Sycamore Gap suspect claims he was framed by person ‘stirring the pot’

A man accused of chopping down the Sycamore Gap tree told police he had been “fixed up” as officers searching his home discovered a phone with a video showing a wedge of wood in his car boot, a jury has heard.

Groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, told officers he was being framed for the crime as part of a dispute with someone “stirring the pot”, Newcastle Crown Court heard on Thursday.

Speaking in his first police interview, Mr Graham denied cutting down the sycamore, claiming he was not trained to fell anything as large as the famous tree that stood beside Hadrian’s Wall.

Prosecutors told the jury photographs and two short videos found on Mr Graham’s phone on the day of his arrest showed a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the boot of his Range Rover.

Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Richard Wright KC suggested that Mr Graham and his co-accused Adam Carruthers, 32, took a wedge of the Sycamore Gap tree “perhaps as some sort of trophy”.

Mr Graham, of Carlisle, and Mr Carruthers, a mechanic from Wigton, Cumbria, each deny two counts of causing criminal damage to both the tree and Hadrian’s Wall, which the sycamore hit as it came down on the night of 27 September 2023.

The prosecution said the pair travelled from Carlisle to the Northumberland landmark, where one used a chainsaw to fell the tree while the other filmed it on Mr Graham’s mobile phone.

Jurors on Thursday were told that forensic video analyst Emiliano Polito had “no doubt” the vehicle in the video showing a piece of wood and chainsaw in the boot – taken in the hours after the Sycamore Gap was felled – was Mr Graham’s Range Rover.

The video was on Mr Graham’s phone, the prosecution said, which was found inside a jacket pocket hanging in a caravan during a search of the suspect’s home following his arrest on 31 October 2023.

Two chainsaws were also seized from a work shed.

During police interview on the day of his arrest, Mr Graham told officers he thought he was being “fixed up” and mentioned a “fake profile” and a “p*key down the road” when asked with whom he was in dispute.

He told police there had been an altercation in which his friend Mr Carruthers was assaulted, and Facebook messages later appeared, accusing the pair of felling the Sycamore Gap tree.

“Someone stirring the pot,” Mr Graham told officers. When asked if the dispute had finished, he replied: “Obviously it’s not finished because I’m f****** in here.”

The jury also heard how Mr Graham had 11 vehicles connected to his business. He told police in an interview that he did not know if anyone had been using his Range Rover on the night the Sycamore Gap tree came down.

He also told police that he would lend his mobile phone to other people.

In a second interview, when asked if he filmed the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree on his mobile, and when questioned on the video and photograph showing a chunk of tree and chainsaw in the boot of a vehicle, he answered “no comment”.

The jury heard that Mr Carruthers was also first questioned by police on 31 October 2023.

He told police he did not remember what he had been doing on the night the Sycamore Gap tree had been felled, but he had probably been helping his partner look after their newborn baby.

Asked if he had felled a tree before, Mr Carruthers replied: “If someone said ‘there’s a tree and there’s a saw, cut that down,’ I’d have a go but I’ve never done it.” He added: “I wouldn’t be keen doing it, I wouldn’t jump at the chance if I’m honest, like. I wouldn’t fancy that – I’ll stick with spanners.”

Jurors heard that despite the police undertaking extensive searches, the chainsaw the two men allegedly used to cut down the tree and a wedge of the trunk prosecutors say they took were never found.

The trial continues.

Is Ed Miliband, Labour’s green conscience, about to be dumped?

If Tony Blair was trying to push Ed Miliband out of the government with his criticism of phasing out fossil fuels too quickly, it was political rather than personal.

“It’s not that I don’t like Ed, because I do,” the former prime minister told students at King’s College London last month, when he explained that he thought the 2010 leadership election was “really significant”.

He said that “if Labour had chosen the other Miliband brother”, it would have been “a credible contender in the 2015 election”, but that Ed “was not in the right policy place to win”.

Blair evidently still thinks that, and believes that the energy secretary’s policies are a potential liability for Labour at the next election. He wrote in the foreword to his institute’s paper on climate change policy this week: “Voters feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal.”

But does Keir Starmer agree with him?

He appeared not to. His spokesperson told journalists on Wednesday that the prime minister “absolutely” had confidence in Miliband as energy secretary. “He’s doing a fantastic job, winning the global race for the jobs of the future and securing people’s energy bills.”

