Badenoch says Tories will abolish inheritance tax as she takes battle 'for the soul of the nation' to Burnham
By Tony Diver and Nick Gutteridge
KEMI BADENOCH has pledged to fight for Conservative values as she promised tax cuts for middle-class voters.
Declaring her party is "coming back", Mrs Badenoch said a future Tory government would abolish inheritance tax (IHT) on family homes.
In an appeal to higher earners and the wealthy, she vowed to build a country "for every hard-working person out there" and to let workers "keep more of what you earn".
Speaking in Birmingham on the final day of the Conservative Party conference, Mrs Badenoch made 14 references to “fight” or “fighting”, saying the next election would be a “battle for the soul of this nation”.
Declaring she was “ready to fight for our values”, she said: “We are going to win, not for ourselves, but for our country. For every hard-working person. For everyone who wants to see common sense restored, for everyone who wants to see Britain working again. We are going to win for everyone who wants to see our great country united.”
In her 66-minute speech, which received nine standing ovations, Mrs Badenoch also attacked Reform UK, accusing the party of wanting to “take us backwards”, and said the Labour Party was “addicted to welfare” and “drowning our country in debt”.
Revealing her IHT pledge, Mrs Badenoch said that although she would only reduce death duties on family homes to begin with, her “ambition is to abolish inheritance tax altogether as soon as we can afford it”. She said: “Governing is about tough choices. Conservatives will not announce a tax cut without telling you how we are going to pay for it.”
Under the Tories' IHT changes, Mrs Badenoch said she would allow a couple to leave £1m to their children tax-free, in addition to the value of their home.
The new system would mean the number of families paying the levy would fall by more than half, with all main residences exempt from the tax and the threshold for other assets increased by £175,000. Inheritance tax is currently levied at 40 per cent on estates worth more than £500,000, though couples can combine their allowances to increase the threshold to £1m. Frozen IHT thresholds mean that by 2030, about 9.5 per cent of estates will attract a tax bill, up from about 5 per cent last year.
Kemi Badenoch with her husband, Hamish, after her speech to the Conservative conference in Birmingham yesterday. She accused Andy Burnham of reckless public spending
From April, the value of an estate will also include unused pension funds, threatening to drag more pensioner households into paying the tax.
Inheritance tax raised approximately £8.5bn last year and is expected to bring in £14.5bn by the start of the 2030s based on the current system.
Mrs Badenoch said inheritance tax was “supposed to be a tax on the superwealthy” but is “now a tax on ordinary, middle-class families”. The policy would cost £6bn, funded by cuts to the welfare budget, which would be £36.1bn less per year under the Tories’ plans.
Mrs Badenoch attacked Reform and "fishy" Nigel Farage, ruling out any pact before the next election. "To those who say unite the Right, we are not uniting with that," she said.
Declaring the start of a “fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century”, Mrs Badenoch accused Andy Burnham of “reckless” spending and borrowing. Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chairman, said
the speech showed the Tories "haven't changed" and accused them of "prioritising the wealthiest".
During their conference, the Tories have announced they would repeal Labour's mansion tax, which could soon apply to properties worth more than £1.5m. Mrs Badenoch also pledged to remove the childcare "cliff edge", under which couples lose access to free nursery hours if one partner earns more than £100,000. Party bosses believe that by targeting wealthy Liberal Democrat voters in the south of England, they can restore their traditional base before attempting to supplant Reform as the most popular party on the Right.
The latest polls show Labour has received a boost since Mr Burnham's conference speech last week. The party now has the support of 27 per cent of voters, ahead of Reform on 22 per cent, the Tories on 20 per cent and the Lib Dems on 11 per cent, according to YouGov.
Mrs Badenoch also said her party would adopt a “tough love” approach to cut benefits and get young people into work. She said: “We need to put the fair back in welfare. It is wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work.”
Andrew allies compare arrest to police treatment of Lord Brittan
By Victoria Ward and Martin Evans
ANDREW Mountbatten-Windsor's allies have compared the circumstances surrounding his arrest to the treatment of Lord Brittan during Operation Midland.
The former Duke of York launched legal action against Thames Valley Police after accusing officers of seizing personal items during raids on his home. He is also challenging the legality of the warrant itself.
Those close to him believe the raids were executed to humiliate Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and to ensure maximum exposure for their investigation. They have compared his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which took place on his 66th birthday in February, and the six-day searches of his home to Scotland Yard's botched
The former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is confident he has a good case against the police
Operation Midland probe, which eventually led to the Met paying out large sums in damages to those whose homes had been raided. The way police execute search warrants in high-profile investigations became the subject of intense scrutiny during the Operation Midland investigation between 2014 and 2016.
Detectives investigating a non-existent VIP child abuse ring raided the homes of senior public figures, including Lord Brittan, the former home secretary, who had died weeks earlier.
Sir Richard Henriques, a retired High Court judge, produced a scathing review of the Met's conduct, stating that officers searching Lady Brittan's North Yorkshire home "acted as if they were looking for bodies or body parts".
The Met Police later paid out large sums in damages to those whose homes Continued on Page 2
Burnham ready to raise tariffs on China to get closer to EU
By James Crisp, Joe Barnes and Tony Diver
ANDY BURNHAM is preparing to raise tariffs on Chinese electric cars as part of a closer relationship with the EU.
The Prime Minister will visit Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, today in Berlin ahead of a UK-EU summit next month, which is expected to secure deals on youth mobility and food and drink.
Mr Burnham is likely to urge Mr Merz to pressure Brussels so that British firms can also benefit from EU defence loans and industrial subsidies.
But Mr Merz is expected to warn Mr Burnham this will not be possible unless UK raises tariffs on Chinese electric cars from 10 per cent to the EU's 45 per cent. The move would make the cars more expensive and risk infuriating Beijing, which has expressed "serious concern" at the prospect of tariffs.
The discussions come as Mr Burnham prepares to set out Britain's future relationship with the EU. In his first party conference speech last week, he said that Brexit had "done more harm than good" and promised to reveal options around the time of the next summit with Brussels next month.
Currently, British industries risk being shut out of new “Made in Europe” laws designed to favour EU companies competing with cheaper Chinese imports. Berlin is broadly in favour of
UK involvement in the European schemes because of the risk that excluding Britain will harm established supply chains between the two countries.
However, there is debate among EU member states and the European Commission about how far they should be open to non-EU countries like Britain.
"If you want to qualify as a country that is a partner of Europe and can be considered 'Made in Europe', then what we can't have is that country has lower tariffs than the ones we are imposing," an EU diplomat told The Telegraph.
A government spokesperson said: "We always put trade measures in place independently and based only on the UK's economic interests."
Humans who sleep in the same room as their dogs are more likely to disturb their pets' slumber than the other way round. While many pet owners claim their dogs disturb a good night's sleep, Canadian researchers carried out a study of the night time activity of 38 dogs and their owners and discovered that dogs appear to have been maligned. More often than not, owners began moving before the dogs did, suggesting they are disturbing their dogs first.
The man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe tried to break into Nigel Farage's home, a court heard. Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday accused of one count of preparation of terrorist acts. Mr Kerry allegedly travelled to Mr Farage's home in April 2025, where his partner Laure Ferrari returned to find damage to the door and a bottle of lighter fluid on the porch. A tool mark from a $27\mathrm{mm}$ blade was allegedly found on the doorframe.
Boots has been sold to the family behind Primark for nearly £7bn. The high street pharmacist, which was founded in 1849, has been bought by the Canadian arm of the Weston family, Wittington Investments, for £6.7bn. The deal comes just a year after the private equity firm Sycamore bought Walgreens Boots Alliance, for \$24bn. Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, said: "Boots is one of Britain's most enduring businesses, with a rich heritage and trusted name." Page 19
2026 年英国最佳酒吧
扫描二维码或访问 TELEGRAPH.CO.UK/BESTPUBS
📄 Original Section
THE BEST PUBS IN THE UK 2026
SCAN THE OR CODE OR VISIT TELEGRAPH.CO.UK/BESTPUBS
英国河流被排放原污水时长达 300 万小时
---
📄 Original Section
Raw sewage pumped into British rivers for 3m hours
Campaigners accuse water companies of failing to properly report discharges 50,000 times this year
By Patrick Galbraith
WATER companies across Britain spilled sewage for more than three million hours last year, as campaigners warned utilities companies are failing to properly warn the public about dangerous discharges.
A study by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) found there were more than 500,000 spills across 2025, with 1.8 million hours of sewage discharged into waterways in England alone.
In the first six months of 2026, meanwhile, there have been 50,000 discharges that were not reported within an hour under a legally binding requirement to notify the public of potential health risks.
SAS said there had been 192,790 sewage discharges in the first half of 2026, based on the charity's initial estimates.
That is despite a lack of rainfall and record-breaking heatwaves. In parts of England, hosepipe bans remain and reservoirs are still depleted.
Water companies are not permitted to release untreated sewage in anything but “exceptional weather events”, such as during heavy rain. But during last year, Thames Water, the struggling utility giant that serves London, released sewage on 1,983 dry days and South West Water on 4,345 dry days.
In the report, Julie Maughan, whose daughter died in 1999 after contracting E. coli from a sewage spill on a beach in Devon, said: "It has been more than two decades since my daughter, Heather, died. Yet the analysis in this report shows that the system is still broken."
The report comes just over a week after Andy Burnham used his Labour Party conference address to argue failing water companies could be taken back into public ownership.
Mr Burnham said: "Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain. Where private companies serve the public interest we will support them.
But the consequences will be clear for those who do not, including taking back control or public ownership."
It comes amid public anger over the state of Britain's water industry, which has been weighed down by billions of pounds in debt and suffers from ageing infrastructure and widespread leaks.
SAS and other campaigners have urged the Government to take control of the water industry, calling for ministers to use the forthcoming Clean Water Bill to reform the sector so it is no longer focused on profit.
Between January and August this year, 1,687 people told Surfers Against Sewage they had felt sick after using Britain's rivers, lakes and beaches. This surpasses the charity's total 2025 figure of 1,568 eight months into the year. Illnesses ranged from bacterial infections to diseases requiring hospital care.
The charity found that sewage was spilled across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for a total of three
'Imagine heading out for a swim or a surf, and finding sewage has been pouring into the sea for hours'
million hours last year. However, it said inconsistent monitoring meant the figure was an "under-representation of the true scale of sewage pollution".
Giles Bristow, the chief executive of SAS, said: "Water companies have systematically failed to report sewage discharges on time more than 50,000 times this year. That's a threat to public health, and it's illegal."
A spokesman for WaterUK said: "The English water industry is the most transparent in the world and we are the only country to make near real time storm overflow data freely available."
A spokesman for Defra said: "Water companies must take responsibility for record levels of sewage pollution – and they have a duty to ensure people's health is protected."
A spokesman for Ofwat said: "Any sewage spill into the environment is one too many. Water companies must do better."
Taking the plunge Tom Daley, the Olympic diver, has shared an image of himself after undergoing a drag makeover by the YouTube influencer Plastique Tiara.
Reform's internal investigation absolves its own staff over undercover donations sting
By Gordon Rayner ASSOCIATE EDITOR
REFORM UK did not break any laws when senior party figures were recorded by undercover journalists discussing a £500,000 gift from a foreign donor, an internal investigation has concluded.
A 27-page report, commissioned by Reform, after a Channel 4 investigation into funding also cleared the party of wrongdoing over the funding of three opinion polls. Reform UK intends to take “aggressive legal action” against the group of undercover journalists behind the documentary.
Channel 4 claimed in a programme broadcast last month that the party had breached political donation rules.
Reform was alleged to have taken funding from a US firm for three polls it had commissioned earlier this year, costing £32,500.
Dan Jukes, left, and Nigel Farage being filmed by undercover Verbatim reporters
party leader, was also filmed discussing the possibility of a £500,000 foreign donation. The purported donors were in fact undercover reporters from Verbatim, an investigative group, posing as an American financier and his UK-based son.
Foreign companies are not a permissible source of funding for parties, including payments for studies and research. Accepting donations from them could constitute a criminal offence. The claims remain under investigation by police and the British Polling Council.
Reform's internal report, carried out by Adam Richardson, Reform's barrister, and Tom Waterhouse, the party's general secretary, "does not excuse" the "foolish" way in which two senior party figures discussed donations and polling with an undercover reporter, and the party says it has taken steps to tighten its internal governance as a result.
A Reform UK spokesman said: "Having concluded the review, the investigation found no evidence that any laws were broken. Reform UK takes its obligations on governance and conduct extremely seriously."
A Channel 4 News spokesman said: "Channel 4 News stands by its journalism. [Our] investigation underwent extensive editorial and external legal scrutiny prior to broadcast."
Ex-prince driven by desire for 'fairness and justice'
Continued from Page 1 had been raided. The accusations come ahead of a High Court hearing today to decide on an application lodged by police to keep the details of Mountbatten-Windsor's judicial review secret. The former duke, who will not attend the hearing in person, is confident he has a strong case and wants the details to be released to the public.
He is said to be driven by a desire for "fairness and justice". One source told The Telegraph that he is not motivated by money but by the strong belief that the police searches were unlawful.
If Mr Mountbatten-Windsor wins his judicial review, police could be forced to return all the material seized in the raids, which would deal a potentially fatal blow to its investigation launched following the publication of the Epstein Files earlier this year. His arrest in February marked a historic moment for the House of Windsor, as he became the most senior member of the royal family to be arrested in modern times.
His determination to seek justice through the courts echoes that of his nephew, the Duke of Sussex, who took legal action against the Home Office in an effort to get his taxpayer-funded police protection reinstated.
The legal actions have been a blight for the King, who has been forced to take steps to ensure he was not placed in legal jeopardy, which meant he barely communicated with Harry during his legal action. In the case of his younger brother, palace aides made clear that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had been banned from using the King's private funding to cover his legal costs.
Thames Valley Police said it was engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants obtained from the Central Criminal Court but said that, as legal proceedings are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
A viscount has been banned from driving for six months for speeding in a 20mph zone.
David Pollock, the 3rd Viscount Hanworth, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday where he told Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate, that he was "a cautious driver" who uses his car only to give his wife and daughter lifts.
The 80-year-old, who had been clocked speeding on three previous occasions, had already admitted doing 27mph in a 20mph zone.
He had applied to argue that the ban resulting from getting 12 points would cause him exceptional hardship, but dropped the attempt.
Drivers should "accelerate gently" and travel with as little baggage as possible to save fuel, according to the AA.
Diesel has fallen back below £2, according to the motoring group. However, at 199.98p per litre, it is still close to record highs. Petrol costs just under 175p per litre.
Lee Morley, of the AA, said: "Drivers can't control the price at the pump but there are things they can do to make every drop matter.
"One of the simplest ways to use less fuel is to drive smoothly. Accelerate gently, use the appropriate gear and look well ahead so you can ease off the accelerator rather than braking heavily at the last moment."
A fraudster who scammed medical companies out of millions of pounds by helping to create sham PPE deals during the pandemic has been jailed.
Craig Morris, 43, and his boss Jogesh Bhandari, 60, pretended they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves in the US and Germany.
At Northampton Crown Court, yesterday, Morris was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.
Bhandari's wife Meenakshi Bhandari, 58, who was found guilty of money laundering in July, was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work. Jogesh Bhandari is expected to be sentenced on Oct 16.
A 30-year-old man has pleaded guilty to making a death threat to Robert Jenrick, the Reform UK shadow chancellor.
Nick Daly, of Oxted, Surrey, admitted sending a communication threatening death or serious harm to an MP. The threat referred to Mr Jenrick's Jewish wife, Michal Berkner, in anti-Semitic voicemails left at his constituency office.
Ms Berkner is a British lawyer who was born in Israel and whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.
In yesterday's hearing, Daly also admitted to sending an anti-Semitic message to the Israeli embassy in west London and hate messages to a Muslim organisation.
---
每日电讯报（The Daily Telegraph）
是独立新闻标准组织（IPSO）的成员，且我们遵守其《编辑实操准则》。如果您对编辑内容有投诉，请访问 www.telegraph.co.uk / editorialcomplaints 或将信件寄至我们的邮寄地址（见下方）的“编辑投诉”部门。如果您对我们的答复不满意，可以向 IPSO 提出申诉，网址为 www.ipso.co.uk。
Organisation (IPSO) and we subscribe to its Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content, please visit www.telegraph.co.uk/editorialcomplaints or write to 'Editorial Complaints' at our postal address (see below). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may appeal to IPSO at www.ipso.co.uk.
The Daily Telegraph, III Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT
Three-year-old makes child's play of scaling Lakeland peaks
By Tom McArdle
AS MOST toddlers spend their time doodling or playing with toys, one three-year-old has become the youngest known person to complete all 214 peaks in the Lake District.
Navy Moores completed the challenge by scaling Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, on Sunday.
He completed his five-month adventure by walking the last of the Wainwrights alongside his parents, Daniel and Leanne, and his siblings Jessica, 14, and Oliver, six.
The family of five, from the Cumbrian market town of Kendal, started the first of their ascents on May 10.
Mr Moores said: "I don't think he really knows what he has actually achieved yet.
"The following day he was asking if we were going for a hike. And it's like, well we have completed them now."
He added that both Navy and Oliver were “absolutely fine” on their final climb up Scafell Pike, despite already climbing Lingmell the same day.
Announcing the completion of the challenge, his parents said: "We are so unbelievably proud of all three of our children.
"Jessica and Oliver have been there for every step of this adventure, hiking every one alongside us, sharing the miles, the climbs, the laughs, the tough moments and all the amazing memories along the way.
"Watching the three of them experience this together has been one of the most special parts of it all."
Over the 214 walks, Navy covered 510.85 miles and a total elevation of 224.883 ft.
His adventures were posted on Navy's Summits social media, showing the youngster's keen appetite to scale every peak in the Lake District.
Describing their motivation for taking the family walking, his parents added: "We have hiked for many years together and then the children came along but we carried on.
"The weather we can't help but if it can safely be enjoyed we like to make the most of it."
The Wainwright Society does not maintain or verify age records for completers, meaning Navy has not been officially confirmed as the youngest walker to do so. However, nobody as young as he has previously been identified as having completed the challenge.
News
Tall tales Guide to England's highest hills
Navy Moores, three, completes all 214 Wainwrights atop Scafell Pike. He walked them with his brother, Oliver, six, right, sister, Jessica, 14, and parents, Daniel and Leanne
214
The Wainwrights consists of all of the English Lake District fells listed in the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells
3,209ft
Scafell Pike is the highest of the peaks and is part of the Scafell massif, an extinct volcano
510.85
Number of miles Navy climbed during his five-month adventure, trekking up all the Wainwrights
1955
Year Alfred Wainwright published his first book on Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. He also published 56 guided walks
Pets are more likely to be disturbed than their owners if they are in the same room
By Sarah Knapton
SCIENCE EDITOR
IF SLEEPING dogs should be allowed to lie, then their owners are not doing a very good job.
Humans who sleep in the same room as their canines are more likely to disturb their pets' slumber than the other way around, scientists have found.
About four in 10 homes in Britain have a dog, and up to 78 per cent of owners allow their animals to sleep in their bedroom, even though many complain that they are often woken up by the nocturnal ramblings and rumblings of their pets.
To find out if this was true, Canadian researchers carried out an in-depth study of the night time activity of 38 hounds and their owners and discovered that dogs appear to have been maligned.
While humans and their dogs did become active at about the same time in the night, more often than not, owners began moving before the dogs did, suggesting they are disturbing their dogs first.
Researchers tracked night time activity using monitors worn on the wrists for humans and the collars of dogs.
Lavania Nagendran, a doctoral student from the University of Toronto, said: "Human and dog night time activities were generally correlated, but patterns were variable among pairs.
“Overall, their activity tended to be synchronised with human activity more often preceding dog activity than the other way around.
"I have a dog, and he has always slept on the bed with me. He is quite the cuddle bug, so I really value those moments with him.
"I've always felt that our night time behaviours were very synchronised; he would wake up whenever I did and vice versa."
Dogs and humans have lived together for thousands of years, and researchers were keen to see how sleeping patterns may have been shaped by domestication.
Previous studies have proved inconclusive because they were often based on night time recall, or subjective meas-
Monitors on wrists and collars showed humans were most likely to wake up first in the night
ures of sleep quality. But wearable technology has allowed for real-time monitoring.
The team found that sharing the bed with a dog did not significantly impact sleep duration or sleep quality, even in cases where owners reported feeling like their dogs were disturbing their sleep.
Many owners reported feeling safer and more relaxed when their pet was present which is likely to improve sleep.
People who slept with multiple dogs
'My dog is quite the cuddle bug, so I really value those moments with him'
reported the worst sleep, although sleep trackers showed there was no evidence that more animals impacted rest.
The researchers now want to carry out further research to compare the night time activity patterns of pet dogs with other groups, such as working dogs, free-roaming dogs, and wolves, to see if it differs.
Doctoral student Ming Fei Li said: "It will help us better understand how domestication and human influences may have contributed to these patterns."
Miss Nagendran added: "Personally, this research has not changed my behaviour as a pet owner, but it has made me appreciate how intertwined our daily routine is.
"There are many studies examining how bed sharing with pets may influence human sleep, but research examining our impact on companion animals is more limited.
"Our findings support the idea that human-companion animal relationships are two ways, with both humans and their pets influencing one another's behaviours and routines."
The research was published in the journal Plos One.
Paratrooper's round-the-world walk finally ends after 28 years
By Tom Jeffreys
HAVING escaped mobs in Peru, been detained by Russian border officials and swum across the Caspian Sea, the Yorkshireman has finally returned home.
Karl Bushby, the 57-year-old ex-paratrooper, has stepped foot on British soil for the first time since embarking on a walk around the world in 1998.
Mr Bushby has spent nearly 28 years travelling through the most extreme conditions - both in climate and politics - and his arrival in the UK marks the start of the final leg of his trip.
A swim across the Channel, from a starting point reported to be Cai-ais to Shakespeare beach in Dover, was completed on Monday.
He will now walk 250 miles to his mother's home in Hull to complete his "Goliath expedition", travelling more than 36,000 miles without using transport or returning to the UK.
In a crowded field - he caught amoebic dysentery in Colombia, was robbed in Ecuador and jailed as an illegal alien in Panama - the trip across the Channel proved to be one of Mr Bushby's biggest headaches.
A request to walk along the Channel Tunnel was refused and he had to secure a special exemption to swim across, given such an endeavour is "strictly forbidden" by French law.
However, he was greeted in Dover by his father, brother and friends on Mon-day after 20 hours of swimming over three days.
The Channel's shortest crossing point, 21 miles, is a drop in the ocean compared to the 186 miles he swam in the Caspian Sea, but Mr Bushby used a wetsuit, flotation device and hand paddles to help him beat strong winds and make the crossing.
The negotiation of his swim was a difficult one. Upon learning he couldn't walk through the tunnel, he said: "I am not angry it has come to this. I am more disappointed. But things could still change."
The eventual compromise saw French and UK coastguards help him make the journey.
Upon his arrival, Mr
Karl Bushby in wetsuit for his Channel swim
Bushby told his TikTok page: "Karl's home. 28 years later but he's home. It's a special day. Thanks to everybody in the world that made this possible."
Mr Bushby started his expedition on November 1 1998 in Chile, where he began a walk up the Americas.
He endured excruciating conditions in the Panamanian jungles and Patagonian deserts, and had close encounters with snakes and crocodiles.
Having trekked up the west side of Canada, he spent two weeks in 2006 walking across the Bering Strait connecting Alaska and Russia before being detained by Russian border officials.
Just before that crossing, The Telegraph reported how he was 17,000 miles into his 36,000-mile walk and was negotiating a frozen bay on his way up the jagged Alaska coastline when the ice gave way, but somehow survived an involuntary sub-zero immersion.
In 2024 he began his swim across the Caspian Sea, a measure taken to avoid Iran because of geopolitical tensions.
He has since traversed southern and Western Europe, and will now walk north to his childhood home.
Mr Bushby posted on his TikTok last month that a documentary will be made of his journey that is set to be directed by Werner Herzog.
斯科特惊叹：一名身患艾滋病的演员将莎士比亚玩弄于股掌之间
电影
《埃尔西诺》（Elsinore）
伦敦电影节
★★★★★
[...OMITTED...]
---
📄 Original Section
Scott stuns as an Aids-ridden actor bending Shakespeare to his will
为了填补戴-刘易斯的空缺，导演理查德·艾尔（由充满活力且恰到好处的约翰尼·弗林饰演）请来了查尔森，而《埃尔西诺》将查尔森描绘成一个在职业生涯中未获成就的人。让艾尔最初犹豫的是，查尔森承认自己 HIV 呈阳性。他的脸上出现了一个病灶，他那关系疏远的友人德里克·贾曼（大卫·道森饰演）将其称为该疾病可怕的“波点阶段”的开始。只有在先驱性的艾滋病专家玛格丽特·约翰逊（奥利维亚·科尔曼饰演）的治疗下，查尔森才能重新振作，在身体崩溃前撑足够长的时间来应对这部最令人精疲力竭的剧作。在斯科特的演绎下，查尔森认为如果生存是唯一的目的，那么延长生命的意义不大。他想要灿烂地燃烧，即便蜡烛已所剩无几。“我宁愿死于《哈姆雷特》，也不愿死于艾滋病，”他打趣道。
ANDREW SCOTT pours his soul into Elsinore, with stunning conviction, and will rightly win awards for his performance. If it was his compatriot Jessie Buckley's turn last year for Hamnet, it's his now. Hamlet – playing the title role this time – is the lodestone for Scott's quicksilver genius, in this essential account of how Ian Charleson, the Scottish actor, bent Shakespeare to his will, while only having weeks to live in the throes of full-blown Aids. Is the film perfect? No. Is Scott? Angelically so.
Charleson - blond, intense and underused - was 40 years old when the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself. Nervous exhaustion had caused Daniel Day-Lewis to abandon the National Theatre's 1989 Hamlet six months into his run, walking off without a word during the ghost scene.
It's with that notorious moment, seen on backstage monitors to the shock of crew, that Simon Stone's film begins.
To fill Day-Lewis's shoes, director Richard Eyre (a buoyant, just-right Johnny Flynn) calls upon Charleson, whom Elsinore depicts as professionally unfulfilled. What gives Eyre initial pause is Charleson admitting that he is HIV-positive. A lesion has appeared on his face, which his estranged friend, Derek Jarman (David Dawson), refers to as the start of the illness's dreaded "polka-dot phase". Only thanks to the ministrations of
Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, who played Hamlet, 1989, while dying of Aids
pioneering Aids specialist Margaret Johnson (Olivia Colman), is Charleson able to rally, staving off physical collapse for long enough to tackle this most comprehensively exhausting of plays. Charleson, in Scott's hands, sees little point in stretching out life with no other motive than mere survival. He wants to burn brightly, even if there isn't much candle left. "I'd rather die of Hamlet than Aids," he quips.
The script by Stephen Beresford (Pride) is not short on wicked gallows humour and straight-up zingers. The good stuff in here is not only about gay shame and hiding it away, but the backstage frivolity of an actor's life. We know it must all darken, and we brace ourselves to spend more and more time in hospital wards among the dying – prepared, too, to be clobbered by the grave ending towards which the whole film is surely leading us.
Somehow, we're deprived. Stone reduces the last act into a mulch of iffy montages, leaving us yearning for proper scenes and conversations.
Elsinore misses greatness for that and leaves an ache. But the ovations for Scott will be instant, thunderous and deserved.
Elsinore is screening at the London Film Festival and in UK cinemas from Jan 29
News
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake on stage with a pint of beer and his black Labrador, Zuzu, in a rebuttal of a Labour minister's claims that the image of pubs and dogs was a far-Right fantasy
Hard workers must reap rewards, says Badenoch as she pledges tax cuts
Sandroy Kumar sheds a tear as Mrs Badenoch condemns the failings that led to the killing of his daughter Grace, below, who was stabbed to death by a psychopath
Tory leader vows not to do a deal with Reform and says Burnham is taking Britain back to the 1970s
By Nick Gutteridge, Tony Diver and Daniel Martin
KEMI BADENOCH declared that the next election would be a “battle for the soul of the nation” as she vowed to abolish inheritance tax on family homes if the Tories take power.
In a wide-ranging speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch also pledged to let people "keep more of what they earn" if her party returned to power.
The Tory leader also turned her fire on Labour and Reform UK, and declared the Tories were back as a force to be reckoned with.
"We understand why putting roots down and having a stake in society matters. Passing on your home to your family is one of the most human instincts of all. So, conference, the next Conservative government will legislate so nobody will ever pay inheritance tax on their family home."
The policy would cost £6bn, and remove the levy completely from more than half of the estates expected to pay it by 2029-30. The changes would be funded by spending cuts, including to the welfare budget, which would be £36.1bn less per year under the Tories' plans.
Mrs Badenoch attacked Reform UK, accusing the party of wanting to "take us backwards", and said the Labour Party was "addicted to welfare" and "drowning our country in debt".
Attacking the Government, she said: "It's the same old high-tax, high-spend Labour. No common sense. Addicted to welfare. Drowning our country in debt. Choking our economy with taxes."
Mrs Badenoch's pledge on death duties comes after she used her speech at last year's Tory conference to announce she would scrap stamp duty.
At this year's gathering Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, separately announced the Conservatives would reverse Labour's "mansion tax".
Mrs Badenoch said: "I believe the people who work hard and save should be rewarded for that effort. So this is my guarantee. No stamp duty when you buy your home, no mansion tax when you live in your home and no inheritance tax on your home when you pass it to your children or grandchildren. That is what the next Conservative government will deliver."
The conference has seen a focus on easing the burden on middle-class families, including those caught out by the £100,000 tax trap. This contrasts with Reform, which has said it would prioritise tax breaks for lower earners, such as increasing the tax-free personal allowance.
Battle for soul of the country
Mrs Badenoch geared activists up for a general election she believes could come as soon as May. "There is a fight coming in British politics," she declared. "A fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century. It will be a battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas. A battle that goes to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be."
She said it was a fight between “a government that wants to wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past” and “a renewed Conservative Party, fighting for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government”.
She accused Labour of believing their policies were compassionate, "but we know that these ideas will make every single person poorer." She warned: "We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right."
Too early to write off Tories
"Conference, the Conservatives are coming back," Mrs Badenoch
proclaimed. "To think, people were writing us off. Let me tell you, I am not someone who gets written off and neither is the Conservative Party."
She ran through a series of Labour U-turns she said had taken place because of Tory campaigns, including on the family farm tax and the axing of jury trials.
She said the party was doing well because the "rows, plots and infighting" of the pre-2024 years were a thing of the past.
"The Conservatives have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform" - a reference to the defence
tions of Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman. "This party is now the no-drama party. We are the no-nonsense party."
She said she was looking to the British high street for inspiration. M&S is a brand that has been around for 100 years," she told delegates. "Not so long ago, critics said they were a bit stuffy and stuck in the past. Some were even questioning whether the brand would survive... Now, M&S is back in fashion. Great looks at affordable prices.
"Just like M&S we must learn from our mistakes, win back trust, and make
people feel good about our party again."
Burnham's going back to 1970s
Turning her fire on the Prime
Minister, Mrs Badenoch told delegates not to let him google them with his "fluttering eyelashes and his pork scratchings".
She pointed out he had been happy to serve in Jeremy Corbyn's cabinet and accused him of making uncosted spending plans such as on free social care for the elderly.
She said she was “shocked” at his conference speech last week which indicated he did not have defence, the economy, immigration, or crime as his top priorities. “It’s the same old high tax, high spend, Labour. No common sense. Addicted to welfare.
"Drowning our country in debt. Choking our economy with taxes. Stifling every innovation with regulation."
She said Mr Burnham's conference slogan on "hope" showed he was a "Paddington Bear Prime Minister" who "wants to turn back the clock to the 1970s".
Ruling out a deal with Reform
Mrs Badenoch made a plea for Reform voters to return to the Tory fold – but had harsh words about the Reform leadership.
"Reform voters, many of them are our people," she said. "We let them down and we want them to come back home."
She went through a list of the most prominent Reform scandals, including their leader in Wales jailed for accepting Russian bribes and Nigel Farage's £5million donation.
And she was rewarded with a standing ovation for saying: "To those who say unite the right, we are not uniting with that."
She hit out at the way some Reform politicians had suggested that non-white people could not be English.
"I don't want to live in a country run by people who... debate whether my mixed-race children are English," she said.
"I don't want to explain to my son when we're watching our brilliant England team play football that some people don't think our black players are English.
"I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English...
"We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are. Reform MPs are openly questioning people's identity. They are not like us; we are not like them. We are different. We are the Conservative Party."
Tax cuts to boost the economy
Reviving the economy would be the "central organising principle" of a future Conservative administration, she said. The Tories would get to grips with the country's huge debt and get the economy growing by cutting spending and by reversing some Labour tax rises.
She blamed Rachel Reeves' decision to increase employers' National Insurance for a surge in youth unemployment over the past two years.
"We will cut the Jobs Tax in half for under 25s," she said. "That is how you get people into work, by making it easier to hire them."
Putting the fair back in welfare Mrs Bandenoch said the Tories wanted to "put the fair back into welfare".
“We need tough love,” she said. “It is morally wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work.
People who do not find a job within six months will get a Back to Work Card to buy things they really need – “no alcohol, no cigarettes, no gambling”.
"Conservatives don't believe in a something for nothing culture. The best welfare is a well-paying job."
Law and order
Watching Mrs Badenoch's speech from the audience was the father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, who was stabbed to death by a psychopath in Nottingham in 2023.
The Tory leader said she had met Sandroy Kumar along with the parents of another victim, Barnaby Webber.
"Their children were butchered in Nottingham, along with Ian Coates, by a psychopath authorities had multiple opportunities to stop but didn't, because they were afraid to," she said.
"Institutions that were meant to protect people, failed. It is devastating for families. And it keeps happening, again and again and again."
She concluded by saying the next election will be between “a Labour Party which takes more of your money” and a “Conservative party which lets you keep more of what you earn”.
She said it would be a choice between "a Labour party which says Government has all the answers" and a "Conservative party which lets you decide".
“这是撒切尔的重生。她简直可以开着一辆酋长坦克驶上舞台”
📄 Original Section
'This was Thatcher reborn. She might have rolled on stage on a Chieftain tank'
Three of our columnists assess Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Tory conference
THE stakes were high ahead of Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Conservative Party conference.
The party has swung behind their leader and she is popular personally in the polls.
But the party as a whole has been lagging amid speculation the Prime
Minister may call an early general election in the spring and the real possibility of a hung parliament.
Could she convince the public that the Tories can be trusted again and win back voters who have been tempted by Nigel Farage's Reform? Our experts have their say.
A stupendous announcement on inheritance tax, and a powerful moral message
THE challenge was clear: Kemi Badenoch had to top the most successful political speech of recent history. That was not Andy Burnham's performance a week ago: it was her speech at party conference last year. So this one was quite different. It was not designed, as that stupendously surprising debut had been, to introduce her personality to the nation. Now she needed to supply the programme. What is the real substance of her offer?
The most significant feature which ran consistently throughout was that this was, above all, a moral message. Every policy that she proposed was consistent in its theme of personal responsibility: the value of individual endeavour. Not only in the economic sense that it is the only source of real wealth, but in terms of the fulfilment of human potential. This was a battle of ideas: nothing less, she said, than a battle for the soul of the country.
It will be the details, of course, which will make the headlines. Her announcement about inheritance tax was stupendous. Making the family home exempt was a stunning idea because it instantly gave ordinary families a stake in this. Coupling it with the promised removal of stamp duty makes the underlying principle even clearer: home ownership is a social good to be encouraged and respected. This really was the key to her wider philosophical premise: people who take responsibility for themselves and their families should be rewarded.
She was drawing a clear distinction between the Burnham Labour project which has moved very notably to the collectivist Left, and the Conservative one which is explicitly committed to individual achievement and personal responsibility. To that end, they would dismantle Labour's "job-killing measures", and prohibit young people becoming welfare dependents straight out of school or university.
All of this was of a piece: it had a coherent goal and it was presented in unabashedly urgent terms. We were running out of time and money – but, above all, we were in danger of squandering human capital. The next election was to be a fight not just about the organisation of the economy or even the defence of the realm: it was a debate about how life should be lived and what made it worth living.
We have been here before. This was pretty much exactly the argument that we thought had been settled decades ago when New Labour accepted the Thatcher revolution. But this is a new version with an alarming context: the end of the post-Cold War era with all the threats and instability which that presents. Can it succeed in a climate where capitalist economies are drowning in debt, and welfare dependency has become a way of life? We may be about to find out.
She channelled the spirit of Thatcher – and may have taken a significant step to No10
THOSE who can still remember the 1979 general election will recall Margaret Thatcher's shopping basket. The Conservatives have come under fire ever since for offering a simplistic analogy, as Thatcher did, to explain the challenges of the economy.
But such criticism misses the point: the then Tory leader's analogy worked. Voters already worried about an unending series of economic crises were convinced by her common-sense housewife's approach. Kemi Badenoch today embraced the late Baroness Thatcher's tactic, peppering her
Kemi comes out fighting The key quotes
Shame on the Green Party and shame on Zack Polanski
The Conservative Party stands with the Jewish people. We will never stop fighting anti-Semitism
To those who say "unite the right", we are not uniting with that
It is morally wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work
If you're a mother in a village threatened with a migrant camp like in Piddington, and you want your children to feel safe, we will deport illegal immigrants, not house them
The era of peace is over ... If we want peace, we must prepare for war
The Conservatives have had an export boom. We have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform
We are going to win, not for ourselves, but for our country. For every hard-working person out there, for everyone who wants to see common sense restored, for everyone who wants to see Britain working again
No nonsense Kemi comes out as the Tories' English rose
Sketch
By Tim Stanley
IN a deeply personal speech, Kemi Badenoch finally addressed those internet rumours. Yes, she is black.
We didn't want to say anything. It's like having a gay nephew: we all know, we don't care, we don't want to discuss it in case he never shuts up.
But things with Kemi have changed. Far-Right activists are now muttering online that a Nigerian cannot run Britain – because white people have been doing SUCH a good job – so the taboo had to be broken.
"I am black," she told delegates, "I am British... I don't want to live in a
speech to the Tory faithful with innumerable analogies involving mortgages, household bills and shopping lists.
The theme was “common sense”. “We need to put the ‘fair’ back on welfare,” was one typical appeal to those watching or catching up on the highlights via TikTok. “It’s not [the Government’s] money, it’s taxpayers’ money” was another.
And just in case there was anyone left in her audience who wasn't getting the "Thatcher reborn" message, Badenoch announced: "The first duty of any government is defence of the realm." She might as well have rolled on stage astride a Chieftain tank.
One could easily see why she regularly polls better than her own party: she speaks sense and does it from the heart. She also seems to recognise that the many, many mistakes her party made when it was last in government are not going to be readily forgiven by a weary electorate without a heartfelt mea culpa from the person currently in charge.
country run by people who... debate whether my mixed race children are English."
Well, hear ruddy hear! Who would be so stupid as to suggest otherwise? Kemi wears M&S, thinks the young are lazy, jail is a five-star hotel and Jeffrey Archer will be sorely missed. She might be the most English woman I've ever met.
With the Right divided and extremists taking advantage, race has been a surprise theme of this convention. I caused a stir at a fringe meeting where, in an unguarded moment, I was caught on camera saying racism is bad.
Yes, I got cancelled for not being a bigot. A first for Tory conference. Nutters on X called me a "race traitor" who ought to be "JAILED", which didn't worry me excessively: thanks to Labour's early release programme,
and arrows from the rostrum ("Once Starmer won a landslide, Burnham couldn't wait to get back into Parliament to take it off him," Ouch). But the loudest cheers from the faithful came when Badenoch turned her fire on Nigel Farage and Reform UK and ruled out any chance of a "united Right" in the run-up to the next general election. But for her it's about more than politics: her anger at the current public debate on whether people of colour can claim to be British came through in an emotional defence of her mixed-race children. She has skin in the game, literally.
Ruling out the full abolition of inheritance tax was probably a good idea, given Badenoch's commitment to sound money. But her pledge to exclude all family homes from the tax received positive yells of delight from the gathered activists. It was another simple gesture that will attract the attention and perhaps even sympathy of many currently sceptical voters. "We have something for everyone," she told her party. Perhaps. If so, Badenoch has made another small but significant step towards No10.
'She wears M&S, thinks the young are lazy, jail is a five-star hotel and Jeffrey Archer will be sorely missed'
SHERELLE JACOBS This felt like a political turning point with Conservatism finding its way
GAME on. There are political speeches and there are political turning points. The latter occur at party conferences once in a blue moon.
Take Margaret Thatcher's Blackpool performance in 1975, where she launched her crusade for freedom, asserting man's right to "have the state as servant and not as master".
I'd be out within a week. But when we had an opportunity to speak with Kemi in her hotel suite, Dan Hodges and I looked her in the eye – a nerve-racking experience – and begged her not to dodge the issue.
Or Tony Blair's birthing of New Labour in the same seaside town in 1994. His move to rewrite Clause IV and uttering of the immortal words "parties that do not change die" turned politics on its head. Has something
So, we took our seats on this last, flu-riddled day to see if she'd listened to our advice. Coughs and sneezes spread good speeches. Kevin Hollinrake, party chairman, sipped a "far-Right fantasy pint" on stage and introduced us to his "far-Right fantasy black Labrador" - a funny reference to the far-Left fantasist government minister who had said neither existed.
Nick Timothy, shadow justice, thought "people feel divided and lost" (hungover was closer). Chris Philp, shadow home, promised to put "criminals where they belong" (fast-tracked to the Labour Cabinet). A lady with tattoos sang the national
Her message was unflinching: Thwacking her consonants, she pronounced that “there is a fight coming in this country” as a “battle of ideas” loomed.
similar just occurred in Birmingham? Rumours have been swirling that an early election is in the offing. If this speech was anything to go by, Badenoch is ready.
Badenoch finally breathed the emotional fire of the culture wars into her party's economic case.
Badenoch looks set to relish the fight. Her critics have previously denounced her as a “fundamentally unserious” culture warrior obsessed with women’s bathrooms.
But as she braces the country for “a fight that we have seen in this country for more than half a century” the Tory leader is shrewdly leveraging her combative impulses. History teaches that the best leaders are those who grow into rather than grow out of their defining traits.
anthem and video rolled of Kemi being a cow in the Commons. A man in front clapped his hands so wildly I feared they might fly off.
It's not a fair representation of Reform's politics (Nigel's conference
Badenoch stated that growing the economy "will be the central organising principle of the next Conservative government". But more
"We are a team, we are a family, and we are going to do this together," she said, as if delivering a stern warning to noisy kids in the back of the car.
Then: "We have had an export boom in drama queens" to Reform and, quite frankly, she doesn't want them back.
Crooks, she said; race-baiters, too. "To those who say unite the Right, we are not uniting with that!" The unsubtle message? The Conservatives are both a "no-nonsense" alternative to the Left and a moral one to the extremes - driving a wedge between Tory and Reform, tempting middle-class voters with tax cuts, salving their conscience with appeals to equality.
importantly, she has clearly grasped that she cannot win the argument with economic reasoning alone. Moral conviction will be the secret sauce.
She was powerful when challenging Andy Burnham's claims to compassion. "These ideas will make every single person in this country poorer."
For the first time since Cameron, a
'Badenoch delivered what they would call in the Black Country a "bostin" speech. The gloves are off'
Tory leader has attempted to make a moral case for conservatism that can resonate beyond its base: that people who work hard should be rewarded. That grand state, socialist-infused projects are not compassionate but reckless.
For years the Tories have been at sea. Under Kemi what it means to be a Conservative has been distilled to a simple, repeatable belief: what people earn belongs to them, not the Government.
'Lib Dem bar charts show undecided voters are some of the most gullible people alive'
was younger, poorer and less white than this one), but Lib Dem bar charts show that undecided voters are some of the most gullible people alive.
"Shame on" the Greens for "seeking to erase Jewish identity". Shame on Reform MPs for asking if people of colour are truly English.
Kemi's denunciation of bigotry drew a standing ovation - and though I didn't rise, I defied journalist convention by clapping. I sincerely believe all human beings are created in God's image, that we have a duty to love each and every one of them. Except Piers Morgan.
With that, the carnival was over. Delegates fled, bunting came down. In the Tory tat shop, one lone teddy bear was left on the shelf, wearing a T-shirt that read "future prime minister".
The hope still lives, the dream shall never die.
Her performance was not only fiery but also captured the urgency of the moment. One line in the speech summed it up: "We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right."
Perhaps we saw her mettle most clearly when she took on Reform. Her assertion that Farage's supporters deserve better was empathetic. As she declared her refusal to live in a world where she has to explain that her mixed-race children are English, it gave me goosebumps.
Woven together, Badenoch's policies start to form the tapestry of a society where individual effort is rewarded in all life phases. Graduates are no longer ripped off by university loans. The young are incentivised and supported to get a job. Those who win promotions actually gain financially. Retired people have their pensions protected. Citizens who grind to build a life for themselves have something to pass down to the next generation.
There is work still to do. Badenoch delivered what they would call in the Black Country a "bostin" speech. The gloves are off.
Greens' friend of al-Qaeda terrorist spared suspension
By Memphis Barker
SENIOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
THE Green Party has failed to suspend a party member who told The Telegraph she was friends with a convicted al-Qa-eda terrorist.
Lubna Speitan, the author of the "Zionism is racism" motion that the party adopted this week, offered to testify in the defence of Minh Quang Pham at a US court hearing in 2015.
Pham plotted to blow himself up at Heathrow airport, targeting passengers arriving from Israel by detonating a backpack filled with shrapnel dipped in rat poison.
Asked whether they remained friends on Tuesday, Ms Speitan said: "Yes, it's still the case," and suggested Pham, who is serving a 44-year sentence in US prison, might have been wrongly accused.
Yesterday, the Green Party confirmed it was investigating Ms Speitan, but had yet to suspend the British-Palestinian artist who has been widely accused of anti-Semitism.
The 43-year-old, who opposes the designation of Hamas as a proscribed terrorist group, has also been filmed calling for Zionists to be "hunted down" like Nazis.
In a separate video, she said she was happy to be called an “anti-Semitic terrorist” and would wear it as a “badge of honour”, if that was how political opponents viewed her “resistance” to Israel.
Green members have urged the party to take immediate action against Ms Speitan, who joined the Greens from Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party.
Kieran Dams, a former Green councillor who quit the party over Ms Speitan's Zionism motion on Tuesday, told The Telegraph that people like Ms Speitan were "dangerous and need to be stopped". He said: "All I can say is this really sums up who is in charge of the Green Party in 2026."
On social media, party members urged their leadership to "take control of the situation" and "not with a statement, not an email, but very clear action".
The Green Party is investigating Ms Speitan in a process that could lead to her expulsion.
A deputy leader of the Welsh Green Party has also quit over the “Zionism is racism” policy. Philip Davies said the resolution “accelerated” his decision to quit his post after two-and-a-half years.
News
FINNARK WEBSTEREGETTY IMAGES
Herd brush A cow gets its tail made spick and span before judging at the Dairy Show at the Bath and West Showground, in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The event combines a comprehensive trade show with an exhibition of top-quality dairy cattle.
ANDY BURNHAM is wrong to back reintroducing drinking in football stands, the national police lead for the sport has said.
Speaking before his retirement, Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Constabulary, who has been the national lead for football policing since 2014, said he would “absolutely” urge Mr Burnham against overturning the ban.
The Prime Minister said last month the ban on football fans drinking in the stands was unfair and should be scrapped.
Mr Roberts said football had become much safer because of the legislation, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1985 as part of a crackdown on football hooliganism.
He said: "The danger now is complacency, because we haven't had tragedies or significant widespread disorder. You start removing one of those strands and it starts unpicking it all.
"I would really urge policymakers to listen to the people who have to deal with this, that's the safety people at clubs, but particularly the police and the football policing unit. Football's in a pretty good way at the minute. It's safe. People feel safe to go."
He added: "In terms of the drinking thing, people can drink before, they can drink at half-time, they can drink after. I go to games. I don't think there's any great massive desire for it."
Mr Roberts, a Manchester City supporter, added that getting a "beer shampoo" when a goal was scored was "not conducive to a great afternoon".
The 1985 legislation prohibits drinking in sight of the pitch in England and Wales in the top five men's leagues.
Mr Roberts added: "The legislation and policy is to target behaviour, not groups of people, and, unfortunately, historically football had an issue with it."
Mr Roberts said he had been policing football since 2009 and watching Manchester City play since 1977.
He said: "Everything I've seen in that period as a fan and in policing kind of suggests that it will be a bad idea."
Last month, a UK football policing unit spokesman said police chiefs would welcome a meeting with Mr Burnham to “explain the challenges these proposed changes would bring to policing and the safety of staff and fans”.
Court told Joshua Kerry travelled to Reform leader's property where door was left damaged
By Fiona Parker
THE man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe tried to break into Nigel Farage's home, a court has heard.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday accused of one count of preparation of terrorist acts.
Kashif Malik, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Kerry is accused of carrying out “online reconnaissance on prominent people and institutions on various dates between May 31, 2024, and July 8, 2026, including identifying the home address of Nigel Farage”.
It is alleged that he travelled to Mr Farage's home on April 20, 2025, where his partner Laure Ferrari returned to find damage to the door and a bottle of lighter fluid on the porch. Mr Malik said a tool mark from a 27mm blade was found on the doorframe, and that "the inference is that an attempt was made to gain entry to the house".
Mr Kerry, who wore a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
He is also accused of the murder of Widdecombe, the Reform UK spokesman and a former Tory minister, who was found dead at her home in Devon on July 9.
It is alleged that Widdecombe, 78, died after being hit on the head with a hammer 21 times. The attack allegedly began while she was eating lunch in her secluded house in the village of Haytor.
Mr Kerry is accused of driving 270 miles from his home in Rotherham to Devon in his red Vauxhall Corsa before attacking the former MP.
During his first appearance at the Old
Joshua Kerry, 28, at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday
Bailey in July, the court was told the attack was carried out with a "ferocity of violence". Mr Kerry was arrested on suspicion of murder at his home in South Yorkshire on July 11. He was rearrested two days later on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Reform has called for increased security for its MPs since Miss Widdecombe's death.
The party claims Mr Farage receives more than 300 threats a month, including dozens of death threats. In September, it announced that it was funding 24-hour security for all its MPs.
Mr Farage received a £5m donation from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency billionaire, in 2024, which he claimed was used to fund his protection. The donation, which was not declared, led to an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. A Reform source said earlier this month: "This is exactly why Nigel needed £5m to protect his security for life."
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said Mr Farage had "not been listened to" over his safety concerns. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today pro-
'This is exactly why Nigel needed £5m to protect his security for life'
gramme earlier this week, Mr Tice said: "When, actually, things occur that are very close to home, so to speak, it's pretty shocking and makes one take a big intake of breath.
"[Mr Farage's] security and the risks to it, he's talked about many times, on many occasions, over many years.
"And I think what's particularly upsetting for those of us in and around him is sometimes he's not being believed, not being listened to, and you know we have just got in a sense deep regret over everything that's happened over a long period of time."
Asked if Mr Farage had met the Home Office to discuss his security, Mr Tice said: "A number of meetings have taken place with a number of people at the higher level of Reform.
"The information and intel I now get about the threats in and around myself and others is a very significant shift in the approach taken by the authorities, and we appreciate that."
而且，采用这一策略的不仅仅是斯佩坦。这位活动人士是一群极左翼前科尔宾主义者中的一员，他们投靠绿党，显然是为了推进其反以色列运动。另一位是乔·多博尔（Jo Dowbor）。多博尔是“支持巴勒斯坦绿党”（Greens for Palestine）小组的创始人，同时也是青年绿党（Young Greens）的共同主席和绿党的官方发言人，她此前支持“你的党”，并且是杰里米·科尔宾的狂热粉丝。
今年 2 月，多博尔在曼彻斯特参加了 Bob Vylan 的演唱会，随后她在社交媒体上分享了一篇帖子，写道：“聋，对 IDF 充耳不闻（Deaf, deaf to the IDF）”——这显然是指该乐队 2025 年在格拉斯顿伯里（Glastonbury）演出时的场景，当时主唱带领观众齐声高喊“死亡，死给 IDF（Death, death to the IDF）”。
Ex-Corbynistas join the Greens to turn the party against Zionism
By Lauren Shirreff and Pieter Snepvangers
TIME was when the Greens were a party of middle-class moderates. Under the steady leadership of Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion, its voter base was strikingly mild. The typical Green was a Birkenstock-wearing, lentil-eating, nature-lover with a concern about climate change, above all other issues.
No wonder Lubna Speitan slipped into the party. As a Londoner in her mid-40s, with a degree in graphic design from the University of East London and a love of poetry, music and environmentalism (or so her website reads), Speitan seems to be the kind of centre-Left voter who aligned with the Greens of old.
In truth, she is anything but. Speitan, who was behind the radical "Zionism is racism" motion at the party's conference on Sunday, has made no attempt to hide her extremist agenda. A former supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's new party, Your Party, she told the Palestine Deep Dive podcast in
April she switched to the Greens because of Your Party's infighting and the Greens' relative stability, which meant the latter was better placed to further her anti-Zionist aims.
"[I] decided, 'OK, until [Your Party gets] off the ground, let's prepare the ground somewhere else so at least there's a foundation built and ready,' she said.
It is a strategy known as "entryism", a classic tactic of the hard-Left.
And Speitan was not the only one employing this strategy. The activist is part of a group of hard-Left ex-Corbynistas who have thrown their lot in with the Greens, with the apparent purpose of furthering their anti-Israel campaign. Another is Jo Dowbor. The founder of the Greens for Palestine group, as well as the co-chairman of Young Greens and an official Green Party spokesman, Dowbor is a previous supporter of Your Party and an ardent Jeremy Corbyn fan.
In February, Dowbor attended a Bob Vylan concert in Manchester, after which she shared a social media post reading, "Deaf, deaf to the IDF" – an
A jubilant Lubna Speitan (first on right) after Sunday's motion. Right, Jo Dowbor
apparent reference to the band's 2025 Glastonbury set, where the lead singer led the crowd in a chant of "Death, death to the IDF".
Another hard-Left
Corbynista now
active in the Green
Party is Ashok
Kumar, an
associate
professor in
political
economy at
Birkbeck
University and a
regular
commentator on the
Israel-Gaza conflict. Kumar, who
goes by "Comrade Kumar" on
social media and is on the
steering committee of the Greens for Palestine group with Speitan, is American.
He appeared alongside Speitan on the Palestine Deep Dive podcast in April and explained that, because he (Kumar) was not an anarchist, he would never abolish the police if he were to be in charge of Britain. Rather, "we take over the state, we take over the police [and] we use the police to arrest all the landlords and Zionists".
Then there is Tariq Khawaja, another member of the Greens for Palestine's leadership, who only joined the party last May. "My main focus at the moment is working with Greens for Palestine," he wrote on a Green Party web page. Khawaja, who is also the equality, diversity and inclusion officer for the Brighton and Hove local Green Party, shared a statement on Instagram that "We are all Palestine Action" after the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025.
Speitan, whom The Telegraph has revealed was a “good friend” of an al-Qaeda terrorist who plotted to bomb passengers landing at Heathrow in
2011, has been quite candid
about her and her allies motives. Speaking on another podcast, The Crispin Flintoff Show, on September 21, she said: "The whole point of [the Zionism is racism motion] is for us to challenge and confront the establishment.
"This is about us, the people, taking that power. So, irrespective of what Zack [Polanski] says or thinks [...] it's down to the
members to vote for or against that. The point of this is to make an anti-Zionist party."
The fact that more than 1,000 people voted in favour of the motion on Sunday suggests the scale of the take-over of the party is significant.
Polanski though faces anger from the moderates who believe he should have opposed the motion, rather than leaving the conference early. "He was completely absent for this crucial vote and his intervention could have made the difference because it was actually reasonably close in the end," says one Green insider. "It was a margin that could have been changed had he been setting out a clear view all along."
Members are keeping their powder dry until after the Holborn and St Pancras by-election today, in which the Green leader is hoping to be elected to Parliament for the first time, the insider adds. "[But] members are deeply unhappy about what was allowed to happen at party conference." If Polanski loses the by-election, it could lead to a realisation that "he has peaked [and] is only going in one direction".
Kieran Dams, a councillor in Merseyside, who quit the party this week following the motion, says he expects Polanski to be replaced. "There'll be a leadership election and I'm pretty sure someone much more radical will stand and probably beat [Polanski]."
One leading candidate is Mothin Ali, the current deputy leader, who chanted "Allahu akbar" when he won his Leeds city council seat in 2024.
Speitan, for her part, has made it clear she will not rest. She said: "If it doesn't happen in this party, it might be Your Party. It might be another party. Maybe another one will rise. But we're not going away. We are going to fight until our last breath."
代表国民医疗服务体系（NHS💡）全科医生的诺福克和韦夫尼地方医疗委员会（Norfolk and Waveney Local Medical Committee）的一位发言人表示：“特里医生去世的消息令我们深感悲痛。她是一位优秀的全科医生，致力于为患者提供卓越的护理。在这个极其困难的时刻，我们的心与她的亲人和同事同在。”
Royal GP found 'strangled and bludgeoned in her bedroom'
Husband charged with
murdering his wife while
children slept at their
home near Sandringham
By Telegraph Reporter
A GP for the Royal family was found bludgeoned and strangled in a bedroom at her home bordering the Sandringham estate, a court has heard.
The injuries to mother-of-three Dr Hannah Terry, 45, were revealed as her husband Mark Cain, 45, appeared at Norwich magistrates' court charged with her murder, yesterday.
Mr Cain spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and the address of the detached house where he lived with his wife and their three sons in Dersingham, Norfolk. He showed no reaction during the four-minute hearing as he sat in the glass-fronted dock with a security guard.
Jacqui Hanlon, prosecuting, told the
Mark Cain, 45, below, has been charged with the murder of his wife, who used the professional name Dr Hannah Terry
court that the ambulance service had called police at about 2.25am on Sunday after a report that a 45-year-old male had received stab wounds in a suspected robbery at the couple's home.
Dr Terry was found not breathing and unconscious in an upstairs bedroom and was attended to by paramedics, said Ms Hanlon.
The prosecutor added: "A Home Office pathologist report noted a blunt force injury to the right side of her head had been inflicted. There was also an injury which could be suggested was caused by a compression to the neck."
Ms Hanlon added: "There were children in the house at the time." The victim was professionally known as Dr Terry, but was referred to in court by her married name Hannah Cain.
The Fern Hill address is just over a mile from Sandringham House, one of the royal residences of the King and Queen. Dr Terry was listed as a member of the practice team at Grimston Medical Centre. She served in a pool of doctors who were regularly on call for members of the Royal family nearby.
Mr Cain was remanded into custody by District Judge Matthew Bone to appear at King's Lynn Crown Court for a preliminary hearing today.
In a tribute, Dr Terry's family said: "We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful Hannah. She was kind, generous and loving; a beloved mother, daughter, sister, auntie, daughter-in-law and friend.
"We are incredibly proud of the woman she was and of the great care she took of all her patients who knew her as Dr Terry.
"We would ask people to respect our privacy at this difficult time."
According to the website of a business Dr Terry ran called Norfolk Sky Aesthetics, she had been a qualified doctor for more than 15 years and a GP for eight. Dr Terry described herself as a “caring and professional doctor” who continued her work as a GP alongside her cosmetics business.
Several bouquets were left outside Grimston Medical Centre this week, with one card signed by a married couple who were both patients of Dr Terry's, describing her as "the kindest doctor" who "never rushed us".
They said: "You listened to both of us. No one else will ever be able to replace a beautiful person and GP like you. Sleep well, heaven has certainly gained an angel."
A notice on the surgery's website said: "We apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience and understanding at what is a very difficult time for our colleagues."
A spokesman for the Norfolk and Waveney Local Medical Committee, which represents NHS GPs, said: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Dr Terry's death. She was a wonderful GP who was dedicated to providing excellent care for her patients. Our thoughts are with her loved ones and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time."
Dr Terry studied medicine at the University of Leicester while her husband was pursuing an engineering degree at the same city's De Montfort University.
Specialist officers are continuing to support Dr Terry's family, who have asked for privacy.
JAN WESTPA
News
Black and white and red all over Billie Piper, 44, attends the European premiere of Elsinore at the Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, yesterday on the opening night of the BFI London Film Festival.
Packham's claims about lice-ridden salmon don't hold water, say M&S
By Chris Price MARKETS EDITOR
MARKS & SPENCER has accused Chris Packham of making misleading claims that its factory-farmed salmon is covered in lice and chemicals.
The BBC presenter and environmental campaigner has starred in a short video on behalf of Project Slingshot, a campaign group that is urging the retailer to stop selling salmon reared in sea cages. M&S has been supplied by Norwegian-owned company Scottish Sea Farms for 20 years. Until 2019, this was under the Lochmuir brand. The name was a marketing tool and there is no Scottish loch with that name.
In the satirical film, the Springwatch presenter dresses as an English gentleman, sporting a moustache and a boater, in front of an apparently idyllic Scottish salmon picnic.
However, it features salmon covered in lice and shows Mr Packham applying dyes to turn its grey flesh pink. He also douses the fish in chemical “condiments” to ward off lice and fungal infections.
Mr Packham has urged M&S to "use its influence" to help end factory-farmed salmon. He told The Telegraph: "Farmed salmon are out of sight and so is the reality of the environmental, ecological, economic, animal welfare and human health horror show. It's a toxic industry - don't buy it."
He added: "Salmon are extraordinary 'Farmed salmon are out of sight and so is the reality of the animal welfare horror show'
animals which have evolved to travel thousands of miles. Confining them in sea cages exposes them to excessive levels of parasites, a range of diseases and practices that cause extreme suffering.
“And the damage doesn’t stay inside the farm – their waste and toxic chemicals destroy marine life and this, plus frequent escapes, put Scotland’s endangered wild salmon at risk.”
However, M&S said the campaign, which included more than 5,000 adverts across the London Underground, was "misleading".
The retailer said wild or farmed salmon is not grey and added that a "nutrient", called carotenoids, was added to the feed of their farmed fish, which "as closely as possible replicates a wild diet to keep them healthy".
It added that Scottish Sea Farms used veterinary medicines prescribed to fish "only by exception if needed". This is "robustly controlled" by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, it said.
An M&S spokesman added: "M&S salmon is farmed responsibly to the highest welfare standards, supporting an industry that offers thousands of UK jobs. M&S farms uphold the highest standards of welfare - exceptionally low stock density with just 1.5 per cent fish to 98.5 per cent water, continuous water quality monitoring, high-quality feed and vet care.
"We only work with select farms that
‘We provide nutrients that as closely as possible replicate a wild diet’
we know and trust and they are independently monitored. We are proud that Scottish Sea Farms has been our supplier for over 20 years."
The Project Slingshot campaign was co-founded by Naomi Hallum and Matthew Glover, who is also co-founder of the Veganuary movement.
Ms Hallum said: “M&S tells a story of care and pristine Scottish waters, and it names its salmon after a loch that doesn’t exist. Behind that story is a factory-farming system that no label can make humane. M&S should commit to taking factory-farmed salmon off its shelves.”
M&S states that its Scottish-farmed salmon is sourced from dedicated farms and meets RSPCA Assured standards.
拜邑挂毯展将延长开放时间以确保“无访客被拒之门外” BBC 在向《蓝色星球》作曲家致敬时将 Fenton 与 Benson 搞混
Bayeux Tapestry exhibit to open later so ‘no visitors turned away’ BBC mixes up Fenton and Benson in tribute to Blue Planet composer
By Craig Simpson
ARTS CORRESPONDENT
THE Bayeux Tapestry exhibition will stay open an hour longer so that "no visitors are turned away".
British Museum staff have been working to solve "teething problems" with the blockbuster show, including wait times of up to two hours for ticket-holders to enjoy 40-minute slots in front of the mediaeval artwork.
Some visitors were turned away entirely when the attraction closed for a high-profile gala attended by John Healey, the Labour Chancellor.
The exhibition will now stay open for an extra hour every day to ease the unprecedented congestion inside the museum, with an insider saying it will "ensure that no visitor is turned away" because of closing times.
This means that the exhibition, which has already been seen by 100,000 visitors, could stay open as late as 10pm Thursday to Saturday, and 7pm for the rest of the week.
The extra hour will act as a "buffer" to soak up the cumulative effect of delays, without exposing the fragile 1,000-year-old artwork to more hours of damaging light. Ticket-holders are given 40 minutes to see the woven account of the Norman conquest and they are encouraged to file smoothly past the 230ft-long tapestry, without stopping, to exit on time.
If awestruck early visitors fall behind the expected pace to marvel at the embroidery, this prevents more ticket-holders from joining the slow procession past the artwork and causes delays for the next timed slots. This has led to
'100,000 visitors in three weeks is an extraordinary volume to deal with – we are learning lessons'
"pinch points" in the afternoon and near closing, staff have noted, when accumulated delays amount to the longest queues and those with timed slots late in the day are facing the most frustrating waiting times.
To prevent those with late ticket slots being timed out or rushed, staff will have the discretion to keep the exhibition open into the buffer hour to ease the queue and improve the flow of visits through the Bayeux gallery. To accommodate the extra hour, curators have dipped into a bank of "lux hours", the number of hours the delicate Tapestry can be exposed to potentially harmful light.
The total permitted weekly lux hours for the exhibition was set by the French state and signed into a legal agreement, but the exact figure has been kept a closely guarded secret.
The British Museum has said that other changes will be brought in to improve the visitor experience after what Dame Mary Beard, a trustee, called "teething problems".
Museum leadership took action to solve these problems last week after public anger over ticket-holders being turned away so the museum could close early for a gala hosted by Samsung in celebration of an upcoming exhibition on Korea. The event was attended by both Mr Healey and Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan, the British Museum director, said that the number of visitors - 100,000 in roughly three weeks - was an "extraordinary" volume to deal with and apologised to those who had had a "bad experience". He added that the museum was focused on "learning lessons" for the rest of the exhibition, which runs to July 2027.
By Anita Singh ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR period for the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and never reinstated.
THE BBC has apologised for marking the death of British composer George Fenton by mistakenly playing a song by US singer George Benson.
Melvin Odoom, the Radio 2 presenter, mixed up the two on air during his Monday night show.
A news bulletin reporting the death of Fenton, who was 76, was followed by Odoom announcing a "tribute" and playing Nature Boy by George Benson, who is still alive, aged 83.
Fenton composed the music for three of the BBC's landmark natural history series presented by Sir David Attenborough: The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. His other BBC TV work included themes for the Six O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News, Newsnight and Shoestring.
Fenton scored more than 100 films, earning Oscar nominations for Gandhi, Cry Freedom, Dangerous Liaisons and The Fisher King, and TV shows including Bergerac.
The composer, born in Bromley, Kent, received five Academy Award nominations among a host of other gongs including Baftas and Golden
Globes. A BBC spokesman said: "This was a production error, for which we apologise."
The error was noted by David Arnold, a fellow composer, who wrote on social media: "Radio 2 announced the passing of George Fenton on the 11pm news tonight, immediately followed by the presenter playing Nature Boy by George Benson in tribute to 'George Benson'.
Left, acclaimed composer George Fenton and, right, jazz guitarist George Benson
“George was a genius composer and deserved better than that from the company he gave voice to.”
Fenton did receive a fitting tribute on Tuesday's edition of Radio 4's PM programme.
The show began with the theme tune which Fenton wrote for the programme and which was used until 1997, when it was suspended during the mourning
It was the only theme he composed for radio. This is not the first time that the BBC has made an error when announcing a death.
In June, news of David Hockney's death was accompanied on the BBC's One O'Clock bulletin by the caption: "David Hockney resigns."
Separately, Radio Caroline, the former pirate station which is now an independent licensed broadcaster for Suffolk and Essex, accidentally announced the death of the King in May this year.
The national anthem was played, followed by 16 minutes of silence. The presenter then resumed broadcasting and apologised for the error.
An Ofcom investigation found that a member of staff carrying out maintenance on the studio computer accessed prerecorded sound files to be used in the event of the King's death and played them "out of curiosity", not realising they would interrupt programming.
The engineer responsible for the mistake was reprimanded and files were removed from the computer desktop.
---
使用我们的 BIG RED 折扣码\*，数千种产品可省钱
fire tv
节省 10%
使用代码：
RED10 dyson 节省 30% 使用代码：RED30
Lenovo 节省 10% 使用代码：RED10
amazon 节省 20% 使用代码：RED20
REACHER
Astronix
Habitus
Jewen Osten
Glu Benset
Netflix
iBook
Facebook
Bridging
Black
ademy
还有更多
📄 Original Section
Save on 1000s of products with our BIG RED discount codes\*
Women, the disabled and LGBTQ+ staff also at a financial advantage according to report
By Harry Brennan
CONSUMER AFFAIRS EDITOR
THE BBC pays white staff less on average than their ethnic minority colleagues in every pay band bar one, figures show.
Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic minority employees received 13.2 per cent higher median pay than white workers in the corporation's lowest pay band, and 5.3 per cent more in the highest pay band.
White employees' median pay was higher - by 0.6 per cent - in one out of seven pay scales. This is despite the
BBC's commitment to "fair, clear and competitive" pay.
Its annual report also showed that women in senior leadership roles were paid 1.4 per cent more than senior men on average; disabled managers were paid 7.5 per cent more than able-bodied staff; and the highest-paid LGBTQ+ employees earned 8.8 per cent more on average than “non LGBTQ+” colleagues.
The broadcaster's "pay gap" report said men, the able-bodied, straight and white workers all still benefited from higher average wages when measured as a whole, with its overall ethnicity pay gap standing at 0.7 per cent in favour of white workers and 7.6 per cent in favour of men. This is because higher proportions of staff from these groups take up a greater share of the top-paying jobs, bringing up the overall average.
However, it said there had been an increase in the proportion of ethnic minority employees in higher-paying jobs last year, resulting in the "largest year-on-year movement" in its figures.
SOURCE: BBC ANNUAL REPORT
The numbers are likely to stoke wider concerns over internal diversity targets and staff development schemes, which critics have condemned as un-meritocratic. Sir John Whittingdale, a former culture secretary who drew up the BBC's last charter in 2016, said the BBC "ought to be paying staff entirely on the basis of the value and merit they contribute for the job they are doing".
During his time in government, he led a campaign for pay transparency at the corporation which revealed a stark gender pay gap at the top end of the organisation.
"The BBC quite rightly put this discrepancy right, but I would expect the same principle of fair pay to apply to all characteristics, be it race, sexuality, or indeed gender," Sir John added.
The BBC runs a number of mentoring and development schemes aimed at progressing the careers of diverse staff, including programmes designed to “progress talent from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds”.
It has committed to its so-called 50:20:14:25 Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy, which strives for a
50 per cent gender split across the organisation; 20 per cent ethnic minority staff; 14p per cent deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent; and 25 per cent working class. The BBC said these were goals, not quotas, and had no association with pay.
Last year, it applied the representation targets to both its workforce and creative output for the first time.
The change was made while a critical review of representation in the corporation's output was being carried out.
Published at the start of this year, the report found the BBC had made “significant progress” towards representing the country on screen, but that colour-blind casting and diversity drives had left audiences with the impression representation was being “shoe-horned” into programming.
It said efforts to represent a diverse Britain at times had led to a “sense that there needs to be a smattering of diversity in every programme which can lead to inauthentic portrayal".
In particular, it found the BBC was overly “middle-class” and “London-centric”, in both senior leadership and in the commissioning of its output, and said it needed to better reflect the working class. The BBC said that it had taken the review on board and was committed to hiring more roles outside London and reviewing content to ensure “authentic” representation.
The broadcaster insisted its pay gaps are not as a result of unequal pay and has said audits have concluded that there is no systemic gender discrimination based on pay at the BBC.
A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC is committed to fair and equal pay for all. We continue to monitor our pay gaps closely and do expect to see small fluctuations year-on-year."
Super genes of 194-year-old tortoise can help us live longer
By Sarah Knapton SCIENCE EDITOR
JONATHAN, the 194-year-old giant tortoise, has the super genes of a five-year-old which stop his cell batteries from running down, scientists have found.
In a discovery that could have implications for slowing human ageing, researchers found the Aldabra tortoise is carrying 287 unique gene variants which are driving his longevity.
Jonathan is the world's oldest land animal, estimated to have hatched in 1832, when King William IV was on the British throne, five years before the accession of Queen Victoria.
He has lived most of his life on the island of St Helena, the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, on the grounds of Plantation House, the residence of the governor of St Helena. He had been brought as a gift from the
---
“如果我们能理解乔纳森，我们或许能够应用其中的一些成果来减缓衰老过程”
它是 144 年前作为礼物从塞舌尔被带到这里的。为了揭开其极端寿命的秘密，剑桥大学的研究人员进行了 DNA 分析，发现乔纳森携带的基因变体擅长修复 DNA 损伤、减轻炎症、调节胰岛素并抑制癌症。
'If we can understand Jonathan, we may be able to apply some of that to slow the ageing process'
Seychelles 144 years ago. To uncover the secret to his extreme lifespan, researchers at the University of Cambridge carried out a DNA analysis and found Jonathan carries gene variants that are good at repairing DNA damage, reducing inflammation, regulating insulin and suppressing cancer.
Some 272 genes appeared to be “very young”, similar to a five-year-old tortoise, while the “on/off” switches that regulate the genes were also found to be remarkably stable.
Dr Justin Gerlach, an ecologist, from Cambridge, said: "Not only is he slightly better able to cope with the symptoms of ageing, he is ageing more slowly.
"If we can understand what it is about Jonathan's gene regulators that makes them so stable, we may be able to apply some aspect of that to slow the ageing process."
Dr Stephen Clark, founder of Kallel, the non-profit longevity research group, said: "Nature has already solved the puzzle of ageing in remarkable ways, and Jonathan's genome provides a blueprint for cellular resilience."
The research was published in the journal Science Advances.
NHS waiting times set to be double Labour election pledge
By Michael Searles
DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR
NHS waiting times will be twice as long as Labour promised by the next election, analysis shows.
The health service will fail to meet the 18-week wait target that had been a flagship pledge of Sir Keir Starmer's reign, a report by the Health Foundation think tank predicts. Instead, it says, based on the rate of progress in Labour's first two years in power, patients will still be waiting 35 weeks in 2029 – almost twice as long as promised.
The Government will have barely moved the needle on the overall NHS backlog either, with 7.1 million people forecast to still be on a waiting list.
Experts at the Health Foundation said their modelling showed the Govern-
'The NHS is having to run faster just to stand still – the prospects of meeting the pledge are receding'
ment "will fall a long way short of meeting its headline pledge".
Dr Francesca Cavallaro, a senior analytical manager at the Health Foundation, said a rise in referrals in Labour's second year meant the NHS was "having to run faster just to stand still".
"The prospects of meeting the Government's pledge are receding. Andy Burnham's Government have yet to set out whether they will give the 18-week target the same priority as it had under Keir Starmer, but our analysis shows the pledge is becoming increasingly hard to deliver," she said.
An NHS spokesman said: "The NHS is back to delivering its targets and last year met its commitment to treating 65 per cent of patients waiting within 18 weeks, despite a significant increase in demand for services... and while we acknowledge it will be challenging, we remain on course to deliver our commitments by the end of the Parliament."
A Department of Health spokesman said: “This Government has made cutting NHS waiting times a central priority, and we are determined to keep pushing towards our 92 per cent target, so more patients can get the treatment they need, when they need it.”
By Nick Squires
ROME CORRESPONDENT in Rome
长寿100岁的秘诀？食用平民食物并打理小块菜园
科学家认为，一个拥有异常高比例百岁女性的意大利村庄可能掌握着长寿的秘诀。
在撒丁岛内陆的山区村庄博洛塔纳（Bolotana），14 per cent的女性在达到70岁后能继续生存至100或以上。这一比例是意大利全国平均水平3.5 per cent的四倍。
Secret to reaching 100? Eating peasant food and tending allotments
SCIENTISTS believe an Italian village with an unusually high number of women who live to 100 could hold the secret to a longer life.
In Bolotana, in the mountainous interior of Sardinia, 14 per cent of women who reach the age of 70 go on to live to 100 or beyond. That is four times the Italian national average of 3.5 per cent.
The village lies more than 60 miles outside Sardinia's recognised "blue zone", a region in the centre of the island that has long been renowned for the longevity of its inhabitants.
The discovery of the new long-life hotspot was made by scientists from Sassari University in Sardinia, the University of Illinois, the University of Alabama and the University of California, Los Angeles.
The researchers found that between 2021 and 2025, the town of 2,200 inhabitants boasted five men and 14 women who reached the age of 100. The number has since dwindled to six, all of them women, although there are several people in their late nineties who may soon celebrate their 100th birthdays and boost the tally.
The reason why so many Sardinians live to a ripe old age is attributed to a number of factors, including genetic disposition, a healthy diet consisting of lots of vegetables and pulses, physical exercise and a high level of sociability.
When one of the centenarians, Giovannina Marras, 101, offered the researchers lunch, they reportedly asked who would cook the food. "I do it all myself," she answered and proceeded to rustle up a hearty meal.
"The results demonstrate the quality of life that can be found in our village," Francesco Manconi, the mayor, told Corriere della Sera. "We hope that it will attract not just tourists to come and see the town but also new inhabitants, so that we can reverse the depopulation that has unfortunately taken place."
Asked what the secret of the locals' long lives was, the mayor said: "I'm no scientist, but I think it is a mix of factors. Our diet, certainly - lots of grains and vegetables and meat from local animals, not intensively reared herds."
He said locals are particularly fond of a dish called, in the Sardinian language, "seadas", which is whole-grain semolina cooked with pecorino cheese, as well as "mustazzolus", a soft biscuit flavoured with lemon or cinnamon that contains only tiny amounts of sugar.
In this hilly part of Sardinia, locals constantly negotiate steep slopes to tend their allotments and cultivated fields. "Old people here have always walked a lot to reach their fields - some of them walk as much as 20 kilometres a day, particularly the women," the mayor said.
Some of the centenarians' habits run contrary to medical advice, however. Maddalena Falchi, 102, has always been a heavy smoker and would not dream of giving up cigarettes.
Bespoke artificial tongue allows cancer survivor to speak again
By Telegraph Reporter
A BRITISH cancer patient has become the first person to be given a bespoke prosthetic tongue on the NHS.
Surgery to remove a cancerous tumour took most of Dr Imogen Brooks's tongue, and subsequent treatment left her with speech problems.
Experts from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust spent months working on the custom-made prosthetic, which was designed for her to create the maximum number of sounds.
Dr Brooks, an assistant medical writer from east London, was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of head and neck cancer, when she was 26.
Surgery three years ago meant she lost most of her tongue.
While her speech after reconstruction was good, subsequent radiotherapy shrank the tissue.
tance technology on phone calls, but said acquaintances and former colleagues would avoid talking to her in person.
“What I was finding was people would actually look at me in fear when I spoke to them for the first time,” she said. “And it was so, so common for people to just smile and even not respond and make up in their head what I had said.”
The 30-year-old said this would cause issues with misinformation, which would affect her medical appointments and would cause problems at work.
She described the period as "really frustrating", and so Imogen Brooks's spare artificial tongue
sought a solution. "I was thinking: 'If I was just able to have that little bit of contact between the bottom of my mouth and the top of my mouth, it would be better.'"
After doing research on prosthetic tongues, Dr Brooks asked her clinicians at Guy's and St Thomas' if she would be a good candidate. "At my next appoint-
ment there were eight people in the room - everyone was willing to try," she added.
Dr Brooks said her bespoke tongue had made a "massive difference" to her life.
“What I notice is how much more willing people are to listen to me, how much less difficulty they have understanding me, and how much more willing they are to ask me to repeat myself,” she said.
Benjamin Day hired an Airbnb for the killing of Romanian sex worker Maria Saceanu, right
Man who lured prostitute to 'kill room' he copied from TV show admits stabbing her to death
By Telegraph Reporter
A KILLER obsessed with TV drama Dexter told police an injury he had suffered while trying to cut up his victim's body was caused by a fox attack.
In newly released footage, Benjamin Day, 20, is seen lying to police before his arrest on suspicion of killing Maria Saceanu, 24. He had murdered her in a "kill room" copied from the US programme, which features a serial killer who works as a forensic technician.
The body-worn camera film released by West Midlands Police shows Day - who had cut open his hand while attempting to dismember the body - claiming to have been bitten by a wild dog or a fox.
Day, who was studying forensics at the University of Worcester, changed his plea at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday to guilty.
A trial heard he lured the Romanian sex worker to a plastic-lined room at an Airbnb in Tividale, West Midlands, where she suffered 78 knife wounds, many inflicted after she had died.
Day, of Redditch, Worcestershire, had placed his victim's possessions in a bin bag for disposal after taking knives, scissors, a mask, an apron, disposable gloves, plastic sheeting, duct tape, a staple gun and chemicals to the scene.
The police footage shows Day bleeding from a hand wound and falsely claiming to be unable to remember where he had parked his car, which was outside the house containing Saceanu's body. An officer can be heard questioning Day's account.
In a second clip, Day is seen wearing a khaki top, similar to one worn by Dexter, while lying on a bed at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley at 3.42am on Dec 21. He is also heard saying: "I have got four fingers thankfully."
Opening the Crown's case on Mon-
day, Rachel Brand KC, prosecuting, said
Day had spent several hours preparing
the so-called kill room. He had been
expected to claim self-defence, assert-
ing that he set up the room to film a
"tribute" to Dexter to post on TikTok.
However, after an hour-long delay to proceedings on Tuesday, Day returned from the cells to the dock and appeared to smirk as he nodded towards the court clerk and entered a guilty plea.
The change of plea came about three hours after jurors were shown footage of Day claiming to have been attacked by a dog or fox "near a bush".
The court heard Day left the Airbnb at about 12.30am on Dec 21, walked some distance away then called 999 at 12.50am asking for medical help. During his conversations with police, Day said he had driven to the Dudley to look for a "random girl" in a bar.
Asked by an officer whether he had been set up and attacked, Day said he had been injured by an animal that "might have been a fox".
Saceanu died as a result of wounds to her neck, with a number of wounds to her hands "consistent with efforts to protect herself".
Explaining the Crown's case at the start of what was expected to be a two-week trial, Ms Brand said of Day: "He lured Maria Saceanu to a room that he had rented via Airbnb.
"He had prepared himself to kill her. He had planned to dispose of her body without leaving signs of what had happened and he planned to get away with it. But it all went wrong and he was
'He had planned to dispose of her body without leaving signs of what had happened'
caught." She told the jury: "We don't pretend ... to be able to give you the deep-seated psychological reasons why he decided to kill another person - that's not our remit.
