Oasis fan lost £1,700 in ticket scam for reunion tour
One Oasis fan lost more than £1,700 after they fell for a ticket scam for the band’s long-awaited reunion tour.
Lloyds Banking Group says fans have been stung by a wave of ticket scams since the band’s reunion tour went on sale and lost more than £2 million collectively.
This estimate, based on fraud reports from Lloyds customers, reveals a worrying trend impacting music fans eager to see the iconic band.
Oasis ticket scams represent a significant portion – 56 per cent – of all concert ticket fraud reported to Lloyds this year.
Fans are losing an average of £436 each, a figure significantly higher than the average concert ticket scam loss.
One unfortunate fan was defrauded of more than £1,700, highlighting the lengths some are willing to go to for tickets and the potential for substantial financial losses.
The data suggests many fans are paying well over face value in their desperation to secure a spot at the highly anticipated reunion shows.
Those aged 35 to 44 appear most vulnerable, accounting for 30 per cent of reported cases. This demographic’s eagerness to relive their youth at an Oasis concert may be contributing to their increased risk of falling victim to these scams.
Edinburgh, Warrington and Manchester have the highest numbers of victims of scams, with the top 10 locations overall making up a quarter (25 per cent) of cases, the banking group said.
The bank found there had been more than 1,000 cases reported since fans’ scramble for tickets started last summer.
Based on its share of banking customers, it estimates that across the UK there are likely to have been at least 5,000 victims since tickets went on sale, with more than £2 million lost to fraudsters.
The analysis was based on concert ticket purchase scams reported by Lloyds Banking Group customers, including customers of Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, where Oasis was referenced as part of the claim, between August 2024 and March 2025.
In a warning about where many scams are originating, the bank highlighted unofficial groups set up on social media, dedicated to buying and selling tickets for the Oasis tour.
Purchase scams happen when someone is tricked into sending money via bank transfer to buy goods or services that do not exist.
Lloyds said ticket scams often involve fake adverts, posts or listings on social media, offering tickets at discounted prices, or access to events that have already sold out at inflated prices.
Fraudsters will also exploit fans’ willingness to pay more for scarce tickets by falsely claiming to have them available.
Victims are asked to pay upfront for the tickets and scammers vanish after receiving the money.
Scams often happen in two waves – the first when tickets are released for sale, and again as the event date approaches.
Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds, said: “The Oasis tour is the latest target for ticket scammers, with millions of pounds of fans’ money stolen before the gigs even kick off.
“The fact that so many cases start with fake listings on social media, often in violation of the platforms’ own rules, underscores the importance of these companies taking stronger action to tackle scams.
“It’s vital that consumers feel empowered to shop safely online. Buying directly from reputable, authorised retailers is the only way to guarantee you’re paying for a genuine ticket.
“If you’re asked to pay via bank transfer, particularly by a seller you’ve found on social media, that should immediately set alarm bells ringing.”
Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert at Which? said: “Scammers are always looking for new ways to part people from their hard-earned cash and unfortunately, Oasis tickets being in such high demand has created a perfect storm for criminals.”
She added: “If you spot any suspicious posts, you can report them to the social media platform and the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate.”
Guy Anker, personal finance expert at website Compare the Market, said: “With big-name tours generating huge demand, it’s important to remain vigilant to potential scams. When tickets are hard to come by, it can be tempting to buy from unofficial sources, but this often leads to disappointment and can cause significant financial loss.
“To help protect yourself, always try to book through trusted platforms, and consider using a credit card, which can sometimes offer extra protection under Section 75 if something goes wrong.”
If someone uses their credit card to make a purchase, the transaction could be covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which allows people to raise a claim with their lender if something goes wrong.
Here are the top 10 hotspots where people are most likely to live who have reported falling victim to Oasis ticket scams, according to Lloyds Banking Group:
Here are some tips from Lloyds for buying tickets safely:
– Stick to trusted retailers
Buy tickets from reputable, official platforms. Be cautious when dealing with third-party sellers.
– Take care on social media
Fraudsters can easily create fake ads, even using images of real tickets.
– Consider whether a “bargain” is too good to be true
If a ticket is being sold at an unusually low price or for a sold-out event, this is a red flag. Consider whether the deal seems realistic.
