Lineker and Corbyn join Salah to condemn Uefa tribute to ‘Palestinian Pele’

Gary Lineker and Jeremy Corbyn have joined footballer Mohamed Salah in condemning Uefa’s tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele”.

Al-Obeid, 41, was killed when Israeli forces targeted civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the Palestine Football Association (PFA).

In a post paying tribute to the footballer on social media platform X, Uefa said: “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pele’. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times”.

Liverpool player Mohamed Salah, called out the governing body for failing to reference the circumstances of his death, saying: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”

Now, Gary Lineker, former England footballer and TV presenter, has taken to Instagram to share an article about the backlash to Uefa’s post, writing: “We can’t hear you Uefa”.

Jeremy Corbyn has also backed Salah’s comments on X, saying: “Well said Mo!”.

Salah’s social media post has so far been viewed by 73.4 million users.

The Liverpool forward, 33, who has more than 19 million X followers, previously called for the massacres in the conflict to stop and for aid to be allowed into Gaza.

In a video posted on Instagram in October 2023, he wrote: “It is not always easy to speak in times like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreak and brutality.

“The escalations in the recent weeks is unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop. Families are being torn apart.”

The PFA said that Al-Obeid, who was married with two sons and three daughters, made 24 appearances for the national team, scoring twice.

He was nicknamed the “Palestinian Pele”, the PFA said.

At least 38 Palestinians were killed overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday while seeking aid from United Nations convoys and sites run by an Israeli-backed American contractor, according to local health officials.

The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots when crowds approached its forces, but that it was not aware of any casualties.

Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies, said another four people were killed in the Teina area, on a route leading to a site in southern Gaza run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor. The Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of six people killed near a GHF site in central Gaza. Another 12 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to the two hospitals.

GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because its militants are entrenched in heavily populated areas.

The United Nations has said that more than 1,300 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the US and Israel-backed aid distribution system, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

‘Home Office is forcing me to leave UK for country I’ve never called home’

A British Airways cabin crew member was forced to abandon his dream career eight years after arriving in the UK when the Home Office told him to move to a country where he says he has never lived.

Shady El Farra, a 28-year-old Egyptian national whose primary language is English, came to the UK to study in 2016, having grown up between the United States and Saudi Arabia due to his parents’ jobs as academics.

He was granted a two-year graduate visa in 2021 and started a career at British Airways as a cabin crew member. But he was forced to quit the job after an application for a private life visa, which allows people to stay based on strong personal ties to the UK, was rejected by the Home Office in November 2024.

Home Office officials said Mr El Farra should be able to integrate into life in Egypt, despite the 28-year-old explaining that he left the country shortly after he was born and has never lived there as an adult. The country also requires mandatory military service for everyone under the age of 30.

The initial refusal decision also told Mr El Farra that he would be able to “fully support yourself in India” – despite his application having nothing to do with that country.

He told The Independent: “I’ve worked in the UK, studied in the UK, and now I’m being told I have no expectation of a future here.”

Speaking about his visa refusal, he said: “It’s like a robot has written it. They can belittle it as errors, but it has a huge impact on a human being’s life.

“It’s been two years of not working, not being in the skies. It’s been mentally very challenging. Throughout the whole process, they’ve not bothered to look into or consider the obstacles that I would have if I was sent to Egypt.

“I barely speak the language, I have no family there and there is conscription in Egypt”.

Mr El Farra is relying on support from his parents but fears he will soon be unable to pay rent at his flat in London. He is unable to claim public funds due to his immigration status.

Mr El Farra had to hand over his passport when he first applied for the private life visa in September 2023, meaning he was unable to fly internationally. BA let him work on domestic flights, but he was then moved to working as a staff trainer while he waited for the visa decision, he said. He received his refusal in November 2024 and had to leave the job he loved.

“I had a future at British Airways,” he said. “I was going to be a senior trainer and they just upended that… for what? How is it a benefit to the UK for me to be sitting here unable to contribute anything?”

