Streeting says ‘police streets not tweets’ after Graham Linehan arrest

A senior cabinet minister has criticised the police after comedian Graham Linehan was arrested over tweets about transgender people.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said that the government wants to see people being kept safe by “policing streets, not just policing tweets” and suggested legislation could be looked at if the law was “not getting the balance right” on free speech.

He said: “It’s very easy for people to criticise the police. The police enforce the laws of the land that we as legislators provide”, he told Times Radio. “So if we’re not getting the balance right, then that’s something that we all have to look at and consider.”

Mr Steeting’s intervention followed intense controversy following the arrest of Father Ted writer Linehan at Heathrow airport on arrival on a flight from the US.

While signalling disapproval of Linehan’s treatment, Mr Streeting said it was wrong to blame police for what had happened.

“They were simply acting in accordance with laws on combating online abuse which had been approved by Parliament”, he told BBC Radio Four: “They are there to enforce the laws Parliament makes and if we aren’t getting the law right we cannot have a go at the police.”

Mr Streeting said It was right to outlaw those who used social media to harass and abuse others, or sell drugs and weapons illegally. However, when dealing with free speech online, “context is king,” he added: “We have to tread really carefully when it comes to the boundaries of free speech.”

Mr Streeting was proud to “live in a country where we come down like a ton of bricks on racism and discrimination”, but there had always been: “legitimate boundaries when it comes to free speech – which is about protecting others from harm… Sometimes those boundaries are blurred”.

Mr Streeting’s intervention follows the Irish comedian’s claims on Tuesday that he was arrested “like a terrorist” by five armed police officers as he arrived from Arizona in Heathrow Airport, who told him he was “under arrest for three tweets”.

The Metropolitan Police have said that a man in his fifties was arrested at the airport on Monday at 1pm on suspicion of inciting violence relating to posts on X, although they did not confirm the identity of the figure.

Linehan claimed on his blog that he was arrested for three tweets, originally posted in April, one of which called on people to “call the cops” on trans-identifying people and “if all else fails, punch him in the balls”.

Another post showed a crowd of people at a protest, many holding transgender and LGBT+ Pride flags, which he wrote over the top: “A photo you can smell.”

The third post he claimed had led to his arrest was in response to someone who commented under this photo, where he said: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”

Linehan claimed that he was making “serious point made with a joke”. He wrote in his blog that his single bail condition is that he is not to go on X, and he faces a further interview in October.

The controversial comedy writer already faces trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday over two separate charges. One is in relation to harassing transgender activist Sophia Brooks on social media, and the other is for damaging Ms Brooks’s mobile phone in October. He denied the charges at a hearing on 12 May.

Linehan has become increasingly known in recent years for sharing anti-trans rhetoric online that has attracted significant criticism from LGBT+ groups. In 2020 his Twitter account was permanently banned for “repeated violations of our rules against hateful conduct and platform manipulation”.

While his account was later reinstated in December 2022 when Elon Musk took over the social media platform, Linehan has said that his “unfashionable” views on trans rights has led him to be blacklisted from the entertainment industry and has cost his marriage.

Mr Streeting has faced criticism himself from transgender activists after he walked back claims in 2024 that “trans women are women, trans men are men” and gender-critical feminists are “bigoted”.

Poland scrambles jets as Russian drone swarm targets western Ukraine

Poland said it scrambled fighter jets in the early hours today to protect its airspace after Russia attacked western and central Ukraine with a drone swarm.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts from 1.40am GMT following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of incoming Russian missile and drone attacks.

Officials in the central region of Kirovohrad said at least five people were injured and trains severely impacted by strikes targeting the rail network there.

The bombardment came despite US president Donald Trump saying last night that he was “very disappointed” in Russian president Vladimir Putin over the ongoing wave of strikes targeting Ukrainian cities.

He had hoped a meeting with the Russian leader in Alaska last month would help peace talks – but no deal or follow up meeting has been agreed since and the original 2 September deadline set by Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal has also lapsed.

“I’m very disappointed in him – he knows. We have a great relationship,” Trump told the Scott Jennings Radio Show.

