Families in the UK say they are angry at the decision by prosecutors not to charge a Canadian man who is alleged to have sold a lethal chemical linked to the deaths of 73 British people.

The father of one of those who died told the BBC that Kenneth Law had caused "devastation" and that he wanted Law to face charges in the UK.

Law, a former chef, is expected to admit 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada when he appears in court in Ontario later on Friday.

Prosecutors there say he marketed and sold lethal quantities of a substance online, which he sent to about 1,200 people around the world.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Canadian legal system will take the losses of UK families into account.

A letter from the CPS, seen by the BBC, said Law would not face charges in the UK because of legal complexities.

David Parfett's 22 year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law.

"Tom was somebody who really saw the joy in life. He would find humour in the weirdest places. I often think about his laugh," Parfett said.

"Tom was a massive football fan and he was a good footballer as well. I miss the opportunity to enjoy the 2026 World Cup with him."

Parfett said: "I had wanted Law to face charges in the UK... he really needed to face justice over here."

Parfett is calling on the UK government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths.

"I think that a public inquiry is needed because we need action across multiple government departments and unfortunately, we are not seeing that coordination and that understanding of how to address the problem today," he said.

"Fundamentally, the government is failing in its duty to protect life."

The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.

Law was charged with 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada and 14 counts of second degree murder following his arrest in 2023.

His capture followed a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.

British detectives were initially investigating whether 88 deaths were linked to Law's chemical packages, but in its letter to UK families, the CPS said it believed 73 deaths could be linked to Law and that he was expected to accept sending 330 packages to the UK.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, details of organisations offering information are available at BBC Action Line.

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, the country's defence ministry said early on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people.

The drone crashed in the eastern city of Galati as Russia carried out attacks in Ukraine near the border, the ministry said in a statement.

The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, causing a fire on the 10th floor of the residential building.

Russian drones have strayed across the border of the Nato member country a number of times during the four-year war with Ukraine, but this was the first time citizens from Romania had been hurt. Russia has yet to comment on the incident.

"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," Romania's foreign ministry said, adding Bucharest had informed the Nato secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".

The emergency services said two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions and around 70 people were evacuated as the fire was put out.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.

"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.

The River Danube nearby forms the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian ports are regularly targets of Russian air attacks.

In an incident in April, another Russian drone caused material damage in Galati, but no injuries.

Romania's defence ministry says that since the start of the war in Ukraine, drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions, 12 of them this year alone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, a nationwide air raid alert was also issued overnight in Ukraine, where officials in the south of the country said the port of Izmail in the Odesa region came under drone attack early on Friday.

And in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, three utility workers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

A fourth man was seriously injured in the incident, Denis Pushilin said on the Telegram messaging app.

Four top UK chefs and restaurant owners have urged the government to cut VAT for restaurants and pubs as they warned working in the hospitality industry was the "hardest it has ever been".

Tom Kerridge, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ravneet Gill and Simon Rogan told BBC Newsnight VAT should be slashed to 10% to ease pressure on businesses and bring rates closer to levels across Europe.

"We're not making any money whatsoever, and we're just keeping our heads above water," warned Rogan, while Kerridge said the government was getting taxation on businesses "very, very wrong".

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden acknowledged the government had "asked business to contribute more", adding "we help them where we can".

He said the government was lobbied about tax cuts "all the time", but there was a cost attached.

"The chancellor has to make these decisions in the round, netting off all of these demands against the increasing expenditure demands that government also faces by people every day saying 'why can't you spend more on this or this'," McFadden added.

But Ottolenghi, who has 11 restaurants, cafes and delis, described the situation was "crippling" - not just for his own business, but for others running bakeries, cafes, and pubs.

"Every pound that we take, a substantial amount of it just goes to the government for a different taxation," he said.

The call from the famous chefs follows a tough few years for the hospitality industry. The height of the Covid pandemic brought trade to a halt before energy prices soared due to the war in Ukraine and pushed up costs across the board with little respite since.

Customers hit by the cost of living have also cut back on spending, especially on dining out recently.

While various support packages, such as the pandemic-era Eat Out to Help Out scheme and previous VAT relief provided a temporary a boost, three hospitality businesses have gone under every day since the start of 2026, according to the industry body UK Hospitality.

Value added tax, or VAT, is the tax people have to pay when buying goods or services. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%.

The rate, which applies to UK hospitality businesses, is the second highest in Europe behind Denmark, according to UK Hospitality.

It has repeatedly argued for VAT to be lowered near to rates seen in Germany (7%), Ireland (9%), France (10%), Italy (10%) and Spain (10%).

Kerridge, who runs five restaurants and pubs, said there were "so many different factors" driving costs up and eroding margins, including government policy decisions such as higher rates of National Insurance for employers, business rates and the minimum wage.

The Labour party supporter claimed the industry had reached a "peak point" where businesses could no longer pass on price increased to customers. "It just doesn't work because it will stop people coming out."

Pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill, who opened her first restaurant a year ago, said she "never imagined it would be this tough", especially the expense when it came to employing people.

Rogan, who has nine Michelin stars across his restaurant group in the UK, Malta and Hong Kong, agreed it was expensive to take on staff, but said VAT was "a killer".

Kerridge and his fellow chefs indicated they supported the rise in the minimum wage, but argued a VAT cut from 20% to 10% for the sector would "allow operators to breathe" and also reinvest.

He claimed it was about "survival" for the industry rather than passing on the cut to customers through cheaper prices.

"Don't look at us as having profit is a dirty thing," added Gill.

"We're not going on fancy yachts and driving expensive cars. We are doing it so we can regenerate our areas that we're in, employ more people."

Last week, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on various attractionsover the summer holidays, which included children's meals in restaurants and cafes.

But Gill said she believed the policy was a "a very poor attempt at trying to offer something to hospitality and quite frankly it will lead to loopholes, fraud, misuse and no genuine good".

'Cutting employment costs can help young people'

Hospitality businesses such as restaurants, cafes and pubs often offer the first experience of work for many young people, with the industry employing 28% of all 18 to 20-year-olds, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

However, those openings are disappearing: on Thursday, a damning report found job opportunities for young people were shrinking, with its author, former Labour minister Alan Milburn, saying the UK was "at risk of a lost generation".

The review came as official figures revealed more than one million young people were not in education, employment or training - the highest level in more than 12 years.

Following Milburn's report, the government said it was creating 300,000 work experience and training placements in sectors including construction, health and social care and hospitality.

Treasury minister Torsten Bell told the BBC's Today programme that the rates of employing aged 18 to 25-year-olds were "exactly the same as when we took office in 2024", but admitted higher taxes was having an impact.

The figures add to growing concerns over the number of young people not being able to secure a job in the UK.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said the solution to the problem was to reduce the cost of employment for businesses.

"The government needs to make it economically beneficial to employ young people once again."

Rogan said when "when restaurants are under pressure," "investing in youngsters and sustainability, they're the first two things that fall by the wayside."

Food author Ottolenghi said there should be a public debate about "what we're losing" through restaurants closing.

"The risk for me is if those go... we're just going to kind of become a society where people sit around at home, look at screens and never interact with each other.