He then submitted an appeal of the decision to the immigration tribunal, and is now allowed to look for work while the court proceedings are ongoing.

International students have been one of the main drivers of net migration in recent years, along with Ukrainian refugees and people coming to work on health and social care visas.

Since Brexit, more international students have stayed in the UK following the conclusion of their studies, and the Labour government has recently introduced measures to restrict this – shortening the post-study graduate visa from two years to 18 months.

Though Mr El Farra has gone through training and security checks to work as cabin crew, he would need a salary of at least £41,700 to be sponsored for a skilled worker visa to stay in the UK.

Referring to the initial error in the Home Office letter, said: “The rejection said I should go back to India, which obviously doesn’t make any sense. They said I should not have had any expectations for staying in the UK. But the graduate visa enables you to find a job in the UK and become a taxpayer so I think that gives people some expectation that they might stay.”

The Home Office’s refusal was upheld on review and Mr El Farra is now waiting for a tribunal hearing to consider his case.

His father, Dr Ehab el Farra, a professor of hospitality management in Saudi Arabia, said his son loved the UK and the family was “astonished” by the initial Home Office response.

“The UK should take talented people, use them, and keep them in the system. I used to live in the States, where we have lots of nationalities who live there and that’s one of the reasons why America is very prosperous.

“He is fighting to stay in the UK because he loves Britain and wants to make a good life there”.

His mother, Molly, also an academic, added: “It’s a big puzzle for us. He’s not allowed to live in Saudi Arabia with us unless he is a student or worker here. He cannot live with us because he is over 18. We are in this vicious cycle”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.”

British Airways has been contacted for comment.

Freddie Mercury’s friend Mary Austin doubts ‘secret child’ claims

Freddie Mercury’s former girlfriend and closest friend, Mary Austin, has shared her scepticism over a woman claiming to be the singer’s secret daughter, who has spoken publicly for the first time ahead of the release of a book about her story.

Co-written with author Lesley-Anne Jones, Love, Freddie: Freddie Mercury’s Secret Life and Love claims that B was conceived by accident while the late Queen frontman was having an affair with the wife of a close friend in 1976.

Only his inner circle, including his bandmates and Austin, were said to know of the child’s existence for almost five decades.

The book, which is scheduled for release in September, draws on what B says are 17 handwritten diaries Mercury gave her shortly before his death in 1991.

B, now 48, claims that she and Mercury had a “very close and loving” relationship: “He treated me like a treasured possession.”

In a statement published by the Daily Mail, she said: “I didn’t want to share my Dad with the whole world. After his death, I had to learn to live with the attacks against him, the misrepresentations of him, and with the feeling that my Dad now belonged to everyone.

“I cried and mourned my Dad, while fans all around the world mourned Freddie. When you are 15 years old, it’s not easy. I had to become an adult without him… For 30 years I had to build my life and family without him… I needed to have my Dad just for me and my family. How could I have spoken before?”

B’s claims have been met with scepticism from some of Mercury’s closest friends, including Austin – who inherited much of the singer’s estate.

Speaking to The Sunday Times this weekend, Austin said at no point did Mercury tell her he had fathered a daughter, nor did she see him write a diary. The first entry said to have been written was on 20 June 1976, while she was still living with the “Bohemian Rhapsody” star.

Austin met Mercury when she was 19 and he was 23, a year before Queen were formed. They lived together in London for years before, in late 1976, the singer told her about his sexuality. They remained close, with Mercury saying in 1985: “All my lovers ask me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s impossible.

“The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.”

“Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him,” Austin said.

She continued: “The truth is that I am simply not the guardian of such a secret. I’ve never known of any child, or of any diaries. If Freddie had indeed had a child without me knowing anything about it, that would be astonishing to me.”

If Mercury had had a daughter, she added, “it would have brought tremendous joy to Freddie, and everybody who cared about him — including Freddie’s parents. I believe that [Bomi and Jer Bulsara] would have embraced her with all the love in their hearts. But I do not remember Freddie ever speaking about creating a family.”

