Tax the rich more to fill funding black hole, Labour members tell PM

Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to introduce a wealth tax to fill a black hole in public finances, after new polling shows almost all Labour members back the move.

The prime minister has been urged to adopt a “radical change of direction” after a survey, shared exclusively with The Independent, showed that 91 per cent of party members think the government should tax the rich more.

It comes after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pressed Rachel Reeves to consider eight wealth taxes rather than impose cuts on departments in a leaked memo earlier this year.

Former shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds also weighed in, backing a wealth tax and warning that spending cuts will not “deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary”.

It comes amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments, with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) – a leading economic think tank – last month warning the chancellor is facing a £41.2bn shortfall.

Ministers have already squeezed their departmental funding in cuts unveiled at last month’s spending review, meaning most expect the chancellor will have no choice but to raise taxes instead.

The polling, conducted by Survation for Compass, also found 84 per cent of Labour members want the government should end the two-child benefit cap – a policy which is increasingly unpopular among Labour MPs.

Former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, founder of Labour Together and a former policy coordinator for Labour minister Ed Miliband, told The Independent: “The danger now is that the leadership are way out of step with the membership and potentially the country in terms of the policies needed to head off Reform.”

He added: “These are exactly the ideas we tested at Labour Together and are the basis for winning and transforming the country. The leadership should be listening to members – not out-of-touch factions.”

Neal Lawson, director of Compass, said the polling showed that Sir Keir Starmer’s “fence-sitting and aping of Reform’s rhetoric isn’t wanted”.

“The government were elected on a promise of ‘a decade of national renewal’ and so far they’ve tried to cut welfare for disabled people and suspended the whip from MPs who disagreed.

“Party members think what the general public think – that Labour offered change and now simply has to deliver on it. Without a big reset, then the keys to Number 10 are being handed to Reform and Nigel Farage”, he added.

Last year, just months after Labour took office, the whip was stripped from seven MPs – including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell – for voting against the cap.

And in July, the prime minister also suspended Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff from the party for voting against the government’s controversial welfare cuts.

The polling indicated Sir Keir’s party membership thinks he has been too heavy-handed on party discipline, with some 74 per cent believing that challenging the government on controversial legislation should not result in the suspension.

It comes amid growing concern over the direction of Sir Keir’s government from voters on both the left and the right, with the prime minister’s approval rating hitting an all-time low last month.

John McDonnell, who served as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow chancellor and lost the Labour whip last year, told The Independent that the survey “confirms how starkly out of touch Keir Starmer is”.

“It’s time for Keir not just to start listening to people beyond the Westminster bubble but also taking some decisive action. All people are saying to him is to behave like a Labour prime minister should”, he added.

Meanwhile, left-wing MP Rachael Maskell – who led the rebellion against the government’s welfare cuts and is strongly in favour of a wealth tax – said it shows that party members are “clearly attuned to the injustices that they see in their communities”.

As Sir Keir embarks on his second year in office, Ms Maskell said the government should ensure the agenda is “marked by progressive tax policies to be invested in public services and community priorities”.

Labour MP Richard Burgon, who was stripped of the whip last year, said the party must “urgently change course”.

“Unless the Labour leadership completely changes its approach, it will continue to lose support and will open the doors for a Reform government.

“Instead of ignoring Labour members and punishing MPs who stand up for their constituents, the Labour leadership should start listening — and urgently change course”, he said.

A Labour spokesperson said they do not comment on polling, but added: “Labour’s urgent task when we took office was to fix the foundations after 14 years of Tory chaos. Our next priority is to create a fairer Britain for working people.”

“Through our plan for change we have already boosted the minimum wage for three million of the lowest paid, we’re rolling out free school meals, and we’re delivering free breakfast clubs for primary school children.

“The stability we’ve brought to the economy has also seen five interest rate cuts, which means homebuyers now pay £1,000 less on their mortgage than they were a year ago. There’s much more to do, but that’s the change this Labour government has started to deliver after 14 years of Tory decline”, the spokesperson added.

