An Asian man used the fake name Chris Nolan on social media to stir up racial hatred in Birmingham during the summer riots, saying: “We need to take back what’s ours.”

Ehsan Hussain, 25, used the name to post messages calling for disorder during disorder that spread across Britain.

The messages appeared on a Telegram chat group called “Southport Wake Up”, which had more than 12,000 members.

Screenshots of the messages, obtained by police, show Hussain urging people to “conquer Alum Rock”, a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, saying: “Sick of these smelly scumbags”.

Other racist messages, Hussain’s contribution to a conversation he had with two other users, included: “We’ve got a Blues match on Saturday; we can do a part 2 on Saturday get these p— scums out.”

He also wrote: “Birmingham first! We need to take back whats ours” and “we doing p— bashing”.

Hussain, from Yardley, pleaded guilty at Birmingham magistrates’ court to distributing “threatening, abusive or insulting” written material intending to stir up racial hatred between Aug 3 and 6.

He was warned to expect a substantial custodial sentence and was remanded into custody for sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

No details of the material written by Hussain were given to the court, although his solicitor said the offending was “commissioned initially out of curiosity” after he was shocked at some posts and then wrote messages “to take a poke” at others.

Aftab Zahoor, defending, said Hussain had written messages after being “appalled” by other posts on a social media platform, which was not named in court, and had now “had time to reflect on matters”. 

Mr Zahoor said: “He is apologetic and remorseful for his actions.”

‘We do not tolerate violence’

Committing the case for sentencing at the crown court, District Judge Murray told Hussain: “This is part of the overall disorder, which caused real problems throughout the country.

“I will decline jurisdiction in relation to these matters. My powers of sentencing [a six-month maximum sentence] are clearly and substantially exceeded. You have pleaded guilty, and you will get credit for your guilty plea in due course.”

Commenting on the case, Chief Superintendent Richard North, of West Midlands Police, said: “This has been an excellent but complex investigation.

“We would like to thank members of the public for alerting us to these posts, which was crucial at a time when we were seeing lots of rumour, speculation and misinformation online. We know this can be extremely harmful to all of our communities.

“We do not tolerate violence in our towns and cities, or tolerate those who use social media to encourage such violence.”

A man was assaulted and damage caused to a pub in the Yardley area, and a car was attacked elsewhere in east Birmingham, during disorder on the evening of Aug 5 after false rumours of a far-Right march spread online.

The transgender population in Britain could be smaller than previously thought, a watchdog report has found.

The Office for Statistical Regulation (OSR) said there was “sufficient evidence” that the gender identity question in the 2021 Census for England and Wales was “more likely than others” to be misunderstood by certain groups.

The Census reported there were 262,000 trans people, equivalent to 0.5 per cent of the population, or one in 200 people. It was the first time the survey had asked whether people identified as a gender that was different from their registered birth sex.

People whose first language was not English were four times more likely to say they were trans than those with English as their main language. 

It led to anomalies such as a greater proportion of people in the London boroughs of Newham and Brent declaring themselves trans than that in places such as Brighton.

Despite this, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) declared it still had “confidence in the gender identity estimates at a national level”.

‘Potential for bias’

However, on Thursday the ONS admitted that there was potential for bias and has requested a reclassification of the gender identity estimates from accredited official statistics to “official statistics in development”.

Emma Rourke, the deputy national statistician, said: “Scotland’s Census findings, and other sources, are broadly consistent with our gender identity statistics at a national level. 

“However, the available evidence does show there is potential for bias in how the gender identity question was answered by those in England and Wales who responded that they did not speak English well.

“Our request to reclassify better reflects the findings coming from the first Census question of its kind and our developing understanding of measuring this complex and important topic.

“We will publish further explanation of the uncertainty associated with the estimates this year, particularly around smaller group breakdowns, along with advice for users, and will work across government and beyond to develop harmonised standards and guidance for collection of data on this topic. 

“We welcome the OSR’s support for our request and their latest report.”

The OSR said although the national estimation was not likely to be “materially misleading” it is hard to draw the same conclusions for local areas.

The report read: “At the national level, triangulation with other sources, including data from the Scottish Census, suggests that an estimate of around ‘one in 200’ triangulates with other sources and is not likely to be materially misleading.

“While the information on the size and nature of all the potential biases is incomplete, it is hard to draw the same conclusion for some more-detailed breakdowns, including for local areas where the data indicate a higher concentration of people misunderstanding the question.”

‘Flawed Census question’

The findings come after gender-critical groups and campaigners demanded an investigation of the faulty question.

Dr Michael Biggs, a sociologist at Oxford University and a trustee of Sex Matters, a campaign group, said: “It’s disgraceful that the Office for National Statistics took 18 months to admit that the Census question on gender identity was fundamentally flawed. 

“Of the total of over 100 questions in the 2011 and 2021 censuses, this is the first to have been downgraded by the ONS.

“Although the OSR found no evidence of ideological bias, I suspect that the ONS’s close relationship with Stonewall and deference to its LGBTQ+ and Allies network contributed to this question being developed without proper scrutiny.

“My research showed that the flawed Census question was derived from one developed by the transgender campaigning group Press for Change. It’s now essential that other public bodies are stopped from using it. The annual GP Patient Survey, for example, currently uses it and gets the same implausible results.”

The OSR found that, although there were lessons to be learned, “we found that overall ONS has worked with good intentions in its aim to address an important data gap on gender identity”.

Ed Humpherson, the OSR director general, said: “We welcome ONS’s request to us to remove the accreditation of these statistics. Our report sets out the reasons that the statistics do not comply in full with the Code of Practice for Statistics, together with the lessons that emerge for ONS, and OSR.”

Donald Trump has ruled out debating Kamala Harris for a second time before the US presidential election.

The former president said he would not appear on stage with Ms Harris again, arguing that she should spend the coming months focusing on illegal migration and inflation instead.

Trump and Ms Harris debated for the first time in Philadelphia on Tuesday, when she was widely considered to have won.

Her campaign immediately called for a second debate to be held before polling day, but Trump suggested afterwards that he would not be willing to participate again.

Writing on Truth Social on Thursday, he confirmed the decision and compared Ms Harris to a boxer calling for a rematch after losing a fight.

“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’” he wrote. “Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate.

“She was a no-show at the Fox Debate, and refused to do NBC & CBS. KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”

Speaking at a rally in North Carolina on Thursday, Ms Harris told supporters: “Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate. And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.”

