Starmer backs Mandelson after ‘embarrassing’ Epstein birthday note revelations

Sir Keir Starmer has stood by Peter Mandelson after a birthday message he wrote to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 resurfaced.

The prime minister has given Lord Mandelson his full backing to stay on as Britain’s ambassador to the US, stressing the positive work he has done to build ties with the Trump administration.

The ambassador has been embroiled in scandal after a birthday message he wrote to the disgraced financier was published by the House Oversight Committee in the US, in which he describes Epstein as his “best pal”.

It also contained a photo of Lord Mandelson and Epstein on what appeared to be the multimillionaire’s island, as well as a handwritten note for the disgraced financier.

Lord Mandelson said the message is “very embarrassing to see and to read” and said he “deeply” regrets carrying on his association with Epstein “for far longer than I should have done”.

It comes as race to be Labour’s new deputy leader is well underway, with Bridget Phillipson emerging as the early frontrunner in initial nominations.

Gregg Wallace launches legal action against BBC

Gregg Wallace has launched legal action against the BBC after being dismissed from his long‑standing role as MasterChef co‑host.

In November 2024, it was announced that Wallace, 60, would step away from his role on the BBC cooking show and all its spin-offs while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated.

No information about the suit, which has been filed at the High Court in London, has been made public yet.

The Sun reported that Wallace is requesting the release of over 200 internal documents which he believes could exonerate him. A source speaking to the outlet also added that he may pursue a disability discrimination claim and argue that the BBC failed to properly accommodate his autism.

“We have not been formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to comment,” a BBC spokesperson told BBC News, which is editorially independent from the corporation.

The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.

Wallace’s MasterChef sacking came after an independent report substantiated 45 allegations against him, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact.

He has apologised “for any distress caused”, saying the report into his misconduct cleared him of “the most serious and sensational accusations”.

His co-host John Torode was also the subject of an allegation about using racist language that was upheld as part of the Lewis Silkin review, but the TV star said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.

The previously recorded final series featuring Wallace has been broadcast, albeit with some contestants like Sarah Shafi requesting to be edited out.

Upon announcing that the series would be shown, a BBC spokesperson said: “After careful consideration and consultation with the contestants, we have decided to broadcast the amateur series of MasterChef.”

The corporation acknowledged that “not everyone will agree” with what it recognised as a difficult decision.

MasterChef champion Thomas Frake, who won the series in 2020, and Greek chef Irini Tzortzoglou, who was crowned in 2019, have both said they support the BBC’s decision to air the controversial episodes.

“If I had gone through all that – the highs and lows – then somebody said to me, ‘Well actually, we may not show the three months of your life when you spilled your blood and guts to see how far you could go,’ I’d be very unhappy. I’m very thrilled to see it on our screens,” Tzortzoglou told The Independent.

There appeared to be fewer jokes from Wallace and Torode and fewer chats between the hosts and chefs in the first episode of the new series, which lost almost one million viewers compared with last year’s launch.

The BBC confirmed on Monday that Grace Dent and Anna Haugh will be replacing Wallace and Torode on the flagship version of MasterChef. Earlier in the month, TV host and chef Matt Tebbutt was announced as Wallace’s replacement on the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals, along with long-term hosts Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing.

Rock acts lead the way on 2025 Mercury Prize shortlist

Rock bands Fontaines DC and Wolf Alice are vying with pop star CMAT, rock singer Sam Fender and newcomer Jacob Alon to take home the 2025 Mercury Prize.

The 12-album shortlist for this year’s awards show was announced today (Wednesday 10 September) on BBC Radio 6 Music by Lauren Laverne.

With a nod for their recent album, 2025’s The Clearing, Wolf Alice have now been shortlisted for all four of their studio albums; they won the prize in 2018 for their second record, Visions of a Life.

Interviewing the band for The Independent, critic Adam White noted how The Clearing felt like the band’s “most mature” record, “if only because the anxious and unsettled melancholy that underpinned albums one through three has been replaced by a sigh of acceptance”.

Irish rock band Fontaines DC are also familiar faces at the Mercury Prize, having previously been shortlisted for their 2019 debut, Dogrel. They are nominated this year for their fourth album, the critically adored 2024 record Romance, which shows them explore elements of synth rock, chamber pop and shoe gaze.

Pop star CMAT is also back just a year after being shortlisted for her second album, Crazymad, for Me. She is now up for what many critics are regarding as her breakthrough record, Euro-Country, which topped the charts in her native Ireland and also made the No 2 spot in the UK.

