Epstein files reveal paedophile’s desperate attempts to court Putin

Paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein spent years trying to win an audience with Vladimir Putin, according to emails published by the US justice department.

The Russian president is mentioned 1,055 times in the latest Epstein files release, which saw the DOJ share more than 3 million new documents on Friday.

Emails with political figures show Epstein desperately trying to secure a meeting with Putin in the early 2010s, after his first conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.

Putin has been president since 2012, but served as prime minister for four years before that and has been the country’s de facto leader since 2000.

The updated files show how Epstein jostled friends to set up a meeting for him to discuss foreign investment in Russia from at least 2013 and until 2018, a year before Epstein died in prison. It is unclear whether they ever met.

The Epstein library, now totalling some 3.5 million records, shows that Epstein tried to procure a Russian visa from at least 2010. He asked a contact: “do i need to get visa, ? I have a friend of putin,s [sic], should i ask him?”

A year later, in August 2011, he told Emirati businessman Ahmed bin Sulayem that “putin might come to the states”, adding that he would rather meet him there, “so sochi is unlikely”.

Over the years, the financier repeatedly discussed his hopes of meeting Putin with Thorbjorn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway, who met with the Russian leader in his capacity as the secretary general of the Council of Europe.

Mr Jagland characterised Epstein’s interest in an email in May 2013, telling Epstein he would have to explain his proposals to Putin himself.

“You have to do it. My job is to get a meeting with him,” he said, adding: “Can I say this [to Putin]: I know that you want to attract foreign investment to diversify russian economy […] I have a friend that can help you to take the necessary measures (and then present you) and ask wether it is interesting for him to meet with you.”

That month, Epstein told Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, that he was hoping to meet Putin for the first time that June to discuss how Russia could encourage Western investment.

Weeks later, he reported back that he had cancelled a meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, demanding the Russian leader “set aside real time and privacy” for him.

Inclusion in the Epstein files does not imply guilt. Mr Barak has acknowledged visiting Epstein but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behaviour or parties.

Mr Jagland distanced himself from Epstein late last year as it emerged in a previous release of files that they had discussed Russia and US president Donald Trump in 2018.

In June 2013, Epstein emailed Jagland inviting Putin for dinner, the files show. He said: “Bill Gates will be staying with me in paris , for sund monday, putin is welcome to join for dinner.”

The files show Epstein also tried to set up a meeting with Putin in early 2014, when Mr Jagland said he was going to meet the president in Sochi.

That July, Epstein received an email from a contact saying: “I wasn’t able to convince Reid to change his schedule to go meet Putin with you. ;-)”

Epstein replied: “Bad idea now after plane crash”. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed three days prior, killing 283 on board. A UN body ruled last year that Russia was responsible, though the Kremlin always denied responsibility.

Files show Epstein asked Mr Jagland for help again in 2015. He wrote: “I still would like to meet putin and talk economy, i would really appreciate your assistance.”

In 2016, he asked Mr Jagland when he would see Putin, and in 2017, he asked him to “talk to putin re digital currencies . the future”.

On 20 June, 2018, as previously reported, he emailed Mr Jagland: “Would love to meet putin”.

It emerged in a previous file dump that four days later, Epstein tried to pass a message on to Russia’s top diplomat via Mr Jagland.

“I think you might suggest to putin that lavrov can get insight on talking to me,” he wrote in an email dated 24 June, 2018. ‘Lavrov’ likely refers to Russia’s minister of foreign affairs and close Putin ally Sergey Lavrov.

“vitaly churkin used to .but he died. ? !” he added, referring to the late Russian ambassador to the UN, who had passed away a year prior.

Mr Jagland said he would meet with Mr Lavrov’s assistant and “suggest”, to which Epstein replied: “churkin was great . he understood trump after our conversations. it is not complex. he must be seen to get something its that simple.”

In a text message to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK last year, Mr Jagland said: “In my work I have met a lot of people, many have put me in contact with even more. This is part of normal diplomatic activity.

“What has come to light about Jeffrey Epstein’s private life, I strongly distance myself from. For me, it was particularly important to understand Donald Trump and what developed in the relationship between the United States and Europe … Many wanted to start a process to exclude Russia from the Council of Europe and thus Russian citizens’ access to the European Court of Human Rights. I used every opportunity to get my view across on how serious this was.”

Many of the items referencing Putin only refer to him tangentially, such as in media bulletins sent to Epstein’s email address.