"We end up as an industry taking so much of the burden and government lays on more taxes. Those could come down quite easily for us because we employ all these young people and we give them skills."

Just over three-quarters of first class letters, or 75.7%, were delivered on time by Royal Mail in the year to the end of March, far off its target of 93%.

The latest quality-of-service report reflects the postal firm's performance under its new private owner, Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group, whose takeover was approved by shareholders at the end of April last year.

Meanwhile, only 90.2% of second class letters were delivered within three working days against a target of 98.5%.

Royal Mail said its service was improving and that it was on track to hit new reduced targets - of 90% for first class delivery and 95% for second class - by this time next year.

Chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson said: "We're putting significant investment into improving reliability and reaching these new delivery targets, but delivering lasting change across a network of this scale takes time."

The firm said it was investing £500m over the next five years as part of its improvement plan.

The postal service has faced years of criticism from politicians and the public over the slowness of its letter delivery.

It has been six years since the institution last met its letter delivery targets for second class post and ten years since it last met its letter delivery targets for first class post.

Its performance slumped during the Covid-19 pandemic and has failed to fully recover since.

In October last year, the regulator Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21m for missing the targets - the third-largest fine ever imposed by the communications watchdog.

Royal Mail was also fined in 2023 and 2024 for poor performance.

In February this year, postal workers told the BBC that some letters had been sitting undelivered for weeks and that they had been told to prioritise parcel delivery instead as it is more profitable.

Royal Mail executives were hauled in front of a parliamentary select committee in March to respond to the claims.

Kretinsky told MPs at the meeting that he was "deeply sorry for any letter that arrives late".

In response to the allegation that parcels were being prioritised, he said: "I have never heard any instruction or discussion, and have not participated in any exchange, that would sanction that Royal Mail is prioritising parcels over letters."

Improvement plan

Reacting to Friday's performance figures, Citizens Advice policy director Tom MacInnes said poor performance at Royal Mail was "business as usual".

"What's worse, Royal Mail claims people will have to wait another year until it can meet its new, lower delivery targets," he added.

As part of its improvment plan, Royal Mail has given part-time postal workers the option to work longer hours.

It has also agreed a plan with Ofcom to scrap second class delivery on Saturdays as part of its new model.

Ofcom has also reduced Royal Mail's letter delivery targets. Since April this year, the service has been measured against a new lower target: 90% of first class letters must arrive by the next working day and 95% of second class letters must be delivered within three days.

Ofcom said that "maintaining the current targets – which are more stretching than comparable European countries – would carry higher costs which would need to be recovered through higher prices".

Kemi Badenoch has told former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair to "not waste your time" trying to convince the Labour government to change course.

The Conservative Party leader said Sir Tony was right to ask Labour MPs to focus on a "proper political project that increases our economic and military strength".

But Badenoch claimed there was "only one show in town" to deliver this, as she advised the Labour grandee to vote Conservative at the next general election.

Her letter follows Sir Tony's 5,600 word essay that argued Sir Keir Starmer's government had no "coherent plan" for the country and had introduced policies that held back business. The prime minister has defended his decisions.

Badenoch's open letter published in The Times is the latest contribution to the debate over Labour's future, which has seen essays and opinion pieces published by key Labour figures.

Sir Tony's initial intervention came as Sir Keir faces a potential leadership challenge following a poor set of election results and ministerial resignations.

Badenoch said those vying to replace Sir Keir "will be no better".

She also criticised some of Sir Tony's record in government, including on devolution and the impact of legal reforms on migration.

She said: "The Blairite legacy is that the entire country is now run by HR as Labour junk your best ideas and champion your worst.

"So you're right: we need problem-solvers. It's why I trained as an engineer and later, why I came into politics. I know that real problem-solving starts with diagnosing the root cause. It means facing the facts as they are, not as we wish them to be.

"Well, Tony surely now you must accept that the facts of life are Conservative. There is only one show in town for the political project you proposed."

Badenoch said Sir Tony's essay failed to address the "question of who we are as a nation", adding "culture matters" and "we are more than a series of economic units working to deliver growth".

After she criticised other political parties, Badenoch told Sir Tony: "Don't expect Labour to change. Don't waste your time with these essays."

She added: "If you want serious change at the next election my advice to you - as it is to everyone who is sick of Starmerism - is to vote Conservative."

Sir Tony, who won three general elections, had argued a change of Labour leader was "irrelevant if it doesn't start with a policy debate".

He agreed with some of the government's policies but he offered suggestions for change, including removing parts of the net-zero agenda "which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy" and reforming welfare.

The former PM said Labour must remove obstacles to business growth, take action to tackle illegal immigration and harness artificial AI.

He called for the party to champion the "radical centre".

Sir Keir delivered a near-3,000 word riposte to Sir Tony on Thursday, in which he said he had made the right policy choices given the backdrop he inherited.

He acknowledged Labour's early decision to restrict winter fuel payments, on which it eventually U-turned, had been a "mistake", and that it had "asked a lot" of businesses by hiking the amount of National Insurance tax they pay.

But he said the party had "got the big political choices right", pointing to falls in migration, NHS waiting times, and knife crime, whilst arguing the UK was "outperforming our peers" economically.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor who is seeking a return to the Commons, accused Sir Tony of underestimating the impact of inequality in his critique.

Both men are considered potential Labour leadership challengers to Sir Keir, although no formal contest has been launched and the PM has said he would not "walk away".

Burnham is seeking to become an MP again on 18 June in the Makerfield by-election, on the outskirts of Wigan, in what is expected to be a closely-fought contest with Reform UK's Robert Kenyon.

You can see a full list of the candidates standing in the Makerfield by-election here.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

A Greek national has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service linked to Iran.

Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, was charged on Friday under the National Security Act after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London.

The Met said Aidinidis is accused of helping an intelligence service "believed to be Iran" by "targeting of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International".

Aidinidis, who lives in Munich, Germany, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' court on Friday.

He has been in custody since his arrest in West Sussex on 16 May.

"We know this may cause concern for many people here in the UK, and particularly those working in Persian-language media," Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, said.

She added that the force was providing advice and security support to a number of organisations and individuals, including "the specific individual and organisation linked to this investigation".

Police said there was not believed to be a wider threat to the public.

In April, three people were charged over an attempted arson attack on the offices of Iran International in north-west London.

An Islamist group with possible links to Iran - Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya - claimed responsibility for the attack. The claim has not been substantiated.

In a statement last month, Iran International said it had been subject to a "campaign of transnational intimidation aimed at silencing independent journalism".

Families in the UK say they are angry at the decision by prosecutors not to charge a Canadian man who is alleged to have sold a lethal chemical linked to the deaths of 73 British people.

The father of one of those who died told the BBC that Kenneth Law had caused "devastation" and that he wanted Law to face charges in the UK.

Law, a former chef, is expected to admit 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada when he appears in court in Ontario later on Friday.

Prosecutors there say he marketed and sold lethal quantities of a substance online, which he sent to about 1,200 people around the world.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Canadian legal system will take the losses of UK families into account.

A letter from the CPS, seen by the BBC, said Law would not face charges in the UK because of legal complexities.

David Parfett's 22 year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law.

"Tom was somebody who really saw the joy in life. He would find humour in the weirdest places. I often think about his laugh," Parfett said.