"But what we can tell you is that he had become fascinated with a particular television drama series - an American series - and his actions were those of a copycat, imitating the things he had seen in that programme." She added: "Dexter wears a khaki T-shirt. The defendant had purchased just such a T-shirt and was wearing it when he was arrested. He had changed into 'Dexter' clothing before Maria Saceanu arrived at the house.
"In the TV series, Dexter prepares a 'kill room' when carrying out his attacks, lined with plastic sheeting which he fixes using a staple gun or duct/gaffer tape. And this is exactly how the defendant had prepared the room."
Day is due to be sentenced on Dec 4, when he faces a mandatory life sentence.
Mystery as Montoya's Fl car vanishes after decade on loan
By Telegraph Reporter
A BRITISH Formula One team are locked in a £1m High Court fight over one of their Grand Prix cars, which they said vanished after they lent it out to the owner of a garage.
The £750,000 racing car was manufactured by Williams and used by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, the team's drivers at the 2001 World Championship. Afterwards, it became part of the manufacturer's collection of "heritage cars".
The team say the car disappeared after it was lent to Shropshire-based Autotech Performance in 2015 to become a show-piece at the company's garage in Telford. When Williams asked for the car to be returned in 2021, they said they received no response and that Autotech had since gone into liquidation.
The racing company is now suing Peter Thorpe, the former Autotech director and shareholder, for return of the car, or a payment of more than £1m.
Lawyers for Williams claim that Mr Thorpe had the car removed from the garage, having wrongly claimed to his company's liquidators that he was the owner of it personally.
Mr Thorpe, 58, is fighting the claim, insisting in his defence that he never told anyone that he owned the car, "because he knew this to be untrue".
He claims that he does not know where the car is and has a poor memory after suffering a stroke. Mr Thorpe adds that he cannot remember speaking to liquidators and that the car was still on site the last time he went there in the summer of 2021 before Autotech was dissolved.
Richard Clegg, the barrister for Williams, said Mr Thorpe had "wrongfully claimed" to a valuer involved in Autotech's liquidation that he was the rightful owner of the car. "On a date unknown after the commencement of Autotech's voluntary liquidation, or thereabouts, the car was removed from the premises," he continued. "It is to be inferred that it was the defendant who removed the car from the premises, or who arranged for its removal therefrom, and the defendant who thereupon took possession and control of it."
He said Williams was seeking an order for the return of the car, plus hire charges, or alternatively more than £1m if it was not given back.
Duncan MacPherson, for Mr Thorpe, said the businessman did not know where the car was and denies claiming to own it, since he cannot remember speaking to the valuer. He said Williams was not entitled to any order against Mr Thorpe, while also disputing the alleged £750,000 value, claiming that the vehicle was a show car without an engine.
Williams' claim against Mr Thorpe was filed in the High Court, but the case has not gone before a judge for a full trial. A Williams spokesman said: "As the proceedings are active, we will make no further comment but have full faith in the legal system to resolve this matter."
Female school assistant ‘showed pupil sex toys and handcuffs’
By Telegraph Reporter
A SCHOOL learning support assistant groomed a 15-year-old pupil before taking him to her house and showing him her collection of sex toys and handcuffs, a court heard.
Melanie Rock also allegedly gave the pupil a "koala hug" by pressing her body against his and stretching her legs around him whilst they were lying on her bed.
Prosecutors claim that the 34-year-old, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, showered the schoolboy with gifts - including £385 worth of clothing - and took him out for food before inviting him back to her house.
The court heard Ms Rock told the boy that she would lose her job when they bumped into another teacher from Medina College in public if he didn't lie and say he was her godson.
She is on trial at Isle of Wight Crown Court charged with meeting a child following sexual grooming, and sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. Ms Rock denies the charges. The sexual activity charge relates to the allegation of a "koala hug".
School learning assistant Melanie Rock is accused of grooming a 15-year-old boy
Tim Devlin, prosecuting, said Ms Rock was 31 when the alleged offences took place and worked as a learning support assistant at the school.
He said the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was 15 and a pupil at the school and they exchanged messages on Instagram before they began meeting outside school.
Ms Rock allegedly picked him up several times during a week-long period. Jurors heard that on one occasion, she took the boy to KFC.
She collected the teenager on Oct 31 before taking him to a cashpoint and an amusement arcade in Sandown.
The boy alleged Ms Rock slipped him a £20 note and later gave him £25 to spend at the arcade. They then went to Ms Rock's home in Cowes, ate Domino's pizza and went trick-or-treating.
In a police interview recorded in 2023 and played to the jury, the boy described lying on Ms Rock's bed when she hugged him from behind, pressed her body against his and stretched her legs around him.
He also said that Ms Rock invited him to "enjoy her room" and "directed him" towards a drawer containing a blue bag, handcuffs, black see-through lingerie and sex toys.
Serial criminal stabbed mother to death days after release from jail
By Telegraph Reporter heard a scream coming from the victim's home, the court heard.
victed of possession of a bladed article and harassment.
A VIOLENT offender stabbed a mother-of-two to death within days of being released from jail, a court has heard.
Robert Sabat, 60, pleaded guilty to murdering Dickiesha Nurse, his 42-year-old ex-partner, at her flat in Tulse Hill, south London, last October.
On being arrested on suspicion of Ms Nurse's murder, he claimed he had killed before and was planning a "murder spree". Begging to be sent back to prison, he said: "I stay [in] jail. I've been let out a week. Let me back. I'm happy in there, I've done wrong. I killed before and got away with it."
Sabat, of Balham, south London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years at the Old Bailey yesterday.
He had been released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on Oct 17 last year, the day after he had been sentenced to 12 months in prison at Kingston Crown Court. Sabat, who had been in jail on remand since May 1 that year, was con-
At yesterday's sentencing hearing, Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, said Sabat and Ms Nurse had been in a relationship and had known each other for many years as the defendant was
Number of days after Robert Sabat was released from prison that he was arrested for the murder of his ex-partner
brought up by her father. Two days after Sabat was released from prison, Ms Nurse's children visited her and, on returning home, told their father her "friend or cousin" had been there.
On Oct 22, Ms Nurse told a neighbour Sabat was at her address and would not leave. Another neighbour saw her shouting in the street: "Get out of my house."
Two days later, a neighbour had
Ms Nurse was last seen on CCTV the next day. On Oct 27, paramedics went to Ms Nurse's flat with her sister and mother to carry out a welfare check. After no response, an ambulance crew member climbed in through an open window and opened the door to allow access.
Ms Farrelly said Sabat charged the ambulance crew and Ms Nurse's family "whilst brandishing a red-handled knife", causing them to leave the property and call the police.
Soon after, armed officers forced entry and used Tasers as they detained Sabat.
Ms Farrelly said officers had found Ms Nurse on a bed with a pillow over her face and stab wounds to the face. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms Farrelly said the defendant had convictions dating back to 1987, including burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession, and harassment of an ex-partner.
绿党就犹太复国主义投票后，一名犹太男子被“极左活动人士”殴打
作者：帕特里克·索尔 (Patrick Sawer)
资深新闻记者
一名犹太男子在试图阻止两名男子喷涂涂鸦后被殴打至血迹斑斑。该涂鸦指责今日霍本与圣潘克拉斯（Holborn & St Pancras）补选中的工党候选人为“实施种族灭绝的以色列的傀儡”。
在绿党投票后，英国犹太人代表委员会（Board of Deputies of British Jews）和犹太领导委员会（Jewish Leadership Council）在一份谴责该决定的声明中表示：“将大多数英国犹太人和犹太机构贴上‘种族主义者’的标签，是在煽动反犹恨意。在过去的一年里，英国犹太人在前往犹太会堂时被谋杀，在街头被刺伤，社区建筑遭到纵火轰炸。”
Jewish man beaten up by 'far-Left activists' after Greens' Zionism vote
By Patrick Sawer
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
A JEWISH man was beaten and left bloodied after he attempted to stop two men from spraying graffiti accusing the Labour candidate in today's Holborn & St Pancras by-election of being a "puppet of genocidal Israel".
Dan Levene, 52, intervened after he spotted the masked man crouched down spraying a slogan in white paint on the pavement in Queen's Square, Bloomsbury, central London.
The stencilled slogan accused Sagal Abdi-Wali, Labour's candidate in Sir Keir Starmer's former constituency, of acting on behalf of the Israeli government.
Mr Levene, who was walking home from an evening out at the theatre, kicked the stencil away and shouted: "No you don't you neo-Nazis".
At this point one of the two men, who were wearing masks and both were described as 6ft tall and of university age, is alleged to have begun punching Mr Levene.
The pair are then alleged to have pinned the retired journalist to the ground and continued the attack. When Mr Levene tried to film them, the pair grabbed his phone and threw it over a fence.
The alleged attack only came to an end when two women ran over from a nearby pub screaming at the assailants to stop.
'The threats against the Jewish community in Britain keep piling up'
One of the men at this point fled on a bike while the other ran off on foot, leaving Mr Levene suffering from cuts and bruises to his face, arms and legs and a suspected cracked rib.
One of the women helped Mr Levene to retrieve his phone which allowed him to report the assault to the police.
The alleged attack came after delegates at the Green Party adopted a motion declaring Zionism to be a form of racism.
Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, did not take part in the vote on
Sunday, which has divided senior party figures and many longstanding members.
Mr Levene, who said he suspected his attackers were "far-Left extremists", said: "It's very, very unsettling and I'm extremely shaken.
"The threat against the British's Jewish community keeps piling up. And that horrendous motion passed by Greens at the weekend has put a target on every Jew."
Referring to a pro-Palestine march held in London on Wednesday's anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel, which killed more than 1200 Jews, he added: "You can also see it when people are seemingly marching in favour of October 7 today.
"I spent my career looking at far-Right extremists, but the main threat now comes from far-Left extremists."
Martin Gallagher, a former police superintendent and terrorism expert on political extremism, said: "These two thugs demonstrate how the current iteration of the extreme Left wing is increasingly moving towards political violence. Virtue signalling has now moved further from protest to intolerance and we can expect much more of this sort of violence catalysed by the internet if the authorities don't start taking this threat seriously."
Following the Green Party vote, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said in a statement condemning the decision: "Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions 'racist' stokes anti-Jewish hatred after a year in which British Jews have been murdered attending their synagogue, stabbed in the streets, and seen their community buildings firebombed."
Mr Polanski is standing in today's by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, the north London constituency that was represented by Sir Keir until his resignation last month.
However, Ms Abdi-Wali, who has run Camden council since earlier this year, has been tipped to hold the seat for Labour, with the odds of voters
'Virtue signalling has moved further from protest to intolerance and we can expect more of this'
electing Mr Polanski lengthening in recent weeks.
Scotland Yard sources said both the assault and the criminal damage have been recorded as an antisemitic hate crime.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police received an online report at around 11:50pm on Tuesday, Oct 6 that a man in his 50s had been assaulted after challenging two men who were reported to be spraying graffiti in Queen Square, Holborn.
"The man reported minor injuries but did not require medical treatment. Officers have spoken to the victim and are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, which at this time is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
"No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 8535/6OCT26 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."
After storm of controversy, Bank of England reveals the animals chosen to replace famous Britons
By Emma Taggart
BUMBLEBEES, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs will feature on the Bank of England's next series of banknotes, replacing Winston Churchill and other historic figures.
The new banknotes will see the wartime prime minister removed from the £5 note when they are released over the next few years. The Bank received more than 478,000 responses to a public consultation on which creatures should appear on the new notes.
However, the Bank has also faced criticism for its decision to axe sterling notes featuring portraits of historic figures.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, called the new banknotes "ridiculous". He said: "The Bank should be focused on getting inflation down, not erasing our history with this nonsense."
Churchill currently appears on the reverse of the £5 note; writer Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner, the 19th century painter, on the £20; and Alan Turing, the Second World War codebreaker, on the £50.
The Bank has argued that new notes with fresh designs are required to include updated security features and keep ahead of fraudsters.
Rhys Phillips, the Bank's incoming chief cashier, said the new notes would combine
Banknotes will feature animals instead of historic figures such as Winston Churchill
"cutting-edge secu-
rity features and
materials science".
However, research obtained by The Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act found that the Bank had removed historic figures such as Churchill from banknotes after being told by focus groups they were "elitist and divisive".
A report commissioned by the Bank revealed focus group participants had said the notable Britons were “contentious and not representative of the UK’s cultural and natural diversity”. The report said respondents felt the figures represented “a backward-looking vision of the UK that carries too great a risk of division and controversy".
The Bank began printing sterling banknotes featuring historic figures in 1970.
William Shakespeare was the first to feature on a British banknote, aside from a monarch, when he was depicted on the £20 note more than 50 years ago. Churchill first appeared on the £5 note in 2016.
The Bank of England spent £22,500 on public consultations about which animals to feature on the banknotes, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
As part of the Bank's month-long consultation, the public was asked to choose from a shortlist of 18 native animals including mammals, birds, amphibians, insects and fish.
The buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular creature, receiving 360,399 nominations from the public.
After the survey, the Bank selected bumblebees, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs to appear as the main images on the notes, alongside a portrait of the King. Other creatures that appeared on the shortlist but were not as popular included the Atlantic salmon, the bottlenose dolphin and white-tailed eagle.
The banknote series will also feature nature imagery as part of their new design, with the possibility of some of the other shortlisted animals also being included, according to the Bank.
It has yet to be decided which of the winning animals will feature on each of the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.
When the news first broke, Kemi Badenoch said: "Removing Churchill from banknotes is erasing our history.
"Changing the pictures to put wild animals on them is a silly thing to do."
And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "I can't think of a worse time to do this with a war waging in Europe."
DALE MOBRELLA EMT NEWS
Monkey business A mother gelada with its two infants in the Ethiopian Highlands, photographed by Dale Morris, who says: "When geladas get nervous, they smile and start grinning. I think me staring at them made them feel a little uncomfortable, and so all three of them started grinning at me."
前职业舞者布伦丹·科尔称现在很难看下去《舞动严苛》
作者：汤姆·杰弗里斯（Tom Jeffreys）
一名曾任《舞动严苛》（Strictly Come Dancing）职业舞者的成员表示，他现在“很难”观看该节目的新版本。
I struggle to watch Strictly now, says ex-pro Brendan Cole
By Tom Jeffreys
A FORMER Strictly Come Dancing professional says he "struggles" to watch the new version of the show.
Brendan Cole, who danced on the programme from 2004 until 2017, has criticised the show's new hosts, as well as the BBC's decision to overhaul its professional dancer lineup.
Appearing on Jeremy Vine on 5, the dancer also said the show's run time - which stretches past two hours 20 minutes on a Saturday - was too long.
Cole, 50, told Vine he was "not enjoying" the presenting trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, previously one of the show's pro dancers, who replaced hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
"It's not what people are used to," he said. "I think the signings are interesting, let's say. I'm not enjoying it so far."
He told the programme that Willis had "been great", but questioned whether comedian Widdicombe was
'It's not what people are used to. I think the signings are interesting, let's say. I'm not enjoying it'
the right "fit". "I think Emma's been great. I think Josh is trying to be great, and I don't think he's a bad host, but does he fit Strictly? I'm not sure.
“Johannes obviously fits Strictly, but I don’t want to hear, ‘my darling, my darling, my darling’ every time someone comes up the stairs. So I think the BBC are probably looking at themselves now and going, ‘Eek, have we made the right decision?’”
Cole described the changes as a "massive risk", and said he "struggled" to get through the full programme.
"I don't disagree with the moving on," he said. "I think you've got to change your show. I think making those changes - the contestants and then the hosts - it's a massive change for people and I don't think people are loving it."
He added: "I struggle to get through two and a half hours on the main show on a Saturday night. It's long. It's a big watch." Chris Appleton, a celebrity hairstylist, became the first celebrity to be sent home on Sunday.
Poor degrees ‘eating up’ young people’s lives, says ex-Ofsted chief
By Albert Tait EDUCATION EDITOR
TOO many university degrees "eat three years" of a young person's life for no economic benefit, the former head of Ofsted has said.
Baroness Spielman, who served as the chief inspector at the schools watchdog from 2017 to 2023, said that policymakers should “think quite fundamentally about the design of mass higher education”.
"[It's] something like a third of university courses that provide no economic return for the young people taking them," she said at a fringe event organised by the Policy Institute at
King's College London at the Conservative Party conference.
She added: “I don’t want to get into arguments about the precise proportion, but it’s clear that too big a slice of degree courses essentially eat three years of a young person’s productive life for no real benefits. So we’re actually short-changing them by encouraging them to do those [degrees].”
The comments by Lady Spielman, who is the shadow minister for work and pensions, add to concerns that university has become poor value for money for young people.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published an analysis earlier this year
'We're actually short-changing them by encouraging them to do those degrees'
that found one in four graduates were worse off financially than if they had not attended university, up from one in five in 2020.
It found that while 76 per cent of graduates were better off after obtaining a degree, 24 per cent were earning less than those with similar GCSE results who had not gone to university.
The report found that around a third of students who completed undergraduate degrees had a negative “total return”, meaning their degree generated less economic value to themselves and the Government than if they had not studied.
Lady Spielman declined to name specific courses she felt were poor value for money, but the IFS named several subjects, including creative arts and philosophy, where graduates would have been financially better off had they not pursued higher education.
The think tank found that those with a degree in performing arts would be around £61,000 worse off in their lifetime than if they had not attended university, while a philosophy graduate would be £9,000 worse off.
In her speech, which was reported by Times Higher Education, Lady Spielman suggested many students were "under-occupied" at university.
"It's blindingly clear that, especially 'A lot of students basically spend three years – far too great an extent – kicking their heels'
他将研究成果汇编成一本新书《挖掘者的日记》(The Digger's Diary)，该书将于下周四在斯图尔布里奇图书馆举行发布会，作为达德利历史节 (Dudley History Festival) 的一部分。
里德先生补充道：“我只是觉得这是一个非常私人化的故事。我无法克制自己。”
“从我拿到日记的第一刻起，我就感到一种真实的连接感。我完全被吸引住了。”
记录显示，纳托尔在 1915 年 20 岁生日几天后加入了澳大利亚军队，并被分配到第 23 营。
在部署到埃及后，该营转移至西线与德军对抗。
纳托尔因在 1916 年从无人区 (No Man's Land) 营救阵亡战友，被乔治五世国王授予军事勋章。
📄 Original Section
Great War soldier's love revealed after diary found in skip
By Tom McArdle
A FIRST WORLD WAR soldier's love story was uncovered thanks to his diary found in a waste dump more than 60 years ago.
Cpl Claude Nuttall documented his time on the front line, where he was killed three months before the Armistice was signed to end fighting on the Western Front.
The Australian soldier had been fighting the Germans when he was injured and sent to a hospital in Stourbridge, Worcs.
wounds in Wordsley Hospital, he met and became engaged to Violet Palfreyman, whom he married in March 1918.
The young couple spent about 30 days together before he was sent to rejoin his battalion in France.
In his final diary entry, recorded on Aug 10, 1918, he recounted military successes, but also the fact that he had written to his wife.
He wrote: "Heavy bombardment by our guns. Push still in progress. Started letter to Vi. 11 $\frac{1}{4}$ inch gun captured by 31st Btn and train came back from forward. Packed up ready to move forward again. Prisoners still coming back.
Wrote to Violet."
He was killed three days later after a sniper shot him while he was attacking a German machine-gun post during the Battle of Amiens.
The diary came to light in 1996 when the curator at Dudley Museum advertised for photographs and information about individuals from the Black Country who served in the First World War.
Colin Reid, who managed the museum at the time, was arranging an exhibition of memorabilia to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1916 Somme campaign.
The appeal
Cpl Claude Nuttall and his bride Violet Palfreyman on their 1918 wedding day
prompted Alan Southall to come forward, with the diary he had found aged 12 in a pile of rubbish in 1965, which had a bullet hole through it and was still covered in blood.
in the humanities, a lot of students basically spend three years – far too great an extent – kicking their heels, going to a few hours of lectures and classes a week, writing one essay every few weeks, but really just not doing enough and having far too much time to get bored and lonely," she said.
Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, the body representing 142 institutions, said: "These opinions are not borne out by the facts.
“Fewer than one in 10 graduates regret going to university, graduates are more likely to be employed, more likely to earn higher salaries, and to see their earnings rise more quickly.”
Mr Reid said: "We had decided that because there was a local angle to this, we would actually put his diary on display, just with a single red rose. The more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn."
He has brought together his research in a new book, The Digger's Diary, which will be launched at Stourbridge Library next Thursday as part of Dudley History Festival.
Mr Reid added: "I just felt this is actually a personal story. I couldn't help myself.
"Right from the very first moment that I held the diary, I had that real sense of connection with it. I was really hooked."
Records show Nuttall enlisted in the Australian army a few days after his 20th birthday in 1915 and was assigned to the 23rd Battalion.
After deployment to Egypt, the battalion moved to the Western Front to face the Germans.
Nuttall was awarded the Military Medal by King George V for rescuing fallen comrades from No Man's Land in 1916.
The Blowout
XV
XV
间谍的双重生活：业余足球教练
柏林第二位被捕的高级情报官员身份曝光，英国安全担忧升级
作者：Joe Barnes, James Crisp, James Rothwell 和 Jan-Henrik Dobers
Second of Berlin's senior intelligence officials to be arrested revealed as UK security fears mount
By Joe Barnes, James Crisp, James Rothwell and Jan-Henrik Dobers
THE German spy accused of selling intelligence to a foreign power led a double life as a coach for an amateur football team, The Telegraph can reveal.
Manfred Dankesreiter, 64, is the former official accused of working side by side with August Hanning, the former head of Germany's federal intelligence service (BND), to leak thousands of classified documents.
Mr Dankesreiter was chief of staff at the BND, giving him access to classified information that he allegedly passed to his former boss after Mr Hanning had left the spy agency.
Mr Dankesreiter, a father of two, lives with his family in an affluent area of Geretsried in Bavaria, around a 50-minute drive from Munich.
Mr Dankesreiter is involved with a nearby football club, and in 2012 coached the men's second team to a third-place finish in their league. The case is remarkably similar to that of another former German spy who allegedly leaked secrets to Russia while volunteering as a coach at a separate club.
In 2023, The Telegraph revealed that Carsten Linke worked at Weilheim football club, where he coached several youth teams and told anybody who asked that he was a soldier.
Mr Dankesreiter would tell associates at his club, about 19 miles from Weilheim, that he was an “asset manager” by day. Mr Dankesreiter was described by his fellow footballers as having been a “successful midfielder” in the German district leagues.
He was also seen as "down to earth", with one associate telling Bild - which, like The Telegraph, is a member of the Axel Springer group - that most people knew he held high-ranking positions at the BND.
In his younger years, the former spy played and coached at Sve Eurasburg, another local football club.
In 1972, the 11-year-old Mr Dankesreiter was selected by the club to carry the Olympic torch for a 100m stretch to mark the opening of that year's games in Munich.
"It was a fantastic experience," he recalled in an article published by Merkur, a Bavarian news website, to mark the 30th anniversary. Pictures of the moment are said to still adorn the Sve Eurasburg clubhouse walls.
Both Mr Dankesreiter and Mr Hanning were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage and treason.
At least some of the intelligence files that Mr Dankesreiter is suspected of passing to Mr Hanning are believed to have been sold to a foreign power. Mr Dankesreiter retired from the BND, where he had worked as chief of staff to a number of the agency's presidents over two decades, in March this year.
Most notably, he held that high-ranking position while Mr Hanning, 80, served as the BND's most senior official for six years until November 2005.
Mr Dankesreiter's alleged crimes were brought to the fore after a months-long investigation into him and his former boss Mr Hanning. Mr Hanning is
Manfred Dankesreister is taken to court in Karlsruhe following his arrest, above left, as police search the apartment belonging to August Hanning
accused of illegally collecting classified documents for 16 years through his former chief of staff and selling some secrets to a foreign power.
While the authorities have not yet named the country, Der Spiegel has reported that some of the information was allegedly sold to Azerbaijan.
The Telegraph understands that some of the documents could have involved classified British intelligence shared by MI6. Mr Hanning - once the respected president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), which is Germany's equivalent to MI6 - left office in November 2005 after six years in the post. He was later reported to have found himself facing bankruptcy.
Manfred D was his chief of staff at the BND, and followed him to work at the interior ministry. After Mr Hanning's
Are our secrets safe? Questions as Burnham heads for first visit to Germany
Germany's spy agency has moved to reassure MI6 after a major intelligence leak.
MI6 chiefs fear that British spies or classified information may have been compromised after a former German former spy boss was arrested on charges of treason and espionage.
The scandal will hang over Andy Burnham's first visit to Germany as Prime Minister tomorrow, when he will hold talks with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor.
The Telegraph understands that the current head of the federal intelligence agency (BND) has contacted his counterparts at other agencies, including MI6.
Martin Jäger has told allies that everything is being done to find out what material has been leaked and who it has been distributed to amid concerns
that foreign intelligence agencies could cut Germany off from important information.
The arrest of August Hanning is an acute embarrassment for Berlin ahead of Mr Burnham's visit.
The Prime Minister and Mr Merz are set to celebrate progress in the
implementation of last year's Kensington Treaty, which deepens co-operation on defence and
intelligence. The treaty set up joint forums to improve security cooperation, including between the intelligence services.
The UK now works more closely with Germany on intelligence outside the "Five Eyes" group of nations.
MI6 and GCHQ, as well as several US agencies, are believed to be undergoing a systematic internal review of all sensitive information shared with European allies during the relevant period.
The Telegraph understands that their primary focus is safeguarding sources who may have been put at risk by the alleged leak.
BRITISH intelligence agencies are investigating whether their classified information or spices were compromised in the biggest espionage scandal in modern European history.
Germany's ex-head of foreign intelligence arrested on suspicion of treason
A formal arrest warrant was issued against Mr Hanning, 80, yesterday. Prosecutors allege that he received about 2,000 documents through to June
By Rozina Sabur, James Rothwell and Joe Barnes
August Hanning, the former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, and a current senior official at the agency, named only as Manfred D, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of espionage and treason. Mr Hanning is accused of illegally collecting documents for 16 years through Manfred D and selling some of the secrets to a foreign power.
German security sources said some of a high-level information the pair handed came from partner intelligence encities abroad, raising the prospect
2022. Mr Hanning's lawyer said he partially admitted to the allegations, but denied selling information.
counterparts of the breach, although it is understood to have been prior yesterday's arrests.
Prosecutors have not identified the foreign intelligence service that is alleged to have received the information. Der Spiegel news magazine reported that investigators were pursuing a possible connection to Azerbaijan.
James Crisp
While every intelligence agency is guards against potential leaks by compartmentalising information sharing, a very senior official, Manfred D would have enjoyed widespread access to all the intelligence the BND received. The German federal prosecutor's office also that Manfred D was suspected of providing Mr Hanning "with approximately 2,000 documents" in total.
departure, Manfred D served as chief of staff for several BND presidents between March 2012 and March this year.
In that role, he was instrumental in shaping the flow of information into the president's office, prioritising what intelligence was put before his bosses and when.
While every intelligence agency safeguards against potential leaks by compartmentalising information sharing, as a very senior official, Manfred D would have had widespread access to all the intelligence the BND received.
The German federal prosecutor's office said Manfred D was suspected of providing Mr Hanning "with approximately 2,000 documents".
Once the president of the Fedu Intelligence Service, or BND, German equivalent to M16, Mr Hanning left a post in November 2005 after six years Manfred D served as chief of staff several BND presidents between May 2012 and March 2026. In that role he was instrumental in shaping the flows information to the president's office.
Russian agents' foothold in Germany casts doubt on Merz's intelligence makeover
By James Crisp, Joe Barnes and James Rothwell
THE arrest of a former spy chief has exposed lingering doubts over whether Britain can trust Germany's intelligence agency.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has suffered from decades of underinvestment since the end of the Cold War. Successive governments seized the “peace dividend” to make deep cuts to an agency that was once a valuable ally to the UK.
They created an underfunded and bureaucratic "Dad's Army" with agents that until recently were banned from firing their own weapons.
August Hanning, the German spy chief arrested for espionage and treason on Tuesday, was head of the
BND from 1998 to 2005, during this period of underinvestment.
The BND was founded in 1956 and became a reliable intelligence to Nato on Soviet forces. In 1967, it predicted the outbreak of the Six Day War fought by Israel in the Middle East almost to the hour.
Such accuracy contrasted sharply with the German insistence that Vladimir Putin was not about to invade Ukraine in February 2022. But even during the BND's heyday, there were high-profile infiltrations by the Stasi, the East German secret police. And mindful of the shadow cast by the Gestapo, the agency was never celebrated by Germany's politicians.
During the Cold War, the Stasi in Russia-controlled East Germany carried out extensive surveillance and
'Reforms will, for the first time, allow BND secret agents to fire their service weapons'
wiretapping. That dark history created a society deeply suspicious of surveillance.
The pair are believed to have come to a financial agreement in the spring of 2010 that Manfred D would continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the BND to his former boss for payment, the federal prosecutor said in a statement.
When the Cold War ended in 1990, the cuts began. In 1990, defence spending was 2.5 per cent of GDP. It was down to 1.1 per cent when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The BND was left vulnerable, defanged and dependent on the US and Britain.
German intelligence was also banned from holding arrest, police or executive powers from its foundation. In 1978, new laws forced its bosses to answer to politicians to prevent it becoming a new secret police.
Bruno Kahl, a former head of the BND, described the agency as "being tied up with a thousand threads like the giant Gulliver".
The folly of shackling a nation's spies and starving them of funding was laid bare by Putin's invasion of Ukraine and fears over the reliability of Donald Trump's America.
Under Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, a drive is under way to put more cash into the 6,500-strong BND. Its budget has been raised by about a quarter to €1.51bn (£1.28bn) this year.
Reforms passed over the summer will, for the first time, allow BND secret agents to fire their service weapons, commit sabotage abroad and spread disinformation to further an operation. Changing the culture of a bureaucratic and risk-averse organisation will not be easy, and neither will losing the BND its unwanted reputation for infiltration.
In late 2022, a senior BND officer called Carsten L was arrested for high treason. He is accused of passing highly classified documents on the war in Ukraine and intelligence gathering to Moscow. The trial continues.
Establishment politicians in Germany accuse the pro-Putin Alternative for Germany, currently the country's most popular party, of taking money from the Kremlin, which it
The Germans tried to scupper a ban on the free
movement of Russian diplomats'
denies. Germany has long been described as a "weak link" within Nato because of the foothold Russian agents have in the country.
The Germans spent months, if not years, trying to scupper a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats around the EU's Schengen Zone. It had been argued that many of these Russian envoys were using diplomatic cover for their work as spies.
Berlin often argued about the possible retaliations facing its own diplomats without listening to the arguments from European allies about the threats posed by the Russians working within the EU.
Last autumn, Mr Merz said it was "our ambition that the BND operates at the highest level of intelligence". The chancellor has also vowed to make the German army Europe's strongest.
But such promises are undermined by suspicions that hundreds of Russian agents are still roaming a Germany shocked by the arrest of one of its most senior spy chiefs. The scandal may also serve as a warning to Britain not to skimp when it comes to funding defence, spies and security.
Plague victim's mother denies scientist died after breaking test tube
By Antonia Langford in Kyiv and Alexandra Snow
THE mother of a Russian scientist who died in a suspected plague leak has challenged reports that her daughter was infected after breaking a test tube containing plague bacteria.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Siberian antiplague research institute in Irkutsk, died on Oct 2 after being taken to hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov.
Her death, which is still shrouded in mystery, was attributed to infection with the "plague" by local officials and pro-government media in now-deleted posts. The Kremlin has dismissed the claims and denied imposing anti-plague measures.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday demanded that Russia answer questions about reports of a second, unconfirmed case of plague in Siberia and supply more information about the death of Shipilova.
The researcher's mother, Svetlana Shipilova, herself a medical professional, told the Russian outlet Glubina that she did not believe the account circulating about her daughter's death.
"I know the truth," she said. "I'm having to fend off stupid acquaintances who believed all this - the clever ones didn't believe it, of course.
"Not even all medical professionals understand it's impossible to break a test tube like that," she continued. "Even if you fling it at the wall. Only an amateur could say something like that.
"Even hypothetically, you simply can't spill what's inside or break the tube - they're that well protected."
let my daughter die." Although officials have not publicly confirmed the reports, accounts shared widely in local media suggested that Shipilova had become infected with pneumonic plague after being exposed to the highly infectious pathogen in a lab mishap.
Pavel Stepanov, the Irkutsk-based journalist, among others, claimed that she had "concealed what happened" after breaking a test tube containing the deadly sample.
About 200 potential contacts were reportedly quarantined and restrictions were imposed on several hospitals amid fears others may have been exposed to the plague, while the research institute was locked down.
Shipilova's friends also questioned reports that she had broken a test tube and then come into contact with others, in comments given to the local outlet
Darya Shipilova is accused of lab accident with vessel containing plague bacteria
People of Baikal, designated a foreign agent by the Russian government for its independent reporting.
"They have dragged her name through the mud without even finding out what happened," said a former school friend. "I can't square this story with the Dasha [Darya] I knew," said another friend. "It's as if they are talking about somebody else. Knowing how hardworking and responsible she was, it just doesn't add up for me."
“Dasha was really smart,” an acquaintance who studied in the same department told the outlet. “Not many people from our department land jobs at the plague institute... It’s a serious facility. They take everything seriously and it’s safe.”
Russia has come under increasing international pressure to provide transparency about the reports surrounding the lab worker's death. Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian health watchdog, claimed that Shipilova had died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology", but the head of the Buryatia region said she had died from plague and authorities from nearby cities warned residents to avoid travelling to Shelekhov.
Earlier yesterday, the US formally sent a confidential diplomatic communication warning that failure to disclose information about the potential outbreak would violate Moscow's international health obligations.
Asked at the White House whether he had spoken with Vladimir Putin about the issue, Donald Trump said: "I have a call scheduled very soon. So far, we're in very deep discussions."
However, the Kremlin responded by saying that no concrete plans had been made for a call.
JACK GUEZ APPVAGETTY MADE
Israel marks the third anniversary of Hamas's Oct 7 attack yesterday with a commemorative installation
Israeli PM 'culpable' for killing of troops whose warnings of a terrorist threat were ignored
By Henry Bodkin in Jerusalem
THE families of female IDF spotters massacred on Oct 7 have said there was "no forgiveness" for the failures that led to their deaths, in a rebuke to Benjamin Netanyahu. Sixteen surveillance soldiers were among 53 troops murdered when Nahal Oz base was overrun by Hamas.
The female spotters had sent alerts about terrorists training for a possible attack in the run-up to the invasion, but were ignored - one of numerous failures that contributed to the massacre.
Other surveillance soldiers have since claimed that sexism was a factor in the warnings being ignored.
Yesterday, Dror Ashram, father of Shay Ashram, a murdered sergeant, said: "At 6.29am three years ago, when the gates of hell were opened, none of us could have imagined that the worst thing possible would occur.
"We stand here three years later and there is no forgiveness, and there never will be, for losing our girls, for the hell they went through in their final moments, for the failures, for the abandonment of them and us."
Standing with other bereaved families at a monument to the killed troops, he added: "We will not forget and we will not forgive."
Mr Ashram's comments formed part of a complex societal picture as Israel paused to reflect on the worst day in its history.
Many loved ones of those killed or taken hostage came forward to repeat their criticism of Mr Netanyahu's government, both for failing to prevent the Hamas attack, and also for the length of time it took to bring the abducted Israelis home.
For many, however, the anniversary was a day for remembrance and Israeli solidarity.
Ceremonies were held at the kibbutzim around Gaza where the massacres took place.
On the Ayalon highway, the motorway that runs through central Tel Aviv, drivers stopped and left their cars to observe a moment's silence at the moment the attacks began three years ago.
Demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestine student march in central London yesterday
The official commemorations took place on Monday.
At a ceremony at Israel's national cemetery at Mount Herzl, near Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu vowed to wipe out any remaining terrorists connected to the atrocity, which were thought to number around 2,000.
However, this stood alongside calls.
European leaders, among them Andy Burnham, used the anniversary as an opportunity to warn against rising anti-Semitism.
"We have seen a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic behaviour in the UK," he wrote, adding that "abuse and vioamong them from Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, for an independent inquiry into the disaster, which the prime minister has so far prevented.
lence" against British Jews "will not be tolerated".
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, condemned the "barbaric" attack on Oct 7, which killed 51 French citizens.
“Fighting anti-Semitism and terrorism, everywhere and always, and working for the peace and security of all: that is France’s commitment,” he wrote.
Buy 6 or more save 25%
morrisons.com Majority of stores in England and Wales, excludes Scotland due to minimum unit pricing law. Online excludes Champagne, max 12 bottles. Excludes Morrisons Daily: More Card/App required (8+). Selected 75c1 bottles, maximum 36 bottles per customer in store. Offer ends 8/10/26.
Mamdani ‘weaponises’ Hamas in massacre anniversary speech
By Iona Cleave US CORRESPONDENT
ZOHRAN MAMDANI has been accused of "weaponising" the three-year anniversary of the Oct 7 terror attacks against Israel.
In a lengthy statement yesterday, the New York City mayor marked Hamas's 2023 massacre in southern Israel by accusing Israel's government of "war crimes" and demanding accountability.
Mr Mamdani noted that the day was “profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers”, but emphasised attention should remain on “the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza”. “That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing." Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a New York-based organisation focused on combating anti-Semitism, responded by asking the mayor why he did not once use the word "Jews".
"You are weaponising a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual anti-zionist talking points," he said. "The city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel deserves a mayor who can honour the dead without exploiting them."
The attacks on Oct 7, 2023 were the deadliest day in Israel's history. Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in a cross-border strike.
Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed more than 74,000 people, including at least 1,400 killed in the past year since a US-brokered ceasefire which halted major fighting but failed to achieve Hamas's disarmament or stop Israeli attacks.
The Strip has largely been devastated by Israel's aerial bombing campaign. Nearly its entire population of two million has been displaced by the war that has left Israel's military in control of roughly two-thirds of the territory.
Mr Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, was attending an Oct 7 memorial event in New York later before meeting Palestinian New Yorkers. His decision to attend the vigil prompted a backlash among pro-Palestine groups.
西班牙领土政策部长安赫尔·维克多·托雷斯（Angel Victor Torres）对阿巴斯卡尔女士的去世表示哀悼，称她已成为许多家庭、老人和年轻人在努力获得或保留自己住房时所遭遇困境的象征。租户联盟继续进行露营抗议，并促使西班牙主要工会号召在 Nov 11, 举行为期一天的全国大罢工；该联盟于昨晚宣布了阿巴斯卡尔女士去世的消息。
MARICARMEN ABASCAL, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction led to housing protests in Spain, has died.
The wheelchair-bound octogenarian was forcibly removed from her Madrid home on Sept 23 because she could not meet an increased rent demand.
Her eviction caused uproar and riot police were called in to quell the protest outside the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades.
Ms Abascal's eviction was seized upon by the Spain's Tenants Union, which set up a protest camp in Madrid's central Sol square to demand action against high rents. Last week Pedro
Sánchez, the prime minister, and his Left-wing government presented urgent housing reforms to parliament in response to the protests.
The defeat of the measures prompted Mr Sánchez to call a snap election on Monday.
Paying tribute, he posted on X: "All my affection to Maricarmen's family and loved ones. A hug also to everyone who today feels this loss as our own. Rest in peace."
Mr Sánchez is seeking to shift the political narrative from his government's handling of the migrant crisis in Ceuta, and a series of corruption cases involving his Socialist Party and family, to the housing crisis, an area in which he can harness growing resentment about rising rents.
Angel Victor Torres, Spain's territorial policy minister, lamented Ms Abascal's death, saying she had become a symbol of what was happening to many families, elderly and young people struggling to obtain their own homes or stay in them. The tenants union, which continues the camp-out protest and has prompted Spain's main union to call a one-day general strike on Nov 11, announced the death of Ms Abascal yesterday evening.
A shortage of housing in and around Spain's major cities, blamed partly on Airbnb and other holiday rentals, has caused real estate prices to surge.
Mayor running city as AI avatar from jail while on corruption charge
Albanian politician once tipped as future PM vows to remain in office in deepfake speech to voters
By Emily Smith
THE mayor of Albania's capital is ruling the city as an AI avatar from prison.
Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, is in pre-trial detention facing charges over allegations of corruption and financial crimes.
On Tuesday, he posted a video on Instagram using AI to depict an avatar of himself addressing citizens.
Standing in front of the Albanian and municipal flags, he used the video to announce free school meals for all the capital's children. "I made another commitment that I will never forget: food in schools," Mr Veliaj's AI clone said. "I will keep this promise even from this cell where they have locked me up."
The avatar
depicting Tirana
mayor Erion Veliaj
Mr Veliaj, 46, was arrested in February 2025 for alleged corruption and money laundering. He denies any wrongdoing and has been in prison in Durrès since early 2025.
He remains the official mayor of the city and has vowed to continue leading Tirana, working from his jail cell.
"My hostage situation has been going on for 20 months, and I can only greet you with artificial intelligence," the avatar said in the video, which was labelled as AI-generated.
“Tirana is the honour of my life. To repay this honour, I will continue to work even from the cell where they have locked me up.
"Together we won the battle for the schools, kindergartens and nurseries of Tirana. I could not have done it without you. So I thank you with all my heart and I hug you with longing, you and your wonderful children."
The video was the first time Mr Veliaj addressed citizens during his time in prison.
After his arrest, a snap election was scheduled for November 2025, but was later cancelled after a constitutional court ruling found that he could not be dismissed outside the regular democratic processes.
Mr Veliaj had previously delegated various duties to Anula Ristani, his deputy, but last month revoked the order delegating his powers.
He is facing a total of 13 charges and has reportedly refused to attend court hearings at the special court against corruption and organised crime (GJKKO).
Mr Veliaj is next scheduled to appear in court on Oct 13 where he faces up to 15 years in prison.
The mayor was once considered a rising star of Albania's Socialist Party and a potential successor to Edi Rama, the prime minister.
This is not the first time an incarcerated politician has used AI to address citizens.
In 2023, Imran Khan, the former leader of Pakistan, used an AI deepfake to address voters in an election campaign.
Commenting on the use of AI by Mr Khan's party, Pakistani digital rights activist and lawyer Nighat Dad told US website Forbes: "There are very valid concerns that voters can never be sure about whether the content that they are seeing and hearing online is real or not. Though Imran Khan is not a candidate in the general elections, he is the face of the PTI. While Sunday's video has a disclaimer about the voice being AI-generated we don't know if the message came from Khan himself or the PTI social media team. Most voters are not able to spot disinformation and synthetic media will make things harder."
In July, an AI-generated avatar of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, appeared at the launch of his son, Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign.
Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest for allegedly plotting against democracy. His son has made pardoning his father a key policy in the current elections, in which he won the first round earlier this week.
“No prison will silence the feeling of hope we have stirred,” the avatar said, after telling the audience it had been made with artificial intelligence. “It’s why I ask you to welcome with open arms the person I chose to replace me.”
A naked Donald Trump carried on the shoulders of another man with the support of a long golf club
A GIANT golden statue depicting a naked Donald Trump has gone on display inside one of the European Parliament's buildings.
The 8.5ft-tall sculpture, named Orange Plague, shows the nude US president holding justice scales and a long golf club with a golf ball made to look like the world.
Also known as the King of Injustice, Mr Trump is portrayed as sitting on the shoulders of a smaller, clothed man.
The statue has been on show at a busy intersection in the parliament in Strasbourg, France, but is due to be removed today.
The plinth reads: "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back."
Jens Galschiot, the Danish artist who created the sculpture, said: "Trump represents one of the greatest threats to the rules-based world order, democratic values and our common effort to solving the climate crisis.
"We must address this issue and
The statue is on display in Strasbourg following an invite from a Left-wing MEP
stand together against such destructive influence."
Galschiot said the statue, covered in 23-carat gold leaf, was inspired by the fairy tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, in which a vain leader parades naked through the street, believing he is dressed in the finest clothes.
No one tells him that he is naked out of fear and flattery until a child points out his nudity and the emperor becomes a figure of ridicule.
Per Clausen, a Left-wing Danish MEP who invited the artist to exhibit in Strasbourg, said he was not worried about Mr Trump, adding: "If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture being exhibited, then they have no place on the world stage."
The statue was also displayed at the COP30 climate change talks in Brazil last year and at this year's Munich Security Conference.
The White House has not responded to it latest appearance.
Visitors are being given miniature sculptures free while people can 3D print their own statues at home.
A more flattering clothed 15ft gold statue of Mr Trump with his fist in the air called Don Colossus was unveiled at his Miami golf course in April.
Missiles pulverise Ukraine as Kim Jong-un wishes Putin happy birthday
By Antonia Langford
KIM JONG-UN wished a happy birthday to his "dearest friend" Vladimir Putin in a gushing letter as the Russian president turned 74.
The North Korean leader vowed to further deepen ties with Moscow and "open up a new chapter for the development of relations between our two countries".
He also reaffirmed his “invariable support” for Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he described as “the Russian people’s sacred war of justice”, that “will surely end with their victory”.
The details of the letter emerged as Russia once again struck Ukraine with missile and drone strikes overnight. At least 11 people were killed across Ukraine during the assault.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, described the attacks, which struck Pryluky, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv, as "a birthday gift for Putin".
In Kyiv, two people were killed in a fire in the Darnytskyi district as thousands sheltered in metro stations overnight. The strikes on the capital lasted from just after 3am until after sunrise.
In the northeastern Sumy region, two people were killed by Russian drones, which also wounded three children. In Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, two people were killed after drones and mis-
‘Russian people’s sacred war of justice will surely end with their victory’
siles damaged apartment buildings and industrial facilities.
In Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, at least five people were killed and 26 injured in an attack on a five-storey apartment building.
"On Putin's birthday, Russian generals brought him his favourite present: war crimes," said Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister. "But his ultimate present will be a dock in The Hague."
Since the 2022 invasion, the Kremlin has tended to claim that Putin spends his birthdays without pomp, attending to matters of government, corresponding with leaders of allied countries and seeing family.
Previously, he had marked the occasion with state visits abroad, hiking in the mountains, playing hockey and receiving lavish gifts.
In 2008, when he turned 56, he was given a rare Siberian tiger cub, which he said consumed four kilos of meat per day, by a benefactor he refused to name.
In 2022, he was given a tractor by Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko and at least two pyramids of melons by the president of Tajikistan.
This year, Putin has to contend with fears of a plague spreading, after a lab researcher died of pneumonic plague after dropping a test tube filled with live samples of the pathogen.
The US has demanded more information, and Donald Trump said he would
'On Putin's birthday, Russian generals brought him his favourite present: war crimes'
be calling his Russian counterpart about it. Putin is believed to be consumed with questions of longevity and has pushed through constitutional changes to allow him to remain in power until 2036, the year he turns 84.
If he were to live that long, he would become the longest-ruling leader since the Russian Empire, his tenure surpassing that of Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for 29 years.
Since the war began, Pyongyang has emerged as one of Moscow's closest allies on the world stage, trading thousands of troops, conventional munitions, ballistic missiles and civilian workers for economic support and military technology from the Kremlin.
美国海军陆战队员被指控谋杀，美军禁酒
作者：Allegra Mendelson
亚洲特派记者
在一名美国海军陆战队员被指控谋杀一名日本女性后，美国军队被下令禁酒 48 小时。
由于下士德文·雅各布·巴拉德（Devin Jacob Ballard）涉嫌周六在冲绳首府那霸的一家酒店杀害 39 岁的八木安娜（Anna Yagi），驻冲绳的士兵被禁止饮酒，并被实施为期一个月 的宵禁。
据警方称，20 岁的巴拉德下士“按压其颈部”，导致该女性死于窒息。
当局还表示，他偷走了她的背包和钱包，但巴拉德下士否认了这些指控。
驻冲绳海军陆战队的指挥官本杰明·T·沃森（Benjamin T Watson）表示，从昨天起，将实施“无论在基地内外均完全禁止饮酒”的规定。
US troops banned from drinking after marine accused of murder
By Allegra Mendelson
ASIA CORRESPONDENT
AMERICAN troops have been handed a 48-hour drinking ban after a marine was accused of murdering a Japanese woman.
Soldiers based in Okinawa have been banned from consuming alcohol and given a month-long curfew after Devin Jacob Ballard, a lance corporal, allegedly killed 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in the island's capital, Naha, on Saturday.
She reportedly died of asphyxiation after L/Cpl Ballard, 20, "pressed on her neck", according to police.
Authorities also said he stole her rucksack and wallet, though L/Cpl Ballard has denied the allegations.
Benjamin T Watson, a commanding general of the marine force stationed in Okinawa, said there would be a “complete prohibition of alcohol consumption on or off base” beginning yesterday.
During the 48 hours, troops will not be permitted off base as they undergo training on “standards, discipline, and our responsibilities as members of the Okinawan community”.
Once the two days are over, the force will transition into a 30-day "period of reflection", which will also include restrictions on activities to remind staff that "liberty is a privilege and a collective responsibility".
L/Cpl Devin Jacob Ballard allegedly killed Anna Yagi, 39, at an Okinawa hotel
The case is the latest in a long line of incidents involving US troops stationed in Japan, many of which involve violence against women and have prompted criticism from local populations.
The US has 54,000 troops stationed in Japan, approximately 20,000 of which are on Okinawa.
Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, wrote on social media that the occurrence of such an “extremely brutal and heinous crime is deeply regrettable”.
She also noted that Japan lodged a "strong protest" with the US and had "urged them to co-operate fully with the investigation".
Genta Koja, the Okinawa governor, met Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's defence minister, yesterday, telling him the case had "caused deep anxiety" among Okinawa residents. He was also due to meet Ms Takaichi.
"The prefectural government has repeatedly demanded that the US military take measures to prevent a recurrence every time an incident occurs, but the fact that such an incident has happened again forces us to conclude that discipline within the US forces and their human rights education are not functioning at all," Mr Koja told Mr Koizumi.
Mr Koja, who is backed by Ms Taka-ichi's Liberal Democratic Party government, was elected only days before the murder.
His election has set in motion the relocation of the Futenma airfield, where L/Cpl Ballard was stationed.
Couple charged over 21 children kept in an LA ‘house of horrors’
By US Staff
A COUPLE who kept 21 mainly surrogate children in a mansion described as a "house of horrors" have been charged.
Guojun Xuan, 66, and his wife, Silvia Zhang, 39, face multiple counts of child abuse, as well as conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact, and dissuading a witness, said Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney.
"This case is unprecedented. It is horrific," Mr Hochman added, "The physical abuse, beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable.
"The house could only be described as a house of horrors for these incredible young children."
Prosecutors are seeking \$100m (£75m) bail for the couple.
Fifteen children were removed from the couple's home in Arcadia last year after an allegation of abuse, and another six living elsewhere were also located, prosecutors said.
They were aged from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three. Police believe Ms Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children while the rest were from surrogates. Mr Hochman said the couple set up a surrogacy agency, which they used to hire surrogates throughout the US.
The couple were first arrested in May last year after a hospital reported a traumatic head injury on a two-month-old allegedly caused by a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby.
Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, saying they needed to complete the investigation.
'The beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable'
Mr Hochman said the couple set up three rooms they called learning centres, where the children spent several hours a day sitting at desks under the supervision of nannies.
Using motion-activated cameras, the couple watched as the nannies subjected the children to physical abuse including daily beatings, he said.
In one video, Mr Xuan told a nanny to strike a child harder, and in another he joins the nanny in hitting the child, Hochman said. He said the nannies were told “not to leave any physical marks”, and when police arrived to investigate last year, the couple told the children to deny they had been beaten.
After examining the surveillance footage, police issued an arrest warrant for Chunmei Li, the nanny seen hurting the two-month-old infant, but she could not be found.
Mr Hochman said "there will be a reckoning" for the defendants, one of whom faces more than 17 years in prison if convicted.
Mitchell Krems, Mr Xuan's attorney, previously told local broadcaster ABC7 that his client's goal was to raise children who become productive adults.
Mr Krems said: “Some who are wealthy might spend on jewellery or cars, but he is actually spending his resources to help his children become educated so that they can be the philosophers, the physicians, the researchers and the inventors that help society.”
Mr Krems did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday's arrests.
Investigators have said they were looking into whether the couple had misled surrogates and that at least eight women say they were aggressively pursued by the couple.
那些可怜的、苍白的东西看起来如此不健康。在上周播出的新一季《英国烘焙大赛》（The Great British Bake-Off）中，当丹妮（Danni）成为第一个被逐出帐篷的人时，我们对她深感同情，甚至原谅了她那令人厌烦的口头禅“indeederoony”。但我们对她最深刻的记忆将是，她不允许自己品尝自己烘焙的作品，因为她是纯素主义者，而食谱中含有乳制品。多么毫无乐趣！
Might the news that the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables has fallen by up to 50 per cent since the 1960s, due to declining soil quality, have one beneficial side-effect? Might it persuade a large tranche of this country's holier-than-thou vegans to give up their obsessively plant-based lives and dare to put a spoonful of scrambled egg, or a slice of cheddar cheese, or even a proper meat-based sausage into their mouths?
I hope so. With brassicas so sorely depleted of their nutritional goodness, there has surely never been a worse time to be a vegan.
They look so unwell, the poor, pallid things. When Danni was the first to be evicted from the tent last week in the new series of The Great British Bake-Off, our hearts went out to her, and we even forgave her for her annoying habit of saying "indeederoony". But what we'll most remember about her was she would not allow herself to test-taste her own bakes, as she was vegan and the recipes contained dairy products. How joyless!
The absolute refusal to eat anything that has anything to do with an animal becomes a kind of religion for vegans, who go to vegan festivals, where they meet each other, fall in love over chickpea falafel, and have babies on whom they impose veganism.
This seems mad. The Vegan Society urges parents of under fives to "ensure your child has a daily source of essential omega 3 fatty acids such as ground chia seeds, ground linseed, ground hemp seeds or ground walnuts". Poor little ones! Can those weird, complicated, Islington-esque ingredients really be good for their tiny tummies?
Hosting lunches and suppers has become a minefield. Vegetarians lose out, because if there's a vegetarian as well as a vegan coming to supper, you tend to make a vegan dish to cover both bases. So the
vegetarian has to make do with the dull, lentil-based, cheeseless dish. Thus, the so-called "kind" vegan, desperate to be seen to be non-promoters of any kind of harm to animals, becomes a bit self-indulgent and unkind to the human host and the other guests.
The good news is that supermarkets have scaled back their sales of vegan fake items such as plant-based burgers and bacon. They simply weren't selling enough of them. But the fact is that vegan numbers are holding up in Britain: between 1.7 and 3 million are vegans, and they are growing even purer and more self-denying, as they shun those fake carnivore-lookalikes and go for non-processed tofu and pulses instead.
As we speed through October, we're staring down the barrel of yet another
"Veganuary", when new recruits climb onto the bandwagon. Surely this is the worst possible way to spend January: to impose on yourself, during that freezing, wet month of post-Christmas poverty and gloom, a plants-only existence, and to practise that dreaded discipline beloved of nutritionists: drinking eight to 10 glasses of water per day to flush the pulses through the system?
Those large quantities of water are advised to prevent flatulence, but I don't think they work. (What's more it's terrible for anyone with a weak bladder.) I have a penchant for Tuscan bean soup, so I know from experience that however much water you drink to flush the beans down, there's no way of avoiding a pungent night. That's why it works best when vegans share beds with other vegans. They can blame each other for the wafts.
FOLLOW Ysenda Maxtone Graham on X@YsendaMG; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Ticket offers hand-picked by our partners
Sit at the heart of the drama
See the best West End theatre with a premium, stalls or dress circle seat. From powerful plays to magnifi cent musicals, book ahead and let the story unfold.
Exclusive prices available at telegraph.co.uk/LS-tickets
Standard terms and conditions apply. Subject to availability.
THE BADENOCH BOUNCE...
ADAMS
To order prints or signed copies of any Telegraph cartoon, go to telegraph.co.uk/prints-cartoons or call 0191603 0178 ♦ readerprints@telegraph.co.uk
Badenoch doesn't care what the BBC thinks; that changes everything
Farage has formidable competition on the Right, with the Tory leader's tanks parked on his lawn
ALLISTER HEATH
Welcome back, Tory party: you are conservative again, courtesy of Kemi Badenoch. You have rediscovered your soul, your philosophy, your people.
Badenoch's speech in Birmingham established her Conservative Party as the most Right-wing, the most radical, since the days of Margaret Thatcher; taking positions unimaginable a year ago; a rupture with the apologetic, compromised, adulterated, pseudo-Toryism of the post-1997 era.
Instead of backing the inanity of net zero, Badenoch says she wants cheap and secure energy; instead of extreme immigration, the Tories support something akin to net negative migration and the stripping of UK citizenship from many criminals; instead of higher taxes, they have rediscovered supply-side economics; instead of early release, they want 50,000 more prison places; instead of spending more, they would slash the state. Badenoch appears determined to ensure that, after 14 years of Tory failure, "when you vote Conservative, you get conservative", as she put it.
She's the first proper Rightist proselytiser in decades, committed to waging the battle of ideas. She wants not merely to reach out to centre-Right voters but to create more of them, to convince people, to shift the debate, to make counter-intuitive arguments about shrinking the size of the state, to connect free-market policies with improved prosperity for all.
“Kemi has liberated us. We can finally be conservatives,” I kept hearing a variant of this message from prominent Tories in Birmingham.
One confessed that they always hated net zero, but were previously forced to dissemble about its downsides; another confessed how much they loathed having to demonise the wealthy while their party was in government; yet others claimed to be relieved to be able to make previously taboo arguments.
A few of my interlocutors may have been faking their rediscovered beliefs, but most seemed genuine, perhaps because Badenoch had remodelled her party in her image. I did at times have to resist reaching for the sick bag. Did these Tories not feel some guilt at having misled the electorate for so long, supporting policies they didn't believe in? Is it any wonder the Conservative brand remains detested in swathes of Britain, that so many voters are still not listening, for all of Badenoch's efforts?
Yet my view is that it is time for true believers to take the win. I do not know whether Badenoch can clinch the next election, or even whether she can obtain more seats than Reform, but her Tory party is back in the righteous camp, despite past betrayals.
Right-wing voters now have a choice; a neo-Thatcherite, pro-wealth creation, more inclusive brand of conservatism under the Tories, or a more populist, harsher, alternative from Reform, with a different tone and tax policies focused on middle earners.
Prior to Badenoch's restoration, the Tory world-view had become fatalistic. Key figures gave up on conservative and classical liberal principles,
accepting instead the Blair-Brown-Osborne orthodoxy and its claims about regulation, immigration, equality, wokery, the meaning of fairness and Europe. They believed that centre-Left technocracy couldn't and shouldn't be defeated, and that the Tories' role was to make it work less badly. The gradual socialisation of society and the shift towards "progressive" values were inevitable: the Conservatives' job was to slow it down, not to reverse it.
The Tories came to believe in a "BBC test": they wanted their policies to gain the approval of, or at least survive contact with, our national broadcaster's Leftist world-view. Radio Four's Today, in particular, was allowed to become a critical gatekeeper, the arbiter of morality, of justice; the Resolution Foundation and activist charities also gained immense influence, their spreadsheets and interventionist screeds serving as a self-imposed constraint on gormless politicians.
Taxes could only be cut on average earners, and always had to be raised on the "rich". Incentives didn't matter; growth was deemed a given, proceeds to be divvied up by the state. Opposing immigration was seen as racist and economically destructive. Backing self-government was suspect and nationalistic. Jail was stupid as it didn't encourage rehabilitation. Inequality was evil. Opposing net zero was selfish. Consumerism was bad and rationing good. Regulations and price controls were necessary given the supposedly exploitative nature of capitalism and the duplicity of bosses and bankers.
Nigel Farage was the first to defy this madness and to stand up for Britain's disenfranchised Right-leaning electorate. He shattered the Overton window on immigration and net zero after the 2024 election. His prize was to propel Reform into a party that remains
FOLLOW Allister Heath on X @AllisterHeath; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion
I do not know whether she can clinch the next election... but her Tory party is back in the righteous camp
the leading Right-wing faction in the polls. He now faces formidable competition. Badenoch has parked her tanks on what had become his lawn and, in doing so, has saved her party. There was a period when it looked as if the Tories' poll ratings could slump terminally, that Reform could become hegemonic on the Right. This didn't happen and will not now happen, partly as a result of errors by Farage's party, the rise of Restore, and partly thanks to Badenoch's ideological re-engineering. In most Western countries, conventional centre-Right parties have been taken over by populists: Badenoch wants to be the one exception, though she remains stuck on 20-21 per cent of the vote.
To her credit, she won't be bullied by the Left. She is calling the BBC's bluff and powering ahead with pro-capitalist, pro-enterprise policies. She wants to put infrastructure and housing projects before biodiversity and green rules. She proposes to cut inheritance tax even though the Left (and, sadly, Reform) immediately attacked her for helping a tiny minority (conversely, I wished that she had gone further and entirely abolished that abominable levy).
She backs Israel. She seeks to help parents on £100,000 a year who face an absurd cliff edge in the benefits system that encourages them to turn down pay rises. She is planning to eliminate stamp duty and scrap the mansion tax, even though wealthier homebuyers will benefit. Why? She seems to understand that aspiration is good, that property rights are sacrosanct, that Britain needs a greater number of high earners, of rich people, more work, success, effort and taxable income, and that this will create jobs and resources for all. She rejects the Left's prejudices, and doesn't seek approbation from the bien-pensant. Her bravery is commendable. It is already paying off.
德国正走向一场生存危机
ULF POSCHARDT
德国确实正处于一段糟糕的时期。弗里德里希·梅尔茨（Friedrich Merz）领导的执政党基民盟（CDU）目前仅能获得 17.5 per cent 的选票。社民党（SPD）已向极左翼漂移；而在柏林，一个激进的左翼反犹政党（与英国绿党颇为相似）正威胁着要夺取政权。
乌尔夫·波沙特博士（Dr Ulf Poschardt）曾任《世界报》（Welt）、Politico德国版和Business Insider的出版人，直到今年7月，他接任了 Axel Springer 公司的 Unbound Creative 新职务。
成立于 1855 年
📄 Original Section
Germany is heading for an existential crisis
ULF POSCHARDT
Germany really is going through a bad patch. Friedrich Merz's governing CDU would currently win just 17.5 per cent of the vote. The SPD has drifted to the far Left, and in Berlin, a radical Left-wing, anti-Semitic party, not unlike Britain's Green Party, is threatening to take power.
In the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, a far-Right politician has been president of the state parliament since Tuesday afternoon. Germany's economic figures are mediocre. There is a little growth, but even that comes on the back of €900bn in new debt agreed by a government that was once deemed a "Grand Coalition" but is now a modest shadow of its former self, enjoying ever-shrinking popular support.
Against this backdrop, the arrest of Germany's former top intelligence chief strikes hard at the country's already fragile self esteem. August Hanning, the veteran former head of the BND, Germany's foreign intelligence service, has been arrested on allegations that he illegally obtained highly confidential and extremely sensitive information and then, even more illegally, sold it on. To whom remains under investigation. Russia does not appear to have been the recipient. There is speculation that it may have been Israel or Azerbaijan. One thing has once again become painfully clear: Germany has a serious problem with its intelligence services.
The former head of the domestic intelligence service in the state of Saxony, Hans-Georg Maassen, has drifted increasingly to the Right. And when Germany attempted to ban the NPD, its last openly neo-Nazi party, it proved extraordinarily difficult to assemble usable evidence because the group was riddled with informants working for the domestic intelligence service – the people known in Germany as V-Männer.
The facts of the Hanning case, meanwhile, are grimly prosaic. After leaving office, the former intelligence chief was spectacularly unlucky in his business ventures and, following the complete collapse of an investment in the Baltic states, reportedly found himself liable for losses running into several million euros. At least that is what is suspected.
The result: parts of his pension were dissipated, and Hanning appeared to have been living more or less from hand to mouth, apparently finding himself under pressure to monetise his excellent network of sources. The business model of private consulting firms of the intelligence type is, after all, to be exceptionally well informed and to sell that knowledge to the most lucrative clients. The journey from this mode of operation to practices that are no longer entirely legal can be dangerously short.
What makes the case particularly disturbing is that it appears to have been uncovered almost by accident. During a search of Hanning's premises in connection with a kidnapping case, investigators came across material that could now develop into one of Germany's most serious intelligence scandals in decades.
According to federal prosecutors, Hanning is suspected of having paid his former chief of staff over a period of years for nearly 2,000 internal BND documents, including classified material from the innermost reaches of Germany's security apparatus. He is accused of having used at least some of that information both for his private consulting business and in his contacts with a foreign intelligence service.
Since 1945 Germany has remained an immature child within the international community. Domestically, for decades it remained under the tutelage of the Allies.
That Germany nevertheless became one of the great success stories of the postwar era had much to do with a
FOLLOW Ulf
Poschardt on
X@ulfposh;
READ MORE at
telegraph.co.uk/
opinion
generation of formidable German politicians: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and, finally, Helmut Kohl. The last great German statesman to serve as federal president was Richard von Weizsäcker, as chancellor, perhaps Gerhard Schröder. After them, German politics gradually became a playing field for mediocrities – with all too predictable consequences for the domestic intelligence service and for the wider intelligence community.
Hanning transformed himself into a deeply dubious figure and may now have to pay an extraordinarily high price. One of the accusations involves treason. If convicted, the old man could spend much of his life behind bars.
We Germans are a stable people when everything is working. At the moment, the country seems to be slipping a little further each day into an instability that is becoming genuinely worrying. Worst of all are the cheerleaders and habitual losers who continue to insist everything is okay. It brings to mind the meme of a dog sitting calmly in a room engulfed in flames, saying: "Everything is fine."
Dr Ulf Poschardt was publisher of Welt, Politico Germany and Business Insider until July this year, when he took on the new role of Unbound Creative for Axel Springer
We need a return to common sense. People have increasingly been feeling that many of the policies pursued in Britain in the
last two years make no sense at all. Those who govern must be more ready both to listen and to examine the facts of life objectively. We believe that in both these respects Conservatives have the advantage of their Labour opponents, since we are not blinkered by a Socialist ideology that assumes the omni-competence of the State and is rooted in a theory of ownership and class conflict already decades out of date."
That could have been an extract from Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham but is taken from a Conservative pamphlet published 50 years ago, entitled The Right Approach.
It set out clear dividing lines with the collectivism of the then Labour government, one that Andy Burnham now seeks to emulate. Mrs Badenoch has countered with The Right Way, her belief in greater freedom for people to keep more of their own money, hand on their home to their children and encourage enterprise and wealth creation.
She is an impressive exponent of classic Tory principles that many voters felt had been lost
Where Mr Burnham emphasises the importance of government direction and control, Mrs Badenoch wants to unleash the spirit of the
We accept letters by post and email. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers.
III Buckingham
Palace Road,
London
SWTWODT
EMAIL
dtletters@
telegraph.co.uk
individual. It is an age-old divide in British politics but one that recent Conservative governments lost sight of as they pushed up taxes and spent too much.
FOLLOW
Telegraph Letters
@LettersDesk
The ideological divide has become clearer with the arrival in No 10 of a prime minister who sees the 1970s as the apogee of Labour success. Back then, Margaret Thatcher
took on the cosy post-war consensus that had led Britain close to penury with a bold prospectus that won her three elections.
We thought this battle had been fought and won half a century ago. But Mrs Badenoch recognises that the same enemy has to be vanquished once again and is unapologetic about pitching the Conservatives into the fray. She is an impressive exponent of classic Tory principles that many voters in 2024 felt had been lost in a welter of internal politicking and in-fighting. She will not apologise for its beliefs or talk about the “nasty party” as one former leader once did.
Mrs Badenoch said the Tories were in a fight for the soul of the nation and she is right. Her big problem is that the party still languishes in the opinion polls, well behind her own personal ratings, and needs time to rebuild under her leadership.
Mr Burnham's reluctance to risk an early election gives them the opportunity to do so and Mrs Badenoch was adamant that she would not seek a rapprochement with Reform UK in order to “unite the Right”.
She is relishing the clear definition of ideological battle lines and the end of an era when it was possible to look from Tory to Labour and find it hard to distinguish between them. Mr Burnham is an old fashioned socialist, a believer in a big state owning, directing and taxing everything people do.
However, as is apparent from the first few weeks of his premiership, he is also as much a ditherer as his predecessor.
Government sources have already hinted that big decisions on defence will be put off for a year and now it has emerged that proposals for welfare reform are also being delayed.
A review by Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, of the nearly one million young
People who work hard and earn a good living should not be penalised for doing so
people not in education, employment or training (Neets), was due to be published at the end of next week. It will now be held back until after the Budget later this month, ostensibly to prevent it overshadowing the big fiscal event. But how can John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, deliver a serious
Budget without reference to defence or welfare?
The big announcement in Mrs Badenoch's speech went to the very heart of the ideological schism. She said a Tory government would ensure inheritance tax was never paid on a family home passed to children or grandchildren and couples would be able to leave an additional £1m tax free. This follows pledges to scrap stamp duty on first time purchases and abolish Labour's planned mansion tax should it be imposed.
There was, she said, "something for everyone" in the Tory prospectus for government – for those who believe in low taxes, a smaller state, a welfare system that does not reward the feckless, tighter borders, strong defence and condemn punishment for criminals. The essence of this credo is a belief in personal responsibility and the value of individual endeavour. Hers is a moral message not just an economic or technocratic one. In a nutshell, people who work hard and earn a good living should not be penalised for doing so.
Mrs Badenoch is aware that voters still blame the Tories for many of the country's ills. But she said the party has learnt from the mistakes that led to its historic defeat in 2024 and needs to look forward.
For the Tories the road to recovery will be long and hard; but at least it has begun.
Kemi Badenoch's convincing performance will give Conservatives hope
SIR - Philip Johnston asks whether Kemi Badenoch can bring the Conservative Party "back into the fight" (Comment, October 7). Few who listened to her conference speech would doubt it. There was passion, but no empty gesturing. More importantly, she outlined familiar Conservative ideas, such as trusting people with their own money, and sounded like she actually believed in them.
David Kenny
Tredunnock, Monmouthshire
SIR - The emergence of an inspirational leader who expounds Conservative values with conviction is truly exciting. To those who say they will never vote for the Tories again because of how badly they let us down last time, I say: consider what would have happened if people had taken the same stance after Edward Heath's government. The parallels with 1979 are profound.
Tim Coles
sir - My wife and I resigned from the Conservative Party when David Cameron became leader, as it was clear that he was a Conservative in name only. Much as I admire Kemi Badenoch's efforts to present today's Conservatives as "renewed", I am afraid that there are still too many liberals in the parliamentary party. I remain unable to vote Conservative.
Brian Earle
Poole, Dorset
Sir – If Kemi Badenoch wants us to believe that the Conservative Party is no longer a slightly blue Liberal Democrat outfit, why on Earth is she allowing Penny Mordaunt to stand as an MP (report, October 5)? Robin Hallam Andover, Hampshire
was the Conservatives who created the £100,000 cliff-edge. Now, when I am no longer eligible, they are asking for my vote on the grounds that they will remove it, no doubt raising other taxes in the process.
Martin Wight
SIR – The pledge to extend free childcare to high earners has proved that a future Conservative government will not fix Britain, but instead tinker at the edges, trying to slow our decline. It
SIR – Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a deal with Reform UK. Yet some suspect that she will seek a post-election pact with Reform MPs. It will be too late.
In too many seats, the Tories and Reform will cancel each other out, letting in Labour, the Greens or Liberal Democrats. The only way to prevent another disastrous Labour government is a pre-election Tory-Reform pact.
SIR – I note with interest Kemi Badenoch's determination to ensure that home-owners can pass on their property to their descendants (telegraph.co.uk, October 7).
Mrs Badenoch and Reform claim to put the nation's interests first. They should begin to act like it. Andy Burnham may yet pull another self-serving U-turn and call a snap election in spring 2027.
Terry Smith
London NW11
My husband and I are 80 and jointly own our house; yet the likelihood of being able to pass it on to our children has become vanishingly small. This is because of the cost of adult social care. My husband has Alzheimer's disease and has needed full-time care since March 2025. It is currently costing us more than £10,600 per month, or about £128,000 per year.
If I also turn out to need full-time care for any reason, I will be forced to sell our home. If my husband is still alive by then, we might get three years' care each from the value of the house, for which we have worked hard all our lives.
Carlton, Bedfordshire
I am trying to see the justice in this, but have failed so far even to make sense of it.
SIR – Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, is right to demand political impartiality in schools (“Trott: I’ll stop the Left indoctrinating children in the classroom”, report, October 6). However, too many young people leave education unable to construct a rational argument or engage with views that challenge their own. Strong feelings are natural, but emotion cannot replace evidence.
Fight and flight: testing a palm-sized Black Hornet reconnaissance drone in London
Our universities have traded open debate for safe spaces and no-platforming. We must reverse this drift. Every school should run a debating club and teach grammar, logic and rhetoric with the same rigour as maths or history. More inter-school debating competitions with national finals would also give children the vital oracy and critical thinking tools they need for public life.
Doug Clark
Edinburgh
---
适应无人机技术的威胁
---
📄 Original Section
Adapting to the threat of drone technology
---
失去优雅的捷豹
先生——捷豹的联合创始人威廉·莱昂斯爵士（Sir William Lyons）一定会讨厌这家公司的新车（见10月7日报道《不再那么FAB？捷豹撤回“觉醒粉”电动车》）。他的目标是为广大驾驶者提供具有“优雅、空间和速度”的汽车。而目前，刚刚亮相的这台粗糙机器显然是针对超级富豪的。它可能有空间和速度，但完全缺乏其据称所基于的E-type车型的那种优雅。
SIR - Sir William Lyons, Jaguar's co-founder, would have hated the company's new car ("Not so FAB? Jaguar reverses 'woke pink' EV", report, October 7). His aim was to give large numbers of motorists cars with "grace, space and pace". At £130,000, the lumpen machine just unveiled is clearly aimed at the super-rich. It might have space and pace, but it entirely lacks the grace of the E-type on which it is supposedly based.
SIR - The United States Air Force was right to redeploy its bombers in light of threats from Iran (Letters, October 7). However, RAF Fairford is not the only vulnerable airbase in Britain.
Previously, we had many more RAF Regiment squadrons capable of deploying to protect our vital air
assets from attack. The advent of drone warfare has sharpened the threat to these assets, and empowering the military to operate off-base in a crisis is vital. Currently, the eagle is particularly vulnerable in its nest.
sir - When we got a new golden retriever, the Kennel Club asked for a registration name starting with golden (Letters, October 7). My father wanted Golden Syrup, but this was refused. Nevertheless, the dog was known as Sticky for the rest of his life.
Kate Metcalfe
sir - When our daughter's working cocker spaniel, Rosie, died, there was desolation in the family. However, two weeks later we heard of a gamekeeper's gun-shy spaniel that was free to a good home. Inquiries were made. The dog's name? Rosie.
She arrived and heads were put together to find a new name, similar to Rosie. I recalled that, as a child, I'd had a dog called Toastie. Perfect.
The new dog even looks like a slice of white bread with marmalade ears. Cicely McCulloch
Howgate, Midlothian
sir - It was with sadness that I read of the death of Jeffrey Archer (Obituaries, October 7). In 1982, while in the Falklands, one of my best friends, "Mick" Melia, told me about a book he had just finished, Kane and Abel. He was animated as he outlined the plot, but deliberately didn't reveal the ending, assuring me that I'd love it. That was our last conversation. Mick was killed at Goose Green. As soon as we returned home, I bought and read the book. Mick was, of course, right - it had a superb ending. I went on to read many of Lord Archer's books over the years, and each one reminded me of Mick.
Mike Solomon
Lower Ashton, Devon
sir - It would be a rare British journalist who had not met and interviewed Jeffrey Archer in the 1980s and 1990s.
I had several encounters with him over the years and he was always unfailingly civil. The last was a singularly interesting interview over a cup of tea and fruitcake, in his study at the Old Vicarage in Grantchester. He spoke a great deal about his mother, a source of inspiration for a character in his latest novel. He was fiercely disciplined in his approach to his writing, working to a very specific timetable for each day. It was a fascinating experience.
Gary Curtis
London SW1
SIR – In the 1980s, I went to see Jeffrey Archer's play, Exclusive, at the Theatre Royal, Bath. As I recall, this performance marked the beginning of a tour of the provinces before heading to London. During the interval, a work colleague and I found ourselves animatedly discussing and dissecting the play, critiquing it quite thoroughly. To our astonishment, the author was sitting right in front of us. He turned around and said, "Ladies, you have been very illuminating about my play; I have taken heed." He did not return for the second half, and I wondered if our comments influenced his decision.
SIR - Your piece (Magazine, October 3) on the new memorial at the National Arboretum, dedicated to soldiers who took their own lives, states that until now "they have been denied so much as a mention in any official memorial".
My grandfather, Lance Sergeant Fred McNess VC, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, has his name engraved on the new war memorial of his home town of Bramley, West Yorkshire. He survived the war but took his own life later.
His mental health, damaged by the experiences that won him the VC, grew worse as he aged, but as long as he could work and feel a part of his community, he had enough support to cope. However, when he had to take early retirement because of the growing pain and disabilities caused by his wartime injuries, he became reclusive and seriously depressed, struggling with nightmares and tremors. He took his own life in 1956.
The committee that designed and commissioned the 2016 war memorial in Bramley decided to add his name. We, his grandchildren, are immensely grateful for this honour, and for the life of a very brave soldier.
在封锁期间，当我丈夫开车带我经过默西门户大桥（Mersey Gateway Bridge），前往克拉特布里奇癌症中心（Clatterbridge Cancer Centre）接受治疗时，电台 Radio 2 经常播放这首歌，河水在春日的阳光下闪闪发光。
它确实让我的心情好转了。
玛丽·罗斯（Mary Ross）
柴郡，沃灵顿
先生：如果让我选择一首终极的自驾旅行之歌，我想我会选择 The Doors 乐队的《路边酒吧布鲁斯》（Roadhouse Blues），其开篇歌词是：“眼睛盯着路，手握方向盘”。
理查德·莱顿·德比（Richard Layton Derby）
---
📄 Original Section
Road trip songs
sir - Harry Styles's Watermelon Sugar is a road trip song I'm unlikely to forget (report, October 7).
It was played regularly on Radio 2 during lockdown, as my husband drove me across the Mersey Gateway Bridge, the river sparkling in the spring sunshine, en route to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre for treatment.
It certainly lifted my spirits.
Mary Ross
Warrington, Cheshire
sir - If I had to pick the ultimate road trip song, I think I would go for Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, with its opening lyric: "Keep your eyes on the road, your hand upon the wheel". Richard Layton Derby
sIR - I was interested and amused to read Celia Walden's article "Why would I whinge about cooking the dinner?" (Features, October 6).
My mother always said that a woman's marriage vows ought to include: "And I will write all the Christmas cards forever, even to friends of my husband that I don't know." Rachel Palmer Rhayader, Radnorshire
Miliband won't admit Israel is doing our dirty work
CON COUGHLIN
As Israel marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, it did so in the certain knowledge that the country has emerged from the trauma of the worst terrorist attack in its history by becoming the Middle East's undisputed military superpower.
The Israelis have not only succeeded in destroying the Hamas terrorist infrastructure that enabled legions of fanatical jihadis to storm across their southern border and massacre around 1,200 people, while taking an additional 251 captives. They have also achieved the impressive feat of waging war on a number of fronts simultaneously. Not only have they played a prominent role in the Trump administration's conflict with Iran, but they have conducted highly effective military campaigns of their own against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
What makes Israel's military achievements all the more remarkable is that they have been accomplished by a country with a population of just over 10 million. Apart from the US, it is hard to imagine any other nation in the world that could successfully conduct military operations on a similar scale.
Russia, of course, has failed miserably to achieve its stated objectives in just one military campaign against Ukraine, despite boasting a population of around 150 million. The UK, meanwhile, has struggled to deploy a single warship to protect its interests in the Mediterranean.
All this should constitute a compelling argument in favour of Western leaders strengthening their ties with the Jewish state. This is particularly the case for the UK given its long and complex history of involvement in the Middle East. Indeed, prior to Labour taking power in 2024, the British government enjoyed strong intelligence and military ties with the Israelis, with the two countries cooperating closely at the highest level on issues of mutual interest, such as Iran's nuclear ambitions and Islamist-inspired terrorism.
Yet, at a time when any responsible British government would be seeking to build on this valuable alliance, Andy Burnham's administration appears hell-bent on pursuing the opposite course of action.
Not content with infuriating the Israelis with his ill-judged decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, may be preparing to double down on his confrontational stance by expelling 27 diplomats from the Israeli Embassy in London. The move, which would seriously undermine the Embassy's ability to function as a diplomatic mission, would be in retaliation for Israel's decision to close the British Consulate in Jerusalem,
which was taken in response to Miliband's original sanctions.
Miliband appears determined to maintain his antagonistic approach towards Israel, despite the recent revelation that the Israelis tipped off their British counterparts about the recent terror plot aimed at RAF Fairfield, which has so far resulted in the arrest of seven suspects. While Miliband's anti-Israel stance might appeal to Labour's vocal pro-Palestinian lobby, his preference for puerile gesture politics will be counter-productive in so far as the UK's broader national security interests are concerned.
Israel's reluctance to engage constructively with the Burnham government was evident during last week's visit to Israel by national security adviser Jonathan Powell, who personally lobbied his Israeli counterparts not to proceed with the closure of the British Consulate. Unsurprisingly, Powell found the Israelis were not in listening mood.
The collapse in relations between London and Jerusalem, moreover, could have far more profound consequences than the fall-out from the current diplomatic tit-for-tat.
Whether the Burnham government likes it or not, Iran views the UK as a hostile state, and feels thoroughly justified in targeting British interests, whether in the form of cyber attacks or terror plots. Israel's intelligence on Iran's global terror operations is second-to-none, and the UK's ability to thwart Iran's operations will be fatally compromised if the Israelis decide it is no longer in their interests to share key information with their erstwhile British friends.
Nor does it make any sense to alienate a vital ally like Israel given Britain's vulnerability in areas such as missile defence, where the UK has much to learn from Israel's Iron Dome arrangement.
The Israelis have a proven track record of intercepting missile strikes launched from numerous fronts, including Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. But they are unlikely to be willing to share their expertise with the UK so long as relations between London and Jerusalem remain on their current parlous footing.