Last month, Anita Dobson shared the reaction of her husband, Mercury’s Queen bandmate Brian May, after B’s claims were made public.

She told The Mirror: “I went ‘What?’ I thought, ‘No,’ And I said to Brian, ‘Do you know about this?’ And he said: ‘Do you believe this?’”

She continued: “There must be lots of people who have children that we don’t know about. It’s just because it’s him. Because he’s iconic. And the type of animal that he was, it seems inconceivable that he would have a child with someone we don’t know about.”

Dobson suggested it might be “fake news”, stating: “If he does have one where is she – step forward.”

B told the Mail that she was “devastated” by Austin’s response: “For 34 years, the truth of Freddie’s life has been distorted, twisted and rewritten, but she said nothing – with the exception of her comment about the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, which she called ‘artistic licence’.

“Here, she has not yet read the book, yet she apparently makes this statement. I don’t understand why.”

Jones has claimed that Mercury provided for her through a private legal arrangement, which she said explained why there would be no mention of B in Mercury’s will.

Asked on social media whether a DNA test had been arranged to prove that B was Mercury’s daughter, she responded: “Please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private and not shared publicly.”

Austin said that the narrative surrounding the book’s origin had been “baffling”, stating that there was no provision in Mercury’s will for “any kind of secret trust”, while nothing of that nature had ever gone through his estate accounts, to her knowledge.

Austin, who is famously private and rarely gives interviews, said she felt compelled to speak out in order to “prevent my silence being interpreted as confirmation… speaking now is not a decision I have taken lightly”.

Her remarks land amid ongoing controversy surrounding the now-disputed nature memoir, The Salt Path, whose author Raynor Winn has been accused of fabricating large parts of the book. Winn has called the claims against her book “highly misleading”.

Austin told The Sunday Times that she hoped that Whitefox, the publishers of B’s book, had “rigorously investigated the veracity of the claims and satisfied itself this book aligns with its, and the industry’s, values and ethics.”

Whitefox said in a statement to The Sunday Times: “Whitefox takes issues of accuracy, legality and ethics seriously, and we work to ensure that any project we are involved with has been subject to appropriate editorial and legal scrutiny.”

‘I stole £3k-a-day in shoplifting sprees – it became an addiction’

For one of the most prolific shoplifters in the UK, every operation would begin the same way.

The night before, Cullan Mais would load up Google Maps on his mobile phone and mark out a “fishing rod-like” route through several towns to finish back in his home city of Cardiff.

He’d call his driver and the next morning he would embark on a lucrative shoplifting spree, making off with up to £3,000 worth of goods; from food to sunglasses and even Yankee candles.

“I wouldn’t leave a shop empty-handed, sometimes I’d go in two or three times,” said the 34-year-old, who highlighted Co-op supermarkets, Specsavers and garden centres as among his top targets.

Wearing a trench coat, he could fit more than a dozen bottles of spirits in his clothing before walking up to the till to buy a pack of chewing gum to avoid detection. And it worked.

“I had a lavish lifestyle because anything I ever needed, whether it was food, clothes, alcohol or something for the missus, I just stole it,” he said.

Over 10 years, Mais estimates he stole more than £3m worth of items from shops, almost all of it offloaded to a network of “buyers” for cash to buy heroin.

He rarely got caught.

In total, he was sentenced to prison on 10 occasions, six of them for shoplifting. But nothing could stop him at the height of his criminality, and to Mais, the thrill of shoplifting became as big an addiction as the drugs he was taking.

He said: “I was hitting multiple shops a day, so to get caught once every two years, it’s pretty good going, you know, and even if I had £2,000 in my pocket, I’d still go shoplifting the next day.

“It became an addiction I got a buzz out of, like I’ve accomplished something.”

Mais finally got help after being rushed to hospital with sepsis and pneumonia in 2020.

“I was at rock bottom and knew then I just had to get clean,” he said.