"Tom was a massive football fan and he was a good footballer as well. I miss the opportunity to enjoy the 2026 World Cup with him."

Parfett said: "I had wanted Law to face charges in the UK... he really needed to face justice over here."

Parfett is calling on the UK government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths.

"I think that a public inquiry is needed because we need action across multiple government departments and unfortunately, we are not seeing that coordination and that understanding of how to address the problem today," he said.

"Fundamentally, the government is failing in its duty to protect life."

The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.

Law was charged with 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada and 14 counts of second degree murder following his arrest in 2023.

His capture followed a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.

British detectives were initially investigating whether 88 deaths were linked to Law's chemical packages, but in its letter to UK families, the CPS said it believed 73 deaths could be linked to Law and that he was expected to accept sending 330 packages to the UK.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, details of organisations offering information are available at BBC Action Line.

Three people, including a child, have died after falling from a high-rise block of flats in south London, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Emergency services were called to Churchyard Row in Elephant and Castle at 07:29 BST on Wednesday following reports that people had fallen from height.

The Met said officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service, London's Air Ambulance and the London Fire Brigade.

A man, a woman and a child were found at the scene. Despite attempts by emergency crews to resuscitate them, all three were pronounced dead.

Police said the deaths were being treated as unexpected and that no other injuries had been reported.

Work is under way to formally identify those who died.

Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Just over three-quarters of first class letters, or 75.7%, were delivered on time by Royal Mail in the year to the end of March, far off its target of 93%.

The latest quality-of-service report reflects the postal firm's performance under its new private owner, Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group, whose takeover was approved by shareholders at the end of April last year.

Meanwhile, only 90.2% of second class letters were delivered within three working days against a target of 98.5%.

Royal Mail said its service was improving and that it was on track to hit new reduced targets - of 90% for first class delivery and 95% for second class - by this time next year.

Chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson said: "We're putting significant investment into improving reliability and reaching these new delivery targets, but delivering lasting change across a network of this scale takes time."

The firm said it was investing £500m over the next five years as part of its improvement plan.

The postal service has faced years of criticism from politicians and the public over the slowness of its letter delivery.

It has been six years since the institution last met its letter delivery targets for second class post and ten years since it last met its letter delivery targets for first class post.

Its performance slumped during the Covid-19 pandemic and has failed to fully recover since.

In October last year, the regulator Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21m for missing the targets - the third-largest fine ever imposed by the communications watchdog.

Royal Mail was also fined in 2023 and 2024 for poor performance.

In February this year, postal workers told the BBC that some letters had been sitting undelivered for weeks and that they had been told to prioritise parcel delivery instead as it is more profitable.

Royal Mail executives were hauled in front of a parliamentary select committee in March to respond to the claims.

Kretinsky told MPs at the meeting that he was "deeply sorry for any letter that arrives late".

In response to the allegation that parcels were being prioritised, he said: "I have never heard any instruction or discussion, and have not participated in any exchange, that would sanction that Royal Mail is prioritising parcels over letters."

Improvement plan

Reacting to Friday's performance figures, Citizens Advice policy director Tom MacInnes said poor performance at Royal Mail was "business as usual".

"What's worse, Royal Mail claims people will have to wait another year until it can meet its new, lower delivery targets," he added.

As part of its improvment plan, Royal Mail has given part-time postal workers the option to work longer hours.

It has also agreed a plan with Ofcom to scrap second class delivery on Saturdays as part of its new model.

Ofcom has also reduced Royal Mail's letter delivery targets. Since April this year, the service has been measured against a new lower target: 90% of first class letters must arrive by the next working day and 95% of second class letters must be delivered within three days.

Ofcom said that "maintaining the current targets – which are more stretching than comparable European countries – would carry higher costs which would need to be recovered through higher prices".

The fireball that lit up the sky over Florida's Kennedy Space Centre last night has put a big question mark over whether Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin can deliver on a string of commitments to Nasa in its efforts to send astronauts to the lunar surface and build a Moon base.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded at about 21:00 local time during a routine test of its engines.

The 98m (322ft) rocket had been due to launch 48 satellites for Amazon's Leo broadband network, as early as 4 June.

The explosion is obviously a big setback for the Leo network, which is struggling to be the main competitor for Elon Musk's SpaceX and its Starlink service. But the ramifications will go much further.

The good news was that no-one was injured, despite the spectacular explosion.

"All personnel are accounted for and safe," Bezos wrote on X. "Very rough day, but we'll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It's worth it."

But the blast which tore through Space Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) has caused extensive damage. Footage shows one of the pad's lightning protection towers toppling in the aftermath.

LC-36 is the only facility in the world built to launch the New Glenn rocket. That means that until the launch pad is rebuilt and re-certified, Blue Origin has no way to fly its largest rocket - and analysts expect that to take months, not weeks.

The setback comes just days after Nasa's administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced the first three missions of the agency's plans to build a lunar base - a project he billed as the start of a "permanent presence" at the Moon's south pole.

The first, Moon Base 1, is due to be flown on Blue Origin's robotic Blue Moon Mark 1 "Endurance" lander, and is targeted for launch no earlier than autumn 2026.

It is intended to carry two Nasa science payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge and demonstrate the precision-landing techniques needed to keep future crewed landings safe.

But the lander was to ride to the Moon on top of a New Glenn - the same type of rocket that is now scattered across LC-36 - raising immediate doubts as to whether that timetable is now possible.

Earlier this week, Nasa also handed Blue Origin a contract worth up to $468m to deliver two commercial lunar terrain vehicles, built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, to the Moon's south pole by 2028.

Those rovers are meant to be in place before astronauts arrive. Nasa has set a target date of 2028 for a crewed landing, though that date had been questioned even before last night's explosion.

The destroyed rocket had been due to deploy a batch of 48 satellites for Amazon's Leo broadband constellation - the network formerly known as Project Kuiper which is designed to challenge Elon Musk's Starlink.

Just over 300 Amazon Leo satellites are currently in orbit, all of them lifted by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Arianespace rather than by Blue Origin itself.

The gap between Leo and Starlink - which has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit - is now a serious commercial problem for Bezos' group.

Under its US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licence, Amazon is required to have half of its 3,236-satellite constellation in orbit by 30 July 2026.

As of late May, the company was already more than 1,300 satellites short of that target, with delays blamed in part on "launch vehicle availability" from Blue Origin and other providers.

With New Glenn now expected to be grounded for months, Amazon will be even more dependent on its rivals - chief among them SpaceX - to keep its rollout alive, and is almost certain to need a fresh extension to its timetable from the FCC.

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, responded on X to footage of the blast saying only: "Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard."

More problems

Nasa's next crewed Moon mission, Artemis III, is scheduled to launch next year and is designed to be a low earth orbit flight test of two commercial lunar landers - built by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

Until the explosion, Blue Origin was seen as the more prepared of the two. Its Mark 1 demonstrator was already in final stacking in Florida, while SpaceX's Starship has yet to complete a successful in-space propellant transfer.

All this leaves Nasa's plan to land astronauts back to the Moon by 2028 and to build a Moon base there with several problems which will inevitably now lead to delays.

The lander test for Artemis III depends on the same rocket family, and the Moon Base rover deliveries are contractually tied to New Glenn.

