Virginia Giuffre said she was ‘a toy to be passed around’ in previously unseen interview

Unseen footage of a BBC interview with the late Virginia Giuffre has aired, in which she reflected on her introduction to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

“I was a toy. I was there to be passed around,” she said. “But I was still a human being with feelings and emotion and sadness. And to know that this man had daughters, that he was still capable of abusing me. It’s… it just doesn’t make sense.”

In the interview, which featured on BBC Panorama on Tuesday night, the late Ms Giuffre told the story of how she met Andrew in London in 2001 when she was 17 years old.

The prince vehemently denies the allegations that Ms Giuffre was forced to have sex with him three times after being trafficked by Epstein. Ms Giuffre told the BBC: “He knows what happened, I know what happened. And there’s only one of us telling the truth.”

Andrew was formally stripped of his remaining royal titles on Thursday. A statement from Buckingham Palace said Andrew continued to deny all allegations against him.

Liverpool banish recent woes with restorative victory over Real Madrid

Arne Slot could be forgiven for thinking this is an annual event in autumn on Merseyside. For the second consecutive year, Real Madrid were beaten on a heady night during an electric Anfield atmosphere. Just like last year, Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring, the World Cup winner serving as the scourge of the European Cup’s most storied club.

The difference – and perhaps the reason why this felt a still greater feat – is that Liverpool had stumbled into a potentially defining week. “We had a very bad run of form in terms of results,” said Slot. “No excuse in the world can make up for us losing so many games.” But after six defeats in seven games, they have overcome Aston Villa, winners of one European Cup, and Real, winners of a mere 15. From the worst run of Slot’s managerial career, Liverpool delivered their best performance of the season. This was restorative. This was remarkable.

“It was impressive because we played against an incredible side, that is in an unbelievable run of form,” said Slot. Real arrived with 13 wins in 14 games this season and a 100 per cent record in the Champions League. They departed defeated, perhaps demoralised. They had scored in every game this season until they encountered Liverpool, who had spent much of the campaign looking fragile at the back. And yet, apart from a Jude Bellingham shot that Giorgi Mamardashvili repelled, Liverpool’s backup goalkeeper could simply watch a display that suggested Liverpool are back. “The whole team defended really well,” said Slot. After two clean sheets all season, they have two in consecutive games. Suddenly, they have savoured the sense of being hard to beat.

Anfield’s record European attendance brought the noise. Slot’s unrelenting players provided the energy on the pitch. Liverpool were powered by the midfield and it was fitting they made the difference. Real were bruised by Liverpool’s physicality, unable to cope by legal methods. “We gave away far too many free kicks,” said Xabi Alonso. One proved particularly costly.

For the second successive season, it was Mac Allister who broke the deadlock. Scoring against Real is a happy habit and the Argentinian headed in Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick. “We can say we beat them because of a set-piece,” said Slot. It was a goal that could also be attributed to weight of pressure as much as anything else but it involved all three of the midfield, with Ryan Gravenberch winning the free kick when fouled by Bellingham. Rewind to 2023 and, when Liverpool had initially hoped to sign the Englishman and he chose Real, they instead pivoted to bring in Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Gravenberch. This was not a night when Liverpool needed to rue the one who got away; or the two, given that Aurelien Tchouameni is another former Liverpool target in the Real midfield.

But the last two games are signs that Mac Allister has finally regained his sharpness. At a stroke, Liverpool looked more formidable. And yet, if the Argentinian was upstaged, it was because the ubiquitous Szoboszlai was magnificent. He ended with an assist on a night when he almost scored a goal and it seemed he had won a penalty. One way or another, he would not be denied.

Yet, for an hour, Liverpool were frustrated. This, it seemed, was the 2022 final all over again, Liverpool facing an old nemesis. It was not, as billed, Liverpool against Trent Alexander-Arnold but Liverpool against Thibaut Courtois, not their former player but their familiar enemy. “Thibaut was fantastic,” said Xabi Alonso.

Courtois made nine saves in Paris in 2022. There were a host more in a rematch, four of them from Szoboszlai. The Belgian made a brilliant block from the Hungarian when he was released by Florian Wirtz as Liverpool launched a lightning-quick break.

There were two saves from corners in a minute, with first Virgil van Dijk and then Hugo Ekitike denied in triumphs of Courtois’s reflexes. He also thwarted Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, the other scorer last year.

If Courtois gave Real a reprieve, so did the officials. Liverpool briefly thought they had a penalty when Szoboszlai’s drive hit Tchouameni’s hands and referee Istvan Kovacs was sent to the monitor. He instead overturned his initial decision of a free kick, ruling the Frenchman’s hands were in a natural position. Anfield was not impressed, though the decision was probably correct. Slot’s players produced the right response. “We performed our gameplan perfectly,” said Van Dijk.

