder/CP/Getty Images
Combs, 55, a multimillionaire music mogul, was credited with bringing rap into the mainstream and hosted 'White Parties'

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

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

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

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

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

The start of a reckoning?

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

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

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

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

Reuters Casandra "Cassie" Ventura cries on the stand in this courtroom sketch.Reuters
When Cassie Ventura filed her lawsuit, she faced online abuse and criticism from some within the hip-hop world
Reuters Sean "Diddy" Combs and his defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo in this courtroom sketch
Reuters
Combs faces more than 60 civil cases from men and women accusing him of drugging or assault. He denies all allegations

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

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

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

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

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

Getty Images Close up of Russell Simmons Getty Images
Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam, has been accused of sexual violence by more than 20 women since 2017. He denies all allegations

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

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

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

Backlash after speaking out

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

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

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

Mark Mainz/Getty Images Sean "Diddy" Combs in a suit and sunglasses, with a cigar in his mouth 
Mark Mainz/Getty Images
Combs still awaits sentencing following his recent trial

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

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

Slim Thug publicly apologised for his comments.

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

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

Getty Images Megan Thee Stallion wearing white stole pictured from behind on a red carpetGetty Images
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the foot in 2020, pictured at the Met Gala

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

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

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

'Some people look the other way'

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

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

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

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

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

Reuters Diddy wears sunglasses, necklaces and a black top with wide collarsReuters
The Combs verdict in itself is unlikely to lead to wider changes, according to Prof Lindsey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Additional reporting by Florence Freeman and Fiona Macdonald

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

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King and Macron toast 'ever closer' UK-France ties at state banquet

EPA King Charles and President Macron of FranceEPA
King Charles will be hosting President Macron in Windsor during the state visit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ex-Bangladesh leader authorised deadly crackdown, leaked audio suggests

AFP Students clash with the police during a protest in Dhaka on July 18, 2024AFP

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

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

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

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

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

Listen: Sheikh Hasina's leaked phone call recording

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

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

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

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

A protester holding a stick faces police lines in Dhaka in July 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Outside the UK, watch on YouTube

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

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

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

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

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

AFP People gather to see burnt Jatrabari police station as anti-government protestors set fire in Dhaka on August 6, 2024AFP
People gather to see burnt Jatrabari police station after anti-government protesters set fire to it last August

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jury-free trials recommended to save courts from 'collapse'

Getty Images Sir Brian Leveson wearing a periwig in his former role as Lord Justice Leveson in 2013Getty Images
Sir Brian Leveson, pictured wearing a periwig in his former role as Lord Justice Leveson in 2013, says the current "situation is simply unacceptable"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Radical change'

Not all lawyers agree with the suggested changes, however.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Among the recommendations are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More than 100 injured as wildfire rages near Marseille

Getty Images A fire currently burning in the hills north of Marseille, in the area of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, is producing thick smoke visible from the Vieux-Port. A large grey smoke cloud can be seen above orange-roofed buildings by the waterside, with small boats in the foreground.Getty Images
Smoke from the fire in the hills north of Marseille was visible from the city's Vieux-Port

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jota's car was probably speeding before fatal crash, Spanish police say

EPA/Shutterstock A Spanish worker wearing fluorescent yellow stands at the scene of the crash in Spain where Diogo Jota was killedEPA/Shutterstock
Tyre marks were analysed some distance from where the Lamborghini's tyre blew out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wildfire threatens Marseille as a thousand firefighters defend city

Getty Images A fire currently burning in the hills north of Marseille, in the area of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, is producing thick smoke visible from the Vieux-Port. A large grey smoke cloud can be seen above orange-roofed buildings by the waterside, with small boats in the foreground.Getty Images
Smoke from the fire in the hills north of Marseille was visible from the city's Vieux-Port

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

France and UK to stop small boats together, Macron says

PA Media A French rescue boat with crew members in orange uniforms and life jackets escorts a small, overcrowded inflatable boat. The inflatable boat is filled with people wearing life jackets, believed to be migrants, as it moves away from the French coast.PA Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Why small-time criminals burned a London warehouse for Russia's mercenary group Wagner

Metropolitan Police A security camera's view captured the fire at the warehouse as it licks towards the lorry in Leyton, east LondonMetropolitan Police
Security cameras captured the fire at the warehouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Metropolitan Police Mugshot photos side by side of Dylan Earl (left) and Jake Reeves (right)Metropolitan Police
Small-time drug dealer Dylan Earl contacted Jake Reeves via Telegram for the job

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

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

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

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

Metropolitan Police Mugshots of Nii Kojo Mensah (left) and Jakeem Rose (right) as he set the warehouse alightMetropolitan Police
Nii Kojo Mensah filmed Jakeem Rose as he set the warehouse alight

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was not a sophisticated attack.

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

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

Metropolitan Police A mugshot of Ugnius AsmenaMetropolitan Police
Ugnius Asmena was in the front passenger seat of the getaway car

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

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

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

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

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

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

Metropolitan Police A man pours a green jerry can while another films him on a phone at the side of a lorry - all captured on security cameraMetropolitan Police
Jakeem Rose was seen pouring petrol from a jerry can as Nii Mensah filmed him
Metropolitan Police A man uses a fire extinguisher attempting to put out the fire burning alongside a lorryMetropolitan Police
Yevhen Harasym left his bed to try and put out the fire

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

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

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

Metropolitan Police An image underneath a metal shutter shows a burnt out warehouseMetropolitan Police
Fire damage seen from one of the units

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

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

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

"How much tho?" Kash Money asked.

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

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

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

Russian 'billionaire'

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

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

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

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

A man with a beard and moustache smiles at the camera. He is in a wine shop with bottles behind him on the shelf
Evgeny Chichvarkin was never attacked but his shop was scouted out for a plot

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

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

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

Partisan cells

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Metropolitan Police Mugshot of Ashton EvansMetropolitan Police
Ashton Evans was a small-time drug dealer from South Wales

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

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

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

Eventually Privet Bot wrote back urging him to be patient.

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

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

Verdicts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steve Rosenberg: Russian minister's death serves as warning to political elite

EPA Roman Starovoit arrives at a meeting of President Putin with Venezuelan President Maduro at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 07 May 2025. EPA

It was a dramatic start to the week in Russia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Kremlin has said little about Starovoit's death.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Russian authorities have not confirmed that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alcaraz masterclass ends Norrie's Wimbledon hopes

Alcaraz masterclass ends Norrie's Wimbledon hopes

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his Wimbledon quarter-final win over Cameron NorrieImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Carlos Alcaraz has won 33 of the 36 Tour-level grass-court matches he has played

  • Published

Wimbledon 2025

Venue: All England Club Dates: 30 June-13 July

Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz produced a Wimbledon masterclass to end British hope Cameron Norrie's run and move into the semi-finals once again.

Second seed Alcaraz underlined why he is the tournament favourite with a scintillating 6-2 6-3 6-3 win.

The Spaniard will face Taylor Fritz - the American fifth seed bidding for a first major title - in the last four.

Fritz secured his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time with a 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) victory over Russia's Karen Khachanov.

Alcaraz is seeded behind Italian rival Jannik Sinner because of their respective world rankings, but his superior record on grass courts - and current hot streak - makes him the man to beat.

Victory over Norrie marked a 23rd win in a row for Alcaraz, who is bidding to become the fifth man to win three successive Wimbledon titles in the Open era.

"I'm really happy – to play another Wimbledon semi-final is super special," said Alcaraz, who secured victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

Norrie's defeat signals the end of British interest in the Wimbledon singles for another year.

But, when the dust settles on a brutally one-sided result, the 29-year-old left-hander will take positives from his run after a difficult 18 months.

After saving four break points in his opening service game, five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz quickly upped his level and wowed the Centre Court crowd with his all-court ability.

With Alcaraz serving strongly, hammering groundstrokes and moving elegantly around the court, 61st-ranked Norrie had little chance of causing a shock.

Norrie, who had been bidding to match his run to the last four in 2022, will regain his place in the world's top 50 when the ATP rankings are updated next week.