Meanwhile, China is forging ahead with its own plans to land its astronauts on the Moon by 2030, leaving Nasa without much room for manoeuvre.

Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman responded to the latest setback on X: "Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult."

But Isaacman's drive to push Nasa's Moon programme to a more ambitious frequency of launches is now seriously in doubt after last night's setback.

Four top UK chefs and restaurant owners have urged the government to cut VAT for restaurants and pubs as they warned working in the hospitality industry was the "hardest it has ever been".

Tom Kerridge, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ravneet Gill and Simon Rogan told BBC Newsnight VAT should be slashed to 10% to ease pressure on businesses and bring rates closer to levels across Europe.

"We're not making any money whatsoever, and we're just keeping our heads above water," warned Rogan, while Kerridge said the government was getting taxation on businesses "very, very wrong".

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden acknowledged the government had "asked business to contribute more", adding "we help them where we can".

He said the government was lobbied about tax cuts "all the time", but there was a cost attached.

"The chancellor has to make these decisions in the round, netting off all of these demands against the increasing expenditure demands that government also faces by people every day saying 'why can't you spend more on this or this'," McFadden added.

But Ottolenghi, who has 11 restaurants, cafes and delis, described the situation was "crippling" - not just for his own business, but for others running bakeries, cafes, and pubs.

"Every pound that we take, a substantial amount of it just goes to the government for a different taxation," he said.

The call from the famous chefs follows a tough few years for the hospitality industry. The height of the Covid pandemic brought trade to a halt before energy prices soared due to the war in Ukraine and pushed up costs across the board with little respite since.

Customers hit by the cost of living have also cut back on spending, especially on dining out recently.

While various support packages, such as the pandemic-era Eat Out to Help Out scheme and previous VAT relief provided a temporary a boost, three hospitality businesses have gone under every day since the start of 2026, according to the industry body UK Hospitality.

Value added tax, or VAT, is the tax people have to pay when buying goods or services. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%.

The rate, which applies to UK hospitality businesses, is the second highest in Europe behind Denmark, according to UK Hospitality.

It has repeatedly argued for VAT to be lowered near to rates seen in Germany (7%), Ireland (9%), France (10%), Italy (10%) and Spain (10%).

Kerridge, who runs five restaurants and pubs, said there were "so many different factors" driving costs up and eroding margins, including government policy decisions such as higher rates of National Insurance for employers, business rates and the minimum wage.

The Labour party supporter claimed the industry had reached a "peak point" where businesses could no longer pass on price increased to customers. "It just doesn't work because it will stop people coming out."

Pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill, who opened her first restaurant a year ago, said she "never imagined it would be this tough", especially the expense when it came to employing people.

Rogan, who has nine Michelin stars across his restaurant group in the UK, Malta and Hong Kong, agreed it was expensive to take on staff, but said VAT was "a killer".

Kerridge and his fellow chefs indicated they supported the rise in the minimum wage, but argued a VAT cut from 20% to 10% for the sector would "allow operators to breathe" and also reinvest.

He claimed it was about "survival" for the industry rather than passing on the cut to customers through cheaper prices.

"Don't look at us as having profit is a dirty thing," added Gill.

"We're not going on fancy yachts and driving expensive cars. We are doing it so we can regenerate our areas that we're in, employ more people."

Last week, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on various attractionsover the summer holidays, which included children's meals in restaurants and cafes.

But Gill said she believed the policy was a "a very poor attempt at trying to offer something to hospitality and quite frankly it will lead to loopholes, fraud, misuse and no genuine good".

'Cutting employment costs can help young people'

Hospitality businesses such as restaurants, cafes and pubs often offer the first experience of work for many young people, with the industry employing 28% of all 18 to 20-year-olds, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

However, those openings are disappearing: on Thursday, a damning report found job opportunities for young people were shrinking, with its author, former Labour minister Alan Milburn, saying the UK was "at risk of a lost generation".

The review came as official figures revealed more than one million young people were not in education, employment or training - the highest level in more than 12 years.

Following Milburn's report, the government said it was creating 300,000 work experience and training placements in sectors including construction, health and social care and hospitality.

Treasury minister Torsten Bell told the BBC's Today programme that the rates of employing aged 18 to 25-year-olds were "exactly the same as when we took office in 2024", but admitted higher taxes was having an impact.

The figures add to growing concerns over the number of young people not being able to secure a job in the UK.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said the solution to the problem was to reduce the cost of employment for businesses.

"The government needs to make it economically beneficial to employ young people once again."

Rogan said when "when restaurants are under pressure," "investing in youngsters and sustainability, they're the first two things that fall by the wayside."

Food author Ottolenghi said there should be a public debate about "what we're losing" through restaurants closing.

"The risk for me is if those go... we're just going to kind of become a society where people sit around at home, look at screens and never interact with each other.

"We end up as an industry taking so much of the burden and government lays on more taxes. Those could come down quite easily for us because we employ all these young people and we give them skills."

An inquest has opened into the deaths of three sisters in the sea off Brighton beach.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, from the Uxbridge area of London, died on 13 May in what police called a "terrible tragedy".

At the inquest at Brighton & Hove Coroner's Court on Friday, senior coroner Penelope Schofield offered her condolences to their father, who attended via a remote link.

"It must be a difficult day for your family," she said.

An investigation by Sussex Police into how the three came to be in the water is ongoing.

Officers were satisfied there was no third-party involvement in their deaths, the court heard.

The three women's recorded cause of death is yet to be ascertained, the court was also told.

Schofield said she hoped the inquest "stops the social media speculation" around how they died.

The court heard Adetoro's body was brought by the RNLI to shore, where emergency services were in attendance. She was declared dead at the scene.

Christina Walters' body was also recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat. She was taken to the RNLI lifeboat station at Brighton Marina and pronounced deceased.

The body of the younger sister washed ashore near the Black Rock.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Two men accused of assaulting a police officer in a brawl at Manchester Airport will not face a second retrial.

The Crown Prosecution Service has said it will not be ordering a further hearing for Muhammad Amaad, 26, and Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, after two previous juries at Liverpool Crown Court failed to reach verdicts.

The pair had denied assaulting Greater Manchester PC Zachary Marsden at the car park pay station area of terminal two on 23 July 2024.

Amaaz had previously been convicted by another jury of assaulting two female officers, PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook, and a Starbucks customer during the same alleged incident. He will be sentenced on 26 June.

Amaaz appeared via videolink from prison while Amaad sat with his lawyers in the court as prosecutor Paul Greaney KC outlined the reasoning for not applying for a second retrial.

He said the law was clear in that there would be a "presumption and expectation" that there are no third trials save for "exceptional circumstances".

Judge Neil Flewitt KC directed that verdicts of not guilty be recorded against the two defendants.

Greaney said: "The Crown's assessment is that while the count on the indictment is serious and the case has attracted significant public interest, it cannot be properly described as one of extreme gravity."

He said the matter had been considered at the "highest level".

Last week, a second jury was discharged after deliberating for nearly 20 hours following a five-week trial.

The jurors had been advised they could reach a majority verdict but were discharged after failing to do so.

The court had heard police approached the two brothers after an earlier incident at a coffee shop.

