Raynor Winn condemns ‘heartbreaking’ claims that parts of ‘The Salt Path’ are false

The author of The Salt Path has hit back at claims that parts of the bestselling book were false, saying vitriol had been poured on her since the investigation was published.

Raynor Winn said the past few days had been some of the hardest of her life and that accusations that her husband had fabricated his illness were heartbreaking.

Winn’s much-loved story, now a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, tells how she and her husband, Moth, walked the South West Coast Path, a journey of 630 miles, after losing their home and after he was diagnosed with a neurological condition.

But on Sunday, The Observer said she may have misrepresented the events that led to the couple’s losing their home and reported that experts had doubts over Moth having corticobasal degeneration (CBD).

The newspaper, which said the couple’s legal names are Sally and Timothy Walker, also reported that they misrepresented how they lost their home.

According to the 2018 memoir, the couple lost their house due to a bad business investment.

On her website, Winn wrote on Wednesday that it had been incredibly hard to remain silent, which she had to do while waiting to receive legal advice, but insisted the article was “grotesquely unfair, highly misleading and seeks to systematically pick apart my life”.

She also posted NHS letters about Timothy Walker, showing he was treated for CBD, also termed corticobasal syndrome (CBS).

“I have charted Moth’s condition with such a level of honesty that this is the most unbearable of the allegations,” she wrote.

She explained the name differences by saying she had long been known as Raynor because she disliked her name Sally Ann, and Moth was simply short for Timothy.

She also took issue with the newspaper’s account of embezzlement allegations, their property in France and their debts, saying the people in the Observer article and her book were not the same, and that the dispute referred to in the article did not lead to their losing their home.

“The journey held within those pages is one of salt and weather, of pain and possibility. And I can’t allow any more doubt to be cast on the validity of those memories, or the joy they have given so many,” she wrote.

Publishing house Penguin said it had undertaken “all the necessary pre-publication due diligence”, including a contract with an author warranty about factual accuracy, and a legal read.

It added: “Prior to the Observer enquiry, we had not received any concerns about the book’s content.”

The key England switch that sparked a turning point at Euro 2025

This was what Georgia Stanway meant by “proper England”. This is why the squad keep saying those two words, as even Sarina Wiegman revealed after the game.

It isn’t necessarily a description, or any kind of old-fashioned appeal to the past. It’s a mantra, a standard. It’s about high intensity, not letting levels drop, and making sure the opposition feel the burn right until the very end of a game.

That was certainly true of the Netherlands, in a 4-0 defeat that might indeed prove a proper turning point in this entire Euro 2025 campaign. The defending champions have finally arrived, securing the tournament’s biggest win in any match that doesn’t feature Spain. That it was against a team as fancied as the Dutch, and with all of the storylines that were supposed to give this fixture such an edge, makes it all the more admirable.

This, amid so many words, is an appropriate statement. The revelation of a proper England has certainly washed away words like “elimination”, and ignored the possibility of becoming the first ever champions to be knocked out in the group stage. Similarly, the only humiliation here was endured by the Netherlands.

By the early minutes of the second half, and Lauren James’s second goal, it seemed preposterous to think that the Dutch were considered England’s peers or that they might actually subject Wiegman’s team to the threat of elimination. They couldn’t get close.

What a way to blow away doubts. They went with James’s emphatic first strike, as England’s star had her own arrival performance at the Euros, blowing away any doubts about her role in the squad, too.

It’s hard not to feel that the two are linked, which is where “proper England” might even take on a deeper meaning.

While Wiegman’s general approach is always to adapt tactics to the opposition, she has clearly figured out a core formation that works. She has something proper there.

Putting James out wide means you enjoy all of the advantages of her mercurial quality, but aren’t affected by a certain languid self-indulgence. You can carry her, so that she then delivers. This is the thing with James. It’s worth waiting for that moment. Here, she had two, while England’s midfield just had so much more intensity.

