‘Masked thugs’ set fire to leisure centre in third night of violence in Northern Ireland

A group of masked individuals have set fire to a leisure centre in the latest night of violence in Northern Ireland.

The blaze broke out at Larne Leisure Centre in County Antrim on Wednesday following vandalism at the facility.

The attack came on the third night of public disorder in the town of Ballymena, 30 minutes away from Larne.

Local Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said the leisure centre had been “attacked by masked thugs”.

“Windows smashed and fires lit nearby. Larne does not need this,” he added in a social media post.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said the facility had been designated as an emergency rest centre for those in urgent need following disturbances but the families had been safely relocated elsewhere.

The Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) deployed riot police in Ballymena for a third night as a significant crowd gathered around the Clonavon Terrace area.

The trouble in Ballymena broke out on Monday after an alleged sexual assault on a girl in the area.

Police came under attack from masked protesters throwing fireworks, glass bottles and pieces of metal on Wednesday night.

Riot police with shields advanced on crowds to disperse them, and officers also used dog units and drones in their response to the gathering.

At least one protester was struck by a plastic baton round fired by police while officers also used a water cannon on the crowd.

Rioters who gathered on Bridge Street near the residential area were told to disperse shortly before 9pm after a firework was thrown at officers.

Police came under sustained attack as those participating in the disorder hurled petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks at police vehicles and officers standing nearby.

Earlier, a senior officer said the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had requested support from colleagues in the rest of the UK.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force would be bringing extra officers, vehicles and equipment to areas where unrest has flared.

He said there were disgraceful scenes in Belfast, Lisburn, Coleraine, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey on Tuesday, as businesses, homes and cars were attacked and damaged.

By Wednesday, six individuals had been arrested for public order offences, and one person was charged.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he “utterly condemns” the violence which left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has warned that the rioting “risks undermining” the criminal justice process into an allegation of a sex attack on a teenage girl in Ballymena at the weekend.

Stormont ministers have also made an urgent appeal for calm and said the justice process had to be allowed to take its course.

Providing an update on the policing operation on Wednesday, Mr Henderson said: “We are taking steps to increase available resources and are surging a significant number of extra officers, vehicles and equipment to those areas where the rioting is taking place.

“This will have an impact on our community, this will take away vital resources needed to police other areas.”

He said they have requested about 80 officers through mutual aid.

In a joint statement, ministers from across the Stormont powersharing Executive, which includes Sinn Fein, DUP, Alliance Party and UUP, said those involved in disorder have nothing to offer society but “division and disorder”.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly later appeared together to voice their condemnation.

Sinn Fein vice-president Ms O’Neill told reporters in Belfast: “It’s pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up.”

She said ministers stood full-square with the young girl who was subject to the alleged sex attack but added the criminal justice system must be allowed to deal with that case.

Police said their officers came under sustained attack over a number of hours with multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks thrown in their direction in the Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena on Tuesday night.

The PSNI deployed riot police, fired plastic baton rounds, and used water cannon as well as dog units as part of its response to the disorder.

Police also reported that “sporadic disorder” had also occurred in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, as well as incidents in north Belfast.

The violence began around Clonavon Terrace on Monday night following an earlier peaceful protest which was organised in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the area.

Two teenage boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged.

Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein again found guilty of an assault

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of a single count of criminal sexual act at his sex crimes retrial, closing one chapter in the yearslong saga of the onetime Hollywood honcho-turned-#MeToo outcast.

The jury found Weinstein not guilty on another count of criminal sexual act and reached no verdict on the single count of rape he had faced. They deliberated for five days before reaching a verdict on Wednesday.

Weinstein, 73, who appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court in a wheelchair after experiencing a litany of health problems, looked at his lawyer in shock when the “not guilty” verdict was read, according to reports. He had decided not to testify in his defense during the six-week trial.

The former producer and Miramax studio co-founder had pleaded not guilty to raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and forcing oral sex on two others, separately, in 2006. He denied the allegations, and his attorneys maintain that anything that happened between him and his accusers was consensual.

He was previously convicted in New York, but it was tossed by an appeals court.