He received rehabilitation to help him recover from his heroin and shoplifting addiction. Now, he runs a podcast on which he hopes to help others trapped in the offending cycle.

It comes as the number of shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales climbed to another record high in 2024/25, up 20 per cent from 2023/24.

Last month, home secretary Yvette Cooper announced a new crime “blitz” to crack down on crime, featuring more visible policing and stronger enforcement in a bid to restore confidence in policing.

But as The Independent revealed recently, shopkeepers are struggling against the wave of shoplifting offences.

Mais puts the increase in offences down to the cost-of-living crisis and an inability to deal with offenders. He even suggests there should be a specific rehabilitation programme for shoplifters.

“Our justice system is broken,” he said. “I think more people need to be supported in the community, some shouldn’t be going to jail because jail isn’t working. They come out of jail, and they’ve reoffended again.”

Police forces are taking an innovative approach to dealing with shoplifters.

West Midlands Police’s Offending 2 Recovery team, set up in 2018, tackles thefts fuelled by drug addiction. Measures include placing offenders into residential rehabs and good-quality abstinence-based recovery communities.

On his work today, Mais said: “I’m now owning up for what I’ve done, educating people, preventing shopkeepers from losing more money and helping those who are stuck in the same cycle as I was, giving them the hope that they can change.”

Liverpool battle Crystal Palace as season begins with Community Shield

The first silverware of the season is on the line as Liverpool battle Crystal Palace in the annual Community Shield curtain-raiser.

The meaning of the encounter between Premier League champions and FA Cup winners can be debated but both sides will relish an opportunity to knock off some rust before the new campaign begins in earnest next weekend. Despite their romp to the title last year, it’s been a busy summer for Liverpool with a number of new signings looking to impress Arne Slot – though it will also be a day tinged with sadness as tributes continue to be paid to Diogo Jota in the first competitive fixture since his death.

For Oliver Glasner’s unlikely cup winners, meanwhile, events in a Swiss court are perhaps the more consequential proceedings of the weekends with their European future in the balance as the Court of Arbitration for Sport considers an appeal from the London club over their demotion out of the Europa League. Glasner will be keen for his squad, which includes a couple of players linked with moves away, to focus on matters on the pitch as they look for another Wembley win.

Follow all of the latest from the Community Shield with our live blog below:

Off the beaten track: discover ten British hidden gem destinations

While big cities and buzzy coastal destinations have their place, sometimes it’s nice to explore somewhere a little more under the radar, and Britain has lots of travel treasures to discover. From overlooked cities with a burgeoning cultural scene, vibrant market towns and revitalised seaside resorts, there’s somewhere to satisfy every type of traveller. The best part? You can reach many of these hidden gems easily by rail.

Travelling by train is a convenient, fun and greener way to arrive at your destination. Railcard offers a third off rail travel around Britain. With nine Railcards to choose from, saving customers an average of £172 a year, it pays for itself in no time. Find the one for you at railcard.co.uk. What’s more, Railcard have created a handy online calculator to determine what you could save – simply enter your journey details and the relevant Railcard and it will calculate the discount you can get.

Read on for some fresh travel inspiration and get ready for a season of discovery…

A working fishing port on Cornwall’s south coast, Looe is one of the most idyllic destinations in the UK and famous for its day-caught fish. If it looks familiar, it might be because it was used as a filming location for BBC drama Beyond Paradise. The scenic Looe Valley train line has been bringing visitors to this part of the world since Victorian times. Formerly two independent towns, East and West Looe, they are now joined across the river by a bridge. East Looe beach is a picture-perfect location where you can enjoy swimming, crabbing along the harbour walls, and explore the uniquely shaped Banjo pier. A boat trip takes you to Looe Island, a wildlife sanctuary where you can see grey seals sunbathing on the rocks. Back on dry land, the town’s narrow winding streets are perfect for a gentle meander.

