Nearly 150 areas on flood alert as Met Office weather warnings issued

Almost 150 flood alerts are in place across the country as the Met Office issued fresh weather warnings for heavy rain and wind after Storm Ingrid battered parts of the UK.

Parts of a historic pier crumbled into the sea in Devon, and a sea wall that protects a railway line in Dawlish was brought down as huge waves and heavy rain lashed the coastline early on Saturday.

The forecaster has warned that further volatile weather is on the way, with yellow warnings for southwest, southern and mid-Wales on Monday, extending to southern England on Tuesday.

The forecaster warned that homes and businesses could be flooded, some communities could become cut off, and power cuts are possible.

The Environment Agency has issued 113 flood alerts, indicating flooding is possible, and 20 flood warnings, where deluge is expected, across England on Sunday. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued seven flood warnings and three flood alerts, while Natural Resources Wales has two alerts in place.

Outbreaks of heavy rain are expected to bring some transport disruption across the southwest of England, southern and mid-Wales, and some parts of the southeast of England. A yellow rain weather warning is in place across the region from 3pm Monday until midday on Tuesday.

Up to 30mm of rainfall is expected widely, with 50-80mm likely across higher ground, especially Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). With wet conditions before this period, the rain will fall on to saturated ground, accentuating flooding impacts in places. Strong southeasterly winds are also likely.

Another yellow rain warning is in place on Monday between noon and 6pm for County Armagh, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry and County Tyrone across Northern Ireland. Heavy rain will move northeastwards across the area on Monday afternoon. Up to 20mm of rain is expected to fall widely, with 20-30mm in a few areas and as much as 40mm over high ground.

This will become a rain and wind warning on Tuesday, from 2am until 10pm, as rain will also be accompanied by strong east to southeasterly winds, particularly in northern and eastern areas, where peak gusts of 40-50mph are possible inland and 60-70mph possible along some exposed coasts.

The southeast of England will also experience a downpour from midnight through to midday on Tuesday, with 15-25mm of rain expected to build up widely across the area. A few areas will potentially see 30-40mm of rainfall and as much as 50mm over some hills.

The wet weather continues after Storm Ingrid, so named by the Portuguese Meteorological Service, brought gusts of 45-50mph and wet weather, causing structural damage across vast coastal parts of the UK on Friday night.

On the Yorkshire coast in Tunstall, a decommissioned nuclear bunker crashed onto a beach as the cliff eroded, while waves lashed at the coast across the southwest of England, causing part of the historic Teignmouth Grand Pier to crumble into the sea in Devon overnight. On Saturday morning, the Teignmouth National Coastwatch Institution said they had “never seen it this rough before” even an hour before high tide.

Meanwhile, parts of a sea wall that protects the railway line in Dawlish “just crumbled” after a “very dramatic” night, resident Peter Large told the BBC.

“The wall is now gone at either end,” he said. “I’m looking down at it now and there’s a strip about 80 to 90ft long where the wall has just crumbled. The waves are still crashing over the railway line and over the wall.”

Today and tonight:

Cloudy for many with outbreaks of rain and heavy showers. Further hill snow is likely across parts of northeast Scotland. A few brighter breaks developing at times in the south. Lighter winds for most compared to Saturday.

Largely cloudy with patchy outbreaks of rain, generally easing. Wintry showers mostly in the northeast, with mist and fog patches developing in any cloud breaks in the southeast.

Monday:

Generally cloudy with further outbreaks of rain for northeast England and east Scotland, wintry over the hills. A band of rain and strong winds arriving in the west and spreading eastwards.

Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:

Remaining unsettled throughout, with rain, showers and possible hill snow moving across the country with strong winds, particularly on Tuesday when another deep area of low pressure arrives. Feeling cold.

Britain has replaced children with dogs – and it’s not healthy

Dogs are everywhere – not just where you might reasonably expect to find them, but in cafés, pubs, trains, offices, Airbnbs, yoga studios, bakeries, weddings, coworking spaces and anywhere else that once relied on the social contract of “indoors means humans only”.

One in three neighbourhoods in England now has more dogs than children. This signals something structural about how we are choosing to organise our lives, our affections and our sense of responsibility.