Closing arguments in the retrial concluded on Wednesday with Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, portraying him as the falsely accused “original sinner” of the #MeToo era, while Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told jurors that Weinstein preyed on less-powerful women he thought would never speak up.

“Members of the jury, he raped three women. They all said, ‘no,’” Blumberg said.

“We heard a lot about ‘policing the bedroom’ yesterday,” Blumberg said, referring to Aidala’s closing argument on Tuesday. “We don’t want to police bedrooms either – unless you’re forcibly raping someone inside them.”

On Tuesday, Aidala accused the alleged victims of lying on the stand.

“They are lying about what happened. Not about everything, but about a small slice – just enough to turn their regret, their buyers’ remorse, into criminality,” Aidala said of the accusers.

During his closing, he veered into folksy jokes — sometimes re-enacting witnesses’ behavior — as he contended that his client engaged in a “courting game,” not crimes, the Associated Press reported.

But Blumberg urged jurors to focus on Weinstein’s accusers and their days of grueling testimony.

“This was not a ‘courting game,’ as Mr. Aidala wants you to believe. This was not a ‘transaction,’” Blumberg shot back. “This was never about ‘fooling around.’ It was about rape.”

Aidala argued that everything that happened between the ex-producer and his accusers was a consensual, if “transactional,” exchange of favors. The attorney accused prosecutors of “trying to police the bedroom” and zeroing in on the man seen as ”the poster boy, the original sinner, for the #MeToo movement.”

“They tried to do it five years ago, and now there’s a redo, and they’re trying to do it again,” he told jurors.

His hours-long summation touched on matters from the acclaimed, Weinstein-co-produced 1994 film “Pulp Fiction” to his own marriage and his grandmother’s Italian gravy, at times playing for — and getting — laughs from jurors and Weinstein.

Aidala depicted the former studio boss as a self-made New Yorker, while painting Weinstein’s accusers as troubled and canny “women with broken dreams” who plied him for movie opportunities and other perks, kept engaging with him for years and then turned on him to cash in on his #MeToo undoing. All three received compensation through legal processes separate from the criminal trial.

Blumberg countered that Weinstein interpreted a sexual “no” as a cue to “push a little bit more, and if they still say no, just take it anyway.”

She argued that his accusers stayed in friendly contact with Weinstein because they were trying to work in entertainment, and they feared their careers would be squashed if they crossed him.

“He chose people who he thought would be the perfect victims, who he could rape and keep silent,” the prosecutor said. “He underestimated them.”

Weinstein had a decades-long run as one of the movie industry’s most influential people. In 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment tanked his career and catalyzed the #MeToo movement, which seeks accountability for sexual misconduct. More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.

He was subsequently convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to prison in New York and California. His California appeal hasn’t been decided.

Since the New York retrial opened April 23, prosecutors have brought in more than two dozen witnesses. The prosecution centered on Weinstein’s three accusers, who each faced days of questions.

In often graphic and sometimes tearful testimony, the women said the Oscar-winning producer used his showbiz stature as a hook to prey on them.

Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of rape, was a hairstylist hoping to make it as an actress when she met him. The sexual assault accusers also were trying to build careers in entertainment: Miriam Haley was a production assistant and producer, and Kaja Sokola was a teenage model who wanted to get into acting.

Prosecutors added Sokola’s allegations to the case for the retrial. But some other accusers from the first trial weren’t part of the second. The appeals court said it was prejudicial to include their accusations, which never resulted in charges.

Weinstein, who has been held at New York City’s Rikers Island jail since his conviction was overturned, now faces a maximum sentence of up to 29 years in prison.

He already will likely spend the rest of his life in prison due to a 16-year prison sentence given to him after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022.

National Guard already detaining civilians in LA as ICE raids continue

The Trump administration has filed a response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit to stop the “unnecessary” deployment of U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, in addition to the 4,000 federalized California National Guard troops ordered into the city.

According to the filing, the LAPD is “unable to bring order” to LA, six days after protests began against ICE raids to round up those in the country illegally as part of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies.