Nearest station: Looe, about a 10 minute walk to town

This trendy Somerset town is known for its strong community spirit, award winning markets and independent shops and restaurants – plus stunning surrounding countryside – making it the perfect place for a relaxing weekend. The Cheese and Grain is a cultural hub for the town, attracting both classic bands and buzzy new acts (The Foo Fighters and Paul McCartney have played Glastonbury warm-up gigs here), as well as hosting a weekly flea market. Talking of markets, Frome has plenty, including an award-winning farmer’s market on the second Saturday of each month, and the legendary Frome Independent on the first Sunday of every month, which showcases the best craftspeople, designers, food producers and vintage traders in the South West. Hungry? There’s loads of tempting options, from trendy street food destination The Station, neighbourhood restaurants like Little Walcot and Bistro Lotte and buzzy tapas bar The High Pavement.

Nearest station: Frome, about a 10 minute walk to the town centre

Fast becoming Kent’s buzziest seaside destination, a vibrant Old Town, a great culinary scene and a glorious sandy beach are just a few of the things that make Folkestone great for a weekend break. The Leas, a mile-long stretch of clifftop promenade, is as perfect a place for a stroll now as it was in Victorian times. Meanwhile the town’s harbour arm is enjoying a new lease of life as the place to go for delicious street food, independent galleries and quirky shops. Food-wise, there’s everything from destination restaurant Rocksalt (try and snag a spot on the terrace) to acclaimed seafood stall Chummys. The town has the largest outdoor urban collection of contemporary art in the UK, so look out for pieces like Cornelia Parker’s ‘The Folkestone Mermaid’ on Sunny Sands beach and Anthony Gormley’s eerie statue under the harbour arm. If you’re in town between July and October the streets will come alive with artwork thanks to the triennale festival.

Nearest station: Folkestone Central, about a 10 minute walk to the town centre

This vibrant Devon market town is picture-perfect, with a riverside location, colourful houses and a castle looming over the town. The steep climb up to Totnes Castle is worth it for the views of the town below – as well as over the dramatic Dartmoor countryside. The River Dart runs through the town, and is a great spot for kayaking, paddleboarding or just a gentle riverside stroll. Take a 30 minute walk to Dartington Estate, to see its stunning Grade II* listed gardens, deer park and cinema in a 14th century barn. Totnes itself has a thriving arts scene with plenty of small galleries, as well as independent and eco-friendly (Totnes prides itself on being one of Britain’s greenest towns) shops and cafes. And if the train ride down gave you a taste for locomotives, the South Devon Railway offers steam train rides through the gorgeous Devon countryside.

Nearest station: Totnes, about a 10 minute walk to the town centre

Bradford is the 2025 City of Culture, meaning there’s lots of exciting things happening this year, including the reopening of the National Science and Media Museum, with its multiple exhibition spaces and cinema screens. Loading Bay is a pop-up arts venue in a disused storage depot that will host music, comedy, art exhibitions and immersive theatre shows throughout 2025. And in July a brand new shopping and cultural destination, Darley Street Market, opened in the city.

Bradford is also a great base to explore some of West Yorkshire’s other highlights, including Victorian model village (and UNESCO World Heritage site) Saltaire, which is less than 15 minutes away by train. Salts Mill, the huge textile factory around which the village was designed, is now a fantastic complex of galleries, shops and restaurants – and home to a large collection of David Hockey’s work. Meanwhile at Keighley, a 20 minute journey from Bradford, you can catch a performance of The Railway Children (15 July – 7 Sept) on the same tracks where the classic film was shot.

Nearest Station: Bradford Forster Square or Bradford Interchange, in the city centre

If not under the radar then certainly underrated, this charming Welsh seaside town has loads to offer visitors, blending natural beauty with a rich history and a vibrant creative energy. Surrounded by the stunning Cambrian mountain range, the town has not one but two glorious beaches, linked by a mile-long promenade. At the northern end of this you’ll find the famous cliff top railway, which takes you up to a summit with spectacular views of Cardigan Bay. Perched on a hill in an impressive building, The National Library of Wales also has great vistas – and exhibitions dedicated to Welsh history and literature. Aberystwyth Arts Centre is the largest of its kind in Wales, presenting a programme of music, visual art, dance, film and more. Aber – as locals call it – also has a burgeoning food scene, with highlights including Arabic Flavour, whose menu is inspired by Lebanon and Greece cuisine, and popular tapas and wine bar Ultracomida.