Britain’s birth rate is falling; the cost of housing is obscene; relationships and work are increasingly precarious. Into that gap has stepped the dog – emotionally rich, socially acceptable, instantly legible and, crucially, reversible in a way that children are not.

For a generation delaying parenthood, or opting out of it altogether, dogs have become emotional stand‑ins: proxy dependents that offer unconditional affection without the long arc of sacrifice, compromise and irreversible change that children demand. You can love them intensely, document them endlessly and still retain the comforting knowledge that, at some point, your life will be yours again.

The rise of the “dinkwad” – an online, self‑identifying term meaning “a couple with dual income, no kids, with a dog” – is often framed as a lifestyle quirk. In truth it is a response to pressure: an attempt to build meaning and intimacy in a system that has made long‑term human commitments feel risky and expensive. Dogs slot neatly into this emotional gap – asking for care but not inheritance, devotion but not intergenerational planning.

Social media, inevitably, has poured petrol onto the arrangement. Dogs now have birthday parties, themed outfits, personalised nutrition plans, professional photo shoots and brand partnerships – all presented as evidence of love rather than conspicuous emotional outsourcing. Online, dogs are spoken to like toddlers, called “my son”, “my baby” or “my whole world”, and wheeled through city streets in prams originally designed for babies.

Beneath the pastel captions and party hats is a more uncomfortable question, one we tend to avoid because it feels impolite, even cruel: is this actually fair on the dogs, the public or the cities we live in?

Many dogs are kept in small flats, left alone for long stretches, and dragged through human spaces that are noisy, crowded, unpredictable and actively hostile to an animal whose sensory world operates at a different pitch. We demand that they be calm, quiet, obedient and friendly but not intrusive; present but not disruptive; affectionate but never needy – grateful for whatever scraps of stimulation we can fit around our schedules.

Our idea of a “good dog” has become weirdly warped. The ideal dog is docile, compliant and silent – a creature that absorbs human chaos without ever reflecting it back. The perfect dog now resembles Reek from Game of Thrones: stripped of agency, desperate to please, grateful for crumbs of attention and praised most enthusiastically when it asks for nothing at all.

It has always struck me as odd that we celebrate dogs most when they behave least like animals and most like emotional furniture. Anything more dog‑like – excitement, boredom or resistance – is swiftly pathologised and treated as a personal failing of both animal and owner.

The pandemic supercharged this dynamic. Lockdowns created the illusion that we suddenly had time, space and emotional surplus for dogs; that working from home was permanent; that daily walks were rituals rather than obligations; that companionship could be sustainably built around an animal rather than other people. Puppies became symbols of hope – or, worse, a distraction – when the future itself felt indefinitely deferred.

Then life restarted. Offices reopened, commutes returned, social lives lurched back into existence. Britain was left with a generation of pandemic pooches whose owners began to realise that, actually, they didn’t want a dog after all.

Rescue centres filled up. Trainers became oversubscribed. Vet fees soared. Dog‑anxiety medication has – astoundingly – become commonplace. Streets have grown dirtier, parks more contested and the tension between dog owners and everyone else more brittle. The dog economy, meanwhile, has boomed: posh city centres are awash with luxury food, wellness products, daycare clubs and behavioural consultants, even as the dogs themselves seem increasingly stressed, overstimulated and medicated into tolerability.

Dog culture has also become oddly moralised. To question the ubiquity of dogs is to risk being labelled cold, joyless or mean.

But cities are shared spaces. Not everyone wants dogs under the table while they eat, beside them on the train, or brushing against their legs while they work. And not every dog wants to be there either. Somewhere along the line, consideration for animals became indistinguishable from indulgence – and indulgence became compulsory.

There is a deeper ethical question that tends to surface only briefly before being smothered by talk of love and companionship: does everyone actually need a dog?

For most of history, dogs had roles: they worked, guarded, hunted, herded, retrieved and protected. Even companion dogs existed within a broader framework of utility and shared purpose. Now many exist solely to absorb affection, regulate loneliness and provide a sense of meaning in lives stripped of other forms of communal structure.

That can be beautiful. It can also be profoundly one‑sided.

The modern dog is expected to be endlessly emotionally available, grateful for confinement and content with a life structured almost entirely around human convenience. When it fails at this impossible task, we train it harder, medicate it faster or resent it for not fulfilling the fantasy we purchased it to sustain.

