Reform UK announces ghost and UFO expert as latest defection to party

Reform UK has been mocked after announcing their latest defection to the party – a police and crime commissioner who is an expert on ghosts, aliens and UFOs.

Rupert Matthews, who holds the post in Leicestershire and Rutland, was introduced on Monday as having joined the party from the Conservatives, breaking a 40-year membership.

Before being elected in 2021, he served two years as a European parliament member for the Tories. He has also written a number of books about ghost sightings, UFOs, cryptozoology and other paranormal subjects.

Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience focusing on legendary animals, such as the Sasquatch, in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence.

Responding to the announcement, the prime minister’s press secretary said: “Their big defection is very interested in the fantastical and the unexplained. It’s no surprise he’s added Reform’s fiscal plans to that list.”

Meanwhile, a Labour source said: “It’s not just the ghost of Tory past that is swelling the Reform ranks. Their latest recruit Rupert Matthews peddles alien conspiracy theories and believes the removal of abortion rights overseas is a ‘triumph’ for democracy.”

During a press conference at the party’s London HQ on Monday, unveiling the move, Mr Matthews took aim at the criminal justice system, saying the “dark heart of wokeness” needed to be removed, as well as accusing politicians in Britain of taking inspiration from “failed states” for their policies.

“It’s almost as if they’ve looked at countries like Lebanon and Libya, the policies that have led to them becoming failed states and thought, ‘that looks good, let’s try that here in Britain’”, he said.

“The self-serving, self-entitled liberal elite who have let our country down time after time after time are now on notice. Their day is almost done. Be they Conservative or Labour governments, everyone knows our politicians have failed us all.

“They have let this country down. They have let the British people down. Enough. Now is the time for Reform.”

He also said police officers were all too often working with “one hand tied behind their back”.

“I daily face a fight against crime. I see ordinary, hard-working people burgled, robbed and mugged. Shoplifting is getting out of control. Antisocial behaviour is turning too many of our town centres into an apocalyptic wasteland of lawless Britain.”

Reform also announced that a retired prison governor of Wormwood Scrubs, Vanessa Frake-Harris, had joined the party and would be contributing to its law and order task force.

Ms Frake-Harris, who joined the prison service in 1986, detailed increases in escapes, attacks on prison officers and increases of drugs, weapons and mobile phone finds in the last year.

She said: “Successive governments, Conservative and Labour, have driven the prison service to its knees through lack of investment, support and an unwillingness to allow people who know what they are doing to get the job done.”

She continued: “Our prisons are in a crisis caused by Labour and the Conservatives. What have their solutions been? They have let 10,000 prisoners out of jail early. To let criminals out of jail before they even serve their full sentence is a disgrace.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “It’s farcical that Farage can’t say what his policies are, how much they would cost, or how they would even work. Reform aren’t serious and don’t have a clue as to how they would address the challenges facing working people.”

Reform UK has been contacted for comment.

Broadcaster James Whale dies after battle with cancer, aged 74

James Whale, the veteran radio DJ and TV personality, has died from cancer aged 74.

In a statement shared on social media, his employers TalkTV said: “We are sad to announce that James Whale MBE died earlier today, aged 74, following a lengthy battle with cancer. As a broadcasting legend for over 50 years, James will be missed by so many at Talk and the wider News UK family.”

His wife Nadine Lamont-Brown also confirmed the news in a brief statement that said: “James slipped away very gently this morning. It was a beautiful passing, and he left with a smile on his face.”

Whale was first diagnosed with cancer back in 2000 and had to have one of his kidneys removed. Then, in 2020, the TalkTV host revealed that the cancer had returned to his remaining kidney and spread to his spine, brain and lungs.

His colleague, Mike Graham, announced his death to listeners on Talk on Monday (4 August) while paying tribute to his friend whom he had worked alongside on Talk for the past six years.

“James began his remarkable career in the early 1970s when he pioneered a new kind of radio in Britain, the late night shock jock phone in,” James began. “By the late 1980s, the James Whale Radio Show had become a cultural phenomenon, broadcasting every weekend on ITV. He attracted millions of viewers, making him a household name.

“James would go on to host a variety of programmes for ITV, Sky and the BBC before finding a new audience for talk radio, all the while continuing to make headlines during his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

“In 2006, after surviving kidney cancer, James launched Kidney Cancer UK, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds. In 2024, James was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours, recognising his extraordinary contribution to broadcast and charity.”