Tory pollster predicts local election wipeout for his own party
Conservative peer and pollster Lord Hayward has predicted a wipeout for his own party at the upcoming local elections, warning it will also be a difficult night for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour.
Voters in 23 local authorities across England will go to the polls on 1 May to choose their new councillors, with mayors also up for election across six regions. It will be the first big electoral test for the parties since last summer’s general election, and more than half of the council seats up for grabs are currently held by the Conservatives.
Lord Hayward said he expects the Tories to lose between 475 and 525 local authority seats, predicting that the party, which is defending nearly 1,000 seats, will only win between 375 and 425.
Speaking to ITV, he also painted a grim picture for Labour. While he does not expect the party to see a notable change in overall seat numbers, the pollster warned they will fail to take seats in the Midlands and North that he argues “they should have won”.
These areas will instead see heavy gains for Reform UK, the pollster predicted. In total, he expects Nigel Farage’s party to make significant gains, winning between 400 and 450 seats.
Lord Hayward said it will be a “bad night for both the Conservatives, in terms of heavy losses but from a very high water mark, and Labour, who really should make gains from such a low level but lose even where they retained seats in 2021” – pointing to Doncaster, Durham and Lancashire as examples.
The pollster also warned Labour is at risk of losing control in Doncaster to Reform if they have a particularly difficult night at the polls.
He said: “In Doncaster, [Labour] currently hold 41 of 55 seats. On an awful night they will lose control. If they do so, it will be to Reform.
“Equally, Labour may lose virtually all their seats on either Oxfordshire or Cambridgeshire councils in that overwhelmingly, their county representation comes from the two academic centres. Unlike Doncaster, Durham or Lancs, Labour’s losses will be to the Lib Dems and Greens and will be on the basis of aid and welfare issues.”
Sir Keir has faced mounting criticism for Labour’s decision to slash the aid budget to 0.3 per cent of GDP, alongside his decision to make sweeping cuts to welfare amounting to £4.8bn.
The dire outlook for the Conservatives comes just one day after Kemi Badenoch admitted that May’s local elections are “going to be very difficult” for her party, after what she admitted was a “history defeat” for the Tories in July.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Conservative leader said: “Two-thirds of the seats four years ago we won – there’s no way we are going to be able to do that again.”
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Tories were told to “come clean” on whether they want to do a deal with Reform UK, after shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick vowed to bring together a coalition to fight Labour.
In an audio recording obtained by Sky News, the shadow justice secretary said that he wants the fight against Labour to be united, saying that if Nigel Farage’s party become a “permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene” then “life becomes a lot harder” for the Tories.
Ms Badenoch has consistently ruled out a national deal with Reform, but earlier this month, she suggested that Conservative councillors could be free to go into coalition after the upcoming local elections – an idea that was later rebuffed by Mr Farage.
Man hospitalised by peanut allergy now eats nuts daily
A 44-year-old man with a life-threatening peanut allergy can now eat a handful of peanuts every morning as part of his daily routine, thanks to a “life-changing” medical study.
Richard Lassiter, who has experienced multiple hospitalisations due to accidental peanut exposure, now consumes four peanuts each morning, describing it as “taking his medicine”.
Lassiter’s severe allergy previously dictated his life, requiring constant vigilance to avoid even trace amounts of peanuts.
This new development offers a glimpse into a future where adults with peanut allergies might be able to live without the constant fear of accidental exposure.
Experts highlight that previous desensitisation studies primarily focused on children, leaving adults with limited treatment options.
This new research, however, suggests that similar treatments could be effective for adults, potentially revolutionising allergy care. While further research is needed, the study’s success provides hope for thousands of adults living with the daily challenges of severe peanut allergies.
Health officials said the trial gives “hope” to thousands of people. The peanut desensitisation, also known as oral immunotherapy, works by introducing micro amounts of peanuts and gradually increasing the dosage to build up immunity.
Mr Lassiter, an executive coach from Beckenham in Greater London, was diagnosed with a peanut allergy as a child.
He told the PA news agency that he “managed” his condition but always felt nervous eating out.
“I had a really severe episode on our once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Chile with my wife in 2018 that changed everything,” he said.
He said that the episode occurred when they were on holiday “1,000 miles from anywhere” when he was given food with peanuts in.