The key issue Burnham and Miliband fail to grasp in their haste to pander to Labour's anti-Israel Left-wing is that, when it comes to dealing with many of the threats we face today, the UK and Israel are on the same side, whether this concerns confronting the ayatollahs in Iran or tackling Islamist terror groups that seek to destroy our way of life.
In so many respects, Israel's wars are our wars when it comes to defending basic Western values, such as democracy, freedom of expression and the rule of law. Miliband seems incapable of accepting that, in many areas, Israel is doing Britain's dirty work for it.
This means any action by British ministers that threatens this vital alliance will leave the UK, not Israel, the poorer for it.
To solve kakuro you must enter a number between 1 and 9 in the empty squares without repeating a digit. The clues are the numbers on the black squares and are the sum of the solution numbers. The clue pointers indicate the direction of the answers. A block of two squares with a clue of 3 will solve as 2,1 and a 5 will produce 4,1 or 2,3. A 4 can only be 1,3, never 2,2. Solution tomorrow.
Your clues are the caged numbers that represent the sum of the numbers within the cage. As in standard sudoku, each 3 x 3 box, each row and each column must contain all the numbers 1 to 9. Solution tomorrow.
Numbers are substituted for letters in this crossword grid. In the smaller key grid some letters are solved, Use these as clues to complete your first word. This will solve more letters that you can then enter in the grids. Solutions tomorrow,
Each of the anagrams below spells out the name of a popular song. Solution tomorrow.
LIGHT WIND
RAN UP PERIL
DEEP FRY ACT
H | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15V | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | For today's right-hand codewords solutions call 0905 757 0131, For up to five extra letter clues call 0905 757 0130 or text STCODE (leaving no spaces) to 64343. Call cost £1 per minute, plus network access charge; texts cost £1, plus network access charge. You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission.
Services open Man - Fl, SP: Spoke 118 - Helpline 0333 202 3390.
MIND GYM | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 | To solve this puzzle each 3 x 3 box, each row and also each column must contain all the numbers from 1 to 9. There are numerous strategies to help you solve sudoku. Solutions tomorrow.
Sudoku Solution For today's tough sudoku solution call 0905 757 0136, Calls cost £1 per minute, plus network access charge. You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission. Services open Mon – Fri. SP: Spoké – 0333 202 3390.
Start on the left with the given number and work your way across following the instructions in each cell. Target time: 30 seconds. Solution below.
Create words of four letters or more, always using the centre letter. Proper nouns and plurals are not allowed, and you can only use each letter once per word. Can you find the nine-letter Panagram? Answers must be in the Oxford Dictionary of English. Solution tomorrow.
铺设轨道以允许火车从 A 运行到 B。仅使用直线和曲线轨道，且轨道不能交叉。数字表示每列和每行中有多少段轨道。答案明天公布。
今天尝试我们快速的新脑筋急转弯
扫描二维码或访问 telegraph.co.uk / minis
---
📄 Original Section
MINI SUDOKU
Lay down tracks to allow a train to travel from A to B. Only use straight and curved rails and the track cannot cross itself. The numbers indicate how many sections of rail go in each column and row. Solution tomorrow.
To scan the QR code, open your phone camera, point it at the code and tap the banner that appears on screen. On older phones, you may need to download a QR code reader first.
---
迷你时间
填充网格，使每行、每列以及每个 2 x 3 方格都包含数字 1-6。答案明天公布。
---
📄 Original Section
Time for a mini
Fill in the grid in such a way that every row and column and every 2 x 3 box contains the numbers 1-6. Solution tomorrow.
There is only one possible answer for the PlusWord; it may be that the PlusWord contains letters that aren't found in the crossword, but it can always be worked out logically without guessing. Solution tomorrow.
Change just one letter to go from the top word to the bottom word. Each step must be a valid word and you cannot change the order of the letters. There are clues below for each rung, but they are not necessarily in order. Solution tomorrow.
Pharmacy giant bought by one of Canada's wealthiest dynasties in deal set to complete early next year
By Jonathan Prynn
BOOTS has been sold to the billionaire family behind Primark for nearly £7bn.
The high street pharmacist, which was founded in 1849, has been bought by the Canadian arm of the Weston family, Wittington Investments, for \$8.9bn (£6.7bn).
The deal comes just a year after the private equity firm Sycamore bought Walgreens Boots Alliance, for \$24bn.
Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, who will become chairman of the high street chain, said: "Boots is one of Britain's most enduring businesses, with a rich heritage, a trusted name and a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland."
The Westons, a Canadian business dynasty, are one of the world's richest families. The Canadian branch of the family, which will take control of Boots, owns Loblaw, the country's largest supermarket.
The UK arm of the family, meanwhile, owns brands including Fortnum & Mason and Primark-owner Associated British Foods.
Under the terms of the deal, Wittington will acquire Boots's retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses. Boots has 1,800 stores across the UK.
Sycamore and the Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, who originally helped take Boots private in 2007, will retain ownership of the Boots Group's other operations, Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
Boots was sold to Mr Pessina and the private equity firm KKR in 2007 in an £11.1bn deal.
At the time, it was Europe's biggest leveraged buyout and the first instance of one of Britain's leading listed companies being taken over by private equity. Walgreens later bought the group in 2014 before Sycamore Partners took the chain private again last year.
Along with the Westons, the Canadian business Fairfax Financial, run by billionaire Prem Watsa, will take a 50pc stake in Boots as part of the deal.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of Boots, said: "Boots matters. Every day, our colleagues give millions of people longer, healthier and happier lives.
“Those customers and patients trust in Boots’ unmatched authority, capability and leadership across health, wellness and beauty. I’ve seen enough already of our colleagues’ passion and expertise to understand why they do.”
Mr Baldock, who is expected to stay on as chief executive, was recruited as Boots's new boss from electricals retailer Currys only a month ago.
The retail executive has a reputation for steering turnarounds and is seen by analysts as key to bringing new focus to the sprawling Boots business.
Boots, which employs more than 51,000 people, was founded in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, originally as a seller of herbal remedies.
His son Jesse Boot led the expansion of the company, and by 1933 there were 1,000 stores across the UK.
Its cosmetics brand No7 was launched two years later.
The various branches of the Weston family are all descended from George Weston, the Toronto tycoon. The
Canadian branch, headed by his great-grandson Galen Weston Jr, operates more than 200 companies.
The Canadian Westons also previously owned the department store Selfridges until 2022.
The separate UK offshoot of the family is led by another great-grandson and Galen's cousin, the British businessman George Garfield Weston.
The British branch of the Westons owns a majority stake in Primark's parent company.
It has been exploring a listing of the budget clothing retailer.
Mr Pessina, an Italian entrepreneur, has been involved with Boots for 20 years, helping to take the business private in 2007.
OCTOPUS has blocked a financial adviser from withdrawing millions for his client from one of its inheritance tax schemes for seven months.
Mark Spendlove, of IPP Group, had asked Octopus Investments, which manages a number of inheritance tax funds, to withdraw £5.4m from Terido, a scheme aimed at small businesses.
The scheme takes the spare cash from member businesses and invests it into asset-backed loans, mainly in property, ensuring that its investors can qualify for business relief.
Octopus originally told Mr Spendlove the withdrawal process would take about four weeks, but later said the money would paid out over the course of seven months, with the final payment of £2m not made until March 2027. In correspondence seen by The Telegraph, Octopus told IPP the phased withdrawal was “consistent with how we manage larger withdrawal requests”.
It added that it would only be able to pay the final sum of £2m in March if the "partnership's liquidity position develops as currently expected".
In a complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority, Mr Spendlove said he had previously arranged a number of large withdrawals across Octopus's competitors, and had never had to wait more than six weeks. He added that the delay had led him to become concerned about the liquidity at Terido.
Mr Spendlove told FT Adviser, which first reported the news: "My client, obviously, was not at all impressed. That's completely, totally, not acceptable."
An FCA spokesman said: "We're in contact with the firm and aware of these developments."
A spokesman for Octopus said it does not comment on individual client cases. He added: "We take our responsibilities to our clients seriously."
Royal approval The King applauds alongside Elton John, his husband David Furnish and Tim Cook, chairman of the board of directors of Apple, during a music workshop for young people, in a collaboration between the King's Trust charity and tech giant, at Battersea Power Station in south-west London,
UK government borrowing costs hit 28-year high in fresh bond rout
By Chris Price
THE cost of long-term UK government borrowing hit its highest level since 1998 yesterday, as a sell-off resumed on global bond markets.
The yield on 30-year gilts, the effective interest rate the Treasury pays to borrow money, jumped at its fastest pace since May, from 5.90pc to 6.03pc. UK borrowing costs rose as part of a wider rout on bond markets, driven by fears about surging government spending, higher oil prices and rising interest rates.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, jumped as much as 1.8pc to more than \$102 a barrel - about \$55 more than a barrel cost at this time last year. Michael Bell, an analyst at RBC Bluebay, said: "Bonds are selling off globally and concerns about the fiscal trajectory for several key economies are contributing towards that today, along with a move higher in oil prices."
Lloyd Harris, the head of fixed income at Premier Miton, said: "All rates markets are selling off. It's oil up."
The biggest leap in borrowing costs was in France, after the head of its central bank ruled out an intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB) to support its creaking public finances.
The yield on France's 30-year bonds climbed at its fastest pace in 19 months after Emmanuel Moulin, the governor of the Bank of France, insisted there was no need for a bailout of Europe's second-largest economy. French borrowing costs have surged over concerns that its government will not take control of mounting debts, with candidates for next year's presidential election making ever greater spending promises. Marine Le Pen, the front-runner to replace Emmanuel Macron, has urged the ECB to intervene.
Mr Moulin, meanwhile, criticised what he called “Trump-style” threats against him from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Left-wing presidential candidate. The politician accused the governor of “acts of treason” for warning about the fiscal risks facing France.
Mr Bell, of RBC Bluebay, added: "As concerns around the political and fiscal outlook in France build, I think it is also driving yields higher in other countries such as the UK and US."
The turmoil in France has helped fuel the latest downturn in bond markets. The yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds climbed to the highest since 2002 at 5.72pc. The equivalent Italian bond yield rose to 5.27pc, its highest since
2023. It has also threatened to further drive up mortgage costs. So-called five-year swap rates, which are used by lenders to price their products, have risen to close to their highest level in three years.
James Athey, a fund manager at Marlborough, said: "If there were a league table of fiscal miscreants today it would be the US, the UK and France who would be battling for Champions League places. I'd heavily wager on France finishing top of that table."
LOTUS has cut its UK workforce by more than half after Donald Trump's tariffs triggered a collapse in sales.
The sports car manufacturer had 600 employees at the end of last year, less than half the 1,300 staff it had before US import duties stunted demand in its biggest market.
The workforce reduction, revealed in newly published accounts, appear to go deeper than Lotus indicated in August last year, when it planned to let go of
550 staff. Sales at the carmaker – which is based in Hethel, Norfolk – fell 71pc to just 1,539 vehicles in 2025 after the US president raised tariffs on British vehicle imports by 25pc.
While the levy was later reduced after ministers reached a deal with Washington, deliveries in the first half of 2026 remained flat at 896 cars.
Lotus - founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman - said it had been forced to cut production as "global tariff uncertainty and evolving trade conditions" hit demand for British sports cars.
Lotus's full-year losses climbed more than 90pc to £263m.
The carmaker, which is owned by China's Geely, said: "The imposition of 25pc tariffs by the US government led to a significant reduction in orders in Lotus's largest single market."
Meanwhile, Porsche is to raise prices by up to £50,000 as the struggling German brand seeks to go further upmarket. The automotive giant yesterday said the 20pc increase for its most expensive models would allow it to boost profits while selling fewer vehicles.
JOHN HEALEY should mount a £1.5bn raid on Amazon and other online retailers in the Budget to fund a high street tax cut, a Labour-linked think tank has said.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which has helped shape Labour policies, said a new online sales tax could raise billions of pounds and allow the Chancellor to cut business rates for shops, pubs and restaurants.
Andy Burnham has signalled that
Labour will ramp up a so-called Amazon tax to help fund a tax cut for "businesses that bring social benefit".
The IPPR urged the Prime Minister and Chancellor to consider a new 2pc tax on online sales by large retailers and lpc for click-and-collect purchases that it said would raise at least £1.5bn a year.
Under the think tank's proposals, the first £500,000 of a business's remote sales each year would be exempt, in a move designed to protect smaller firms.
The proposal comes amid growing concern over the burden of business rates on the high street, with the IPPR arguing that Britain has an unusually heavy reliance on property taxes. OECD data show property taxes account for 10.5pc of UK tax revenues, compared with an average of 5.1pc. Business rates alone raise more than £27bn a year.
Aditi Sriram at the IPPR said: “The government should shift some of the tax burden from bricks to clicks and use the money to cut bills for the businesses that bring people to our high streets.”
But retailers warned that an online sales tax could push up the cost of living.
法国债务炸弹威胁引爆欧元区
📄 Original Section
French debt bomb threatens to ignite eurozone
政客与市场的博弈恐激怒抗议者并迫使布鲁塞尔采取行动。作者：汉斯·范·莱文 (Hans van Leeuwen)
Politicians' battle against markets risks enraging protesters and forcing Brussels to act. By Hans van Leeuwen
EVEN by French standards, the protests that have convulsed the country this week have been more dramatic than the usual flare-ups.
About a quarter of a million high-school students, teachers, trade unionists and activists were on the streets on Tuesday, facing off against police touting riot shields and tear gas.
But one high-profile figure was missing: Marine Le Pen, leader of the hard-Right populist party National Rally. Le Pen's political ascent has rested on her ability to tap the recurring groundswell of French citizens' anger and frustration. So she is no stranger to marches and demonstrations. Yet on Tuesday she was miles from the streets.
Instead, she was briefing journalists on how, as president, she would slash €140bn (£119bn) from the French budget and halve the country's colossal debt pile. It was a watershed moment for the presidential hopeful.
Until now, Le Pen has always displayed the populist's penchant for fiscal profligacy. She has opposed President Emmanuel Macron's attempted fiscal reforms at every turn.
Now, she is trying to outbid Macron's centrist Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu. His €43bn in proposed spending cuts and tax hikes look modest in comparison. On Tuesday, she criticised Macron and his lieutenants for failing to prepare a plan to prevent "the noose of interest payments from strangling France".
"If the French do not choose to make a political break, France is heading towards default," she said.
But Le Pen's new-found appetite for balancing the budget is not shared by the electorate, who will choose a new president next April to replace Macron, who has led the country since 2017.
French voters want the government to deliver decent public services, let workers retire as early as possible and help out with the ever-rising cost of living. But Lecornu and Le Pen have two masters now: not just the angry protesters on the streets, but the anxious global bond investors who are voting with their feet.
Investors have looked at Le Pen's previously extravagant promises - and at the polls that put her on course for victory - and they don't see a country planning to live within its means.
So they have driven French bond yields - the cost of government borrowing - to the highest in decades.
This has pushed the "spread" between French and German bond yields to levels that have sparked fears of a wider eurozone crisis – one that could rope in the European Central Bank and set the whole bloc on fire.
"If France fails, the whole of Europe fails," says Desmond Lachman, of the American Enterprise Institute. And he warns that the contagion could even wash up in Britain and America.
“What bothers me is that all of this is playing out at a time when the world’s largest economy looks like it’s on its own path towards a day of reckoning. So the last thing the world needs now is a French debt crisis.”
The euro has dropped 4pc against the US dollar since the end of August, as the market weighs up just how bad things could get.
Some big Japanese holders of French bonds have already headed for the exit. If the exodus can't be stopped, the ECB may have to start buying French bonds to stem the soaring yields and head off a bloc-wide crisis.
"We're not talking about Greece. We're talking about a big country that's got a huge amount of debt. So it means that the ECB is going to have to come in pretty big. And they're going to have to do it with the Germans kicking and screaming." Lachman says.
But if the ECB steps in, bond vigilantes will be primed to test the central bank's resolve.
The ensuing crisis could spill into other heavily indebted countries like Belgium or Italy. Emmanuel Moulin, the French central bank chief, said yesterday that the ECB did not need to intervene at the moment.
The bank “is not here to deal with countries’ budget problems, it is here to fight against inflation,” he told the France Inter radio station.
This underscored what most market watchers already acknowledge: the ECB cannot ride to the rescue if France isn't willing to help itself. But that's exactly what bond investors are worried about. Politically paralysed at the top, and riven by unrest on the streets, France appears unable to dig itself out of its hole.
"The bond markets are going to continue to punish France and French bonds until they believe there's a political equilibrium in the country that can deliver the kind of fiscal consolidation which will make the debt level sustainable," says Mujtaba Rahman, of the Eurasia Group.
France has run a budget deficit since 1974. But the acute phase of the crisis began in mid-2024, when Macron called a snap parliamentary election to try to stop the ascendant Le Pen in her tracks. His move backfired.
The election delivered a hung parliament dominated by populist blocs on the Left and Right. The only
thing this polarised collection of MPs have in common is a willingness to block Macron's hapless succession of centrist prime ministers from tackling the debt crisis. Last year Lecornu was forced to ditch key reforms and fend off repeated no-confidence votes. Eventually he used a constitutional mechanism to pass the 2026 budget without an Assembly vote.
He faces the same wrangle this year, but with heightened drama and tension. The overwhelming priority of every politician is to woo voters, or avoid alienating them, in the run-up to next April's presidential election.
This is what has spooked the markets. Until Le Pen set out her fiscal stall on Tuesday, there was no sign that any French opposition politician could hear the ticking of the debt bomb. Roland Lescure, the finance minister, had already admitted that he won't get 'We're finally seeing something that feigns to be fiscally responsible coming from Le Pen' the deficit back under 5pc of GDP in this budget. It is expected to be 5.4pc next year, up from 5.1pc this year.
The Treasury said it would have to issue a record €340bn of debt next year, 10pc more than this year.
The cost of servicing this debt would jump 16pc to almost €73bn. This will eat up a quarter of the €43bn savings that Lecornu is hoping to deliver. The French government's debt-to-GDP ratio in the second quarter hit a record 119pc, surpassing that of Portugal and Spain, and closing in on Italy.
Rattled bond investors sold off their holdings, driving borrowing costs on France's 10-year bond to almost 5pc, the highest since 2002. The spread of 1.6 percentage points over the German bond yield was the widest since the eurozone crisis of 2012.
Leo Barincou, a Paris-based analyst at Oxford Economics, says there is surprising complacency in France about the bond market ructions. "It hasn't dominated the public debate as it would have in many other countries. The high school protest movement has been a much bigger deal," he says.
Some politicians are thumbing their nose at the vigilantes. Le Pen's nearest presidential rival, the Left-populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of La France Insoumise, has proposed simply cancelling a chunk of France's debt.
"All we have to do is take the 18pc held by the Bank of France and chuck it in the fire," he said in August.
This has sparked a war of words with Moulin, the central bank boss, who accused Mélenchon yesterday of making “Trump-style threats” against his independence.
Mélenchon immediately hit back.
"Where else in the world does a central banker elected by no one give his political opinion on how the country is managed?" he posted on X.
Meanwhile, the clutch of politicians vying to become the centrist candidate for president are also coy on their cost-cutting plans, hoping to avoid scaring the voters. “The French political elite are not afraid of the bond market. And the French electorate is not ready for the sorts of tough choices they’re going to be forced into accepting to get the French public finances under control,” Rahman says.
Le Pen, however, seems to be making a belated and unexpected conversion to fiscal rectitude, as she imagines herself moving into the Elysee presidential palace on May 3 next year. "She has understood that the bond market is her Achilles heel, and that if she doesn't want the presidency to be engulfed in crisis on May 3, she's going to have to start talking in a much more coherent fashion about her economic platform," Rahman says.
But the shift may also hand Le Pen a tactical political advantage against her rivals. On one flank, she positions herself as a more responsible populist than Mélenchon, with his cavalier approach to debt and his embrace of this week's protests. On the other flank, she can attack the centrists as ineffectual. It was Macron and his ilk who had "put us in the hands of the bond holders", she said on Tuesday.
Le Pen may also be finding it harder to ignore the increasingly shrill clamour from beyond France's borders. Yesterday, Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, warned governments of the “very tough political choices” that lie ahead for countries in the eurozone. “Elevated yields are inflating the interest bill at a time of tight budget constraints and competing spending priorities,” she said. “The situation demands an urgent and comprehensive set of policy responses.”
Le Pen wants to move with improbable speed, vowing to get the budget deficit below 2.5pc of GDP within five years. She claims that curbing immigration and cutting foreigners' access to welfare would save up to €30bn a year. Making pensions less "unjust and inefficient" would reap up to €20bn (£25bn) a year.
There would be 30pc wealth tax, and a levy on multinationals' profits. France's net annual contribution to the EU would be halved
€5bn. There would be a bonfire of French quangos and a cull of civil servants. But she was ready to spend as well, with €69bn of tax cuts and spending bungs in 2027 alone.
Protesters face off against police at the Place de la République in Paris; Marine Le Pen, inset, has criticised Emmanuel Macron for failing to prepare a plan to prevent 'the noose of interest payments from strangling France'
"We're finally seeing something that feigns to be fiscally responsible coming from Le Pen," says Thierry Wizman, an analyst at Macquarie Group. "But it doesn't go all the way. And of course, she doesn't have a reputation for being fiscally responsible. So people are going to have doubts." It didn't take long for the doubters to break cover.
Edouard Philippe, a former prime minister who is currently Le Pen's most serious centrist challenger, addressed her on X: "To seduce, you promise billions. To save, you invent billions. But the reality principle always ends up prevailing."
Charlotte de Montpellier, an analyst at ING Bank, says many of Le Pen's promises were unlikely to reap the kind of savings she had suggested, or at least not on her timeframe.
She adds that while Le Pen's proposals assume the French economy will grow more strongly, her austerity measures will "inevitably weigh on demand and economic activity and, in turn, on tax revenue".
France's economy is already flatlining. If it had its own currency and monetary policy, it could cut interest rates and devalue the franc to soften the hit from austerity.
Instead, it is tethered to the ECB.
Instead, it is tethered to the ECB. This reassures the bond markets that there won't be a meltdown, but it makes the austerity straitjacket more economically harrowing for the French
The bond vigilantes' fiscal concerns might seem far removed from high-school students' demands for more teachers and better classrooms. In 1968, though, French student protesters adopted the slogan "Be realistic: ask for the impossible". Right now, the bond market could be chanting that same mantra.
THE convictions of five men jailed after being accused of manipulating interest rates have been overturned at the Court of Appeal after a "wrong turn" which led to unfair errors in their trials.
Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham were jailed between 2016 and 2019 for offences connected to manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) admitted in August that the group's convictions may be unsafe in the light of a Supreme Court ruling last July which quashed the convictions of two traders,
Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo. Lawyers for the five men argued that the jury directions given in their trials were near-identical to those created for the trial of Mr Hayes which were found to be wrong by the Supreme Court.
Barristers for the SFO told the court it did not oppose the appeals and Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Moody, quashed the convictions yesterday.
Former Barclays employees Mr Mathew, Mr Merchant and Mr Pabon were jailed for four years, five-and-a-half years and two years and nine months respectively in 2016, after being convicted at trial of conspiracy to defraud.
Mr Bermingham, a former managing director at Barclays, was sentenced to five years in 2019.
Former Barclays trader Mr Moryoussef was sentenced in his absence in 2018 to eight years' imprisonment, having fled to his native France before being convicted at trial.
France refused to extradite him, saying the offence was not a crime in France at the time.
Jason Williams, head of division at the Serious Fraud Office, said: "After carefully considering this judgment and the full circumstances, we do not oppose the appeals of five individuals convicted by juries in relation to Libor and Euribor. We communicated our decision last year to each of the people affected by the judgment."
ROYAL MAIL is to cut up to 2,500 jobs as the struggling postal service grapples with a sharp decline in letter sending.
The company is consulting with unions on the reductions as part of a wider review of its head office and support functions. Bosses said they expected the overhaul to reduce the number of jobs by as many as 2,500 by the end of next year.
The cuts, which represent less than 2pc of Royal Mail's workforce of about 131,000, will be achieved through voluntary redundancies and by not replacing employees who leave the business. Royal Mail said the overhaul was designed to improve efficiency and speed up decision-making among its corporate workforce.
The cuts will not affect front-line delivery roles. Discussions with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite CMA are under way.
Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail's chief executive, said: "We have been working hard to reduce costs and simplify processes across all areas of the business as we transform to win in a very competitive market."
It comes amid a period of upheaval at Royal Mail, which was acquired by Czech billionaire Daniel Kfetínský in a £3.6bn deal last year. The company has racked up almost £800m in losses in the past four years as annual letter volumes have dropped by 70pc to six billion, from their peak of about 20 billion two decades ago.
Meanwhile, Royal Mail has come under scrutiny for its declining quality of service and has been hit with repeated fines for missing its delivery targets, including a record £21m penalty last year.
Royal Mail has secured approval from Ofcom to overhaul its universal service obligations, which require it to deliver letters six days a week. The company has said the reforms are required to make it financially sustainable.
Martin Walsh, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: "We urge the Government to confront the reality of a collapsing Royal Mail and intervene to save this national institution."
布莱尔加入科技亿万富翁好友的好莱坞巨头合并案
作者：Matthew Field 和 Joe Sledge
托尼·布莱尔爵士（Sir Tony Blair）已获得一个顾问职位，为他的亿万富翁科技盟友拉里·埃利森（Larry Ellison）价值 1100亿美元 (820亿英镑) 的好莱坞巨头 Skydance 提供咨询。
Blair joins tech billionaire friend's blockbuster Hollywood merger
By Matthew Field and Joe Sledge
SIR TONY BLAIR has secured a role advising his billionaire tech ally Larry Ellison's \$110bn (£82bn) Hollywood giant Skydance.
The former Labour prime minister has been appointed as an adviser to Skydance's board on the back of a blockbuster merger between the
Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery. Sir Tony's role was confirmed late on Tuesday night after the deal was officially finalised.
The new Hollywood giant, rebranded as Skydance, will control a sweeping entertainment empire spanning streaming app HBO, the Harry Potter franchise, and US news channels including CNN and CBS. The business will be led by
David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, who founded tech giant Oracle. Larry Ellison, who is worth an estimated \$193bn, is a close ally of Donald Trump.
David Ellison, Skydance's chief executive and chairman, said: "Tony has led at the highest levels of government, respected for his intellect, strategic vision and ability to bring people together around bold, forward-looking ideas. His global perspective and insight will be invaluable as we turn ambition into results."
Larry Ellison, 82, is a long-time associate of Sir Tony and has donated hundreds of millions of pounds to the former Labour leader's think tank, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI).
Sir Tony's appointment will also help to bridge relations between the Ellison family and the Gulf states that have pumped billions of dollars into Paramount's takeover. Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar contributed \$24bn to the bid and are expected to hold a stake in Skydance of just under 50pc, though they will not have voting shares.
The TBI has carried out significant work with Middle Eastern states, advising governments on policies including Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 modernisation plan. The former prime minister also serves on Mr Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace".
While not named on the media giant's new board, Larry Ellison has bankrolled his son's attempt to reshape the Hollywood landscape with billions of dollars in funding and a \$40bn (£30bn) personal guarantee.
Decisions to block projects undermine Government's growth pledge, Berkeley Group boss warns
By Pui-Guan Man
ONE of Britain's biggest housebuilders has accused Angela Rayner of "worsening" the housing crisis after it was defeated in a long-running battle to build hundreds of homes in south London.
Berkeley Group had mounted a legal challenge to revive plans to replace Peckham's derelict 1980s Aylesham Centre with 867 homes, but its appeal was rejected by a judge on Monday.
Ms Rayner's officials in the Ministry for Housing have also frozen a second Berkeley project, for 586 homes, at the redundant Motspur Park gasworks in Kingston.
Rob Perrins, the chief executive of Berkeley Group, warned yesterday that the decisions underscored the "gulf between positive planning policies and
但包括艾尔舍姆社区行动组织（Aylesham Community Action）在内的当地团体抗议该项目，将其贴上“加强版绅士化”的标签。此次运动得到了当地工党议员米亚塔·法恩布勒（Miatta Fahnbulleh）的支持，她于7月被任命为能源大臣。
与此同时，伦敦市长图廷的汗勋爵（Lord Khan of Tooting）在议员于3月否决该提案后，接手并批准了伯克利（Berkeley）的莫茨普尔公园开发项目。但住房大臣在8月发布了一项暂缓指令，禁止市政厅正式授予许可，尽管安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）曾承诺将建筑项目的更多控制权交给市长。
DETTY IMAGES FOR JACQUAR LAND FROVER DIMITTROS KAMBOURS
Florence and the machine 女演员佛罗伦斯·普（Florence Pugh）出席在纽约举行的捷豹 Type OI 发布会。在遭遇“觉醒文化”抵制后，捷豹为这款新型 13 万英镑 电车放弃了粉红色。
📄 Original Section
'At a time when we should be fighting to attract investment and build more homes, we're fighting it off'
what actually happens when you try to build homes in London".
With its projects repeatedly rejected by councils and planning inspectors, Mr Perrins said the housebuilder was increasingly forced to rely on “hugely costly and slow” legal appeals or decisions by ministers to secure approval for developments.
Plans for its Motspur Park development were “immediately put on hold by central Government” in August, Mr Perrins said, and now must be reviewed by Ms Rayner, despite securing consent from the Mayor of London’s office.
Mr Perrins said: "All of this creates extreme uncertainty and is undermining the Government's housing agenda.
"Housing delivery in London is at a record low. At a time when we should be fighting to attract investment and build more homes, we're fighting it off. The result is fewer homes, less growth and a worsening housing crisis."
In Peckham, the housebuilder had applied to build homes in more than a dozen tower blocks running up to 20 storeys high, served by a new Morrisons supermarket.
But its proposals were rejected by the planning inspectorate in May on heritage grounds, which ruled they were "visually intrusive".
Mr Perrins described the Peckham saga as a "10-year planning nightmare", adding that Historic England, the heritage watchdog, had not objected to the plans. "The outcome is no new investment, no jobs, no homes," he added. "All the policies support housing, but the decisions block it time and time again."
The site has been earmarked for housing since 2014. It is estimated the project would generate nearly 1,000 jobs along with £15m for the council to invest in the community.
But local groups protested against the project, including Aylesham Community Action, labelling it “gentrification [on] steroids”. The campaign was backed by Miatta Fahnbulleh, the local Labour MP who was appointed Energy Secretary in July.
Lord Khan of Tooting, the Mayor of London, meanwhile, called in and approved Berkeley's Motspur Park development after councillors rejected the proposal in March. But the Housing Secretary issued a holding direction in August that bars City Hall from officially granting consent, despite Andy Burnham's pledge to leave more control of building projects to mayors.
A spokesman for the Housing Department said: “Our planning reforms have already seen housing starts up 298pc in London compared to this time last year and we are investing up to £11.7bn to deliver the biggest a major revival of council housebuilding in the capital.
"We are also backing the Mayor of London and working closely with industry to get more homes built for Londoners - making sure good schemes are not left in limbo while unlocking jobs, growth and opportunity."
Separately, John Healey has been urged to cut stamp duty on newly built homes in a move that Berkeley estimates could hand the Treasury a £4.2bn windfall. In its Budget submission, Berkeley said cutting the levy could revive a market that it warned was "sliding over an economic cliff edge".
It called for stamp duty to be capped at 1pc for first-time buyers and downsizers. Berkeley also urged the Chancellor to scrap a 5pc surcharge levied on investors in new-build rental homes.
DETTY IMAGES FOR JACQUAR LAND FROVER DIMITTROS KAMBOURS
Florence and the machine Actress Florence Pugh attends the Jaguar Type OI reveal in New York. Jaguar ditched pink for the new £130,000 electric car after "woke" backlash.
西南水务所有者寻求5.5 亿英镑m资金注入
作者：克里斯·普赖斯 (Chris Price)
在寄生虫丑闻之后，西南水务（South West Water）的所有者正寻求从股东处获得5.5 亿英镑m资金，其首席执行官试图扭转这家陷入困境的企业。
THE owner of South West Water is seeking £550m from shareholders as its boss tries to turn around the struggling business after a parasite scandal.
Pennon Group shares plunged by nearly 19pc on Tuesday after it said it would cut its dividend and ask investors to stump up more cash to fund a £3.6bn investment in its pipes and services.
The supplier was at the centre of a contaminated water outbreak in 2024 that led to a string of customers falling ill in Devon. It was forced to issue a warning to 17,000 households because of the presence of a parasite that can cause diarrhoea.
Keith Haslett, the chief executive at Pennon, said the company would seek to raise £550m by selling new shares to existing investors so it could put in "more investment where our assets need it most".
He said: "It's clear from my comprehensive review that Pennon has real strengths, but there are areas where we need to improve and deliver better outcomes for our customers and communities.
"I have looked hard at how we
Pennon's dividend payments in 2027, from £138m in its 2026 financial year, as it seeks to put itself on a firmer footing
operate, maintain and invest in our assets and today we are setting out in detail what we are doing."
He added: "I am confident this plan will deliver a better service for customers, improve our environmental performance and generate sustainable, growing value for our shareholders."
Pennon said its investment plan was £1bn more than was required under the terms set out in a review by regulator Ofwat in 2024.
Those requirements were set out weeks after residents in Brixham, Devon, were told to boil their tap water after the discovery of an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, which left hundreds of people ill.
Pennon also said it would reduce its dividend payments from £138m in its 2026 financial year to about £125m in 2027 as it seeks to put itself on a firmer footing.
It said it would continue to use debt funding and proposed the sale of its renewable energy investment vehicle Pennon Power to cut debt.
The investment plans come as Andy Burnham raises the prospect of "greater public control" of essential services such as utilities.
Mr Burnham faced a backlash from Labour MPs after shelving plans to place struggling Thames Water into emergency administration.
Four in 10 farmers prepare to quit as Labour hammers countryside
By Patrick Galbraith
FOUR in 10 British farmers fear they may be forced to leave the industry within the next decade, a report from oven-chip maker McCain has warned.
In a survey of 200 farmers, 42pc said they had considered leaving their farms in the past year, and 40pc said they questioned whether they would still be farming in 10 years.
Meanwhile, some 77pc warned that government policy was the biggest threat to farming's future.
James Young, a vice-president at McCain Foods, said: "The overall picture shows a sector continuing to face significant economic, environmental and operational challenges. The global picture is tumultuous, and domestically it has been one of the hottest, driest summers on record."
Farmers are coming to the end of the poorest recorded harvest, with analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit showing that UK farmers lost some three million tons of grain worth about £448m.
Rural workers have also been left frustrated by a series of Labour policies that have alienated the countryside, such as the family farm tax.
The McCain report also followed farmers' frustration about the botched launch of a grant intended to support sustainable farming last month.
In less than six hours, a pot of £253m from the Sustainable Farming Incentive, designed to support farmers to manage their land in a nature-friendly way, was used up.
Many farmers, who have relied on grants after subsidies from Europe ended, were left with no funding.
McCain found that almost three quarters of British farmers agreed that “increasingly unpredictable weather” was making it harder to manage their farm effectively.
Three quarters were concerned about global politics as the war in the
Middle East was pushing up the cost of diesel and fertiliser.
Fewer than a third of farmers reported that they made a profit last year, while 91pc agreed that the Government did not give farmers adequate support.
Clive Bailye, who farms in Staffordshire, said: "There's plenty of evidence this Government isn't helping farmers, from the sustainable farming incentive fiasco to the family farm tax."
Since Andy Burnham became Prime
Minister, Labour has been attempting to repair relations with rural England. Daniel Zeichner, the former farming minister, admitted last month that the family farm tax had been "flawed".
McCain has called for the Government to prioritise access to water for farmers as well as securing fair trade deals that hold imports to the same standards as British produce.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was contacted for comment.
Fraud squad pays staff to commute to new office despite WFH policy
By Pui-Guan Man
THE UK's fraud squad is to cover some of the cost of commuting to its new office, even though staff only need to turn up twice a week.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has told employees it will pay the difference between the cost of travelling to its current headquarters in Westminster and the cost of travelling to its new office in Canary Wharf.
Documents released under freedom of information laws show there is no limit on what staff can claim, with the SFO promising to cover extra travel costs for three years.
This is despite the fact that the SFO requires full-time staff to be at their desk only two days a week.
This is already below the 60pc that Whitehall requires of civil servants.
The fraud office previously sought to soften its office relocation in 2012 with a similar package. It offered staff a three-year scheme on excess fares for commuting to Cockspur Street, which 38 of its employees claimed.
The enticement, first reported by Bloomberg, comes as both corporate
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, said remote working practices stall career development
and civil service leaders run into resistance when demanding staff spend more time in the office.
Last month, Barclays was hit by demands from thousands of its staff to help cover travel and childcare costs, after telling them it wanted staff back in the office for at least three days a week.
The pushback forced the bank to soften its stance by allowing some staff to wait until next year before they are required to come in for a minimum of three days a week.
Under its current rules, employees are expected to work in the office for two days a week.
Major City employers such as Barclays, JP Morgan and Revolut are trying to curb remote working practices. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, said in March that such practices stall career development.
"If you go to a meeting with me, you got my full friggin' attention the whole time," he said, adding that young people "learn by going on a sales call".
A spokesman for the SFO said: "We are looking forward to moving to Canary Wharf into accommodation that supports our operational [needs]. The excess fares allowance supports eligible staff during this transition."
汇丰银行新任首席执行官推动 AI 战略，裁减英国财富管理人员
作者：Pui-Guan Man
汇丰银行（HSBC）计划在其英国财富管理部门进行大规模裁员，此前该行已针对其最富有的客户使用 AI 取代员工。
HSBC axes UK wealth managers as part of new chief's AI push
By Pui-Guan Man
HSBC is planning significant job cuts across its UK wealth management division after replacing staff with AI for its richest clients.
The London-based bank, which is Europe's biggest lender, has started a consultation process affecting managers and specialist advisers.
About 70pc of the division's financial advisers will be eliminated, while roughly half of its managers and specialists are set to disappear from its ranks, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the move.
Affected employees are expected to depart by the end of October.
The bank has not said how many jobs are at risk and has not published any head counts for the division; however, it is thought to employ hundreds of relationship managers across the country.
HSBC had previously embarked on a hiring drive in 2024, with plans to add hundreds of relationship managers to a 400-strong team at the time.
That expansion was designed to double the UK wealth management arm's assets to £100bn by 2030 and propel it into Britain's top five wealth managers.
We're continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally-enabled products and journeys'
At the end of 2025, its retail banking and wealth division grew by £9bn to total more than £62bn.
Jose Carvalho, who led the UK retail banking and wealth arm, left his post three weeks ago after four years.
The restructuring comes after Georges Elhedery stepped in as chief executive in September 2024 with a mandate to cut costs. Mr Elhedery has put AI at the heart of his efforts to boost productivity. In May, he told investors in Hong Kong: "We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs."
Bloomberg reported in March that as many as 20,000 jobs at HSBC could be at risk globally as part of its push to use AI. This would represent about 10pc of its workforce, which consists of about 211,479 staff. It comes after rival Standard Chartered, which is also based in the UK, set out plans to cut about 7,800 roles by 2030 as part of a drive to use more AI.
A spokesman for HSBC said: "HSBC UK is a long-established, leading UK wealth manager and premium banking provider. We're continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally-enabled products and journeys, to support our best-in-class wealth service and meet the changing needs of our customers."
How two Telegraph journalists took down the world's most wanted billionaire – and what happened next.
---
英国必须储备自有石油以避免能源危机
伊莎贝拉·卡明斯卡（IZABELLA KAMINSKA）
---
📄 Original Section
Listen now
Telegraph app Spotify Podcasts
To scan the QR code, open your phone camera, point it at the code and tap the banner that appears on screen. On older phones, you may need to download a QR code reader first.
来自巴特西犬猫之家（Battersea Dogs & Cats Home）的救援犬——贵宾犬 Peggy、大麦点犬 Arlo 和意大利灵缇犬 Ragu，在伦敦国王十字火车站迎接通勤者，该慈善机构旨在强调宠物所有权对身心健康的积极影响。
📄 Original Section
UK must stockpile its own oil to avoid energy crisis
IZABELLA KAMINSKA
---
如何防止科技巨头“七巨头”主导您的投资组合
汤姆·史蒂文森 (TOM STEVENSON)
---
📄 Original Section
As diesel prices soar it now looks incredibly short-sighted to have allowed refineries to close
EUROPE is facing an acute diesel squeeze. In the UK, average diesel prices have hit a record £2 a litre, and fears are mounting about shortages going into winter. Similar dynamics are apparent on the Continent too.
So far, America has been doing the heavy lifting to ease these constraints, something Donald Trump has voiced his displeasure about.
For weeks, the US president has been threatening to ban US diesel exports — something many have interpreted as a ploy to force Europeans to shoulder more of the burden by drawing down on their own stockpiles. The bullying may be working: the G7 agreed last Friday to a coordinated release of emergency oil stocks, with diesel deliberately front-loaded. In theory, the move should take the edge off US diesel prices just in time for the midterms.
But while prices initially eased off, the awkward truth is that such efforts are unlikely to be enough to achieve what Trump wants. The reasons are complex and highly technical. But they are worth paying attention to. All the more so, if Europe is serious about its quest for strategic autonomy.
For one thing, unlike in America, where the government owns and controls its strategic reserves, Europe relies heavily on stocks held by commercial operators, either directly or on behalf of government agencies. The only notable exception is Finland, which has significant government-owned stockpiles in Europe.
The UK, itself, has neither government stocks nor a stock holding agency. As it stands, all obligated stocks are held by commercial proxies under the Oil Stocking Order 2012.
IEA data suggests that means Britain has 117 days of net-import crude oil cover. This is comfortably above the 90-day requirement for crude, but cover for stocks of individual products amount to just 19 to 27 days of consumption.
This would have been tolerable when Britain was a substantial domestic producer of refined product. Unfortunately, its refining capacity has been diminishing, most recently with the shutdown of two major refineries, Grangemouth and Lindsey in 2025. That begs the question whether current stockpiling procedures still make sense or if the Government needs to start thinking more
strategically about how to plug Britain's refined product exposure.
'The obvious move may be to requisition closed sites and invest in reopening them'
It's also important to account for why – despite high prices – commercially held European reserves have not been drawn very much thus far.
Currently, commercial operators are compensated through rebates for holding these reserves. The upside is a more cost-effective arrangement for governments. The downside is that ministers do not own the supplies and still need commercial incentives working in their favour for stocks to enter the market.
American fuel rules make matters harder. Exporting conventional diesel relieves US producers of renewable-fuel obligations they would incur on domestic sales, including the
associated cost of Renewable Identification Numbers.
This incentivises them to sell at a discount into Europe, making it harder to shift more expensive European reserves.
This is why, if Europe is serious about security of supply in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment, it should either follow Finland's example by building its own strategic reserve or think seriously about reversing policies that have helped remove some 613,000 barrels a day of European refining capacity over the past six years. Across the G7, the loss is nearly 2.5 million barrels a day in the same period. In the UK alone, the shutdown of Lindsey and Grangemouth in 2025 removed roughly 260,000 barrels a day.
For the most part, these refineries closed for commercial reasons. They struggled against newer, larger competitors in places such as India, Nigeria and China.
Net zero policies and the wider ESG investment trend contributed greatly to making further investment in them unviable.
Grangemouth stopped refining in April 2025. That now looks incredibly short-sighted, given soaring diesel prices because of the Iran war and the global shortage of refining capacity.
The obvious move to guarantee national resilience, rather than become increasingly dependent on US ‘This is hardly the first time the government has proved itself a terrible market timer’
imports, may be to requisition recently closed sites and invest in recommissioning them.
While that might sound nutty, it's no more or less nutty than providing EV subsidies or taking stakes in other strategic industries. Indeed, a clear precedent for doing so has already been set with the government taking over British Steel this year.
At Grangemouth, decommissioning is already under way. That means the window to preserve the site is closing rapidly.
If such a move proves too bold, there's also the option of the Government offering the subsidies needed to keep Britain's remaining refining capacity viable directly.
Of course, this is hardly the first time the British government has proved itself a terrible market timer.
Back in 1999, Gordon Brown, then chancellor, decided to sell 395 tonnes of Britain's gold over the following years. The average price received was about \$275 a troy ounce.
From a trading point of view, the timing could scarcely have been worse. Britain picked near the bottom of the market to sell its national treasure. Today, gold trades closer to \$4,100. Talk about leaving money on the table.
With nobody sure when the war in Iran will abate, it would be a shame for Britain to repeat the mistake again, this time with its national refining assets.
Excluding specific shares means every omission is also an opportunity to include something else
THE best investor questions are deceptively simple. I had a good one this week around exclusions. Our investor wanted to know how to invest in a global index that excluded any exposure to the Magnificent Seven. The short answer is that it is harder than it looks to do this – here in the UK, anyway.
Before I get there, though, why would you want to exclude some stocks from your investment portfolio? It strikes me there are four good reasons to do so.
The first is values based. You might not want to hold shares for ethical or religious reasons.
The second reason for omitting a stock from an investment portfolio is that you don't have an appetite for the implied risk of a certain investment. For example, you don't trust the government in question to treat you fairly, or you anticipate too much
volatility or you think an industry is in decline or worse.
The third reason to exclude a set of shares is that it doesn't fit your desired portfolio construction. I suspect this is why our investor wants to leave the Magnificent Seven out. He probably thinks he already has enough Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla in his pension – and he may well be right.
He might also be eyeing the fourth reason: performance. Market capitalisation-weighted passive funds mean yesterday's winners can dominate today's portfolio.
As share prices rise, investors can become exposed to the best-performing companies. That can be the opposite of what an active, contrarian fund manager is trying to do by buying undervalued shares before they are rerated.
So, let's assume you want to exclude those seven companies from your portfolio, and you have a good reason. How might you go about it?
If you live in the US, you'll have access to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which does exactly what you want, investing in the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 and none of the biggest seven. A company called Defiance launched one a couple of years ago, and it now has nearly \$200m (£151m) under management.
The closest you can get to this in the 'DIY portfolios have risks. Exposures can overlap in ways that aren't immediately obvious'
UK is a handful of funds that exclude a broader set of mega-cap stocks. Amundi, UBS, and iShares all offer ETFs approved for UK investors. The problem is that these funds are a bit of a sledgehammer. You'll leave out plenty of big companies, beyond the Magnificent Seven, that you might prefer to keep in your portfolio.
The UBS ETF, for example, tracks an MSCI index that leaves out 35 companies that collectively represent about 40pc of the value of the developed world's stock markets. Many of them are technology stocks, but plenty are not. You would exclude, for example, Walmart, ExxonMobil and JPMorgan Chase.
Almost all of the 35 stocks you are choosing to ignore are US-listed. So you're making three simultaneous bets: against concentration, against mega caps and against the US. This may not be what you have in mind.
What becomes clear once you start excluding shares from a portfolio is that every exclusion creates an implicit inclusion. If you reduce the US weighting, you automatically increase your exposure to Europe and Japan. If you take China out of an emerging-market fund, you raise the weighting of other Asian companies. The X-trackers ex-China index has 25pc in both Taiwan and India and 16pc in Korea, for example.
This is true at a sector level, too. Cut
Excluding mega caps is, therefore, seductively simple, but it has unintended consequences.
fossil fuels as part of a values-based exclusion strategy, and you raise the importance of banks and technology. No portfolio is truly neutral. Even buying the whole market is an active decision to let size determine how much of each company you own.
'Once you start excluding shares, every exclusion creates an implicit inclusion'
Unfortunately, so too does the other way I can think of to reduce your exposure to the biggest companies in an index. A new generation of equal-weighted indexes is another apparently clean way of achieving our investors' goal. But it, too, has drawbacks.
MSCI has created a global index that rebalances regularly to ensure that around 1,300 companies all have exactly the same weight. Invesco has created an ETF to track it. Rather than letting Nvidia and such dominate the
---
投资经理
22 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 480
www.axa-int.co.uk 客户服务：0345 777 5511
AXA Pkt & Present Equity R GDP | -< / > 313.7< / > 2.60< / > | Amer Smith Acc< / > -< / > 1857< / > 16.00< / >< / > Biotech Acc< / > -< / > 306.5< / > 6.00< / >< / > Global Sust Megal R < / > -< / > 621.5< / > 4.00< / >< / > Global Tech< / > -< / > 454.2< / > 2.00< / >< / > Global Thematika R GDP < / > -< / > 2822< / > 6.00< / >< / > Health < / > -< / > 3393< / > 29.00< / >< / > Japan R GDP < / > -< / > 1009< / > 6.00< / >< / > Managed Income R Gross < / > -< / > 221.6< / > 6.00< / >< / > Managed Income R Gross Dis< / > -< / > 81.95< / > 6.20< / >< / > UK Select Opps R < / > -< / > 4326< / > 20.00< / >< / > UK Select Opps R Inc< / > -< / > 2002< / > 60.00< / >< / > UK Select Cos < / > -< / > 331.6< / > 8.00< / >< / > UK Select Equity R < / > -< / > 304.1< / > 5.00< / > |
---
📄 Original Section
'Magnificent Seven' stocks shine
index because of their large market capitalisations, each company accounts for 0.08pc of the portfolio.
You lose the concentration risk, but you pay for it with a systematic tilt towards smaller companies. You might also see more turnover as winners are routinely sold down and laggards bought to maintain their weight. Again, this may not be what you would necessarily choose.
A third approach has the merit of simplicity. It is rough and ready but transparent, and it is what I do. I mix and match my investments to build a diversified portfolio with a balance I'm comfortable with across geographies, investment styles and asset classes.
Even if you are less interested in managing your portfolio than I am, you can dilute unwanted exposures. Pairing a US tracker with a World ex-US fund, for example, allows you to dial up or down your exposure to the American market and, more precisely, to the Magnificent Seven.
This kind of DIY portfolio construction does bring its own risks, however. Exposures can overlap in ways that aren't immediately obvious. A US and an emerging-markets fund might look nicely diversified while still being similarly exposed to the AI boom – through US tech stocks on the one hand and the semiconductor giants in Korea and Taiwan on the other.
Exclusion is more than deciding what to leave out. Every time we reduce one exposure, something else takes its place. You need to also understand what you'll get more of when you do.
Tom Stevenson is an investment director at Fidelity International. The views are his own. | Blue Whale Growth & Acc. | - | 442.03 | -4.57 |
Index Linked Securities | 349.35 | 238.55 | Trans 415/4.30 | 341.26 | -0.09 | 1.21 | 1.12 | 248.27 | 237.14 | Trans 25/4.35 | 238.76 | -0.09 | 0.83 | 1.95 | Yealand Fund Services Limited
Admin: Stuart House, St John's St,
Peterborough PE1 500
Dealing & Enquiries: 0345 850 0255
Tourist rates for indication use only: www.btavelex.co.uk
Data is provided for information purposes only and is not intended for trading purposes. Speak with a financial advisory before using any data to make transactions. |
Change | Gold | per troy oz | $4110.60 | -52.37 | -1.29pc | Silver | per troy oz | £45.23 | -0.98 | -2.31pc | Krugerrand | £3083.12 | -5.10 | -0.17pc | New Sovereign | £715.64 | -6.35 | -0.88pc | Maples | £3102.56 | -14.45 | -0.46pc | Platinum | per oz | £1257.16 | -50.43 | -3.92pc | Palladium | per oz | £847.70 | -34.82 | -3.95pc | Copper† | grade A | £10932.37 | -73.22 | +0.67pc | Tin‡ | high grade | £4054.54 | +256.44 | +0.63pc | Lead† | £1430.89 | -28.46 | +1.45pc | Zinc† | special high grade | £2848.93 | +3.84 | +0.21pc | Aluminium† | high grade | £2364.02 | -5.83 | -0.21pc | Nickel† | £11899.54 | -90.86 | +0.76pc | Baltic Dry Index* | 2994.00 | -8.00 | -0.77pc | Wheat | per tonne | £208.50 | -0.75 | -0.38pc | Brent Crude | Dec settlement | $100.20 | -0.38 | -0.38pc | Money & Rates
\*Copyright Baltic Exchange Information Services Ltd. \*Data provided by the London Metal Exchange. | RPI (1987-100) | Aug 421.60 | +0.6pc | +3.4pc | RPIX (Target 2.5pc) | Aug 434.60 | +2.4 | +3.3pc | CPI (2015-100 target 2pc) | Aug 143.60 | +0.5pc | +3.1pc | Lloyds house price index | Sep 534.60 | 0.0pc | 0.0pc | Bank Rate | 3.75pc | Nationwide Base Mortgage Rate | 5.75pc | US Fed Funds | 3.75-4.00pc | US Long Bonds Yld | 0.69pc | European base rate | 2.65pc | Name | last chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | ---
BLUE WHALE GROWTH FUND
名称< / > 内部变动< / > 卖出价< / > 中间买入价< / > 当日变动< / > |
Blue Whale Capital
0345 307 3439
www.bluewhale.co.uk
---
📄 Original Section
Investment Managers
22 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 480
www.axa-int.co.uk Cust Svs: 0345 777 5511 | AXA Pkt & Present Equity R GDP | - | 313.7 | -2.60 | Amer Smith Acc | - | 1857 | -16.00 | Biotech Acc | - | 306.5 | 6.00 | Global Sust Megal R Acc | - | 621.5 | 4.00 | Global Tech | - | 454.2 | -2.00 | Global Thematika R GDP Acc | - | 2822 | -6.00 | Health Acc | - | 3393 | -29.00 | Japan R GDP Acc | - | 1009 | 6.00 | Managed Income R Gross Acc | - | 221.6 | -6.00 | Managed Income R Gross Dis | - | 81.95 | -6.20 | UK Select Opps R Acc | - | 4326 | -20.00 | UK Select Opps R Inc | - | 2002 | -60.00 | UK Select Cos Acc | - | 331.6 | -8.00 | UK Select Equity R Acc | - | 304.1 | -5.00 | ---
Kinga Meadow, Chester, CH99 0UT | 0670 333 1835< / >< / > High Income Inc.< / > -< / > 85.69< / >< / > High Income Acc.< / > -< / > 292.4< / >< / > UK Select Point Inc.< / > -< / > 472.8< / >< / > UK Selection Point< / > -< / > 1081.5< / >< / > UK 100 City's Fund Inc.< / > -< / > 114.4< / >< / > UK 100 City's Fund Acc.< / > -< / > 711.8< / >< / > M wide Main Inc.< / > -< / > 702.06< / > -0.05< / >< / > M wide Main Acc.< / > -< / > 1003.06< / > -0.05< / > |
---
📄 Original Section
J.P.Morgan
Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
60 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y GJP
Clients: 0800 204020.Brokerline 0800 727770 | Name | Inlt chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | JPM Euro C Net Dix | - | 182.5000 | -2.3000 | JPM Japan C Net Acc | - | 110.5000 | -2.6000 | JPM Natural Res C Net ACC | - | 1702.0000 | -2.9000 | JPM UK Equity Care E Acc | - | 505.3000 | -5.4000 | JPM UK Equity Care F Inc | - | 90.3100 | -6.7000 | JPM US Eq Inc C Net | - | 581.8000 | -4.7000 | JPM US Eq Inc C Net Dix | - | 505.5000 | -4.5000 | JPM US Select C Net Acc | - | 1250.0000 | -10.0000 | JPM US Dot Cap Growth C Net Acc | - | 1183 | 0 | # JUPITER
Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Ltd
The Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, London,
SW1E 65Q
020 3817 1000 | Jupiter Asian Inc. I Acc | - | 572.52 | - | Jupiter Asian Inc. I Inc | - | 348.47 | - | Jupiter China L Acc | - | 115.69 | - | Jupiter China L Inc | - | 105.46 | - | Jupiter Corp Bond L Inc | - | 48.3 | - | Jupiter Cos L Inc. | - | 888.99 | - | Jupiter European L Inc | - | 3823.62 | - | Jupiter Euro Inc L Acc | - | 85.00029 | - | Jupiter Euro Inc L Inc | - | 49.78809 | - | Jupiter Euro Special Sits L Acc | - | 574.63 | - | Jupiter Fire Opp L Inc | - | 1293.78 | - | Jupiter Fund Of Inv Tuts L Inc | - | 467.23 | - | Jupiter Global Eng Mths L Acc | - | 112.05 | - | Jupiter Global Fin Invest L Acc | - | 222.63 | - | Jupiter Income Trust L Inc | - | 685.41 | - | Jupiter India L Acc | - | 205.37 | - | Jupiter Japan Inc L Acc | - | 231.17 | - | Jupiter Japan Inc L Inc | - | 150.3 | - | Jupiter Merlot Bal Prftha L Acc | - | 349.04 | - | Jupiter Merlot Bal Prftha L Inc | - | 208.48 | - | Jupiter Merlot Grth Prftha L Acc | - | 843.07 | - | Jupiter Merlot Grth Prftha L Inc | - | 810.33 | - | Jupiter Merlot Inc Prftha L Acc | - | 472.69 | - | Jupiter Merlot Inc Prftha L Inc | - | 184.43 | - | Jupiter Merlot WW Prftha L Inc | - | 639.26 | - | Jupiter Merlot WW Prftha L Acc | - | 620.81 | - | Jupiter Monthly All Inc L Acc | - | 138.12 | - | Jupiter Monthly All Inc L Inc | - | 22.65 | - | Name | Unit, cloger | Sell | Mild Buy | Change on day | Jupiter Merlot Select 1, Acc. | - | - | 125.58 | - | Jupiter Merlot Select 1, Dis. | - | - | 50.09 | - | Jupiter Responsible Inc 1, Acc. | - | - | 365.55 | - | Jupiter Responsible Inc 1, Inc. | - | - | 75.32 | - | Jupiter Global Street Bond 1, Acc. | - | - | 108.5 | - | Jupiter Global Street Bond 1, Inc. | - | - | 52.1 | - | Jupiter UK Growth 1, Inc. | - | - | 272.82 | - | Jupiter UK Dynamic Eq.1, DIS | - | - | 200.86 | - | Jupiter Undirect Rent F | 3.50 | - | 428.87 | - | Jupiter US Deal Cap Inst 1 Acc. | - | - | 80.99 | - | Jupiter US Deal Cap Ret Acc. | - | - | 54.46 | - | Marks & Spencer Unit Trust Management Ltd | Name | Inlt chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | Eqty-Inv Cirties GBP Acc | - | 4501.10 | -58.29 | Eqty-Inv Cirties GBP Sdn | - | 1068.15 | -64.82 |
CAR - Net Income reinvested. |
Kinga Meadow, Chester, CH99 0UT |
0670 333 1835 | High Income Inc. | - | 85.69 | 85.69 | High Income Acc. | - | 292.4 | 292.4 | UK Select Point Inc. | - | 472.8 | 472.8 | UK Selection Point | - | 1081.5 | 1081.5 | UK 100 City's Fund Inc. | - | 114.4 | 114.4 | UK 100 City's Fund Acc. | - | 711.8 | 711.8 | M wide Main Inc. | - | 702.06 | -0.05 | M wide Main Acc. | - | 1003.06 | -0.05 | ---
M&G | Global Bond Fund Inc. | - | 82.52 | - | Morgan Equity Growth Fund Acc | - | 105.31 | - | Morgan Growth Fund Inc | - | 101.29 | - | Morgan Growth Fund Acc | - | 176.76 | - | UK Equity Fund Acc | - | 170.75 | - | UK Equity Fund Inc | - | 137.07 | - | PO Box 9030, Chelmsford, CM99 2XG
Government bonds are offering high rates, but UK shares are still delivering record returns. By Russ Mould
THE new Burnham administration continues to flesh out its policy plans, and the bond markets are watching every bit as closely as Labour's backbench and the British electorate.
Gilt owners, or potential owners, will be looking at the cost of policy initiatives, the sources of funding and the potential benefits further down the road in the form of productivity and growth.
But they will have to consider the likelihood of increased income from taxes and lower welfare spending, if the Government, under the lead of Andy Burnham, below, is as good as its word.
That is why “growth in every postcode” is the best solution to the difficult debt position in which the UK finds itself, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 90pc and a forecast annual interest bill of about £135bn.
The question now for investors is whether that yield
is tempting enough to persuade them to increase their allocation to gilts, perhaps at the expense of equities.
Some investors may feel that the 5.4pc yield available on 10-year gilts is attractive, especially if they are seeking income and especially if they feel that return is sufficient compensation for the potential dangers posed by inflation, interest rate movements, default and liquidity.
The gap between the benchmark 10-year gilt yield and the forecast dividend yield on the FTSE 100 is now more than two full percentage points, based on aggregated consensus forecasts for all of the stock market index's members.
That is the biggest gap since summer 2007, just as the global financial crisis began to break and share markets started to stumble.
Any investor who is nervous about the economic outlook and feels that inflation is not about to break out to the upside may start to look toward fixed income, and away from equities, as a result
\- especially if they feel their portfolio needs a little capital protection, given gilts redeem at par upon maturity.
However, bulls will still make the case for equities as a potential source.
mention capital gains (even if there is scope for capital losses, too).
First, consensus earnings forecasts for the FTSE 100 put the benchmark index on
earnings for 2026. That is another way of saying the earnings yield of the index is 7.4pc, a figure which still stands up well compared with gilts.
Second, dividend payment forecasts continue to creep higher.
Analysts now expect the total payment from the FTSE 100 to reach a record £90.3bn in 2026.
Benchmark 10-year gilt yield at 19-year highs
Third, management teams continue to sanction share buybacks.
The total value of the plans declared for this year is now £46.7bn.
Buybacks supplement returns from UK equities
Adding that sum to analysts' forecasts for ordinary and special dividends takes the cash return on the FTSE 100 to £138bn, equivalent to 5.1pc of the index's £2.7tn stock market capitalisation, although it is admittedly not easy for retail investors to participate in, and benefit from, the buyback schemes. Finally, takeovers could top up the pot, too. If the deals for DCC, Beazley, Intertek, Schroders and Segro all go through, their aggregate value is £46.8bn, or another L7pc of the FTSE 100's current £2.7tn.
Those deals support the argument offered by equity bulls that UK stocks still offer good value in absolute and relative terms, given the total cash yield on the FTSE trails the 10-year gilt by just 30 basis points (0.3pc) and the potential for share price upside, should earnings forecasts prove accurate, UK growth accelerate, and takeover bids keep rolling in.
The UK's cash and earnings yields also handily beat both the Bank of England base rate of 3.75pc and the 3.1pc rate of inflation reported by the Office for National Statistics for the month of August. Further gilt yield increases - should inflation prove sticky, the Budget flop or investors prove more risk-averse in the event of any AI-related turbulence - could still be a challenge to the FTSE's attempt to break the 11,000 mark all the same.
Just as weight stops trains and slows down racehorses, higher bond yields can eventually weigh on share prices, thanks to the calculations of their relative risk-reward profiles.
Investors will therefore need to sit down and do their own research, as well as the maths, to assess the relative attractions, or otherwise, of bonds and equities, as they decide what the optimal mix of assets for their own world view is, their particular strategy, time horizon, target returns and their appetite for risk.
UK house prices stalled last month, with Opc growth on both a monthly and an annual basis.
Lloyds recorded a 0.0pc month-on-month change in property values last month, following a 0.3pc fall in August. It also recorded a 0.0pc change compared with September last year, following a 0.4pc annual dip in August. In the UK, the average house price in September was £298,441.
Ian Futcher, a financial planner at wealth manager Quilter, said: "The market is facing gathering dark clouds on several fronts."
Three casino operators owned by Rank will pay £5m after the gambling watchdog found due diligence failures, including allowing a customer to use cryptocurrency assets to gamble.
The Gambling Commission said its investigation into Rank's Grosvenor casinos, which has 51 sites across Britain, identified failures to meet anti-money laundering and social responsibility duties. This included having unclear policies, procedures and controls which resulted in inappropriate risk levels being ascribed to high-risk customers.
---
白金汉宫 10月7日
国王（国王信托基金会皇家创始赞助人）今日出席了 Apple x King's Trust Creative Labs 的启动仪式。该项目是由行业主导的青少年教育计划，由国王信托基金会与 Apple 合作支持。仪式在位于伦敦 SW8 Circus Road South 1号 Battersea Power Station 的 (UK) Limited 总部举行。接待人员包括大伦敦地区国王代表（肯尼斯·奥利萨爵士）、 Inc. 执行董事长（蒂莫西·库克先生）以及国王信托基金会英国首席执行官（乔纳森·汤森先生）。
国王在执行董事长的陪同下，参观了一场音乐创作工作坊并与参与者交谈。
随后，国王前往 Music Hall，在埃尔顿·约翰爵士（音乐家兼国王信托基金会大使）的迎接下，观看了试音环节及随后的音乐表演。
Hollywood Bowl has revealed sliding UK sales over the summer as record heatwaves affected customer demand for indoor entertainment.
The group reported a 5.6pc drop in UK like-for-like sales over its second half to the end of September in a sharp reversal after a 2.6pc rise in the first six months' trading. But the 10-pin bowling chain said it had been able to help offset some of the hot weather hit by using so-called dynamic pricing, as well as keeping a tight lid on costs.
Shares lifted 7pc as the group trading remained "resilient".
Hostelworld has warned that it expects the Middle East conflict and “softer” demand for long-haul travel to weigh on demand through the rest of this year and into 2027.
The hostel-booking company reduced its profits guidance for 2026 as a result. Shares dropped by about 7.3pc yesterday as a result, striking their lowest level for almost four years.
The company said that the Iran war has “dampened” travel volumes from long-haul customers, with net transaction dipping by about 2pc in third quarter of this year.
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Dating Service from our selected partner
Start your dating journey at telegraph.co.uk/LS-dating
Members must be over 18 years of age. You can join free as a member or subscribe for more features from £11,99 a month when you sign up for a year. T&Cs appl.
肯特公爵（普鲁士湾国际音乐家研讨会赞助人）今晚在伦敦 W1 Wigmore Street 36 号的威格莫尔音乐厅出席了秋季巡演音乐会。
---
📄 Original Section
A Telegraph Gift Book
---
今日生日
前澳大利亚板球运动员尼尔·哈维（Neil Harvey）先生，98岁；C Hoare & Co 银行董事长、准男爵大卫·霍尔（Sir David Hoare, Bt）先生，2008-06年任职，92岁；皇家芭蕾舞团团长默尔·帕克（Dame Merle Park）女爵，1959-83年任职；皇家芭蕾舞学校校长，1983-98年任职，89岁；作家兼广播员贝尔·穆尼（Ms Bel Mooney）女士，80岁；缅甸的蒙巴顿伯爵（Earl Mountbatten of Burma），79岁；退休高等法院法官约翰·米廷（Sir John Mitting）爵士，79岁；广播员玛莎·基尼（Ms Martha Kearney）女士，69岁；公开大学副校长彼得·霍罗克斯（Mr Peter Horrocks）先生，2015-18年任职，67岁；图廷的汗勋爵（Lord Khan of Tooting），伦敦市长，56岁；前保守党内阁部长大卫·高克（Sir David Gauke）爵士，55岁；荷兰大使克里斯·兰普林（Mr Chris Rampling）先生，53岁；前柔道运动员、伦敦 2012 年残奥会铜牌得主本·奎尔特（Mr Ben Quilter）先生，45岁；前国际曲棍球运动员、里约 2016 年奥运会金牌得主麦迪·欣奇（Ms Maddie Hinch）女士，38岁；以及网球运动员加比妮·穆古鲁萨（Ms Garbine Muguruza）女士，2017 年温布尔登女子单打冠军，33岁。
The fairy-tale wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and the Prince of Wales in 1981 attracted the world's attention. The bride was 20 years old. However, the fairy tale later soured and the couple divorced in 1996. The following year, a car crash in Paris killed the Princess at the age of 36. These past pages from The Telegraph cover her personal life, charity work and the outfits that made her a fashion icon.
---
出生
范登布鲁克（VAN DEN BROEK）。——2026年9月29日，卡特里娜（Katrina，原姓 Hadsley-Chaplin）与纳博斯（Naboth）夫妇喜得一子，取名查尔斯·约翰内斯·布罗迪（Charles Johannes Brodie），是亚历克斯（Alex）和艾琳（Aline）的兄弟。在线参考号：W3053268
---
📄 Original Section
Features
\- Recipient's name printed on the front cover
Size: 15 x 12in (38.1 x 30.5cm)
Blue hardback cover
Coverage starts in 1980
Save £5 with code: DIANA Buy now from £65 (RRP £70)
Call 0330 029 4085 telegraph.co.uk/LS-diana
This is a personalized gift, so all sales are final. No returns, refunds or exchanges. Personal use only, No publication, reproduction, advertising or trade use without permission. Page quality may vary due to the historic nature of the product, Discount expires on October 20, 2026.
The King, Royal Founding Patron, The King's Trust, today attended the launch of Apple x King's Trust Creative Labs, an industry-led education programme for young people supported by The King's Trust, in partnership with Apple, at the Headquarters of Apple (UK) Limited, I Battersea Power Station, Circus Road South, London SW8, and was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa), the Executive Chairman of Apple Incorporated (Mr Timothy Cook) and the UK Chief Executive Officer of The King's Trust (Mr Jonathan Townsend).
His Majesty, escorted by the Executive Chairman, viewed a music creation workshop and spoke to participants.
The King proceeded to the Apple Music Hall and, having been received by Sir Elton John (Musician and King's Trust Ambassador), viewed a sound check and subsequently a musical performance.
Her Majesty, Patron, The Queen's Reading Room, this morning held a Meeting at Clarence House.
The Queen, Patron, the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom, afterwards received Dr Ruth Scurr (Chairman) and Ms Laura Greenfield (Director) at Clarence House.
The Prince of Wales, on behalf of The King, held an Investiture at Windsor Castle this morning.
The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this morning received Mrs Sarah Henwood (Chief Executive) at Windsor Castle.
The Duchess of Edinburgh this morning received His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey (Mrs Neelam Devesher).
---
任命
---
📄 Original Section
ST JAMES'S PALACE October 7th
The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, this afternoon attended a Reception given by His Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway (Her Excellency Ms Jan Thompson) at the Residence in Oslo, Norway.
Her Royal Highness, accompanied by Admiral
Laurence, this afternoon arrived at Bristol Airport from Norway.
Colonel John Boyd and Captain Charles Wallace were in attendance.
---
纪念仪式
📄 Original Section
KENSINGTON PALACE October 7th
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, accompanied by the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana (His Excellency Mr Giles Enticknap), today carried out the following engagements in Gaborone, Botswana.
Their Royal Highnesses this morning visited a Child-Friendly Police Centre at Broadhurst Police Station established through a partnership between the United Nations Children's Fund, the Government of Botswana and Botswana Police Service.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester afterwards visited the De Beers Sorting Facility at the Diamond Trading Company Botswana.
The Duke of Gloucester this afternoon visited the University Innovation Pod at the University of Botswana.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester this evening attended a Reception and Dinner to mark the Sixtieth Anniversary of Botswana's Independence, given by the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana at the Residence in Gaborone.
The Duchess of Gloucester this afternoon visited the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross Botswana.
Mr Neil Harvey, former Australia cricketer, is 98; Sir David Hoare, Bt, Chairman, C Hoare & Co, Bankers, 2008-06, 92; Dame Merle Park, Principal, Royal Ballet, 1959-83; Director, Royal Ballet School, 1983-98, 89; Ms Bel Mooney, writer and broadcaster, 80; Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 79; Sir John Mitting, retired High Court Judge, 79; Ms Martha Kearney, broadcaster, 69; Mr Peter Horrocks, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University, 2015-18, 67; Lord Khan of Tooting, Mayor of London, 56; Sir David Gauke, former Conservative Cabinet minister, 55; Mr Chris Rampling, Ambassador to the Netherlands, 53; Mr Ben Quilter, former judoka; Paralympic bronze medallist, London 2012, 45; Ms Maddie Hinch, former international hockey player; Olympic gold medallist, Rio 2016, 38; and Ms Garbine Muguruza, tennis player; Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Champion, 2017, 33.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of the Post Office Tower in 1965, then the tallest building in London.
Email: announcements.ads@telegraph.co.uk Book online: announcements.telegraph.co.uk
---
即将到来的竞选。
---
📄 Original Section
Births
VAN DEN BROEK.—On 29th September 2026, to Katrina (nee Hadsley-Chaplin) and Naboth, a son, Charles Johannes Brodie, brother to Alex and Aline. Online Ref: W3053268
---
法律公告
TRACEY WHITE 祝可爱的妻子和细心的母亲生日快乐。Pat, Max 和 Chloe 献上我们所有的爱 xxx 在线参考：W0053364
第 1 名 Alan Jarvis 和 Alan Hayward
165 VPs
---
📄 Original Section
Anniversaries
---
“赌徒的最后一搏。”
---
📄 Original Section
Diamond wedding
BUSHELL - MARSH.—On 8th October 1965, at St Joseph's Church, Epsom, John to Marian. Love and congratulations on your 60th Anniversary from Emma, Alstair, Heather, Cathy, Glenn, Ben and Max.
McCRICKARD.—Stella McCrickard JP, 21st November 1936 - 4th October 2026. Died peacefully at The Pines Nursing Home, Hove after a short illness. She will be hugely missed by her daughters Sarah and Lucy. Family flowers only; donations to Asthma UK c/o www.cpifield.co.uk/services/487214 Online Ref: WD053336
PALFREYMAN.—Judith of Burton Overy, Leicestershire, passed away peacefully on 18th September 2026, aged 85 years. Funeral Service at Great Glen Crematorium on Monday 19th October at 11:30 a.m. All enquiries to J. Stamp & Sons, Funeral Directors. Tel: 01858 462524.
Online Ref: WD053337
TURNBULL.—Nicholas Piers, LVO, MBE, QGM. Died peacefully on 10th September 2026, aged 63. Beloved father of Alexander and Crispin, and much loved brother of Andrew, Julia and the late Catriona. Private funeral.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. No flowers please; donations, if desired, to the RNLI or the Woodland Trust. Messages of condolence may be sent to enquiry@dnafuneraldirectors.co.uk
WIGHAM.—Mary Elizabeth, beloved aunt and great aunt, friend and physiotherapist extraordinaire died peacefully on 22nd September 2026 aged 93 after a long illness. A Funeral to be held at Worthing Crematorium on 4th November at 12:30 a.m. No flowers but donations to the Alzheimer's Society may be given online to marywigham.muchloved.com
Online Ref: WDO53327
WARRILOW.—Antony John died on 18th September 2026 aged 98. Dearest husband of the late Betty and much loved father of Sue, Libby and Jo. Online Ref: WDOG3328
Heather Valletta, c, Camberley St Paul (Guildford), to be assoc v, Islington St Mary (London); Chris Smith, ac, Kingswinford St Mary (Worcester), to be p-in-c, Pensnett St Mark (same dio); Mike Edwards, ac, Bengeworth St Peter (Worcester), to be p-in-c, Evesham All Saints with Hampton St Andrew (same dio); Glenn Reading to be ad, Pershore and Evesham (Worcester); Phil Bradford to be ad (Worcester); Jordan Bentliff, c, Chordey St George and All Saints (Blackburn) to be v, Baxenden St John the Baptist and Accrington St Paul (same dio); Ross Stephen Copley, ac, Swindon New Town (Bristol) to be p-in-c, Middlesbrough All Saints (York); Jon Sanders, assoc min, Cherry Hinton (Ely), to be chapl, Jesus College Cambridge (same dio); James Marston, assoc p, Barnes St Michael and All Angels (Southwark), to be r, Little Ilford St Michael and All Angels (Chelmsford); Kizey Penfold, ac, Westfield, Guestling and Fairlight (Chichester), to be assoc v, Girlington, Manningham and Heaton (Leeds).
STRATFORD — Margaret Reid of Sarratt, died peacefully on 3rd October, aged 10. Much loved wife of Muir, mother to Gail, Fioma and Duncan, grandmother and mother-in-law.
A cherished member of her community and special friend to so many, she will be remembered with great affection for her love of gardening, crosswords, art and history. She will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. Funeral on Wednesday 21st October at 1:45 p.m. at The Chilterns Crematorium. All welcome, family flowers only but any kind donations to The Woodland Trust or Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Online Ref: WOO5J246
LONDON, FRIDAY OCTOBER S. 1926
Resignations and Retirements
David Ritchie, assoc p, Tenpenny Villages, ad, St Osyth, mission and ministry adv, Colchester Episcopal Area, and lic public preacher (Chelmsford), to retire on Aug 31 2026; Beverley Vincent, tv, Halstead (Chelmsford), to retire on Sep 4 2026; Andrew Walker, r, Bourne Street St Mary (London), to retire on September 15 2026; Herbert Birt, r, Monks Eleigh with Chelsworth and Brent Eleigh with Milden and Kettlebaston (St Edmundsbury and Ipswich), to retire on September 30 2026; Philip Venables, v, Whittle le Woods St John and Clayton Brook (Blackburn), to retire on October 11 2026; Janet Nicholls, dio rural adv and agricultural chapl (Chelmsford), to retire on October 18 2026; Jane Marr, ac, Blackmore and Stondon Massey (Chelmsford), retired on May 31 2026; Ian Farley, tr, Buckhurst Hill St John (Chelmsford), retired July 22 2026; Ian Blay, r, Mobberley (Chester), retired July 31 2026.
McNALLY.—A Memorial Service for the life of Patrick “Paddy” McNally, will be held at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge on Thursday 29th October at 12 noon. All are welcome. Reception to follow at The Berkeley Hotel. RSVP essential to memorialwarnefordplace.co.uk by 14th October.
Online Ref: WD05332
5th- Robin Jepson and Alan Brosgill 153 VPs
LOOK UPON mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
我们尊重您的数据隐私。您可以通过写信至 Data Privacy, Telegraph Customer Service Victory House Meeting House Land Chatbaum Kent MEA 41T 或发送电子邮件至 data.protectors@biolograyh.us.ca 来修改您的偏好或获取进一步信息。
法院已任命 Mark Castle，若其无法履职，则由 Jonathan Hunter 担任；若其亦无法履职，则由 Neil Pritchard 担任；若其亦无法履职，则由 Annette Nabavi 担任；若其亦无法履职，则由 Alyson Lewett 担任，作为会议主席，并指示会议主席将会议结果报告给法院。
The Great Northern Swiss Pairs has taken place at the Village Hotel, Leeds North, writes Julian Pottage, Bridge Correspondent. The Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association ran this two-day event on behalf of the English Bridge Union. The winners were as follows:
3rd Stuart Davies and Nichola Cockerill-Smith 157 VPs
5th- Nevena Senior and John Prust 153 VPs
---
阿富汗棋手被拘留
---
📄 Original Section
Birthdays
A series of separate district conferences took place at 4.30, delegates conferring in groups about the arguments advanced for and against the withdrawal of safety workers. Most of the speeches, some of them impassioned, had been in support of a more warlike phase of the strike, but even South Wales was not united, for the Right Hon. Tom Richards, M.P., was strongly opposed to such a serious course. The adoption of it was moved by Mr. Enoch Morrell, president of the South Wales Federation, and seconded by Mr. Arthur Homer. When the district groups reassembled at five o'clock, it was announced that the South Wales policy was adopted by a majority of 400,000. There was some cheering at the result, and Mr. Tom Mann, who was in the lobby of the hall, seemed especially gratified.
Two vital decisions were made by the delegate conference of the Miners' Federation yesterday. They were:
2. To adopt the South Wales policy, including the withdrawal of all safety workers.
1. To reject the Government's proposal of a national tribunal.
(I) Safety men: All such to be withdrawn from every colliery.
(2) Embargo: That we urge this on all foreign produced coal.
and it was busy doing so at the adjournment. The following resolution was put to the meeting after a discussion of the situation:
The first clause of the South Wales demand was actually for the status quo as a form of settlement, with the withdrawal of all safety men as an alternative. As the morning session had passed the first stage, that of rejection of the Prime Minister's offer of Sept. 17, no settlement policy was before the conference, and the South Wales alternative became the pivot of controversy throughout the afternoon.
The conference then proceeded to discuss the question of what should be the next step, (3) Outcrops: That the Miners' Federation of Great Britain immediately order a cessation of this practice.
In favour of Government's proposals 42,000 Against 737,000
(4) Levy: That a special congress of trade unions be called specifically to deal with this matter.
Mr. Herbert Smith was in the chair, and he at once called for a report from the districts on the question of whether or not the federation should accept the Government's proposals. The district voting was then given, and resulted as follows:
The following are the official reports of the two sessions:
A formal resolution was then passed unanimously that the conference should accept the vote of the districts as a resolution of the conference emphatically rejecting the Government's terms.
(5) Propaganda: That we send speakers to all black areas and that Labour M.P.'s be marshalled for a nation-wide campaign.
(6) The central control of the operations to be vested in the Miners' Federation executive committee, who shall direct them to the supersession of local bodies where necessary.
The grave decision, and the surprisingly large majority with which it was made, was unexpected by some of the delegates. Always realising the important lead that South Wales can give to the delegate conference, there remains the open question as to how far this declaration of war can be made effective. The federation evidently perceives a doubt on the point, and has decided to concentrate its campaign of oratory upon the "black" districts, a definition chosen to convey a stigma. It is scarcely to be imagined that in Warwick, Cannock, Notts, Derby, Leicester, and Lanark the many thousands of men who are working will assent to cease work, or to allow this new course to become operative. It may be effective in South Wales, in Yorkshire, and in Lancashire.
The conference adjourned until to-morrow morning further to consider ways and means and to hear reports from the officials on the international situation,
Majority in favour 400,000
---
《电讯报》快速纵横字谜大书 11
答案：
📄 Original Section
PROTECTION OF SAFETY WORKERS,
The Miners' Federation does not control the safety workers, and they will not voluntarily cease work in any coalfield at the behest of yesterday's conference. But the decision will be known to all miners this morning, and in every village they will take their own active steps to apply the national order. Transferred to the village street, it involves a reign of terror in a number of cases, and if safety workers are to continue their operations the Government may find it necessary to take immediate steps towards the protection of willing workers.
The Sunday Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph and
When you respond to Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited's competitions, offers or promotes, we may use your information for marketing purposes.
While we take reasonable steps to check our
IN THE MATTER OF ELECO PLC
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006
advertisers are bona fide, readers should carry out their own
checks before entering into any contract or arrangement.
NOTICE IS HERESY GIVEN that, by an order dated 29 September 2006 made in the above matters (the "Order"), the Court has granted permission for a meeting (the "Meeting") to be conversed of the Scheme Shareholders (as defined in the Scheme Document referred to below) for the purpose of considering and, if thought it, approving (with or without modification) a scheme of arrangement proposed to be made pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2008 (the "Act") between Daco plc (the "Company") and the Scheme Shareholders (the "Scheme") and that the Meeting will be held at the offices of Copenhagen Capital Markets Limited, 1 Bertholomew Chase, London, England, EC1A7BL on 27 October 2026 at 10.30 a.m., at which place and time at Scheme Shareholders are requested to attend.