Norrie has no answer to Alcaraz

Many British tennis fans may have thought they would not see Norrie playing at this level again.

A forearm injury last year contributed to his ranking plummeting towards the bottom of the top 100 but, after soul-searching talks with his team after the Miami Open in March, he has rediscovered his form.

Since then, Norrie has reached the French Open fourth round before forging another deep Grand Slam run at Wimbledon.

Heading to party island Ibiza for a break is a strategy which has also served Alcaraz well.

Alcaraz plays at his fluent best when he is completely relaxed and barely thinking about the shots he is producing – although he can be prone to occasionally losing concentration.

He found the perfect balance against Norrie.

His deft touches at the net brought gasps of appreciation, and the explosive power and pinpoint accuracy of his baseline strokes were met by exhales of breath.

Norrie, simply, had no answer. Alcaraz lost just nine more points after seeing off the four break points and clinched the opening set after only 28 minutes.

Even when Norrie earned a break-back point at 3-2 in the second set, there was no mercy.

Alcaraz upped his serve and battered down three deliveries over 130mph to hold, breaking again to clinch the set and refusing to let his level drop in the third.

Fritz recovers to reach first Wimbledon semi-final

Taylor Fritz in action against Karen Khachanov at WimbledonImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Taylor Fritz is looking to go one better than his run to the final of last year's US Open

Fritz had to work hard to beat Khachanov, having looked on course to wrapping up the match in straight sets.

But things suddenly fell apart as he struggled to land his first serve while sending more shots beyond the baseline.

The 27-year-old then had a medical timeout to address some taping on his foot as he looked to avoid being taken to five sets for the third time in five matches at Wimbledon.

There was a bizarre incident at the start of the fourth set when a malfunction by the electronic line call system meant 'fault' was called during play, and the point was replayed.

But it didn't impact Fritz's return to form as he dug deep to come out on top of a tie-break.

"I'm feeling great to get through it," he said in his on-court interview.

"I've never had a match really just flip so quickly, so I'm really happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done.

"I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. Momentum was definitely not going to be on my side going into a fifth."

World number five Fritz is looking to end his country's long wait for a male Grand Slam winner, with Andy Roddick the last to achieve it with a 2003 US Open success.

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Former PM Rishi Sunak takes job at Goldman Sachs

Jeff Overs/BBC A medium close up shot of Rishi Sunak. He wears a white shirt and a blue tie.Jeff Overs/BBC

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined Goldman Sachs as a senior advisor.

Sunak, who resigned as PM in July 2024, will work part-time advising the bank's clients with his "unique perspectives and insights" on global politics and the economy, the company said.

He remains the Conservative MP for Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire.

Sunak previously worked at the bank as an analyst in the early 2000s before he entered politics.

Godman Sachs' chairman and chief executive David Solomon said he was "excited to welcome Rishi back" to the firm.

Alongside advising clients, Sunak will also "spend time with our people around the world, contributing to our culture of ongoing learning and development", Solomon said.

Sunak's salary will be donated to The Richmond Project, a charity he founded earlier this year alongside his wife Akshata Murty to try and improve numeracy across the UK.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which must sign off jobs taken by former ministers for two years after they leave office, said Sunak's new role presented a number of risks that Goldman Sachs could benefit from unfair access to information due to his time prime minister.

He will not be allowed to advise other governments or their sovereign wealth funds for the bank, or advise clients that he had direct dealings with while he was prime minister.

He also cannot lobby the UK government on behalf of the bank.

Acoba noted that Sunak previously spent 14 years working in the financial services sector before he became an MP, including at Goldman Sachs.

He first joined the bank as an intern in 2000, before working as an analyst from 2001 to 2004.

He later co-founded an international investment firm.

First elected as an MP in 2015, Sunak served as Boris Johnson's chancellor during the Covid pandemic.

He became a household name when announcing schemes such as furlough at pandemic-era press conferences.

His resignation as chancellor in July 2022 sparked the downfall of Johnson's government.

Following Liz Truss' brief spell in Number 10, Sunak became prime minister in October 2022. He held the role until July 2024, when he led the Conservatives to their biggest electoral defeat in history.

The job at Goldman Sachs is the latest role Sunak has taken since stepping down as prime minister.

In January he joined the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, as well as the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in the US. He is not paid for either of these roles.

He has however been paid more than £500,000 since April for giving three speaking engagements.

Former prime ministers often join speakers agencies to give talks to major companies or at dinner events.

Gregg Wallace sacked from MasterChef as 50 more people make claims to BBC News

BBC/Shine TV A head and shoulders shot of Gregg Wallace. He is wearing a white shirt and a red waistcoatBBC/Shine TV
Gregg Wallace has been one of the most high-profile presenters on British television for 20 years

Gregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter as a result of an inquiry into alleged misconduct, BBC News understands.

It comes as 50 more people have approached the BBC with fresh claims about the TV presenter - including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another. Wallace denies the claims.

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

In a lengthy statement on Instagram on Tuesday, Wallace claimed he had been cleared by that report of "the most serious and sensational allegations" made against him.

"I recognise that some of my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise without reservation. But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks," he wrote.

He accused BBC News of "uncorroborated tittle tattle" in its reporting.

BBC News has not seen the Banijay report.

For 20 years, Gregg Wallace has been one of the most high-profile presenters on British television and the face of BBC One cooking show MasterChef.

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

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

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

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

All names have been changed for this article.

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

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

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

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

Many of the women who spoke to us are young female freelancers.

They say they didn't feel able to complain about Wallace's behaviour at the time, fearing negative career repercussions.

'You're not being Jimmy Saviled'

Alice, however, told us she did raise concerns - but said they were dismissed.

She worked on MasterChef between 2011 and 2013 when she was in her 20s. At the time, the show was produced by Shine, a company now owned by Banijay.

She recalls an occasion when, she says, Wallace asked her into his dressing room, saying he needed help getting into a black-tie outfit.

He pushed her down onto a sofa, she says, pulled his trousers down and told her he wasn't wearing any underwear. Alice says she tried to avert her eyes.

She immediately reported what had happened, she says, but was told by a senior member of Shine's production team: "You're over 16, you're not being 'Jimmy Saviled'."

Alice says she felt let down by the company and was given the impression that, in a "lowly role as a production worker", she should just "be grateful and get on with it".

She has contributed to the Banijay inquiry, and says she hopes it leads to accountability.

Getty Images Gregg Wallace photographed in July 2023 at the 5th annual Boisdale Life Editor's Lunch & Awards at Boisdale of Canary Wharf, London. He is wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt and is standing in front of a well-stocked bar with various bottles of alcohol on shelves behind him.Getty Images
In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Wallace said the claims against him were "not all true" and he had felt "under attack"

The second woman who claims Wallace pulled his trousers down in front of her, Anna, worked on a photo shoot with him in 2012.

He took off his trousers when they were alone together in a dressing room area, she says, and she could see he was not wearing any underwear.

Anna says she looked away, but felt she could not do anything as she was holding his clothes for him to change into. She says he then got changed and she left shortly afterwards.

Throughout the shoot, as well as making lewd, sexually inappropriate comments, she says Wallace was very "touchy-feely". For instance, when she went on set to adjust the way his clothes looked, she says he would say, "Oh please do come in, I love it when you do that" and then grab her hips and squeeze her.

She says the whole experience made her feel "undermined".

Like the other women we spoke to, Anna says she felt she could not make a complaint because she was relatively junior and needed the job.

She is speaking up now because, she says, she was furious about Wallace's Instagram video last year, in which he claimed the allegations against him had come from "a handful of middle-class women of a certain age".

"Is he saying it was OK to behave that way with younger women, like I was at the time?" she says.

'A full-handed squeeze'

Sophie, another young worker on MasterChef, recalls being groped by the presenter at a wrap party at the end of the 2013 series.

At the time, the show was produced by Shine.

She says she was standing at the bar talking to Wallace and his co-host John Torode. As she was about to leave, she says: "Someone squeezed my bum, a full-handed squeeze. I turned around and it was Gregg."