The polling surveyed 1,024 party members between August 5 and 6.

Scientists use AI to create antibiotics for deadly superbugs

Researchers have developed antibiotics that can potentially kill drug-resistant gonorrhoea and MRSA with the help of artificial intelligence.

The team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used generative AI algorithms to design more than 36 million molecular compounds, identifying two new drugs that were then tested in lab settings and in mice.

According to their study, published in Cell on Thursday, the AI scanned through a list of potential molecules and predicted which ones could work as antibiotics, while also avoiding structures that could be harmful to humans or too similar to existing drugs.

Both new antibiotics were able to kill strains of bacteria that are becoming increasingly difficult to treat with existing antibiotics.

One of the new drugs, called NG1, was designed to specifically target gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection that has been rapidly developing resistance to antibiotics. The World Health Organisation has warned that gonorrhoea is becoming untreatable in some cases due to antibiotic resistance.

New data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveals a concerning increase in resistant cases. Between January 2024 and March 2025, 17 cases of ceftriaxone-resistant gonorrhoea were reported, 13 in 2024 and four in the first three months of 2025.

The second drug, named DN1, was effective against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of staph infection that no longer responds to many commonly used antibiotics.

MRSA often begins as a painful, pus‑filled skin boil and can spread to cause serious, hard‑to‑treat infections in the bloodstream, lungs or bones, especially in people with weakened immune systems.

After tests, it was found that NG1 and DN1 stood out for their ability to kill dangerous bacteria in both test tubes and mice. In animal studies, the drugs were able to successfully treat skin infections caused by MRSA and clear gonorrhoea infections.

The team also hopes to use their AI platform to design new drugs for other superbugs in the future, including those that cause tuberculosis and hospital-acquired infections like Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

“We’re excited about the new possibilities that this project opens up for antibiotics development,” said James Collins, senior author of the study and Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and Department of Biological Engineering.

“Our work shows the power of AI from a drug design standpoint, and enables us to exploit much larger chemical spaces that were previously inaccessible.”

What makes this discovery significant is that both drugs work in new ways. Many antibiotics rely on similar mechanisms to kill bacteria, which has allowed some bacteria to evolve resistance over time. These new compounds appear to attack bacterial membranes in ways not used by current medicines, giving scientists hope that they could be harder for bacteria to resist.

“We wanted to get rid of anything that would look like an existing antibiotic, to help address the antimicrobial resistance crisis in a fundamentally different way,” said Aarti Krishnan, lead author and MIT postdoc.

Although the findings are promising, the researchers have stressed that these new antibiotics are still in early development. They must go through years of testing to prove they are safe and effective in humans.

The next steps include refining the chemical structure of the drugs, testing for potential side effects, and eventually conducting clinical trials.

Antimicrobial resistance, or when bacteria evolve to resist the drugs used to kill them, is a growing public health crisis. It is estimated to be responsible for more than one million deaths globally each year, with experts warning that without urgent action, even minor infections could once again become deadly.

In the UK, there were 66,730 serious antibiotic-resistant infections recorded in 2023 alone, according to a report by The Times.

Death of teen left alone by hospital worker with fake ID was unlawful

The death of a teenager who fatally self-harmed at a scandal-hit mental health hospital after being left unsupervised by a worker using a fake ID was unlawful, an inquest jury has ruled.

Ruth Szymankiewicz, 14, died on 14 February 2022 following a litany of failings at Huntercombe Hospital, also called Taplow Manor, near Maidenhead, where she required constant one-to-one observation, Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court heard.

In the 15 minutes she was unsupervised, Ruth, who had an eating disorder, Tourette syndrome and a tic condition, which had affected her mental health, made her way to her room, where she self-harmed. She was found and resuscitated before being transferred to John Radcliffe Hospital, where she died two days later.

Huntercombe Hospital was closed in 2023 after investigations by The Independent revealed accusations of systemic abuse against patients, with claims from families that children were “treated like animals”.

During Ruth’s inquest, it was revealed that the careworker responsible for monitoring her was working under a fake ID and had completed just a day or a day and a half of online training before his first shift. Police were not able to question him following her death as he had fled the country.