Protests and confrontations with police sparked wider problems of vandalism and looting in downtown Los Angeles, which last night was put under curfew. LAPD reported mass arrests. Local residents blame the president for exacerbating tensions through the deployment of troops.

Mayor Karen Bass said the curfew was a response to the president’s “chaotic escalation” of the situation through his deployment of the Guard and the upcoming addition of 700 Marines, who are training 30 miles south of the city.

Troops are authorized to temporarily detain individuals until law enforcement agents arrive to make an arrest, Major General Scott Sherman said this morning, and have begun to do so. They are backed up by unarmed Predator drones, which are being used for high-altitude surveillance.

House price rises over 20 years revealed as one area jumps 124%

House prices in the UK have jumped by 74 per cent in the last 20 years, adding over £150,000 to the average property value, according to Zoopla.

The property website found that the typical house price has risen from £113,900 to £268,200 in the past two decades. However, sharp rises in some locations could mean that some people are priced out of the areas they grew up in.

London has seen the biggest increase, with average house prices more than doubling (119 per cent) in the last 20 years. The South East and eastern England have also seen large jumps, with average property values rising by 87 per cent in both regions.

In contrast, house prices in the north-east of England have risen by 39 per cent during the same period. In Blackpool, Lancashire, average house prices have increased by 26 per cent, while in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, they have risen by 22 per cent.

Meanwhile, in Kensington and Chelsea (124 per cent) in London, Elmbridge (110 per cent) in Surrey, and St Albans (108 per cent) in Hertfordshire, average property values have more than doubled over the past two decades.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “If you grew up in north-east England, bought in London and are now returning to your roots, you’re in luck.

“You will get significantly more bang for your buck and the equity accumulated means your mortgage could be wiped out altogether.

“The gap between the capital and the rest of the country has narrowed in recent years as more affordable parts of the UK have seen stronger house price growth. The squeeze in London means more buyers are looking beyond the M25, and that often includes locations where they have roots, a trend that was accelerated by the pandemic and shifting work patterns.”

Daniel Copley, a consumer expert at Zoopla, which has affordability tools on its website, said: “Our latest analysis certainly brings to light the profound impact that two decades of house price growth has had on the dream of ‘returning home’.

“UK house prices have soared by 74 per cent since 2005, making that nostalgic return financially unattainable for many, especially in hotspots in the South East and eastern England.

“However, the picture is far from uniform across the UK. Our data shows that while some areas have seen dramatic increases, house prices have risen slowly, in line with incomes in northern regions. This means that for some, the dream of returning to their roots might be much more attainable than they think.”

Zoopla used its house price index, comparing the difference between average house prices in April 2025 and April 2024, as part of its research.

It also commissioned an Opinium survey among 2,000 people across the UK in June, which indicated that more than half (52 per cent) would consider moving back to the location where they grew up.

Toby Leek, president of NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) Propertymark, said: “Rural and picturesque areas across the county are popular destinations that many people choose to move to, especially those that are looking for a quiet escape, such as certain coastal locations. However, this sometimes comes with a bigger price tag.

“As places increase in popularity, this raises house prices to levels that mean many current or ex-locals who may wish to move back to their home towns where they grew up could find it hard to afford to purchase a home. It also has the potential to be extremely challenging for people to migrate around the locality as well, due to higher prices.”

Here are the increases in average house prices over the past 20 years, according to Zoopla. Figures show the average house price in 2025 followed by the average house price in 2005 and the percentage increase over the past 20 years:

Here are the local authority areas with the biggest house price increases over the past 20 years in each region or nation, according to Zoopla. Figures show average house prices in 2025 followed by average house prices in 2005 and the percentage increase (figures for Northern Ireland were not included):

Here are the local authority areas with the lowest house price increases over the past 20 years in each region or nation, according to Zoopla. Figures show average house prices in 2025 followed by average house prices in 2005 and the percentage increase (figures for Northern Ireland were not included):

High Court hears company linked to Baroness Mone must pay back £121m for ‘faulty’ PPE

A company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone should pay back more than £121 million for breaching a Government contract for 25 million surgical gowns during the coronavirus pandemic, the High Court has heard.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is suing PPE Medpro for allegedly breaching a deal for the gowns, with lawyers for the Government telling the court they were “faulty” because they were not sterile.