Footage shared on social media and shown to the jury later showed a widespread disturbance.

Both men denied the charge and said they acted in lawful self-defence, or in defence of the other.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) remains ongoing into the use of force by Greater Manchester Police officers.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said: "Whilst disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, we respect the findings of the court and accept the outcome of the jury's thoughtful deliberations.

"We are cognisant of the ongoing IOPC investigation into the conduct of our officers.

"It is vital that officers get the respect and support they deserve for routinely putting themselves in harm's way to protect the public.

"We will continue to cooperate fully with this investigation, and we look forward to its conclusion in due course."

The IOPC said their investigation was at an "advanced stage".

"New evidence came to our attention in October 2025 and, there are now additional lines of inquiry for us to explore before we can finalise our decisions," a spokesman said.

"IOPC investigators are now working through various strands of investigative material before any decisions are made on the next steps.

"We will continue to keep the relevant parties updated as we work to conclude matters as swiftly as possible."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

Whether it's the arm swings of Zara Larsson's Lush Life or the geometric shapes of the PinkPantheress song Girl Like Me, chances are you've seen - and maybe even tried - the dance routines.

Videos of fans copying the moves to hits from both artists have racked up millions of views online.

But what makes sequences like this go viral?

According to one choreographer to the stars, the best move is "often the first thing that comes out".

Luam Keflezgy has created routines for greats including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland and now also the history-making PinkPantheress.

She spoke to BBC Newsbeat ahead of PinkPantheress headlining Alexandra Palace on Friday night.

The 25-year-old artist has recently released the music video for Girl Like Me, a single from her British-themed album, Fancy That.

The video features some notable British imagery including royal foot soldiers, London Underground signs and Mini Coopers.

But it's the symmetry and striking sequencing - choreographed by Keflezgy - that has been going viral.

"My goal when I put on the music is let me do the coolest shapes in the sassiest of ways," she says.

Keflezgy posted her first ever TikTok at the start of May - a backstage video of PinkPantheress dancing to the song which now has 2.5 million views.

"The dance, the video was about to release the next day," she says.

"There wasn't much material out there on it yet."

She explains that it's important to try and tell a good story which resonates with fans.

For Girl Like Me, PinkPantheress wanted the piece to have a canon sequence, Keflezgy says, which is where dancers perform the same movement but in a staggered way.

"In different sequences you can see the differences. In each step the geometry should be beautiful."

Keflezgy adds the Brit Award winner was "very intentional and involved" in building the dance to create a connection with fans.

It's been a similar connection in the past year for Zara Larsson's hit Lush Life.

While it was first released in 2016, the tune's had a new lease of life partly down to a fresh dance routine associated with the song.

The rhythmic arm swings and hip circles that have now gone viral weren't in the original music video - but have now spread everywhere thanks to the creative touch of choreographer Lola Beckers.

Beckers has been working on the Swedish star's Midnight Sun tour, and she told Dutch media last year that she came up with the routine "on the spot in the studio".

"The dancers and I had a lot of fun," said Beckers, adding: "That enthusiasm is palpable."

Larsson, 28, told the BBC she's found it "fun that more people are coming into my world".

The Lush Life section of Larsson's tour performances have now become hotly anticipated, with fans getting picked to perform the routine alongside the popstar.

Kayleigh Sloat was the chosen one at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend - something she described as "surreal".

"I wanted to share the moment with Zara," the 20-year-old says.

She feels that stars have a responsibility to build relationships through their performances.

"It's important for artists to actually try and involve the fans because it makes people want to go to the shows."

While the the Girl Like Me and Lush Life routines have been created by dancers, it has become increasingly common for fans to make up their own dance moves.

In the case of Charli XCX's 2024 hit Apple, a fan came up with her own dance, which then sparked a cultural phenomenon.

Artists are clearly capitalising from such viral moments - but girl group Flo say authenticity remains important.

In the video for their song Leak It, the trio of Jorja Douglas, Renée Downer and Stella Quaresma perform a high-energy routine, which has also popped up across social media and contributed to the track's chart success.

"You can't predict virality," Douglas tells Newsbeat.

"You just have to be really confident with what you put out."

Social media expert Vicky Owens feels people are "doing it because it's relevant, it's fun".

The 26-year-old runs an agency called Socially Speaking Media, which works on helping clients go viral.

But she feels things aren't always as organic as they seem.

"When artists bring out a song, they'll definitely have their teams behind them saying 'this needs to go viral'," says Owens.

"And then it's usually the fans or individual dance pages that will make something up and it'll really take off."

For Keflezgy, people are joining in because they "need community".

"We're separated so much now," she says.

She also believes the industry is waking up to how dance routines can contribute to the success of a song.

"I remember saying: 'Hey, choreographers, we're the new DJs, trust us, just give us your music, I promise we'll spread it'."

And despite dance changing over the years, from television to YouTube to platforms like TikTok, "the DNA is the same", says Keflezgy.

"Connect to your audience, tell the story, have a good time and look confident."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Hollie Allan, 29, is in a hospital lift being transferred out of intensive care for the first time in two months. She's heading upwards, towards a new outdoor ward on the roof of the hospital.

"Brace yourself for the cold!" say the nurses crowded into the lift around her bed. As the doors open, sunshine hits Hollie's face.

She brightens into a smile, then tears come. "I'm sorry, it's so nice. It's so beautiful," she says wiping her eyes. "I forgot what it feels like to be outside."

Still in her hospital bed, connected to feeding tubes and life support, Hollie is the first patient to try out the new intensive care rooftop ward at King's College Hospital in south London.

The first of its kind in the UK, the outdoor ward has enough space for six patients, who can be connected to power and oxygen supplies housed in a waterproof box next to each bed.

The canopy design means that some of the most seriously ill patients can be cared for safely outdoors, with all the support they need.

Exposure to fresh air and nature can boost patient wellbeing and reduce time spent in hospital, research suggests.

Hospital gardens have been around for some time for that reason - but they are rarely able to meet the needs of critically ill patients.

Doctors at King's say there could be huge benefits for these patients who've been in hospital for extended periods.

They now plan to monitor patients' heart rates, respiratory rates and pain levels, to see if the outdoor rooftop ward helps them recover more quickly.

Hollie, who is waiting for a vital heart operation, had been too ill to go outside even before she was admitted to hospital.

Her long stay in intensive care has affected her deeply.

"When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life. You get tired of fighting."

The new rooftop garden has been integrated into the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit, one of the largest in the country.

Hollie could spend several hours on the outdoor ward at a time, depending on the weather.

"Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely," Hollie says.

'Ripped from reality'

Some of the bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.

Dr Phil Hopkins, intensive care consultant at King's, says feeling the natural elements is part of helping patients readjust when they've been "ripped from their reality" and institutionalised in hospital.

"We don't just want to save lives," he says. "We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can."

Hopkins and his team will monitor patients closely to check on the impact of spending time outside - but they are not the only ones who could benefit.

Intensive care staff will also be able to access the rooftop space during breaks, which managers hope will offer them some respite too.

'Changes the way they breathe'

"It's the antithesis of a hospital ward," says garden designer Sarah Price. She devised the rooftop planting with her colleague landscape architect Nigel Dunnett, having worked together on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. He passed away before the roof garden was finished.

