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Burnham accuses Kremlin of 'outrageous' threats to Britain

PM uses first official visit abroad to offer Ukraine blueprint for missiles

Jessica Elgot Dan Sabbagh Pavlohrad

Andy Burnham has accused the Kremlin of “outrageous threats to my country” as Russia warned of an escalation in tensions after the UK’s decision to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Kyiv to improve its production of long-range missiles.

Speaking in Kyiv, Burnham compared Ukraine's struggle to Britain's fight against Nazi Germany. "My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century; you hold that flame in the 21st," Burnham said in a speech in front of St Sophia cathedral to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.

“Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine.”

In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham announced he would allow defence company MBDA to give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles. He confirmed a new deal to share Ukrainian battlefield data with the Ministry of Defence and some private companies to train AI models.

▲ On his first overseas trip as PM, Andy Burnham meets patients in Ukraine recovering from injuries in the war against Russia PHOTOGRAPH: HENRY NICHOLLS/PA

Care leavers' early deaths linked to lack of support

Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent

Profound isolation contributed to the deaths of more than 100 care leavers in a year in England, with a dramatic drop-off in support from social services at 18 leading to catastrophic consequences, a review commissioned by the government has found.

The report into the early deaths of young people who left care described the problem as a “national tragedy” and said many were left on their own “at the height of vulnerability” when they died.

Josh MacAlister, the children's minister, said: “Care leavers have been left so isolated, so lonely and that is the core of the problem. Both adult and children’s social care need to be humanised and need to focus on building those enduring, loving connections. This is a stain on society because all of us have failed.”

The review, led by the social work leader Clare Chamberlain and broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste, looked at the deaths of 112 care leavers who died aged 18-24 in 2025.

It found that the death rate this group was three to four times higher than that of

Police arrest 12 following crash that killed seven

Raphael Boyd Hannah Al-Othman Robert Booth

Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into a crash on the A66 early on Saturday morning that killed two police officers and five others.

Cleveland police confirmed that nine men and three women were detained by officers investigating the events leading to the deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough when a 7→

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Climate costs of North Sea plans 'far outweigh benefits'

Damian Carrington Environment editor

The climate damage caused by developing the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields, which is under consideration by the UK government, would destroy their economic benefits many times over, according to an analysis.

It estimates the economic damage caused by the carbon pollution from the oil and gas produced would be between £119bn and £336bn in the coming decades, compared with the £28.7bn in value to the UK estimated by Adura, the fossil fuel company promoting the new fields.

The assessment applies peer-reviewed research on how rising temperatures harm economies to the production estimates for the fields from the company.

The figures are likely to be underestimates, as they do not include losses from amplified extreme weather, sea level rise or climate deaths. The analysis has been submitted to the Rosebank consultation and to an academic journal.

The decision on whether to approve Rosebank and Jackdaw has become highly controversial, with the oil industry, some energy leaders and rightwing political parties pushing for the go-ahead. Most centre and leftwing parties, climate scientists and environmental campaigners are opposed.

The prime minister, Andy Burnham, also faces a revolt from Labour MPs who oppose the plans, while the former energy secretary Ed Miliband once called the Rosebank proposal “climate vandalism”.

The analysis uses research published in the journal Nature in March and production data submitted to the government by Adura to assess how much carbon dioxide pollution would result from Rosebank and Jackdaw and how much economic damage that would cause globally.

The economic damage is estimated for the period up to 2100 and the spread of estimates from £119bn to £336bn results from using ranges for how damages may increase in the future and are valued in today's money. The analysis is based on additional $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ being added to the atmosphere as evidence shows new oil and gas fields do not generally lead to other fields being shut down.

If oil and gas production at Rosebank and Jackdaw is better than Adura's central case, the climate damage range rises to £170bn-£482bn. Just 6% of this higher estimate would need to be felt in the UK to wipe out all the suggested economic gains within the country.

Rosebank's anticipated production accounts for the bulk of the damages - about $88\%$ . It has been ▼ Pollution from the oil and gas fields would cause economic damage of up to £336bn, the analysis says PHOTOGRAPH: MORITZ WICKLEIN/ALAMY

suggested Burnham could approve Jackdaw but block Rosebank.

The argument that approving Rosebank and Jackdaw would reduce UK bills and improve energy security is a “delusion”, according to energy experts, as they are internationally traded commodities. Proponents of new drilling argue it would boost the UK economy, but the new analysis indicates this would be outweighed by long-term economic damage.

"The numbers presented here show there's going to be a very strong destruction of [economic] value above and beyond what Rosebank and Jackdaw could generate for the UK," said Luke Hatton of Imperial College London, who conducted the analysis. "The alternative is to really double down on clean energy technologies." The UK's net zero sector has grown three times faster than the overall UK economy in recent years.

Richard Sulley, of the University of Sheffield's Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, said: “Expanding oil and gas production in the North Sea is not just an environmental crime but also economically illiterate. Climate change has already damaged the UK economy, with an estimated £4.4bn loss from this summer’s heatwaves alone.

▲ Protesters in July urge Andy Burnham to block the Rosebank field

“Remaining tied to the use of fossil fuels keeps UK industries and consumers exposed to the international markets that set prices and will cost way more than it can ever deliver in growth.”

Prof Ian Bateman, of the University of Exeter business school, said: "This is an interesting study which shows the cumulative global climate damage of oil extraction and use is beginning to exceed its face value. When we add in the tax giveaways to the oil industry and compare this to the declining cost and zero climate damage of renewable energy then the economic case for leaving oil in the ground is overwhelming."

Adura, which is jointly owned by Shell and Norway's Equinor, did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “The North Sea remains a vital national asset, supporting jobs, growth and the UK’s energy security. Oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come, alongside transitioning to clean power to protect jobs and tackle the climate crisis.”

The government adviser the Climate Change Committee said in March: “Achieving net zero is a more cost-effective path for the UK economy than continued reliance on fossil fuels, bringing a net benefit to society.”

Dr Rick Lupton, of the University of Bath, said: “The analysis is a reasonable piece of exploratory work based on real data and studies, but there are lots of assumptions involved in the specific numbers. The general point is sound: climate damage will certainly increase from exploiting these fields, and this may well be comparable or much larger than the economic benefits from the development.”

Stark 'signal' as ocean surface temperatures hit record high

Damian Carrington

The world's oceans were hotter than ever previously recorded last Saturday, according to the latest data, with scientists warning of a “clear signal of an ocean under growing stress”.

Average surface temperatures reached 21.1C (70F), according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

More than 90% of the heat trapped by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning enters the oceans, and the rising marine heat is a stark indicator of the climate crisis.

Hotter oceans exacerbate the rise in sea levels and extreme storms that threaten billions of people, as well as driving marine heatwaves that deci-mate sea life, scientists say.

The northern hemisphere summer has already seen record-breaking heatwaves, drought and wildfires in Europe and North America, and intense rain and typhoons in Asia.

The rise in ocean temperatures is being intensified by a fast-developing El Niño, which is set to be the hottest in at least a century. El Niño events are natural climate variations that raise global temperature and change weather patterns, with serious impacts around the world.

The new El Niño has already delivered low monsoon rainfall in India, major wildfires in Indonesia, and heightened fire concerns in Australia.

That the record is being set in August is remarkable as global sea temperatures are typically highest in March and April, after the austral summer, as the southern hemisphere has more ocean area than the north.

"The record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress," said Dr Samantha Burgess, at C3S.

“El Niño is adding heat to the system, but it is doing so on top of decades of human-driven warming.

"The consequences are already visible: the number of marine heatwave days globally has more than tripled since the early 1990s."

Hotter oceans contribute to sea-level rise because water expands when it warms, increasing flooding risks for coastal communities and low-lying island nations.

▲ Coral reefs damaged by rising sea temperatures in the Maldives

Higher ocean temperatures supercharge extreme weather, because warmer seas transfer more energy and water vapour to the atmosphere, intensifying rainfall and storms.

More than $90\%$ of the planet-heating $\mathrm{CO}{2}$ produced by the burning of fossil fuels and forest destruction is absorbed by the oceans. But a hotter ocean is less efficient at absorbing $\mathrm{CO}{2}$ . This is potentially weakening one of the planet's most important natural buffers against global heating.

“Two key actions are needed to address the record ocean warming,” said Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature.

“Fossil fuel emissions need to be rapidly reduced. Meanwhile, it is essential that countries protect marine and coastal ecosystems. Kelp beds, mangroves and marshes absorb carbon and coral reefs protect against storms and provide habitat”.

The C3S data covers the oceans outside the polar regions. The records go back to 1979, when satellites began delivering the highest quality date.

Timothy Taylor, available from Camra-approved The Star Inn in Bath, below left, and a favourite of the Soho landlord Oisín Rogers, bottom PHOTOGRAPHS: NEIL MCALLISTER/ALAMY; ASHLEY PALMER-WATTS

News

Real ale problems: Camra faces financial woes despite thirst for independent beers

Helena Horton

For centuries, the wooden real ale pump has been the hallmark of a good British boozer. But now problems are brewing for the proper pint, as the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has seen its membership sink to an eight-year low and its accounts show it is firmly in the red, with an £800,000 loss last year.

Real ale is a traditional draught cask beer, a “living” product that is produced and stored in its cask. It differs from a cold, fizzy lager, in which the yeast is killed and carbon dioxide is added. Real ale contains live yeast so it continues fermenting until it is served.

Outside the Devonshire pub in Soho, central London, there is an ever-present horde of drinkers downing pints of Guinness, a stout made by the multinational company Diageo. But the landlord and co-owner Oisín Rogers says: “Real ale is all I drink.”

“It is a properly handmade British product,” says Rogers, “produced in exactly the same way it has been for centuries. It has never been industrialised like some of the other drinks that are for sale in bars in London.”

His favourite tipple, appropriately, is a pint of Landlord, made by the family-owned Timothy Taylor brewery in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Tom Stainer, Camra's chief executive, says independent breweries are facing unfair competition from multinationals. If you walk into a pub on the high street, you are often confronted with the same few beers, most of which are made by the same large companies, he said.

"The beers people want aren't available in bars because of the ways the huge international brewers operate," said Stainer. "We call it an illusion of choice - a lot of people walk into bars and don't realise everything in front of them is owned by the same big company."

He said these “big global brewers who have deep pockets and huge influence” make it “hard for small brewers to get to market”. The incentives offered to large pub companies include cheap packages for beers,

'We call it an illusion of choice ... a lot of people don't realise everything in front of them is owned by the same big company'

Tom Stainer Camra chief executive wine and soft drinks, with a multi-year tie-in, and minimum purchase orders where “pubs are forced to sell a certain amount of this product”.

Stainer added: “We have heard of pubs taking off independent beers because they are too popular and it stops people buying that product they have a minimum purchase order for.” He said Camra is calling for the government’s Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the stranglehold the big beer companies have on the market.

There are no such problems in the King Charles I pub in Kings Cross. As an independent, community owned venue, they can choose what's on tap. They have a healthy range of cask beers, swapped out every five weeks.

Matt Roberts, the manager, said: "I like to choose local beers. Today we have one from Southwark, some from Kent, and one from the West Midlands. Cask ale is still very popular, it makes up around 30% of our sales. We are lucky we don't have a big pub company telling us what to sell."

Despite the delicious range of cask ales on offer, including the very drinkable Bankside Blonde by Southwark Brewing Company, Guinness still appeared to be the order of the day among the customers.

Camra is facing a nadir; last September it was forced to cancel its Great British Beer festival, formerly the largest of its kind in the UK, for the foreseeable future. Writing in the accounts, the group's chair Ash Corbett-Collins said it had been “one of the most challenging years Camra has faced”, pointing to a restructuring in which “a number of roles were sadly made redundant”.

The cost of living crisis is making it more difficult to run a membership organisation. Stainer said: “When you look at your bank balance each month, membership might be something you might economise to offset your huge energy bill or the rise in food prices”. A Camra membership is £35 a year.

Cookies created from upcycled plastic give astronauts their fill

Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

Cookies produced from upcycled plastic may sound like something straight out of a dystopian sci-fi plot. But researchers say they have succeeded in creating such a product as part of a Nasa-funded project aimed at feeding astronauts on future space missions.

The technology uses specially designed yeasts to transform plastics and agricultural waste into edible proteins, fats and flavourings. The resulting slurry is passed through a 3D printer to create a disc-shaped “cookie”.

Dr Lahiru Jayakody, a microbiologist at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale, who led the project, said: "My lab works on developing technologies for plastic upcycling. We thought, why not look into food? Plastic is carbon and food is carbon."

The team are yet to taste the plastic-derived cookies but report that they “receive high marks on aroma”. Jayakody added: “We haven’t eaten them yet because we’re awaiting approval for testing in humans.”

The method was funded as part of Nasa's Deep Space Food Challenge, which invited scientists to develop new food technologies to solve the problem of feeding astronauts on long missions.

The researchers took one of the most common forms of plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), often used in single-use water bottles.

The PET was “digested” using a process involving water and oxygen at high temperature and pressure to break it down into smaller carbon-rich molecules. These are then fed to yeast, which have been genetically

reprogrammed to use the plastic-derived molecules as food. The yeast converts the carbon from plastic into new biological molecules, including proteins, fats and other nutrients, which can be mixed with starch and shaped into edible products. A different strain was used to produce vanilla flavouring from plant biomass.

▲ Dr Lahiru Jayakody holding one of his project's 3D-printed 'cookies'

Currently the cookies cost \$60 (£44) per kg to produce but improving the yeast's efficiency and scaling up production may reduce the cost in future.

The team have said the concept might be useful in extreme environments on Earth, such as on submarines or in disaster zones - or as an ecological solution to the problems of plastic waste and food production.

“Global food demand is expected to rise 35% to 56% by 2050, and about 30% of the world population will be at risk of hunger in the future,” said Jayakody. “The way to address that, I believe, is by using microbes.”

Andy Burnham speaking in front of the Wall of Remembrance at St Michael's Square in Kyiv PHOTOGRAPH: HENRY NICHOLLS/PA WIRE

Russian threats to UK 'outrageous', says PM in pledge to support Kyiv

← Continued from page 1

Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, said the exchange would add “fuel to the fire” and obstruct any moves towards a peace deal.

Burnham hit back in an interview shortly after his speech. He said: "Who started the fire? That's the question, isn't it?"

During a conference call while in Kyiv with 34 leaders in the “coalition of the willing”, countries that have promised to help keep Ukraine secure in the event of a truce with Russia, Burnham also urged other nations to help Kyiv obtain more US-made Patriot missiles.

The prime minister said the coalition was “doing everything we can all do and working with our allies outside of this coalition to dig into our own stocks and help others dig into their stocks".

Moscow said it would identify and destroy the locations of missile production sites. “Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime,” Peskov told reporters. “Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire, and methodically and regularly hatches schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peaceful settlement process.”

Kyiv was braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks as it marked Independence Day yesterday, attended by other European leaders alongside Burnham.

The prime minister's decision to declassify the information about the UK-made components of the Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles will enable Ukraine to eventually build its own version, though this may take years.

In his speech, Burnham said Ukraine had “endured 12 years of naked aggression, the occupation of Crimea, and now four and a half years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, all aimed at crushing the independence that we are here to celebrate”.

Burnham said: “Russia’s actions have not changed the path this nation is on. It’s confirmed it. You have stood tall and defiant in the face of everything Russia has thrown at you. And you have taken your place as a proud, sovereign European nation, a vibrant democracy with a bright future ahead.”

He said Europe owed a debt of gratitude to Ukraine for its fight. “I want to tell you something you probably don’t hear enough: thank you. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you for the incredible stand you have taken because we are all stronger for it.”

The prime minister visited Ukrainian soldiers while in Kyiv, including joining them playing a Smiths song on an electric guitar.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he denied he was deliberately ramping up the rhetoric and said the decision to provide the blueprints was the continuation of the longstanding UK policy to back Ukraine.

Asked by ITV News if he was “poking the Russian bear”, Burnham said: “Obviously with a change of prime minister people think there has been a change in policy. Well I’m here to say there isn’t. I’m going to do what our predecessors have done.

"If we don't take a firm stand, who would be next? It's right to do this. It's in Britain's interest to stand firm."

On the way to Kyiv, Burnham said “the UK is behind [Ukraine] today and for as long as it takes”.

Kyiv has said Russia is amassing more ballistic missiles and considering whether to mobilise an extra 300,000 soldiers. The missiles have been used to bomb Ukrainian infrastructure and to attack the capital, causing increased civilian casualties. There is a shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors, the only weapon that can effectively counter them.

Burnham swerved from putting pressure directly on countries including Spain and Greece to hand over their own stockpiles of the weapons. He said the UK did not “have those systems to be able to hand over but we will certainly use whatever influence we have got. Obviously there are other threats that people are facing. It’s a complicated world right now.”

The UK has also announced it will help France set up assembly lines in Ukraine for long-range missiles, which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised last month. It previously said it would let Ukraine launch attacks with British-made drones, prompting Moscow to warn that the UK would pay a “high price”.

Russia has withdrawn its ambassador to the UK, with no replacement in sight. A spokesperson said that relations had “deteriorated to an unprecedentedly low level entirely on London’s initiative”.

A British government spokesperson said the UK's ambassador would continue in post in Moscow.

Burnham travelled to Kyiv with the president of the European Council, António Costa, and the prime minister of Luxembourg, Luc Frieden.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is facing his biggest internal challenge as leader of Ukraine after his former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for the country to hold elections for the first time since the war began. The Ukrainian president has said any poll risked splitting the country and would be “a tsunami for the state”.

Eyewitness Page 20 →

'It's hugely symbolic' Burnham's goodwill is vital for Ukraine

Luke Harding Dan Sabbagh Pavlohrad

Since moving into Downing Street in July, Andy Burnham - a foreign policy neophyte - has expressed strong support for Ukraine. But

on Monday he saw the bitter human cost of the war up close for the first time, visiting Kyiv during his first international trip as prime minister.

The occasion was the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented awards to the families of fallen soldiers. Relatives wept, hugging Ukraine's president. Photos of young men in their prime were shown on a giant screen.

The setting was St Sophia cathedral in the old heart of the Ukrainian capital. Built in the 11th century, the building predates Moscow and is a symbol of Ukraine's ancient statehood. In a speech in front of other western leaders, Burnham compared Ukraine's fight to that waged by Britain during the darkest days of the second world war. "My nation kept the flame of European freedom alive in the 20th century, you hold that flame in the 21st," he declared.

Like other high-profile visitors, Burnham arrived with a gift. Since 2023, the UK and France have been providing Kyiv with long-range Storm Shadow or Scalp (as the French version is known) cruise missiles, used to knock out Russian naval ships and command centres. It was now time to hand over British blueprints for key components, Burnham said, so Ukraine could eventually make its own version of the missiles.

More Storm Shadows could go some way to dealing with Ukraine's biggest problem - the wave of ballistic missiles fired by Russia that rain down on Kyiv and other

▲ Fighting remains fierce in the frontline town of Druzhkivka

cities most nights. As of now, Ukraine has run out of US-made Patriot interceptors capable of shooting them down. The Trump administration is disinclined to provide more.

The British cruise missiles carry a larger payload than the long-range drones favoured by Kyiv. They could be used to destroy enemy ballistic missile launch systems, which are dotted around sites in western Russia. Depending on their range, they could also disable military runways and aerodromes.

But nobody expects production to start soon. In the meantime, the Kremlin has responded with characteristic belligerence. Vladimir Putin's press spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow would destroy any Ukrainian Storm Shadow factories, and accused London of taking part in the war and adding “fuel to the fire” though it is France that will help with building them.

Last week, Russia threatened “consequences” over the supply of British drones to Kyiv and withdrew its ambassador from London. It is unclear how Putin may escalate further. He has already sent assassins to poison

Russian dissidents on UK territory, including the murder in 2006 of Alexander Litvinenko.

Burnham appears unmoved by what he dubbed “outrageous” Russian threats, an encouraging sign for Kyiv. On Monday he pointed out that it was Putin who “started the fire” with his illegal and unprovoked invasion, and assured Zelenskyy of his “personal commitment” to Kyiv’s cause.

Ukraine has warmly welcomed the Storm Shadow initiative. Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said he hoped manufacture could begin in “months, not years”. “We have proved many times we can do impossible things in producing weaponry,” Merezhko said, adding that the missile “strengthened” Kyiv’s position in its negotiations with Moscow.

Of Burnham's visit, he said: "For us, it's hugely symbolic and important. It illustrates that for the UK, Ukraine remains a top priority. You are an important bridge and have rectified the situation whenever we have a crisis in our relations with the US. Your king is a valuable diplomatic tool and puts in a good word for us with Trump."

The trip also signals to allies that the UK will continue to play a leading role in the coalition of the willing after the departure of Keir Starmer. Co-hosting a coalition meeting for the first time, Burnham said Europe would do everything it could to source more Patriot interceptors for Ukraine.

Burnham's speech made clear he regards Ukraine's struggle as Britain's too - at a time when the US has in effect given up on its attempts to broker peace and halted direct military aid. “Ukraine has been Europe’s protector, not a drain on our security but the frontline in keeping Europe safe,” he added. “The Ukrainian people deserve not just our continued support but our gratitude and respect.”

Ukrainian leaders and soldiers are grateful for British diplomatic and moral support, though they know that London's military power is limited. Storm Shadow is deemed to have been one of the UK's most useful contributions but stockpiles were modest. Ukraine's focus has been on developing its own long-range drones and cruise missiles, such as Fire Point's Flamingo, which have been used to strike refineries and warehouses deep inside Russia. The goal is to attack Russia with 1,000 drones and some missiles daily this year.

▲ Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leads a ceremony to mark the 35th anniversary of his country’s independence PHOTOGRAPH: SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA

The deal Burnham has agreed with Zelenskyy is an important renewal of goodwill. At some point, Zelenskyy will probably need the help of European allies whenever the White House re-engages with the peace process. Burnham may become an important interlocutor with Trump, and today's trip is from Ukraine's perspective an encouraging start.

Betrayal by Luke Harding (Guardian Faber, £20) is published on Thursday. To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

$\nabla$ Ukraine's Avengers AI lab has a vast trove of battlefield data that will be opened up to private companies
PHOTOGRAPH: PATCHARIN SAENLAKO

Defence pact UK sites to be shielded by AI trained in battle

Jessica Elgot Aisha Down

AI models trained on Ukrainian battlefield data will be used to stop protesters and foreign states targeting UK defence sites, railways and energy plants under a deal struck between Downing Street and Kyiv.

Private companies will also be given access to the vast trove of data from Ukraine's Avengers AI lab to help build new systems, the first agreement of its kind in the UK.

The scheme will be piloted at a UK defence site, building a model to identify protesters or a hostile-state attack. It uses AI-optimised sensors in buried fibre-optic cables to detect different kinds of movement.

The government has suggested the technology, if proven workable, could be used at airports, prisons, railways and energy infrastructure.

The proscription of the activist group Palestine Action was sparked after the group breached RAF Brize Norton on scooters last June, a highly embarrassing security lapse as a result of which the group was able to deface two military aircraft with spray paint before escaping the site without being detained.

Palestine Action said at the time that it had targeted RAF Voyager aircraft used for transport and refueling, and “activists have interrupted Britain’s direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East”.

Private companies will be able to access the data once approved by the Ministry of Defence on a secure platform, though the data sharing is likely to raise some alarm among privacy campaigners.

Pilot projects have already been approved with three British AI companies - Sintela, Mind Foundry and Skyral. Sintela, a Bristol based company that specialises in fibre-optic sensors, recently struck a \$35m (£25.7m) deal with Donald Trump's government to provide the US with surveillance on the Mexican border.

The partnership with the Ukrainian AI lab means new UK security systems can be trained on operational drone datasets, strike mission footage and flight profiles, likely to include Russian sabotage attempts against critical Ukrainian infrastructure.

The cache of four years' worth of military data contains a far deeper picture than models outside Ukraine have previously been trained on, which has previously been mostly restricted to open source data.

The government eventually hopes to use the AI models to predict when infrastructure such as railways or the power grid might be coming under threat or stress from hostile actors. Security systems could be trained in pattern recognition to identify early when a site - such as a military base or factory - may be coming under threat.

That would primarily come from the laying of fibre-optic cables that can identify unique movements of people or vehicles around some sensitive sites. MoD sources said that would specifically include when a site might be targeted by protesters - not just hostile states.

Andy Burnham said it would be an opportunity for British companies to combine their AI expertise with Ukraine's battlefield data. The prime minister said it would “accelerate the development of capabilities that not only strengthen our national security but better protect our critical infrastructure and growth in every postcode here at home”.

Other potential projects could include new AI chips to power drones, robotics and automated weapons systems.

Steven Murdoch, a professor of computer science at University College London, said that technologies to detect movement from sensors in fibre-optic cables have been around for decades and it was unclear if data from Ukraine would refine their capabilities. “I haven’t heard anything that is very convincing, but there is a plausible scenario where they could see something that could be predicted easily and isn’t in any publicly known dataset,” he said.

However, Ukraine has a lot of other data that may be valuable, especially around new threats that countries in western Europe, for example, might face in the short to medium term.

“What’s valuable is something we’re seeing today which other countries will be worrying about in the future,” Murdoch added. “Anything to do with drones, for example.”

Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, said that Ukraine was “pushing the frontier of defence innovation”.

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National

An officer leaves flowers at the Cleveland police HQ memorial garden in Middlesbrough PHOTOGRAPH: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

Police arrest 12 after crash that killed seven people

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Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle. All five men who were in the second car, aged between 17 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said some of those arrested as part of the A66 investigation, whose ages range from 19 to 61, were suspected of various offences.

Four people were arrested on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group and four on suspicion of possessing a firearm, while four of the suspects are also accused of possessing class A and B drugs with intent to supply.

Police said the five men killed in the crash may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”, adding that four of those killed in the car that hit the police vehicle had previous convictions.

The fatal crash sparked a wave of concern about a social media trend for posting videos of dangerous, high-speed driving, which yesterday the prime minister, Andy Burnham, called “truly reprehensible”.

Cleveland police said there was currently “no evidence that filming of the activities on Friday night and Saturday morning was for the purposes of TikTok”, but Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, sought assurances from the tech companies and from the online communications regulator, Ofcom, “that this content is being proactively sought and removed”.

The Guardian yesterday found a video on YouTube that had been seen 2.5m times showing a Honda being driven at a dangerous speed through a council estate and then down a narrow road. Google, which owns YouTube, terminated the account after being asked for comment.

The arrests have come as part of a “wide-scale investigation into the criminality which took place” in the hours leading up to the crash, which has involved the help of officers and staff from Durham, Northumbria and North Yorkshire police forces.

As part of the investigation a Volvo XC60, believed to be associated with the activities of the passengers of the VW Passat, had been identified and recovered, police said.

Assistant chief constable Wayne Fox said Cleveland police had engaged in “a fast-moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity” and claimed the “events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect”.

He said: “We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice. Our robust response will continue in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to tackle those that seek to cause harm to our communities and tackle serious and organised crime.

“Officers and staff across Cleveland have shown incredible resilience in continuing their work in the face of

'Officers and staff across Cleveland have shown incredible resilience in their work in the face of tragedy'

Wayne Fox Assistant chief constable tragedy. Two of their colleagues lost their lives while serving the people of Cleveland and, while the impact will be felt by our people for a long time to come, they have continued to act with the utmost professionalism.”

Cleveland police played down links between the crash and a reported increase in videos depicting dangerous driving being posted online.

While the collision remains under investigation by both the force and the Independent Office for Police Conduct, a spokesperson for Cleveland police said there was “no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning has taken place for the purposes of TikTok”.

