An eight-year-old girl died of sepsis after being sent home by a GP who said the local hospital was full.

Mia Glynn visited a GP surgery twice in four hours, but her parents Soron, 39, and Katie, 37, were told by the doctor to take her home despite presenting symptoms of Group A Strep.

Her parents, from Biddulph, Staffordshire, first took Mia to the doctor after she had begun vomiting, had a severe headache and complained of a sore throat on Dec 5, 2022.

On the morning of Dec 8, her parents took Mia, who had developed a temperature and severe headache, back to the GP surgery.

A nurse practitioner told her mother that Mia’s symptoms were viral and advised her to give her daughter fluids and paracetamol.

But Mia returned to the surgery just after midday and was sent home following an examination by a GP.

Despite asking whether she had the infection Group A Strep, which was prevalent at the time, a doctor advised Mia’s mother to give her fluids and ibuprofen and to wait to start the antibiotics when Mia went to bed.

They were told to take their daughter home because the hospital was full and they would have to wait in a corridor.

Mia slept in her parents’ bed that night but woke up in the early hours of Dec 9, disorientated and with blue lips and rashes on her arms and legs.

She complained of feeling hot but was cold to touch.

After being rushed to the hospital by ambulance, Mia was given intravenous fluids and antibiotics, but went into suspected septic shock and suffered a cardiac arrest around 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital.

Despite resuscitation attempts, she died around 20 minutes later.

Mia’s cause of death was given as sepsis caused by Group A Strep infection.

Following Mia’s death, her parents, who also have a son Beau, 12, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers to investigate her care and secure answers.

Speaking publicly for the first time since Mia’s death, her mother Katie said: “Our world and hearts broke forever when our beautiful daughter was snatched away from us.

“Mia had been taken to the doctors twice to be told her symptoms were viral. Around 15 hours later she died of sepsis.

“The unbelievable and unbearable pain we feel is unexplainable and unimaginable.

“Our beautiful healthy girl was the happiest, brightest, most loving and caring girl who smiled, danced, brought joy and love to everyone she met.

“She brought so much laughter and fun.”

After Mia’s death, her family and well-wishers raised more than £40,000 in Mia’s memory through fundraising events, including sponsored runs and local business donations.

The family has donated more than £16,000 to the UK Sepsis Trust and has set up the charitable organisation aiM – an anagram of Mia’s name – in their daughter’s memory.

Mia’s mother added: “We’ll never get over the pain of losing Mia, especially in the way we did.

“Our family will never be the same without Mia. She had her whole life ahead of her and was taken from us in the cruellest way imaginable.

Her father, an engineering teacher, said: “Seeing Mia in her final moments was awful.

“We feel so blessed that she was our daughter but are completely heartbroken that Mia was taken from us so soon.

“A lot of people may have heard of sepsis but it’s only after what happened to Mia that we realise just how dangerous it is.”

He added: “We need to educate the public and health professionals to identify the signs of sepsis and ask the question “could it be sepsis?”.

Victoria Zinzan, the specialist medical negligence lawyer representing the couple, said: “Sadly through our work we see too many families affected by sepsis; with Mia’s death vividly highlighting the dangers of the condition.

“Early diagnosis and treatment is key to beating sepsis, therefore it’s vital people know what signs to look out for when it comes to detecting this incredibly dangerous and life-threatening condition.”

A 10-month-old baby has been rushed to hospital and eight people have died trying to cross the Channel after a migrant boat ran aground on the north French coast.

The migrants were declared dead after the dinghy carrying about 55 people ran aground near a boat ramp off the coast near Ambleteuse at around 1.15am on Sunday.

Jacques Billant, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais, told a press conference that six people were taken to hospital “in relative emergency”, including a 10-month-old baby with hypothermia.

Survivors of the accident came from Eritrea, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, he added.

The tragedy comes less than two weeks after the deaths of at least 12 people, including a pregnant woman and six children, when their flimsy dinghy broke up in the sea.

The latest deaths mean at least 45 people have died in Channel crossings so far this year, compared with 12 for the whole of 2023. The worst previous incident was in November 2021 when 27 people died after their inflatable dinghy capsized.

It comes ahead of a visit to Italy on Sunday and Monday by Sir Keir Starmer to learn how prime minister Giorgia Meloni has more than halved illegal crossings of the Mediterranean.

Some 801 migrants crossed the Channel to the UK on Saturday, according to provisional Home Office figures, the second highest daily total this year.

The migrants crammed into 14 boats, an average of 57 per craft. The only day this year which saw a higher number of crossings was June 18, when 882 people made the journey.

Saturday’s arrivals take the total in 2024 to 23,241, with 9,667 since Sir Keir became Prime Minister.

French authorities rescued 200 people off the coast of Calais over a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday night. The French authorities said they monitored 18 attempts to launch boats across the Channel on Saturday.

Sixty-one migrants were picked up off the coast of La Becque d’Hardelot, 48 people were recovered near a lighthouse and at the end of the day 36 people were rescued, French authorities said. All of those rescued were brought back to land.

People smugglers are cramming more people into dinghies as the supply of boats and equipment have been limited because of a crackdown by border agencies and law enforcement. The average number of migrants per boat is now around 60, triple the rate when the first dinghies started crossing in 2018.

Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, has previously warned of a “worrying trend” where the small boats are being filled with more migrants than in the past. She said the quality was also “deteriorating”, which meant “these crossings are getting more and more dangerous as time goes on”.

‘Humane pathways’ needed

Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “It would be unforgivable to treat this frequency and scale of loss of life with a sense that it is inevitable. It is not. Effective and humane pathways for those seeking refuge is what will help undermine the smugglers’ business model.”

Steve Valdez-Symonds, of Amnesty International, said: “The Government’s ‘smash the gangs’ slogan and its security-heavy approach is contributing to the death toll because the refusal to establish safe asylum routes means these flimsy vessels controlled by people smugglers are the only real option for desperate people fleeing persecution.

“Until UK ministers and their counterparts in France start sharing responsibility over the need for safe routes, we should expect this weekend’s tragedy to keep repeating itself time and time again.”

Interest in Albania option

Speaking on BBC TV, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said the further loss of life was “awful”. He said ministers were working with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force to smash the people smugglers in cooperation with other European countries.

Ahead of Sir Keir’s visit to Italy, he said the UK was “interested” in discussing with Italy their scheme for processing asylum claims offshore in Albania and its success in working with Libya and Tunisia to more than halve arrivals of illegal migrants from north Africa.

A UK Government spokesman confirmed the Channel crossing incident and said French authorities were leading the response and investigation.

Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria accepted donations towards clothing because there are no taxpayer funds to cover UK leaders’ wardrobe costs, David Lammy has said.

The Foreign Secretary said the couple had accepted donations so they could “look their best” to represent the UK when other countries allowed lavish, taxpayer-funded budgets for clothing for their leaders.

The Prime Minister is alleged to have broken parliamentary rules by failing to declare donations of clothing for his wife within the designated time limit. The gifts, from prominent Labour donor Lord Alli, were not initially declared in the register of MPs’ interests.

The Prime Minister approached the parliamentary authorities on Tuesday to make a late declaration after being given updated advice on what needed to be registered, according to The Sunday Times.

The donations covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Starmer before and after Labour’s election win in July.

The Tories demanded a full investigation into the Starmers’ links with Lord Alli. MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.

Mr Lammy told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “The Prime Minister did declare funds that he received from Lord Alli, he’s then gone back to the parliamentary commissioner to further check details on some of those funds that have made their way to his wife.

