Pubs allowed to stay open later to mark VE Day 80th anniversary

Pub across the country will be ringing the last order bell a little later than usual on VE day, as closing time gets pushed back to 1am for the 80th anniversary.

The prime minister has given the green light for pubs and bars to stay open two extra hours on Thursday 8 May.

Sir Keir Starmer has called for the nation to unite in honour of the wartime generation as the UK marks 80 years since VE Day.

He said it was a moment to “remember the incredible sacrifices” made during the Second World War and to celebrate “the peace and freedom” they won.

Extending pub hours, he added, would give people the chance to “raise a glass to all of the men and women who served their country, both overseas and at home.”

Pub hours have been relaxed before for occasions of “exceptional national significance” such as the Euro 2024 final and King Charles’ coronation weekend..

Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said extending pub hours would give the industry a boost.

He said: “As someone with a strong family background in the armed forces, I know how vital it is to honour the legacy of those who served.

“VE Day is not only a moment of remembrance but also an opportunity for communities to come together.

“At such a challenging time for the hospitality sector, allowing businesses to extend their trading hours during these celebrations offers a much-needed boost while paying tribute to our shared history.”

VE Day commemorations will start on the May bank holiday on Monday 5 May.

The Cenotaph will be dressed in Union flags and there will be a military procession from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace and an RAF flypast over London.

On 8 May, there will be a party at Horse Guards Parade showed live on BBC One.

Despite the White House’s best efforts, Trump is losing ground on immigration

President Donald Trump’s administration has consistently doubled down on refusing to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran father based in Maryland whom it had been mistakenly sent to El Salvador – it is a move that is costing him in the polls.

Trump and his team believe that the president has public opinion on their side for both Abrego Garcia and their plans to send alleged criminals to El Salvador. He campaigned on conducting mass deportations and he won many counties along the U.S.-Mexico border that historically voted Democratic in the wake of an influx of migrants during the Biden administration.

But a new poll shows his support is cracking. Echelon Insights, a Republican polling outlet, released a survey of Trump’s approval rating on various policies and it showed that Trump is losing support on immigration.

The poll revealed that Trump’s approval rating on immigration fell from a net score of plus-18 points to a net score of plus-10 points, a drop of eight points in just weeks.

Echelon is one of the most respected polling firms on the Republican side. The firm’s founding partner, Patrick Ruffini, has written extensively about Trump’s appeal among working-class voters.

The Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13 and that he engaged in human trafficking, but has refused to provide concrete evidence. The White House’s top counterterrorism official Sebastian Gorka went so far as to say that people who accused Abrego Garcia’s supporters with “aiding and abetting.”

The fact that Echelon shows that Trump is bleeding support -albeit he is still above water – on his signature issue reflects a larger dissatisfaction with his administration by voters.

There are also signs that Democrats are starting to hit Trump not only where he’s weak, but also where he is strong. On Thursday, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland posted a photo of himself with Abrego Garcia and saying that he had called Abrego Garcia’s family.

Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador earlier this week given the fact that Abrego Garcia has a wife who is an American citizen and resided in Maryland. The Supreme Court had ruled unanimously that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return.

The Trump administration has responded not by trying to return Abrego Garcia but with Trump’s signature style of never backing apologizing. When Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele visited the White House on Monday, Trump said he would not return Abrego Garcia.

But it’s not just the Echelon poll that shows Trump taking a hit on immigration. Quinnipiac University also released a poll earlier this month showing that 50 percent of Americans disapprove of his immigration policy. Tellingly, 51 percent of independents also disapprove of his policies.

For the longest time, Trump’s immigration policies have propped up his approval ratings that have been otherwise meager for any other president in the first 100 days of their presidency.

While his numbers were higher than they were his first term, buoyed by his winning the popular vote and the implosion of the Democratic brand, he’s comparatively unpopular when measured up against other presidents.

But it does not look like the Trump administration will show any signs of letting up on immigration. Rather, in response to Van Hollen’s visit with Abrego Garcia, the White House posted on X that Abrego Garcia is “never coming back.”

The administration remains defiant in legal proceedings to try and bring Abrego Garcia. But being too defiant might come off as opposing the rule of law and eroding the very trust that Trump built on immigration.

Four-foot-long caiman seized in police search of Essex home

A four-foot-long caiman has been seized by police in a search of a home in Essex as two people were arrested on suspicion of drugs and weapons offences.