It’s not even like she needs to be in the centre, given how she drifts. That was the source of the goal, James eventually coming in after Hannah Hampton’s supreme long-range pass, to drive the ball into the top corner.

An uncharitable view might be that it makes the formation against France seem all the more absurd. It does nevertheless speak to a team that had to find itself a bit, and find its feet.

This was why the clarity that resulted from that defeat might have been so important.

Now that England finally had this emphatic 4-0 win, Wiegman could admit that she had “felt a little tension” beforehand. She said the fallout from France was “hard”, and “the consequences of the result were huge”.

The England manager, for her part, responded with decisiveness: proper Wiegman. She essentially decided the formation in the immediate aftermath of the French defeat. That fitted with the focus the players felt. They weren’t just words. There was a clarity.

It came across in every aspect of the performance. From the very start, England penned the Dutch right in, intercepting all passes 30 yards from goal. This wasn’t happening in the France match.

It was the set-up for more. Crucially, James wasn’t the only key player to enjoy “a moment”. This felt like an arrival performance of Hampton’s own, as she displayed on the European stage just why Wiegman so values her footwork. Jess Carter was imperious in the centre, after a torrid night out wide on Saturday. Stanway scored maybe the pick of the goals. She caught it beautifully. That has a psychological importance, as she recovers her fitness.

Russo didn’t score but was player of the match, her running creating the space for those four goals. Ella Toone duly crowned her own inclusion with the goal that turned a convincing win into a rout.

That is maybe the slight caveat in all of this.

What does it say about these Euros that the Dutch were supposed to be one of the six good sides, that made this “the group of death”, were so bad? It wasn’t just that England beat them convincingly, but how supine they became. That sort of drop shouldn’t happen.

The Netherlands had no pace, and didn’t seem to be able to cope with England’s intensity or directness. They afforded Keira Walsh the freedom of the centre.

Wiegman had said the word “gameplan” almost as much as her players said “proper England” in the press before the game and, amusingly, it now seems like she actually just gave it away. The manager spoke of how she wanted to exploit the space the Dutch leave behind, and repeated it after the game, with her team having done exactly that.

It was like Andries Jonker’s team couldn’t even conceive this might be possible.

That isn’t England’s problem, though. They did what they had to do, following a build-up where they could have been perceived as playing themselves as much as the Dutch.

The only concern right now might be over this propensity to yo-yo, and go back and forth in terms of performance.

Wales shouldn’t really pose such difficulty, though, with all due respect. England should win there, and the state of the table should mean any victory is enough to send them into a quarter-final with either Germany or Sweden, with the bonus of perhaps avoiding Spain in any semi-final.

The France-Wales match did actually start up on a screen at the end of Wiegman’s press conference, the manager laughing as she talked about how it was time to end it so she could go and watch. She arched her head to watch Wales’ surprise equaliser for 1-1, declaring “lovely”.

That couldn’t last. France went on to beat Wales 4-1. England’s time in Switzerland, however, looks set to last much longer. It finally looks like a proper tournament campaign.

Why many think Andy Burnham would make a better prime minister than Keir Starmer

Labour marked its first anniversary in government with its most difficult week yet: a spectacular U-turn on welfare cuts and a chancellor struggling to hold back tears in the Commons, all capped off with Keir Starmer’s approval ratings sinking to an all-time low. However well Starmer does on foreign policy, on the home front, he continues to flounder. Little wonder then that, even amidst all the pomp and deal-making coming from a state visit from the French president, the party’s MPs are in a low mood.

Compare this to the decidedly upbeat atmosphere to be found 160 miles away in Manchester, which is experiencing the kind of economic boom that has proved elusive to Westminster and Whitehall. Greater Manchester has enjoyed the highest productivity growth of any British region in the last two decades – far outperforming London – and under the leadership of its mayor Andy Burnham’s leadership, Manchester has taken back control of the local bus network, improving reliability and passenger numbers.