Trump’s decision comes after he said he would debate Joe Biden as many times as possible before their head-to-head in June, when Mr Biden’s disastrous performance ultimately led to his resignation from the presidential race.

Some Republicans called for Trump to debate Ms Harris again after his attack lines were derailed by his lengthy asides on migration. 

After Ms Harris claimed that supporters at his rallies were “bored”, Trump falsely claimed that migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating the pets of local residents.

Polls taken after the debate showed most American voters believe that Ms Harris won.

Dennis Lennox, a veteran Republican strategist, welcomed the decision and told The Telegraph that a second debate could have worsened Trump’s polling numbers with swing state voters.

“There was too much risk. Another debate would only serve to help Ms Harris,” he said. “With early voting starting, Trump and the former president’s allies need to focus on turning out the vote and winning Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

“Those are the only states that matter at this point in the campaign. This election will be won or lost by early October.”

A former model and Miss Switzerland finalist who was allegedly murdered by her husband was found to have been strangled, dismembered and her remains put through a handheld blender, medical reports reveal.

Kristina Joksimovic, 38, was found dead in her home in Binningen, near Basel, in February.

Her husband and father of her two children, named only as Thomas by local media, admitted to killing her in March, according to the Federal Court. However, his claim that he was acting in self-defence was contradicted by the medical forensic report.

A court ruling on Wednesday found that Ms Joksimovic had been strangled to death and reported that there were “concrete indications of mental illness” underlying the case.

A post-mortem included in the ruling said that her body had been dismembered with a jigsaw knife and garden shears in the laundry room of the couple’s home.

Her remains were then liquidised with a handheld blender and dissolved in a chemical solution, the report added.

Ms Joksimovic’s remains were discovered on Feb 13 by a third party.

Thomas was detained by authorities the day after but initially told investigators that he had dismembered her in a “panic” after discovering her dead.

He later claimed to have killed her in self-defence after she came at him with a knife.

According to investigators, Thomas showed a “conspicuously high level of criminal energy” in their assessment.

They spoke of a “lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife” and added that Thomas had “sadistic-sociopathic traits”.

The couple, who married in 2017, were reportedly going through marital difficulties, with police called to their place of residence before the incident over reports of physical violence.

Just four weeks before she was killed, Ms Joksimovic shared photos on social media of a “couple’s getaway” at a luxurious hotel above Lake Lucerne.

The pair had two young daughters.

Ms Joksimovic was crowned Miss Northwest Switzerland and went on to be a finalist in the Miss Switzerland competition in 2007.

‘They seemed like the perfect family’

The couple lived in an affluent area of Basel, Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten reported.

One friend told the Swiss German-language daily, Blick: “To me, they seemed like the perfect family.”

But another friend said their relationship had been “in crisis” for months.

After her time competing, Ms Joksimovic launched a career coaching other models and beauty pageant contestants.

Fellow contestants shared their condolences when the news of her death first broke.

Nadine Vinzens, her friend and Miss Switzerland 2002, told Nau.ch news: “I knew her well and I met him briefly. I am totally shocked and heartbroken. Never in my life would I have thought that something like this would happen.”

She later wrote on Ms Joksimovic’s social media page: “I’m so heartbroken. You were such a good and nice person. I will not ever forget the time in LA with you. RIP my beauty.”

Lorena Santen, who was crowned Miss Switzerland in 2023 and was trained by Ms Joksimovic, said: “We will miss you so much.”

Dominique Rinderknecht, former Miss Switzerland, who was also trained by Ms Joksimovic in the lead-up to her appearance at the 2013 Miss Universe competition, described her shock at the news.

“It is very, very sad and shocking what has happened. I am also so incredibly sorry for the children,” she told Nau.

Christa Rigozzi, another former Miss Switzerland contestant, told 20 Minuten: “It’s terrible. I’m really shocked. I’m thinking of her two daughters. She was such a beautiful and kind-hearted woman.”

Miriam Rickli, who was in the Miss Switzerland final alongside Ms Joksimovic, said she was “speechless” at the news.

North Korea has for the first time revealed images of the facility that produces fuel for its nuclear bombs.

The regime on Friday released images of leader Kim Jong-un visiting a uranium enrichment plant and called for more weapons-grade material to boost the country’s arsenal.

The state media report on Kim’s visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and a production base for weapon-grade nuclear materials was accompanied by the first photos of the centrifuges, providing a rare look inside North Korea’s nuclear programme, which is banned under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The photos showed Kim walking between long rows of metal centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. The report did not make clear when the visit occurred nor the facility’s location.

Kim urged workers to produce more materials for tactical nuclear weapons, saying the country’s nuclear arsenal is vital for confronting threats from the United States and its allies.

The weapons are needed for “self-defence and the capability for a pre-emptive attack,” he said.

The North Korean leader said “anti-DPRK nuclear threats” from the “US imperialists-led vassal forces” have crossed the red line, according to the report.

North Korea is believed to have several sites for enriching uranium. Analysts say commercial satellite imagery has shown construction in recent years at the main Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, including its uranium enrichment plant, suggesting possible expansion.

Uranium is a radioactive element that exists naturally. To make nuclear fuel, raw uranium undergoes processes that result in a material with an increased concentration of the isotope uranium-235.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday that the UN nuclear watchdog had observed activity consistent with the operation of a reactor and the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at Yongbyon.

Kim stressed the need to increase the number of centrifuges so as to “exponentially increase” the nuclear weapons and expand use of a new type of centrifuge to further strengthen the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials.

The new type of centrifuge shows North Korea is advancing its fuel cycle capabilities, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Kim also appears to suggest that North Korean tactical nuclear weapons designs may primarily rely on uranium for their cores,” he said.

This is notable because North Korea is more able to scale up its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, Panda said, compared to the more complicated process for plutonium.

North Korea invited some foreign scientists to view a centrifuge facility at Yongbyon in 2010, but Jenny Town of the US-based Stimson Center said Friday’s report is the first and only photographs of the equipment.

“It shows how advanced their enrichment capability has become, which gives greater credibility to both their ability and commitment to increasing their nuclear weapons arsenals,” she said.

North Korea has previously shown photos of what it says were nuclear warheads. It has conducted six underground nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017.

Estimates of the number of North Korean nuclear weapons varies widely. In July a report by the Federation of American Scientists concluded that the country may have produced enough fissile material to build up to 90 nuclear warheads, but that it has likely assembled closer to 50.

Kim also oversaw the test launch of a new 600mm multiple launch rocket system on Thursday and visited an army training base on Wednesday, according to separate KCNA reports.