The animal, which has now been handed over to the RSPCA, was among the items found by officers executing a warrant at an address in Aveley near Grays on Thursday.

A significant cannabis haul and several weapons including knives were also discovered and seized.

A 36-year-old man, from Purfleet, was arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis, contravention of the dangerous wildlife act and possession of an offensive weapon, while a 35-year-old woman was arrested for the same offences as well as on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs, Essex Police said.

Both have since been released under investigation.

Inspector Dan Selby said: “Drugs cause misery in our communities and we work hard to tackle their production and sale.

“We know this matters to the public and we value our neighbourhoods so these issues matter to us.

“We are also ensuring the welfare of the caiman and have left it in the hands of the RSPCA.”

Caimans live in marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. The animals are native to Central and South America.

Alfie Allen: ‘There has to be something on the line for it to matter’

Play the man, not the cards.” It’s a credo that goes to the heart of the game of poker – and it’s central to Patrick Marber’s 1995 play Dealer’s Choice, which is being revived at London’s Donmar Theatre this month. Poker is a simple game of statistical probability, but also a complex mesh of psychology and personality, and no one wins by relying on maths alone. In poker, the harder someone tries to make themselves unreadable, the more likely they are to show everything. It’s this sense of enigma that is at the heart of so many of Alfie Allen’s performances, which, in recent years, have encompassed a Tony-nominated turn on Broadway, primetime BBC dramas and acclaimed film roles. There’s a sense of self-containment but also of still waters running deep. It’s no surprise that the play’s producers have cast Allen as Frankie, considered the best poker player among the friends who play a weekly game together in what was Marber’s debut.

Having caught the laddish zeitgeist in its year of release, Dealer’s Choice has proved endlessly revivable; it’s knotty and complex enough to plausibly return and make sense in any number of different eras and contexts. It centres around a group of men – all working in the same restaurant, all struggling with thwarted dreams and all hoping, slightly desperately for something better. They’re united by their poker games; a realm in which they can take responsibility and simultaneously surrender it.

In common with many of the cast members, Allen had never played poker before rehearsals for the play began. But their first revelation was the most important. “We learnt that there’s got to be something on the line for it to matter,” he says. “We were all just betting with fake chips, but we realised that it doesn’t really mean anything unless you’re playing with your own money. And as an actor, that’s definitely at the core of what I try and figure out about every part I play: what’s at stake? There are the obvious things that are at stake in terms of money but you try and dig a little deeper.”

In its Donmar incarnation, the play sits comfortably within the current discourse around masculinity. Allen’s Frankie is a cocky but slightly brittle young alpha-male. He’s not only the best poker player in the group but a prolific ladies’ man to boot. Is there, though, slightly less to him than meets the eye? As the group bickers over the cards, all of them end up unconsciously revealing slightly more about themselves than they’d like.

This is probably not a trait that can ever be applied to Alfie Allen in person. There’s never any danger of him overplaying his hand. When we meet in the Donmar’s Covent Garden offices, he’s unfailingly affable despite a long day of rehearsals – a process he seems to be enjoying every bit as much as the actual prospect of performance. He’s sympathetic and amused rather than irritable when my recording device malfunctions and generous with his time. And yet there’s a slight sense of guardedness about him.

And really, that’s not too surprising. As the son of famously garrulous and unguarded actor, presenter, comic and general overlord of Eighties and Nineties excess, Keith Allen, Alfie learnt about the pleasures and perils of the limelight at a young age. The success – and tabloid-related travails – of his singer-sister Lily presumably drove the point home. Questions about his family elicit lengthy pauses and not much more. You suspect he’s not so much unwilling to talk about them as slightly sick of the questions. “My family is my family, you know?” he says.

What, you suspect, does animate him is his work, which is increasingly both varied and impressive. Dealer’s Choice captures the robust, often combative nuances of male friendship brilliantly. “That’s sometimes how a strong friendship is built,” as Allen puts it. “You can go to the extremes and then kind of go back to ‘actually, we’re alright aren’t we?’ He’s also modest enough to give Marber most of the credit for this. “Patrick’s writing really does the work for you in that respect,” he says. “There are no big, performative monologues in this. It’s always about what the other person is doing. That’s how it becomes a proper dance.”