None of this is to say dogs are the problem. They are doing exactly what they have always done: adapting to us. The problem is the scale, the speed and the cultural insistence that dog ownership is an unambiguous good – a moral upgrade, a sign of emotional maturity rather than, in some cases, a symptom of how thin our social fabric has become.

We may need fewer dogs. But we definitely need fewer illusions about what they are for, and greater honesty about what we are asking them to replace.

And perhaps, occasionally, it would be healthy to leave them at home.

Nygren stunner puts Celtic ahead against table-topping Hearts in SPL title tussle

Hearts could take a huge step towards a first Scottish top-flight title since 1960 as they host Celtic in a top-of-the-table tussle.

Derek McInnes’s side have been impressive front-runners amid a chaotic season for both Celtic and Rangers, and could widen their lead to nine points over the defending champions with victory here. Recent injury problems have caused McInnes a headache or two but his team could become the first Hearts side to beat Celtic three times in a single league campaign.

Victory will not come easily, though, against a visiting team buoyed again by the return of Martin O’Neill as a caretaker. Strong form under O’Neill has kept Celtic in touch either side of Wilfried Nancy’s short stint in charge, but they can ill afford to lose ground here, particularly with Old Firm rivals Rangers again in the mix, too.

Follow all of the latest from the Scottish Premiership clash with our live blog below:

Kristen Stewart says she probably won’t stay in the US: ‘But I don’t want to give up completely’

Kristen Stewart responded “probably not” when asked if she thought she would stay in the US while Donald Trump remains president.

The actor is currently promoting her directorial debut feature film, The Chronology of Water, which was shot in Latvia because, Stewart said, it would have been “impossible” to do in the States.

“Reality is breaking completely under Trump,” the 35-year-old told The Sunday Times. “But we should take a page out of his book and create the reality we want to live in.”

She called Trump’s threat of tariffs on films made outside the US “terrifying” for the industry, while saying she “can’t work freely” in the States.

“But I don’t want to give up completely,” she added. “I’d like to make movies in Europe and then shove them down the throat of the American people.”

Stewart and Trump have crossed paths over the years, most memorably when he tweeted in 2012 that her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson “should not take back Kristen Stewart. She cheated on him like a dog and will do it again, just watch. He can do much better!”

Stewart was photographed kissing her married Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, while in a relationship with Pattinson. Both Stewart and Sanders issued public apologies at the time.

In 2017, she chose to come out on Saturday Night Live while hosting, in an opening monologue that mocked the US president’s past tweets about her.

“Donald, if you didn’t like me then, you’re probably really not going to like me now,” she said. “Because I’m hosting SNL and I’m, like, so gay, dude.”

She married screenwriter and producer Dylan Meyer in April last year.

The Chronology of Water has received mixed reviews, with praise for Imogen Poots in the lead role as Lidia Yuknavitch, who wrote the 2011 memoir the film is based on, as well as for Stewart’s directing.

“Stewart’s debut might play as adolescent movie poetry – young in spirit, tripping over itself – but it’s also a throwback to the Nineties indie film scene, arguably the last gasp of the awkward aspiring auteur,” critic Xan Brooks argued for The Independent.

“As such, it looks more radical than it might have done in the past. It’s defiantly at odds with today’s risk-averse business model and a pure expression of the woman who made it as opposed to, say, a pin-sharp corporate commercial like Barbie. Gerwig travelled in one direction, from the grungy mumblecore movement to the mainstream.

“Stewart, though, is steering the opposite course, from Twilight to the arthouse, while daring the fans to stick with her, and it has made for a more fun, jolting journey. Her movie is heartfelt and unrefined and ever so slightly up itself. It’s altogether precious, in both senses of the word.”

Stewart remarked that the experience of directing had been liberating when compared to her work as an actor: “Actresses get treated like s***, I’ve got to tell you,” she told The Sunday Times.

“People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, I thought, wow, this is a different experience, they are talking to me like I’m somebody with a brain.”

She admitted she was a “maniac” while working on the film and “barely existed outside of it but, “I’ve never felt more alive”.