About 40 per cent. of the safety workers of all classes are organised within the Miners' Federation, and upon them will fall the brunt of the controversy. The rest are in the National Federation of Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen, and Mechanics, of which Mr. Robert Shirley is secretary. The latter organisation is very strong in South Wales, and has recently concluded there an agreement with the mineowners on the eight-hours basis.
your information for marketing purposes.
\* We will contact you by mail or telephone to let you know about any of our special offers, products and services which may be of interest to you arrive you have asked us not to. We will only contact you by email, text messages, or similar electronic messages with your permission. We will only pass your name on to third parties if you have commented for us to do so.
\* In some cases our special offers, products and services may be provided, on our behalf, by our partners. If you have agreed to be contacted by us, your personal information may be present to our partners, however, in all such cases we remain a data controller of your personal information.
† When responding to competitions, offers or promotions by postpaid, if you do not wish for your datasets be saved by us to send you special offers, please make this clean by stating "No Offers"
We respect your data privacy. You may modify your preference or get further information by writing to us at Data Privacy, Telegraph Customer Service Victory House Meeting House Land Chatbaum Kent MEA 41T or by email to data.protectors@biolograyh.us.ca
A copy of the scheme circular dated 2 October 2026, consisting the Scheme and a copy of the explanatory statement required to be published pursuant to section 897 of the Act (the "Scheme Document"), is available from the Company's website: https://ealco.com/investor/elators/inflo.uveleco
Scheme Shareholders may vote in person at the Meeting or they may appoint another person as their proxy to attend, speak and vote in their street. Voting at the Meeting will be by poll. It is important that as many votes as possible are cast so that the Court may be satisfied that there is a fair representation of the opinion of the Scheme Shareholders, Scheme Shareholders are strongly urged to submit proxy appointments and instructions for the Meeting as soon as possible, using any of the methods (by post, online or electronically through CREST) will out in the Scheme Document. Any changes to the arrangements for the Meeting will be communicated to Scheme Shareholders before the Meeting, including through the Company's website (https://www.com/investment-operations/other-works) and by announcement through a Regulatory Information Service.
Scheme Shareholders may request hard copies of the Scheme Document (and information expressly incorporated by reference therein) and the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting, free of charge, by contacting the Company's registrars. Neville Registrars, in writing to Neville Registrars Limited, Neville House, Steelpark Road, Halloween, West Midlands, 562 BHD, United Kingdom, or by calling H44 (01)21 565 1131, stating their name and the address to which the hard copy should be sent...
It is requested that any BLUE Forms of Proxy for the Meeting (together with any power of attorney or other authority, if any, under which they are signed, or a duly certified copy thereof) be returned to the Company's registrars. Neville Registrars, in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, so as to be received as soon as possible and not later than 10.30 a.m., on 23 October 2026 (or, in the case of an adjournment of the Meeting, not less than 48 hours (excluding any part of such 40-hour period landing on a non-Business Day (as defined in the Scheme Document)) before the time and date set for the adjournment Meeting). If the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting is not lodged by the relevant time, it may be handed to the Chair of the Meeting or to Neville Registrars, on behalf of the Chair of the Meeting, before the start of the Meeting and will be valid.
The completion and return of the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting by any method described in the Scheme Document will not prevent Scheme Shareholders from attending, speaking and voting in person at the Meeting if they are entitled to and wish to do so.
In the case of joint Scheme Shareholders, the vote of the senior holder who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, will be accepted to the exclusion of the vote(s) of the other joint holder(s). For this purpose, seniority will be determined by the order in which the names stand in the register of members of the Company in respect of the joint holding.
As an alternative to appointing a proxy, any Scheme Shareholder which is a corporation may appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on its behalf of its powers as a member, provided that if two or more corporate representatives purport to write in respect of the same shares. If they purport to exercise the power in the same way as each other, the power is treated as exercised in that way, and in other cases the power is treated as not exercised. Only one corporate representative is to be counted in determining whether under section 899(1) of the Act a majority in number of the Scheme Shareholders approved the Scheme.
Entitlement to attend and vote (in person or by proxy) at the Meeting or any adjournment thereof and the number of votes which may be cast there will be determined by reference to the register of members of the Company at 6.00 p.m. on the day which is 48 hours before the date of the Meeting or, if the Meeting is adjourned, 6.00 p.m. on the day which is 48 hours before the feed time of such adjourned Meeting, in each case excluding any part of a day that is not a Business Day (the "Voting Record Time"). Changes in the register of members after the Voting Record Time will be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote (in person or by proxy) at the Meeting.
The Court has appointed Mark Castle, or failing him, Jonathan Hunter, or failing him, Neil Pritchard, or failing him, Annette Nabavi, or failing her. Alyson Lewett, to act as Chair of the Meeting and has directed the Chair of the Meeting to report the result of the Meeting to the Court.
The Scheme will be subject to the subsequent sanction of the Court.
Published by Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W ODT, Tel: 0207 931 2000. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Newspapers support recycling. In 2024 the recycled paper content of UK newspapers was 35%. Printed at Newsprinters Ltd - Bruxbourne, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire ENB IDY; Knowsley, Killing Road, Prescot, Merseyside L34 9HN; Eurocentral, Syramsur Road, Holytown, Mothenwell ML1 4WH; Webprint - Dublin, 2023 Bancon Ave, Citywest, Dublin, Ireland; D24 EH50. Also printed by Mediterranee Offset Press, France; Mikro Digital Hellas Ltd. Greece; Mikro Digital Cyprus Ltd. Cyprus; Miller Newsprint Ltd, Malta; International News, Portugal and Euclas Daily, France. To obtain permission to copy cuttings from this newspaper contact the NLA on 01892 525273 or email copy@nla.co.uk. For all other reproduction, copying and licensing inquiries email syndication@telegraph.co.uk.
乔治·芬顿 (George Fenton)
📄 Original Section
Test your brain power with puzzle books for fanatics and first-timers
1968年，在他的母亲指给他看《每日电讯报》上一则标题为“招募男孩”的广告后，他参加了女王陛下剧院的一次试镜。令他颇为惊讶的是，他被选为艾伦·本内特首部舞台剧《四十年后》（Forty Years On，阿波罗剧院，1968年）中一名预科学校学生会主席的角色。这次合约持续了14个月，并开启了一段终身合作关系。该剧的音乐总监
卡尔·戴维斯，鼓励了芬顿对为剧院作曲日益增长的兴趣。
芬顿在由斯蒂芬·弗雷尔斯执导的本内特首部电视剧《出游一日》（A Day Out，1972年）中担任演员，并在1970年代中期在《艾默代尔农场》中饰演马丁·金贝尔一年。但创作音乐成为了他的重心。1974年，他获得了首个重大委约，担任彼得·吉尔在斯特拉特福-upon-Avon制作的《第十二夜》的作曲和音乐总监，这是他在1970年代和1980年代初与吉尔多次合作的开始。
尽管芬顿创作了更多舞台音乐，包括为理查德·艾尔创作的《犹大的吻》（The Judas Kiss，1998年）和《最后一根烟》（The Last Cigarette，2009年），但他将更多注意力转向电影和电视，为《土拨鼠之日》（Groundhog Day，1993年）和《 You've Got Mail》（1998年）等好莱坞热门影片以及肯·洛奇的多部电影配乐。
Every clue in a cryptic crossword is a mini word puzzle with two distinct paths to the same answer. This uniquely British invention evolved out of the 1920s crossword craze. Today you can flex your mental muscles with this new collection. The bumper edition contains more than 200 puzzles from the pages of The Telegraph. Whether you're honing your analytical skills or simply passing the time, this is the ultimate puzzling companion.
次年，达文波特与迪伦一起在罗德岛的纽波特音乐节（Newport Festival）演出，同行者还包括琼·贝兹（Joan Baez）和汤姆·帕克斯顿（Tom Paxton）。达文波特出现在专辑《纽波特宽幅：1963年纽波特民谣节话题歌曲》（Newport Broadside: Topical Songs at the Newport Folk Festival 1963）中，演唱了《所有勇敢的司机请听》（Come All Ye Gallant Drivers）。
他那洪亮的演唱风格并非人人喜爱，他回忆说，曾被一家民谣俱乐部邀请去教观众“如何不唱歌”。“我直接给他们比了中指，”他说。在他漫长职业生涯的众多亮点中，2004 年献给父亲汤米的专辑《共同之石》（Common Stone）是一部广受好评的传统与当代歌曲集，客串名单包括马丁·卡西（Martin Carthy）、理查德和琳达·汤普森（Richard and Linda Thompson）以及诺玛·沃特森（Norma Waterson）。《电讯报》的评论称：“很少有歌手对民谣复兴如此重要，他配得上他们慷慨的致敬。”
We also lost our next match to Wolfson by 36. While Periculo were lighting their proverbial cigars, Knottenbelt were back near the cut line.
Chess
In last Friday's column, Paul Barden doubled 3♣ for the lead on♣ AKJ1086, when about to be on lead himself to 3NT. My commentary may have faintly implied that this was a non-expert tactic, not to be recommended. That was indeed my intended meaning. Still, it tipped Paul off to the winning lead of the♣I.
FROM the World Bridge Series in Katowice, the Open qualifying Swiss. There were 137 entries, with 64 to qualify for the knockouts. Periculo led after day one, closely pursued by fellow Brits Knottenbelt.
The two teams met the next morning: this was Board One. North-South for Knottenbelt were Ben Handley-Pritchard and your columnist, East-West for Periculo were the son-and-father combination Oliver and Patrick Lawrence, both London barristers. They were on good form in this match, as were their teammates Alexander Allfrey and Andrew Robson, and beat us by 29 IMPs.
Something similar happened here. Our Puppet Stayman auctions are designed so that opener is always declarer in 3NT or four of a major. Still, Patrick (West) chose to double 3♣. We've never discussed this obscure possibility, so 3NT did not clearly guarantee a club stop. Still, it must have sounded like the ♣K. Besides, when he had 14 points himself on this bidding, Patrick could see that his boy didn't have it. He decided to lead the ♣J, denying me a trick with the ♣K. Top of two in dummy's four-card suit, if you want some useful advice today, is often a good passive lead to 3NT.
In the other room, it made on the ♣Q lead. The swing was 10 IMPs to Perículo.
Declarer took the ♣K, and ran the ♦J from dummy - attempting to keep East off lead. Patrick took the ♦Q, switched to the ♥J, ducked, and continued with the ♥K (also ducked) and the ♥7.
There was nothing to be done from there. South won the ♥A, ran diamonds and tried spades – hoping the lead was from three. Oliver (East) kept his guarded ♣10, of course, and 3NT went one down.
Table One 3NT minus one, N/S -50
Table Two 3NT made, N/S -400
THREE of the five members of the Afghan Open team who competed in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, were detained at the border last Monday when they returned to Afghanistan. The four players in the Women's team all live outside the country. Chess is banned by the Taliban government and the three were reportedly placed under house arrest in Kabul. The others were not detained. Khaiber Farazi, the Afghan Open team's top board, scored a highly creditable 6/10.
6.00 am Breakfast (S) 9.30 Morning Live (S) 10.45 Crimewatch Live (S) 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (R) (S)
12.15 pm Bargain Hunt (AD) (R) (S)
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
1.35 Regional News; Weather (S)
1.45 BBC at One; (S)
2.00 Clean It, Fix It (R) (S)
2.30 Shift the Thrift (AD) (R) (S)
3.00 Escape to the Country (R) (S)
3.45 Garden Rescue (R) (S)
4.30 Bridge of Lies (S)
5.15 Pointless (S)
6.00 BBC at Six; (S)
6.30 Regional ; (S)
The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked
Monty Don's British Gardens
7.00 The One Show With Roman Kemp and JB Gill (S)
7.30 EastEnders 伊恩继续将家人拒之门外 (AD) (S)
8.00 The Celebrity Traitors 首次驱逐展开 (AD) (S)
9.05 The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked 由 Ed Gamble 主持 (AD) (S)
9.30 Not Going Out (AD) (S)
10.00 BBC at Ten (S)
10.30 Regional ; (S)
10.40 Question Time Fiona Bruce 在彼得利主持时事辩论 (S)
11.40 Newscast 12.10am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Bam 1.15 - 6.00am
---
📄 Original Section
By Malcolm Pein
Codewords is back with a new edition featuring 200 compelling puzzles to challenge your logic and vocabulary. In each grid, letters are replaced with numbers, requiring keen pattern recognition and sharp deduction to decode. From The Telegraph's most popular puzzle pages, this collection offers a refreshing twist on traditional crosswords, blending strategic thinking with wordplay.
1.Nf3 d5.2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4 g6 4.e3
Bg7 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.h3 c67.2.E2
Qb6? (This does not achieve much, and the queen is attached later - better 7...Nbd7 8.0-O Re8 or 7...Bb5 8.0-O Nbd7 8.Qc1 Nbd7 9.0-O Ne8 (Black had to try and change the course of the game with 9...c5 10.c4 cxd4 ILexd4 dxc4 12.Bxc4, although White has a pleasant edge here after 12...Qc6 13.Re1 Nb6 14.Ne5) 10.c4!
Ndf6 ILc5 Qd8 12.b4 (There follows a textbook queenside advance - Black is gradually smothered, then surrounded)
Dip into 300 quick-fire puzzles for solvers of all levels. Taken from The Telegraph's puzzle pages, each crossword offers a satisfying mix of general knowledge and wordplay to keep your mind sharp. Whether you're relaxing at home or puzzling on the go, this versatile collection is ideal for both light leisure and focused brain training. Ideal for anyone who enjoys intelligent puzzles with a distinctive twist.
B Traore - K Farazi, Mali vs Afghanistan. Black to play and mate in three:
---
BBC Two
6.30 am Bridge of Lies (R) (S) 7.15 Garden Rescue (R) (S) 8.00 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 8.30 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 9.00 (S)
12.15 pm Politics Live (S)
1.00 Impossible (R) (S)
1.45 Unbeatable (R) (S)
2.30 The Boss (R) (S)
3.15 The Wonder of Animals (AD) (R) (S)
3.45 The Great House Revival (R) (S)
4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (R) (S)
5.15 Flog It! (R) (S)
6.00 House of Games (S)
6.30 Strictly: It Takes Two (S)
Emmerdale
7.00 Escape to the Country Nicki Chapman 在多塞特郡寻找村庄房产 (R) (S)
8.00 Monty Don's British Gardens
花园能揭示关于英国人民、气候和历史的什么 (AD) (R) (S)
9.00 Surgeons: At the Edge of Life 专家移除一个危及生命的肿瘤 (R) (S)
10.00 Live at the Apollo With Babatunde
Aléshé, Chloe Petts and Lindsey
Santoro (R) (S)
10.30 Newsnight (S)
11.05 Uncanny 12.05am 电影：Medusa Deluxe (2022) 由 Clare Perkins 主演的惊悚片 1.40 Sign Zone: The Split Up 2.40 Sign Zone: Blue Lights 3.35 · 6.40am This Is BBC Two
---
📄 Original Section
The Telegraph Cryptic Crosswords 16
Dive into this fiendish new edition of cryptic crosswords. Cryptic clues act as mini puzzles with two distinct ways to reach the same answer. During the Second World War, the British government realised that cryptic crossword solvers possessed the mental agility needed for codebreaking. With 100 challenges taken from the pages of The Telegraph, this new collection will provide hours of mental gymnastics.
---
第三电台 RADIO 3 FM 90.2-92.4MHz
6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live 4.00 Composer of the Week: The Venetian School 5.00 In Tune 7.00 Classical Mixtape。包含拉赫玛尼诺夫最狂喜的钢琴前奏曲之一 7.30 Radio 3 in Concert。由安东尼·赫姆斯（Antony Hermus）指挥的BBC苏格兰交响乐团（BBC SSO），在格拉斯哥城市大厅现场演出 9.45 The Essay: Towards Evensong。主讲人：大卫·莫（David Maw） 10.00 Night Tracks。深夜聆听曲目 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 - 6.30am Through the Night
---
📄 Original Section
£8.99
Subject to availability, Prices valid at time of printing. Standard shipping £2.50 (orders under £20). Premium delivery £3.99 (all orders). Lines open Monday–Saturday 9am=5.30pm and Sunday 10am=2pm. BT landline calls cost no more than 5p a minute (other networks may vary).
---
第四电台 RADIO 4 FM 92.4-94.6MHz; LW 108kHz
6.00am Today 9.00 In Our Time 9.45 Strong Message Here 10.00 Woman's Hour 11.00 This Cultural Life 11.45 To Go or Not to Go 12.00 News 12.04pm The Bottom Line 12.32 Sliced Bread 12.57 Weather 1.00 The World at One 1.45 The Turning Point 2.00 The Archers。克莱里的担忧浮出水面 2.15 Drama: A Place Called Home。由塞巴斯蒂安·巴茨基维奇（Sebastian Baczkiewicz）创作的《皇帝》（The Emperor）。本系列最后一集 3.00 Ramblings。新系列。克莱尔·鲍尔丁（Clare Balding）漫步于伦敦里士满区 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal。代表 PEAS 发起 3.30 Feedback。安德里亚·卡瑟伍德（Andrea Catherwood）主持的听众观点栏目 4.00 The Briefing Room。大卫·亚伦诺维奇（David Aaronovitch）讨论新闻故事 4.30 BBC Inside Science。最新科学研究 5.00 PM。由凯蒂·拉扎尔（Katie Razzall）主持 5.57 Weather 6.00 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Do Gooders。由弗兰克·斯金纳（Frank Skinner）和费·里普利（Fay Ripley）主演的喜剧 7.00 The Archers。安娜偶然发现了一些令人震惊的信息 7.15 Front Row。艺术节目 8.00 When It Hits the Fan 8.15 The Media Show 9.00 Loose Ends 9.45 Strong Message Here 9.59 Weather 10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Stations 11.00 Radical 11.30 Great Lives 12.00 News and Weather 12.30am To Go or Not to Go 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As World Service 5.00 News Summary 5.04 The Briefing Room 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 - 6.00am Farming Today
6.00am 5 Breakfast 9.00 Emma Vardy 11.00 Adrian Chiles 2.00pm Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Drive 7.00 5 Sport。凯蒂·史密斯（Katie Smith）播报当日体育新闻 7.30 5 Sport。凯蒂·史密斯和肖恩·法林顿（Sean Farrington）探讨日益增长的体育成本 9.00 5 Formula 1。5 F1 团队预演新加坡大奖赛 10.00 Laura McGhie 1.00am Kathryn Stanczyszyn 5.00 - 6.00am Wake Up to Money
---
📄 Original Section
Eva Marie Saint
Demure actress who brought wit and glamour to On the Waterfront and North by Northwest
Eva Marie Saint was gentle with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, 1954; and steely with Cary Grant in North by Northwest, 1959
EVA MARIE SAINT, who has died aged 102, won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her first film: Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), in which she played the shy Catholic girl Edie Doyle, who is seduced by Marlon Brando's illiterate longshoreman.
By the time she appeared in her next big hit – as Eve Kendall, Hitchcock's blonde femme fatale in the hit thriller North by Northwest (1959), in which she co-starred with Cary Grant – she had started a family.
She continued to be given big parts – she was a volunteer nurse working with Holocaust survivors in Otto Preminger's epic Exodus (1960), shot on location in Israel – but her priorities had changed.
"Eva Marie, you'll never be a superstar," her agent told her when she turned down a three-picture deal to be with her children. By the end of the 1960s her Hollywood career had begun to cool.
Yet she never stopped working, earning two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her films and for television work which won her five Emmy nominations. She appeared in Superman Returns (2006) as Clark Kent's mother and made her last film appearance in 2014 in a cameo role in Akiva Goldsman's Winter's Tale.
"I loved what Cary Grant said to me," she told an interviewer in 2006, "Just stay on the bus. You start at the front of the bus. Then you go to the middle. And then you go to the back. And finally you have to stand up and make room for other people. But you still stay on that bus."
Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4 1924 into a Quaker family at East Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in upstate New York, where her father worked for the tyre manufacturers BF Goodrich. Her mother was a teacher.
At her high school Eva Marie Saint “was in the orchestra, the choir, the cheerleading team”, but acting never occurred to her. She went off to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to train as a teacher and while there, for a dare, auditioned for a role in a play. She won the part and decided to change careers.
She landed a job working in television as an off-camera applauder on The Borden Show, then got on camera on the NBC game show Campus Hoopla. Her first real part was as a telephone operator in a radio soap called Rosemary.
In 1950 she enrolled in the Actor's Studio, where she worked with Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris and Ben Gazzara. The following year she married the director Jeffrey Hayden.
With her husband's encouragement, Eva Marie Saint began to seek out more serious roles on television shows such as Studio One and The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, finally landing regular roles on Buck Rogers (1950-51) and a soap called One Man's Family (1952).
She appeared with Lilian Gish in Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful on television (1953) and in a stage production on Broadway, where she was spotted by the producer Sam Spiegel and director Elia Kazan, who invited her to audition for the role of Edie, the convent-educated innocent in their new film On The Waterfront.
"To see if there were vibes between Marlon [Brando] and myself," she recalled, "[Kazan] put us in a room, and he whispered to me, 'Eva Marie, you're home alone, and your sister's boyfriend is coming. Do not let him in the house.' So here comes adorable Marlon, knocking on my make-believe door, and I did everything possible to discourage him. And somehow he got in the room, and we started talking, and he put the radio on, and we started dancing. The sparks just flew."
She gave another superb performance in Fred Zinnemann's A Hatful of Rain (1957) as the long-suffering, expectant wife of a drug addict, and in the epic American Civil War drama Raintree County (1957) she lost Montgomery Clift to Elizabeth Taylor. The following year she got the call for Hitchcock's North by Northwest to play the role of what she called a "sexy spy lady" opposite Cary Grant.
Hitchcock was famous for making the lives of his leading ladies difficult, particularly that of Tippi Hedren, the star of The Birds and Marnie. But despite his insistence on overseeing everything, from her hairstyle and make-up to shoes and costumes, Eva Marie Saint experienced no difficulties.
“Tippi was single and more vulnerable and just starting out in that wild, wicked world. But I had a sense of myself; I didn't feel that insecure. And I was married... I think because of that Hitch saw me differently.”
After Exodus, Eva Marie Saint co-starred with the famously womanising Warren Beatty in All Fall Down (1962), recalling that at the end of each day's shooting the actor would come up to her and ask her plaintively whether she really was happily married. "Yes, Warren, yes," she would reply.
She also appeared in the Burton/Taylor soap opera The Sandpiper, recalling that "the Burtons drank so much champagne, I don't know how they did their scenes. I was kind of impressed! But they knew their lines, and they were great to work with."
During the making of the film, she recalled, Burton and Taylor had to barricade themselves into their hotel to avoid the attentions of the paparazzi. "It was crazy. I could walk down those streets, buy a croissant and cheese, sit on a park bench and be fine... I know I couldn't have coped with that kind of fame."
Her other credits during the 1960s included The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming! and Grand Prix (both 1966). Norman Jewison, who had directed her on Russians, wanted her for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), but the studio preferred the up-and-coming Faye Dunaway.
A role as George Segal's wife in Loving (1970), a quirky Manhattan marital comedy, led only to a tired Bob Hope farce, Cancel My Reservation (1972), after which her Hollywood career went into abeyance.
She returned to television doing small-screen films such as A Christmas to Remember (1978), When Hell Was in Session (1979) and People Like Us (1990), starred in series such as How the West Was Won (1977-79) and A Year in the Life (1987-88). She guest-starred on Frasier and
Moonlighting and returned to the stage, in classic plays such as Tennessee Williams's Summer and Smoke and Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms.
She made occasional appearances on the big screen, playing Tom Hanks's emotionally fragile mother in Nothing in Common (1986), Kim Basinger's mother in I Dreamed of Africa (2000) and Sam Shepard's mother in Wim Wenders's Don't Come Knocking (2006), as well as her role in Superman Returns.
She also had a cameo role as Miss Franny, the town librarian, in the schmaltzy Because Of Winn·Dixie (2011).
But she complained that it was hard for an older actress to find interesting roles in Hollywood: "The characters are always grandmothers on oxygen," she complained in 2009, "and while there's nothing wrong with that if you need it, I don't, yet. I'm still upright."
Eva Marie Saint married the television director and producer Jeffrey Hayden in 1951; he died in 2016 and she is survived by their daughter and son.
Eva Marie Saint, born July 4 1924, died October 6 2026
CLASSIC FM FM 99.0-101.0MHZ
6.30am Classic FM Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00 The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour with Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Hannah Scott-Joynt 4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing Evenings with Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 - 6.30am Early Breakfast
---
📄 Original Section
George Fenton
全球服务（仅限数字频道）
8.00am 新闻 8.06 调查 (The Inquiry) 8.30 商业日报 (Business Daily) 8.50 见证历史 (Witness History) 9.00 新闻室 (The Newsroom) 9.30 纪录片 (The Documentary) 10.00 新闻 10.06 媒体秀 (The Media Show) 10.30 亿万富翁之善恶 (Good Bad Billionaire) 11.00 新闻室 11.30 全球故事 (The Global Story) 12.00 新闻 12.06pm 展望 (Outlook) 12.50 见证历史 1.00 新闻室 1.30 食物链 (The Food Chain) 2.00 新闻小时 (Newshour) 3.00 新闻 3.06 调查 3.30 商业日报 3.50 世界商业快讯 (World Business Express) 4.00 BBC OS 6.00 新闻 6.06 展望 6.50 见证历史 7.00 新闻室 7.30 今日体育 (Sport Today) 8.00 新闻 8.06 纪录片 8.30 BBC 内部科学 (BBC Inside Science) 9.00 新闻小时 10.00 新闻 10.06 调查 10.30 食物链 11.00 新闻室 11.30 世界商业报告 (World Business Report)
分发给参与者的对话卡，旨在克服害羞并促进联系——这个创意非常成功，已经传播到了柏林和阿姆斯特丹。
杰拉德·奥多诺万 (Gerard O'Donovan)
12.00 新闻 12.06am 媒体秀 12.30 约翰·辛普森解析世界 (Unspun World with John Simpson) 1.00 新闻室 1.30 全球故事 2.00 新闻室 2.30 科技生活 (Tech Life) 3.00 新闻 3.06 展望 3.50 见证历史 4.00 新闻室 4.30 心灵与灵魂 (Heart and Soul) 5.00 · 8.00am 新闻日 (Newsday)
---
📄 Original Section
Composer who was a five-time Oscar nominee and created the themes for Newsnight and Bergerac
GEORGE FENTON, who has died aged 76, composed the music for more than 100 films, earning Oscar nominations for his scores to Gandhi (1982), Cry Freedom (1987) and Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
He accepted with good grace, however, that his most enduring composition was his resonant theme for BBC Two's nightly current affairs round-up Newsnight. With its distinctive rock-inflected guitar riffs, it launched the programme in 1980 and is still in use today.
Fenton became a go-to composer for feature films following the success of his score for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. Attenborough's son Michael, then joint artistic director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, had been impressed by Fenton's work as a stage composer and suggested he send his father a sample tape. Three weeks later Fenton was on a plane to Bombay.
He drew on a wide variety of musical themes and traditions, moving easily between the evocative electronic soundscapes of The Company of Wolves (1984) and full orchestral scores, sometimes coloured by unorthodox instrumentation; one example was his original use of viols and sackbuts for The Crucible (1996).
Fenton successfully merged Western techniques with Indian textures in both Gandhi (scored in collaboration with Ravi Shankar) and his subtle, haunting score for ITV's The Jewel in the Crown (1984), as well as celebrating African music in Cry Freedom, in a score co-written with Jonas Gwangwa. When the occasion demanded, Fenton made effective use of folksong, jazz, rock, classical and Baroque elements, while in his television themes he proved a talented exponent of minimalist techniques.
His title scores for two television detective series proved particularly memorable: the harmonica-led theme for Shoestring
Wrote the muisc for Gandhi and Groundhog Day
(1979-80) and the instantly hummable Bergerac (1981-91) tune. More portentous was his 1988 opening music for the BBC's Nine O'Clock News. By contrast his opening jingle for Radio 4's drivetime news magazine PM was too jaunty for some listeners, and it was eventually dropped in 1997 following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
In 2001 Fenton's incidental music for the BBC's natural history television epic The Blue Planet won him further accolades, as did his majestic score for Planet Earth (2006). Both series were narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and in scoring them Fenton would treat Attenborough's narration like the main character in a drama, working the music around the inflections of his voice.
Fenton was also, for half a century, the favoured composer of Alan Bennett, scoring more than a dozen of his television plays and the two highly acclaimed Talking Heads series in 1988 and 1998. He scored one of Bennett's short memoirs for string quartet under the title Hymn (2001) and the film The Lady In The Van (2015), starring Dame Maggie Smith as the eccentric Mary Shepherd, who had lived in a van on Bennett's drive for 15 years.
Fenton was the only person on the production, apart from Bennett himself, to have known Miss Shepherd. He remembered her from his teenage years when he had redecorated Bennett's house in north London while working as a young actor, recalling her as strange, sad and rather fierce.
Bennett regarded Fenton as central to the success of The Lady of the Van, noting in his diary: "His music, and the placing of the music, makes the film."
He was born George Richard Ian Howe on October 19 1949 in Bromley, south London, the son of Captain Dick Howe MC, an engineer and former FoW who had organised several successful escapes from Colditz, and his wife Gwenda. Fenton was his mother's maiden name.
George was educated at St Edward's School in Oxford, where he received his only formal musical training, learning the guitar and church organ. On leaving, he worked in a London off-licence as a cellarman while daydreaming of a career in rock 'n' roll.
In 1968, after his mother pointed out an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph headed "Boys Wanted", he attended an audition at Her Majesty's Theatre. Somewhat to his surprise, he was cast as a prep school head boy in Alan Bennett's first stage play Forty Years On (Apollo, 1968), an engagement that lasted for 14 months and launched a lifelong collaboration. The play's musical director,
Carl Davis, encouraged Fenton's burgeoning interest in composing for the theatre.
Fenton took further acting roles in Bennett's first television play, A Day Out (1972), directed by Stephen Frears, and in the mid-1970s played Martin Gimbel for a year in Emmerdale Farm. But writing music became his focus. He landed his first major commission in 1974 as composer and musical director for Peter Gill's production of Twelfth Night at Stratford-upon-Avon, the first of several collaborations with Gill during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Although Fenton produced more music for the stage, including The Judas Kiss (1998) and The Last Cigarette (2009) for Richard Eyre, he turned more of his attention to films and television, scoring Hollywood hits such as Groundhog Day (1993) and You're Got Mail (1998), and several films by Ken Loach.
A low point came in 1994 when after nine months of work Fenton was told, with no explanation, that his score for Interview with the Vampire had been scrapped. "It destroyed me. Your score is like one of your babies."
He continued to work with Alan Bennett, on the stage musical Allelujah! and its 2022 film version, and the film The Choral (2025), with Fenton not only arranging the music but appearing in a cameo as the chauffeur of Sir Edward Elgar (Simon Russell Beale).
Fenton won three Baftas, two Emmys and five Ivor Novello awards, and received five Academy Award nominations. He taught at the National Film School, London, and at the Royal College of Music, where he was both a Fellow and a visiting professor.
He was appointed CBE in 2023.
George Fenton is survived by his second wife, Amanda, as well as his former wife Jane and three daughters.
George Fenton, born October 19 1949, died October 5 2026
Radio 4 Extra（仅限数字频道）
6.00am 亚当·达尔格利什：遮住她的脸 (Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face) 6.30 保罗·坦普尔与乔纳森之谜 (Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery) 7.00 资本收益 (Capital Gains) 7.30 伯基斯之路 (The Burkiss Way) 8.00 ReincarNathan 8.30 活着，活着哦！以及其他重要之事 (Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter) 8.45 特里斯特拉姆·香第 (Tristram Shandy) 9.00 奥米德·贾利利：合十礼 (Omid Djalili: Namaste) 9.30 骨骼故事 (Bone Stories) 9.45 每日礼拜 (Daily Service) 10.00 伟大人生 (Great Lives) 10.30 吉姆·艾伦：言出必行之人 (Jim Allen: A Man of His Words) 11.00 亚当·达尔格利什：遮住她的脸 11.30 保罗·坦普尔与乔纳森之谜 12.00 资本收益 12.30pm 伯基斯之路 1.00 ReincarNathan 1.30 活着，活着哦！以及其他重要之事 1.45 特里斯特拉姆·香第 2.00 我的这一代 (My Generation) 2.30 朗德绞刑架 (The Rundle Gibbet) 4.00 伟大人生 4.30 吉姆·艾伦：言出必行之人 5.00 亚当·达尔格利什：遮住她的脸 5.30 保罗·坦普尔与乔纳森之谜 6.00 资本收益 6.30 伯基斯之路 7.00 ReincarNathan 7.30 活着，活着哦！以及其他重要之事 7.45 特里斯特拉姆·香第 8.00 我的这一代 8.30 朗德绞刑架 10.00 奥米德·贾利利：合十礼 10.30 伦·西赛的起源故事 (Lenn Sissay's Origin Stories) 10.55 喜剧俱乐部访谈 (The Comedy Club Interview) 11.00 与海格利倾听 (Hearing with Hegley) 11.15 湿把手 (A Wet Handle) 11.30 尸僵 (Rigor Mortis) 12.00 伟大人生 12.30am 吉姆·艾伦：言出必行之人 1.00 亚当·达尔格利什：遮住她的脸 1.30 保罗·坦普尔与乔纳森之谜 2.00 资本收益 2.30 伯基斯之路 3.00 ReincarNathan 3.30 活着，活着哦！以及其他重要之事 3.45 特里斯特拉姆·香第 4.00 我的这一代 4.30 - 6.00am 朗德绞刑架
---
📄 Original Section
Bob Davenport Folk singer who championed traditional British music
BOB DAVENPORT, who has died aged 94, was a leading figure on the British folk scene for seven decades; his gritty, heartfelt style of singing, often unaccompanied – and his scorching, take-no-prisoners political sensibility – proved inspirational to successive generations of musicians.
His work encompassed traditional ballads, protest songs, musical hall and pop. One of his contemporaries was the singer Ian Campbell, whose sons Duncan and Ali were in UB40 (their brother Robin is still a member). Ali Campbell recalled that his father initially refused to acknowledge the quality of UB40's reggae sound: "It was only when his best friend Bob Davenport... got up and did a Bob Marley song... that my dad got interested and started to accept it."
Robert Henry Davenport was born in Gateshead on May 31 1932; he was a distant relation of George Ridley, who wrote the celebrated Geordie song Blaydon Races. When he was 10 months old he survived a gas explosion that killed his father, Tommy, who was 23, and his grandfather; the family home was destroyed and young Bob was carried from the wreckage.
He was brought up by his mother, Sadie, with help from her family; it was a childhood rich in music, and when he was evacuated to Yorkshire he gave his first performances at a tender age: "I sang one night at a club and someone told me later that practically every song was about leaving, dying or being exiled from your homeland."
He did his National Service in the RAF, then moved to London to work for the GPO and study at St Martin's School of Art; he also worked in publishing.
He began making his way on the folk scene: living in Camden Town, he sang at the Irish pub, the Bedford Arms.
"Someone heard me singing there and put me forward for a competition," Davenport recalled. "From then I entered the folk world." It was in Camden that he began a 40-year association with the Rakes, the fiddle and melodeon trio. He was perfectly placed to play his part in the great post-skiffle folk revival and he became a leading figure on the London and national scene.
When a young American up-and-comer named Bob Dylan visited Britain in 1962, Davenport took him in hand, teaching him traditional tunes. "We had a session at lunchtimes with traditional musicians and Bob. We would do a song each."
He taught Bob Dylan classic tunes when he visited Britain
The following year Davenport and Dylan sang at the Newport Festival on Rhode Island, along with Joan Baez and Tom Paxton, and Davenport appeared on the album Newport Broadside: Topical Songs at the Newport Folk Festival 1963, performing Come All Ye Gallant Drivers.
The godfather of the British scene was Ewan MacColl, and Davenport remarked to him that there should be some way of transmitting his wealth of knowledge about British folk traditions. The result was the Critics' Group, which ran for 10 years from the mid-1960s; it eventually fell apart, undermined by the schisms that beset folk music, especially around the heated topic of "authenticity".
His full-throated style was not to everyone's taste, and he recalled being invited at one folk club to teach the crowd "how not to sing". "I just gave them two fingers," he said. Amongst the many highlights of his long career, his 2004 album Common Stone, dedicated to his father Tommy, was an acclaimed collection of traditional and contemporary songs, with a guest list that included Martin Carthy, Richard and Linda Thompson and Norma Waterson. "Few singers were as important to the folk revival, and he deserves the generosity of their tribute," said the Telegraph review.
In retirement Davenport liked to fire off letters to his local paper, the Camden New Journal.
In 1958 he married Erica Hay, with whom he had a daughter. After their divorce he married Margaret Parker in 1963, and they had three children before divorcing. In 1978 he married Jean Oglesby, who died in 2001; they had a daughter. He is survived by his five children.
Bob Davenport, born May 31 1932, died September 27 2026
TRAVEL SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Exclusive Tours from our trusted partner Tripsmiths
第4频道 (Channel 4)
6.30 am 皇后之王 (The King of Queens) (AD) (R) (S)
6.55 皇后之王 (AD) (R) (S)
7.20 皇后之王 () (R) (S)
7.45 大家都爱雷蒙德 (Everybody Loves Raymond) () (R) (S) 8.10 大家都爱雷蒙德 () (R) (S) 8.40 大家都爱雷蒙德 () (R) (S) 9.10 弗雷泽 (Frasier) () (R) (S) 9.40 弗雷泽 () (R) (S) 10.10 弗雷泽 () (R) (S) 10.40 弗雷泽 () (R) (S) 11.10 美国拾荒者 (American Pickers) () (R) (S)
12.05 pm 第4频道新闻 (S)
12.10 翻新国家 (Renovation Nation) () (R) (S)
1.10 豪宅赠送 (The Great House Giveaway) (R) (S)
2.10 倒计时 (Countdown) (S)
3.00 阳光之所 (A Place in the Sun) (R) (S)
4.00 救命！我们买了个村庄 (Help! We Bought a Village) (S)
5.00 四人一床 (Four in a Bed) (S)
5.30 来和我共进晚餐 (Come Dine with Me) (R) (S)
6.00 阳光下的新生活：他们现在如何？ (A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now?) (R) (S)
任务大师 (Taskmaster)
7.00 第4频道新闻 (S)
8.00 我们的微小岛屿：多尼戈尔郡德格湖上车站岛的守护者 (Our Tiny Islands The custodians of Station Island, on County Donegal's Lough Derg) (R) (S)
9.05 任务大师：参赛者面对令人困惑的格雷格调节器 (Taskmaster The contestants face the baffling Gregulator) () (S)
10.05 违约条款：本和莉尔回到利兹参加艾娃的洗礼 (Break Clause Ben and Lil go back to Leeds for Ava's christening) () (S)
10.35 违约条款：本和莉尔举办感恩节晚餐派对 (Break Clause Ben and Lil host a dinner party for Thanksgiving) () (S)
11.10 谷歌盒子 (Gogglebox) 12.10am 皮埃尔 (Pierre) 1.00 三个女人 (Three Women) 1.55 拉姆齐的美国厨房噩梦 (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA) 2.45 诱人的财富 (Tempting Fortune) 3.40 英国烘焙大赛：第二次加餐 (The Great British Bake Off: Second Helpings) 4.20 周日早午餐 (Sunday Brunch) 4.35 阳光之所 5.00 情侣共进晚餐 (Couples Come Dine with Me) 5.50 - 6.30am 倒计时
---
📄 Original Section
Discover the wonders of the Isles of Scilly with Julian Branscombe
Six days from £2,329pp\*
Departs April, June and September 2027
Blissfully secluded, the Isles of Scilly are home to lush gardens and white-sand beaches. Take a wildlife cruise and tour Tresco Abbey Garden.
---
Channel 5
6.00 am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (S)
11.30 Storm & Alexis (S)
12.45 pm 5 News at Lunchtime (S)
12.50 Matt Allwright (S)
2.20 电影：《奔跑，隐藏，逃脱》（Run, Hide, Escape）（2023, TVM）惊悚片，由 Kayla Fields 主演 (S)
4.00 阳光下的英国淘货客（Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun）(R) (S)
5.00 5 News with Dan Walker (S)
6.00 康沃尔：海边的一年（Cornwall: A Year by the Sea）(R) (S)
6.55 5 News Update (S)
Sam & Ade Go Birding
7.00 Sam & Ade Go Birding 该组合在繁殖季节探索西威尔士 (S)
7.55 5 News Update (S)
8.00 约克郡兽医（The Yorkshire Vet）Peter Wright 为一只侏儒刺猬治疗 (AD) (S)
9.00 Love Nature (R) (S)
9.05 众生皆小（All Creatures Great and Small）James 和 Siegfried 尝试对一头牛进行风险手术 (AD) (S)
10.05 众生皆小：幕后花絮 新剧集 (S)
10.10 Alexander Armstrong 在印度 () (R) (S)
11.05 999: Killer on the Line 12.05am Fatal First Dates 1.00 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit 2.00 康沃尔：海边的一年 2.50 阳光下的英国淘货客 3.40 The Cruise: Fun-Loving Brits at Sea 4.25 巧克力奇妙世界（The Wonderful World of Chocolate） 5.15 Entertainment News on 5
---
📄 Original Section
What's included
\- Five nights' accommodation on St Mary's with breakfast and some meals included
Guided walk and wildlife cruise on St Agnes
Tresco Abbey Garden tour
Dinner and talk from the curator of Tresco Abbey Garden
Return ferry from Penzance and boat transfers
---
Sky Arts
6.00 am LSO: Pappano 指挥拉威尔、赛及拉赫玛尼诺夫 (S) 7.35 绘画之乐（The Joy of Painting）() (S) 8.05 年度艺术家：大师课 () (S) 8.30 年度艺术家：大师课 () (S)
9.00 出人意料的故事（Tales of the Unexpected）() (S) 10.00 希区柯克呈现（Alfred Hitchcock Presents）(S) 10.30 希区柯克呈现 (S) 11.00 发现：理查德·基尔 () (S)
12.00 经典专辑 (S)
1.00 pm 出人意料的故事 () (S)
1.30 出人意料的故事 () (S)
2.00 希区柯克呈现 (S)
3.00 Bill Bailey 的大师工匠：下一代 () (S)
4.00 发现：丹尼斯·霍珀 () (S)
5.00 2015 年度风景画家 (S)
6.00 出人意料的故事 () (S)
劳莱与哈代：他们的生活与魔力
7.00 2026 年度肖像画家 寻找英国最才华横溢的肖像画家的比赛回归 () (S)
8.00 电影：《阿加莎·克里斯蒂的氰化物》（Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide）（2003, TVM）谋杀谜案，由 Pauline Collins 和 Oliver Ford Davies 主演 (S)
9.50 劳莱与哈代：他们的生活与魔力 斯坦·劳莱与奥利弗·哈代之间的友谊 () (S)
11.35 导演们 12.35am 电影：《罗伊·奥比森：在梦中》（Roy Orbison: In Dreams）（1999, TVM）记录这位歌手职业生涯的纪录片 2.35 Buddy Holly: Rave On 4.00 艺术走私者：盗自坟墓的宝藏 5.00 - 6.00am Bill Bailey 的大师工匠：下一代
---
📄 Original Section
telegraph.co.uk/tt-scilly2027 0204 525 1196 and quote SCILLIES
Terms and conditions: "From price or person based on two people sharing a double room, subject to availability," Phone Call for room upgrades, Price only (twenty connect at time of point bed may be subject to charge, Single supplement applies, Deposit) 30%. All mandatory additional charges are included in the price, please require for details. In the case of otherwise circumstances, expensive may be subsidized, and any expert/Not awards may be subject to change. Next available for those with monthly issues. Expenses will not join you for your full-time duration unless otherwise specified. For example, if you need to take time later, you should not reflect your actual time experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Trispsimith Travel Limited (ATOL, totaled). Calls are made at local rates. All tours fluctuated are operated by the partner specified, a company which is independent of Telegraph Mobile Group Holdings Limited. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or Telegraphs.
---
U&Drama
6.00 am 电视购物 7.35 The Bill (S)
8.35 Doctors (S) 9.15 Doctors (S)
9.55 经典 Holby City (S) 10.55 Casualty () (S) 11.55 The Bill (S)
12.55 pm 经典东区人（EastEnders）(S)
1.35 经典东区人 (S)
2.15 经典邻居（Neighbours）(S)
2.50 经典邻居 (S)
3.20 邦尼法斯修女谜案（Sister Boniface Mysteries）() (S)
4.20 布朗神父（Father Brown）() (S)
5.20 岁月流转（As Time Goes By）(S)
6.00 夏日之终（Last of the Summer Wine）() (S)
6.40 夏日之终 () (S)
一个非凡的死亡之地
7.20 夏日之终 Compo 变得嫉妒 () (S)
8.00 切尔西侦探（The Chelsea Detective）在发生第二起谋杀案后，Max 和他的团队揭露了一个将两名受害者联系在一起的阴谋。本系列最后一集 () (S)
9.05 一个非凡的死亡之地 Anais 在非法栽赃证据后，发现自己成了 Li Feng 审视的对象 () (S)
Josh Hartnett is a struggling Canadian fisherman in a spooky thriller set in Newfoundland
Underwater terror combines with climate-crisis anxieties and all the usual tropes of small-town horror dramas in this grippy Canadian six-parter starring Josh Hartnett as a washed-up fisherman in a remote Newfoundland port where strange things start happening ahead of a government move to shut the place down.
Hartnett plays likeable local Calvin Perry, who is already no stranger to
Sam and Ade Go Birding
Channel 5, 7pm
Red kites and ospreys are
among the more spectacular
species flying into focus as
Sam West and Adrian
Edmondson head to West
Wales. It's not all raptors.
They also catch sight of a
sedge warbler, pied fly-
catcher and yellowhammer.
Tonight: Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties
ITV, 7.30pm
In a special report on leasehold retirement properties, reporter Richard Gaisford investigates restrictive clauses often included in purchase contracts and meets owners who claim spiralling service charges, extortionate
weirdness after witnessing the mysterious death of his father 40 years earlier while moving the family home by sea during a previous resettlement programme. Now, with three grown-up children of his own and all fishing in the area banned, he's forced to compromise just to eke out a living supplying sea-ice to the local distillery. Until, that is, boats start sinking, people start disappearing, a gigantic iceberg appears, and Calvin
exit fees and high depreciation rates make their homes worthless.
Break Clause
Channel 4, 10.05pm &
10.35pm
Another double-helping of decides something must be done. Fortunately, ocean scientist Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) is on hand to help.
This enjoyably atmospheric spine-tingler benefits from stellar coastal scenery, unique traditions and Newfoundland's pubs, plus all the rivalries and eccentricities of an inward-looking community, cleverly used to convey a sense of isolation and growing threat.
Gerard O'Donovan
---
Talking Pictures TV
6.00 am 夏洛克·福尔摩斯 (S) 6.30 电影：《无休之所》(No Resting Place) (1951, 黑白) 由迈克尔·高夫主演的犯罪剧 (S)
8.05 电影：《一场婚礼，两任妻子》(Two Wives at One Wedding) (1961, 黑白) 由戈登·杰克逊主演的剧情片 (S) 9.25 电影：《急躁的心》(The Hasty Heart) (1949, 黑白) 由理查德·托德主演的剧情片 (S) 11.25 电影：《现付后偿》(Live Now - Pay Later) (1962, 黑白) 由伊恩·亨德里出演的喜剧剧 (S)
1.30 pm 《杜克街公爵夫人》(The Duchess of Duke Street) (S)
2.35 Talking Pictures TV，主持人吉米·克里克 (S)
3.00 电影：《斗牛士汤米》(Tommy the Toreador) (1959) 由汤米·斯蒂尔主演的音乐喜剧 (S)
4.45 朱利叶斯·哈根季 (S)
4.55 电影：《最后的旅程》(The Last Journey) (1936, 黑白) 由朱利安·米切尔主演的剧情片 (S)
6.15 朱利叶斯·哈根季 (S)
6.20 《离奇但真实》(Strange But True) (S)
6.55 《兄弟》(The Brothers) (S)
蓝色珊瑚礁
爸爸的军队
8.00 《马克·萨伯》(Mark Saber) 一位著名的芭蕾舞演员兼女演员发现她的未婚夫死了 (S)
8.30 《轮工与调度员社交俱乐部》(The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club) 特邀 The Flirtations, 乔·亨德森和乔治·梅利 (S)
9.20 电影：《蓝色珊瑚礁》(The Blue Lagoon) (1980) 由布鲁克·希尔兹主演的浪漫剧情片 (S)
11.30 电影：《酷热之夜》(Night of the Big Heat) (1967) 由彼得·库欣主演的科幻冒险片 1.20am 电影：《12英里礁石之下》(Beneath the 12-Mile Reef) (1953) 由罗伯特·瓦格纳主演的冒险片 3.25 《拨打 999 4.00》(Dial 999) 《伯克法》(Burke's Law) 5.00 - 6.00am 《联合国特工》(The Man from UNCLE)
---
📄 Original Section
Jess Knappett plays the vicar in a double helping of the sitcom Break Clause
the sitcom about a couple forced to stay living together after a break-up. While Ben (Samuel Bottomley) sets about proving he's a good person really, Lil's (Lara Ricote) decision to track down the woman he slept with proves problematic.
The Celebrity Traitors
BBC One, 8pm
The fun picks up again and,
as the fallout from last
week's opening banishment
begins to sink in, the
celebrities undertake a
mission that fuels paranoia
and splinters loyalties –
pushing tension to an early
high. Followed by more
discussion in The Celebrity
Traitors: Uncloaked
(9.05pm) with Ed Gamble.
---
Film4
FY 14 FS 300 SKY 855 VIRGIN 428
11.00 am 电影：《我的山谷多么青翠》(How Green Was My Valley) (1941, 黑白) 由沃尔特·皮金主演的奥斯卡获奖剧情片 (AD) (S)
1.20 pm 电影：《断箭》(Broken Arrow) (1950) 由詹姆斯·斯图尔特主演的西部片 (S)
3.10 电影：《阿拉莫之男》(The Man from the Alamo) (1953) 由格伦·福特主演的西部片 (S)
4.50 电影：《圣诞颂歌》(A Christmas Carol) (1984) 由乔治·C·斯科特主演的狄更斯经典故事 (AD) (S)
6.55 电影：《爸爸的军队》(Dad's Army) (2016) 一个海滨小镇的国民自卫军排长与德国间谍和一名女记者周旋。喜剧，由托比·琼斯和比尔·奈伊主演 (AD) (S)
9.00 电影：《虎胆龙威 2》(Die Hard 2) (1990) 一名孤胆警察与占领机场以强迫释放一名被定罪的毒枭的恐怖分子搏斗。由布鲁斯·威利斯和邦妮·贝德拉主演的动作惊悚续集 (AD) (S)
11.25 电影：《最想要的男人》(A Most Wanted Man) (2014) 由菲利普·塞默·霍夫曼主演的惊悚片 1.50 - 3.45am 电影：《我和你以及我们认识的每个人》(Me and You and Everyone We Know) (2005) 由约翰·霍克斯主演的剧情片
📄 Original Section
All Creatures Great and Small
Channel 5, 9.05pm
In another heart-warming episode, James (Nicholas Ralph) wonders if he's up to the challenge of an unusual case and the discovery that Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) is planning to spend her birthday alone inspires a plan to do something special for her, Tristan's (Callum Woodhouse) problem-solving, meanwhile, is tested by a case of mistaken identity. GO
Tom Cruise's veteran switches sides in 19th century Japan
---
关于萨塞克斯家族，从来没有简单的事。将无与伦比的皇室洞察直接发送至您的收件箱
---
📄 Original Section
FILM
The Last Samurai (2003)
ITVI, 10.45pm
\*\*\*
A shameless vanity project it may be but, nevertheless, Edward Zwick's period thriller is beautifully shot. Set in 19th-century Japan, it stars Tom Cruise as Algren, an embittered, alcoholic Civil War veteran recruited as a mercenary to help train a new infantry division and quell the threat of a Samurai rebellion.
However, when he's abducted by his enemy and educated in the bushido code, he decides to switch allegiances.
---
更多频道
📄 Original Section
Main channels
---
每周三。立即注册
---
📄 Original Section
BBC One
6.00 am Breakfast (S) 9.30 Morning Live (S) 10.45 Crimewatch Live (S) 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (R) (S)
12.15 pm Bargain Hunt (AD) (R) (S)
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
1.35 Regional News; Weather (S)
1.45 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
2.00 Clean It, Fix It (R) (S)
2.30 Shift the Thrift (AD) (R) (S)
3.00 Escape to the Country (R) (S)
3.45 Garden Rescue (R) (S)
4.30 Bridge of Lies (S)
5.15 Pointless (S)
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather (S)
6.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked
Monty Don's British Gardens
7.00 The One Show With Roman Kemp and JB Gill (S)
7.30 EastEnders Ian continues to shut out his family (AD) (S)
8.00 The Celebrity Traitors The first banishment unfolds (AD) (S)
9.05 The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked Presented by Ed Gamble (AD) (S)
9.30 Not Going Out (AD) (S)
10.00 BBC News at Ten (S)
10.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
10.40 Question Time Fiona Bruce presents the topical debate from Peterlee (S)
11.40 Newscast 12.10am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Bam 1.15 - 6.00am News
---
BBC Four
7.00 pm 第二次世界大战：时间观察指南
8.00 电影：《雷马根大桥》(The Bridge at Remagen) (1969) 由乔治·西格尔主演的第二次世界大战冒险片
6.30 am Bridge of Lies (R) (S) 7.15 Garden Rescue (R) (S) 8.00 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 8.30 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 9.00 News (S)
12.15 pm Politics Live (S)
1.00 Impossible (R) (S)
1.45 Unbeatable (R) (S)
2.30 The Boss (R) (S)
3.15 The Wonder of Animals (AD) (R) (S)
3.45 The Great House Revival (R) (S)
4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (R) (S)
5.15 Flog It! (R) (S)
6.00 House of Games (S)
6.30 Strictly: It Takes Two (S)
Emmerdale
7.00 Escape to the Country Nicki Chapman searches for a village property in Dorset (R) (S)
8.00 Monty Don's British Gardens
What gardens can reveal about the UK's people, climate and history (AD) (R) (S)
9.00 Surgeons: At the Edge of Life Experts remove a life-threatening tumour (R) (S)
10.00 Live at the Apollo With Babatunde
Aléshé, Chloe Petts and Lindsey
Santoro (R) (S)
10.30 Newsnight (S)
11.05 Uncanny 12.05am FILM: Medusa Deluxe (2022) Thriller starring Clare Perkins 1.40 Sign Zone: The Split Up 2.40 Sign Zone: Blue Lights 3.35 · 6.40am This Is BBC Two
---
U&Dave
正午 《毛刷骑手：英国之最》(Hairy Bikers' Best of British) 1.00pm 《运河船日记》(Canal Boat Diaries) 2.00 《顶级跑车》(Top Gear) 3.00 《我们在日本》(Our Guy in Japan) 4.00 《里克·斯坦的康沃尔》(Rick Stein's Cornwall) 6.00 《毛刷骑手：英国之最》 7.00 《莫蒂默与怀特豪斯：垂钓》(Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing) 7.40 《我会撒谎吗？》(Would I Lie to You?) 9.00 《QI XL》 10.00 《我有更多新闻给你吗》(Have I Got a Bit More News for You) 11.00 8 Out of 10 Cats 11.50 《嘲讽本周》(Mock the Week) 12.30am 《我会撒谎吗？》 1.50 《QI XL》 2.40 《游戏之屋》(House of Games) 3.25-4.00am 《罗梅什法官》(Judge Romesh)
---
📄 Original Section
ITVI
6.00 am Good Morning Britain (S) 9.30 Lorraine (S) 10.00 This Morning (S)
12.30 pm Loose Women (S)
1.30 News (S)
1.55 ITV News London; Weather (S)
2.00 Dickinson's Real Deal (AD) (R) (S)
3.00 Lingo (R) (S)
4.00 Deal or No Deal (AD) (R) (S)
5.00 The Chase (R) (S)
6.00 ITV News London; Weather (S)
6.30 News (S)
7.30 Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties – Tonight Investigative report (S)
8.00 Emmerdale Jacob and Sarah make a decision (AD) (S)
8.30 Coronation Street Shona and Jodie's feud reaches breaking point (AD) (S)
9.00 Long Lost Family Both stories in this episode celebrate the bond between brothers (AD) (R) (S)
10.00 News (S)
10.30 ITV News London; Weather (S)
10.45 FILM: The Last Samurai (2003)
Historical adventure starring Tom
Cruise (S)
1.10 am Shop on TV 3.00 The Chase Around the World 3.50 Unwind with ITV 5.05 - 6.00am Deal or No Deal
6 ISSUES
FOR £22.99
The ENGLISH HOME
CELEBRATING the essence of English style
September 2026 | Issue 367 | £5.99 | UK Edition
Bonus
John Lewis
gift voucher
JOHN LEWOL
a Pausnian
VOUCHER WORTH
£10\*
CALL 01858 438833 $^{\dagger}$ and quote ZESJL26
VISIT chelseamagazines.com/ZESJL26
Terms and Conditions: This offer is open to UK customers only when paying by Direct Debt or Continuous Credit Card. Offer ends on 18th October 2026. You will pay £22.99 for 6 issues plus bonus gift renewing at £24.99 every 6 issues thereafter. \*John Lewis voucher is subject to availability and while stock list. We reserve the right to fulfil all subsequent orders with a product of equal value. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery. For overseas pricing, please visit chilleamagazines.com. For our privacy policy, visit chilleamagazines.com/privacy=notice. Live on Weekdays film+9:30pm; Saturdays film+4pm. 1 Cabs are charged at your standard network rate.
ITV2
11.10am 《魔女》(Charmed) 12.05pm 《交易或不交易》(Deal or No Deal) 1.05 《超市大扫除》(Supermarket Sweep) 2.05 《安特与德克的无限赢》(Ant & Dec's Limitless Win) 3.10 《埃塞克斯唯一的方式》(The Only Way Is Essex) 4.10 《波托马克真实主妇》(The Real Housewives of Potomac) 5.00 《比弗利山真实主妇》(The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) 6.00 《名人猜词》(Celebrity Catchphrase) 7.00 《安特与德克的无限赢》 8.00 《1%俱乐部》情人节特辑 9.00 《老大哥》(Big Brother) 10.00 《老大哥：群聊》(Big Brother; The Group Chat) 11.05 《格里芬一家》(Family Guy) 12.05am 《美国爸爸！》(American Dad!) 1.05 《鲍勃的大汉堡》(Bob's Burgers) 1.55 《深度伪造邻居战争》(Deep Fake Neighbour Wars) 2.20 《与ITV一起放松》(Unwind with ITV) 3.00-6.00am 电视购物
---
📄 Original Section
Telegraph · ROYAL APOINTMENT with Hannah Furness
---
Challenge
11.30 am Heartbeat
12.35 pm Heartbeat
1.35 The Royal
2.40 Wild at Heart
3.40 Classic Emmerdale
4.10 Classic Emmerdale
4.40 Classic Coronation Street
5.15 Classic Coronation Street
5.50 Heartbeat
6.55 Heartbeat
8.00 Vera
10.00 Downton Abbey
11.30 DCI Banks
12.25 am DCI Banks
1.30 The Royal
2.20 Unwind with ITV
2.30 - 6.00am Teleshopping
11.00am Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
12.15pm Family Fortunes 1.00 Cash
Trapped 2.00 Celebrity Bridge of Lies
---
📄 Original Section
Radio choice
---
ITV3
3.00 The Chase 4.00 The Bidding Room 5.00 Tenable 6.00 Cash Trapped 7.00 Beat the Chasers 8.00 The Chase 10.00 The Special 11.00 Bullseye 12.00 Bridge of Lies 1.00am The 2.00 The Special 3.00-4.00am The
---
📄 Original Section
Ramblings Radio 4, 3pm
One of the loveliest shows on radio returns, as Clare Balding pulls on her weatherproofs and hiking
6.58am Newsbeat 7.00 Radio 1
Breakfast with Greg James 10.30
Newsbeat 10.33 Charlie and Jerry
12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 The GK
Barry Show on Radio 1 3.00 Radio 1
Pop Anthems with GK Barry 3.30
Newsbeat 3.33 Going Home with Vick,
Katie and Jamie on Radio 1 5.45
Newsbeat 6.00 Radio 1's New Music
Show with Jack Saunders 8.00 Radio
1's Rave-Up with Arielle Free 10.00
BBC Introducing on Radio 1 Dance
with Jaguar 11.00 The Residency on
Radio 1 Dance 1.00am Radio 1's
Workout Anthems 2.00 Radio 1 Pop
Anthems 3.00 Radio 1 Pop Anthems
4.00 - 6.58am Radio 1 Early
Breakfast with Mylo and Rosie
---
Quest
Noon Outback Truckers 1.00pm The Repair Shop 2.00 Shed and Buried 4.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It 5.00 Yorkshire Auction House 6.00 The Yorkshire Auction House 7.00 Antiques Road Trip 8.00 Outback Truckers. Foody races a cyclone to make it home 9.00 Aussie Gold Hunters 10.00 The Repair Shop 11.00 How Do They Do It? 1.00am Salvage Hunters 3.00-4.00am Salvage Hunters: The Restorers
---
📄 Original Section
RADIO 2 FM 88-90.2MHz
6.30am The Sara Cox Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine
2.00pm Clara Amfo 4.00 Drivetime
7.00 Jo Whiley's Shiny Happy Playlist.
Jo plays her favourite album tracks
and musical gems rarely heard on
Radio 2 7.30 Jo Whiley. Jo chats to
Russell T Davies about his new memoir
9.00 The Country Show with Darius
Rucker. Including a track from Dolly
Parton singing in Welsh 10.00 The
Good Groove with DJ Spoody. A mix of
joyful floor fillers, soulful house and
lyrical garage tunes 12.00 DJ Borg
3.00am Alternative Sounds of the
90s with Dermot O'Leary 4.00 -
6.30am Owain Wyn Evans
---
Discovery
Noon Building Off the Grid 1.00pm
Animal Cops Houston 3.00 How Do
They Do It? 5.00 Undercover
Billionaire 7.00 Wheeler Dealers 9.00
Naked and Afraid: Shipwrecked. Darrin
leads a water pipeline build. Adam
squares off with a deadly viper 11.00
In the Eye of the Storm: Chasers
12.00 Deadliest Catch 1.00am Naked
and Afraid: Shipwrecked 3.00-
5.00am Alaska: Homestead Rescue
FY 26 FS 117 SKY 120 VIRGIN 118
11.45 am The Professionals
12.45 pm The Champions
1.55 American Pickers
2.50 American Pickers
3.50 Ice Road Truckers
4.50 Ice Road Truckers
5.45 Minder
6.50 Sharpe
9.00 Benidorm
10.15 All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite Grand Slam
12.15 am Hell's Kitchen
1.15 Startup
2.05 The Protectors
2.35 Umwind ITV
3.00 - 6.00am Teleshopping
---
📄 Original Section
RADIO 3 FM 90.2-92.4MHz
6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live 4.00 Composer of the Week: The Venetian School 5.00 In Tune 7.00 Classical Mixtape. Featuring one of Rachmaninov's most ecstatic piano boots for another series of walks, talks and everyday insights. Regular listeners familiar with the health benefits of tramping around in the open air, might find today's outing something of
preludes 7.30 Radio 3 in Concert. The BBC SSO, conducted by Antony Hermus, live at Glasgow's City Halls 9.45 The Essay: Towards Evensong. With David Maw 10.00 Night Tracks. A soundtrack for late-night listening 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 - 6.30am Through the Night
---
ITV4
---
📄 Original Section
RADIO 4 FM 92.4-94.6MHz; LW 108kHz
6.00am Today 9.00 In Our Time 9.45 Strong Message Here 10.00 Woman's Hour 11.00 This Cultural Life 11.45 To Go or Not to Go 12.00 News 12.04pm The Bottom Line 12.32 Sliced Bread 12.57 Weather 1.00 The World at One 1.45 The Turning Point 2.00 The Archers. Clarrie's concerns bubble to the surface 2.15 Drama: A Place Called Home. The Emperor, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Last in the series 3.00 Ramblings. New series. Clare Balding strolls through the London borough of Richmond upon Thames 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal. On behalf of PEAS 3.30 Feedback. Listeners' views with Andrea Catherwood 4.00 The Briefing Room. David Aaronovitch discusses a story in the news 4.30 BBC Inside Science. The latest scientific research 5.00 PM. Presented by Katie Razzall 5.57 Weather 6.00 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Do Gooders. Comedy starring Frank Skinner and Fay Ripley 7.00 The Archers. Anna stumbles upon some shocking information 7.15 Front Row. Arts programme 8.00 When It Hits the Fan 8.15 The Media Show 9.00 Loose Ends 9.45 Strong Message Here 9.59 Weather 10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Stations 11.00 Radical 11.30 Great Lives 12.00 News and Weather 12.30am To Go or Not to Go 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As World Service 5.00 News Summary 5.04 The Briefing Room 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 - 6.00am Farming Today
an eye opener. Balding joins a group of city walkers in Richmond founded by two psychologists who are keen to combat the phenomenon of urban loneliness. One of their key USPs are
11.55am The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 1.00pm Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 1.40 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 2.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing the Devil 4.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 5.05 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 6.15 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 7.25 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing the Devil 8.35 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 9.45 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 10.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing the Devil 12.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 1.10am Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 2.00-6.00am Teleshopping
---
📄 Original Section
RADIO 5 LIVE MW 693 & 009KHZ
6.00am 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Emma Vardy 11.00 Adrian Chiles 2.00pm Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport. Katie Smith presents the day's sports news 7.30 5 Live Sport. Katie Smith and Sean Farrington explore the growing cost of sport 9.00 5 Live Formula 1. The 5 Live F1 team preview the Singapore Grand Prix 10.00 Laura McGhie 1.00am Kathryn Stanczyszyn 5.00 - 6.00am Wake Up to Money
---
Sky History
Noon Greatest Escapes of WWII
1.00pm Alone 2.00 Pawn Stars 6.00
American Pickers 7.00 Forged in Fire
8.00 Outback Wreckers 9.00 Alone
10.00 Flipping Bangers 12.00
Strange Evidence 12.55am Outback
Wreckers 1.50 Alone 2.50 Flipping
Bangers 3.40-4.25am American
Pickers
---
📄 Original Section
CLASSIC FM FM 99.0-101.0MHZ
6.30am Classic FM Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00 The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour with Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Hannah Scott-Joynt 4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing Evenings with Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 - 6.30am Early Breakfast
---
Sky Documentaries
Noon FILM: Steve McQueen: The Lost Movie (2021) 1.50pm My Icon: Anthony Joshua 2.00 FILM: I Am MLK
FV 18 FS 124 SKY 136 VIRGIN 147
11.35 am Come Dine Me
12.05 pm Come Dine Me
12.35
1.05
1.40
2.15 Four in a Bed
2.50 Four in a Bed
3.20 in a
3.50 in a
4.20 in a
4.50 Car S.O.S
6.50 The Dog House
7.55 The Dog House
9.00 Sandi Toksvig's Great Riviera Rail Trip
10.00 24 Hours in A&E
12.10 am 999: On the Front Line
1.15 24 Hours in A&E
3.25 - 3.55am A Place in the Sun
---
📄 Original Section
WORLD SERVICE DIGITAL ONLY
8.00am News 8.06 The Inquiry 8.30
Business Daily 8.50 Witness History
9.00 The Newsroom 9.30 The
Documentary 10.00 News 10.06 The
Media Show 10.30 Good Bad
Billionaire 11.00 The Newsroom 11.30
The Global Story 12.00 News
12.06pm Outlook 12.50 Witness
History 1.00 The Newsroom 1.30 The
Food Chain 2.00 Newshour 3.00 News
3.06 The Inquiry 3.30 Business Daily
3.50 World Business Express 4.00
BBC OS 6.00 News 6.06 Outlook
6.50 Witness History 7.00 The
Newsroom 7.30 Sport Today 8.00
News 8.06 The Documentary 8.30
BBC Inside Science 9.00 Newshour
10.00 News 10.06 The Inquiry 10.30
The Food Chain 11.00 The Newsroom
11.30 World Business Report
conversation cards handed out to participants to combat shyness and promote connection – so successful an idea, it has spread to Berlin and Amsterdam.
Gerard O'Donovan
12.00 News 12.06am The Media Show 12.30 Unspun World with John Simpson 1.00 The Newsroom 1.30 The Global Story 2.00 The Newsroom 2.30 Tech Life 3.00 News 3.06 Outlook 3.50 Witness History 4.00 The Newsroom 4.30 Heart and Soul 5.00 · 8.00am Newsday
---
More4
Jr (2018) A deep dive into the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr 4.00 The Directors 5.00 Discovering: Richard Harris 6.00 Stax: Soulsville USA 7.00 Janet Jackson 8.00 How the Beatles Changed the World 10.00 FILM: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) Brett Morgen explores the Nirvana frontman's life 12.30am Amsterdam Narcos 3.30-5.00am Giroud
---
📄 Original Section
RADIO 4 EXTRA DIGITAL ONLY
6.00am Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 6.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 7.00 Capital Gains 7.30 The Burkiss Way 8.00 ReincarNathan 8.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 8.45 Tristram Shandy 9.00 Omid Djalili: Namaste 9.30 Bone Stories 9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Great Lives 10.30 Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 11.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 11.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 12.00 Capital Gains 12.30pm The Burkiss Way 1.00 ReincarNathan 1.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 1.45 Tristram Shandy 2.00 My Generation 2.30 The Rundle Gibbet 4.00 Great Lives 4.30 Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 5.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 5.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 6.00 Capital Gains 6.30 The Burkiss Way 7.00 ReincarNathan 7.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 7.45 Tristram Shandy 8.00 My Generation 8.30 The Rundle Gibbet 10.00 Omid Djalili: Namaste 10.30 Lenn Sissay's Origin Stories 10.55 The Comedy Club Interview 11.00 Hearing with Hegley 11.15 A Wet Handle 11.30 Rigor Mortis 12.00 Great Lives 12.30am Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 1.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 1.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 2.00 Capital Gains 2.30 The Burkiss Way 3.00 ReincarNathan 3.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 3.45 Tristram Shandy 4.00 My Generation 4.30 - 6.00am The Rundle Gibbet
8.00 Our Tiny Islands The custodians of Station Island, on County Donegal's Lough Derg (R) (S)
9.05 Taskmaster The contestants face the baffling Gregulator (AD) (S)
10.05 Break Clause Ben and Lil go back to Leeds for Ava's christening (AD) (S)
10.35 Break Clause Ben and Lil host a dinner party for Thanksgiving (AD) (S)
11.10 Gogglebox 12.10am Pierre 1.00 Three Women 1.55 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 2.45 Tempting Fortune 3.40 The Great British Bake Off: Second Helpings 4.20 Sunday Brunch 4.35 A Place in the Sun 5.00 Couples Come Dine with Me 5.50 - 6.30am Countdown
7.00 Sam & Ade Go Birding The duo explore West Wales during breeding season (S)
7.55 5 News Update (S)
8.00 The Yorkshire Vet Peter Wright treats a pygmy hedgehog (AD) (S)
9.00 Love Nature (R) (S)
9.05 All Creatures Great and Small
James and Siegfried attempt risky
surgery on a cow (AD) (S)
10.05 All Creatures Great and Small: Behind the Scenes New series (S)
10.10 Alexander Armstrong in India (AD) (R) (S)
11.05 999: Killer on the Line 12.05am Fatal First Dates 1.00 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit 2.00 Cornwall: A Year by the Sea 2.50 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun 3.40 The Cruise: Fun-Loving Brits at Sea 4.25 The Wonderful World of Chocolate 5.15 Entertainment News on 5
6.00 am LSO: Pappano Conducts Ravel, Say & Rachmaninoff (S) 7.35 The Joy of Painting (AD) (S) 8.05 Artist of the Year: Masterclass (AD) (S) 8.30 Artist of the Year: Masterclass (AD) (S)
9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
(S) 10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(S) 10.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(S) 11.00 Discovering: Richard Gere
(AD) (S)
12.00 Classic Albums (S)
1.00 pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
1.30 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
2.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (S)
3.00 Bill Bailey's Master Crafters: The Next Generation (AD) (S)
4.00 Discovering: Dennis Hopper (AD) (S)
5.00 Landscape Artist of the Year 2015 (S)
6.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
Laurel and Hardy: Their Lives and Magic
7.00 Portrait Artist of the Year 2026
Return of the competition to find the UK's most talented portrait artist (AD) (S)
8.00 FILM: Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide (2003, TVM) Murder mystery starring Pauline Collins and Oliver Ford Davies (S)
9.50 Laurel and Hardy: Their Lives and Magic The friendship between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (AD) (S)
11.35 The Directors 12.35am FILM: Roy Orbison: In Dreams (1999, TVM) Documentary charting the career of the singer 2.35 Buddy Holly: Rave On 4.00 Art Traffickers: Treasures Stolen from the Tombs 5.00 - 6.00am Bill Bailey's Master Crafters: The Next Generation
---
Sky Cinema Premiere
11.50am 《修复》(2026) 2.05pm
《更好的男人》(2024) 由乔诺·戴维斯主演的罗比·威廉姆斯传记片 4.30 《超级少女》(2026) 由米莉·阿尔科克主演的奇幻冒险片 6.20 《冷藏库》(2026) 由乔·基里主演的喜剧惊悚片 8.00 《更好的男人》(2024) 由乔诺·戴维斯主演的罗比·威廉姆斯传记片 10.25 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 由拉尔夫·费因斯主演的恐怖续集 12.15am 《乌鸦》(2024) 2.15-4.25am 《辩论者》(2024)
---
📄 Original Section
U&Drama
6.00 am Teleshopping 7.35 The Bill (S)
8.35 Doctors (S) 9.15 Doctors (S)
9.55 Classic Holby City (S) 10.55 Casualty (AD) (S) 11.55 The Bill (S)
12.55 pm Classic EastEnders (S)
1.35 Classic EastEnders (S)
2.15 Classic Neighbours (S)
2.50 Classic Neighbours (S)
3.20 Sister Boniface Mysteries (AD) (S)
4.20 Father Brown (AD) (S)
5.20 As Time Goes By (S)
6.00 Last of the Summer Wine (AD) (S)
6.40 Last of the Summer Wine (AD) (S)
A Remarkable Place to Die
7.20 Last of the Summer Wine Compo gets jealous (AD) (S)
8.00 The Chelsea Detective After a second murder, Max and his team uncover a conspiracy linking both victims. Last in the series (AD) (S)
9.05 A Remarkable Place to Die Anais finds herself under Li Feng's microscope after her illicit planting of evidence (AD) (S)
10.05 New Tricks A skeleton is uncovered in the foundations of a swimming pool (AD) (S)
11.25 Judge John Deed 1.25am The Chelsea Detective 2.35 Sister Boniface Mysteries 3.20 As Time Goes By 4.00 - 6.00am Teleshopping
6.00 am Sherlock Holmes (S) 6.30 FILM: No Resting Place (1951, b/w) Crime drama starring Michael Gough (S)
8.05 FILM: Two Wives at One Wedding (1961, b/w) Drama starring Gordon Jackson (S) 9.25 FILM: The Hasty Heart (1949, b/w) Drama starring Richard Todd (S) 11.25 FILM: Live Now - Pay Later (1962, b/w) Comedy drama with Ian Hendry (S)
1.30 pm The Duchess of Duke Street (S)
2.35 Talking Pictures TV with Jimmy Cricket (S)
3.00 FILM: Tommy the Toreador (1959) Musical comedy starring Tommy Steele (S)
4.45 Julius Hagen Season (S)
4.55 FILM: The Last Journey (1936, b/w) Drama starring Julien Mitchell (S)
6.15 Julius Hagen Season (S)
6.20 Strange But True (S)
6.55 The Brothers (S)
The Blue Lagoon
Dad's Army
8.00 Mark Saber A famous ballet dancer and actress finds her fiance dead (S)
8.30 The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club Featuring The Flirtations, Joe Henderson and George Melly (S)
9.20 FILM: The Blue Lagoon (1980) Romantic drama starring Brooke Shields (S)
11.30 FILM: Night of the Big Heat (1967) Sci-fi adventure starring Peter Cushing 1.20am FILM: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) Adventure starring Robert Wagner 3.25 Dial 999 4.00 Burke's Law 5.00 - 6.00am The Man from UNCLE
11.00 am FILM: How Green Was My Valley (1941, b/w) Oscar-winning drama starring Walter Pidgeon (AD) (S)
1.20 pm FILM: Broken Arrow (1950) Western starring James Stewart (S)
3.10 FILM: The Man from the Alamo (1953) Western starring Glenn Ford (S)
4.50 FILM: A Christmas Carol (1984) Dickens' classic tale starring George C Scott (AD) (S)
6.55 FILM: Dad's Army (2016) The captain of a seaside town's home guard platoon contends with German spies and a female journalist. Comedy based on the TV series starring Toby Jones and Bill Nighy (AD) (S)
9.00 FILM: Die Hard 2 (1990) A lone cop battles terrorists who have taken over an airport to force the release of a convicted drug baron. Action thriller sequel starring Bruce Willis and Bonnie Bedella (AD) (S)
11.25 FILM: A Most Wanted Man (2014) Thriller starring Philip Seymour Hoffman 1.50 - 3.45am FILM: Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) Drama starring John Hawkes
8.00 FILM: The Bridge at Remagen (1969) Second World War adventure starring George Segal
9.55 FILM: The Wicker Man (1973) Horror starring Edward Woodward
11.25 Ex-S: The Wicker Man
11.55 Of Ice and Men – Timeshift
12.55 am Ancient Worlds
1.55 Ex-S: The Wicker Man
2.25 - 3.25am World War II: A Timewatch Guide
---
GB
正午 英国下午好 (Good Afternoon Britain) 3.00pm
马丁·多本尼 (Martin Daubney) 6.00 Dewbs & Co
7.00 法拉奇 (Farage) 8.00 雅各布·里斯-莫格的国家现状 (Jacob Rees-Mogg's State Of The Nation) 9.00 帕特里克·克里斯蒂今夜 (Patrick Christys Tonight) 11.00 帕特里克·克里斯蒂今夜晚间版 (Patrick Christys Tonight Late Edition) 12.00-
6.00am 2026投票：人民决定 (Vote 2026: The People Decide)
---
📄 Original Section
U&Dave
Noon Hairy Bikers' Best of British 1.00pm Canal Boat Diaries 2.00 Top Gear 3.00 Our Guy in Japan 4.00 Rick Stein's Cornwall 6.00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 7.00 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 7.40 Would I Lie to You? 9.00 QI XL 10.00 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 11.00 8 Out of 10 Cats 11.50 Mock the Week 12.30am Would I Lie to You? 1.50 QI XL 2.40 House of Games 3.25-4.00am Judge Romesh
---
Sky
正午 Sky Today 5.00pm 马克·奥斯汀的一小时 (The Hour with Mark Austin) 7.00 凯西·纽曼秀 (The Cathy Newman Show) 8.00 莎拉-简·米谈今夜英国 (UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee) 9.00 雅尔达·哈基姆谈世界 (The World with Yalda Hakim) 10.00 安娜·博廷的总结 (The Wrap with Anna Botting) 12.00-6.00am 2026投票 (Vote 2026)
---
📄 Original Section
ITV2
11.10am Charmed 12.05pm Deal or No Deal 1.05 Supermarket Sweep 2.05 Ant & Dec's Limitless Win 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex 4.10 The Real Housewives of Potomac 5.00 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase 7.00 Ant & Dec's Limitless Win 8.00 The 1% Club Valentine's Special 9.00 Big Brother 10.00 Big Brother; The Group Chat 11.05 Family Guy 12.05am American Dad! 1.05 Bob's Burgers 1.55 Deep Fake Neighbour Wars 2.20 Unwind with ITV 3.00-6.00am Teleshopping
买家当心：退休房产——今晚 (Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties – Tonight) 11.10 《转折点：史上最佳决赛》(Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals) 11.35 《大运河谋杀案：真实犯罪呈现》(Murder at the Grand Canal: True Crime Presents) 12.25 · 1.10am
埃蒙·马利：面对面 (Eamonn Mallie: Face to Face With)
---
📄 Original Section
ITV3
3.00 The Chase 4.00 The Bidding Room 5.00 Tenable 6.00 Cash Trapped 7.00 Beat the Chasers 8.00 The Chase 10.00 The Chase Celebrity Special 11.00 Bullseye 12.00 Celebrity Bridge of Lies 1.00am The Chase 2.00 The Chase Celebrity Special 3.00-4.00am The Chase
Noon Outback Truckers 1.00pm The Repair Shop 2.00 Shed and Buried 4.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It 5.00 Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House 6.00 The Yorkshire Auction House 7.00 Antiques Road Trip 8.00 Outback Truckers. Foody races a cyclone to make it home 9.00 Aussie Gold Hunters 10.00 The Repair Shop 11.00 How Do They Do It? 1.00am Salvage Hunters 3.00-4.00am Salvage Hunters: The Restorers
---
威尔士
One频道：无差异
Two频道：7.00pm Scrum V; 准备阶段 (The Warm Up) 7.30 - 8.00pm 足球盛宴 (Feast of Football)
ITV1 Wales：无差异
---
📄 Original Section
Discovery
Noon Building Off the Grid 1.00pm
Animal Cops Houston 3.00 How Do
They Do It? 5.00 Undercover
Billionaire 7.00 Wheeler Dealers 9.00
Naked and Afraid: Shipwrecked. Darrin
leads a water pipeline build. Adam
squares off with a deadly viper 11.00
In the Eye of the Storm: Chasers
12.00 Deadliest Catch 1.00am Naked
and Afraid: Shipwrecked 3.00-
5.00am Alaska: Homestead Rescue
FY 26 FS 117 SKY 120 VIRGIN 118
11.45 am The Professionals
12.45 pm The Champions
1.55 American Pickers
2.50 American Pickers
3.50 Ice Road Truckers
4.50 Ice Road Truckers
5.45 Minder
6.50 Sharpe
9.00 Benidorm
10.15 All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite Grand Slam
12.15 am Hell's Kitchen
1.15 Startup
2.05 The Protectors
2.35 Umwind with ITV
3.00 - 6.00am Teleshopping
---
ITVI 地区
无差异
---
📄 Original Section
ITV4
---
S4C
6.00am Cyw 12.00 S4C新闻与天气 (Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd) 12.05pm Dim Byd I'w Wisgo 12.30 Heno 1.00 Bwyd Epic Chris 1.30 Gwalia Aleighcia 2.00 S4C新闻与天气 (Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd) 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 S4C新闻与天气 (Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd) 3.05 Am Orol 4.00 Awr Fawr: Y Trabalas 4.05 Awr Fawr: Blwi 4.15 : Wawl 4.35 : Ger a Gu 4.50 : Annibendod 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00 Ralio-6.30 Chub Rygbi 7.00 Heno 7.30 S4C新闻与天气 (Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd) 8.00 Pobol y Cwm 8.25 Rownd a Rownd 8.55 S4C新闻与天气 (Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd) 9.00 Y Byd yn ei Le 9.45 Chwedl Jan Morris 10.45 - 11.50pm Y Wal
11.55am The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 1.00pm Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 1.40 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 2.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 4.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 5.05 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 6.15 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 7.25 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 8.35 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 9.45 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 10.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 12.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 1.10am Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 2.00-6.00am Teleshopping
---
天气与填字游戏
---
📄 Original Section
Sky History
Noon Greatest Escapes of WWII
1.00pm Alone 2.00 Pawn Stars 6.00
American Pickers 7.00 Forged in Fire
8.00 Outback Wreckers 9.00 Alone
10.00 Flipping Bangers 12.00
Strange Evidence 12.55am Outback
Wreckers 1.50 Alone 2.50 Flipping
Bangers 3.40-4.25am American
Pickers
---
预报
---
📦 已折叠版面非核心信息：气象、潮汐与天文时刻表（《概况》— 点击展开）
📄 Original Section
Sky Documentaries
Noon FILM: Steve McQueen: The Lost Movie (2021) 1.50pm My Icon: Anthony Joshua 2.00 FILM: I Am MLK
Jr (2018) A deep dive into the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr 4.00 The Directors 5.00 Discovering: Richard Harris 6.00 Stax: Soulsville USA 7.00 Janet Jackson 8.00 How the Beatles Changed the World 10.00 FILM: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) Brett Morgen explores the Nirvana frontman's life 12.30am Amsterdam Narcos 3.30-5.00am Giroud
---
让世界成为你的领地
电讯报 • 旅游
📄 Original Section
Sky One
Noon Aussie Snake Wranglers: Deadly Pursuit 1.00pm Hawaii Five-0 3.00 S.W.A.T. 5.00 The Simpsons 6.00 Superstore 7.00 The Simpsons 8.00 David Attenborough's Galapagos 9.00 FILM: Revolver (2005) Crime drama starring Jason Statham 11.00 The Paper 12.00 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 12.45am Grimm 1.35 Road Wars 2.00 Grimsburg 2.30 Road Wars 3.00-4.00am Hawaii Five-0
11.05am Murder, She Wrote 12.05pm Unforgettable 1.00 In Plain Sight 2.00 Castle 3.00 Diagnosis Murder 5.00 Murder, She Wrote 7.00 Castle 8.00 Unforgettable 9.00 In Plain Sight 10.00 FILM: Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021) Woodunit starring Danica McKellar 10.56 Good News on GREAT! 11.01
FILM: Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021) Whodunit starring Danica McKellar 11.55 FILM: Garage Sale Mysteries: All That Glitters (2014) Mystery starring Lori Loughlin 12.51am Good News on GREAT! 12.56 FILM: Garage Sale Mysteries: All That Glitters (2014) 1.50 FILM: Scandal: My Daughter's Secret (2021) 3.20-4.50am FILM: Instakiller (2018)
Better Man (2024) Robbie Williams biopic starring Jonno Davies 4.30 Supergirl (2026) Fantasy adventure starring Milly Alcock 6.20 Cold Storage (2026) Comedy thriller starring Joe Keery 8.00 Better Man (2024) Robbie Williams biopic starring Jonno Davies 10.25 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Horror sequel starring Ralph Fiennes 12.15am The Crow (2024) 2.15-4.25am The Deb (2024)
Noon Live Tennis. The ATP Shanghai Masters and WTA China Open 3.00pm Live DP World Tour Golf. The Acciona Open De España Presented By Madrid 6.00 The Premier League Show 7.00 Sports Centre 10.00 Sky Sports News at Ten 10.30 Paper Talk 11.00 Sky Sports News 12.00-5.15am Live NFL
Noon Gary Neville's Soccerbox 1.00pm Wunderkind: Florian Wirtz's Story 1.30 PL Greatest Games 2.00 Premier League Years 4.00 Best PL Goals 2018/19 5.00 The Premier League Show 7.00 The Big Interview 7.30 Premier League Stories 8.00 Cult Heroes. A profile of former Newcastle forward Tino Asprilla 8.30 Wunderkind: Florian Wirtz's Story 9.00 The Big Interview 9.30 Premier League Stories 10.00 Gary Neville's Soccerbox 11.00 Premier League Years 1.00am PL Retro 3.00-4.00am PL Greatest Games
11.30am Cycling European Championship 12.30pm Men's Cycling Pro Series 1.30 The Gruppetto 1.45 Live: Men's Cycling Pro Series. The Gran Piemonte 3.45 It's A Numbers Game 4.15 MotoGP Rewind 4.30 TNT Sports Cricket Reload 4.45 Sign Up – Into Football 5.30 UIIM F1H20 World Championship Highlights 6.00 Premier League – The Big Interview 6.30 Premier League Stories 7.00 Groundbreaking 7.30 TNT Sports Reload 7.45 The Gruppetto 8.00 Men's Cycling Pro Series 9.00 MLB Lead Off 10.00 Live MLB. Chicago White Sox v Cleveland Guardians
Noon Sky News Today 5.00pm The News Hour with Mark Austin 7.00 The Cathy Newman Show 8.00 UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee 9.00 The World with Yalda Hakim 10.00 The Wrap with Anna Botting 12.00-6.00am Vote 2026
BBC One: 10.40pm The View 11.20 - 12.20am Question Time 12.50am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn 1.50 - 6.00am BBC News
BBC Two: No variations
UTV: 7.30 · 8.00pm UTV Life 10.45
Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties – Tonight 11.10 Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals 11.35 Murder at the Grand Canal: True Crime Presents 12.25 · 1.10am
Eamonn Mallie: Face to Face With
---
纵向
1 紧身胸衣 (6)
2 高贵的 (5)
3 圣诞节 (4)
5 岩石嶙峋的 (8)
6 竞技场 (7)
7 少女 (6)
8 作品 (5)
13 回答 (8)
15 沙漠 (7)
---
📄 Original Section
Scotland
BBC One: 2.00 - 3.00pm Politics
Scotland 11.40 - 12.10am Scotcast
12.40am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn 1.45 - 6.00am BBC News
BBC Scotland: 7.00pm Reporting
Scotland: News at Seven 7.30 Grand Tours of Scotland's Lochs 8.00 Jules and Greg's Wild Swim 8.30 Landward 9.00 Showpeople: Licensed to Thrill 9.30 Showpeople: Licensed to Thrill 10.00 Stevens & McCarthy 10.25 Scot Squad 10.55 Scotcast 11.25 The Scotts 11.55 Loop midnight Close
STV: 7.00pm The STV Radio Football
Takeover 7.30 - 8.00 What's on Scotland
10.45 Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties - Tonight 11.10 Nine Perfect
Strangers 12.00 - 3.00am Shop on TV
3.50 - 5.05am Unwind with STV
---
昨日快速填字游戏答案
17 富裕 (6)
18 嘲笑 (5)
19 杂集 (6)
22 架子 (5)
23 黎明 (4)
MotorEasy GAP 保险
横向：1 Sloe, 3 Laine,
(Slow lane) 7 Cast,
8 Antisocial, 9 Ahoy,
12 Penuultimate, 13 Level,
15 Stout, 19 Screwdriver,
21 Mate, 23 Lachrymose,
24 Ball, 25 Owned,
26 Hear, 纵向：1 Stamp
album, 2 Epicure,
3 Look to, 4 Idioms,
5 Eclat, 6 As to, 10 Hero,
11 Vesteryear, 14 Vast,
16 Triumph, 17 Beacon,
18 Adered, 20 Cells,
22 Arab.
📄 Original Section
Wales
BBC One: No variations
BBC Two: 7.00pm Scrum V; The Warm Up 7.30 - 8.00pm Feast of Football
ITV1 Wales: No variations
---
电讯媒体集团读者答案
📄 Original Section
ITVI Regions
No variations
---
由 MotorEasy 提供的汽车管理服务
---
📄 Original Section
S4C
6.00am Cyw 12.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 12.05pm Dim Byd I'w Wisgo 12.30 Heno 1.00 Bwyd Epic Chris 1.30 Gwalia Aleighcia 2.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 3.05 Am Orol 4.00 Awr Fawr: Y Trabalas 4.05 Awr Fawr: Blwi 4.15 Awr Fawr: Wawl 4.35 Awr Fawr: Ger a Gu 4.50 Awr Fawr: Annibendod 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00 Ralio-6.30 Chub Rygbi 7.00 Heno 7.30 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 8.00 Pobol y Cwm 8.25 Rownd a Rownd 8.55 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 9.00 Y Byd yn ei Le 9.45 Chwedl Jan Morris 10.45 - 11.50pm Y Wal
British readings Last night's report for 24 hours to 6pm · "estimated readings
弥补您的汽车保险缺口
不应该是这样。GAP 保险可以弥补保险公司赔付金额与您最初支付价格之间的差额。部分车辆在头三年内会损失 60% 的价值，这可能会导致资金缺口。立即获取 GAP 保险报价。
提供方
motoreasy
\- 索赔批准后 24 小时内赔付
0333 057 3550 • 涵盖因盗窃、事故、火灾和洪水导致的报废
保险免赔额最高涵盖 £500
\- 灵活选项，包括融资、合同租赁和租赁车辆
涵盖您车辆的折旧价值
MotorEasy 在 Trustpoint 上被评为“优秀”且获得 5 星评级。电讯媒体集团控股有限公司（Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited）是 MotorEasy Services Limited 的指定介绍代表，后者经由英国金融行为监管局（FCA）授权并监管。
📄 Original Section
Weather & Crosswords
---
One day, son, all this straw will be yours'
Thursday 8 October 2026
Has there ever been a worse time to be vegan? Comment, page 16
telegraph.co.uk
No 53,316
£4.00
Clarkson's choir
People don't
know how hard
farmers work Features
The Daily Telegraph NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
We're ready for the fight
---
Badenoch says Tories will abolish inheritance tax as she takes battle 'for the soul of the nation' to Burnham
By Tony Diver and Nick Gutteridge
KEMI BADENOCH has pledged to fight for Conservative values as she promised tax cuts for middle-class voters.