In a statement carried by KCNA, North Korea’s foreign ministry institute spokesperson criticised a recent defence ministerial meeting between member states of the US-led United Nations Command in Seoul, calling it a “war organisation”.

Germany joined the command last month, becoming the 18th nation in a group that helps police the heavily fortified border with North Korea and has committed to defend the South in the event of a war.

In Springfield, Ohio, a quiet, low-lying city of just under 60,000 people on the banks of the Mad River, migrants are eating pet cats and dogs.

At least that is what the former president of the United States believes.

Donald Trump’s claims during Tuesday’s presidential debate will almost certainly go down as one of his most memorable moments from the campaign – and perhaps even a turning point in the election.

As fanciful as they are (based largely on a medley of social media posts and half-truths), some people in Springfield are not prepared to take the risk.

Alexis House, 21, said locals are now “trying to keep their pets in instead of letting them roam around”.

“Almost everyone believes the rumours because there have been a lot of other problems.”

Some of the problems Alexis refers to are no doubt related to the about 15,000 immigrants who have settled from Haiti over the last three years – drawn here in part by the lure of low-paid jobs at a massive Amazon distribution warehouse – and are reshaping the city.

Tensions with the local community have led to groups of neo-Nazis marching in the streets in recent weeks.

On a visit on Wednesday, The Telegraph found that Trump’s intervention had exacerbated a situation now familiar across the US.

The local police department was forced to clarify that it had “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community”.

Rob Rue, Springfield’s mayor, says the rumours have allowed “national rhetoric to come into our community and divide us”.

Viles Dorsainvil, director of Springfield’s Haitian health and support centre, says that Trump has stirred the pot.

“It’s devastating for the Haitian community in Springfield and it’s created fear for our members, who are scared for their lives and the lives of their kids, especially after what’s been happening in Haiti,” Mr Dorsainvil says.

The Haitian Times reported that some families were keeping their children home from school, while others said they were subject to bullying, assaults and intimidation in front of their homes amid racist rhetoric on social media.

“We are not here to create harm in the community, we are here to work and send money back to our families,” said Mr Dorsainvil. “But we fear this could escalate to violence.”

Rose-Thamar Joseph, who works at the centre, pointed out that the community numbering a quarter of Springfield’s population had come to the city because of the cheap housing and the opportunity to work, often at a nearby Amazon distribution warehouse, an auto parts or metal work plant.

With many coming under work-authorised Temporary Protected Status and others under more opaque circumstances through Mexico, the last thing the community needed or deserved was to be the focus of national political attention.

“They’re in double-trouble here because they’re foreign and they’re black in a closed-minded section of the country that is expanding maybe too quickly,’ said Valerie Hinch, a retired community worker who was dining at the Rose Goute Haitian restaurant in Springfield’s southside.

“My New York friends are sending me messages, ‘Val, be careful of your cats.’ But it’s not funny, it’s sad and ignorant.”

Several Haitian men flatly denied that animals were being taken. “It’s bull—-,” said Joy, from Petionville in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, who declined to fully identify himself.

But tensions in Springfield are real, and with them come unwelcome displays. Last month, 12 people carrying swastika flags and rifles while wearing ski masks walked around the downtown area during the Springfield Jazz & Blues Fest.

The pet abduction rumours in Springfield appear to have begun 170 miles away in Canton, where police charged 27-year-old Allexis Ferrell with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct after she allegedly “did torture, kill, and eat a cat in a residential area in front (of) multiple people” on Aug 26.

According to the Associated Press, a post on a private Facebook page, “Springfield Ohio Crime and Information”, read: “Warning to all about our beloved pets & those around us!! My neighbour informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat. She checked pages, kennels, asked around, etc.

“One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbour’s house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat. I’ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at Snyder Park with the ducks & geese, as I was told that last bit by Rangers & police. Please keep a close eye on these animals.” 

Meanwhile, a post on Facebook by a woman named Annie Schlicher also circulated, claiming that someone at her work had heard from a relative who claimed he had seen a Haitian man catch and cut the head off a goose in front of children in a Springfield park.

Pet abduction rumours may be no more than a mask for deeper resentments.

A US government survey estimates that 10 million migrants have crossed the US-Mexico border in the past four years. Just 1 per cent are unable to work, compared to 5 per cent of the indigenous US population owing to drug addiction or disability. Democrats now concede that without that labour force influx and mobility, wage pressures created by unfilled jobs in the absence of migrants would lead to higher inflation.

‘Used to be no problem finding a job’

Rolland Foor and his partner Maggie Crooks, both 52, said they had been living in their SUV – heavily decorated with pro-Trump slogans – since he lost his job as a forklift operator. “Me and my co-workers were told at the end of our shift we were done,” Mr Foor said.

“I was making $21 an hour. The company brought in 15 Haitians and we found out they were taking our jobs. All because of $21 an hour versus $13 an hour.  We lost everything due to them coming in here. There used to be no problem finding a job.”

In turn, he said, he knew many people who had lost their homes because landlords had turned out tenants so they could raise the rent by housing migrants on TPS government support. “There’s tons of anger in town,” Mr Foor said.

“I’m always willing to accept migrants coming in just so long as they meet the requirements of becoming a citizen and not just here, kiss my ass, you’ve got citizenship, which I feel is what Joe Biden did,” Ms Crooks added. “He sold us out.”

Carlton Corbin, a security guard, said the government benefits to migrants were not available to Americans. “That’s not right. We can’t get the help they’re getting for just coming over here? 

“That’s un-American. Be legit. Don’t come over here and take our resources and then there’s none for people who work their asses off to have it.”

Jessica Hannah, 41, said her discomfort with the newcomers was not racial but cultural. “I get they’re seeking political asylum but, man, we’re getting to the point where it’s so overrun.”

Her partner said he had lost a dog: “I don’t know what happened,” Ms Hannah said. “Really don’t have a clue.” 

As it stands, any missing pet in Springfield is likely to be blamed on the Haitians. 

“There will be people that believe it, no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is,” John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said Wednesday. “And they might act on that kind of information, and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt. So it needs to stop.” 

But it is the politicians who are capitalising on the false rumours. One billboard, by Arizona’s Republican Party and depicting four kittens, urges people to “Vote Republican!” and “Eat Less Kittens.”

Large swathes of people in the Gaza Strip with “life-changing injuries” will require ongoing rehabilitation services for years to come, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

As fighting continues inside the besieged enclave, a new report has estimated that at least one quarter of those injured – some 22,500 people – will require ongoing trauma rehabilitation and suffer with permanent disability.