Nearest station: Aberystwyth, about a five minute walk to the town centre

This underrated city is undergoing something of a cultural renaissance. In 2021 it was the City of Culture and there’s plenty of that to soak up. The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum has displays dedicated to visual arts, archaeology, social history and natural history – and a dinosaur in residence, Dippy, on loan from The Natural History Museum. Coventry Music Museum celebrates the city’s musical heritage, including the legendary 2-Tone scene, while Coventry Transport Museum (get 2FOR1 entry with National Rail Days Out Guide) has the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world. Meanwhile, the former industrial space FarGo village is a must-visit hub of indie shops, restaurants, street food and cultural events. Finally, no visit is complete without seeing Coventry Cathedral. The original medieval building was largely destroyed in 1940 by The Blitz, and its preserved ruins now sit alongside the new cathedral – a marvel of contemporary architecture designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962. The modern building has a stunning 26-metre high stained glass window made up of 198 glass panels — no wonder it was once voted the nation’s favourite 20th century building.

Nearest station: Coventry, about a 10 minute walk to the city centre

Home to cobbled streets, an impressive cathedral and a beautiful castle, Lincoln combines a rich history with a vibrant cultural scene and stunning surrounding scenery, all in a compact and easy-to-navigate city. The nearly 1,000 year old Lincoln Cathedral was once the tallest building in the world, and while it might no longer hold that accolade it’s still an awe inspiring work of architecture. From there it’s only a short walk to the castle, built by William The Conqueror, which holds one of only four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. Steep Hill is, as the name suggests, a famous street with a sharp incline – but its array of shops and cafes make it worth the effort. It’s also where you’ll find beloved pie shop Hobbsons, where the only issue is deciding which flavour to pick. If you need to walk off your lunch, Lincoln Arboretum, nestled in the heart of the city, is a delightful place for a stroll.

Nearest station: Lincoln Central, about a 15 minute walk to the Cathedral

Often overlooked in favour of its better-known Scottish cousins, there are plenty of things to see and do in this historic city. Stirling Castle (get 25% off entry with National Rail Days Out Guide), the childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots, is one of the most historically important in Scotland, while Bannockburn (get 2FOR1 entry with National Rail), two miles south of the city, is the site of one of the country’s most famous battles, won by Robert The Bruce. Then there’s the Wallace Monument, which towers over the city, commemorating the life of local hero William Wallace. It’s a short bus ride or hour’s walk from the station, plus a 246-step winding staircase to reach the top – but the views are well worth the effort. The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Gallery has a large collection of rare and interesting artifacts – including the world’s oldest football (made from a pig’s bladder). In Stirling’s cobbled Old Town you’ll find plenty of cosy pubs, cool cafes and quirky shops to explore, and for a family-friendly attraction, Blair Drummond Safari Park is a half hour bus ride from the city centre.

Nearest station: Stirling, in the city centre

Nestled in the scenic Shropshire Hills is this beautiful market town known for its history, food scene, and stunning landscapes. Boasting fascinating medieval architecture, vibrant markets, and surrounding forests, Ludlow offers the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure. Ludlow Castle, which dates back to the 11th century, is one of the best examples of medieval ruins in England and has incredible vistas over the Shropshire countryside. You can also enjoy fine views from the tower of Saint Laurence’s Church, once you’ve climbed the 201 steps to the top. To get away from the crowds, a four-mile circular walk will take you to peaceful Mortimer Forest and back. Meanwhile Ludlow itself is full of antique, interior, craft and gift shops, as well as delis, cafes and artisan food shops. The town square hosts a market four days a week, with a farmer’s market on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. The famous Ludlow Farmshop, two miles outside the centre, is a haven for foodies, with a kitchen restaurant, pub and distillery also on site.