He concluded: “James Whale broke the rules, he shaped the airwaves, and did it all on his own terms. For millions, James wasn’t just a broadcaster. He was a companion, a provocateur, and a good friend that we’ll all never forget. God bless you, James. We’ll miss you.”

The news comes just days after Whale recorded his final ever podcast from a hospice with his wife, as he thanked fans for listening. He said a farewell in an emotional clip shared on TalkTV on Friday (1 August).

Speaking with his wife Nadine, the presenter said, “We’ve had a good time together haven’t we?” to which she replied: “The best”.

He told his audience: “Thank you for being a listener. I hope it helps in some way and who knows what’s next, so I can only say au revoir.”

TalkTV host and political pundit Julia Hartley-Brewer paid tribute in a social media post and said: “So sad that my amazing, wonderful @TalkTV colleague James Whale has died.

“He was a legend both on air and off air. It was a pleasure and an honour to know him. Sending Nadine and his family all my love xxxx.”

Whale, who has been a fixture of British radio and TV for five decades, announced in May that he had stopped his treatment and was “at the end of his cancer journey”.

The industry veteran was awarded an MBE for his services to broadcasting and charity in the 2024 New Year Honours List. Whale called the moment the “pinnacle” of his career.

Due to his past experience with cancer, Whale, who competed on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, formed the James Whale Kidney Fund in 2006, which merged with Kidney Cancer UK in 2015. In 2018, his first wife, Melinda Maxted, died after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Whale rose to fame in the 1980s with his frank style, dry wit and no-nonsense approach on late-night programme The James Whale Radio Show, gaining a legion of loyal listeners.

He spent 13 years at TalkSport before hosting the drivetime show on LBC and the breakfast show on BBC Essex.

During his career he also hosted Whale On, Dial Midnight and Central Weekend Live for ITV, and Talk About for BBC One. His autobiography Almost A Celebrity: A Lifetime Of Night-Time was published in 2008.

Despite the respect that he garnered, Whales’s career was peppered with controversy. In 2008, he was sacked by TalkSPORT after he called on listeners to vote for Boris Johnson when the former prime minister was campaigning to become London mayor.

While employed on TalkRadio, he clashed with listeners and activists over the Brexit referendum campaign, but later suggested he had changed his mind in response to the behaviour of the European Union.

In 2018, he was suspended by TalkRadio after appearing to laugh during an interview with a sexual assault survivor.

Whale later caused a stir while on Celebrity Big Brother, when broadcaster and Loose Women panellist Saira Khan asked him if he was racist.

Khan said she had researched Whale before entering the house and had seen the claims online.

He responded: “I’ve never heard so much rubbish in my entire life.”

He added: “I don’t think I am known for that. Am I known for that? I don’t know. I really don’t know. I’ve been one of the judges of the British Curry Awards for 10 years.”

He was the sixth contestant to be eliminated from the show and left in a double eviction alongside The Only Way Is Essex’s Lewis Bloor.

Further tributes have been paid to Whale by his colleagues and friends in the media. The entrepreneur Charlie Mullins wrote: “This morning I heard the sad news of the passing of the broadcasting legend and my dear friend – the one and only James Whale MBE. James, mate, rest in peace now.”

Chuck Thomas, an executive producer at TalkTV said that the world would be “a lot quieter without him”. Thomas added that his friend “faced the end with courage and wit” and that “broadcasting has lost a giant”.

LBC host Nick Ferrari added: “Anyone who has spent any time working in speech radio knows what a trailblazer James Whale has been. Radio just got a lot quieter.”

The illusionist Uri Geller remarked that Whale was a “brave man” and a “true friend” and that he had never met anyone “quite like James Whale”.

Britain’s ‘biggest rat’ found in Yorkshire home

A supersized rat thought to be the UK’s biggest has been captured by pest controllers in a home in the north of England.

The giant animal, which measured 22 inches long, was found in the Normanby area of Redcar and Cleveland after a resident called in exterminators.

Councillors who were sent an image of it described the rodent as “almost the size of a small cat”, and have claimed pest control issues have got “out of control” since the end of free services for residents in the Labour-run local authority.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Eston ward councillor David Taylor said the rodents were becoming “brazen” and had “settled into the neighbourhood”.

“The longer this is ignored, the worse it will get,” he added. “It is a growing problem.”

The council insisted it has a “dedicated pest control officer” who works on council-owned land, and said it also “offers advice to residents where possible”.