Uncovering a string of failings in her care, the inquest heard that the ward Ruth was on was “severely short-staffed” and missing “at least half” of its workers on the day she self-harmed, the inquest heard.

In a note written by the teenager before her death, which was read aloud in court, Ruth, who had to be force-fed daily through a tube and often had to be restrained by staff, criticised the lack of therapy available for patients at the hospital, which she said had an “unsafe number of staff”.

She wrote: “I don’t want this to happen to any other patients ever. My suggestion is to shut this place down.”

In a damning conclusion, the jury found that “Ruth was not prevented from accessing the harmful [online] material” that she used to fatally self-harm, and that her care plan was “insufficient to allow for improvement [in her health] and for discharge”.

They also found that the training provided to agency staff by the hospital “was not in line with internal HR policy”.

Jurors found that Ruth’s parents, Kate and Mark, were not given adequate information about her care, while her responsible clinician deemed that the ward she was on was not suitable or conducive to her recovery.

The jury also found that visits to Ruth by her family were limited by the hospital despite their being “integral” to her mental wellbeing.

In an emotional statement after the inquest, Ruth’s parents said: “There is an empty space at our table, a silent bedroom in our home, a gaping hole in our family that will never be filled.

“When, at our most vulnerable as a family, we reached out for help, we ultimately found ourselves trapped in a system that was meant to care for her, to help her, to keep her safe, but instead locked her away and harmed her.”

They said that while at Huntercombe, Ruth was denied access to the love and support of her family, and was left “isolated, scared and alone”.

“She was essentially caged,” they said, adding that she “withdrew more into herself as she tried to navigate and survive months in a poorly trained, understaffed and unsafe ward. She was trapped. With no one to comfort her, no one to try to alleviate her suffering, no one to cuddle.”

They said that while the conduct of the worker who left Ruth alone was shocking, there were “numerous systemic failures” and it was “paramount that the other wider and more important issues are acknowledged and addressed”.

A tearful assistant coroner at Buckinghamshire Coroner’s Court, Ian Wade KC, thanked the jury and told Ruth’s family: “I hope you will treasure all the good memories of your lovely daughter.”

Unlawful killing rulings at inquests are rare; in 2024, there were just 89 such findings from 39,586 inquests.

Mr Wade told the jury on Wednesday that an “unlawful killing” would amount to “gross negligence manslaughter” on the part of the careworker responsible for Ruth’s care.

To come to that conclusion, he said, the jury would have to agree that the worker had breached his duty of care to Ruth; that it was a significant cause of her death; and that the breach was “so reprehensible it amounts to a crime”.

During the inquest, Dr Gillian Combe, a senior NHS doctor working for the Thames Valley provider collaborative, which was responsible for Ruth’s admission, admitted that the NHS did not do enough for the 14-year-old.

Dr Combe said the NHS was aware that the hospital was understaffed daily, and that there were concerns over the care it provided, but there were no other suitable choices available.

Dr Combe has also warned that children’s mental health units across the country are struggling to staff their wards, while the NHS does not have the money to build its own wards.

In 2023, a joint investigation by The Independent and Sky News into a group of hospitals that had been run by the Huntercombe Group before being taken over by Active Care Group, revealed allegations from children at the hospital and their families that they were “treated like animals” and left traumatised as part of a decade of “systemic abuse”.

Patients claimed to have been subjected to the “painful” use of restraints and held down for hours by male nurses. Some said they had been stopped from going outside for months, that they were forced to live on wards with bloodstained walls, and that they were force-fed and given so much medication that they became “zombies”.

In 2017, another young girl died at a hospital owned by the Huntercombe Group. Mia Titheridge, 17, who was supposed to be subject to 15-minute observations, took her own life when a nurse failed to check on her for almost an hour, an inquest found.

In response to the ruling, Active Care Group said: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ruth’s family, friends, and all those affected by her passing. We deeply regret the tragic event that occurred, and we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused and recognise the profound impact it has had on everyone who knew her.”