Both Fontaines DC and CMAT will be considered strong contenders for the Mercury Prize, which has never been won by an Irish act before – a fact noted by Fontaines’ guitarist Carlos O’Connell back in 2019, during an interview with The Independent.

“There have been plenty of shortlisted acts – but in a self-deprecating way I wonder if there has to be a token Irish band each year,” he said.

Stadium rocker Sam Fender, meanwhile, will be another favourite to win with his third album, People Watching, which topped the charts upon its release and received praise from a number of critics.

The 31-year-old – whose career has sky-rocketed since he broke through with his 2019 debut, Hypersonic Missiles – recently completed a huge run of shows including three nights at the 52,000-capacity St James’ Park in Newcastle.

This year’s Mercury Prize is also being held in Newcastle, a stone’s throw from where the singer-songwriter grew up in North Shields. The 2025 ceremony will mark the first time it is being held outside of London, instead taking place on Thursday 16 October at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.

Influential folk artist Martin Carthy beats American jazz musician Pharoah Sanders’ record to become the oldest artist ever shortlisted for the award, aged 84, for his 2025 album Transform Me Then Into a Fish.

Sanders was 80 when Promises – the collaborative album by British electronic musician Floating Points – was nominated in 2021. It was also the final album Sanders released before his death the following year.

Remarkably, this is Carthy’s first time on a Mercury Prize shortlist in a career spanning 60 years and 19 studio albums. His daughter Eliza Carthy, with whom he has collaborated on a number of occasions, has been shortlisted twice: first in 1998, then again in 2003.

Instead of the usual “token jazz album”, two jazz records appear on this year’s shortlist. The first spot goes to Welsh pianist Joe Webb, for his technically impressive, well-humoured album Hamstrings and Hurricanes, while the second is taken by musical polymath Emma-Jean Thackray, whose 2025 record Weirdo melds jazz with rock, funk and hip-hop influences. In 2023, Ezra Collective became the first jazz act ever to win the prize in the show’s then-31 year history.

Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon is another Mercury Prize first-timer with their debut, Limerence, which explores themes of sexuality, romantic obsession and loneliness in the queer community. The honour comes barely a year after Alon gave a memorable performance of their debut single, “Fairy in a Bottle”, on Later… With Jools Holland.

In an interview with The Independent in January, Alon spoke about how, growing up in Fife, they didn’t believe a career in music was possible: “I think it’s quite a Scottish mentality, but especially in Fife, there’s a low ceiling on what you can dream for.”

Rounding off the shortlist is avant-garde pop artist FKA twigs and her album Eusexua, rapper and singer Pa Salieu with Afrikan Alien, Pulp with More – their first album in 24 years – and singer-songwriter and producer PinkPantheress, with her second mixtape Fancy That.

The shortlist is curated by an independent judging panel of music industry professionals, among them jazz musician Jamie Cullum, The Times’s chief pop and rock critic Will Hodgkinson, BBC Radio 6 presenter Jamz Supernova, and Radio 1 presenter Sian Eleri.

The full shortlist for the 2025 Mercury Prize is:

CMAT, EURO-COUNTRY

Emma-Jean Thackray, Weirdo

FKA twigs, EUSEXUA

Fontaines DC, Romance

Jacob Alon, In Limerence

Joe Webb, Hamstrings & Hurricanes

Martin Carthy, Transform Me Then Into A Fish

Pa Salieu, Afrikan Alien

PinkPantheress, Fancy That

Pulp, More

Sam Fender, People Watching

Wolf Alice, The Clearing

Last year’s Mercury Prize went to the Leeds-formed indie-rock band English Teacher, who won for their debut This Could Be Texas, beating acts including pop star Charli XCX and baroque-pop band The Last Dinner Party.

The Mercury Prize awards show takes place on Thursday 16 October at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle.

England deliver on Tuchel’s vision with five-goal rout of Serbia

Thomas Tuchel said he was looking forward to this, and you can now see why. He’s at last given England something to look forward to, and that goes beyond just being at the World Cup next summer.

This 5-0 win over Serbia should make qualification a certainty, given that Tuchel’s side are seven points clear of second place with just three games left, but more important was the manner of it. It was, really, a perfect night – right down to three players enjoying their first international goals.

This was what England had been waiting for. This, finally, was Tuchel’s England. They were disciplined in structure and then dynamic in attack, exactly what he has long idealised.

From a confidently controlled display, England repeatedly released attacks that a notionally robust Serbia struggled to deal with. They were so harried that Nikola Milenkovic was forced into a desperate red-card lunge on Harry Kane at 3-0.