“So he has done that, and he is seeking to comply with the rules. So this is not an issue of transparency. He is attempting to be transparent.”

He added: “I’ve just come back from the United States, where US presidents and first ladies have a huge budget paid from the taxpayer so that they look their best on behalf of the US people. We don’t have that system over here.

“The truth is that successive prime ministers, unless you’re a billionaire like the last one, do rely on donations, political donations, so they can look their best, both in the hope of representing the country, if you’re in the opposition, or indeed as prime minister.”

The US president receives a salary of around £305,000 ($400,000) and a £38,100 ($50,000) expenses allowance, although there is no specific clothing budget.

Sir Keir had a high-profile legal career before entering politics and Mr Lammy said “I’m not suggesting the Prime Minister is broke”, but “successive prime ministers want to look their best – and their partners – for the country, that is what lies behind this”.

A No 10 spokesman said: “We sought advice from the authorities on coming to office.

“We believed we had been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we have declared further items.”

The guide to the Commons rules states MPs should register “any benefit given to any third party, whether or not this accompanied a benefit for him or her, if the member is aware, or could reasonably be expected to be aware, of the benefit and that it was given because of his or her membership of the House or parliamentary or political activities”.

Lord Alli’s involvement with the Labour leader has already proved controversial after it emerged he had been given a Downing Street security pass without apparently having a government role.

The row was dubbed the “passes-for-glasses” affair because Lord Alli has previously donated tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothing, accommodation and “multiple pairs” of spectacles to the Labour leader.

‘Serious breaches of rules’

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “It’s taken just 10 weeks for Keir Starmer to face an investigation for his conduct.

“After facing allegations of cronyism and now apparent serious breaches of parliamentary rules there must be a full investigation into the passes-for-glasses scandal.

“No doubt the millions of vulnerable pensioners across the country who face choosing between heating and eating would jump at the chance for free clothes just to keep warm in the face of Labour’s cruel cut.”

James Cleverly, Tory leadership hopeful, told Sky News: “What we have got to recognise is Keir Starmer and Sue Gray [his chief of staff] have been very, very critical of Conservatives over exactly this – now if your position is that, well, ‘these things happen’ and we should be thoughtful and flexible in our response, that’s fine.

“But if, like Keir Starmer, you have been really aggressive in your criticism of Conservatives for this, then you’ve got to make sure that you are totally above reproach, and he’s failed to do that.

“So I think it’s absolutely legitimate that we point out the hypocrisy of someone who basically got his job by criticising others for what he’s now doing.”

Sir Keir Starmer has already made “big mistakes” in government, Sir Ed Davey said as he promised to hold Labour to account.

The Liberal Democrat leader criticised Sir Keir for stripping the winter fuel allowance from around 10 million pensioners and for saying the NHS will receive no new cash unless it reforms.

Sir Ed was speaking on day two of the annual Lib Dem conference in Brighton, where the party is celebrating its best-ever general election result with 72 MPs.

Asked about his pledge to lead a “constructive opposition”, Sir Ed told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that he was “absolutely” going to challenge Labour.

“We’re going to be a better opposition than the Conservatives because they are so divided and going off to the Right,” he said.

Sir Ed continued: “We’re going to talk about the NHS and care, we’re going to talk about sewage, and the cost of living. And already the Government’s made two big mistakes in those three areas at least, and we are holding them to account.

“They’re withdrawing the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners when energy bills are going up by over 10 per cent this winter – so they’re making a mistake on the cost of living [and] we’re opposing them on it.”

Winter fuel vote

All 72 Lib Dem MPs voted last week against Sir Keir’s decision to remove winter fuel payments from all retirees except those who already receive pension credit, or several other means-tested benefits.

The Government has claimed the plans will raise £1.4 billion for the public finances but charities and campaigners have warned hundreds of thousands of pensioners will fall into fuel poverty.

Sir Ed added also criticised Sir Keir’s insistence the health service would receive “no money without reform”.

“We’re worried that in the NHS debate, they’re talking about reform before investment when we think there needs to be reform and investment,” he said.

“We need the right type of reform, and I think we’re probably the only party arguing with this intensity that social care is a critical part of that reform.

“I don’t believe you can sort out some of the problems in our hospitals … unless you sort out social care.”

Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, was criticised in July for scrapping a cap on social care costs, claiming there was no money to pay for the policy.

The reforms were first proposed by Boris Johnson and would have forced councils to set a cap of £86,000 on the amount anyone in England would be expected to spend in their lifetime on personal care, from next autumn.

Current projections show around half a million more workers are needed in the next 15 years to tackle Britain’s social care crisis.

Disabled son John

The issue is particularly close to Sir Ed’s heart because he cares for his 13-year-old son John, who is severely disabled.

In a video during the election campaign, he discussed his concerns for John’s future while also reflecting on caring for his terminally ill mother before her death aged 46.

Elsewhere in his interview, Sir Ed said the public were “sick” of the “yah-boo politics” of the Tories and pledged to support the Government on issues where his party agreed with Sir Keir.

He went on to claim that there was little difference between the recent direction of the Conservative Party and the policies of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Sir Ed will take part in a question-and-answer session with party members on Sunday afternoon as the annual gathering continues.

Members will also debate issues including the European Union, the Israel-Hamas conflict and assisted dying at a number of fringe events.

Ministers are planning to back away from a total ban on the sale of new petrol-powered cars by allowing hybrid vehicles to remain on the market until 2035.

In its election manifesto, Labour vowed to scrap the sale of “new cars with internal combustion engines” by 2030 as part of efforts to reach net zero. 

The language suggested that new hybrids – such as Nissan’s best-selling Qashqai which uses a petrol or diesel engine in conjunction with a battery – would be covered by the ban.

But amid growing reluctance among drivers to buy electric vehicles and concerns about range, resale value and the availability of charging points, as well as lobbying from the manufacturing industry, the Government is now expected to make clear that hybrids will still be sold for an extra five years after “pure” petrol and diesel cars. 

On Friday, Helen Whately, the Tory shadow transport secretary, claimed Labour “either didn’t know what they were committing to” during the election “or have now realised it isn’t possible”.

The Government’s decision is likely to delight motorists, who have proved far more willing to embrace hybrids than electric cars. Production of electric Fiat 500s was halted in Europe last week because of a lack of orders. In recent weeks, manufacturers including Volvo and Toyota have also announced plans to extend hybrid production amid cooling EV demand.

However, the move to allow 20pc of new car sales to be hybrids until 2035 is likely to cause friction with environmental campaigners who are critical of their emissions. Greenpeace has previously described hybrids as the car industry’s “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Conservative frontbencher Ms Whately said: “This new plan is the worst of both worlds. It doesn’t do much to drive down emissions and it’s moving too fast for businesses and motorists. 

“Labour spent years in opposition telling everyone they’d give businesses certainty, but they’re backsliding within months. 

“This dithering creates a huge headache for manufacturers and ultimately hurts economic growth.”

On Saturday a Labour source insisted it was always its policy to allow the continued sale of some hybrids.

A government spokesman said: “This government’s policy has always been to revert to the original 2030 phase out date for the sale of new vehicles with pure internal combustion engines.

“The original phase out date included the provision for some hybrid vehicle sales between 2030 and 2035. We will set out further details on this in due course.”

Labour’s policy had previously been ambiguous, leaving the possibility that hybrids may also be banned, according to car makers.

In July, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said companies were concerned the 2030 ban could mean “a complete end of everything that has a tail pipe”.