A separate 2010 email exchange between Epstein and an email address named “The Duke”, included in the new files, suggests Epstein also set up a dinner between the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a “beautiful” 26-year-old Russian woman.

Epstein writes in the message: “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with.”

In response, “The Duke” replies: “Of course. I am in Geneva until the morning of 22nd but would be delighted to see her. Will she be bringing a message from you? Please give her my contact details to get in touch. A.”

Asked for more information about the unnamed woman, Epstein replied: “she 26, russian, clevere beautiful, trustworthy and yes she has your email.”

Fear in Minneapolis as ICE agents terrorise city: ‘I haven’t left my home in five weeks’

Pastor Sergio Amezcua scans the cars lining this residential street in Minneapolis, to check whether ICE agents might have followed. He looks up at a helicopter circling overhead.

“Do you think that’s been tracking us?” he asks, concern edging his voice.

From the back of his truck, he pulls out a large box of supplies and scans the street again.

He is here to deliver food to a Latino member of his congregation at Dios Habla Hoy Church who, despite living in the United States for 25 years and having a son with an American passport, has been too afraid to go outside for five weeks.

Maria* (not her real name) fears she could be seized by some of the thousands of federal agents deployed to the city under president Donald Trump’s deadly immigration crackdown.

So when the pastor appears at her building, he finds her nervously hiding behind the front door, shaken by an unknown man standing there, who claims to be a delivery driver but is acting strangely.

“I was scared he was trying to get in. I am terrified. I can’t sleep at night,” she says, after finally letting us in.

As she speaks, she is trying to calm her dog, who has barely been outside for weeks and is running frantic loops around her tiny apartment.

She is running out of money as she hasn’t been able to work since December.

“One man I know was grabbed from his job inside McDonald’s. His son can’t even get his medicine to him inside the detention centre.

“I feel like I’m in jail here. Sometimes I cry and hide so my son doesn’t see me.”

The Department of Homeland Security says in the last few weeks alone more than 3,000 people have been detained. Among them children as young as five and US citizens.

Journalists covering protests have been arrested, and at least two citizens have been shot dead while witnesses told The Independent they were acting as observers.

Pastor Amezcua, who initially voted for Trump, prays with a sobbing Maria, helping her to calm down.

He says that since the launch of the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge”, his church is now feeding around 150,000 people, most of them too terrified to leave their homes for fear of arrest, despite some being US citizens or having legal paperwork.

“They’re racially profiling people, especially Latinos. This is the huge problem.

“Attendance at Latino churches in Minnesota is down 80 per cent because people are afraid to come out. But half of my congregants are born in the US, and they are still afraid to come out. That is not just immigrants, this affects the entire community.”

It’s so bad, he continues, “it feels like ethnic cleansing.”

This is Minneapolis – a vibrant city of nearly half a million people – where fear and suspicion now crackle through the streets. The situation is so bad that residents have likened it to living under an authoritarian regime.

This is since the city became a central target of Trump’s promised immigration crackdown. Citing crime control, he has deployed federal law enforcement to several Democrat-led cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Portland, Oregon.

The Department of Homeland Security has hailed the Minnesota operation as a “huge victory for public safety,” telling The Independent more than 3500 “criminals” have been arrested, including “vicious murderers”.

Minnesota’s attorney general has unsuccessfully sought to block the operation (a federal judge declined to issue a halt order on Saturday).

But fury at the crackdown has gripped the state – and the nation – sparking mass protests and country-wide strikes.

In the last few weeks, ICE operations have only intensified: disturbing footage has emerged apparently showing federal agents violently seizing people, shooting observers, firing on civilians, and tear-gassing crowds.

A spokesperson for the DHS told The Independent said their officers only use lethal force “in defense of their own lives” and for public safety adding: “officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics”.

The spokesperson vehemently rejected allegations that ICE engages in racial profile as “disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE” claiming that “this type of garbage is contributing to our officers facing a more than 1300% increase in assaults against them”. The DHS maintained that a person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, “not their skin color, race or ethnicity”.

But mounting evidence has inspired an underground network of volunteers. Working through encrypted messaging apps, and in code, they track federal agents’ movements to warn at-risk communities, and deter agent activity.

Others, like Pastor Amezcua’s church, try to keep people too afraid to leave their homes fed and alive.

The schools have stepped in, especially after Liam Ramos, a five-year-old Ecuadoran asylum seeker, was photographed in a bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack being taken away by ICE agents as his father was seized during school drop off.