The centre-piece goal, to make it 2-0 before half-time, felt like a launch moment for both scorer Noni Madueke – his first for England – and the manager. It was precisely what you’d imagine when you see such sleek talent. Madueke himself got things moving with a ball to the assured Elliot Anderson, whose through ball was then uproariously flicked on by the superb Morgan Rogers. Madueke was left through on goal to lift the ball over Djordje Petrovic, a fittingly soaring finish for such a move.

It’s the moment that now sets the standard for what this England can be. The most difficult fixture did indeed bring out the best in the team, as both Tuchel and Kane had promised.

It is probably instructive that they scored more goals in one match against Serbia than they did in two against Andorra.

A proper test was required. Too many of the previous games had been tepid fixtures that just weren’t going to enliven the team. This got everyone going.

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Except, it must be said, the Serbian crowd. England never really had to endure that “famous atmosphere”, as the away fans goaded. It wasn’t even like the team killed it with Kane’s 33rd-minute header from Declan Rice’s corner. The noise never came, at least not for England.

Part of that might have been because of the reduced crowd due to a previous punishment, which also led the Serbian federation to appeal to fans to behave themselves.

Part of it might have been that minds were mostly occupied by local issues. The entire game had been framed by protests against the government, and local media even spoke of how the situation led to further criticism for their manager – and legendary player – Dragan Stojkovic. Long before the end, most of the stands had almost as many seats visible as the empty area.

There was some crowd unrest, as well as politically-charged chants about Kosovo. That, like much of the occasion, didn’t really concern the England players. They just got on with it.

There was even a sense, around the 26th minute, of the players just realising they were the superior side, and upping the intensity. Anthony Gordon scorched through the backline, Rogers opened it with one supreme turn.

The game felt almost as significant for the Aston Villa creator as it did for Madueke or Tuchel himself. Given how terrifically in tune England were, Rogers now has as reasonable a claim to that central position as Jude Bellingham or even Cole Palmer.

Their very status means such a call may raise eyebrows, but international teams aren’t supposed to be about names. They’re supposed to be about cohesion. England have found that and more with this attack.

Tuchel now has a very enjoyable puzzle to figure out. There won’t be any talk that he doesn’t know his team now, or at least not for some time. His four changes were vindicated.

This was why you could describe it as perfect. Tuchel’s England haven’t even conceded a goal in competitive fixtures.

At the other end, there was almost every type of strike you’d want, bar an indulgent long-range effort. The opening goal was also from a set piece, which is appropriate given what Tuchel said before the game about using old weapons. He just ensured that England showed they were about much more than that.

Serbia’s issues were admittedly showcased by that Kane goal, as a physically imposing defence somehow left such a striker with a free header from a set piece.

Madueke’s goal almost immediately made it more than just a win, before the rest of the team made it more than a “statement”. It was a rout.

England were giving Serbia such a pummelling that a series of drives at Petrovic eventually just saw Ezri Konsa turn in the third for his first international goal. Marc Guehi enjoyed a similar strike after the red card, before substitute Marcus Rashford added even greater gloss to the final scoreline with a penalty.

The stadium was almost empty by then. Tuchel and his England had offered as complete a performance as you’d want.

Thomas Skinner walks out of Strictly Come Dancing press event

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Thomas Skinner has walked out of the BBC dance competition’s first press event ahead of the show’s launch later this month.

The former Apprentice star, 34, left the event at Elstree Studios after speaking to journalists who were interviewing him alongside former Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Skinner and his fellow Strictly contestants were taking part in roundtable interviews, where celebrities speak to journalists for a few minutes at a time before swapping tables with other stars.

The social media star reportedly objected to being taped and grabbed a reporter’s phone before walking out of the interview, per Mail Online.

The Independent has contacted Skinner and Strictly Come Dancing’s representatives for comment.

Skinner, who is now a social media star, has drawn strong criticism in recent weeks for X (Twitter) posts saying it is “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there any more” in London, saying the city is “hostile” and “tense”.

Others have taken issue with Skinner socialising with US vice-president JD Vance during his visit to the Cotswolds this summer, during which time he was pictured wearing a Maga cap.

Earlier this week, BBC director general Tim Davie defended the decision to cast Skinner in the forthcoming Strictly Come Dancing series.

Speaking to MPs from the Culture, Media and Sport committee, Mr Davie said: “That was not my decision, that was the production team looking for those people … who want to do Strictly, and those people they thought would be interesting to the audience.”

The 58-year-old added: “Clearly, we wouldn’t take anyone whose views are just beyond the pale, or we would see as completely unacceptable or not suitable, racist views, all those things, we wouldn’t accept them.