It was done "covertly", Sophie says, so she doesn't think anyone else noticed, including Torode.

She says she did not pursue a complaint because she feared that being a junior member of the team, "chances were, I'd be booted off the production, and he may have only got a scalding".

Sophie has also contributed to the Banijay inquiry.

Several new allegations happened away from television - one of them in the mid-to-late 2000s in Nottingham during a book tour.

Publicist Esther describes an incident when she says Wallace pushed his way into her hotel room, took off his clothes, and then asked her: "Exactly what is it that you do?"

She says she was shocked and made it clear she was not interested, telling him: "That's not part of my job."

But rather than leaving the room, she says he climbed into her bed and fell asleep.

She didn't know what to do, she says, as she was worried that if she asked the hotel for another room, she would potentially attract negative publicity for Wallace. So she decided to sleep at the edge of the bed, with her clothes on.

When he woke up, says Esther, Wallace put his hand on her bottom and commented that she had a "nice arse". She says she told him to get out of her room, which he did.

Esther wishes she had made a formal complaint at the time, but says she did not because he was an important author, and she didn't want to rock the boat.

However, she has now contributed to the Banijay inquiry.

'It's not banter'

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

"To be clear, the Silkin's Report [sic] exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2008."

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

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

In the days after BBC News published its original investigation last November, Wallace re-posted comments on social media from former MasterChef contestants who said they had positive memories of working with him.

Some readers have also been in touch with us to defend Wallace, saying his alleged comments were just "jokes" and "banter".

But others disagree.

One of the men who contacted us was a cameraman who says he witnessed Wallace asking a female worker if she had "any friends with nice tits like yours".

The cameraman worked on the BBC show Eat Well For Less in 2016. The show was produced by RDF TV, which is part of the Banijay group.

He says he heard Wallace make a string of other inappropriate comments in full earshot of the production team, including asking one female director, who was gay, about her "lesbian clothing".

"It's not banter, it's not how you should behave in a professional workplace," says the cameraman.

Sophie - who says Wallace groped her - believes the presenter has been protected for too long.

"Gregg's time has come. But the most senior leadership who have clearly heard these testimonies over the years and not chosen to remove him sooner, should also resign," she says.

"And both them and the BBC should consider why a presenter being in post is more important than the wellbeing and treatment of the people making the series."

'Too many cultures of silence'

The allegations against Wallace last year kickstarted a nationwide discussion about workplace behaviour, with the culture secretary warning there were "too many cultures of silence".

Speaking to MPs in December, Lisa Nandy warned she was "prepared to take further action" if the media industry could not address claims of misconduct.

Human rights barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy, who chairs a new watchdog aimed at improving standards of behaviour in the creative industries, has told the BBC that, for freelancers, it can be difficult to speak up.

She says they may be afraid of losing work "if they are seen as being someone who's been a complainer, or who's raised issues, especially about stars".

Baroness Kennedy also warned there had been "multiple missed opportunities" to act on bad behaviour.

BBC News is aware of numerous occasions when complaints about Wallace were made. One, by the radio host Aasmah Mir, related to Celebrity MasterChef in 2017.

She told The Sunday Times last year that she had complained to Shine and later spoke to the BBC's Kate Phillips who was then controller for entertainment commissioning.

According to internal emails seen by the newspaper, Phillips told Wallace his behaviour had been "unacceptable and cannot continue".

Another complaint from a group of young workers just a year afterwards, concerned Wallace's time on the BBC show Impossible Celebrities, which is made by a different production company.

In a letter from 2018, seen by BBC News, Phillips wrote that she had spoken to Wallace for 90 minutes to make clear what the BBC expected of him. She confirmed in the letter that many aspects of his behaviour had been "unacceptable" and "unprofessional".

She also reassured workers on the programme that action would be taken "to prevent a similar reoccurrence and to safeguard others in the future".

Recent allegations

But further claims in the years after Phillips’ conversation with Wallace have since emerged.

One 19-year-old MasterChef worker says she flagged concerns about Wallace's comments about her body to a more senior member of the production staff in 2022, only to be told it was "just a joke". By this date, Banijay was the company responsible for the show.

A former police officer of 30 years also told us he had tried to report concerns to the BBC after, he says, he witnessed Wallace making inappropriate sexual comments at a charity event in 2023.

The former officer says he reached out via the BBC's online complaints portal and also tried to call by phone, but never heard back.

BBC News has been told that Kate Philips was unaware of any claims prior to 2017 or any of these subsequent claims.

A recent report into the BBC found that a small number of its stars and managers "behave unacceptably" at work, and that bosses often fail to tackle them.

In response, the broadcaster said it would introduce reforms, and its chairman Samir Shah said he would draw "a line in the sand".

We have repeatedly approached Wallace for an interview but he has not responded.

In April, he gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which he said the claims against him were "not all true" and that he had felt "under attack" and contemplated suicide.

He admitted that some of the inappropriate jokes were "probably true", saying: "Some of what's been said sounds like the sort of comments I'd have made."

But he insisted he had never groped any workers, calling those claims "absolutely not true".

PA Media John Torode and Grace Dent stand side by side in a kitchen setting in a publicity shot for Celebrity Masterchef. John is wearing a black jacket over a white shirt, while Grace is dressed in a blue outfit with short sleeves and tied cuffs. Behind them, there are shelves with various kitchen items and a large illuminated logo on the wall.PA Media
MasterChef co-host John Torode pictured with Grace Dent, who has stepped in to host the next series of Celebrity MasterChef

In response to the latest allegations, a spokesperson for Wallace said: "Gregg continues to co-operate fully with the ongoing Banijay UK review and as previously stated, denies engaging in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature."

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

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

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

Additional reporting by Insaf Abbas

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

Post Office scandal had 'disastrous' impact on victims, official inquiry says

Getty Images A group of sub-postmasters outside a courtGetty Images

The Post Office Horizon IT scandal had a "disastrous" impact on those wrongly accused and prosecuted for criminal offences, the first report from the official inquiry into the scandal has found.

Sir Wyn Williams' report has revealed the scale of the suffering caused to hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted over shortfalls in their branch accounts, as well as others affected.

Sir Wyn said at least 59 people contemplated suicide at various points, of whom 10 attempted to take their own lives, and more than 13 people may have killed themselves due to the scandal.

The Post Office apologised "unreservedly" and said it would carefully consider the report.

This first volume of Sir Wyn's report focuses on the human impact of the scandal, as well as issues around compensation.

Victims had divorced, suffered serious mental health issues and alcohol addiction as a result of their ordeals, the inquiry found.

"A number of persons said they could not sleep at night without drinking first. One postmistress said she 'went to rehab for eight months as the Post Office had turned her to drink to cope with the losses,'" Sir Wyn wrote.

The report makes a series of urgent recommendations, including:

  • free legal advice for claimants
  • compensation payments for close family members of those affected
  • a programme of restorative justice with Fujitsu, the Post Office and the government meeting individual victims directly

Sir Wyn also criticised the "formidable difficulties" around the delivery of financial redress for victims, which is currently organised around four different schemes.

Discussing one scheme, for those who experienced unexplained shortfalls related to Horizon but were not convicted, Sir Wyn says: "I am persuaded that in difficult and substantial claims, on too many occasions, the Post Office and its advisors have adopted an unnecessarily adversarial attitude towards making initial offers."

According to the report, 10,000 eligible people are currently claiming redress, and Sir Wyn expects that number to rise by "at least hundreds" over the coming months.

He called on the government to publicly define what is meant by "full and fair financial redress" and recommended changes to some of the schemes.

While Sir Wyn will look at how the scandal happened and who was responsible in a later report, in this first part, he said that he was satisfied that some employees of the Post Office and Fujitsu were aware, or should have been aware, that the Horizon software had "bugs, errors and defects" which could affect branch accounts.

Sir Wyn has asked the government to respond to his findings no later than October 2025.

The government said that some members of Horizon victim's families will be eligible for compensation.

Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said the scheme would be open "to close family members of existing Horizon claimants who themselves suffered personal injury – including psychological distress – because of their relative's suffering".