New Green leader apologises over claim he can increase women’s breast sizes with his mind

Zack Polanski has apologised for claiming to have been able to help women increase the size of their breasts using his mind.

The newly elected Green Party leader, while previously working as a hypnotherapist, offered a session to increase an undercover newspaper reporter’s breast size and improve her body image.

And, asked about the claims following his landslide leadership win, Mr Polanski said “I apologised for that 12 years ago” and apologised again.

Asked if voters could trust him in light of the claims, he told BBC Breakfast: “Well, it’s never for a politician to say ‘trust me’.

“But what I would say is, I apologise, well, I apologised for that 12 years ago, and one of my favourite politicians, Tony Benn, often said, ‘I don’t care where you came from, I care where you’re going’.

“Ultimately trust is a transactional relationship where you build trust based on the actions.”

Labour immediately resurfaced the Green leader’s 2013 claim, with an attack post on the party’s press account declaring: “Meet Zack Polanski. This is the person who the Greens just elected as their new leader.” The post contained an extract of The Sun article declaring Mr Polanski’s support for hypnotic breast enhancement. “This is an extremely new approach, but I can see it becoming popular very quickly, because it’s so safe and a lot cheaper than a boob job,” he is quoted as saying.

Several Labour MPs shared the post, with Kettering’s Rosie Wrighting adding: “So this is who the Greens think should lead their party? Says it all.” Meanwhile Stratford and Bow MP Uma Kumaran said: “Grim.”

Mr Polanski hit back, saying: “The Labour government, when they could have been talking about the inequality act, or the homeless people on the streets, or the fact that we’ve just spent £15bn in nuclear weapons – we could have that discussion – but no, the Labour Party yesterday put out a press release about a silly article way before I was a politician from over a decade ago that I’ve already apologised for.

“That sounds to me like this is a Labour government worrying, and they should do.”

Mr Polanski secured the Green Party leadership in a landslide victory, winning 20,411 votes from the party membership, while Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay’s joint campaign received just 3,705 votes.

Elected with the largest ever number of votes in a Green Party leadership election, becoming the first ever sole leader of the party, Mr Polanski promised “bold action and bold leadership”.

In his victory speech, Mr Polanski sent a message to Sir Keir’s Labour Party, vowing the Greens will replace it.

He said: “We will nationalise the water companies. We will hold this Labour government to account. Because when we look at Keir Starmer and what this government have been doing, whether it’s the two-child benefit cap, the disability cuts, the genocide in Gaza, my message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you, we are not here to be concerned by you, we’re here to replace you.”

How Djokovic tormented Fritz to extend US Open nightmare

A few moments after his latest defeat to Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz faced up to the statistics, even though he knew they would not make for pretty reading. The American had just lost to Djokovic for the 11th time in their 11th meeting and the fact it was his closest yet was no consolation.

Not after exiting the US Open at the quarter-final stage, continuing the drought for American men in the men’s singles, or after double-faulting on the third match point and handing Djokovic an escape from an even later night.

There was something else that would haunt Fritz more, and those were the chances he had to take charge of the quarter-final when Djokovic was vulnerable.

Fritz may never have a better chance to beat Djokovic at a grand slam, not when his opponent is 38 and openly admitting that he was trying to “survive” in the match for long spells. A 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 may appear convincing, setting up a semi-final against the imperious Carlos Alcaraz, but Djokovic had to scrap and claw his way through most service games.

Fritz did not convert any of his first 10 break-point opportunities. And when he did eventually break Djokovic’s serve, late in the second set, the 24-time grand slam champion broke back immediately before closing it out.

“The fact that I was 0-10, that’s putting it nicely,” Fritz explained. “I had so many more chances that you’re not going to see on a stat line, because I had so many… I was in points at Love-30, 15-30, 30-All. I was just converting and playing these points just really poorly.”

When assessing what would be required to finally beat Djokovic, Fritz said before the quarter-final that he had to be more efficient when given “looks” at his serve. Djokovic did not serve well and Fritz ended the contest, that was played across almost three-and-a-half hours, with more opportunities than he could have imagined. Djokovic saved five break points alone with serving for the first set, winning the second on a 25-shot rally, then battled through an eight-minute game at the start of the second set where he saved another two.