Under the consultation the Government is planning to keep in place controversial rules introduced under the Tories that force manufacturers to ramp up sales of electric cars. 

The regulations – known as the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate – require 22pc of cars sold by manufacturers to be electric from this year, rising gradually to 80pc by 2030.

The Government’s plans were revealed this week at a gathering of car industry executives in Parliament, where a senior civil servant in the Department for Transport said ministers planned to consult on the changes “as soon as possible”.

A senior government official told the gathering: “This government’s come in and said they’re going to move back to a phase-out date for petrol and diesel cars of 2030.

“Now, that doesn’t mean we’re shifting the [ZEV] mandate to be 100pc EV in 2030. To reassure you, we are staying at 80pc in 2030. 

“What it means is, there will have to be some sort of hybridization of the remaining 20pc.”

It is not yet clear which hybrids will qualify for sale in the final five years up to 2035. 

That definition will be decided as part of the consultation process, The Telegraph understands. 

Hybrids come in a range of types: from “mild”, which use small batteries to support a petrol or diesel-fueled engine, to plug-in hybrids that have large batteries capable of powering a car for short trips before needing to switch to a petrol engine.

The same official said the consultation will clear up this ambiguity. 

“What this market really needs is certainty and stability. It doesn’t need more uncertainty.”

The reassurance follows a slowdown in demand for EVs across Europe that has spooked automotive companies and prompted warnings that legally-binding sales targets in the UK are too “aggressive”.

Manufacturers face fines of £15,000 for every petrol car sold over a set quota. 

The system has led to complaints that car makers are restricting the supply of petrol and diesel cars for fear of falling foul of the rules.

On Friday, a source at a UK car manufacturer said: “At the moment, we have regulations that compel supply but the demand from consumers is simply not there.”

Petrol car ‘rationing’

The Government’s revised policy means it will be adopting the original plan proposed by former prime minister Boris Johnson in 2020, who said no new pure petrol or diesel-powered cars would be sold after 2030 but allowed hybrid sales until 2035.

Rishi Sunak subsequently pushed the ban on pure petrol sales back to 2035, with the former Conservative prime minister claiming an earlier date would impose “unacceptable costs” on families. 

Mr Sunak’s plan is still party policy, meaning a key difference between the Conservatives and Labour’s new plan is that the opposition would allow pure petrol and diesel sales up until 2035. 

Car companies including Stellantis, the owner of Vauxhall which operates major factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port, have warned they are being forced to slash prices to unsustainable levels to sell enough EVs to comply.

Car manufacturers privately say they will push for further concessions on the ZEV mandate, potentially to introduce more allowances or reduce penalties.

Alternatively, there are calls for the Government to stimulate demand with tax breaks or grants for consumers who go electric. 

Mr Hawes of the SMMT, on Friday urged ministers to help revive electric car sales growth with “fiscal incentives, a turbocharged chargepoint rollout and an industrial strategy that supports investment, economic growth and broad market decarbonisation”.

He added: “Manufacturer discounting cannot continue indefinitely.”

Senior industry figures have warned that the Government’s policy as it stands is distorting the new car market. As previously revealed by The Telegraph, dealership chain Vertu Motors has said some manufacturers are rationing supplies of petrol cars so they can hit their targets for EVs. 

Robert Forrester, Vertu’s chief executive, this week wrote to Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, to request an urgent meeting to discuss the issue and claimed consumers were being “coerced” into going electric.

He said: “The targets in the United Kingdom are far more aggressive than in any other western country. Frankly, the industry can’t get there without significant collateral damage.”

Smartphone users are increasingly turning to Botox jabs to cure “tech neck” – pain and inflammation from time hunched over devices.

Doctors have reported a rise in patients seeking the injections to combat tension headaches, muscle spasms and even bone spurs – painful growths in the neck joints due to poor posture.

Some are having repeat injections every six to nine months.

According to the website for Rejuvenate Aesthetics, a full course of treatment can cost up to £600.

Medics warn the problem is likely to be even worse for the younger generation growing up with smartphones.

Dr Christopher Rowland Payne, one of the UK’s leading dermatologists who runs a private clinic in London, said he treats up to 100 patients a year with Botox to ease neck pain often caused by being hunched over digital devices.

“It’s becoming more common because people are spending so much time on their phones and computers,” he said.

Dr Ashwin Soni, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon said: “The number of patients needing Botox injections for this type of neck pain is definitely on the increase.”

“Lots of them are in pain because they are constantly bending their neck forward and not taking good care of their posture.

“I’m probably seeing up to ten patients a month at the moment and most are over 40.

“They may have spent years hunched over their desks or smartphones and not looked after their posture very well,” said the surgeon, who runs The Soni Clinic based in London and Berkshire.

‘Traptox’ popularity

Botox is usually injected into the trapezius muscles at the back of the neck to relax them and improve mobility.

The jab has become so popular that it is known in cosmetic surgery circles as “traptox”.

Dr Soni said: “Some people are after a quick fix. But I only give one or two jabs and then recommend they see a physiotherapist, or take up yoga or Pilates, to improve their mobility and posture.”

Dr Rowland Payne and Zoe Barley, a medical student from King’s College London, presented new research on the rise of “tech neck” at the first-ever meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine’s section of aesthetic medicine and surgery, held recently in London.

It showed that in an upright position, the human head weighs 5kg. That’s the load placed on the upper part of the spine.

But at a 30-degree angle, the force increases to 18kg. 

And at 45 degrees – the angle many smartphone users position their heads at – it jumps to 22kg.

Risks on children

In a report on the research, Ms Barley said: “This is the equivalent of a seven-year-old child draped around the neck. And now the problem is shifting more towards children.

“Digital devices are used widely in schools now and do have obvious educational benefits but many teachers may be unaware of the risks for these children later in life.”

The research showed young children and teenagers between eight and 18 spend an average of 3.75 hours a day glued to their smartphones alone.

Adults are on them for even longer – an average of more than five hours a day.

Doctors say they are beginning to see a greater number of cases where children are suffering tension headaches, torticollis – where neck muscle spasms tilt the head to one side – and impaired mobility, due to bending their head to scroll on their phones.

Previous studies have shown that up to 48 per cent of workers in the UK have neck problems at least partly related to the use of digital devices.

Prevention measures

Simple prevention measures include holding smartphones at eye level as much as possible and ensuring computers at work and school are also raised so the head is upright.

Dr Rowland Payne said: “Children should also be playing outside and not on their phones all the time.

“And anyone who is using their phone should sit up straight and try and hold out up in front of the face to ease the strain on their neck.”

Joe Biden has signalled there will be no decision on allowing Ukraine to fire Western-made missiles into Russia until he meets with Volodymyr Zelensky at the end of the month.

Ukraine and some of its allies, including Britain, have been urging the US president to give the green light for the weapons to be used to strike air bases and other strategically important military targets.

But, asked about the timing of any decision at a security conference in Kyiv, Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said: “This is something that I think is the subject of intense consultation among allies and partners, and will be discussed between President Biden and President Zelensky.”

Mr Zelensky is due to meet Mr Biden in late September in New York at a UN General Assembly meeting.

On Sunday, he again urged Western backers to approve changes to missile policy.

“The fear of making strong, objectively necessary decisions must be overcome,” Mr Zelensky said.

“Only decisiveness can bring a just end to this war. It is decisiveness that most effectively protects against terror.”

On Friday, Sir Keir Starmer travelled to the White House and discussed the issue with Mr Biden.