“But that’s not the case here, from what I know, I’m not an expert on the individual, per se.”

Skinner appeared on the fifteenth series of The Apprentice in 2019 and has since gained a prominent following on social media.

The 34-year-old, who previously worked on market stalls, now runs several businesses, such as a gym and a mattress company. In 2023, he released the self-help book Graft: How to Smash Life and in 2024, presented The Men’s Room mental health podcast with former footballer Neil Ruddock.

Back in August, The Independent’s Rachel McGrath said in the wake of Skinner’s casting: “Strictly is now waltzing into another series with a controversy on its hands. And fans might be left wondering, whatever happened to the wholesome Saturday night show that was all about the dancing?”

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday 20 September.

How Macmillan Cancer Support built a movement that reaches everyone

‘Two children among dead’ after English Channel crossing attempt

Two children are among three people who have died after an attempted small boat crossing in the English Channel, according to French media reports.

Regional prosecutor Laurent Touvet announced at a news conference on Wednesday that the deadly incident had unfolded off the coast of Sangatte, in Pas-de-Calais, late on Tuesday night into the early hours of this morning.

He said the three who died were “likely crushed at the bottom of the boat” that had been carrying 38 people across the English Channel.

The boat was was brought to shore by rescue services at around 5am local time.

Another three people have been declared missing after a second boat attempted a crossing from Neufchâtel-Hardelot, around an hour’s drive down the coast from Sangatte.

A third boat of with 115 people on board was also rescued in the Calais region after getting into difficulty. No injuries were reported in that instance.

The Calais prosecutor’s office blamed the deaths on the smuggling gangs responsible for organising the deadly crossings.

“Smuggler networks bear the responsibility for these tragedies. The state is determined to combat them,” the prosecutor’s office said in a post on X.

Another person was pronounced dead on Tuesday after attempting to cross the Channel in a small boat.

A Kent Police spokesperson said the woman was airlifted back to shore around 1pm, where she was pronounced dead.

There is no official record on the number of deaths of people trying to cross the Channel.

But at least 23 people have died attempting to cross the English Channel this year, according to an AFP account based on official data.

Last year 50 people died while trying to cross the Channel, according to incidents recorded by the French coastguard, in what is considered the deadliest year since the crisis unfolded.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has also reported several more migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts in 2024.

Nepal protesters have torched parliament and toppled the government. So what now?

Armed troops patrolled the streets of Kathmandu on Wednesday as Nepal grappled with its most serious political crisis in decades, after prime minister KP Sharma Oli was forced to resign amid violent protests that left at least 19 people dead and much of the nation’s political establishment in flames.

The Himalayan republic – sandwiched between India and China – has been engulfed by unrest since last week, when the government abruptly banned 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X (Twitter), in an attempt to silence criticism.

The ban only deepened frustration among young Nepalis already disillusioned by corruption, unemployment and a political elite seen as unaccountable.

By Monday, demonstrations turned deadly as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, killing at least 19 people – 17 of them in Kathmandu, many still in their school or college uniforms. By Tuesday, protesters had stormed parliament, torching its main hall, while flames spread to the Supreme Court, the prime minister’s residence and even the president’s private home. Burnt vehicles and twisted debris still littered the capital’s streets as army firefighters struggled to contain the damage.

The crisis has now pushed Nepal’s institutions to breaking point. Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel appealed to the citizens for peace and urged the protesters not to resort to arson and looting.

Even president Ram Chandra Poudel, who accepted Mr Oli’s resignation, saw his private residence set ablaze.

Royalist forces are also seeking to exploit the unrest. Pro-monarchy MPs have resigned en masse, raising fears of a push to restore the throne abolished in 2008. Former king Gyanendra Shah, who has largely stayed out of politics since the abolition of the monarchy, issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the violence.

“It is extremely tragic and condemnable that instead of addressing the legitimate demands of the younger generation, lives were lost and many were injured,” he said. “I condemn the violence, which is against the norm of the peaceful Nepalese society.”

Mr Oli’s departure has created a power vacuum that protesters – overwhelmingly from Generation Z – want filled by fresh leadership. Their support has coalesced around two figures outside Nepal’s traditional political class: Balendra Shah, the 35-year-old mayor of Kathmandu, and Rabi Lamichhane, 51, a former deputy prime minister currently facing corruption charges.

On Tuesday, demonstrators stormed Nakhu prison in Lalitpur and freed Mr Lamichhane, who emerged to deliver a defiant speech outside. He was reportedly released to safeguard other prisoners, and legally speaking, he is still not free from the charges against him.

