Michelle Mone-linked PPE Medpro wound up after being ordered to repay £148m

PPE Medpro, the company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone, has been wound up at a specialist companies court.

The decision, made by a judge at a hearing on Thursday, could mean that the government is unlikely to see most of the £148m owed to it by the company after it was found to have breached a contract to supply 25 million surgical gowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Lady Mone’s husband, businessman Doug Barrowman, had been ordered to pay the sum after losing a High Court battle against the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in October.

But it filed for administration on 30 September, the day before the ruling, with the money still unpaid.

At a hearing at the Insolvency and Companies Court on Thursday, barristers for the three joint administrators asked for PPE Medpro to be kept in administration to pay off some creditors.

Barristers for the DHSC, an unsecured creditor, asked a judge to wind up the company, which they said was “hopelessly insolvent”.

In a ruling, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sebastian Prentis placed the company into liquidation.

He said: “I remain of the firm view that the correct course is now to discharge the administrators and to compulsorily wind up the company.”

Records filed by PPE Medpro’s administrators last month showed that, as well as the money owed to the DHSC, HMRC was also claiming £39m in tax from the company.

But the filings revealed it only had around £600,000 available to pay unsecured creditors.

Simon Passfield KC, for PPE Medpro’s joint administrators, said in written submissions that the company had one secured creditor, Angelo (PTC) Limited, which, according to Companies House, is registered in the Isle of Man.

He continued that the DHSC was the firm’s largest unsecured creditor and had “expressed a clear preference for the company to move immediately into compulsory liquidation”.

In court, the barrister said that PPE Medpro had “sufficient property” to pay off a debt of around £1m to Angelo, and that the administrators believed there would “also be a return to the unsecured creditors”, including the DHSC.

Mr Passfield continued that there were “potential” legal claims by the company against “third parties”, which, if successful, “could result in substantial recoveries” of funds, but no further details were given in court.

He said: “The administrators are as best placed as any liquidator to achieve the best outcome for creditors as a whole.”

David Mohyuddin KC, for the DHSC, said in written submissions that there was no “realistic alternative” to winding up the company.

He said: “The only order that the court needs to, and should, make is that Medpro be wound up.”

He continued: “The court’s discretionary power to make a winding-up order against Medpro is clearly engaged: it is obviously and very significantly insolvent.”

McIlroy battles Kelly and Norris for 2025 Sports Personality award

Rory McIlroy is the favourite to win tonight’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, but the Masters champion faces stiff competition from Lionesses Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton, England rugby star Ellie Kildunne, as well as darts phenomenon Luke Littler and the newly crowned F1 world champion Lando Norris.

McIlroy enjoyed a stunning year in which he finally completed the grand slam, winning that elusive first Green Jacket via a dramatic play-off against his friend Justin Rose at Augusta National. McIlroy and Rose teamed up in New York a few months later to win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and victory in the Race to Dubai capped arguably the greatest season of the Northern Irishman’s glittering career.

England Women’s Euro 2025 triumph in Switzerland this summer captured the public’s imagination, with goalkeeper Hampton their outstanding player and Kelly their hero in crucial moments, including scoring the winning penalty kick. England’s Rugby World Cup win was another inspirational story, sparked by the magical Kildunne, following a heartbreaking defeat by New Zealand in 2021.

Littler will struggle to produce a better season, sweeping up a string of major darts titles including his first World Championship crown, although its distant place in the sporting calendar – the world final was way back in January – may count against him in the public vote. Norris’s world title was far more recent as he became Britain’s 11th F1 champion in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

There are a number of other awards this evening, including Young Sports Personality – in which Littler is the favourite – and prizes for the outstanding coach, team and world star, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award, to be presented to the great Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.

Follow all the latest updates from the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year awards below

Duke of Marlborough accused of strangling estranged wife

The Duke of Marlborough is accused of strangling his estranged wife, court documents show.

Charles James Spencer-Churchill, who is related to Sir Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales, is accused of three offences of intentional strangulation between November 2022 and May 2024.

The 70-year-old was summoned to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday following his arrest in May last year, but the court heard he was “unable to attend”.

District Judge Kamlesh Rana said the case will be listed for a plea hearing in front of the chief magistrate at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on 5 January.

Court documents say the three charges of non-fatal intentional strangulation against his estranged wife are alleged to have taken place in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.

Mr Spencer-Churchill, known to his family as Jamie, is the 12th Duke of Marlborough and a member of one of Britain’s most aristocratic families.