The group said it was disappointed that a third-party company it had hired had breached its terms of contract, though it did not state what the breach of contract was. It also said it had made improvements to the quality and safety of its services since.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with Ruth’s family and friends. This is a shocking case and it is clear that care at the Huntercombe Hospital fell far below the standards we expect.”

It said it had instructed the NHS to prioritise instructed the NHS to prioritise increasing the availability of mental health beds and is investing £75 million to reduce out of area placements.”

This story was updated at 8:25 with a response from the DHSC.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you

Vance ‘unaware’ of claim police asked Cotswolds residents for social media info

JD Vance’s team have denied knowing about any efforts from police to collect social media information from residents near where he spent his Cotswolds holiday.

Locals near the Hamlet of Dean, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, have claimed police had been door-to-door asking for personal details of residents and social media accounts.

Thames Valley Police have denied officers were instructed to ask residents for social media details, and said they were under “no obligation” to answer any questions.

One local told The Observer: “I know several people refused. We asked them if they were protecting us, or Vance. At least they were honest and said it is for him and that it will all be passed on to the American security people.”

The claims have circulated widely on social media in recent days, and now the vice president’s team has denied being aware of any efforts to collect such information.

“The Vice President’s Office and Secret Service were unaware of any efforts by local police to collect residents’ social media information,” William Martin, Mr Vance’s communications director said.

“We greatly appreciate the effort our law enforcement partners put in to keeping the vice president safe, but any questions about security measures are best directed to the law enforcement agency responsible.”

Residents in the vicinity of the 6-acre site Mr Vance was staying on described roadblocks and police door knocks in recent days, as security in the area was on high alert.

Thames Valley Police said it was supporting the US during the vice president’s visit to the area to “ensure the safety of all involved”.

It said: “No officers were instructed to ask residents about their social media accounts or use, and we have received no complaints regarding this.

“To reduce local impact due to temporary road restrictions during the visit, we held brief courtesy conversations with residents to understand their access needs and facilitate safe movement.

“It was made clear that participation was entirely voluntary and that responses would not be shared outside the police force.”

Road closures, sniffer dogs, police and a number of blacked out cars have all been spotted in the area, a marked difference to the usual calm and quaint atmosphere of a Cotswold country retreat.

One woman told The Times the village had seen “one blinking pantomime after the other”. Another told the paper she and a friend had been stopped by police blocking a footpath while walking through the area, and said: “I told the police ‘we are two old ladies, we are hardly terrorists’.”

The vice president has now left the Cotswolds to begin his second leg of his family holiday in Scotland, where he will reportedly spend five days.

He landed at at Prestwick Airport on Wednesday evening before travelling with a large motorcade to the luxury Carnell Estate near Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, where airspace restrictions will remain in place around the estate until Sunday.

He was greeted by dozens of pro-Palestine protesters referencing the US government’s support for Israel amid the starvation and bombardment of Gaza.

Similar protests were seen at a “not welcome” party staged in the Cotswolds earlier this week, where dozens came quipped with banners, cake and plenty of pictures of an unflattering meme of the vice president.

Many placards referenced Mr Vance’s own words, with a woman holding a sign saying “Cotswolds childless cat ladies say go home”, and many quoting his 2016 statement that he was a “Never Trump guy”.

Other more satirical signs read “JD Vance claps when the plane lands” and “JD Vance’s Netflix password is ‘password’”.

One picture was everywhere – an edited image of Mr Vance as a bloated, smooth, bald man staring off into the distance, which has become a commonly-used meme on social media.

Last month, US officials were forced to deny a claim from a 21-year-old Norwegian man who said he was denied entry at Newark Liberty International Airport after border security found the meme on his phone.

“Fact Check: FALSE,” the Customs and Border Protection wrote on X. “Mads Mikkelsen was not denied entry for any memes or political reasons, it was for his admitted drug use.”

Israel approves new settlement to ‘bury idea of a Palestinian state’

Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state.

It was not immediately clear if Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would divide the West Bank in two. The approval of the plan is likely to draw international fury.