Nearest station: Ludlow, about a five minute walk to the town centre

Enjoy great value British adventures by train

From stunning nature and the great outdoors, to culture, cuisine and incredible scenery, there’s no doubt Britain has it all in spades, and these unmissable adventures are just a simple, enjoyable train ride away. So there’s never been a better time to start planning some Great British getaways, from day trips to weekends away or a longer staycation.

With Railcard, whether you’re travelling solo or with a friend, on a couples weekend or off on holiday with the family, you can save on all sorts of train journeys around Great Britain. Railcard helps you save a third off rail travel and for just £35 for the year, it pays for itself in no time. With nine different Railcards available, find the one for you at railcard.co.uk. What’s more, you can enjoy 2FOR1 and other offers with National Rail’s Days Out Guide when you travel by train. So make this your year to get out, experience and explore everything on your doorstep and enjoy truly great value getaways.

Mapped: Where will temperatures soar in UK during fourth heatwave?

The UK may be set for its fourth heatwave next week after temperatures are predicted to soar from Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to peak in the high twenties across the south of England, according to the Met Office, with London marking 28C on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It is set to remain warm in other parts of the country, with Manchester clocking temperatures of 27C on Tuesday and 25C on Wednesday.

Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said that while exact temperatures weren’t set in stone – and could hit the mid-thirties – many areas would enjoy a “hot spell” during the week.

“I think we could be seeing parts of the UK have another heatwave by the middle of next week,” he said.

A heatwave is identified when a location records across at least three consecutive days maximum temperatures exceeding a designated value, according to the Met Office. For most of the UK, this is 25C, but rises to 28C in London and the surrounding areas where temperatures are typically higher.

“The general pattern is that we’ll see temperatures start to increase from Sunday and the duration of the heat is likely to last until Tuesday, possibly Wednesday,” said Mr Madge.

“We’re likely to see temperatures get to high 20s across quite a lot of the UK, and in the south we’re likely to see the possibility of temperatures reaching mid-30s degrees centigrade across parts of central, southern and eastern England, with the likelihood that the heat will probably last longest in places like East Anglia, up through Lincolnshire and into Yorkshire.”

A yellow heat health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) across parts of the country from 12pm on Monday until 6pm on Wednesday. The warning covers Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, East of England, London, the South East and South West.

Health bosses have warned of “significant impacts” across health and social care services as temperatures rocket.

The hottest day of the year so far saw 34.7C recorded at St James’s Park in central London on 1 July. As it gets hotter once again, Britain could see its fourth heatwave after one in June and two in July.

It comes as Brits have said they feel unprepared for hot weather, with only half saying they would comply with hosepipe bans if they came into action, dropping to 35 per cent of 16- to 34-year-olds, according to new Ipsos polling of a sample of 1,075 adults across the country.

Nearly half – 48 per cent – of the public are either not at all or only somewhat prepared to adjust their work or daily routines as scorching temperatures become more frequent. Meanwhile, 62 per cent say they think climate change has had some influence on the recent heatwaves and droughts in the country.

However, 16 per cent think recent heatwaves and droughts are mainly caused by natural weather cycles, including a third (34 per cent) of Reform UK voters.

Commenting on the findings, Rachel Brisley, head of energy and environment at Ipsos, said: “Our research suggests that the majority of the British public don’t consider themselves to be prepared to adapt their lifestyles to heatwaves and this includes an unwillingness, by almost half of those surveyed, to comply with hosepipe bans. This seems to be particularly true for younger generations.

“In general, the public considers that climate change has had at least some influence on the recent heatwaves and droughts that are becoming a more frequent part of our lives. Reform UK voters, however, remain sceptical about the human impact on extreme weather events.”