The difficulty for Fritz came from Djokovic’s second-serve, and the variety and unpredictability that he was able to attack from. Fritz knew the patterns, the softer serves down the middle mixed in with the more aggressive ones out wide to his forehand. He just couldn’t execute. “It’s pretty embarrassing the amount of times that I was sitting on it, waiting for it, and still missed the return,” Fritz said. “I just can’t really let that happen.”

“He was the better player in the second and third set,” Djokovic admitted. “I thought, for my standards, that I wasn’t playing well. I don’t know. I didn’t feel the ball as well as I did feel the ball in the third round.

“It’s one of those days where you just have to grind, you know. You just have to play with your heart and fight. That’s what really gave me the win in the end.”

The way Fritz rallied was admirable, finding a way to take the contest to Djokovic while raising the noise in Arthur Ashe Arena. But in having to come from two sets down to beat Djokovic, he left himself requiring a miracle. A tight fourth set, one that could have gone either way, but fell towards Djokovic, was enough. “Realistically I just can’t come out of those first two sets down two sets to love,” Fritz said.

Fritz would likely have had to beat Djokovic, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a row if he was to have won the US Open. At 27, the opportunity to win a grand slam title appears to be getting harder as Alcaraz and Sinner continue to progress and Djokovic remains capable of raising his level.

“At the end of the day, that’s one of the things that makes the great players great,” Fritz said. “They win the big points, and that’s something that I kind of touched on before the match is. I’m going to need to go out and take those points from him. He’s not just going to hand them over to me.”

Ironically, that is exactly what Fritz then did to Djokovic on the third match point. “Realistically I just had one game [in the fourth set] where I just had a chance to break him, which was the last one,” Djokovic said. “You know, the one that gave me the victory, and he gifted me with the double fault.”

Fritz looked tormented as he shook hands with Djokovic at the net, his headband having slumped off his forehead. The losing record is painful, but the opportunities he had to end it will hurt even more.

New Vogue editor Chloe Malle admits she’s a ‘proud nepo baby’

Chloe Malle, the newly appointed head of editorial content for American Vogue, has described herself as a “proud nepo baby,” acknowledging her parents and her privilege.

Daughter of actor Candice Bergen and the film director Louis Malle, Malle was announced as the new U.S. editorial director on Tuesday. Anna Wintour, who led the magazine for 37 years, first announced in June that she would be stepping down as Vogue’s editor-in-chief.

Malle, 39, started at Vogue in 2011 as social editor, and then went on to become podcast host and then editor of Vogue.com in 2023.

In a new interview, Malle described herself as a “proud nepo baby” and how her famous parents affected her work ethic.

“There is no question that I have 100 per cent benefited from the privilege I grew up in,” she told the New York Times. “It’s delusional to say otherwise. I will say, though, that it has always made me work much harder. It has been a goal for a lot of my life to prove that I’m more than Candice Bergen’s daughter, or someone who grew up in Beverly Hills.”

Candice Bergen is known for her roles in Boston Legal and Murphy Brown, and received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in 1979 for her role in Starting Over and won the Bafta award for best actress in a supporting role for Gandhi in 1982.

Louis Malle is a celebrated filmmaker who won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival and the Bafta for best director for his films Atlantic City in 1981 and Goodbye, Children in 1987. He also won the Cannes’ Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best documentary in 1956 for Le Monde du silence, which he co-directed with Jacques Cousteau.

On what she intends to do in her new role, Malle said she would be focusing on building a more “direct, smaller, healthier audience” by providing them with “original, witty, irreverent, joyful points of view on things”.

Wintour isn’t leaving Vogue entirely; she will remain as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and Vogue’s global editorial director.

“I know that some people who were interested in this job were sort of daunted by the idea of Anna being down the hall,” Malle said of Wintour.

She is reportedly starting in her new position before the start of New York Fashion Week, which will be running from 11 September through 16 September.

When asked whether she would ever feature Melania Trump on the cover, Malle declined to answer.