The projection, estimated using injury data from emergency medical teams in Gaza, found that those with severe limb injuries, up to 17,500, are the main driver of rehabilitation needs, with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and major burn injuries also significant contributors.

“The huge surge in rehabilitation needs occurs in parallel with the ongoing decimation of the health system,” said Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“Patients can’t get the care they need. Acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialised care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk.”

The report found that at least 4,050 limb amputations have occurred. In January, UNICEF estimated that around 1,000 children in Gaza had lost one or both their legs – equivalent to 10 children losing legs every day.

Only 17 of 36 hospitals remain partially functional in Gaza, while primary health care services are frequently suspended or rendered inaccessible.

Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre – located in Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, central Gaza and supported by WHO – became non-functional in December 2023.

The current crisis in Gaza is unique because the medical system has all but collapsed, with most hospitals damaged or completely destroyed by the unrelenting Israeli attacks and evacuation orders forcing the displacement of health workers.

The report added that many of those injured are suffering with more than one injury.

Federico Dessi, the Regional Director for the Middle East for Humanity & Inclusion (HI), also known as Handicap International, told The Telegraph that many surgeons don’t have time to treat multiple fracture wounds.

“Some fractures are left untreated, which then means that they can’t heal if the bone is not connected, it cannot fix itself,” he said.

On a recent visit to Gaza, Mr Dessi met a man who, injured around three months before, was left crippled when doctors only had time to treat one of his two leg fractures.

“Three months later, he was still sitting, laying on his bed in a little shack … once a month he would go back to the hospital and ask if they had time to put him on the list,” he said. “I was in Rafah and the hospital then closed down.”

The WHO report states that in-patient rehabilitation and prosthetic services are no longer available in Gaza. It added that the demand for assistive products, such as wheelchairs and crutches, far exceeded the available equipment.

Mr Dessi said that even those people suffering with injuries or disabilities able to access such equipment are still severely limited.

“They spend 99 per cent of their time stuck in the room or the tent where they live. Even if they can move around, with crutches or a wheelchair, they move around maybe 50 metres here and there,” he said.

“Most of the streets are damaged, most of the camps are on the sandy beach, so you cannot really move with a wheelchair, you can’t really go anywhere…they’re stuck.”

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A businessman is trying to sue an estate agent which he claims persuaded him to knock $6 million off the sale price of his mansion without revealing the buyer was Jeff Bezos.

Leo Kryss, the seller of the $79 million (£60.5 million) home, claims he would not have agreed to the discount had he known the second-wealthiest person in the world was behind the bid.

Mr Bezos bought the seven-bedroom house on Miami’s Indian Creek island, an exclusive gated community nicknamed “billionaires’ bunker”, last year.

Mr Kryss, the Brazilian co-founder of a toy and electronics company Tectoy, initially listed the house, which sports a wine cellar, library and theatre, for $85 million.

He is now suing Douglas Elliman, an American brokerage which handled both sides of the sale, for allegedly concealing the Amazon founder’s identity.

An offer then came in shortly after Mr Bezos paid $68 million for the neighbouring property, so Mr Kryss suspected that the billionaire was behind the bid, The Wall Street Journal reported.

But a Douglas Elliman employee allegedly reassured Mr Kryss over the phone that Mr Bezos was not behind the bid and that his client would not pay over $79 million for the property.

Mr Kryss agreed to sell the property at a discount of $6 million but later learnt that he had sold the property to an entity linked to Mr Bezos.

In a complaint filed to a Miami court, Mr Kryss states that knowing about Mr Bezos’s involvement would have been “highly material to his negotiations and his decision on the ultimate sales price”.

Dana Clayton, Mr Kryss’s lawyer, said: “Douglas Elliman failed to fulfil [its] duties to our client. [It] knew or should have known who the ultimate beneficial purchaser was and misrepresented that very important fact to our client.”

Both the listing agents have denied having knowledge of the buyer’s identity, according to the legal documents.

A hearing is scheduled for Oct 11.

The Telegraph has approached Jeff Bezos and Amazon for comment.

It is not uncommon for celebrities to conceal their identities when buying a property, often in a bid to protect their privacy and done by purchasing it through a trust.

Indian Creek is on a man-made island in Miami’s Biscayne Bay that was ranked the most expensive neighbourhood in the US in 2001.

Mr Bezos bought a third property on the island for $90 million this year. His neighbours include Tom Brady, David Guetta and Ivanka Trump.

Jon Bon Jovi, the American rock star, has been praised by police in Nashville, Tennessee for helping talk a woman down from a bridge in the city.

The singer was on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in the city centre with a team of people for what appeared to be a video or photo shoot when they spotted a woman in distress. 

Footage of the incident was shared on social media by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, which praised the singer and his team for their intervention.

“A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge” on Tuesday night, said Nashville’s police chief John Drake.

“Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety.

“It takes all of us to help keep each other safe,” he added.

The security footage shows several passersby walking apparently oblivious as the woman stood on the ledge.

It showed what appears to be the rock star and an entourage arriving on the bridge with a tripod and spotting the woman.

Jovi and a female member of his team promptly walked over to her and waved hello, before leaning on the railing nearby.

They engage her in conversation before one of the pair gets closer and reaches for her forearm. Jovi, 62, then walks over to her other side to help pull her to safety.

The singer then gives her a hug and stands with her for a few minutes before they leave the bridge together.

It is unclear what the rock star was doing in Nashville, but sources with direct knowledge of the incident told the entertainment site TMZ that Bon Jovi routinely assists people in crisis through his foundation, the JBJ Soul Foundation.

The source described him as having extensive training in how to speak to people experiencing a crisis.

Three schoolgirls have been taken to hospital after a hit-and-run crash, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has said.

It is thought the teenagers were walking along Whitelow Road, in Heaton Moor, Stockport, on Tuesday when a car swerved onto the pavement at speed to miss an oncoming car.

Police were called to the scene at around 4.30pm and the victims were taken to hospital with serious leg injuries that will need surgery, the force said.

Sergeant Paul Lunt, of GMP’s road policing unit, said officers were looking for a silver VW Golf with “a smashed windscreen” that would have been in the area between 4.15pm to 4.45pm.

He said: “The victims were just walking on the pavement when a car mounted the pavement and collided with them, causing them serious injuries before driving off and leaving the girls injured by the road.

“There were a number of people at the scene either walking past on Whitelow Road and we would like to speak to anyone who witnessed this incident, or who may have dashcam footage, CCTV or Ring doorbell footage showing a silver VW Golf car driving in the area between 4.15 and 4.45pm.