Writing on a joint Facebook page, Mr Taylor and fellow councillor Stephen Martin said the area needed “a proper vermin control strategy”.

“As many of you have seen, the rat infestation we raised has now made national headlines,” the Conservative Party councillors wrote. “What started with 100 comments on social media has grown to nearly 1,000 on Teesside Live, and now it’s been picked up by both local on Teesside, Yorkshire, Birmingham, and London and national press.

“It’s clear this needs a joined-up response — from government, local councils, housing providers, landlords, the NHS, commercial developers, and the water board. We need a proper vermin control strategy and fast. This situation should never have been allowed to get this bad.

“There’s no doubt plenty of blame to go around, but what matters now is what we do next to stop it getting worse.”

Mr Taylor said councillors would now be calling for an “urgent action plan” including a borough-wide survey into the vermin and a treatment plan.

A Redcar and Cleveland council spokesperson said: “The council has a dedicated pest control officer who manages pest issues on council-owned land.

“While we no longer provide a wider pest control service, we do offer advice to residents where possible.

“The council continues to work with Beyond Housing, Northumbrian Water and other partners to address complex issues and explore potential solutions.

“There is also helpful guidance and preventative measures on our website to support people in dealing with pests.”

The largest rat believed to have been caught in Britain measured 21 inches from tip to tail and was found in a property in Bournemouth in November 2018. According to the RSPCA, rats in the UK can grow up to 11 inches on average.

First female boss of MI5 dies aged 90

Dame Stella Rimington, the pioneering first female director general of MI5, has died aged 90, her family announced.

Dubbed the “housewife superspy” upon taking the role, she was widely credited as the inspiration for Dame Judi Dench’s M in the James Bond films.

Born in South Norwood on 13 May 1935, Dame Stella passed away on Sunday night.

In a statement, her family shared: “She died surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breath.”

Dame Rimington joined MI5 full time in 1969 after she was recruited as a part-time clerk typist by its office in New Delhi’s British High Commission after she accompanied her husband John Rimington on a diplomatic posting there four years earlier.

She became director of each of the service’s operational branches before she was appointed to deputy director general in 1991 and then director general a year later.

During her tenure in the top job, between 1992 and 1996, there were threats from the IRA and Russia, while the Islamist terror threat was also emerging.

She was the first to be publicly identified when appointed and when a newspaper published a photo of her house, she and her family had to move to a covert location for their own protection.

Mrs Rimington used her time as director general to bring gradually bring the service out of the shadows, dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions built up around it.

After leaving MI5 in 1996, Dame Stella began a career as a novelist.

Alongside her post-MI5 writing and business commitments, she even found time to chair the judging panel for the Man Booker Prize for literature, although her comment that they were looking for “readability” found her once again in the firing line from critics who accused her of “dumbing down” the award.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she reconciled with her husband in 2020 and later moved in together during lockdown. The pair had separated in 1984 but never divorced.

“It’s a good recipe for marriage, I’d say,” she said. “Split up, live separately, and return to it later.”

‘My daughter went to the shops and we never saw her again – seven years later, we still want answers’

Straightening her hair and complaining about her broken phone charger, Andrea Gharshallah’s last morning with her daughter in March 2018 had been unremarkable.

A proud mother of two boys, a passionate cook of Sunday roasts and a lover of music, Georgina was surrounded by a close-knit family, which included her confidante mother and three sisters.

While her life in later years had been unpredictable and she had suffered with social anxiety and bulimia, the Gharshallah family had no inkling that once she walked out of her family home in Worthing, she would never be seen again.

Seven years and five months later, neither a police investigation nor the constant searches of her family have brought any clues.

“It’s a complete mystery,” Andrea told The Independent. “I was never aware of her having any feuds with anyone. She never mentioned anything going on, and if she had owed someone money, she would have asked me.”

At the time of her disappearance, Georgina, 30, had been unemployed and recently separated from her partner. A relationship that had been tumultuous had seen her return to live with her mother.

Despite this, she continued to visit him regularly, which is how her initial disappearance slipped through the net.

On Wednesday, 7 March, Georgina left home at 9.30am with a plan to fix her phone, visit the jobcentre and meet her father in Worthing town centre.

The last official sighting of her is recorded on CCTV at Clifton Food and Wine shop at 9.50am, where she asked the shop manager for help with her phone. She did not keep the rest of her appointments for the day, her phone disconnected from the network, and her bank accounts have not been touched since.