Last week, a survey of 10,000 people saw Manchester being crowned as the “most desirable place to live in the UK”. Almost half of those surveyed believed Manchester should now replace London as the capital. And with the Oasis sell-out tour reminding everyone of the sound of the city, one person surveyed remarked: “Everybody’s moving back to Manchester. The youngsters love it.”

The turnaround of fortunes for the northern powerhouse can be traced to a number of factors, from investment, renewed transport systems and devolution – with many crediting “King of the North” Burnham for having a Midas touch.

If it sometimes seems as though Starmer can do no right, Greater Manchester’s mayor is riding high, prompting the inevitable question: has the northern king morphed into Starmer’s prince across the water?

Speculation has been fuelled by two of Burnham’s recent interventions. In late May, he set out what can only be described as an alternate governing strategy at a conference convened by soft-left grouping Compass at the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London. He may not have mentioned Starmer by name, but it was clear exactly who his criticism was aimed at when he argued that Labour’s mission should be to be a “unifying, popular left” rather than a “divisive, populist right”.

This came just a couple of weeks after Starmer was criticised for aping Reform rhetoric on immigration with his warning that the UK could become “an island of strangers”, comments he has recently said he “deeply regrets”.

Then speaking at Glastonbury, Burnham did not shy away from pressing on a painful wound ahead of a key vote on welfare cuts that was always going to be a test of Starmer’s authority. “What’s been announced is half a U-turn, a 50 per cent U-turn… I’d still hope MPs vote against the whole bill,” he said.

Two days later, the government abandoned the cuts altogether in the face of a parliamentary rebellion that could not be quelled. Not even Starmer’s 156-strong majority can insulate him from questions about his future, and Burnham’s criticisms have put him in the frame as a potential successor.

Burnham has long been an outspoken critic of Westminster. He first earned his “King in the North” moniker after taking on Boris Johnson over pandemic restrictions; the navy worker’s jacket he wore to deliver a defiant speech outside Bridgewater Hall was subsequently displayed by the People’s Museum in Manchester.

And although Burnham and Starmer have enjoyed a good working relationship in the past – Starmer became a member of Burnham’s shadow home team after his election to parliament, and Burnham voted for him to become Labour leader in 2019 – tensions emerged in the years that followed, with Burnham openly accusing Starmer’s aides of briefing against him back in 2023.

Since Labour swept the electoral map last July, Burnham has not refrained from continuing to call out Westminster, where he feels it’s not serving his patch well. He’s continued to press the government to deliver on its manifesto pledge to introduce a Hillsborough Law, in the face of complaints that ministers have watered down their proposals.

Back in January, he was one of the first Labour figures to break with the leadership to say that the government should hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs. As well as an open and cheerful demeanour, he has an instinct for sniffing out the political mood and an easy communication style, attributes which are missing in more stiff-necked Starmer.

Devolution has created a number of Labour politicians who have power bases quite independent from the national party. But alongside the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Burnham is the most visible and successful of them all; he was re-elected for his third mayoral term with an impressive 63 per cent of the Greater Manchester vote. And unlike Khan, who has said he is “not at all” interested in becoming Labour leader, Burnham has refrained from ruling this out.

You might not think it from the way he talks about London, but Lancashire-born Burnham had a long and distinguished Westminster career before donning the mayoral crown. After graduating from Cambridge, he worked first as a researcher for Tessa Jowell and later as a special adviser to culture secretary Chris Smith.

Elected MP for Leigh in 2001, he quickly climbed the ministerial ranks, progressing through chief secretary to the Treasury, culture secretary and finally health secretary before Labour lost the 2010 election. He ran for the Labour leadership twice, losing first to Ed Miliband in 2010 and then, despite being the early favourite, to Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.

There were those on the right of the party who poked fun at him for seemingly running against Westminster despite his establishment status, but he has stuck to his guns, saying it was all that time in the capital that showed him too many in the civil service don’t understand the North and are too quick to write it off.