The statement came after the government said Ofcom would be given its “full backing to take tough action” against social media platforms that fail to remove videos that depict dangerous driving.

At least one of those killed in Saturday's crash had previously posted reckless driving footage online.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Kyiv, Burnham said that “anybody who glorifies dangerous driving is doing something that’s truly reprehensible”.

Earlier the defence minister, Luke Pollard, said he wanted to see social media companies “step up”.

“I think we all need to give the police time,” he said, “but there’s also things we can be doing in the meantime to make sure that the internet is a safer place for everyone, that doesn’t celebrate and load views and therefore financial incentives on people to generate such awful content.”

Earlier this month, five young men were killed in Ireland and four other people were injured after the car the men were travelling in was driven the wrong way down the M9 motorway.

Analysis Robert Booth

Speeding for online glory: the internet subculture where young men drive dangerously for likes

T he hashtags tell the story of the potentially lethal social media subculture where young men film themselves hurtling

down busy roads: #speedhunters, #needforspeed, #racing.

The fast-driving internet trend on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube is fed by footage shot from a driver's perspective of cars going “#fullsend” - the jargon for roaring down dual carriageways - and “#gapping” or “#swimming” - weaving dangerously through packed traffic. They attract thousands, sometimes millions, of views and were described by Andy Burnham yesterday as “truly reprehensible”.

The prime minister spoke out after seven deaths on Saturday - of two police officers, and five young men aged 17 to 23 - when the young men drove the wrong way down the A66 in Teesside after a police chase.

It has been reported that one of the young men killed in the car previously posted fast driving clips. Cleveland police said there was currently “no evidence that filming of the activities on Friday night and Saturday morning was for the purposes of TikTok”.

Last week a similar incident shocked Ireland when five teenagers - some of whom had previously posted videos of reckless driving - were killed when their car travelling in the wrong direction on the M9 crashed into another vehicle. The Irish police said: “In some cases it is being done for social media likes.”

Several factors are behind this trend, experts say. Young men have long been sensation seekers with a tendency to push limits, according to Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics.

Social media now extends the momentary thrill of speed with the promise of “clout” and “glory”. It is a case, Livingstone said, of “putting their foot down in the offline world knowing it wins them points in the online world”. If views rise high enough, there is also the prospect of cash rewards from some of the social media companies.

"There is a lot of research on how the online world of fame and visibility is increasingly significant for boys and young men in a context in which they don't have a lot of other ways of affirmation," said Livingstone, who called the incidents "absolutely horrifying".

"We might ask how else boys and young men get a moment of affirmation," she said. "Many young people are feeling depressed and hopeless about the future."

The reach of the most popular accounts can be huge. Joseph Ondrak, director at Peryton Intelligence, a company that monitors harmful online subcultures, identified a user called Squeeze Benz with more than 1 million followers on TikTok and Instagram and another called wheres981 with 457,000 YouTube followers. Their clips “show some incredibly dangerous driving” and have been “key in popularising the squeezing/swimming/gapping trend”, said Ondrak, who added that “infamy and subcultural influence” appeared to be greater driving forces than monetisation.

The government reaction has been to demand that the big tech platforms remove posts of dangerous driving. A spokesperson said Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, was seeking assurances from the tech companies and from the online communications regulator Ofcom “that this content is being proactively sought and removed in line with their legal obligations”.

Ofcom last month launched a separate investigation into TikTok amid concerns about children being exposed to harmful content. Dangerous driving is not obviously among the categories of illegal content listed in the 2003 Online Safety Act. However, it could be considered harmful to children under the category of content promoting dangerous challenges. If so, the law requires platforms to protect children – but not anyone 18 or over – from seeing it.

TikTok said it removes videos and accounts that break its rules including content that depicts activities likely to be imitated and that could cause significant physical harm. Yet clips of dangerous driving were not hard to find yesterday.

One TikTok user, CrazyGappers, showed a driver hurtling down the M25 towards Dartford in a clip titled “Serious driving #driving #gapped #racing”. On YouTube, 2.5 million people have watched a clip of a Honda being driven at breakneck speed through a council estate and then down a narrow country road.

After the Guardian highlighted it, Google, which runs YouTube, removed the channel showing the speeding Honda. "We don't allow content featuring harmful or dangerous activities that risk serious physical harm on YouTube," a spokesperson said.

National

Women who miss cervical screening to be offered HPV home-testing kits

Andrew Gregory Health editor

Millions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.

The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date.

The rollout offers a “discreet and convenient option” to encourage more women to get screened.

The kits contain a swab to collect a sample from the vagina. This is then posted back to the NHS for free, where it is tested in labs for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV).

If high-risk HPV is detected, patients will then be asked to attend a cervical screening appointment with a clinician.

HPV is a group of viruses that can be passed on through sexual contact 'This is the future NHS - there when we need it to stop preventable deaths'

Yvette Cooper Health secretary

and cause no symptoms. About 13 high-risk types of the virus are known to cause 99.7% of cervical cancers.

Starting today, eligible women between 30 and 65 who have not attended screening appointments will be sent invitations via the NHS app, text message, email or letter.

They will then be able to order a kit through the app or website. The scheme is part of the NHS's target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040.

Dr Sue Mann, national clinical director for women's health at NHS England, said: "Screening saves thousands of lives each year by preventing cancers and catching them earlier, but only around two-thirds of women are attending cervical screening appointments when invited by the NHS. Offering millions of women an alternative test they can do from the comfort of their own homes will be a gamechanger - making it easier than ever for them to get tested for HPV."

Women aged between 24 and 64 are invited for cervical screening every five years, or more often if HPV is detected.

The latest figures from NHS England show 68.8% of eligible women are up to date with cervical screening, below the 80% target. It means about 4 million women are not up to date, according to NHS estimates.

"There are lots of reasons that may stop women from getting their cervical screening - embarrassment, lack of time, or worries about discomfort - and these kits provide a discreet and convenient option we hope will encourage more women to take up the life-saving test," said Mann.

“So, if you’re invited to take part, please order a test - it’s a simple swab you can do at home in minutes.”

Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, said the aim was to make it as easy and convenient as possible for women to keep up their screening. She said: "This is the future NHS we are building - there for all of us when we need it, and acting as early as possible to stop preventable deaths."

Venice premiere for Guardian film on Israel's bombing of Gaza

Andrew Pulver

A new documentary about Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza, directed by the Oscar-winning directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, is to receive its world premiere at the Venice film festival.

The film, called NAZA, has been produced with Jim Wilson and executive produced by Jonathan Glazer, the team behind The Zone of Interest, and is the only documentary that will compete this year for Venice's prestigious Golden Lion.

Abraham and Szor are the two Israeli directors of the four behind No Other Land, which won the Oscar for best documentary in 2025.

Announcing the news, the filmmakers said: “Shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, the film reveals in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

The Guardian added in a statement that NAZA is an Israeli military acronym used euphemistically by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians that it expects will be killed in an airstrike.

The documentary builds on original investigative reporting between 2023 and 2025 by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and the Guardian.

No Other Land, which was directed by Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal alongside Abraham and Szor, was described as a “sombre, sobering work” by the Guardian’s chief film critic, Peter Bradshaw.

Shortly after No Other Land's Oscar win, Ballal was attacked by Israeli settlers and briefly arrested, following which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologised after failing to name Ballal or the film in a statement of support.

▲ Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham directed the documentary, NAZA

The Guardian University Guide 2027

Who will be top of the university league table this year? Find the full results and all subject rankings, plus tips on student life, in the Guardian University Guide 2027. Free with the Guardian on Saturday 12 September

National

V&A rocking a bohemian trail to mark legacy of Queen star

Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

Eight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen's debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer's 80th birthday.

Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury's former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury's career from the 1970s to his final years.

Among them is a monochrome ensemble worn for an early Queen gig at Imperial College and pictured on the cover of the band's eponymous debut album. Also on display will be the “Mercury Wing” catsuit, designed by Wendy de Smet and worn during the A Night at the Opera tour in 1975-76, as well as in the groundbreaking Bohemian Rhapsody video.

Mercury's crown and cloak, designed by Diana Moseley and worn during Queen's 1986 Magic Tour, will also feature. He wore the outfit for the band's final live performance at Knebworth that year. The display will also include a costume from the Made in Heaven music video, as well as accessories and items from his personal wardrobe.

The trail takes its name from a

▶ Freddie Mercury in his 1985 Made in Heaven music video and, below right, wearing a crown on tour in 1986. The singer was famous for many glamorous and outrageous stage costumes throughout his career with Queen

PHOTOGRAPHS: SIMON FOWLER; DENIS O'REGAN

remark Mercury made in 1978: “I like to be surrounded by splendid things. I want to lead a Victorian life surrounded by exquisite clutter.”

Austin first met Mercury when she was 19 and he was 24, while they were both working around Kensington's Biba fashion scene. Mercury, born as Farrokh Bulsara on 5 September 1946 in Zanzibar, was selling his artwork and vintage clothes from a stall in Kensington Market. They became engaged on Christmas Day 1973, the year Queen released their debut album.

Their relationship ended in the mid-1970s, but they remained close for the rest of Mercury's life. When he died in 1991, he left Austin his Kensington home, Garden Lodge, and his possessions.

Austin has described Mercury's clothes as central to the image he created. "The clothes were part of that exploration," she said in A Life in Lyrics, due to be published in September.

Austin said the clothes and costumes to be displayed “tell a hugely important part” of Mercury’s story: “Never mere accoutrements, his costumes and clothes were essential to his performances, creative vision, and wider self-expression, carefully designed to create a lasting visual and emotional impact.”

Caffeine levels in coffee sold by high street 'varies wildly'

Press Association

Coffee drinkers may not be getting the amount caffeine they expect in their drinks, with levels varying “wildly” between popular high street chains, a new study shows.

The latest research from Which? analysed caffeine content in an array of drinks sold by chains Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Pret a Manger and Starbucks.

It found that a medium cappuccino from Costa contains 325mg - almost three-and-a-half times as much as the same drink at Starbucks, at 89mg.

The caffeine content in Costa's cappuccino is the equivalent of about four cans of Red Bull, Which? found.

The second and third highest cap-puccino caffeine levels were found at Greggs and Caffe Nero, at 235mg and 221mg respectively.

Costa's espresso shot contains 100mg of caffeine per serving, and its flat white has 241mg.

In contrast, Starbucks has 45g of caffeine per serving in its espresso shot, and 89mg in its flat white.

Which? said customers should “pay attention” to the differences in caffeine levels across high street retailers, particularly for those who restrict their intake for health reasons.

Jessica Carson, its health and well-being expert, said: “For many of us, there is nothing quite like a strong cup of coffee to start the day, but Which? found even matcha enthusiasts could be consuming more caffeine than intended. Our research shows caffeine content varies wildly from chain to chain.”

A spokesperson for Costa said: "We're committed to helping customers make informed choices and caffeine and nutritional information is available across our menu and online."

Man arrested after fire rips through Gatwick car park

Harry Cockburn

A 67-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a major fire tore through a car park used by people flying from Gatwick, destroying around 140 vehicles.

The blaze erupted just after 9pm on Saturday at Caldyne Business Park near Crawley, about eight miles from the airport, with images showing vehicles on fire and enormous plumes of smoke rising close to overhead power lines.

As well as causing misery for those returning from summer holidays, the fire caused power outages for over 2,000 businesses and homes nearby.

Emergency services described the incident as a “significant and complex” operation, with eight fire engines and water carriers deployed to bring the fire under control.

UK Power Networks, which operates the electricity network across the south east, had to isolate an overhead power cable while crews worked below.

A spokesperson for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said: "Approximately 140 vehicles were damaged, and a number of the vehicles were parked at a site used for holiday parking."

Sussex police said the 67-year-old man arrested on suspicion of arson had been bailed pending further enquiries.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “We are advising any passengers who are concerned that their vehicle might have been affected to contact their parking operator directly. The parking company is not endorsed or operated by London Gatwick.”

The aftermath of the car park fire near Gatwick airport on Saturday evening PHOTOGRAPH: EDDIE MITCHELL

National Care leavers

Profound isolation was factor in deaths of 112 care leavers, report finds

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the general population and that suicide rates among female care leavers was potentially 15 times higher.

In total, 36% of the care leavers probably died by taking their own lives, including 24 women. One fifth of all deaths were recorded at age 18, which the review said highlighted the “immense drop-off in support services” when care leavers reach adulthood.

John-Baptiste, who grew up in the care system, said the review was the “most emotional and triggering piece of work I’ve ever had to do”.

He added: “I remember being in a meeting at 17 where my foster parents said: ‘If we’re not getting paid, we don’t want to look after him.’ Why do services change when children reach 18 and should they have to change? I think there is certainly a case for a nought-to-25 service. If 112 deaths doesn’t compel us to try and reform things quickly, there’s a big problem in our society.”

Among the deaths examined included care leavers in custody, mothers whose children had been removed, people undergoing gender transition, young asylum seekers, murder victims and people who died from medical conditions. One case was that of David (not his real name) who died in the summer of 2025 from a lack of insulin after he lost access to the children's diabetes nurse who had been helping him keep track of his condition since he entered the care system at 14.

The care leavers' hub where he socialised was closed for refurbishment and his personal adviser (PA) was on leave. After his death, his body was not found for two weeks.

The review found that when he turned 19, many of the connections he had made “fell away and he was left on his own”.

Young people leaving care are assigned a PA to help them transition into independent adulthood up to the age of 21. But the review found many of these PAs “hardly knew” the young people they were working with and saw them only every two months. It said many were untrained, “ill equipped” and “avoided the emotional side of the transition”.

It called for a “major national review of the knowledge and skills" of the workforce tasked with monitoring care leavers, including better mental health expertise.

The review found that young people were often attracted to the “lure of living alone and being free of constraints” but were unprepared for the significant drop-off in the level of support they received.

In response to the review, the government said it was investing £25m in connected housing options for care leavers, which would include

112

Number of deaths of care leavers aged 18-25 in England in 2025 that were looked at in the study

20%

Proportion of deaths in the study at age 18, highlighting the huge drop-off in support on leaving the system supported housing and shared housing for groups of care-experienced people.

MacAlister said this was part of the government's strategy to make "loving, trusted relationships around care-experienced people the central focus of the care system".

Since December 2023, local authorities must report the deaths of care leavers through a serious incident notification system. MacAlister said describing “the same thing happening over and over again” compelled him to commission the review.

He added that it should not just be a call to action for the government and the social care sector. “We need more foster carers, we need mentors for care leavers, we need neighbours to show an interest in a young care-experienced person who might have got their first tenancy and to extend the hand of friendship,” he said.

"This is about connections and relationships, and you can't pay people to do that - it has to be grown organically and nurtured over time."

Falling off the 'care cliff' Tragedy of young lives lost when vital connections end at 18

Jessica Murray

David* spent most of his childhood in and out of care after experiencing abuse and neglect, and spent his teenage

years in a children's home, where a nurse helped him keep track of his type 1 diabetes.

But as he approached 18, things changed - he was moved into supported accommodation on his own, and then, at 19 years old, his diabetes nurse stopped working with him because of his age.

He lost a lot of connections, including a personal adviser who moved out the area, and the monitoring of his insulin levels declined. David loved swimming and ice skating, qualified as a lifeguard and spent lots of time in a local care leavers hub where he enjoyed chatting to other young people. Then, in the summer of 2025, the hub closed for three weeks and his new personal adviser went on leave. It was during this time that David died from a lack of insulin. His body wasn't discovered for two weeks.

David's death is one of a number examined in a landmark review into the deaths of more than 100 care leavers aged 18-24 in 2025 - its findings suggest the death rate among this cohort is three to four times higher than in the general population.

One in five of these deaths occurred at age 18, with experts saying a “care cliff” means young people experience an “immense drop-off in support” as they transition to being an adult.

"It is notable that there was no one in David's life who was connected enough to notice his absence [when he died] and, in the end, it was neighbours who alerted the police," the review said. "Those who knew David talked about him fondly, and he clearly made connections with a number of them in children's services.

“They said that when he turned 19, all those connections fell away and he was left on his own.”

The children's minister, Josh MacAlister, said: "In all of these stories, one person could have been the difference. A young man who wasn't getting the support with his diabetes medication

should never have died. If he had his own people, his own tribe, that wouldn't have happened."

There were similar failings in the case of Michael* who suffered “trauma, rejection and hardship” throughout his childhood, including sexual abuse, and he was placed into care at six years old.

He built a solid relationship with a foster carer, but when she became unwell and could no longer care for him, he went through more than 10 foster placements before he turned 18.

When he was moved into semi-independent accommodation outside his local area, he was

▲ Young care leavers experience a loss of vital support, with death rates four to five times higher than average PHOTOGRAPH: MASKOT/GETTY IMAGES

'A young man who wasn't getting the support with his diabetes medication shouldn't have died'

Josh MacAlister Children's minister frequently reported as missing and started taking drugs. Social workers had long raised concerns about his vulnerability amid fears he could be exploited.

After several skirmishes with police, Michael was sent to an adult prison aged 18. He was reported as being very agitated, and was segregated after getting into a fight with his cell mate.

After being deemed “medically unfit” for segregation he was moved back into the main prison wing and was found dead in his cell after taking his own life, just two weeks after he first walked through the prison doors.

Of the 112 care leavers who died in 2025, six were in prison and died as a result of a drug overdose or suicide. Ministry of Justice officials report that care leavers are disproportionately more likely to self-harm in prison.

Another risk factor highlighted in the review was that of care-experienced women who had their own children removed – six of the deaths recorded were young women taking their lives in these circumstances.

Janey*, who came into care at 15 after being rejected by her mother, thrived under in the home of her foster family until the age of 18. After leaving home, she ended up in a volatile relationship and intermittently taking drugs, leading to her three children being taken into care.

She took her own life soon after, aged 23, leaving a letter for each of her children to read as adults, saying how sorry she was and how she missed cuddling them.

Staff involved with Janey said if there was a more formal role for her foster carer in her adult life, or if she had been supported to rebuild her relationship with her sister, things could have turned out differently. *Ngmea have been changed

*Names have been changed

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123

Harry quits board of African wildlife charity after rangers' human rights abuses

Caroline Davies

The Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of an African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.

Prince Harry's spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo.

The charity's admission followed an independent review into allegations made by members of the Baka community.

In a 2024 report published by the Mail on Sunday, community members accused African Parks rangers of beating, waterboarding and raping local people to stop them accessing their ancestral forests, which are now in a conservation area.

After the review, African Parks published a statement acknowledging that rights abuses occurred in the Odzala-Kokoua national park, which it manages. It said it had improved its safeguarding processes both at the park and institutionally.

A spokesperson for Harry said the duke, who was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023, remains an active and strong supporter of African Parks.

"The duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board," the spokesperson said.

'The duke remains a strong supporter of African Parks' work'

Statement from the organisation

“His commitment to conservation in Africa continues, and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission.”

Survival International, a global human rights charity that campaigns for the rights of Indigenous people, had called on Harry to step down as a member of the board.

Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, said it was “outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks” while people working for it had “been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people. His departure doesn’t undo that record: African Parks must now be held accountable and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good.”

Founded in 2000, African Parks manages more than 20m hectares (50m acres) in partnership with 13 governments and hundreds of local communities.

African Parks expressed “deep gratitude” to the duke. “His relationship with the organisation dates back to Malawi in July 2016, when he supported one of the largest elephant translocations in history. He served as president for six years before being appointed a member of the board of directors,” it said.

“Over the years, the duke has brought global attention to the urgent need for biodiversity protection for the benefit of people and wildlife, and has contributed greatly to promoting philanthropy for the cause of conservation in Africa.

"The duke remains deeply committed to this cause, and remains a strong supporter of African Parks' work."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to relocate to the UK from California with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. The couple are understood to be planning an “extended stay” in the UK, and their children are already enrolled in school.

'Really tricky' vaccine drive begins in Australia to protect little penguins from bird flu

Petra Stock

More than 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Australia, in what is believed to be the world's largest vaccination programme involving wild birds.

Catherine Basterfield, the chief executive of Phillip Island Nature Parks in Victoria, said vaccinations began early last week and were ramping up. “This is the first time anyone around the world has attempted something like this at this scale,” she said. “It is really tricky and penguins are difficult to handle, but we have very well-trained people.

About 5,000 birds across Phillip Island and St Kilda would receive two doses of the H5N1 vaccine, an effort that was possible only because penguins returned to the same burrows each night.

"Everybody loves little penguins,"

▲ Phillip Island’s ‘penguin parade’ draws about 700,000 tourists a year

said the state's environment minister, Jaclyn Symes. “They’re an iconic little creature, they’re adorable, but they have a significant economic value to this region and to the state of Victoria.”

Little penguins are the world's smallest species of penguin - about 30cm (1ft) in height - and found only in southern Australia and New Zealand. The birds, which are not listed as threatened under federal environment laws, are considered at “very high risk” from the deadly bird flu, according to a national risk assessment. The population on Phillip Island is about 40,000 birds. The island’s “penguin parade” is a major tourist attraction, drawing about 700,000 visitors each year and contributing about \$500m (£262m) to the state’s economy.

Victoria's chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said vaccines were not a “silver bullet” and would not be suitable for many of the other wild species at risk from the virus.

"In the case of little penguins, we know that they are at risk from H5. They're a colonial species that nest together. They are a seabird that will come in contact with other seabirds that carry the virus. And we also know that they're an iconic species that have high value to Victorians."

Dr John Cockrem, an emeritus professor at Massey University in New Zealand, who researches little penguins, said H5 bird flu was an added threat to the species, which were already affected by severe storms, sea level rise and changes in food availability due to the climate crisis. "So avian flu, then, is a threat that has arisen and comes on top of other threats that the little penguins are facing, and will increasingly face in coming years."

Race Across the World star dies of cancer a year after son's death

Kevin Rawlinson

Tributes have been paid to the Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner, who has died a year after her son and co-star Sam was killed in a car crash.

The physiotherapist from Manchester died after “a long and courageous battle with cancer”, relatives said. She was 61 and is survived by her other son, Charlie. She and Sam competed in the second series of the BBC's global travel competition, journeying across South America together in 2020.

Relatives remembered her as “an intrepid adventurer” who was “brave, kind, witty and endlessly loving”. Her family said: “She had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive. She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves. She was blessed with countless friends, drawn to her extraordinary magnetism. Each one felt as though they were among her very best.

"To us, she was more than all of these things. She was our family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure. We know how deeply Jo was loved, and we take comfort in knowing that her laughter, her courage, her kindness and her wonderfully outrageous spirit will live on in the many people whose lives she touched."

The family asked that those who knew and loved her “do exactly what she would have wanted: tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full”.

Sam Gardiner died in June 2025 at the age of 24 after his car came off the road, rolled and landed on its side.

The mother and son competed on Race Across the World because Jo wanted to have a travel adventure with Sam, who had ADHD. They competed against four other pairs of contestants racing from Mexico City down to Ushuaia in Argentina.

▲ Jo Gardiner teamed up with her son Sam for Race Across the World

A spokesperson for the programme said: “On behalf of the Studio Lambert production team, the BBC and the whole Race Across the World cast, we offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo’s son Charlie and her wider family and friends. Millions of people remembered their transformative journey across Latin America in 2020 and we hold that memory in our hearts.”

Jo Gardiner had type 1 diabetes and was an ambassador for Diabetes UK. Her family has set up a JustGiving page to support the charity.

National

Festival review Energetic lineup offers plenty of wild surprises

Green Man 2026 Bannau Brycheiniog ★★★★★

Olive Pometsey

Driving towards the Green Man festival feels a little apocalyptic this year. Charred peat and grassland smoulder

on the hillsides, the remnants of one of 20 wildfires that blazed through south and west Wales the previous week. The dry conditions pose a problem: the traditional closing ceremony, during which a towering effigy of the titular Green Man adorned with punters' handwritten wishes is set alight, will have to be cancelled. Then the heavens open.

Manchester's Westside Cowboy pack out the main stage on Friday, thousands of soggy cagoules bobbing along to the band's ramshackle blend of British indie and Americana. "We were over there last year," says vocalist Jimmy Bradbury, gesturing to the smaller Rising stage. They're clearly over the moon - and it's infectious. To close the set, the band gather round one mic for a rallying performance of In the Morning.

That energy charges through the rest of the day, even as the rain clears up. With his exhilarating blend of highlife, funk and electro, Ghanaian singer Ata Kak bounds across the stage with enough zeal to fuel a small army. London post-punks Shame incite endless moshpits with their rowdy, self-deprecating swagger and calls to “free Palestine”. Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw gives a typically off-kilter performance of her spoken-▼ Wolf Alice headline the main stage on Sunday. Below, Florence Shaw of enigmatic indie band Dry Cleaning MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: PATRICK GUNNING

word indie. Over in the Far Out tent, Karla Chubb of Sprints plucks a teenager from the crowd to take her guitar during final song, Little Fix, freeing her up to crowdsurf.

The surprises keep coming. Malian rock band Tamikrest supply the psychedelic desert blues and Gambian party-starter Suntou Susso orchestrates a giant conga line. Producer Daniel Avery's set is unexpected in a different way: all headbanging metal guitars and live drum'n' bass beats, briefly punctuated by the pulsating techno he's better known for. Anyone left

Clad head-to-toe in leather, Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell commands the stage

slightly disappointed gets their fill at Four Tet's headline slot, which crescendoes from ambient techno into body-rattling bass.

Green Man's lineup is hardly built around old-school star power. Still, buzzy New York electro duo Fcukers and Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell make a strong case for it, the latter during the weekend's final headline set. Clad in head-to-toe leather, Rowsell commands the stage with powerhouse vocals. After that the replacement for the burning ceremony can't help but feel anticlimactic: Scotland's Pictish Trail lead an acoustic performance of the Waterboys' The Whole of the Moon, accompanied by aerial acrobats.

Thankfully, a secret closing set brings together Fcukers, Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, Another Country \$\$\$\$ and others for back-to-back DJ sets with crowd-pleasing Madonna remixes. It offers a euphoric finale.

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West Sussex sunrise A glorious dawn yesterday at Arundel Castle, which has been home to many generations of the Dukes of Norfolk. The site was established by Roger de Montgomery in the late 11th century.

PHOTOGRAPH: CHRIS GORMAN/BIG LADDER

Woman stranded in Spain after eVisa error mistakes her for twin

Kevin Rawlinson

A woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office's post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister.

Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a “known issue” with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government’s drive to digitise the UK’s immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people.

Politico reported that Webb, who has lived in the UK for eight years, was told at the departure gate that she would not be able to board her flight home.

"My digital settled status had become linked to my identical twin sister's details rather than my own, meaning my status could not be properly matched to my identity," she said. "I was informed that this is a known technical issue affecting some twins within the Home Office system."

Webb said Home Office staff promised her over the phone the problem would be fixed, though a confirmation email was then sent to her sister instead. “I had no idea the issue had been corrected until I was allowed to board my flight home,” Webb said. “Had I not spent hours on the phone trying to resolve the matter, I have no idea how long I could have remained stranded abroad.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Over 10 million people have

'We regularly see people who are not only denied boarding, but also compensation'

Monique Hawkins Acting CEO, the3million already successfully used eVisas to prove their immigration status. As we expand our digital system, we are committed to data accuracy and ensuring the safeguards in place to support eVisa users are accessible to anyone reliant on the digital system.

“In the rare cases where errors are identified, the majority of cases are resolved within 24 hours.”

The Home Office indicated the problem Webb encountered had since been fixed and that staff would contact her directly.