Mr Lassiter took his auto-injector pen, and his inhaler to ease his breathing, and was taken to hospital by ambulance.
He had to stay in a high dependency unit overnight where he needed adrenaline and oxygen.
“It was a real shock, because obviously we’re a long way away from home,” he told PA.
“I recall saying to my wife: ‘I can’t keep dealing with this, it’s just so terrifying’.”
On another occasion, during a meal out in Soho in London, Mr Lassiter said that he accidentally ate peanuts after they were hidden under some ice cream.
“Within a few seconds, I knew I was in trouble.
“By the time I was in St Thomas’s it was pretty bad – I remember I’d swollen up to a huge size relative to my normal size and asking the nurse if I was going to make it.”
Speaking about the new study, he said: “I got to the point where I was having a total of four peanuts a day, which I still take to this day.
“This morning I had my four peanuts after I ate my breakfast, as if it was some sort of a teaspoon of medicine.”
He added: “It’s been life-changing for me – it’s increased my confidence immeasurably.
“It’s had a huge effect on my life. I feel much calmer, much happier and really excited about the ability to do all of these things in the future.”
Researchers from King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust stressed that this type of treatment should only be initiated under very close supervision.
Their new study, published in the journal Allergy, saw 18 adults with a typical peanut allergy gradually desensitised to peanuts.
After their allergy was confirmed by teams in hospital, patients were given small amounts of peanut flour to eat at home, starting with the equivalent of 0.5% to 1% of a whole peanut.
Their dosage increased gradually and once they could tolerate 50-100mg of peanut protein they were switched to eating whole peanuts, peanut butter or peanut products.
By the end of the study, which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, two thirds (67%) were able to eat the equivalent of five peanuts without reacting.
Chief investigator Stephen Till, professor of allergy at King’s College London and consultant allergist at Guy’s and St Thomas’, told the PA news agency: “The problem is that once I see (adult) patients in my clinic, there’s been nothing that we’ve been able to do to them – we can’t offer them desensitisation because the data is all from young children – in medicine you can’t give treatment to children or to adults based on a clinical trial that’s been performed in the other group.
“So we have got this sort of, and continue to have this sort of big unmet need of adults with peanut allergy.”
He added: “We were really pleased because we got the evidence that we hoped we would get – we saw results that were broadly in line with with what been obtained from studies in young children.
“Our phase two study suggests that this treatment is is potentially effective in adults.”
But he said larger studies were needed to confirm findings and stressed that food immunotherapy “definitely must be done under very close clinical supervision”.
Commenting on the study, public health minister Ashley Dalton said: “This ground-breaking research offers hope to thousands living with peanut allergies.
“For too long, people have navigated daily life in fear of accidental exposure that could be life-threatening.”
Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care and chief executive of the NIHR said: “These results mark an important milestone in allergy treatment and offers new hope to adults living with peanut allergies.
“For adults who have long lived with the daily burden and fear of accidental exposure they may have a pathway toward greater safety and an improved quality of life.”
Commenting on the study, Adam Fox, chair of the National Allergy Study Group, and professor of paediatric allergy at King’s College London, said: “Conventional wisdom has been that oral immunotherapy for food is really just for children and there is clear evidence that the younger it is started, the safer and better the outcome.
“However, that doesn’t mean that the benefits would not still be worthwhile for adults, and this study shows that for many, oral immunotherapy for peanut at least, can still make a real difference.
“This is only a small study and we hope to see larger studies to follow, but it’s an important proof of principle that this may well be a treatment for adults too.
“However, this treatment requires careful medical supervision and should never be attempted without this.”
Arsenal held by Crystal Palace but Liverpool celebrations still on ice
Arsenal prevented Liverpool from being crowned Premier League champions without kicking a ball despite conceding a late goal in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.
Mikel Arteta’s players knew that a defeat at the Emirates would see Liverpool take the title, but the home side were ahead inside three minutes through Jakub Kiwior.
Eberechi Eze’s superb volley from a corner hauled Palace level before Leandro Trossard scored his third goal in two matches to restore Arsenal’s advantage.
Arsenal looked on course to take all three points but a sloppy pass by William Saliba allowed Palace substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta to strike with seven minutes left.