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

Price says gardens help people slow down and feel more connected to nature: "You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe."

The more than £2m it has cost to build the garden was raised by the hospital's charity.

Hospital chief executive Clive Kay is optimistic it will do more than just improve the experience of being in hospital for patients.

He says he hopes it will lead to "shorter lengths of [patient] stays and better use of critical care facilities", which could then be replicated in hospitals across the NHS.

Photography by Emma Lynch

An inquest has opened into the deaths of three sisters in the sea off Brighton beach.

Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, from the Uxbridge area of London, died on 13 May in what police called a "terrible tragedy".

At the inquest at Brighton & Hove Coroner's Court on Friday, senior coroner Penelope Schofield offered her condolences to their father, who attended via a remote link.

"It must be a difficult day for your family," she said.

An investigation by Sussex Police into how the three came to be in the water is ongoing.

Officers were satisfied there was no third-party involvement in their deaths, the court heard.

The three women's recorded cause of death is yet to be ascertained, the court was also told.

Schofield said she hoped the inquest "stops the social media speculation" around how they died.

The court heard Adetoro's body was brought by the RNLI to shore, where emergency services were in attendance. She was declared dead at the scene.

Christina Walters' body was also recovered from the sea by an RNLI lifeboat. She was taken to the RNLI lifeboat station at Brighton Marina and pronounced deceased.

The body of the younger sister washed ashore near the Black Rock.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

More pharmacists in England will be able to prescribe medications as part of an effort to speed up care and ease pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals.

As part of the Pharmacy First scheme, pharmacists can currently prescribe medication for a sore throat, earache, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, infected bites and urinary tract infections.

From the autumn, the new £340m investment will see five common ailments added to this list, although it is not yet clear what these will be.

However, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said the deal does not do enough to address rising business rates, employer costs and medicine prices.

The Pharmacy First scheme in England was first launched in 2024, and allows patients to see their pharmacist for advice, over-the-counter treatments and prescription-only medicines.

People can also visit the pharmacy for eye, ear, oral and dental care, as well as seek treatment for digestive problems.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, more than 3.3 million consultations under the scheme were carried out between March 2025 and February 2026.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said the government is "making the most of our highly skilled pharmacists, while boosting access to services and giving patients more care right on their doorstep".

"Independent prescribing will play a major part in delivering this shift, easing pressures on GPs, cutting unnecessary red tape and helping patients get the right care closer to home," he said.

The NPA said that while the deal "points in the right direction", it did not address the "crippling" new costs hitting pharmacies.

"We remain concerned that it does very little to close the £2.5bn funding gap that the NHS itself identified a year ago," said NPA chairman Dr Olivier Picard, adding that the expanded scheme was "nowhere near ambitious enough to transform patient access to care, nor make full use of pharmacists' skills".

He went on: "We are also concerned that the current funding levels mean that many pharmacies will struggle to take this development forwards, risking its success. Pharmacies cannot sustain yet more loss-making work."

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, which represents about 5,000 pharmacies across England and Wales, said that while the changes are "a step in the right direction", the "funding on offer doesn't cover the workload to do this".

"Many pharmacists will find themselves in a situation where they're really thinking about whether they can keep their heads above the water," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

An AI facial recognition tool that aims to detect adult migrants posing as children will be deployed at the UK's borders next year.

A software company has been awarded a contract to develop and test the technology, which will estimate a person's age by analysing photographs of them taken at the border.

The Home Office says the technology will make it easier to identify adult migrants "attempting to game the system", after initial testing indicated "promising performance and accuracy".

But Human Rights Watch urged the government to scrap the scheme, describing it as "unproven technology" that will undermine the protections vulnerable children are entitled to.

Unaccompanied child migrants are processed through the care system rather than the asylum system, which can make it easier to stay in the country.

The decision to use the software comes after years of heightened levels of people crossing the English Channel in small boats and claiming asylum at the border.

A total of 111,084 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2025, 14% more than in the previous year.

In the year ending March 2026, more than 6,400 migrants claiming to be children were age assessed at the border, with 43% found to be adults, according to Home Office data.

A report carried out by the UK government's independent immigration inspector last year found cases where adult migrants had been classified as children - and cases where child migrants had been wrongly classified as adults.

The report said in the absence of a "foolproof" test, it was "inevitable that some age assessments will be wrong, which is clearly a cause for concern, especially where a child is denied the rights and protections to which they are entitled".

The government announced plans to use AI facial recognition technology to combat this problem last year.

Since then, the Home Office has been exploring the use of the technology and this week, a new contract was awarded to Harlow-based IT supplier Akhter Computers Ltd to deliver the scheme.

The contract will see the technology further tested and developed before being rolled out in mid-2027.

The contract will cost £322,000 over three years.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, said adult migrants "making false age claims have exploited the system and diverted vital support away from children at risk".

"That is why we are rolling out AI technology to put a stop to this, ensuring those who game the system are identified, detained and removed without delay, and those who deserve support and protection are given it," Norris said.

The Home Office has already carried out testing on images of people across different ethnicities and genders, including those that make up the asylum-seeking population, already in its operational system.

But test results have not been used for live decisions yet.

The technology is expected to be trialled for the first time on live cases of asylum seekers at Western Jet Foil, a processing centre in Dover, next year.

Age assessments of asylum seekers are already carried out by trained immigration enforcement officers, who use methods such as examining documents, X‑rays and MRI scans.

The new facial estimation technology will act as an additional tool to support officers at the border when a person's age is in doubt.

Last year, the UK government said it had concluded that the technology was the most "cost-effective option" to assess the age of asylum seekers.

But human rights groups have criticised the Home Office's plans to use the technology on children.

Anna Bacciarelli, a senior AI researcher at campaign group Human Rights Watch, said: "The government needs to scrap this deeply flawed approach to assessing child refugees.

"Experimenting with unproven technology to determine whether or not a child should be granted protections they desperately need and are legally entitled to is cruel and unconscionable.

"In addition to subjecting vulnerable children and young people to a dehumanising process that undermines their human rights, we don't actually know if facial age estimation works."

She said the technology had been used so far in shops and bars but not refugee processing centres, adding there was "no ethical way to move forward with these plans".

Hollie Allan, 29, is in a hospital lift being transferred out of intensive care for the first time in two months. She's heading upwards, towards a new outdoor ward on the roof of the hospital.

"Brace yourself for the cold!" say the nurses crowded into the lift around her bed. As the doors open, sunshine hits Hollie's face.

She brightens into a smile, then tears come. "I'm sorry, it's so nice. It's so beautiful," she says wiping her eyes. "I forgot what it feels like to be outside."

Still in her hospital bed, connected to feeding tubes and life support, Hollie is the first patient to try out the new intensive care rooftop ward at King's College Hospital in south London.

The first of its kind in the UK, the outdoor ward has enough space for six patients, who can be connected to power and oxygen supplies housed in a waterproof box next to each bed.

The canopy design means that some of the most seriously ill patients can be cared for safely outdoors, with all the support they need.

Exposure to fresh air and nature can boost patient wellbeing and reduce time spent in hospital, research suggests.

Hospital gardens have been around for some time for that reason - but they are rarely able to meet the needs of critically ill patients.