Britain isn’t broken, but people believe it is, and that is a problem

Fraser Nelson, the former editor of The Spectator, the Conservative weekly, is having a remarkable afterlife as a great defender of the Labour government. He has gone head-to-head with Nigel Farage over the Reform leader’s claim that we are living in “lawless Britain”.

There is less crime in Britain today than there has been for decades, Nelson pointed out at one of Farage’s media conferences this week.

This crime reduction is nothing to do with people not bothering to report crime to the police any more, because the figures come from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, a large survey of a representative sample of the population that asks people if they have been the victim of a crime in the previous 12 months. The number of crimes has fallen by four-fifths since 1995.

Farage waved the Crime Survey aside, saying it was “discredited” because it does not include shoplifting. It doesn’t, because it asks people about crimes of which they have personally been the victim, and shoplifting has indeed increased. But that does not mean the Crime Survey is discredited. On the contrary, it is the best and most reliable evidence, and it is especially useful for measuring trends over time, because it is not affected by changes in the way police record crime.

What did Farage say to that? “We all know that crime has risen significantly over the course of the last few years.” A big welcome back, please, to that dread phrase, “we all know”. For years, I would point out that four public inquiries had found that Tony Blair told the truth about Iraq, only to be told that “we all know” he didn’t.

As Nelson comments: “This is the politics of perception.” As he points out in an excellent article in The Times today, it is the same with road safety, air pollution, sewage, and living standards. “We all know” they are getting worse, when in fact they are getting better.

So it does not matter to most people what the Crime Survey says. Most people believe that crime is rising, and the numbers who believe that have not changed over the years that crime has been falling. People are influenced by reports of terrible things happening to other people and misremember their own experience. Anything more than five or 10 years ago was a golden age when there was some decent music in the charts and Mars bars weren’t behind perspex screens.

Why, though, has what “we all know” become so much worse in the past year? Probably because some highly visible crimes have increased: shoplifting, phone thefts and graffiti. These are crimes that make people feel threatened by disorder, even as more of us than ever report feeling safe walking alone in their local area at night.

What is corrosive is the perception – “we all know” – that the authorities are not securely in control. Behind that perception lies the reality of asylum-seeker hotels and a government that is powerless to stop the boats. What has changed since the election is that Farage is more active, at the head of a social-media movement and a TV channel, GB News, dedicated to portraying the country as a hellhole.

The intensity of this campaign to spread fear and insecurity seems to have reached a critical mass that is dangerous to Keir Starmer. He cannot fight it with facts, or not only with facts, because the answer will always be that “we all know” that the facts are wrong.

As Ian Leslie, the advertising executive turned social commentator, says, “Instead of asking, ‘Why are people angry?’ we should ask, ‘What are we missing?’”

What the government needs is to take visible and forceful action on the things that people care about, the shoplifting, phone snatching and graffiti, but above all on asylum hotels and stopping the boats.

So far, Starmer has tried to do all these things, but limply. There have been roundtables at No 10 with the police and representatives of the retail industry and phone companies. Even these feeble initiatives have been undermined by people in authority doing foolish things, such as the police in Wales telling off a shopkeeper for calling thieves “scumbags” and Andy Lord, the London Underground boss, who accused citizen graffiti-removers of defacing trains themselves so that they could pose as heroes for cleaning them up.

Most importantly, Starmer now has a treaty with France to return some of the cross-Channel migrants, but it will take a long time to build up to returning all or nearly all those who arrive, at which point the crossings would stop – and it is not clear that the French are in it for the long haul.

One thing that Tony Blair understood, as he faced spikes of street crime, anti-social behaviour and asylum-seeker numbers, was the importance of “grip”. It may sound like annoying spin-speak, but it was critical to communicating that he understood how people felt and he was doing something about it.

Starmer should be grateful to Fraser Nelson, formerly of The Spectator, for pointing out that we are safer, richer and healthier than ever before – but if the perception is that we are not, the government has to get a grip on what “we all know”.