Concerns have been expressed about the eVisa system. In July 2025, the Guardian reported that up to 200,000 people who had lived in the UK legally for decades were at risk of being caught up in a Windrush-style scandal because the Home Office was unable to get in touch with them to transfer their old immigration documents to the new digital system.

Monique Hawkins, the acting chief executive of the immigration campaign group the3million, said it had seen similar cases before, adding that it highlighted vulnerabilities in the system and it was “crucial that people have a genuinely stable means by which to prove their status”.

She told Politico the eVisa rollout had been “rushed”, adding: “We regularly see people not only denied boarding, but also compensation, as carriers and the Home Office play a blame game shifting responsibility between each other.”

Lowe's income from X looks set to match his MP's salary

Michael Savage Media editor

The leader of Restore Britain is on course to earn as much from his social media presence as he does from his MP's salary, after a surge in income from posts that include demands for the mass deportation of migrants.

Rupert Lowe has earned £932 an hour for his posts on X since January, according to his declarations in the register of MPs' financial interests, reaching £1,476 an hour since the start of June.

Critics claim it is further evidence that X is favouring and incentivising divisive political content, pulling the

Restore UK's Rupert Lowe has earned more than £105,000 since the 2024 general election from posting on X

UK's political discourse to the right. Elon Musk, the site's owner, has repeatedly amplified Lowe's posts.

X's revenue-sharing scheme pays premium subscribers such as Lowe based on the performance of their posts. Lowe's total income from X since the 2024 general election has now surpassed £105,000. He earned more than half of that this year.

Should his average earnings for 2026 so far continue throughout the year, he would earn just over £93,000 - close to an MP's annual salary of £98,599. He could easily exceed that should the higher rate persist.

Ambrose Pym, a researcher covering the far right and technology who analysed Lowe's X earnings, said: "We tend to treat a politician's online reach and their income as two separate stories, but for Rupert Lowe they're part of the same mechanism. The more his content is seen, the more X pays him for it."

Lowe, who founded Restore Britain after leaving Nigel Farage's Reform UK, describes his party's most significant achievement as “dragging mass deportations into mainstream politics”.

Asked about his accelerating X earnings, Lowe said: “If I wanted to make money, I would not be in politics. I donate my entire net MP salary to local charities in my constituency - being a politician is the most expensive job I’ve ever had.”

X was approached for comment.

National

Datacentres Anger in Scotland could challenge UK's AI strategy

Aisha Down Global technology reporter

In a village 21 miles north of Edinburgh, a real estate consultancy plans to build a datacentre larger than the village itself - 35 metres high, with an area larger than 100 football pitches.

Billed as the world's second-largest, the centre in Auchertool, Fife, faces 1,600 objections.

"The public pressure is huge," said David Torrance, a member of the Scottish parliament representing the village. "I've never seen this level of objection to a local plan, and I have been in politics for 25 years."

Similar concerns are being echoed across Scotland, next to planned developments in towns such as Airdrie and Larbert and the growing opposition could pose a challenge to Britain's AI strategy.

"The Scottish government is inching towards a moratorium," said Kat Jones, director of the Edinburgh-based charity Action to Protect Rural Scotland. "MSPs return to parliament next week, after a summer in their constituencies where they have been hearing the concerns of local people about proposed hyperscale datacentres. They will be expecting action."

For months, UK officials have encouraged datacentre developers to consider Scotland. “They are

coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought and the grid is struggling," said Torrance.

But Scotland isn't having it. The proposal for Auchtertool has the 600MW datacentre towering over the village, dwarfing old stone houses and blocking the view of fields and forests.

"How can you possibly ask people to accept that?" Torrance said. "You can see why the public is objecting."

This week, Scotland's minister for public finance issued a new set of directions to regulate datacentres in the country. The first of these requires planning authorities to notify the government when they receive an application for a datacentre larger than 50MW - in other words, anything more than a twelfth of the size of Auchtertool.

The minister has also required that certain datacentres, including Auchtertool, submit an environmental impact assessment. Their developers had previously argued that they were exempt.

In some senses, these are “obvious, bare-minimum” rules, said Jones. They mean that Scotland is starting to closely follow developments that stand to drastically reshape the landscape and resource consumption of the entire country.

The fact that giant datacentres can be built across Britain with little 'They are coming up here because we are energy-rich, and we are water-rich, and England is in drought'

David Torrance MSP for Kirkcaldy (SNP)

strategy and without government knowledge is a feature of an old and idiosyncratic planning regime; no one foresaw that giant tech companies would wish to litter the world with buildings the size of large monuments.

But these restrictions are just the start. The Scottish parliament will return at the end of this month. Three days after the session commences, in early September, campaigners plan a massive demonstration against datacentres in Edinburgh.

Campaigners have been calling for a moratorium on datacentre development, to give the public and authorities time to examine the plans that are in the pipeline. This summer, the national council of the Scottish National party passed a motion to freeze all new datacentre projects that have not received planning permission.

Several weeks ago, Police Scotland warned another datacentre developer that public anger over datacentres could lead to incursions and posed a security risk.

A moratorium on datacentres could soon become policy. At the least, “you’ll see a lot more restrictions - and stronger guidance,” said Torrance.

Datacentre developers have other plans. Data Vita, the company building the UK's AI growth zone in Lanarkshire, has recently been awarded an investment package that includes a £202m guarantee from the National Wealth Fund - although the Guardian has revealed that its plans to power itself do not stand up.

Mark Wilson, chief executive of ILI Group, the company building the datacentre in Auchtertool, spoke to the BBC's Scotcast this week and defended its plans, suggesting that Torrance's constituents were ill-informed.

“I understand how people can think in a rural area,” he said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there. It’s mainly coming from overseas, from America.”

His company was part of a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Scotland to “create long-term economic benefit”, he said, although he conceded that most of the datacentre developments in the planning pipeline in Scotland were unlikely to be built.

“Scotland can be No 1,” he said. “We can become a global hub for datacentres in Scotland.”

Tai chi can help ease physical disorders, study finds

PHOTOGRAPH: BRIAN HICKEY/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Andrew Gregory Health editor

Traditional Chinese exercises such as tai chi can offer wide-ranging benefits for people with musculoskeletal disorders, improving physical function, pain, mental health, sleep quality and bone mineral density, according to the largest review of its kind.

More than 1.7bn people have musculoskeletal conditions worldwide. While prevalence varies by age and diagnosis, people of all ages in every country are affected. The conditions significantly limit mobility and dexterity, leading to early retirement from work, lower levels of wellbeing and reduced ability to participate in society. They are also the leading contributor to disability worldwide, with low back pain being the single leading cause of disability in 160 countries.

There was already evidence indicating the exercises were associated with beneficial health outcomes in people with musculoskeletal disorders, but much of it was fragmented and contained inconsistencies.

The study of pooled data analyses of systematic reviews by researchers

at hospitals and universities in China, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, drew on 92 data syntheses from 1,744 randomised controlled clinical trials. It found “high certainty evidence” for the effectiveness of traditional Chinese exercise - such as tai chi, qigong, baduanjin and yijinjing - for a range of health outcomes for people with musculoskeletal disorders. These included improving movement in knee osteoarthritis, mental health associated with neck pain and knee osteoarthritis, and sleep quality associated with fibromyalgia.

Tai chi, in particular, significantly eased chronic musculoskeletal pain and stiffness in several conditions while increasing bone mineral density in participants with osteopenia or osteoporosis, the research found. Maximum benefits were achieved when people did these exercises for longer than six months, at least three times a week.

The findings suggested traditional Chinese exercises should be included in clinical guidelines and rehabilitation programmes. “[These] ▲ Tai chi was found to offer relief for musculoskeletal disorders and to help mental health and sleep quality

exercises represent a safe, accessible, and cost-effective strategy that can complement conventional therapies, reduce pharmacological reliance, and empower patients in self-management," the researchers concluded.

National

Former world snooker champion found guilty of sexually abusing two children

Press Association

The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993 and 96 and the boy between 2006 and 2010.

A five-day trial at the high court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them. Yesterday, he was found guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards them. In both cases the abuse happened in the Glasgow area.

During the trial, jurors heard from one of Dott's victims, a woman now in her 40s, who told the court Dott had sexually abused her on multiple separate occasions while she was a child. She said the abuse had started with Dott "caressing" her bottom over her clothing while giving her a piggyback.

The woman also described an occasion when she said Dott suggested playing a “guessing game” where she had to guess what he was doing. She told the court she lay down and he exposed himself to her and then began touching her with different parts of his body, including his penis.

The woman told the court that Dott told her not to tell anyone he was sexually abusing her.

The second victim, a man who is now in his late 20s, said he was sexually abused by Dott on multiple occasions, with the snooker player gratification from it", and he was "pleasuring himself" while this was taking place.

The man said that because of his age at the time, he “did not know what was going on”, and it was only later he realised the interaction “wasn’t right”.

The witness also described abuse which took place in a car, where he said Dott would kiss him on the face, head and lips and “push himself up against me”.

Giving evidence, Dott had said there was “absolutely no way” he sexually abused two children. Under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Lindsey Dalziel, Dott denied being attracted to the girl when she was young, calling the idea “disgusting”.

When Dalziel put it to Dott that he touched the first victim and told her what to do, he denied the allegation and called it “lies”.

Speaking about the second victim, Dott said he was “never in my company” and denied all allegations of abuse.

Dott, who won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, was found guilty by a majority verdict. He will be sentenced on 29 September at the high court in Edinburgh. Dott was remanded in custody and his name will be added to the sexual offenders register.

Kirsty Aitken, the NSPCC's assistant director for Scotland, said Dott's victims had lived for many years with the impact of this abuse, "knowing that Dott had not been held accountable and was able to continue with his snooker career.

"He would ... come into the shower and put soap on my body and wash me in the shower," the man told the court. "While he was washing me he would touch me in inappropriate places."

touching him inappropriately, kissing him and performing sexual acts. He told the court a lot of the abuse took place while he was in a shower, when Dott would come in either partly or completely undressed.

“Child sexual abuse can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on a person’s life, and these victims have shown immense courage in coming forward and helping to bring Dott to justice.”

▲ Graeme Dott arriving at the high court in Glasgow during his five-day trial this week and, left, playing snooker in 2013 PHOTOGRAPH: LESLEY MARTIN/REUTERS

She added: “No matter who the perpetrator is, or how many years have passed, it is never too late for those who have experienced abuse to speak out and seek support.”

He said looking back at it now, Dott was “clearly getting sexual

Increase in violence from French police on Channel migrants, report suggests

Diane Taylor

People trying to cross the Channel have reported an increase in violence by French police on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to an NGO.

Utopia 56, which works on beaches from where migrants attempt Channel crossings, says 2,720 people have reported being victims of French police violence this year, compared with 1,954 over the same period last year, when crossings were higher.

The organisation says that due to increased enforcement on French beaches, which the UK helps fund, crossings have become more dangerous and disorganised, putting more lives at risk. So far this year at least 21 people have died trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK.

The NGO's report alleged that the UK and French governments were the “architects of this chaos”. It called for an overhaul of the European asylum system and the opening of safe routes, which it said would stop the boats and neutralise the smugglers.

Under a £660m deal agreed earlier this year between the UK and France, the latter has deployed a riot squad to try to stop the boats. Reports of violence include beatings and use of teargas.

The NGO has documented at least 10 families becoming separated on French beaches as a result of enforcement action. In one case on 27 July, a woman's leg was run over by a French gendarmerie buggy racing across a beach to try to stop a group of migrants.

The briefing, titled “Behind the figures: violent practices, the human cost of repression on the

French coast", has been produced in response to a Home Office announcement about the success of increased enforcement to stop the boats.

Crossings have fallen by more than 40% this year compared with the same period last year and the numbers crossing in July were the lowest recorded for the month since 2020.

The Home Office stated that between 27 April and 2 August, French officers prevented 185 boats and more than 4,300 people from crossing the Channel. It is not known how many of these people later succeeded in making the crossing.

The Utopia 56 report says: “People do not simply vanish after being intercepted, contrary to what one might believe upon reading the British government statement.”

The Home Office said a large amount of equipment had been seized including boats, engines and lifejackets. According to Utopia 56, the seizure of lifejackets does not deter the smugglers but increases the chances that people will drown.

"This is a policy driven by statistics, implemented with a single goal, stopping the boats, without any regard for the suffering it causes," the report said. "These figures may appear to prove that the crackdown is working, but they fail to account for the consequences: women, men and children abandoned on beaches - and, above all, many falling victim to the excesses of the security operation and, consequently, to police violence."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "This government is bearing down on dangerous small boat crossings and restoring control at our border. Joint efforts have seen over 48,000 crossing attempts prevented and 1,100 boats and engines seized since the election.

“We are making progress, with the number of small boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for the month of July since 2020. But we must go further, which is why we have signed a payment-by-results deal with the French to put 40% more boots on the ground on French beaches.”

France's interior ministry was approached for comment.

▲ At least 21 people have died crossing the Channel this year. Thousands more say they were victims of police violence PHOTOGRAPH: SNMS BERCK SUR MER/GETTY

Pistols at lawns Reform to turf out tenants over untidy gardens

Kiran Stacey Policy editor

Social housing tenants will face being evicted if they fail to keep their gardens tidy under a Reform UK government, the party announced yesterday.

Lee Anderson, the party's chair, said that if Reform came to power, it would insist that those in social rented homes would be required to keep their homes decorated and their gardens looked after.

The plan is part of a wider policy that would throw out any foreign national from their existing social home, and prioritise young married couples who were born in Britain for new housing.

Anderson said: “If you go back in time and look what actually happened ... the people that rented council homes had to be married under a Labour, socialist government. They had to look after their property. They had to keep it well maintained. The gardens done and decorated, and they were inspected on a regular basis by officers from the council.”

He added: "What is wrong with expecting people who live in subsidised housing, paid for, subsidised, by the hardworking British taxpayer ... to keep their house to a reasonable standard?"

The policy is part of a promise by Reform to oversee a boom in social housing, whether through council or housing associations.

Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, said it would change the law to ensure certain people would get access to new housing, with British-born working couples with children getting top priority.

Tice and Anderson said that people who were born abroad to British parents who were temporarily overseas would count as British-born. Those born abroad to foreign parents who have lived in the UK as British citizens for almost their entire lives, however, would not.

“We have no problem importing British-born people first,” Anderson said.

Tice, who is divorced and is getting remarried later this year, said his policy was deliberately designed to promote marriage.

Erudio Student Loans

Honoursstudentloans

NOTICE OF CHANGE OF INTEREST RATE FOR 'MORTGAGE-STYLE' (FIXED TERM) STUDENT LOANS.

In line with their obligations under the Consumer Credit Act, Erudio Student Loans, Honours Student Loans and Thesis Servicing give notice that the interest rate on loans made under the Education (Student Loans) Act (1990) will be 4.1% from 1st September 2026 to 31st August 2027. Deferment threshold for mortgage style loans will be £44,311.

Burnham backtracks on plans for social housing

Kiran Stacey Policy editor

Andy Burnham has backtracked on his proposal to rip up the government's housing plans and increase social home building.

Ministers laid out plans yesterday to spend an initial £10bn from the 10-year affordable homes programme on a mix of subsidised housing types in England, in line with the previous government's policy.

Burnham had called for the programme to be spent entirely on social homes, which are more heavily subsidised and therefore more affordable than other types of government-funded housing.

He said when launching his campaign to become MP for Makerfield: “There’s £39bn allocated over a 10-year period ... I’m saying that should be dedicated to council homes. Let’s not be coy any more ... I’m saying council homes because control matters.”

Under the plans announced yesterday, however, £10bn will be spent helping to build 70,000 homes outside London, only about 60% of which will be social-rented houses. The rest will be other types of accommodation such as shared ownership schemes and sheltered housing.

The capital meanwhile will get another £6bn, which will be allocated at a later date.

Ministers said the new investment would help bring the government closer to its promise of building 300,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years. It will be spent by 33 “strategic partners”, who will be guaranteed funding for the next decade to help deliver their plans.

The Guardian has learned that for the first time in the history of the scheme, three of those partners will be local councils, as the government looks to deliver what Burnham has promised will be the “biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war period”.

Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, said: “Growing up on a council estate and raising children as a young working mum, I know first-hand that access to a secure, affordable home can be a lifeline for families up and down the country.

“Guardian readers will know just how important council housing is too. You will know it’s so much more than just a roof over your head - it gives working parents a safe place to raise their family, offers kids the stability needed to thrive in school and wraps a community around those who need it most.

"This once-in-a-generation investment will help rewrite these stories, delivering the genuinely affordable homes our country needs, getting people off waiting lists and helping families put down roots so they can get on in life."

Officials say that another £16bn is yet to be allocated, and that social-rent homes and council houses will be prioritised in future funding rounds.

Sarah Elliott, the chief executive of the charity Shelter, said: “Today’s announcement puts councils back on the pitch in the fight to end homelessness. By giving local authorities some of the funding and support they need to start delivering social homes at scale again ... But there are still underlying obstacles which hold councils back from building. The government must use the autumn budget to finally remove these barriers.”

▲ Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, called affordable homes a ‘lifeline for families’ PHOTOGRAPH: IAN VOGLER/GETTY

National

Survivors of violent offenders question ‘restriction zone’ plans

Steven Morris

Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison without spelling out how they would work.

Campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones, designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families.

Rhianon Bragg, who has become a leading campaigner on domestic violence after she was stalked and held hostage at gunpoint by her ex-partner, said she was concerned that the announcement had come before a working system was ready.

She said: “Victims can’t rely on headlines. I can’t imagine how anxious victims whose offenders may be being released are feeling right now. The announcement leaves critical questions unanswered.”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said at the weekend that restriction zones would be introduced in October in England and Wales and would mean serious sexual and violent offenders could be confined to areas of a few miles. Offenders would be tagged and victims would have a say in deciding the boundaries.

The MoJ said it was the first measure of its kind in the world and was a “more rigorous” version of “exclusion zones”, which ban offenders from specific locations such as a victim’s home or place of work.

Bragg said she and fellow campaigners wanted more detail on which offenders would be included, how zones would be implemented, what would happen if an offender left their zone and whether agencies such as the Probation Service and the police had the capacity to manage the system.

Announcing the scheme, the justice secretary, Alex Norris, said no victim should “fear the shadow of an abuser”.

Bragg said: “Speaking from my own lived experience, if that is to be achieved then restriction zones need to be the other side of the country from the area the victim is in.”

Bragg and fellow campaigners wrote to the government before the parliamentary recess asking for a meeting so that specifics could be discussed, but it has not taken place. She said: "We need more transparency. If 'I can't imagine how anxious victims whose offenders may be being released are feeling right now'

Rhianon Bragg Campaigner

the system's not ready, victims will be put at risk."

The campaigner Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, whose best friend, Joanna Simpson, was killed by Simpson's estranged husband, said: "A headline doesn't help victims one jot. The lack of detail is a huge issue.

"We have been asking them for two months to meet with us to discuss how they are going to implement it and which offenders are going to be eligible.

“Thousands of victims out there today ... are utterly terrified at a visceral level of their offenders coming out of prison and they don’t know if their offender is going to be subject to restriction zones or not.

"It creates more uncertainty for them, more trauma for them. The

MoJ needs to hurry up and engage properly with victims.”

Barkworth-Nanton, who co-founded the Joanna Simpson Foundation, which campaigns on domestic abuse and homicide, agreed the size of the restriction zone was not relevant. “I don’t care whether it’s 2 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles. The important thing is twofold.

"One is, whatever that restriction zone is, probation needs to be confident that they can monitor them. And the second thing is it needs to be far away from the victim. So a 2-mile restriction zone, 5 miles away from the victim's home is hopeless."

Joanna Simpson's mother, Diana Parkes, a leading campaigner for restriction zones, said: "On the whole I'm happy but we want to hear what the total plan is."

Natalie Queiroz, who was repeatedly stabbed by her partner while she was eight months pregnant and is now a victims' advocate in the West Midlands, said: "Restriction zones are a really positive solution and all credit goes to all those who campaigned hard for them.

“However, I’m yet to be convinced of the breadth of their impact in reality. The MoJ have stated that they will be enforced for the most serious violent offenders as well as for serious sexual offenders. Many domestic abuse offenders who still pose a significant risk to their victim will not fall under this definition and hence will not have a restriction zone applied to them.”

The MoJ said further details would be announced and the government would work with victims' groups.

Stage review Charming tale of an unlikely friendship

Goodbye Dandelion Underbelly, Edinburgh ★★★☆☆

Mark Fisher

A n unexpected theme on this year's Edinburgh fringe is assisted dying. It is central to Morna Young's After Party,

about a matriarch who chooses to die after her 80th birthday, and Ben Harrison's adaptation of Andrew O'Hagan's Mayflies, in which a terminally ill man travels to Dignitas. It is here again in this breezey show by siblings Maddie and Marcus Rice.

The semi-fictional tale is about Maddie's befriending of 87-year-old Darcy O'Shea, an artist and piano teacher 50 years her senior, who is

▲ Maddie Rice is accompanied on the piano by her brother, Marcus, in this exploration of a life well lived PHOTOGRAPH: HARRY ELLETSON

full of zest and vigour. As Maddie puts it, she is “unapologetically herself”, a woman living a life of happy self-reliance with limited tolerance for anyone else. A long-gone partner nicknamed her Dandelion because of her sticky-up hair and it suits her personality. Darcy tells it as she sees it and does not mind shaming the younger woman for failing to change the things that weigh her down.

As a narrator, Maddie has a sunny disposition. Lest she get maudlin, she has Marcus on hand as a counterbalance. Playing pretty waltzes on the piano throughout, he launches into songs that draw on the language of officialdom to comic effect. There is even some heartening audience participation.

Knowing death is coming can make plays on this theme feel like one long delaying tactic, especially here where the story has so little friction. Directed by Katie Pesskin, it is best - if briefest - on the impact the encounter has on Maddie and the changes it inspires in her life.

Until 30 August

▲ A friendship? A romance? Lara Ciulli, left, and Riana White

Stage review Riveting duo thrill us with raw passion

Those People Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh ★★★★☆

Brian Logan

Fifteen years ago, I remember the thrill of encountering Lizzie and Sarah Daykin's duo Toby, which complicated the

double-act dynamic with highly charged, is-it-real sibling rivalry. I felt the thrills again with this two-hander featuring Lara Ciulli and Riana White, which refracts sketch comedy (and dance, and confessional) through the lens of queer female friendship. Who knows whether Ciulli and White are lifelong besties, housemates, sometimes-almost lovers? But they defy you to believe otherwise, in a gripping and slippery hour that splays their intimacy, mutual resentment and few-holds-barred humour across the stage.

In a show with a major movement component - they spend much of it all over one another - Those People begins with a mime, of two women crashing their car into a lake, then one rescuing the other. Being one another's salvation is the subtext of much that follows, as we dip in and out of the relationships in their pasts: the partner who insisted on showing Ciulli his favourite porn scene; the ex who refused to return White's Calvin Kleins.

The bickering feels close to the bone; proximity to real life and its complexities is the draw here. So too is Ciulli's charisma and self-delighted flirting with the audience, which is grounded, and just about tolerated, by White.

A filmed ending feels a bit grafted on, and not only because it's shot against London backdrops. It's lovely to look at, mind you: often the pleasure here - when the particular meaning of a sequence escapes your grasp - is in the striking stage-pictures, the rawness of the confused passion on display. An arresting debut.

Until 30 August

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National

◀ Sofia in Bulgaria is improving air quality after decades of pollution by old-fashioned heating systems PHOTOGRAPH: HRISTO RUSEV/GETTY

Fighting for air Ulez is working in London but other cities are slow to follow its lead

Fiona Harvey Environment editor

T en years ago, Alastair Harper was an advocate for young people's health sitting in a stuffy meeting room in

London planning an air pollution campaign. “My phone started buzzing,” he said. “I took the call, and then told the room I needed to leave immediately. I had to get to UCLH [one of London’s major hospitals]. My own child was headed there in a blue-lit ambulance because she was struggling to breathe London’s toxic air.”

Hundreds of thousands of parents across London had similar experiences. Between about 6,000 and 8,000 people were dying prematurely each year in London in the late 2010s. In 2020, an inquest found that the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2013 had been a direct result of air pollution, the first time it had been listed as a cause of death in the UK.

Last week, a study from Queen Mary University London (QMUL) showed a significant reversal. Children's lungs had grown bigger and stronger since the most polluting vehicles were restricted on the capital's roads. The ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) - introduced by London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, in 2019 and expanded in 2021 and 2023 - charges £12.50 a day for more polluting vehicles that do not meet stringent standards. It has drastically cut levels of nitrogen dioxide, a harmful pollutant.

To Harper, who later worked for Khan as an environmental adviser, and now works independently, relief at his own child's recovery has been joined by the satisfaction of knowing that far fewer parents will experience such dread. "To know now that same air is so much safer for the kids that breathe it because of the political choice of one man makes me feel proud of this city," he said.

Nick Hopkinson, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, said the QMUL study was not a surprise. “There is an absolute wealth of evidence that air pollution is a major cause of ill health and premature death across the planet,” he said.

Air pollution kills 7 million people a year globally, according to the World Health Organization. Poor air not only causes respiratory difficulties and the stunting of children's lungs, but also heart disease and stroke. It is associated with some forms of cancer, dementia, autism and cognitive difficulties in children too.

Paris and Barcelona have shown what is possible within a few years when mayors embrace the joys of cycling, following the lead long ago taken in Denmark and the Netherlands. New York's Zohran Mamdani hopes to do the same. But elsewhere in the car-dominated US, infamously poor public transport provision, an intractable SUV culture and a president in Donald

Trump intent on rolling back environmental protections mean widespread change is unlikely.

Other cities are working to make a difference. Bogotá is about to embark on its second Zuma, a clean air zone that involves expanding cycle lanes and footpaths, paving roads to suppress dust and planting trees. The Colombian capital won last year's global Earthshot prize for its first Zuma. The city's environment secretary, Adriana

Soto, said: “Residents helped shape the design, particularly how the works would maintain access to their homes and respond to local mobility needs.”

Hundreds of cities around the world now have clean air zones. Another is Kenya's capital, Nairobi, which passed an air quality act in 2022 that requires harmful emissions to be halved by 2035 and has installed a network of 50 low-cost monitoring stations as a first

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has cut levels of nitrogen dioxide after introducing the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) scheme in 2019

▲ Rush-hour traffic in Nairobi last month. The Kenyan capital passed an air quality act to cut emissions in 2022 PHOTOGRAPH: TONY KARUMBA/AFP/GETTY

step. Imports of vehicles older than eight years are banned, and the city is consulting on establishing clean air zones. The lead for the Breathe Cities project in Nairobi, Victor Indasi, said: “More remains to be done, but Nairobi is firmly on the right trajectory.”

Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, had heating systems dependent on coal and wood burning. These are being phased out and replaced with cleaner heat pumps, subsidised for those on low incomes, as part of a city-wide introduction - the first in south-east Europe - of low-emissions zones for transport and heating. Recent results show a $22\%$ reduction in the average concentration of PM10 (harmful particulate matter), and a halving of days that exceed air quality guidance levels. Poland is also cutting solid fuels.

In Australia, Melbourne's mayor was inspired by a speech Khan gave last year before Brazil's Cop30 climate summit. The first step was finding that state-level monitoring was showing little about the real quality of air at a neighbourhood level. “It was surprising to us that this wasn’t being measured,” a spokesperson said.

With the new monitoring data coming in, the mayor has yet to decide what actions will be taken, whether a clean air zone or other restrictions, or carrots in the form of scrappage schemes and improved public transport.