The problem is that Starmer has often been absolutely, definitely and totally in favour of things that he later turned out not to be in favour of at all. In February last year, two days before he and Rachel Reeves dropped the plan to invest £28bn a year in green projects, he said it was “desperately needed”.

Last month, he told an international summit on energy security at Lancaster House that “the clean energy transition” was “in the DNA of my government”. So it cannot be long before the government’s unrealistic targets for the transition are revised.

But how long? And will the coming course correction cost Miliband his job?

My view is that Miliband will not resign voluntarily. He has shown that he is prepared to compromise for the sake of the greater good, which is that he should be in the cabinet as Labour’s green conscience. He accepted the ditching of the £28bn. More recently, he accepted a third runway for Heathrow. Longer ago, in Gordon Brown’s cabinet, he also accepted a third runway – it was only in the 14 years in between that he was opposed.

Other compromises will present themselves as the costs of the drive to net zero become explicit. Reeves has made it clear that they will not be borne by the Treasury, and Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, and Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s chief of staff, will not allow them to be passed to consumers. Miliband will have to act as the government’s green shield as it retreats from some of its more ambitious targets.

At some point, however, Starmer may decide that he agrees with Blair that Miliband’s approach is a vote-loser and therefore a bar to genuine green progress. When Starmer’s spokesperson was asked if Miliband enjoyed the same job security as Reeves and David Lammy, the foreign secretary, who Starmer has said will stay in post for the whole of this parliament, the question was dodged: “The PM absolutely backs the energy secretary, as I said.”

So Miliband could be moved in the next shuffle, either in the summer or at the end of the year. It may be that Starmer will thank him for his hard work on the government’s net zero strategy and at Cop30, the next global climate summit in Brazil in November, offer him a different job, which he would turn down.

Miliband remains extremely popular among Labour members, coming top of the cabinet favourability league table by some distance in the Survation poll for Labour List last month, ahead of Angela Rayner, Hilary Benn and Lisa Nandy. But – irony of ironies – he no longer holds the sway among the trade unions that he once did.

Sharon Graham, the leader of Unite, the union that delivered the Labour leadership to him in 2010 against the votes of party members for his brother, has come out this week in support of Blair on net zero.

Starmer has long been described as a friend of Miliband’s. As party leader, Miliband helped ensure that the former public prosecutor landed the safe seat of Holborn and St Pancras. But if Starmer has proved one thing since he arrived in parliament, it is that he is more ruthless than anyone thought possible.

If Starmer decides that Miliband is an electoral liability, therefore, he will go.

Fernandes inspires stunning Europa League win over 10-man Athletic

Manchester United travel to Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals in what they hope will be the first of two visits to the Basque Country this month.

Athletic will host the Europa League final later on 21 May and are dreaming of winning a first European trophy at their home stadium in San Mames. With Spain star Nico Williams in their attack and Athletic enjoying a good season in La Liga, sitting fourth under Ernesto Valverde, the hosts look favourites to win the competition.

Ruben Amorim’s visitors are languishing in 14th place in the Premier League but produced a stunning comeback against Lyon in the quarter-finals to keep their Europa League hopes alive. While Amorim dismissed the idea that winning the Europa League would “save our season”, winning the trophy offers a route into the Champions League and could help turn the club’s fortunes around.

Follow live updates from Athletic Bilbao v Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final first leg, below.

Harrods targeted by cyber hackers in latest attack on UK retailer

Harrods has been targeted by cyber hackers in the latest attempted cyber attack on major UK retailers.

The luxury London department store confirmed it has been fighting “attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems” after major brands Marks & Spencer and the Co-op Group recently endured similar incidents.

The store said it had been forced to restrict internet access across its sites on Thursday as a precautionary measure, but reassured customers they can continue to shop on its sites.

It comes as a cybersecurity expert warned the flurry of high-profile hacks seen recently are only “the tip of an iceberg of attacks daily”.

In a statement issued on Thursday, a Harrods spokesperson told The Independent: “We recently experienced attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems.

“Our seasoned IT security team immediately took proactive steps to keep systems safe and as a result we have restricted internet access at our sites today.

“Currently all sites including our Knightsbridge store, H beauty stores and airport stores remain open to welcome customers.”

They said customers could also continue to shop on the Harrods’ website.

“We are not asking our customers to do anything differently at this point and we will continue to provide updates as necessary,” they added.

The attempted hack comes after Marks & Spencer confirmed on Thursday that it is unable to hire new workers as the retail giant continues to battle disruption to its operations from a damaging cyber attack.