The US is concerned that giving Ukraine permission to fire Western missiles at Russia will escalate the conflict and the meeting ended without a decision.

Mr Sullivan told the annual Yalta European Strategy conference via video link that a decision on changing the terms of use for Western-made missiles would be made in the context of a wider “plan to win the war” that Mr Zelensky intends to present to Mr Biden in New York.
 
“I do believe that we need a comprehensive strategy for winning this war, and that’s what president Zelensky says he’s going to bring, so we’re looking forward to sitting down and talking to him about that,” he said.

Five former British defence ministers and a former prime minister have now urged Sir Keir to unilaterally allow Ukraine to fire British-made Storm Shadow long-distance missiles at Russia – rather than wait for Mr Biden to make a decision.

Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson have said that any more delays will “play into Russia’s hands”.

Mr Sullivan has been a high-profile spokesman and security adviser for the US throughout the war but his more cautious approach over authorising Western missiles to be fired at Russia has reportedly caused a split with the more hawkish Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state.

Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of around 150 miles, have been credited with turning the tide of the war by allowing Kyiv to hit Russian command centres and supply depots in occupied Ukraine deep behind the front lines.

‘Complex logistic issues’

Military supplies from the US have been vital for Ukraine’s war effort but some arms shipments have been delayed over the past month, delays that Mr Sullivan blamed on “difficult and complex logistic issues”.

“This is not a question of political will,” he said. “But given what Ukraine is up against, we need to do more and do it better.”

Mr Zelensky has increased his criticism of these slow military aid deliveries from Ukraine’s Nato allies and on Saturday he said that “every delay in military aid packages has consequences on the front”.

On the front lines, Russian military bloggers reported that Russia has now launched a major counter-attack against Ukraine’s incursion into its southern Kursk region.

According to the Two Majors channel, the Russian attack has “reduced the enemy’s control zone with a decisive onslaught” although this has been denied by Ukraine.

The British Ministry of Defence confirmed that Russian forces were trying to push back the Ukrainian invasion and had recaptured some ground in the Kursk region.

“Spearheaded by airborne and naval infantry… Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian positions in the west of the salient and have highly likely retaken several villages,” it said.

To the south east, reports said that Russian forces were also making slow progress towards the strategically important town of Pokrovsk on the front line running through Donbas. Russian military bloggers reported that Russian forces were trying to trap Ukrainian forces in a pocket.

Yemen’s Houthi terror group struck central Israel for the first time after a missile broke Israel’s air defence system on Sunday.

Sirens were sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel before the attack at 6.35am .

No injuries were reported according to Israel’s military, as the missile hit an unpopulated area. A train station in Modi’in, east of Tel Aviv, was damaged by shrapnel.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, a surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing into central Israel from the east and fell in an open area. No injuries were reported,” Israel’s military said.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a “heavy price”

“Whoever needs a reminder of that is invited to visit the Hodeida port,” Mr Netanyahu said, referring to an Israeli retaliatory air strike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone that hit Tel Aviv.

Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the Houthis’ media office, said on Sunday that a Yemeni missile had reached Israel after “20 missiles failed to intercept” it. He also described the attack as the “beginning”.

Through its Telegram channel, the Iran-backed terror group warned its military spokesman would soon give details about a “qualitative operation that targeted the depth of the Zionist entity”.

It comes as the Houthis continue their Red Sea region blockade, launched in November on the instruction of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The group initially set out to attack and hijack Israeli-linked vessels in a bid to force a ceasefire in Gaza, but it has since expanded to target global shipping on the trade route.

Dozens of hostages from across the world have been taken and missiles launched at multiple international vessels.

In recent weeks, a Yemeni drone hit a residential building in central Tel Aviv, its target was believed to be the US embassy on the city’s coastline.

Sunday’s strike is the first time the Houthis have penetrated deep into Israeli airspace with a missile. Most such missiles have been shot down although one hit an open area near Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat in March.

Since the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, killing around 1,100 mostly civilians, Iran’s proxies on Israel’s borders and Iraq have surrounded the Jewish state. The worst conflict has been on Israel’s northern border where Hezbollah have been sending almost daily bombardments.

Over 6,000 projectiles have been fired to the north of Israel since October 7 from Iran’s biggest proxy, with over 60,000 Israelis displaced, and around the same number displaced from southern Lebanon.

Israel dropped leaflets over a Lebanon border village on Sunday urging residents to leave, state-run media said, but Israel’s military told AFP a brigade had taken the initiative without approval.

It was the first time Israelis had told residents of south Lebanon to evacuate in 11 months of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel over the Gaza war, triggered by Hezbollah ally Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

The leaflet read in Arabic: “To all residents and refugees living in the area of the camps, Hezbollah is firing from your region. You must immediately leave your homes and head north of the Khiam region before 04:00 pm (1300 GMT). Do not return to this area until the end of the war”.

It added: “Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist.”

Wazzani is an agricultural region where Syrians are often hired to work the land.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft regularly drop leaflets urging residents to evacuate before an attack.

The United States sent faulty military items to Taiwan including mouldy armour and expired ammunition.

Most military equipment that suffered water damage was delivered from November 2023 through March 2024. 

They remained at the aerial port of embarkation for more than three months pending air transport to Taiwan. 

The army didn’t initiate requests for transportation until the end of 2023, unable to equip sufficient storage capacity. It failed to fully mitigate the exposure of items to adverse weather conditions.

The Department of Defense (DoD) failed to “effectively or efficiently implement accountability and quality controls for items delivered to Taiwan using the Presidential Drawdown Authority”, according to a report issued on Wednesday. 

“The DoD provided unserviceable and poorly packaged equipment and munitions to Taiwan.”

Photos clearly show damaged pallets and mouldy body armour that arrived in Taiwan in 2023, including more than 3,000 mildewed body armour plates and 500 wet and mouldy tactical vests. 

Personnel at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said the equipment was “soaking wet and full of mould”.

According to the report, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense issued a letter to the AIT’s security cooperation office in December 2023, stating that Taiwan had received 2.7 million rounds of ammunition.

This included expired, loose, and rounds of ammunition in the wrong packaging, which did not comply with shipping standards.

AIT described the open boxes of ammunition as “obviously extra boxes” of ammunition that give an impression of the army trying to “clear out stuff they didn’t want”.

Machine guns are also shipped without proper packaging such as serviceability paperwork, labels, wrapping, and cushioning. 

The National Defense Authorization Act 2023 authorised the US president to draw down up to $1 billion from existing DoD stock to provide military assistance to Taiwan. 

In July last year, Joe Biden approved $345 million worth of military equipment and services to provide assistance to Taiwan.

The delivery of faulty military equipment has led to additional costs for Taiwan authorities and weeks of unpacking, drying and inventorying the wet and mouldy items.

The Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command spent $618,894 in labour and materials to clean and dry the body armour, and an additional $113,492 to replace the damaged arms.

“The delivery of non-mission-capable items inhibit the DoD’s ability to achieve established security cooperation goals and may lead to loss of partner confidence in the United States,” the report concluded.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense told local media that the subject matter is jointly reviewed and addressed by both Taiwan and the US.

A top Isis commander tipped to become the group’s new global leader was killed in one of the largest US counter-terror operations in years.

More than 100 US special forces and 100 Iraqi troops attacked a network of Isis compounds and bunkers in a remote part of Iraq.

During a helicopter-borne assault, several American soldiers were wounded and 14 Isis operatives were killed in total, US officials said.

Among the dead were a number of senior Isis leaders, including one of its most significant designers, manufactures and teachers of explosives.