The Gunners are 12 points adrift of Liverpool and, with only the same number of points available across their remaining four matches, Arne Slot’s squad will seal the title with a draw against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.
Arteta’s side will now turn their attention to next week’s opening leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain with Palace to face Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday as they bid for a place in the FA Cup final.
Arsenal’s title challenge has long since faded, and for a third consecutive season they look set to finish as runners-up. But Arteta and his players will have been desperate to avoid handing the title to Liverpool by losing against Palace.
With their match against PSG just six days away, Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench, but Arsenal were ahead after just 145 seconds.
Kiwior broke free of the Palace defence to arrive unmarked to Martin Odegaard’s free-kick to head home just the third goal of his Arsenal career.
To their credit, Palace responded well, and former Arsenal man Eddie Nketiah headed wide from a corner before scuffing a shot when he might have done better. But Palace were soon on level terms when Eze produced a moment of magic.
Standing unmarked on the edge of Arsenal’s penalty area, Eze fired Adam Wharton’s pinpoint corner on the volley, into the ground, and into the net, via the inside of David Raya’s post.
Palace had their tails up, and Nketiah nearly put the visitors ahead after he wriggled free of Kiwior only to see his shot hit the Pole’s outstretched leg.
Thomas Partey’s suspension could see Mikel Merino, who was absent from Arsenal’s squad here, revert to midfield for the game against PSG and allow Trossard to lead the attack.
And after his double against Ipswich on Sunday, Trossard was back among the scorers three minutes before half-time when he picked up Jurrien Timber’s pass and unleashed a shot which took a slight deflection off Maxence Lacroix’s studs past Dean Henderson. The former Brighton man goaded the visiting Palace fans by cupping his ear in their direction.
After the break, Raya was called into action when he tipped over Justin Devenny’s effort and then denied Marc Guehi’s header from the resulting corner.
At the other end, Gabriel Martinelli had a goal chalked off after Timber failed to keep the ball in as he cut it back for his team-mate.
Substitute Saka’s side-footed volley from Martinelli’s cross was palmed over by Henderson with 10 minutes left, but there would be another twist when Palace equalised moments later.
A casual Saliba saw his attempted pass to Odegaard intercepted by Mateta, and the striker, having only just been brought on, spotted Raya out of position before he produced a sublime finish to chip the ball over the Spaniard’s head.
Eight minutes of injury time followed but a nervy Arsenal saw out the draw with Liverpool forced to put the champagne back on ice.
Surge in swimmers hospitalised from polluted UK waters
A UK woman was forced to spend five days in hospital with severe gastroenteritis after swimming in the sea as hospitalisations from water-borne diseases increased by 60 per cent since 2010.
East Lothian-based carer Shelley Sim had enjoyed a swim near her home east of Edinburgh to celebrate a friend’s birthday last year when she woke up with stomach pains and fatigue.
After speaking to her GP, she was told to urgently attend hospital and underwent several weeks of appointments which led to a final diagnosis of cryptosporidium – a disease contracted by swimming in contaminated water.
Diseases such as dysentery and Weil’s disease have led to swimmers becoming critically unwell after swimming in open water, with hospitalisations increasing from 2,085 people in 2010-11 to 3,286 in 2022-23.
Following her experience, Ms Sim said: “I’m no longer swimming every day, and I’m more cautious about getting into the water. The sea is where I go for my mental health, to get away from stress of being a carer.
The swimmer said that while she used to just check the tide, she was now forced to check sewage outfalls, especially after heavy rain, to avoid a repeat of the nightmare experience.
“It impacted my son’s mental health. He has OCD, ADHD and autism and I’m his carer. My illness caused a lot of anxieties and stress,” she said.
A recent survey conducted by Surfers Against Sewage and the organisation 38 Degrees found that out of 28,458 participants, 78 per cent were angry with the state of the UK’s waterways, and less than five per cent trusted their water company to end sewage pollution.
Cases of Weil’s disease, which can cause kidney failure and liver damage, had risen in 2023 with 122 people diagnosed, double the number in 2010. The disease is spread through water contaminated with the urine of infected animals, while cases of typhoid had also increased.
Miriam, a surfer from Cornwall, suffered two episodes of sickness in 2024 after contracting a stomach bug twice while out surfing.