“I knew her phone wasn’t working, so when I didn’t hear from her for the first few days, I wasn’t initially concerned,” Andrea said. “She often went to stay with friends or with her on-off boyfriend. There was a small thing in the back of my mind, though, that she did usually let me know, and I’d sent her texts.”

Familiar with her daughter’s lifestyle, which could be erratic and involved binge-drinking, Andrea had first been annoyed. “I thought it was inconsiderate – I thought, ‘you could have at least let us know where you are’.”

It was a few days later that alarm bells began to ring, after Georgina failed to meet her children, and her ex-partner got in touch to say he had not heard from her.

After contacting local hospitals and messaging her friends on Facebook, they decided to phone the police and report her missing.

For Andrea, the investigation took a turn when detectives informed her several weeks later that Georgina’s bank accounts had not been used.

“All the time I had been listening out for her footsteps coming up the footpath and up the stairs,” she said. “We lived waiting for that, waiting for her to turn up – but it never happened. It took a very long time for me to accept that maybe she had come to harm.”

Their relationship with the police has not always been smooth sailing. Within the first few months, Andrea says, multiple people were assigned to the case, with the family unsure who was in charge until June 2019.

In August that year, they were shown CCTV of a potential sighting of Georgina with another woman at 3.30pm on Chapel Road. Despite her family being convinced that it was her, it was later removed from an appeal due to police uncertainty.

Frustrations have also mounted over the lack of publicity and urgency the case has received. “I’d see cases across the UK becoming high profile in a day or two, and I would email the police and say, ‘how come a girl in Yorkshire has drones and searches and police teams?’,” Andrea added.

“As time went by, I accused them of discriminating against my daughter because of her lifestyle choices, or race or social discrimination. If Georgina had been a blonde, blue-eyed girl who worked in Barclays, she would have had more attention.”

Sussex Police strongly denies this accusation, and a referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) in 2022 found no reason to investigate.

A spokesperson for the force said: “We have conducted multiple physical searches as part of our efforts to find out what happened to Georgina. This includes the use of specialist search teams and equipment to carry out rigorous tests of sites near where Georgina went missing, such as Teville Gate, which was under construction at the time. However, to date, nothing has been found that would help progress our investigation.”

They added that they had participated in TV interviews and had followed up on more than 100 possible sightings of Georgina from across the country.

While her case has now been registered as a no-body homicide, Andrea refuses to have her daughter declared deceased. “We most probably think Georgina has come to harm, but I will never, ever, register her as no longer alive until they produce evidence to say what happened to her,” she said.

The death of Claudia Lawrence’s father in 2021 had particularly struck a nerve. The 35-year-old chef from Yorkshire had disappeared in 2009, and while her body has never been found, police believe she was murdered.

“It really brought it home to me that he died and never knew what had happened,” she said. “That must be awful, spending the rest of your life trying to find answers and living for your child’s case. I think that’s my biggest fear now, coming to the end of my life and never knowing.

“If anyone knows anything or has information, we are desperately waiting. For Georgina, wherever she may be, please know that we desperately miss you.”

Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme said: “From the day Georgina Gharsallah was reported missing to now, we have completed extensive enquiries to try and find her.

“Her family and friends are understandably desperate for answers, and I share their frustrations that despite exhaustive efforts, we do not know what happened to her on that day in 2018.

“My team and I remain in regular contact with Andrea, and we admire and fully support the work she does in keeping Georgina’s disappearance in the public eye.

“Our investigation’s priority is to get to the truth of what happened to Georgina and bring a conclusion to all of these years of waiting for her loved ones.”

Anyone with information should contact police online or by calling 101, quoting Operation Pavo. Reports can also be made anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers online or on 0800 555 111.

How Macmillan Cancer Support built a movement that reaches everyone

How ‘warrior’ Siraj set the tone to announce a new era for India

Mohammed Siraj woke up on a drizzly morning in south London realising that the time was now. India were up against it and heading towards a fifth Test defeat against England and subsequently a 3-1 series loss. A scoreline that would not reflect the fierce battle between the two sides over 25 days, with each Test meandering to a climax over its full duration.

Siraj had bowled 1,088 balls by this stage. Yet as much as his physical endurance, his composure was tested, too. That misfield on day four at The Oval, stumbling and staggering into the boundary after clutching Harry Brook for, what would have been, a match-turning score of 19. A mistake that cost India 92 runs before the most dramatic of six-run victories.

“When he woke up in the morning, he believed he could do it,” former India wicket-keeper and Sky Sports pundit Dinesh Karthik confirmed. “Then he took a screenshot of something from Google that said, ‘believe’. He put it out there because he wanted to get it done.”