The company, a consortium led by Baroness Mone’s husband, businessman Doug Barrowman, was awarded Government contracts by the former Conservative administration to supply PPE during the pandemic, after she recommended it to ministers.

Both have denied wrongdoing.

The Government is seeking to recover the costs of the contract, as well as the costs of transporting and storing the items, which amount to an additional £8,648,691.

PPE Medpro said it “categorically denies” breaching the contract, and its lawyers claimed the company has been “singled out for unfair treatment”.

Opening the trial on Wednesday, Paul Stanley KC, for the DHSC, said: “This case is simply about whether 25 million surgical gowns provided by PPE Medpro were faulty.

“It is, in short, a technical case about detailed legal and industry standards that apply to sterile gowns.”

Mr Stanley said in written submissions the “initial contact with Medpro came through Baroness Mone”, with discussions about the contract then going through one of the company’s directors, Anthony Page.

Baroness Mone remained “active throughout” the negotiations, Mr Stanley said, with the peer stating Mr Barrowman had “years of experience in manufacturing, procurement and management of supply chains”.

But he told the court Baroness Mone’s communications were “not part of this case”, which was “simply about compliance”.

He said: “The department does not allege anything improper happened, and we are not concerned with any profits made by anybody.”

In court documents from May this year, the DHSC said the gowns were delivered to the UK in 72 lots between August and October 2020, with £121,999,219.20 paid to PPE Medpro between July and August that year.

The department rejected the gowns in December 2020 and told the company it would have to repay the money, but this has not happened and the gowns remain in storage, unable to be used.

In written submissions for trial, Mr Stanley said 99.9999% of the gowns should have been sterile under the terms of the contract, equating to one in a million being unusable.

The DHSC claims the contract also specified PPE Medpro had to sterilise the gowns using a “validated process”, attested by CE marking, which indicates a product has met certain medical standards.

He said “none of those things happened”, with no validated sterilisation process being followed, and the gowns supplied with invalid CE marking.

He continued that 140 gowns were later tested for sterility, with 103 failing.

He said: “Whatever was done to sterilise the gowns had not achieved its purpose, because more than one in a million of them was contaminated when delivered.

“On that basis, DHSC was entitled to reject the gowns, or is entitled to damages, which amount to the full price and storage costs.”

In his written submissions, Charles Samek KC, for PPE Medpro, said the “only plausible reason” for the gowns becoming contaminated was due to “the transport and storage conditions or events to which the gowns were subject”, after they had been delivered to the DHSC.

He added the testing did not happen until several months after the gowns were rejected, and the samples selected were not “representative of the whole population”, meaning “no proper conclusions may be drawn”.

He said the DHSC’s claim was “contrived and opportunistic” and PPE Medpro had been “made the ‘fall guy’ for a catalogue of failures and errors” by the department.

He said: “It has perhaps been singled out because of the high profiles of those said to be associated with PPE Medpro, and/or because it is perceived to be a supplier with financial resources behind it.

“In reality, an archetypal case of ‘buyer’s remorse’, where DHSC simply seeks to get out of a bargain it wished it never entered into, left, as it is, with over £8 billion of purchased and unused PPE as a result of an untrammelled and uncontrolled buying spree with taxpayers’ money.”

He also said there was a “delicious irony” that Baroness Mone was mentioned in the DHSC’s written submissions, when she had “zero relevance to the contractual issues in this case”.

Neither Baroness Mone nor Mr Barrowman is due to give evidence in the trial, and Baroness Mone did not attend the first day of the hearing on Wednesday.

A PPE Medpro spokesperson said the company “categorically denies breaching its obligations” and will “robustly defend” the claim.

The trial before Mrs Justice Cockerill is due to last five weeks, with a judgment expected in writing at a later date.

The E2E Tech 100 Track 2025 revealed

The E2E Tech 100 is a celebration of the UK’s most dynamic and fast-growing technology businesses. These companies are redefining the future through innovation, digital transformation, and remarkable revenue growth, with artificial intelligence playing a central role in many of their business models.