Zena Stenvik, the superintendent for Liam’s school district, says neighbours witnessed ICE agents even try to use Liam as bait to lure his mother out of their home. Liam was deported with his father to a detention centre in Texas.

After nationwide outrage, he was finally released back to Minnesota on Sunday.

But he is one of seven students from Stenvik’s district alone who have been detained in recent weeks by ICE. And so the schools are taking no chances.

Stenvik says the teachers are now chaperoning children to school, organising ride-shares, banning outside recess and patrolling streets near school grounds, to ensure parents and children are not abducted on route to class. Twenty per cent of their students are learning online at home.

“We feel hunted. We are under siege,” Stenvik continues, describing armed ICE patrols circling the school perimeters.

“Young children are asking if their parents will be home when they return from school, or if they might be snatched on the way.”

Jason Kuhlman, principal of Liam’s school, says the school was forced to deliver two children into custody on Thursday when their mother, also an asylum seeker, was arrested outside a courthouse following a mandated check-in for an asylum plea.

The boys had no other family in the country. Their mother had an impossible choice: allow her children to be swallowed into state foster care while she is deported, or be reunited in prison.

“All we could do was pack their backpacks with food and supplies. We were crying with them,” Kuhlman says, describing the moment he was forced to take them into Minnesota’s Whipple detention centre.

“We don’t take children to jail. That’s not our job. Our job is to educate,” he adds with emotion.

“We were afraid we’d never see them again.”

“You f**king move, I’ll f**king taser you. Get the f**k out of the car right now,” screams the masked and armed agent, giving contradictory orders as he points a Taser just a few centimetres away from the face of the passenger, who is filming.

This mobile phone footage was shot by a US veteran, who, together with her friend Skye, a disabled Marine veteran, was patrolling areas of Minneapolis following ICE convoys on 11 January.

Moments earlier – as seen in the video – Skye, who is in her 30s, says agents had smashed the driver’s window next to her.

In the footage, agents can be seen dragging her headfirst from the car and aggressively pinning her to the ground.

“They had me on my stomach, kneeling on me,” Skye tells The Independent, showing the bruises still on her arm. “My arm was wrenched back right up my head, my ankles in a lock.”

She is still shaken by the experience which happened just four days after Renee Good, a mother of three, was shot dead in Skye’s neighbourhood while, city leaders later said, she had also been acting as a legal observer of ICE activity. (Citizens have a First Amendment right to film law enforcement doing their job as long as they don’t interfere.)

Skye was held briefly held at Whipple detention centre, questioned and later released. She does not know whether she faces formal charges.

She left town for a week, worried she might be picked up by agents again. On her return, she found another masked agent parked outside her apartment.

“He aggressively approached me and started taking photos,” she continues, showing me a photograph of the officer.

”It’s a constant worry they’ll come back. I haven’t been able to take a breath or relax.”

As we drive around town, she clocks the telltale signs of ICE agents, like cars with out-of-state number plates or no front plates.

She adds quietly that she is afraid she’ll “end up in a concentration camp”.

“I am a white female veteran: if it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” she warns.

At the sprawling Karmel Mall – famously the largest Somali shopping centre in the country – even US passport holders are afraid to move around.

In this once-bustling hub in the southern area of the city, businesses are shuttered; the owners of those stores still open are reluctant to speak.

ICE agents have already staged raids here: there are posters everywhere saying “ICE out” and telling federal agents they cannot enter.

“It feels dystopian,” says Khalid, 24, a Somali-American student, whose mother has not left the house in a month, despite being a US citizen.

One of Khalid’s cousins was detained during an ICE raid on their apartment building, then later released without explanation. His mother also fears the administration may begin denaturalising citizens like her who were born outside of the US.

“Most of us are American-born citizens. But when the president calls your community ‘garbage’ and targets people based on how you look, you worry.”

Trump – who called America’s Somali population “garbage” and Somalia a “sh**hole” in December – initially blamed the deployment of federal agents to Minneapolis on an investigation into alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud within Somali-run daycares.

Minnesota is home to more than 120,000 Somali residents, the largest population outside of Somalia, says Jaylani Hussein, a community leader and executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The overwhelming majority are citizens, green-card holders, or have paperwork, he explains.

“There has been mass panic since Somali refugees were suddenly targeted two weeks ago, despite arriving legally and being on lawful pathways to citizenship,” he continues, as we sit in the mall.

“Many were shipped immediately to detention in Texas. We were able to get a lot of them back through legal challenges, but it sent shockwaves through the community.”