But he added that the government would need written evidence of that injury made at the time "other than in exceptional circumstances".

He said devising such a scheme "raises some very difficult issues".

"Nonetheless, we want to look after those family members who suffered most," he said.

A Post Office spokesperson said: "The Inquiry has brought to life the devastating stories of those impacted by the Horizon Scandal. Their experiences represent a shameful period in our history.

"Today, we apologise unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters and their loved ones. We will carefully consider the report and its recommendations."

The report also gave details of the some of the legal costs of the various compensation schemes so far.

Newly published government figures show the total legal costs paid for the "operational delivery of Horizon redress schemes" have risen to £100m.

For their work on the Horizon Shortfall Scheme up to 2 December 2024, law firm Herbert Smith Freehills were paid £67m by the Post Office.

Post Office campaigner and former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton said it was "just mad" that the government is "spending millions on lawyers to pull the claims apart" that they have paid for to be brought.

She said the report out on Tuesday was "huge" because it laid bare the scale of the suffering.

The investigations into who is culpable for that suffering will be "interesting", she adds.

Marseille firefighters 'waging war' on wildfire at city's edge, mayor says

Getty Images A fire currently burning in the hills north of Marseille, in the area of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, is producing thick smoke visible from the Vieux-Port. A large grey smoke cloud can be seen above orange-roofed buildings by the waterside, with small boats in the foreground.Getty Images
Smoke from the fire in the hills north of Marseille was visible from the city's Vieux-Port

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders for persecuting women and girls

EPA A girl with her hair covered with a white scarf hides her faces behind a reading book with a picture of two young boys on it. She is sitting with her back to a concrete wall in what appears to be a classroomEPA
Only girls under the age of 12 have been able to attend school since 2021

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two of the Taliban's top leaders, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan.

The Hague-based court said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani had committed a crime against humanity in their treatment of women and girls since seizing power in 2021.

In that time, they have implemented a series of restrictions, including on girls over 12 accessing education, and barring women from many jobs.

In response, the Taliban said it doesn't recognise the ICC, calling the warrant "a clear act of hostility" and an "insult to the beliefs of Muslims around the world".

There have also been restrictions on how far a woman can travel without a male chaperone, and decrees on them raising their voices in public.

In a statement, the ICC said that "while the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms".

The United Nations has previously described the restrictions as being tantamount to "gender apartheid".

The Taliban government has said it respects women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.

Akhundzada became the supreme commander of the Taliban in 2016, and has been leader of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since US-led forces left the country in August 2021. In the 1980s, he participated in Islamist groups fighting against the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.

Haqqani was a close associate of Taliban founder Mullah Omar and served as a negotiator on behalf of the Taliban during discussions with US representatives in 2020.

The ICC investigates and brings to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, intervening when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

However, it does not have its own police force and so relies on member states to carry out any arrests.

The prospect of warrants being issued for the two Taliban leaders was first raised in January, when the ICC's top prosecutor, Karim Khan, alleged they were "criminally responsible for persecuting Afghan girls and women, as well as persons whom the Taliban perceived as not conforming with their ideological expectations of gender identity or expression, and persons whom the Taliban perceived as allies of girls and women".

At the time, the Taliban's foreign ministry responded to the threat of arrests, saying the ICC had turned a blind eye to what it described as "numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by foreign forces and their local allies", referring to US-led forces present in the country before 2021.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the arrest warrants for the two Taliban leaders.

It called on the ICC "to extend the reach of justice to victims of other Taliban abuses, as well as victims of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province forces, former Afghan security forces and US personnel".

"Addressing cycles of violence and impunity in Afghanistan requires that victims of all perpetrators have equal access to justice," it said in a statement.

Exhausted, angry, heartbroken: Postmasters react as horror of scandal laid bare

Post Office scandal victims demand accountability

Victims of the Post Office scandal have been waiting years for justice.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted after the faulty Horizon computer system made it look like money was missing from their branch accounts.

Sir Wyn Williams has now published the first part of his report from the official inquiry into the scandal, focusing on the human impact as well as compensation.

Several former sub-postmasters travelled to the Oval cricket ground in London to see Sir Wyn deliver volume one of his report in person.

We spoke to some of those who were there, to hear about what impact the scandal had on their lives and to get their reactions to Sir Wyn's findings.

'I was 19. My life was over before it began'

Tracy Felstead

Tracy Felstead was just 19 when she was sentenced to six months in prison in 2002. She was wrongly accused of stealing £11,503 while working at Camberwell Green Post Office in London.

She had her conviction quashed at the Court of Appeal in 2021.

"Emotional" is how she says she felt on reading Sir Wyn's report, in which her personal story featured.

"It doesn't matter how much therapy I go through, how much compensation you give me - I'll never get that back," she says.

"This was my first job and obviously, my life was over before it began."

Even now, certain things "trigger the memory" of what she went through and "that trauma comes flooding back".

Tracy is still waiting for full and final compensation.

"My claim is in, but they come back with 101 questions that you have to try and answer," she says.

She hopes Sir Wyn's recommendations will be implemented, but more than anything wants to move on with her life.

"For me, to get up in the morning and not think about this would be the best thing ever.

'I feel heartbroken, angry, and happy'

Seema Misra

Seema Misra's story is one of the most well-known of the scandal. She was jailed in 2010 while pregnant after being accused of stealing £74,000 from her Post Office branch. She was sent to prison on the day of her eldest son's 10th birthday.

"I've got mixed emotions," she says, reflecting on the publication of the report. "I feel heartbroken, angry - and happy, too, that it's finally here."

There are several recommendations in the report on financial redress, which it described as having been "bedevilled with unjustifiable delays".

Seema says she's hopeful that compensation payouts will speed up as a result.

"When we started the fight... we didn't think it would take this long, at all. Hopefully now the government will listen and implement sooner rather than later," she says.

The Post Office issued an unreserved apology for "a shameful period in our history", but that doesn't mean much to Seema.

"I don't accept their apologies at all. Go behind bars and then I'll think."

'We are getting tired. It's exhausting'

Kathy McAlerney

Kathy McAlerney was a sub-postmistress in a small branch in the village of Litcham, in Northern Ireland.

Like others, unexplained shortfalls began appearing in her Horizon account.

Following an audit by the Post Office in 2007, she was suspended "on the spot" and pursued for years to pay back the money back, which, under the terms of her contract, she was liable to cover.

A year later, her contract was terminated. She was eight months pregnant with her fourth daughter at the time.

Her daughter is now 18 years old - and Kathy is still awaiting compensation.

Kathy came with her husband Patrick to see Sir Wyn deliver his report, which she really hopes will make a difference.

"We have been waiting so long. We've been waiting decades now. And we really just want to get to the point where we can put this behind us and move on with our lives.

"We are getting tired, you know. It's exhausting."

Report shows 'horror they unleashed on us'

Jo Hamilton

Post Office campaigner and former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton says the government is now under pressure "to get a grip on redress" because Sir Wyn Williams is "on it".

"They are under the cosh," she says.

When it comes to compensation, she says it is "just mad" that the government is "spending millions on lawyers to pull the claims apart" that they have paid for to be brought.

She says Tuesday's report is huge because it lays bare "the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us".

The investigations into who is culpable for that suffering will be "interesting", she adds.

'Stress has shortened my life considerably'

Sami Sabet

Sami Sabet was a successful businessman before deciding to leave the "rat race" and become a sub-postmaster for three post offices around Shoreham-by-Sea.

When he recognised shortfalls in his branch accounts in 2006, he contacted the Horizon helpdesk and spoke to regional managers about his problems, but was still prosecuted.

He ended up pleading guilty to fraud in 2009 to avoid prison, and received a suspended sentence. Even after his conviction was quashed in 2021, he says some of his neighbours still see him as a criminal.

Sami believes stress has "shortened my life considerably".

He has had a heart attack and during open heart surgery lost some of his peripheral vision.

He also suffered from depression, anxiety and panic attacks, and says his personality changed.

Sami says that although Sir Wyn's recommendations for compensation for more people are fair, there is a danger that could push compensation for him back even further.