In all of these cities there is a sense of caution and none are moving fast enough. In London, the successes of Ulez are threatened by the ballooning number of wood-burning stoves, now a bigger source of particle pollution than traffic. More than 110,000 children were admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties in London in 2024.

Monitoring is a vital first step, but what is done with the data is what counts. Hopkinson said: “You have to change people’s behaviour, you have to change the transport, the heating, the energy generation. The way things are in cities is the way they have developed over long periods.”

Though studies show air pollution has an economic as well as a physical toll, businesses often complain that curbs on driving will hurt them, with little evidence.

There is also the fact that the people driving the cars and operating the polluting factories are often not the same people whose children are being admitted to hospital. Chris Griffiths, a professor of primary care at Oxford University, said: “Those who are suffering are those who have done least to cause the pollution.”

Hopkinson said: “There is a kind of madness about it. Disinformation, which is lying to people, is confusing them. They are trying to persuade people that air pollution is not bad for them, and climate change is not real.

“They are spreading wild conspiracy theories [for instance that 15-minute cities, where all amenities can be accessed within a small area, are devices of government control] and the far right are exploiting this and generating grievance.”

The road to Kostyantynivka is covered with anti-drone nets and littered with the remains of shot-down Russian drones

◀Khyzhak brigade's mobile firing unit on duty in the Donetsk region
▶ Remains of a shot-down Russian FPV. Every morning the landscape changes with fresh craters, fallen trees and smoke on the horizon
Dzhango's comrade, 41-year-old Young, takes a break. He served almost eight years in the police before joining the brigade

◀Dzhango, a marksman in the Khyzhak brigade, fires at a Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone
▶ Remains of burnt-out vehicles on the road. The H20 highway runs from the frontline city of Kramatorsk to the battlefield in Kostyantynivka

▶ A Russian fibre-optic drone flying above the mobile firing crew in the ‘kill zone’

Dzhango lights a candle in the damaged church near the road to Kostyantynivka. A week after this photo was taken the church was burned down
tasked with shooting down Russian drones to aid the movements of army units. The photojournalist Julia Kochetova travelled with them and took these pictures for the Guardian

Donetsk, Ukraine The road to Kostyantynivka, Donetsk's 'life or death' highway, is a perilous journey for the Khyzhak brigade - a mobile Ukrainian unit

◀ Soldiers Young and Dzhango with Zhuzha the dog, who came to them in search of food and comfort, taking a break after their shift

World

US threatens sanctions against Iran's economic allies - including China

Julian Borger Senior international correspondent

The US has announced an “economic onslaught” against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve what military means have so far failed to over the past six months.

However, it is unclear how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran's biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally.

Iran, meanwhile, has vowed retaliation against any country that took part in the US-led isolation campaign.

Launching Operation Economic Outcast, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, yesterday compared the “unprecedented campaign” to the D-day landings - a turning point in the second world war.

“Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”

Asked whether sanctions would be applied to China, which bought an estimated 80% of Iran's shipped oil last year, Bessent said “no one” was above the reach of US sanctions.

“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted,” he said.

Bessent said the US had identified those who continue to deal with Iran and each violator would be given a deadline to cut ties.

“Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system,” he said. “The clock just started ticking.”

Bessent added that Donald Trump was “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”, but again did not specify whether Trump would talk to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

China's embassy in Washington said: “Regarding the Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem. China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”

Tehran said it would retaliate against sanctions. Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the armed forces' chief of staff, said that could take the form of land, sea, air operations or cyber-attacks.

The announcement of secondary sanctions comes nearly six months after the launch of a US-Israeli military attack on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Early expectations that the regime in Tehran would collapse or would agree to Washington's demands to give up uranium enrichment and other key elements of its nuclear programme were dashed.

Hardliners appeared to strengthen their grip on government and responded by declaring the closure of the strait of Hormuz, portal to a fifth of the world's traded oil and liquefied natural gas, attacking ships that ignored its declaration. Trump's counter-blockage of the strait has led to an impasse that has had profound effects on the global economy.

Sina Toossi, senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, said: "After nearly six months without a military or diplomatic victory, Washington appears to be trying to accomplish through intensified economic strangulation what military force has so far failed to achieve, but Tehran is answering that zero-sum approach with one of its own."

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, however, said further military action was not off the table. “By no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” he told reporters yesterday.

In apparent anticipation of the US measures, the United Arab Emirates, a close US and Israeli ally, announced it was suspending trade ties with Iran.

Andrew Miller, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said: "The announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran and those countries trading with it signals what is plain to all: this war has brought the United States no closer to eliminating Iran's nuclear programme or crippling the Iranian regime. But while sanctions can be effective, it is highly unlikely they will produce a quick settlement favourable to the US."

A billboard in Tehran depicts Donald Trump in the strait of Hormuz, as the US announced fresh sanctions PHOTOGRAPH: ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA

Flag day Trump completes a fast and furious takeover of DC with an IndyCar race

David Smith Washington

He got the wrong end of the stick. Donald Trump couldn't figure out how to hold the green flag until his wife,

Melania, and Command Sgt Maj Matt Williams set him right. Then the US president waved the flag fast and furious like an excited schoolboy. The race was under way - and his conquest of Washington DC was complete.

Since returning to Washington, Trump has deployed the national guard, wrecked the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, demolished the East Wing of the White House and run the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts into the ground. His face adorns the Department of Justice, and he still has grand plans for a triumphal arch worthy of a Roman emperor.

On Sunday he made the nation's capital tremble with fast, flashy cars brazenly roaring around a 1.7-mile street circuit in IndyCar's Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the capstone of his Maga-flavoured celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence.

Washington was not built for a Trump rally on wheels and had to make accommodations, like a party host bracing for a noisy and obnoxious guest. More than 200 manhole covers were welded down around the course so they would not be sucked up by cars thundering over them. The National Gallery of Art studied how vibrations from the vehicles might affect its exhibits and shielded some outdoor sculptures.

Not that the president seemed to be sweating it. While officially the

Stop, don't look, listen Fines for pedestrians who stare at phones Page 24

Heatwave deaths Toll in half of Europe hits at least 35,000 Page 27

Grand Prix was open to everyone, the event had a Trumpian flavour reminiscent of June's Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts on the White House South Lawn. The UFC impresario Dana White, testosterone avenger Pete Hegseth and “human printer” Natalie Harp, who would wait for Trump as ardently as Penelope for Odysseus, were guests. Democratic socialists were less in evidence. IndyCar is neither Woke 1 nor Woke 2.

Wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie, Trump gave fist pumps and shook hands with the IndyCar drivers. They posed for photographers, Trump giving his signature thumbs up, as the sun gleamed off the US Capitol dome beyond. The president gave a perfunctory TV interview to the Fox network. Why was it important for him to bring IndyCars to the streets of DC? The reply was very Trumpian: "Well, Roger [Penske, a billionaire who owns the IndyCar series] told me they've been trying

▲ Melania Trump applauds as her husband, after some instruction, waves his green flag like an excited schoolboy PHOTOGRAPH: DOUG MILLS/POOL VIA REUTERS

American driver Kyle Kirkwood won IndyCar's 250-mile Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/GETTY

to do it for 20 years, and he'd come down; I think he said he was down 211 times to try and get it done. And when he came to see Trump, it got done in about 15 minutes, and it's turned out to be much bigger than we ever even thought possible."

Translation: every previous administration and mayor thought this plan was madness, and told Penske where to go. Note also the characteristic reference to “Trump” in the third person, and the boast that only he could fix it, and in 15 minutes. (If only ending the Ukraine war were so easy.)

True to form, the president also bragged about the crowd size and, as he has done since UFC night, insisted that he knows better than the meteorologists. “You know, I was hearing about rain all week long. ‘It’s gonna rain, it’s gonna rain.’ I said: ‘No, it’s not.’ And this is as nice today as I’ve seen in Washington in a long time.”

Trump climbed into his armoured limousine, the Beast, mounted with flags and flashing blue and red lights, and trundled a ceremonial lap of the track. Was that Harp sprinting after him? Or hiding in the trunk? No, but we did get the Qatari-gifted plane that Trump has used as Air Force One flying overhead, escorted by four fighter jets. Then Christopher Macchio, one of Trump's favourite singers, performed The Star-Spangled Banner as Trump saluted and Melania, wearing a white blouse, stood with hand on heart in the presidential box, a temporary white, air-conditioned structure with a clear front.

A trained bald eagle was released near the start line, swooping and flying overhead before returning to its handler. There were flyovers of military aircraft including a B-2 stealth bomber. Officials paused air traffic at Washington's Ronald Reagan National airport for three hours to accommodate them.

It fell to another stalwart ally, the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, sporting sunglasses, to bellow: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

The race began, with drivers completing 147 laps covering roughly 250 miles (400km), and produced an American winner in Kyle Kirkwood. It was the latest chapter of a sporting summer in which Trump inserted himself into the UFC fights, the football World Cup final and the Patriot Games, a cross between a game show and athletics meet for high schoolers.

Never slow to demonstrate his fealty to Trump, Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, told Fox News he wants to bring the IndyCar Grand Prix back next year. By then, one hopes, Trump will have figured out how to hold and wave a green flag. Or as they say in Iran, a white flag.

Post ordered to rehire writer fired for Charlie Kirk comments

Jeremy Barr

An independent arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire the opinion columnist Karen Attiah, abruptly fired by the news organisation last September over comments she made on social media about Charlie Kirk after his killing.

Yesterday an arbitrator ruled that the Post had violated her rights and ordered the newspaper to reinstate her and compensate her for lost wages. “This decision confirms what we’ve said from the start: I was doing my job as an opinion journalist, and doing that job is not misconduct,” Attiah said.

"After spending over a decade of my career at the Post as an editor and an opinion columnist focusing on race, gender and global human rights, I'm relieved to finally have that record set straight."

A Post spokesperson said the company respected the arbitration process but declined to comment further. It was unclear whether the company planned to appeal the reinstatement ruling. The Post had argued that Attiah had violated their social media policy, which dictates that employees “must not harm the editorial integrity or journalistic reputation of the Post”.

After Kirk was shot and killed on 10 September 2025, Attiah took to social media and wrote: “Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is … not the same as violence.” She also posted: “Part of what keeps America so violent is the insistence that people perform care, empty goodness and absolution for white men who espouse hatred and violence.”

The Post's opinion editor, Adam O'Neal testified that Attiah's posts created security risks for the Post's journalists. "People were at this intense moment of violence in America, and we didn't know what was coming next," he said. Attiah was emailed a copy of her termination letter - "for gross misconduct".

The arbitrator, Sarah Miller Espinosa, concluded that it was improper to punish Attiah on the basis of potential security threats to other Post employees and that her termination was “absolutely disproportional”.

▲ Columnist Karen Attiah was fired by the Washington Post last year

Two dead after US strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific

Maya Yang

The US military launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean yesterday, killing two people accused of drug trafficking.

US Southern Command (Southcom) said it “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed two narco-terrorists.”

Southcom did not provide evidence for the vessel's alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

A pixelated black-and-white video posted to Southcom's X account showed a vessel moving through the water before it was struck by an explosion that produced a large flash of light.

The strike is the latest in a series of US military strikes since the Trump administration launched what it described as a campaign targeting “narco-terrorists” smuggling drugs into the US, despite reports indicating that the strikes have done little to stem the flow of drugs.

Some 223 people have been killed in 67 strikes during the nearly year-long US campaign of bombing alleged drug boats off Latin America's Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

US Southern Command says the campaign has resulted in the destruction of 64 speedboats, three “low-profile” ships and a semisubmersible craft.

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said during a visit to Panama this month that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the US to carry out joint military operations against criminal groups on their soil. Guatemala denied this. Ecuador launched similar missions with the US in March.

Despite the defence department framing the strikes as attacks against “narco-terrorism,” it has provided little evidence on whether the vessels were actually transporting drugs. The attacks have been condemned as extrajudicial killings by the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations.

World

Ruffalo hits back at 'antisemitic tropes' claim by Paramount

Sian Cain

The actor Mark Ruffalo has hit back at Paramount Skydance after the media company accused him of invoking “antisemitic tropes” in his criticism of its \$111bn (£81bn) merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).

Ruffalo, who has long spoken out against Israel's conduct in Gaza and for the rights of Palestinians, shared a statement on social media on Friday in which he highlighted the links between Paramount Skydance, run by David Ellison, and Oracle, the technology company run by Ellison's father, Larry, which has supplied software to the Israeli military, government and police for decades.

Shmulik Hauser, head of Oracle's sales division, told the Israeli news outlet Ynet last year: “Supporting Israel is in our DNA - even if it costs us clients. That’s our agenda.”

On Friday Ruffalo shared a video of Oracle's executive vice-chair, Safra Catz, describing the “really profoundly scary technology” it provided to Israel after the 7 October attack by Hamas in 2023.

Above the video, Ruffalo took aim at Larry Ellison, whom he accused of “using [Oracle] to fund his son David’s Warner Bros acquisition”.

Larry Ellison, who is worth an estimated \$189bn, agreed to personally backstop \$40.4bn in equity financing to help Paramount Skydance acquire WBD in a \$110.9bn deal.

Ruffalo wrote: “These ‘really profoundly scary technologies’ will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you. Look how [Catz] revels in what we now have come to see as a genocide, which was built on an apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle.”

Ruffalo urged his followers to oppose the merger, which he argued would be “catastrophic” for the entertainment industry due to job losses and reduced competition.

Though the US justice department approved the merger in June, it remains on hold while a federal judge considers a lawsuit from a coalition of 12 US states that have challenged the deal on antitrust grounds.

In a rare statement on Saturday, Paramount responded to Ruffalo, saying it was “troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute”.

The company continued: “Words like ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid,’ applied to a corporate transaction, aren’t just wrong – they’re a bridge too far, and they cheapen the very real suffering those words are meant to describe. This doesn’t deserve a response in kind – and to be clear, we don’t tolerate prejudice of any kind, against anyone.”

On Saturday, Ruffalo responded to Paramount with a written statement.

Mark Ruffalo wrote that his views were not hostile to Jewish people, for whom he had ‘deep love and respect’

He wrote: “Criticising the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticising Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue is then dishonestly framed as being anti-Israel.”

The actor said his views “come from my own political convictions and should never be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people, for whom I have deep love and respect. Everything I know about acting, activism, and humanism has been profoundly shaped by the Jewish friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have been integral and family throughout every point of my life.”

He added: “This merger has real consequences for real people, and for the entire country. Scrutinising the Ellisons, including Oracle’s business built on data, surveillance technology and government contracts, and the serious threat to editorial freedom and the loss of a livelihood for thousands of families, is fair and necessary. The \$111bn deal would hand one family control over CNN, HBO and Warner Bros, backed in part by foreign money whose influence on editorial decisions has never been fully explained to the public."

A Paramount spokesperson told NBC it would make no further comment. The Guardian has contacted Oracle and Catz for comment.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a US-based Jewish human rights organisation, praised Paramount for “refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade as political or corporate criticism”.

Ruffalo was among thousands of actors and film industry workers who pledged last year not to work with Israeli film institutions “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.

A Paramount-WBD merger would bring together two of the five last legacy studios in Hollywood, as well as a host of TV networks, streaming libraries and news operations.

If the merger does not close by 30 September, it could cost Paramount Skydance about \$7m a day in fees it agreed to pay Warner Bros shareholders in the event of a delay.

Criminal gangs growing more violent during museum raids, says Europol

Sam Jones

Robberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, according to a report by Europol.

Thieves sometimes brandish guns, assault staff and use sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases.

The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift “towards violent and forceful methods” that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts.

The report said: “Unlike typical cultural goods traffickers, who usually avoid violence and specialise in organised property crime or the theft of cultural goods, these individuals often have histories of involvement in other types of crime.

“Additionally, some thieves apprehended in recent cases appear to coordinate their efforts on an ad hoc basis, often recruited locally through social media and instant communication channels, without prior connections to each other.

“This differs from the usual structure of criminal networks involved in cultural goods trafficking, which typically operate in a core group organised around a leader.”

The report, published yesterday, found that precious metals and jewellery were the preferred targets because of their increasing value and the ease with which gold and silver could be melted down and jewels removed from their settings.

Louvre loot, including Eugénie's dented crown

Europol said a number of recent heists showed some thieves had few qualms when it came to using explosives or employing violence. In January 2025, a gang blasted its way into the Drents Museum in the Netherlands and stole several Dacian artefacts.

The report added: “In some cases, offenders use firearms to intimidate security personnel and visitors. Some museum thefts have involved direct physical assaults on staff such as tying them up or using brute force against them. Across reported cases, the use of force is closely linked to targeted operations, suggesting prior identification of specific objects and preplanned execution.”

It pointed out that four hooded suspects equipped with baseball bats and axes stole seven gold and diamond-adorned objects from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris in 2024, ▲ French police outside the Louvre after thieves stole jewellery worth an estimated €88m in October 2025 PHOTOGRAPH: ABDUL SABOOR/REUTERS

while the heist at the Louvre in October 2025 involved similar violence.

"To access the targeted artefacts, the [Louvre] thieves broke a window and threatened guards and visitors," the report said. "They smashed the display cases in the Apollo Gallery and stole jewellery worth an estimated €88m [£75m]."

Europol said that while more evidence needed to be gathered, it was possible low-level museum thieves were being randomly recruited “on a crime-as-a-service basis”.

It added: “Alternatively, some criminal actors and networks, typically active in other criminal markets, [have] realised the low-risk, high-profit potential of museum heists.”

Italy brings in fines for using phone while crossing road

Angela Giuffrida Rome

Italy's updated highway code will target pedestrians who stare at their mobile phones while crossing the road, as the country's transport ministry attempts to improve road safety by cracking down on dangerous distractions.

The offence, contained in a draft version of the highway code expected to be approved by mid-October, carries fines of €75 (£64) or more. The aim is to reduce occasions when a driver does not have enough time to react to a pedestrian distracted by their phone, a scenario that can transform into a serious accident.

It follows several rulings by Italian courts that have assigned blame for accidents to careless pedestrians. Other electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and digital cameras are included in the ban.

However, pedestrians will still be able to have hands-free conversations while crossing the road and can use their phone in an emergency. Wearing earphones is permitted too, provided pedestrians can hear adequately in both ears, according to snippets of the updated highway code published in the Italian press. The measure does not apply to pedestrians walking along a pavement.

Italy is not the first country to target distracted walking. In 2018, Lithuania imposed fines on pedestrians using mobile phones or engaging in any other activities that could distract them while crossing the road.

World

The pool at the Volksbühne, also above, wanted to encourage Black families to swim but rightwing critics called the planned sessions 'apartheid' PHOTOGRAPHS: JOHN MACDOUGAL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Troubled waters Young Black Berliners at centre of latest poolside culture war

Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspondent

It was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre. But the plans, ■ a local theatre. But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats.

Berlin's Volksbühne theatre said it had extended the invitation in the hope of dismantling some of the barriers that would normally keep these children away from swimming pools. While other groups had similarly been invited to use the pool exclusively without incident, the idea of Black children enjoying a private afternoon at a public pool proved to be controversial among some.

“Berlin is a livable, diverse, colourful and free city. So why

'They're visually, physically and socially intimate spaces that pique social anxieties'

Jeff Wiltse Historian

do we need safe spaces?" a local Christian Democrat politician, Aileen Weibeler, said on social media, while the far-right Alternative für Deutschland co-leader Alice Weidel described the idea as "an apartheid" in which "white people are temporarily denied access".

It was the latest in a long list of incidents linking swimming pools to racism. Across North America and Europe swimming pools have often acted as a flashpoint for wider racial tensions and exclusions.

Earlier this summer, an open-air swimming lake in the eastern German city of Halle made headlines after it refused entry to bathers who did not speak German. In the Netherlands, the Institute for Human Rights recently ruled against a pool after it was found to have singled out a Black child for an identity check.

The list of incidents spans decades. In 2013, the Swiss town of Bremgarten moved to restrict asylum seekers' access to swimming pools. In Bulgaria, Roma have sounded the alarm about being discriminated against at public pools, while in 2022, a swimming pool in Romania was fined just over €2,000 (£1,716) for barring entry to Romani children.

Some of the association between racism and pools most likely comes down to the intimacy of these spaces, said Jeff Wiltse, the author of Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America. “They’re visually,

physically and socially intimate spaces, and I think that continues to pique people's social anxieties," he said.

Wiltse has long studied pools in the US, recasting them as sites that reflect the wider tensions in society at any given time, from James Brock in 1964 pouring hydrochloric acid into a whites-only pool where Black men were swimming, to the

Texas police officer who in 2015 pinned an unarmed Black teenager to the ground and drew his gun as he sought to break up a pool party.

In the US, “throughout much of the 20th century, swimming pools were homogenous spaces”, he said. “There was explicit racial segregation of public pools.”

In the late 1940s, as public swimming pools in the US began

A segregated swimming pool in Baltimore, Maryland, US, in 1952 PHOTOGRAPH: AFRO-AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS ARCHIVE

▶ Florida motel manager James Brock pours acid into a ‘whites-only’ pool as swimmers stage a protest in 1964 PHOTOGRAPH: POPPERFOTO/GETTY

to be racially desegregated, private pools began to spring up, particularly in suburbs that were almost exclusively white.

Many people came to see swimming pools as “a certain type of social space in which the people there are all socially similar”, said Wiltse, who advocates tackling the issue by increasing public investment in community pools that could bring together people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds.

The racialised history of pools - and its continued legacy today - has helped to give rise to a stark racial divide when it comes to swimming ability, one that has had deadly consequences. In the US, the fatal-drowning rate of Black and African American children is three times higher than that of white children.

The statistics are even worse in England, where recent data found that children from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are 3.5 times more likely to drown than their white counterparts. Recent figures from Sport England suggest that 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children do not swim at all.

In 2022, Katrice Rodrigues set out to change this with the launch of Unity Swimming in the UK, an organisation that runs weekly classes aimed at Black and Asian communities. “People get angry at that, saying: ‘How can it be inclusive if it’s just for Black and Asian communities?’” said Rodrigues, who is also a keynote speaker on diversity in aquatics. “My thing is that we’re making the whole of swimming more inclusive by creating these safe little spaces, which lead to more people swimming, and that makes swimming, as a whole, more inclusive.”

The success of the programme has relied on Rodrigues and her team confronting the wide range of cultural barriers that keep minorities out of the pool, from having parents who are terrified of water to concerns over feeling out of place, dressing modestly or protecting Black hair.

Other barriers have proven more enduring. “There’s a myth and a stereotype that Black people can’t float and can’t swim,” she said. “It’s not true, but I’ve had to correct two experienced swim teachers who thought that was a thing.”

As summers become hotter across the globe, sending more people into rivers, lakes and pools in search of respite, the imperative has grown to ensure that as many people as possible know how to swim, said Rodrigues.

“It’s the only sport that’s going to save lives,” she said.

World

Nearly 90,000 are urged to evacuate as 'human-caused' wildfire hits Reno

Edward Helmore Dani Anguiano

US authorities ordered the evacuation of about 90,000 residents of Reno and the adjacent North Valley yesterday as a fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire approached the Nevada city.

The fire began on Saturday to the north-west of the city, and quickly grew, threatening neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Nevada's second-largest city.

No deaths had been reported as of yesterday, but at least six people had been injured - including three emergency responders - while several mountaintop houses and more than 15,000 acres of land were destroyed, according to local media.

“We can confirm that the fire was human-caused,” said Shane Akerson, a battalion chief with the Truckee Meadows fire protection district, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. “However, that is still undergoing active investigation and we don’t have further details provided at this time.”

The Reno area has seen three large wildfires in the past two weeks, all of which, fire officials say, were caused by human activity.

Teresa Lenshyn, who was forced to evacuate, said leaving her home was chaotic and stressful: "You don't know if the winds are going to shift and it's going to get worse."

All but one school in Washoe county, where Reno is located, remained closed yesterday, authorities said, to leave roads clear for emergency responders. The University of Nevada in Reno, where the fall semester began yesterday, announced that the campus would continue to operate. Nearly 10,000 homes and businesses in the county were without power. Portions of US Route 395, a major north-south highway, were closed.

The rapidly expanding fire, named Hawk, was surrounded by neighbourhoods. Richard Edwards, the local fire chief, urged people to be ready to evacuate immediately when told to do so. “The Hawk fire is a very dynamic incident for us as it’s being driven by the winds. The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas,” he said.

"If you have been told to evacuate, please don't wait," Hillary Schieve, Reno's mayor, said in a statement on social media.

The fire had already proved to be a challenge on Saturday night, moving exceptionally fast, jumping over fire trucks and making it difficult for responders to get to hotspots while residents were trying to get out, said Darin Balaam, the Washoe county sheriff. “It was extremely confusing,” he said, of how changing winds sent the flames in different directions.

Joe Lombardo, Nevada's governor, has declared a state of emergency in Washoe county. He warned that the situation was “active and rapidly evolving” and urged residents to remain vigilant.

“Please heed all warnings from local officials, evacuate immediately if you are ordered to do so, and do not put yourself or first responders at risk,” Lombardo said in a statement.

A local fire rescue service said about 800 people were supporting firefighting efforts, including crews from Australia and New Zealand.

The west of the country has endured a gruelling fire season this summer amid extremely dry conditions. A fast-moving blaze north of Reno forced about 5,500 people to evacuate earlier this month.

One person died in California in a wildfire burning in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, a fire that officials believed was sparked by a man using a chainsaw. That blaze, the Gann fire, scorched more than 10,000 acres and destroyed nearly 50 buildings.

In the Pacific north-west, fires forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in and around Spokane, Washington, in early August. Three fires burned around the city, one of which officials say was started by an alleged arsonist, and destroyed about 900 buildings.

Oregon has experienced its worst year on record for land burned by large wildfires, with more than 3,671 sq miles (9,508 sq km) scorched, said Jean Nelson-Dean, spokesperson for Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, earlier this month.

This year alone there have been more than 50,000 wildfires across the US - the most in the past decade over the same time period - which have burned more than 7.8m acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Extreme heat Ice factory offers last ditch defence for Pakistani town

Hazaran Rahim Dad and Changeez Nazir Nasirabad

As the first light reaches Nasirabad, a queue of men, women and children has already formed outside the town's ice factory, with their buckets, sacks and plastic containers. Among those hoping to buy ice to help their families endure another scorching day is 12-year-old Taimoor, in his school uniform. He says it is his most important task of the day.

"If I do not bring the ice, how will we endure the heat at home?" he says. "And how will we drink water that feels as though it is boiling?"

Once he collects his share, Taimoor hurries home to drop it off before setting out for school, with a small portion of the ice in a plastic container to keep him cool. By 8am, the sun is hot and he is wetting his face with the meltwater.

His mother is pregnant with her second child. Having experienced two miscarriages, she is afraid that walking to the factory herself and carrying ice through the heat could endanger her pregnancy. As temperatures have been rising across this region of Pakistan, protection from the heat depends on what individuals can find, buy or improvise.

Surrounded by mountains and date-palm orchards, Nasirabad is a small town about 25 miles (40km) from Turbat in Kech district, in the province of Balochistan. Most people live in mud-built houses. They say electricity is available for about three hours a day and that the voltage is often too weak to operate a fridge reliably.

Those who can afford solar panels use them to power fans and, in some cases, fridges during daylight hours. For everyone else, their only defence is the ice they collect each morning. The intensity of heat in Nasirabad places the

town near the frontline of a much wider warming trend.