A few days ago, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the arrest and detention of lawfully admitted refugees in Minnesota, providing some relief, he continues. But fear persists.

“It’s chaos.”

Back at the Dios Habla Hoy Church, volunteers with their own cars are ready to ferry supplies to those who are too afraid to go to the grocery store.

All of them have been vetted and trained in techniques like evading ICE surveillance to protect the vulnerable people they are visiting. They line up to receive the Signal group chat of the day, and code names for addresses in case those chats are infiltrated.

Laura, 64, a resident of Minneapolis, is volunteering 60 hours a week now.

Like many people The Independent has spoken to, she believes this is not only about immigration but about punishing Minneapolis, which, since Trump’s first term in office – with the protests against the murder of George Floyd – has been a heartland of dissent.

“This is about terrorising, not only undocumented people, but documented people and residents. This is authoritarianism,” she continues.

Pastor Amezcua says they will keep going for as long as it takes, but they need Congress and the Supreme Court “to do their jobs”.

“We want our kids to be able to go outside and play or go to school,” he concludes, at the end of another busy day.

“We need checks and balances of the executive branch. [Congress] needs to stop being cheerleaders of this agenda. So we can continue to keep the American dream alive.”

Met detective sergeant sacked over ‘antisemitic’ post about Gaza

A Metropolitan Police detective sergeant has been sacked after posting “overtly political” content on social media regarding the conflict in Gaza, including one comment that was deemed antisemitic.

Rebecca Collens served within the Road and Transport Policing Command.

She reshared an image labelled “Palestine 2024” alongside an image of victims from what seemed to be a concentration camp, labelled “Germany 1945”.

The post carried the caption: “The world said never again and here we are again 79 years later.”

Alongside the post, she commented: “A classic case of the abused becomes the abuser… no?”, a police misconduct panel heard.

The panel said that Ms Collens had accepted that the use of the word “abused” would refer to Jewish people rather than the State of Israel, which did not exist in 1945. Therefore, the post fell within the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The posts were collectively deemed “overtly political”, and the panel found they “demonstrated a lack of impartiality and presented a one-sided view of the Gaza conflict during a time of heightened public controversy” after the events of 7 October 2023, which led to the war in Gaza.

The panel heard that Ms Collens shared the posts on a private Instagram account with more than 100 followers.

She was reported anonymously in May 2024 to the force’s Right Line whistleblowing service.

On one occasion, she shared a post which read: “Stop calling this a war. There is no parity of power. Israel is one of the most powerful, nuclear-armed militaries on earth, funded, equipped and backed unconditionally by the single most powerful, nuclear-armed military in the history of the world. This is genocide.”

Another time, she shared a post which said: “Israel bombed the international airports of Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, forcing them out of service. Bombing civilian airports in Syria. Massacring entire families in Gaza. Dropping white phosphorus on Lebanon and Gaza. This is the Israel that Western media tells you is a ‘victim,’” according to the force.

In another post, she reshared what appeared to be a graphic comparing the number of children killed per day in Auschwitz with the number of children killed per day in Gaza, the Met said.

She also shared a post criticising a potential ban or conditions on a march calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, adding her own comments, “god forbid people protesting against war/war crimes/genocide for a ceasefire on a day where we remember the devastation of every day during a world war… make it make sense!”, the force said.

Ms Collens said that her intention was to highlight the “suffering and devastation in Gaza” and that she had felt “guilt, helplessness, heartbreak and pain” about what was happening.

She told the panel that she had no intention to “hurt anyone or be disrespectful of the Jewish faith”.

Regarding the post found by the panel to be antisemitic, the panel wrote: “Within the IHRA working definition there are contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life and found the following example to be relevant in relation to this one post: the drawing of comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

“The panel concluded that on the balance of probabilities the post itself is antisemitic, whether or not the officer had appreciated at the time it would be considered so.”

Ms Collens said she felt “horrified about being called antisemitic; mortified and heartbroken”, the panel wrote.

Detective chief superintendent Donna Smith said: “DS Collens’s conduct was wholly unacceptable and I find it inconceivable that she did not think these posts could be seen as offensive or overtly political.

“There is no room in the organisation for anyone who thinks this type of behaviour is appropriate. We are building a culture where anyone can feel welcome in the Met and those who undermine this are not suitable to serve.”

MP arrested on suspicion of further rape and sexual assault offences

A man understood to be MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape, sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting.

The independent MP had been suspended by the Labour Party and had the whip in the House of Commons removed last year after his original arrest on suspicion of historical child sex offences.