Real did not. Alonso, part of a Liverpool team who beat Real 4-0 here 16 years ago, experienced another wonderful Anfield European night, though he had rather less to enjoy in this rematch. He ended up booked for his late protests, though at least a 2005 Champions League winner was spared the treatment afforded to Alexander-Arnold.

It made for a thoroughly miserable return for the Liverpudlian. Hours before kick-off, his mural was defaced. He was booed in the warm-up, his every touch jeered when he came on for the last 10 minutes. “It could be expected,” added Alonso. “He is professional and mature so he was ready for that.”

Mostly, however, the Kop celebrated the right-back who has replaced Alexander-Arnold in their affections by chanting for Conor Bradley. “To be up against Vinicius [Junior] so many times one-v-one is not for everyone,” said Slot. But the Northern Irishman relished the challenge. Anfield echoed to the sound of the Northern Irishman’s name when, in a role reversal, Vinicius was booked for fouling Bradley, tugging back the marauding right-back. “Conor was outstanding,” said Slot. For the second successive season, he played superbly against Real. For the second successive season, so did Liverpool.

Action to combat UK’s £85 billion sick leave bill urged by ex-John Lewis boss

The number of sick and disabled people out of work is putting the UK at risk of an “economic inactivity crisis” that threatens the country’s prosperity, according to a new report.

There are 800,000 more people out of work due to health conditions now than in 2019, costing employers £85bn a year, according to the review by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield.

The problem could worsen without intervention, but Sir Charlie, who will lead a taskforce aimed at helping people return to work, said this was “not inevitable”.

The move has been broadly welcomed, but some business groups said Labour’s Employment Rights Bill included some disincentives to hiring people with existing illnesses.

One in five working-age people was out of work and not seeking employment, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions but produced independently.

Without intervention, another 600,000 people could leave work due to health reasons by the end of the decade.

Sir Charlie said sickness costs employers £85bn a year through issues including lost productivity and sick pay, but it also costs the broader economy.

He said that “young adults are being hit hard” and added: “The growth in 16- to 34-year-olds with a mental health condition who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness is particularly concerning, having risen by 190,000 (76 per cent) between 2019 and 2024”.

Publishing the document, the ex-retail boss said: “Britain is sliding into an avoidable crisis. Ill-health has become one of the biggest brakes on growth and opportunity. But this is not inevitable.

“Employers are uniquely placed to make a difference, preventing health issues where possible, supporting people when they arise, and helping them return to work. If we keep Britain working, everyone wins – people, employers, and the state.”

He has proposed a new approach where responsibility for health at work is shared between employers, employees and health services rather than being left to the worker and the NHS.

While Sir Charlie said employers must do more to help their employees, he warned that workers must play their part.

He wrote: “Work can be demanding. Setbacks are part of life. Health and work are not always easy partners, but they are mutually reinforcing.”

The so-called review was officially launched in January and was tasked with examining “spiralling levels of inactivity”, as ministers are looking at how to get people back into work.

Among its recommendations, the review called for the adoption of a workplace health provision, which it described as a non-clinical case management service supporting employees and line managers across a so-called healthy working lifecycle.

It said this approach, offering support and advice and early intervention, could be integrated with the NHS App and reduce or replace the need for the current fit note.

The government said more than 60 employers – including the British Beer and Pub Association, Burger King, John Lewis and Google UK – have expressed interest in becoming so-called vanguard employers to pioneer the overall new approach.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said Sir Charlie’s message is “crystal clear: keeping people healthy and in work is the right thing to do and is essential for economic growth”.

He added: “Business is our partner in building a productive workforce – because when businesses retain talent and reduce workplace ill health, everyone wins.

“That’s why we’re acting now to launch employer-led vanguards as part of the plan for change, driving economic growth and opportunity across the country.”

Prince William cuddles baby as he takes selfies with Brazilian crowds

The Prince of Wales displayed his paternal ease on Brazil’s tranquil Paqueta island, catching a baby gently pushed towards him by well-wishers during his trip to Brazil.

The royal was visiting the car-free island, a 50-minute ferry from Rio, to learn about its mangrove habitat and unique, bicycle-centric way of life.

While greeting locals, 10-month-old Joaquim Monteiro was presented.

William, a father of three, confidently took the infant, joking to the grandparent, “mustn’t drop him!”

He then cuddled the baby, remarking, “Bless him”, before returning him to his grandmother, Christina.

Joaquim’s cousin, Andre Luis Junior, a teacher, remarked: “Nobody asked him – he just picked him up. It’s probably because he has three kids. He loves kids.”