In many ways, Burnham has had the last laugh. Yes, he may have over-egged his anti-Westminster credentials in the course of his migration back north, but unlike many politicians on the right and the left, he has an easy authenticity and exudes a sense of being comfortable in his own skin.

Like his first political boss, Tessa Jowell, he’s hard to dislike. He gives away 15 per cent of his mayoral salary to initiatives to reduce homelessness in Manchester. His likeability shows up where it counts: he regularly tops surveys of Labour members as the most popular candidate to succeed Starmer.

Not only that, a national poll by Lord Ashcroft back in April found Burnham commanded more than twice the level of support of the next candidate, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, amongst the general public.

In his Compass speech in May, Burnham sketched out a firmly soft left alternative to Rachel Reeves’ ironclad fiscal rules, calling for a more radical programme of housebuilding, including more social housing, free travel for teenagers, more emphasis on apprenticeships and technical education as well as reiterating his opposition to cuts to welfare and the winter fuel payment. He also wants to change the tribal culture of Westminster, supporting proportional representation and scrapping the party whipping system altogether.

One of his former ministerial colleagues from the New Labour years expresses scepticism about the workability of such a manifesto. But his track record in Manchester is a different thing altogether: “He’s been on quite the journey in the last 20 years and whatever happens, he will go down in Manchester’s history as an extraordinary leader,” they tell me.

But if Burnham sees the ultimate prize as the premiership, there are some hurdles he needs to clear, unlike in the US, where governors and mayors can make a direct run for the top job. On a practical level, he would need to return to Westminster as an MP. He’s previously said he will serve out his third term as mayor, which ends in 2028, which would leave him free to run for parliament in 2029. Were it to look like a prime ministerial vacancy was opening up before then – still unlikely at this stage, though not impossible – that becomes much logistically trickier.

Any candidate running to be leader of the party also needs to be nominated by at least a fifth of, or 81 Labour MPs. Burnham undoubtedly has a supporter base amongst the soft left of the parliamentary party. But he would be competing for support against Rayner, who has similar politics. And MPs who are prioritising stability over talk of a leadership election see his recent critical interventions as a hindrance.

“If he wants to be King of the North, that’s fine, but stop sending white walkers to the south to destroy the fragile peace we are trying to build after 14 years of a Tory government,” one member of the 2024 intake tells me. “He’s deeply unhelpful” is the verdict of another MP.

Perhaps the starkest difference between Starmer and Burnham, though, isn’t their politics, but their half-empty/half-full approach to governing. Starmer has been criticised for being too gloomy in the early months, although few would deny him the concession that the challenge facing Labour in 2024 is far tougher than the economically rosy days of the late 1990s.

Apart from Burnham, that is: “I actually feel that the 2024 moment is a more advantageous moment for Labour to be coming into government than in 1997, even though most other people would feel it’s the other way round,” he said at the end of last year.

The reason? The fact that devolution has created a regional infrastructure that wasn’t there in 1997. That’s a cheerful take from Manchester’s mayor at a time when there isn’t much cheer to be found amongst the nation’s politicians. Could Burnham carry that optimism all the way to Downing Street? If he does, it could be a winning combination.

Met Police tells alleged Mohamed Al Fayed victims it is ‘truly sorry’

The Metropolitan Police has reportedly apologised to alleged victims of the late Mohamed Al Fayed for the distress they have suffered.

In a letter leaked to the BBC, the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Angela Craggs, said she is “acutely aware” that the case is “especially distressing to all those who have suffered”.

“Not least due to the fact that the main suspect will now never directly face justice for his crimes, and for this I am truly sorry,” Detective Chief Superintendent Angela Craggs wrote.

Scotland Yard did not provide a copy of the letter to the PA news agency.

The force said it could not comment further because it would “jeopardise criminal or other proceedings”.

Two complaints against the Met over its handling of allegations against the former Harrods boss will be investigated by the force itself, under the direction of a watchdog.

The Met is currently reviewing a total of 21 allegations that were made before Mr Al Fayed died in 2023, and referred two of these to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in November.