This comes after Mark Guiducci, the new top editor of Vanity Fair, which is also owned by Condé Nast, said he’s potentially interested in putting the First Lady on the magazine’s cover, according to Semafor. Some staffers were upset about the suggestion, and one editor threatened to “walk out” if it came to fruition, according to a report by The Daily Mail.

Make the most of London this summer with this stadium experience

Whether you’re experiencing London for the first time or you’re a family with kids keen to create unforgettable memories during the holidays, a visit to this world-famous stadium in North London is a must.

After 90 years at their beloved Highbury stadium, Arsenal’s ambitions outgrew their original home and in 2006, the club opened the Emirates. With a seating capacity of over 60,000, the Emirates stadium is one of the largest in England. The sheer scale of this field of dreams must be seen to believed — and thanks to its easy-to-reach location, you can hop on a bus or train and get there in no time.

Once there, Arsenal’s award-winning tours open the doors to parts of the stadium that are usually off-limits to the public. For sightseers who prefer to go at their own pace and for those with little ones who tire easily, the club’s self-guided audio-visual tour is a great option.

Fans and families can take their time to soak in the atmosphere and stroll in the footsteps of footballing legends, imagining the roar of the crowd as you step into the players’ tunnel. Afterwards, feel the tension rise in the dugout and experience the best seats in the house in the directors’ box.

It’s a rare opportunity to glimpse the inner workings of a prestigious football club and explore normally restricted areas that also include the home and away dressing rooms, the media lounge and the exclusive members-only Diamond Club.

Available in seven languages on a state-of-the-art handheld device, the tour is narrated by Arsenal presenter David Frimpong, otherwise known as ‘Frimmy’, as well as featuring commentary from Arsenal legends Alex Scott and David Seaman.

As well as audio, the tour recreates the electric atmosphere of matchday using 360-degree augmented footage and includes brand new interactive elements. You can also take souvenir photos with iconic Arsenal trophies, including that of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

The Arsenal Legend Stadium Tour is a more bespoke alternative to the self-guided tour, where visitors can explore the stadium for 90 minutes alongside an Arsenal hero. Tour guides include Nigel Winterburn and Perry Groves, as well as former women’s captain Faye White MBE.

During the tour, the Arsenal legend will share memories, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories from their time on the pitch, offering a unique insider’s perspective on life at the club. Expect plenty of humour, fascinating insights and a chance to hear back-room gossip straight from the legends themselves. There’s also a chance for a Q&A and photo opportunity with your Arsenal legend of choice.

Included with every tour ticket is entry into Arsenal’s interactive museum situated right next door to the stadium. Chart the club’s evolution from humble origins in Woolwich in 1886 to its modern powerhouse status with a global following of over 100 million fans.

The museum features two impressive video theatres, showing highlights from the club’s origins to the present day as well as twenty major displays of Arsenal’s proud history. Feast your eyes on silverware from the club’s most successful eras, Michael Thomas’s boots from Anfield 1989 and Jens Lehmann’s goalkeeper gloves worn for every league match of the unbeaten Invincibles season in 2003/4.

For lifelong Gooners, it’s a trip down memory lane. For families and tourists, it’s an eye-opening lesson in why football matters so much to the UK and is the perfect outing to experience London at its most authentic.

This content is brought to you by Living360, a digital lifestyle destination keeping you up to date with health and fitness, food and drink, homes and gardens, beauty, travel, finance trends and more.

Met Office expands rain weather warning as summer officially ends

A yellow weather warning for heavy rain and strong winds has come into force across parts of England and Wales, with the Met Office cautioning over potential flooding and travel disruption.

The alert for rain is active from midnight until 2pm on Wednesday, initially impacting south-west England and much of South Wales.

The Met Office expanded the warning area early on Tuesday to include parts of south-east England. This follows the end of meteorological summer on Monday, ushering in cooler temperatures and wind after the warmest summer on record.

Meanwhile, the Northern Lights were visible across parts of the UK and Ireland overnight on Monday.

Stargazers on Monday night reported sightings in north-east Scotland, northern England and the Midlands, with photos on social media showing the lights as far south as West Cork in Ireland.