Jesus picked ahead of Gyokeres for Arsenal in crunch Premier League clash vs Man Utd

Arsenal renew hostilities with long-time Premier League rivals Manchester United looking to keep up their charge towards the title.

The league leaders have suffered draws in their last two league outings and saw Manchester City cut the gap at the top of the table to four points with victory yesterday. It makes this a key clash to avoid a stutter becoming a stall as Mikel Arteta’s side seek an elusive Premier League crown — and Manchester United have plenty of reason to travel with optimism to the Emirates.

Michael Carrick’s second stint as interim manager got off to a spectacular start with a derby day domination at Old Trafford, and a place in the top four is within reach after Liverpool were beaten last night. Carrick has got the better of Arteta before in this fixture, too — a 3-2 win in December 2021 ended his first short stint at the helm, but a repeat success could be all the more consequential.

Follow all of the latest from the Premier League clash with our live blog below:

What the future of travel looks like in 2026

Are we done with viral hotspots? According to travel comparison site KAYAK’s WTF (that’s What The Future, by the way) 2026 trends report, the era of copy-paste travel may finally be winding down. Not because people are travelling less – quite the opposite – but because they’re travelling differently.

Drawing on billions of user searches, an independent survey from more than 14,000 Gen Z and Millennial travellers – including over 2,000 next-gen UK travellers – and exclusive TikTok community insights, KAYAK’s report shows a shift away from headline destinations and performative travel. In their place? Shorter breaks, quieter cities, better value and experiences that feel personal rather than pre-approved.

Here’s what that looks like in practice, and where those trends could take you.

The next “it” destination, it turns out, is the one you haven’t already seen 50 times on your phone. According to KAYAK, 71 per cent of Gen Z and 75 per cent of Millennials actively want to visit places they’ve never been before, while TikTok posts tagged #hiddengems are up more than 50 per cent. Saturation is the new turn-off.

Cork fits that brief neatly. Long treated as a stopping point on the way to somewhere else, Ireland’s second city still flies under the algorithmic radar. Yet it rewards curiosity in small, satisfying ways: a walkable centre, a burgeoning food scene and easy access to coastline and countryside without the fanfare.

Base yourself near Shandon rather than around the busier quays, and start the day with a stroll along the River Lee before the city fully wakes up. For dinner, follow locals to the English Market at lunchtime, then head out to Ballycotton or Garretstown the next morning.

Travellers aren’t cancelling trips in 2026, they’re financing them more creatively. Nearly 30 per cent of Gen Z and Millennial travellers say installment plans will determine how many trips they take, while KAYAK data shows international fares from the UK sitting almost exactly where they were last year. Add a 52 per cent rise in the use of flight price alerts and the picture becomes clear: deal-hunting has gone mainstream.

This shift favours cities that deliver substance without sticker shock. Bilbao still fits the bill, but it’s the city’s everyday pleasures that offer the real value. Skip the Guggenheim café and eat at Gure Toki or Sorginzulo for pintxos done properly. Better still, cross the river into Deusto at lunchtime, where menus del día feel resolutely local and prices soften noticeably. Savvy travellers are stretching budgets without sacrificing experience, and places like Bilbao are making it easy for them.

Forget souvenirs. In 2026, it’s goosebumps people are packing for. More than half of travellers say natural wonders will shape their plans, and 34 per cent list awe-inspiring experiences as a top priority. That’s driving renewed interest in northern landscapes, but not always the obvious ones.

While Tromsø continues to top bucket lists, travellers looking for something fresher are turning towards Christchurch, New Zealand as a gateway rather than a destination in itself. From here, the night skies of the Canterbury plains offer serious dark-sky credentials without the premium price tags of more famous stargazing spots. Pair it with a drive to Lake Tekapo or a night at Mt John Observatory, and prepare to be amazed as the universe puts on one of its more impressive galactic light shows.

AI has officially replaced your mate who “went once and loved it”. Nearly six in 10 travellers say they’d change destination if AI suggested somewhere better, and half would do so for a better deal. Notably, 44 per cent of AI prompts are now about value, not inspiration.