And believe he did. England started the day needing just 35 runs in their pursuit of 374. Prasidh Krishna coughed up eight runs from the rest of his over, finished overnight after the bad light and rain scuppered a premature conclusion to this enthralling Test. Siraj then dialled up the pace and added some menacing swing, too, with Jamie Smith bamboozled immediately.

A couple of near misses followed a delicate nick back to Dhruv Jurel with his third ball, sparking bedlam. Siraj wheeled away, arms outstretched, but the chaotic celebrations were temporarily cut short due to umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s bizarre move to verify that the catch was clean. Of course, it was, and Siraj had duly delivered the belief India needed to hunt down another three wickets for victory and a drawn series.

The rest of the match-winning spell, ending at 3-9 from just 25 balls, saw Jamie Overton trapped lbw, before Gus Atkinson finally departed, despite a gritty effort to shield the one-armed, heroic Chris Woakes from this devilish Indian pace attack. His stumps rearranged to put the exclamation mark on this iconic win.

While Jasprit Bumrah remains the finest bowler in the world, with his ailing body unable to allow more than three appearances in this epic series, Siraj has underlined his importance, confirming the duo, whenever they do line up together, as one of the great fast bowling pairs in the game.

Cricket, a sport riddled by the quirks of trends and numbers, shows us that India win just 41.67 percent of the games he plays, but that rises to 71.43 percent without him, according to cricket statistician Ric Finlay. While Siraj’s inclusion ensures a 53.66 percent win rate and just 40.00 percent without him. Naturally, it is daft to suggest India are better off without Bumrah, but there is something about Siraj and the emotional impact that numbers cannot measure with this fiery seamer and unique character.

“You don’t seem to look at the bowlers as much,” Karthik remarked when highlighting how batters usually get the credit. “Not just today, but Siraj walked in today trying to be the man. He has bowled like an absolute warrior; he’s done the donkey’s work too. He’s hit 90mph, I couldn’t be more proud of him as a bowler.”

It is that energy and the ability to dig deep when others wilt. Take the wicket of Atkinson to clinch the match, clattering the stumps in this most chaotic of finales.

It was clocked at 143kmph, according to CricViz, his fifth-quickest ball of the series. That, after 1,111 balls in this series, shows remarkable strength. As proven with others, such as Ben Stokes, and the aforementioned Bumrah, who, despite their brilliance, have been unable to hold up to this relentless pace of five Tests and 25 sapping days of play crammed into 46 days.

“He’s a captain’s dream,” concluded the gleeful India skipper Shubman Gill. “Coming in for five matches, giving absolutely everything. Every team wants a player like him, and we’re very lucky to have him.”

If Bumrah is India’s talisman, then Siraj has elevated himself to be his partner in crime and a sensational stand-in when needed. An intimidating presence for the opposition and an able supporter of his teammates when tensions spill over in highly-charged moments, as proven during the antics at Lord’s after Zak Crawley’s theatrics to delay play on day three.

He is also the ultimate counter-puncher, as proven by the final delivery on day three at the Oval to rearrange Crawley’s stumps. If Test cricket is about momentum, then Siraj can swing it as much as the ball.

“I’ve always had great admiration and respect for Siraj as a competitor,” Ben Stokes conceded following the fifth Test. “He keeps coming and coming and coming.

“You know he’ll always be in a fight with you. He’s an example of what it means. I have respect for how he goes about his cricket and how he takes it on.”

The tourists had a mindset throughout the series that they were “not given a chance,” according to KL Rahul, with key figures Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma absent.

But the India opener insists that the fifth Test victory is “where the change begins” and that “it means absolutely everything.” If that is the case, then Siraj’s impact might just be felt for many years to come.

Ukraine war latest: Kremlin warns US over nuclear rhetoric

The Kremlin has warned that everyone should be careful about nuclear rhetoric, after Donald Trump ordered a repositioning of US nuclear submarines.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the significance of Mr Trump’s announcement last Friday that he had ordered two submarines to be moved to “the appropriate regions”.

The move came after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev made remarks about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.

“In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that’s the first thing,” Mr Peskov said.

“But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way,” he added.

“Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.”

Mr Peskov said that Russia did not see Trump’s statement as marking an escalation in nuclear tension.

He also declined to answer directly when asked whether the Kremlin had tried to warn Medvedev to tone down his online altercation with Trump.