The Independent understands Mr Norris, 66, has now been further arrested on suspicion of rape against a second woman, sexual assault against a third woman, as well as voyeurism and upskirting against a number of women.

In a statement issued on Monday, Mr Norris told this publication: “I vigorously and entirely deny the serious allegations made against me. They are untrue. I am challenging them through my legal representatives.”

Avon and Somerset Police began investigating a man in his sixties in December 2024.

He was initially arrested in April 2025 on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in public office.

On Monday, police announced the man has now been arrested again on suspicion of rape against a second woman, sexual assault against a third woman, and voyeurism and upskirting against a number of women.

All offences are alleged to have happened between the 2000s and 2020s.

The force said it is no longer actively investigating any sexual offences against children, but the original rape and misconduct in a public office investigation is continuing.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: “Investigations into sexual offences are sensitive and complex and as a result it can take a significant amount of time for inquiries to be completed.

“We are keeping victims updated on any developments and we will continue to give access to any support they may need.”

The man, who police have not officially named, remains on conditional bail and has not stepped down as an MP.

Mr Norris was elected as MP for North East Somerset and Hanham at the 2024 general election, beating well-known Conservative former cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

He was also the directly elected mayor of the West of England from 2021 to 2025, and stepped down after his election to parliament.

Mr Norris had previously been in parliament from 1997 to 2010, representing the constituency of Wansdyke, which covers much of the seat he now serves.

He was a junior minister under Gordon Brown and an assistant whip under Sir Tony Blair.

After his initial arrest, he stepped down as chair of the animal welfare charity League Against Cruel Sports.

In a statement issued after his first arrest, the BBC reported Mr Norris said he continues “to represent” his constituents as well as “staying across local and national developments” and “handling casework and policy queries and asking parliamentary questions”.

Liverpool complete signing of Jacquet after stealing Chelsea target

Liverpool have clinched the signing of Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for an initial £55m after beating Chelsea to the highly-rated French defender.

The 20-year-old will complete his move to Anfield on 1 July as Liverpool have already tied up their first bit of summer business.

Jacquet, whose fee could rise to £60m including add-ons, will sign a five-year deal with the option to extend it a further season, until 2032.

His arrival will take Liverpool’s expenditure since the start of last summer’s transfer window past £500m, even though they were unable to strengthen their injury-hit squad in January.

Liverpool had looked for a right-back to cover for the injured Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong but were unable to arrange to bring in Lutsharel Geertruida, amid complications in extricating the RB Leipzig player from his loan at Sunderland.

But sporting director Richard Hughes did negotiate a deal for Jacquet, who had attracted the attention of some of Europe’s leading clubs, with Chelsea particularly keen on him.

Jacquet will arrive as the future of Liverpool’s defence takes shape, following the purchase of 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni last summer.

But he will also join as captain Virgil van Dijk enters the last year of his current deal while they risk losing Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires this summer, at the end of June.

Liverpool had looked to buy another centre-back in 2025 but a move for Marc Guehi broke down on deadline day and the England international instead moved to Manchester City in January.

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NHS ‘contacted exorcist’ after reports of ghosts at hospice

Staff at an NHS hospice reported a string of ghostly encounters, including repeated sightings of a young girl in a red dress, prompting them to seek help from the Church of England after the incidents unsettled workers in 2023, according to reports.

The chaplain at the former Priscilla Bacon Lodge, near Colman Hospital in Norwich, sought assistance from deliverance ministers – often referred to as exorcists – and conducted a religious rite that involved the use of holy oil from Norwich Cathedral.

According to emails published in The Telegraph following a freedom of information request, the hospice chaplain contacted the Diocese of Norwich for advice “from the deliverance team”.

The former hospice sits on the grounds of what was the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital, which operated there until 1975 – a history that some staff suggested explains the “spirits” they believed were haunting the building. One source said employees had repeatedly reported seeing the figure of a “small child in a red dress”.

In 2023, the hospice chaplain emailed the Diocese of Norwich to report “paranormal incidents” that had been “really upsetting staff”, noting that they were “awaiting advice and support from the deliverance team”.

A week later, in another email, the chaplain confirmed they were at that point in “conversation with a member of the deliverance team” who was “aiding the care and ministry I’m offering”.

Meanwhile, the hospice chapel was being decommissioned, so the chaplain was also seeking advice on marking the closure of the facility.

In an email with the subject line “oil”, the chaplain indicated he was planning a “concluding ceremony”, and a last holy communion at the chapel.