AI can also steer travellers toward lesser-visited cities that prioritise authentic, local experiences over familiar tourist circuits. Fukuoka, in particular, remains one of the country’s most liveable and engaging destinations, offering a compelling blend of modern convenience and rich cultural heritage. Base yourself near Hakata Station for better-value hotels, then eat like a local at the yatai food stalls along the Naka River. It’s informal, affordable and far more revealing than a booked-out tasting menu. Leveraging AI-led planning tools helps today’s savvy travellers to unlock the city’s true potential, moving beyond generic guidebook recommendations.

Luxury, redefined, looks suspiciously like a good night’s sleep. KAYAK’s report shows 69 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials travel primarily for mental reset, while wellness-led luxury continues to rise. The emphasis has shifted from showing off to switching off.

The Greek island of Zakynthos excels here, particularly inland. Head to villages such as Kiliomenos, where evenings are cooler and dinner at family-run tavernas like Latas stretches lazily into the night. No playlists, no dress code, just plates refilled without fuss. For one in five travellers, it’s the small comforts that matter most: a quiet morning, decent coffee, and nowhere you’re expected to be. Wellness travel isn’t about spa breaks and luxury escapes anymore; it’s about coming back better than you left.

The big-city rush is out. In 2026, 84 per cent of younger travellers say they’d rather visit a smaller city or rural area than a major hub. Lower prices help, but the real appeal is authenticity that doesn’t need explaining.

Bastia, in northern Corsica, perfectly exemplifies the trend. Mornings on the old port unfold naturally with fishermen unloading and café chairs scraping into place. Walk up to the Citadelle before the heat builds, then lunch at U San Ghjuvà for unfussy Corsican cooking. These are places where life hasn’t been edited for visitors. Yes, social media still nudges people towards them, but only once they’re already halfway there.

In 2026, the destination is wherever the action is. An overwhelming 95 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials plan to travel for a major event, whether that’s a concert, a sporting tournament or a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

Cities that flex around calendars are winning. In Canada, Toronto works as a terrific base. But those thinking ahead are looking beyond the obvious to places like Halifax, where festivals, touring acts and sporting events are easier to access and far less inflated by demand. Stay near the waterfront, eat at The Bicycle Thief, and let the event anchor the trip rather than dominate it.

Over half of travellers say slower travel helps clear their head, and #slowtravel content has surged by almost 330 per cent on TikTok. But the aim isn’t inactivity, more a break from decision-making.

The Azores remain a benchmark, but similar benefits can be found in places like Praia in Cape Verde. The rhythm is gentle, the beaches walkable, and long lunches at Quintal da Música turn into evenings almost by accident. Headspace holidays aren’t about ticking boxes, they’re about removing friction and the demand for constant optimisation.

Adventure hasn’t disappeared, it’s simply grown up. Nearly one in four travellers now combine light outdoor activity with proper rest, while searches for amenities like terraces, hot tubs and gyms continue to rise. The Great Outdoors is now more likely to be paired with a Quite Decent bottle of wine.

Hilo, on Hawaii’s Big Island, captures that softer approach to adventure perfectly. Base yourself here and mornings might mean walking the edge of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park or taking an easy hike through the stunning scenery of Akaka Falls rainforest. Afternoons are for slowing down: soaking in naturally warmed ocean pools, lingering over poke bowls or fresh fish, and letting yourself reset.

Who says holidays have to be long? Nearly two-thirds of travellers plan to take several shorter trips in 2026, with searches for one-to-four-day breaks continuing to rise. The appeal is immediacy: quick resets, minimal planning and maximum reward.

Milan makes for an excellent Nanocation. Trains run on time, neighbourhoods are compact, and finding good food rarely requires much research. Rather than chasing the Duomo and moving on, spend a night in areas like Isola or Porta Venezia, where the city feels lived-in rather than visited. Grab a seat for aperitivo along the Navigli as the working day winds down, eat late without ceremony, and walk everywhere. Milan rewards restraint; do it right, and even 24 hours can feel like a proper break.

With billions of user searches across its platforms, KAYAK helps travellers find their perfect flight, stay, rental car or holiday package. Download the app here and start exploring.

The aristocrat fighting to help prison children escape stigma of crime

Despite being born into a world of wealth and privilege, Lady Edwina Grosvenor has seen first hand the devastating impact of a childhood tainted by the stigma of crime.