He added: “It’s amazing. We are so happy, so happy he chose this very small island.

“We’re very unique in the heart of Rio. Very quiet. We love that he chose to come here. The kids in school were so excited today.”

The prince helped several young children come to the front of the meet and greet in the main square by the waterfront, bending down to be in photographs with them and occasionally borrowing a phone to take the selfie himself.

The island, which has around 5,000 residents, has declared the visit “The Day Of The Prince”, and children were given time off school to see him.

Many had created colourful drawings to hand over to him, calling him “Prince of the Island” and the visit “Prince Day”.

Retired lawyer Glaucia Martinez, 60, repeatedly touched William’s hand as he quizzed her about life on Paqueta, where she lives.

The 60-year-old said: “He asked me about the island and I said that it’s safe, it’s charming, and it’s a good place to live.

“People here, they are good, good people, you know, honest people, and we live in peace here.

“And I said that I love Kate.”

In Madrid, Radiohead deliver a transcendent return to live shows

When I interviewed Thom Yorke in early August – one of two, typically scant interviews to which he’d submitted (“submit being the word,” he joked) to promote the Ashmolean Museum’s exhibition of Radiohead’s artwork – I reminded him that he’d said he would be back in his painting studio this autumn. I thought I was being clever when I then asked if his long-dormant band might be returning to the recording studio.

“I have no idea,” the frontman replied firmly. “Not on the cards from where I’m sitting.” Even less clever, my failing to follow up with: “And what about returning to the stage?”

Four weeks after that conversation came the surprise announcement of 20 European and UK shows, kicking off tonight in Madrid with the first of four gigs at the 17,000-capacity Movistar Arena. No Oasis Live ’25-style, year-long banking of excitement and brand deals here… Radiohead are, quite simply, back.

Seven years and three months since their last gig, the five bandmates – plus auxiliary percussionist Chris Vatalaro – are emphasising their decades-deep closeness by playing in the round, roaming in and out of each other’s spaces, in the centre of the arena. They’re further intertwined thanks to the circular frame that encases them, its panels sliding up and down across the show, images of the occasionally walled-off musicians playing on the screens.

They begin with “Let Down” from 1997’s OK Computer, the perfect, keening, atmos-rich slide into the evening. “2 + 2 = 5” is the immediate, thrashy follow-up, guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien going hard at it on either sides of Radiohead’s comeback merry-go-round. The King of Limbs opener “Bloom” has a rushing, sinuous, lengthy instrumental lead in, the younger Greenwood on a third set of drums, Vatalaro adding to the feverish turbulence, Yorke (eventually) on wailing, impressionistic vocals. They do similar on the mantric “Ful Stop” from 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, Yorke boogieing free-form with a little handheld keyboard. No other rock band can do pell-mell jazz jams like these and make them not sound like some instruments tumbling down a staircase. Or, worse, noodling.

Sandwiched in between those two was that other thing Radiohead do better than all their peers: a bruised, battered anthem in the form of the ever-wondrous “Lucky”. At times, though, the more adventurous songs that sound so great on record kill the vibe in a sold-out arena full of ravenously up-for-it fans. “The Gloaming” is a glitchy bluebottle buzz in search of a song. The washed-out, shapeless ambience of “Daydreaming” and the wonky, lurching “Wolf at the Door” stall the momentum as we head to the close of the main set.

There is, too, little in the way of crowd interaction. Yorke gives a couple of muttered greetings, but that’s it. Given the band’s awkward, unresolved, unwanted role in the debate surrounding artists and Israel, there’s certainly no mention of Gaza (and no discernible protests outside the arena when I arrive). Even during a scorching “Paranoid Android”, when a Palestinian flag is waved vigorously from the barrier, right in Yorke’s eyeline, there’s no response.

When Radiohead hit their groove, it’s obvious how much we’ve missed this British guitar band’s still-radical take on what guitar music can be. On “Myxomatosis”, over elastic, hip-quaking bass, the screens rise and fall to reveal five musicians bathed in boudoir pink, bent over their instruments as rubberband man Yorke patrols the rim of the stage. “No Surprises” is as lovely as always. “Everything In Its Right Place” from 2000’s Kid A is a moment of unfettered ecstasy while “The National Anthem” from that same album also stays on the right side of the sexual/cerebral divide. It’s music for dancing with an industrial funk swagger.

Into the seven-song encore and the gnarly and/or sublime stalwarts, including “You and Whose Army” and “There There”, come one after the other. With house lights up, phone lights lofted, screens fully raised and band fully present, the rapturous, arena-scale choir responses to “Fake Plastic Trees” and final song “Karma Police” tell their own story. This might be their first show in 87 months, but Radiohead are already, again, transcendent.