The raid took place in volatile Anbar province, a vast tribal region bordering Syria that was the site of some of Iraq’s bloodiest post-2003 battles.

In a statement, US Central Command said that Isis leaders Ahmad al-Ithawi, Abu Hammam, Ali al-Tunisi and Shakir Abud Ahmad al-Issawi were killed in Anbar province on Aug 29 during a mission conducted in partnership with Iraqi security forces.

“The raid appears to have effectively killed off Isis’ entire command in Anbar,” said Charles Lister, a counterterror expert from leading Washington-based think tank The Middle East Institute.

“The death of Ahmed al-Ithawi is a hugely consequential achievement. He has been a prime candidate for Isis global leadership in recent years.”

Ali al-Tunisi, who was the subject of a $5 million (£3.8 million) reward from the US government, was an expert in improvised explosive devices, suicide vests and car bombs.

The raid came as the US and Iraqi officials said they had concluded a deal that would see American troops leave Iraq by 2026.

“The first phase will begin this year and continue until 2025, while the second phase will conclude in 2026,” Iraqi defence minister Thabit Al Abassi told Saudi television.

The 2,500 strong contingent of US troops in Iraq are tasked with destroying remnants of the Islamic State, a mission that has grown in urgency due to an increase in Isis attacks in Iraq and Syria and the growing influence of Iran on Iraqi internal politics.

According to the Washington Post, the raid was unusual for the high number of US troops involved in leading the assault directly.

Though Isis has claimed responsibility for 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria thus far this year, Iraqi political and military leaders, including prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, have vowed to keep the Isis threat under control without US assistance.

Mr Sudani has been under pressure from Iran, and its allies inside Iraq, to reduce the US military presence in the country.

The Iraqi military statement on the raid barely acknowledged US assistance and instead referred to “coordination from the international coalition”.

Italian prosecutors have requested a six-year prison sentence for Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, for prohibiting rescued migrants from disembarking in an Italian port.

During closing arguments in Palermo, prosecutors argued that Mr Salvini was trying to promote and position himself during a political crisis when he knowingly broke Italian law and international conventions by blocking the migrants from landing.

“Six years in prison for having blocked arrivals and defended Italy and Italians? It is madness,” responded Mr Salvini, who was not present in court. “Defending Italy is not a crime.”

The 147 migrants, including 32 minors, had been rescued from rubber dinghies crossing the Mediterranean from Libya by a ship operated by Open Arms, the Spanish non-profit human rights organisation.

As interior minister at the time, Mr Salvini refused to assign a port of safety for the migrants to disembark, even when asked by Giuseppe Conte, then prime minister, whose Five-Star Movement was in a coalition with Mr Salvini’s League party.

Prosecutors ordered the ship’s seizure and evacuation, and later charged Mr Salvini with kidnapping and refusal to execute acts of office. The first trial of a three-stage judicial process is expected to finish this year.

The high-profile 2019 incident off the island of Lampedusa drew international criticism. Richard Gere, Hollywood actor, broke off his Tuscan holiday to fly to Sicily and be ferried out to the ship, where he distributed aid and spoke with traumatised refugees.

Mr Gere later offered to testify about the scene on board, with migrants’ physical and mental well-being becoming critical as sanitary conditions deteriorated, including an outbreak of scabies.

“Between human rights and the protection of state sovereignty, it is human rights that must prevail in our fortunately democratic system,” Geri Ferrara, prosecutor, said in his summing up.

Marine Le Pen, French Right-wing leader and Elon Musk, Tesla chief executive, offered support on social media for Mr Salvini, now infrastructure minister in Giorgia Meloni’s Right-wing coalition government.

Ms Meloni also criticised prosecutors, calling it “incredible that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for doing his job defending the nation’s borders”.

Ms Meloni is scheduled for talks in Rome on Monday with Sir Keir Starmer, who has expressed interest in learning how the Italian government has tackled illegal immigration through financial deals with northern African nations and an asylum processing scheme offshore in Albania.

Jay Blades has resigned from the King’s Foundation after being charged with engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife.

The Repair Shop presenter, 54, last year won a daytime Bafta TV award along with other members of the BBC programme for a special featuring the King, who was at the time the Prince of Wales.

He supported the King’s Foundation, formerly the Prince’s Foundation, as an ambassador, and visited its Dumfries House location in Ayrshire for the BBC special The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit.

The educational foundation confirmed on Sunday that Blades had informed the charity of his resignation.

On Friday, Blades appeared at Kidderminster magistrates’ court after being charged by West Mercia Police with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.

The charge relates to his wife Lisa Zbozen, a fitness instructor, who announced on her Instagram page on May 2 that their relationship was over, according to court documents.

West Mercia Police confirmed Blades was charged on Thursday following the launch of an investigation after they were called to an address the day after Ms Zbozen’s post.

The couple married on the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on Nov 22 2022.

A repeat of Blades’s show David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed was no longer on the BBC’s schedule on Friday night and it is understood the broadcaster will not currently schedule any programmes in which he features.

The furniture restorer, who was made an MBE for services to craft in 2021, has also resigned from his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University. 

Blades will appear at Worcester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on Oct 11.

A mother was fined £500 for fly-tipping after she left an Ikea cabinet outside her home.

Isabelle Pepin, 42, from Bournemouth left the cabinet for others in her community to take for free. But three weeks later, a representative from the council knocked on her door and told her she had 14 days to pay the fine or it would be doubled.

Bournemouth council increased fines for fly-tipping in April 2023 to a maximum of £1,000, in line with government regulation. Since then 73 people, including 15 in August, have been fined for fly-tipping.

A carpet fitter from the town was fined £500 for leaving an off-cut outside his home for somebody else to take.

Ms Pepin described the enforcement officer as “quite intimidating” and said that he was wearing a chest camera while questioning her about the cabinet. She claims the officer asked for her name and address claiming that refusing to answer would result in another offence.

“I am usually quite a confident person but by this point I was shaking and panicking,” said Ms Pepin, a graphic designer and artist who lives with her eight-year-old son. “I have lived in this property for 12 years and I see people in the area leaving things out probably every other day.”

Ms Pepin questioned how the incident fit with the council’s environmental policies. In 2019, Bournemouth declared a climate and ecological emergency. One of the ways the council suggests helping is by “reducing and recycling your waste”.

“It’s not fly-tipping, that is not what is happening here,” she said. “It’s recycling things people no longer want or need.

“We are supposed to be pushing a green agenda but the council are going around fining people for recycling,” she added.

Jeff Hanna, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Southbourne, said he disagreed with the council’s heavy-handed approach and was looking into the matter.

“I find it difficult to accept that this is fly-tipping, and think a £500 fine is excessive,” he said. “I have told officers that I think at most a friendly warning should have been given.”

Enforcement of fly tipping fines is carried out by a private company not council officers. Hanna has asked officers to review the company’s contract.

Cllr Kieron Wilson, the council’s portfolio holder for housing and regulatory services said that the council was “committed to tackling fly-tipping” to ensure that communities can enjoy the area they live and have pride in their neighbourhood.

“Officers closely monitor and manage this waste enforcement contract, which includes regular reviews, and a commitment to responding promptly to any issues or concerns that may arise,” she said.

Last year, more than 500 people were allowed to keep £20,000 or more in benefits that were wrongly paid to them, The Telegraph reveals.

Within this group, £17.5 million in benefits were paid out in error and written off by administrators – amounting to an average of £30,674 per person.

Although most of the overpayments were triggered by innocent paperwork errors, there were 75 cases where claimants were fraudulently allowed to keep a total of £2.3 million they were not entitled to.