“After the collision, the VW Golf had a smashed windscreen, so should be quite distinctive.”

GMP is appealing for anyone with information or footage to contact police on 101, quoting log number 2249 of 10/09/24 or to use the Live Chat service on the GMP website. They can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

An accountant died after taking part in a competition to see how many marshmallows she could fit into her mouth in one minute, a coroner’s court heard.

Natalie Buss, 37, a mother of two, was called up by a children’s entertainer to see who could “fit the most marshmallows into their mouths” in front of other parents at the party.

She swallowed handfuls of the dozens of pink and white marshmallows lined up on the podium but collapsed after leaving the stage at a rugby club.

A pre-inquest review was told Christopher Gibbons, 34, a popular entertainer, led the competition and had been taken on by the club for a fundraising night for the under-10’s rugby team where her son played.

The hearing was told he set up the marshmallow competition at Beddau RFC near Pontypridd, South Wales in October 2023.

Mr Gibbons, known as “Roly-Poly” and who was described as an “established entertainer”, has hosted hundreds of parties as a DJ and entertainer for more than 15 years.

The hearing was told he has “since decided to stop introducing the game to people” since Mrs Buss died.

The 6ft 6ins entertainer was the DJ compere at the fundraising event for the junior team which includes her elder son at the rugby club.

Mrs Buss, of Church Village, won a bingo game where she was called up for the marshmallow contest.

Contestants were given a time limit of 60 seconds to see how many marshmallows they could swallow – cheered on by family and friends in the clubhouse.

Paramedics were called as members of the audience, including an off-duty nurse, tried to help while a woman ran to a nearby school to fetch a defibrillator.

But Mrs Buss could not be saved and the audience was left in shock with many in tears.

Gibbons to give evidence to jury

Mr Gibbons has been interviewed by police and the inquest heard he will give evidence to a full jury.

Coroner Gavin Knox told the hearing at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court the scope of the inquest would “focus on risk assessment and risk mitigation relating to the game”.

He said it would assess what happened while she played the game as well as a cause of death – and the “appropriateness” of the entertainment provided at the club.

Mr Knox said he would feel “mandated to sit with a jury” for the inquest which is likely to be heard next year.

Mr Knox explained to the court he must sit with a jury if he had reason to suspect Mrs Buss’s death could have resulted from a “notifiable accident”.

It has been reported to the health and safety executive for investigation.

The coroner could flag it up as an avoidable accident reported to a government department after it results in someone’s death.

Beddau RFC said the club and community were “heartbroken” following her death.

Lottie Moss, the model, has urged others not to take Ozempic after she was taken to hospital as a result of taking the weight-loss drug.

Ms Moss said the drug made her feel so nauseous that she would rather “die” than use it again.

Ozempic is a formulation of the drug semaglutide, which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes but which is prescribed off label for weight loss. In the UK, semaglutide is licensed for weight management and treating obesity under the brand name Wegovy.

The 26-year-old, whose sister is Kate Moss, the supermodel, described how she had a seizure during her medical ordeal and suffered from severe dehydration.

The model said she later found out she had been taking doses that were far too high for someone of her frame.

She claimed she weighed around 60kg (9 stone 6lbs) when she began taking the drug.

‘It is dangerous’

On her podcast, “Dream On”, Ms Moss said: “A few months ago, I was not feeling happy about my weight, I had a friend, and she could get it for me.

“It was below board, from a doctor, but it wasn’t like you go into a doctor’s office and he prescribes it for you, takes your blood pressure, and takes tests, which is what you need when you go on something like Ozempic.

“At the end of the day it is a medication, it is dangerous and really meant for weight loss of people of a very large size.”

Ms Moss added: “It’s these small things I wish I’d known before taking it. But I took it, you inject it into your leg, and it was the worst decision I ever made.

“This is a warning to everyone. Please, if you’re thinking of taking it, do not take it, it’s so not worth it.”

Kate Moss, 50, was previously criticised for claiming that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” in 2009, a statement the supermodel went on to say she regretted, in an interview 10 years later.

However, Ms Moss suggested her older sister’s previous brand of “heroin chic” was making a comeback, following the rise of Ozempic.

‘I would rather die than take it again’

NHS patients in England can only be prescribed Ozempic if they are referred to specialist services, which have long waits.

They can also only access Ozempic on the health service if they have Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy, a similar drug, if they are obese or have a BMI of 27 along with other specific health conditions.

Speaking on the podcast, Ms Moss said: “I would rather die any day than take it again. It made me feel so nauseous.”

She added: “I was throwing up, it was horrible. I took a lower dosage the first time I took it then I went up higher. I ended up being in bed for two days, felt so sick, my weight had dropped.

“I started at about 60 kilos, and I went down to 57 with the first dose, then I went down to 54.

“It was crazy, my lowest was 53. In terms of a few weeks, that’s not a healthy weight loss, not a healthy drop.”

The former Celebs Go Dating star described going to the hospital at 3am, where she said a nurse asked her what dose of the drug she was taking.

She said: “I was like however much and she was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so not the amount you should be taking.’ She asked how much weight I’d lost in two weeks and I told her… She sent me to the emergency room, and I got wheelchaired through the hospital.”

‘One of the scariest things to ever happen’

Ms Moss said that at one point she thought she was going to pass out, before she was taken to a room and seen by another nurse.

“I literally had a seizure from how dehydrated I was, which was honestly one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me in my life.

“My friend Reece had to hold my feet down and it was just so scary, the whole situation, I didn’t know what was going on, my face was clenching up, my whole body was tense, my hands, it was so weird, your hands clench up and you can’t move them and it feels like you’re going to break your hand. It was honestly horrible.”

Continuing her podcast, Ms Moss said that the drug was “for diabetes” and “not for weight loss really”.

She also suggested that it can be “hard to look at” the dramatic weight losses of celebrities using the drug, “especially for people with eating disorders”.

Ms Moss added: “This heroin chic trend right now [is] coming back, which is something that happened in the 90s, we should not be going back there.

“This should not be a trend right now… Where did the body positivity go?”

A spokesman for Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, said: “We understand and empathise with the health challenges this patient has faced.

“While we cannot comment on this particular incident, the safety and wellbeing of patients taking our medicines is our top priority.

“We care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of patients who take our medicines and strongly recommend that all patients stay in close contact with their healthcare professional for proper diagnosis, ongoing guidance, and careful monitoring.