Related to wartime prime minister Sir Winston – a first cousin, three times removed – and also distantly to Diana through the Spencer line, Mr Spencer-Churchill inherited his dukedom in 2014, following the death of his father, the 11th Duke of Marlborough. Prior to this, the twice-married Mr Spencer-Churchill was the Marquess of Blandford, and also known as Jamie Blandford.

The duke married his second wife, Welsh ceramicist Edla Griffiths, in 2002, but they separated in 2024.

They are said to have met while she was living in Chelsea and working on her art, and they wed after dating for seven years.

They had a daughter, the equestrian Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, in 2007, and a son, Lord Caspar Spencer-Churchill, in 2008.

Edla, 57, became the Duchess of Marlborough when Mr Spencer-Churchill inherited his dukedom following the death of his father, the 11th duke, in 2014.

The duke was previously married to Becky Few Brown, the mother of his eldest son and heir George, a polo player and the current Marquess of Blandford.

His ancestral family home is the 300-year-old Blenheim Palace – Sir Winston’s birthplace – in Woodstock. But the duke does not own the 18th-century baroque palace, and has no role in the running of the residence and vast estate.

Blenheim is owned and managed by the Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation.

A spokesperson for the foundation said: “Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation is aware legal proceedings have been brought against the Duke of Marlborough.

“The foundation is unable to comment on the charges, which relate to the duke’s personal conduct and private life, and which are subject to live criminal proceedings.

“The foundation is not owned or managed by the Duke of Marlborough, but by independent entities run by boards of trustees.”

Is Putin turning his frozen assets from a weakness into a weapon?

In the nearly four years since Russia’s invasion, the European Union has maintained unity in its support for Ukraine.

That solidarity, however, has come under increasing strain, with this week’s EU summit risking the first really significant split – and potentially dire consequences for Ukraine. The issue is, of course, money, and specifically whether the cash-strapped EU countries will decide that the best way of keeping Ukraine afloat is to reach into the €210bn (£184bn) of Russian assets that have been frozen in EU banks since the start of the war.

Hungary and Slovakia, countries which have kept up sporadic ties with Moscow, were always dissenters on the question of using Russia’s frozen assets. What their dissent concealed, however, was that their objections were widely, if quietly, shared. Now, at least five other countries, Belgium, Italy, Malta, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, are said to be against, with indications also from Paris that it too has misgivings about using around €18bn of Russian assets frozen in France. There may well be others lying low in the hope of avoiding a high noon.

At stake are very big issues of principle and practicality, with equally big implications not just for the EU, but globally.

The consensus among those who take the view that Russia acted illegally and thereby forfeited any right to international legal protection for assets held abroad is that, one way or another, the money should be used for Ukraine’s benefit – although some murkiness now surrounds precisely what it should be spent on and when.

Early on, the idea was that the money would be earmarked for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, in lieu of reparations (which it was deemed Russia would refuse to pay). More recently, however, the idea seems to be that it would be used to help pay for military help for Ukraine – replacing what the US contributed before – and so, in effect, to continue the war.

The latest idea is that the money would also be used to help keep Ukraine running – not just funding the war, but paying state employees, and keeping schools, hospitals and power plants functioning. With the money, it is envisaged that Ukraine could remain viable for another two years; without it, Ukraine could face economic collapse as early as February.

On the other side, it is argued that Russia’s illegal invasion needs to be kept distinct from its foreign assets. For the EU essentially to help itself to another country’s deposits, so the logic runs, would amount to theft, jeopardise a basic principle of international finance, threaten the good name of the EU and its members as reliable guardians of other people’s money, and precipitate a worldwide free-for-all in which no one’s assets would be safe from confiscation by a foreign power.

There is also a view that Russia could sue in the courts – which it is threatening to do – and win, leaving the EU and its banks to pick up the enormous tab.

The legal arguments are contested, but this risk helps to explain why Belgium has emerged in the vanguard of the objectors. A Belgian company, Euroclear, holds a disproportionate amount – €150bn – of the Russian assets, and Belgium is demanding that at very least all EU countries share the risk equally, which the others, equally understandably, do not want to do. The rift has led to convoluted efforts to find a legal route for using the assets that would somehow get the EU off the hook, but such a route has proved elusive.