In a heatwave warning in May 2026, the Pakistan Meteorological Department included Turbat in the regions expected to face temperatures reaching between 46C and 50C. Extreme heat has become a defining feature in Asia, with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) suggesting the continent is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. Globally, the 11 years up to 2025 were the 11 hottest ever recorded, according to the WMO.

In Nasirabad, these planetary trends are experienced through the temperature of a glass of water, the length of a queue and whether a family can afford to keep a fan running.

Mohammad Haider owns Nasirabad's ice factory, which he says was established by his late father in 1992. Every morning at about 7am, workers raise the metal shutter and within two hours, all

400 blocks produced overnight are usually sold.

Haider's factory has effectively become Nasirabad's cooling centre. He says almost all the ice is bought to cool drinking water. Demand is so high that some residents queue up only to leave empty-handed. "It saddens me when people cannot get ice before it runs out," he says. "They then have to spend the entire day drinking warm water."

In the evening, Haider says, residents often gather outside, where he offers them cups of cold water without charge, while another batch freezes for the following morning.

Those who miss the factory's morning distribution sometimes buy ice from other local people who bought more than they needed. A piece of ice bought for 40 rupees (11p) may later be resold for 80 rupees, Haider says.

Pakistan ranked 147th in the 2024 Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative country index. Its relatively high vulnerability and low readiness scores indicate that exposure to climate hazards is compounded by limited institutional and economic capacity to respond.

▲ Raj Bibi, a 66-year-old widow, relies on ice to endure the heat in her small town as the Balochistan heatwaves worsen PHOTOGRAPH: HAZARAN RAHIM DAD

◀Loading ice blocks at an ice factory during the intense heat in Lahore. Above, Taimoor,
in the green shirt, has come to fetch ice before school PHOTO: ARIF ALI/AFP/ GETTY IMAGES

Each morning, 66-year-old widow Raj Bibi fills several bottles with water and carries them to a neighbour who owns a refrigerator powered by solar panels and allows her to store them inside. Bibi cannot afford ice or a solar system of her own. She returns in the evening to collect the cooled water, hoping it will remain drinkable through the night.

"The day passes in heat and suffocation," she says. "There is no electricity to run a fan and I cannot afford solar panels."

Even households with solar panels remain vulnerable. Many cannot afford the expensive batteries needed to store the electricity generated during the day. Families often carry bedding outside and sleep beneath the sky. The distinction between households is determined by who can afford each layer of adaptation - panels, batteries, refrigerators, water and ice - and those who cannot.

The extreme heat has persisted through the summer. In its forecast for August, the Pakistan Meteorological Department predicted very hot and dry conditions across Balochistan. In its warnings in May, it advised people to avoid unnecessary exposure to the sun, to remain hydrated and use water carefully. Farmers were urged to adjust their activities and protect livestock.

But each precaution assumes a certain degree of choice that many people do not have. Taimoor cannot avoid the morning sun when his family depends on him to collect ice. Bibi has to walk to her neighbour's house for water. Farmers cannot abandon the orchards that are their income. Women cannot avoid the heat of the cooking fires.

Pakistan does have heatwave plans. The National Disaster Management Authority has issued guidelines on preparing for extreme heat, and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Balochistan has a district plan for Kech. But residents in Nasirabad say they see little evidence of protections on the ground. Instead they rely on their own fragmented system: solar panels without batteries, neighbours sharing refrigerators, families sleeping outside and one factory producing 400 blocks of ice each night.

Europe's heatwaves linked to 35,000 deaths

Jon Henley

Europe correspondent

At least 35,000 more people died during Europe's four record-breaking back-to-back heatwaves this summer than would normally be expected, according to incomplete figures from barely half the continent.

Excess mortality in three of the European Union's larger countries - Germany, France and Spain - has already exceeded 25,000, according to the provisional national figures, and experts say the toll will rise significantly once August totals are consolidated.

The consecutive heatwaves across western Europe since May shattered all-time historical temperature records across hundreds of weather stations, and France recorded its hottest national average day on record.

Records fell for three straight days in Germany in late June, when 46 stations topped 40C (104F), while Spain endured persistent highs above 42C. Scientists say human-made global heating is making such extreme events more frequent and intense.

The death toll is highest in Germany, which late last week reported an estimated 14,000 heat-related deaths from 6 April to 9 August. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) public health agency said 9,600 people had died in the week of 22-28 June alone.

Systematically compiled EU-wide excess mortality figures, available since 2008, show the only other summer week in which a higher rate of additional deaths has been recorded was in July 2022, when Covid-19 was still active.

This summer has been by far the worst for heat-related deaths in Germany since records began. The previous high was 8,900 in 2018. Heat-related deaths in normal summers are often below 2,000, RKI said.

Figures from the Carlos III health institute's mortality monitoring system suggest 4,947 deaths in Spain can be attributed to heat between May and this week, making 2026 Spain's worst year on record for heat-related deaths, exceeding the 4,520 in 2022.

Different countries calculate and present their data in different ways.

▲ Families cool off in a splash pad during a Paris heatwave last month

Spain and Germany model estimated heat-related deaths in real time, comparing daily temperatures and mortality rates to calculate deaths attributable to heat.

Such estimations are necessary because heat is rarely stated as a direct cause of death. In most cases, heat aggravates pre-existing health conditions such as respiratory or cardiovascular disease, and victims die of a heart attack or stroke.

Final attribution can take weeks or months, and many countries have yet to release figures even for early August. Karl Lauterbach, a former German health minister, said last week that figures released so far would probably prove to be underestimates.

France, where more than 500 weather stations recorded temperatures higher than 40C and at one stage 98% of the country was under heat alerts, reports an initial “all causes” excess death figure and definitive attribution later.

Its national health agency said last week that “all cause” excess deaths between late May and 22 July stood at 7,300. August figures were not yet available and initial data was based on electronic death certificates, which account for only 80% of total mortality, it said.

Italy, whose national heat surveillance system uses local municipal data, meaning it is often subject to significant delays, has so far only reported incomplete real-time indicators rather than a consolidated national death toll.

Modelling suggests 2,700 more people died than usual between 22 and 28 June alone and epidemiologists have said the country's total heat-attributable death toll would probably be between 5,000 and 8,000 by the time it is formally recorded.

A YouGov survey published this week showed between $30\%$ and $52\%$ of people in six countries had feared for their household's health in temperatures close to or above 40C (104F).

Large numbers of people, ranging from 27% in Spain to 41% in France and 53% in Germany, said they felt they could not keep their homes cool enough, and many wanted governments to explore a variety of ways to help make them more comfortable.

The YouGov polling, carried out in mid-July in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain and in early August in the UK, found that between 61% and 73% of respondents favoured air conditioning being installed as standard in all new homes.

In every country except Italy, significantly more people - between $41\%$ and $48\%$ - said encouraging more air conditioning to reduce harms from heatwaves should be prioritised over lowering $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ emissions, with $20\%$ to $33\%$ believing the reverse.

In all countries, more people thought more air conditioning would have a very or fairly large impact on reducing harms from heatwaves (29% to 61%) than that it would have a very or fairly large impact on their country's climate figures (19% to 40%).

The World Health Organization said in May that heat-related mortality in its European region had increased by more than 30% over the past 20 years and was on course to climb significantly as a result of the climate crisis and population ageing.

Business

More than 3,000 high street firms appear to be shells laundering money

Simon Goodley

Up to £464m has “moved through” more than 3,000 UK shell companies branded as beauty and convenience stores but apparently operating in the money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors, a new analysis sets out.

The companies - some listed as hairdressers, barber shops and salons, others as mini-marts and corner shops - show “remarkably similar lifespans” of about six months despite their seemingly different purposes.

They are also “heavily concentrated in a small number of areas”, according to the research by the anti-money-laundering software provider SmartSearch.

The findings come amid increased scrutiny of the integrity of the UK company register, with many experts arguing that a proliferation of off-the-shelf businesses shows how bad actors are exploiting the system for money laundering and tax evasion.

This month, Andy Burnham announced plans to give councils new powers to stop betting and vape shops taking over their high streets, while in May the government said a new specialist unit would target “dodgy” retail outlets such as vape stores and sweet shops that are suspected of being used to launder £1bn of criminal money.

The topic was given more attention

Number of suspect shell companies in the beauty and convenience sectors identified by the analysis

£464m Amount of money that may have been ‘moved through’ these UK businesses over a 10-year period during a House of Commons Treasury committee meeting in June, when Paul Monaghan, the chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation, told MPs: "There is a reason that we have a company register full of hundreds of thousands of fraudsters.

"The Insolvency Service has just recently shut down five illegal company service providers, which between them had set up 12,000 illegal companies in the UK, and we are only halfway through the year.

“We have got a problem in this country that the obsession to set it up cheap and quick creates all the other problems.”

The SmartSearch analysis of Companies House records between 2016 and 2026 focused solely on the two business sectors of beauty and convenience stores.

It found 3,097 dissolved companies averaging 170 to 194 days of life, clustered into the same postcodes, the same registered addresses, and the same months of the year for incorporation and dissolution.

The data also showed how 83% of suspect hairdressing companies and 92% of suspect convenience stores were incorporated in the first and second quarters of each year, with more than half dissolved in the fourth quarter.

The cycle repeats annually across both sectors, the paper said, adding: "A single area of Cardiff contains 119 suspected companies on its own, across both sectors."

Phil Cotter, the chief executive of SmartSearch, said: “This is not a story about small businesses failing. It is a story about patterns that suggest a repeatable model of exploitation operating openly across UK high streets, and accelerating faster than the regulatory response has been able to catch. Companies House has made real progress since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act came into force. But the register still reveals patterns that suggest the underlying activity is running ahead of the pace of reform.”

The paper concludes: “The financial scale matters, and conservative modelling already suggests something between £310m and £464m has moved through these companies alone. Apply the same patterns across the other sectors named in the 2025 national risk assessment as high risk and the figure for the past decade likely sits above £1bn.”

Streaming services in western Europe saw highest price rises

Mark Sweeney

Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research.

Over the past four years, the world's largest video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models, introducing lower-priced advertising tiers to attract new subscribers while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience.

Research by Ampere Analysis showed that a series of price rises over the past three years, to fund the production of content and drive profits, have led to western European subscribers being hit by the largest average price increases.

Over this period the average increase in the cost of a monthly subscription has risen by \$1.86 (£1.36)

- more than the US, the world's biggest streaming market, at \$1.70 - and all other world regions. Pricing in different markets is influenced by a number of factors, including domestic competition and household income.

In March, Netflix increased prices in the US for the second time in a little over a year. UK subscribers last faced price increases, ranging from £1 to £2 a month, in February 2025, the first increase since October 2023.

The most recent price increases pushed the cost up £1 to £5.99 a month for the basic package with ads, and up £2 to £12.99 a month for Netflix's standard ad-free package. Netflix UK's recently published figures for last year show the streaming company passed £2bn in annual revenues for the first time. The record £2.06bn marked an 11% increase on the £1.85bn reported in 2024.

The company, which also reported a healthy increase in pre-tax profits from £63m to £72.5m, said the revenue boost was “driven primarily by a 7% growth in the average number of paid memberships and by higher average monthly revenue per paying membership”.

Disney+ last moved to raise prices in the UK and US in September and October last year, with the cost of a UK subscription to its package with advertising £5.99 a month and standard ad-free tier £9.99 a month or £99.90 annually. Amazon introduced a £2.99 monthly fee on top of its Prime Video membership for users wanting to avoid ads in February 2024.

While semi-regular prices rises have become a facet of the streaming sector, Ampere's research also showed that the scale of each bump up in subscription charges has dropped significantly “as consumers reach limits on willingness to pay”.

Average price rises across the three streaming companies have fallen from 24% of the previous

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▲ Rivals has been a big hit for Disney + while Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, seen below in Suits, may soon revive her acting career PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERT VIGLASKY PHOTOGRAPHY/DISNEY

subscription price in 2023-24 to 14% in 2025-26. In dollar terms the streamers' ad-free subscription packages have received larger price increases than their tiers that include ads.

Jaanika Junton, a senior research manager at Ampere, said: “The decline in price increases comes as streamers diversify how they monetise their audiences. As streaming businesses mature, revenue growth is becoming less reliant on price increases, while intense competition is also making streamers increasingly mindful of how they are positioned against rivals.”

Last week, it was reported the Duchess of Sussex was in talks to make her acting comeback in Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen, shortly after reports Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were poised to return to the UK. However, multiple subsequent reports suggest that Markle, who made her name in the legal drama Suits, is not in the running for a role in the third season of the show, which is yet to receive an official green light. In 2020, the duke and duchess signed a multi-year Netflix deal, reportedly worth \$100m.

US-Canada trade talks hit impasse over French language

Leyland Cecco Toronto

Donald Trump yesterday stepped up his trade row with Canada following the collapse of crunch talks at the weekend, threatening a swathe of new economically devastating tariffs on the country's car industry.

The president pledged to double tariffs on vehicles and auto parts to 50% from 1 January, writing on social media: “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years.”

Criticising Canada's “ridiculously high tariffs” on American farmers, Trump wrote: “Not sustainable, and not anymore!”

He also said existing steel and aluminium levies would be maintained at that same rate, reversing a temporary freeze he had made last week when he said the two sides were close to signing a “very good” deal.

Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: “Canada will be treated like a State no longer!” He added in capital letters: “We don’t need Canada, they need us!”

Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said it had not been a surprise that the US would take some form of reprisal and the country would only return to the negotiating table “when the US has the right attitude toward our industries”.

He said one of the sticking points had been requests he deemed “non-negotiable” about the need for US businesses to label their products in both English and French.

He said that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an “irritant ... in Quebec, these are rights”.

Carney has received widespread praise from political leaders for instructing his negotiators to walk away from the talks last week.

Tariffs on an array of Canadian products took effect over the weekend, affecting around $5\%$ of Canada's exports to the US, and Canada said it would retaliate in early September.

Carney toured a shipyard with Quebec's premier yesterday, telling attendees Canada “could not accept” a proposed trade deal that would have weakened French language protections, adding that his government “will not give what they have asked”.

The decision to abandon trade talks with the US spurred declarations from political leaders and pundits in Canada that the country is now fully locked into an economic war with its longtime ally.

Quebec, Canada's predominantly French-speaking province, has long sought to protect its distinct identity, at times with laws that clashed with the federal government and the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms.

$\triangle$ Quebec's premier praised Mark Carney for protecting Francophones

In recent years those rules have also frustrated US negotiators, who have framed them as trade irritants.

Quebec's premier, Christine Fréchette, said Carney had made the right decision in walking away from talks that looked to cross a “red line” for Francophones.

Polling this month showed dislike for Trump was highest in Quebec. Separatists in the province have seen a sharp decline in support amid the economic wounds inflicted by the US.

The Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce (FCCQ) called the tariffs a “worst-case scenario” for the province’s businesses.

Trump's top trade representative, Jamieson Greer, called reports that French language protections were up for debate “a funny fake story.”

“That is not true,” Jamieson Greer told CNBC yesterday. “I like the Quebecois and I like that they speak French.” He said both he and his sons speak the language.

He claimed the issue at stake was that Americans did not like Canada “forcing” streaming giants in the US to pay some of their profits to support Canadian content. Canada had already dropped that position, however, previously abandoning elements of digital services tax.

Carney rejected that framing, telling reporters it was not “funny” and there was an “enormous spread” in perspectives.

The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, responded to Trump's threat of higher tariffs by telling local media the president "can kiss my ass".

"We need to throw everything in the kitchen sink at him. He's arrogant, he's cocky, and ... a bully," said Ford. "He's going to have a rude awakening."

Analysis Olivia Bowden

Collapse of negotiations is a warning to the world

he collapse of trade negotiations between Canada and the US is a warning to nations worldwide that pursuing any kind

of dialogue with the current US administration is doomed at the outset, according to observers who say this recent episode indicates seeking a fair deal is futile.

Andrea Lawlor, an associate professor of political science at

McMaster University in Ontario, said: “No matter the closeness of the historical relationship, the American administration has signalled that it now prioritises its interests above those of some sort of global economic coordination or harmony.

“It feels like these talks ‘failed’. However, I’m not sure there was really a success to be had.”

A defiant Mark Carney said on Saturday he rejected a proposed deal because of last-minute US demands that would have undermined Canada's sovereignty.

The prime minister said: "They asked too much and they offered too little ... you're at war when you're attacked, and we got attacked." He promised to match US tariffs "dollar for dollar".

Donald Trump first announced the tariffs on 20 July, saying Canada had unfairly discriminated against American businesses. The core example provided is Canada's bans on the sale of US alcohol in eight of its 10 provinces and all three territories, which came into effect after Trump's first round of tariffs, slapped on Canada in early 2025.

The breakdown of talks came as a shock. Trump had claimed last Tuesday that an agreement was all but signed. On Wednesday, he told reporters that a “very fair deal for both” sides had been ironed out.

But as details of the agreement began to leak to Canadian media, there was growing alarm that Carney and his negotiators were conceding too much.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, was recorded at a private event, seemingly mocking Carney for standing down on “a lot of issues”.

Instead, Carney took the dramatic decision to bring his negotiators home to Ottawa.

Goods covered by the US import taxes include everything from anoraks to Christmas ornaments, and Lawlor suggested Canada would soon be back at the table.

But she said any negotiation should be understood as prone to disintegrate at a moment's notice. "We are very much in a state of constant flux," she said.

Thames creditors 'shuffling chairs on Titanic' with plan for new board

Alex Daniel

Creditors pursuing a £10bn rescue deal for Thames Water were accused yesterday of “shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic” after proposing an overhaul of the stricken utility’s board.

In an attempt to stave off temporary nationalisation, the lenders said they would appoint Liz Barber, former chief executive of Yorkshire Water, and Clive Selley, former CEO of the network operator Openreach, as directors if they re allowed to take formal control of the company.

London & Valley Water, a consortium of 100 institutional investors holding £17bn of the company's £21bn debt, has also lined up Bernadette Kelly, the former permanent secretary of the Department for Transport.

The proposed new appointments are designed to reassure the government that any commercial deal would bring with it a leadership overhaul.

But Cat Hobbs, of the campaign group We Own It, called the plan a “cosy stitch-up that has nothing to do with the interests of the 16 million people who depend on Thames Water”. She added: “This amounts to nothing more than a reshuffling of chairs on the deck of the Titanic.”

▼ Phoebe the cavalier King Charles spaniel in good health, left, and after developing bilateral dry eye PHOTOGRAPH: PETS MAGAZINE

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Dry eye

Owners fear recalled dog food caused condition

Rupert Jones

It's been horrible," said Elizabeth, whose six-year-old cavachon "can't open his eyes" on many days. The civil servant is one of a number of people

who contacted the Guardian with concerns about a potential link between a recalled dog food and their pet's eye condition.

Elizabeth, who did not want to give her surname, said she and Chester had been to see vets more than 10 times in recent months, and they had all been “totally stumped”, with conjunctivitis, hay fever and autoimmune disease all suggested as possible causes.

Then came the news last week that the dog food brand Years was recalling all its fresh meals after reports that a recipe change may have caused some animals to develop a condition called sudden bilateral dry eye. Also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, or KCS, dry eye occurs when a dog is unable to produce tears, making their eyes very sore. If left untreated, it can lead to sight loss.

Years said its investigation was “currently focused on potential contamination within a portion of buckwheat supply”. Buckwheat was added to the company’s meals several months ago.

The company said it began receiving reports late last month of dogs experiencing sudden dry eye and, as of early last week, 192 customers had reported “potential, as yet unverified, eye issues”.

Chester had been fed Years food for about 18 months and Elizabeth, who lives in north London, said her vet had told her “they are fairly confident of a link” between the recalled dog food and Chester’s

eye condition. She said vet trips and treatments had cost her hundreds of pounds “and Chester has been miserable for months”. “I fear what long-term damage has been done and whether this is reversible.”

Marie Carter-Robb's seven-year-old cavalier King Charles spaniel, Phoebe, was diagnosed with dry eye during a vet visit last week. All three of Carter-Robb's dogs have eaten Years meals since April 2025, but Phoebe is the only one who has developed these eye problems.

Carter-Robb, who is the editor of Pets Magazine, said Phoebe's symptoms began in June and since then she has had repeated vet examinations and treatment.

Having reviewed the recall information, she said: "My vet has subsequently told me that the information is concerning and could suggest the food as a possible cause." The emotional impact has been considerable, she added. "The worst part is the guilt. I had no reason to suspect her food."

Phoebe has now been prescribed an eye ointment and will need treatment for at least the next few months, meaning more vet and medication costs, Carter-Robb said.

Adele Chaplin, from Suffolk, said her eight-year-old greyhound, Lettuce, was first diagnosed with bilateral dry eye and eye ulcers in March and was referred to a specialist vet ophthalmologist in April amid fears he would lose his eyes. He has been eating Years dog food for “a good couple of years”.

Chaplin said: “Fortunately, his eyes are safe for now, but he still had zero tear production when he was last tested and vast amounts of discharge. Frankly, he’s miserable.”

A Years spokesperson said: “The reports we have received are deeply upsetting to everyone here. As a result of the reports, we took the step to voluntarily recall our fresh meals because, while the evidence is still developing, we are not prepared to take chances with the dogs people trust us to feed.

“Independent laboratory testing is under way, alongside our wider investigation, to understand exactly what has happened.”

The spokesperson said Years wanted to “give customers clear, evidence-based answers”, adding: “We will communicate the findings as soon as the investigation is complete. In the meantime, customers are encouraged to visit years.com/pages/care for more detailed information.”

Weather Tuesday 25 August 2026

UK and Ireland Noon today

Sunny	Mist	Fog
Sunny intervals	Hazy
Mostly cloudy
Overcast/dull
Sunny showers
Sunny and heavy showers
Light showers
Rain	Sleet	Light snow
Snow showers
Heavy snow	Ice
Thundery rain
Thundery showers
Temperature, °C
Wind speed, mph	Windy

Forecast

Carbon count

Daily atmospheric CO $_{2}$ readings from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (ppm):

Latest
23 Aug 2026	426.88
Weekly average
16 Aug 2026	426.98
24 Aug 2025	425.60
24 Aug 2016	402.11
Pre-industrial base	280
Safe level	350
Source: NOAA-ESRL

Around the UK

Atlantic front

Cold front

Warm front

Occluded front

...... Trough

High tides

Aberdeen	--	--	1203	3.6m
Avonmouth	0502	10.4m	1728	11.1m
Barrow	0946	7.5m	2201	8.2m
Belfast	0935	2.9m	2148	3.2m
Cobh	0326	3.3m	1552	3.5m
Cromer	0439	4.3m	1722	4.2m
Dover	0926	5.8m	2151	5.8m
Dublin	1005	3.5m	2206	3.8m
Galway	0344	4.1m	1550	4.4m
Greenock	1050	2.8m	2309	3.2m
Harwich	0952	3.5m	2224	3.6m
Holyhead	0856	4.7m	2100	5.0m
Hull	0407	6.3m	1653	6.2m
Leith	0035	4.6m	1316	4.7m
Liverpool	0934	7.8m	2143	8.4m

© Crown Copyright and/or database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Keeper of Public Records and the UK Hydrographic Office

London Bridge	--	--	1201	6.0m
Lossiemouth	1024	3.4m	2224	3.6m
Milford Haven	0428	5.6m	1646	6.1m
Newquay	0322	5.4m	1539	5.9m
North Shields	0130	4.3m	1408	4.3m
Oban	0421	3.1m	1633	3.5m
Penzance	0256	4.5m	1512	4.8m
Plymouth	0341	4.4m	1558	4.8m
Portsmouth	0955	4.1m	2201	4.1m
Southport	0856	7.5m	2105	8.1m
Stornoway	0533	3.8m	1733	4.3m
Portland	0450	1.4m	1704	1.7m
Whitby	0204	4.7m	1440	4.8m
Wick	0952	2.9m	2151	3.1m
Workington	1001	6.8m	2212	7.3m

Sun & Moon

Sun rises	0601
Sun sets	2002
Moon rises	1912
Moon sets	0225
Full Moon	28 Aug

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather ©2026

Lighting up

Belfast	2034 to 0621
Birm'ham	2011 to 0608
Brighton	2001 to 0605
Bristol	2012 to 0614
Carlisle	2021 to 0606
Cork	2037 to 0636
Dublin	2031 to 0624
Glasgow	2030 to 0611
Harlech	2021 to 0617
Inverness	2033 to 0604
London	2002 to 0603
M'chester	2015 to 0608
Newcastle	2017 to 0602
Norwich	1959 to 0555
Penzance	2021 to 0628

Weather tracker

Thunderstorms and tornadoes caused disruption last Thursday as severe weather hit the US north-east. A tornado struck Dover, Delaware, with another reported near Atlantic Beach on Long Island in New York. The latter was rated EF-1 by the National Weather Service, with peak winds of 97mph, buildings damaged, flash flooding and power cuts.

In the UK, the high temperatures have cooled. After a mainly dry and settled weekend, showers, thunderstorms and longer spells of thundery rain are expected to spread northwards this week, with temperatures increasing as warmer southerly winds develop.

Meanwhile, a powerful El Niño developing in the Pacific could be the strongest in living memory, according to the Met Office. El Niño, a natural climate pattern that occurs every two to seven years, can trigger major shifts in global weather, with effects greatest in the tropics. Sea surface temperatures in the Pacific are forecast to climb by more than 3C above average later this year, which would make it the strongest El Niño since records began in 1950, while its effects mean 2027 is likely to be the warmest year ever recorded globally. Matt Andrews MetDesk

Around the world

Algiers Ams'dam Athens Auckland B Aires Bangkok Barcelona Basra Beijing Berlin Bermuda Brussels Budapest C'hagen Cairo Cape Town Chicago Corfu Dakar Dhaka Dublin Florence Gibraltar H Kong Harare Helsinki Istanbul Jo'burg K Lumpur K'mandu Kabul Kingston Kolkata L Angeles Lagos Lima

32 Lisbon 25 25 Madrid 28 36 Malaga 31 16 Melb'rne 15 13 Mexico C 23 34 Miami 33 32 Milan 28 48 Mombasa 30 31 Moscow 16 24 Mumbai 31 31 N Orleans 32 20 Nairobi 26 29 New Delhi 33 21 New York 25 37 Oslo 23 21 Paris 26 26 Perth 21 36 Prague 22 32 Reykjavik 12 32 Rio de J 22 19 Rome 30 31 Shanghai 32 29 Singapore 33 32 Stockh'm 19 26 Strasb'g 25 18 Sydney 20 31 Tel Aviv 32 25 Tenerife 29 32 Tokyo 33 28 Toronto 24 32 Vancouver 25 34 Vienna 27 31 Warsaw 22 36 Wash'ton 28 30 Well'ton 16 23 Zurich 26

Gauff gears up for US Open with win in Cincinnati

Sport

Page 35 →

▲ Brydon Carse (right) was briefly handcuffed by the police while his Durham teammates including Ben Stokes (left) watched KAI SCHWÖRER/GETTY IMAGES

Culture club

Another late-night incident shows Fleming must get a grip on Test team

Mark Ramprakash fter a brief reprieve following the dominant Test victory last week against a timid Pakistan, once again talk of England and cricket is focused not on the game but on the behaviour of the people playing it. The England and Wales Cricket Board has reacted quickly

to videos that emerged over the weekend showing Brydon Carse in handcuffs outside a Derby nightclub by dropping him for the second Test at Lord's and referring the incident to the Cricket Regulator. This is a solid baseline, but it is clear that there is an issue with this group of players that isn't being dealt with by this group of coaches and executives.