"It has taken so long," he says.

Sami was awarded compensation for intangible damages, such as the negative effects on his health, but is still waiting for compensation for the loss of his money and businesses.

Five things we now know about the scandal

Getty Images A group of those affected by the Horizon IT issue hold a banner, as the first volume of a report from the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is announced at The Kia OvalGetty Images
People affected by the Horizon scandal gathered outside the Oval in London on Tuesday where the report was announced

The first report on the findings from an inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has been published.

It reveals for the first time the full extent of the suffering of sub-postmasters and others who were affected by being wrongly accused of stealing money and false accounting, based on incorrect data.

Here are five things we now know as a result.

1. Impact on lives was 'disastrous'

The inquiry heard many harrowing experiences from sub-postmasters who were incorrectly accused of theft and false accounting.

The report outlines how the scale of suffering was even greater than thought until now.

There had already been stories of two sub-postmasters taking their own lives due to the Horizon scandal – Michael Mann and Martin Griffiths.

The report says that more than 13 people may have taken their own lives due to the scandal.

Families have said that six sub-postmasters and seven people who were not sub-postmasters killed themselves, after Horizon showed "illusory" shortfalls in branch accounts.

Apart from this, at least 59 people told the inquiry they had contemplated suicide at various points, of whom 10 attempted to take their own lives.

One sub-postmaster told the inquiry: "The mental stress was so great for me that I had a mental breakdown and turned to alcohol as I sunk further into depression. I attempted suicide on several occasions and was admitted to mental health institutions twice."

In the report, inquiry chair Sir Wyn Williams described the impact on those affected as "disastrous", and said it was not easy to "exaggerate the trauma" that people went through being investigated and prosecuted.

Many sub-postmasters gave evidence of psychiatric and psychological problems that have "dogged them" and are still ongoing.

  • If you have been affected by the issues in this story the BBC Action Line features a list of organisations which are ready to provide support and advice.

2. Post Office knew its IT system had errors

A recurring question throughout the inquiry was: how much did the Post Office know that the Horizon data it was using to prosecute people was not accurate?

Sir Wyn is very robust in his initial response and says there will be more on this in the next volume of the report.

He says that senior and not so senior people in the Post Office "knew, or at the very least should have known, that legacy Horizon was capable of error" – legacy Horizon was the version in use until 2010.

"Yet, for all practical purposes, throughout the lifetime of legacy Horizon, the Post Office maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate."

After 2010, the next version of Horizon also contained "bugs, errors and defects".

Sir Wyn says: "I am satisfied that a number of employees of Fujitsu and the Post Office knew that this was so."

3. Post Office and Fujitsu behaved unacceptably

The report says many hundreds of people were wrongly convicted of criminal offences, and thousands were held responsible for losses that were illusory.

Just a reminder of the numbers: about 1,000 people were prosecuted, and only between 50 and 60 were not convicted.

Thousands of employees were suspended, and many later had their contracts terminated.

These people were victims of "wholly unacceptable behaviour" by individuals employed or associated with the Post Office and Fujitsu, and from time to time by the organisations themselves, Sir Wyn says.

4. Post Office was too adversarial on compensation

There have been a number of settlements and compensation schemes for sub-postmasters. While some have been satisfied by the level of compensation available, many who had more complex claims were not.

Sir Wyn says three of the compensation schemes have been "bedevilled with unjustifiable delays" and redress has not been delivered promptly.

Moreover, with difficult and substantial claims, "on too many occasions" the Post Office and its legal advisers had been "unnecessarily adversarial" in making initial offers for compensation, driving down the level of eventual financial settlements.

Sir Wyn recommends three things when it comes to compensation:

  • A mechanism to deliver redress "to persons who have been wronged by public bodies", should be established
  • Free legal advice should be extended to claimants on one of the schemes – the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.
  • Close family members of people who have "been most adversely affected by Horizon" should be compensated

Sir Wyn estimates that there are currently 10,000 eligible claimants in three compensation schemes, and that number is likely to rise by at least hundreds, if not more.

5. Post Office and Fujitsu told to meet victims

In addition, by 31 October this year the report says the government, Fujitsu and the Post Office should publish a report on a programme for restorative justice.

This is where people who have caused harm should be brought together with people who have suffered it "so they can discuss the impact, take responsibility, and work collaboratively to make amends".

Sir Wyn is calling on the government to consider his recommendations without delay.

Diogo Jota's car was likely speeding before fatal crash, Spanish police say

EPA/Shutterstock A Spanish worker wearing fluorescent yellow stands at the scene of the crash in Spain where Diogo Jota was killedEPA/Shutterstock
Tyre marks were analysed some distance from where the Lamborghini's tyre blew out

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK on loan after 900 years

Bayeux Museum A scene showing men in horses from the 70-metre Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, and is due to go on display in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum Bayeux Museum
It will be the first time that the tapestry has been shown in the UK since it was made, almost 1000 years ago

The Bayeux Tapestry is returning to the UK more than 900 years after its creation, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has confirmed.

The 70m-long masterpiece, which tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, will be loaned in a historic agreement to be signed between the French and British governments.

The huge embroidery - which is widely believed to have been created in Kent - will go on display at the British Museum in London.

In exchange, treasures including artefacts from the Anglo-Saxon burial mounds at Sutton Hoo and the 12th Century Lewis chess pieces will travel to museums in Normandy.

George Osborne, the British Museum's chair of trustees, told the BBC the exhibition "will be the blockbuster show of our generation" - like Tutankhamun and the Terracotta Warriors in the past.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to make the official announcement of the deal on Tuesday evening at Windsor Castle.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the loan "a symbol of our shared history with our friends in France, a relationship built over centuries and one that continues to endure".

The Trustees of the British Museum picture show an ornate iron helmet, dating to the early AD 600s, this outstanding burial clearly commemorated a leading figure of East Anglia, the local Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It may even have belonged to a king.
The Trustees of the British Museum
An ornate iron helmet is among the Sutton Hoo artefacts that will be loaned by the British Museum to museums in Normandy
The Trustees of the British Museum Images shows Lewis chess pieces, made of ivory from the 12th Century - on red & beige boardThe Trustees of the British Museum
The agreement will see the British Museum lend Lewis chess pieces to museums in Normandy

The Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed from September 2026 until July 2027, while its current home, the Bayeux Museum, is being renovated. The 1000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror is also in 2027.

A loan was first suggested in 2018 between President Macron and then-Prime Minister Theresa May. It's taken until 2025 for it to become a reality.

Bayeux Museum Photo shows A long section of the Bayeux Tapestry  which is shown in a darkened space in which only the artefact itself is lit.Bayeux Museum
The 70m-long Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings

The Bayeux Tapestry, which dates back to the 11th Century, charts a more contested time in Anglo-French relations, as Anglo Saxon dominance was replaced by Norman rule.

Although the final part of the embroidery is missing, it ends with the Anglo Saxons fleeing at the end of the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Its 58 scenes, 626 characters and 202 horses give an account of the medieval period in Normandy and England like no other, offering up not just information about military traditions but also the precious details of everyday life.

The work has inspired many through the centuries, including artist David Hockney whose Frieze depicting the cycle of the seasons in Normandy was influenced by the Bayeux Tapestry.

David Hockney/Getty Images David Hockney in checked suit and hat posing in front of his painting "A year in Normandy" -- colourful work showing landscape of Normandy in seasonsDavid Hockney/Getty Images
A Year in Normandy by David Hockney, pictured in 2021, was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry

The British Museum's director, Nicholas Cullinan, said: "This is exactly the kind of international partnership that I want us to champion and take part in: sharing the best of our collection as widely as possible - and in return displaying global treasures never seen here before."

Eagle-eyed watchers of the British Museum may view this latest announcement as offering a template for the ongoing discussions with the Greek government about the future of the Parthenon Sculptures.

The Parthenon Project, a group which lobbies for the return of the classical marble sculptures to Greece, have suggested what they term a "win-win" solution, with never before seen items from Greece brought to the British Museum in exchange for the Parthenon works.