Alleged victims have repeated calls for a public inquiry into what happened.

More than 100 alleged victims have contacted police to say they were sexually abused by the tycoon, the youngest of whom is thought to have been 13 at the time.

A number of allegations were made against him while he was still alive.

Investigators twice sent files for a charging decision to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – once in 2008 relating to three alleged victims and again in 2015 linked to one other.

On another three occasions – in 2018, 2021 and 2023 – the CPS was asked for what is called early investigative advice, but the matters were not pursued further by police.

In November, the Met confirmed that detectives were investigating more than five people who may have facilitated the former Harrods boss in his alleged sexual abuse of dozens of women and girls.

They are looking at people surrounding the businessman who could have enabled him to commit crimes which are claimed to have spanned decades between 1977 and 2014.

The force is also facing allegations of police corruption, with The Guardian reporting that officers were accused of taking bribes to help him persecute staff and avoid accusations of abuse.

Horner breaks silence on Red Bull exit after ‘special journey’

Christian Horner has broken his silence after being dismissed by Red Bull during the 2025 F1 season after more than two decades in charge.

The former Red Bull team principal’s emotional farewell speech at the team’s HQ in Milton Keynes was leaked online, with hundreds in attendance giving the 51-year-old a standing ovation after his shock departure.

And Horner has outlined how he achieved “accolades we never dreamed possible” and thanked both his team and rivals for enabling “a special journey,” which included guiding Max Verstappen to four world titles, a partnership the Dutch driver had acknowledged after paying tribute to his former boss.

“After an incredible journey of twenty years together, it is with a heavy heart that today I say goodbye to the Team I have absolutely loved,” Horner said in a statement on social media.

“Every one of you, the amazing people at the factory, have been the heart and soul of everything that we have achieved. Win and lose, every step of the way, we have stood by each other as one and I will never forget that. It’s been a privilege being part of and leading this epic Team and I am so proud of our collective accomplishments and you all.

“Thanks to the amazing partners and fans who enabled us to go racing. Your support has helped grow the team from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse that laid claim to six Constructors Championships and eight Drivers Championships.

“Equally, thank you to our rivals, with whom there would be no racing at all. You’ve pushed us, challenged us, and enabled us to achieve accolades we never dreamed possible. The competition has made every victory sweeter and every setback an opportunity to develop and grow.

“Formula 1 is a sport built on relentless ambition, passion, and respect. The rivalries have been fierce, but the mutual drive to innovate and raise the bar is what has made this journey so special.

“It’s been an honour to be part of this incredible era of motorsport. I leave with immense pride in what we’ve achieved and also with what’s in the pipeline for 2026 — and huge respect for everyone who’s made F1 the pinnacle it is today. Thank You. Christian.”

Horner then listed his achievements leading Red Bull, including six constructors’ championships, eight drivers’ championships and 124 victories in total.

He added 12 sprint victories, 287 podiums, 107 pole positions and 100 fastest laps, emphasising a dominant run over more than two decades.

How Macmillan Cancer Support built a movement that reaches everyone

‘Milestone’ treatment can prevent chemo patients losing their hair

Scientists have unveiled a groundbreaking new approach described as a “powerful double weapon” to combat hair loss in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

This innovative method combines the established practice of scalp cooling, where patients wear a cold cap to minimise drug damage to hair follicles, with a novel lotion rich in antioxidants, similar to those found in red grapes.

The research, hailed as a “milestone”, has not only pinpointed the optimal temperature for scalp cooling but also demonstrated the enhanced protective effect when combined with the antioxidant treatment.

Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University discovered that cooling the scalp to 18C effectively prevents hair follicle damage, whereas 26C offers insufficient protection.

Scalp cooling works by restricting blood flow to the scalp, thereby reducing the amount of chemotherapy medication reaching the hair follicles.

The team has further shown how integrating topical antioxidants with cooling could “transform the ability of cooling to protect” against hair loss.