“It is important to note that Ozempic (semaglutide injection) is a prescription-only medicine, meaning that it must be prescribed by a healthcare professional under strict supervision.

“Patients must make any decisions about treatment together with their healthcare professional so that their doctor can assess whether it is appropriate to prescribe the medicine or not, based on their assessment of the patient’s individual medical profile.

“Accessing prescription-only medicines without a valid prescription or without the care of a healthcare professional can pose a direct danger to health.

“We are working closely with the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to continuously monitor the safety profile of our medicines.

“Novo Nordisk has reported this case to our safety team who will follow up in line with our procedures for safety reporting.”

Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, became a victim of crime while delivering a speech to senior officers about an “epidemic” of theft.

The Labour MP was giving a presentation at the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) annual conference in Warwickshire on Tuesday when she had her purse stolen.

The event was taking place at the four-star Chesham Grange Hotel, in Kenilworth, when the theft took place.

A Home Office source confirmed the incident had taken place but said no security risks had been identified. Warwickshire Police said they were investigating a report of the theft of a purse.

Dame Diana, the former chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, was attending the policing conference to give a speech when the theft occurred.

After the conference she posted on social media that it had been a “pleasure to speak” at the conference but did not mention the theft.

It will prove acutely embarrassing for the minister, who used her speech to stress the Government’s determination to tackle “crimes that blight communities… like shoplifting, snatch theft and antisocial behaviour”.

A policing source at the conference said organisers and hotel staff were “mortified” about the theft and hoped the culprit could be identified.

The hotel has a health spa attached and was open to the public during the conference.

The conference, which was attended by superintendents and chief superintendents from across the 43 police forces in England and Wales, was one of the first opportunities for Home Office ministers to address senior officers.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, had been invited to the conference and was expected to attend but sent a video message instead, with Dame Diana going in her place.

She told delegates that the Labour Government was committed to listening to the police about the challenges they faced.

“As the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have made clear, we are serious about tackling crime,” she said.

But in his address, Nick Smart, the newly-elected president of the PSA, told Dame Diana that policing was operating on a shoestring and he urged the Government to reset the relationship with policing after “years of under-investment and de-valuing of the workforce”.

He also warned that the Government’s early release of prisoners would result in police officers having to pick up the pieces.

He told Dame Diana: “My colleagues are once again being placed at the centre of a storm that is not their doing, with the prospect of arresting offenders who can then not be placed in prison, and dealing with the fallout from the thousands of criminals being released early today, many potentially without proper rehabilitation and release plans.”

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, said the theft was “a reminder that anyone could be subject to criminal activity” which is “why the Government has a safer streets mission”.

Asked about the incident, he told broadcasters: “Well, this is now subject to a live police inquiry, so there isn’t much that I can say, but it is a timely reminder that anyone could be subject to criminal activity. That’s why the Government has a safer streets mission.

“That’s why we’re working in this department, the Home Office, to do everything that we possibly can to prevent crime and to keep the public safe, and that mission will continue.”

Counter-terror police from Scotland Yard are supporting officers in Gibraltar investigating the death of Telegraph journalist David Knowles.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police travelled to Gibraltar following a request for assistance for their colleagues in the British Overseas Territory.

Mr Knowles, 32, who was one of the presenters of The Telegraph’s award-winning Ukraine: The Latest podcast, was on holiday in Gibraltar at the weekend when he died suddenly from a suspected cardiac arrest.

In a statement, the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) stressed that, despite the request for assistance from Scotland Yard, there were no specific concerns surrounding the death at this time.

The statement read: “The Royal Gibraltar Police is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of 32-year-old British national David Knowles on Sunday Sep 8 whilst holidaying in Gibraltar.

“His Majesty’s Coroner in Gibraltar has been informed, and a coroner’s investigation is underway. Next of kin for the deceased have been informed, and a specialist RGP family liaison officer has been appointed. Arrangements have been made for a post-mortem examination to be conducted today.

“A policing ‘mutual aid’ request for specialist support was submitted to UK policing, although there are no specific concerns at this time with regard to the death.

“Following the RGP’s mutual aid request, detectives from UK Counter-Terrorism Policing have been appointed to provide support to the RGP investigation due to their existing capability and their experience of dealing with international enquiries.

“The RGP will not be making further comment at this time regarding any aspect of the investigation.”

MP pays tribute in Commons

A Counter-Terrorism Policing spokesman said: “A request to UK Policing was received from the Royal Gibraltar Police to assist with an investigation into a sudden death of a British national in Gibraltar on Sep 8.

“Primacy for the investigation remains with RGP and any further enquiries in relation to this should be directed to them.”

A spokesman for Mr Knowles’s family said: “We note the statement from the Royal Gibraltar Police today about David, particularly the assertion that ‘there are no specific concerns at this time with regard to the death’.

“We do not wish to say anything further while the authorities continue their investigations, and ask that the family’s privacy be respected.”

Andy Slaughter, a Labour MP, paid tribute to Mr Knowles as he spoke in Parliament on Thursday.

After suggesting that a debate should take place about investigative journalism, he said: “Can I pay tribute to Telegraph journalist David Knowles, creator of the brilliant Ukraine: The Latest podcast, who tragically died last weekend at the age of only 32. 

“I’m sure my right honourable friend will join me in sending condolences to David’s family and friends.”

Lucy Powell, the Leader of the Commons, replied: “I certainly would pay my condolences to David’s family. Investigative journalism is so important to our democracy, and we should do whatever we can as a country to support it.”

British twins are on course to secure the world record for the biggest pumpkin, which they expect will weigh as much as a rhino.

Ian and Stuart Paton, both 63, have cloned a “monster” pumpkin they produced two years ago to grow the gourd, which is expected to weigh more than 1.1 tonnes (2,6000 lbs).

The twins, who started growing pumpkins 50 years ago, have tipped their vegetable to set world records at a weigh-in next month.

In photographs, the twins, joined by Ian’s granddaughters Etta, 3, and Martha Syrett, 6, are dwarfed by one of the giant pumpkins.

Ian from Lymington, Hampshire, revealed the twins had spread their bets with four pumpkins this year.

He said: “We’ve got two with an outside chance of breaking the record, one with a reasonable chance of breaking the record and two with a definite chance of breaking the record. They are massive; it’s ridiculous.”

The previous world record was squashed last October by a pumpkin called Michael Jordan, which weighed in at 2,749 lbs according to the Guinness World Records.

Travis Gienger set the record at the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off held in Half Moon Bay, California.