An early mechanism, which met little opposition, was for the EU to release the interest accrued on the assets since they were frozen and use that for the benefit of Ukraine. Now, however, with the US turning away from Ukraine, far bigger sums are needed, which is why the assets themselves have come into play. One suggestion has been to use the assets as collateral for loans, but were Russia to win a lawsuit or were Ukraine unable to pay any loans, the EU could face huge liabilities.

Another route, advanced last week by two of the most convinced proponents of using the assets – the president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas – would be to declare an emergency and suspend normal voting rules to force the measure through. This, though, not only underlines that what is afoot is essentially an effort to get around the law, but also highlights some of the defects in EU democracy and the inroads it can make on national sovereignty. These are some of the very same arguments, it might be remembered, that were advanced by the UK’s Brexiteers.

While Brexit may have removed the UK from direct involvement in this debate, the UK’s full-throated support for Ukraine and London’s role as a global financial centre make the controversy a live one, here, too. And while Keir Starmer recently suggested that the UK would be willing to contribute the Russian assets frozen here, the banking establishment is reported to be warning against such a prospect – for the obvious reputational reasons. In this respect, the sudden media availability of the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, was striking.

Only hours before EU leaders were due to meet, she gave several one-to-one interviews, telling the former Chelsea FC owner, Roman Abramovich, he had 90 days to transfer his £2.5bn proceeds from the forced sale of the club to Ukraine.

Given that his assets were frozen by the UK, this sudden demand might seem a stretch. In the context of the high-stakes EU summit, however, it could be seen as a small gesture of support, albeit one that might usefully divert attention from what the UK might or might not do about other Russian assets it holds.

The Abramovich diversion, however, should not be allowed to distract from the importance of the decision before the EU. The outcome could determine the economic stability of several EU countries and even of the EU itself; it could destroy the reputation of the EU as a bastion of the rule of law; it could precipitate total economic, if not wider, war with Russia, and it could have a critical bearing on the very survival of Ukraine.

Family share pictures of ‘bubbly’ girl, 9, who died after stabbing

A nine-year-old girl who died from a stab wound has been pictured as her family paid tribute to the “lively and bubbly” schoolgirl.

Aria Thorpe was pronounced dead at a house in Weston-super-Mare after police attended the residential address on Monday evening.

Shortly after officers arrived, a teenage boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested and later charged with the girl’s murder.

He appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where he was remanded into youth detention accommodation to reappear at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

In Lime Close in Weston-super-Mare, where Aria died, floral tributes have been put down as the seaside community attempts to come to terms with the tragedy.

Speaking to the BBC, one close family member said: “Aria was a lively and bubbly nine-year-old who was so full of life.” They added that she enjoyed listening to country music and teaching dogs new tricks.

At the school which Aria attended, bosses were working with professional agencies to provide support to children and staff.

Simon Marriott, chief executive of Kaleidoscope Multi-Academy Trust, said: “Our school and trust community are devastated and upset by the news of the tragic death of one of our pupils, Aria Thorpe.”

Dan Aldridge, Labour MP for Weston-super-Mare, said Aria’s death was an “utterly heartbreaking tragedy for the family and her loved ones”.

He said: “This is a moment that will understandably shock and sadden us all, and I know many in our town will be grieving, anxious, and seeking answers. I urge everyone to respect the family’s privacy and avoid speculation while the police carry out their enquiries.”

Catherine Gibbons, deputy leader of North Somerset Council, said: “On behalf of everyone at North Somerset Council, I offer our sincerest condolences to Aria’s family, friends and the school community. The pain of losing a child in such tragic circumstances is unimaginable.

“We are working closely with partner agencies, including schools across the Weston-super-Mare area, to make sure those affected have access to the support and advice they need.”

On Wednesday, Superintendent Jen Appleford asked for privacy for Aria’s family. The police force said a post-mortem examination had found her preliminary cause of death was a single stab wound.

Supt Appleford said: “The tragic loss of such a young girl has caused a huge amount of shock and upset, with there being a profound sense of loss felt throughout the community. We are working closely with partner agencies and schools across the Weston area to make sure those affected receive access to any support they need.”

Pit-Smoked and Bourbon-Soaked: how to eat in Kentucky like a pro

What’s a drop of Bourbon or a foot tapping beat without the perfect dish to accompany them? There’s more to the Bluegrass State than whiskey and music alone. Though those things are important. Vital actually.

In Kentucky, the good times come served with a side of soul-enriching food, from fine dining, to time-honed traditions passed down through generations. A combination of Southern know-how, bountiful farmland and top-notch ingredients, plus modern culinary talent combine to make Kentucky a truly world-class culinary destination.