Mr Shah, meanwhile, voiced his “full support” for the movement, saying: “I want to understand their aspirations, objectives, and thinking.” His stance reflected the deep mistrust among young Nepalis towards institutions they see as corrupt and self-serving.

As things stand, there are no obvious candidates to step forward into leadership roles from the protest movement itself, however. Binod Dhungel, 53, a senior journalist based in the capital, told The Independent the situation was “complete chaos”.

Mr Dhungel says the political vacuum represents “a scenario I have never seen before in more than 40 years”.

“All political leaders except those in power now say the next political force should be shared with Gen Z, that they must be decisive,” said Mr Dhungel. “But for the moment, the protesters remain an organised … but leaderless group.”

Minutes after Mr Oli’s resignation, Mr Shah – popularly known as Balen – appealed to demonstrators to exercise restraint. In a Facebook post, he acknowledged the protests were “entirely a Gen Z movement” but warned against further damage to public and private property.

“Dear Gen Z, your demand for the resignation of the government has been met. Now it is time to remain restrained. The loss of the country’s wealth is, in reality, a loss to our own property,” he wrote.

Nepal’s turmoil sits within a longer history of fragile democracy. The monarchy was abolished in 2008 after a mass uprising, following decades of turbulence that included a Maoist insurgency. Since then, not a single government has completed its full five-year term, fuelling instability and steadily eroding public trust.

Even before this week’s violence, younger Nepalis were rejecting traditional parties. In 2023, a Facebook campaign called “No, not again” urged voters to shun recycled politicians. When the Election Commission tried to ban the page, the Supreme Court intervened, upholding freedom of speech and dissent.

It was in this environment that Mr Lamichhane, a former television journalist, rose to prominence. Known for grilling corrupt officials live on air, he first gained attention in 2013 by hosting a Guinness World Record-breaking 62-hour talk show. In 2022, he founded the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which stunned the establishment by capturing 20 parliamentary seats, instantly becoming the fourth-largest bloc.

Appointed deputy prime minister and home minister, Mr Lamichhane positioned himself as the face of youth-led reform. But his rise was marred by controversy. The Supreme Court stripped him of office in 2023 over citizenship irregularities, though he quickly regained his seat in a by-election. Later, he was implicated in a cooperative fraud scandal and jailed in April this year pending trial. Despite this, his popularity endured – amplified by online communities that hailed him as a symbol of anti-corruption.

Under Nepal’s constitution, only a sitting MP can be appointed prime minister. But parliament’s credibility has collapsed, undermined further by mass resignations in the past 24 hours.

The names most often cited by demonstrators – Mr Shah and Mr Lamichhane – are not viable under current law. Other possibilities include Baburam Bhattarai, a former Maoist leader and ex-prime minister, though his past makes him divisive, says Mr Dhungel.

Mr Bhattarai’s house in Kathmandu was also torched by the protesters.

For ordinary Nepalis, the immediate concern is not political instability but survival. Kathmandu depends heavily on supplies from surrounding regions, but protests have paralysed traffic, raising fears of shortages and panic-induced looting.

Shops and markets remained shut on Wednesday, while armoured vehicles patrolled empty streets. The main airport was closed for several hours, disrupting flights.

The turmoil has prompted alarm in India, which convened its security cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the crisis on its doorstep. “Nepal’s stability, peace, and prosperity are of utmost importance,” said prime minister Narendra Modi. “I humbly appeal to all my brothers and sisters in Nepal to maintain peace and order.”

China, a major investor in the country’s infrastructure, said on Wednesday that it hoped the Nepali people would come together to “properly handle” the crisis and restore national stability as soon as possible, while asking that Chinese citizens and institutions be safeguarded.

Despite the chaos, there are signs of dialogue being established.

Former Supreme Court Judge Balaram KC urged the protesters to set up a negotiation team, with the army helping to maintain law and order, and called for fresh elections.

“Parliament should be dissolved and fresh elections held,” the constitutional expert told Reuters. “They should discuss forming the next caretaker government.”

President Poudel also appealed for calm. “I urge all sides to remain calm, prevent further harm to the nation, and come to the table for talks,” he said. “In a democracy, the demands raised by citizens can be addressed through dialogue and negotiation.”

For now, Kathmandu remains under curfew. Soldiers – who until Wednesday stayed in their barracks and left police to attempt to control demonstrations – guard the charred parliament building, as residents wait anxiously to see whether their lives will return to normal or whether protests will erupt again.