Jeff Overs/BBC Picture shows section of contested Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Ottoman Greece to Britain by the seventh Earl of Elgin, and are now in the British MuseumJeff Overs/BBC
The contested Parthenon Sculptures are currently on display in the British Museum

Today's focus is closer to home and an exhibition that the British Museum expects will be one of its most popular ever, a once-in-a-generation show.

Every British schoolchild learns about King Harold, William the Conqueror and 1066.

As Osborne put it: "There is no other single item in British history that is so familiar, so studied in schools, so copied in art as the Bayeux Tapestry.

"Yet in almost 1,000 years it has never returned to these shores.

"Next year it will and many, many thousands of visitors, especially schoolchildren, will see it with their own eyes."

Monzo fined £21m after customers faked PM and King's addresses

Getty Images Police officer stands outside 10 Downing StreetGetty Images
Monzo did not check the "implausible" addresses of applications

Digital bank Monzo accepted customers claiming to live at 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace and even its own premises, an investigation has found.

A lack of address verification meant it failed to spot the "implausible" use of London landmarks on applications to open accounts.

Monzo was fined £21m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for its failures regarding anti-financial crime measures.

The bank said the regulator's findings related to problems of more than three years ago and vast improvements had since been made to its systems.

The FCA's investigation, which has taken a number of years, found Monzo took on customers using using PO boxes, foreign addresses with UK postcodes or "obviously implausible UK addresses, such as well-known London landmarks".

They included home of the UK Prime Minister 10 Downing Street, the Royal residence Buckingham Palace and its own business premises.

Getty Images General view of the front of Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial with a crowd of people on the steps in front.Getty Images
Buckingham Palace was one address used in an application

The lack of verification meant it took on risky customers who were based outside of the UK, and illustrated "how lacking Monzo's financial crime controls were", the regulator said.

It was one of a number of areas in which it failed to mitigate the risk of financial crime.

Monzo had grown rapidly, with the number of customers increasing almost tenfold from around 600,000 in 2018 to over 5.8 million in 2022. Many were attracted by its claims to be a digital pioneer. It has no physical branches.

However, the FCA said that Monzo's financial crime controls failed to keep pace with its customer and product growth.

Therese Chambers, FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said that banks were a vital line of defence in the fight against financial crime.

"They must have the systems in place to prevent the flow of ill-gotten gains into the financial system," she said.

"Monzo fell far short of what we, and society, expect."

'In the past'

TS Anil, chief executive of Monzo, said the FCA's findings "draw a line under issues that have been resolved and are firmly in the past" as improvements had now been made.

The bank was fined for its inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls between October 2018 and August 2020.

The FCA said it also repeatedly breached a requirement preventing it from opening accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022.

Mr Anil said that financial crime was an issue that affected the whole banking sector, but Monzo was "doing all that we can to stop it in its tracks".

Norman Tebbit, outspoken hero of the Conservative political right, dies aged 94

Getty Images Lord TebbitGetty Images

Norman Tebbit, who has died at the age of 94, was at the heart of Margaret Thatcher's political revolution.

He was a man whose philosophy of self-reliance formed the core of his political beliefs.

An able and conscientious politician, his plain speaking on immigration and Europe endeared him to the Tory faithful, and he was once spoken of as a possible party leader.

And while Lord Tebbit's uncompromising views often enraged his political opponents, he was unmoved by the less-than-flattering names they bestowed upon him.

Getty Images Norman Tebbit and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980sGetty Images
Norman Tebbit was at the heart of Margaret Thatcher's political revolution in the 1980s.

Norman Beresford Tebbit was born on 29 March 1931 in the working-class suburb of Ponders End in north London.

His father, a manager in a jewellery and pawnbroker's business, had progressed sufficiently in life to be buying his own house.

However, prosperity was not to last.

The manager's job disappeared in the economic depression, and the family moved to what became a series of short-term lets in Edmonton.

Tebbit's father found employment as a painter, although not before he had travelled the streets looking for work on a bicycle that was later became to become famous.

Norman Tebbitt Norman and Margaret Tebbit on their wedding day in 1956Norman Tebbitt
Norman and Margaret Tebbit on their wedding day in 1956

By the time the young Norman arrived at Edmonton County Grammar School, he had already developed his interest in Conservative politics.

"I felt you should be able to make your own fortune," he said. "You should be master of your own fate."

Leaving school at 16, he joined the Financial Times where, much to his annoyance, the operation of the closed shop forced him to join the print union, Natsopa.

After two years, he went to do his National Service with the RAF where he gained a commission as a Pilot Officer.

However, he decided that his political ambitions were not compatible with a service career so he left to sell advertising with a company run by a family friend.

PA Media Norman Tebbit as a BOAC pilotPA Media
As a pilots' union activist he was a thorn in the side of BOAC management

He had not lost his love of flying and he signed up with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as a part-time pilot.

He narrowly escaped death when his Meteor jet failed to take off and ploughed off the end of a runway in Cambridgeshire.

Trapped in the burning plane, Tebbit managed to force open the cockpit canopy. His aircraft was completely destroyed.

Sixty years later, doctors told him that he'd lived with a cardiac arrhythmia for most of his life. It was possible that he had slipped unconcious on the runway.

In 1953, he joined the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a pilot and, three years later, married a nurse called Margaret Daines.

For the next 17 years, he juggled his flying with a career as an activist for the British Airline Pilots' Association.

The man who would later be instrumental in tackling Britain's trade unions became a scourge of the airline's management.

Getty Images Norman Tebbit in front of a lorry with a Think British sloganGetty Images
Norman Tebbit first became an MP in 1970

The election of a Labour government in 1964 spurred him towards politics.

He was eventually selected as the Conservative candidate for Epping, a seat once held by Sir Winston Churchill.

He won his chance after giving a characteristically robust Tebbit speech.

It advocated selling off state-owned industries, trade union reform, immigration control and an attack on the so-called permissive society.

The seat then contained the Labour stronghold of Harlow, but an energetic campaign, coupled with the overconfidence of the sitting Labour MP, saw Tebbit victorious in 1970.

Getty Images Norman Tebbit driving a carGetty Images
Norman Tebbit rapidly became disillusioned with Sir Edward Heath's style of leadership

He quickly became disillusioned with Ted Heath's leadership.

Tebbit felt that the radical platform on which the Conservatives had won the election was being ignored, in favour of a more consensus style of politics.

But in 1972, he accepted a job as parliamentary private secretary to the minister of state for employment, the first rung on the ladder to ministerial office.

His new post was not to last long.

Angered by Heath's adoption of a prices and incomes policy - a clear breach of a manifesto promise - and his failure to curb union influence, Tebbit resigned from the government.

Getty Images Margaret Thatcher & Norman TebbitGetty Images
Norman Tebbit's appointment as Employment Secretary signalled a tougher approach to the Trade Unions

Three months later, the Conservatives were out of office.

Tebbit, now the member for the newly created seat of Chingford, would gain a reputation as a thorn in the side of Labour ministers.

In 1975, he clashed with the Employment Secretary Michael Foot over the government's failure to condemn the dismissal of six power station workers.

The men had refused to join a trade union following the imposition of a new closed shop agreement at the plant.

Tebbit revelled in his ability to get under the government's skin.

"I was quite amused to find that, as a maverick backbencher with no formal standing, I could lure ministers into wasting their time, and fire power, on such an unimportant target," he said.

Foot fired back, famously comparing Tebbit to a "semi-house-trained polecat" during a debate on parliamentary business.

PA Norman Tebbit at the 1985 Conservative ConferencePA
He became a favourite at Conservative Party conferences

When the Conservatives won the 1979 election, Margaret Thatcher appointed Tebbit as an under secretary of state at the Department of Trade.

Within 18 months, he was employment secretary, a move that signalled the government's intention to take a tough line on industrial relations.

In the autumn of 1981, with three million unemployed and with riots blighting a number of inner city areas, Tebbit made the speech for which he will always be remembered.

Addressing the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool, he strayed from his prepared text to remember how his father had reacted to his own unemployment.

"I grew up in the '30s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it."