Tuesday and Wednesday will see night-time viewing conditions worsen, but northern Scotland and northern England are likely to have the clearest skies, although still not ideal viewing conditions.

In its weather warning, the Met Office said “heavy rain may cause travel disruption and flooding in places”.

It added that “some interruption to power supplies and other services is possible” and bus and train services will probably be affected with “journey times taking longer”.

Rebekah Hicks, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “We’re expecting a band of heavy rain and strong winds to move north-east through the first part of Wednesday, followed by heavy showers and the risk of thunderstorms. Some of these could bring hail and gusty winds, particularly in southern areas.

“Of course, the warning coincides with the first school run after the summer holidays for some, meaning a wet and potentially disruptive start to the day for many.”

Heavy rain and strong winds will move north-east from early on Wednesday, followed by heavy showers and some thunderstorms.

Conditions will gradually improve from the South West through Wednesday afternoon as showers become more isolated.

Rainfall totals will be 20-30mm across much of the area covered by the weather warning on Wednesday, but some places could see 40-60mm within a period of six to nine hours.

Coastal gales are also likely for a time, especially along English Channel coasts, the Met Office added.

The weather service said conditions on Thursday would be “unsettled”, with widespread showers and occasional thunderstorms.

Some sunny spells are expected, but rain may become more persistent in parts of western Scotland.

By Friday, southern areas will begin to see more settled conditions, with increasing sunshine and fewer showers. However, the North West will remain wet and windy, with a small chance of coastal gales, the Met Office said.

ID cards are intrusive and expensive – and won’t stop the boats

Keir Starmer had an emergency meeting yesterday with his new chief secretary, Darren Jones, and other ministers, to discuss the migration problem. Apparently, one of the things they want to consider further is compulsory digital IDs to crack down on illegal working.

As a Blairite, I know I ought to come over all Professor Higgins and say, “By George, I think he’s got it.” Tony Blair’s institute has been pumping out analyses of how a digital identity database is the solution to everything from welfare reform to school absences.

But I have never really been convinced. When Blair was in Downing Street and the first trundlings of the juggernaut of ID cards became audible, I was always put off by the cost. Indeed, it was on cost grounds that the coalition government cancelled the scheme.

Cost is relative, of course. If an ID scheme could stop the boats now, it would be worth paying billions – although where Rachel Reeves would find yet more money is an ever-more impenetrable mystery.

Getting a grip on immigration is important. It is one of the first duties of the government: to decide who can come to live here and who cannot. If compulsory digital IDs would help, then we should find the money.

But I do not think they would. Employers are already under an obligation to check the ID and immigration status of anyone they employ. The problem, it seems to me, is not ID but enforcement.

Anecdotage is rife about food and shopping delivery riders using other people’s ID to zip around on electric bikes, making life convenient for the rest of us. Robert Jenrick, the hyperactive neighbourhood policing bore, has gone to asylum hotels and pointed at delivery rider bikes parked outside. (Or was that Robert Philp, the shadow home secretary, Jenrick’s mini-me? Possibly both of them on different days.)

We know that asylum seekers are not allowed to work while they wait for their application for refugee status to be considered – a wait that now averages more than a year. But we also know that anyone who has actually applied to be allowed to stay in this country has had their identity checked and will have documents that show who they are.

So how does a “compulsory digital ID” help? Most of this stuff is already online. Landlords, who are required to check the immigration status of all would-be tenants, can check paper documents or use the Home Office online service.

Better enforcement is obviously desirable, and maybe some streamlining of existing online systems would make it easier, but to dress this up as a national ID scheme is merely giving a different name to what is already supposed to happen.

And not even better enforcement will stop the boats. Migrants are not crossing the Channel in unseaworthy dinghies in order to work while they wait for their asylum application to be considered. They are making the journey because they think they will be allowed to stay, and they hope to be able to work legally to provide for themselves and their families. They will acquire a digital ID in the process. The mere existence of a digital ID system – which we already have – will not deter them.

So, sorry Tony, and sorry Keir, I do not think that a fancy new expensive ID scheme is the answer.