He goes on to say, “I would really value your prayer for this, it’s been a difficult time and I am currently awaiting advice/support from the deliverance team [regarding] some ‘paranormal’ incidents which have been really upsetting staff.

“Secondly, and more practically, I wonder if I might be able to obtain some Holy Oil from Cathedral stock for the planned service.”

According to the Church of England’s guidance, “Christian exorcism is a specific act … made in order to rid a person or place of an evil spirit by which they are possessed.

“It is the ‘binding and releasing’, the ‘casting out’ or ‘expelling’ of an evil or malevolent possessing spirit that is not human.”

It adds that the formal rites of deliverance “are intended to put in place additional safeguarding procedures where the laying on of hands or any ‘casting out’ of demons is deemed necessary”.

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust told The Independent that despite the concerns among staff and the interaction with the deliverance team, a specific exorcism had not eventually taken place.

A spokesperson said: “Deliverance ministry is a specialist form of pastoral care within the Church of England, rooted in the Church’s commitment to healing, wholeness and peace for those experiencing distress, whether physical, mental or spiritual. It is offered in the context of prayer, sacrament and scripture and embedded within the wider ministry of healing.”

In an email, the Diocese of Norwich told The Independent: “An exorcism was not carried out at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge. The deliverance ministry team were not at the site.”

The Independent has contacted NHS England for comment.

Children with cancer to have travel costs paid in new £10m scheme

Families with children who have cancer will have their travel costs covered by a new £10 million government scheme.

The National Cancer Plan, set for full unveiling on Wednesday, details how children and young people up to 24, and their families, will qualify for travel to appointments, regardless of income.

A cap on costs per family remains unclear, with the Department of Health stating this will be addressed during the scheme’s design.

The fund is part of a wider package to transform young people’s cancer care, promising improved diagnosis, expanded genomic testing for clinical trials, and increased psychological support.

Hospitalised young cancer patients can also expect a better range of food, suited to their tastes and available outside of mealtimes.

Charities welcomed the move, with Rachel Kirby-Rider, chief executive officer of Young Lives vs Cancer, saying: “Young Lives vs Cancer has been campaigning for almost a decade for a young cancer patient travel fund.

“Today’s announcement of dedicated travel costs support is a huge step forward in transforming the lives of children and young people with cancer and their families.

“Up until now, young people and families have been going into debt and even missing treatment because of the extra £250 every month just to travel to hospital. We’re ready to work with the Government to make this a success.”

Jules Worrall, interim chief executive of the Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “Cancer kills more young people in the UK than any other disease.

“By including a specific focus on young people with cancer, the National Cancer Plan for England has the potential to reduce the impact of this devastating disease.

“We are pleased the plan will look to improve access to clinical trials – a major issue for young people with cancer.

“Removing barriers that stop them accessing innovative new treatments could be a potential lifeline for some.

“Our hope is that these new commitments will also lead to faster diagnosis for young people with cancer which we know is so important to improving health outcomes, as well as catalyse greater access to vital psychosocial support.”

According to the Department of Health, more than a third of families where a child has cancer travel over an hour to reach hospital for appointments.

There are 13 expert centres caring for children with cancer across England.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “When a child is diagnosed with cancer, their family’s only focus should be on helping them recover and getting them well, not on whether they can afford the petrol or bus fare to get to their next appointment.

“This small change will make the world of difference to parents.

“Our plan will leave no family out of pocket while their child goes through cancer.

“It doesn’t matter what you earn – if your child needs treatment, we will help you get them there.

“When a child is fighting cancer, their family should never have to fight the system too.”

Emma Wilding’s son Theo was diagnosed with infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in October 2024 when he was five months old.

Alder Hey children’s hospital is 45 minutes away from the family home in West Lancashire.

She said: “When Theo was going through treatment, we had no choice but to pay out for fuel and parking at the hospital, as we had to be by his side.

“However, at a time when our household income had gone down, this was a struggle financially.

“Sat on the ward, I met so many other families also struggling with these costs, many travelling from much further away from hospital as well.

“I know this news is going to mean so much to young people and families of children with cancer, so they won’t have to worry so much about how they’ll afford to get to hospital.”

As part of wider plans, there will be also more focus on the play opportunities provided to children in hospital, and mental health support will be standardised for all young cancer patients during diagnosis, treatment and long-term follow-up.

The plan is also expected to carry more detail on supporting England’s 830,000 working-age cancer patients to remain in employment during and after treatment.