Our headline partner for the E2E 100 2025 is Universal Partners.

The Tech 100 showcases groundbreaking tech companies, each surpassing £10 million in turnover over past 2 years, and setting new standards for innovation and growth across the tech sector.

Featured in the track and demonstrating extraordinary growth are:

Revolut Ltd – One of the world’s fastest-growing fintech super-apps, Revolut has revolutionised the way millions manage their finances. With services spanning banking, crypto, stock trading, and travel insurance, the company has scaled across continents under the leadership of CEO and Co-Founder Nikolay Storonsky. Now serving over 40 million users globally, Revolut’s seamless digital-first approach has set a new benchmark for financial innovation.

Cleo AI Ltd – At the cutting edge of artificial intelligence in personal finance, Cleo is reshaping how Gen Z manages money. Founded by Barney Hussey-Yeo, Cleo combines humour, data, and conversational AI to make budgeting and saving both intuitive and engaging. With tens of millions of interactions every month and strong traction in the US market, Cleo has emerged as a disruptive force in fintech.

Zilch Technology Limited is a leading UK-based buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech company revolutionising consumer spending with a transparent, interest-free model. Founded by Philip Belamant, Zilch combines open banking and AI to offer smarter, responsible credit to over 3 million users. With a rapidly growing presence in both the UK and US markets, Zilch is redefining flexible payments for the digital age.

This initiative stands as a compelling testament to the UK’s thriving tech ecosystem, showcasing companies that not only drive significant revenue growth but also foster digital inclusion, enhance user experience, and shape global tech trends.

With founders from across the country, the E2E Tech 100 demonstrates the depth and diversity of talent in the UK, spotlighting entrepreneurs who are leading change through creativity, data, and purpose in an increasingly tech-driven world.

As the Founder and CEO of E2E said: “The E2E Tech 100 track recognises the exceptional achievements of technology companies that are scaling with speed, vision, and impact. From AI-driven solutions to inclusive fintech platforms, these businesses are solving real-world problems and transforming industries. It’s an honour to celebrate their growth, resilience, and leadership as they navigate and shape a digital-first future.”

Andrew Morley, CRO at The Independent, added: “We are delighted to partner with E2E in celebrating the UK’s top 100 tech innovators. These businesses embody what’s best about British entrepreneurship: bold thinking, digital excellence, and global ambition. Their stories inspire and remind us of the extraordinary potential within the UK tech landscape. Congratulations to all those featured in this year’s Tech 100.”

The track was carefully curated using trusted data from Experian and Creditsafe, ensuring only the most impactful and high-performing businesses have been recognised in this track.

Each E2E 100 track is supported by our partners: Universal Partners (Headline Partner), Fora, Lioncroft, Creditsafe, OakNorth, and Experian.

With London Tech Week underway, it’s an exciting time to spotlight innovation and entrepreneurship across the UK. As the nation celebrates tech talent, the E2E Tech 100 recognises the businesses driving real impact and growth.

For more information and to see the full E2E Tech 100 2025 track, click here.

To find out more about E2E, visit https://www.e2exchange.com/

War camp used over 200 years ago and buried under field is bought

A prisoner of war camp from the Napoleonic era located in Cambridgeshire has been acquired by a trust to preserve it as a site of historical significance.

Nene Park Trust has purchased Norman Cross, recognised as the world’s first purpose-built prisoner of war camp, from a private farmer.

The site, near Peterborough, holds the remains of approximately 1,770 French, Dutch, and German soldiers who were captured during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The trust aims to conserve the area and open it to the public, offering both a historical and green space for visitors.

Today, the camp is barely visible beneath a field used for crops and grazing. However, historian Paul Chamberlain notes that it once functioned as a self-contained town, complete with barracks, offices, a hospital, school, marketplace, and banking system.

It operated from 1797 to 1814 and housed around 7,000 French prisoners. The location was chosen because it was far from the sea, making it difficult for any escapees to return to France.

Prisoners made intricate models from bone, wood and straw to sell at the camp market and trade for food, tobacco and wine.