Enriching escapes: find your perfect luxury break

Flights grounded at Brussels Airport after multiple drone sightings

Brussels Airport was closed and all flights grounded after reported sightings of a drone, Belgian air traffic control has said.

The smaller Liege Airport was also closed after drones had been seen.

Defence Minister Theo Francken told public broadcaster RTBF that the incident appeared to be carried out by professionals intent on destabilising the country.

Bernard Quintin, the minister of the interior, asked prime minister Bart De Wever to convene the National Security Council in response to the sighting.

“We will not allow our airports to be disrupted by uncontrolled drone flights. This calls for a coordinated, national response,” he said.

An update on the Brussels Airport website early on Wednesday said flights had been resumed, but warned that disruption for travellers was expected to continue and passengers should be prepared for delays.

Earlier on Tuesday, an airport spokesperson said there were “no flights currently landing or taking off” and that there were no estimates for how long the airport would remain closed.

Belgium‘s busiest airport briefly reopened on Tuesday evening after two hours of disruption, but was then closed again after more drone sightings.

Kurt Verwilligen, a spokesperson for the Belgian air traffic control service, said that shortly before 7pm GMT a drone had been seen near Brussels Airport, and the airport had therefore been closed as a security precaution.

Flight data on the Brussels Airport website shows a number of delayed and cancelled flights, with FlightRadar24 reporting some have been diverted.

Located 12 kilometres northeast of Brussels, the airport is a major hub for international travel, serving locations including the UK, Dubai, and Turkey.

A message on the airport’s website read: “There are currently no departing or arriving flights at Brussels Airport due to drone sightings around the airport. We will provide updates as soon as we have more information.”

The last flight that departed on Tuesday was the 7.30pm to Prague, with the last arrival into the airport at 7.50pm from the Spanish island of Tenerife.

The incident followed similar closures of the Polish airport Lublin in September this year after multiple Russian drones reportedly crossed into Polish territory, leading to Nato fighter jets being scrambled to intercept them.

Following the incident, the Polish military’s operational command posted on X that ground-based air defence systems were on high alert, stressing that “these actions are preventive in nature” to secure Poland’s airspace and protect its citizens.

In September, Copenhagen Airport and Oslo Airport had to be closed briefly as a result of drone sightings, while drones were also seen over a Belgian military air base last weekend.

The nature of any drone incursion and how many drones may have been involved is not yet clear.

NHS staff face rising tide of ‘ugly, 1970s-style racism’, Streeting warns

NHS staff are bearing the brunt of “1970s, 1980s-style” racist abuse, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned.

He urged patients not to take out their frustrations on frontline workers amid the looming challenges.

It comes amid a caution from Streeting to brace for an overwhelmed health service this winter.

Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Streeting highlighted a “triple threat” of Covid, flu, and doctors’ strikes”.

“Even if you’ve got a long wait, which I know is frustrating, or you feel like you’ve been sent from pillar to post, which sadly does happen, there’s no excuse for taking that out on staff,” he told the newspaper.

Mr Streeting then added: “But the thing that has shocked me most of all is that the rising tide of racism and the way in which kind of 1970s, 1980s-style racism has apparently become permissible again in this country.

“I’m really shocked at the way this is now impacting on NHS staff.”

The senior minister also criticised politicians who have condoned racism, but did not name anyone in particular.

He said: “I’m disgusted that a level of racism last seen when Britain was a very different country, 50 years ago, has made an ugly comeback and I’m frankly shocked by those in Parliament who’ve leaned into it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the Health Secretary claimed he had spoken to a Labour MP whose daughter works in the NHS as a resident doctor and had suffered racist abuse.

A patient in the hospital “said he only wanted to be treated by white staff”, according to Mr Streeting.

The Health Secretary added: “Although she was Asian, she had slightly fairer skin. And a colleague said ‘will you go and see if maybe he’ll accept you?’.

“And rightly she turned around and said ‘no, I won’t, actually. Go and tell him that he either wants our care or he doesn’t, but he doesn’t get to racially discriminate’. She made the right call.”

Professor Nicola Ranger, the general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said rising levels of racist abuse faced by NHS staff was “a stain on society and a stain on our NHS”.

She added: “No member of nursing staff should face this kind of abuse, particularly when they are caring for patients.

“Racism is an issue across society and is particularly pertinent in health and care services, with such a diverse workforce. We have to recognise that the increasing use of anti-migrant rhetoric in politics is emboldening racist behaviour.

“This must be called out every single time it happens. It is not acceptable, and those responsible must be held to account. We need our leaders across the spectrum to show the way and start recognising the incredible contribution our colleagues make to our health and care system every day. It simply would cease to function without them.”