In a statement headlined “Burying the idea of a Palestinian state”, Mr Smotrich’s spokesperson said more details would be given later about the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Israel had frozen construction plans there since 2012 because of objections from the United States, European allies, and other world powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

It came as more than 100 agencies and charities warned that Israel’s rules for aid groups working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank will block much-needed relief as well as replacing independent organisations with those that serve Israel’s political and military agenda.

The mounting backlash over aid restrictions and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza have been cited by several countries as factors in their decision to move towards recognising Palestinian statehood.

The groups, including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and CARE, were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organisations to hand over full lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting. They contend that doing so could endanger their staff and give Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be “delegitimising” the country or supporting boycotts or divestment.

The groups stressed that most of them had not been able to deliver “a single truck” of lifesaving assistance since Israel implemented a blockade in March. Their letter called on other countries and donors to pressure Israel “to end the weaponisation of aid, including through bureaucratic obstruction”.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating the supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza, denied the claims in the letter, saying that 380 trucks had entered Gaza on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Thursday that dehydration is increasing in Gaza as a result of limited access to water and a heatwave that has pushed temperatures above 40C.

Hospitals throughout Gaza reported casualties from Israeli strikes, including eight deaths in Gaza City.

As European countries amplify their criticism of Israel and concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, some are expanding evacuations. Italy’s foreign affairs ministry said it had received 114 Palestinian evacuees from Gaza on Wednesday, including 31 children suffering from severe injuries, such as amputations, or serious diseases.

Mr Netanyahu wants to realise Donald Trump’s vision of relocating much of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people through what he refers to as “voluntary migration” – a plan that critics have warned could amount to ethnic cleansing.

“Give them the opportunity to leave! First, from combat zones, and also from the strip if they want,” Mr Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Tuesday with Israeli TV station i24 to discuss the planned offensive in areas that include Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering.

Efforts to revive ceasefire talks have resumed after apparently breaking down last month. Hamas representatives met with Egyptian officials on Wednesday in Cairo, according to Hamas official Taher al-Nounou.

Israel has no plans to send its negotiating team to the talks in Cairo, Mr Netanyahu’s office said.

Israel’s plans to widen its military offensive against Hamas to parts of Gaza it does not yet control have sparked condemnation at home and abroad, and could be intended to increase the pressure on Hamas to reach a ceasefire.

The militants still hold 50 hostages taken in the attack on 7 October 2023 that sparked the war. Israel believes around 20 are still alive. Families fear that a new offensive could endanger them.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report

Jet, Set, Glow: How to turn pre-flight time into a wellness ritual

The airport might not be the first place you think of when you think about wellness, but believe me, you can hone healthy habits just about anywhere. Feeling well is about small incremental changes that are easy to manage and I’ve got plenty of tips on how to apply these ahead of a holiday.

Part of my job is travelling to health retreats around the world so there are a few things I do when I arrive at Heathrow to prepare me for this. Read on for my tips on how to transform waiting at your gate into a wellness ritual.

There are great wellness wins to be found in Duty-Free if you know where to look. Discounted skincare? Yes please. I’ll always head to the World Duty Free stores to stock up on my flight favourites to hydrate, protect and soothe stressed out skin and wellness tools to fight jet-lag and keep my healthy habits up on the other side.

Don’t believe what you see on TikTok – you don’t want to be putting on a load of skincare and facemasks on a plane. Dermatologists agree that less is more, so I pick up one of Aesop’s simple Venturer kits and use it as soon as I’m on the plane. The mouthwash and deodorant contain no nasties and the natural scents soothe the nervous system.

I also head to the Charlotte Tilbury counter to make the most of the deals there. The Magic Cream is gentle and hydrating so I use it on the plane once I’ve taken any make up off to stop my skin drying out in transit. I also usually pick up an In-Flight Hydrate, Protect and Glow kit, which contains a hydrating travel-sized mist, primer and lip oil.