But it takes two to tango. And more and more, it seems Allen is building a portfolio of vulnerable men in extremis. Alongside Frankie, there’s his wracked, tormented Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones (“an amazing, crazy 10 years of my life… that took me to places I didn’t think I could go”). The torture of Theon in the show pivoted around castration, emasculation and humiliation. Last year, Allen played the title role in McVeigh, a timely exploration of America’s deadliest domestic terrorist, Timothy McVeigh, who perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, killing 167 people, including 19 children. And in 2022, there was Steven Knight’s SAS: Rogue Heroes in which he played another real-life character, Jock Lewes, the founding principal training officer of the regiment and a man who combined extreme personal discipline with a maverick streak of wildness.

In realising his screen version of Lewes, Allen did something very characteristic. He offered up a performance that was expressive while being entirely without ego. “I didn’t want to veer too far from the version of him I’d read about – I just looked at the love letters that he wrote to his wife-to-be,” he says. “There’s a whole book of them and that was my source material. I didn’t really want to jazz it up or put my spin on it – I wanted to stay true to what the real life version was”.

It’s tempting here to make a comparison to Alfie’s father Keith, who, for all of his charisma (in fact, probably, because of it), seems to essentially play Keith Allen in every role. Alfie Allen was famously raised in the public eye – Lily has spoken of evenings where the siblings were left upstairs at the Groucho Club while their dad enjoyed himself in the bar downstairs – and has explored the party animal lifestyle himself. But there’s something else in a character like Jock Lewes; a sense of ingrained self-denial that feels like a revealingly antithetical response to this. “Jock was an aloof disciplinarian,” Allen says. “He was raised in a Protestant household, so maybe [the SAS] was his outlet. It gave him a way of channelling his need for structure.” Could something similar be said of Allen himself – and in particular, his ability to disappear into character?

Like the culture itself, it feels like Allen has come a long way. He and Theo Barklem-Biggs (fellow SAS Rogue Hero and one of his co-stars in Dealer’s Choice) set up a therapeutic forum for the cast and crew while on set in Morocco. “There was a bunch of people who didn’t know each other, all plonked in the middle of the desert,” Allen explains. “Which is a bit like what it would be like in the army I guess! It was really good to have that kind of outlet, where everyone felt they could sit around and speak to each other.” For the duration of the run at the Donmar, he and Barklem-Biggs are sharing a flat in central London – there’s a sense of intimacy and honesty, both in and out of character.

So when Allen talks about what’s at stake in the context of Dealer’s Choice, it’s clear that he’s talking about more than money. Dealer’s Choice, like most of the actor’s recent parts, is about how men talk to each other – and in some cases, what happens when they don’t.

But have things moved on since the play was first staged? “I guess they have in terms of talking about love and intimacy and mental health,” he says. “Obviously, I was only eight or nine in 1995 so it wasn’t all that evident to me then but in terms of things being better now, maybe then there was just a kind of unspoken understanding… that sometimes men would just bury things and move on. Whereas now, I think we feel more free to build on that and talk.” In terms of playing the man and not the cards, it feels like Dealer’s Choice – and Alfie Allen himself – has found itself in tune with another cultural moment. He might not be a born gambler. But he certainly isn’t playing it safe either. He’d almost certainly be an excellent poker player, I suggest. “I’d like to think I could be a good bluffer,” he replies. “But it’s all about knowing when to bet.”

‘Dealer’s Choice’ is at the Donmar Warehouse until 7 June

British man, 27, dies in avalanche at ski resort in French Alps

A 27-year-old British man has died after being buried in an avalanche at a ski resort in the French Alps, local government officials have said.

The avalanche occurred at Val Thorens ski resort, in the Savoie region of south-west France, shortly after 10am on Thursday, local prosecutor Benoît Bachelet said in a statement.

The man, who had been lying at the side of the road, was buried in the snow and carried about 15 metres by its force, the prosecutor said.

Nearby police officers were alerted to the incident by a witness, and pulled the man, who had entered cardiac arrest, out of the snow and provided first aid.

He was taken to hospital in Grenoble, in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, where he later died that evening, Mr Bachelet said.

An investigation into the incident has been opened by the regional prosecutor’s office.

The victim’s family are being supported by local services, the prosecutor said.

A Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Why ‘Disagreeing Well’ Could Save Us All

You’re laughing with friends, perhaps enjoying a few drinks down the pub, when all of a sudden, one of those friends drops a clanger of a comment that hits you sideways. Maybe it’s political, maybe it’s personal, but whatever it is it’s a gut punch that lands in direct opposition to something you strongly believe in.

An awkward silence. Your jaw tightens. You scan their face for a trace of irony, but there’s none to be found. Now what?

In that moment, you have a choice. Do you launch into a rebuttal, flinging facts and stats like ninja stars, risking an evening of tension and raised voices? Or do you shut down, politely nod, change the subject, and leave the disagreement to fester quietly beneath the surface?

This moment, with all its visceral discomfort, is something we all recognise. The physical response to conflict is real: adrenaline surges, heart races, breath quickens. We’re wired for fight or flight, and difficult conversations trigger both instincts. Either we go to battle or we retreat.

And therein lies the problem: we’re losing the ability to do anything in between.

Nuance versus viral outrage

Social media supercharges this dynamic. Platforms supposedly designed to connect us can drive individuals further apart, with disagreement online becoming less about discussion and more about demolition. A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that 64% of people say social media has a mostly negative effect on how things are going in their country, with political division and misinformation topping the list of concerns. It’s a space where nuance is drowned out by viral outrage and where algorithmic echo chambers reinforce rather than challenge our views.

In this climate, it’s easy to point fingers; to blame “them” for being unreasonable, misinformed, or even dangerous. But the hard truth is, it’s not just them, it’s all of us. We’re all participants in this culture of binary thinking whether we realise it or not. And if we want things to change, we have to start by looking inward and recognising our own reflexes and assumptions, and then choosing to engage rather than to avoid.

The stakes are too high not to. We’re living through volatile, uncertain and complex times. From the cost-of-living crisis and global conflicts to the climate emergency and the rise of fake news, the challenges we face require cooperation, not competition. We need solutions, not slogans, and we sure won’t find those solutions by shouting past each other or retreating into ideological corners.

A fractured global landscape

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 paints a sobering picture of our current trajectory. Societal polarisation ranks as the fourth most severe risk over the next two years, closely tied to inequality, which holds the seventh spot. These fractures are not just social, they’re systemic, threatening to destabilise political and economic institutions worldwide.

What’s more, nearly one in four experts surveyed identified armed conflict as the most pressing global risk for 2025, surpassing concerns like extreme weather and economic instability. This escalation underscores how deeply divisions, be they ideological, political, or social, can erode the foundations of global cooperation.

Time to lean in

So what’s the answer? It all starts with accepting the discomfort of disagreement, asking better questions and listening with the aim of understanding rather than winning. That doesn’t mean compromising our values or avoiding difficult truths. It means being curious about how others see the world, recognising the humanity behind every opinion, and searching for common ground, however small. It means moving forward together, even – maybe especially – when we don’t see eye to eye.

This isn’t a new idea, of course. More than 2,000 years ago, Socrates was already showing us how it’s done. He understood that disagreement “done well” was essential to the pursuit of truth. His method of asking questions, challenging assumptions and encouraging others to do the same, wasn’t about scoring points. It was about progress, growth and building something better through conversation. Although we’ll never know how long old Socrates might have lasted on X before begging Zeus to lightning bolt the lot of us…

The spirit of open, critical dialogue has long been associated with universities. They are, in many ways, the heirs to Socrates’ legacy; spaces where ideas are tested, where disagreement is part of the learning process, and where diverse perspectives are meant to coexist in meaningful tension.

In today’s climate, that ideal is being tested. Protests, polarisation, and real concerns about safety, speech, and belonging have created complex and often painful challenges on campuses around the world. But in spite of these difficulties, and in many ways, because of them, universities remain among the best places we have to model what it means to disagree well: to be rigorous but respectful, passionate but principled, open but discerning.

They remind us that the goal isn’t to be right all the time, but to get it right eventually. It’s a process, and it requires courage, humility, and a willingness to sit across from someone who sees the world differently and still choose to talk.

Moving forward together

And that’s what we need more of right now. Not more dead certainty, outrage, or noise, but more conversation. Messy, thoughtful, honest conversation, whether it’s in the pub with friends, across the seminar hall or being represented on our screens and streets.