“Sickness from the water affected me mentally, as I found myself feeling anxious in the weeks after the sickness episode about entering the water, a place where I usually spend a lot of time,” she said.
“I spend most of my weekends surfing. It just made me angry, as the water is somewhere I go to relax and unwind, and this shouldn’t be somewhere where I feel nervous about getting ill. Physically, the illness wiped me out. Picking up a stomach bug meant I lost a lot of weight, and I felt pretty weak and fatigued. I had to take six days off work.
“I think sewage pollution has massively impacted the surfing community. I know a lot of mates who have been sick from the water. It’s just not a nice thought knowing that a hobby you love so much can also put you at risk of becoming unwell. It doesn’t sit comfortably.”
As part of their evidence submitted to the Independent Water Commission on Wednesday, Surfers Against Sewage conducted a second survey among their supporters, where 98 per cent of 3,000 participants said they had lost trust in the system.
Meanwhile, over a quarter reported becoming unwell after entering a river, lake or sea over the last two years, and over 80 per cent agreed that the actions of their water company have negatively impacted their local community.
Speaking to The Independent, Surfers Against Sewage CEO Giles Bristow, said: “It shows just how frustrated and overwhelmingly angry the British public are and how much radical transformation is required.
“The public are furious. We were all cooped up in our bedrooms during the Covid-19 pandemic and after the lockdown was lifted, people wanted to go out and enjoy our rivers and lakes and to reconnect with nature. However, people have seen that the natural environment is changing before their eyes.”
This evidence has now been submitted to Sir Jon Cunliffe, the former deputy Bank of England governor who is chairing over the Independent Water Commission, which is set to release its interim report in May.
Meanwhile, Surfers Against Sewage are organising a Paddle Out protest on 17 May in seaside communities across the UK, to raise awareness of water pollution.
What smart investors need to know about changing status symbols
“It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin.”
In 2001, Sex and the City introduced us to the Hermès Birkin, with character Samantha Jones being told there was a five year waiting list for would-be buyers. The fashion set’s favourite accessory went mainstream.
The Birkin continues to sell well over 20 years later, both new and second hand. Resale values have reportedly risen faster than gold. The Birkin has helped Hermès to outperform in what has been a torrid time for luxury brands.
But how long can that appeal sustain?
Why we’re entering a new era of super tests for male cancers
In 2024, Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy shocked the world when he revealed his diagnosis of stage four prostate cancer. At just 48 years old – and despite being one of the fittest men in the world – he was given only a few years to live after the disease was found to have progressed and spread throughout his body. Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, and 12,000 men die of it every year. That’s 33 men every day.
Caught early, prostate cancer is highly treatable. So why are so many men still dying from it? Detection is the first hurdle: before being given his terminal stage four diagnosis, Hoy had noticed a pain in his shoulder and ribs that he mistakenly attributed to gym workouts. A scan revealed a tumour, and several hospital appointments and scans later showed that it had spread to his bones. “I’d had zero symptoms, nothing to point me towards that that might be an issue,” he told the BBC. “We were given the news that this was incurable.”
Currently, there is a lack of a reliable, accurate screening test for prostate cancer. The traditional PSA blood test, which looks for elevated levels of prostate-specific antigens, flags up a huge number of slow-growing cancers that are unlikely to cause harm, while missing some of the most aggressive types.
Prostate cancer is incredibly common, but also incredibly diverse in how it affects people. Half of men who reach 80 have cancer in their prostate. But in nearly all cases, says Alastair Lamb, a leading researcher into prostate cancer, those cancers would continue to remain asymptomatic and pose no threat to health. He says, “Maybe only 3 per cent of men will die from their prostate cancer. That’s very serious, and it’s still a lot of men, but it’s not 50 per cent.” The problem, he says, is that we “diagnose far too much prostate cancer” but fail to identify the 3 per cent of aggressive cancers that will, as in Hoy’s case, then spread and become deadly.
But what’s the problem if we, say, screen every man over 40 and, if they have cancer in their prostate, offer them treatment just in case? The issue is that current treatments – surgery, hormone therapy and radiotherapy – all carry risks. Surgery alone can have side effects including lifelong incontinence and sexual dysfunction. A price worth paying to save your life, maybe, but not if the cancer was never going to spread.