If you’re concerned about your circulation on a flight, you can find incredible ayurvedic massage tools and neurocosmetic oils from Mauli Rituals to give the brain and skin a boost while you’re waiting to board and in flight. The brand’s bath salts are great for jet lag recovery too.

I slather hand cream on to prevent dryness while I’m in air conditioned spaces so I also make a beeline for L’Occitane products while I’m in the World Duty Free store – the minis are great for travelling and there are some cute travel exclusives available, such as the Shea Travel Must Have’s Set. Elemis also does a great selection of minis. If you don’t want to bring your entire skincare routine on holiday, opt for the whole Elemis protocol in minis in a travel exclusive set for a gentle hydrating pro‑collagen fix.

You can reserve your products online up to 30 days before your trip, so rather than stressing about what’s in stock or turning up without a clue, I recommend pre-ordering and heading straight to the desk for what you need. Then enjoy a bit of a browse. Stress isn’t great for you at any time, let alone when you travel so don’t stress yourself out by spending too long looking for what you need and having to run to your gate.

I recommend pre-ordering the Aesop kit, Charlotte Tilbury skincare or Mauli Rituals’ travel-size oils. It’s also worth looking for travel-exclusive offers and sets. The Charlotte Tilbury, Elemis and Clinique travel sets are often much better value than high street versions

There are a host of other stores I like to visit for essentials when I arrive at Heathrow and Boots is obviously one of them. This is where I find all my supplements – magnesium for sleep and muscle tension, electrolytes to maintain hydration while travelling and probiotics or digestive enzymes to keep my gut happy.

I also head to the Rituals store for more aromatherapy goodness but usually I’ll have already stocked up in World Duty-Free. One thing I won’t have found in Duty-Free is clothing, so I go to Lululemon for buttery-soft comfies to wear on the plane. Of course, no airport visit is complete without popping into WH Smiths for a book – next on my list is Genius Gut by Dr Emily Leeming.

Did you know that Terminal 2 and Terminal 5 both offer quiet areas for stretching? This is a must if you’re going to be sitting down for ages on your flight. A quick stretch or yoga session helps to alleviate tight hips, back and neck pain and avoid swelling – especially if you do it before you board and after you land.

Compression socks can also help with swelling and improve your circulation but it’s great to wake the body up too. Try ankle rolls, neck rotations, legs up the wall and cat-cow stretches. You can also use this time to use your Mauli Rituals massage tools to boost circulation and get your muscles nice and relaxed before having to sit still for an extended period.

Even if you’re flying economy, you can also book into lounges like Plaza Premium or No1 Lounge for a fee. Many include quiet zones, hot food, showers and complimentary herbal teas. Terminal 5 also has a spa inside some lounges like the Sofitel Heathrow if you’re really in need of some downtime whilst passing through the airport, perhaps for a connecting flight.

There are so many eateries and shops I recommend at Heathrow, you just have to know where to look for the healthiest finds. Eating high protein and fibre options will mean you stay fuller for longer and feel comfortable on your flight. You might also want to think about whether you plan to sleep on the plane or not, and either go for foods and drinks that will relax you, or give you an energy boost, depending on your plans.

I’ll always go for a high protein breakfast from Pret over a fry up at ‘spoons. I also love their ginger shots for an extra immunity boost before breathing in aeroplane air.

If I want to feel awake and invigorated, I’ll go for a juice and a matcha from Joe and the Juice. Leon is a great shout if you want something more filling that won’t leave you feeling sluggish – think fast, fresh options including quinoa bowls, grilled chicken, and veggie pots.

For a sit-down meal, head to Giraffe for global-inspired meals with veggie options, smoothies and herbal teas. My all-time favourite spot is Itsu for sushi, miso soup, edamame and gut-friendly options that won’t leave me feeling bloated or uncomfortable during the flight.

Then I’ll stock up on snacks from M&S food for the plane – fresh fruit, nuts and coconut water for hydration. Eating mineral-rich food like this and staying hydrated can help lessen jet lag.