When I was coaching with England, early in our Ashes tour in 2017-18 there was an incident with Ben Duckett pouring a pint of beer over Jimmy Anderson. Andrew Strauss, who was the ECB's director of England cricket, flew out and did a terrific job of addressing the squad and letting them know the boundaries of what would be considered acceptable behaviour. I thought it was a brilliant performance from Strauss, and nobody left that room in any doubt about where they stood. From then on we ran a very tight ship: once a Test match was over players were able to go out and relax, but we'd book a place where they could have an area cordoned off, there would be a security team with them at all times, and it was organised in a very professional way. You just cannot be too careful on an Ashes trip.

I thought that was exactly the right way to handle a difficult situation. Representing your country is

Football

Jonathan Wilson on Iraola's tricky task at Liverpool

Page 37 →

the pinnacle of your career, and once you're in that side until the moment you hang up your boots, even if you're not on international duty at the time, you're an England player. There are responsibilities that come with that.

But who could do for this squad the job that Strauss did in December 2017? It couldn't be Rob Key, the current managing director of men's cricket, under whose watch the messaging about what is acceptable has become hopelessly blurred, and who has allowed a culture to take root that culminated in the shambles we saw in Australia over the winter.

t the start of the summer Brendon McCullum, picked and repeatedly backed as head coach by Key, said he would get “a firm grip”, but clearly it hasn’t happened and after he lost his position with the red-ball side last month he is no longer in a position to try to do better. Marcus Trescothick,

the team's interim head coach, is compromised by having been part of the staff that presided over the past four years, and his authority is undermined by the fact he is only in temporary charge. Meanwhile Stephen Fleming, McCullum's permanent successor and the man who will lead this group over the next four years, isn't even in the country, let alone the dressing room.

When Fleming was appointed he should have been on the first plane over to start the job of communicating and leading. Even if he had obligations back home that would have limited that first visit to just a few days, he could have looked each player in the eye and told them the standards he expects them to meet, both on and off the pitch. You can't do that over Zoom and expect it to have the same impact. Fleming is due to arrive next month, but I think his presence is required sooner rather than later. This is a team that need good leadership, and Joe Root can't be expected to do everything.

I was interested to hear Ben Stokes's suggestion that the issue was never with him and his team but with an entire game that from grass roots to pinnacle has what he called “a culture that is associated with alcohol”. And to an extent this is true. The recreational game is called recreational for a reason, people coming together at the weekend to play the

This is a team that need good leadership, and Joe Root can't be expected to do everything

sport they love and continue with some socialising afterwards. Our young players go through that phase, but once they sign their first professional contract their county should instil its own standards, its own values, and its own culture.

When I played at county level it was very much the norm that we'd meet after the day's play, go to the pub and discuss the game, maybe go for dinner and share some wine. I've been teetotal my whole life, but I always understood why lots of my teammates felt that helped them to unwind after the rigours of the day. But it does feel like the culture has become a bit more extreme. Something has changed, beyond the fact that there are more likely to be cameras around if anyone oversteps the mark.

More than anything Stokes's remarks felt like a cute way to dodge accountability from a player who has a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time - and Stokes was with Carse in Derby, seemingly blameless but caught in the background of the viral video along with the England-contracted seamer Matthew Potts, as the Durham squad celebrated their latest County Championship win.

I don't know if this is business as usual for Durham but, as those three have been reminded, they are England cricketers - or at least Stokes was until recently - and will be talked about as such. You're an international player until you're not and, as Carse is hopefully recognising, for all its added responsibilities that is not a status you want to jeopardise.

Carse incident presents early headache for captain Root

← Continued from back page

longer be available for selection for the second Test while this investigation is ongoing and the full facts are obtained.”

According to sources, the footage of Carse came after he had been denied re-entry to the bar shortly before closing time. He had left the building following “an exchange of words” with another member of the public who spilled a drink on him. Durham, though not his direct employers, are not said to be pursuing the matter, nor are Potts or Stokes considered to have done anything wrong.

Carse had been due to travel to London yesterday, with England's 16-man squad reconvening after the three-day innings victory secured at Headingley last Friday. They go into two training days at Lord's before the match starts on Thursday.

The issue presents Joe Root with an early off-field headache at the start of his second spell as Test captain, having made one of his first acts the removal of the team's midnight curfew. Root has now brought forward by a day his pre-match press conference to meet the issue head on.

Questions about the team's relationship with alcohol are inevitable, likewise those about his authority. The Carse situation came in the same week that Root backed his players to be “grown up” and “good role models and good human beings”.

The decision to drop Carse while an investigation takes place follows a precedent set this summer. Stokes and Gus Atkinson both missed the second Test against New Zealand at the Oval in June when the Cricket Regulator looked into a late-night incident in a bar in Chelsea after victory in the series opener at Lord's.

The midnight curfew was in place on that occasion, even if it was later argued the precise details of it had not been well communicated. Atkinson had been involved in a physical altercation with a Saracens rugby player - he was not the aggressor, as per the ECB - while Stokes was simply present at the same venue.

The ECB chose a different path on the eve of the Australia tour last winter, however, when Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer the night before the Yorkshireman captained a one-day international in Wellington, New Zealand. Brook was given a clandestine fine at the time, something which came to light only at the end of the Ashes.

While England were intending to stick with Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue this week as they target a first Test series win in 18 months, Carse was deemed first reserve. The retirement of Stokes in June and the new four-pronged pace strategy should, in theory, mean opportunities down the line, unless this latest late-night incident has affected his place in the pecking order.

Sport

Cycling

Governing body criticised by team bosses for 'lack of anger' over Tarling's death

Jeremy Whittle

Richard Plugge, the manager of the two-time Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, has criticised cycling's governing body, the UCI, for a lack of action following the death of the teenage rider Fin Tarling 11 days ago and said cycling's leading teams should take responsibility for ensuring safety.

“Neither UCI president David Lappartient, nor anyone else, stands up and says: ‘Wait a minute, we really need to think about how we are going to prevent this from happening in the future,’” Plugge, the manager of the Vingegaard-led Visma-Lease a bike team, told the cycling website WielerFlits.

“Maybe we as teams need to take responsibility for safety in races ourselves again. The lack of anger about what has happened is very disappointing to me.”

The 19-year-old Tarling was killed during the Volta a Portugal when he collided with a non-race vehicle that was coming towards him on the race route, despite the road closure.

"This boy encounters a car on a descent," Plugge said. "Can you imagine this happening during Formula One? That a car is suddenly driving on the track in the opposite direction? This actually does happen in a cycling race.

"We are just carrying on. What disappoints me is that everyone says it is terrible, but then immediately a 'but' follows. We need to skip everything after the ‘but’. This simply cannot happen.”

Jonathan Vaughters, the manager of the EF Education-EasyPost team, has called for a reduction in the number of races.

"The problem is lack of standards and oversight and the need to keep

In News Snooker Former world champion Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children Page 15 →

▲ Fin Tarling was hit by a non-race vehicle during the Volta a Portugal

too many races that do not meet professional standards on the calendar," he said.

"There are many races running on too small a budget to be hosting a professional-level race. We don't need 600 days of racing. How about 100 days of racing, all of which are safe?"

While a formal investigation into Tarling's death is now under way, neither the UCI nor the Portuguese Cycling Federation (FPC) have been willing to comment any further, particularly on media statements made by the Portuguese police (GNR) which confirmed that Tarling had been isolated and racing without a police escort.

The FPC said: “As the organiser of the Voltaa Portugal, we believe it would be neither appropriate nor responsible for us to speculate on matters that are currently being investigated by the competent authorities.”

Hail hits Vuelta Third stage abandoned in Pyrenees

The UCI said: “As the circumstances surrounding the incident are still being established, we will not be commenting further at this stage.”

were 25 seconds ahead of the peloton when the elements intervened as the race leader Tadej Pogacar was seen indicating to the peloton to pull off the course. Riders got off their bikes and shuffled into a hotel for shelter, leaving fans frustrated at the finish where layers of hail blanketed the road. Pogacar retained his overall lead of nine seconds from Wout van Aert (☐). Reuters

A torrential hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced the abandonment of the third stage of the Vuelta a España yesterday. With 15 kilometres (9.32 miles) remaining of the 174km route from Gruissan to Font-Romeu, the skies darkened and huge hailstones began bouncing off the road and pelting the riders. Mats Wenzel (Kern Pharma) and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana)

Unlike Europe's three Grand Tours, in France, Italy and Spain, the Portuguese race, like many other smaller events, operates a rolling road closure, which relies on secure policing at the front and back of the race convoy.

Rolling road closures were highlighted again last week when the Australian rider Maeve Plouffe said that she had nearly been hit by a car during the Tour of Britain Women.

“There is a hole in the system of rolling road closures,” the Association of Professional Cyclists president and former professional Adam Hansen told the Guardian. “We have to fix this.”

Hansen added: “The most dangerous moments I had in a race did not result in a major incident. It was pure luck that I did not die sometimes. The organisers just think if nothing happened, it was fine.”

Plugge argued that the serial failures to prioritise athlete safety meant that changes to the structure of many races had now become inevitable.

"If cycling from A to B on public roads over 200km is no longer feasible, then we must ride laps of 15, 20, or 25km, provided those routes can be 100% secured. The riders must be certain that they can race on a safe course."

Formula One

Wolff wary of Hamilton and Norris as title race tightens

Giles Richards Zandvoort

McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton are genuine contenders for the Formula One world championship, according to the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, who watched Norris take a decisive win at the Dutch Grand Prix.

With Mercedes's early-season dominance looking to have been all but erased, Wolff noted that there would be no quick fix for his team, who could not develop at the same rate as their rivals because they had opted to use their budget differently.

Norris won the race at Zandvoort for McLaren with the team having brought several car upgrades to the meeting, beating the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, and George Russell into second and third respectively. Ferrari have also moved closer to Mercedes, who won eight of the opening 12 meetings including all of the first six.

Antonelli leads Hamilton, who was fourth in Zandvoort, and Russell by 59 points in the championship and Norris by 83. However, Wolff expected the fight to become tougher in the title run-in, with 11 races remaining.

Wolff said that he and Mercedes are “absolutely conscious of the threat”, adding: “It’s not only Norris, it’s also Ferrari, even if you have a gap of 50 points to lose, that’s something you need to be worried about. This is going to be tough. It could become tighter, we need to do the optimal job every single weekend.”

Norris's win at Zandvoort was his second in succession this season, while Ferrari have also taken two, one apiece for Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Both teams have deployed an extensive series of upgrades, while Mercedes have brought one major development, at the Canadian GP. Mercedes are not expected to bring another major upgrade until the grand prix in Malaysia in October with three races still to come before then.

Rugby league

RFL in talks with NRL over big changes to investment deal

Matt Hughes

The Rugby Football League is exploring radically different terms to the funding deal initially offered by Australia's National Rugby League with talks under way over seeking a £50m loan package to replace the guaranteed investment of £35m that was rejected last week.

The Guardian has seen details of an alternative vision produced by Rugby League Commercial in a document entitled Project Magic, which the 14 Super League clubs owners will discuss at a meeting today.

Nigel Wood, the RFL chief executive, is understood to have circulated the document to the Super League owners last Wednesday, the day before they voted to reject the NRL's offer. Discussions between the two leagues over investment from Australia have continued since meetings in Las Vegas in January, with the NRL chief executive, Peter V'Landys, due to visit the UK next week in the hope of finalising the deal.

The NRL offer would have seen it invest £7m a year for five years in return for a 10% Super League stake, with the money to be distributed to the clubs. Instead of selling a stake in Super League, the Project Magic document details the RFL's desire to seek from the NRL a £50m payment-in-kind loan, which it would use “to fund central growth initiatives and accelerate global expansion”.

In another significant departure, the £50m would be retained centrally by the RFL rather than distributed to the clubs, which may prove a sticking point for many. The Project Magic document details what the RFL describes as a 10-year plan to grow the sport, and includes ambitious targets such as expanding Super League to 18 or 20 clubs, launching a joint direct-to-consumer streaming platform with the NRL for non-domestic markets and creating a fully professional women's competition.

Fery fired up for Flushing Meadows

Arthur Fery is in the main draw of the final grand slam of the season in New York for the first time MIKE EGERTON/PA

'I always had belief in my level but my body was stopping me'

The big interview Arthur Fery

Briton looks back on a dream Wimbledon run amid arm agonies and sets out his ranking goals before debut at US Open

Donald McRae

I was around 300 in the world and still really struggling with my arm," Arthur Fery says as he explains how life has changed from this time

last year when, after his shock appearance in the Wimbledon semi-finals, he rose to No 36 in the rankings. His run of five victories, which produced a stunning

turnaround in his career, was celebrated as a glorious “Fery-tale”.

But it does not take long in the company of the 24-year-old for the grit to emerge from the shadows in his story. There has been more pain than glory in the long hard slog to this point but, amid the doubt caused by his injury, Fery's self-belief has remained intact. As he says in Cincinnati, his success at Wimbledon provides a dizzying contrast to the testing times he has endured.

Last year he did not even play the qualifying rounds in New York but he will now make his debut at the US Open which begins this week. Memories of his travails from 12 months ago are still clear as Fery says: “I came back from an arm injury before Wimbledon 2025. I won a round at Wimbledon so that would have pushed my ranking up. But this time last year I had an MRI scan because my arm was really painful again. I was battling arm pain for a long time.”

Fery has been able to play many more tournaments over the past year but he nods when asked if he had begun to doubt he would become a leading player? “Definitely. Between 2023 and 2025 I barely played a full schedule because of my arm. I was battling for two years and it’s still not completely resolved. But it’s on the way there. It’s getting better and I’m able to play a lot of tournaments.

"There was definitely a lot of doubt and some moments where you just can't find a way out, or see a way of improving things. It's difficult. But that helped shape me as a warrior who has a good mentality - even though I wish [the arm injury] had never happened."

Fourteen months ago, while Fery was mainly playing Challenger events where it is so hard to make money and rack up ranking points, his friend Jack Draper had risen to world No 4. Draper looked ready to fight Jannik Sinner and Carlos

Alcaraz for grand slam titles - only for an arm injury to ruin his past year. He has slumped to No 143 and, after breaking down in tears in Toronto this month, Draper has withdrawn from the US Open.

When we discuss his empathy for Draper, Fery says: “It’s the same injury. We text because sometimes his arm’s doing well and mine’s not or vice versa. We always keep in touch and exchange thoughts because it’s not an easy injury at all.”

When Fery beat Grigor Dimitrov and Flavio Cobolli, the world No 10, to reach the Wimbledon semis, many people were amazed by his

'Jack Draper and I keep in touch and exchange thoughts because it's not an easy injury at all'

composure. Fery had not been expecting to reach the last four at the biggest tournament in the world but he was impressively unsurprised by the quality of his play. “I always had belief in my level,” he says now, “but my body was stopping me from playing much. When you don’t play much, you can’t play at your top level. You need to practise and have matches under your belt to reach the best of your ability.”

Fery pauses: “There were some moments when I was thinking: ‘Oh, this [injury] is what’s going to make me stop playing tennis, or be the limiting factor in my career.”

He played his first tournament since Wimbledon when, last week, he reached the third round of the Cincinnati Open. Fery made a commendable comeback and reeled off five games in a row in the second set before losing 7-5, 7-6 to the world No 8, Alex de Minaur.

It was different a year ago as Fery initially did not even make qualifying at Cincinnati. “It was very weird because I wasn’t in the draw and then someone pulled out that morning and in 30 minutes I had to go from breakfast to the court. I beat Zachary Svajda in the first round, 7-6 in the third. Really tough match. I lost to [Martin] Landaluce in the second round of qualifying in three sets but I had some good sensations.”

Fery returned to the Challenger Tour in Colombia next and those positive feelings continued as he won his first ATP title in Barranquilla. He earned \$14,000 (£10,260) and climbed to No 237 in the rankings. A year on, having graduated to the main tour, he made \$36,100 in Cincinnati after a grinding victory over James Duckworth was followed by his loss to De Minaur. It must seem like small change compared to the £900,000 he won after reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon against world No 3 Alexander Zverev.

But it's important to remember how much it meant last August for the injury-ridden Fery to win his first Challenger title. “Challengers are really difficult and everyone is really hungry to win and it’s tough,” Fery says. “The conditions are not as good as they are on tour - where everyone wants to be. So a lot of players there are tough to beat. The average level is a little lower than the ATP tour but the willpower and hunger to win is very high.”

Wimbledon has changed everything and Fery now sails into the main draw of the US Open and just misses being seeded. This will be his first taste of the senior grand slam at Flushing Meadows because he has only previously played at two junior US Opens. The second, in 2020, was largely devoid of spectators because of Covid-19 but he sampled the raucous atmosphere a year earlier. “I lost in the second round of juniors to Liam Draxl [the Canadian who is currently the world No 216] 7-6, 6-1.”

This is another example of Fery's remarkable recall for he knows the exact score of a junior match which took place seven years ago. When I interviewed Taylor Fritz last year he showed a similarly exceptional memory as he told me the score and detailed incidents from otherwise obscure junior matches. Has Fery always been like this too?

“Definitely. Some [players] really like to remember or they feel things quite deeply. I’m someone who remembers and lives matches intensely so I’d be able to tell you a few things about that match against Draxl. I was using a racket that was way too heavy for me and I struggled big time on my strokes. I was tinkering with my racket for a valid reason but it went too far. I also remember it just being really hot and struggling physically, sweating so much.”

'I just took one match at a time and played the opponent, not the stage at Wimbledon'

Fery's memories of Wimbledon this summer are, of course, much sweeter. “I played so many incredible players who had incredible careers at Wimbledon and managed to get through. I never thought that the semifinals were possible. But I just took one match at a time and played the opponent, not the stage, and there was never a match up until the semis which I thought I couldn't win.”

hat was his favourite victory at Wimbledon? "I would say the match against Zizou Bergs on

the Saturday [the third round on court 18]. That was the most special because it was the match that made me break top 100. I was very close to losing in four sets, when I was a break [and 4-1] down in the fourth, and same again in the fifth, and I just clawed my way back. It was my first five-set match that I won, and it took almost five hours with everyone watching."

What does he remember most of his straight sets defeat in the semis by Zverev - who had just won the French Open before pushing Sinner so hard in the Wimbledon final? “I knew that day was definitely a step up in terms of opponent but I was able to stick with him in the first. I’d been broken early but I broke back and stayed him until the tie-break.

“Yes, my level dropped a little in that tie-break and his average level was so high, with his full quality so high on both wings and with the serve. If mine dropped by even 5% I was in trouble. I lost that tiebreak 7-0 and then it was tough to fully believe, 100%, like I did in my other matches. I was obviously playing the No 3 in the world and the French Open champion. So I had to face a tennis issue as much as the mental one.

"I hate losing and, no matter how good the opponent is, I always feel like I could have done better

in most matches that I lose. But that one was definitely a bit easier to swallow, even though it would have been great to keep the dream going, and winning the tournament was only two matches away. But I had two of the three best players in the world to beat.”

Fery knows that there are many areas in which he can become stronger. “I can improve my game on clay, for example, which will be very important. I also need to get better at dealing with high balls, serving better, being able to play long matches in a row more.”

He is only 1.75 metres (5ft 9in) tall whereas some of his opponents, like Zverev, are 1.98 metres (6ft 6in). “But there are other things that I can do better than them when using my height. I return very well, I can move very well because of how low to the ground I am. But I need to work on my mindset, taking the ball early, using my hand skills, things like that.”

Fery adds: “We haven’t spoken about ranking goals since Wimbledon. I started the year at No 180 and I wanted to be top 100 by the end of the year. I’ve got that done but I now need to stabilise as a top 30 player and then push on because there are a lot of things I feel like I do better than those players above me. But there are also lots of things where I’m not as good as them.”

Are there lessons to be taken from his British compatriot Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021, but has since struggled with injury while changing her coach multiple times? “Yes, definitely. It’s really important to have good people around myself. My coach, my parents, my agent are in it for the right reasons and are going to guide me down the right road even when there are so many more commitments. That’s the first step towards not being distracted.”

Has he noticed a change in other players' attitudes towards him since Wimbledon? "Yes and no. I've been congratulated quite a lot but the tennis schedule is pretty relentless and I feel like everyone forgets quite quickly, which is good, because it means you don't get stuck in one tournament or result. You always have to keep pushing forward. But it definitely feels good to be around the top players in the world."

Arthur Fery basks in the glory of the Centre Court crowd after his five-set victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the last-16 at Wimbledon TOM JENKINS/ THE GUARDIAN

Gauff's big calls pay off as first title of season arrives before US tilt

Tumaini Carayol Cincinnati

One year ago, Coco Gauff departed the Cincinnati Open with her career at a crossroads. On serve, she had capitulated, offering up countless double faults in most matches, and she had lost confidence in her progress and game. She believed she had to make drastic changes to her team before it was too late.

It has taken an enormous amount of resilience, patience and toil, but this week Gauff began to feel the consequences of those efforts as she closed out one of the smoothest tournaments of her career with her best performance of the season, thoroughly outplaying the third seed Jessica Pegula to win 6-2, 6-4 and clinch the Cincinnati Open title for the second time.

This tournament marked Gauff's fifth WTA 1000 semi-final of the season and her third final. Gauff has enjoyed a fairly consistent past five months on the tour but the 22-year-old had yet to finish any tournament this season without a defeat. Victory in Cincinnati marks her first title of the season and fourth career WTA 1000 title.

This win is particularly significant considering Gauff's desperation a year ago. She served 16 double faults and made 62 unforced errors in her quarter-final loss to Jasmine Paolini at the 2025 tournament. After a summer of dire service issues, that defeat prompted Gauff to take the drastic decision of hiring Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics expert, to completely reshape her serve.

She began the transformation at the most difficult moment last year, the week before the US Open, and the challenge of making such a significant change on the eve of her most important tournament of the year was only exacerbated by the massive scrutiny that accompanied it. During her second-round match against Donna Vekic at the US Open last year, Gauff cried on the court.

There have been so many more challenges, and double faults, over the past year but Gauff has finally found confidence with her serve and it has had a transformative effect on her game. “I think it was a long journey, but I’m happy,” she said. “I’ve obviously got more years of tennis to play, but I think last year I was just frustrated with my game, and I felt like I was declining, and it’s not something any player wants to feel. You always want to feel like you’re getting better. So last year I was in a weird predicament, I made sudden decisions that most people probably wouldn’t do before a slam, but I think it’s worth it. And obviously, I feel like it’s night and day, the player I am from last year to now.”

After losing her first set of the tournament against Liudmila Samsonova, the fourth-seeded Gauff rolled into the final having won the subsequent 10 sets during her time on the tour. Gauff has become well known for her tendency to fight through dramatic, tense three-set tussles, so the ease with which she moved through the draw in Cincinnati was striking. “A lot of my supporters are like: ‘I can’t take these three-set wins’ and my mom’s showing her heart rate going up and down,” said Gauff, laughing. “So hopefully I gave my team a little bit of a break this week. I can’t say the same for New York. It’s a grand slam, but I definitely was thinking about it. For the sake of my own mind and body, I was trying to get these done in two sets.”

Rather than desperately trying to manage her serve and minimise the amount of second serves she had to hit, Gauff now has the freedom to attack her serve. She played a spectacular match in the final, repeatedly cranking up her first serve above 120mph and she confidently forced herself inside the baseline whenever Pegula dropped the ball short. Her peerless defensive skills, meanwhile, drove Pegula crazy throughout.

"It's just so hard when you play somebody that moves ... I mean, she's the best mover on tour, I think by far," Pegula said. "Just the way that she's able to defend out of the corners is better than anybody else, and that's truly her strength. So when she's doing that and able to move forward and able to serve well and return well, it becomes very difficult."

Although Pegula's tournament ended with a tough loss, she put together a spectacular run of her own, beating Sorana Cirstea, Amanda Anisimova and then the defending champion Iga Swiatek in consecutive three-set battles to reach the final, the latter being her best win of the year.

As with Gauff and the Toronto champion Swiatek, Pegula heads to the US Open as one of the in-form players, where she will be desperate to turn her excellent results into a maiden grand slam title on home soil. As has been the case in the women's game for much of the past few years, the competition for the title between the top players will be intense.

Post-Pep era begins with a wild blast of shock and awe

Possession numbers, the intense physicality and the pure rhythm of games all felt new as the season began

Barney Ronay

There has been something oddly narcotic and moreish about the drip-drip of fresh Pep Guardiola content

either side of the start of the new Premier League season. Eras come and go. Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But four-part Amazon Prime documentaries make angels of us all.

So we have continued to feast on the Pep-at-City visuals: dead jeopardy, reheated beefs, the uplifting team talks of a departed manager to the departed players of a departed team, and moments that often feel far more gripping than the daily churn of what we must, out of habit, call the real world.

The thought occurred watching all this: has the Premier League found its Tupac? Is Pep just going to keep on doing this, dropping new material, fresh hits, posthumous platinum albums? A bald, thin charismatic man who keeps on releasing his lost tapes. We have exactly the thing, sir. Is he even actually dead?

Probably this won't happen. But a profound absence is still a profound presence at moments like these. The ghosts continue to pull the strings. This weekend was the first of the new Premier League season. More significantly, it was also the first of the post-Pep era.

And this has been a genuine era, 10 years in the game and an entire tactical culture shift in the making. There was an odd sense of lightness across those nine fixtures on Friday through to Sunday, of old bonds cast aside, even a little giddiness. Suddenly dad isn't home. The chair by the door is empty. Let's all just rip it up a bit, shall we?

This relies on a slightly out-of-date notion of what

In six of nine games played from Friday to Sunday, one team had much more ball while failing to win

Guardiola-ism became in its later years. But the fact is, something interesting did happen in those Friday-to-Sunday games. Think of pure Pep-ball and what are you seeing? Possession. Cold, high-craft control. This is a coach who famously said: “My desire is to have 100% possession,” after a 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal in Munich during which Thiago Alcântara complete 122 passes.

Admittedly, Guardiola was speaking out of frustration that day, talking more about not losing the ball at key moments, possession as defence. But these ideas did have a profound mimetic effect in England. During Guardiola's decade at Manchester City the team that had the least possession in the Premier League would win, on average, only 30%-35% of games, a figure that fell as low as 28% in 2021-22 but which had begun to pick up in the last two seasons as even City's own version of Pep-ball became more mixed and next-gen.

But this weekend the opposite thing happened. In six of nine games played from Friday to Sunday one team took significantly more possession while failing to win. Liverpool had 60% possession plus 27 shots but still just scrambled a draw and looked, frankly, pretty wild. Manchester United had 71% possession and were well beaten by Hull. Tottenham had 60% possession and lost 3-0. Nottingham Forest had 56% and lost. Sunderland had 62%, Crystal Palace 58%, and both lost.

There were three exceptions to this, all outliers in their own way. Manchester City had 66% possession and won at home against Bournemouth, but spent 84 minutes looking like they were losing. Brighton had 73% possession and beat an Aston Villa team that had made a collective decision to play with their eyes closed and their legs on the wrong way round. Arsenal dominated every metric against a promoted Coventry team that looked, frankly, a little spooked by their first sight of that fresh Everest.

So, a tiny sample size. It may mean absolutely nothing. It could get flipped on its head before we hit September. Also, it is important to note pure possession stats have rarely dictated with any certainty who will win a game. The top teams always tend to have most of the ball, thus skewing the overall stats.

Otherwise, possession has been a far less reliable guide to victory than, say, expected goals, which speaks clearly to the effectiveness of a system. Whereas simply keeping the ball is often a sign of the opposite of good health, of football as a collective anxiety attack, out there playing with your worry beads, tramping a horseshoe shape into the grass while your opponents mass for the decisive blitzkrieg.