It is now more than a week since the company’s IT systems were first hit by a major ransomware attack, which the Metropolitan Police confirmed the force is investigating.

The retailer is still not taking online orders and availability of some products in its stores was impacted after it took some of its systems offline in response.

M&S first reported issues over the Easter weekend, when it stopped taking click-and-collect orders and saw contactless payments impacted by the “cyber incident”. It has since restarted contactless payments.

In a separate incident, rival retailer The Co-op shut off parts of its IT systems on Wednesday after an attempted hack.

It said some of its back office and call centre services have been affected but that all stores, including grocery and funeral homes, are trading as usual.

The BBC reported on Thursday that staff at the business are being ordered to keep cameras on and verify identities on all remote work meetings as a result.

Speaking to The Independent earlier this week, Alan Woodward, professor of cybersecurity at the University of Surrey, said the major incidents were among daily attacks perpetrated by criminals against UK businesses.

“These are high-profile names so make the headlines, but they are the tip of an iceberg of attacks daily,” he said.

Ethel from Surrey, 115, is now world’s oldest living person

A 115-year-old British woman has become the world’s oldest living person, after the previous record-holder died in April.

Ethel Caterham is the last surviving subject of Edward VII, and has lived through the Titanic disaster, both world wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and six monarchs.

Born in 1909, she is now the oldest living Briton to have ever lived, with two research organisations that verify ages for the Guinness World Records confirming her title as the oldest person in existence, after Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas died at the age of 116 on 30 April.

Born in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Ms Caterham was raised in Wiltshire as the second youngest of eight children.

At the age of 18, she travelled to India as an au pair to a military family, before returning to the UK in 1931 where she went on to meet her husband Norman Caterham.

They married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933 and lived in Hong Kong and Gibraltar due to Mr Caterham’s role as a lieutenant colonel in the army.

They had two daughters and returned to live in the UK, before her late husband passed away in 1976 after over four decades of marriage.

For the last 50 years, she has lived in Surrey and has three granddaughters and five great grandchildren.

During an interview in 2022, she said: “Family is the most important thing in life, to be able to leave memories with your children and grandchildren.

“Possessions don’t matter a bit in the end – all you need is someone to look after you.”

She currently resides at Lakeview Care Home, which she previously described to the BBC as “lovely”, and has had a garden named in her honour to celebrate her 115th birthday last August.

Asked what she credits for her long life, she said: “Never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like.”

Reflecting on her birthday last year, she said: “I don’t know why there is all this fuss! I had a great day and feel very grateful to the care home for naming the garden after me.”

How online schools can help children form friendships as they learn

When thinking about the best education for your child, it’s naturally not just academic success that comes to mind. A good quality school experience is made up of many parts and one key element is the socialising opportunities that school can provide. Socialisation is crucial for building social skills, growing emotional intelligence and helping children form their own individual identity, as well as giving them an additional incentive to attend a place where they have fun and feel part of a community.

While it might be assumed that the social options are reduced when children attend online school, this is not the case. In fact, there are a number of advantages in terms of the structures, support and diverse social opportunities offered to children who join online schools.

Online schools give students the opportunity to form connections with a much more diverse community of students. The online model allows schools to welcome young people from around the world and this gives pupils a chance to make friends with students from differing backgrounds and cultures. Furthermore, this means they can meet more like-minded individuals and form stronger bonds and more meaningful friendships. This access to such a big and vibrant community also ensures that students can really find ‘their people’ and avoids situations where students are stuck in small circles or forced to engage with classmates that don’t share the same interests or passions.

This is something that Grace, who is now in year 13, has experienced since moving to online school. At her previous school, she was struggling with socialisation and felt that she didn’t really have a self-identity. At an online school, she has found she can be more herself. “A lot of people think that online school is about being alone, but I’ve found that without the physical element, I can express myself better,” Grace explains.  Subsequently, the majority of her closest friends are from her online school and many she has met offline too. “I feel like I’ve met my people,” she says.

Isabella, who is in year 10, has also found that her experience of socialising at an online school has suited her much more than previous bricks and mortar schools. With her father’s job meaning the family moves country every three years, she has always previously struggled forming new friendships at the schools she joins. “I’m always the ‘new’ student, and it’s tough,” she says. After experiences with bullying, she found that online school is an environment she can thrive in. “You don’t have to turn on your camera or use your microphones if you’re not feeling comfortable. I’m not really a ‘social’ person, but I have made some friends here because we have these breakout rooms where we can talk to each other,” she adds.