Declaring her party is "coming back", Mrs Badenoch said a future Tory government would abolish inheritance tax (IHT) on family homes.
In an appeal to higher earners and the wealthy, she vowed to build a country "for every hard-working person out there" and to let workers "keep more of what you earn".
Speaking in Birmingham on the final day of the Conservative Party conference, Mrs Badenoch made 14 references to “fight” or “fighting”, saying the next election would be a “battle for the soul of this nation”.
Declaring she was “ready to fight for our values”, she said: “We are going to win, not for ourselves, but for our country. For every hard-working person. For everyone who wants to see common sense restored, for everyone who wants to see Britain working again. We are going to win for everyone who wants to see our great country united.”
In her 66-minute speech, which received nine standing ovations, Mrs Badenoch also attacked Reform UK, accusing the party of wanting to “take us backwards”, and said the Labour Party was “addicted to welfare” and “drowning our country in debt”.
Revealing her IHT pledge, Mrs Badenoch said that although she would only reduce death duties on family homes to begin with, her “ambition is to abolish inheritance tax altogether as soon as we can afford it”. She said: “Governing is about tough choices. Conservatives will not announce a tax cut without telling you how we are going to pay for it.”
Under the Tories' IHT changes, Mrs Badenoch said she would allow a couple to leave £1m to their children tax-free, in addition to the value of their home.
The new system would mean the number of families paying the levy would fall by more than half, with all main residences exempt from the tax and the threshold for other assets increased by £175,000. Inheritance tax is currently levied at 40 per cent on estates worth more than £500,000, though couples can combine their allowances to increase the threshold to £1m. Frozen IHT thresholds mean that by 2030, about 9.5 per cent of estates will attract a tax bill, up from about 5 per cent last year.
Kemi Badenoch with her husband, Hamish, after her speech to the Conservative conference in Birmingham yesterday. She accused Andy Burnham of reckless public spending
From April, the value of an estate will also include unused pension funds, threatening to drag more pensioner households into paying the tax.
Inheritance tax raised approximately £8.5bn last year and is expected to bring in £14.5bn by the start of the 2030s based on the current system.
Mrs Badenoch said inheritance tax was “supposed to be a tax on the superwealthy” but is “now a tax on ordinary, middle-class families”. The policy would cost £6bn, funded by cuts to the welfare budget, which would be £36.1bn less per year under the Tories’ plans.
Mrs Badenoch attacked Reform and "fishy" Nigel Farage, ruling out any pact before the next election. "To those who say unite the Right, we are not uniting with that," she said.
Declaring the start of a “fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century”, Mrs Badenoch accused Andy Burnham of “reckless” spending and borrowing. Bridget Phillipson, the Labour chairman, said
the speech showed the Tories "haven't changed" and accused them of "prioritising the wealthiest".
During their conference, the Tories have announced they would repeal Labour's mansion tax, which could soon apply to properties worth more than £1.5m. Mrs Badenoch also pledged to remove the childcare "cliff edge", under which couples lose access to free nursery hours if one partner earns more than £100,000. Party bosses believe that by targeting wealthy Liberal Democrat voters in the south of England, they can restore their traditional base before attempting to supplant Reform as the most popular party on the Right.
The latest polls show Labour has received a boost since Mr Burnham's conference speech last week. The party now has the support of 27 per cent of voters, ahead of Reform on 22 per cent, the Tories on 20 per cent and the Lib Dems on 11 per cent, according to YouGov.
Mrs Badenoch also said her party would adopt a “tough love” approach to cut benefits and get young people into work. She said: “We need to put the fair back in welfare. It is wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work.”
Andrew allies compare arrest to police treatment of Lord Brittan
By Victoria Ward and Martin Evans
ANDREW Mountbatten-Windsor's allies have compared the circumstances surrounding his arrest to the treatment of Lord Brittan during Operation Midland.
The former Duke of York launched legal action against Thames Valley Police after accusing officers of seizing personal items during raids on his home. He is also challenging the legality of the warrant itself.
Those close to him believe the raids were executed to humiliate Mr Mountbatten-Windsor and to ensure maximum exposure for their investigation. They have compared his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which took place on his 66th birthday in February, and the six-day searches of his home to Scotland Yard's botched
The former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is confident he has a good case against the police
Operation Midland probe, which eventually led to the Met paying out large sums in damages to those whose homes had been raided. The way police execute search warrants in high-profile investigations became the subject of intense scrutiny during the Operation Midland investigation between 2014 and 2016.
Detectives investigating a non-existent VIP child abuse ring raided the homes of senior public figures, including Lord Brittan, the former home secretary, who had died weeks earlier.
Sir Richard Henriques, a retired High Court judge, produced a scathing review of the Met's conduct, stating that officers searching Lady Brittan's North Yorkshire home "acted as if they were looking for bodies or body parts".
The Met Police later paid out large sums in damages to those whose homes Continued on Page 2
Burnham ready to raise tariffs on China to get closer to EU
By James Crisp, Joe Barnes and Tony Diver
ANDY BURNHAM is preparing to raise tariffs on Chinese electric cars as part of a closer relationship with the EU.
The Prime Minister will visit Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, today in Berlin ahead of a UK-EU summit next month, which is expected to secure deals on youth mobility and food and drink.
Mr Burnham is likely to urge Mr Merz to pressure Brussels so that British firms can also benefit from EU defence loans and industrial subsidies.
But Mr Merz is expected to warn Mr Burnham this will not be possible unless UK raises tariffs on Chinese electric cars from 10 per cent to the EU's 45 per cent. The move would make the cars more expensive and risk infuriating Beijing, which has expressed "serious concern" at the prospect of tariffs.
The discussions come as Mr Burnham prepares to set out Britain's future relationship with the EU. In his first party conference speech last week, he said that Brexit had "done more harm than good" and promised to reveal options around the time of the next summit with Brussels next month.
Currently, British industries risk being shut out of new “Made in Europe” laws designed to favour EU companies competing with cheaper Chinese imports. Berlin is broadly in favour of
UK involvement in the European schemes because of the risk that excluding Britain will harm established supply chains between the two countries.
However, there is debate among EU member states and the European Commission about how far they should be open to non-EU countries like Britain.
"If you want to qualify as a country that is a partner of Europe and can be considered 'Made in Europe', then what we can't have is that country has lower tariffs than the ones we are imposing," an EU diplomat told The Telegraph.
A government spokesperson said: "We always put trade measures in place independently and based only on the UK's economic interests."
Humans who sleep in the same room as their dogs are more likely to disturb their pets' slumber than the other way round. While many pet owners claim their dogs disturb a good night's sleep, Canadian researchers carried out a study of the night time activity of 38 dogs and their owners and discovered that dogs appear to have been maligned. More often than not, owners began moving before the dogs did, suggesting they are disturbing their dogs first.
Page 3
NEWS
Widdecombe suspect 'targeted Farage home'
The man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe tried to break into Nigel Farage's home, a court heard. Joshua Kerry, 28, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday accused of one count of preparation of terrorist acts. Mr Kerry allegedly travelled to Mr Farage's home in April 2025, where his partner Laure Ferrari returned to find damage to the door and a bottle of lighter fluid on the porch. A tool mark from a $27\mathrm{mm}$ blade was allegedly found on the doorframe.
Unmasked German spy is football coach
BUSINESS
Boots sold for £7bn to Primark family
Boots has been sold to the family behind Primark for nearly £7bn. The high street pharmacist, which was founded in 1849, has been bought by the Canadian arm of the Weston family, Wittington Investments, for £6.7bn. The deal comes just a year after the private equity firm Sycamore bought Walgreens Boots Alliance, for \$24bn. Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, said: "Boots is one of Britain's most enduring businesses, with a rich heritage and trusted name." Page 19
THE BEST PUBS IN THE UK 2026
SCAN THE OR CODE OR VISIT TELEGRAPH.CO.UK/BESTPUBS
Raw sewage pumped into British rivers for 3m hours
---
Campaigners accuse water companies of failing to properly report discharges 50,000 times this year
By Patrick Galbraith
WATER companies across Britain spilled sewage for more than three million hours last year, as campaigners warned utilities companies are failing to properly warn the public about dangerous discharges.
A study by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) found there were more than 500,000 spills across 2025, with 1.8 million hours of sewage discharged into waterways in England alone.
In the first six months of 2026, meanwhile, there have been 50,000 discharges that were not reported within an hour under a legally binding requirement to notify the public of potential health risks.
SAS said there had been 192,790 sewage discharges in the first half of 2026, based on the charity's initial estimates.
That is despite a lack of rainfall and record-breaking heatwaves. In parts of England, hosepipe bans remain and reservoirs are still depleted.
Water companies are not permitted to release untreated sewage in anything but “exceptional weather events”, such as during heavy rain. But during last year, Thames Water, the struggling utility giant that serves London, released sewage on 1,983 dry days and South West Water on 4,345 dry days.
In the report, Julie Maughan, whose daughter died in 1999 after contracting E. coli from a sewage spill on a beach in Devon, said: "It has been more than two decades since my daughter, Heather, died. Yet the analysis in this report shows that the system is still broken."
The report comes just over a week after Andy Burnham used his Labour Party conference address to argue failing water companies could be taken back into public ownership.
Mr Burnham said: "Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain. Where private companies serve the public interest we will support them.
But the consequences will be clear for those who do not, including taking back control or public ownership."
It comes amid public anger over the state of Britain's water industry, which has been weighed down by billions of pounds in debt and suffers from ageing infrastructure and widespread leaks.
SAS and other campaigners have urged the Government to take control of the water industry, calling for ministers to use the forthcoming Clean Water Bill to reform the sector so it is no longer focused on profit.
Between January and August this year, 1,687 people told Surfers Against Sewage they had felt sick after using Britain's rivers, lakes and beaches. This surpasses the charity's total 2025 figure of 1,568 eight months into the year. Illnesses ranged from bacterial infections to diseases requiring hospital care.
The charity found that sewage was spilled across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for a total of three
---
'Imagine heading out for a swim or a surf, and finding sewage has been pouring into the sea for hours'
million hours last year. However, it said inconsistent monitoring meant the figure was an "under-representation of the true scale of sewage pollution".
Giles Bristow, the chief executive of SAS, said: "Water companies have systematically failed to report sewage discharges on time more than 50,000 times this year. That's a threat to public health, and it's illegal."
A spokesman for WaterUK said: "The English water industry is the most transparent in the world and we are the only country to make near real time storm overflow data freely available."
A spokesman for Defra said: "Water companies must take responsibility for record levels of sewage pollution – and they have a duty to ensure people's health is protected."
A spokesman for Ofwat said: "Any sewage spill into the environment is one too many. Water companies must do better."
Taking the plunge Tom Daley, the Olympic diver, has shared an image of himself after undergoing a drag makeover by the YouTube influencer Plastique Tiara.
Reform's internal investigation absolves its own staff over undercover donations sting
By Gordon Rayner ASSOCIATE EDITOR
REFORM UK did not break any laws when senior party figures were recorded by undercover journalists discussing a £500,000 gift from a foreign donor, an internal investigation has concluded.
A 27-page report, commissioned by Reform, after a Channel 4 investigation into funding also cleared the party of wrongdoing over the funding of three opinion polls. Reform UK intends to take “aggressive legal action” against the group of undercover journalists behind the documentary.
Channel 4 claimed in a programme broadcast last month that the party had breached political donation rules.
Reform was alleged to have taken funding from a US firm for three polls it had commissioned earlier this year, costing £32,500.
Dan Jukes, left, and Nigel Farage being filmed by undercover Verbatim reporters
party leader, was also filmed discussing the possibility of a £500,000 foreign donation. The purported donors were in fact undercover reporters from Verbatim, an investigative group, posing as an American financier and his UK-based son.
Foreign companies are not a permissible source of funding for parties, including payments for studies and research. Accepting donations from them could constitute a criminal offence. The claims remain under investigation by police and the British Polling Council.
Reform's internal report, carried out by Adam Richardson, Reform's barrister, and Tom Waterhouse, the party's general secretary, "does not excuse" the "foolish" way in which two senior party figures discussed donations and polling with an undercover reporter, and the party says it has taken steps to tighten its internal governance as a result.
A Reform UK spokesman said: "Having concluded the review, the investigation found no evidence that any laws were broken. Reform UK takes its obligations on governance and conduct extremely seriously."
A Channel 4 News spokesman said: "Channel 4 News stands by its journalism. [Our] investigation underwent extensive editorial and external legal scrutiny prior to broadcast."
Ex-prince driven by desire for 'fairness and justice'
Continued from Page 1 had been raided. The accusations come ahead of a High Court hearing today to decide on an application lodged by police to keep the details of Mountbatten-Windsor's judicial review secret. The former duke, who will not attend the hearing in person, is confident he has a strong case and wants the details to be released to the public.
He is said to be driven by a desire for "fairness and justice". One source told The Telegraph that he is not motivated by money but by the strong belief that the police searches were unlawful.
If Mr Mountbatten-Windsor wins his judicial review, police could be forced to return all the material seized in the raids, which would deal a potentially fatal blow to its investigation launched following the publication of the Epstein Files earlier this year. His arrest in February marked a historic moment for the House of Windsor, as he became the most senior member of the royal family to be arrested in modern times.
His determination to seek justice through the courts echoes that of his nephew, the Duke of Sussex, who took legal action against the Home Office in an effort to get his taxpayer-funded police protection reinstated.
The legal actions have been a blight for the King, who has been forced to take steps to ensure he was not placed in legal jeopardy, which meant he barely communicated with Harry during his legal action. In the case of his younger brother, palace aides made clear that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor had been banned from using the King's private funding to cover his legal costs.
Thames Valley Police said it was engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants obtained from the Central Criminal Court but said that, as legal proceedings are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
NEWS BULLETIN
---
Viscount banned for speeding in 20mph zone
A viscount has been banned from driving for six months for speeding in a 20mph zone.
David Pollock, the 3rd Viscount Hanworth, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday where he told Paul Goldspring, the chief magistrate, that he was "a cautious driver" who uses his car only to give his wife and daughter lifts.
The 80-year-old, who had been clocked speeding on three previous occasions, had already admitted doing 27mph in a 20mph zone.
He had applied to argue that the ban resulting from getting 12 points would cause him exceptional hardship, but dropped the attempt.
---
Expensive diesel? Drive more gently, AA advises
Drivers should "accelerate gently" and travel with as little baggage as possible to save fuel, according to the AA.
Diesel has fallen back below £2, according to the motoring group. However, at 199.98p per litre, it is still close to record highs. Petrol costs just under 175p per litre.
Lee Morley, of the AA, said: "Drivers can't control the price at the pump but there are things they can do to make every drop matter.
"One of the simplest ways to use less fuel is to drive smoothly. Accelerate gently, use the appropriate gear and look well ahead so you can ease off the accelerator rather than braking heavily at the last moment."
---
Fraudster in sham PPE deals jailed for two years
A fraudster who scammed medical companies out of millions of pounds by helping to create sham PPE deals during the pandemic has been jailed.
Craig Morris, 43, and his boss Jogesh Bhandari, 60, pretended they could supply millions of boxes of nitrile gloves in the US and Germany.
At Northampton Crown Court, yesterday, Morris was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.
Bhandari's wife Meenakshi Bhandari, 58, who was found guilty of money laundering in July, was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work. Jogesh Bhandari is expected to be sentenced on Oct 16.
---
Man pleads guilty to Jenrick death threat
A 30-year-old man has pleaded guilty to making a death threat to Robert Jenrick, the Reform UK shadow chancellor.
Nick Daly, of Oxted, Surrey, admitted sending a communication threatening death or serious harm to an MP. The threat referred to Mr Jenrick's Jewish wife, Michal Berkner, in anti-Semitic voicemails left at his constituency office.
Ms Berkner is a British lawyer who was born in Israel and whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.
In yesterday's hearing, Daly also admitted to sending an anti-Semitic message to the Israeli embassy in west London and hate messages to a Muslim organisation.
---
The Daily Telegraph
is a member of the Independent Press Standards
Organisation (IPSO) and we subscribe to its Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content, please visit www.telegraph.co.uk/editorialcomplaints or write to 'Editorial Complaints' at our postal address (see below). If you are not satisfied with our response, you may appeal to IPSO at www.ipso.co.uk.
The Daily Telegraph, III Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT
Three-year-old makes child's play of scaling Lakeland peaks
By Tom McArdle
AS MOST toddlers spend their time doodling or playing with toys, one three-year-old has become the youngest known person to complete all 214 peaks in the Lake District.
Navy Moores completed the challenge by scaling Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England, on Sunday.
He completed his five-month adventure by walking the last of the Wainwrights alongside his parents, Daniel and Leanne, and his siblings Jessica, 14, and Oliver, six.
The family of five, from the Cumbrian market town of Kendal, started the first of their ascents on May 10.
Mr Moores said: "I don't think he really knows what he has actually achieved yet.
"The following day he was asking if we were going for a hike. And it's like, well we have completed them now."
He added that both Navy and Oliver were “absolutely fine” on their final climb up Scafell Pike, despite already climbing Lingmell the same day.
Announcing the completion of the challenge, his parents said: "We are so unbelievably proud of all three of our children.
"Jessica and Oliver have been there for every step of this adventure, hiking every one alongside us, sharing the miles, the climbs, the laughs, the tough moments and all the amazing memories along the way.
"Watching the three of them experience this together has been one of the most special parts of it all."
Over the 214 walks, Navy covered 510.85 miles and a total elevation of 224.883 ft.
His adventures were posted on Navy's Summits social media, showing the youngster's keen appetite to scale every peak in the Lake District.
Describing their motivation for taking the family walking, his parents added: "We have hiked for many years together and then the children came along but we carried on.
"The weather we can't help but if it can safely be enjoyed we like to make the most of it."
The Wainwright Society does not maintain or verify age records for completers, meaning Navy has not been officially confirmed as the youngest walker to do so. However, nobody as young as he has previously been identified as having completed the challenge.
News
Tall tales Guide to England's highest hills
Navy Moores, three, completes all 214 Wainwrights atop Scafell Pike. He walked them with his brother, Oliver, six, right, sister, Jessica, 14, and parents, Daniel and Leanne
214
The Wainwrights consists of all of the English Lake District fells listed in the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells
3,209ft
Scafell Pike is the highest of the peaks and is part of the Scafell massif, an extinct volcano
510.85
Number of miles Navy climbed during his five-month adventure, trekking up all the Wainwrights
1955
Year Alfred Wainwright published his first book on Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. He also published 56 guided walks
Let sleeping dogs lie... in their own beds
---
Pets are more likely to be disturbed than their owners if they are in the same room
By Sarah Knapton
SCIENCE EDITOR
IF SLEEPING dogs should be allowed to lie, then their owners are not doing a very good job.
Humans who sleep in the same room as their canines are more likely to disturb their pets' slumber than the other way around, scientists have found.
About four in 10 homes in Britain have a dog, and up to 78 per cent of owners allow their animals to sleep in their bedroom, even though many complain that they are often woken up by the nocturnal ramblings and rumblings of their pets.
To find out if this was true, Canadian researchers carried out an in-depth study of the night time activity of 38 hounds and their owners and discovered that dogs appear to have been maligned.
While humans and their dogs did become active at about the same time in the night, more often than not, owners began moving before the dogs did, suggesting they are disturbing their dogs first.
Researchers tracked night time activity using monitors worn on the wrists for humans and the collars of dogs.
Lavania Nagendran, a doctoral student from the University of Toronto, said: "Human and dog night time activities were generally correlated, but patterns were variable among pairs.
“Overall, their activity tended to be synchronised with human activity more often preceding dog activity than the other way around.
"I have a dog, and he has always slept on the bed with me. He is quite the cuddle bug, so I really value those moments with him.
"I've always felt that our night time behaviours were very synchronised; he would wake up whenever I did and vice versa."
Dogs and humans have lived together for thousands of years, and researchers were keen to see how sleeping patterns may have been shaped by domestication.
Previous studies have proved inconclusive because they were often based on night time recall, or subjective meas-
Monitors on wrists and collars showed humans were most likely to wake up first in the night
ures of sleep quality. But wearable technology has allowed for real-time monitoring.
The team found that sharing the bed with a dog did not significantly impact sleep duration or sleep quality, even in cases where owners reported feeling like their dogs were disturbing their sleep.
Many owners reported feeling safer and more relaxed when their pet was present which is likely to improve sleep.
People who slept with multiple dogs
'My dog is quite the cuddle bug, so I really value those moments with him'
reported the worst sleep, although sleep trackers showed there was no evidence that more animals impacted rest.
The researchers now want to carry out further research to compare the night time activity patterns of pet dogs with other groups, such as working dogs, free-roaming dogs, and wolves, to see if it differs.
Doctoral student Ming Fei Li said: "It will help us better understand how domestication and human influences may have contributed to these patterns."
Miss Nagendran added: "Personally, this research has not changed my behaviour as a pet owner, but it has made me appreciate how intertwined our daily routine is.
"There are many studies examining how bed sharing with pets may influence human sleep, but research examining our impact on companion animals is more limited.
"Our findings support the idea that human-companion animal relationships are two ways, with both humans and their pets influencing one another's behaviours and routines."
The research was published in the journal Plos One.
Paratrooper's round-the-world walk finally ends after 28 years
By Tom Jeffreys
HAVING escaped mobs in Peru, been detained by Russian border officials and swum across the Caspian Sea, the Yorkshireman has finally returned home.
Karl Bushby, the 57-year-old ex-paratrooper, has stepped foot on British soil for the first time since embarking on a walk around the world in 1998.
Mr Bushby has spent nearly 28 years travelling through the most extreme conditions - both in climate and politics - and his arrival in the UK marks the start of the final leg of his trip.
A swim across the Channel, from a starting point reported to be Cai-ais to Shakespeare beach in Dover, was completed on Monday.
He will now walk 250 miles to his mother's home in Hull to complete his "Goliath expedition", travelling more than 36,000 miles without using transport or returning to the UK.
In a crowded field - he caught amoebic dysentery in Colombia, was robbed in Ecuador and jailed as an illegal alien in Panama - the trip across the Channel proved to be one of Mr Bushby's biggest headaches.
A request to walk along the Channel Tunnel was refused and he had to secure a special exemption to swim across, given such an endeavour is "strictly forbidden" by French law.
However, he was greeted in Dover by his father, brother and friends on Mon-day after 20 hours of swimming over three days.
The Channel's shortest crossing point, 21 miles, is a drop in the ocean compared to the 186 miles he swam in the Caspian Sea, but Mr Bushby used a wetsuit, flotation device and hand paddles to help him beat strong winds and make the crossing.
The negotiation of his swim was a difficult one. Upon learning he couldn't walk through the tunnel, he said: "I am not angry it has come to this. I am more disappointed. But things could still change."
The eventual compromise saw French and UK coastguards help him make the journey.
Upon his arrival, Mr
Karl Bushby in wetsuit for his Channel swim
Bushby told his TikTok page: "Karl's home. 28 years later but he's home. It's a special day. Thanks to everybody in the world that made this possible."
Mr Bushby started his expedition on November 1 1998 in Chile, where he began a walk up the Americas.
He endured excruciating conditions in the Panamanian jungles and Patagonian deserts, and had close encounters with snakes and crocodiles.
Having trekked up the west side of Canada, he spent two weeks in 2006 walking across the Bering Strait connecting Alaska and Russia before being detained by Russian border officials.
Just before that crossing, The Telegraph reported how he was 17,000 miles into his 36,000-mile walk and was negotiating a frozen bay on his way up the jagged Alaska coastline when the ice gave way, but somehow survived an involuntary sub-zero immersion.
In 2024 he began his swim across the Caspian Sea, a measure taken to avoid Iran because of geopolitical tensions.
He has since traversed southern and Western Europe, and will now walk north to his childhood home.
Mr Bushby posted on his TikTok last month that a documentary will be made of his journey that is set to be directed by Werner Herzog.
Scott stuns as an Aids-ridden actor bending Shakespeare to his will
Film
Elsinore
London Film Festival
★★★★★
---
By Tim Robey FILM CRITIC
ANDREW SCOTT pours his soul into Elsinore, with stunning conviction, and will rightly win awards for his performance. If it was his compatriot Jessie Buckley's turn last year for Hamnet, it's his now. Hamlet – playing the title role this time – is the lodestone for Scott's quicksilver genius, in this essential account of how Ian Charleson, the Scottish actor, bent Shakespeare to his will, while only having weeks to live in the throes of full-blown Aids. Is the film perfect? No. Is Scott? Angelically so.
Charleson - blond, intense and underused - was 40 years old when the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself. Nervous exhaustion had caused Daniel Day-Lewis to abandon the National Theatre's 1989 Hamlet six months into his run, walking off without a word during the ghost scene.
It's with that notorious moment, seen on backstage monitors to the shock of crew, that Simon Stone's film begins.
To fill Day-Lewis's shoes, director Richard Eyre (a buoyant, just-right Johnny Flynn) calls upon Charleson, whom Elsinore depicts as professionally unfulfilled. What gives Eyre initial pause is Charleson admitting that he is HIV-positive. A lesion has appeared on his face, which his estranged friend, Derek Jarman (David Dawson), refers to as the start of the illness's dreaded "polka-dot phase". Only thanks to the ministrations of
Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, who played Hamlet, 1989, while dying of Aids
pioneering Aids specialist Margaret Johnson (Olivia Colman), is Charleson able to rally, staving off physical collapse for long enough to tackle this most comprehensively exhausting of plays. Charleson, in Scott's hands, sees little point in stretching out life with no other motive than mere survival. He wants to burn brightly, even if there isn't much candle left. "I'd rather die of Hamlet than Aids," he quips.
The script by Stephen Beresford (Pride) is not short on wicked gallows humour and straight-up zingers. The good stuff in here is not only about gay shame and hiding it away, but the backstage frivolity of an actor's life. We know it must all darken, and we brace ourselves to spend more and more time in hospital wards among the dying – prepared, too, to be clobbered by the grave ending towards which the whole film is surely leading us.
Somehow, we're deprived. Stone reduces the last act into a mulch of iffy montages, leaving us yearning for proper scenes and conversations.
Elsinore misses greatness for that and leaves an ache. But the ovations for Scott will be instant, thunderous and deserved.
Elsinore is screening at the London Film Festival and in UK cinemas from Jan 29
News
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake on stage with a pint of beer and his black Labrador, Zuzu, in a rebuttal of a Labour minister's claims that the image of pubs and dogs was a far-Right fantasy
Hard workers must reap rewards, says Badenoch as she pledges tax cuts
Sandroy Kumar sheds a tear as Mrs Badenoch condemns the failings that led to the killing of his daughter Grace, below, who was stabbed to death by a psychopath
Tory leader vows not to do a deal with Reform and says Burnham is taking Britain back to the 1970s
By Nick Gutteridge, Tony Diver and Daniel Martin
KEMI BADENOCH declared that the next election would be a “battle for the soul of the nation” as she vowed to abolish inheritance tax on family homes if the Tories take power.
In a wide-ranging speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mrs Badenoch also pledged to let people "keep more of what they earn" if her party returned to power.
The Tory leader also turned her fire on Labour and Reform UK, and declared the Tories were back as a force to be reckoned with.
"We understand why putting roots down and having a stake in society matters. Passing on your home to your family is one of the most human instincts of all. So, conference, the next Conservative government will legislate so nobody will ever pay inheritance tax on their family home."
The policy would cost £6bn, and remove the levy completely from more than half of the estates expected to pay it by 2029-30. The changes would be funded by spending cuts, including to the welfare budget, which would be £36.1bn less per year under the Tories' plans.
Mrs Badenoch attacked Reform UK, accusing the party of wanting to "take us backwards", and said the Labour Party was "addicted to welfare" and "drowning our country in debt".
Attacking the Government, she said: "It's the same old high-tax, high-spend Labour. No common sense. Addicted to welfare. Drowning our country in debt. Choking our economy with taxes."
Mrs Badenoch's pledge on death duties comes after she used her speech at last year's Tory conference to announce she would scrap stamp duty.
At this year's gathering Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, separately announced the Conservatives would reverse Labour's "mansion tax".
Mrs Badenoch said: "I believe the people who work hard and save should be rewarded for that effort. So this is my guarantee. No stamp duty when you buy your home, no mansion tax when you live in your home and no inheritance tax on your home when you pass it to your children or grandchildren. That is what the next Conservative government will deliver."
The conference has seen a focus on easing the burden on middle-class families, including those caught out by the £100,000 tax trap. This contrasts with Reform, which has said it would prioritise tax breaks for lower earners, such as increasing the tax-free personal allowance.
Battle for soul of the country
Mrs Badenoch geared activists up for a general election she believes could come as soon as May. "There is a fight coming in British politics," she declared. "A fight that we have not seen in this country for more than half a century. It will be a battle for the soul of this nation. A battle of ideas. A battle that goes to the very core of who we are and what kind of country we want to be."
She said it was a fight between “a government that wants to wind back the clock to failed ideas of the past” and “a renewed Conservative Party, fighting for the belief that what people earn belongs to them, not government”.
She accused Labour of believing their policies were compassionate, "but we know that these ideas will make every single person poorer." She warned: "We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right."
Too early to write off Tories
"Conference, the Conservatives are coming back," Mrs Badenoch
proclaimed. "To think, people were writing us off. Let me tell you, I am not someone who gets written off and neither is the Conservative Party."
She ran through a series of Labour U-turns she said had taken place because of Tory campaigns, including on the family farm tax and the axing of jury trials.
She said the party was doing well because the "rows, plots and infighting" of the pre-2024 years were a thing of the past.
"The Conservatives have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform" - a reference to the defence
tions of Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman. "This party is now the no-drama party. We are the no-nonsense party."
She said she was looking to the British high street for inspiration. M&S is a brand that has been around for 100 years," she told delegates. "Not so long ago, critics said they were a bit stuffy and stuck in the past. Some were even questioning whether the brand would survive... Now, M&S is back in fashion. Great looks at affordable prices.
"Just like M&S we must learn from our mistakes, win back trust, and make
people feel good about our party again."
Burnham's going back to 1970s
Turning her fire on the Prime
Minister, Mrs Badenoch told delegates not to let him google them with his "fluttering eyelashes and his pork scratchings".
She pointed out he had been happy to serve in Jeremy Corbyn's cabinet and accused him of making uncosted spending plans such as on free social care for the elderly.
She said she was “shocked” at his conference speech last week which indicated he did not have defence, the economy, immigration, or crime as his top priorities. “It’s the same old high tax, high spend, Labour. No common sense. Addicted to welfare.
"Drowning our country in debt. Choking our economy with taxes. Stifling every innovation with regulation."
She said Mr Burnham's conference slogan on "hope" showed he was a "Paddington Bear Prime Minister" who "wants to turn back the clock to the 1970s".
Ruling out a deal with Reform
Mrs Badenoch made a plea for Reform voters to return to the Tory fold – but had harsh words about the Reform leadership.
"Reform voters, many of them are our people," she said. "We let them down and we want them to come back home."
She went through a list of the most prominent Reform scandals, including their leader in Wales jailed for accepting Russian bribes and Nigel Farage's £5million donation.
And she was rewarded with a standing ovation for saying: "To those who say unite the right, we are not uniting with that."
She hit out at the way some Reform politicians had suggested that non-white people could not be English.
"I don't want to live in a country run by people who... debate whether my mixed-race children are English," she said.
"I don't want to explain to my son when we're watching our brilliant England team play football that some people don't think our black players are English.
"I remember back in the day when Ian Wright and John Barnes were playing, nobody was questioning whether they were English...
"We must not let these people take us backwards. That is not the country we are. Reform MPs are openly questioning people's identity. They are not like us; we are not like them. We are different. We are the Conservative Party."
Tax cuts to boost the economy
Reviving the economy would be the "central organising principle" of a future Conservative administration, she said. The Tories would get to grips with the country's huge debt and get the economy growing by cutting spending and by reversing some Labour tax rises.
She blamed Rachel Reeves' decision to increase employers' National Insurance for a surge in youth unemployment over the past two years.
"We will cut the Jobs Tax in half for under 25s," she said. "That is how you get people into work, by making it easier to hire them."
Putting the fair back in welfare Mrs Bandenoch said the Tories wanted to "put the fair back into welfare".
“We need tough love,” she said. “It is morally wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work.
People who do not find a job within six months will get a Back to Work Card to buy things they really need – “no alcohol, no cigarettes, no gambling”.
"Conservatives don't believe in a something for nothing culture. The best welfare is a well-paying job."
Law and order
Watching Mrs Badenoch's speech from the audience was the father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, who was stabbed to death by a psychopath in Nottingham in 2023.
The Tory leader said she had met Sandroy Kumar along with the parents of another victim, Barnaby Webber.
"Their children were butchered in Nottingham, along with Ian Coates, by a psychopath authorities had multiple opportunities to stop but didn't, because they were afraid to," she said.
"Institutions that were meant to protect people, failed. It is devastating for families. And it keeps happening, again and again and again."
---
A fight is coming
She concluded by saying the next election will be between “a Labour Party which takes more of your money” and a “Conservative party which lets you keep more of what you earn”.
She said it would be a choice between "a Labour party which says Government has all the answers" and a "Conservative party which lets you decide".
'This was Thatcher reborn. She might have rolled on stage on a Chieftain tank'
Three of our columnists assess Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Tory conference
THE stakes were high ahead of Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Conservative Party conference.
The party has swung behind their leader and she is popular personally in the polls.
But the party as a whole has been lagging amid speculation the Prime
Minister may call an early general election in the spring and the real possibility of a hung parliament.
Could she convince the public that the Tories can be trusted again and win back voters who have been tempted by Nigel Farage's Reform? Our experts have their say.
JANET DALEY
---
A stupendous announcement on inheritance tax, and a powerful moral message
THE challenge was clear: Kemi Badenoch had to top the most successful political speech of recent history. That was not Andy Burnham's performance a week ago: it was her speech at party conference last year. So this one was quite different. It was not designed, as that stupendously surprising debut had been, to introduce her personality to the nation. Now she needed to supply the programme. What is the real substance of her offer?
The most significant feature which ran consistently throughout was that this was, above all, a moral message. Every policy that she proposed was consistent in its theme of personal responsibility: the value of individual endeavour. Not only in the economic sense that it is the only source of real wealth, but in terms of the fulfilment of human potential. This was a battle of ideas: nothing less, she said, than a battle for the soul of the country.
It will be the details, of course, which will make the headlines. Her announcement about inheritance tax was stupendous. Making the family home exempt was a stunning idea because it instantly gave ordinary families a stake in this. Coupling it with the promised removal of stamp duty makes the underlying principle even clearer: home ownership is a social good to be encouraged and respected. This really was the key to her wider philosophical premise: people who take responsibility for themselves and their families should be rewarded.
She was drawing a clear distinction between the Burnham Labour project which has moved very notably to the collectivist Left, and the Conservative one which is explicitly committed to individual achievement and personal responsibility. To that end, they would dismantle Labour's "job-killing measures", and prohibit young people becoming welfare dependents straight out of school or university.
All of this was of a piece: it had a coherent goal and it was presented in unabashedly urgent terms. We were running out of time and money – but, above all, we were in danger of squandering human capital. The next election was to be a fight not just about the organisation of the economy or even the defence of the realm: it was a debate about how life should be lived and what made it worth living.
We have been here before. This was pretty much exactly the argument that we thought had been settled decades ago when New Labour accepted the Thatcher revolution. But this is a new version with an alarming context: the end of the post-Cold War era with all the threats and instability which that presents. Can it succeed in a climate where capitalist economies are drowning in debt, and welfare dependency has become a way of life? We may be about to find out.
---
TOM HARRIS
She channelled the spirit of Thatcher – and may have taken a significant step to No10
THOSE who can still remember the 1979 general election will recall Margaret Thatcher's shopping basket. The Conservatives have come under fire ever since for offering a simplistic analogy, as Thatcher did, to explain the challenges of the economy.
But such criticism misses the point: the then Tory leader's analogy worked. Voters already worried about an unending series of economic crises were convinced by her common-sense housewife's approach. Kemi Badenoch today embraced the late Baroness Thatcher's tactic, peppering her
Kemi comes out fighting The key quotes
Shame on the Green Party and shame on Zack Polanski
The Conservative Party stands with the Jewish people. We will never stop fighting anti-Semitism
To those who say "unite the right", we are not uniting with that
It is morally wrong to tell people suffering bouts of mild anxiety that they are disabled and cannot work
If you're a mother in a village threatened with a migrant camp like in Piddington, and you want your children to feel safe, we will deport illegal immigrants, not house them
The era of peace is over ... If we want peace, we must prepare for war
The Conservatives have had an export boom. We have had an export boom of drama queens going to Reform
We are going to win, not for ourselves, but for our country. For every hard-working person out there, for everyone who wants to see common sense restored, for everyone who wants to see Britain working again
No nonsense Kemi comes out as the Tories' English rose
Sketch
By Tim Stanley
IN a deeply personal speech, Kemi Badenoch finally addressed those internet rumours. Yes, she is black.
We didn't want to say anything. It's like having a gay nephew: we all know, we don't care, we don't want to discuss it in case he never shuts up.
But things with Kemi have changed. Far-Right activists are now muttering online that a Nigerian cannot run Britain – because white people have been doing SUCH a good job – so the taboo had to be broken.
"I am black," she told delegates, "I am British... I don't want to live in a
speech to the Tory faithful with innumerable analogies involving mortgages, household bills and shopping lists.
The theme was “common sense”. “We need to put the ‘fair’ back on welfare,” was one typical appeal to those watching or catching up on the highlights via TikTok. “It’s not [the Government’s] money, it’s taxpayers’ money” was another.
And just in case there was anyone left in her audience who wasn't getting the "Thatcher reborn" message, Badenoch announced: "The first duty of any government is defence of the realm." She might as well have rolled on stage astride a Chieftain tank.
One could easily see why she regularly polls better than her own party: she speaks sense and does it from the heart. She also seems to recognise that the many, many mistakes her party made when it was last in government are not going to be readily forgiven by a weary electorate without a heartfelt mea culpa from the person currently in charge.
country run by people who... debate whether my mixed race children are English."
Well, hear ruddy hear! Who would be so stupid as to suggest otherwise? Kemi wears M&S, thinks the young are lazy, jail is a five-star hotel and Jeffrey Archer will be sorely missed. She might be the most English woman I've ever met.
With the Right divided and extremists taking advantage, race has been a surprise theme of this convention. I caused a stir at a fringe meeting where, in an unguarded moment, I was caught on camera saying racism is bad.
Yes, I got cancelled for not being a bigot. A first for Tory conference. Nutters on X called me a "race traitor" who ought to be "JAILED", which didn't worry me excessively: thanks to Labour's early release programme,
and arrows from the rostrum ("Once Starmer won a landslide, Burnham couldn't wait to get back into Parliament to take it off him," Ouch). But the loudest cheers from the faithful came when Badenoch turned her fire on Nigel Farage and Reform UK and ruled out any chance of a "united Right" in the run-up to the next general election. But for her it's about more than politics: her anger at the current public debate on whether people of colour can claim to be British came through in an emotional defence of her mixed-race children. She has skin in the game, literally.
Ruling out the full abolition of inheritance tax was probably a good idea, given Badenoch's commitment to sound money. But her pledge to exclude all family homes from the tax received positive yells of delight from the gathered activists. It was another simple gesture that will attract the attention and perhaps even sympathy of many currently sceptical voters. "We have something for everyone," she told her party. Perhaps. If so, Badenoch has made another small but significant step towards No10.
'She wears M&S, thinks the young are lazy, jail is a five-star hotel and Jeffrey Archer will be sorely missed'
---
SHERELLE JACOBS This felt like a political turning point with Conservatism finding its way
GAME on. There are political speeches and there are political turning points. The latter occur at party conferences once in a blue moon.
Take Margaret Thatcher's Blackpool performance in 1975, where she launched her crusade for freedom, asserting man's right to "have the state as servant and not as master".
I'd be out within a week. But when we had an opportunity to speak with Kemi in her hotel suite, Dan Hodges and I looked her in the eye – a nerve-racking experience – and begged her not to dodge the issue.
Or Tony Blair's birthing of New Labour in the same seaside town in 1994. His move to rewrite Clause IV and uttering of the immortal words "parties that do not change die" turned politics on its head. Has something
So, we took our seats on this last, flu-riddled day to see if she'd listened to our advice. Coughs and sneezes spread good speeches. Kevin Hollinrake, party chairman, sipped a "far-Right fantasy pint" on stage and introduced us to his "far-Right fantasy black Labrador" - a funny reference to the far-Left fantasist government minister who had said neither existed.
Nick Timothy, shadow justice, thought "people feel divided and lost" (hungover was closer). Chris Philp, shadow home, promised to put "criminals where they belong" (fast-tracked to the Labour Cabinet). A lady with tattoos sang the national
Her message was unflinching: Thwacking her consonants, she pronounced that “there is a fight coming in this country” as a “battle of ideas” loomed.
similar just occurred in Birmingham? Rumours have been swirling that an early election is in the offing. If this speech was anything to go by, Badenoch is ready.
Badenoch finally breathed the emotional fire of the culture wars into her party's economic case.
Badenoch looks set to relish the fight. Her critics have previously denounced her as a “fundamentally unserious” culture warrior obsessed with women’s bathrooms.
But as she braces the country for “a fight that we have seen in this country for more than half a century” the Tory leader is shrewdly leveraging her combative impulses. History teaches that the best leaders are those who grow into rather than grow out of their defining traits.
anthem and video rolled of Kemi being a cow in the Commons. A man in front clapped his hands so wildly I feared they might fly off.
It's not a fair representation of Reform's politics (Nigel's conference
Badenoch stated that growing the economy "will be the central organising principle of the next Conservative government". But more
"We are a team, we are a family, and we are going to do this together," she said, as if delivering a stern warning to noisy kids in the back of the car.
Then: "We have had an export boom in drama queens" to Reform and, quite frankly, she doesn't want them back.
Crooks, she said; race-baiters, too. "To those who say unite the Right, we are not uniting with that!" The unsubtle message? The Conservatives are both a "no-nonsense" alternative to the Left and a moral one to the extremes - driving a wedge between Tory and Reform, tempting middle-class voters with tax cuts, salving their conscience with appeals to equality.
importantly, she has clearly grasped that she cannot win the argument with economic reasoning alone. Moral conviction will be the secret sauce.
She was powerful when challenging Andy Burnham's claims to compassion. "These ideas will make every single person in this country poorer."
For the first time since Cameron, a
'Badenoch delivered what they would call in the Black Country a "bostin" speech. The gloves are off'
Tory leader has attempted to make a moral case for conservatism that can resonate beyond its base: that people who work hard should be rewarded. That grand state, socialist-infused projects are not compassionate but reckless.
For years the Tories have been at sea. Under Kemi what it means to be a Conservative has been distilled to a simple, repeatable belief: what people earn belongs to them, not the Government.
'Lib Dem bar charts show undecided voters are some of the most gullible people alive'
was younger, poorer and less white than this one), but Lib Dem bar charts show that undecided voters are some of the most gullible people alive.
"Shame on" the Greens for "seeking to erase Jewish identity". Shame on Reform MPs for asking if people of colour are truly English.
Kemi's denunciation of bigotry drew a standing ovation - and though I didn't rise, I defied journalist convention by clapping. I sincerely believe all human beings are created in God's image, that we have a duty to love each and every one of them. Except Piers Morgan.
With that, the carnival was over. Delegates fled, bunting came down. In the Tory tat shop, one lone teddy bear was left on the shelf, wearing a T-shirt that read "future prime minister".
The hope still lives, the dream shall never die.
Her performance was not only fiery but also captured the urgency of the moment. One line in the speech summed it up: "We are running out of money and running out of time to put it right."
Perhaps we saw her mettle most clearly when she took on Reform. Her assertion that Farage's supporters deserve better was empathetic. As she declared her refusal to live in a world where she has to explain that her mixed-race children are English, it gave me goosebumps.
Woven together, Badenoch's policies start to form the tapestry of a society where individual effort is rewarded in all life phases. Graduates are no longer ripped off by university loans. The young are incentivised and supported to get a job. Those who win promotions actually gain financially. Retired people have their pensions protected. Citizens who grind to build a life for themselves have something to pass down to the next generation.
There is work still to do. Badenoch delivered what they would call in the Black Country a "bostin" speech. The gloves are off.
Greens' friend of al-Qaeda terrorist spared suspension
By Memphis Barker
SENIOR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
THE Green Party has failed to suspend a party member who told The Telegraph she was friends with a convicted al-Qa-eda terrorist.
Lubna Speitan, the author of the "Zionism is racism" motion that the party adopted this week, offered to testify in the defence of Minh Quang Pham at a US court hearing in 2015.
Pham plotted to blow himself up at Heathrow airport, targeting passengers arriving from Israel by detonating a backpack filled with shrapnel dipped in rat poison.
Asked whether they remained friends on Tuesday, Ms Speitan said: "Yes, it's still the case," and suggested Pham, who is serving a 44-year sentence in US prison, might have been wrongly accused.
Yesterday, the Green Party confirmed it was investigating Ms Speitan, but had yet to suspend the British-Palestinian artist who has been widely accused of anti-Semitism.
The 43-year-old, who opposes the designation of Hamas as a proscribed terrorist group, has also been filmed calling for Zionists to be "hunted down" like Nazis.
In a separate video, she said she was happy to be called an “anti-Semitic terrorist” and would wear it as a “badge of honour”, if that was how political opponents viewed her “resistance” to Israel.
Green members have urged the party to take immediate action against Ms Speitan, who joined the Greens from Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party.
Kieran Dams, a former Green councillor who quit the party over Ms Speitan's Zionism motion on Tuesday, told The Telegraph that people like Ms Speitan were "dangerous and need to be stopped". He said: "All I can say is this really sums up who is in charge of the Green Party in 2026."
On social media, party members urged their leadership to "take control of the situation" and "not with a statement, not an email, but very clear action".
The Green Party is investigating Ms Speitan in a process that could lead to her expulsion.
A deputy leader of the Welsh Green Party has also quit over the “Zionism is racism” policy. Philip Davies said the resolution “accelerated” his decision to quit his post after two-and-a-half years.
News
FINNARK WEBSTEREGETTY IMAGES
Herd brush A cow gets its tail made spick and span before judging at the Dairy Show at the Bath and West Showground, in Shepton Mallet, Somerset. The event combines a comprehensive trade show with an exhibition of top-quality dairy cattle.
Burnham 'wrong to want drinking back at football'
By Telegraph Reporter
ANDY BURNHAM is wrong to back reintroducing drinking in football stands, the national police lead for the sport has said.
Speaking before his retirement, Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Constabulary, who has been the national lead for football policing since 2014, said he would “absolutely” urge Mr Burnham against overturning the ban.
The Prime Minister said last month the ban on football fans drinking in the stands was unfair and should be scrapped.
Mr Roberts said football had become much safer because of the legislation, which was introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1985 as part of a crackdown on football hooliganism.
He said: "The danger now is complacency, because we haven't had tragedies or significant widespread disorder. You start removing one of those strands and it starts unpicking it all.
"I would really urge policymakers to listen to the people who have to deal with this, that's the safety people at clubs, but particularly the police and the football policing unit. Football's in a pretty good way at the minute. It's safe. People feel safe to go."
He added: "In terms of the drinking thing, people can drink before, they can drink at half-time, they can drink after. I go to games. I don't think there's any great massive desire for it."
Mr Roberts, a Manchester City supporter, added that getting a "beer shampoo" when a goal was scored was "not conducive to a great afternoon".
The 1985 legislation prohibits drinking in sight of the pitch in England and Wales in the top five men's leagues.
Mr Roberts added: "The legislation and policy is to target behaviour, not groups of people, and, unfortunately, historically football had an issue with it."
Mr Roberts said he had been policing football since 2009 and watching Manchester City play since 1977.
He said: "Everything I've seen in that period as a fan and in policing kind of suggests that it will be a bad idea."
Last month, a UK football policing unit spokesman said police chiefs would welcome a meeting with Mr Burnham to “explain the challenges these proposed changes would bring to policing and the safety of staff and fans”.
Widdecombe suspect ‘targeted Farage home’
Court told Joshua Kerry travelled to Reform leader's property where door was left damaged
By Fiona Parker
THE man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe tried to break into Nigel Farage's home, a court has heard.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, appeared at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday accused of one count of preparation of terrorist acts.
Kashif Malik, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Kerry is accused of carrying out “online reconnaissance on prominent people and institutions on various dates between May 31, 2024, and July 8, 2026, including identifying the home address of Nigel Farage”.
It is alleged that he travelled to Mr Farage's home on April 20, 2025, where his partner Laure Ferrari returned to find damage to the door and a bottle of lighter fluid on the porch. Mr Malik said a tool mark from a 27mm blade was found on the doorframe, and that "the inference is that an attempt was made to gain entry to the house".
Mr Kerry, who wore a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.
He is also accused of the murder of Widdecombe, the Reform UK spokesman and a former Tory minister, who was found dead at her home in Devon on July 9.
It is alleged that Widdecombe, 78, died after being hit on the head with a hammer 21 times. The attack allegedly began while she was eating lunch in her secluded house in the village of Haytor.
Mr Kerry is accused of driving 270 miles from his home in Rotherham to Devon in his red Vauxhall Corsa before attacking the former MP.
During his first appearance at the Old
Joshua Kerry, 28, at Westminster magistrates' court yesterday
Bailey in July, the court was told the attack was carried out with a "ferocity of violence". Mr Kerry was arrested on suspicion of murder at his home in South Yorkshire on July 11. He was rearrested two days later on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism.
Reform has called for increased security for its MPs since Miss Widdecombe's death.
The party claims Mr Farage receives more than 300 threats a month, including dozens of death threats. In September, it announced that it was funding 24-hour security for all its MPs.
Mr Farage received a £5m donation from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency billionaire, in 2024, which he claimed was used to fund his protection. The donation, which was not declared, led to an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. A Reform source said earlier this month: "This is exactly why Nigel needed £5m to protect his security for life."
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, said Mr Farage had "not been listened to" over his safety concerns. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today pro-
'This is exactly why Nigel needed £5m to protect his security for life'
gramme earlier this week, Mr Tice said: "When, actually, things occur that are very close to home, so to speak, it's pretty shocking and makes one take a big intake of breath.
"[Mr Farage's] security and the risks to it, he's talked about many times, on many occasions, over many years.
"And I think what's particularly upsetting for those of us in and around him is sometimes he's not being believed, not being listened to, and you know we have just got in a sense deep regret over everything that's happened over a long period of time."
Asked if Mr Farage had met the Home Office to discuss his security, Mr Tice said: "A number of meetings have taken place with a number of people at the higher level of Reform.
"The information and intel I now get about the threats in and around myself and others is a very significant shift in the approach taken by the authorities, and we appreciate that."
Ex-Corbynistas join the Greens to turn the party against Zionism
By Lauren Shirreff and Pieter Snepvangers
TIME was when the Greens were a party of middle-class moderates. Under the steady leadership of Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion, its voter base was strikingly mild. The typical Green was a Birkenstock-wearing, lentil-eating, nature-lover with a concern about climate change, above all other issues.
No wonder Lubna Speitan slipped into the party. As a Londoner in her mid-40s, with a degree in graphic design from the University of East London and a love of poetry, music and environmentalism (or so her website reads), Speitan seems to be the kind of centre-Left voter who aligned with the Greens of old.
In truth, she is anything but. Speitan, who was behind the radical "Zionism is racism" motion at the party's conference on Sunday, has made no attempt to hide her extremist agenda. A former supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's new party, Your Party, she told the Palestine Deep Dive podcast in
April she switched to the Greens because of Your Party's infighting and the Greens' relative stability, which meant the latter was better placed to further her anti-Zionist aims.
"[I] decided, 'OK, until [Your Party gets] off the ground, let's prepare the ground somewhere else so at least there's a foundation built and ready,' she said.
It is a strategy known as "entryism", a classic tactic of the hard-Left.
And Speitan was not the only one employing this strategy. The activist is part of a group of hard-Left ex-Corbynistas who have thrown their lot in with the Greens, with the apparent purpose of furthering their anti-Israel campaign. Another is Jo Dowbor. The founder of the Greens for Palestine group, as well as the co-chairman of Young Greens and an official Green Party spokesman, Dowbor is a previous supporter of Your Party and an ardent Jeremy Corbyn fan.
In February, Dowbor attended a Bob Vylan concert in Manchester, after which she shared a social media post reading, "Deaf, deaf to the IDF" – an
A jubilant Lubna Speitan (first on right) after Sunday's motion. Right, Jo Dowbor
apparent reference to the band's 2025 Glastonbury set, where the lead singer led the crowd in a chant of "Death, death to the IDF".
Another hard-Left
Corbynista now
active in the Green
Party is Ashok
Kumar, an
associate
professor in
political
economy at
Birkbeck
University and a
regular
commentator on the
Israel-Gaza conflict. Kumar, who
goes by "Comrade Kumar" on
social media and is on the
steering committee of the Greens for Palestine group with Speitan, is American.
He appeared alongside Speitan on the Palestine Deep Dive podcast in April and explained that, because he (Kumar) was not an anarchist, he would never abolish the police if he were to be in charge of Britain. Rather, "we take over the state, we take over the police [and] we use the police to arrest all the landlords and Zionists".
Then there is Tariq Khawaja, another member of the Greens for Palestine's leadership, who only joined the party last May. "My main focus at the moment is working with Greens for Palestine," he wrote on a Green Party web page. Khawaja, who is also the equality, diversity and inclusion officer for the Brighton and Hove local Green Party, shared a statement on Instagram that "We are all Palestine Action" after the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025.
Speitan, whom The Telegraph has revealed was a “good friend” of an al-Qaeda terrorist who plotted to bomb passengers landing at Heathrow in
2011, has been quite candid
about her and her allies motives. Speaking on another podcast, The Crispin Flintoff Show, on September 21, she said: "The whole point of [the Zionism is racism motion] is for us to challenge and confront the establishment.
"This is about us, the people, taking that power. So, irrespective of what Zack [Polanski] says or thinks [...] it's down to the
members to vote for or against that. The point of this is to make an anti-Zionist party."
The fact that more than 1,000 people voted in favour of the motion on Sunday suggests the scale of the take-over of the party is significant.
Polanski though faces anger from the moderates who believe he should have opposed the motion, rather than leaving the conference early. "He was completely absent for this crucial vote and his intervention could have made the difference because it was actually reasonably close in the end," says one Green insider. "It was a margin that could have been changed had he been setting out a clear view all along."
Members are keeping their powder dry until after the Holborn and St Pancras by-election today, in which the Green leader is hoping to be elected to Parliament for the first time, the insider adds. "[But] members are deeply unhappy about what was allowed to happen at party conference." If Polanski loses the by-election, it could lead to a realisation that "he has peaked [and] is only going in one direction".
Kieran Dams, a councillor in Merseyside, who quit the party this week following the motion, says he expects Polanski to be replaced. "There'll be a leadership election and I'm pretty sure someone much more radical will stand and probably beat [Polanski]."
One leading candidate is Mothin Ali, the current deputy leader, who chanted "Allahu akbar" when he won his Leeds city council seat in 2024.
Speitan, for her part, has made it clear she will not rest. She said: "If it doesn't happen in this party, it might be Your Party. It might be another party. Maybe another one will rise. But we're not going away. We are going to fight until our last breath."
The Daily Telegraph Thursday 8 October 2026
Royal GP found 'strangled and bludgeoned in her bedroom'
Husband charged with
murdering his wife while
children slept at their
home near Sandringham
By Telegraph Reporter
A GP for the Royal family was found bludgeoned and strangled in a bedroom at her home bordering the Sandringham estate, a court has heard.
The injuries to mother-of-three Dr Hannah Terry, 45, were revealed as her husband Mark Cain, 45, appeared at Norwich magistrates' court charged with her murder, yesterday.
Mr Cain spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and the address of the detached house where he lived with his wife and their three sons in Dersingham, Norfolk. He showed no reaction during the four-minute hearing as he sat in the glass-fronted dock with a security guard.
Jacqui Hanlon, prosecuting, told the
Mark Cain, 45, below, has been charged with the murder of his wife, who used the professional name Dr Hannah Terry
court that the ambulance service had called police at about 2.25am on Sunday after a report that a 45-year-old male had received stab wounds in a suspected robbery at the couple's home.
Dr Terry was found not breathing and unconscious in an upstairs bedroom and was attended to by paramedics, said Ms Hanlon.
The prosecutor added: "A Home Office pathologist report noted a blunt force injury to the right side of her head had been inflicted. There was also an injury which could be suggested was caused by a compression to the neck."
Ms Hanlon added: "There were children in the house at the time." The victim was professionally known as Dr Terry, but was referred to in court by her married name Hannah Cain.
The Fern Hill address is just over a mile from Sandringham House, one of the royal residences of the King and Queen. Dr Terry was listed as a member of the practice team at Grimston Medical Centre. She served in a pool of doctors who were regularly on call for members of the Royal family nearby.
Mr Cain was remanded into custody by District Judge Matthew Bone to appear at King's Lynn Crown Court for a preliminary hearing today.
In a tribute, Dr Terry's family said: "We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful Hannah. She was kind, generous and loving; a beloved mother, daughter, sister, auntie, daughter-in-law and friend.
"We are incredibly proud of the woman she was and of the great care she took of all her patients who knew her as Dr Terry.
"We would ask people to respect our privacy at this difficult time."
According to the website of a business Dr Terry ran called Norfolk Sky Aesthetics, she had been a qualified doctor for more than 15 years and a GP for eight. Dr Terry described herself as a “caring and professional doctor” who continued her work as a GP alongside her cosmetics business.
Several bouquets were left outside Grimston Medical Centre this week, with one card signed by a married couple who were both patients of Dr Terry's, describing her as "the kindest doctor" who "never rushed us".
They said: "You listened to both of us. No one else will ever be able to replace a beautiful person and GP like you. Sleep well, heaven has certainly gained an angel."
A notice on the surgery's website said: "We apologise for the disruption and appreciate your patience and understanding at what is a very difficult time for our colleagues."
A spokesman for the Norfolk and Waveney Local Medical Committee, which represents NHS GPs, said: "We are deeply saddened by the news of Dr Terry's death. She was a wonderful GP who was dedicated to providing excellent care for her patients. Our thoughts are with her loved ones and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time."
Dr Terry studied medicine at the University of Leicester while her husband was pursuing an engineering degree at the same city's De Montfort University.
Specialist officers are continuing to support Dr Terry's family, who have asked for privacy.
JAN WESTPA
News
Black and white and red all over Billie Piper, 44, attends the European premiere of Elsinore at the Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, yesterday on the opening night of the BFI London Film Festival.
Packham's claims about lice-ridden salmon don't hold water, say M&S
By Chris Price MARKETS EDITOR
MARKS & SPENCER has accused Chris Packham of making misleading claims that its factory-farmed salmon is covered in lice and chemicals.
The BBC presenter and environmental campaigner has starred in a short video on behalf of Project Slingshot, a campaign group that is urging the retailer to stop selling salmon reared in sea cages. M&S has been supplied by Norwegian-owned company Scottish Sea Farms for 20 years. Until 2019, this was under the Lochmuir brand. The name was a marketing tool and there is no Scottish loch with that name.
In the satirical film, the Springwatch presenter dresses as an English gentleman, sporting a moustache and a boater, in front of an apparently idyllic Scottish salmon picnic.
However, it features salmon covered in lice and shows Mr Packham applying dyes to turn its grey flesh pink. He also douses the fish in chemical “condiments” to ward off lice and fungal infections.
Mr Packham has urged M&S to "use its influence" to help end factory-farmed salmon. He told The Telegraph: "Farmed salmon are out of sight and so is the reality of the environmental, ecological, economic, animal welfare and human health horror show. It's a toxic industry - don't buy it."
He added: "Salmon are extraordinary 'Farmed salmon are out of sight and so is the reality of the animal welfare horror show'
animals which have evolved to travel thousands of miles. Confining them in sea cages exposes them to excessive levels of parasites, a range of diseases and practices that cause extreme suffering.
“And the damage doesn’t stay inside the farm – their waste and toxic chemicals destroy marine life and this, plus frequent escapes, put Scotland’s endangered wild salmon at risk.”
However, M&S said the campaign, which included more than 5,000 adverts across the London Underground, was "misleading".
The retailer said wild or farmed salmon is not grey and added that a "nutrient", called carotenoids, was added to the feed of their farmed fish, which "as closely as possible replicates a wild diet to keep them healthy".
It added that Scottish Sea Farms used veterinary medicines prescribed to fish "only by exception if needed". This is "robustly controlled" by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, it said.
An M&S spokesman added: "M&S salmon is farmed responsibly to the highest welfare standards, supporting an industry that offers thousands of UK jobs. M&S farms uphold the highest standards of welfare - exceptionally low stock density with just 1.5 per cent fish to 98.5 per cent water, continuous water quality monitoring, high-quality feed and vet care.
"We only work with select farms that
‘We provide nutrients that as closely as possible replicate a wild diet’
we know and trust and they are independently monitored. We are proud that Scottish Sea Farms has been our supplier for over 20 years."
The Project Slingshot campaign was co-founded by Naomi Hallum and Matthew Glover, who is also co-founder of the Veganuary movement.
Ms Hallum said: “M&S tells a story of care and pristine Scottish waters, and it names its salmon after a loch that doesn’t exist. Behind that story is a factory-farming system that no label can make humane. M&S should commit to taking factory-farmed salmon off its shelves.”
M&S states that its Scottish-farmed salmon is sourced from dedicated farms and meets RSPCA Assured standards.
Bayeux Tapestry exhibit to open later so ‘no visitors turned away’ BBC mixes up Fenton and Benson in tribute to Blue Planet composer
By Craig Simpson
ARTS CORRESPONDENT
THE Bayeux Tapestry exhibition will stay open an hour longer so that "no visitors are turned away".
British Museum staff have been working to solve "teething problems" with the blockbuster show, including wait times of up to two hours for ticket-holders to enjoy 40-minute slots in front of the mediaeval artwork.
Some visitors were turned away entirely when the attraction closed for a high-profile gala attended by John Healey, the Labour Chancellor.
The exhibition will now stay open for an extra hour every day to ease the unprecedented congestion inside the museum, with an insider saying it will "ensure that no visitor is turned away" because of closing times.
This means that the exhibition, which has already been seen by 100,000 visitors, could stay open as late as 10pm Thursday to Saturday, and 7pm for the rest of the week.
The extra hour will act as a "buffer" to soak up the cumulative effect of delays, without exposing the fragile 1,000-year-old artwork to more hours of damaging light. Ticket-holders are given 40 minutes to see the woven account of the Norman conquest and they are encouraged to file smoothly past the 230ft-long tapestry, without stopping, to exit on time.
If awestruck early visitors fall behind the expected pace to marvel at the embroidery, this prevents more ticket-holders from joining the slow procession past the artwork and causes delays for the next timed slots. This has led to
---
'100,000 visitors in three weeks is an extraordinary volume to deal with – we are learning lessons'
"pinch points" in the afternoon and near closing, staff have noted, when accumulated delays amount to the longest queues and those with timed slots late in the day are facing the most frustrating waiting times.
To prevent those with late ticket slots being timed out or rushed, staff will have the discretion to keep the exhibition open into the buffer hour to ease the queue and improve the flow of visits through the Bayeux gallery. To accommodate the extra hour, curators have dipped into a bank of "lux hours", the number of hours the delicate Tapestry can be exposed to potentially harmful light.
The total permitted weekly lux hours for the exhibition was set by the French state and signed into a legal agreement, but the exact figure has been kept a closely guarded secret.
The British Museum has said that other changes will be brought in to improve the visitor experience after what Dame Mary Beard, a trustee, called "teething problems".
Museum leadership took action to solve these problems last week after public anger over ticket-holders being turned away so the museum could close early for a gala hosted by Samsung in celebration of an upcoming exhibition on Korea. The event was attended by both Mr Healey and Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan, the British Museum director, said that the number of visitors - 100,000 in roughly three weeks - was an "extraordinary" volume to deal with and apologised to those who had had a "bad experience". He added that the museum was focused on "learning lessons" for the rest of the exhibition, which runs to July 2027.
By Anita Singh ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR period for the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and never reinstated.
THE BBC has apologised for marking the death of British composer George Fenton by mistakenly playing a song by US singer George Benson.
Melvin Odoom, the Radio 2 presenter, mixed up the two on air during his Monday night show.
A news bulletin reporting the death of Fenton, who was 76, was followed by Odoom announcing a "tribute" and playing Nature Boy by George Benson, who is still alive, aged 83.
Fenton composed the music for three of the BBC's landmark natural history series presented by Sir David Attenborough: The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. His other BBC TV work included themes for the Six O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News, Newsnight and Shoestring.
Fenton scored more than 100 films, earning Oscar nominations for Gandhi, Cry Freedom, Dangerous Liaisons and The Fisher King, and TV shows including Bergerac.
The composer, born in Bromley, Kent, received five Academy Award nominations among a host of other gongs including Baftas and Golden
Globes. A BBC spokesman said: "This was a production error, for which we apologise."
The error was noted by David Arnold, a fellow composer, who wrote on social media: "Radio 2 announced the passing of George Fenton on the 11pm news tonight, immediately followed by the presenter playing Nature Boy by George Benson in tribute to 'George Benson'.
Left, acclaimed composer George Fenton and, right, jazz guitarist George Benson
“George was a genius composer and deserved better than that from the company he gave voice to.”
Fenton did receive a fitting tribute on Tuesday's edition of Radio 4's PM programme.
The show began with the theme tune which Fenton wrote for the programme and which was used until 1997, when it was suspended during the mourning
It was the only theme he composed for radio. This is not the first time that the BBC has made an error when announcing a death.
In June, news of David Hockney's death was accompanied on the BBC's One O'Clock bulletin by the caption: "David Hockney resigns."
Separately, Radio Caroline, the former pirate station which is now an independent licensed broadcaster for Suffolk and Essex, accidentally announced the death of the King in May this year.
The national anthem was played, followed by 16 minutes of silence. The presenter then resumed broadcasting and apologised for the error.
An Ofcom investigation found that a member of staff carrying out maintenance on the studio computer accessed prerecorded sound files to be used in the event of the King's death and played them "out of curiosity", not realising they would interrupt programming.
The engineer responsible for the mistake was reprimanded and files were removed from the computer desktop.
---
Save on 1000s of products with our BIG RED discount codes\*
fire tv
Save 10%
Use code:
RED10 dyson Save 30% Use code: RED30
Lenovo Save 10% Use code: RED10
amazon Save 20% Use code: RED20
REACHER
Astronix
Habitus
Jewen Osten
Glu Benset
Netflix
iBook
Facebook
Bridging
Black
ademy
There's more to
BBC pays white people less than minorities
---
Women, the disabled and LGBTQ+ staff also at a financial advantage according to report
By Harry Brennan
CONSUMER AFFAIRS EDITOR
THE BBC pays white staff less on average than their ethnic minority colleagues in every pay band bar one, figures show.
Black, Asian, mixed and other ethnic minority employees received 13.2 per cent higher median pay than white workers in the corporation's lowest pay band, and 5.3 per cent more in the highest pay band.
White employees' median pay was higher - by 0.6 per cent - in one out of seven pay scales. This is despite the
BBC's commitment to "fair, clear and competitive" pay.
Its annual report also showed that women in senior leadership roles were paid 1.4 per cent more than senior men on average; disabled managers were paid 7.5 per cent more than able-bodied staff; and the highest-paid LGBTQ+ employees earned 8.8 per cent more on average than “non LGBTQ+” colleagues.
The broadcaster's "pay gap" report said men, the able-bodied, straight and white workers all still benefited from higher average wages when measured as a whole, with its overall ethnicity pay gap standing at 0.7 per cent in favour of white workers and 7.6 per cent in favour of men. This is because higher proportions of staff from these groups take up a greater share of the top-paying jobs, bringing up the overall average.
However, it said there had been an increase in the proportion of ethnic minority employees in higher-paying jobs last year, resulting in the "largest year-on-year movement" in its figures.
SOURCE: BBC ANNUAL REPORT
The numbers are likely to stoke wider concerns over internal diversity targets and staff development schemes, which critics have condemned as un-meritocratic. Sir John Whittingdale, a former culture secretary who drew up the BBC's last charter in 2016, said the BBC "ought to be paying staff entirely on the basis of the value and merit they contribute for the job they are doing".
During his time in government, he led a campaign for pay transparency at the corporation which revealed a stark gender pay gap at the top end of the organisation.
"The BBC quite rightly put this discrepancy right, but I would expect the same principle of fair pay to apply to all characteristics, be it race, sexuality, or indeed gender," Sir John added.
The BBC runs a number of mentoring and development schemes aimed at progressing the careers of diverse staff, including programmes designed to “progress talent from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds”.
It has committed to its so-called 50:20:14:25 Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy, which strives for a
50 per cent gender split across the organisation; 20 per cent ethnic minority staff; 14p per cent deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent; and 25 per cent working class. The BBC said these were goals, not quotas, and had no association with pay.
Last year, it applied the representation targets to both its workforce and creative output for the first time.
The change was made while a critical review of representation in the corporation's output was being carried out.
Published at the start of this year, the report found the BBC had made “significant progress” towards representing the country on screen, but that colour-blind casting and diversity drives had left audiences with the impression representation was being “shoe-horned” into programming.
It said efforts to represent a diverse Britain at times had led to a “sense that there needs to be a smattering of diversity in every programme which can lead to inauthentic portrayal".
In particular, it found the BBC was overly “middle-class” and “London-centric”, in both senior leadership and in the commissioning of its output, and said it needed to better reflect the working class. The BBC said that it had taken the review on board and was committed to hiring more roles outside London and reviewing content to ensure “authentic” representation.
The broadcaster insisted its pay gaps are not as a result of unequal pay and has said audits have concluded that there is no systemic gender discrimination based on pay at the BBC.
A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC is committed to fair and equal pay for all. We continue to monitor our pay gaps closely and do expect to see small fluctuations year-on-year."
---
Super genes of 194-year-old tortoise can help us live longer
By Sarah Knapton SCIENCE EDITOR
JONATHAN, the 194-year-old giant tortoise, has the super genes of a five-year-old which stop his cell batteries from running down, scientists have found.
In a discovery that could have implications for slowing human ageing, researchers found the Aldabra tortoise is carrying 287 unique gene variants which are driving his longevity.
Jonathan is the world's oldest land animal, estimated to have hatched in 1832, when King William IV was on the British throne, five years before the accession of Queen Victoria.
He has lived most of his life on the island of St Helena, the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, on the grounds of Plantation House, the residence of the governor of St Helena. He had been brought as a gift from the
---
'If we can understand Jonathan, we may be able to apply some of that to slow the ageing process'
Seychelles 144 years ago. To uncover the secret to his extreme lifespan, researchers at the University of Cambridge carried out a DNA analysis and found Jonathan carries gene variants that are good at repairing DNA damage, reducing inflammation, regulating insulin and suppressing cancer.
Some 272 genes appeared to be “very young”, similar to a five-year-old tortoise, while the “on/off” switches that regulate the genes were also found to be remarkably stable.
Dr Justin Gerlach, an ecologist, from Cambridge, said: "Not only is he slightly better able to cope with the symptoms of ageing, he is ageing more slowly.
"If we can understand what it is about Jonathan's gene regulators that makes them so stable, we may be able to apply some aspect of that to slow the ageing process."
Dr Stephen Clark, founder of Kallel, the non-profit longevity research group, said: "Nature has already solved the puzzle of ageing in remarkable ways, and Jonathan's genome provides a blueprint for cellular resilience."
The research was published in the journal Science Advances.
---
NHS waiting times set to be double Labour election pledge
By Michael Searles
DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR
NHS waiting times will be twice as long as Labour promised by the next election, analysis shows.
The health service will fail to meet the 18-week wait target that had been a flagship pledge of Sir Keir Starmer's reign, a report by the Health Foundation think tank predicts. Instead, it says, based on the rate of progress in Labour's first two years in power, patients will still be waiting 35 weeks in 2029 – almost twice as long as promised.