Heathrow has water refill stations in every terminal after security. Staying hydrated is one of the easiest ways to reduce jet lag, boost focus, and support digestion—especially important if you’re flying long haul. I fill mine up with filtered water and then drink it before I go through security. On the other side it’s easy to refill your bottle or buy a new bottle of filtered water.

You can also bring your own herbal tea bags, electrolytes and soothing adaptogenic drinks from home. Most come in travel-size sachets and all you have to do is politely ask any coffee shop or restaurant for hot or cold water in a takeaway cup or your reusable cup to mix them up.

I always create a personal ritual to feel grounded whilst I’m in an airport. They can be busy frenetic places and you might already feel tired from an early start. I like to do a guided meditation (there are plenty of free ones on Spotify) with my headphones on while I’m sitting down paired with some box breathing exercises. I also do it again once I’m in my seat on the plane. This relaxes the nervous system and gets you into a more positive mental state. It’s great for alleviating any stress, preparing you for any stressful or challenging situations or calming your nerves if you happen to be a nervous flyer.

You can also use your aromatherapy oils, a rollerball or a spray to soothe your senses and reset. Just be mindful of other people around you if you’re spraying something. I also try to use the opportunity of time spent waiting at my gate to read a book, instead of doom-scrolling on my phone. If I’m doing this, I pop my earplugs in to drown out the noise around me – my favourites are from Loop. If you prefer to take in your surroundings, pop your headphones on and listen to a soothing or uplifting playlist. I like to curate these before I head to the airport to help me get into the right headspace when I need it.

If you do suffer with anxiety around crowds, feel nervous about flying or just want to feel more grounded, you can practice saying a few affirmations and mantras for confidence and calm. This could be something as simple as: “I am safe and I travel with ease”.

Armed with all these tips you’ll hopefully be able to board your flight feeling relaxed, prepared and excited to travel to destinations far and wide. Though the unknown can be stressful, there are plenty of ways to feel more optimistic and resilient if we know how to take better care of ourselves, wherever we are.

Find out more about Heathrow’s Redefine Your Beauty campaign, including treatment menus, participating brands and exclusive offers here.

So long, Claire’s Accessories – but you deserved to fail

Please don’t think I’m dancing on Claire’s Accessories’ grave – far be it from me to crow over anyone’s demise – but when I heard the news that the chain had fallen into administration, I did allow myself the tiniest smirk of schadenfreude.

Claire’s has said that all outlets will continue trading while it considers “the best possible path forward”; its appointed administrators from Interpath reported that they will “assess options for the company”, which could include selling the business to “secure a future for this well-loved brand”.

Ah, the “well-loved brand” that is Claire’s. I’d say it’s been a high-street stalwart for as long as I can remember, but the reality is that the US retailer only hit British shores in 1997. Being 10 at the time, I was the perfect age to appreciate its stock of gaudy jewellery, sparkly plastic butterfly clips and decorated headbands aimed at aspirational tweenage girls.

Back then, this was a unique proposition. Along with Tammy Girl, which flogged a pitch-perfect collection of tween and early-teen fashions in the Nineties and Noughties, Claire’s was catering for a market that had previously been criminally ignored and underserved: girls devouring copies of Mizz magazine and clamouring to be “stylish”.

The business flourished over the next decade or so, expanding to 465 stores nationwide by 2010, with success fuelled in part by its in-store ear-piercing service. Ask anyone with pierced lobes who grew up in the Noughties, and chances are they got it done at Claire’s (and that it was executed by a 16-year-old with train-tracks who’d nevertheless been given the power to wield a gun and punch holes through strangers’ flesh).

But its fortunes took a turn the following decade. Underperforming shops were forced to shut; in 2018, Claire’s restructured its European arm, cutting the number of UK outlets to 370. Across the pond, the US arm went into administration that same year, and filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.

I wish I could say I’m surprised. Given my age, you’d be forgiven for assuming I’d hold a healthy dose of rose-tinted nostalgia for the brand that marked my coming-of-age aesthetic. And indeed, seeing a multipack of sterling silver studs adorned with jazzy shapes in eye-watering shades of neon does stir something akin to fondness. Yet I can’t really say the news of its downfall sparked anything other than the thought, “Well, it’s about damn time.”