Disagreeing well isn’t about who wins, it’s about how we move forward together. In an age defined by division, the ability to sit with difference, to challenge without contempt, and to talk without tearing down isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential. “Why disagreeing well could save us all” isn’t hyperbole or just a catchy headline; it’s a quiet truth hiding in plain sight.

Civil debate – honest, open, and grounded in respect – might just be one of the most powerful tools we have. The question is: are we ready to use it?

TikTok removes videos promoting birth control misinformation

TikTok has removed videos promoting birth control misinformation after The Independent found that some influencers were spreading unproven claims to millions of users.

An investigation by The Independent and tech company Alethea revealed misleading videos claimed the risks of birth control, such as cancer or psychological side effects, outweigh its benefits.

Some videos, since taken down, also suggested that a herbal supplement called Queen Anne’s Lace could act as a contraceptive, and promoted the idea that women should “detox” after stopping their birth control prescription.

The TikTok videos, which appeared generic, engaging, and aesthetically pleasing, were posted by three prominent wellness influencers – reaching 15 million viewers on the platform between February 2021 and July 2024 and being shared 21,000 times.

Out of the 1,449 total videos posted by the three influencers during the period, 115 were tagged with #birthcontrol.

Using data collection, Alethea – a leading technology company specialising in online risk detection and mitigation – identified the top myths being spread by three prominent TikTok influencers.

The Independent also collated and flagged hashtags used specifically by these influencers on TikTok, which aimed to push this content to a wider audience than just their followers, such as #womenshealth #truth #holistichealth #fertilityawareness and #holistichealing. TikTok did not respond when asked if it took action on these.

Many of the videos were also published on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

Have you come across this kind of content online? Email: hebe.campbell@independent.co.uk

Dr Viki Male, senior lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London, told The Independent: “Contraception, like any medication, has risks – but they are low and far lower than the risks of pregnancy.

“There’s no strong evidence that Queen Anne’s Lace works as a contraceptive – it’s certainly not something I would rely on. In communities that try to use herbal birth control, they have a really high rate of unplanned pregnancies.

“It’s a myth that the longer you take birth control, the longer it takes to get pregnant. Studies show no such ‘wash-out’ period exists for any hormonal contraceptives except for the injection. The injection does take a little while to leave your system, but that is exactly what it’s designed to do.”

However, Dr Male did point out that some people taking contraception may experience side effects, adding: “With every medication, there are always risks, but hormonal contraception is really safe and effective.”

After The Independent presented the social media giant with its evidence, TikTok removed content relating to claims that the risks of birth control – like cancer or psychological side effects – outweigh its benefits and the false claim that Queen Anne’s Lace can work as a contraceptive. It did not remove videos relating to detoxing after taking birth control, however.

It also removed content relating to these topics by influencers that The Independent had not flagged. The videos specifically violated TikTok’s policies around medical misinformation, the app said.

Instagram and TikTok are now the preferred search engines for Gen-Zers when seeking local results, according to a study carried out in 2024 by marketing technology vendor SOCI.

For Gen Z internet users in the US, Instagram was first, with 67 per cent saying they use it for searches. TikTok is the second choice at 62 per cent of the 18 to 24 demographic search, while Google is third at 61 per cent.

TikTok, along with Instagram and other social media platforms, has recently come under scrutiny for allowing misinformation to spread, especially around women’s health.

Another study in 2024 found that women are among the largest group of TikTok users in the United States and may be especially affected by the dissemination of health information on TikTok.

The research suggested that health professionals and health communication scholars need to proactively consider using TikTok as a platform for disseminating health information to young women, because they are using TikTok for it despite preferring information from health professionals.

TikTok said it removed content that violated its policies regarding medical misinformation. Its community guidelines prohibit inaccurate, misleading, or false content that may cause significant harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent.

However, the guidelines allow TikTok users to share their own stories or experiences about medical treatment as long as they do not contain harmful misinformation.

TikTok defines harmful health misinformation as inaccurate medical advice that discourages people from getting appropriate medical care for a life-threatening disease, or other misinformation that may cause negative health effects on an individual’s life.

The app announced a year-long collaboration with the World Health Organisation in 2024 to promote reliable mental wellbeing content and fight disinformation through the Fides Network of trusted healthcare professionals, who are also TikTok creators.