So get your fingers sticky with the sweet tang of BBQ, find the ultimate comfort food at a ma and pop shop on the roadside, or pull up a chair beneath a crisp linen tablecloth. It’s all here. Let us guide you to the top spots.

Louisville

Home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby, and with deep roots in the world of whiskey making, Louisville is a place where tradition is respected. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t reinterpreted, reinvented, and well, shaken up.

Kentucky’s largest metropolis, which straddles the slow running waters of the Ohio River, was built on whiskey. But as the new food hub of the South, it’s writing a new, distinctly delicious chapter.

‘New Southern Cuisine’, that’s the term coined for this new spirit of reverent playfulness where chefs across the city are putting new unique twists on traditional Southern fare from Hot Browns to Benedictine.

At 610 Magnolia, in the heart of Old Louisville, for chef and owner Edward Lee that means seasonal, multi-course menus that combine surprising global flavours into locally-inspired, often Bourbon laced dishes. Think seared scallops with kimchi or a sweet pea risotto with rock shrimp and magnolia.

Jack Fry’s is an institution. Behind its shutter board and mullioned window exterior, live jazz accompanies Southern flavours prepared with classic French techniques since 1933. Where once bootlegging occurred in a backroom, today spicy fried oysters, Bourbon braised short ribs, and peach cheesecakes laden the tables.

Don’t Miss:

Walk the distilleries and tasting rooms of Whiskey Row. This is mandatory. The imposing cast iron and red brick facades of Main Street once fronted the offices and warehouses for the burgeoning Bourbon barons. Today, they’re a playground for whiskey enthusiasts with exclusive bottlings, tastings and more to explore.

Follow Whiskey Row – and the Urban Bourbon Trail – across multiple blocks, and you’ll find NuLu (New Louisville). The East Market District of downtown draws an artsy crowd hang out to its neighbourhood murals, street art, galleries, and innovative eateries from Biscuit Belly to Royal Hot Chicken.

Lexington and the Bluegrass region

Combine fine dining with authentic Bluegrass charm in Lexington and beyond, where a visit to the world famous Keeneland Rack Track isn’t all about the horses. Yes, Lexington is a race horse capital, but sometimes the food is the main event.

Arrive purposefully hungry, and get amongst the smell of turf, saddle leather and smoked meats as jockeys, trainers and spectators alike head to the Track Kitchen. A morning staple and one of the city’s best-kept secrets, its home-style food feels like a hug. But careful, pace yourself.

Trackside concession stalls, only open during the races, beckon with their many culinary delights. From Keeneland’s signature Bourbon Bread Pudding to Kentucky Beer Cheese and the refreshing Keeneland Breeze cocktail, the food and drink here are as much a part of the experience as the races themselves. Classic Southern comfort meets local flair.

Don’t Miss:

Head out to the countryside, where the morning mist sits low on the pastures of Thoroughbred farms. Culinary star, Chef Ouita Michel may have just pioneered farm-to-table dining over the past 15-plus years. With all that high-quality produce in abundance surrounding Lexington, it just made sense to make the most of it.

Visit all eight of Ouita’s famous restaurants – or just a few – on a culinary tour. Honeywood at Fritz Farm is all about the locally-grown specialities, from sweet potato beignets to duck-fat basted New York strip. Meanwhile, Smithtown Seafood is a quintessential taste of the south with wild-caught fried catfish, fresh-shucked oysters and blackened catfish.

Owensboro

Breathe in the sweet smell of smoke and molasses. When you catch the scent of a true pit master at work, you follow it.

In Owensboro, Kentucky’s undisputed BBQ capital, a passion for flavour and a dedication to time-honed techniques, means you’re in for a treat.

In this city located on the south side of a deep bend in the Ohio River, BBQ is more than just a dish, it’s a tradition. With a history dating back to the 1830s, the area has developed its own unique style of pit BBQ, where vinegar-based sauces are mopped over the meat during a lengthy smoking process. Think tangy, tender, and melt-in-the-mouth.

Sure you’ll find chicken, beef, et al. But with sheep historically more plentiful, the main event here is mutton. Burgoo who? Look out for local dish Burgoo, a stew similar to Irish or Mulligan stew, most often served with a generous wedge of cornbread. Well, this is Kentucky.