Obviously, the potential loss of jobs – totalling 2,150 across the UK and Ireland’s remaining 306 stores – brings me no pleasure whatsoever. They are to be mourned, not celebrated, and I feel for all the employees currently looking down the barrel of an uncertain future.

But as for the business itself… I do feel that failure was not just inevitable, but somewhat deserved.

Claire’s Accessories’ speciality was always, to put it bluntly, cheap tat. Janky bits of plastic. Costume jewellery liable to rust up and turn green the moment it was exposed to the elements. Ugly keyrings and multicoloured earrings so hideous that only a minor could be tempted to purchase them. These items already carried the whiff of future landfill fodder about them upon purchase. But worse still – and this is the crime I can never quite forgive Claire’s for – they didn’t come with the price tags to match.

What should be pocket-money-friendly merchandise is frequently anything but. A child’s strawberry lip balm for £6? Ha! You could get three for the same price in Boots! A necklace with a plastic star on it designed for three- to six-year-olds retailing at a whopping £12? Absolute madness!

Even the beloved ear-piercing has long been beaten on price. While the service itself is “free”, clients must pay for the earrings; Claire’s pairs start at £25. High-street jeweller H Samuel offers the same thing for £19.99. Oh, and a bottle of piercing aftercare solution costs a staggering £15 (it retails for around £4 elsewhere).

For a time, this mismatch between product and price could be somewhat bridged due to a lack of direct competition. Claire’s stood alone on the high street – if you didn’t like what they charged, you were, of course, free to shop around. But where, exactly?

Now, competition comes from every corner of the globe courtesy of the explosion of online shopping. And, while I am very much not a fan of sprawling fast-fashion brands such as Temu and Shein, one can see the appeal when parents are after genuinely cheap and cheerful accessories for kids. Temu, for example, has a pack of three children’s plastic star necklaces for the grand total of £1.77.

It’s one thing to argue that we should pay more for quality goods that have been made sustainably, but when the battle is between similarly low-grade, mass-produced trinkets, it’s difficult to make a moral case for picking Claire’s over its vastly more affordable rivals.

Claire’s is the latest in a long line of former high-street heavyweights to come a cropper in the UK. First Woolworths fell, then Wilkos, then WH Smith – the last having been sold to investment firm Modella Capital in March this year. These once-mighty giants all discovered an age-old truth: rest on your laurels for too long – and rely too heavily on a familiar name to compensate for poor customer experience, dated products and trumped-up prices – and you can hardly feign surprise when consumers vote with their wallets and turn elsewhere.

Yes, whenever I spy that distinctive Claire’s lilac hue, I’ll admit that a corner of my mind is instantly transported back to a simpler time. But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt this past decade, it’s that shops cannot live on nostalgia alone.

Woman charged with assault after hotel migrant ‘walked into her flat’

A 22-year-old woman has been charged with assaulting a security guard at a hotel housing migrants after one of its residents allegedly walked into her flat in the Isle of Dogs.

The man who allegedly walked into the home has now also been arrested on suspicion of assault, the Metropolitan Police said.

Police said in an earlier statement he had entered the property through an open door, having been followed by a group of men on the street.

Footage circulating on social media on Wednesday appeared to show a man entering a property after being told “to go back to the hotel”.

The man, in his early 20s, was later detained by members of the public nearby on Wednesday.

Channay Augustus, 22 – who was an occupant of the flat that was entered – was arrested on Wednesday evening has since been charged with a number of offences.

In an update on Friday, the Met said she has now been charged with possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis.

The affray and common assault charges relate to an altercation at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf later on Wednesday evening, police said.

The alleged victim of the assault is a security guard at the hotel, which has been the focus of protests in recent weeks.

After carrying out enquiries, police also arrested the man in the Hackney area on suspicion of common assault in the early hours of Friday morning.

“We can confirm that this is the man who allegedly entered the flat,” a statement from the force said.

He remains in police custody.

Augustus, of Tower Hamlets, will appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Friday.