Boris Johnson’s cycling vision stutters as bike journeys fail to rise

Boris Johnson’s vision to “unleash a nation of cyclists” appears to be stuttering with new annual figures showing the number of cycle trips made per person in England remains stagnant despite major work taking place.

The former prime minister pledged thousands of miles of new protected cycle lanes, training for adults and children and bikes on prescriptions as part of a whirlwind announcement for £2bn of funding for cycling and walking in the summer of 2020.

As head of a previous government, Mr Johnson also set an ambitious target for half of journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030.

However, funding for Active Travel England, responsible for managing the active travel budget in support of local authorities on projects, was significantly cut in 2023.

And despite levels of walking rising, according to new figures released by the Department for Transport, the average number of bike journeys per person has remained stagnant since a peak at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

In 2019, people made an average 16 bike trips, including e-bikes, according to the transport survey of 16,000 individuals. That increased to 20 in 2020, but then fell back to pre-pandemic levels with 15 in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Latest data for the year ending June 2024 showed people made an average 15 bike trips, down slightly from 16 in the year ending June 2023.

Meanwhile, the average number of walking trips per person increased from 250 in 2019 to 263 in 2023. Latest data for the year ending June 2024 suggests a further rise with 267 compared to 261 in the year ending June 2023.

The average number of car journeys rose to 364 in the year ending June 2024, from 346 in the year ending June 2023 – however, this was down from 380 in 2019.

The DfT has highlighted that the total number of trips across all modes of transport has fallen since 2019 – however, some in the bicycle industry say more needs to be done to encourage more people to ride.

Sarah McMonagle, director of external affairs at Cycling UK, said councils were not getting enough sustained central government funding to build cycling networks. “That’s why we often see a patchwork of cycle routes rather than a holistic network,” she said.

As well as increased calling for better funding, the charity has recently revealed a gender gap in cycling with it claiming just a third of cycling trips are done by women, and safety a major factor.

“If we’re serious about providing healthier, more sustainable travel options, then we need to invest in safe, accessible cycle networks,” said Ms McMonagle.

The high number of cycling trips made in 2020 reflect people’s lifestyles during Covid, said Kiron Chatterjee, professor of travel behaviour at the University of West of England. Latest figures on cycling could also be impacted by fewer people now commuting due to the introduction of flexible working post-pandemic, he added.

But he said: “It [the data] confirms the picture we have seen since Covid that cycling trips have reverted back to pre-pandemic levels and the progress that has been wished for to assist any rise is not on track at the moment.”

The lack of an increase in bicycle rides is reflected in sales data. In March, the Bicycle Association said sales of bikes in the UK fell 2 per cent last year, compared to 2023.

Simon Irons, data and insights director, said: “The continued decline in kids’ cycling participation and kids’ bike sales is particularly concerning, given these are our cyclists of the future.”

Active Travel England’s commissioner Chris Boardman told MPs on a transport committee in January that the biggest barrier faced was cyclists’ fear for safety, particularly for women.

He said despite success in overseeing more than £500m in investment and training thousands of council officials, the target for walking and riding bikes for 2030 was looking increasingly challenging due to the changes in funding.

He said: “It has made it extremely hard to hit those targets, and there would have to be some significant changes in policy or funding to be able to meet it by 2030.

“We still have a massive pipeline of schemes with local authorities. They still have their network plans. We have just slowed right down on the delivery without the commitment to deliver it—the commitment in consistency and the funding itself.”

A month later, in February, the government announced 300 miles of new walkways and cycle ways would be created with £300m in new funding over the next two years.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Cycling did not decrease between the end of 2023 and June 2024, with cycling distance going up by 9 per cent. Walking trips and walking distance have both gone up significantly from pre-pandemic levels, while car trips are down more than 4 per cent compared to 2019.

“We want to give more people the freedom, opportunity, and choice to cycle, wheel and walk anywhere, and that’s why we’re investing nearly £300m to build up to 300 miles of new cycle tracks and footways.”

An Active Travel England spokesperson said the body would continue its work with local authorities to help them make walking, wheeling and cycling a safe and attractive choice for everyday trips.

They said: “Walking and wheeling, underpins all journeys, particularly for public transport and the increase identified in these statistics is great news and just the start. Many of the schemes we have funded are still being built and we know that safe and high quality infrastructure is used more by all kinds of people.”