The Government will have barely moved the needle on the overall NHS backlog either, with 7.1 million people forecast to still be on a waiting list.
Experts at the Health Foundation said their modelling showed the Govern-
---
'The NHS is having to run faster just to stand still – the prospects of meeting the pledge are receding'
ment "will fall a long way short of meeting its headline pledge".
Dr Francesca Cavallaro, a senior analytical manager at the Health Foundation, said a rise in referrals in Labour's second year meant the NHS was "having to run faster just to stand still".
"The prospects of meeting the Government's pledge are receding. Andy Burnham's Government have yet to set out whether they will give the 18-week target the same priority as it had under Keir Starmer, but our analysis shows the pledge is becoming increasingly hard to deliver," she said.
An NHS spokesman said: "The NHS is back to delivering its targets and last year met its commitment to treating 65 per cent of patients waiting within 18 weeks, despite a significant increase in demand for services... and while we acknowledge it will be challenging, we remain on course to deliver our commitments by the end of the Parliament."
A Department of Health spokesman said: “This Government has made cutting NHS waiting times a central priority, and we are determined to keep pushing towards our 92 per cent target, so more patients can get the treatment they need, when they need it.”
By Nick Squires
ROME CORRESPONDENT in Rome
Secret to reaching 100? Eating peasant food and tending allotments
SCIENTISTS believe an Italian village with an unusually high number of women who live to 100 could hold the secret to a longer life.
In Bolotana, in the mountainous interior of Sardinia, 14 per cent of women who reach the age of 70 go on to live to 100 or beyond. That is four times the Italian national average of 3.5 per cent.
The village lies more than 60 miles outside Sardinia's recognised "blue zone", a region in the centre of the island that has long been renowned for the longevity of its inhabitants.
The discovery of the new long-life hotspot was made by scientists from Sassari University in Sardinia, the University of Illinois, the University of Alabama and the University of California, Los Angeles.
The researchers found that between 2021 and 2025, the town of 2,200 inhabitants boasted five men and 14 women who reached the age of 100. The number has since dwindled to six, all of them women, although there are several people in their late nineties who may soon celebrate their 100th birthdays and boost the tally.
The reason why so many Sardinians live to a ripe old age is attributed to a number of factors, including genetic disposition, a healthy diet consisting of lots of vegetables and pulses, physical exercise and a high level of sociability.
When one of the centenarians, Giovannina Marras, 101, offered the researchers lunch, they reportedly asked who would cook the food. "I do it all myself," she answered and proceeded to rustle up a hearty meal.
"The results demonstrate the quality of life that can be found in our village," Francesco Manconi, the mayor, told Corriere della Sera. "We hope that it will attract not just tourists to come and see the town but also new inhabitants, so that we can reverse the depopulation that has unfortunately taken place."
Asked what the secret of the locals' long lives was, the mayor said: "I'm no scientist, but I think it is a mix of factors. Our diet, certainly - lots of grains and vegetables and meat from local animals, not intensively reared herds."
He said locals are particularly fond of a dish called, in the Sardinian language, "seadas", which is whole-grain semolina cooked with pecorino cheese, as well as "mustazzolus", a soft biscuit flavoured with lemon or cinnamon that contains only tiny amounts of sugar.
In this hilly part of Sardinia, locals constantly negotiate steep slopes to tend their allotments and cultivated fields. "Old people here have always walked a lot to reach their fields - some of them walk as much as 20 kilometres a day, particularly the women," the mayor said.
Some of the centenarians' habits run contrary to medical advice, however. Maddalena Falchi, 102, has always been a heavy smoker and would not dream of giving up cigarettes.
Bespoke artificial tongue allows cancer survivor to speak again
By Telegraph Reporter
A BRITISH cancer patient has become the first person to be given a bespoke prosthetic tongue on the NHS.
Surgery to remove a cancerous tumour took most of Dr Imogen Brooks's tongue, and subsequent treatment left her with speech problems.
Experts from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust spent months working on the custom-made prosthetic, which was designed for her to create the maximum number of sounds.
Dr Brooks, an assistant medical writer from east London, was diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma, the most common type of head and neck cancer, when she was 26.
Surgery three years ago meant she lost most of her tongue.
While her speech after reconstruction was good, subsequent radiotherapy shrank the tissue.
tance technology on phone calls, but said acquaintances and former colleagues would avoid talking to her in person.
“What I was finding was people would actually look at me in fear when I spoke to them for the first time,” she said. “And it was so, so common for people to just smile and even not respond and make up in their head what I had said.”
The 30-year-old said this would cause issues with misinformation, which would affect her medical appointments and would cause problems at work.
She described the period as "really frustrating", and so Imogen Brooks's spare artificial tongue
sought a solution. "I was thinking: 'If I was just able to have that little bit of contact between the bottom of my mouth and the top of my mouth, it would be better.'"
After doing research on prosthetic tongues, Dr Brooks asked her clinicians at Guy's and St Thomas' if she would be a good candidate. "At my next appoint-
ment there were eight people in the room - everyone was willing to try," she added.
Dr Brooks said her bespoke tongue had made a "massive difference" to her life.
“What I notice is how much more willing people are to listen to me, how much less difficulty they have understanding me, and how much more willing they are to ask me to repeat myself,” she said.
ANDREW MATTHEWS/REUTERS
Friend indeed
Kevin Sinfield, 46,
with his wife Jayne,
after he was made a
Knight Bachelor at
Windsor Castle.
Sir Kevin has made
a lifelong promise
to continue raising
money for motor
neurone disease
research and care
in memory of his
late friend and
former rugby
league team-mate
Rob Burrow.
News
Dexter killer blamed fox attack for bloody hand
Benjamin Day hired an Airbnb for the killing of Romanian sex worker Maria Saceanu, right
Man who lured prostitute to 'kill room' he copied from TV show admits stabbing her to death
By Telegraph Reporter
A KILLER obsessed with TV drama Dexter told police an injury he had suffered while trying to cut up his victim's body was caused by a fox attack.
In newly released footage, Benjamin Day, 20, is seen lying to police before his arrest on suspicion of killing Maria Saceanu, 24. He had murdered her in a "kill room" copied from the US programme, which features a serial killer who works as a forensic technician.
The body-worn camera film released by West Midlands Police shows Day - who had cut open his hand while attempting to dismember the body - claiming to have been bitten by a wild dog or a fox.
Day, who was studying forensics at the University of Worcester, changed his plea at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday to guilty.
A trial heard he lured the Romanian sex worker to a plastic-lined room at an Airbnb in Tividale, West Midlands, where she suffered 78 knife wounds, many inflicted after she had died.
Day, of Redditch, Worcestershire, had placed his victim's possessions in a bin bag for disposal after taking knives, scissors, a mask, an apron, disposable gloves, plastic sheeting, duct tape, a staple gun and chemicals to the scene.
The police footage shows Day bleeding from a hand wound and falsely claiming to be unable to remember where he had parked his car, which was outside the house containing Saceanu's body. An officer can be heard questioning Day's account.
In a second clip, Day is seen wearing a khaki top, similar to one worn by Dexter, while lying on a bed at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley at 3.42am on Dec 21. He is also heard saying: "I have got four fingers thankfully."
Opening the Crown's case on Mon-
day, Rachel Brand KC, prosecuting, said
Day had spent several hours preparing
the so-called kill room. He had been
expected to claim self-defence, assert-
ing that he set up the room to film a
"tribute" to Dexter to post on TikTok.
However, after an hour-long delay to proceedings on Tuesday, Day returned from the cells to the dock and appeared to smirk as he nodded towards the court clerk and entered a guilty plea.
The change of plea came about three hours after jurors were shown footage of Day claiming to have been attacked by a dog or fox "near a bush".
The court heard Day left the Airbnb at about 12.30am on Dec 21, walked some distance away then called 999 at 12.50am asking for medical help. During his conversations with police, Day said he had driven to the Dudley to look for a "random girl" in a bar.
Asked by an officer whether he had been set up and attacked, Day said he had been injured by an animal that "might have been a fox".
Saceanu died as a result of wounds to her neck, with a number of wounds to her hands "consistent with efforts to protect herself".
Explaining the Crown's case at the start of what was expected to be a two-week trial, Ms Brand said of Day: "He lured Maria Saceanu to a room that he had rented via Airbnb.
"He had prepared himself to kill her. He had planned to dispose of her body without leaving signs of what had happened and he planned to get away with it. But it all went wrong and he was
---
'He had planned to dispose of her body without leaving signs of what had happened'
caught." She told the jury: "We don't pretend ... to be able to give you the deep-seated psychological reasons why he decided to kill another person - that's not our remit.
"But what we can tell you is that he had become fascinated with a particular television drama series - an American series - and his actions were those of a copycat, imitating the things he had seen in that programme." She added: "Dexter wears a khaki T-shirt. The defendant had purchased just such a T-shirt and was wearing it when he was arrested. He had changed into 'Dexter' clothing before Maria Saceanu arrived at the house.
"In the TV series, Dexter prepares a 'kill room' when carrying out his attacks, lined with plastic sheeting which he fixes using a staple gun or duct/gaffer tape. And this is exactly how the defendant had prepared the room."
Day is due to be sentenced on Dec 4, when he faces a mandatory life sentence.
Mystery as Montoya's Fl car vanishes after decade on loan
By Telegraph Reporter
A BRITISH Formula One team are locked in a £1m High Court fight over one of their Grand Prix cars, which they said vanished after they lent it out to the owner of a garage.
The £750,000 racing car was manufactured by Williams and used by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, the team's drivers at the 2001 World Championship. Afterwards, it became part of the manufacturer's collection of "heritage cars".
The team say the car disappeared after it was lent to Shropshire-based Autotech Performance in 2015 to become a show-piece at the company's garage in Telford. When Williams asked for the car to be returned in 2021, they said they received no response and that Autotech had since gone into liquidation.
The racing company is now suing Peter Thorpe, the former Autotech director and shareholder, for return of the car, or a payment of more than £1m.
Lawyers for Williams claim that Mr Thorpe had the car removed from the garage, having wrongly claimed to his company's liquidators that he was the owner of it personally.
Mr Thorpe, 58, is fighting the claim, insisting in his defence that he never told anyone that he owned the car, "because he knew this to be untrue".
He claims that he does not know where the car is and has a poor memory after suffering a stroke. Mr Thorpe adds that he cannot remember speaking to liquidators and that the car was still on site the last time he went there in the summer of 2021 before Autotech was dissolved.
Richard Clegg, the barrister for Williams, said Mr Thorpe had "wrongfully claimed" to a valuer involved in Autotech's liquidation that he was the rightful owner of the car. "On a date unknown after the commencement of Autotech's voluntary liquidation, or thereabouts, the car was removed from the premises," he continued. "It is to be inferred that it was the defendant who removed the car from the premises, or who arranged for its removal therefrom, and the defendant who thereupon took possession and control of it."
He said Williams was seeking an order for the return of the car, plus hire charges, or alternatively more than £1m if it was not given back.
Duncan MacPherson, for Mr Thorpe, said the businessman did not know where the car was and denies claiming to own it, since he cannot remember speaking to the valuer. He said Williams was not entitled to any order against Mr Thorpe, while also disputing the alleged £750,000 value, claiming that the vehicle was a show car without an engine.
Williams' claim against Mr Thorpe was filed in the High Court, but the case has not gone before a judge for a full trial. A Williams spokesman said: "As the proceedings are active, we will make no further comment but have full faith in the legal system to resolve this matter."
Female school assistant ‘showed pupil sex toys and handcuffs’
By Telegraph Reporter
A SCHOOL learning support assistant groomed a 15-year-old pupil before taking him to her house and showing him her collection of sex toys and handcuffs, a court heard.
Melanie Rock also allegedly gave the pupil a "koala hug" by pressing her body against his and stretching her legs around him whilst they were lying on her bed.
Prosecutors claim that the 34-year-old, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, showered the schoolboy with gifts - including £385 worth of clothing - and took him out for food before inviting him back to her house.
The court heard Ms Rock told the boy that she would lose her job when they bumped into another teacher from Medina College in public if he didn't lie and say he was her godson.
She is on trial at Isle of Wight Crown Court charged with meeting a child following sexual grooming, and sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. Ms Rock denies the charges. The sexual activity charge relates to the allegation of a "koala hug".
School learning assistant Melanie Rock is accused of grooming a 15-year-old boy
Tim Devlin, prosecuting, said Ms Rock was 31 when the alleged offences took place and worked as a learning support assistant at the school.
He said the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was 15 and a pupil at the school and they exchanged messages on Instagram before they began meeting outside school.
Ms Rock allegedly picked him up several times during a week-long period. Jurors heard that on one occasion, she took the boy to KFC.
She collected the teenager on Oct 31 before taking him to a cashpoint and an amusement arcade in Sandown.
The boy alleged Ms Rock slipped him a £20 note and later gave him £25 to spend at the arcade. They then went to Ms Rock's home in Cowes, ate Domino's pizza and went trick-or-treating.
In a police interview recorded in 2023 and played to the jury, the boy described lying on Ms Rock's bed when she hugged him from behind, pressed her body against his and stretched her legs around him.
He also said that Ms Rock invited him to "enjoy her room" and "directed him" towards a drawer containing a blue bag, handcuffs, black see-through lingerie and sex toys.
The trial continues.
Serial criminal stabbed mother to death days after release from jail
By Telegraph Reporter heard a scream coming from the victim's home, the court heard.
victed of possession of a bladed article and harassment.
A VIOLENT offender stabbed a mother-of-two to death within days of being released from jail, a court has heard.
Robert Sabat, 60, pleaded guilty to murdering Dickiesha Nurse, his 42-year-old ex-partner, at her flat in Tulse Hill, south London, last October.
On being arrested on suspicion of Ms Nurse's murder, he claimed he had killed before and was planning a "murder spree". Begging to be sent back to prison, he said: "I stay [in] jail. I've been let out a week. Let me back. I'm happy in there, I've done wrong. I killed before and got away with it."
Sabat, of Balham, south London, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years at the Old Bailey yesterday.
He had been released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on Oct 17 last year, the day after he had been sentenced to 12 months in prison at Kingston Crown Court. Sabat, who had been in jail on remand since May 1 that year, was con-
At yesterday's sentencing hearing, Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, said Sabat and Ms Nurse had been in a relationship and had known each other for many years as the defendant was
10
---
Number of days after Robert Sabat was released from prison that he was arrested for the murder of his ex-partner
brought up by her father. Two days after Sabat was released from prison, Ms Nurse's children visited her and, on returning home, told their father her "friend or cousin" had been there.
On Oct 22, Ms Nurse told a neighbour Sabat was at her address and would not leave. Another neighbour saw her shouting in the street: "Get out of my house."
Two days later, a neighbour had
Ms Nurse was last seen on CCTV the next day. On Oct 27, paramedics went to Ms Nurse's flat with her sister and mother to carry out a welfare check. After no response, an ambulance crew member climbed in through an open window and opened the door to allow access.
Ms Farrelly said Sabat charged the ambulance crew and Ms Nurse's family "whilst brandishing a red-handled knife", causing them to leave the property and call the police.
Soon after, armed officers forced entry and used Tasers as they detained Sabat.
Ms Farrelly said officers had found Ms Nurse on a bed with a pillow over her face and stab wounds to the face. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms Farrelly said the defendant had convictions dating back to 1987, including burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession, and harassment of an ex-partner.
Jewish man beaten up by 'far-Left activists' after Greens' Zionism vote
By Patrick Sawer
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
A JEWISH man was beaten and left bloodied after he attempted to stop two men from spraying graffiti accusing the Labour candidate in today's Holborn & St Pancras by-election of being a "puppet of genocidal Israel".
Dan Levene, 52, intervened after he spotted the masked man crouched down spraying a slogan in white paint on the pavement in Queen's Square, Bloomsbury, central London.
The stencilled slogan accused Sagal Abdi-Wali, Labour's candidate in Sir Keir Starmer's former constituency, of acting on behalf of the Israeli government.
Mr Levene, who was walking home from an evening out at the theatre, kicked the stencil away and shouted: "No you don't you neo-Nazis".
At this point one of the two men, who were wearing masks and both were described as 6ft tall and of university age, is alleged to have begun punching Mr Levene.
The pair are then alleged to have pinned the retired journalist to the ground and continued the attack. When Mr Levene tried to film them, the pair grabbed his phone and threw it over a fence.
The alleged attack only came to an end when two women ran over from a nearby pub screaming at the assailants to stop.
'The threats against the Jewish community in Britain keep piling up'
One of the men at this point fled on a bike while the other ran off on foot, leaving Mr Levene suffering from cuts and bruises to his face, arms and legs and a suspected cracked rib.
One of the women helped Mr Levene to retrieve his phone which allowed him to report the assault to the police.
The alleged attack came after delegates at the Green Party adopted a motion declaring Zionism to be a form of racism.
Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, did not take part in the vote on
Sunday, which has divided senior party figures and many longstanding members.
Mr Levene, who said he suspected his attackers were "far-Left extremists", said: "It's very, very unsettling and I'm extremely shaken.
"The threat against the British's Jewish community keeps piling up. And that horrendous motion passed by Greens at the weekend has put a target on every Jew."
Referring to a pro-Palestine march held in London on Wednesday's anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel, which killed more than 1200 Jews, he added: "You can also see it when people are seemingly marching in favour of October 7 today.
"I spent my career looking at far-Right extremists, but the main threat now comes from far-Left extremists."
Martin Gallagher, a former police superintendent and terrorism expert on political extremism, said: "These two thugs demonstrate how the current iteration of the extreme Left wing is increasingly moving towards political violence. Virtue signalling has now moved further from protest to intolerance and we can expect much more of this sort of violence catalysed by the internet if the authorities don't start taking this threat seriously."
Following the Green Party vote, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said in a statement condemning the decision: "Branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions 'racist' stokes anti-Jewish hatred after a year in which British Jews have been murdered attending their synagogue, stabbed in the streets, and seen their community buildings firebombed."
Mr Polanski is standing in today's by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, the north London constituency that was represented by Sir Keir until his resignation last month.
However, Ms Abdi-Wali, who has run Camden council since earlier this year, has been tipped to hold the seat for Labour, with the odds of voters
'Virtue signalling has moved further from protest to intolerance and we can expect more of this'
electing Mr Polanski lengthening in recent weeks.
Scotland Yard sources said both the assault and the criminal damage have been recorded as an antisemitic hate crime.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police received an online report at around 11:50pm on Tuesday, Oct 6 that a man in his 50s had been assaulted after challenging two men who were reported to be spraying graffiti in Queen Square, Holborn.
"The man reported minor injuries but did not require medical treatment. Officers have spoken to the victim and are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, which at this time is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
"No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 8535/6OCT26 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111."
Churchill makes way for an owl or a puffin
After storm of controversy, Bank of England reveals the animals chosen to replace famous Britons
By Emma Taggart
BUMBLEBEES, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs will feature on the Bank of England's next series of banknotes, replacing Winston Churchill and other historic figures.
The new banknotes will see the wartime prime minister removed from the £5 note when they are released over the next few years. The Bank received more than 478,000 responses to a public consultation on which creatures should appear on the new notes.
However, the Bank has also faced criticism for its decision to axe sterling notes featuring portraits of historic figures.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, called the new banknotes "ridiculous". He said: "The Bank should be focused on getting inflation down, not erasing our history with this nonsense."
Churchill currently appears on the reverse of the £5 note; writer Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner, the 19th century painter, on the £20; and Alan Turing, the Second World War codebreaker, on the £50.
The Bank has argued that new notes with fresh designs are required to include updated security features and keep ahead of fraudsters.
Rhys Phillips, the Bank's incoming chief cashier, said the new notes would combine
Banknotes will feature animals instead of historic figures such as Winston Churchill
"cutting-edge secu-
rity features and
materials science".
However, research obtained by The Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act found that the Bank had removed historic figures such as Churchill from banknotes after being told by focus groups they were "elitist and divisive".
A report commissioned by the Bank revealed focus group participants had said the notable Britons were “contentious and not representative of the UK’s cultural and natural diversity”. The report said respondents felt the figures represented “a backward-looking vision of the UK that carries too great a risk of division and controversy".
The Bank began printing sterling banknotes featuring historic figures in 1970.
William Shakespeare was the first to feature on a British banknote, aside from a monarch, when he was depicted on the £20 note more than 50 years ago. Churchill first appeared on the £5 note in 2016.
The Bank of England spent £22,500 on public consultations about which animals to feature on the banknotes, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
As part of the Bank's month-long consultation, the public was asked to choose from a shortlist of 18 native animals including mammals, birds, amphibians, insects and fish.
The buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular creature, receiving 360,399 nominations from the public.
After the survey, the Bank selected bumblebees, puffins, barn owls and hedgehogs to appear as the main images on the notes, alongside a portrait of the King. Other creatures that appeared on the shortlist but were not as popular included the Atlantic salmon, the bottlenose dolphin and white-tailed eagle.
The banknote series will also feature nature imagery as part of their new design, with the possibility of some of the other shortlisted animals also being included, according to the Bank.
It has yet to be decided which of the winning animals will feature on each of the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.
When the news first broke, Kemi Badenoch said: "Removing Churchill from banknotes is erasing our history.
"Changing the pictures to put wild animals on them is a silly thing to do."
And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "I can't think of a worse time to do this with a war waging in Europe."
DALE MOBRELLA EMT NEWS
Monkey business A mother gelada with its two infants in the Ethiopian Highlands, photographed by Dale Morris, who says: "When geladas get nervous, they smile and start grinning. I think me staring at them made them feel a little uncomfortable, and so all three of them started grinning at me."
I struggle to watch Strictly now, says ex-pro Brendan Cole
By Tom Jeffreys
A FORMER Strictly Come Dancing professional says he "struggles" to watch the new version of the show.
Brendan Cole, who danced on the programme from 2004 until 2017, has criticised the show's new hosts, as well as the BBC's decision to overhaul its professional dancer lineup.
Appearing on Jeremy Vine on 5, the dancer also said the show's run time - which stretches past two hours 20 minutes on a Saturday - was too long.
Cole, 50, told Vine he was "not enjoying" the presenting trio of Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, previously one of the show's pro dancers, who replaced hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
"It's not what people are used to," he said. "I think the signings are interesting, let's say. I'm not enjoying it so far."
He told the programme that Willis had "been great", but questioned whether comedian Widdicombe was
---
'It's not what people are used to. I think the signings are interesting, let's say. I'm not enjoying it'
the right "fit". "I think Emma's been great. I think Josh is trying to be great, and I don't think he's a bad host, but does he fit Strictly? I'm not sure.
“Johannes obviously fits Strictly, but I don’t want to hear, ‘my darling, my darling, my darling’ every time someone comes up the stairs. So I think the BBC are probably looking at themselves now and going, ‘Eek, have we made the right decision?’”
Cole described the changes as a "massive risk", and said he "struggled" to get through the full programme.
"I don't disagree with the moving on," he said. "I think you've got to change your show. I think making those changes - the contestants and then the hosts - it's a massive change for people and I don't think people are loving it."
He added: "I struggle to get through two and a half hours on the main show on a Saturday night. It's long. It's a big watch." Chris Appleton, a celebrity hairstylist, became the first celebrity to be sent home on Sunday.
Poor degrees ‘eating up’ young people’s lives, says ex-Ofsted chief
By Albert Tait EDUCATION EDITOR
TOO many university degrees "eat three years" of a young person's life for no economic benefit, the former head of Ofsted has said.
Baroness Spielman, who served as the chief inspector at the schools watchdog from 2017 to 2023, said that policymakers should “think quite fundamentally about the design of mass higher education”.
"[It's] something like a third of university courses that provide no economic return for the young people taking them," she said at a fringe event organised by the Policy Institute at
King's College London at the Conservative Party conference.
She added: “I don’t want to get into arguments about the precise proportion, but it’s clear that too big a slice of degree courses essentially eat three years of a young person’s productive life for no real benefits. So we’re actually short-changing them by encouraging them to do those [degrees].”
The comments by Lady Spielman, who is the shadow minister for work and pensions, add to concerns that university has become poor value for money for young people.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published an analysis earlier this year
'We're actually short-changing them by encouraging them to do those degrees'
that found one in four graduates were worse off financially than if they had not attended university, up from one in five in 2020.
It found that while 76 per cent of graduates were better off after obtaining a degree, 24 per cent were earning less than those with similar GCSE results who had not gone to university.
The report found that around a third of students who completed undergraduate degrees had a negative “total return”, meaning their degree generated less economic value to themselves and the Government than if they had not studied.
Lady Spielman declined to name specific courses she felt were poor value for money, but the IFS named several subjects, including creative arts and philosophy, where graduates would have been financially better off had they not pursued higher education.
The think tank found that those with a degree in performing arts would be around £61,000 worse off in their lifetime than if they had not attended university, while a philosophy graduate would be £9,000 worse off.
In her speech, which was reported by Times Higher Education, Lady Spielman suggested many students were "under-occupied" at university.
"It's blindingly clear that, especially 'A lot of students basically spend three years – far too great an extent – kicking their heels'
Great War soldier's love revealed after diary found in skip
By Tom McArdle
A FIRST WORLD WAR soldier's love story was uncovered thanks to his diary found in a waste dump more than 60 years ago.
Cpl Claude Nuttall documented his time on the front line, where he was killed three months before the Armistice was signed to end fighting on the Western Front.
The Australian soldier had been fighting the Germans when he was injured and sent to a hospital in Stourbridge, Worcs.
wounds in Wordsley Hospital, he met and became engaged to Violet Palfreyman, whom he married in March 1918.
The young couple spent about 30 days together before he was sent to rejoin his battalion in France.
In his final diary entry, recorded on Aug 10, 1918, he recounted military successes, but also the fact that he had written to his wife.
He wrote: "Heavy bombardment by our guns. Push still in progress. Started letter to Vi. 11 $\frac{1}{4}$ inch gun captured by 31st Btn and train came back from forward. Packed up ready to move forward again. Prisoners still coming back.
Wrote to Violet."
He was killed three days later after a sniper shot him while he was attacking a German machine-gun post during the Battle of Amiens.
The diary came to light in 1996 when the curator at Dudley Museum advertised for photographs and information about individuals from the Black Country who served in the First World War.
Colin Reid, who managed the museum at the time, was arranging an exhibition of memorabilia to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1916 Somme campaign.
The appeal
Cpl Claude Nuttall and his bride Violet Palfreyman on their 1918 wedding day
prompted Alan Southall to come forward, with the diary he had found aged 12 in a pile of rubbish in 1965, which had a bullet hole through it and was still covered in blood.
in the humanities, a lot of students basically spend three years – far too great an extent – kicking their heels, going to a few hours of lectures and classes a week, writing one essay every few weeks, but really just not doing enough and having far too much time to get bored and lonely," she said.
Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, the body representing 142 institutions, said: "These opinions are not borne out by the facts.
“Fewer than one in 10 graduates regret going to university, graduates are more likely to be employed, more likely to earn higher salaries, and to see their earnings rise more quickly.”
Mr Reid said: "We had decided that because there was a local angle to this, we would actually put his diary on display, just with a single red rose. The more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn."
He has brought together his research in a new book, The Digger's Diary, which will be launched at Stourbridge Library next Thursday as part of Dudley History Festival.
Mr Reid added: "I just felt this is actually a personal story. I couldn't help myself.
"Right from the very first moment that I held the diary, I had that real sense of connection with it. I was really hooked."
Records show Nuttall enlisted in the Australian army a few days after his 20th birthday in 1915 and was assigned to the 23rd Battalion.
After deployment to Egypt, the battalion moved to the Western Front to face the Germans.
Nuttall was awarded the Military Medal by King George V for rescuing fallen comrades from No Man's Land in 1916.
The Blowout
XV
XV
Spy's double life as amateur football coach
Second of Berlin's senior intelligence officials to be arrested revealed as UK security fears mount
By Joe Barnes, James Crisp, James Rothwell and Jan-Henrik Dobers
THE German spy accused of selling intelligence to a foreign power led a double life as a coach for an amateur football team, The Telegraph can reveal.
Manfred Dankesreiter, 64, is the former official accused of working side by side with August Hanning, the former head of Germany's federal intelligence service (BND), to leak thousands of classified documents.
Mr Dankesreiter was chief of staff at the BND, giving him access to classified information that he allegedly passed to his former boss after Mr Hanning had left the spy agency.
Mr Dankesreiter, a father of two, lives with his family in an affluent area of Geretsried in Bavaria, around a 50-minute drive from Munich.
Mr Dankesreiter is involved with a nearby football club, and in 2012 coached the men's second team to a third-place finish in their league. The case is remarkably similar to that of another former German spy who allegedly leaked secrets to Russia while volunteering as a coach at a separate club.
In 2023, The Telegraph revealed that Carsten Linke worked at Weilheim football club, where he coached several youth teams and told anybody who asked that he was a soldier.
Mr Dankesreiter would tell associates at his club, about 19 miles from Weilheim, that he was an “asset manager” by day. Mr Dankesreiter was described by his fellow footballers as having been a “successful midfielder” in the German district leagues.
He was also seen as "down to earth", with one associate telling Bild - which, like The Telegraph, is a member of the Axel Springer group - that most people knew he held high-ranking positions at the BND.
In his younger years, the former spy played and coached at Sve Eurasburg, another local football club.
In 1972, the 11-year-old Mr Dankesreiter was selected by the club to carry the Olympic torch for a 100m stretch to mark the opening of that year's games in Munich.
"It was a fantastic experience," he recalled in an article published by Merkur, a Bavarian news website, to mark the 30th anniversary. Pictures of the moment are said to still adorn the Sve Eurasburg clubhouse walls.
Both Mr Dankesreiter and Mr Hanning were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of espionage and treason.
At least some of the intelligence files that Mr Dankesreiter is suspected of passing to Mr Hanning are believed to have been sold to a foreign power. Mr Dankesreiter retired from the BND, where he had worked as chief of staff to a number of the agency's presidents over two decades, in March this year.
Most notably, he held that high-ranking position while Mr Hanning, 80, served as the BND's most senior official for six years until November 2005.
Mr Dankesreiter's alleged crimes were brought to the fore after a months-long investigation into him and his former boss Mr Hanning. Mr Hanning is
Manfred Dankesreister is taken to court in Karlsruhe following his arrest, above left, as police search the apartment belonging to August Hanning
accused of illegally collecting classified documents for 16 years through his former chief of staff and selling some secrets to a foreign power.
While the authorities have not yet named the country, Der Spiegel has reported that some of the information was allegedly sold to Azerbaijan.
The Telegraph understands that some of the documents could have involved classified British intelligence shared by MI6. Mr Hanning - once the respected president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), which is Germany's equivalent to MI6 - left office in November 2005 after six years in the post. He was later reported to have found himself facing bankruptcy.
Manfred D was his chief of staff at the BND, and followed him to work at the interior ministry. After Mr Hanning's
Are our secrets safe? Questions as Burnham heads for first visit to Germany
Germany's spy agency has moved to reassure MI6 after a major intelligence leak.
MI6 chiefs fear that British spies or classified information may have been compromised after a former German former spy boss was arrested on charges of treason and espionage.
The scandal will hang over Andy Burnham's first visit to Germany as Prime Minister tomorrow, when he will hold talks with Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor.
The Telegraph understands that the current head of the federal intelligence agency (BND) has contacted his counterparts at other agencies, including MI6.
Martin Jäger has told allies that everything is being done to find out what material has been leaked and who it has been distributed to amid concerns
that foreign intelligence agencies could cut Germany off from important information.
The arrest of August Hanning is an acute embarrassment for Berlin ahead of Mr Burnham's visit.
The Prime Minister and Mr Merz are set to celebrate progress in the
implementation of last year's Kensington Treaty, which deepens co-operation on defence and
intelligence. The treaty set up joint forums to improve security cooperation, including between the intelligence services.
The UK now works more closely with Germany on intelligence outside the "Five Eyes" group of nations.
MI6 and GCHQ, as well as several US agencies, are believed to be undergoing a systematic internal review of all sensitive information shared with European allies during the relevant period.
The Telegraph understands that their primary focus is safeguarding sources who may have been put at risk by the alleged leak.
Berlin spy chiefleaked UK secrets, MI6 fears
BRITISH intelligence agencies are investigating whether their classified information or spices were compromised in the biggest espionage scandal in modern European history.
Germany's ex-head of foreign intelligence arrested on suspicion of treason
A formal arrest warrant was issued against Mr Hanning, 80, yesterday. Prosecutors allege that he received about 2,000 documents through to June
By Rozina Sabur, James Rothwell and Joe Barnes
August Hanning, the former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, and a current senior official at the agency, named only as Manfred D, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of espionage and treason. Mr Hanning is accused of illegally collecting documents for 16 years through Manfred D and selling some of the secrets to a foreign power.
German security sources said some of a high-level information the pair handed came from partner intelligence encities abroad, raising the prospect
2022. Mr Hanning's lawyer said he partially admitted to the allegations, but denied selling information.
counterparts of the breach, although it is understood to have been prior yesterday's arrests.
Prosecutors have not identified the foreign intelligence service that is alleged to have received the information. Der Spiegel news magazine reported that investigators were pursuing a possible connection to Azerbaijan.
James Crisp
While every intelligence agency is guards against potential leaks by compartmentalising information sharing, a very senior official, Manfred D would have enjoyed widespread access to all the intelligence the BND received. The German federal prosecutor's office also that Manfred D was suspected of providing Mr Hanning "with approximately 2,000 documents" in total.
departure, Manfred D served as chief of staff for several BND presidents between March 2012 and March this year.
In that role, he was instrumental in shaping the flow of information into the president's office, prioritising what intelligence was put before his bosses and when.
While every intelligence agency safeguards against potential leaks by compartmentalising information sharing, as a very senior official, Manfred D would have had widespread access to all the intelligence the BND received.
The German federal prosecutor's office said Manfred D was suspected of providing Mr Hanning "with approximately 2,000 documents".
Once the president of the Fedu Intelligence Service, or BND, German equivalent to M16, Mr Hanning left a post in November 2005 after six years Manfred D served as chief of staff several BND presidents between May 2012 and March 2026. In that role he was instrumental in shaping the flows information to the president's office.
Russian agents' foothold in Germany casts doubt on Merz's intelligence makeover
By James Crisp, Joe Barnes and James Rothwell
THE arrest of a former spy chief has exposed lingering doubts over whether Britain can trust Germany's intelligence agency.
The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) has suffered from decades of underinvestment since the end of the Cold War. Successive governments seized the “peace dividend” to make deep cuts to an agency that was once a valuable ally to the UK.
They created an underfunded and bureaucratic "Dad's Army" with agents that until recently were banned from firing their own weapons.
August Hanning, the German spy chief arrested for espionage and treason on Tuesday, was head of the
BND from 1998 to 2005, during this period of underinvestment.
The BND was founded in 1956 and became a reliable intelligence to Nato on Soviet forces. In 1967, it predicted the outbreak of the Six Day War fought by Israel in the Middle East almost to the hour.
Such accuracy contrasted sharply with the German insistence that Vladimir Putin was not about to invade Ukraine in February 2022. But even during the BND's heyday, there were high-profile infiltrations by the Stasi, the East German secret police. And mindful of the shadow cast by the Gestapo, the agency was never celebrated by Germany's politicians.
During the Cold War, the Stasi in Russia-controlled East Germany carried out extensive surveillance and
'Reforms will, for the first time, allow BND secret agents to fire their service weapons'
wiretapping. That dark history created a society deeply suspicious of surveillance.
The pair are believed to have come to a financial agreement in the spring of 2010 that Manfred D would continuously transmit valuable intelligence from the BND to his former boss for payment, the federal prosecutor said in a statement.
When the Cold War ended in 1990, the cuts began. In 1990, defence spending was 2.5 per cent of GDP. It was down to 1.1 per cent when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The BND was left vulnerable, defanged and dependent on the US and Britain.
German intelligence was also banned from holding arrest, police or executive powers from its foundation. In 1978, new laws forced its bosses to answer to politicians to prevent it becoming a new secret police.
Bruno Kahl, a former head of the BND, described the agency as "being tied up with a thousand threads like the giant Gulliver".
The folly of shackling a nation's spies and starving them of funding was laid bare by Putin's invasion of Ukraine and fears over the reliability of Donald Trump's America.
Under Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, a drive is under way to put more cash into the 6,500-strong BND. Its budget has been raised by about a quarter to €1.51bn (£1.28bn) this year.
Reforms passed over the summer will, for the first time, allow BND secret agents to fire their service weapons, commit sabotage abroad and spread disinformation to further an operation. Changing the culture of a bureaucratic and risk-averse organisation will not be easy, and neither will losing the BND its unwanted reputation for infiltration.
In late 2022, a senior BND officer called Carsten L was arrested for high treason. He is accused of passing highly classified documents on the war in Ukraine and intelligence gathering to Moscow. The trial continues.
Establishment politicians in Germany accuse the pro-Putin Alternative for Germany, currently the country's most popular party, of taking money from the Kremlin, which it
The Germans tried to scupper a ban on the free
movement of Russian diplomats'
denies. Germany has long been described as a "weak link" within Nato because of the foothold Russian agents have in the country.
The Germans spent months, if not years, trying to scupper a ban on the free movement of Russian diplomats around the EU's Schengen Zone. It had been argued that many of these Russian envoys were using diplomatic cover for their work as spies.
Berlin often argued about the possible retaliations facing its own diplomats without listening to the arguments from European allies about the threats posed by the Russians working within the EU.
Last autumn, Mr Merz said it was "our ambition that the BND operates at the highest level of intelligence". The chancellor has also vowed to make the German army Europe's strongest.
But such promises are undermined by suspicions that hundreds of Russian agents are still roaming a Germany shocked by the arrest of one of its most senior spy chiefs. The scandal may also serve as a warning to Britain not to skimp when it comes to funding defence, spies and security.
Plague victim's mother denies scientist died after breaking test tube
By Antonia Langford in Kyiv and Alexandra Snow
THE mother of a Russian scientist who died in a suspected plague leak has challenged reports that her daughter was infected after breaking a test tube containing plague bacteria.
Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Siberian antiplague research institute in Irkutsk, died on Oct 2 after being taken to hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov.
Her death, which is still shrouded in mystery, was attributed to infection with the "plague" by local officials and pro-government media in now-deleted posts. The Kremlin has dismissed the claims and denied imposing anti-plague measures.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday demanded that Russia answer questions about reports of a second, unconfirmed case of plague in Siberia and supply more information about the death of Shipilova.
The researcher's mother, Svetlana Shipilova, herself a medical professional, told the Russian outlet Glubina that she did not believe the account circulating about her daughter's death.
"I know the truth," she said. "I'm having to fend off stupid acquaintances who believed all this - the clever ones didn't believe it, of course.
"Not even all medical professionals understand it's impossible to break a test tube like that," she continued. "Even if you fling it at the wall. Only an amateur could say something like that.
"Even hypothetically, you simply can't spill what's inside or break the tube - they're that well protected."
let my daughter die." Although officials have not publicly confirmed the reports, accounts shared widely in local media suggested that Shipilova had become infected with pneumonic plague after being exposed to the highly infectious pathogen in a lab mishap.
Pavel Stepanov, the Irkutsk-based journalist, among others, claimed that she had "concealed what happened" after breaking a test tube containing the deadly sample.
About 200 potential contacts were reportedly quarantined and restrictions were imposed on several hospitals amid fears others may have been exposed to the plague, while the research institute was locked down.
Shipilova's friends also questioned reports that she had broken a test tube and then come into contact with others, in comments given to the local outlet
Darya Shipilova is accused of lab accident with vessel containing plague bacteria
People of Baikal, designated a foreign agent by the Russian government for its independent reporting.
"They have dragged her name through the mud without even finding out what happened," said a former school friend. "I can't square this story with the Dasha [Darya] I knew," said another friend. "It's as if they are talking about somebody else. Knowing how hardworking and responsible she was, it just doesn't add up for me."
“Dasha was really smart,” an acquaintance who studied in the same department told the outlet. “Not many people from our department land jobs at the plague institute... It’s a serious facility. They take everything seriously and it’s safe.”
Russia has come under increasing international pressure to provide transparency about the reports surrounding the lab worker's death. Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian health watchdog, claimed that Shipilova had died from "pneumonia of unknown aetiology", but the head of the Buryatia region said she had died from plague and authorities from nearby cities warned residents to avoid travelling to Shelekhov.
Earlier yesterday, the US formally sent a confidential diplomatic communication warning that failure to disclose information about the potential outbreak would violate Moscow's international health obligations.
Asked at the White House whether he had spoken with Vladimir Putin about the issue, Donald Trump said: "I have a call scheduled very soon. So far, we're in very deep discussions."
However, the Kremlin responded by saying that no concrete plans had been made for a call.
JACK GUEZ APPVAGETTY MADE
Israel marks the third anniversary of Hamas's Oct 7 attack yesterday with a commemorative installation
Soldiers' Oct 7 deaths blamed on Netanyahu
---
Israeli PM 'culpable' for killing of troops whose warnings of a terrorist threat were ignored
By Henry Bodkin in Jerusalem
THE families of female IDF spotters massacred on Oct 7 have said there was "no forgiveness" for the failures that led to their deaths, in a rebuke to Benjamin Netanyahu. Sixteen surveillance soldiers were among 53 troops murdered when Nahal Oz base was overrun by Hamas.
The female spotters had sent alerts about terrorists training for a possible attack in the run-up to the invasion, but were ignored - one of numerous failures that contributed to the massacre.
Other surveillance soldiers have since claimed that sexism was a factor in the warnings being ignored.
Yesterday, Dror Ashram, father of Shay Ashram, a murdered sergeant, said: "At 6.29am three years ago, when the gates of hell were opened, none of us could have imagined that the worst thing possible would occur.
"We stand here three years later and there is no forgiveness, and there never will be, for losing our girls, for the hell they went through in their final moments, for the failures, for the abandonment of them and us."
Standing with other bereaved families at a monument to the killed troops, he added: "We will not forget and we will not forgive."
Mr Ashram's comments formed part of a complex societal picture as Israel paused to reflect on the worst day in its history.
Many loved ones of those killed or taken hostage came forward to repeat their criticism of Mr Netanyahu's government, both for failing to prevent the Hamas attack, and also for the length of time it took to bring the abducted Israelis home.
For many, however, the anniversary was a day for remembrance and Israeli solidarity.
Ceremonies were held at the kibbutzim around Gaza where the massacres took place.
On the Ayalon highway, the motorway that runs through central Tel Aviv, drivers stopped and left their cars to observe a moment's silence at the moment the attacks began three years ago.
Demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestine student march in central London yesterday
The official commemorations took place on Monday.
At a ceremony at Israel's national cemetery at Mount Herzl, near Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu vowed to wipe out any remaining terrorists connected to the atrocity, which were thought to number around 2,000.
However, this stood alongside calls.
European leaders, among them Andy Burnham, used the anniversary as an opportunity to warn against rising anti-Semitism.
"We have seen a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic behaviour in the UK," he wrote, adding that "abuse and vioamong them from Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, for an independent inquiry into the disaster, which the prime minister has so far prevented.
lence" against British Jews "will not be tolerated".
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, condemned the "barbaric" attack on Oct 7, which killed 51 French citizens.
“Fighting anti-Semitism and terrorism, everywhere and always, and working for the peace and security of all: that is France’s commitment,” he wrote.
Buy 6 or more save 25%
morrisons.com Majority of stores in England and Wales, excludes Scotland due to minimum unit pricing law. Online excludes Champagne, max 12 bottles. Excludes Morrisons Daily: More Card/App required (8+). Selected 75c1 bottles, maximum 36 bottles per customer in store. Offer ends 8/10/26.
Mamdani ‘weaponises’ Hamas in massacre anniversary speech
By Iona Cleave US CORRESPONDENT
ZOHRAN MAMDANI has been accused of "weaponising" the three-year anniversary of the Oct 7 terror attacks against Israel.
In a lengthy statement yesterday, the New York City mayor marked Hamas's 2023 massacre in southern Israel by accusing Israel's government of "war crimes" and demanding accountability.
Mr Mamdani noted that the day was “profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers”, but emphasised attention should remain on “the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza”. “That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing." Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a New York-based organisation focused on combating anti-Semitism, responded by asking the mayor why he did not once use the word "Jews".
"You are weaponising a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual anti-zionist talking points," he said. "The city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel deserves a mayor who can honour the dead without exploiting them."
The attacks on Oct 7, 2023 were the deadliest day in Israel's history. Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in a cross-border strike.
Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza has killed more than 74,000 people, including at least 1,400 killed in the past year since a US-brokered ceasefire which halted major fighting but failed to achieve Hamas's disarmament or stop Israeli attacks.
The Strip has largely been devastated by Israel's aerial bombing campaign. Nearly its entire population of two million has been displaced by the war that has left Israel's military in control of roughly two-thirds of the territory.
Mr Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, was attending an Oct 7 memorial event in New York later before meeting Palestinian New Yorkers. His decision to attend the vigil prompted a backlash among pro-Palestine groups.
Pensioner at heart of Spanish protests dies
By Our Foreign Staff
MARICARMEN ABASCAL, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction led to housing protests in Spain, has died.
The wheelchair-bound octogenarian was forcibly removed from her Madrid home on Sept 23 because she could not meet an increased rent demand.
Her eviction caused uproar and riot police were called in to quell the protest outside the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades.
Ms Abascal's eviction was seized upon by the Spain's Tenants Union, which set up a protest camp in Madrid's central Sol square to demand action against high rents. Last week Pedro
Sánchez, the prime minister, and his Left-wing government presented urgent housing reforms to parliament in response to the protests.
The defeat of the measures prompted Mr Sánchez to call a snap election on Monday.
Paying tribute, he posted on X: "All my affection to Maricarmen's family and loved ones. A hug also to everyone who today feels this loss as our own. Rest in peace."
Mr Sánchez is seeking to shift the political narrative from his government's handling of the migrant crisis in Ceuta, and a series of corruption cases involving his Socialist Party and family, to the housing crisis, an area in which he can harness growing resentment about rising rents.
Angel Victor Torres, Spain's territorial policy minister, lamented Ms Abascal's death, saying she had become a symbol of what was happening to many families, elderly and young people struggling to obtain their own homes or stay in them. The tenants union, which continues the camp-out protest and has prompted Spain's main union to call a one-day general strike on Nov 11, announced the death of Ms Abascal yesterday evening.
A shortage of housing in and around Spain's major cities, blamed partly on Airbnb and other holiday rentals, has caused real estate prices to surge.
Mayor running city as AI avatar from jail while on corruption charge
Albanian politician once tipped as future PM vows to remain in office in deepfake speech to voters
By Emily Smith
THE mayor of Albania's capital is ruling the city as an AI avatar from prison.
Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, is in pre-trial detention facing charges over allegations of corruption and financial crimes.
On Tuesday, he posted a video on Instagram using AI to depict an avatar of himself addressing citizens.
Standing in front of the Albanian and municipal flags, he used the video to announce free school meals for all the capital's children. "I made another commitment that I will never forget: food in schools," Mr Veliaj's AI clone said. "I will keep this promise even from this cell where they have locked me up."
The avatar
depicting Tirana
mayor Erion Veliaj
Mr Veliaj, 46, was arrested in February 2025 for alleged corruption and money laundering. He denies any wrongdoing and has been in prison in Durrès since early 2025.
He remains the official mayor of the city and has vowed to continue leading Tirana, working from his jail cell.
"My hostage situation has been going on for 20 months, and I can only greet you with artificial intelligence," the avatar said in the video, which was labelled as AI-generated.
“Tirana is the honour of my life. To repay this honour, I will continue to work even from the cell where they have locked me up.
"Together we won the battle for the schools, kindergartens and nurseries of Tirana. I could not have done it without you. So I thank you with all my heart and I hug you with longing, you and your wonderful children."
The video was the first time Mr Veliaj addressed citizens during his time in prison.
After his arrest, a snap election was scheduled for November 2025, but was later cancelled after a constitutional court ruling found that he could not be dismissed outside the regular democratic processes.
Mr Veliaj had previously delegated various duties to Anula Ristani, his deputy, but last month revoked the order delegating his powers.
He is facing a total of 13 charges and has reportedly refused to attend court hearings at the special court against corruption and organised crime (GJKKO).
Mr Veliaj is next scheduled to appear in court on Oct 13 where he faces up to 15 years in prison.
The mayor was once considered a rising star of Albania's Socialist Party and a potential successor to Edi Rama, the prime minister.
This is not the first time an incarcerated politician has used AI to address citizens.
In 2023, Imran Khan, the former leader of Pakistan, used an AI deepfake to address voters in an election campaign.
Commenting on the use of AI by Mr Khan's party, Pakistani digital rights activist and lawyer Nighat Dad told US website Forbes: "There are very valid concerns that voters can never be sure about whether the content that they are seeing and hearing online is real or not. Though Imran Khan is not a candidate in the general elections, he is the face of the PTI. While Sunday's video has a disclaimer about the voice being AI-generated we don't know if the message came from Khan himself or the PTI social media team. Most voters are not able to spot disinformation and synthetic media will make things harder."
In July, an AI-generated avatar of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, appeared at the launch of his son, Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign.
Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest for allegedly plotting against democracy. His son has made pardoning his father a key policy in the current elections, in which he won the first round earlier this week.
“No prison will silence the feeling of hope we have stirred,” the avatar said, after telling the audience it had been made with artificial intelligence. “It’s why I ask you to welcome with open arms the person I chose to replace me.”
A naked Donald Trump carried on the shoulders of another man with the support of a long golf club
MEPs taunt Trump with naked statue in parliament
By Alexandra Snow
A GIANT golden statue depicting a naked Donald Trump has gone on display inside one of the European Parliament's buildings.
The 8.5ft-tall sculpture, named Orange Plague, shows the nude US president holding justice scales and a long golf club with a golf ball made to look like the world.
Also known as the King of Injustice, Mr Trump is portrayed as sitting on the shoulders of a smaller, clothed man.
The statue has been on show at a busy intersection in the parliament in Strasbourg, France, but is due to be removed today.
The plinth reads: "I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back."
Jens Galschiot, the Danish artist who created the sculpture, said: "Trump represents one of the greatest threats to the rules-based world order, democratic values and our common effort to solving the climate crisis.
"We must address this issue and
The statue is on display in Strasbourg following an invite from a Left-wing MEP
stand together against such destructive influence."
Galschiot said the statue, covered in 23-carat gold leaf, was inspired by the fairy tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, in which a vain leader parades naked through the street, believing he is dressed in the finest clothes.
No one tells him that he is naked out of fear and flattery until a child points out his nudity and the emperor becomes a figure of ridicule.
Per Clausen, a Left-wing Danish MEP who invited the artist to exhibit in Strasbourg, said he was not worried about Mr Trump, adding: "If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture being exhibited, then they have no place on the world stage."
The statue was also displayed at the COP30 climate change talks in Brazil last year and at this year's Munich Security Conference.
The White House has not responded to it latest appearance.
Visitors are being given miniature sculptures free while people can 3D print their own statues at home.
A more flattering clothed 15ft gold statue of Mr Trump with his fist in the air called Don Colossus was unveiled at his Miami golf course in April.
Missiles pulverise Ukraine as Kim Jong-un wishes Putin happy birthday
By Antonia Langford
KIM JONG-UN wished a happy birthday to his "dearest friend" Vladimir Putin in a gushing letter as the Russian president turned 74.
The North Korean leader vowed to further deepen ties with Moscow and "open up a new chapter for the development of relations between our two countries".
He also reaffirmed his “invariable support” for Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he described as “the Russian people’s sacred war of justice”, that “will surely end with their victory”.
The details of the letter emerged as Russia once again struck Ukraine with missile and drone strikes overnight. At least 11 people were killed across Ukraine during the assault.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, described the attacks, which struck Pryluky, Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv, as "a birthday gift for Putin".
In Kyiv, two people were killed in a fire in the Darnytskyi district as thousands sheltered in metro stations overnight. The strikes on the capital lasted from just after 3am until after sunrise.
In the northeastern Sumy region, two people were killed by Russian drones, which also wounded three children. In Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, two people were killed after drones and mis-
‘Russian people’s sacred war of justice will surely end with their victory’
siles damaged apartment buildings and industrial facilities.
In Pryluky, in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, at least five people were killed and 26 injured in an attack on a five-storey apartment building.
"On Putin's birthday, Russian generals brought him his favourite present: war crimes," said Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister. "But his ultimate present will be a dock in The Hague."
Since the 2022 invasion, the Kremlin has tended to claim that Putin spends his birthdays without pomp, attending to matters of government, corresponding with leaders of allied countries and seeing family.
Previously, he had marked the occasion with state visits abroad, hiking in the mountains, playing hockey and receiving lavish gifts.
In 2008, when he turned 56, he was given a rare Siberian tiger cub, which he said consumed four kilos of meat per day, by a benefactor he refused to name.
In 2022, he was given a tractor by Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko and at least two pyramids of melons by the president of Tajikistan.
This year, Putin has to contend with fears of a plague spreading, after a lab researcher died of pneumonic plague after dropping a test tube filled with live samples of the pathogen.
The US has demanded more information, and Donald Trump said he would
'On Putin's birthday, Russian generals brought him his favourite present: war crimes'
be calling his Russian counterpart about it. Putin is believed to be consumed with questions of longevity and has pushed through constitutional changes to allow him to remain in power until 2036, the year he turns 84.
If he were to live that long, he would become the longest-ruling leader since the Russian Empire, his tenure surpassing that of Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union for 29 years.
Since the war began, Pyongyang has emerged as one of Moscow's closest allies on the world stage, trading thousands of troops, conventional munitions, ballistic missiles and civilian workers for economic support and military technology from the Kremlin.
US troops banned from drinking after marine accused of murder
By Allegra Mendelson
ASIA CORRESPONDENT
AMERICAN troops have been handed a 48-hour drinking ban after a marine was accused of murdering a Japanese woman.
Soldiers based in Okinawa have been banned from consuming alcohol and given a month-long curfew after Devin Jacob Ballard, a lance corporal, allegedly killed 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in the island's capital, Naha, on Saturday.
She reportedly died of asphyxiation after L/Cpl Ballard, 20, "pressed on her neck", according to police.
Authorities also said he stole her rucksack and wallet, though L/Cpl Ballard has denied the allegations.
Benjamin T Watson, a commanding general of the marine force stationed in Okinawa, said there would be a “complete prohibition of alcohol consumption on or off base” beginning yesterday.
During the 48 hours, troops will not be permitted off base as they undergo training on “standards, discipline, and our responsibilities as members of the Okinawan community”.
Once the two days are over, the force will transition into a 30-day "period of reflection", which will also include restrictions on activities to remind staff that "liberty is a privilege and a collective responsibility".
L/Cpl Devin Jacob Ballard allegedly killed Anna Yagi, 39, at an Okinawa hotel
The case is the latest in a long line of incidents involving US troops stationed in Japan, many of which involve violence against women and have prompted criticism from local populations.
The US has 54,000 troops stationed in Japan, approximately 20,000 of which are on Okinawa.
Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, wrote on social media that the occurrence of such an “extremely brutal and heinous crime is deeply regrettable”.
She also noted that Japan lodged a "strong protest" with the US and had "urged them to co-operate fully with the investigation".
Genta Koja, the Okinawa governor, met Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's defence minister, yesterday, telling him the case had "caused deep anxiety" among Okinawa residents. He was also due to meet Ms Takaichi.
"The prefectural government has repeatedly demanded that the US military take measures to prevent a recurrence every time an incident occurs, but the fact that such an incident has happened again forces us to conclude that discipline within the US forces and their human rights education are not functioning at all," Mr Koja told Mr Koizumi.
Mr Koja, who is backed by Ms Taka-ichi's Liberal Democratic Party government, was elected only days before the murder.
His election has set in motion the relocation of the Futenma airfield, where L/Cpl Ballard was stationed.
Couple charged over 21 children kept in an LA ‘house of horrors’
By US Staff
A COUPLE who kept 21 mainly surrogate children in a mansion described as a "house of horrors" have been charged.
Guojun Xuan, 66, and his wife, Silvia Zhang, 39, face multiple counts of child abuse, as well as conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact, and dissuading a witness, said Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles County district attorney.
"This case is unprecedented. It is horrific," Mr Hochman added, "The physical abuse, beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable.
"The house could only be described as a house of horrors for these incredible young children."
Prosecutors are seeking \$100m (£75m) bail for the couple.
Fifteen children were removed from the couple's home in Arcadia last year after an allegation of abuse, and another six living elsewhere were also located, prosecutors said.
They were aged from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three. Police believe Ms Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children while the rest were from surrogates. Mr Hochman said the couple set up a surrogacy agency, which they used to hire surrogates throughout the US.
The couple were first arrested in May last year after a hospital reported a traumatic head injury on a two-month-old allegedly caused by a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby.
Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, saying they needed to complete the investigation.
---
'The beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable'
Mr Hochman said the couple set up three rooms they called learning centres, where the children spent several hours a day sitting at desks under the supervision of nannies.
Using motion-activated cameras, the couple watched as the nannies subjected the children to physical abuse including daily beatings, he said.
In one video, Mr Xuan told a nanny to strike a child harder, and in another he joins the nanny in hitting the child, Hochman said. He said the nannies were told “not to leave any physical marks”, and when police arrived to investigate last year, the couple told the children to deny they had been beaten.
After examining the surveillance footage, police issued an arrest warrant for Chunmei Li, the nanny seen hurting the two-month-old infant, but she could not be found.
Mr Hochman said "there will be a reckoning" for the defendants, one of whom faces more than 17 years in prison if convicted.
Mitchell Krems, Mr Xuan's attorney, previously told local broadcaster ABC7 that his client's goal was to raise children who become productive adults.
Mr Krems said: “Some who are wealthy might spend on jewellery or cars, but he is actually spending his resources to help his children become educated so that they can be the philosophers, the physicians, the researchers and the inventors that help society.”
Mr Krems did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday's arrests.
Investigators have said they were looking into whether the couple had misled surrogates and that at least eight women say they were aggressively pursued by the couple.
Comment
There has never been a worse time to be a vegan
YSENDA MAXTONE GRAHAM
Might the news that the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables has fallen by up to 50 per cent since the 1960s, due to declining soil quality, have one beneficial side-effect? Might it persuade a large tranche of this country's holier-than-thou vegans to give up their obsessively plant-based lives and dare to put a spoonful of scrambled egg, or a slice of cheddar cheese, or even a proper meat-based sausage into their mouths?
I hope so. With brassicas so sorely depleted of their nutritional goodness, there has surely never been a worse time to be a vegan.
They look so unwell, the poor, pallid things. When Danni was the first to be evicted from the tent last week in the new series of The Great British Bake-Off, our hearts went out to her, and we even forgave her for her annoying habit of saying "indeederoony". But what we'll most remember about her was she would not allow herself to test-taste her own bakes, as she was vegan and the recipes contained dairy products. How joyless!
The absolute refusal to eat anything that has anything to do with an animal becomes a kind of religion for vegans, who go to vegan festivals, where they meet each other, fall in love over chickpea falafel, and have babies on whom they impose veganism.
This seems mad. The Vegan Society urges parents of under fives to "ensure your child has a daily source of essential omega 3 fatty acids such as ground chia seeds, ground linseed, ground hemp seeds or ground walnuts". Poor little ones! Can those weird, complicated, Islington-esque ingredients really be good for their tiny tummies?
Hosting lunches and suppers has become a minefield. Vegetarians lose out, because if there's a vegetarian as well as a vegan coming to supper, you tend to make a vegan dish to cover both bases. So the
vegetarian has to make do with the dull, lentil-based, cheeseless dish. Thus, the so-called "kind" vegan, desperate to be seen to be non-promoters of any kind of harm to animals, becomes a bit self-indulgent and unkind to the human host and the other guests.
The good news is that supermarkets have scaled back their sales of vegan fake items such as plant-based burgers and bacon. They simply weren't selling enough of them. But the fact is that vegan numbers are holding up in Britain: between 1.7 and 3 million are vegans, and they are growing even purer and more self-denying, as they shun those fake carnivore-lookalikes and go for non-processed tofu and pulses instead.
As we speed through October, we're staring down the barrel of yet another
"Veganuary", when new recruits climb onto the bandwagon. Surely this is the worst possible way to spend January: to impose on yourself, during that freezing, wet month of post-Christmas poverty and gloom, a plants-only existence, and to practise that dreaded discipline beloved of nutritionists: drinking eight to 10 glasses of water per day to flush the pulses through the system?
Those large quantities of water are advised to prevent flatulence, but I don't think they work. (What's more it's terrible for anyone with a weak bladder.) I have a penchant for Tuscan bean soup, so I know from experience that however much water you drink to flush the beans down, there's no way of avoiding a pungent night. That's why it works best when vegans share beds with other vegans. They can blame each other for the wafts.
FOLLOW Ysenda Maxtone Graham on X@YsendaMG; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Ticket offers hand-picked by our partners
Sit at the heart of the drama
See the best West End theatre with a premium, stalls or dress circle seat. From powerful plays to magnifi cent musicals, book ahead and let the story unfold.
Exclusive prices available at telegraph.co.uk/LS-tickets
Standard terms and conditions apply. Subject to availability.
THE BADENOCH BOUNCE...
ADAMS
To order prints or signed copies of any Telegraph cartoon, go to telegraph.co.uk/prints-cartoons or call 0191603 0178 ♦ readerprints@telegraph.co.uk
Badenoch doesn't care what the BBC thinks; that changes everything
Farage has formidable competition on the Right, with the Tory leader's tanks parked on his lawn
ALLISTER HEATH
Welcome back, Tory party: you are conservative again, courtesy of Kemi Badenoch. You have rediscovered your soul, your philosophy, your people.
Badenoch's speech in Birmingham established her Conservative Party as the most Right-wing, the most radical, since the days of Margaret Thatcher; taking positions unimaginable a year ago; a rupture with the apologetic, compromised, adulterated, pseudo-Toryism of the post-1997 era.
Instead of backing the inanity of net zero, Badenoch says she wants cheap and secure energy; instead of extreme immigration, the Tories support something akin to net negative migration and the stripping of UK citizenship from many criminals; instead of higher taxes, they have rediscovered supply-side economics; instead of early release, they want 50,000 more prison places; instead of spending more, they would slash the state. Badenoch appears determined to ensure that, after 14 years of Tory failure, "when you vote Conservative, you get conservative", as she put it.
She's the first proper Rightist proselytiser in decades, committed to waging the battle of ideas. She wants not merely to reach out to centre-Right voters but to create more of them, to convince people, to shift the debate, to make counter-intuitive arguments about shrinking the size of the state, to connect free-market policies with improved prosperity for all.
“Kemi has liberated us. We can finally be conservatives,” I kept hearing a variant of this message from prominent Tories in Birmingham.
One confessed that they always hated net zero, but were previously forced to dissemble about its downsides; another confessed how much they loathed having to demonise the wealthy while their party was in government; yet others claimed to be relieved to be able to make previously taboo arguments.
A few of my interlocutors may have been faking their rediscovered beliefs, but most seemed genuine, perhaps because Badenoch had remodelled her party in her image. I did at times have to resist reaching for the sick bag. Did these Tories not feel some guilt at having misled the electorate for so long, supporting policies they didn't believe in? Is it any wonder the Conservative brand remains detested in swathes of Britain, that so many voters are still not listening, for all of Badenoch's efforts?
Yet my view is that it is time for true believers to take the win. I do not know whether Badenoch can clinch the next election, or even whether she can obtain more seats than Reform, but her Tory party is back in the righteous camp, despite past betrayals.
Right-wing voters now have a choice; a neo-Thatcherite, pro-wealth creation, more inclusive brand of conservatism under the Tories, or a more populist, harsher, alternative from Reform, with a different tone and tax policies focused on middle earners.
Prior to Badenoch's restoration, the Tory world-view had become fatalistic. Key figures gave up on conservative and classical liberal principles,
accepting instead the Blair-Brown-Osborne orthodoxy and its claims about regulation, immigration, equality, wokery, the meaning of fairness and Europe. They believed that centre-Left technocracy couldn't and shouldn't be defeated, and that the Tories' role was to make it work less badly. The gradual socialisation of society and the shift towards "progressive" values were inevitable: the Conservatives' job was to slow it down, not to reverse it.
The Tories came to believe in a "BBC test": they wanted their policies to gain the approval of, or at least survive contact with, our national broadcaster's Leftist world-view. Radio Four's Today, in particular, was allowed to become a critical gatekeeper, the arbiter of morality, of justice; the Resolution Foundation and activist charities also gained immense influence, their spreadsheets and interventionist screeds serving as a self-imposed constraint on gormless politicians.
Taxes could only be cut on average earners, and always had to be raised on the "rich". Incentives didn't matter; growth was deemed a given, proceeds to be divvied up by the state. Opposing immigration was seen as racist and economically destructive. Backing self-government was suspect and nationalistic. Jail was stupid as it didn't encourage rehabilitation. Inequality was evil. Opposing net zero was selfish. Consumerism was bad and rationing good. Regulations and price controls were necessary given the supposedly exploitative nature of capitalism and the duplicity of bosses and bankers.
Nigel Farage was the first to defy this madness and to stand up for Britain's disenfranchised Right-leaning electorate. He shattered the Overton window on immigration and net zero after the 2024 election. His prize was to propel Reform into a party that remains
FOLLOW Allister Heath on X @AllisterHeath; READ MORE at telegraph.co.uk/opinion
I do not know whether she can clinch the next election... but her Tory party is back in the righteous camp
the leading Right-wing faction in the polls. He now faces formidable competition. Badenoch has parked her tanks on what had become his lawn and, in doing so, has saved her party. There was a period when it looked as if the Tories' poll ratings could slump terminally, that Reform could become hegemonic on the Right. This didn't happen and will not now happen, partly as a result of errors by Farage's party, the rise of Restore, and partly thanks to Badenoch's ideological re-engineering. In most Western countries, conventional centre-Right parties have been taken over by populists: Badenoch wants to be the one exception, though she remains stuck on 20-21 per cent of the vote.
To her credit, she won't be bullied by the Left. She is calling the BBC's bluff and powering ahead with pro-capitalist, pro-enterprise policies. She wants to put infrastructure and housing projects before biodiversity and green rules. She proposes to cut inheritance tax even though the Left (and, sadly, Reform) immediately attacked her for helping a tiny minority (conversely, I wished that she had gone further and entirely abolished that abominable levy).
She backs Israel. She seeks to help parents on £100,000 a year who face an absurd cliff edge in the benefits system that encourages them to turn down pay rises. She is planning to eliminate stamp duty and scrap the mansion tax, even though wealthier homebuyers will benefit. Why? She seems to understand that aspiration is good, that property rights are sacrosanct, that Britain needs a greater number of high earners, of rich people, more work, success, effort and taxable income, and that this will create jobs and resources for all. She rejects the Left's prejudices, and doesn't seek approbation from the bien-pensant. Her bravery is commendable. It is already paying off.
Germany is heading for an existential crisis
ULF POSCHARDT
Germany really is going through a bad patch. Friedrich Merz's governing CDU would currently win just 17.5 per cent of the vote. The SPD has drifted to the far Left, and in Berlin, a radical Left-wing, anti-Semitic party, not unlike Britain's Green Party, is threatening to take power.
In the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, a far-Right politician has been president of the state parliament since Tuesday afternoon. Germany's economic figures are mediocre. There is a little growth, but even that comes on the back of €900bn in new debt agreed by a government that was once deemed a "Grand Coalition" but is now a modest shadow of its former self, enjoying ever-shrinking popular support.
Against this backdrop, the arrest of Germany's former top intelligence chief strikes hard at the country's already fragile self esteem. August Hanning, the veteran former head of the BND, Germany's foreign intelligence service, has been arrested on allegations that he illegally obtained highly confidential and extremely sensitive information and then, even more illegally, sold it on. To whom remains under investigation. Russia does not appear to have been the recipient. There is speculation that it may have been Israel or Azerbaijan. One thing has once again become painfully clear: Germany has a serious problem with its intelligence services.
The former head of the domestic intelligence service in the state of Saxony, Hans-Georg Maassen, has drifted increasingly to the Right. And when Germany attempted to ban the NPD, its last openly neo-Nazi party, it proved extraordinarily difficult to assemble usable evidence because the group was riddled with informants working for the domestic intelligence service – the people known in Germany as V-Männer.
The facts of the Hanning case, meanwhile, are grimly prosaic. After leaving office, the former intelligence chief was spectacularly unlucky in his business ventures and, following the complete collapse of an investment in the Baltic states, reportedly found himself liable for losses running into several million euros. At least that is what is suspected.
The result: parts of his pension were dissipated, and Hanning appeared to have been living more or less from hand to mouth, apparently finding himself under pressure to monetise his excellent network of sources. The business model of private consulting firms of the intelligence type is, after all, to be exceptionally well informed and to sell that knowledge to the most lucrative clients. The journey from this mode of operation to practices that are no longer entirely legal can be dangerously short.
What makes the case particularly disturbing is that it appears to have been uncovered almost by accident. During a search of Hanning's premises in connection with a kidnapping case, investigators came across material that could now develop into one of Germany's most serious intelligence scandals in decades.
According to federal prosecutors, Hanning is suspected of having paid his former chief of staff over a period of years for nearly 2,000 internal BND documents, including classified material from the innermost reaches of Germany's security apparatus. He is accused of having used at least some of that information both for his private consulting business and in his contacts with a foreign intelligence service.
Since 1945 Germany has remained an immature child within the international community. Domestically, for decades it remained under the tutelage of the Allies.
That Germany nevertheless became one of the great success stories of the postwar era had much to do with a
FOLLOW Ulf
Poschardt on
X@ulfposh;
READ MORE at
telegraph.co.uk/
opinion
generation of formidable German politicians: Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and, finally, Helmut Kohl. The last great German statesman to serve as federal president was Richard von Weizsäcker, as chancellor, perhaps Gerhard Schröder. After them, German politics gradually became a playing field for mediocrities – with all too predictable consequences for the domestic intelligence service and for the wider intelligence community.
Hanning transformed himself into a deeply dubious figure and may now have to pay an extraordinarily high price. One of the accusations involves treason. If convicted, the old man could spend much of his life behind bars.
We Germans are a stable people when everything is working. At the moment, the country seems to be slipping a little further each day into an instability that is becoming genuinely worrying. Worst of all are the cheerleaders and habitual losers who continue to insist everything is okay. It brings to mind the meme of a dog sitting calmly in a room engulfed in flames, saying: "Everything is fine."
Dr Ulf Poschardt was publisher of Welt, Politico Germany and Business Insider until July this year, when he took on the new role of Unbound Creative for Axel Springer
ESTABLISHED 1855
There is now a clear path to Tory recovery
We need a return to common sense. People have increasingly been feeling that many of the policies pursued in Britain in the
last two years make no sense at all. Those who govern must be more ready both to listen and to examine the facts of life objectively. We believe that in both these respects Conservatives have the advantage of their Labour opponents, since we are not blinkered by a Socialist ideology that assumes the omni-competence of the State and is rooted in a theory of ownership and class conflict already decades out of date."
That could have been an extract from Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham but is taken from a Conservative pamphlet published 50 years ago, entitled The Right Approach.
It set out clear dividing lines with the collectivism of the then Labour government, one that Andy Burnham now seeks to emulate. Mrs Badenoch has countered with The Right Way, her belief in greater freedom for people to keep more of their own money, hand on their home to their children and encourage enterprise and wealth creation.
She is an impressive exponent of classic Tory principles that many voters felt had been lost
Where Mr Burnham emphasises the importance of government direction and control, Mrs Badenoch wants to unleash the spirit of the
We accept letters by post and email. Please include name, address, work and home telephone numbers.
III Buckingham
Palace Road,
London
SWTWODT
EMAIL
dtletters@
telegraph.co.uk
individual. It is an age-old divide in British politics but one that recent Conservative governments lost sight of as they pushed up taxes and spent too much.
FOLLOW
Telegraph Letters
@LettersDesk
The ideological divide has become clearer with the arrival in No 10 of a prime minister who sees the 1970s as the apogee of Labour success. Back then, Margaret Thatcher
took on the cosy post-war consensus that had led Britain close to penury with a bold prospectus that won her three elections.
We thought this battle had been fought and won half a century ago. But Mrs Badenoch recognises that the same enemy has to be vanquished once again and is unapologetic about pitching the Conservatives into the fray. She is an impressive exponent of classic Tory principles that many voters in 2024 felt had been lost in a welter of internal politicking and in-fighting. She will not apologise for its beliefs or talk about the “nasty party” as one former leader once did.
Mrs Badenoch said the Tories were in a fight for the soul of the nation and she is right. Her big problem is that the party still languishes in the opinion polls, well behind her own personal ratings, and needs time to rebuild under her leadership.
Mr Burnham's reluctance to risk an early election gives them the opportunity to do so and Mrs Badenoch was adamant that she would not seek a rapprochement with Reform UK in order to “unite the Right”.
She is relishing the clear definition of ideological battle lines and the end of an era when it was possible to look from Tory to Labour and find it hard to distinguish between them. Mr Burnham is an old fashioned socialist, a believer in a big state owning, directing and taxing everything people do.
However, as is apparent from the first few weeks of his premiership, he is also as much a ditherer as his predecessor.
Government sources have already hinted that big decisions on defence will be put off for a year and now it has emerged that proposals for welfare reform are also being delayed.
A review by Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, of the nearly one million young
People who work hard and earn a good living should not be penalised for doing so
people not in education, employment or training (Neets), was due to be published at the end of next week. It will now be held back until after the Budget later this month, ostensibly to prevent it overshadowing the big fiscal event. But how can John Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, deliver a serious
Budget without reference to defence or welfare?
The big announcement in Mrs Badenoch's speech went to the very heart of the ideological schism. She said a Tory government would ensure inheritance tax was never paid on a family home passed to children or grandchildren and couples would be able to leave an additional £1m tax free. This follows pledges to scrap stamp duty on first time purchases and abolish Labour's planned mansion tax should it be imposed.
There was, she said, "something for everyone" in the Tory prospectus for government – for those who believe in low taxes, a smaller state, a welfare system that does not reward the feckless, tighter borders, strong defence and condemn punishment for criminals. The essence of this credo is a belief in personal responsibility and the value of individual endeavour. Hers is a moral message not just an economic or technocratic one. In a nutshell, people who work hard and earn a good living should not be penalised for doing so.
Mrs Badenoch is aware that voters still blame the Tories for many of the country's ills. But she said the party has learnt from the mistakes that led to its historic defeat in 2024 and needs to look forward.
For the Tories the road to recovery will be long and hard; but at least it has begun.
---
Kemi Badenoch's convincing performance will give Conservatives hope
SIR - Philip Johnston asks whether Kemi Badenoch can bring the Conservative Party "back into the fight" (Comment, October 7). Few who listened to her conference speech would doubt it. There was passion, but no empty gesturing. More importantly, she outlined familiar Conservative ideas, such as trusting people with their own money, and sounded like she actually believed in them.
David Kenny
Tredunnock, Monmouthshire
SIR - The emergence of an inspirational leader who expounds Conservative values with conviction is truly exciting. To those who say they will never vote for the Tories again because of how badly they let us down last time, I say: consider what would have happened if people had taken the same stance after Edward Heath's government. The parallels with 1979 are profound.
Tim Coles
sir - My wife and I resigned from the Conservative Party when David Cameron became leader, as it was clear that he was a Conservative in name only. Much as I admire Kemi Badenoch's efforts to present today's Conservatives as "renewed", I am afraid that there are still too many liberals in the parliamentary party. I remain unable to vote Conservative.
Brian Earle
Poole, Dorset
Sir – If Kemi Badenoch wants us to believe that the Conservative Party is no longer a slightly blue Liberal Democrat outfit, why on Earth is she allowing Penny Mordaunt to stand as an MP (report, October 5)? Robin Hallam Andover, Hampshire
was the Conservatives who created the £100,000 cliff-edge. Now, when I am no longer eligible, they are asking for my vote on the grounds that they will remove it, no doubt raising other taxes in the process.
Martin Wight
SIR – The pledge to extend free childcare to high earners has proved that a future Conservative government will not fix Britain, but instead tinker at the edges, trying to slow our decline. It
SIR – Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a deal with Reform UK. Yet some suspect that she will seek a post-election pact with Reform MPs. It will be too late.
In too many seats, the Tories and Reform will cancel each other out, letting in Labour, the Greens or Liberal Democrats. The only way to prevent another disastrous Labour government is a pre-election Tory-Reform pact.
---
Social care burden
SIR – I note with interest Kemi Badenoch's determination to ensure that home-owners can pass on their property to their descendants (telegraph.co.uk, October 7).
Mrs Badenoch and Reform claim to put the nation's interests first. They should begin to act like it. Andy Burnham may yet pull another self-serving U-turn and call a snap election in spring 2027.
Terry Smith
London NW11
My husband and I are 80 and jointly own our house; yet the likelihood of being able to pass it on to our children has become vanishingly small. This is because of the cost of adult social care. My husband has Alzheimer's disease and has needed full-time care since March 2025. It is currently costing us more than £10,600 per month, or about £128,000 per year.
If I also turn out to need full-time care for any reason, I will be forced to sell our home. If my husband is still alive by then, we might get three years' care each from the value of the house, for which we have worked hard all our lives.
Carlton, Bedfordshire
I am trying to see the justice in this, but have failed so far even to make sense of it.
---
Debate in schools
SIR – Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, is right to demand political impartiality in schools (“Trott: I’ll stop the Left indoctrinating children in the classroom”, report, October 6). However, too many young people leave education unable to construct a rational argument or engage with views that challenge their own. Strong feelings are natural, but emotion cannot replace evidence.
Fight and flight: testing a palm-sized Black Hornet reconnaissance drone in London
Our universities have traded open debate for safe spaces and no-platforming. We must reverse this drift. Every school should run a debating club and teach grammar, logic and rhetoric with the same rigour as maths or history. More inter-school debating competitions with national finals would also give children the vital oracy and critical thinking tools they need for public life.
Doug Clark
Edinburgh
---
Adapting to the threat of drone technology
---
Graceless Jaguar
SIR - Sir William Lyons, Jaguar's co-founder, would have hated the company's new car ("Not so FAB? Jaguar reverses 'woke pink' EV", report, October 7). His aim was to give large numbers of motorists cars with "grace, space and pace". At £130,000, the lumpen machine just unveiled is clearly aimed at the super-rich. It might have space and pace, but it entirely lacks the grace of the E-type on which it is supposedly based.
SIR - The United States Air Force was right to redeploy its bombers in light of threats from Iran (Letters, October 7). However, RAF Fairford is not the only vulnerable airbase in Britain.
Previously, we had many more RAF Regiment squadrons capable of deploying to protect our vital air
assets from attack. The advent of drone warfare has sharpened the threat to these assets, and empowering the military to operate off-base in a crisis is vital. Currently, the eagle is particularly vulnerable in its nest.
Gp Cpt Bob Evans (retd)
Cardiff
---
The key to Jeffrey Archer's enduring appeal
Back to the drawing board.
John Hicks
Manchester
---
A name that stuck
sir - When we got a new golden retriever, the Kennel Club asked for a registration name starting with golden (Letters, October 7). My father wanted Golden Syrup, but this was refused. Nevertheless, the dog was known as Sticky for the rest of his life.
Kate Metcalfe
sir - When our daughter's working cocker spaniel, Rosie, died, there was desolation in the family. However, two weeks later we heard of a gamekeeper's gun-shy spaniel that was free to a good home. Inquiries were made. The dog's name? Rosie.
She arrived and heads were put together to find a new name, similar to Rosie. I recalled that, as a child, I'd had a dog called Toastie. Perfect.
The new dog even looks like a slice of white bread with marmalade ears. Cicely McCulloch
Howgate, Midlothian
sir - It was with sadness that I read of the death of Jeffrey Archer (Obituaries, October 7). In 1982, while in the Falklands, one of my best friends, "Mick" Melia, told me about a book he had just finished, Kane and Abel. He was animated as he outlined the plot, but deliberately didn't reveal the ending, assuring me that I'd love it. That was our last conversation. Mick was killed at Goose Green. As soon as we returned home, I bought and read the book. Mick was, of course, right - it had a superb ending. I went on to read many of Lord Archer's books over the years, and each one reminded me of Mick.
Mike Solomon
Lower Ashton, Devon
sir - It would be a rare British journalist who had not met and interviewed Jeffrey Archer in the 1980s and 1990s.
I had several encounters with him over the years and he was always unfailingly civil. The last was a singularly interesting interview over a cup of tea and fruitcake, in his study at the Old Vicarage in Grantchester. He spoke a great deal about his mother, a source of inspiration for a character in his latest novel. He was fiercely disciplined in his approach to his writing, working to a very specific timetable for each day. It was a fascinating experience.
Gary Curtis
London SW1
SIR – In the 1980s, I went to see Jeffrey Archer's play, Exclusive, at the Theatre Royal, Bath. As I recall, this performance marked the beginning of a tour of the provinces before heading to London. During the interval, a work colleague and I found ourselves animatedly discussing and dissecting the play, critiquing it quite thoroughly. To our astonishment, the author was sitting right in front of us. He turned around and said, "Ladies, you have been very illuminating about my play; I have taken heed." He did not return for the second half, and I wondered if our comments influenced his decision.
Chris Mathew
Andover, Hampshire
Lesley Saunders
Didcot, Oxfordshire
---
A soldier honoured
SIR - Your piece (Magazine, October 3) on the new memorial at the National Arboretum, dedicated to soldiers who took their own lives, states that until now "they have been denied so much as a mention in any official memorial".
My grandfather, Lance Sergeant Fred McNess VC, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, has his name engraved on the new war memorial of his home town of Bramley, West Yorkshire. He survived the war but took his own life later.
His mental health, damaged by the experiences that won him the VC, grew worse as he aged, but as long as he could work and feel a part of his community, he had enough support to cope. However, when he had to take early retirement because of the growing pain and disabilities caused by his wartime injuries, he became reclusive and seriously depressed, struggling with nightmares and tremors. He took his own life in 1956.
The committee that designed and commissioned the 2016 war memorial in Bramley decided to add his name. We, his grandchildren, are immensely grateful for this honour, and for the life of a very brave soldier.
Christine Williams
Church Stretton, Shropshire
---
Road trip songs
sir - Harry Styles's Watermelon Sugar is a road trip song I'm unlikely to forget (report, October 7).
It was played regularly on Radio 2 during lockdown, as my husband drove me across the Mersey Gateway Bridge, the river sparkling in the spring sunshine, en route to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre for treatment.
It certainly lifted my spirits.