Ian expects his two larger pumpkins to exceed 2,600 lbs this year. He said: “When we weigh them, they do weigh heavy.”

The twins will submit their entries at Wargrave Nursery, Reading, Berkshire, where they previously found out that they had achieved a UK record.

“It’s called the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth,” Ian said, adding: “They have a weigh-in starting in Australia and they go all the way around the world; they even do a weigh-in in Alaska.”

Ian said his largest pumpkin was made using a seed of the “monster” squash grown two years ago, which had fallen just 47lbs short of the world record.

Ian acknowledged that he had caught the growing bug and thrives in keeping up with the pumpkin race of cutting-edge techniques.

“It used to be just planting them, now it’s more technical,” he explained. “Once you grow them once, you can’t stop.”

The twins’ pumpkins have grown at a rate of 70lbs a day – the same weight as a golden retriever – and guzzle up to 300 litres of water in the same time frame.

They transport them to the various competitions on a four-wheel drive and a trailer.

North Korea has for the first time revealed images of the facility that produces fuel for its nuclear bombs.

The regime on Friday released images of leader Kim Jong-un visiting a uranium enrichment plant and called for more weapons-grade material to boost the country’s arsenal.

The state media report on Kim’s visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and a production base for weapon-grade nuclear materials was accompanied by the first photos of the centrifuges, providing a rare look inside North Korea’s nuclear programme, which is banned under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The photos showed Kim walking between long rows of metal centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium. The report did not make clear when the visit occurred nor the facility’s location.

Kim urged workers to produce more materials for tactical nuclear weapons, saying the country’s nuclear arsenal is vital for confronting threats from the United States and its allies.

The weapons are needed for “self-defence and the capability for a pre-emptive attack,” he said.

The North Korean leader said “anti-DPRK nuclear threats” from the “US imperialists-led vassal forces” have crossed the red line, according to the report.

North Korea is believed to have several sites for enriching uranium. Analysts say commercial satellite imagery has shown construction in recent years at the main Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, including its uranium enrichment plant, suggesting possible expansion.

Uranium is a radioactive element that exists naturally. To make nuclear fuel, raw uranium undergoes processes that result in a material with an increased concentration of the isotope uranium-235.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday that the UN nuclear watchdog had observed activity consistent with the operation of a reactor and the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at Yongbyon.

Kim stressed the need to increase the number of centrifuges so as to “exponentially increase” the nuclear weapons and expand use of a new type of centrifuge to further strengthen the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials.

The new type of centrifuge shows North Korea is advancing its fuel cycle capabilities, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Kim also appears to suggest that North Korean tactical nuclear weapons designs may primarily rely on uranium for their cores,” he said.

This is notable because North Korea is more able to scale up its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, Panda said, compared to the more complicated process for plutonium.

North Korea invited some foreign scientists to view a centrifuge facility at Yongbyon in 2010, but Jenny Town of the US-based Stimson Center said Friday’s report is the first and only photographs of the equipment.

“It shows how advanced their enrichment capability has become, which gives greater credibility to both their ability and commitment to increasing their nuclear weapons arsenals,” she said.

North Korea has previously shown photos of what it says were nuclear warheads. It has conducted six underground nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017.

Estimates of the number of North Korean nuclear weapons varies widely. In July a report by the Federation of American Scientists concluded that the country may have produced enough fissile material to build up to 90 nuclear warheads, but that it has likely assembled closer to 50.

Kim also oversaw the test launch of a new 600mm multiple launch rocket system on Thursday and visited an army training base on Wednesday, according to separate KCNA reports.

In a statement carried by KCNA, North Korea’s foreign ministry institute spokesperson criticised a recent defence ministerial meeting between member states of the US-led United Nations Command in Seoul, calling it a “war organisation”.

Germany joined the command last month, becoming the 18th nation in a group that helps police the heavily fortified border with North Korea and has committed to defend the South in the event of a war.

New York is to consider paying reparations to the descendants of slaves, under plans approved by the city council.

The proposals still need to be signed into law by Democratic Mayor Eric Adams.

However, they would create a truth and reconciliation process to establish historical facts about slavery in the state and direct the city’s Commission on Racial Equity to suggest remedies to the legacy of slavery, including reparations.  

New York fully abolished slavery in 1827. But businesses, including the predecessors of some modern banks, are believed to have benefited financially from the slave trade up until as late as 1866.

One of the proposals would also require the city to install a sign on Wall Street in Manhattan to mark the site of New York’s first slave market.

“The reparations movement is often misunderstood as merely a call for compensation,” council member Farah Louis, a Democrat who sponsored one of the bills, told the city council.

She said that systemic forms of oppression still affected people, including through the underfunding of services in predominantly black neighbourhoods.

“Does that mean we are going to hand everyone a check? No,” Ms Louis said, according to The New York Times. “But starting the conversation is the most important part.”

However, Joseph Borelli, the Republican minority leader of the city council, who represents Staten Island, criticised the plans.

“I bear no responsibility for slavery,” Mr Borelli said in an interview. “Unless someone could explain to me why I should bear some individual and societal guilt through my taxes, I’m going to be opposed.”

The Commission on Racial Equity would work with an existing state commission that is already considering the possibility of reparations for slavery. A report from the state commission is expected in early 2025, and the city commission is expected to make recommendations in 2027.

The city’s commission was created out of a 2021 racial justice initiative during then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. Although it was initially expected to consider reparations, instead it led to the creation of the commission, tracking data on the cost of living and adding a commitment to remedy “past and continuing harms” to the city charter’s preamble.

“Your call and your ancestor’s call for reparations had not gone unheard,” Linda Tigani, executive director of the commission, said at a news conference before the council vote.

It is estimated that the studies will cost $2.5 million (£1.9 million).

New York is the latest city to consider reparations. Tulsa, Oklahoma, the home of a notorious massacre against black residents in 1921, announced a similar commission last month.

Evanston, Illinois, became the first city to offer reparations to black residents and their descendants in 2021, including distributing some payments of $25,000 in 2023, according to PBS. The eligibility was based on harm suffered as a result of the city’s discriminatory housing policies or practices.

San Francisco approved reparations in February, but the mayor later cut the funds, saying that reparations should instead be carried out by the federal government. 

California budgeted $12 million for a reparations program that included helping black residents research their ancestry, but it was defeated in the state’s legislature earlier this month.

Allison Hedges Maser, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams, told The New York Times that he supported the legislation and called it a step toward “addressing systemic inequities” and reconciliation.