Dr Nik Georgopoulos, an associate professor of cell biology and Transforming Lives fellow at Sheffield Hallam University, said that he views hair loss as the “face of cancer”.

“The reason why people get hair loss is because, at the base of the hair follicles, there are these rapidly dividing cells that are actually feeling the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs,” he said.

“Chemotherapy drugs are drugs that kill rapidly dividing cancer cells, but they cannot discriminate between cancer cells and rapidly dividing normal cells in the body.

“At the base of our hair follicles are these rapidly dividing cells, or keratinocytes, that constantly grow and they end up forming the actual hair.”

For the study, published in Frontiers of Pharmacology, hair follicles were isolated from the scalp and grown in the lab before being treated with chemotherapy to study the impact.

“We show that they die,” Dr Georgopoulos said. “The cells that are rapidly dividing and grow the hair, they will die because of the toxicity of chemotherapy.

“But if you cool them, they are protected, and I don’t mean just protected – prevented from dying.

“So if cooling is used while the hair follicles are grown in the lab, it can completely prevent the toxicity. But there is a catch – you have to use the right temperature.”

While an optimal temperature was highlighted in the study, researchers also combined cooling with the lotion as a potential target for patients who may not respond to the cold cap technique.

It contained antioxidants like resveratrol, which is found in the likes of red grapes and peanuts, and N-Acetylcysteine, a dietary supplement.

Dr Georgopoulos said: “For some patients, cooling works, and for others it doesn’t. Because some heads – I call them stubborn – they don’t cool enough.

“By adding this topical product that delivers this antioxidant, we form a powerful double weapon that, based on our results in the lab, showed us it can transform the ability of cooling to protect.”

Dr Georgopoulos added that the antioxidant lotion is not “powerful enough” when used alone.

“The reason for that is cooling does multiple amazing things at the same time,” he said.

“What happens in the body when things go cold? You get the constriction of your blood vessels, they’re narrowing down, less blood goes to the scalp, less drug. It isn’t as simple as that.

“Our research has shown that cooling can slow down the cells, stops them from dividing – protection.

“It stops the chemotherapy drug going in – protection. It does multiple things at the same time as long as the cooling is optimal.

“If it isn’t optimal, our approach is now allowing us to actually say ‘it’s OK, it’s not an ideal scenario, but we compensate for it with our topical product’.”

Dr Georgopoulos has been working with Paxman Scalp Cooling for more than a decade.

The Huddersfield-based business has created a device that circulates coolant through a specially designed cooling cap, worn by the patient.

The cooling cap is worn for half an hour before chemotherapy treatment commences, during treatment, and for up to 90 minutes after all the drugs have been given.

It is now hoped the new technique, combining scalp cooling with the antioxidants, can be trialled with cancer patients using the Paxman device, with researchers currently finalising the antioxidants that will be used in the topical product.

Dr Georgopoulos said: “Our ongoing work will ensure that efficacy is as high as possible with the belief that a topical agent will not only dramatically enhance the efficacy of scalp cooling in protecting from hair loss, but also significantly accelerates hair recovery post chemotherapy treatment.”

‘Drunk’ United Airlines pilot was forced into rehab for alcoholism. He actually had a concussion

A senior United Airlines pilot who was disoriented and slurring his speech following a head injury claims he was instead accused of being an alcoholic, forced into inpatient rehab and threatened with grounding unless he admitted to an allegedly nonexistent addiction.

When Capt. Michael Tallon denied he had troubles with alcohol, he was informed by higher-ups that “if he did not confess to having a drinking problem, he would ‘never fly a United plane again,’” according to a bombshell federal lawsuit obtained by The Independent.

Once he begrudgingly checked into residential treatment, Tallon, 56, was “subjected to repetitive and intrusive group therapies focused exclusively on alcohol use, abuse and dependence,” his complaint states, adding, “None of these were appropriate given [Tallon’s] actual medical condition – a head injury.”