She was just a teenager when she first started working with mothers at risk of losing their children on a work experience placement at a charity in north Wales.

The “eye-opening” experience came just a few short years after she was taken by her late father, the sixth Duke of Westminster and one of the richest men in Britain, to speak to two heroin addicts at a drug treatment centre in Liverpool. He wanted his daughters to understand the risks of taking drugs.

The transformative experiences – a world away from her life at the family’s 11,000-acre estate in Cheshire – helped spark a lifelong passion for criminal justice reform.

By the time she returned home from travelling in Nepal, where she worked at Central Jail in Kathmandu, she had been “bitten by the prison bug”.

After completing an undergraduate degree in criminology and sociology, including a dissertation on babies born in prison who are removed from their mothers, she embarked on a career in prison reform and philanthropy – at times becoming a vocal critic of successive governments’ neglect of the justice sector.

Her pioneering women’s centre, Hope Street, which opened in 2023, offers a groundbreaking alternative to help keep female offenders and their children out of prison. It’s a blueprint she hopes the government will replicate across the country in its bid to reduce the number of women incarcerated.

Now she is determined to challenge the secretive and stigmatised reality facing young people who have grown up in the shadow of the justice system with a university scholarship programme.

Whether they were born to a parent in prison or have served time themselves, recipients will be supported to achieve a university education and, hopefully, a brighter future.

“The children of prisoners are usually forgotten more than any other group I can think of in this country, and it’s a complete scandal,” Lady Edwina told The Independent.

“I think it’s difficult to find your tribe when you’re a young person. I think we can all remember what that feels like, but then imagine living with the shame of a parent being in prison, or a brother or a sister.

“It’s like, how do you find the other people who’ve been through a similar thing?”

No official data is recorded on how many children’s lives are blighted by their parents’ time in prison. Many end up in care, and research shows that they have some of the worst educational outcomes of any social group in the country, with students less likely to attend and succeed at university than their peers.

Only 13 per cent of pupils who were looked after in care continuously for 12 months or more entered higher education, according to government figures, compared to 43 per cent of all other pupils.

Lady Edwina added: “Wouldn’t that be amazing if they could step out of the shadows and step out of that shame and just know somebody else who might be in the same boat, you know.”

The first-of-its-kind project with Manchester Metropolitan University, where Lady Edwina completed a master’s in crime scene management and forensic evidence in her 40s, will also support young offenders who are “virtually written off” by society.

“I feel like those children and young people have been constantly failed by adults,” Lady Edwina continued.

“So therefore, once they’ve served their time, once their sentence has finished, is it not the duty of educational institutions, and for us, adults who care to do everything within our power to make sure that they go on to lead a better life?”

As well as financial support for nine students, the university will have a dedicated staff member to ensure the recipients and other students impacted by the justice system are supported during their studies.

She hopes the programme will simply offer young people a chance.

“Just a chance to learn, you know, a chance to be educated, a chance to be able to walk into an educational institution without feeling like they have to hide something like they shouldn’t be there, like they don’t belong,” she added.

“You know, education should be there for everybody regardless… They should just be able to walk into an educational institution and learn and have a good time. You know, it’s as simple as that.”

She believes that meaningful progress towards better rehabilitation for offenders is all too often hampered by an “absolutely abject lack of understanding” about the justice sector, and called for awareness to be taught in schools as part of the national curriculum.

This, she hopes, would help combat the misconception that people leaving prison are all “high-end, dangerous, knife-wielding maniacs” and give employers more confidence to recruit ex-offenders.

“I think if that piece was done, then I think there would be more organisations and businesses and people who would feel braver, because I think they’re scared,” she added.

“You know, I’ve worked for a long time, also in employment of people coming out of prisons, and there’s a really interesting way of looking at it. And someone said to me, look, Edwina, if I hire from prison, I know who the man or woman is.

“I know what they’ve done for the last few years. They can’t hide from what they’ve done. I know so much about that person that I can make a real-life, authentic judgement, and it’s going to go one way or another, right?

“Or I could hire someone off the street. They could lie about their name. I do not know where they’ve been for the last few years. Yes, I could look at references. They could all be made up, you know. And I think that’s a really nice way of looking at it.