Around 800 of these artefacts, which include miniature ships and chateaus, are on display at the nearby Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery.

The trust received £200,000 of grant funding from Historic England and £50,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to buy the camp following years of negotiations.

Its acquisition was fought for by resident Derek Lopez, who owned the Norman Cross Gallery near Yaxley and was an advocate of Peterborough’s history.

He died last year before seeing the sale.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “The Norman Cross prisoner of war camp represents a pivotal moment in our shared European heritage that deserves to be better known.”

Matthew Bradbury, chief executive of Nene Park Trust, said he was “delighted” to take on the ownership of Norman Cross and wanted “to share its green space and unique stories for generations to come”.

Heritage minister Baroness Twycross said: “Norman Cross represents a poignant chapter in our shared European story.

“The remarkable stories of those held in what was the first purpose-built prisoner of war camp should be remembered now and in the future.

“This partnership has secured this valuable heritage site for generations to come.”

Free school meal plan requires key change, Labour told

The government has been urged to make a key change to its plans to expand free schools meals to all pupils in England on universal credit.

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said ministers must go further and introduce a national auto-enrolment system for free school meals, in order to reduce inequality.

The group found distinct variations in free school meal registration practices across England. Their report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, calls for a national auto-enrolment scheme to ensure all eligible families are registered.

The call comes after ministers announced its plans to expand free school meals last week. Currently, households in England on universal credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals.

The expansion, set to be implemented in September 2026, is expected to make 500,000 more children eligible for free lunches, according to the Government.

Parents currently have to apply for their children to receive free school meals, rather than eligible children being automatically enrolled.

The report said: “Despite this expansion in FSM (free school meals) eligibility, without further action from the Government, children may continue to miss out on the free meals they are entitled to.

“The barriers to registration and differences in registration practices across LAs means children still face inequalities in access to free meals.”

Authors added: “In terms of barriers families face in applying to FSM – including English as an additional language, stigma, confusion about eligibility – auto-enrolment would largely eradicate these issues.”

Despite efforts to boost registration, language barriers and a lack of digital access are preventing the meals reaching children that need them, it said.

An additional 77,700 children became eligible for free school meals in the past year, according to recent data published by the Department for Education.

More than one in four (25.7%) pupils in England were eligible for free school meals in January, the equivalent of 2.17 million children – up from 24.6%, or 2.09 million, in January 2024.

But the report from EPI – which is based on surveys and interviews with local authorities and multi-academy trusts in 2024 and early 2025 – found where a child lives or goes to school determines how hard it is for families to register for free school meals.

In some local authorities, parents are required to make their own application while facing significant barriers and if found ineligible at the time must reapply when circumstances change.

While in others, they use local auto-enrolment to proactively identify entitled children without relying on parents sharing details or making an application.

The report also found that some children who attend maintained nurseries before and after lunch are missing out on free meals to which they are entitled.

Dr Kerris Cooper, senior researcher for early years and inequalities at EPI, said: “Our research shows that while the extension of free school meal eligibility is a very positive step, more needs to be done to ensure that all children entitled to free meals can actually access them.

“First, there are still significant barriers for families to register for FSM, and where a child lives plays too big a role in their chances of being registered.

“Second, the youngest children, who face the highest risk of poverty, will not benefit from this expansion in eligibility unless all children attending early education are also included and settings are supported to deliver this.

“Introducing national auto-enrolment and including children in early education would enable this expansion in FSM eligibility to more meaningfully extend access to more children in poverty.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “The expansion of free school meals, to include all children in households on universal credit, is a positive move that recognises there are children living in poverty who have been missing out.

“Moving to a national system of auto-enrolment would be the next logical step to ensure that everyone who is now eligible under the new criteria will actually receive a meal and the intended benefits.”

He added: “We see no reason why a national system of auto-enrolment cannot be established relatively straightforwardly.

“This is something that would make a big difference to vulnerable families.”

Last week, education minister Stephen Morgan told MPs in the Commons that the Government would be working to make it easier for people to apply.

He said the announcement on expanding free school meals was a “significant, straightforward process for parents to know whether they are eligible”.