Mary Ross
Warrington, Cheshire
sir - If I had to pick the ultimate road trip song, I think I would go for Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, with its opening lyric: "Keep your eyes on the road, your hand upon the wheel". Richard Layton Derby
---
Love is in the cards
sIR - I was interested and amused to read Celia Walden's article "Why would I whinge about cooking the dinner?" (Features, October 6).
My mother always said that a woman's marriage vows ought to include: "And I will write all the Christmas cards forever, even to friends of my husband that I don't know." Rachel Palmer Rhayader, Radnorshire
Miliband won't admit Israel is doing our dirty work
CON COUGHLIN
As Israel marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, it did so in the certain knowledge that the country has emerged from the trauma of the worst terrorist attack in its history by becoming the Middle East's undisputed military superpower.
The Israelis have not only succeeded in destroying the Hamas terrorist infrastructure that enabled legions of fanatical jihadis to storm across their southern border and massacre around 1,200 people, while taking an additional 251 captives. They have also achieved the impressive feat of waging war on a number of fronts simultaneously. Not only have they played a prominent role in the Trump administration's conflict with Iran, but they have conducted highly effective military campaigns of their own against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
What makes Israel's military achievements all the more remarkable is that they have been accomplished by a country with a population of just over 10 million. Apart from the US, it is hard to imagine any other nation in the world that could successfully conduct military operations on a similar scale.
Russia, of course, has failed miserably to achieve its stated objectives in just one military campaign against Ukraine, despite boasting a population of around 150 million. The UK, meanwhile, has struggled to deploy a single warship to protect its interests in the Mediterranean.
All this should constitute a compelling argument in favour of Western leaders strengthening their ties with the Jewish state. This is particularly the case for the UK given its long and complex history of involvement in the Middle East. Indeed, prior to Labour taking power in 2024, the British government enjoyed strong intelligence and military ties with the Israelis, with the two countries cooperating closely at the highest level on issues of mutual interest, such as Iran's nuclear ambitions and Islamist-inspired terrorism.
Yet, at a time when any responsible British government would be seeking to build on this valuable alliance, Andy Burnham's administration appears hell-bent on pursuing the opposite course of action.
Not content with infuriating the Israelis with his ill-judged decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, may be preparing to double down on his confrontational stance by expelling 27 diplomats from the Israeli Embassy in London. The move, which would seriously undermine the Embassy's ability to function as a diplomatic mission, would be in retaliation for Israel's decision to close the British Consulate in Jerusalem,
which was taken in response to Miliband's original sanctions.
Miliband appears determined to maintain his antagonistic approach towards Israel, despite the recent revelation that the Israelis tipped off their British counterparts about the recent terror plot aimed at RAF Fairfield, which has so far resulted in the arrest of seven suspects. While Miliband's anti-Israel stance might appeal to Labour's vocal pro-Palestinian lobby, his preference for puerile gesture politics will be counter-productive in so far as the UK's broader national security interests are concerned.
Israel's reluctance to engage constructively with the Burnham government was evident during last week's visit to Israel by national security adviser Jonathan Powell, who personally lobbied his Israeli counterparts not to proceed with the closure of the British Consulate. Unsurprisingly, Powell found the Israelis were not in listening mood.
The collapse in relations between London and Jerusalem, moreover, could have far more profound consequences than the fall-out from the current diplomatic tit-for-tat.
Whether the Burnham government likes it or not, Iran views the UK as a hostile state, and feels thoroughly justified in targeting British interests, whether in the form of cyber attacks or terror plots. Israel's intelligence on Iran's global terror operations is second-to-none, and the UK's ability to thwart Iran's operations will be fatally compromised if the Israelis decide it is no longer in their interests to share key information with their erstwhile British friends.
Nor does it make any sense to alienate a vital ally like Israel given Britain's vulnerability in areas such as missile defence, where the UK has much to learn from Israel's Iron Dome arrangement.
The Israelis have a proven track record of intercepting missile strikes launched from numerous fronts, including Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. But they are unlikely to be willing to share their expertise with the UK so long as relations between London and Jerusalem remain on their current parlous footing.
The key issue Burnham and Miliband fail to grasp in their haste to pander to Labour's anti-Israel Left-wing is that, when it comes to dealing with many of the threats we face today, the UK and Israel are on the same side, whether this concerns confronting the ayatollahs in Iran or tackling Islamist terror groups that seek to destroy our way of life.
In so many respects, Israel's wars are our wars when it comes to defending basic Western values, such as democracy, freedom of expression and the rule of law. Miliband seems incapable of accepting that, in many areas, Israel is doing Britain's dirty work for it.
This means any action by British ministers that threatens this vital alliance will leave the UK, not Israel, the poorer for it.
TOUGH NO 5897
---
KAKURO
To solve kakuro you must enter a number between 1 and 9 in the empty squares without repeating a digit. The clues are the numbers on the black squares and are the sum of the solution numbers. The clue pointers indicate the direction of the answers. A block of two squares with a clue of 3 will solve as 2,1 and a 5 will produce 4,1 or 2,3. A 4 can only be 1,3, never 2,2. Solution tomorrow.
Your clues are the caged numbers that represent the sum of the numbers within the cage. As in standard sudoku, each 3 x 3 box, each row and each column must contain all the numbers 1 to 9. Solution tomorrow.
---
KILLER SUDOKU
Numbers are substituted for letters in this crossword grid. In the smaller key grid some letters are solved, Use these as clues to complete your first word. This will solve more letters that you can then enter in the grids. Solutions tomorrow,
TOUGH
---
CODEWORDS
---
ANAGRAMS
NO 3771
KCIT
Each of the anagrams below spells out the name of a popular song. Solution tomorrow.
LIGHT WIND
RAN UP PERIL
DEEP FRY ACT
H | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15V | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | For today's right-hand codewords solutions call 0905 757 0131, For up to five extra letter clues call 0905 757 0130 or text STCODE (leaving no spaces) to 64343. Call cost £1 per minute, plus network access charge; texts cost £1, plus network access charge. You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission.
Services open Man - Fl, SP: Spoke 118 - Helpline 0333 202 3390.
---
SUDOKU
REGULAR NO 7467
NO 4947
---
MIND GYM | 5 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 | To solve this puzzle each 3 x 3 box, each row and also each column must contain all the numbers from 1 to 9. There are numerous strategies to help you solve sudoku. Solutions tomorrow.
Sudoku Solution For today's tough sudoku solution call 0905 757 0136, Calls cost £1 per minute, plus network access charge. You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission. Services open Mon – Fri. SP: Spoké – 0333 202 3390.
Start on the left with the given number and work your way across following the instructions in each cell. Target time: 30 seconds. Solution below.
| ANSWER | 9 | x6 | TRIPLE IT | -66 | HALVE IT | +8 | X BY ITSELF | x1.25 | 2/5 OF THIS | +17 |
INTERMEDIATE |
x6.5 |
TRIPLE IT |
-44 |
7/1 OF THIS |
DOUBLE IT |
-87 |
√ |
x17 | 224 | ÷16 |
ADVANCED |
+8 |
X BY ITSELF |
-463 |
HALVE IT |
6/7 OF THIS |
x5.5 |
-338 |
√ | 264 | 8/1 OF THIS | ---
TRAIN TRACKS
---
Across
Create words of four letters or more, always using the centre letter. Proper nouns and plurals are not allowed, and you can only use each letter once per word. Can you find the nine-letter Panagram? Answers must be in the Oxford Dictionary of English. Solution tomorrow.
---
PANAGRAM
Up to 7 words - Word Finder, 8 - Wordsmith, 17 - Word Wizard, 25 - Word Master, 34 - Word Genius, 43 - Word Perfect
---
Down
1 Berries for those feeling peckish? (9)
6 A sailor's first into the drink here? (2,3)
9 Happy son, working on farm, perhaps giving heart away (7)
10 Company mostly contemptible, concealing large element from auditor (7)
11 Rock feature? University repeatedly collecting both sides separately (5)
12 Make arbitrary change to disarm one (9)
13 Composer regards lad with wire suspiciously (3,6,5)
16 Boy Wonder, boy on course possibly for lead role in story (8,6)
20 One encouraging member to get cheese (9)
22 Give up, releasing good versatile material (5)
23 Going to cut energy source after conflict intervenes (5,2)
24 Who'll do something innovative with some art? (7)
25 Milksop frequently observed in second year (5)
26 Strain is little seen around new spot for prospective travellers (4,5)
Toughie No 3770
1 Graduate's quite missing the very thing in theatrical presentation (6)
2 They instigate repositioning of limits around United (7)
3 Entertainment business in Surrey unutilised, not opening unfortunately (7,8)
4 Say it upset rugby's foremost opponent (5)
5 Oddball caught with overseas cash in Morecambe? (9)
6 Group of trainee pilots fails, coming about fourth, but not far off (2,5,8)
7 Very affectionate, but denying love? What are you doing? (7)
8 Friend, invested in gold reserves, gutted - they I get no payment (8)
14 Not the right infantry for ambush? (5-4)
15 Charge to go in weapons, as much as people can carry? (8)
17 Get rid of dreadful piano, out of tune (4,3)
18 Disputed territory, a site so in disarray (7)
19 Indescribable pursuit in part of London in the past (6)
21 New recording? Rock group has nine (5)
Help with clues
Single clues 0905 757 0126.
All Across/Down clues 0905 757 0127.
Calls cost £1/minute, plus network access charge. You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission, Service open Mon-Fri.
Lay down tracks to allow a train to travel from A to B. Only use straight and curved rails and the track cannot cross itself. The numbers indicate how many sections of rail go in each column and row. Solution tomorrow.
Try our speedy new brainteasers today
Scan the QR code or visit telegraph.co.uk/minis
---
3 2 4 2 4 6 8 4
To scan the QR code, open your phone camera, point it at the code and tap the banner that appears on screen. On older phones, you may need to download a QR code reader first.
---
Time for a mini
Fill in the grid in such a way that every row and column and every 2 x 3 box contains the numbers 1-6. Solution tomorrow.
---
MINI SUDOKU
---
MODERATE NO 4716
---
NO 1600
(Smaller games. Just as fun)
There is only one possible answer for the PlusWord; it may be that the PlusWord contains letters that aren't found in the crossword, but it can always be worked out logically without guessing. Solution tomorrow.
---
Across
1 Eccentric person
6 Wader with long legs and a long neck
7 Violent behaviour, in slang
8 Tragic Goethe hero
9 Runs away
---
Down
1 What's separated from wheat
2 Kingly or queenly
3 Have a tiff
4 Ancient Scandinavian
5 Nautical miles per hour
---
WORD LADDER
Change just one letter to go from the top word to the bottom word. Each step must be a valid word and you cannot change the order of the letters. There are clues below for each rung, but they are not necessarily in order. Solution tomorrow.
DOLLAR, DARING, SUPPORT, FLINCH, HAIRLESS
DUCK
---
The Telegraph PUZZLES
Enjoy 1 year of puzzles for just £1. Visit telegraph.co.uk/puzzles today.
Yesterday's solutions
Word Ladder: Sang, pang, pant, past, cast, cost, coat, goat.
Anagrams: 1. Wild boar 2. Water vole 3. Fallow deer.
Plus/Word No 1599 | F | R | A | N | C | L | E | G | A | L | A | B | O | V | E | P | U | R | E | R | S | T | A | L | K | Killer Sudoku
---
Train Tracks
---
Mini Sudoku No 4715
---
Codewords 1 and 2
T N I P Y A X K F Z W M D
D R E Y B C G H J L U Q S
POOL, VIA REUTERS/BEN STAN/ALL
Business
Online
Sign up for our free daily
Business Briefing
▶ telegraph.co.uk/business-briefing
MARKETS
CURRENCIES
Page 24
COMMODITIES
GOLD
S4110.60
(£3109)
-52.27 (-1.26pc)
BRENT CRUDE
\$100.20
(December)
-0.38 (-0.38pc)
La catastrophe
France lived beyond its
means for decades and the
looming reckoning spells
trouble for the eurozone
Page 25
Page 20
Choices, choices
Investors face a tricky
decision: are UK shares
or government bonds
the best place to invest?
Russ Mould
Page 24
Boots sold for £7bn to family behind Primark
Pharmacy giant bought by one of Canada's wealthiest dynasties in deal set to complete early next year
By Jonathan Prynn
BOOTS has been sold to the billionaire family behind Primark for nearly £7bn.
The high street pharmacist, which was founded in 1849, has been bought by the Canadian arm of the Weston family, Wittington Investments, for \$8.9bn (£6.7bn).
The deal comes just a year after the private equity firm Sycamore bought Walgreens Boots Alliance, for \$24bn.
Galen Weston, the chairman of Wittington, who will become chairman of the high street chain, said: "Boots is one of Britain's most enduring businesses, with a rich heritage, a trusted name and a vital role in everyday life across the UK and Ireland."
The Westons, a Canadian business dynasty, are one of the world's richest families. The Canadian branch of the family, which will take control of Boots, owns Loblaw, the country's largest supermarket.
The UK arm of the family, meanwhile, owns brands including Fortnum & Mason and Primark-owner Associated British Foods.
Under the terms of the deal, Wittington will acquire Boots's retail operations in the UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its Thailand and franchised businesses. Boots has 1,800 stores across the UK.
Sycamore and the Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, who originally helped take Boots private in 2007, will retain ownership of the Boots Group's other operations, Farmacias Benavides in Mexico and Alliance Healthcare Deutschland in Germany.
The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
Boots was sold to Mr Pessina and the private equity firm KKR in 2007 in an £11.1bn deal.
At the time, it was Europe's biggest leveraged buyout and the first instance of one of Britain's leading listed companies being taken over by private equity. Walgreens later bought the group in 2014 before Sycamore Partners took the chain private again last year.
Along with the Westons, the Canadian business Fairfax Financial, run by billionaire Prem Watsa, will take a 50pc stake in Boots as part of the deal.
Alex Baldock, chief executive of Boots, said: "Boots matters. Every day, our colleagues give millions of people longer, healthier and happier lives.
“Those customers and patients trust in Boots’ unmatched authority, capability and leadership across health, wellness and beauty. I’ve seen enough already of our colleagues’ passion and expertise to understand why they do.”
Mr Baldock, who is expected to stay on as chief executive, was recruited as Boots's new boss from electricals retailer Currys only a month ago.
The retail executive has a reputation for steering turnarounds and is seen by analysts as key to bringing new focus to the sprawling Boots business.
Boots, which employs more than 51,000 people, was founded in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, originally as a seller of herbal remedies.
His son Jesse Boot led the expansion of the company, and by 1933 there were 1,000 stores across the UK.
Its cosmetics brand No7 was launched two years later.
The various branches of the Weston family are all descended from George Weston, the Toronto tycoon. The
Canadian branch, headed by his great-grandson Galen Weston Jr, operates more than 200 companies.
The Canadian Westons also previously owned the department store Selfridges until 2022.
The separate UK offshoot of the family is led by another great-grandson and Galen's cousin, the British businessman George Garfield Weston.
The British branch of the Westons owns a majority stake in Primark's parent company.
It has been exploring a listing of the budget clothing retailer.
Mr Pessina, an Italian entrepreneur, has been involved with Boots for 20 years, helping to take the business private in 2007.
Octopus blocks withdrawal worth £5m from IHT fund
By Tom Saunders
OCTOPUS has blocked a financial adviser from withdrawing millions for his client from one of its inheritance tax schemes for seven months.
Mark Spendlove, of IPP Group, had asked Octopus Investments, which manages a number of inheritance tax funds, to withdraw £5.4m from Terido, a scheme aimed at small businesses.
The scheme takes the spare cash from member businesses and invests it into asset-backed loans, mainly in property, ensuring that its investors can qualify for business relief.
Octopus originally told Mr Spendlove the withdrawal process would take about four weeks, but later said the money would paid out over the course of seven months, with the final payment of £2m not made until March 2027. In correspondence seen by The Telegraph, Octopus told IPP the phased withdrawal was “consistent with how we manage larger withdrawal requests”.
It added that it would only be able to pay the final sum of £2m in March if the "partnership's liquidity position develops as currently expected".
In a complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority, Mr Spendlove said he had previously arranged a number of large withdrawals across Octopus's competitors, and had never had to wait more than six weeks. He added that the delay had led him to become concerned about the liquidity at Terido.
Mr Spendlove told FT Adviser, which first reported the news: "My client, obviously, was not at all impressed. That's completely, totally, not acceptable."
An FCA spokesman said: "We're in contact with the firm and aware of these developments."
A spokesman for Octopus said it does not comment on individual client cases. He added: "We take our responsibilities to our clients seriously."
Royal approval The King applauds alongside Elton John, his husband David Furnish and Tim Cook, chairman of the board of directors of Apple, during a music workshop for young people, in a collaboration between the King's Trust charity and tech giant, at Battersea Power Station in south-west London,
UK government borrowing costs hit 28-year high in fresh bond rout
By Chris Price
THE cost of long-term UK government borrowing hit its highest level since 1998 yesterday, as a sell-off resumed on global bond markets.
The yield on 30-year gilts, the effective interest rate the Treasury pays to borrow money, jumped at its fastest pace since May, from 5.90pc to 6.03pc. UK borrowing costs rose as part of a wider rout on bond markets, driven by fears about surging government spending, higher oil prices and rising interest rates.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, jumped as much as 1.8pc to more than \$102 a barrel - about \$55 more than a barrel cost at this time last year. Michael Bell, an analyst at RBC Bluebay, said: "Bonds are selling off globally and concerns about the fiscal trajectory for several key economies are contributing towards that today, along with a move higher in oil prices."
Lloyd Harris, the head of fixed income at Premier Miton, said: "All rates markets are selling off. It's oil up."
The biggest leap in borrowing costs was in France, after the head of its central bank ruled out an intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB) to support its creaking public finances.
The yield on France's 30-year bonds climbed at its fastest pace in 19 months after Emmanuel Moulin, the governor of the Bank of France, insisted there was no need for a bailout of Europe's second-largest economy. French borrowing costs have surged over concerns that its government will not take control of mounting debts, with candidates for next year's presidential election making ever greater spending promises. Marine Le Pen, the front-runner to replace Emmanuel Macron, has urged the ECB to intervene.
Mr Moulin, meanwhile, criticised what he called “Trump-style” threats against him from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Left-wing presidential candidate. The politician accused the governor of “acts of treason” for warning about the fiscal risks facing France.
Mr Bell, of RBC Bluebay, added: "As concerns around the political and fiscal outlook in France build, I think it is also driving yields higher in other countries such as the UK and US."
The turmoil in France has helped fuel the latest downturn in bond markets. The yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds climbed to the highest since 2002 at 5.72pc. The equivalent Italian bond yield rose to 5.27pc, its highest since
2023. It has also threatened to further drive up mortgage costs. So-called five-year swap rates, which are used by lenders to price their products, have risen to close to their highest level in three years.
James Athey, a fund manager at Marlborough, said: "If there were a league table of fiscal miscreants today it would be the US, the UK and France who would be battling for Champions League places. I'd heavily wager on France finishing top of that table."
Lotus cuts British jobs as Trump tariffs bite
By Christopher Jasper
LOTUS has cut its UK workforce by more than half after Donald Trump's tariffs triggered a collapse in sales.
The sports car manufacturer had 600 employees at the end of last year, less than half the 1,300 staff it had before US import duties stunted demand in its biggest market.
The workforce reduction, revealed in newly published accounts, appear to go deeper than Lotus indicated in August last year, when it planned to let go of
550 staff. Sales at the carmaker – which is based in Hethel, Norfolk – fell 71pc to just 1,539 vehicles in 2025 after the US president raised tariffs on British vehicle imports by 25pc.
While the levy was later reduced after ministers reached a deal with Washington, deliveries in the first half of 2026 remained flat at 896 cars.
Lotus - founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman - said it had been forced to cut production as "global tariff uncertainty and evolving trade conditions" hit demand for British sports cars.
Lotus's full-year losses climbed more than 90pc to £263m.
The carmaker, which is owned by China's Geely, said: "The imposition of 25pc tariffs by the US government led to a significant reduction in orders in Lotus's largest single market."
Meanwhile, Porsche is to raise prices by up to £50,000 as the struggling German brand seeks to go further upmarket. The automotive giant yesterday said the 20pc increase for its most expensive models would allow it to boost profits while selling fewer vehicles.
Burnham urged to launch 'Amazon tax' raid
By Szu Ping Chan
JOHN HEALEY should mount a £1.5bn raid on Amazon and other online retailers in the Budget to fund a high street tax cut, a Labour-linked think tank has said.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which has helped shape Labour policies, said a new online sales tax could raise billions of pounds and allow the Chancellor to cut business rates for shops, pubs and restaurants.
Andy Burnham has signalled that
Labour will ramp up a so-called Amazon tax to help fund a tax cut for "businesses that bring social benefit".
The IPPR urged the Prime Minister and Chancellor to consider a new 2pc tax on online sales by large retailers and lpc for click-and-collect purchases that it said would raise at least £1.5bn a year.
Under the think tank's proposals, the first £500,000 of a business's remote sales each year would be exempt, in a move designed to protect smaller firms.
The proposal comes amid growing concern over the burden of business rates on the high street, with the IPPR arguing that Britain has an unusually heavy reliance on property taxes. OECD data show property taxes account for 10.5pc of UK tax revenues, compared with an average of 5.1pc. Business rates alone raise more than £27bn a year.
Aditi Sriram at the IPPR said: “The government should shift some of the tax burden from bricks to clicks and use the money to cut bills for the businesses that bring people to our high streets.”
But retailers warned that an online sales tax could push up the cost of living.
French debt bomb threatens to ignite eurozone
Politicians' battle against markets risks enraging protesters and forcing Brussels to act. By Hans van Leeuwen
EVEN by French standards, the protests that have convulsed the country this week have been more dramatic than the usual flare-ups.
About a quarter of a million high-school students, teachers, trade unionists and activists were on the streets on Tuesday, facing off against police touting riot shields and tear gas.
But one high-profile figure was missing: Marine Le Pen, leader of the hard-Right populist party National Rally. Le Pen's political ascent has rested on her ability to tap the recurring groundswell of French citizens' anger and frustration. So she is no stranger to marches and demonstrations. Yet on Tuesday she was miles from the streets.
Instead, she was briefing journalists on how, as president, she would slash €140bn (£119bn) from the French budget and halve the country's colossal debt pile. It was a watershed moment for the presidential hopeful.
Until now, Le Pen has always displayed the populist's penchant for fiscal profligacy. She has opposed President Emmanuel Macron's attempted fiscal reforms at every turn.
Now, she is trying to outbid Macron's centrist Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu. His €43bn in proposed spending cuts and tax hikes look modest in comparison. On Tuesday, she criticised Macron and his lieutenants for failing to prepare a plan to prevent "the noose of interest payments from strangling France".
"If the French do not choose to make a political break, France is heading towards default," she said.
But Le Pen's new-found appetite for balancing the budget is not shared by the electorate, who will choose a new president next April to replace Macron, who has led the country since 2017.
French voters want the government to deliver decent public services, let workers retire as early as possible and help out with the ever-rising cost of living. But Lecornu and Le Pen have two masters now: not just the angry protesters on the streets, but the anxious global bond investors who are voting with their feet.
Investors have looked at Le Pen's previously extravagant promises - and at the polls that put her on course for victory - and they don't see a country planning to live within its means.
So they have driven French bond yields - the cost of government borrowing - to the highest in decades.
This has pushed the "spread" between French and German bond yields to levels that have sparked fears of a wider eurozone crisis – one that could rope in the European Central Bank and set the whole bloc on fire.
"If France fails, the whole of Europe fails," says Desmond Lachman, of the American Enterprise Institute. And he warns that the contagion could even wash up in Britain and America.
“What bothers me is that all of this is playing out at a time when the world’s largest economy looks like it’s on its own path towards a day of reckoning. So the last thing the world needs now is a French debt crisis.”
The euro has dropped 4pc against the US dollar since the end of August, as the market weighs up just how bad things could get.
Some big Japanese holders of French bonds have already headed for the exit. If the exodus can't be stopped, the ECB may have to start buying French bonds to stem the soaring yields and head off a bloc-wide crisis.
"We're not talking about Greece. We're talking about a big country that's got a huge amount of debt. So it means that the ECB is going to have to come in pretty big. And they're going to have to do it with the Germans kicking and screaming." Lachman says.
But if the ECB steps in, bond vigilantes will be primed to test the central bank's resolve.
The ensuing crisis could spill into other heavily indebted countries like Belgium or Italy. Emmanuel Moulin, the French central bank chief, said yesterday that the ECB did not need to intervene at the moment.
The bank “is not here to deal with countries’ budget problems, it is here to fight against inflation,” he told the France Inter radio station.
This underscored what most market watchers already acknowledge: the ECB cannot ride to the rescue if France isn't willing to help itself. But that's exactly what bond investors are worried about. Politically paralysed at the top, and riven by unrest on the streets, France appears unable to dig itself out of its hole.
"The bond markets are going to continue to punish France and French bonds until they believe there's a political equilibrium in the country that can deliver the kind of fiscal consolidation which will make the debt level sustainable," says Mujtaba Rahman, of the Eurasia Group.
France has run a budget deficit since 1974. But the acute phase of the crisis began in mid-2024, when Macron called a snap parliamentary election to try to stop the ascendant Le Pen in her tracks. His move backfired.
The election delivered a hung parliament dominated by populist blocs on the Left and Right. The only
---
Spending has exceeded revenue since 1974
thing this polarised collection of MPs have in common is a willingness to block Macron's hapless succession of centrist prime ministers from tackling the debt crisis. Last year Lecornu was forced to ditch key reforms and fend off repeated no-confidence votes. Eventually he used a constitutional mechanism to pass the 2026 budget without an Assembly vote.
He faces the same wrangle this year, but with heightened drama and tension. The overwhelming priority of every politician is to woo voters, or avoid alienating them, in the run-up to next April's presidential election.
This is what has spooked the markets. Until Le Pen set out her fiscal stall on Tuesday, there was no sign that any French opposition politician could hear the ticking of the debt bomb. Roland Lescure, the finance minister, had already admitted that he won't get 'We're finally seeing something that feigns to be fiscally responsible coming from Le Pen' the deficit back under 5pc of GDP in this budget. It is expected to be 5.4pc next year, up from 5.1pc this year.
The Treasury said it would have to issue a record €340bn of debt next year, 10pc more than this year.
The cost of servicing this debt would jump 16pc to almost €73bn. This will eat up a quarter of the €43bn savings that Lecornu is hoping to deliver. The French government's debt-to-GDP ratio in the second quarter hit a record 119pc, surpassing that of Portugal and Spain, and closing in on Italy.
Rattled bond investors sold off their holdings, driving borrowing costs on France's 10-year bond to almost 5pc, the highest since 2002. The spread of 1.6 percentage points over the German bond yield was the widest since the eurozone crisis of 2012.
Leo Barincou, a Paris-based analyst at Oxford Economics, says there is surprising complacency in France about the bond market ructions. "It hasn't dominated the public debate as it would have in many other countries. The high school protest movement has been a much bigger deal," he says.
Some politicians are thumbing their nose at the vigilantes. Le Pen's nearest presidential rival, the Left-populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of La France Insoumise, has proposed simply cancelling a chunk of France's debt.
"All we have to do is take the 18pc held by the Bank of France and chuck it in the fire," he said in August.
This has sparked a war of words with Moulin, the central bank boss, who accused Mélenchon yesterday of making “Trump-style threats” against his independence.
Mélenchon immediately hit back.
"Where else in the world does a central banker elected by no one give his political opinion on how the country is managed?" he posted on X.
Meanwhile, the clutch of politicians vying to become the centrist candidate for president are also coy on their cost-cutting plans, hoping to avoid scaring the voters. “The French political elite are not afraid of the bond market. And the French electorate is not ready for the sorts of tough choices they’re going to be forced into accepting to get the French public finances under control,” Rahman says.
Le Pen, however, seems to be making a belated and unexpected conversion to fiscal rectitude, as she imagines herself moving into the Elysee presidential palace on May 3 next year. "She has understood that the bond market is her Achilles heel, and that if she doesn't want the presidency to be engulfed in crisis on May 3, she's going to have to start talking in a much more coherent fashion about her economic platform," Rahman says.
But the shift may also hand Le Pen a tactical political advantage against her rivals. On one flank, she positions herself as a more responsible populist than Mélenchon, with his cavalier approach to debt and his embrace of this week's protests. On the other flank, she can attack the centrists as ineffectual. It was Macron and his ilk who had "put us in the hands of the bond holders", she said on Tuesday.
Le Pen may also be finding it harder to ignore the increasingly shrill clamour from beyond France's borders. Yesterday, Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, warned governments of the “very tough political choices” that lie ahead for countries in the eurozone. “Elevated yields are inflating the interest bill at a time of tight budget constraints and competing spending priorities,” she said. “The situation demands an urgent and comprehensive set of policy responses.”
Le Pen wants to move with improbable speed, vowing to get the budget deficit below 2.5pc of GDP within five years. She claims that curbing immigration and cutting foreigners' access to welfare would save up to €30bn a year. Making pensions less "unjust and inefficient" would reap up to €20bn (£25bn) a year.
There would be 30pc wealth tax, and a levy on multinationals' profits. France's net annual contribution to the EU would be halved
€5bn. There would be a bonfire of French quangos and a cull of civil servants. But she was ready to spend as well, with €69bn of tax cuts and spending bungs in 2027 alone.
Protesters face off against police at the Place de la République in Paris; Marine Le Pen, inset, has criticised Emmanuel Macron for failing to prepare a plan to prevent 'the noose of interest payments from strangling France'
"We're finally seeing something that feigns to be fiscally responsible coming from Le Pen," says Thierry Wizman, an analyst at Macquarie Group. "But it doesn't go all the way. And of course, she doesn't have a reputation for being fiscally responsible. So people are going to have doubts." It didn't take long for the doubters to break cover.
Edouard Philippe, a former prime minister who is currently Le Pen's most serious centrist challenger, addressed her on X: "To seduce, you promise billions. To save, you invent billions. But the reality principle always ends up prevailing."
Charlotte de Montpellier, an analyst at ING Bank, says many of Le Pen's promises were unlikely to reap the kind of savings she had suggested, or at least not on her timeframe.
She adds that while Le Pen's proposals assume the French economy will grow more strongly, her austerity measures will "inevitably weigh on demand and economic activity and, in turn, on tax revenue".
France's economy is already flatlining. If it had its own currency and monetary policy, it could cut interest rates and devalue the franc to soften the hit from austerity.
Instead, it is tethered to the ECB.
Instead, it is tethered to the ECB. This reassures the bond markets that there won't be a meltdown, but it makes the austerity straitjacket more economically harrowing for the French
The bond vigilantes' fiscal concerns might seem far removed from high-school students' demands for more teachers and better classrooms. In 1968, though, French student protesters adopted the slogan "Be realistic: ask for the impossible". Right now, the bond market could be chanting that same mantra.
Traders' rigging rate convictions quashed
By Telegraph Reporter
THE convictions of five men jailed after being accused of manipulating interest rates have been overturned at the Court of Appeal after a "wrong turn" which led to unfair errors in their trials.
Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant, Alex Pabon, Philippe Moryoussef and Colin Bermingham were jailed between 2016 and 2019 for offences connected to manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) admitted in August that the group's convictions may be unsafe in the light of a Supreme Court ruling last July which quashed the convictions of two traders,
Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo. Lawyers for the five men argued that the jury directions given in their trials were near-identical to those created for the trial of Mr Hayes which were found to be wrong by the Supreme Court.
Barristers for the SFO told the court it did not oppose the appeals and Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mr Justice Moody, quashed the convictions yesterday.
Former Barclays employees Mr Mathew, Mr Merchant and Mr Pabon were jailed for four years, five-and-a-half years and two years and nine months respectively in 2016, after being convicted at trial of conspiracy to defraud.
Mr Bermingham, a former managing director at Barclays, was sentenced to five years in 2019.
Former Barclays trader Mr Moryoussef was sentenced in his absence in 2018 to eight years' imprisonment, having fled to his native France before being convicted at trial.
France refused to extradite him, saying the offence was not a crime in France at the time.
Jason Williams, head of division at the Serious Fraud Office, said: "After carefully considering this judgment and the full circumstances, we do not oppose the appeals of five individuals convicted by juries in relation to Libor and Euribor. We communicated our decision last year to each of the people affected by the judgment."
Royal Mail overhaul to cull 2,500 jobs
By James Warrington
ROYAL MAIL is to cut up to 2,500 jobs as the struggling postal service grapples with a sharp decline in letter sending.
The company is consulting with unions on the reductions as part of a wider review of its head office and support functions. Bosses said they expected the overhaul to reduce the number of jobs by as many as 2,500 by the end of next year.
The cuts, which represent less than 2pc of Royal Mail's workforce of about 131,000, will be achieved through voluntary redundancies and by not replacing employees who leave the business. Royal Mail said the overhaul was designed to improve efficiency and speed up decision-making among its corporate workforce.
The cuts will not affect front-line delivery roles. Discussions with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite CMA are under way.
Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail's chief executive, said: "We have been working hard to reduce costs and simplify processes across all areas of the business as we transform to win in a very competitive market."
It comes amid a period of upheaval at Royal Mail, which was acquired by Czech billionaire Daniel Kfetínský in a £3.6bn deal last year. The company has racked up almost £800m in losses in the past four years as annual letter volumes have dropped by 70pc to six billion, from their peak of about 20 billion two decades ago.
Meanwhile, Royal Mail has come under scrutiny for its declining quality of service and has been hit with repeated fines for missing its delivery targets, including a record £21m penalty last year.
Royal Mail has secured approval from Ofcom to overhaul its universal service obligations, which require it to deliver letters six days a week. The company has said the reforms are required to make it financially sustainable.
Martin Walsh, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: "We urge the Government to confront the reality of a collapsing Royal Mail and intervene to save this national institution."
Blair joins tech billionaire friend's blockbuster Hollywood merger
By Matthew Field and Joe Sledge
SIR TONY BLAIR has secured a role advising his billionaire tech ally Larry Ellison's \$110bn (£82bn) Hollywood giant Skydance.
The former Labour prime minister has been appointed as an adviser to Skydance's board on the back of a blockbuster merger between the
Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery. Sir Tony's role was confirmed late on Tuesday night after the deal was officially finalised.
The new Hollywood giant, rebranded as Skydance, will control a sweeping entertainment empire spanning streaming app HBO, the Harry Potter franchise, and US news channels including CNN and CBS. The business will be led by
David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, who founded tech giant Oracle. Larry Ellison, who is worth an estimated \$193bn, is a close ally of Donald Trump.
David Ellison, Skydance's chief executive and chairman, said: "Tony has led at the highest levels of government, respected for his intellect, strategic vision and ability to bring people together around bold, forward-looking ideas. His global perspective and insight will be invaluable as we turn ambition into results."
Larry Ellison, 82, is a long-time associate of Sir Tony and has donated hundreds of millions of pounds to the former Labour leader's think tank, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI).
Sir Tony's appointment will also help to bridge relations between the Ellison family and the Gulf states that have pumped billions of dollars into Paramount's takeover. Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar contributed \$24bn to the bid and are expected to hold a stake in Skydance of just under 50pc, though they will not have voting shares.
The TBI has carried out significant work with Middle Eastern states, advising governments on policies including Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 modernisation plan. The former prime minister also serves on Mr Trump's Gaza "Board of Peace".
While not named on the media giant's new board, Larry Ellison has bankrolled his son's attempt to reshape the Hollywood landscape with billions of dollars in funding and a \$40bn (£30bn) personal guarantee.
Rayner accused of 'worsening' housing crisis
Decisions to block projects undermine Government's growth pledge, Berkeley Group boss warns
By Pui-Guan Man
ONE of Britain's biggest housebuilders has accused Angela Rayner of "worsening" the housing crisis after it was defeated in a long-running battle to build hundreds of homes in south London.
Berkeley Group had mounted a legal challenge to revive plans to replace Peckham's derelict 1980s Aylesham Centre with 867 homes, but its appeal was rejected by a judge on Monday.
Ms Rayner's officials in the Ministry for Housing have also frozen a second Berkeley project, for 586 homes, at the redundant Motspur Park gasworks in Kingston.
Rob Perrins, the chief executive of Berkeley Group, warned yesterday that the decisions underscored the "gulf between positive planning policies and
---
'At a time when we should be fighting to attract investment and build more homes, we're fighting it off'
what actually happens when you try to build homes in London".
With its projects repeatedly rejected by councils and planning inspectors, Mr Perrins said the housebuilder was increasingly forced to rely on “hugely costly and slow” legal appeals or decisions by ministers to secure approval for developments.
Plans for its Motspur Park development were “immediately put on hold by central Government” in August, Mr Perrins said, and now must be reviewed by Ms Rayner, despite securing consent from the Mayor of London’s office.
Mr Perrins said: "All of this creates extreme uncertainty and is undermining the Government's housing agenda.
"Housing delivery in London is at a record low. At a time when we should be fighting to attract investment and build more homes, we're fighting it off. The result is fewer homes, less growth and a worsening housing crisis."
In Peckham, the housebuilder had applied to build homes in more than a dozen tower blocks running up to 20 storeys high, served by a new Morrisons supermarket.
But its proposals were rejected by the planning inspectorate in May on heritage grounds, which ruled they were "visually intrusive".
Mr Perrins described the Peckham saga as a "10-year planning nightmare", adding that Historic England, the heritage watchdog, had not objected to the plans. "The outcome is no new investment, no jobs, no homes," he added. "All the policies support housing, but the decisions block it time and time again."
The site has been earmarked for housing since 2014. It is estimated the project would generate nearly 1,000 jobs along with £15m for the council to invest in the community.
But local groups protested against the project, including Aylesham Community Action, labelling it “gentrification [on] steroids”. The campaign was backed by Miatta Fahnbulleh, the local Labour MP who was appointed Energy Secretary in July.
Lord Khan of Tooting, the Mayor of London, meanwhile, called in and approved Berkeley's Motspur Park development after councillors rejected the proposal in March. But the Housing Secretary issued a holding direction in August that bars City Hall from officially granting consent, despite Andy Burnham's pledge to leave more control of building projects to mayors.
A spokesman for the Housing Department said: “Our planning reforms have already seen housing starts up 298pc in London compared to this time last year and we are investing up to £11.7bn to deliver the biggest a major revival of council housebuilding in the capital.
"We are also backing the Mayor of London and working closely with industry to get more homes built for Londoners - making sure good schemes are not left in limbo while unlocking jobs, growth and opportunity."
Separately, John Healey has been urged to cut stamp duty on newly built homes in a move that Berkeley estimates could hand the Treasury a £4.2bn windfall. In its Budget submission, Berkeley said cutting the levy could revive a market that it warned was "sliding over an economic cliff edge".
It called for stamp duty to be capped at 1pc for first-time buyers and downsizers. Berkeley also urged the Chancellor to scrap a 5pc surcharge levied on investors in new-build rental homes.
DETTY IMAGES FOR JACQUAR LAND FROVER DIMITTROS KAMBOURS
Florence and the machine Actress Florence Pugh attends the Jaguar Type OI reveal in New York. Jaguar ditched pink for the new £130,000 electric car after "woke" backlash.
South West Water owner seeks £550m cash injection
By Chris Price
THE owner of South West Water is seeking £550m from shareholders as its boss tries to turn around the struggling business after a parasite scandal.
Pennon Group shares plunged by nearly 19pc on Tuesday after it said it would cut its dividend and ask investors to stump up more cash to fund a £3.6bn investment in its pipes and services.
The supplier was at the centre of a contaminated water outbreak in 2024 that led to a string of customers falling ill in Devon. It was forced to issue a warning to 17,000 households because of the presence of a parasite that can cause diarrhoea.
Keith Haslett, the chief executive at Pennon, said the company would seek to raise £550m by selling new shares to existing investors so it could put in "more investment where our assets need it most".
He said: "It's clear from my comprehensive review that Pennon has real strengths, but there are areas where we need to improve and deliver better outcomes for our customers and communities.
"I have looked hard at how we
Pennon's dividend payments in 2027, from £138m in its 2026 financial year, as it seeks to put itself on a firmer footing
operate, maintain and invest in our assets and today we are setting out in detail what we are doing."
He added: "I am confident this plan will deliver a better service for customers, improve our environmental performance and generate sustainable, growing value for our shareholders."
Pennon said its investment plan was £1bn more than was required under the terms set out in a review by regulator Ofwat in 2024.
Those requirements were set out weeks after residents in Brixham, Devon, were told to boil their tap water after the discovery of an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, which left hundreds of people ill.
Pennon also said it would reduce its dividend payments from £138m in its 2026 financial year to about £125m in 2027 as it seeks to put itself on a firmer footing.
It said it would continue to use debt funding and proposed the sale of its renewable energy investment vehicle Pennon Power to cut debt.
The investment plans come as Andy Burnham raises the prospect of "greater public control" of essential services such as utilities.
Mr Burnham faced a backlash from Labour MPs after shelving plans to place struggling Thames Water into emergency administration.
Four in 10 farmers prepare to quit as Labour hammers countryside
By Patrick Galbraith
FOUR in 10 British farmers fear they may be forced to leave the industry within the next decade, a report from oven-chip maker McCain has warned.
In a survey of 200 farmers, 42pc said they had considered leaving their farms in the past year, and 40pc said they questioned whether they would still be farming in 10 years.
Meanwhile, some 77pc warned that government policy was the biggest threat to farming's future.
James Young, a vice-president at McCain Foods, said: "The overall picture shows a sector continuing to face significant economic, environmental and operational challenges. The global picture is tumultuous, and domestically it has been one of the hottest, driest summers on record."
Farmers are coming to the end of the poorest recorded harvest, with analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit showing that UK farmers lost some three million tons of grain worth about £448m.
Rural workers have also been left frustrated by a series of Labour policies that have alienated the countryside, such as the family farm tax.
The McCain report also followed farmers' frustration about the botched launch of a grant intended to support sustainable farming last month.
In less than six hours, a pot of £253m from the Sustainable Farming Incentive, designed to support farmers to manage their land in a nature-friendly way, was used up.
Many farmers, who have relied on grants after subsidies from Europe ended, were left with no funding.
McCain found that almost three quarters of British farmers agreed that “increasingly unpredictable weather” was making it harder to manage their farm effectively.
Three quarters were concerned about global politics as the war in the
Middle East was pushing up the cost of diesel and fertiliser.
Fewer than a third of farmers reported that they made a profit last year, while 91pc agreed that the Government did not give farmers adequate support.
Clive Bailye, who farms in Staffordshire, said: "There's plenty of evidence this Government isn't helping farmers, from the sustainable farming incentive fiasco to the family farm tax."
Since Andy Burnham became Prime
Minister, Labour has been attempting to repair relations with rural England. Daniel Zeichner, the former farming minister, admitted last month that the family farm tax had been "flawed".
McCain has called for the Government to prioritise access to water for farmers as well as securing fair trade deals that hold imports to the same standards as British produce.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was contacted for comment.
Fraud squad pays staff to commute to new office despite WFH policy
By Pui-Guan Man
THE UK's fraud squad is to cover some of the cost of commuting to its new office, even though staff only need to turn up twice a week.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has told employees it will pay the difference between the cost of travelling to its current headquarters in Westminster and the cost of travelling to its new office in Canary Wharf.
Documents released under freedom of information laws show there is no limit on what staff can claim, with the SFO promising to cover extra travel costs for three years.
This is despite the fact that the SFO requires full-time staff to be at their desk only two days a week.
This is already below the 60pc that Whitehall requires of civil servants.
The fraud office previously sought to soften its office relocation in 2012 with a similar package. It offered staff a three-year scheme on excess fares for commuting to Cockspur Street, which 38 of its employees claimed.
The enticement, first reported by Bloomberg, comes as both corporate
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, said remote working practices stall career development
and civil service leaders run into resistance when demanding staff spend more time in the office.
Last month, Barclays was hit by demands from thousands of its staff to help cover travel and childcare costs, after telling them it wanted staff back in the office for at least three days a week.
The pushback forced the bank to soften its stance by allowing some staff to wait until next year before they are required to come in for a minimum of three days a week.
Under its current rules, employees are expected to work in the office for two days a week.
Major City employers such as Barclays, JP Morgan and Revolut are trying to curb remote working practices. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, said in March that such practices stall career development.
"If you go to a meeting with me, you got my full friggin' attention the whole time," he said, adding that young people "learn by going on a sales call".
A spokesman for the SFO said: "We are looking forward to moving to Canary Wharf into accommodation that supports our operational [needs]. The excess fares allowance supports eligible staff during this transition."
HSBC axes UK wealth managers as part of new chief's AI push
By Pui-Guan Man
HSBC is planning significant job cuts across its UK wealth management division after replacing staff with AI for its richest clients.
The London-based bank, which is Europe's biggest lender, has started a consultation process affecting managers and specialist advisers.
About 70pc of the division's financial advisers will be eliminated, while roughly half of its managers and specialists are set to disappear from its ranks, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the move.
Affected employees are expected to depart by the end of October.
The bank has not said how many jobs are at risk and has not published any head counts for the division; however, it is thought to employ hundreds of relationship managers across the country.
HSBC had previously embarked on a hiring drive in 2024, with plans to add hundreds of relationship managers to a 400-strong team at the time.
That expansion was designed to double the UK wealth management arm's assets to £100bn by 2030 and propel it into Britain's top five wealth managers.
---
We're continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally-enabled products and journeys'
At the end of 2025, its retail banking and wealth division grew by £9bn to total more than £62bn.
Jose Carvalho, who led the UK retail banking and wealth arm, left his post three weeks ago after four years.
The restructuring comes after Georges Elhedery stepped in as chief executive in September 2024 with a mandate to cut costs. Mr Elhedery has put AI at the heart of his efforts to boost productivity. In May, he told investors in Hong Kong: "We all know generative AI will destroy certain jobs and will create new jobs."
Bloomberg reported in March that as many as 20,000 jobs at HSBC could be at risk globally as part of its push to use AI. This would represent about 10pc of its workforce, which consists of about 211,479 staff. It comes after rival Standard Chartered, which is also based in the UK, set out plans to cut about 7,800 roles by 2030 as part of a drive to use more AI.
A spokesman for HSBC said: "HSBC UK is a long-established, leading UK wealth manager and premium banking provider. We're continuing to evolve to deliver more digitally-enabled products and journeys, to support our best-in-class wealth service and meet the changing needs of our customers."
Telegraph · NEW PODCAST
THE
DIAMOND KING
How two Telegraph journalists took down the world's most wanted billionaire – and what happened next.
---
Listen now
Telegraph app Spotify Podcasts
To scan the QR code, open your phone camera, point it at the code and tap the banner that appears on screen. On older phones, you may need to download a QR code reader first.
UK must stockpile its own oil to avoid energy crisis
IZABELLA KAMINSKA
---
As diesel prices soar it now looks incredibly short-sighted to have allowed refineries to close
EUROPE is facing an acute diesel squeeze. In the UK, average diesel prices have hit a record £2 a litre, and fears are mounting about shortages going into winter. Similar dynamics are apparent on the Continent too.
So far, America has been doing the heavy lifting to ease these constraints, something Donald Trump has voiced his displeasure about.
For weeks, the US president has been threatening to ban US diesel exports — something many have interpreted as a ploy to force Europeans to shoulder more of the burden by drawing down on their own stockpiles. The bullying may be working: the G7 agreed last Friday to a coordinated release of emergency oil stocks, with diesel deliberately front-loaded. In theory, the move should take the edge off US diesel prices just in time for the midterms.
But while prices initially eased off, the awkward truth is that such efforts are unlikely to be enough to achieve what Trump wants. The reasons are complex and highly technical. But they are worth paying attention to. All the more so, if Europe is serious about its quest for strategic autonomy.
For one thing, unlike in America, where the government owns and controls its strategic reserves, Europe relies heavily on stocks held by commercial operators, either directly or on behalf of government agencies. The only notable exception is Finland, which has significant government-owned stockpiles in Europe.
The UK, itself, has neither government stocks nor a stock holding agency. As it stands, all obligated stocks are held by commercial proxies under the Oil Stocking Order 2012.
IEA data suggests that means Britain has 117 days of net-import crude oil cover. This is comfortably above the 90-day requirement for crude, but cover for stocks of individual products amount to just 19 to 27 days of consumption.
This would have been tolerable when Britain was a substantial domestic producer of refined product. Unfortunately, its refining capacity has been diminishing, most recently with the shutdown of two major refineries, Grangemouth and Lindsey in 2025. That begs the question whether current stockpiling procedures still make sense or if the Government needs to start thinking more
strategically about how to plug Britain's refined product exposure.
'The obvious move may be to requisition closed sites and invest in reopening them'
It's also important to account for why – despite high prices – commercially held European reserves have not been drawn very much thus far.
Currently, commercial operators are compensated through rebates for holding these reserves. The upside is a more cost-effective arrangement for governments. The downside is that ministers do not own the supplies and still need commercial incentives working in their favour for stocks to enter the market.
American fuel rules make matters harder. Exporting conventional diesel relieves US producers of renewable-fuel obligations they would incur on domestic sales, including the
associated cost of Renewable Identification Numbers.
This incentivises them to sell at a discount into Europe, making it harder to shift more expensive European reserves.
This is why, if Europe is serious about security of supply in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment, it should either follow Finland's example by building its own strategic reserve or think seriously about reversing policies that have helped remove some 613,000 barrels a day of European refining capacity over the past six years. Across the G7, the loss is nearly 2.5 million barrels a day in the same period. In the UK alone, the shutdown of Lindsey and Grangemouth in 2025 removed roughly 260,000 barrels a day.
For the most part, these refineries closed for commercial reasons. They struggled against newer, larger competitors in places such as India, Nigeria and China.
Net zero policies and the wider ESG investment trend contributed greatly to making further investment in them unviable.
Grangemouth stopped refining in April 2025. That now looks incredibly short-sighted, given soaring diesel prices because of the Iran war and the global shortage of refining capacity.
The obvious move to guarantee national resilience, rather than become increasingly dependent on US ‘This is hardly the first time the government has proved itself a terrible market timer’
imports, may be to requisition recently closed sites and invest in recommissioning them.
While that might sound nutty, it's no more or less nutty than providing EV subsidies or taking stakes in other strategic industries. Indeed, a clear precedent for doing so has already been set with the government taking over British Steel this year.
At Grangemouth, decommissioning is already under way. That means the window to preserve the site is closing rapidly.
If such a move proves too bold, there's also the option of the Government offering the subsidies needed to keep Britain's remaining refining capacity viable directly.
Of course, this is hardly the first time the British government has proved itself a terrible market timer.
Back in 1999, Gordon Brown, then chancellor, decided to sell 395 tonnes of Britain's gold over the following years. The average price received was about \$275 a troy ounce.
From a trading point of view, the timing could scarcely have been worse. Britain picked near the bottom of the market to sell its national treasure. Today, gold trades closer to \$4,100. Talk about leaving money on the table.
With nobody sure when the war in Iran will abate, it would be a shame for Britain to repeat the mistake again, this time with its national refining assets.
Mind the yap
Rescue dogs Peggy,
a poodle, Arlo, a
dalmatian, and
Ragu, an Italian
greyhound, from
Battersea Dogs &
Cats Home, meet
commuters at
King's Cross railway
station in London,
as the charity
highlights the
effect on wellbeing
that pet ownership
can have.
How to prevent Big Tech's Magnificent Seven from dominating your portfolio
TOM
STEVENSON
---
Excluding specific shares means every omission is also an opportunity to include something else
THE best investor questions are deceptively simple. I had a good one this week around exclusions. Our investor wanted to know how to invest in a global index that excluded any exposure to the Magnificent Seven. The short answer is that it is harder than it looks to do this – here in the UK, anyway.
Before I get there, though, why would you want to exclude some stocks from your investment portfolio? It strikes me there are four good reasons to do so.
The first is values based. You might not want to hold shares for ethical or religious reasons.
The second reason for omitting a stock from an investment portfolio is that you don't have an appetite for the implied risk of a certain investment. For example, you don't trust the government in question to treat you fairly, or you anticipate too much
volatility or you think an industry is in decline or worse.
The third reason to exclude a set of shares is that it doesn't fit your desired portfolio construction. I suspect this is why our investor wants to leave the Magnificent Seven out. He probably thinks he already has enough Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla in his pension – and he may well be right.
He might also be eyeing the fourth reason: performance. Market capitalisation-weighted passive funds mean yesterday's winners can dominate today's portfolio.
As share prices rise, investors can become exposed to the best-performing companies. That can be the opposite of what an active, contrarian fund manager is trying to do by buying undervalued shares before they are rerated.
So, let's assume you want to exclude those seven companies from your portfolio, and you have a good reason. How might you go about it?
If you live in the US, you'll have access to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which does exactly what you want, investing in the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 and none of the biggest seven. A company called Defiance launched one a couple of years ago, and it now has nearly \$200m (£151m) under management.
The closest you can get to this in the 'DIY portfolios have risks. Exposures can overlap in ways that aren't immediately obvious'
UK is a handful of funds that exclude a broader set of mega-cap stocks. Amundi, UBS, and iShares all offer ETFs approved for UK investors. The problem is that these funds are a bit of a sledgehammer. You'll leave out plenty of big companies, beyond the Magnificent Seven, that you might prefer to keep in your portfolio.
The UBS ETF, for example, tracks an MSCI index that leaves out 35 companies that collectively represent about 40pc of the value of the developed world's stock markets. Many of them are technology stocks, but plenty are not. You would exclude, for example, Walmart, ExxonMobil and JPMorgan Chase.
Almost all of the 35 stocks you are choosing to ignore are US-listed. So you're making three simultaneous bets: against concentration, against mega caps and against the US. This may not be what you have in mind.
What becomes clear once you start excluding shares from a portfolio is that every exclusion creates an implicit inclusion. If you reduce the US weighting, you automatically increase your exposure to Europe and Japan. If you take China out of an emerging-market fund, you raise the weighting of other Asian companies. The X-trackers ex-China index has 25pc in both Taiwan and India and 16pc in Korea, for example.
This is true at a sector level, too. Cut
Excluding mega caps is, therefore, seductively simple, but it has unintended consequences.
fossil fuels as part of a values-based exclusion strategy, and you raise the importance of banks and technology. No portfolio is truly neutral. Even buying the whole market is an active decision to let size determine how much of each company you own.
'Once you start excluding shares, every exclusion creates an implicit inclusion'
Unfortunately, so too does the other way I can think of to reduce your exposure to the biggest companies in an index. A new generation of equal-weighted indexes is another apparently clean way of achieving our investors' goal. But it, too, has drawbacks.
MSCI has created a global index that rebalances regularly to ensure that around 1,300 companies all have exactly the same weight. Invesco has created an ETF to track it. Rather than letting Nvidia and such dominate the
---
'Magnificent Seven' stocks shine
index because of their large market capitalisations, each company accounts for 0.08pc of the portfolio.
You lose the concentration risk, but you pay for it with a systematic tilt towards smaller companies. You might also see more turnover as winners are routinely sold down and laggards bought to maintain their weight. Again, this may not be what you would necessarily choose.
A third approach has the merit of simplicity. It is rough and ready but transparent, and it is what I do. I mix and match my investments to build a diversified portfolio with a balance I'm comfortable with across geographies, investment styles and asset classes.
Even if you are less interested in managing your portfolio than I am, you can dilute unwanted exposures. Pairing a US tracker with a World ex-US fund, for example, allows you to dial up or down your exposure to the American market and, more precisely, to the Magnificent Seven.
This kind of DIY portfolio construction does bring its own risks, however. Exposures can overlap in ways that aren't immediately obvious. A US and an emerging-markets fund might look nicely diversified while still being similarly exposed to the AI boom – through US tech stocks on the one hand and the semiconductor giants in Korea and Taiwan on the other.
Exclusion is more than deciding what to leave out. Every time we reduce one exposure, something else takes its place. You need to also understand what you'll get more of when you do.
Tom Stevenson is an investment director at Fidelity International. The views are his own. | Blue Whale Growth & Acc. | - | 442.03 | -4.57 |
Index Linked Securities | 349.35 | 238.55 | Trans 415/4.30 | 341.26 | -0.09 | 1.21 | 1.12 | 248.27 | 237.14 | Trans 25/4.35 | 238.76 | -0.09 | 0.83 | 1.95 | Yealand Fund Services Limited
Admin: Stuart House, St John's St,
Peterborough PE1 500
Dealing & Enquiries: 0345 850 0255
Tourist rates for indication use only: www.btavelex.co.uk
Data is provided for information purposes only and is not intended for trading purposes. Speak with a financial advisory before using any data to make transactions. |
Change | Gold | per troy oz | $4110.60 | -52.37 | -1.29pc | Silver | per troy oz | £45.23 | -0.98 | -2.31pc | Krugerrand | £3083.12 | -5.10 | -0.17pc | New Sovereign | £715.64 | -6.35 | -0.88pc | Maples | £3102.56 | -14.45 | -0.46pc | Platinum | per oz | £1257.16 | -50.43 | -3.92pc | Palladium | per oz | £847.70 | -34.82 | -3.95pc | Copper† | grade A | £10932.37 | -73.22 | +0.67pc | Tin‡ | high grade | £4054.54 | +256.44 | +0.63pc | Lead† | £1430.89 | -28.46 | +1.45pc | Zinc† | special high grade | £2848.93 | +3.84 | +0.21pc | Aluminium† | high grade | £2364.02 | -5.83 | -0.21pc | Nickel† | £11899.54 | -90.86 | +0.76pc | Baltic Dry Index* | 2994.00 | -8.00 | -0.77pc | Wheat | per tonne | £208.50 | -0.75 | -0.38pc | Brent Crude | Dec settlement | $100.20 | -0.38 | -0.38pc | Money & Rates
\*Copyright Baltic Exchange Information Services Ltd. \*Data provided by the London Metal Exchange. | RPI (1987-100) | Aug 421.60 | +0.6pc | +3.4pc | RPIX (Target 2.5pc) | Aug 434.60 | +2.4 | +3.3pc | CPI (2015-100 target 2pc) | Aug 143.60 | +0.5pc | +3.1pc | Lloyds house price index | Sep 534.60 | 0.0pc | 0.0pc | Bank Rate | 3.75pc | Nationwide Base Mortgage Rate | 5.75pc | US Fed Funds | 3.75-4.00pc | US Long Bonds Yld | 0.69pc | European base rate | 2.65pc | Name | last chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | ---
Investment Managers
22 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 480
www.axa-int.co.uk Cust Svs: 0345 777 5511 | AXA Pkt & Present Equity R GDP | - | 313.7 | -2.60 | Amer Smith Acc | - | 1857 | -16.00 | Biotech Acc | - | 306.5 | 6.00 | Global Sust Megal R Acc | - | 621.5 | 4.00 | Global Tech | - | 454.2 | -2.00 | Global Thematika R GDP Acc | - | 2822 | -6.00 | Health Acc | - | 3393 | -29.00 | Japan R GDP Acc | - | 1009 | 6.00 | Managed Income R Gross Acc | - | 221.6 | -6.00 | Managed Income R Gross Dis | - | 81.95 | -6.20 | UK Select Opps R Acc | - | 4326 | -20.00 | UK Select Opps R Inc | - | 2002 | -60.00 | UK Select Cos Acc | - | 331.6 | -8.00 | UK Select Equity R Acc | - | 304.1 | -5.00 | ---
BLUE WHALE GROWTH FUND | Name | int chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | Blue Whale Capital
0345 307 3439
www.bluewhale.co.uk
---
BNY MELLON
BNY Mellon Fund Managers
Investors: 0800 614330 Brokers: 08085 660000
www.bnymellstein.co.uk,
clientservice@bnymellon.com
BNY Mellon Investment Funds (ICVC)
Sterling Income Shares | Global Income | 0% | 318.30 | -6.83 | Corporate Bond | 0% | 79.78 | -6.24 | Equity Inc | 0% | 142.69 | - | Equity Inc. Bracker | 0% | 98.37 | - | Glob Asia Net | 0% | 308.55 | - | Glob Multi-Strat | 0% | 128.34 | -6.43 | Inflation-Limited Corp Bdl | 0% | 106.45 | -6.25 | Long-Term Global Equity | 0% | 564.76 | -6.81 | Asian Income | 0% | 308.23 | -6.60 | European Opps | 0% | 468.26 | -60.98 | Global Dynamic Bdl | 0% | 63.62 | -6.18 | Global High Yield Bdl | 0% | 46.86 | -6.32 | International Bdl | 0% | 188.89 | -6.18 | Multi Asset Bdl | 0% | 309.55 | -6.73 | Multi Asset Div Return | 0% | 359.55 | -6.47 | Multi Asset Growth | 0% | 1642.02 | -6.28 | Oriental | 0% | 1272.44 | -6.60 | Real Return A | 0% | 137.70 | -6.23 | UK Equity Fund | 0% | 1388.43 | -63.84 | UK Income | 0% | 99.87 | -6.58 | UK Opportunities | 0% | 445.76 | -7.58 |
B Shares | Global Income | 0% | 304.71 | -6.84 | Corporate Bond | 0% | 96.60 | -6.45 | Equity Inc | 0% | 167.1 | - | Equity Inc. Bracker | 0% | 71.35 | - | Glob Asia Net | 0% | 138.44 | -6.36 | Name | Unit change | Mild Buy | Change on day | Global Multi Group | 0% | 140.84 | -0.64 | Infrastructure Limited Corp Bd | 0% | 156.82 | -0.33 | Long Term Global Equity | 0% | 206.36 | -1.48 | Asian Income | 0% | 200.87 | -0.37 | Continental Company | 0% | 204.33 | -1.25 | Global Dynamic Bd | 0% | 81.90 | -0.15 | Global High Yield Bd | 0% | 74.39 | -0.39 | International Bd | 0% | 86.88 | -0.84 | Multi-Asset Bd | 0% | 209.15 | -0.49 | Multi Asset Div Return | 0% | 154.33 | -0.56 | Multi Asset Growth | 0% | 222.41 | -0.83 | Oriental | 0% | 259.08 | -0.50 | Real Return A | 0% | 124.73 | -0.20 | UK Equity Fund | 0% | 205.24 | -0.28 | UK Income | 0% | 203.84 | -0.15 | UK Opportunities | 0% | 122.39 | -0.62 | Emerging Income | 0% | 141.84 | -0.22 | Global Emerging Mkts | 0% | 202.78 | -0.36 | Global Equity Fund | 0% | 430.83 | -0.40 | Multi Asset Inc | 0% | 142.03 | -0.18 |
Discretionary Unit Fund |
No 1, Poultry, London EC298 BJR. 020 7415-4130 | Wattland Discretionary Inc: | 3.00 | 2016.73 | 44.87 | ---
Fundsmith
Fundsmith LLP
PO Box 10846, Chelmsford, Essex, CM99 2BW.
0330 123 1815
www.fundsmith.co.uk.enquiries@fundsmith.co.uk | Fundwidth Equity T Acc | - | 754.37 | +0.63 | Fundwidth Equity T Inc | - | 844.67 | +0.57 | Name | Istl chge | Sell | Mkt Buy | Change on day | ---
GUINNESS GLOBAL INVESTORS
Guinness Global Investors
18 Smith Square, London, SWSP 3H2
www.guinnessgl.com
+44(0)20 7222 5703 | Sustainable Energy Acc | - | 25.2848 | - | Global Investors Acc | - | 49.4633 | - | Global Equity Income Inc | - | 24.7853 | - |
Available as an US A | ---
Janus Henderson
Janus Henderson Investors
PO Box 9023 Chelmsford, CM99 2W6
Enquiries: 0000 832 832
Website: www.janushenderson.com | Cautious Managed A Acc | 5.00 | 347 | Cautious Managed A Inc | 5.00 | 148.9 | China Opps A Acc | 5.00 | 1271 | 4 | Emerg Mkt Opps A Acc | 5.00 | 308.7 | European Sel Opps A Acc | 5.00 | 3074 | -54 | Fixed Int Mktly Inc A Inc | 4.25 | 16.58 | Global Cap Growth A Acc | 4.30 | 158.1 | Global Equity Inc A Inc | 5.25 | 84.62 | -8.28 | Global Select Acc | 4.25 | 8400 | Global Strategic Cap Acc | 5.00 | 492.3 | Global Technology A Acc | 5.00 | 1544 | Intel UK 100 Opp Tr | - | 175,7342 | James Axton Dividend to Gl | 5.00 | 103.8 | James Ener Mktly Asia A Acc | 5.00 | 1000 | -63 | James Multi-Wig Ind & Growth A | 5.25 | 100.0 | Multi-Wig Auto Net A Acc | 5.00 | 100.5 | Multi-Wig Active A Acc | 5.00 | 338.6 | -6.7 | Multi-Wig Distrib A Inc | 5.25 | 334.5 | Multi-Wig Distrib B A Acc | - | 105.1 | Name | Infit charge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | Multi-Mgr bond/Earth A Acc | 5.00 | 231.9 | ... | Multi-Mgr Mngal A Acc | 5.00 | 406.4 | -0.8 | Multi-Mgr Mngal A Inc | 5.00 | 234.9 | -0.3 | Sterling Bond Acc | 4.25 | 225.4 | ... | Sterling Bond Inc | 4.25 | 54.44 | ... | Strategic Bond A Inc | 4.00 | 92.23 | ... | UK Absolute Return A Acc | 5.00 | 206.5 | -0.6 | UK Alpha A Acc | 5.25 | 194.7 | -0.8 | UK Smaller Cos A ACC | 5.00 | 940.2 | ... | UK Equity Income A Inc | 5.00 | 678.4 | ... | UK Index Opps Tot A Acc | - | 173,447 | ... | US Growth A Acc | 5.00 | 2070 | -19 | ---
J.P.Morgan
Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
60 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y GJP
Clients: 0800 204020.Brokerline 0800 727770 | Name | Inlt chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | JPM Euro C Net Dix | - | 182.5000 | -2.3000 | JPM Japan C Net Acc | - | 110.5000 | -2.6000 | JPM Natural Res C Net ACC | - | 1702.0000 | -2.9000 | JPM UK Equity Care E Acc | - | 505.3000 | -5.4000 | JPM UK Equity Care F Inc | - | 90.3100 | -6.7000 | JPM US Eq Inc C Net | - | 581.8000 | -4.7000 | JPM US Eq Inc C Net Dix | - | 505.5000 | -4.5000 | JPM US Select C Net Acc | - | 1250.0000 | -10.0000 | JPM US Dot Cap Growth C Net Acc | - | 1183 | 0 | # JUPITER
Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Ltd
The Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, London,
SW1E 65Q
020 3817 1000 | Jupiter Asian Inc. I Acc | - | 572.52 | - | Jupiter Asian Inc. I Inc | - | 348.47 | - | Jupiter China L Acc | - | 115.69 | - | Jupiter China L Inc | - | 105.46 | - | Jupiter Corp Bond L Inc | - | 48.3 | - | Jupiter Cos L Inc. | - | 888.99 | - | Jupiter European L Inc | - | 3823.62 | - | Jupiter Euro Inc L Acc | - | 85.00029 | - | Jupiter Euro Inc L Inc | - | 49.78809 | - | Jupiter Euro Special Sits L Acc | - | 574.63 | - | Jupiter Fire Opp L Inc | - | 1293.78 | - | Jupiter Fund Of Inv Tuts L Inc | - | 467.23 | - | Jupiter Global Eng Mths L Acc | - | 112.05 | - | Jupiter Global Fin Invest L Acc | - | 222.63 | - | Jupiter Income Trust L Inc | - | 685.41 | - | Jupiter India L Acc | - | 205.37 | - | Jupiter Japan Inc L Acc | - | 231.17 | - | Jupiter Japan Inc L Inc | - | 150.3 | - | Jupiter Merlot Bal Prftha L Acc | - | 349.04 | - | Jupiter Merlot Bal Prftha L Inc | - | 208.48 | - | Jupiter Merlot Grth Prftha L Acc | - | 843.07 | - | Jupiter Merlot Grth Prftha L Inc | - | 810.33 | - | Jupiter Merlot Inc Prftha L Acc | - | 472.69 | - | Jupiter Merlot Inc Prftha L Inc | - | 184.43 | - | Jupiter Merlot WW Prftha L Inc | - | 639.26 | - | Jupiter Merlot WW Prftha L Acc | - | 620.81 | - | Jupiter Monthly All Inc L Acc | - | 138.12 | - | Jupiter Monthly All Inc L Inc | - | 22.65 | - | Name | Unit, cloger | Sell | Mild Buy | Change on day | Jupiter Merlot Select 1, Acc. | - | - | 125.58 | - | Jupiter Merlot Select 1, Dis. | - | - | 50.09 | - | Jupiter Responsible Inc 1, Acc. | - | - | 365.55 | - | Jupiter Responsible Inc 1, Inc. | - | - | 75.32 | - | Jupiter Global Street Bond 1, Acc. | - | - | 108.5 | - | Jupiter Global Street Bond 1, Inc. | - | - | 52.1 | - | Jupiter UK Growth 1, Inc. | - | - | 272.82 | - | Jupiter UK Dynamic Eq.1, DIS | - | - | 200.86 | - | Jupiter Undirect Rent F | 3.50 | - | 428.87 | - | Jupiter US Deal Cap Inst 1 Acc. | - | - | 80.99 | - | Jupiter US Deal Cap Ret Acc. | - | - | 54.46 | - | Marks & Spencer Unit Trust Management Ltd | Name | Inlt chge | Sell | Mid Buy | Change on day | Eqty-Inv Cirties GBP Acc | - | 4501.10 | -58.29 | Eqty-Inv Cirties GBP Sdn | - | 1068.15 | -64.82 |
CAR - Net Income reinvested. |
Kinga Meadow, Chester, CH99 0UT |
0670 333 1835 | High Income Inc. | - | 85.69 | 85.69 | High Income Acc. | - | 292.4 | 292.4 | UK Select Point Inc. | - | 472.8 | 472.8 | UK Selection Point | - | 1081.5 | 1081.5 | UK 100 City's Fund Inc. | - | 114.4 | 114.4 | UK 100 City's Fund Acc. | - | 711.8 | 711.8 | M wide Main Inc. | - | 702.06 | -0.05 | M wide Main Acc. | - | 1003.06 | -0.05 | ---
M&G | Global Bond Fund Inc. | - | 82.52 | - | Morgan Equity Growth Fund Acc | - | 105.31 | - | Morgan Growth Fund Inc | - | 101.29 | - | Morgan Growth Fund Acc | - | 176.76 | - | UK Equity Fund Acc | - | 170.75 | - | UK Equity Fund Inc | - | 137.07 | - | PO Box 9030, Chelmsford, CM99 2XG
Government bonds are offering high rates, but UK shares are still delivering record returns. By Russ Mould
THE new Burnham administration continues to flesh out its policy plans, and the bond markets are watching every bit as closely as Labour's backbench and the British electorate.
Gilt owners, or potential owners, will be looking at the cost of policy initiatives, the sources of funding and the potential benefits further down the road in the form of productivity and growth.
But they will have to consider the likelihood of increased income from taxes and lower welfare spending, if the Government, under the lead of Andy Burnham, below, is as good as its word.
That is why “growth in every postcode” is the best solution to the difficult debt position in which the UK finds itself, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 90pc and a forecast annual interest bill of about £135bn.
The question now for investors is whether that yield
is tempting enough to persuade them to increase their allocation to gilts, perhaps at the expense of equities.
---
Mind the gap
Some investors may feel that the 5.4pc yield available on 10-year gilts is attractive, especially if they are seeking income and especially if they feel that return is sufficient compensation for the potential dangers posed by inflation, interest rate movements, default and liquidity.
The gap between the benchmark 10-year gilt yield and the forecast dividend yield on the FTSE 100 is now more than two full percentage points, based on aggregated consensus forecasts for all of the stock market index's members.
That is the biggest gap since summer 2007, just as the global financial crisis began to break and share markets started to stumble.
Any investor who is nervous about the economic outlook and feels that inflation is not about to break out to the upside may start to look toward fixed income, and away from equities, as a result
\- especially if they feel their portfolio needs a little capital protection, given gilts redeem at par upon maturity.
---
Cash is king
However, bulls will still make the case for equities as a potential source.
mention capital gains (even if there is scope for capital losses, too).
First, consensus earnings forecasts for the FTSE 100 put the benchmark index on
earnings for 2026. That is another way of saying the earnings yield of the index is 7.4pc, a figure which still stands up well compared with gilts.
Second, dividend payment forecasts continue to creep higher.
Analysts now expect the total payment from the FTSE 100 to reach a record £90.3bn in 2026.
Benchmark 10-year gilt yield at 19-year highs
Third, management teams continue to sanction share buybacks.
The total value of the plans declared for this year is now £46.7bn.
Buybacks supplement returns from UK equities
Adding that sum to analysts' forecasts for ordinary and special dividends takes the cash return on the FTSE 100 to £138bn, equivalent to 5.1pc of the index's £2.7tn stock market capitalisation, although it is admittedly not easy for retail investors to participate in, and benefit from, the buyback schemes. Finally, takeovers could top up the pot, too. If the deals for DCC, Beazley, Intertek, Schroders and Segro all go through, their aggregate value is £46.8bn, or another L7pc of the FTSE 100's current £2.7tn.
---
Mathematical formula
Those deals support the argument offered by equity bulls that UK stocks still offer good value in absolute and relative terms, given the total cash yield on the FTSE trails the 10-year gilt by just 30 basis points (0.3pc) and the potential for share price upside, should earnings forecasts prove accurate, UK growth accelerate, and takeover bids keep rolling in.
The UK's cash and earnings yields also handily beat both the Bank of England base rate of 3.75pc and the 3.1pc rate of inflation reported by the Office for National Statistics for the month of August. Further gilt yield increases - should inflation prove sticky, the Budget flop or investors prove more risk-averse in the event of any AI-related turbulence - could still be a challenge to the FTSE's attempt to break the 11,000 mark all the same.
Just as weight stops trains and slows down racehorses, higher bond yields can eventually weigh on share prices, thanks to the calculations of their relative risk-reward profiles.
Investors will therefore need to sit down and do their own research, as well as the maths, to assess the relative attractions, or otherwise, of bonds and equities, as they decide what the optimal mix of assets for their own world view is, their particular strategy, time horizon, target returns and their appetite for risk.
---
BUSINESS BULLETIN
---
Housing market 'facing gathering dark clouds'
UK house prices stalled last month, with Opc growth on both a monthly and an annual basis.
Lloyds recorded a 0.0pc month-on-month change in property values last month, following a 0.3pc fall in August. It also recorded a 0.0pc change compared with September last year, following a 0.4pc annual dip in August. In the UK, the average house price in September was £298,441.
Ian Futcher, a financial planner at wealth manager Quilter, said: "The market is facing gathering dark clouds on several fronts."
---
Rank Group to pay £5m over gambling failures
Three casino operators owned by Rank will pay £5m after the gambling watchdog found due diligence failures, including allowing a customer to use cryptocurrency assets to gamble.
The Gambling Commission said its investigation into Rank's Grosvenor casinos, which has 51 sites across Britain, identified failures to meet anti-money laundering and social responsibility duties. This included having unclear policies, procedures and controls which resulted in inappropriate risk levels being ascribed to high-risk customers.
---
Record heatwaves strike Hollywood Bowl sales
Hollywood Bowl has revealed sliding UK sales over the summer as record heatwaves affected customer demand for indoor entertainment.
The group reported a 5.6pc drop in UK like-for-like sales over its second half to the end of September in a sharp reversal after a 2.6pc rise in the first six months' trading. But the 10-pin bowling chain said it had been able to help offset some of the hot weather hit by using so-called dynamic pricing, as well as keeping a tight lid on costs.
Shares lifted 7pc as the group trading remained "resilient".
---
Hostelworld says Iran war affecting bookings
Hostelworld has warned that it expects the Middle East conflict and “softer” demand for long-haul travel to weigh on demand through the rest of this year and into 2027.
The hostel-booking company reduced its profits guidance for 2026 as a result. Shares dropped by about 7.3pc yesterday as a result, striking their lowest level for almost four years.
The company said that the Iran war has “dampened” travel volumes from long-haul customers, with net transaction dipping by about 2pc in third quarter of this year.
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Dating Service from our selected partner
Start your dating journey at telegraph.co.uk/LS-dating
Members must be over 18 years of age. You can join free as a member or subscribe for more features from £11,99 a month when you sign up for a year. T&Cs appl.
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
A bespoke gift brought to you by The Telegraph
Diana, Princess of Wales
---
A Telegraph Gift Book
---
HER LIFE AND LEGACY AS TOLD BY THE TELEGRAPH
The fairy-tale wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and the Prince of Wales in 1981 attracted the world's attention. The bride was 20 years old. However, the fairy tale later soured and the couple divorced in 1996. The following year, a car crash in Paris killed the Princess at the age of 36. These past pages from The Telegraph cover her personal life, charity work and the outfits that made her a fashion icon.
---
Features
\- Recipient's name printed on the front cover
Size: 15 x 12in (38.1 x 30.5cm)
Blue hardback cover
Coverage starts in 1980
Save £5 with code: DIANA Buy now from £65 (RRP £70)
Call 0330 029 4085 telegraph.co.uk/LS-diana
This is a personalized gift, so all sales are final. No returns, refunds or exchanges. Personal use only, No publication, reproduction, advertising or trade use without permission. Page quality may vary due to the historic nature of the product, Discount expires on October 20, 2026.
31. RUI-31 REXI QAS-0-1 QAS2
---
Court Circular
---
BUCKINGHAM PALACE October 7th
The King, Royal Founding Patron, The King's Trust, today attended the launch of Apple x King's Trust Creative Labs, an industry-led education programme for young people supported by The King's Trust, in partnership with Apple, at the Headquarters of Apple (UK) Limited, I Battersea Power Station, Circus Road South, London SW8, and was received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa), the Executive Chairman of Apple Incorporated (Mr Timothy Cook) and the UK Chief Executive Officer of The King's Trust (Mr Jonathan Townsend).
His Majesty, escorted by the Executive Chairman, viewed a music creation workshop and spoke to participants.
The King proceeded to the Apple Music Hall and, having been received by Sir Elton John (Musician and King's Trust Ambassador), viewed a sound check and subsequently a musical performance.
Her Majesty, Patron, The Queen's Reading Room, this morning held a Meeting at Clarence House.
The Queen, Patron, the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom, afterwards received Dr Ruth Scurr (Chairman) and Ms Laura Greenfield (Director) at Clarence House.
The Prince of Wales, on behalf of The King, held an Investiture at Windsor Castle this morning.
---
KENSINGTON PALACE October 7th
The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this morning received Mrs Sarah Henwood (Chief Executive) at Windsor Castle.
---
ST JAMES'S PALACE
October 2th
The Duke of Edinburgh,
Chairman of the Board of
Trustees, The Duke of
Edinburgh's International Award
Foundation, this afternoon held a
Luncheon.
The Duchess of Edinburgh this morning received His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey (Mrs Neelam Devesher).
---
ST JAMES'S PALACE October 7th
The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, this afternoon attended a Reception given by His Majesty's Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway (Her Excellency Ms Jan Thompson) at the Residence in Oslo, Norway.
Her Royal Highness, accompanied by Admiral
Laurence, this afternoon arrived at Bristol Airport from Norway.
Colonel John Boyd and Captain Charles Wallace were in attendance.
---
KENSINGTON PALACE October 7th
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, accompanied by the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana (His Excellency Mr Giles Enticknap), today carried out the following engagements in Gaborone, Botswana.
Their Royal Highnesses this morning visited a Child-Friendly Police Centre at Broadhurst Police Station established through a partnership between the United Nations Children's Fund, the Government of Botswana and Botswana Police Service.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester afterwards visited the De Beers Sorting Facility at the Diamond Trading Company Botswana.
The Duke of Gloucester this afternoon visited the University Innovation Pod at the University of Botswana.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester this evening attended a Reception and Dinner to mark the Sixtieth Anniversary of Botswana's Independence, given by the British High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana at the Residence in Gaborone.
The Duchess of Gloucester this afternoon visited the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross Botswana.
---
KENSINGTON PALACE October 7th
The Duke of Kent, Patron,
International Musicians Seminar
Prussia Cove, this evening
attended the Autumn Tour
Concert at Wigmore Hall, 36
Wigmore Street, London W1.
---
Today's birthdays
Mr Neil Harvey, former Australia cricketer, is 98; Sir David Hoare, Bt, Chairman, C Hoare & Co, Bankers, 2008-06, 92; Dame Merle Park, Principal, Royal Ballet, 1959-83; Director, Royal Ballet School, 1983-98, 89; Ms Bel Mooney, writer and broadcaster, 80; Earl Mountbatten of Burma, 79; Sir John Mitting, retired High Court Judge, 79; Ms Martha Kearney, broadcaster, 69; Mr Peter Horrocks, Vice-Chancellor, The Open University, 2015-18, 67; Lord Khan of Tooting, Mayor of London, 56; Sir David Gauke, former Conservative Cabinet minister, 55; Mr Chris Rampling, Ambassador to the Netherlands, 53; Mr Ben Quilter, former judoka; Paralympic bronze medallist, London 2012, 45; Ms Maddie Hinch, former international hockey player; Olympic gold medallist, Rio 2016, 38; and Ms Garbine Muguruza, tennis player; Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Champion, 2017, 33.
Today is the anniversary of the opening of the Post Office Tower in 1965, then the tallest building in London.
Email: announcements.ads@telegraph.co.uk Book online: announcements.telegraph.co.uk
---
Births
VAN DEN BROEK.—On 29th September 2026, to Katrina (nee Hadsley-Chaplin) and Naboth, a son, Charles Johannes Brodie, brother to Alex and Aline. Online Ref: W3053268
---
Anniversaries
---
Diamond wedding
BUSHELL - MARSH.—On 8th October 1965, at St Joseph's Church, Epsom, John to Marian. Love and congratulations on your 60th Anniversary from Emma, Alstair, Heather, Cathy, Glenn, Ben and Max.
(Online Ref: W2053308)
---
Deaths
McCRICKARD.—Stella McCrickard JP, 21st November 1936 - 4th October 2026. Died peacefully at The Pines Nursing Home, Hove after a short illness. She will be hugely missed by her daughters Sarah and Lucy. Family flowers only; donations to Asthma UK c/o www.cpifield.co.uk/services/487214 Online Ref: WD053336
PALFREYMAN.—Judith of Burton Overy, Leicestershire, passed away peacefully on 18th September 2026, aged 85 years. Funeral Service at Great Glen Crematorium on Monday 19th October at 11:30 a.m. All enquiries to J. Stamp & Sons, Funeral Directors. Tel: 01858 462524.