After his release, the complaint says Tallon showed up dutifully for daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and blew into a breathalyzer twice a day, among other things, in order to comply with United’s demands. Upon presenting a second opinion from his personal physician who reported finding no evidence at all of any substance use disorder, United sent Tallon to a psychologist to deal with his “denial” issues, according to the complaint.

United, Tallon’s complaint alleges, “failed to provide reasonable accommodations for [Tallon’s] actual condition – post-concussion syndrome – while simultaneously subjecting him to burdensome and discriminatory treatment requirements for a condition he did not have.”

Nearly two years later, Tallon was fired for refusing to keep up the charade, according to the complaint.

“I can’t believe it, still,” Tallon told The Independent. “… If I thought I had cancer but five doctors told me I didn’t, would you fire me for refusing chemotherapy?”

Tallon, a “check airman” who trained and evaluated pilots flying United’s 737 fleet, had nearly three decades of experience and was earning more than $400,000 when he was terminated. He said he has never been a big drinker, that everyone he worked with knew he might go out for “a beer or two, and that’s it.”

“I didn’t want to sue anybody, I just wanted to go back to work,” Tallon said. “Finally, I just had enough. I decided to stand up. I can’t admit to something I’m not, just to get my paycheck.”

Attorney Mike Lueder, who is representing Tallon in his suit against United, described what happened to his client as “draconian.”

“If you’re not someone who is actually in recovery, to have to sit there and go through an AA program, or inpatient treatment, or have a peer pilot looking over your shoulder, it’s Kafkaesque,” Lueder told The Independent. “It’s craziness.”

In an email on Tuesday, a United Airlines spokesperson said, “Since this is an ongoing legal matter, we won’t have anything to share.”

Tallon’s saga began on June 10, 2023, while on a layover in the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, according to his complaint, which was filed July 3 in Chicago federal court.

“He tripped on an uneven cobblestone walk and fell to the ground, sustaining visible facial lacerations and concussion symptoms,” it states. “Following the fall, [Tallon’s co-pilot] observed [his] deteriorating speech and confusion. [Tallon] returned to his hotel room to rest, but his head injury worsened.”

Tallon “became concerned that he would not be safe to fly the next day,” and called a United manager to remove himself from the schedule, the complaint goes on. It says the United manager then called Tallon’s co-pilot and asked if Tallon had been drunk at the time of his fall. The co-pilot said no, that Tallon “was not intoxicated but might have a concussion,” according to the complaint.

Tallon told The Independent that he told the United manager he’d had a drink with his dinner, which apparently set off alarm bells.

“Despite clear and reported signs of head trauma, the United manager failed to provide or suggest that [Tallon] seek immediate medical attention, at one of the three local English-speaking Emergency Care providers, as required by United’s own procedures for crew member injuries while on duty or on layovers,” the complaint continues.

At this point, a “distracted and confused” Tallon called his wife and asked her to let him speak with his mother, the complaint says. She immediately knew something was wrong, as Tallon’s mom had died some 20 years earlier, the complaint explains.

Tallon also spoke with his union rep from the Air Line Pilots Association, who was also the chair of the steering committee for United’s substance-abuse recovery program.

In what the complaint calls Tallon’s “concussed fog,” he told the union rep that “he needed help with his drinking in response to her leading questions on the topic,” the complaint states, noting that Tallon “does not have a complete recollection of this conversation.”

Tallon flew home to the U.S. the next day as a passenger on the flight he was originally supposed to pilot, according to the complaint. It says that while the plane was in the air, Tallon’s union rep arranged – “without [Tallon’s] knowledge or permission” – for him to attend inpatient alcohol treatment. When Tallon landed, he got a call from United and association officials, who “immediately pressured him to admit to alcoholism,” the complaint states.

Shocked, Tallon denied he had a problem with alcohol, the complaint continues. However, it contends, the rep informed Tallon that if he didn’t admit he was an alcoholic and go to rehab, he would lose his job.