Doctors at King's say there could be huge benefits for these patients who've been in hospital for extended periods.

They now plan to monitor patients' heart rates, respiratory rates and pain levels, to see if the outdoor rooftop ward helps them recover more quickly.

Hollie, who is waiting for a vital heart operation, had been too ill to go outside even before she was admitted to hospital.

Her long stay in intensive care has affected her deeply.

"When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life. You get tired of fighting."

The new rooftop garden has been integrated into the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit, one of the largest in the country.

Hollie could spend several hours on the outdoor ward at a time, depending on the weather.

"Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely," Hollie says.

'Ripped from reality'

Some of the bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.

Dr Phil Hopkins, intensive care consultant at King's, says feeling the natural elements is part of helping patients readjust when they've been "ripped from their reality" and institutionalised in hospital.

"We don't just want to save lives," he says. "We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can."

Hopkins and his team will monitor patients closely to check on the impact of spending time outside - but they are not the only ones who could benefit.

Intensive care staff will also be able to access the rooftop space during breaks, which managers hope will offer them some respite too.

'Changes the way they breathe'

"It's the antithesis of a hospital ward," says garden designer Sarah Price. She devised the rooftop planting with her colleague landscape architect Nigel Dunnett, having worked together on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. He passed away before the roof garden was finished.

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

Price says gardens help people slow down and feel more connected to nature: "You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe."

The more than £2m it has cost to build the garden was raised by the hospital's charity.

Hospital chief executive Clive Kay is optimistic it will do more than just improve the experience of being in hospital for patients.

He says he hopes it will lead to "shorter lengths of [patient] stays and better use of critical care facilities", which could then be replicated in hospitals across the NHS.

Photography by Emma Lynch

A man and a woman have been charged in connection with the death of a woman who was shot outside a bar in Sheffield, police said.

Mother-of-one Shanice Brookes, 30, was found with serious injuries outside One Four One on West Street at about 02:45 BST on Monday and later died in hospital.

South Yorkshire Police said the charity worker, who lived in the city, was "an innocent bystander" on a night out over the bank holiday when she was killed.

Jemele Rhone, 30, of Outram Road, Sheffield, has been charged with murder, while Deiryen Dyce, 32, of Ellesmere Road North, Sheffield, has been charged with assisting an offender.

Police said the pair, who were charged on Thursday night and remanded into custody, are due to appear at Sheffield Magistrates' Court later.

Rhone is also charged with possession of a firearm and possession of criminal property, the force said, with Dyce also charged with possession of ammunition, possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

Hollie Allan, 29, is in a hospital lift being transferred out of intensive care for the first time in two months. She's heading upwards, towards a new outdoor ward on the roof of the hospital.

"Brace yourself for the cold!" say the nurses crowded into the lift around her bed. As the doors open, sunshine hits Hollie's face.

She brightens into a smile, then tears come. "I'm sorry, it's so nice. It's so beautiful," she says wiping her eyes. "I forgot what it feels like to be outside."

Still in her hospital bed, connected to feeding tubes and life support, Hollie is the first patient to try out the new intensive care rooftop ward at King's College Hospital in south London.

The first of its kind in the UK, the outdoor ward has enough space for six patients, who can be connected to power and oxygen supplies housed in a waterproof box next to each bed.

The canopy design means that some of the most seriously ill patients can be cared for safely outdoors, with all the support they need.

Exposure to fresh air and nature can boost patient wellbeing and reduce time spent in hospital, research suggests.

Hospital gardens have been around for some time for that reason - but they are rarely able to meet the needs of critically ill patients.

Doctors at King's say there could be huge benefits for these patients who've been in hospital for extended periods.

They now plan to monitor patients' heart rates, respiratory rates and pain levels, to see if the outdoor rooftop ward helps them recover more quickly.

Hollie, who is waiting for a vital heart operation, had been too ill to go outside even before she was admitted to hospital.

Her long stay in intensive care has affected her deeply.

"When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life. You get tired of fighting."

The new rooftop garden has been integrated into the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit, one of the largest in the country.

Hollie could spend several hours on the outdoor ward at a time, depending on the weather.

"Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely," Hollie says.

'Ripped from reality'

Some of the bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.

Dr Phil Hopkins, intensive care consultant at King's, says feeling the natural elements is part of helping patients readjust when they've been "ripped from their reality" and institutionalised in hospital.

"We don't just want to save lives," he says. "We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can."

Hopkins and his team will monitor patients closely to check on the impact of spending time outside - but they are not the only ones who could benefit.

Intensive care staff will also be able to access the rooftop space during breaks, which managers hope will offer them some respite too.

'Changes the way they breathe'

"It's the antithesis of a hospital ward," says garden designer Sarah Price. She devised the rooftop planting with her colleague landscape architect Nigel Dunnett, having worked together on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. He passed away before the roof garden was finished.

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

Price says gardens help people slow down and feel more connected to nature: "You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe."

The more than £2m it has cost to build the garden was raised by the hospital's charity.

Hospital chief executive Clive Kay is optimistic it will do more than just improve the experience of being in hospital for patients.

He says he hopes it will lead to "shorter lengths of [patient] stays and better use of critical care facilities", which could then be replicated in hospitals across the NHS.

Photography by Emma Lynch

The police watchdog is investigating after a young murder victim was arrested and handcuffed as he lay dying.

First-year university student Henry Nowak, 18, had been stabbed multiple times with a 21cm (8in) ceremonial knife when officers in Southampton arrived at the scene in December.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary apologised after 23-year-old killer Vickrum Digwa was found guilty of murder on Thursday. The trial heard that Digwa lied to police, falsely claiming he was the victim and alleging he had been subjected to racist abuse.

In a statement issued to the BBC, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed an investigation into the police force's actions was ongoing.

Henry, from Chafford Hundred in Essex, was walking back to his student accommodation alone after a night out with his football teammates when he encountered Digwa.

Digwa, who had used a blade he said he carried because of his Sikh faith, tried to claim he acted in self-defence and that Henry was drunk, shouted racist abuse, hit him and knocked off his turban.

But it was found Henry had alcohol levels below the drink-drive limit when he died.

The prosecution said Digwa had invented a "wicked lie" to try to save himself from jail – and the jury agreed.

Henry was, in fact, the victim and he had left a trail of blood behind him as he attempted to flee his knife-wielding attacker by escaping over a fence.

But when police arrived, it was Henry – a University of Southampton finance student – who was handcuffed and arrested after Digwa made his bogus accusations.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France told the BBC: "It is a tragedy that officers did not immediately understand what had happened to Henry.

"I am sorry that he had been handcuffed and arrested as he lost consciousness.

"I don't want to hide the facts. I want people to understand the full facts."

France said he expected the IOPC to investigate "the whole range of what happened" and his force was committed to acting on the watchdog's findings.

He added: "The officers who initially interacted with Henry are the same officers who started the CPR, who fought to save his life and I have no doubt of the extensive impact on the officers."

The IOPC said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Henry Nowak's family and everyone affected by his death.

"We are independently investigating the contact Hampshire and Isle of Wight officers had with Mr Nowak prior to his death on 4 December, including the use of handcuffs by officers and the first aid provided.

"Our investigation, which began following a mandatory referral from the force, remains ongoing and the officers involved are currently being treated as witnesses."

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: "This is a truly horrific case.

"All our thoughts are with Henry's family and friends and what they are going through.

"We know that no verdict can undo the pain, but I hope today brings some small measure of justice.

"It is right that an IOPC investigation has been launched into the actions of the police to get to the truth."

Digwa will be sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

More pharmacists in England will be able to prescribe medications as part of an effort to speed up care and ease pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals.

As part of the Pharmacy First scheme, pharmacists can currently prescribe medication for a sore throat, earache, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, infected bites and urinary tract infections.

From the autumn, the new £340m investment will see five common ailments added to this list, although it is not yet clear what these will be.

However, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said the deal does not do enough to address rising business rates, employer costs and medicine prices.

The Pharmacy First scheme in England was first launched in 2024, and allows patients to see their pharmacist for advice, over-the-counter treatments and prescription-only medicines.

People can also visit the pharmacy for eye, ear, oral and dental care, as well as seek treatment for digestive problems.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, more than 3.3 million consultations under the scheme were carried out between March 2025 and February 2026.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said the government is "making the most of our highly skilled pharmacists, while boosting access to services and giving patients more care right on their doorstep".

"Independent prescribing will play a major part in delivering this shift, easing pressures on GPs, cutting unnecessary red tape and helping patients get the right care closer to home," he said.

The NPA said that while the deal "points in the right direction", it did not address the "crippling" new costs hitting pharmacies.

"We remain concerned that it does very little to close the £2.5bn funding gap that the NHS itself identified a year ago," said NPA chairman Dr Olivier Picard, adding that the expanded scheme was "nowhere near ambitious enough to transform patient access to care, nor make full use of pharmacists' skills".

He went on: "We are also concerned that the current funding levels mean that many pharmacies will struggle to take this development forwards, risking its success. Pharmacies cannot sustain yet more loss-making work."

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, which represents about 5,000 pharmacies across England and Wales, said that while the changes are "a step in the right direction", the "funding on offer doesn't cover the workload to do this".

"Many pharmacists will find themselves in a situation where they're really thinking about whether they can keep their heads above the water," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

A 14-year-old teenager from California has won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, after three days of competition at Washington's Constitution Hall.

Shrey Parikh won out against 247 spellers competing in the annual contest, aged between nine and 15, taking home a $52,000 (£39,000) cash prize.

The 101-year-old contest reached its conclusion on Thursday night, with the final nine taking to the stage in front of family and friends for a shot at the illustrious trophy.

The final two contestants went head to head, spelling as many words as they could in 90 seconds. Shrey correctly spelled 32 words in the allotted time frame, with "cashaw", a type of pumpkin, declared his winning word.

He defeated Ishaan Gupta, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey, who got 25 words correct from the same list.

Underneath his calm demeanour, Shrey said he had worried early on in the contest, "because I knew the word, but, you know, when you're on stage you always kind of doubt yourself, so I'm glad I just stuck with my gut and got it right".

Test your spelling skills with our quiz

In the quiz below, listen to each audio prompt and type in your best guess for how each word is spelled. Good luck, spellers!

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, the country's defence ministry said early on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people.

The drone crashed in the eastern city of Galati as Russia carried out attacks in Ukraine near the border, the ministry said in a statement.

The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, causing a fire on the 10th floor of the residential building.

Russian drones have strayed across the border of the Nato member country a number of times during the four-year war with Ukraine, but this was the first time citizens from Romania had been hurt. Russia has yet to comment on the incident.

"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," Romania's foreign ministry said, adding Bucharest had informed the Nato secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".

The emergency services said two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions and around 70 people were evacuated as the fire was put out.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.

"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.

The River Danube nearby forms the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian ports are regularly targets of Russian air attacks.

In an incident in April, another Russian drone caused material damage in Galati, but no injuries.

Romania's defence ministry says that since the start of the war in Ukraine, drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions, 12 of them this year alone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, a nationwide air raid alert was also issued overnight in Ukraine, where officials in the south of the country said the port of Izmail in the Odesa region came under drone attack early on Friday.

And in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, three utility workers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

A fourth man was seriously injured in the incident, Denis Pushilin said on the Telegram messaging app.

Hollie Allan, 29, is in a hospital lift being transferred out of intensive care for the first time in two months. She's heading upwards, towards a new outdoor ward on the roof of the hospital.

"Brace yourself for the cold!" say the nurses crowded into the lift around her bed. As the doors open, sunshine hits Hollie's face.

She brightens into a smile, then tears come. "I'm sorry, it's so nice. It's so beautiful," she says wiping her eyes. "I forgot what it feels like to be outside."

Still in her hospital bed, connected to feeding tubes and life support, Hollie is the first patient to try out the new intensive care rooftop ward at King's College Hospital in south London.

The first of its kind in the UK, the outdoor ward has enough space for six patients, who can be connected to power and oxygen supplies housed in a waterproof box next to each bed.

The canopy design means that some of the most seriously ill patients can be cared for safely outdoors, with all the support they need.

Exposure to fresh air and nature can boost patient wellbeing and reduce time spent in hospital, research suggests.

Hospital gardens have been around for some time for that reason - but they are rarely able to meet the needs of critically ill patients.

Doctors at King's say there could be huge benefits for these patients who've been in hospital for extended periods.

They now plan to monitor patients' heart rates, respiratory rates and pain levels, to see if the outdoor rooftop ward helps them recover more quickly.

Hollie, who is waiting for a vital heart operation, had been too ill to go outside even before she was admitted to hospital.

Her long stay in intensive care has affected her deeply.

"When you're stuck inside all day there's no motivation to try and get back to normal life. You get tired of fighting."

The new rooftop garden has been integrated into the hospital's 60-bed intensive care unit, one of the largest in the country.

Hollie could spend several hours on the outdoor ward at a time, depending on the weather.

"Even if it was thunderstorms, I'd be out here. It's lovely," Hollie says.

'Ripped from reality'

Some of the bays on the rooftop are partially covered with canopies.

Dr Phil Hopkins, intensive care consultant at King's, says feeling the natural elements is part of helping patients readjust when they've been "ripped from their reality" and institutionalised in hospital.

"We don't just want to save lives," he says. "We want to return them to their lives as quickly as we can."

Hopkins and his team will monitor patients closely to check on the impact of spending time outside - but they are not the only ones who could benefit.

Intensive care staff will also be able to access the rooftop space during breaks, which managers hope will offer them some respite too.

'Changes the way they breathe'

"It's the antithesis of a hospital ward," says garden designer Sarah Price. She devised the rooftop planting with her colleague landscape architect Nigel Dunnett, having worked together on the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. He passed away before the roof garden was finished.

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

Price says gardens help people slow down and feel more connected to nature: "You can see the change not only on their face, but just in the way that they breathe."

The more than £2m it has cost to build the garden was raised by the hospital's charity.

Hospital chief executive Clive Kay is optimistic it will do more than just improve the experience of being in hospital for patients.

He says he hopes it will lead to "shorter lengths of [patient] stays and better use of critical care facilities", which could then be replicated in hospitals across the NHS.

Photography by Emma Lynch