The 569 write-off cases were revealed following a freedom of information request from The Telegraph to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Overall, the department wrote off last year a total of £329 million in benefits that had been paid out by mistake and another £6 million that had been pocketed by fraudsters.

The DWP also provided details on the cases of the biggest outstanding debts that it is still chasing down, which includes one person who now owes £547,000 in overpaid benefits.

This person, who pocketed the cash through a mixture of fraud and paperwork errors, has been asked to pay back the debt at the rate of £130 per month – meaning it will take them 350 years to completely settle the debt.

Another person swindled the DWP out of £491,000 in benefits they were not entitled to, and they were now trying to track them down to start a repayment programme.

In a separate case, the DWP was involved in a probate dispute with the relatives of a person who fraudulently claimed £343,000 in benefits before they died.

The report comes after a gang of five Bulgarians living in Britain were sentenced for defrauding the British taxpayer of £50 million in Universal Credit payments earlier this year in the country’s biggest-ever benefit fraud.

‘Complete failure’

Joanna Marchong, the investigations campaign manager of TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Taxpayers will view this as a complete failure from the Department of Work and Pensions.

“Writing off these overpayments, even after errors have been identified, is not just an act of laziness, but a costly one at that. DWP negligence is directly hitting the pockets of hard-working taxpayers, costing them millions.

“The government needs to be diligent in ensuring that only those who qualify and truly need benefit payments receive them and that they receive the correct amount.”

Last year in total, the DWP said £7.4 billion was lost to fraud from the benefit budget and another £2.4 billion to errors made by either the claimant or officials.

The figures mean that every day almost £27 million in benefits is being paid out in error. The state attempts to recover the money in many cases but writes off some debts in cases where it decides there is no prospect of getting anything back.

A DWP spokesman said: “This government will not tolerate fraud or waste anywhere in public services, including in the social security system.

“We are determined to reduce fraud and error and are currently exploring all options on how best to achieve our goal.”

Dramatic flooding across Central Europe left at least half a dozen people dead as forecasters warned of more rain to come.

Poland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania were particularly hard hit by Storm Boris in what could be some of the worst flooding in the region for 30 years.

Romania was forced to set up displacement camps and launch volunteer rescue operations, with Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, offering his condolences to the victims’ bereaved families.

“We must continue to strengthen our capacity to anticipate extreme weather phenomena” he wrote. Five thousand homes were flooded in the east of the country.

Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, confirmed there was one death by drowning in the district of Klodzko, calling on the population to follow evacuation orders and telling reporters that “the situation is dramatic in many places.”

Officials said 40 per cent of the major city of Wrocław was underwater, while the mayor of nearby Głuchołazy warned: “We are drowning.”

Rivers were continuing to break their banks on Sunday and town centres were being flooded, with homes swept away.

Some 25,000 residents have been evacuated in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.

50 litres of rainfall per square metre are expected in parts of the country, more than in the historic 1997 flood which killed 100 people across central Europe.

A firefighter died in a rescue operation in a cellar in Austria as the region of Lower Austria declared a state of emergency.

“We are experiencing difficult, dramatic hours in Lower Austria,” said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Governor of the region.

“For many Lower Austrians, these will be the hardest hours of their lives”.

“We will do everything we can to stand up to the water to protect the land and its people.” A Black Hawk helicopter was deployed to rescue two trapped motorists near Markersdorf.

The region was declared a “catasrophe zone”, while motorways and railways were cut off completely

Karl Nehammer, Austria’s Chancellor, said: “The storm situation has worsened in the last few hours…the storm situation in the federal states is very serious.”

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the eastern Czech region of Moravia, with more than a quarter of a million people without power.

Polish train operator PKP has suspended train services that enter the Czech Republic and more than 180 patients were evacuated from the Brothers of Mercy Hospital in the city of Brno.

Meteorologists have warned the situation still might get worse as waters in most rivers are rising, the flood wave made its way through the country and more heavy rains could return overnight.

Thousands of others were also evacuated in the towns of Krnov and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River that flows to Poland was expected to reach extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and later in Bohumin.

Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local centre of Jesenik, were inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.

Four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.

The author of a self-published book about a disabled supervillain who terrorised people living in his street has been convicted of stalking his neighbours.

David Aston, 55, and his wife, Jacqueline, were found guilty of causing them “fear and alarm” by constantly recording their movements and making false reports about them to the police and local council.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Mrs Aston, 58, also tried to wreck the career of one neighbour by making a malicious complaint to the General Teaching Council for Scotland, claiming she was neglecting her children and using drugs.

Meanwhile, one neighbour on their middle-class estate in the seaside town of North Berwick told how he was left “astonished” to discover a novel Mr Aston had written, called A Stroke of Fortune.

It featured a character called Dave who develops magical powers following a stroke and uses them to wreak revenge on the local community by making “bad things happen to people who were behaving badly”.

Mr Aston, a former chartered accountant, penned the novel after suffering serious injuries including brain trauma and a stroke following a motorway crash 10 years ago.

Stuart McMorris, 46, told the court he was left “shaking” just thinking about the book. He added: “We were almost living what we were reading here.”

In a scathing speech lasting around 60 minutes, Sheriff John Cook described the couple’s behaviour towards their neighbours over three years as ”intimidating” and “utterly appalling”.

Catriona Henderson, the high school teacher and partner of Mr McMorris, told how Mrs Aston had contacted Scotland’s teaching regulator to falsely accuse her of neglecting her children and claim she was using drugs including laughing gas and crystal meth.

The couple had first fallen out with the Astons over the positioning of bins.

The teacher said the Astons had repeatedly made “malicious” complaints about her family and the local authority alone had received 140 complaints in just five months during 2019.

The Astons denied wrongdoing but Sheriff Cook said the evidence against the couple was “both extraordinary and overwhelming”.

He warned the couple that he could impose an order banning any contact with their victims or to enter their street as part of their sentence, which would effectively force them to sell their £500,000 property.

“You have both been convicted of very serious offences and I require to decide whether custodial sentences are appropriate in the circumstances,” he told the couple.

“Mrs Aston, the number of complaints against you mean that there is a potential for five years’ imprisonment but that may not be proportionate.

“But you require to really understand I have convicted you of serious offences and I have to seriously consider whether you will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment.

“Mr Aston, your participation was less but I also have to consider whether any sentence other than a custodial sentence is appropriate.”

Sheriff Cook also said he would be considering imposing financial orders to compensate the neighbours who had paid for legal representation in “vexatious” court cases brought by the Astons.

The 21-day trial heard from several neighbours who said their lives had been turned into “a living hell” by the stalking campaign.

Robert Bain, 64, told the court the “constant monitoring” of him and his wife Marie, 67, by his neighbours had affected their and the move to his dream retirement home had “turned to a nightmare”.

The Astons were found guilty of causing three sets of neighbours fear and alarm between October 2018 and October 2021.

Mrs Aston was also found guilty of assaulting Mrs Bain by striking her with a bin and breaching bail conditions on three occasions.

Sentence was deferred for social work reports to next month.

Israel’s military has admitted there was “a high probability” that three hostages died as a result of an airstrike in Gaza, 10 months after they were killed.

The families of soldiers Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer, both 19, and civilian Elia Toledano, 28, were informed that IDF fire was responsible for their deaths.

A joint investigation was conducted by officers of the Israeli Defense Forces’ intelligence directorate, as well as operational commanders from the Israeli air force, and officers from the Headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Persons.