While young people might not be meeting their fellow students physically every day, online schools put in place extensive measures to ensure that socialising is available for those who want to. This can be seen clearly at King’s InterHigh, the UK’s leading global online school which welcomes children aged 7 to 19 from across the world. Here, students join a warm and welcoming community with a huge range of opportunities for socialising. There’s dozens of clubs and societies for students across all year groups, representing a vast range of interests from chess to technology, sculpture to debate. Throughout the yearly student calendar, there are a number of events, showcases, and competitions of all kinds that provide a chance to socialise in different settings. Some happen internally, like the King’s InterHigh Arts Festival, while others allow students to interact with peers from outside their school when attending events like the International Robotics Competition.

Assemblies bring students together on a weekly basis and give them the chance to celebrate each other’s achievements, hear from their Student Council representatives, and find out what’s coming up at school. Each student is also assigned to one of the school’s eight houses and these smaller, tight-knit communities bring students a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Additionally, inter-house competitions are a fun and friendly way for students to engage and bond.

Although much socialising can come as a result of activities organised by the school, students at King’s InterHigh who are aged over 13 can continue building these relationships in a more informal setting thanks to the in-house, monitored, social media platform. Restricted solely to school students, the platform is safe, secure, and monitored to ensure a positive socialising environment for all those who choose to use it.

Online schools don’t just offer opportunities to socialise online but also offer ample opportunities to cement these connections in offline settings. At King’s InterHigh, there are global meet-ups throughout the year which bring together families allowing both children and parents and guardians to connect in real life. Regular educational school trips, from Geography excursions to science practical exams at other Inspired schools (the group of premium schools of which King’s InterHigh is part of) also allow children to socialise and have fun together in different settings.

Meanwhile, the annual summer camps, themed around a variety of interests and passions, including adventure sports, fashion, football, and tennis, are open to students across all Inspired schools and are held at spectacular Inspired campuses worldwide. Furthermore, the Inspired Global Exchange Programme offers a range of school exchange opportunities, lasting from one week to a full academic year.

Choosing where to educate your children is a big decision for any parent or guardian that involves many factors. However, when it comes to the social benefits, for the right child, online schools offer something truly transformative. To find out more about King’s InterHigh and whether it might be the right learning choice for your family, visit King’s InterHigh

Urgent help from Europe on way as Israel blaze burns 5,000 acres

Israel’s allies in Europe are sending over aid in the coming hours to tackle blazing wildfires after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the situation a national emergency, pleading for international aid.

Wildfires raging outside of Jerusalem have reportedly destroyed almost 5,000 acres of land, including 3,000 acres of forest, according to Fire and Rescue Services.

Firefighter planes from Greece, Cyprus, Croatia and Italy will arrive to tackle the blaze in the coming hours, with reports that Ukraine, Spain, France and more have also committed to sending aid.

The cause of the flames remain unclear, although Mr Netanyahu said that 18 people had been arrested on suspicion of igniting the wildfires.

At least a dozen people have been hospitalised and 10 have been treated in the field by medical professionals.

“This is perhaps the largest fire ever in the country,” Jerusalem’s district fire department commander Shmulik Friedman told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

He warned that winds of 60 miles an hour were making the situation challenging and could dramatically increasing the risk of the fires “in the near future”.

“It will continue for a very long time. We are far from having control.”

World Championship semi-final scores as Trump meets Williams

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhao Xintong finished the opening session of their World Snooker Championship semi-final tied at 4-4, Xintong with ‘The Rocket’ continuing his bid for a history-making eighth world title.

O’Sullivan had too much for Si Jiahui in the quarter-finals, though he admitted he got “lucky” and maintains he is playing below his best during this current run in Sheffield.

Errors cost him again in the early stages of this semi-final as he fell 2-0 down to an assured Zhao, but momentum swung back and forth. The veteran moved 4-3 up and had chances to take a 5-3 lead into the next session – before the Chinese player responded with the best break of the match so far, 86, to level proceedings.

Elsewhere, Judd Trump continued his ominous form by dispatching Luca Brecel while adding a record 104th century of a memorable season to move into the semi-finals. ‘The Ace in the Pack’ will take on O’Sullivan’s fellow ‘Class of 92’ rival Mark Williams, who prevailed on the final black in an unforgettable match with fellow veteran John Higgins.

Follow all the latest scores and updates from the 2025 World Snooker Championship below: