Blaise Metreweli appointed as first female head of MI6

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed the first ever female head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.

Blaise Metreweli, the current head of technology and innovation at MI6, is being promoted to its 18th chief and the first woman to hold the role as the UK faces growing threats from foreign adversaries.

The head of MI6 is commonly referred to as C and is the only publicly named member of the organisation. Ms Metreweli, a veteran of the organisation and its domestic counterpart MI5, was awarded a CMG for services to British Foreign Policy last year.

She is succeeding Sir Richard Moore, who leaves this autumn after four years in charge.

“I am proud and honoured to be asked to lead my Service. MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

She added: “I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Announcing her appointment, Sir Keir said: “The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital.

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.

“I’d like to thank Sir Richard Moore for his dedicated service, and I know Blaise will continue to provide the excellent leadership needed to defend our county and keep our people safe – the foundation of my Plan for Change.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who Ms Metreweli will report to, said she takes up the role “at a time of global instability and emerging security threats, where technology is power and our adversaries are working ever closer together”. “Blaise will ensure the UK can tackle these challenges head-on to keep Britain safe and secure at home and abroad,” he added.

Ms Metreweli is director general of technology and innovation in MI6, a role in which she is known as Q. She has held other senior roles across the organisation and MI5.

Ms Metreweli is a career intelligence officer, having joined the secret intelligence service in 1999, shortly after graduating from Pembroke College, Cambridge. Most of her career has been spent in operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Outgoing chief Sir Richard Moore said: “I am absolutely delighted by this historic appointment of my colleague.

“Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6.”

EasyJet flight makes emergency landing after ‘smell of smoke’ in cabin

An easyJet flight was forced to make an emergency landing after passengers reported a smell of smoke in the cabin.

The plane was travelling from Cyprus to Bristol Airport but diverted to Izmir on Sunday (15 June), landing just an hour and 20 minutes after take-off.

The Airbus A320 had taken off from Paphos and was cruising at around 36,000ft when the alarm was raised about smoke on board.

According to information from AirLive, the plane “suddenly turned around to the west of Turkey and started its descent”.

The pilot made the emergency decision to divert and land in Turkey.

An easyJet spokesperson confirmed the flight from Paphos to Bristol was diverted to Izmir due to a technical issue that led to a smell of smoke on board.

They said the aircraft landed safely and was met by emergency services as a precaution.

Passengers disembarked normally and were given hotel accommodation and meals, the spokesperson added.

A replacement aircraft will complete the journey to Bristol later today, the said.

A statement from easyJet said: “We can confirm that flight EZY2902 from Paphos to Bristol diverted to Izmir due to a technical issue which resulted in a smoke smell onboard.

“The aircraft landed safely in Izmir and was met by emergency services as a routine and precautionary measure only. All passengers disembarked as normal into the terminal and were provided with hotel accommodation and meals where required. Passengers will continue to Bristol on a replacement aircraft later today.

“The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines.

“We would like to thank customers for their understanding and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

Fewer than half of young men believe abortion should be legal – poll

Fewer than half of young men believe abortion should be legal, far less than the general population, a shocking new poll has found.

Just 46 per cent of 16- to 34-year-old males believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 71 per cent among the general population.

Amid concerns about the rise of the manosphere – a growing online community of hypermasculine influencers – the Ipsos poll showed a stark drop in support for abortion in those aged under 35.

Eight in 10 men aged between 55 and 75 support abortion being legal in all or most cases, while three-quarters of 35- to 54-year-olds do. And, among those males aged 16 to 34, more than a third think abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, the poll found.

Labour MP Stella Creasy, a prominent campaigner in parliament for abortion access, told The Independent: “Those [who are] complacent that abortion access is supported in this country don’t understand the culture war is chipping away at all women’s rights, including healthcare.”

The polling comes before MPs vote this week on decriminalising abortion through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill.

Currently, abortions can legally be carried out within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Scotland and Wales.

They must be approved by two doctors, with the health professionals agreeing continuing with the pregnancy would be riskier for the physical or mental health of the woman than having an abortion. While this is what the law stipulates, in reality, abortions can be carried out for whatever the person’s reasoning.

An amendment tabled by Ms Creasy would see abortion enshrined as a human right, as is the case in Northern Ireland.

“The only way we can stop women being targeted in this way and ensure they have safe and legal access is to designate abortion a human right as we have in Northern Ireland, and only new clause 20 to the policing bill will do that,” she added.

A rival amendment tabled by Labour’s Tonia Antoniazzi – which would mean women can no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales – is seen as more likely to get the backing of MPs.

Ms Antoniazzi told The Independent that he poll should serve as “a reminder to male MPs for the vote on Tuesday that they can’t just leave this work to women”.

She urged colleagues to back her amendment and added: “This is one poll. It’s important to recognise that this poll, just like every other on abortion, shows that the country as a whole remains staunchly pro-choice.”

But she said the findings were a “clear example of the fact that women’s hard-won rights can never be taken for granted”.

It “underscores why we must always keep fighting to preserve and advance them, as we do,” she added.

The poll came as a row broke out in the final days before Tuesday’s votes, with supporters of Ms Creasy’s amendment accusing backers of Ms Antoniazzi of a campaign to get MPs to withdraw their support.

Ms Creasy fears Ms Antoniazzi’s amendment does not go far enough in enshrining and protecting the right to abortion. However, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said it has “profound concerns” about the drafting of Ms Creasy’s amendment.

It called on MPs to withdraw their support for Ms Creasy’s proposal and refuse to support it.

Ahead of the votes, Ipsos found broad support for abortion access except among young men.

The pollster also found that around half of voters think the current 24-week time limit for abortions is “about right”, with a quarter saying it is too late and just 4 per cent saying it is too early. Nigel Farage said last month that it is “ludicrous we allow abortion up to 24 weeks” and that the law is “totally out of date”.

Asked about illegal abortions, just over half of voters said the person who performed an abortion should face a penalty, compared with under a third who think the fault lies with the woman having the abortion.

Ipsos pollster Kate Duxbury said: “While the majority of Britons support legal abortion, with seven in ten in favour, our polling reveals a significant fault line: less than half of young men aged 16-34 agree.

“This divergence, coupled with the fact that around half of Britons think the current 24-week limit is ‘about right’, highlights the complexities facing policymakers as they consider decriminalisation. It’s clear that public opinion is far from monolithic, demanding a nuanced approach to this sensitive issue.”

Soccer Aid chaos as Tyson Fury swears live on ITV

Dermot O’Leary offered a “profuse apology” to ITV viewers as heavyweight champion Tyson Fury swore live on air while giving the England Soccer Aid 2025 team a pre-match talk.

And Hollywood star Julia Roberts made an appearance at Old Trafford, chatting to former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney at the annual fundraising match, which sees an England team take on Soccer Aid World XI FC to raise money for aid organisation Unicef.

Fury, who joined the charity football match as a manager for England, gave an impassioned speech in the locker rooms prior to the game starting.

He said: “Let them know how good we are. We are England. We are f****** Spartans. We are Spartans.”

Presenters Alex Scott and Dermot O’Leary apologised afterwards, with Scott saying: “What can I say about Tyson Fury? We do apologise for the swearing, but it is Tyson Fury, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

O’Leary added: “We do profusely apologise.”

Pretty Woman-star Roberts, who has described herself as a “true fan” of Manchester United and was in attendance as a supporter for the charity match, was seen taking photographs at the club’s home stadium, Old Trafford, smiling next to the former England striker Wayne Rooney, who, minutes into the game, scored the first goal for England.

Among the England team line-up alongside Rooney were former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson and Olympic gold-medallist Sir Mo Farah.

Last of Us star Bella Ramsey also joined this year’s England team along with comedian Paddy McGuinness, former Manchester United player Gary Neville and singer Tom Grennan.

Last year, the match ended with a 6-3 win for England, with the Three Lions taking home the win for the first time in six years.

Soccer Aid was co-founded in 2006 by Robbie Williams to raise money for the children’s aid organisation Unicef.

Since the fundraising match was first founded nearly two decades ago, it has raised more than £106 million.

Why it is Groundhog Day for Starmer with Trump at the G7

When Keir Starmer arrived to speak to journalists on Sunday morning at the British High Commission in Ottawa, there was a temporary distraction as one of the resident groundhogs made an appearance.

But in more than one way, the prime minister’s trip to Canada has the same “Groundhog Day” feel to it as the constant repetition of events seen in the famous comedy film of that name.

The G7 summit is taking place on Monday and Tuesday in Alberta as much of the world burns. With escalating crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, the leaders of the world’s top democracies have much to discuss.

But for Starmer, there are a number of issues to be revisited. He confirmed on the flight over that he will hold a mini-summit at the gathering, with representatives from France, Germany, Italy and the EU, over the continuing problems with illegal migration and small boats crossing the English Channel.

There has been much unhappiness about French police failing to stop migrants getting into boats to cross to the UK despite the £400m they have received from the UK taxpayer.

Defence secretary John Healey has expressed his angst in recent weeks.

But the prime minister said: “Look, one of the things we’ve worked hard at is improving the relations with the French in relation to the work we both need to do to stop these boat crossings, which I’m determined we will absolutely bear down on. Nobody should be making that journey.

“As a result of that, we are seeing much greater cooperation in northern France. I want to see more cooperation in northern France, and it’s an issue that I have raised and will raise again with President [Emmanuel] Macron.

“We have good relations between the home secretary and the interior minister, now that we’re working on it jointly. It’s one of the issues I’ll be discussing – not just with Macron, actually, but with Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, and others.”

While the G7 summit will include formal sessions on Ukraine, trade and the Middle East, much of the real business is done on the fringes in bilateral and group meetings.

For Starmer, the most important of these less formal meetings will be his chat with Donald Trump, who will be attending a G7 gathering for the first time since being re-elected to the White House in November.

Last time Trump was in Canada for a G7, in 2018, he ordered his team to unsign the joint communique because of a row with the then prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. It threw the whole thing into chaos. This time, Trump is opposed to there being any joint communique at all.

Privately, Starmer does not seem to be confident that there will be any joint statements. Instead, he is looking to persuade Trump not to harm British interests. He wants the deal he agreed to last month with the US president to be implemented, with a deadline approaching on Wednesday.

If things are not agreed before Wednesday, UK steel could be hit with a 50 per cent tariff instead of the zero tariff previously agreed in their much-lauded framework deal.

Starmer told journalists: “We’ve shaken on the deal and we’re at the implementing stage now, which doesn’t actually require another shake of the hand, although I am sure there will be many shakes of the hand. I mean, we have reached the agreement and are now implementing it, and that is going on.”

Asked if it was “job done”, he replied: “Well, we are at the final stages. We had to do various things, they had to do various things, but I am very confident we’re implementing it.”

But he will also have defence on his mind with Trump. The two will talk about the US president’s decision to review the Aukus submarine deal between the US, the UK and Australia.

Starmer appears confident that he can ensure the White House does not pull the plug on a vital part of the defence infrastructure.

“Aukus is really important,” he said. “We’re fully committed to it. It’s not unusual for an incoming government to do a review of a project like that. We, of course, looked into the issue when we came into government, we had a look at it, and they’re doing their own review.

“But I’m 100 per cent committed to it, I’m really clear about that.”

Asked if he was confident that Trump would back it in the end, he said: “Yes, I think so. It’s a really important project, so I don’t have any doubt that this will progress.”

But at least Starmer can feel that he is among friends in Canada. He has spoken of his closeness to Canada’s new PM Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England.

The two had dinner on Saturday night before watching the violence of the Stanley Cup ice hockey final featuring Carney’s favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers (who lost).

The body-checks and slamming against the ice, along with the incredible speed of the game, felt quite representative of the kind of diplomacy expected over the next two days. Starmer will need to be on his skates as he deals with the ice patches ahead.

Win a Wilderness Festival luxury package for two

Music fans can win a luxury package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival, all courtesy of Audi.

Wilderness returns this year to the picturesque nature reserve at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, and will be headlined by rock band Supergrass, Nineties rave duo Orbital, and Brit Award-winning, Grammy-nominated indie-rock duo Wet Leg.

Completing the headliner lineup are Basement Jaxx, who are making their return to live shows for the first time in over a decade, as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, Remedy.

The winner will receive a pair of complimentary festival tickets and boutique accommodation in a luxury cabin for two. They will also be treated to an Audi Kitchen experience and, for the ultimate luxury, your own private chauffeur to take you and your guest to the festival and return journey.

Enter the prize draw here.

Wilderness Festival is known for its eclectic music lineup, which this year includes performances from pop singer Lapsley, singer-songwriter Bess Atwell, Scottish musician Jacob Alon and DJ Craig Charles.

At The Sanctuary and Spa, guests will discover an oasis of calm, whether that means taking part in disco yoga or a workshop to explore your sensuality. Highlights include boating, massage treatments, sauna rituals, hot tubs, a wild sauna, Wim Hof method ice baths and wild swimming.

Gourmet food offerings can be found at Ben Quinn’s long table banquet in the woods, a once-in-a-lifetime experience set in the woods and lit by chandeliers. There, Quinn and his team will serve up a feast of flavour cooked right in front of you five courses of carefully curated, responsibly sourced, local and seasonal ingredients.

Elsewhere, attendees can join a number of talks, comedy sets and conversations, from Food Stories with Jay Rayner to a live recording of Jamie Laing’s podcast, Great Company.

Comedian, writer and NHS doctor Matthew Hutchinson will share a sharp and moving look at life on the frontline of British healthcare, while cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith will uncover a bold and fascinating alternative history of female friendship.

The prize draw will open for entries at 3pm (BST) on 7 May 2025 and close at 3pm BST on 17 June 2025. Only one entry per person is permitted for the Prize Draw. Terms and conditions apply.

Nationwide grooming gangs police operation announced

A nationwide police operation to track down grooming gang members has been announced by the Home Office.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) will carry out a nationwide operation to target predators who have sexually exploited children as part of a gang and put them behind bars.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The vulnerable young girls who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice for what they went through when they were just children.

“Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now.

“More than 800 grooming gang cases have already been identified by police after I asked them to look again at cases which had closed too early. Now we are asking the National Crime Agency to lead a major nationwide operation to track down more perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

The NCA will work in partnership with police forces around the country and specialist officers from the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, “Operation Hydrant” – which supports police forces to address all complex and high-profile cases of child sexual abuse – and the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme.

Their job will be to give survivors, whose cases were not pursued through the criminal justice system, long-awaited justice and prevent more children from being hurt by these vile criminals, the Home Office says.

The operation comes after the government confirmed that the local authorities and institutions who failed to act to protect young people will be held to account for their actions through a national inquiry to get to the truth of institutional failings, following a rapid review by Baroness Louise Casey.

This new full-powers statutory inquiry will build on the work carried out by Alexis Jay and her Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, but look specifically at how young girls were failed so badly by different agencies on a local level.

Women keep giving Arnold Schwarzenegger their numbers – for his son

Arnold Schwarzenegger says women no longer approach him with their phone numbers, because they are more interested in his actor son.

The 77-year-old Terminator star’s son Patrick, 31, shot to prominence this year after his role in the latest series of HBO’s biting wealth satire The White Lotus.

Patrick played Saxon Ratliff, the arrogant, protein-shake-chugging son of a North Carolina couple played by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey.

Arnold said that, before The White Lotus season three, his son – who has previously appeared in The Staircase and American Sports Story – would mostly just be asked about his famous father in interviews.

“He came many times to me and said, ‘I just did an interview with this magazine and two thirds of the questions were about you,’” Arnold told The Sunday Times. “But I was just in New York and a journalist comes up and says, ‘What’s it like being the father of Patrick Schwarzenegger?’”

Delighted, he added: “All of a sudden, everything has changed around. I walk into the gym now and it used to be the girls would come up and give me their contact. And then after White Lotus comes out, the girl comes up and says, ‘Here’s my contact, give it to Patrick.’

“So it’s wonderful. If I go to my grave and know that my son has outdone me, I’m in heaven.”

Patrick is one of four children Arnold shares with his ex-wife Maria Shriver, alongside Katherine, 35, Christina, 33 and Christopher, 27.

Arnold has another son, Joseph, 27, who he shares with longtime housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena.

Patrick can next be seen in indie drama Billy Knight, alongside Al Pacino.

Arnold, meanwhile, is starring in season two of action series FUBAR on Netflix, out now.

Patrick recently admitted that he and his siblings “hated” when their father gave up his movie career to become the Governor of California, a position he held from 2003 to 2011.

During a conversation between father and son for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Arnold recalled missing out on several film roles because of his decision to run for political office.

Arnold said he soon realised they preferred his time in Hollywood, adding: “It was the funniest thing. You coming to me and saying, ‘Dad, we had so much fun going to the set and watching you blow things up. And now …’”