“New York City has a moral obligation to confront its historical role in the institution of slavery, including harms and long-lasting consequences,” Ms. Maser said in a statement.

A US soldier who fled the UK following a car crash which left a nurse unable to walk will reportedly be extradited from America next month.

Issac Calderon was charged with causing Elizabeth Donowho serious injury by dangerous driving last year but failed to appear at a court hearing.

West Mercia Police later said he had boarded a commercial flight back to Houston, Texas days prior to his scheduled appearance at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court last December.

He was tracked down to his parents’ house in Humble, Texas by journalists this summer and an extradition request was filed in the state.

According to BBC Hereford and Worcester, US authorities have approved Mr Calderon’s extradition and have asked West Mercia Police to “collect” him from Texas early next month.

The 23-year-old was understood to be working for the US military and had visited a Special Air Service in Hereford when he was involved in a collision on the A4103 near Shucknall in Herefordshire on July 31, 2023.

He was described as a “US soldier” during the court hearing that took place in his absence in December.

Ms Donowho, of Malvern, Worcestershire, said she suffered two broken ankles which left her unable to walk for six weeks after the crash.

The 56-year-old also suffered a fractured sternum and a broken bone in her hand.

Mr Calderon also required hospital treatment following the collision, and was later served with a court summons.

The incident drew comparisons with the case of Anne Sacoolas, a US government employee who returned home after killing teenager Harry Dunn while driving on the wrong side of the road.

However, it is understood that there are no issues surrounding diplomatic immunity in Mr Calderon’s case.

Ms Donowho said she was told in the aftermath of the crash that because the driver was American “he was a flight risk and they were working much more quickly than usual” to get him to court.

“They cited the case of Anne Sacoolas and repeated that he was obviously a flight risk,” she told The Telegraph last year.

“They said they had spoken with our military police, who had then spoken with American military police who had guaranteed that he would stay in the country to face justice.”

Joe Biden must be ready to send “backup” if he allows Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia because Vladimir Putin will retaliate, America’s first and only Ukrainian-American congresswoman has said.

The US president is expected to allow Ukraine to use the British-made long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time in the coming days, despite concerns from the Pentagon the move will escalate the war.

The missiles are used alongside American targeting systems, which require US permission to be used outside of Ukrainian territory.

Victoria Spartz, a Ukrainian-American congresswoman from Indiana, told The Telegraph that the move could provoke a response from Russia and that the US should consider deploying “backup”.

“I think Russia needs to understand that there could be serious consequences,” she said.

“If we continue, this war will escalate further and further. And they need to understand that it will be escalating in their territory.

She added: “They’re going to come in to do a couple of shots over there, and there’s going to get all of them hyped up, and then no one is going to backup and it’s going to get even worse.”

Any backup from the US is likely to consist of further weapons, not troops.

On Thursday, Putin said that Ukraine’s use of Western long-range missiles in Russia would amount to a direct conflict between Moscow and Nato.

“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict,” he said. “It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.”

Sir Keir Starmer will discuss Ukraine and the use of missiles with Joe Biden during a meeting in Washington DC on Friday.

The UK has privately pushed for the US to give authorisation for its targeting systems to be used, but has met resistance from the Biden administration.

US analysts have expressed concern that any further escalation of the war could lead to Russia using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield.

If Russia was to launch a retaliation, it could take place in the Ukrainian Donbass region, where Putin is attempting to recapture territory he took in the early days of the war in February 2022.

Pentagon officials have admitted that Ukraine’s use of long-range warheads, including US-supplied ATACMS missiles, could escalate the conflict.

Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week that escalation was “one thing that we’re always assessing”.

However, the US has become more open to the deployment of the missiles after Russia acquired a new batch of long-range missiles from Iran.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, described the move as a “significant and dangerous escalation”.

Ms Spartz’s comments echo concerns that Ukraine may not have the firepower to deal with a Russian retaliation.

Defence sources told The Telegraph that Ukraine has relatively few Storm Shadow missiles left after using many of them to fight Russia in Crimea.

It also has supplies of ATACMS missiles (seen being launched below), which have a similar range, but is not currently allowed to use them outside of its own territory.

Ms Spartz, who was born in the northern Ukrainian city of Nosivka, backed military support for Ukraine in the early days of the war, but voted against the most recent aid package passed in Congress. She has called for the US to come up with a wider strategy to push Putin out of Ukraine, rather than sending piecemeal aid packages.

In an interview with The Telegraph, she also called on Europe to do more to support the war effort, arguing that the EU does not have a “strategy” to push Putin out of Ukraine.

“The UK has been probably one of the best on this issue,” she said. “I’ll be honest with you, the rest of Europe is a joke and that’s why Putin is taking advantage of that.

“So I think America will do its part. But, you know, I think also Europeans need to step up on this issue because it’s an even bigger and closer problem for all of them.”

Ministers must be honest about the need for more pylons and wind farms in the countryside, the net zero tsar has suggested.

Chris Stark, the Government’s “mission controller” for net zero, said achieving clean power by 2030 “will require new development”.

Labour’s goal is five years ahead of the target set by the previous government, and will require a doubling of onshore wind and hundreds of miles of new cables and pylons.

At an event organised by Green Alliance, an environmental think tank, Mr Stark said: “There will be communities who are affected by this and we have to be honest about that.”

The National Grid has outlined 17 major infrastructure projects to deliver on the target, including 112 miles of pylons running from Norwich to Tilbury in Essex, a proposal which has already caused controversy.

Mr Stark said the Government would not “carpet the countryside with wind farms and pylons”, but said affected communities should be offered benefits to deal with new infrastructure.

“A clear plan that you can look at on a map helps us level with the affected communities, and work constructively to minimise the impact on those communities, also offer those communities a clearer share of the benefits in that transition,” he said.

He added that while it was important to let communities “have their say” and obtain public consent, he wanted to see “special treatment” for those projects vital to hit the 2030 goal.

Major projects classed as “nationally significant” are considered by the Secretary of State, rather than local authorities, making it easier to bypass local opposition.

Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, lifted a de facto ban on onshore wind in one of his first moves after coming to office, and has given the go-ahead for three major solar projects.

Before the election Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, said National Grid should look at putting cables offshore even though it was the “costly option”.

Mr Stark said putting cables underground, which many campaigners have called for, was not an option that was being pursued.

“We could underground it, but this Government is very clear that is going to cost too much,” he said.

“There will be some parts of this that we need to look again at, but it is not my intention that we will push for a plan to underground all that cable.

“Apart from anything else it would take too long, and the benefits, frankly, are I think overstated.”