Don’t get us wrong. BBQ is a year-round way of life with secrets passed down generations. Head to the Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn, where smoked meat has been slung since the 1950s. Or Old Hickory BBQ, where the grills have been firing since 1918.

But once a year Owensboro becomes the global BBQ capital. At the International Bar-B-Q Festival, BBQ and Barrels, held every second weekend in May, 80,000 assemble for two days of BBQ heaven, while teams fiercely compete over secret recipes and sizzling coals.

Don’t Miss:

What goes better with a smoked slice, than the twang of strings? Owensboro is the Bluegrass world capital too. Stop by the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum – the only international museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history and culture of this soulful, uniquely American genre.

White House says US would be ‘lucky’ to have Trump serve third term

The White House has said that the United States “would be lucky” to have President Donald Trump in office for “even longer,” despite the Constitution limiting him to two terms.

Over the last year, the president has floated the idea of running for a third term, riling up the media and opponents – though both he and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles have also publicly acknowledged that legally he cannot.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump’s former lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, gave the president a draft copy of a book that explored the constitutionality of a third-term president.

Dershowitz’s upcoming book, “Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?” studies potential legal routes that the president could attempt if he wished to run again. The former Harvard law professor, who represented Trump during his first impeachment trial, told the WSJ that he spoke with Trump about those scenarios in the Oval Office.

When asked if Trump would run a third term, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios: “There has never been an Administration that has accomplished as much in less than one year than the Trump Administration. The American people would be lucky to have President Trump in office for even longer.”

Jackson did not outright say whether or not Trump would run again, but the president has said himself he is “not allowed” to do so. Wiles also said in her recent interview with Vanity Fair the president would not run again.

Yet, Dershowitz told the WSJ that he offered his conclusions to the president, adding that “it’s not clear if a president can become a third-term president and it’s not clear if it’s permissible.”

Section one of the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” It also says any person who has served as president, or acting president, for more than two years of a term shall not be elected to the office more than once.

Dershowitz said Trump “found it interesting as an intellectual issue,” but he felt the president would not run again.

“Do I think he’s going to run for a third term? No, I don’t think he will run for a third term,” the lawyer told the WSJ.

Despite these assurances, Trump continues to raise the idea. Wiles told Vanity Fair that the president is “having fun” with floating the idea because he knows it’s “driving people crazy.”

Terror arrests surge by 660% due to Palestine Action ban

Terror arrests have surged by a staggering 660 per cent year-on-year because of support for Palestine Action, official figures reveal.

The pro-Palestine protest group was proscribed under terror laws in July this year. Hundreds of people have protested their terror ban by holding up signs saying “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” – an act that is now an offence under terrorism legislation.

Government figures published on Thursday show that of the 1,886 arrests in the year up to September for terrorism-related activity – 1,630 or 86 per cent are linked to supporting Palestine Action.

The total number of terrorism-related arrests in the previous year was 248. Those arrested for support for Palestine Action were 4.4 times more likely to be female, and were considerably older than those normally arrested for terror offences.

The average age for arrests linked to supporting Palestine Action was 57, compared to 30 for non-Palestine Action-linked arrests.

In the months before the proscription of Palestine Action, between April and June 2025, there were 63 arrests for terror-related activity. This then increased by 2,608 per cent after Palestine Action’s ban, with 1,706 arrests recorded from July to September.

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has challenged the group’s proscription in the High Court, with her barristers arguing that the impact of the ban was “dramatic, severe, widespread and potentially lifelong”.

Raza Husain KC told judges that the decision by then-home secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe the organisation in June 2025 was “novel and unprecedented”. He told the court: “This is the first direct action civil disobedience organisation that does not advocate for violence ever to be proscribed as terrorism.”

He said that the decision, which Ms Cooper faltered over, was “so extreme as to render the UK an international outlier”.

The court heard that the Foreign Office had advised the Home Office that, while Palestine Action was active in other countries, “its activity is largely viewed by international partners as activism and not extremism or terrorism”.

Sir James Eadie KC, for the government, argued that it was for parliament to decide what acts constituted terrorism. He said that the home secretary had been advised by a group of security experts that certain actions of Palestine Action did qualify as terrorist acts.

The data comes after two police forces confirmed that they would arrest people for chanting “globalise the intifada”, saying that “the context has changed” following a targeted attack on Australia’s Jewish community in Sydney.

Two people have now been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences after shouting “slogans involving calls for intifada”, the Metropolitan Police said.