The trade unions and the labour movement were outraged, claiming that Tebbit had told the unemployed to "get on your bike".

But the education secretary insisted his emphasis had been on condemning the riots.

Getty Images Norman and Margaret Tebbit in 1983Getty Images
Norman and Margaret Tebbit at the 1983 Conservative party conference. A year later, they were both badly injured in a terrorist attack

His 1982 Employment Act raised the level of compensation for workers dismissed for refusing to join a union.

It also made any closed shop agreement subject to regular ballots and removed the immunity of trade unions from civil action if they authorised illegal industrial action.

Tebbit later claimed that this was "my finest achievement in government".

In 1983, he became trade and industry secretary, following the resignation of Cecil Parkinson over an extra-marital affair.

During his tenure, he presided over the Thatcher government's privatisation programme and was instrumental in encouraging foreign investors to Britain, not least the establishment of a Nissan car plant.

But the IRA bomb which exploded in Brighton's Grand Hotel during the 1984 Conservative conference changed his life forever.

The Grand Hotel Brighton after the 1984 bomb
He and his wife were badly injured in the 1984 Brighton bombing

The attack killed five people and injured more than 30 others. He and his wife were trapped under tons of debris.

They laid together, holding hands, waiting for help. Tebbit gave Margaret a message to give to their children, in case he died.

He was left with a broken shoulder blade, fractured vertebrae, a cracked collar bone and needing plastic surgery - but was back at his desk within three months.

Margaret was less fortunate.

As a result of her injuries, she remained paralysed and faced months of hospital treatment. She returned home in a wheelchair and the Tebbits' domestic life had to adapt accordingly.

Getty Images Norman Tebbit celebrates the Conservative party's 1987 election victory, watched by Margaret and Denis ThatcherGetty Images
Norman Tebbit celebrates the Conservative party's 1987 election victory, watched by Margaret and Denis Thatcher

Following a cabinet reshuffle in the autumn of 1985, he left the DTI to become Conservative Party chairman.

He threw himself into rebuilding a moribund organisation, launching a membership drive and preparing the party for the next election.

Tebbit used the 1986 Conservative conference to launch an election campaign in all but name, under the slogan, The Next Move Forward.

Margaret Thatcher's popularity rating was beginning to slide, and some commentators began talking about the succession.

Polls suggested that Norman Tebbit might be a popular choice in a future leadership contest, which made relations with the prime minister difficult.

In the end, the 1987 election resulted in a Conservative landslide.

Getty Images Norman Tebbit at the 1992 Conservative party conferenceGetty Images
Lord Tebbit became a powerful voice of euro-scepticism from outside the House of Commons

Tebbit left the cabinet after the election to look after his wife. But his ability to create controversy had not deserted him.

In 1990, he suggested that a test of the willingness of ethic minorities in Britain to assimilate was to see if they supported the England cricket team or the side from their country of origin.

He turned down an invitation from Thatcher to return to the government as education secretary, but steadfastly supported her when her leadership was challenged and she was eventually forced from office.

He decided not to seek election in 1992, and was created a life peer as Baron Tebbit of Chingford.

Norman & Margaret Tebbit
He devoted many years to looking after his wife

He was not content to sit quietly in the Lords.

He embarrassed new Prime Minister John Major with a show-stopping appearance during the 1992 party conference debate on Europe, when he lambasted the decision to sign the Maastricht Treaty.

He later criticised the Conservative Party's move to a moderate, right of centre position, saying this allowed UKIP to hoover up the political right.

In 2009, he published The Game Cook which instructed readers on the best way to cook game, after his local butcher told him that none of his customers knew how to prepare a pheasant.

Having campaigned for Brexit, he grew impatient with Theresa May's negotiations with Brussels - accusing the government of "thinking of nothing but the rights of foreigners".

Getty Images Lord Tebbit calls to somebody in the crowd after Lady Thatcher's funeral in 2013Getty Images
Lord Tebbit calls to somebody in the crowd after Lady Thatcher's funeral in 2013

In 2020, his wife Margaret died, having suffered from Lewy Body Dementia.

Two years later, he made his final appearance in the House of Lords, after a 52-year parliamentary career.

Lord Tebbit's working-class credentials and dry Conservative ideology made him an influential figure throughout the Thatcher years and beyond.

The satirical puppet show, Spitting Image, portrayed him as a leather-clad bovver boy, the enforcer of the Iron Lady's doctrine.

He believed that homosexuals should not have senior cabinet posts, thought foreign aid fuelled corruption, and that too many immigrants fail to integrate.

He helped move the Conservative party from one-nation centrism under Sir Edward Heath, to a position where it favours a small state, controlled immigration and life outside the European Union.

One academic commented: "Although Thatcherism was the political creed of Essex Man, it was Norman Tebbit who was perhaps the public face or voice of Essex Man, and articulated his views and prejudices."

Best pictures from French President Macron's UK state visit

PA Media King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron talk during a carriage procession to Windsor Castle.PA Media
King Charles III and President Emmanuel Macron were seen chatting during a carriage procession to Windsor Castle

The French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are visiting the UK on a three-day state.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are hosting the Macrons in Windsor, where crowds have cheered a carriage procession and there have been other displays of pageantry.

The French couple were earlier greeted by Prince William and Catherine as they touched down at RAF Northolt.

Later, the president will address Parliament and meet UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with the pair expected to discuss how to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

Below are some of the best pictures from the first day of the visit.

You can also follow events live here.

PA Media French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are welcomed by the Prince and Princess of Wales.PA Media
President Macron (left) and his wife Brigitte (centre right) were welcomed by the Prince and Princess of Wales after flying to RAF Northolt in London
Reuters The French presidential couple is greeted by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor.Reuters
In Windsor, the French presidential couple were later greeted by the King and Queen
WPA Pool/Getty Images Queen Camilla (right) and Brigitte Macron are seen during a carriage procession to Windsor Castle.WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Queen (right) and Brigitte Macron were riding in a separate carriage to their partners
Reuters Queen Camilla, King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte stand in a white gazebo as they watch the Guard of Honour, made up of men dressed in red tunics and black bearskin caps, in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Reuters
The King and Queen and their guests then reviewed the Guard of Honour at the historic grounds of Windsor Castle
Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron and King Charles inspect the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle.Reuters
President Macron and King Charles then personally inspected the guardsmen
Anadolu via Getty Images Princess of Wales Catherine and Prince of Wales William wave to crowds as they sit in a carriage.Anadolu via Getty Images
Princess of Wales Catherine and Prince of Wales William also took part in the welcoming procession in Windsor Castle
Reuters Members of the Scots Guards, men dressed in red tunics and black bearskin caps, march while holding ceremonial black rifles to their shoulders.Reuters
Preparations were in full swing since early morning in Windsor, where the main events are taking place on day one of the state visit
AFP via Getty Images A young boy is seen behind a window which has his hands and the hands of other young people sticking out of a gap at the bottom of it while waving the red, white and blue flag of France.AFP via Getty Images
Well-wishers in Windsor greeted the French presidential couple by waving tricolour flags
Reuters UK and French flags draped on posts straddle a road which dozens of police officers walk down.Reuters
UK and French flags have been flying around Windsor for the occasion
PA Media Queen Camilla, King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte view items laid out on a table that are obscured from view by two open cases which contain the items.PA Media
The two couples viewed items on display at the Royal Collection exhibition at Windsor Castle
PA Media Two cases which lay open on a table contain volumes of books while on book is left opened with the title "The Tempest" clearly seen on one page.PA Media
The items included a copy of Comedies, histories and tragedies, London 1632, by William Shakespeare

Lorde: Obsessing about my weight stopped my creativity

Getty Images Lorde on stage at Glastonbury. The singer, lit in a red light, wears a white T-shirt, her arms by her side. Her dark hair is worn loose and messy. She looks over her left shoulder towards the crowd. Getty Images
Lorde debuted her new album Virgin with a surprise set at Glastonbury the day it was released

With her new album going straight to number one in the UK, it's difficult to imagine that just two years ago Lorde was thinking about never making music again.

"At the beginning of 2023 I was not in a great way on a lot of levels," the singer says.

"I'd never felt more disconnected from my creativity."

Speaking to Radio 1's Jack Saunders, Lorde, real name Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, says an eating disorder took over her life.

"All I was thinking about was trying to weigh as little as possible," she says.

"Going to sleep thinking about food, waking up thinking about food and exercise - that was my creative pursuit."

But after a period of recovery, she says, her creativity came flooding back.

Virgin, which the New Zealander released on 27 June, is Lorde's fourth album and her most personal to date.

"It was hard, it was scary," she says about writing it. "Some songs aren't easy."

"I made a lot of changes and really put my artistry front and centre and made that my full-time job and I got a lot of stuff out of the way."

'You don't have time to faff in pop'

Lorde debuted the album with a surprise set at Glastonbury on the day of its release.

"I hadn't been on a stage on my own like that for years," she says, adding that she was "a bag of dust" after her appearance.

The Green Light singer previously told Radio 1 how her collab with Charli XCX last year had encouraged her to be more vulnerable in her music.

As well as eating and body image, Virgin tackles her relationship with her mum, the end of a long-term relationship and gender identity.

"These subjects are not the easiest to shoehorn into a three-and-a-half minute song," says Lorde.

"The cool challenge about pop songs is you don't have time to faff – you've got to cut out all but the strongest nuggets of a story.

"You're just forced to go no filler.

"Some songs I had to keep rewriting to be brave enough to say it."

Getty Images Lorde at the Met Gala in New York. The singer wears a grey-blue silk blazer over a backless bandeau top and tight skirt. Her dark hair is pulled back in a plait and she wears a simple make-up. Getty Images
The singer-songwriter says exploring gender identity has "really changed things" for her

On exploring her gender identity, Lorde says she felt "so trapped and so tight in this very kind of straight-ahead femininity."

Her journey "started pretty basic," she says, "just realising I can't just have women's clothes on a photo shoot – I need everything so I can choose".

"Because some days that will feel so tight and I'll feel so trapped.

"The same with my make-up. I say to people now just treat it like male grooming – don't overcook it.

"Because the same thing happens, I get all stuck and tight and I can't express myself."

Lorde previously said her Met Gala look - inspired by a cummerbund, or waistband, traditionally worn by men - was a hint to where she was "gender-wise".

While she hasn't "landed anywhere" in terms of defining her gender identity, exploring it "has really, really, changed things," she says.

"I feel a lot more expansive, a lot bigger and my definition of what's beautiful is really different now.

"I think it will just keep unfurling and I'm down for that."

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The teenage wildcard fuelling England's Euro 2025 hopes

Agyemang can 'bring something different' to help England

Michelle Agyemang playing against FranceImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Michelle Agyemang spent this season on loan at Brighton from Arsenal

England teenager Michelle Agyemang has only played 14 minutes of senior international football - but has already made an impression.

It took her just 41 seconds to score a stunning volley on her debut in April, before being voted the best performing player by BBC Sport readers after coming on in the 86th minute in England's Euro 2025 defeat by France on Saturday.

"It's easy to look at the time and think there's not enough left. That's the beauty of the game. It only takes 10 seconds to make an impact," said Agyemang.

No England player had more touches in the opposition box (five) than Agyemang in her four-minute cameo on Saturday.

The 19-year-old was Sarina Wiegman's wildcard for Euro 2025 and despite a damaging start in that 2-1 loss to France, Agyemang has provided a spark.

"Going into any game, most players will say they get nervous and I do feel that sometimes," said Agyemang.

"But when there's not much going your way, it can actually be more beneficial. You can just take the game by the scruff of the neck.

"That's how I felt the other day and on another day it could have been three points for us.

"To be here in the first place is more than enough for me. Everyone wants to do the best they can, whether they are starting or not. As long as I'm helping the team, that's my main ambition."

'She's got something about her'

When Wiegman named Agyemang in the squad, she said the Arsenal forward could "bring something different" and she hoped she could show it in Switzerland.

She impressed on loan at Brighton this season and Agyemang has been on Wiegman's radar for a few years, having progressed through England's youth teams.

Agyemang appears calm in front of the cameras and mature beyond her years - but on the pitch she causes chaos.

"I remember the first time she played because she flattened me in training. I was too slow on [the ball]," England captain Leah Williamson said last month.

"I gave her a bit of stick about it, but in my head I thought: 'You need to move the ball quicker, because she's got something about her.'

"My first impression was that she let me know she was there, which I love."

Agyemang wants to be a "unique player" and is striving for consistency, wanting to make an impact "from minute one to the end".

She takes inspiration from club-mate Alessia Russo and Chelsea forward Lauren James, who is "one of the most technically gifted players" she has seen.

But there is one trait Agyemang is already becoming known for - her strength.

"She just runs into people and bodies them because she's so strong," said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze.

"She's so sweet and unassuming as a person, but then on the pitch she's probably one of my favourites to play against because I can run into her dead hard!

"She likes to give it back. She's been told [by Wiegman] that she needs to go a little bit easier but I said: 'No, just keep it up Micha, I prefer it, it makes it harder for us.'"

'There's fire in the belly'

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Stanway wants to 'put things right'

Agyemang's rise has been so rapid she has had to adapt to increased scrutiny and settle in quickly to life as a senior international.

She is embracing media duties, learning how to "engage" but also understanding "what message I'm putting across".

Agyemang concedes the step up from youth football has been a "big shock" but she vows to be ready when called up if England need her again at Euro 2025.

"Most of the pressure comes from myself. I don't try to listen to the noise. I appreciate the support from everyone," she added.

"Just focusing on how I can improve my game and how I can help the team is my most important thing.

"All of us on the bench know that we could be called upon any time and we have gone through scenarios. It could be anyone at any time."

England may need her on Wednesday as they fight to stay in the competition when they face 2017 champions the Netherlands at 17:00 BST, live on BBC One.

The Netherlands have won two of the last three meetings with England - but the Lionesses have never lost back-to-back matches under Wiegman.

There may be "no crisis", according to midfielder Georgia Stanway, but pressure is on after England's disappointing display against France.

"There's fire in the belly. You can see [in training] that everyone's willing to go and get the result that we need in the next game," said Agyemang.

"We still want to win the tournament and that result doesn't necessarily change anything. There's still something that we're going after, which is the trophy."

PM making progress with France on small boats, says No 10

PA Media A French rescue boat with crew members in orange uniforms and life jackets escorts a small, overcrowded inflatable boat. The inflatable boat is filled with people wearing life jackets, believed to be migrants, as it moves away from the French coast.PA Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Three men guilty of arson attack on London warehouse on behalf of Russian mercenary group

London Fire Brigade Image shows a fire at an industrial estate in Leyton, LondonLondon Fire Brigade
Damage caused by a fire at an industrial unit in Leyton

Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Jakeem Rose, 23, Ugnius Asmena, 20, Nii Mensah, 23, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of being recruited to set fire to the industrial unit which sent aid and internet satellite equipment.

The attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, and Jake Reeves, 23, who had already admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group - which the UK government named as a proscribed terrorist group.

Around £1 million-worth of damage was caused in the arson attack on the warehouse in in Leyton, east London, on 20 March last year, the trial at the Old Bailey heard.

A fourth man, Paul English, 61, was found not guilty of being recruited to set fire to the warehouse and obtaining money from a foreign intelligence service.

Mensah and Rose were captured on CCTV and the livestreamed video as they set the warehouse on fire before they made off.

Eight fire engines were called to the Cromwell Industrial Estate after it broke out shortly before midnight on 20 March 2024.

On the night of the attack, the jury heard a lorry driver parked nearby had bravely but unsuccessfully attempted to put out the fire.

Earl is the first person to be convicted under the National Security Act, passed by parliament in 2023, to deal with the increased risk of hostile state activity.

The court heard he used the messaging app Telegram to communicate with the Wagner Group.

A fifth man, Ashton Evans was found guilty on Tuesday of one count of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts, but cleared on another.

A sixth man, Dmitrijus Paulauskas was found not guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.

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