But it wasn't just the possession numbers that were notable this weekend. The rhythms of the matches were striking. All three Sunday games featured nine or 10 substitutes in the last 40 minutes or so, and a sense of two separate halves, of finishers brought into play, of a broken, episodic tactical to-and-fro in response to shifts in the scoreline and the flow. The World Cup also had that pattern. Maybe this is what football is now.

Mainly there was a striking level of targeted physicality, rehearsed blitz-transitions, groups of players running suddenly forward quickly in formation at certain triggering events. Anthony Elanga's opener for Newcastle captured this best: 12 seconds, two passes, 70 metres covered in a single perfectly straight line, no off-the-cuff inventions or what you might call conventional “creativity”, but a perfect moment of planned collective intelligence and breathtaking athleticism.

This was the pattern elsewhere too, games defined by rapid breaks, by powerful players sourced for their ability to win duels and to carry the ball, and a weekend that felt like another ratcheting up in the Premier League's journey into hyper-physicality. Isn't it a trend? Is this the next

Teams with less of the ball won an unusually high proportion of Premier League games in matchweek one Percentage of matches won by teams with less than 50% possession
Sprints and distance covered beat possession for correlation with winning in matchweek one

Source: FotMob

Source: Opta. Note: previous seasons cover full seasons. Fulham v Chelsea not included for 2026-27

stage in the league's narrow but furiously intense evolution? There are several managers in new jobs who have reputations for the game of sprints, blitz-ball: most notably Matthias Jaissle at Newcastle and Roberto De Zerbi at what was, on Saturday, the least De Zerbi-ish of Spurs, a Spurs that seemed to have absorbed only the mouse part - play dead, hide, roll over - of that fast-breaking cat-and-mouse football.

There are two things worth saying about this. This is not a rejection of Guardiolaism and positional play. Keeping the ball was always about preparing for the moments when you don't have it. Guardiola's later City team would often win by direct means.

But pure possession can also be boringly risk-averse, a kind of footballing atrophy where everyone just sits quivering on the touchline like a swarm of beached jellyfish at dusk. The spectacle is more gripping when the emphasis is on those transitions either side of the passing patterns.

More specifically, it is also an interesting development for Pep's successor at City

Enzo Maresca, Coolio to his Tupac, whose methods are still very much pure Pep origins, based in control of the ball and rigid positionism, like the last soldier still fighting the second world war from inside a bush on Iwo Jima in 1976.

Is Maresca ready for this? Is he even ahead of it? He gave a televised interview at the weekend where he spoke about the tension between control and risk, possession and creativity, and where he defined players being encouraged to run into unexpected positions as “chaos”. Yesterday morning there were headlines describing the Premier League weekend in those terms. But this isn’t chaos. We’ve seen chaos. We’ve seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, jinking wingers, dogs of war, hitting the space, Lee Chapman, Rod Wallace and Eric Cantona making heavy metal music with two bass guitars and an antique viola. You want chaos. We can give you chaos.

What the Premier League brought at the weekend, the quick breaks, the freedom to attack at selected moments, was more a kind of hyper-managed shock and awe, targeted speed and physicality born out of calculated risk, numbers, data, heavy briefings.

It was also exciting to watch, which is no bad thing in the world's most tightly contested, space-averse league. No doubt there will be tightening, a reaction to the reaction, instant counter-moves and contingency planning. August can also be odd and silly season-ish, the dog days of a World Cup summer. But it did at times feel as if we were in a post-something moment. If not quite post-Pep, whose influence will continue to loom, a tactical Machiavelli with plenty of tapes still left in the vault.

Analysis

Jonathan Wilson

Liverpool are still haunted by the mess of last summer's misguided recruitment drive

he good news for Liverpool is that, Arsenal aside, every other team with vague title aspirations looked undercooked,

and that Andoni Iraola's men did, in the end, come away from Newcastle with a point. But the vulnerability to the counter that undermined them so often last season has not gone away and nor have they suddenly found a new creativity under Iraola.

The main theme of the first three days of the new season was the value of stability. Manchester City under a new manager were poor and fortunate to overcome Bournemouth. Aston Villa, after big changes of players and backroom staff, were hammered at Brighton. Tottenham, midway through yet another overhaul, were dismal in losing at Brentford. Manchester United at least provided a degree of stability by looking very much like the United of the past decade in their defeat by Hull.

Liverpool, for much of the first 96 minutes at St James' Park, looked like joining the list of challengers struggling to emerge from a summer of churn. Arne Slot spent much of last season complaining about Liverpool's inability to deal with direct attacks, and as Anthony Elanga put Newcastle ahead, it seemed that not much had changed. Joe Willock's goal to restore the Newcastle lead was much the same: opponents running at pace through vacant space.

What is odd is how pressing the need for a replacement for Fabinho has been since the defensive midfielder left in 2023. Even as Liverpool won the league under Slot in 2024-25, the discussion was of how the squad needed of an overhaul, and how a dedicated holding player to operate alongside

▲ Alexander Isak posed little threat in his first full 90 minutes for Liverpool

Ryan Gravenberch was a priority. Which was what made the spending spree of last summer so surprising: it wasn't so much who came in as who didn't.

Without a holding midfielder, the flaws of the centre of defence, where Virgil van Dijk's lack of pace on the turn is becoming increasingly obvious, are magnified. Liverpool could perhaps get away with it were he prepared to operate 10 yards higher in possession but the 35-year-old, aware of his ageing legs and worried about balls played in behind him, instinctively drops deeper, giving opponents just the sort of opportunities that Yoane Wissa kept exploiting on Sunday.

Iraola insisted it wasn't “just about personnel” – which itself seemed an implicit acknowledgment that it is in part about personnel.

Liverpool's full-backs, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, were unconvincing. Alexander Isak, booed throughout by the home fans, rarely looked dangerous in the first full 90 minutes he has completed since his British record transfer from Newcastle last summer. Florian Wirtz produced a characteristic performance full of neat touches and little incision.

Iraola's career suggests it takes him time to instil his ideas. There is no reason for panic. Liverpool at least had the resilience to come back and pinch the draw. It's not like any side other than Arsenal has looked particularly impressive. But perhaps there does need to be a reconsideration of what has gone before.

The familiar narrative is that Slot drove the car that Jürgen Klopp had put together to a league title and was then found wanting. But, while the Dutchman cannot escape blame for last season, an equally valid interpretation might be that Slot coaxed an ageing team to an unexpected league title. Then, with an overhaul badly needed he was let down by those charged with recruitment.

Michael Edwards left his role as chief executive for football at Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool, in July, but the mess caused by last summer's spree endures. Of the six most expensive signings of last summer for a combined fee of around £410m, the only one who has looked remotely impressive, Hugo Ekitike, is still out for months with a ruptured achilles. Rarely has so much been spent in football to such destructive effect.

On the ball Play it in the Guardian app Each day a star Premier League player past or present is hidden behind nine clues

UK leagues push to halt illegal Russian broadcasts

Matt Hughes

The English Football League and Scottish Professional Football League have launched investigations and are considering legal action after discovering that television coverage of their matches has been broadcast in Russia this season.

Football TV, a Russian subscription and streaming service, has broadcast numerous games from the opening two rounds of the EFL, as well as Scottish Premiership matches featuring Celtic, Rangers and Hearts.

The EFL and SPFL stopped broadcasting in Russia in March 2022 after the previous month's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and have not sold rights packages in the country since, so the live footage appears to have been obtained and televised illegally.

Until Russia's full-scale invasion the EFL had a rights contract with Football TV, and the Scottish Premiership was broadcast on Match TV.

The Premier League suspended its broadcasts in Russia at the same time, with its rights held by Okko Sport.

The EFL contacted Football TV last week after being alerted that several games, including Cardiff's 1-1 draw with Wrexham last Monday and Watford's 2-1 win over Southampton the previous day, were shown in Russia, but despite this complaint the broadcaster also aired live coverage of West Ham v Charlton and West Brom v Burnley this past weekend.

Those matches were listed as test events, raising concerns that Football TV may also plan to show illegal content from the Premier League.

Several Scottish Premiership matches were shown over the past two weekends, with the broadcasts promoted on Football TV's Telegram channel.

The EFL and the SPFL's priority is to ensure the broadcasts stop, which is being pursued, and they are seeking to discover the source of the pirated content.

Both organisations are understood to reserve the right to take legal action against Football TV and whoever is supplying it with access to their matches.

An SPFL source said the league was investigating the matter in conjunction with its broadcasting distribution rights holder, Infront.

The EFL and SPFL declined to comment.

▲ A Russian streaming service has broadcast multiple EFL games

City agree £34m deal for Allan and could rival Spurs for Gakpo

Jamie Jackson Louise Taylor

Manchester City have agreed a €37.5m plus €2.5m (£34m) deal for the Palmeiras winger Allan Elias, with the club also in advanced negotiations to sell Nico González to Newcastle.

The 22-year-old Elias - known as Allan - made his senior debut for Palmeiras last year and has made 96 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals and making 12 assists. He is yet to play for Brazil.

Allan's arrival will clear the way for the sale of his countryman Savinho to Tottenham for £75m plus £10m. Spurs also want to sign City's Omar Marmoush, with the fee for the forward expected to be £75m. While Savinho has informed Enzo Maresca he wishes to leave, City's manager said on Friday that the Egyptian had not done so.

González is expected to be sold to Newcastle for a fee in the region of £50m, a price almost identical to the £49.8m City paid Porto for the midfielder in the January 2025 window.

Newcastle are understood to be confident of signing the 24-year-old.

The money from his proposed sale may be used by City to make an official bid for Chelsea's Enzo Fernández. While Chelsea set a deadline for any offer for the midfielder of 14 August, which was not met, City may test their resolve, as the player is open to a move and a reunion with his former coach Maresca.

City have so far made only one senior signing in the window, the £116m purchase of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, but are close to sealing the €95m (£81.4m) plus €5m deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi. The Lille midfielder is thought to have undergone his medical yesterday.

City are also thought to retain an interest in the Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo with Spurs also monitoring his availability. If Liverpool sign Bradley Barcola and another winger, they may be open to Gakpo's exit. Liverpool are pondering a third bid for Brighton's Yankuba Minteh and continue to talk with Paris Saint-Germain over Ibrahim Mbaye and Barcola.

▲ Allan Elias made his senior debut for Palmeiras in Brazil last year

Gonzalo García seized on Robert Sánchez's error

João Pedro scored after 31 seconds, the fastest goal in the first round of Premier League games DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS

Chelsea's new rebuild begins with win after wild west London derby

Jacob Steinberg Craven Cottage

Perhaps there will come a time when Xabi Alonso has taught Chelsea how to master the art of game management. This is a team still to learn how to grind. Equally it is a team capable of hurting anyone, and although Alonso's first outing as Chelsea's manager featured plenty of terrible defending it also provided confirmation that life will never be dull with a front three of Cole Palmer, João Pedro and Morgan Rogers.

No wonder Maxence Lacroix wanted to join in the fun. The £52m centre-back marked his debut with a thrilling assist, storming forward to make Rogers's first goal since his £117m move from Aston Villa. João Pedro was no less effective as the No 9, while the biggest positive for Alonso had to be Palmer looking rested, dangerous and determined to prove a point after his injury woes

Forest close on Delap

Nottingham Forest are in advanced talks with Chelsea over a deal for Liam Delap. Oliver Glasner wants two more signings before the transfer window closes a week today. Delap, who was on Forest's radar when the striker opted to join Chelsea from Ipswich, is out of favour at Stamford Bridge and has been training away from Xabi Alonso's first team. The 23-year-old was left out of Chelsea's squad for their game at Fulham. Aston Villa are closing in the Club Brugge defender Joel Ordóñez. Villa want the Ecuador centre-back to replace Arsenal's Ezri Konsa. Ben Fisher last season led to him being left out of England's World Cup squad.

Keep playing this well and Thomas Tuchel will surely name Palmer alongside Rogers for the Nations League games next month. Chelsea's two No 10s both got to do the "ice cold" celebration and their combinations with João Pedro should have been enough to ensure this 3-2 win against Fulham was less stressful.

There were reminders that Chelsea have much to improve if they want to challenge for the title. Their defending left much to be desired, even with the towering Lacroix in the middle of the back three, and Robert Sánchez's feeble attempt to stop Josh King from scoring Fulham's first goal bolsters the argument that Chelsea need a new No 1.

Alonso refused to single out Sánchez. The Spaniard said it was down to the team to defend better as a collective, but he also argued that his players delivered a mature performance.

Alvaro Arbeloa, whose friendship with Alonso goes back almost two decades, saw intensity and quality from Fulham. The 19-year-old King sparkled as the No 10. Oscar Bobb was bright on the right and it was easy to see why Arbeloa has brought César Palacios and Gonzalo García with him from Madrid. Palacios offered smooth touches in midfield and Arebloa knew it was important for García to score on his debut in attack.

Fulham	(1) 2	Chelsea	(2) 3
King 23, García 54		Pedro 1, Rogers 41
27,461		Palmer 49

SERIE A

Yet while Fulham have lowered the age of their squad they were let down by naive defending. Chelsea's first goal, scored after 31 seconds, was a catastrophe. A long ball floated through the middle and with Jorge Cuenca out of position in central defence Palmer exacted punishment with a flick to release João Pedro, who built on his scorching pre-season form by dinking a finish over Bernd Leno.

It is hard to judge Arbeloa's level given his managerial experience is limited to stepping in at Madrid after Alonso's firing last season. Fulham played their part in a pulsating first half, though, and were level when King's shot from a tight angle exposed Sánchez's positioning.

Chelsea were without Moisés Caicedo in midfield, where there was a rare start for Roméo Lavia alongside Reece James, and they lacked control before half-time. Marco Palestra was also unable to make his debut because of a minor knock. Malo Gusto and Jorrel Hato seemed cautious picks as the wing-backs in the 3-4-2-1 system Alonso used when winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.

It is a work in progress. Composure eluded Chelsea, typified by Levi Colwill and Lavia picking up bookings inside the first 12 minutes. Fulham had chances to lead but Josh Acheampong denied Garceia.

Chelsea were a handful at the other end. Lavia threatened and João Pedro volleyed wide from a Palmer cross. Rogers pressed, harried and got his goal. Palmer started the move, finding the overlapping Lacroix, who beat a weak challenge and cut the ball back for Rogers to score.

Fulham took a lot of risks on and off the ball. They were too open at times and it was 3-1 at the start of the second half. João Pedro beat a faulty offside and found Palmer, who deceived Leno by giving the goalkeeper the eyes before nutmegging him with a clever finish.

That should have enough but Fulham had hope when Colwill misjudged a long ball, Sánchez spilled Timothy Castagne's shot and García headed in the rebound.

Seeking order, Alonso made changes. Lavia made way for Enzo Fernández, playing the pantomime villain after his role in England's demise at the World Cup. Every Fernández touch was booed, although with Manchester City circling the bigger issue is whether he will play for Chelsea again.

Everything will be clearer soon. Fulham had three chances to equalise but could not find the finish. Alonso has started well but there is more to come.

Fulham 4-2-3-1 Leno; Castagne ●, Bassey ●, Cuenca, Robinson (Muniz 82); Berge (Sessegnon 73), Iwobi; Bobb (Charles 67), King, Palacios (Kevin 73); García Subs not used Lecomte, Tete, De Fougerolles, Reed, Smith Rowe

Chelsea 3-4-2-1 Sánchez; Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill ●; Gusto (Neto 76), James ●, Lavia ● (Fernández 65), Hato (Chavarría 65); Palmer (Estêvão 83), Rogers (Quenda 82); João Pedro Subs not used Penders, Barco, Gittens, Welbeck

Analysis

Jonathan Wilson Craven Cottage

Glaring weakness in goal remains but early signs are it should be fun under Alonso

After a weekend on which pretty much every potential challenger to Arsenal had demonstrated their flaws, there

was a sense, perhaps even a need, for Chelsea to emerge as a serious contender - if only to prevent the title race becoming a procession. And while they were far from flawless, there were at least some indications that they could mount some kind of challenge.

They looked extremely dangerous in the final third, and Cole Palmer was involved in all three Chelsea goals, perhaps benefiting from a first summer off in three years. But they were rather less impressive through midfield or at the back, despite Josh Acheampong's all-action performance, while goalkeeper remains the problem it has been since Thibaut Courtois left.

It could easily have gone wrong: in the final quarter-hour; Antonee Robinson lofted an effort wide with Robert Sánchez off his line and Ryan Sessegnon smacked a shot from a narrow angle straight at the Spanish keeper. But neither opportunity was taken and so Chelsea got Xabi Alonso's reign off to a winning start.

At this stage, performances and learning the system are probably the most important thing, but if there is to be some sort of dart at the title, results matter if only to keep Chelsea somewhere near the race

until the point at which Alonso's principles are absorbed and they do find something close to top form.

Perhaps what's most striking, though, is how different the approach is to Enzo Maresca's. Where Maresca prioritised control to often stultifying effect, Alonso's game is based on rapid turnovers and transition. It'll probably settle down as his systems become deeper rooted but there was a sense of recklessness at times to their play. It was harum-scarum, end-to-end, thrilling stuff, which is all very well to watch, and may even come as a relief after the sterility of Maresca and the shambles of Liam Rosenior, but may not be great for consistency or sustained runs of form.

Alonso could hardly have dreamed of a quicker start, João Pedro putting Chelsea ahead after 31 seconds, matching the record for the quickest goal scored in the reign of a Premier League manager, David Unsworth's goal - also against Fulham - in David Moyes's first game in charge of Everton in March 2002. João Pedro had scored eight goals in eight pre-season games; and this a player Maresca told not to focus on scoring goals shortly before he went on a run of seven games without a shot. That was a first indication of a forward line starting to show signs of an impressive understanding. All three combined for the third goal, Morgan Rogers flicking on for João Pedro who held the ball up for the overlapping Palmer to slip his shot cleverly between Bernd Leno's legs.

Alonso's first go at finding a pattern amid the legions of players assembled by BlueCo involved a midfield made up of two players who, despite being at Chelsea together for the past three years, had never previously been paired in the centre: Roméo Lavia and Reece James. It was not entirely by choice: Moisés Caicedo was left out as a precaution while Enzo Fernández remained on the bench until the 65th minute as Manchester City continue their pursuit of him. And it didn't entirely work. It may look a defensively robust pairing but there were long spells when Fulham had control of midfield.

A feature of Alonso's approach, and one of the reasons it takes time and commitment to learn - qualities that were notably lacking at Real Madrid - is that players can emerge in unexpected positions. Which doesn't entirely explain how the right-sided centre-back Maxence Lacroix found himself running on to Palmer's pass in the Fulham box but, having got there, he demonstrated great poise to skip around Jorge Cuenca and cut the ball back for Rogers to score his first Chelsea goal.

et for all that was new and positive, and for all that was raw and unintentionally exciting, there was one glaring and

inexplicably familiar failing for Chelsea: in goal. Sánchez's positioning seemed very strange for Fulham's first goal, drilled in at his near post by Josh King (who also benefited from a bizarrely ineffectual attempt to track from Rogers), and while it was a far less glaring error, he pushed Timothy Castagne's shot straight to Gonzalo García for Fulham's second.

Although Sánchez doesn't perhaps quite deserve the negative reputation he has among certain Chelsea fans, he did make a league-high five errors leading to goals in 2024-25 and three last season. It remains mystifying that a club that signs wide forwards by the dozen continues to refuse to invest in a top-class goalkeeper. That may yet hold Chelsea back.

Generally, though, Alonso can be satisfied with his start: a win against Chelsea's local rivals, an impressive display from Acheampong, a number of fluent interactions from his front three and plenty of signs of his system beginning to take hold, with a few obvious improvements to be made. And from the point of view of fans and casual observers, it looks like it should be fun.

◀ Xabi Alonso’s system seems suited to getting the best out of Cole Palmer RYAN PIERSE/GETTY IMAGES

Football

PREMIER LEAGUE

	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
Brighton	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4	3
Arsenal	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3
Brentford	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	3
Everton	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3
Hull	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3
Chelsea	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	3
Ipswich	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	3
Manchester City	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	3
Leeds	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	3
Liverpool	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
Newcastle	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
Fulham	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0
Bournemouth	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Sunderland	1	0	0	1	1	2	-1	0
Nottingham Forest	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0
Crystal Palace	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
Manchester Utd	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0
Coventry	1	0	0	1	0	3	-3	0
Tottenham	1	0	0	1	0	3	-3	0
Aston Villa	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4	0

LA LIGA

Málaga 1 Deportivo de A Coruña 1; Osasuna 0 Levante 0

Bologna 0 Lazio 1; Roma 4 Fiorentina 0

GERMAN DFB POKAL

First round Altglienicke 3 Wolfsburg 3 (aet; Wolfsburg won 6-5 on penalties); Hallescher 2 Schalke 5 aet; Verl 0 Hamburg 3; Würzburger 1 Köln 2

Cricket

SECOND MEN'S TEST (day two of five)

SECOND MEN'S TEST (day two or five) Colombo India 503-9 dec (D Padikkal 117, DC Jurel 115no, RR Pant 63, S Gill 50; AM Fernando 4-106). Sri Lanka 8-2. Sri Lanka trail India by 495 runs with eight second-innings wickets remaining.

Tennis

WTA CINCINNATI OPEN (Mason, Ohio) Final: C Gauff (US) bt J Pegula (US) 6-2 6-4

WTA MONTERREY OPEN (Mexico) Last 32: O Oliynykova (Ukr) bt M Sherif (Egy) 6-3 6-4; N Bartunkova (Cz) bt A Ruzic (Cro) 6-4 6-3; M Joint (Aus) bt Y Putintseva (Kaz) 0-6 6-3 6-1; Y Starodubtseva (Ukr) bt L Tagger (Aut) 6-3 6-4; A Bondar (Hun) bt Liang E-s (Tai) 6-3 4-6 6-1; A Li (US) bt C Osorio (Col) 6-1 6-2.

ATP WINSTON-SALEM OPEN (North Carolina) Last 64: R Hijikata (Aus) bt D Blanch (US) 6-4 7-6 (2); B Bonzi (Fr) bt K Majchrzak (Pol) 6-4 7-6 (7); L Sonego (It) bt V Kopriva (Cz) 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-3; J Duckworth (Aus) bt Q Vandecasteele (US) 6-2 6-1; D Suresh (Ind) bt M Giron (US) 6-3 7-5; A Walton (Aus) bt J De Jong (Neth) 6-2 6-4; C Hewitt (Aus) bt S Gorzny (US) 6-4 7-6 (2); M Damm (US) at A Shelbayh (Jor) 6-4 7-6 (2).

Cycling

VUELTA A ESPAÑA (Spain)

Stage three (Gruissan-Aude - Font Romeu, 174km) Stage abandoned due to adverse weather conditions Overall classification: 1 T Pogacar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates-XRG 4hr 58min 40sec; 2 W van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike +0:09; 3 M Brennan (GB) Visma-Lease a Bike +0.10; 4 L Bisiaux (Fr) Decathlon CMA CGM +0:12; 5 F Fisher-Black (NZ) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe +0:14. Selected others: 13 E Hayter (GB) Soudal Quick-Step +0:29; 29 B Tulett (GB) Visma-Lease a Bike +0:40; 43 O Onley (GB) Netcompany Ineos +0:54.

Snooker

WUHAN OPEN (China)

WORAN OPEN (Emma) Last 32: M Williams (Wal) bt D Gilbert (Eng) 5-3; J Trump (Eng) bt Yuan S (Chn) 5-0; C Wakelin (Eng) bt S Hallworth (Eng) w/o; LJ Davies (Wal) bt G Wilson (Eng) 5-3; Xiao G (Chn) bt J Page (Wal) 5-2

Fixtures

Football (7.45pm unless stated) Champions League

Qualifying play-offs: second leg Bodø/Glimt (3) v NEC (1) (8pm); LASK (0) v Celtic (3) (8pm); Sabah (1) v Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2) (5.45pm) Carabao Cup

Second round Barnsley v Crewe; Birmingham v Brentford (8pm); Blackburn v Sheffield Utd; Blackpool v Lincoln City; Cambridge Utd v Millwall; Cardiff v Norwich (7pm); Doncaster v Middlesbrough (7.30pm); Fleetwood v Shrewsbury; Ipswich v Leicester; Nottingham Forest v Leeds (8pm); Plymouth v Coventry; Sheffield Wednesday v Wolves; Southampton v West Ham; Stevenage v Reading; Stoke v Hull; Walsall v Leyton Orient; Watford v Peterborough EFL Trophy

Bristol Rovers v Chelsea U21 (7pm) KDM Evolution Trophy

First round Airdrieonians v Stirling; Alloa v Motherwell B; Annan Athletic v Berwick; Bonnyrigg Rose v Rangers B; Clachnacuddin v Elgin; Cove Rangers v Dundee Utd B; Cowdenbeath v East Kilbride; Cumbernauld v Kilmarnock B; Dumbarton v Celtic B; East Fife v St Mirren B; Forfar v Formartine Utd; Fraserburgh v Aberdeen B; Hamilton v Edinburgh City; Kelty Hearts v Clydebank; Montrose v Clyde; Peterhead v Dundee B; Queen of the South v Hibernian B; Ross County v Banks O'Dee; Spartans v Hearts B; Stranraer v Gala Fairydean Women's Champions League Qualifying third round Brann v Austria Vienna (5pm)

Greg Wood's racing tips

Musselburgh 2.15 Vegasmile 2.45 Aodhan
3.15 Only Dream Big 3.45 Furhaan (nb)
4.15 Coconut Bay 4.45 Jojo Rabbit
Lingfield 2.30 Havana Touch 3.00 Thai Baht
3.30 Let's Go Hugo 4.00 Musical Soldier (nap)
4.30 Dialstone 5.02 Sovereign Bright
Stratford-On-Avon 5.10 Diamond Grace
5.40 French Diablo 6.15 Beorma 6.45 Getmyfriend
7.15 Youdecide 7.45 Roccana Rose

Sport

Barney Ronay Has the Premier League ditched Guardiolaism for blitz-ball?

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New Fery-tale? The unlikely Wimbledon hero on his next chapter

Exclusive interview Page 34

The Guardian Tuesday 25 August 2026

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Rogers and Palmer freeze out Fulham

2

CHELSEA 3

Cole Palmer's celebration (far right) catches on after Morgan Rogers (inset) scores Report and analysis Page 38 →

DARREN WALSH/CHELSEA FC VIA GETTY IMAGES

England drop Carse

Fast bowler out of squad while handcuffs incident investigated

Ali Martin

Brydon Carse has been stood down from England's squad for the second Test against Pakistan this week while the footage of him in police handcuffs outside a bar in Derby city centre is investigated by the sport's disciplinary body.

Carse was filmed by a member of the public while he was detained briefly on suspicion of “being drunk and disorderly” outside

Molly Malone's Irish Tavern in the early hours of Sunday morning. The 31-year-old fast bowler had been celebrating victory against Derbyshire with his Durham teammates.

The former England captain Ben Stokes and the fast bowler Matthew Potts were also present at the scene, with Carse said to have been in handcuffs for “a few minutes” before he agreed to move on and was let go without charge.

Though not officially on England duty at the time - he was in the squad for the first Test in Leeds last week but was then sent to play for Durham - Carse is centrally contracted. The matter is now being looked into by the Cricket Regulator - the sport's disciplinary body - regarding a possible disrepute charge.