All three hostages were abducted on October 7, when more than 250 were taken captive and about 1,100 mostly civilians murdered by Hamas terrorists.

The IDF report stated there was “a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike during the elimination of the Hamas northern brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10 2023”.

However, it added that “it is not possible to definitively determine the circumstances of their deaths”.

The investigation indicated that the three hostages were held in the tunnel complex in Jabalia from which Ghandour operated. The IDF said that at the time of the strike it did not have information about the presence of hostages in the targeted compound.

“Furthermore, there was information suggesting that they were located elsewhere, and thus the area was not designated as one with suspected presence of hostages,” the investigation said, reiterating that throughout the war, the IDF has not struck areas where there are indications or suspicions of the presence of hostages.

The bodies were recovered from Gaza on Dec 14 and brought back to Israel for burial.

“The IDF continues, even at this moment, to exert all efforts to fulfil the paramount national mission of bringing all of the hostages home,” the report concluded.

In December, the IDF accidentally shot and killed three hostages, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Al-Talalka, fearing they were Hamas operatives posing as hostages. They went public on the tragedy just hours after it happened.

More recently, in February, the IDF also said it was likely an airstrike had killed hostage Yossi Sharabi, though as his body had not been recovered, said the chances he had been killed by Hamas could not be ruled out.

Ken Bruce has said the BBC is slow to react and needs “people with vision” to get it back on track.

The former Radio 2 DJ left in March 2023, tweeting that while he had intended to fulfil his contract, the BBC had “decided it wants me to leave earlier”.

The 73-year-old has now expressed concern about the broadcaster, telling The Times: “I do worry for the future of the BBC. 

“I think it needs to watch where it is going… It’s a slow organisation to turn around, like a supertanker. It needs people with vision to make sure it goes the right way.”

Bruce hosted his Radio 2 mid-morning show for three decades before joining Greatest Hits Radio, taking the PopMaster quiz with him.

Since joining, Bruce has added 1.6 million listeners to his slot on the commercial station.

Vernon Kay, his Radio 2 replacement, has lost listeners, though his show continues to be the UK’s most popular radio programme, with 6.9 million listeners.

Greatest Hits Radio now attracts 7.5 million weekly listeners, which is a 30 per cent increase from the 5.8 million average a year ago.

Bruce said: “Commercial radio is really healthy; it is growing.”

“And I just think it’s difficult to reinvent something [the Radio 2 schedule] that has been successful for many years.”

Audience share at a low

The BBC’s share of the time people spend listening to radio in the UK has fallen to a post-pandemic low.

Bruce revealed he felt aggrieved at being bumped from his successful mid-morning show to late night obscurity.

He said: “I thought, I haven’t done anything wrong here and it’s all working. It was a political decision”

Looking at the current state of radio broadcasting, Bruce took issue with younger DJs making the airwaves about themselves.

He said: “I think some younger people in broadcasting, less experienced people, can say: ‘They want to hear me talk about myself.’ 

“And that’s not necessarily true. It’s not about what you say, it’s about what you don’t say, on radio.”

Two days ago, I got dressed, well, barely dressed, in a skintight black latex number held together with corset-style red cord. I was here to march down a catwalk in front of 500 members of the press and public.  

It wasn’t the 20-metre catwalk I was expecting. It was so dauntingly long, it felt like it was the length of a hockey pitch. And I hadn’t realised that one of the problems of extreme old age is that walking in a straight line is something of a challenge. I was weaving all over the place. My other concern was that the dress had very wide open sleeves, so I was trying to march along with my arms clamped to my sides to avoid exposing my wrinkly fat bits above my long black gloves. 

But in spite of all that, I just loved it. The crowd could not have been kinder, whooping and hollering at the gallant old lady (84 and counting) giving it a go. I’m just such an egotist, lapping up the attention.

I followed in the wake of 50 professional models, long-legged young men and women strutting with absolute confidence in the creations of Vin + Omi, designers who combine originality, wit and style with an obsession with sustainability. My dress might look like PVC, but comes from the first manufacturer of latex and was ethically produced.

I wasn’t nervous, because I’d done it before, and thought it would be easier this time. About six months ago Vin + Omi staged a show and talked me into “walking for them”. 

The previous show occupied the two floors of the hotel and took place everywhere – in lounges, library, dining rooms and corridors and, because I was slower than the long-legged gazelles, I kept losing sight of them and getting lost. So this time it would be a doddle, right? 

Well, not quite. This time I arrived at The Kensington Building in Wright’s Lane and joined the 50 other models dressed in gauzy pink jumpsuits (easy for quick changes), sitting on the floor, gossiping in between fittings, hair, make-up.  

I can’t sit on the floor (or rather I can, but then can’t get up again). So I lay on my back on a long bench on the terrace in the sun and had a snooze until woken by Michelle, the make-up artist, who gave me huge smoky eyes, fake eyelashes and a lot of shiny red lipstick. Vin then persuaded me to abandon my trademark glasses, which, it’s true, I don’t really need. I just love them. My dress was so long Omi had to chop a foot off the bottom so that I wouldn’t go A over T trying to walk.   

Why did I do it? Because I adore the designers. The whole business is about helping organisations go zero carbon. The latex for my dress came from a rubber plantation and factory that they worked with for 12 years to change their practices. The clothes from their previous show was a collaboration with King Charles using fabrics made from plants grown in the royal gardens (my dress was made from willow bark). They are now on public exhibition at Sandringham. But most of all, I did it because, why not? Never say no, is my motto. 

PS. My husband John didn’t even know what I was going to be wearing for the event – now he says he wants to keep the dress for the dressing-up box. 

Venezuela said on Sunday that it had arrested two US citizens for plotting the assassination of Nicolas Maduro, its president.

Washington dismissed the accusations that the CIA planned to kill the country’s autocratic socialist leader.

Venezuela claimed it had arrested three US citizens, two Spaniards and one Czech national on suspicion of plotting to destabilise the country.

“Any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false,” a US State Department spokesman responded.

Describing the detainees as “mercenaries”, Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior minister, claimed that the CIA was “leading the operation” and that 400 rifles had been seized.

“We know that the United States government has links to this operation,” said Mr Cabello. “[The detainees] contacted French mercenaries, they contacted mercenaries from Eastern Europe and they are in an operation to try to attack our country.”

The US State Department confirmed that a US military member was in Venezuelan custody, and noted “unconfirmed reports” that two additional US citizens had been detained.

The incident comes amid a standoff between Washington and Caracas after the US announced this week it was placing sanctions on 16 Venezuelan officials closely aligned with Maduro over the president’s disputed election win on July 28.

Venezuela’s national electoral council declared Maduro the victor, but did not publish any data proving his win.

The opposition obtained over 80 per cent of the country’s voting receipts, which it said showed Maduro had won just 30 per cent of the vote, compared with 67 per cent for rival Edmundo González Urrutia.

In response, the US Treasury said it was targeting “key officials involved in Maduro’s fraudulent and illegitimate claims of victory and his brutal crackdown on free expression following the election”.

A State Department official said the US “continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela”.

Mr Urrutia, 75, was threatened with arrest and went into exile in Spain last week.

Mr Cabello said the arrested Spanish nationals were connected to the Spanish intelligence services and were detained in Puerto Ayacucho, south of the capital Caracas.

Spanish media reported that government sources denied the pair had links to Madrid’s intelligence services.

“Spain denies and categorically rejects any insinuation that it is involved in a political destabilisation operation in Venezuela,” a source was quoted as saying.