“Just because someone’s been in prison or had a conviction does not mean to say that they are more risky than the person who walks off the street.”

This knowledge gap even extends to many making policy decisions, who “don’t know very much about prisons and don’t spend very much time in them”.

“I think that’s a real weakness we have,” she added.

Lady Edwina, who is married to the historian and television presenter Dan Snow, is reserving judgement on major justice reforms currently making their way through parliament – including plans for offenders to serve less time in custody and controversial proposals to scrap the right to a jury trial for some offences.

“Words are words”, she said. “Until I see it happening on the ground, it doesn’t really mean anything”.

However, she hit out at news that the government is set to slash frontline spending on education courses by up to 50 per cent in some prisons, describing it as a “real backwards step”.

She said access to education is “everything” in prison and can be the difference between having a safe, calm environment, compared to one that is dangerous and out of control.

“I’m not party to what goes on in the background, but justice is an unprotected department,” she continued. “So if the treasury are looking to cut anything anywhere, it’s always going to be the unprotected departments. And who is fighting, you know, for the justice department in the way that you’d fight for education, in the way that you’d fight for health.”

She described the prison system – which the Labour government say they inherited in crisis – as an “expensive failure” after decades of underinvestment.

“People don’t realise that, you know, if the prisons are unstable and dangerous, that does directly impact the person on the street,” she said, because – aside from around 70 prisoners serving whole-life orders – everyone else will be released.

“So actually, it is really important that our prisons work and that people are stable in there, because they will come out onto the streets to a place near you.”

Professor Julie Scott Jones, deputy pro-vice-chancellor for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Met, said the Lady Edwina Grosvenor Scholarships are an exciting way to improve access to higher education for people whose lives have been impacted by the criminal justice system.

“At Manchester Met, many of our students who have experience of the justice or care system go on to work in this field, driven by the desire to improve the system for others,” she added.

“Not only will these scholarships provide access to higher education, they have the potential to influence UK-wide policy by creating a pipeline of change-makers who actually understand how the system affects young people like them.”

The partnership continues the Grosvenor family’s long-held links with Manchester Met, where Lady Edwina’s late father, Gerald Grosvenor, was chancellor from 1992 to 2005.

Current vice-chancellor, Professor Malcolm Press, said: “The experiences young people have had should be no barrier to their future success in life, and the Lady Edwina Grosvenor Scholarships will provide the opportunity and support to ensure the talents of these young people can reach their full potential.”

The first recipients of the Lady Edwina Grosvenor Scholarships will begin their studies in September 2026.

Iran unveils mural warning of retaliation against US after Trump threats

A new mural unveiled in a central Tehran square contains a direct warning by Iran to the United States to not attempt a military strike on the country.

The painted image of several damaged planes on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier bears the slogan: “If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.”

The unveiling of the mural in Enghelab Square comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and accompanying warships move towards the region. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the ships are being moved “just in case” he decides to take action.

“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said Thursday.

Enghelab Square is used for gatherings called by the state, and authorities change its mural based on national occasions. On Saturday, the commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned that his force is “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger.”

Tension between the U.S. and Iran has spiked in the wake of a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that saw thousands of people killed and tens of thousands arrested. Trump had threatened military action if Iran continued to kill peaceful protesters or carried out mass executions of those detained.

There have been no further protests for days, and Trump claimed recently that Tehran had halted the executions of about 800 arrested protesters – a claim Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”

But Trump has indicated he is keeping his options open, saying on Thursday that any military action would make last June’s U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts.”

U.S. Central Command said on social media that its Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle now has a presence in the Middle East, noting the fighter jet “enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability.”

Similarly, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it deployed its Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar “in a defensive capacity.”

The protests in Iran began on December 28, sparked by the fall of the Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country. They were met by a violent crackdown by Iran’s theocracy, which does not tolerate dissent.

The death toll reported by activists has continued to rise since the end of the demonstrations, as information trickles out despite a more than two-week internet blackout – the most comprehensive in Iran’s history.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency on Sunday put the death toll at 5,459, with the number expected to increase. It says more than 40,800 people have been arrested.

The group’s figures have been accurate in previous unrest and rely on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. That death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest there in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The AP has not been able to independently verify the toll.

Iran’s government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labeled the rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.