Online Ref: WD053337
TURNBULL.—Nicholas Piers, LVO, MBE, QGM. Died peacefully on 10th September 2026, aged 63. Beloved father of Alexander and Crispin, and much loved brother of Andrew, Julia and the late Catriona. Private funeral.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. No flowers please; donations, if desired, to the RNLI or the Woodland Trust. Messages of condolence may be sent to enquiry@dnafuneraldirectors.co.uk
---
Clergy News
Online Ref: WOOSS332
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
WIGHAM.—Mary Elizabeth, beloved aunt and great aunt, friend and physiotherapist extraordinaire died peacefully on 22nd September 2026 aged 93 after a long illness. A Funeral to be held at Worthing Crematorium on 4th November at 12:30 a.m. No flowers but donations to the Alzheimer's Society may be given online to marywigham.muchloved.com
Online Ref: WDO53327
WARRILOW.—Antony John died on 18th September 2026 aged 98. Dearest husband of the late Betty and much loved father of Sue, Libby and Jo. Online Ref: WDOG3328
Heather Valletta, c, Camberley St Paul (Guildford), to be assoc v, Islington St Mary (London); Chris Smith, ac, Kingswinford St Mary (Worcester), to be p-in-c, Pensnett St Mark (same dio); Mike Edwards, ac, Bengeworth St Peter (Worcester), to be p-in-c, Evesham All Saints with Hampton St Andrew (same dio); Glenn Reading to be ad, Pershore and Evesham (Worcester); Phil Bradford to be ad (Worcester); Jordan Bentliff, c, Chordey St George and All Saints (Blackburn) to be v, Baxenden St John the Baptist and Accrington St Paul (same dio); Ross Stephen Copley, ac, Swindon New Town (Bristol) to be p-in-c, Middlesbrough All Saints (York); Jon Sanders, assoc min, Cherry Hinton (Ely), to be chapl, Jesus College Cambridge (same dio); James Marston, assoc p, Barnes St Michael and All Angels (Southwark), to be r, Little Ilford St Michael and All Angels (Chelmsford); Kizey Penfold, ac, Westfield, Guestling and Fairlight (Chichester), to be assoc v, Girlington, Manningham and Heaton (Leeds).
---
Appointments
---
Memorial services
The Daily Telegraph.
STRATFORD — Margaret Reid of Sarratt, died peacefully on 3rd October, aged 10. Much loved wife of Muir, mother to Gail, Fioma and Duncan, grandmother and mother-in-law.
A cherished member of her community and special friend to so many, she will be remembered with great affection for her love of gardening, crosswords, art and history. She will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. Funeral on Wednesday 21st October at 1:45 p.m. at The Chilterns Crematorium. All welcome, family flowers only but any kind donations to The Woodland Trust or Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Online Ref: WOO5J246
LONDON, FRIDAY OCTOBER S. 1926
Resignations and Retirements
David Ritchie, assoc p, Tenpenny Villages, ad, St Osyth, mission and ministry adv, Colchester Episcopal Area, and lic public preacher (Chelmsford), to retire on Aug 31 2026; Beverley Vincent, tv, Halstead (Chelmsford), to retire on Sep 4 2026; Andrew Walker, r, Bourne Street St Mary (London), to retire on September 15 2026; Herbert Birt, r, Monks Eleigh with Chelsworth and Brent Eleigh with Milden and Kettlebaston (St Edmundsbury and Ipswich), to retire on September 30 2026; Philip Venables, v, Whittle le Woods St John and Clayton Brook (Blackburn), to retire on October 11 2026; Janet Nicholls, dio rural adv and agricultural chapl (Chelmsford), to retire on October 18 2026; Jane Marr, ac, Blackmore and Stondon Massey (Chelmsford), retired on May 31 2026; Ian Farley, tr, Buckhurst Hill St John (Chelmsford), retired July 22 2026; Ian Blay, r, Mobberley (Chester), retired July 31 2026.
McNALLY.—A Memorial Service for the life of Patrick “Paddy” McNally, will be held at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge on Thursday 29th October at 12 noon. All are welcome. Reception to follow at The Berkeley Hotel. RSVP essential to memorialwarnefordplace.co.uk by 14th October.
Online Ref: WD05332
5th- Robin Jepson and Alan Brosgill 153 VPs
LOOK UPON mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
Phalm 25.28 (AV)
---
Bridge news
---
THE COMING CAMPAIGN.
---
Legal Notices
TRACEY WHITE Happy Birthday to a lovely wife and caring mother. All our love from Pat, Max and Chloe xxx Online Ref: W0053364
1st Alan Jarvis and Alan Hayward
165 VPs
---
"GAMBLER'S LAST THROW."
---
MINERS' REFUSAL OF CABINET PEACE PLAN.
2nd Andy Cope and Clive Owen 159 VPs
The Great Northern Swiss Pairs has taken place at the Village Hotel, Leeds North, writes Julian Pottage, Bridge Correspondent. The Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association ran this two-day event on behalf of the English Bridge Union. The winners were as follows:
BY OUR LABOUR CORRESPONDENT.
---
Text for the day
4th Jason Hackett and Maria Whelan 155 VPs
---
Personal
3rd Stuart Davies and Nichola Cockerill-Smith 157 VPs
5th- Nevena Senior and John Prust 153 VPs
---
Birthdays
A series of separate district conferences took place at 4.30, delegates conferring in groups about the arguments advanced for and against the withdrawal of safety workers. Most of the speeches, some of them impassioned, had been in support of a more warlike phase of the strike, but even South Wales was not united, for the Right Hon. Tom Richards, M.P., was strongly opposed to such a serious course. The adoption of it was moved by Mr. Enoch Morrell, president of the South Wales Federation, and seconded by Mr. Arthur Homer. When the district groups reassembled at five o'clock, it was announced that the South Wales policy was adopted by a majority of 400,000. There was some cheering at the result, and Mr. Tom Mann, who was in the lobby of the hall, seemed especially gratified.
Two vital decisions were made by the delegate conference of the Miners' Federation yesterday. They were:
---
THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.
2. To adopt the South Wales policy, including the withdrawal of all safety workers.
1. To reject the Government's proposal of a national tribunal.
(I) Safety men: All such to be withdrawn from every colliery.
(2) Embargo: That we urge this on all foreign produced coal.
and it was busy doing so at the adjournment. The following resolution was put to the meeting after a discussion of the situation:
The first clause of the South Wales demand was actually for the status quo as a form of settlement, with the withdrawal of all safety men as an alternative. As the morning session had passed the first stage, that of rejection of the Prime Minister's offer of Sept. 17, no settlement policy was before the conference, and the South Wales alternative became the pivot of controversy throughout the afternoon.
---
Data privacy
The conference then proceeded to discuss the question of what should be the next step, (3) Outcrops: That the Miners' Federation of Great Britain immediately order a cessation of this practice.
In favour of Government's proposals 42,000 Against 737,000
(4) Levy: That a special congress of trade unions be called specifically to deal with this matter.
Mr. Herbert Smith was in the chair, and he at once called for a report from the districts on the question of whether or not the federation should accept the Government's proposals. The district voting was then given, and resulted as follows:
The following are the official reports of the two sessions:
A formal resolution was then passed unanimously that the conference should accept the vote of the districts as a resolution of the conference emphatically rejecting the Government's terms.
(5) Propaganda: That we send speakers to all black areas and that Labour M.P.'s be marshalled for a nation-wide campaign.
(6) The central control of the operations to be vested in the Miners' Federation executive committee, who shall direct them to the supersession of local bodies where necessary.
---
CR-2026-007073
---
General personal
The card vote resulted as follows:
Against 194,000
CR-2026-007073
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMPANIES COURT (ChD)
In favour of the resolution 594,000
The grave decision, and the surprisingly large majority with which it was made, was unexpected by some of the delegates. Always realising the important lead that South Wales can give to the delegate conference, there remains the open question as to how far this declaration of war can be made effective. The federation evidently perceives a doubt on the point, and has decided to concentrate its campaign of oratory upon the "black" districts, a definition chosen to convey a stigma. It is scarcely to be imagined that in Warwick, Cannock, Notts, Derby, Leicester, and Lanark the many thousands of men who are working will assent to cease work, or to allow this new course to become operative. It may be effective in South Wales, in Yorkshire, and in Lancashire.
The conference adjourned until to-morrow morning further to consider ways and means and to hear reports from the officials on the international situation,
Majority in favour 400,000
---
PROTECTION OF SAFETY WORKERS,
The Miners' Federation does not control the safety workers, and they will not voluntarily cease work in any coalfield at the behest of yesterday's conference. But the decision will be known to all miners this morning, and in every village they will take their own active steps to apply the national order. Transferred to the village street, it involves a reign of terror in a number of cases, and if safety workers are to continue their operations the Government may find it necessary to take immediate steps towards the protection of willing workers.
The Sunday Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph and
When you respond to Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited's competitions, offers or promotes, we may use your information for marketing purposes.
While we take reasonable steps to check our
IN THE MATTER OF ELECO PLC
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT 2006
advertisers are bona fide, readers should carry out their own
checks before entering into any contract or arrangement.
NOTICE IS HERESY GIVEN that, by an order dated 29 September 2006 made in the above matters (the "Order"), the Court has granted permission for a meeting (the "Meeting") to be conversed of the Scheme Shareholders (as defined in the Scheme Document referred to below) for the purpose of considering and, if thought it, approving (with or without modification) a scheme of arrangement proposed to be made pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2008 (the "Act") between Daco plc (the "Company") and the Scheme Shareholders (the "Scheme") and that the Meeting will be held at the offices of Copenhagen Capital Markets Limited, 1 Bertholomew Chase, London, England, EC1A7BL on 27 October 2026 at 10.30 a.m., at which place and time at Scheme Shareholders are requested to attend.
About 40 per cent. of the safety workers of all classes are organised within the Miners' Federation, and upon them will fall the brunt of the controversy. The rest are in the National Federation of Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen, and Mechanics, of which Mr. Robert Shirley is secretary. The latter organisation is very strong in South Wales, and has recently concluded there an agreement with the mineowners on the eight-hours basis.
your information for marketing purposes.
\* We will contact you by mail or telephone to let you know about any of our special offers, products and services which may be of interest to you arrive you have asked us not to. We will only contact you by email, text messages, or similar electronic messages with your permission. We will only pass your name on to third parties if you have commented for us to do so.
\* In some cases our special offers, products and services may be provided, on our behalf, by our partners. If you have agreed to be contacted by us, your personal information may be present to our partners, however, in all such cases we remain a data controller of your personal information.
† When responding to competitions, offers or promotions by postpaid, if you do not wish for your datasets be saved by us to send you special offers, please make this clean by stating "No Offers"
We respect your data privacy. You may modify your preference or get further information by writing to us at Data Privacy, Telegraph Customer Service Victory House Meeting House Land Chatbaum Kent MEA 41T or by email to data.protectors@biolograyh.us.ca
A copy of the scheme circular dated 2 October 2026, consisting the Scheme and a copy of the explanatory statement required to be published pursuant to section 897 of the Act (the "Scheme Document"), is available from the Company's website: https://ealco.com/investor/elators/inflo.uveleco
Scheme Shareholders may vote in person at the Meeting or they may appoint another person as their proxy to attend, speak and vote in their street. Voting at the Meeting will be by poll. It is important that as many votes as possible are cast so that the Court may be satisfied that there is a fair representation of the opinion of the Scheme Shareholders, Scheme Shareholders are strongly urged to submit proxy appointments and instructions for the Meeting as soon as possible, using any of the methods (by post, online or electronically through CREST) will out in the Scheme Document. Any changes to the arrangements for the Meeting will be communicated to Scheme Shareholders before the Meeting, including through the Company's website (https://www.com/investment-operations/other-works) and by announcement through a Regulatory Information Service.
Scheme Shareholders may request hard copies of the Scheme Document (and information expressly incorporated by reference therein) and the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting, free of charge, by contacting the Company's registrars. Neville Registrars, in writing to Neville Registrars Limited, Neville House, Steelpark Road, Halloween, West Midlands, 562 BHD, United Kingdom, or by calling H44 (01)21 565 1131, stating their name and the address to which the hard copy should be sent...
It is requested that any BLUE Forms of Proxy for the Meeting (together with any power of attorney or other authority, if any, under which they are signed, or a duly certified copy thereof) be returned to the Company's registrars. Neville Registrars, in accordance with the instructions printed thereon, so as to be received as soon as possible and not later than 10.30 a.m., on 23 October 2026 (or, in the case of an adjournment of the Meeting, not less than 48 hours (excluding any part of such 40-hour period landing on a non-Business Day (as defined in the Scheme Document)) before the time and date set for the adjournment Meeting). If the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting is not lodged by the relevant time, it may be handed to the Chair of the Meeting or to Neville Registrars, on behalf of the Chair of the Meeting, before the start of the Meeting and will be valid.
The completion and return of the BLUE Form of Proxy for the Meeting by any method described in the Scheme Document will not prevent Scheme Shareholders from attending, speaking and voting in person at the Meeting if they are entitled to and wish to do so.
In the case of joint Scheme Shareholders, the vote of the senior holder who tenders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, will be accepted to the exclusion of the vote(s) of the other joint holder(s). For this purpose, seniority will be determined by the order in which the names stand in the register of members of the Company in respect of the joint holding.
As an alternative to appointing a proxy, any Scheme Shareholder which is a corporation may appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on its behalf of its powers as a member, provided that if two or more corporate representatives purport to write in respect of the same shares. If they purport to exercise the power in the same way as each other, the power is treated as exercised in that way, and in other cases the power is treated as not exercised. Only one corporate representative is to be counted in determining whether under section 899(1) of the Act a majority in number of the Scheme Shareholders approved the Scheme.
Entitlement to attend and vote (in person or by proxy) at the Meeting or any adjournment thereof and the number of votes which may be cast there will be determined by reference to the register of members of the Company at 6.00 p.m. on the day which is 48 hours before the date of the Meeting or, if the Meeting is adjourned, 6.00 p.m. on the day which is 48 hours before the feed time of such adjourned Meeting, in each case excluding any part of a day that is not a Business Day (the "Voting Record Time"). Changes in the register of members after the Voting Record Time will be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote (in person or by proxy) at the Meeting.
The Court has appointed Mark Castle, or failing him, Jonathan Hunter, or failing him, Neil Pritchard, or failing him, Annette Nabavi, or failing her. Alyson Lewett, to act as Chair of the Meeting and has directed the Chair of the Meeting to report the result of the Meeting to the Court.
The Scheme will be subject to the subsequent sanction of the Court.
Dated 8 October 2006
Doney & Whitney (Europe) LLP
1RR Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UT
Solicitors for the Company
---
The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
Published by Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W ODT, Tel: 0207 931 2000. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Newspapers support recycling. In 2024 the recycled paper content of UK newspapers was 35%. Printed at Newsprinters Ltd - Bruxbourne, Great Cambridge Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire ENB IDY; Knowsley, Killing Road, Prescot, Merseyside L34 9HN; Eurocentral, Syramsur Road, Holytown, Mothenwell ML1 4WH; Webprint - Dublin, 2023 Bancon Ave, Citywest, Dublin, Ireland; D24 EH50. Also printed by Mediterranee Offset Press, France; Mikro Digital Hellas Ltd. Greece; Mikro Digital Cyprus Ltd. Cyprus; Miller Newsprint Ltd, Malta; International News, Portugal and Euclas Daily, France. To obtain permission to copy cuttings from this newspaper contact the NLA on 01892 525273 or email copy@nla.co.uk. For all other reproduction, copying and licensing inquiries email syndication@telegraph.co.uk.
Test your brain power with puzzle books for fanatics and first-timers
The Telegraph
BIG BOOK OF
CRYPTIC
CROSSWORDS
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
---
The Telegraph Big Book of Cryptic Crosswords 15
Every clue in a cryptic crossword is a mini word puzzle with two distinct paths to the same answer. This uniquely British invention evolved out of the 1920s crossword craze. Today you can flex your mental muscles with this new collection. The bumper edition contains more than 200 puzzles from the pages of The Telegraph. Whether you're honing your analytical skills or simply passing the time, this is the ultimate puzzling companion.
hand-picked by our partners
---
£10.99
---
Bridge Hand
Another shrewd lead
---
By Tom Townsend Dealer North | ♠J9♥KJ7♠Q32♣AQJ86 | [IMAGE] | ♠10743♥Q1095♠74♣1093 | Love All
We also lost our next match to Wolfson by 36. While Periculo were lighting their proverbial cigars, Knottenbelt were back near the cut line.
Chess
In last Friday's column, Paul Barden doubled 3♣ for the lead on♣ AKJ1086, when about to be on lead himself to 3NT. My commentary may have faintly implied that this was a non-expert tactic, not to be recommended. That was indeed my intended meaning. Still, it tipped Paul off to the winning lead of the♣I.
---
telegraph.co.uk/LS-puzzles
FROM the World Bridge Series in Katowice, the Open qualifying Swiss. There were 137 entries, with 64 to qualify for the knockouts. Periculo led after day one, closely pursued by fellow Brits Knottenbelt.
The two teams met the next morning: this was Board One. North-South for Knottenbelt were Ben Handley-Pritchard and your columnist, East-West for Periculo were the son-and-father combination Oliver and Patrick Lawrence, both London barristers. They were on good form in this match, as were their teammates Alexander Allfrey and Andrew Robson, and beat us by 29 IMPs.
Something similar happened here. Our Puppet Stayman auctions are designed so that opener is always declarer in 3NT or four of a major. Still, Patrick (West) chose to double 3♣. We've never discussed this obscure possibility, so 3NT did not clearly guarantee a club stop. Still, it must have sounded like the ♣K. Besides, when he had 14 points himself on this bidding, Patrick could see that his boy didn't have it. He decided to lead the ♣J, denying me a trick with the ♣K. Top of two in dummy's four-card suit, if you want some useful advice today, is often a good passive lead to 3NT.
---
£10.99
In the other room, it made on the ♣Q lead. The swing was 10 IMPs to Perículo.
Declarer took the ♣K, and ran the ♦J from dummy - attempting to keep East off lead. Patrick took the ♦Q, switched to the ♥J, ducked, and continued with the ♥K (also ducked) and the ♥7.
---
The Telegraph Codewords 8
There was nothing to be done from there. South won the ♥A, ran diamonds and tried spades – hoping the lead was from three. Oliver (East) kept his guarded ♣10, of course, and 3NT went one down.
Table One 3NT minus one, N/S -50
Table Two 3NT made, N/S -400
THREE of the five members of the Afghan Open team who competed in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, were detained at the border last Monday when they returned to Afghanistan. The four players in the Women's team all live outside the country. Chess is banned by the Taliban government and the three were reportedly placed under house arrest in Kabul. The others were not detained. Khaiber Farazi, the Afghan Open team's top board, scored a highly creditable 6/10.
Afghani players detained
---
K Farazi-H de Araujo Afghanistan vs Timor-Leste London System
Codewords is back with a new edition featuring 200 compelling puzzles to challenge your logic and vocabulary. In each grid, letters are replaced with numbers, requiring keen pattern recognition and sharp deduction to decode. From The Telegraph's most popular puzzle pages, this collection offers a refreshing twist on traditional crosswords, blending strategic thinking with wordplay.
1.Nf3 d5.2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4 g6 4.e3
Bg7 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.h3 c67.2.E2
Qb6? (This does not achieve much, and the queen is attached later - better 7...Nbd7 8.0-O Re8 or 7...Bb5 8.0-O Nbd7 8.Qc1 Nbd7 9.0-O Ne8 (Black had to try and change the course of the game with 9...c5 10.c4 cxd4 ILexd4 dxc4 12.Bxc4, although White has a pleasant edge here after 12...Qc6 13.Re1 Nb6 14.Ne5) 10.c4!
Ndf6 ILc5 Qd8 12.b4 (There follows a textbook queenside advance - Black is gradually smothered, then surrounded)
Dip into 300 quick-fire puzzles for solvers of all levels. Taken from The Telegraph's puzzle pages, each crossword offers a satisfying mix of general knowledge and wordplay to keep your mind sharp. Whether you're relaxing at home or puzzling on the go, this versatile collection is ideal for both light leisure and focused brain training. Ideal for anyone who enjoys intelligent puzzles with a distinctive twist.
B Traore - K Farazi, Mali vs Afghanistan. Black to play and mate in three:
---
The Telegraph Cryptic Crosswords 16
Dive into this fiendish new edition of cryptic crosswords. Cryptic clues act as mini puzzles with two distinct ways to reach the same answer. During the Second World War, the British government realised that cryptic crossword solvers possessed the mental agility needed for codebreaking. With 100 challenges taken from the pages of The Telegraph, this new collection will provide hours of mental gymnastics.
---
£8.99
Subject to availability, Prices valid at time of printing. Standard shipping £2.50 (orders under £20). Premium delivery £3.99 (all orders). Lines open Monday–Saturday 9am=5.30pm and Sunday 10am=2pm. BT landline calls cost no more than 5p a minute (other networks may vary).
---
The Telegraph Big Book of Quick Crosswords 11
Answer:
Eva Marie Saint
Demure actress who brought wit and glamour to On the Waterfront and North by Northwest
Eva Marie Saint was gentle with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, 1954; and steely with Cary Grant in North by Northwest, 1959
EVA MARIE SAINT, who has died aged 102, won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her first film: Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954), in which she played the shy Catholic girl Edie Doyle, who is seduced by Marlon Brando's illiterate longshoreman.
By the time she appeared in her next big hit – as Eve Kendall, Hitchcock's blonde femme fatale in the hit thriller North by Northwest (1959), in which she co-starred with Cary Grant – she had started a family.
She continued to be given big parts – she was a volunteer nurse working with Holocaust survivors in Otto Preminger's epic Exodus (1960), shot on location in Israel – but her priorities had changed.
"Eva Marie, you'll never be a superstar," her agent told her when she turned down a three-picture deal to be with her children. By the end of the 1960s her Hollywood career had begun to cool.
Yet she never stopped working, earning two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her films and for television work which won her five Emmy nominations. She appeared in Superman Returns (2006) as Clark Kent's mother and made her last film appearance in 2014 in a cameo role in Akiva Goldsman's Winter's Tale.
"I loved what Cary Grant said to me," she told an interviewer in 2006, "Just stay on the bus. You start at the front of the bus. Then you go to the middle. And then you go to the back. And finally you have to stand up and make room for other people. But you still stay on that bus."
Eva Marie Saint was born on July 4 1924 into a Quaker family at East Orange, New Jersey, and grew up in upstate New York, where her father worked for the tyre manufacturers BF Goodrich. Her mother was a teacher.
At her high school Eva Marie Saint “was in the orchestra, the choir, the cheerleading team”, but acting never occurred to her. She went off to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to train as a teacher and while there, for a dare, auditioned for a role in a play. She won the part and decided to change careers.
She landed a job working in television as an off-camera applauder on The Borden Show, then got on camera on the NBC game show Campus Hoopla. Her first real part was as a telephone operator in a radio soap called Rosemary.
In 1950 she enrolled in the Actor's Studio, where she worked with Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris and Ben Gazzara. The following year she married the director Jeffrey Hayden.
With her husband's encouragement, Eva Marie Saint began to seek out more serious roles on television shows such as Studio One and The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, finally landing regular roles on Buck Rogers (1950-51) and a soap called One Man's Family (1952).
She appeared with Lilian Gish in Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful on television (1953) and in a stage production on Broadway, where she was spotted by the producer Sam Spiegel and director Elia Kazan, who invited her to audition for the role of Edie, the convent-educated innocent in their new film On The Waterfront.
"To see if there were vibes between Marlon [Brando] and myself," she recalled, "[Kazan] put us in a room, and he whispered to me, 'Eva Marie, you're home alone, and your sister's boyfriend is coming. Do not let him in the house.' So here comes adorable Marlon, knocking on my make-believe door, and I did everything possible to discourage him. And somehow he got in the room, and we started talking, and he put the radio on, and we started dancing. The sparks just flew."
She gave another superb performance in Fred Zinnemann's A Hatful of Rain (1957) as the long-suffering, expectant wife of a drug addict, and in the epic American Civil War drama Raintree County (1957) she lost Montgomery Clift to Elizabeth Taylor. The following year she got the call for Hitchcock's North by Northwest to play the role of what she called a "sexy spy lady" opposite Cary Grant.
Hitchcock was famous for making the lives of his leading ladies difficult, particularly that of Tippi Hedren, the star of The Birds and Marnie. But despite his insistence on overseeing everything, from her hairstyle and make-up to shoes and costumes, Eva Marie Saint experienced no difficulties.
“Tippi was single and more vulnerable and just starting out in that wild, wicked world. But I had a sense of myself; I didn't feel that insecure. And I was married... I think because of that Hitch saw me differently.”
After Exodus, Eva Marie Saint co-starred with the famously womanising Warren Beatty in All Fall Down (1962), recalling that at the end of each day's shooting the actor would come up to her and ask her plaintively whether she really was happily married. "Yes, Warren, yes," she would reply.
She also appeared in the Burton/Taylor soap opera The Sandpiper, recalling that "the Burtons drank so much champagne, I don't know how they did their scenes. I was kind of impressed! But they knew their lines, and they were great to work with."
During the making of the film, she recalled, Burton and Taylor had to barricade themselves into their hotel to avoid the attentions of the paparazzi. "It was crazy. I could walk down those streets, buy a croissant and cheese, sit on a park bench and be fine... I know I couldn't have coped with that kind of fame."
Her other credits during the 1960s included The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming! and Grand Prix (both 1966). Norman Jewison, who had directed her on Russians, wanted her for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), but the studio preferred the up-and-coming Faye Dunaway.
A role as George Segal's wife in Loving (1970), a quirky Manhattan marital comedy, led only to a tired Bob Hope farce, Cancel My Reservation (1972), after which her Hollywood career went into abeyance.
She returned to television doing small-screen films such as A Christmas to Remember (1978), When Hell Was in Session (1979) and People Like Us (1990), starred in series such as How the West Was Won (1977-79) and A Year in the Life (1987-88). She guest-starred on Frasier and
Moonlighting and returned to the stage, in classic plays such as Tennessee Williams's Summer and Smoke and Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms.
She made occasional appearances on the big screen, playing Tom Hanks's emotionally fragile mother in Nothing in Common (1986), Kim Basinger's mother in I Dreamed of Africa (2000) and Sam Shepard's mother in Wim Wenders's Don't Come Knocking (2006), as well as her role in Superman Returns.
She also had a cameo role as Miss Franny, the town librarian, in the schmaltzy Because Of Winn·Dixie (2011).
But she complained that it was hard for an older actress to find interesting roles in Hollywood: "The characters are always grandmothers on oxygen," she complained in 2009, "and while there's nothing wrong with that if you need it, I don't, yet. I'm still upright."
Eva Marie Saint married the television director and producer Jeffrey Hayden in 1951; he died in 2016 and she is survived by their daughter and son.
Eva Marie Saint, born July 4 1924, died October 6 2026
George Fenton
Composer who was a five-time Oscar nominee and created the themes for Newsnight and Bergerac
GEORGE FENTON, who has died aged 76, composed the music for more than 100 films, earning Oscar nominations for his scores to Gandhi (1982), Cry Freedom (1987) and Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
He accepted with good grace, however, that his most enduring composition was his resonant theme for BBC Two's nightly current affairs round-up Newsnight. With its distinctive rock-inflected guitar riffs, it launched the programme in 1980 and is still in use today.
Fenton became a go-to composer for feature films following the success of his score for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. Attenborough's son Michael, then joint artistic director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, had been impressed by Fenton's work as a stage composer and suggested he send his father a sample tape. Three weeks later Fenton was on a plane to Bombay.
He drew on a wide variety of musical themes and traditions, moving easily between the evocative electronic soundscapes of The Company of Wolves (1984) and full orchestral scores, sometimes coloured by unorthodox instrumentation; one example was his original use of viols and sackbuts for The Crucible (1996).
Fenton successfully merged Western techniques with Indian textures in both Gandhi (scored in collaboration with Ravi Shankar) and his subtle, haunting score for ITV's The Jewel in the Crown (1984), as well as celebrating African music in Cry Freedom, in a score co-written with Jonas Gwangwa. When the occasion demanded, Fenton made effective use of folksong, jazz, rock, classical and Baroque elements, while in his television themes he proved a talented exponent of minimalist techniques.
His title scores for two television detective series proved particularly memorable: the harmonica-led theme for Shoestring
Wrote the muisc for Gandhi and Groundhog Day
(1979-80) and the instantly hummable Bergerac (1981-91) tune. More portentous was his 1988 opening music for the BBC's Nine O'Clock News. By contrast his opening jingle for Radio 4's drivetime news magazine PM was too jaunty for some listeners, and it was eventually dropped in 1997 following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
In 2001 Fenton's incidental music for the BBC's natural history television epic The Blue Planet won him further accolades, as did his majestic score for Planet Earth (2006). Both series were narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and in scoring them Fenton would treat Attenborough's narration like the main character in a drama, working the music around the inflections of his voice.
Fenton was also, for half a century, the favoured composer of Alan Bennett, scoring more than a dozen of his television plays and the two highly acclaimed Talking Heads series in 1988 and 1998. He scored one of Bennett's short memoirs for string quartet under the title Hymn (2001) and the film The Lady In The Van (2015), starring Dame Maggie Smith as the eccentric Mary Shepherd, who had lived in a van on Bennett's drive for 15 years.
Fenton was the only person on the production, apart from Bennett himself, to have known Miss Shepherd. He remembered her from his teenage years when he had redecorated Bennett's house in north London while working as a young actor, recalling her as strange, sad and rather fierce.
Bennett regarded Fenton as central to the success of The Lady of the Van, noting in his diary: "His music, and the placing of the music, makes the film."
He was born George Richard Ian Howe on October 19 1949 in Bromley, south London, the son of Captain Dick Howe MC, an engineer and former FoW who had organised several successful escapes from Colditz, and his wife Gwenda. Fenton was his mother's maiden name.
George was educated at St Edward's School in Oxford, where he received his only formal musical training, learning the guitar and church organ. On leaving, he worked in a London off-licence as a cellarman while daydreaming of a career in rock 'n' roll.
In 1968, after his mother pointed out an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph headed "Boys Wanted", he attended an audition at Her Majesty's Theatre. Somewhat to his surprise, he was cast as a prep school head boy in Alan Bennett's first stage play Forty Years On (Apollo, 1968), an engagement that lasted for 14 months and launched a lifelong collaboration. The play's musical director,
Carl Davis, encouraged Fenton's burgeoning interest in composing for the theatre.
Fenton took further acting roles in Bennett's first television play, A Day Out (1972), directed by Stephen Frears, and in the mid-1970s played Martin Gimbel for a year in Emmerdale Farm. But writing music became his focus. He landed his first major commission in 1974 as composer and musical director for Peter Gill's production of Twelfth Night at Stratford-upon-Avon, the first of several collaborations with Gill during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Although Fenton produced more music for the stage, including The Judas Kiss (1998) and The Last Cigarette (2009) for Richard Eyre, he turned more of his attention to films and television, scoring Hollywood hits such as Groundhog Day (1993) and You're Got Mail (1998), and several films by Ken Loach.
A low point came in 1994 when after nine months of work Fenton was told, with no explanation, that his score for Interview with the Vampire had been scrapped. "It destroyed me. Your score is like one of your babies."
He continued to work with Alan Bennett, on the stage musical Allelujah! and its 2022 film version, and the film The Choral (2025), with Fenton not only arranging the music but appearing in a cameo as the chauffeur of Sir Edward Elgar (Simon Russell Beale).
Fenton won three Baftas, two Emmys and five Ivor Novello awards, and received five Academy Award nominations. He taught at the National Film School, London, and at the Royal College of Music, where he was both a Fellow and a visiting professor.
He was appointed CBE in 2023.
George Fenton is survived by his second wife, Amanda, as well as his former wife Jane and three daughters.
George Fenton, born October 19 1949, died October 5 2026
Bob Davenport Folk singer who championed traditional British music
BOB DAVENPORT, who has died aged 94, was a leading figure on the British folk scene for seven decades; his gritty, heartfelt style of singing, often unaccompanied – and his scorching, take-no-prisoners political sensibility – proved inspirational to successive generations of musicians.
His work encompassed traditional ballads, protest songs, musical hall and pop. One of his contemporaries was the singer Ian Campbell, whose sons Duncan and Ali were in UB40 (their brother Robin is still a member). Ali Campbell recalled that his father initially refused to acknowledge the quality of UB40's reggae sound: "It was only when his best friend Bob Davenport... got up and did a Bob Marley song... that my dad got interested and started to accept it."
Robert Henry Davenport was born in Gateshead on May 31 1932; he was a distant relation of George Ridley, who wrote the celebrated Geordie song Blaydon Races. When he was 10 months old he survived a gas explosion that killed his father, Tommy, who was 23, and his grandfather; the family home was destroyed and young Bob was carried from the wreckage.
He was brought up by his mother, Sadie, with help from her family; it was a childhood rich in music, and when he was evacuated to Yorkshire he gave his first performances at a tender age: "I sang one night at a club and someone told me later that practically every song was about leaving, dying or being exiled from your homeland."
He did his National Service in the RAF, then moved to London to work for the GPO and study at St Martin's School of Art; he also worked in publishing.
He began making his way on the folk scene: living in Camden Town, he sang at the Irish pub, the Bedford Arms.
"Someone heard me singing there and put me forward for a competition," Davenport recalled. "From then I entered the folk world." It was in Camden that he began a 40-year association with the Rakes, the fiddle and melodeon trio. He was perfectly placed to play his part in the great post-skiffle folk revival and he became a leading figure on the London and national scene.
When a young American up-and-comer named Bob Dylan visited Britain in 1962, Davenport took him in hand, teaching him traditional tunes. "We had a session at lunchtimes with traditional musicians and Bob. We would do a song each."
He taught Bob Dylan classic tunes when he visited Britain
The following year Davenport and Dylan sang at the Newport Festival on Rhode Island, along with Joan Baez and Tom Paxton, and Davenport appeared on the album Newport Broadside: Topical Songs at the Newport Folk Festival 1963, performing Come All Ye Gallant Drivers.
The godfather of the British scene was Ewan MacColl, and Davenport remarked to him that there should be some way of transmitting his wealth of knowledge about British folk traditions. The result was the Critics' Group, which ran for 10 years from the mid-1960s; it eventually fell apart, undermined by the schisms that beset folk music, especially around the heated topic of "authenticity".
His full-throated style was not to everyone's taste, and he recalled being invited at one folk club to teach the crowd "how not to sing". "I just gave them two fingers," he said. Amongst the many highlights of his long career, his 2004 album Common Stone, dedicated to his father Tommy, was an acclaimed collection of traditional and contemporary songs, with a guest list that included Martin Carthy, Richard and Linda Thompson and Norma Waterson. "Few singers were as important to the folk revival, and he deserves the generosity of their tribute," said the Telegraph review.
In retirement Davenport liked to fire off letters to his local paper, the Camden New Journal.
In 1958 he married Erica Hay, with whom he had a daughter. After their divorce he married Margaret Parker in 1963, and they had three children before divorcing. In 1978 he married Jean Oglesby, who died in 2001; they had a daughter. He is survived by his five children.
Bob Davenport, born May 31 1932, died September 27 2026
TRAVEL SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Exclusive Tours from our trusted partner Tripsmiths
Discover the wonders of the Isles of Scilly with Julian Branscombe
Six days from £2,329pp\*
Departs April, June and September 2027
Blissfully secluded, the Isles of Scilly are home to lush gardens and white-sand beaches. Take a wildlife cruise and tour Tresco Abbey Garden.
---
What's included
\- Five nights' accommodation on St Mary's with breakfast and some meals included
Guided walk and wildlife cruise on St Agnes
Tresco Abbey Garden tour
Dinner and talk from the curator of Tresco Abbey Garden
Return ferry from Penzance and boat transfers
---
telegraph.co.uk/tt-scilly2027 0204 525 1196 and quote SCILLIES
Terms and conditions: "From price or person based on two people sharing a double room, subject to availability," Phone Call for room upgrades, Price only (twenty connect at time of point bed may be subject to charge, Single supplement applies, Deposit) 30%. All mandatory additional charges are included in the price, please require for details. In the case of otherwise circumstances, expensive may be subsidized, and any expert/Not awards may be subject to change. Next available for those with monthly issues. Expenses will not join you for your full-time duration unless otherwise specified. For example, if you need to take time later, you should not reflect your actual time experience. This holiday may be sold through other selected brands. Tour is operated by and subject to the booking conditions of Trispsimith Travel Limited (ATOL, totaled). Calls are made at local rates. All tours fluctuated are operated by the partner specified, a company which is independent of Telegraph Mobile Group Holdings Limited. Please refer to the Data Protection Notice in today's Personal Column or Telegraphs.
---
What to watch
BELOW Netflix
Josh Hartnett is a struggling Canadian fisherman in a spooky thriller set in Newfoundland
Underwater terror combines with climate-crisis anxieties and all the usual tropes of small-town horror dramas in this grippy Canadian six-parter starring Josh Hartnett as a washed-up fisherman in a remote Newfoundland port where strange things start happening ahead of a government move to shut the place down.
Hartnett plays likeable local Calvin Perry, who is already no stranger to
Sam and Ade Go Birding
Channel 5, 7pm
Red kites and ospreys are
among the more spectacular
species flying into focus as
Sam West and Adrian
Edmondson head to West
Wales. It's not all raptors.
They also catch sight of a
sedge warbler, pied fly-
catcher and yellowhammer.
Tonight: Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties
ITV, 7.30pm
In a special report on leasehold retirement properties, reporter Richard Gaisford investigates restrictive clauses often included in purchase contracts and meets owners who claim spiralling service charges, extortionate
weirdness after witnessing the mysterious death of his father 40 years earlier while moving the family home by sea during a previous resettlement programme. Now, with three grown-up children of his own and all fishing in the area banned, he's forced to compromise just to eke out a living supplying sea-ice to the local distillery. Until, that is, boats start sinking, people start disappearing, a gigantic iceberg appears, and Calvin
exit fees and high depreciation rates make their homes worthless.
Break Clause
Channel 4, 10.05pm &
10.35pm
Another double-helping of decides something must be done. Fortunately, ocean scientist Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) is on hand to help.
This enjoyably atmospheric spine-tingler benefits from stellar coastal scenery, unique traditions and Newfoundland's pubs, plus all the rivalries and eccentricities of an inward-looking community, cleverly used to convey a sense of isolation and growing threat.
Gerard O'Donovan
---
Jess Knappett plays the vicar in a double helping of the sitcom Break Clause
the sitcom about a couple forced to stay living together after a break-up. While Ben (Samuel Bottomley) sets about proving he's a good person really, Lil's (Lara Ricote) decision to track down the woman he slept with proves problematic.
The Celebrity Traitors
BBC One, 8pm
The fun picks up again and,
as the fallout from last
week's opening banishment
begins to sink in, the
celebrities undertake a
mission that fuels paranoia
and splinters loyalties –
pushing tension to an early
high. Followed by more
discussion in The Celebrity
Traitors: Uncloaked
(9.05pm) with Ed Gamble.
---
All Creatures Great and Small
Channel 5, 9.05pm
In another heart-warming episode, James (Nicholas Ralph) wonders if he's up to the challenge of an unusual case and the discovery that Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) is planning to spend her birthday alone inspires a plan to do something special for her, Tristan's (Callum Woodhouse) problem-solving, meanwhile, is tested by a case of mistaken identity. GO
Tom Cruise's veteran switches sides in 19th century Japan
---
FILM
The Last Samurai (2003)
ITVI, 10.45pm
\*\*\*
A shameless vanity project it may be but, nevertheless, Edward Zwick's period thriller is beautifully shot. Set in 19th-century Japan, it stars Tom Cruise as Algren, an embittered, alcoholic Civil War veteran recruited as a mercenary to help train a new infantry division and quell the threat of a Samurai rebellion.
However, when he's abducted by his enemy and educated in the bushido code, he decides to switch allegiances.
---
Main channels
---
BBC One
6.00 am Breakfast (S) 9.30 Morning Live (S) 10.45 Crimewatch Live (S) 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (R) (S)
12.15 pm Bargain Hunt (AD) (R) (S)
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
1.35 Regional News; Weather (S)
1.45 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
2.00 Clean It, Fix It (R) (S)
2.30 Shift the Thrift (AD) (R) (S)
3.00 Escape to the Country (R) (S)
3.45 Garden Rescue (R) (S)
4.30 Bridge of Lies (S)
5.15 Pointless (S)
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather (S)
6.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked
Monty Don's British Gardens
7.00 The One Show With Roman Kemp and JB Gill (S)
7.30 EastEnders Ian continues to shut out his family (AD) (S)
8.00 The Celebrity Traitors The first banishment unfolds (AD) (S)
9.05 The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked Presented by Ed Gamble (AD) (S)
9.30 Not Going Out (AD) (S)
10.00 BBC News at Ten (S)
10.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
10.40 Question Time Fiona Bruce presents the topical debate from Peterlee (S)
11.40 Newscast 12.10am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Bam 1.15 - 6.00am News
---
BBC Two
6.30 am Bridge of Lies (R) (S) 7.15 Garden Rescue (R) (S) 8.00 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 8.30 Sign Zone: The Best of Weatherman Walking (R) (S) (SL) 9.00 News (S)
12.15 pm Politics Live (S)
1.00 Impossible (R) (S)
1.45 Unbeatable (R) (S)
2.30 The Boss (R) (S)
3.15 The Wonder of Animals (AD) (R) (S)
3.45 The Great House Revival (R) (S)
4.35 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (R) (S)
5.15 Flog It! (R) (S)
6.00 House of Games (S)
6.30 Strictly: It Takes Two (S)
Emmerdale
7.00 Escape to the Country Nicki Chapman searches for a village property in Dorset (R) (S)
8.00 Monty Don's British Gardens
What gardens can reveal about the UK's people, climate and history (AD) (R) (S)
9.00 Surgeons: At the Edge of Life Experts remove a life-threatening tumour (R) (S)
10.00 Live at the Apollo With Babatunde
Aléshé, Chloe Petts and Lindsey
Santoro (R) (S)
10.30 Newsnight (S)
11.05 Uncanny 12.05am FILM: Medusa Deluxe (2022) Thriller starring Clare Perkins 1.40 Sign Zone: The Split Up 2.40 Sign Zone: Blue Lights 3.35 · 6.40am This Is BBC Two
---
ITVI
6.00 am Good Morning Britain (S) 9.30 Lorraine (S) 10.00 This Morning (S)
12.30 pm Loose Women (S)
1.30 News (S)
1.55 ITV News London; Weather (S)
2.00 Dickinson's Real Deal (AD) (R) (S)
3.00 Lingo (R) (S)
4.00 Deal or No Deal (AD) (R) (S)
5.00 The Chase (R) (S)
6.00 ITV News London; Weather (S)
6.30 News (S)
7.30 Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties – Tonight Investigative report (S)
8.00 Emmerdale Jacob and Sarah make a decision (AD) (S)
8.30 Coronation Street Shona and Jodie's feud reaches breaking point (AD) (S)
9.00 Long Lost Family Both stories in this episode celebrate the bond between brothers (AD) (R) (S)
10.00 News (S)
10.30 ITV News London; Weather (S)
10.45 FILM: The Last Samurai (2003)
Historical adventure starring Tom
Cruise (S)
1.10 am Shop on TV 3.00 The Chase Around the World 3.50 Unwind with ITV 5.05 - 6.00am Deal or No Deal
6 ISSUES
FOR £22.99
The ENGLISH HOME
CELEBRATING the essence of English style
September 2026 | Issue 367 | £5.99 | UK Edition
Bonus
John Lewis
gift voucher
JOHN LEWOL
a Pausnian
VOUCHER WORTH
£10\*
CALL 01858 438833 $^{\dagger}$ and quote ZESJL26
VISIT chelseamagazines.com/ZESJL26
Terms and Conditions: This offer is open to UK customers only when paying by Direct Debt or Continuous Credit Card. Offer ends on 18th October 2026. You will pay £22.99 for 6 issues plus bonus gift renewing at £24.99 every 6 issues thereafter. \*John Lewis voucher is subject to availability and while stock list. We reserve the right to fulfil all subsequent orders with a product of equal value. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery. For overseas pricing, please visit chilleamagazines.com. For our privacy policy, visit chilleamagazines.com/privacy=notice. Live on Weekdays film+9:30pm; Saturdays film+4pm. 1 Cabs are charged at your standard network rate.
Telegraph · ROYAL APOINTMENT with Hannah Furness
---
Radio choice
---
Ramblings Radio 4, 3pm
One of the loveliest shows on radio returns, as Clare Balding pulls on her weatherproofs and hiking
6.58am Newsbeat 7.00 Radio 1
Breakfast with Greg James 10.30
Newsbeat 10.33 Charlie and Jerry
12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 The GK
Barry Show on Radio 1 3.00 Radio 1
Pop Anthems with GK Barry 3.30
Newsbeat 3.33 Going Home with Vick,
Katie and Jamie on Radio 1 5.45
Newsbeat 6.00 Radio 1's New Music
Show with Jack Saunders 8.00 Radio
1's Rave-Up with Arielle Free 10.00
BBC Introducing on Radio 1 Dance
with Jaguar 11.00 The Residency on
Radio 1 Dance 1.00am Radio 1's
Workout Anthems 2.00 Radio 1 Pop
Anthems 3.00 Radio 1 Pop Anthems
4.00 - 6.58am Radio 1 Early
Breakfast with Mylo and Rosie
---
RADIO 2 FM 88-90.2MHz
6.30am The Sara Cox Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy Vine
2.00pm Clara Amfo 4.00 Drivetime
7.00 Jo Whiley's Shiny Happy Playlist.
Jo plays her favourite album tracks
and musical gems rarely heard on
Radio 2 7.30 Jo Whiley. Jo chats to
Russell T Davies about his new memoir
9.00 The Country Show with Darius
Rucker. Including a track from Dolly
Parton singing in Welsh 10.00 The
Good Groove with DJ Spoody. A mix of
joyful floor fillers, soulful house and
lyrical garage tunes 12.00 DJ Borg
3.00am Alternative Sounds of the
90s with Dermot O'Leary 4.00 -
6.30am Owain Wyn Evans
---
RADIO 3 FM 90.2-92.4MHz
6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.00pm Classical Live 4.00 Composer of the Week: The Venetian School 5.00 In Tune 7.00 Classical Mixtape. Featuring one of Rachmaninov's most ecstatic piano boots for another series of walks, talks and everyday insights. Regular listeners familiar with the health benefits of tramping around in the open air, might find today's outing something of
preludes 7.30 Radio 3 in Concert. The BBC SSO, conducted by Antony Hermus, live at Glasgow's City Halls 9.45 The Essay: Towards Evensong. With David Maw 10.00 Night Tracks. A soundtrack for late-night listening 11.30 Round Midnight 12.30 - 6.30am Through the Night
---
RADIO 4 FM 92.4-94.6MHz; LW 108kHz
6.00am Today 9.00 In Our Time 9.45 Strong Message Here 10.00 Woman's Hour 11.00 This Cultural Life 11.45 To Go or Not to Go 12.00 News 12.04pm The Bottom Line 12.32 Sliced Bread 12.57 Weather 1.00 The World at One 1.45 The Turning Point 2.00 The Archers. Clarrie's concerns bubble to the surface 2.15 Drama: A Place Called Home. The Emperor, by Sebastian Baczkiewicz. Last in the series 3.00 Ramblings. New series. Clare Balding strolls through the London borough of Richmond upon Thames 3.27 Radio 4 Appeal. On behalf of PEAS 3.30 Feedback. Listeners' views with Andrea Catherwood 4.00 The Briefing Room. David Aaronovitch discusses a story in the news 4.30 BBC Inside Science. The latest scientific research 5.00 PM. Presented by Katie Razzall 5.57 Weather 6.00 Six O'Clock News 6.30 Do Gooders. Comedy starring Frank Skinner and Fay Ripley 7.00 The Archers. Anna stumbles upon some shocking information 7.15 Front Row. Arts programme 8.00 When It Hits the Fan 8.15 The Media Show 9.00 Loose Ends 9.45 Strong Message Here 9.59 Weather 10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Stations 11.00 Radical 11.30 Great Lives 12.00 News and Weather 12.30am To Go or Not to Go 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As World Service 5.00 News Summary 5.04 The Briefing Room 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 - 6.00am Farming Today
an eye opener. Balding joins a group of city walkers in Richmond founded by two psychologists who are keen to combat the phenomenon of urban loneliness. One of their key USPs are
---
RADIO 5 LIVE MW 693 & 009KHZ
6.00am 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Emma Vardy 11.00 Adrian Chiles 2.00pm Matt Chorley 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport. Katie Smith presents the day's sports news 7.30 5 Live Sport. Katie Smith and Sean Farrington explore the growing cost of sport 9.00 5 Live Formula 1. The 5 Live F1 team preview the Singapore Grand Prix 10.00 Laura McGhie 1.00am Kathryn Stanczyszyn 5.00 - 6.00am Wake Up to Money
---
CLASSIC FM FM 99.0-101.0MHZ
6.30am Classic FM Breakfast with Dan Walker 9.00 The Classic FM Hall of Fame Hour with Dan Walker 10.00 Aled Jones 1.00pm Hannah Scott-Joynt 4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Relaxing Evenings with Zeb Soanes 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 - 6.30am Early Breakfast
---
WORLD SERVICE DIGITAL ONLY
8.00am News 8.06 The Inquiry 8.30
Business Daily 8.50 Witness History
9.00 The Newsroom 9.30 The
Documentary 10.00 News 10.06 The
Media Show 10.30 Good Bad
Billionaire 11.00 The Newsroom 11.30
The Global Story 12.00 News
12.06pm Outlook 12.50 Witness
History 1.00 The Newsroom 1.30 The
Food Chain 2.00 Newshour 3.00 News
3.06 The Inquiry 3.30 Business Daily
3.50 World Business Express 4.00
BBC OS 6.00 News 6.06 Outlook
6.50 Witness History 7.00 The
Newsroom 7.30 Sport Today 8.00
News 8.06 The Documentary 8.30
BBC Inside Science 9.00 Newshour
10.00 News 10.06 The Inquiry 10.30
The Food Chain 11.00 The Newsroom
11.30 World Business Report
conversation cards handed out to participants to combat shyness and promote connection – so successful an idea, it has spread to Berlin and Amsterdam.
Gerard O'Donovan
12.00 News 12.06am The Media Show 12.30 Unspun World with John Simpson 1.00 The Newsroom 1.30 The Global Story 2.00 The Newsroom 2.30 Tech Life 3.00 News 3.06 Outlook 3.50 Witness History 4.00 The Newsroom 4.30 Heart and Soul 5.00 · 8.00am Newsday
---
RADIO 4 EXTRA DIGITAL ONLY
6.00am Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 6.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 7.00 Capital Gains 7.30 The Burkiss Way 8.00 ReincarNathan 8.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 8.45 Tristram Shandy 9.00 Omid Djalili: Namaste 9.30 Bone Stories 9.45 Daily Service 10.00 Great Lives 10.30 Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 11.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 11.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 12.00 Capital Gains 12.30pm The Burkiss Way 1.00 ReincarNathan 1.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 1.45 Tristram Shandy 2.00 My Generation 2.30 The Rundle Gibbet 4.00 Great Lives 4.30 Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 5.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 5.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 6.00 Capital Gains 6.30 The Burkiss Way 7.00 ReincarNathan 7.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 7.45 Tristram Shandy 8.00 My Generation 8.30 The Rundle Gibbet 10.00 Omid Djalili: Namaste 10.30 Lenn Sissay's Origin Stories 10.55 The Comedy Club Interview 11.00 Hearing with Hegley 11.15 A Wet Handle 11.30 Rigor Mortis 12.00 Great Lives 12.30am Jim Allen: A Man of His Words 1.00 Adam Dalgliesh: Cover Her Face 1.30 Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery 2.00 Capital Gains 2.30 The Burkiss Way 3.00 ReincarNathan 3.30 Alive, Alive Oh! and Other Things That Matter 3.45 Tristram Shandy 4.00 My Generation 4.30 - 6.00am The Rundle Gibbet
---
Channel 4
6.30 am The King of Queens (AD) (R) (S)
6.55 The King of Queens (AD) (R) (S)
7.20 The King of Queens (AD) (R) (S)
7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (AD)
(R) (S) 8.10 Everybody Loves
Raymond (AD) (R) (S) 8.40
Everybody Loves Raymond (AD) (R)
(S) 9.10 Frasier (AD) (R) (S) 9.40
Frasier (AD) (R) (S) 10.10 Frasier (AD)
(R) (S) 10.40 Frasier (AD) (R) (S)
11.10 American Pickers (AD) (R) (S)
12.05 pm Channel 4 News (S)
12.10 Renovation Nation (AD) (R) (S)
1.10 The Great House Giveaway (R) (S)
2.10 Countdown (S)
3.00 A Place in the Sun (R) (S)
4.00 Help! We Bought a Village (S)
5.00 Four in a Bed (S)
5.30 Come Dine with Me (R) (S)
6.00 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are
They Now? (R) (S)
Taskmaster
7.00 Channel 4 News (S)
8.00 Our Tiny Islands The custodians of Station Island, on County Donegal's Lough Derg (R) (S)
9.05 Taskmaster The contestants face the baffling Gregulator (AD) (S)
10.05 Break Clause Ben and Lil go back to Leeds for Ava's christening (AD) (S)
10.35 Break Clause Ben and Lil host a dinner party for Thanksgiving (AD) (S)
11.10 Gogglebox 12.10am Pierre 1.00 Three Women 1.55 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 2.45 Tempting Fortune 3.40 The Great British Bake Off: Second Helpings 4.20 Sunday Brunch 4.35 A Place in the Sun 5.00 Couples Come Dine with Me 5.50 - 6.30am Countdown
---
Channel 5
6.00 am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (S)
11.30 Storm & Alexis (S)
12.45 pm 5 News at Lunchtime (S)
12.50 Matt Allwright (S)
2.20 FILM: Run, Hide, Escape (2023,
TVM) Thriller starring Kayla Fields (S)
4.00 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun (R)
(S)
5.00 5 News with Dan Walker (S)
6.00 Cornwall: A Year by the Sea (R) (S)
6.55 5 News Update (S)
Sam & Ade Go Birding
7.00 Sam & Ade Go Birding The duo explore West Wales during breeding season (S)
7.55 5 News Update (S)
8.00 The Yorkshire Vet Peter Wright treats a pygmy hedgehog (AD) (S)
9.00 Love Nature (R) (S)
9.05 All Creatures Great and Small
James and Siegfried attempt risky
surgery on a cow (AD) (S)
10.05 All Creatures Great and Small: Behind the Scenes New series (S)
10.10 Alexander Armstrong in India (AD) (R) (S)
11.05 999: Killer on the Line 12.05am Fatal First Dates 1.00 Cruise TV with LoveitBookit 2.00 Cornwall: A Year by the Sea 2.50 Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun 3.40 The Cruise: Fun-Loving Brits at Sea 4.25 The Wonderful World of Chocolate 5.15 Entertainment News on 5
---
Sky Arts
6.00 am LSO: Pappano Conducts Ravel, Say & Rachmaninoff (S) 7.35 The Joy of Painting (AD) (S) 8.05 Artist of the Year: Masterclass (AD) (S) 8.30 Artist of the Year: Masterclass (AD) (S)
9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
(S) 10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(S) 10.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(S) 11.00 Discovering: Richard Gere
(AD) (S)
12.00 Classic Albums (S)
1.00 pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
1.30 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
2.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (S)
3.00 Bill Bailey's Master Crafters: The Next Generation (AD) (S)
4.00 Discovering: Dennis Hopper (AD) (S)
5.00 Landscape Artist of the Year 2015 (S)
6.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) (S)
Laurel and Hardy: Their Lives and Magic
7.00 Portrait Artist of the Year 2026
Return of the competition to find the UK's most talented portrait artist (AD) (S)
8.00 FILM: Agatha Christie's Sparkling Cyanide (2003, TVM) Murder mystery starring Pauline Collins and Oliver Ford Davies (S)
9.50 Laurel and Hardy: Their Lives and Magic The friendship between Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (AD) (S)
11.35 The Directors 12.35am FILM: Roy Orbison: In Dreams (1999, TVM) Documentary charting the career of the singer 2.35 Buddy Holly: Rave On 4.00 Art Traffickers: Treasures Stolen from the Tombs 5.00 - 6.00am Bill Bailey's Master Crafters: The Next Generation
---
U&Drama
6.00 am Teleshopping 7.35 The Bill (S)
8.35 Doctors (S) 9.15 Doctors (S)
9.55 Classic Holby City (S) 10.55 Casualty (AD) (S) 11.55 The Bill (S)
12.55 pm Classic EastEnders (S)
1.35 Classic EastEnders (S)
2.15 Classic Neighbours (S)
2.50 Classic Neighbours (S)
3.20 Sister Boniface Mysteries (AD) (S)
4.20 Father Brown (AD) (S)
5.20 As Time Goes By (S)
6.00 Last of the Summer Wine (AD) (S)
6.40 Last of the Summer Wine (AD) (S)
A Remarkable Place to Die
7.20 Last of the Summer Wine Compo gets jealous (AD) (S)
8.00 The Chelsea Detective After a second murder, Max and his team uncover a conspiracy linking both victims. Last in the series (AD) (S)
9.05 A Remarkable Place to Die Anais finds herself under Li Feng's microscope after her illicit planting of evidence (AD) (S)
10.05 New Tricks A skeleton is uncovered in the foundations of a swimming pool (AD) (S)
11.25 Judge John Deed 1.25am The Chelsea Detective 2.35 Sister Boniface Mysteries 3.20 As Time Goes By 4.00 - 6.00am Teleshopping
6.00 am Sherlock Holmes (S) 6.30 FILM: No Resting Place (1951, b/w) Crime drama starring Michael Gough (S)
8.05 FILM: Two Wives at One Wedding (1961, b/w) Drama starring Gordon Jackson (S) 9.25 FILM: The Hasty Heart (1949, b/w) Drama starring Richard Todd (S) 11.25 FILM: Live Now - Pay Later (1962, b/w) Comedy drama with Ian Hendry (S)
1.30 pm The Duchess of Duke Street (S)
2.35 Talking Pictures TV with Jimmy Cricket (S)
3.00 FILM: Tommy the Toreador (1959) Musical comedy starring Tommy Steele (S)
4.45 Julius Hagen Season (S)
4.55 FILM: The Last Journey (1936, b/w) Drama starring Julien Mitchell (S)
6.15 Julius Hagen Season (S)
6.20 Strange But True (S)
6.55 The Brothers (S)
The Blue Lagoon
Dad's Army
8.00 Mark Saber A famous ballet dancer and actress finds her fiance dead (S)
8.30 The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club Featuring The Flirtations, Joe Henderson and George Melly (S)
9.20 FILM: The Blue Lagoon (1980) Romantic drama starring Brooke Shields (S)
11.30 FILM: Night of the Big Heat (1967) Sci-fi adventure starring Peter Cushing 1.20am FILM: Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) Adventure starring Robert Wagner 3.25 Dial 999 4.00 Burke's Law 5.00 - 6.00am The Man from UNCLE
---
Film4
FY 14 FS 300 SKY 855 VIRGIN 428
11.00 am FILM: How Green Was My Valley (1941, b/w) Oscar-winning drama starring Walter Pidgeon (AD) (S)
1.20 pm FILM: Broken Arrow (1950) Western starring James Stewart (S)
3.10 FILM: The Man from the Alamo (1953) Western starring Glenn Ford (S)
4.50 FILM: A Christmas Carol (1984) Dickens' classic tale starring George C Scott (AD) (S)
6.55 FILM: Dad's Army (2016) The captain of a seaside town's home guard platoon contends with German spies and a female journalist. Comedy based on the TV series starring Toby Jones and Bill Nighy (AD) (S)
9.00 FILM: Die Hard 2 (1990) A lone cop battles terrorists who have taken over an airport to force the release of a convicted drug baron. Action thriller sequel starring Bruce Willis and Bonnie Bedella (AD) (S)
11.25 FILM: A Most Wanted Man (2014) Thriller starring Philip Seymour Hoffman 1.50 - 3.45am FILM: Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) Drama starring John Hawkes
With the Sussexes, it's never easy Unrivalled royal insight delivered to your inbox
---
More channels
Every Wednesday. Sign up now
---
BBC Four
7.00 pm World War II: A Timewatch Guide
8.00 FILM: The Bridge at Remagen (1969) Second World War adventure starring George Segal
9.55 FILM: The Wicker Man (1973) Horror starring Edward Woodward
11.25 Ex-S: The Wicker Man
11.55 Of Ice and Men – Timeshift
12.55 am Ancient Worlds
1.55 Ex-S: The Wicker Man
2.25 - 3.25am World War II: A Timewatch Guide
---
U&Dave
Noon Hairy Bikers' Best of British 1.00pm Canal Boat Diaries 2.00 Top Gear 3.00 Our Guy in Japan 4.00 Rick Stein's Cornwall 6.00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 7.00 Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 7.40 Would I Lie to You? 9.00 QI XL 10.00 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 11.00 8 Out of 10 Cats 11.50 Mock the Week 12.30am Would I Lie to You? 1.50 QI XL 2.40 House of Games 3.25-4.00am Judge Romesh
---
ITV2
11.10am Charmed 12.05pm Deal or No Deal 1.05 Supermarket Sweep 2.05 Ant & Dec's Limitless Win 3.10 The Only Way Is Essex 4.10 The Real Housewives of Potomac 5.00 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase 7.00 Ant & Dec's Limitless Win 8.00 The 1% Club Valentine's Special 9.00 Big Brother 10.00 Big Brother; The Group Chat 11.05 Family Guy 12.05am American Dad! 1.05 Bob's Burgers 1.55 Deep Fake Neighbour Wars 2.20 Unwind with ITV 3.00-6.00am Teleshopping
---
Challenge
11.30 am Heartbeat
12.35 pm Heartbeat
1.35 The Royal
2.40 Wild at Heart
3.40 Classic Emmerdale
4.10 Classic Emmerdale
4.40 Classic Coronation Street
5.15 Classic Coronation Street
5.50 Heartbeat
6.55 Heartbeat
8.00 Vera
10.00 Downton Abbey
11.30 DCI Banks
12.25 am DCI Banks
1.30 The Royal
2.20 Unwind with ITV
2.30 - 6.00am Teleshopping
11.00am Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
12.15pm Family Fortunes 1.00 Cash
Trapped 2.00 Celebrity Bridge of Lies
---
ITV3
3.00 The Chase 4.00 The Bidding Room 5.00 Tenable 6.00 Cash Trapped 7.00 Beat the Chasers 8.00 The Chase 10.00 The Chase Celebrity Special 11.00 Bullseye 12.00 Celebrity Bridge of Lies 1.00am The Chase 2.00 The Chase Celebrity Special 3.00-4.00am The Chase
---
Quest
Noon Outback Truckers 1.00pm The Repair Shop 2.00 Shed and Buried 4.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It 5.00 Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House 6.00 The Yorkshire Auction House 7.00 Antiques Road Trip 8.00 Outback Truckers. Foody races a cyclone to make it home 9.00 Aussie Gold Hunters 10.00 The Repair Shop 11.00 How Do They Do It? 1.00am Salvage Hunters 3.00-4.00am Salvage Hunters: The Restorers
11.55am The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 1.00pm Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 1.40 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 2.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 4.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 5.05 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 6.15 Besieged Fortresses, Legendary Battles 7.25 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 8.35 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 9.45 The Rise and Fall of the Rust Belt 10.50 Nazi's Diplomats: Dancing with the Devil 12.00 WWII in Colour: Road to Victory 1.10am Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands 2.00-6.00am Teleshopping
---
Sky History
Noon Greatest Escapes of WWII
1.00pm Alone 2.00 Pawn Stars 6.00
American Pickers 7.00 Forged in Fire
8.00 Outback Wreckers 9.00 Alone
10.00 Flipping Bangers 12.00
Strange Evidence 12.55am Outback
Wreckers 1.50 Alone 2.50 Flipping
Bangers 3.40-4.25am American
Pickers
---
Sky Documentaries
Noon FILM: Steve McQueen: The Lost Movie (2021) 1.50pm My Icon: Anthony Joshua 2.00 FILM: I Am MLK
FV 18 FS 124 SKY 136 VIRGIN 147
11.35 am Come Dine with Me
12.05 pm Come Dine with Me
12.35 Come Dine with Me
1.05 Come Dine with Me
1.40 Come Dine with Me
2.15 Four in a Bed
2.50 Four in a Bed
3.20 Four in a Bed
3.50 Four in a Bed
4.20 Four in a Bed
4.50 Car S.O.S
6.50 The Dog House
7.55 The Dog House
9.00 Sandi Toksvig's Great Riviera Rail Trip
10.00 24 Hours in A&E
12.10 am 999: On the Front Line
1.15 24 Hours in A&E
3.25 - 3.55am A Place in the Sun
---
More4
Jr (2018) A deep dive into the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr 4.00 The Directors 5.00 Discovering: Richard Harris 6.00 Stax: Soulsville USA 7.00 Janet Jackson 8.00 How the Beatles Changed the World 10.00 FILM: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (2015) Brett Morgen explores the Nirvana frontman's life 12.30am Amsterdam Narcos 3.30-5.00am Giroud
---
Sky One
Noon Aussie Snake Wranglers: Deadly Pursuit 1.00pm Hawaii Five-0 3.00 S.W.A.T. 5.00 The Simpsons 6.00 Superstore 7.00 The Simpsons 8.00 David Attenborough's Galapagos 9.00 FILM: Revolver (2005) Crime drama starring Jason Statham 11.00 The Paper 12.00 Gemma Collins: Everything. All at Once 12.45am Grimm 1.35 Road Wars 2.00 Grimsburg 2.30 Road Wars 3.00-4.00am Hawaii Five-0
---
Great! Mystery
11.05am Murder, She Wrote 12.05pm Unforgettable 1.00 In Plain Sight 2.00 Castle 3.00 Diagnosis Murder 5.00 Murder, She Wrote 7.00 Castle 8.00 Unforgettable 9.00 In Plain Sight 10.00 FILM: Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021) Woodunit starring Danica McKellar 10.56 Good News on GREAT! 11.01
---
U&Gold
12.35 pm Only Fools and Horses
1.10 Only Fools and Horses
Christmas Special
1.50 Keeping Up Appearances
2.30 Dad's Army
3.05 The Green Green Grass
3.45 Are You Being Served?
4.20 The Good Life
5.00 Dad's Army
5.40 Last of the Summer Wine
7.00 Only Fools and Horses
Christmas Special
7.40 Dad's Army
8.20 Only Fools and Horses
9.40 The Fast Show
10.20 Not Going Out
11.00 Only Fools and Horses
12.15 am The Fast Show
12.55 - 1.35am Not Going Out
FILM: Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill (2021) Whodunit starring Danica McKellar 11.55 FILM: Garage Sale Mysteries: All That Glitters (2014) Mystery starring Lori Loughlin 12.51am Good News on GREAT! 12.56 FILM: Garage Sale Mysteries: All That Glitters (2014) 1.50 FILM: Scandal: My Daughter's Secret (2021) 3.20-4.50am FILM: Instakiller (2018)
---
Sky Cinema Premiere
11.50am The Fix (2026) 2.05pm
Better Man (2024) Robbie Williams biopic starring Jonno Davies 4.30 Supergirl (2026) Fantasy adventure starring Milly Alcock 6.20 Cold Storage (2026) Comedy thriller starring Joe Keery 8.00 Better Man (2024) Robbie Williams biopic starring Jonno Davies 10.25 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Horror sequel starring Ralph Fiennes 12.15am The Crow (2024) 2.15-4.25am The Deb (2024)
---
Sky Sports Main Event
Noon Live Tennis. The ATP Shanghai Masters and WTA China Open 3.00pm Live DP World Tour Golf. The Acciona Open De España Presented By Madrid 6.00 The Premier League Show 7.00 Sports Centre 10.00 Sky Sports News at Ten 10.30 Paper Talk 11.00 Sky Sports News 12.00-5.15am Live NFL
---
U&Yesterday
FV 27 FS 158 SKY 155 VIRGIN 129
Noon Antiques Roadshow
1.00 pm Antiques Roadshow
2.00 Bangers & Cash
3.00 Bangers & Cash
4.00 Great War Stories
5.00 D-Day: Last Words
6.00 Antiques Roadshow
7.00 Turkey with Simon Reeve
8.00 Bangers & Cash
9.00 Dream Car Fixers
10.00 Bangers & Cash
11.00 Bangers & Cash
12.00 Bangers & Cash
1.00 am Find It, Fix It, Flog It
2.00 Great Continental Railway Journeys
3.00 - 6.10am Teleshopping
Noon Gary Neville's Soccerbox 1.00pm Wunderkind: Florian Wirtz's Story 1.30 PL Greatest Games 2.00 Premier League Years 4.00 Best PL Goals 2018/19 5.00 The Premier League Show 7.00 The Big Interview 7.30 Premier League Stories 8.00 Cult Heroes. A profile of former Newcastle forward Tino Asprilla 8.30 Wunderkind: Florian Wirtz's Story 9.00 The Big Interview 9.30 Premier League Stories 10.00 Gary Neville's Soccerbox 11.00 Premier League Years 1.00am PL Retro 3.00-4.00am PL Greatest Games
---
TNT Sports I
11.30am Cycling European Championship 12.30pm Men's Cycling Pro Series 1.30 The Gruppetto 1.45 Live: Men's Cycling Pro Series. The Gran Piemonte 3.45 It's A Numbers Game 4.15 MotoGP Rewind 4.30 TNT Sports Cricket Reload 4.45 Sign Up – Into Football 5.30 UIIM F1H20 World Championship Highlights 6.00 Premier League – The Big Interview 6.30 Premier League Stories 7.00 Groundbreaking 7.30 TNT Sports Reload 7.45 The Gruppetto 8.00 Men's Cycling Pro Series 9.00 MLB Lead Off 10.00 Live MLB. Chicago White Sox v Cleveland Guardians
---
Sky Atlantic
---
SKY 108
11.20 am Deadwood
12.25 pm Gomorrah
1.30 Homicide: Life on the Street
2.30 Homicide: Life on the Street
3.30 Billions
4.35 Billions
5.45 Station Eleven
6.55 Station Eleven
8.00 Fargo
9.00 The Miniature Wife
9.45 The Miniature Wife
10.30 Dune: Prophecy
12.00 It: Welcome to Derry
1.05 am Gomorrah
2.00 War
3.05 - 4.15am House of the Dragon
(start-time 10.00pm) 1.00-4.00am Live MLB
---
BBC News
Noon BBC News Now 2.00pm BBC
News Now 2.30 Business Today 2.45
BBC News Now 3.00 Verified Live
4.30 Business Today 4.45 Verified
Live 5.30 BBC News 6.30 The World
Today 8.00 The Context USA 9.00
Question Time 10.00 BBC News at Ten
10.30 Newsnight 11.00 BBC World
News America 12.00 BBC News
12.55am Newscast 1.00-5.30am
BBC News
---
GB News
Noon Good Afternoon Britain 3.00pm
Martin Daubney 6.00 Dewbs & Co
7.00 Farage 8.00 Jacob Rees-Mogg's
State Of The Nation 9.00 Patrick
Christys Tonight 11.00 Patrick
Christys Tonight Late Edition 12.00-
6.00am Vote 2026: The People
Decide
---
Sky News
Noon Sky News Today 5.00pm The News Hour with Mark Austin 7.00 The Cathy Newman Show 8.00 UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee 9.00 The World with Yalda Hakim 10.00 The Wrap with Anna Botting 12.00-6.00am Vote 2026
---
Variations
---
Northern Ireland
BBC One: 10.40pm The View 11.20 - 12.20am Question Time 12.50am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn 1.50 - 6.00am BBC News
BBC Two: No variations
UTV: 7.30 · 8.00pm UTV Life 10.45
Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties – Tonight 11.10 Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals 11.35 Murder at the Grand Canal: True Crime Presents 12.25 · 1.10am
Eamonn Mallie: Face to Face With
---
Scotland
BBC One: 2.00 - 3.00pm Politics
Scotland 11.40 - 12.10am Scotcast
12.40am The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn 1.45 - 6.00am BBC News
BBC Scotland: 7.00pm Reporting
Scotland: News at Seven 7.30 Grand Tours of Scotland's Lochs 8.00 Jules and Greg's Wild Swim 8.30 Landward 9.00 Showpeople: Licensed to Thrill 9.30 Showpeople: Licensed to Thrill 10.00 Stevens & McCarthy 10.25 Scot Squad 10.55 Scotcast 11.25 The Scotts 11.55 Loop midnight Close
STV: 7.00pm The STV Radio Football
Takeover 7.30 - 8.00 What's on Scotland
10.45 Buyer Beware: Retirement Properties - Tonight 11.10 Nine Perfect
Strangers 12.00 - 3.00am Shop on TV
3.50 - 5.05am Unwind with STV
---
Wales
BBC One: No variations
BBC Two: 7.00pm Scrum V; The Warm Up 7.30 - 8.00pm Feast of Football
ITV1 Wales: No variations
---
ITVI Regions
No variations
---
S4C
6.00am Cyw 12.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 12.05pm Dim Byd I'w Wisgo 12.30 Heno 1.00 Bwyd Epic Chris 1.30 Gwalia Aleighcia 2.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 3.05 Am Orol 4.00 Awr Fawr: Y Trabalas 4.05 Awr Fawr: Blwi 4.15 Awr Fawr: Wawl 4.35 Awr Fawr: Ger a Gu 4.50 Awr Fawr: Annibendod 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00 Ralio-6.30 Chub Rygbi 7.00 Heno 7.30 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 8.00 Pobol y Cwm 8.25 Rownd a Rownd 8.55 Newyddion S4C a'r Tywydd 9.00 Y Byd yn ei Le 9.45 Chwedl Jan Morris 10.45 - 11.50pm Y Wal
British readings Last night's report for 24 hours to 6pm · "estimated readings
Weather & Crosswords
---
Forecast
---
General situation
Becoming cloudy and windy in Scotland and Northern Ireland today with rain arriving later in the day. Morning sunshine, then increasing cloud in Wales and England. Showers in northern England late.
London, Cent S England, Channel Is, SW England, E England, SE England, E Anglia, Midlands: Morning sunshine, then cloud spreading eastward later today. Max 55-62F (13-17C). A light to gentle NW wind. Rain arriving and becoming breezy tonight. Min 45-52F (7-11C).
◆ NW England, Lake Dist, IoM, Cent N England, NE England: Increasing cloud today; showers late. Max 45-58F (7-15C). A light to gentle W wind. Rainy spells tonight. Min 40-54F (4-12C).
◆ Wales:
Becoming cloudy today. Max 45-58F (7-15C). A gentle W to SW wind.
Rainy periods tonight. Min 41-55F (5-13C).
◆ N Ireland: Periods of rain later today and tonight. Max 50-58F (10-15C). A gentle to moderate SW wind. Min 40-52F (4-11C).
◆ SW Scotland, NW Scotland, Glasgow, Cent Highlands, Argyll, W Isles, SE Scotland, NE Scotland, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Moray Firth, Orkney, Shetland: Increasingly windy with rainy spells later today and tonight. Max 38-58F (3-15C). A gentle to strong S to SW wind. Min 34-52F (1-18C).
S North Sea: A moderate to strong northwesterly wind today. Seas will be slight. Visibility will be good.
Dover Strait, English Channel: A gentle to fresh northwesterly wind today. Seas will be slight on the east and will be moderate on the west. Visibility will be poor.
St. George's Channel: A moderate to strong westerly wind today. Seas will be rough, Visibility will be good, Irish Sea: A moderate to strong westerly wind today. Seas will be rough, Visibility will be fair,
Record sightings for mushrooms are being predicted this autumn owing to the dry summer. | Max°C | Min°C | Daytimeweather | Frankfurt | 23 | 10 | p/c/dly | Fenchal | 23 | 19 | showers | Gdansk | 17 | 9 | p/c/dly | Geneva | 17 | 12 | showers | Gibraltar | 26 | 21 | p/c/dly | Hamburg | 21 | 11 | sunny | Helsinki | 14 | 8 | p/c/dly | Innsbruck | 22 | 9 | sunny | Istanbul | 22 | 14 | p/c/dly | Kyiv | 21 | 10 | p/c/dly | La Rochelle | 20 | 18 | cloudy | Lisbon | 24 | 17 | p/c/dly | Locarno | 18 | 10 | showers | Luxembourg | 21 | 11 | showers | Madrid | 23 | 14 | p/c/dly | Majorca | 26 | 19 | storms | Malaga | 28 | 17 | p/c/dly | Malta | 27 | 22 | p/c/dly | Marseille | 24 | 19 | storms | Menorca | 26 | 23 | showers | Milan | 20 | 16 | rain | Monaco | 20 | 17 | rain | Moscow | 15 | 8 | sunny | Munich | 24 | 4 | p/c/dly | Naples | 24 | 19 | showers | Nice | 20 | 17 | rain | Nicosia | 27 | 14 | sunny | Oporto | 21 | 16 | p/c/dly | The Royal Horticultural Society said that following the drought last year, its team saw a 43 per cent increase in garden fungi inquiries from the public.
---
Nature Notes
After a record hot summer in 2026 – and provided there is sufficient rainfall this autumn – the RHS said we could have an even greater abundance.
The RHS already has large rooting boletes and giant funnel mushrooms in its garden at Wisley, Surrey.
To encourage beneficial fungi, RHS experts urge mulching regularly and keeping dead wood in the garden.
---
Sujiko® MODERATE NO 5499
To play Sujiko, enter the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so that the total in each circle is equal to the sum of the four surrounding squares. Today's solutions appear tomorrow,
Jassy Drakulic, RHS senior plant pathologist, said: "While gardeners sometimes worry at the sight of mushrooms, the presence of fungi is mostly a sign of a healthy ecosystem."
---
Suguru NO 2587
Yesterday's solutions:
The aim of Suguru is to fill the grid so that no same digit is touching. A two-cell outlined block contains the digits 1 and 2; a three-cell block contains 1, 2, 3; and so on. The same digit must not appear in neighbouring cells, not even diagonally.
---
World readings
European readings Last night's report for 24 hours to 6pm | Sujiko 5498: | 438 | Suguru 2586: | 629 | 751 | But a few can cause problems, such as the honey fungus, which is a pathogen of woody shrubs and trees.
\- Market leading technology • Smallest 8ft on the market • Quick and easy to install
12 month warranty • Certified to the British Standard 5/90/2012
0800 472 5001
www.pollockhomeilfts.co.uk
Help with today's clues Single clues 0905 757 0120. All Across/Down clues 0905 757 0121. Call cost £1/minute, plus network access charge. You must be 16 or over and have the bill payer's permission.
Services open Mon-Fri. SP: Spike - Holyline 0333 202 3390.
---
Across
1 Frequent bar, imbibing endless beer (9)
6 Force out from small seat (4)
10 Last of gins drunk showing emotionalism (5)
11 Trooper's ever eager taking soldier on (9)
12 More vacuous politician in European Bank (7)
13 Bloke is upset getting needle (7)
14 Scurry with oddly sick tramp (8)
16 Daughter put on pretty material (5)
19 Rough start of deep sea vessel (5)
21 Panic is appropriate trapped in bog (8)
24 Twister pulled a con (7)
25 Caught covering up, dressing down (7)
27 Cheat romantic rival (9)
28 Aluminium sink reflected scientist (5)
29 Sweetheart's rejected being rung (4)
30 Finish United career acquiring new tenacity (9)
---
Down
1 Group's on speed, periodically frenzied (9)
2 First of elite joining crack outfit (5)
3 Shame, it turned into disbelief (7)
4 Former partner saucily like a pro? (8)
5 Shock blunder following Trump's lead (6)
7 Head of state occupant after power (9)
8 Unleash stench, reportedly (5)
9 Parted from France wearing French headgear (6)
15 Move around with bottom spread (9)
17 Run down gradient bursting with energy (9)
18 Got jab containing remedy (8)
20 Light refreshments with Queen for poser (6)
22 Flash conclusion of Big Issue (7)
23 Loving, the French lovingly caress (6)
24 Tortillas also containing other stuff, initially (5)
26 Writer of someone's biography written up (5)
---
Across
1 Ravine (5)
4 Worried (6)
9 Lotteries (7)
10 Convulsion (5)
11 Places (4)
12 Greed (7)
13 Beam (3)
14 Bogus (4)
16 Chunk (4)
18 Bind (3)
20 Specimen (7)
21 Hint (4)
24 Loaded (5)
25 Outrage (7)
26 Craving (6)
27 Deprived (5)
Visit telegraph.co.uk/puzzles today\*
---
Quick Crossword
Help with today's Quick Crossword clues Single clues 0905 757 0122, Solution 0905 757 0123. Call cost £1/minute, plus network access charge, You must be 18 or over and have the bill payer's permission. Services open Mon-Sat, SP: Spoke - Hebline 0333 202 3390.
Solution No 31,364
---
Down
1 Corset (6)
2 Noble (5)
3 Christmas (4)
5 Rocky (8)
6 Arena (7)
7 Maiden (6)
8 Composition (5)
13 Answer (8)
15 Desert (7)
---
Yesterday's Quick Crossword Solution
17 Affluence (6)
18 Deride (5)
19 Assortment (6)
22 Shelf (5)
23 Daybreak (4)
MotorEasy GAP insurance
Access: 1 Sloe, 3 Laine,
(Slow lane) 7 Cast,
8 Antisocial, 9 Ahoy,
12 Penuultimate, 13 Level,
15 Stout, 19 Screwdriver,
21 Mate, 23 Lachrymose,
24 Ball, 25 Owned,
26 Hear, Down: 1 Stamp
album, 2 Epicure,
3 Look to, 4 Idioms,
5 Eclat, 6 As to, 10 Hero,
11 Vesteryear, 14 Vast,
16 Triumph, 17 Beacon,
18 Adered, 20 Cells,
22 Arab.
READER SOLUTIONS BY TELEGRAPH MEDIA GROUP
Car Manager provided by MotorEasy
---
Cover your car insurers shortfall
shouldn't be. GAP insurance can cover the difference between your insurer's settlement and the price you originally paid. Some cars lose 60 per cent of their value in the first three years and this can leave a shortfall. Get a GAP insurance quote today.
Provided by
motoreasy
\- Pays out within 24 hours of claim approval
0333 057 3550 • Covers write-offs due to theft, accident, fire and flood
Insurance excess covered up to £500
\- Flexible options including financed, contract hire and lease vehicles
Covers your car's depreciated value
MotorEasy is rated Excellent on Trustpoint and 5 Star Defagts Rated, Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited is an Introductor Appointed Representative of MotorEasy Services Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