Men with high PSA scores often undergo stressful, invasive, and costly follow-ups, yet 80 per cent turn out not to have cancer at all. Lamb, also a, clinician scientist at the Barts Cancer Institute, says, “People think all we need to do is create a test, find every case of the disease and treat the disease. But this emphatically does not work in prostate cancer.”
This is why researchers are desperate to find a better test than is currently on offer, and this month the news came that one might be on the way. It comes in the form of a simple at-home spit test aimed at identifying men with a high genetic risk of developing prostate cancer.
Early studies suggest it could detect over 12,000 tumours at an earlier stage. The test was created by a group of international scientists based at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London. Simply by looking at a small sample of saliva, it can identify more than 160 genetic variants linked to prostate cancer and then use AI to calculate an individual’s risk of the disease.
In trials, the saliva test picked up more cancers than the current PSA, identified more aggressive cancers and returned fewer false positives. Of high-risk men sent for an MRI and biopsy, 40 per cent were subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer, compared to just 25 per cent of those flagged by a high PSA level. Remarkably, it even identified cancers missed on MRI scans.
Professor Ros Eeles from the Institute of Cancer Research describes the test as “relatively simple” and “inexpensive”, saying it could help “turn the tide on prostate cancer.” And by catching cancer earlier and slashing the number of men sent for ultimately negative tests, it could also, she says, “save the NHS a significant amount of money.” The estimated savings? A staggering £500m a year.
The test isn’t ready for an NHS rollout yet. Initial trials only included European men, despite men of African heritage being twice as likely to develop prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die of it. This is likely due to genetic differences. However, the test has since been updated to include genetic variants affecting African and Asian men, and further trials are underway. Men with high scores are now being monitored to see if they develop the disease – similar to the way women with the BRCA gene (brought into the spotlight by Angelina Jolie) are eligible for more frequent breast screenings.
Meanwhile, the charity Prostate Cancer UK is launching a £42m research programme involving hundreds of thousands of men. The TRANSFORM trial will pit different tests against each other – including genetic tests – to identify the most effective way to screen men for prostate cancer. The study will take at least three years to produce initial data.
Lamb’s own research, funded by Cancer Research UK, doesn’t look at our DNA, but at the genetic makeup of prostate cancer tumours themselves, trying to distinguish between cancers that could be deadly and those that will remain harmless. This work, he hopes, will eventually lead to tests which can spot these aggressive cancer cells via MRI or, because tumour cells leak into the bloodstream, through a simple blood test.
Meanwhile, biotech entrepreneur and scientist professor Sir Chris Evans has announced the development of two other tests, one for prostate cancer and another for testicular cancer. As founder and chief scientific officer of EDX Medical, a company specialising in cancer diagnostics and prevention, Evans has created what he calls a “highly accurate super test” for prostate cancer. He claims that, with the help of sophisticated AI algorithms, his blood test can detect the presence of cancerous cells, identify early and late-stage cancer, determine whether it’s slow-growing or aggressive, assess genetic and hereditary risk and guide treatment.
“The increased accuracy over PSA testing should reduce the need for unnecessary MRIs,” says Evans. “The requirement for highly invasive digital rectal exams will also be dramatically reduced.”
The test has been patented and is in further trials, with its launch planned for later this year or in early 2026. Although it comes too late for his diagnosis, Hoy says of EDX’s prostate test: “I now know there is a need for better and more accurate prostate cancer screening tests – and I wholeheartedly welcome this initiative.”
But before this are Evans’s plans to release a blood test for testicular cancer, which is claimed to be 99 per cent accurate. Though relatively rare, testicular cancer affects around 2,400 men annually in the UK. It is one of the most curable cancers, with a survival rate of 95 per cent. But it can be devastating due to its impact on younger men. It is most common in men aged 15 to 45 – such as Coronation Street actor Jack James Ryan, who was diagnosed at 19 – and in some cases can affect fertility.
“There’s still such a huge stigma around testicular cancer, especially the process of getting physically checked,” Ryan says. “A simple blood test would remove the awkwardness and discomfort.”