In the meantime, Tallon challenged United’s assessment and met with a physician working for the carrier, who tested him for drugs and alcohol as part of a fitness-for-duty evaluation, the complaint states. Tallon came up clean, it maintains. Nevertheless, United’s doctor issued a report saying he believed Tallon “might meet FAA criteria for alcohol dependence due to alleged ‘drinking in larger amounts and over longer periods than intended,’” according to the complaint, which argues, “That is not the diagnostic standard from any recognized authority.”

Further, the doctor ignored, among other things, Tallon’s lab results, professional evaluations, and, most importantly, his untreated head injury, the complaint alleges. So, Tallon decided to seek out a second doctor, as is his right under the union’s contract with United, the complaint says. Yet, this prompted a warning from an association lawyer, who told Tallon that doing so would “be an insult” to the United doctor, and “would suggest ‘denial,’” the complaint asserts.

On August 28, 2023, Tallon was sent to a recovery center in Connecticut, where clinicians puzzled over his lack of an actual diagnosis, the complaint states. A little less than a month later, United and association officials pressured Tallon to sign himself up for “HIMS,” or, “Human Intervention Motivation Study,” which is the aviation industry’s standard substance-abuse recovery program, according to the complaint.

“Under coercion and duress, Plaintiff signed the HIMS contract on September 21, 2023,” the complaint says.

In response to a request for comment from The Independent, an ALPA representative said it is the organization’s policy “to refrain from commenting on ongoing legal matters.”

Four weeks later, the recovery center discharged Tallon with a finding of “no diagnosis,” according to the complaint. Tallon went to see his primary care physician, who was “shocked” he hadn’t yet been given a full head trauma evaluation for his fall and found no indication of alcoholism, the complaint states.

Tallon continued to protest United’s insistence that he was an alcoholic, telling his bosses that having to pretend to have a drinking problem in order to stay employed was “not appropriate,” the complaint states. Yet, United’s Employee Assistance Program rep let Tallon know, in no uncertain terms, “If I hear you say one more time that you are NOT in recovery, you will be out of compliance with the program,” the complaint alleges.

So, Tallon completed 90 consecutive days of an intensive outpatient program, according to the complaint. There, Tallon’s therapist joined the chorus of other professionals who did not view Tallon as an alcoholic. Tallon’s AA sponsor also agreed that Tallon didn’t have a drinking problem, the complaint says. In early 2024, Tallon began an aftercare program at the Connecticut rehab, where, after five months of treatment, yet another counselor said he didn’t see any signs of alcoholism or a history of hard drinking, according to the complaint.

Still, a physician under contract to United as an Aviation Medical Examiner demanded Tallon now undergo neuropsychological testing for alcoholism, the complaint states. The doctor performing the test told Tallon that she was confused, as, “You have not been diagnosed with anything,” according to the complaint.

It says the doctor then cut short the session, and sent Tallon home. This, according to the complaint, led United’s Aviation Medical Examiner to insist Tallon see a psychologist for “treatment of ‘anxiety and denial of (alleged) alcoholism,’” the complaint states. But, it contends, the psychologist saw no signs that Tallon was an alcoholic, and said so in an April 2024 report. Regardless, United demanded Tallon reschedule the neurocognitive test, according to the complaint.

This time, Tallon refused.

“He had sent reams of information to United confirming that he was not alcoholic and was finished with the nonsense,” the complaint states.

In February 2025, after a hearing, United fired Tallon “because he allegedly would not comply with the HIMS program,” according to the complaint. It says that by getting rid of Tallon via the HIMS program, rather than a medical separation due to his head injury, meant United saved itself millions in long-term disability payments.

“It’s a sh***y system,” Lueder told The Independent, “and I hope to help change it.”

Tallon is now seeking compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional distress, and reputational harm, punitive damages and an injunction forcing United to rework the HIMS program, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.

“I have no other choice but to look back and laugh,” Tallon said on Tuesday. “But here I am, and I’m moving on with my life.”