Madrid has requested more information from Venezuelan authorities over the arrests, and access to the detainees.

On Friday, Venezuela’s foreign minister summoned Spain’s ambassador in response to a Spanish minister’s description of the country as a “dictatorship”.

The Czech Republic has yet to respond to the claims.

Jay Blades has resigned from the King’s Foundation after being charged with engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife.

The Repair Shop presenter, 54, last year won a daytime Bafta TV award along with other members of the BBC programme for a special featuring the King, who was at the time the Prince of Wales.

He supported the King’s Foundation, formerly the Prince’s Foundation, as an ambassador, and visited its Dumfries House location in Ayrshire for the BBC special The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit.

The educational foundation confirmed on Sunday that Blades had informed the charity of his resignation.

On Friday, Blades appeared at Kidderminster magistrates’ court after being charged by West Mercia Police with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.

The charge relates to his wife Lisa Zbozen, a fitness instructor, who announced on her Instagram page on May 2 that their relationship was over, according to court documents.

West Mercia Police confirmed Blades was charged on Thursday following the launch of an investigation after they were called to an address the day after Ms Zbozen’s post.

The couple married on the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on Nov 22 2022.

A repeat of Blades’s show David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed was no longer on the BBC’s schedule on Friday night and it is understood the broadcaster will not currently schedule any programmes in which he features.

The furniture restorer, who was made an MBE for services to craft in 2021, has also resigned from his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University. 

Blades will appear at Worcester Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on Oct 11.

The new director of the British Museum has said he will not add trigger warnings to exhibits to give politically correct explanations of their origins.

Dr Nicholas Cullinan, a 46-year-old art historian and curator, left his post as director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in March last year to take the helm at the museum.

His appointment comes amid pressure on the museum, already embarrassed by the theft of 1,500 collection items, to sever ties with fossil fuel companies and repatriate contested artefacts that some critics say were “stolen” from foreign countries.

Other institutions have taken to warning visitors that what they are viewing has colonial links.

In January, Tate Modern added warnings about “violence and dead bodies” to a puppet show recreation of the Crusades.

Tate Britain, meanwhile, filled its galleries with paintings linked to slavery and removed prized national artworks, in a rehang pitched as a “more inclusive narration of British art and history”.

Critics said it was a “polemic against the past”, however. Paintings linked to the British Empire were brought out of storage and displayed with labels explaining connections to racism, colonialism and the slave trade.

In April, the Fitzwilliam Museum, added a note to an exhibition about the countryside suggesting pictures of scenery might evoke “dark nationalist feelings”.

Later that month, it was reported that the British Library would “establish a comprehensive glossary of problematic and inclusive terminology” in the “culturally sensitive material” held there.

‘Biggest transformation’

Dr Cullinan, recognising a fraught road ahead, has billed the impending overhaul of operations as the “biggest transformation of any museum in the world” involving a rethink of the best way to display and interpret collections.

Asked if this would include imposing politically correct labelling of exhibits, as seen at Tate Britain, Dr Cullinan told The Times: “No. What I mean is making sure our scholarship is up to date, not conforming to a particular sort of political agenda.”

Born in America and raised in Yorkshire, Dr Cullinan became the NPG’s second-youngest ever director in 2015 and oversaw a major £41 million regeneration.

During his time at the gallery, Dr Cullinan became embroiled in a row over cultural institutions and fossil fuel funding, which has also proved a thorn in the British Museum’s side.

In 2022, Dr Cullinan ultimately oversaw the NPG cutting ties with BP, which had sponsored its portrait award for more than 30 years.

The British Museum has recently entered a “new multi-year partnership” with BP which will bring in £50m over 10 years, but which has provoked a backlash from climate activists.

Chris Garrard, a co-director of the campaign group Culture Unstained, said the deal was “astonishingly out of touch” and “completely indefensible”.

He added: “The only way you can sign up to a new sponsorship deal with a planet-wrecking fossil fuel company in 2023 is by burying your head in the sand, pretending the climate crisis isn’t happening and ignoring the almost complete rejection of fossil fuel funding by the cultural sector in recent years.”

‘Good reasons to refuse money’

In response to the criticism of controversial donors, Dr Cullinan said: “I think you have to have good, clear reasons for turning down money that would help to keep the British Museum free to the public.”

He added that the criteria for allowing donations centred on whether money was acquired legally and considerations over reputational damage.

Dr Cullinan previously told The Times: “I think you would be hard pressed to find any bank or law firm that didn’t have investments [in energy] so I think we just have to be careful because fundraising has always been about turning private wealth into public good and doing that while also acting in the public interest.

“What you don’t want to do is start occupying that position of being an activist because it also puts off other people wanting to support museums.”

Elgin marbles

Dr Cullinan will also have to navigate growing calls for items such as the Elgin marbles and Benin bronzes to be repatriated.

The director, who studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, has emphasised that more people see the British Museum’s objects in exhibitions on tour than in the museum itself.

Dr Cullinan was curator of international modern art at Tate Modern from 2007 to 2013, before becoming curator of modern and contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

He takes over from interim director, Sir Mark Jones, who had stepped in when director Dr Hartwig Fischer resigned over allegations the museum’s leadership at the time had ignored warnings that an insider was selling artefacts.

Last year, Dr Peter Higgs, a senior curator, was sacked over items in the collection allegedly being stolen or damaged. It was estimated that 2,000 artefacts were missing, damaged or stolen.

The Prince of Wales tried to avoid competitive family card games with the Middletons, the Princess’s brother has said.

The competition was so fierce between siblings the Princess of Wales, Pippa and James that the Prince would sometimes offer to walk the brother’s dog, Ella, to steer clear of the games completely.

In an extract from his book, Meet Ella, published in the Daily Mail, James Middleton said the family’s favourite card game was Racing Demon, which is fast-paced and in which nobody takes official turns.

“William would flinch at our ruthless determination to win at all costs. He’d be delighted to be the first out, and when no longer compelled to take part, he’d slink off to cuddle Ella,” Mr Middleton wrote in the book.

“Better still, he’d absent himself from the game entirely. ‘James, does Ella need a walk?’ he’d ask before we’d even started dealing the cards.

“My sisters and I would exchange a knowing glance. William, for all the competitive rigour of his military training, was happy to be a loser at cards.”

In his book, Mr Middleton outlines his mental health battles since university, which have been eased by his love of dogs, especially his cherished cocker spaniel, Ella.

He said his love for Ella, and his fear about who would look after her if he wasn’t around, stopped him from taking his own life.

Mr Middleton was diagnosed as an adult with Attention Deficit Disorder, which he found a great relief, helping explain his struggles at school and university.

In his book, he also revealed Elizabeth II, a dog lover herself, was also a fan of Ella and would grant her special privileges when they stayed at Sandringham.

“Her Majesty was always concerned about their wellbeing, and knowing the special place Ella held in my heart, allowed her special privileges,” he wrote.

“‘Did you get my message, James?’ she asked me the first time I visited. ‘Ella is welcome to stay in your room’.”

He said Ella once escaped from his room and was later found in the kitchen with the royal chef rubbing the dog’s belly.

Mr Middleton had hoped the late Queen would not find out about his dog’s adventure into the Sandringham kitchens.

“But nothing escaped her,” he wrote. “She said to me, ‘I hear Ella had a nice little wander round earlier.’ I apologised profusely, expecting a gentle telling-off.

“Instead, with the understanding that comes from long association with dogs, she gave me a conspiratorial smile and said, ‘Well, dogs will be dogs.’”