Evans says the test is 99 per cent accurate, adding: “Accuracy is what matters. So people can get on with treatment or simply chill if all is well.” He says that many men delay seeing a doctor about male cancers out of embarrassment, even when they experience symptoms of prostate or testicular cancer.
“Men don’t want to self-examine, and even if they notice a lump, they might dismiss it as a sports injury. They’ll ignore symptoms like bloating, blood in the urine or stool, or unexplained weight loss, regarding them as a weakness or a failure. They feel embarrassed to talk about them, especially with a female GP. And the idea of the ‘finger up the bum’ test scares the life out of them.”
EDX’s new testicular cancer test will launch within weeks. The downside? It will only be available through private clinics. And while pricing hasn’t been finalised, Evans says it will cost “in the hundreds of pounds”. He says, “I believe the cure for cancer will come from testing to find the disease early, plus treatment with precision drugs, which are designed to attack the thing you’ve got with minimal side-effects. In the future, I can see people going back to work after two weeks of treatment, with no chemo, no hair loss, no toxicity, no radiology burns and no scars. But to achieve that, we need to find the right cancers very early. I believe new tests will help to make that happen.”
Rachel Reeves has been dealt a tough hand – she must hold her nerve
The government borrowed £15bn more than expected in the year to March, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics released on Wednesday morning. This is nothing short of disastrous for Rachel Reeves, who is in Washington DC trying to roll back US tariffs which threaten to make the outlook even worse.
Inevitably, the chancellor is besieged by know-alls offering advice. She should tear up her fiscal rules, the Blue Labour group of MPs suggested this week. Maurice Glasman, the guru of the working-class faction, went further and proposed the abolition of the Treasury – complaining that Ms Reeves had become merely a “drone” for the overmighty finance department.
She should cut public spending, especially on welfare, say the Conservatives, even though they did not succeed in doing so themselves when they were in government. All the opposition parties complain about the “jobs tax” – the big increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, implying that it should be reduced, but they all run a mile from actually proposing an unfunded tax cut. The ghost of Liz Truss haunts this debate, and is likely to do so, justifiably, for many years to come.
Ms Reeves will ignore these suggestions, and she is right to do so. Those who are urging her to rewrite her fiscal rules are in effect calling for her to borrow more. But if higher-than-expected borrowing is the problem, it is hard to see how borrowing even more is the solution. The country is already borrowing an unprecedented amount and, while no one can be sure where the breaking point lies, that is not something a responsible government should try to find out.
Those who argue for deeper cuts in public spending are more realistic, but they have to face up to the fact that so many essential public services have been badly underfunded for a decade and a half now. Unless the state withdraws from some functions altogether – as it has just withdrawn, in effect, from providing foreign aid – there are no significant savings to be made.
The idea that cutting waste and inefficiency will yield vast sums is a mirage and always has been – as Elon Musk’s Doge, or Department of Government Efficiency, will no doubt confirm in the United States. It is always worth trying harder, if not going as far as some of Mr Musk’s counterproductive efforts, but efficiency savings are never going to shrink the state.
That leaves Ms Reeves with the unattractive but only viable option of raising taxes further. She is not going to make this argument, so we will make it for her: for all that she has raised taxes in this government’s first nine months, the overall tax burden in the United Kingdom is still markedly lower than in most of the main European economies.
In her interviews in Washington, she continues to insist that the government remains bound by its manifesto promises not to raise the main taxes on “working people”. But there is still some scope for further tax increases.
At the Budget in the autumn, Ms Reeves should have the courage of her Labour convictions and say that, in a changing world, with the global economy in a worse position than last year, she has to ask those with the broadest shoulders – who already bear the greatest burden – to carry a little bit more.
If there was ever a time to impose a windfall tax on big tech companies and banks, now would be that time. Raising income tax would be efficient and effective and would include higher earners.
Ms Reeves is doing broadly the right things. She is trying this week to secure a trade deal with the US that would lift the clamp of tariffs on growth. She has done what she can to relax the constraints on growth of the planning system. And there is hope of a deal with the European Union next month that could ease trade with the UK. That is a prize that should be seized urgently.
None of these is a magic wand, but there are no such things in the world of economics. All Ms Reeves can do, beyond those pro-growth measures, is to try to keep the public finances stable and sustainable in turbulent times. She must hold her nerve.