In the meantime, and in light of a string of drink-related incidents that have plagued the England men's team over the past nine months, Carse has been dropped from the Test squad. While he was not expected to play unless there was an injury, Carse has been replaced by Hampshire's Sonny Baker.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board yesterday read: "Following a referral from the ECB, the Cricket Regulator have confirmed that they will investigate events on Saturday night in Derby.

"Brydon Carse will no

Mark Ramprakash 'There is an issue with this group of players that isn't being dealt with' Page 32 →

Infantino faces fury as players call for change at top of Fifa

Nick Ames

A group of influential current and former footballers have added to the pressure on Gianni Infantino by calling for change at the top of Fifa, saying “enough is enough” in a statement shared widely across social media.

The intervention is particularly significant given some of those behind its circulation have undertaken ambassadorial activities for Fifa as part of its “Fifa Legends” programme. Among them is the former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikaël Silvestre, who also sits on the governing body’s 16-member players’ voice panel designed to assist with anti-racism initiatives.

Others to have shared the statement include the England defender Lucy Bronze, the former England keeper David James and the France 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit. More signatories are expected to follow in a reaction to Infantino's ill-fated attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup.

“We share the exact same concerns as the millions of fans around the world,” part of the statement read. “Like them, we have watched the game we love drift away from its core values under Fifa’s current leadership. For too long, we’ve seen major decisions taken without players being consulted or considered, and without any regard for the fans who sustain the sport.

“Change is necessary. Power has blurred the current leadership’s ability to distinguish between its own interests and what is best for football. Recent events have made silence impossible. Enough is enough.”

The group called for efforts to “reshape the future of our sport”, adding: “There are good people within Fifa who want to rebuild trust, but a new era requires a structured change: a real, direct say for players and fans in how football is run. Those who step on to the pitch and those who sit in the stands deserve a genuine voice to help reshape football’s future together.”

Infantino has resisted calls to resign and spent Saturday at a youth tournament in the Dominican Republic, attempting to smooth relations with some of the smaller Caribbean member associations on whose support his fate may hinge.

Regardless of what fat people do, we can never win Rebecca Shaw, page 3

The results are in: it’s time to scrap compulsory GCSE resits Polly Toynbee, page 4

Dirty money on the high street: the other Post Office scandal The long read, page 5

Journal

The Guardian Tuesday 25 August 2026

G2 Daily pullout life & arts section Inside

Opinion and ideas

Canadians do not seek a trade war - but we won't be bullied

Jen Gerson

he Canadians are exceedingly angry. I realise this can sometimes be difficult for foreigners to deduce, given our struggle to express the full range of human emotion outside ice hockey riots. However, let me assure you that the prime minister Canadians saw take the stage on Saturday morning in the wake of the collapse in trade negotiations with the US was a Mark Carney practically vibrating with fury.

"You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked," he said, in a rare press conference that was as candid and clear as he ever tends to be. "That's fine ... We've got the reserves, we've got the resilience, we've got the plan, we've got the focus. We're gonna respond, we're going to focus on what we can control and what we're going to build." Canada walked out of negotiations mere hours before $50\%$ tariffs on a range of Canadian exports were due to kick in.

Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs, scheduled to take effect on 8 September, will follow. Carney said that last-minute demands from the US were “uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal”. The US denied this, insisting that it was Canadians who made last-minute demands.

In subsequent interviews with Bloomberg, the Canadian ambassador to the US, Mark Wiseman, said there was no specific item that put a deal out of reach; rather, it was a range of issues in which the text that ultimately wound up on the page - or at least the interpretation of that text - did not align with what the Canadians thought they had agreed to. The most contentious issues appear to be related to tariffs on autos, digital and cultural policy, and the US claiming the right to veto Canada's attempts to form trade alliances with other countries. Canadians have no reason to trust this administration not to unilaterally impose new tariffs on a whim - which it has done, repeatedly, and as recently as this week.

An anti-US tariffs protest outside the US embassy in Vancouver in 2025 PHOTOGRAPH: ETHAN CAIRNS/AP

In short, Carney noted, sometimes the US signature on trade deals is “written in pencil”.

Canadian voters, who were pensive about the prospect of any new deal with the US in the first place, have come out strongly in support of the prime minister. Despite the fact that the deal's collapse will almost certainly entail painful economic penalties, the mood is one of sustained and general anger towards the US not born merely of trade irritants - very few Canadians have opinions about rules of origin tariffs on auto parts, or

Jen Gerson is a Canadian commentator and co-founder of The Line

2

The Guardian

Founded 1821 Independently owned by the Scott Trust N° 55,994 'Comment is free... but facts are sacred' CP Scott

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softwood lumber protections, or supply managed dairy quotas. In cordial times, these are the ordinary frictions between close friends and neighbours.

Rather, it's an emotion born of a real and visceral sense of betrayal: that the people we trusted with shared security and military obligations, that the nation with which we allowed ourselves to grow economically interdependent, has turned on us. They are using ordinary trade irritants as an excuse to exercise mafioso-style dominance in the pursuit of our subjugation and maybe outright annexation. We know very well that this isn't about trade.

We are being trained to know our place in the new world order that the so-called Dunroe doctrine is seeking to impose on the western hemisphere.

o how, exactly, are any of us supposed to respond when the US secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, goes on Fox News in the aftermath of the collapse to say things such as: “We provide their security for them and they take advantage of us? President Trump was the first one to go and say ‘that’s not

the kind of relationship friends should have’.”

The US does not provide Canadian security - although many commentators, including myself, do criticise our lax military spending. The North American Aerospace Defense Command is a fully integrated entity of both the Canadian and US military. We have our own military and our own police forces.

How are we supposed to respond when our large and once-admired neighbour to the south repeatedly threatens to make us the “51st state”? Or when he posts gag photos of the whole of North America covered in a US flag - provocations we’re supposed to take “seriously but not literally”, as if that makes these threats less horrific or more acceptable.

What does one do when one's closest “friend” and “ally” repeatedly threatens to disregard border treaties? Or when the US's behaviour aligns perfectly with the president's threat to use “economic force” to push us into becoming an American state?

There is not a single Canadian who wants to start a war with the US. No country in Canada's position storms out of a trade negotiation unless it has to. No country as dependent on the US tells the modern imperium to get lost, and risks the consequences thereof, unless there is no other option.

What Carney - and Canada, for that matter - are trying to signal across the Atlantic is that the US we all built our expectations around is over. We cannot plan around the hope of a return to normal, even if Democrats regain power in Washington.

Canada's location and US-integrated economy mean that we will be the first to face the reality of whatever the US becomes. And if it is coming for us, no European ally - including the UK - can expect to remain untouched, regardless of whatever “special relationship” you imagine may insulate you.

Personally, I simply cannot fathom the commentators and politicians in the UK who fail to understand this. Do you honestly imagine yourselves to be closer to the US militarily, geographically, economically or culturally than Canada? Guys, we are a little America, albeit with a steadier political system and the king on the money. If they are willing to vassalise us, what sentiment of history or tradition remains to protect you?

A fundamental break in American values is not a problem that can be contained. Carney is serious when he talks about a historic “rupture in the world order”, as he did at Davos early this year.

Canadians understand that maintaining our sovereignty and independence will entail consequences and sacrifices. We did not bring this trade war on ourselves; we have merely refused to comply to the unreasonable demands of a bad-faith actor. We will be punished. We have accepted this. If nothing else, let the US's retaliation be a warning to the rest of the western alliance. Run, run. Protect yourselves. Move faster.

Defence

Europe and UK arm Ukraine as Putin bets on western division

The events of the past few days on Europe's borders may mark a turning point in Russia's war on Ukraine. While the political skies in Kyiv have darkened for Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the military picture looks brighter. Ukraine can already send swarms of drones against Russian oil facilities, e-commerce warehouses and airfields. Andy Burnham's arrival in Kyiv marks a step forward. Britain is releasing classified information on its components of Scalp, the French version of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missile, enabling its assembly in Ukraine. This is more than another weapon for Kyiv. Britain is helping Ukraine become less dependent on the western armoury.

Moscow sabre-rattles, but Britain should hold its nerve. Kyiv has been at the mercy of its allies, waiting to replenish weapons stockpiles and release sophisticated arms. Producing its own hi-tech armoury gives Ukraine greater freedom of action because western governments have let go. Two years ago it was different. Joe Biden waited until November 2024 before letting Ukraine strike deep into Russia with US weapons. Yet thresholds once deemed dangerously escalatory have since been crossed without provoking a Russia-Nato war. Kyiv is now being trusted with something more consequential: a measure of weapons independence.

It needs this. Ukraine cannot overcome its manpower disadvantage by fighting Russia soldier for soldier for every kilometre of its vital eastern fortress belt, where Kyiv is losing ground. If Moscow can freely push ammunition, drones and equipment towards Donetsk, eventually something will give. Cruise missiles offer another strategy, making it harder and costlier for Russian forces to reach the front. Europe is thinking defensively too. Ukraine relies heavily on the US-made Patriots to down ballistic missiles, but global shortages of interceptors, a situation made worse by the US war with Iran, have left it exposed. With European help, Ukraine's defence industry is developing an anti-ballistic system intended to reduce that dependence. Kyiv is ramping up its own ballistic missiles. If both are successful, Ukraine would be better able both to strike and defend itself without first appealing to Washington.

War is a terrible thing, but what is the alternative? Moscow offers little evidence that territorial success would satisfy it. Despite enormous casualties and painfully slow advances, Vladimir Putin rejects proposals that fail to meet Russia's broader conditions while expanding military power rather than preparing his people for compromise. Then there is the rise of the far right in Europe, large parts of which are pro-Russia. If Mr Putin thinks that the outlook for Russia's position will improve politically over the next two or three years, he will bargain harder. Why accept merely the Donbas today if the coalition supporting Ukraine might be weaker tomorrow? That option disappears if either Russia's war burden becomes intolerable or the west convincingly insulates its material help from political change.

History offers lessons. In Vladislav M Zubok's Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin is startled to hear that Ukrainians, including millions of Russian speakers, want independence in 1991. Once convinced this is their democratic will, however, he accepts it. Russia, he says, will “recognise this new political reality”. Mr Putin starts from the same sense of historical intimacy and reaches the opposite conclusion: that Ukraine’s democratic choices cannot override Russia’s claim to a privileged role in its future. That is a revanchist error he ought to regret.

China

Hong Kong's activists kept the truth alive. Now they in turn need support

For decades, Hong Kong mourned when the mainland could not. Its huge annual Tiananmen vigil kept alive the memory of the 1989 pro-reform protests in Beijing, and of the massacre that suppressed them. Along with Macau, it was the only place in China where the anniversary could be publicly marked and the truth preserved.

But the crackdown on the 2019 uprising in Hong Kong has crushed the freedoms that the region once enjoyed. That year's vigil was the last. On Friday, two leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised the commemoration, were convicted of incitement to subversion under the draconian national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face up to 10 years in jail.

A third defendant, the 74-year-old former legislator Albert Ho, pleaded guilty in January. All three have been imprisoned since their arrests in 2021. The court ruled that the alliance's stated aim to “end one-party dictatorship” in itself constituted using unlawful means to overthrow the Chinese government - despite acknowledging that the group never used or advocated violence, or even set out a path to its goal.

The convictions are shameful, but not surprising. They follow the jailing of the prominent pro-democracy activists known as the “Hong Kong 47” in late 2024 and the 20-year sentence handed to the media tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai in February. Yet while this trial shows the authorities’ determination to eradicate Hong Kong’s previous freedoms, it also reflects the Communist

party's determination to control and rewrite history across China.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were killed in the 1989 massacre. Xi Jinping made a rare reference to the events last week, reaffirming the party's “correct” response, in a speech paying tribute to the former leader Jiang Zemin. But the subject remains one of the most taboo in a country long adept at erasing uncomfortable truths - so sensitive that even words such as “remember” and “today” are censored on social media on the anniversary. This June, the Tiananmen Mothers group of bereaved relatives, who have long mourned under heavy police escort, were barred from visiting their loved ones’ graves on the date of the killings.

Against such brutal edicts, memory appears fragile. Most younger people on the mainland have no idea of what happened. Yet late last year, previously unseen footage suddenly emerged of the court martial of a general who defied the order to use force against demonstrators. The video was posted on YouTube - which is blocked in China - and sheds new light on events. General Xu Qinxian, who was jailed and lived under heavy restrictions until his death in 2021, said that a commander imposing the order might become “a sinner in history”. Whoever leaked the footage, and whatever their reasons for doing so, it is clear that some still resist the national amnesia.

Remembrance and mourning are not crimes. In a message to Andy Burnham, Ms Chow, a barrister who studied law in the UK, warned that Britain had a “non-delegable duty to adopt a more robust stance” to China. She was right. The UK was the other signatory of the treaty that supposedly preserved Hong Kong’s relative autonomy until 2047. For years in the annual vigils, Ms Chow, Mr Lee and other courageous Hong Kong people stood up for those on the mainland who had been silenced. Others should now stand up and speak for them as they pay the price for that solidarity.

Regardless of what we do, fat people can never win

Rebecca Shaw

s you might know if you read my columns, see me a mile away, or talk to me for five seconds, I am a card-carrying lifelong member of the Fat Lesbian Club. However, ever since I first laid eyes on the television show Roseanne as a child, the actor John Goodman has held a special place in my heart. It was confusing: did I want to be Dan Conner, or be with Dan Conner? I'm still not sure. He has always been so hot to me, from Dan on Roseanne to Fred Flintstone to Walter in The Big Lebowski. His body has drawn attention in the last week or so, after a photo of him showing significant weight loss went viral.

It's not Goodman's 74-year-old body (his choice) I want to discuss, but instead the arguments that broke out about how he lost the weight. On one side there were many people congratulating him on his hard work. Then there were people claiming (without evidence) that he had taken a weight-loss drug such as Ozempic so it wasn't actually hard work, and then there were people defending that apparent choice by saying he'd been losing weight for years through diet and exercise, so he'd done most of it the “right way”, actually.

I don't know the details and I don't care, but none of this is good. This is a common sentiment, but now it seems to be snowballing. There's this idea that fat people who use weight loss drugs are "cheating" or "taking the easy way". What it means, as usual, is that fat people cannot win, regardless of what we do. And I've had enough.

I'm a fat person. We are constantly tortured by a society that tells us to lose weight. If you're fat, that's a moral failing: you're lazy and unhealthy. If you're fat at the gym, or out jogging, you're an object of ridicule. If you lose weight with drugs, you didn't earn it. If you're fat and not self-flagellating at every moment, you're glorifying obesity. If you lose weight for any reason, it proves you were never really happy with yourself; it proves that fat is bad, that thinness was always the real goal. If you stay fat, we want you to admit you're unhealthy. If you say you're happy, we want to diagnose you with denial.

John Goodman at the Empire State Building in New York last July (above); Goodman as Dan Conner in Roseanne (below)

PHOTOGRAPHS: LEV RADIN/ALAMY; CINETEXT BILDARCHIVE/ABC/ALLSTAR

* Rebecca Shaw is a Guardian Australia columnist

People resent us for being fat, and they resent us for getting thin. They just want us to suffer - they hate us and our bodies

So much of the condescension as well as plain cruelty towards fat people is packaged as “we just want you to be healthy”. If this were true, nobody would be speculating about or criticising people for allegedly using medication, by saying it’s cheating. Who is being cheated if a fat person changes their body? Why does it matter how a person changes their body - and why does any of it matter at all to non-fat people anyway? Just like basically every other human condition, there are a million reasons people’s bodies are different sizes and respond differently to different things. When someone quits smoking with medication, we don’t say they’ve cheated. We don’t insist they go cold turkey to prove that they really wanted to quit. We understand in all other cases that making something easier doesn’t make the outcome less legitimate. But when the body in question is fat, we become moral arbiters. Suddenly it matters how they do what we have savagely demanded they do.

ociety has spent decades telling fat people that our value depends on our ability to control our weight. Now there is medicine that can make that control easier, and suddenly the problem is not the weight but whether the person has suffered sufficiently to “deserve” it. People resent us for being fat, and

they resent us for getting thin. They just want us to suffer. All of this, as ever, is only about punishing fat people. People just hate us and our bodies, and they feel no shame about demonstrating that hatred, largely because they are safe from being called out. It is perfectly socially acceptable to hate fat people.

This is not even about weight loss drugs - I don't think everyone should take Ozempic, and I certainly worry about all the relatively thin people who seem to be taking it purely to get even thinner. I also don't think being fat is inherently bad or good. I just think we should be treated like human beings. Is that really so much to ask? Apparently it is.

We should be allowed to lose weight without having to provide you with a moral explanation. We should be allowed to remain fat without having to convince you that we are sufficiently miserable about it. We should be allowed to exercise, eat, dress, date, and just go about our lives without our bodies becoming public property. Fat people should not have to audition for your approval. We are human beings, our bodies are none of your business, and you need to keep your big fat noses out of our lives.

NICOLA JENNINGS

It's time to scrap compulsory GCSE resits

Polly Toynbee

CSE results day saw the usual front pages filled with pictures of beaming students. What you didn't see was the invisible third of 16-year-olds in England who failed their maths and English GCSEs. That's 360,000 failed in a system designed by the

former education minister Michael Gove to mark out winners from losers. These pupils must resit English and maths before they can do any other course. Colleges cannot give them a blessed fresh start from failed schooling, as they are refused funds for any student not taking repeated resits.

Only about 17% of resitters ever pass. Quite apart from the despair, David Hughes, head of the Association of Colleges, points to the waste: of the far-too-few 16 teaching hours a week for students on post-16 study courses, resitters must be taught seven hours of hated English and maths that most of them will fail. No wonder University College London research shows the damage done: self-confidence is lost and many drop out altogether. That doesn't happen in Wales and Northern Ireland, where resits are not mandatory for continuing study.

Labour understands the damage done by this torment: finally compulsory resits will end in 2028. Instead, those who fail can take a new “stepping stone” qualification in functional maths and English, proving adequate literacy and numeracy skills.

But an ideological dispute remains among the advisers of the education secretary, Lucy Powell. They will still make all 16-year olds take English and maths GCSE in the first place, even if they will probably fail. This doesn't fit well with Andy Burnham spreading his successful Greater Manchester baccalaureate (MBacc) nationally. The scheme has vocational courses suited to local employers alongside academic subjects from age 14, to keep students engaged and avoiding Neet status: not in education, employment or training.

Ideological purists think dividing young people early between GCSE groups and stepping-stone groups sets up a two-tier discrimination, downgrading some students who might have passed a full GCSE. But with a million Neets, the key priority must be making school encouraging, not demoralising.

Gove sticks to his Gradgrind resits. He calls Burnham's approach “bring back stupid”. But had he invested in nursery education, where destinies are most surely set, there might be fewer 16-year-old with failing grades to bully now. The good news is that Labour's emphasis on skills has been infectious, with a surge in applications to technical courses, well beyond the current demographic bulge, while university applications still rise by 3%. Alan Milburn's commission to solve the crisis of 1 million Neets has real policy steam behind it to urge more skills training.

But further education (FE) has a lot of catching up to do. The recent funding boost for colleges still doesn't cover the full cost of any extra student accepted - an additional 25,000 are expected to enrol this autumn - and colleges lack space and staff after huge cuts in the Tory years: funding for over-19s adult education fell from £5bn in 2002 to £1.5bn in 2025.

Recent extra money for wages “only stopped the gap getting wider”, Hughes says, with FE staff paid £10,500 less than school teachers. Why, he asks, do colleges pay VAT costing £200m while schools are reimbursed?

The spur of Labour's new growth and skills levy is incentivising employers to take on beginners with short courses. But as applications quadrupled for degree apprenticeships, places have halved.

Why do university students get maintenance loans, but FE students can't? "Because too many will never earn enough to pay them back," says Hughes. Worse, Neets on benefits are barred from full-time courses. Needless barriers need removing. Neets who need driving licences for jobs and apprenticeships, essential from care to plumbing, find the waiting time for a driving test is 21 weeks or more.

Burnham's eloquence on valuing “the hard hat as much as the academic cap” earns Gove’s contempt, but it has raised FE spirits. Talking to college heads, they see that Labour knows what to do. As ever, the problem is overcoming Britain’s forever-low esteem for technical education. It will take heavy lifting to shift mentalities towards encouraging that third of 16-year-olds instead of tormenting them.

The other Post Office scandal Hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty money are being laundered on the high street every year. So why are the police reluctant to investigate? Oliver Bullough

The long read

eicestershire

police won't say who first told them about Jigar Gheewala, but you can see why, once they had heard of him, they decided to find out more. Gheewala was unemployed, had no apparent income, yet lived in a £1.3m house and sent his three children to private school. "He was a declared bankrupt, with a bank account that was absolutely not reflective of what it should be," said financial crime supervisor Laura Panter of Leicestershire police's economic crime team. "That was our starting point."

Over the course of 2020, despite being on benefits, Gheewala's bank account received more than £880,000 in cash in 200 different deposits. He was, it turned out, a money launderer, but not the kind you'll see in the movies. Gheewala's deposits had been made not in Liechtenstein or on Grand Cayman, but at various post office branches in Leicester, one thick wodge of banknotes after another.

As banks have closed branches all over Britain, post offices have quietly become central to how we move our money. In 2017, post offices began to accept deposits on behalf of banks, and those deposits now exceed £30bn a year. The way it works is straightforward. A customer hands over banknotes to be counted, then inserts a bank card and enters the pin, like a cashpoint in reverse. The post office system then credits the value of the cash to the account linked to the card.

It is a simple system, which Post Office Ltd, the state-owned company that controls the branches, says provides a crucial service to businesses and individuals otherwise cut off from banking services. But the simplicity comes at a cost. It has eliminated many of the checks that previously stopped criminals from laundering their cash. In the same way you can use someone else's card to take money from a cashpoint, provided you know the pin, you can use any bank card to make a deposit at the post office. The process is deliberately streamlined and, unlike at a bank, the post office operative (often referred to as postmaster or subpostmaster) has no way to access any of the account details, and thus no way to check if the person with the card is its holder, or whether this transaction is part of a suspicious pattern.

Law enforcement agencies estimate that, alongside ordinary businesses' takings, hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty money are being paid into the post office each year. This allows drug dealers and other criminals to bank their illicit wealth, and profit from their crimes, and to do so with the absolute minimum of effort.

Leicestershire police used Gheewala's transactions to reconstruct how he operated. On a typical day, he might make his first cash deposit in the east of the city, at a post office counter hosted by a convenience store; then it would be a five-minute drive to another store, with boxes of veg out the front, its windows obscured by decals of soft drinks and spirits, offering post-office services alongside the scratchcards. A few minutes away was another branch, between a chemist and a fried chicken shop, before another short drive would bring him to a retail centre where the post office sat next to a bakery on a prosperous-looking residential street. A final drive north would take him to a convenience store among red-brick detached houses, and that was a morning's work

done: thousands of pounds deposited in an hour or so, bundles of criminal cash being paid into the most ordinary of locations.

“So when we started looking at this, we were then able to see other individuals in Leicestershire that were mimicking exactly the same activity,” said Panter. “What we were finding was there was quite a consistent pattern in terms of the deposit activity around post offices.”

Panter and her colleagues' investigation became Operation Kilo, which began in 2021 and culminated in December 2025 with Gheewala being sentenced to almost 12 years in prison, along with six co-conspirators. And this was not just a Leicester-based operation. Officers watched as couriers came to Leicester with bags full of cash earned by criminals from London and Yorkshire, stashing them in shops for Gheewala's people to pick up. Each day's haul would be distributed among a network of underlings, who trekked around the city's post offices, paying rubber-band-bound stacks of banknotes into as many as 10 different accounts at each stop, using cards with the pins written on the back.

The bank accounts into which the money was deposited belonged to ordinary people - “mules” in police jargon - who received small payments for renting them out, or to companies in Leicester’s garment business, where managers faked invoices to make the payments look legitimate. (Gheewala promised the mules £50 per £10,000 laundered, but in reality he often seems to have paid them less than that.) Gheewala controlled the whole operation from a laptop kept in an otherwise empty house, with all the account details and their passwords written down in a notebook. As soon as the money appeared online he would, using cryptocurrency exchanges, disperse it around the world.

In two years, Gheewala's group moved an astonishing £53m, allowing organised criminals to legitimise their earnings on an industrial scale. It's not clear how much exactly Gheewala was charging for the service, although - considering the lifestyle he was living - he was clearly doing well out of it.

His operation might have been big, but it wasn't unique. Just a month after Gheewala's conviction, two men were jailed in Birmingham for an almost-identical scheme, in which they paid in up to £200,000 a day as they travelled between 10 post offices in the east of the city. In April, a man from Cheltenham was jailed for six years and eight months for controlling a network of mules paying millions of pounds of cash into post offices in Bristol and Gloucestershire.

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Jigar Gheewala was sentenced to almost 12 years in prison LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE

And this has been going on for a while. Two men were jailed at Southwark crown court in 2024 for paying £26m into post offices in London and Manchester before their arrests in 2017. Students have been jailed in Scotland for paying criminal money into post offices, and there are other ongoing cases in which similar crimes are alleged.

If it wasn't for what has been going on elsewhere in the Post Office, this would be a major story. Instead, it has been largely ignored.

The Post Office Horizon scandal burst into the public consciousness thanks to 2024's ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, but by that stage it had been dragging on for two decades. Post Office Ltd wrongly prosecuted hundreds of its post office operatives, despite senior figures knowing that the computer program that supposedly showed they had been committing fraud was faulty. Ex-post office operative Alan Bates's landmark victory against his former employers in 2019 forced the government to overturn his and others' convictions, and to promise to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation.

The scandal is one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice. One of its unfortunate side effects is that it has impeded investigations into how much money is being laundered via post office branches. Even if police officers are themselves confident that figures originating in Post Office Ltd's Horizon software (a version of which is still being used) are reliable, they are aware that many jury members will - for understandable reasons - be intensely sceptical. Documents released by the inquiry into the Horizon scandal show that, in 2024, just a few weeks after the ITV drama was first aired, a detective constable from Blackburn police station decided to halt an investigation into “large-scale money laundering, and possibly other fraud offences” via post office branches in Lancashire out of concern that defence lawyers would find it too easy to discredit evidence originating from the computer system.

"After the Mr Bates TV show, it became a real hot potato and nobody wanted to get hold of it," said one officer, who asked to remain anonymous. "For every case that's brought, there are many more in the background. There is no real appetite to do anything unless it's a slam dunk, because the public is on the side of the post office operatives." So the problem remains: "It's the way that you can pay money into the post office without checks, that's the problem. It's huge."

If you look at the raw numbers, you can see his point. In October 2020, cash deposits at post office branches across the UK totalled £1.9bn. That is £1.9bn for that single month, not the whole year. The following October, the sum was £2.2bn. That number kept rising each year until, by October 2025, it came to £2.9bn - an increase of 50% in just five years. Although Post Office Ltd then stopped publishing such detailed figures, the trend has continued. It boasted of a 10% increase in deposits in the first quarter of this year, meaning they have now almost certainly passed £3bn a month.

What makes these numbers so astounding is that over the same period, cash usage among the general public has dropped sharply. Cash now accounts for fewer than one in 10 transactions in the UK. Yet cash deposits at the post office have gone sharply in the opposite direction.

According to Post Office Ltd, the reason it stopped publishing monthly cash totals last year was because its post office operatives did not want to alert criminals to the amount of money they had on the premises. Branches are vulnerable to theft for the same reason they are wide open to money laundering. They are often just ordinary shops offering post-office services over the counter, and they lack the specialised equipment that would allow them to track who is on the premises, or to keep their employees safe.

Back when Post Office Ltd was still publishing its monthly cash figures, it would accompany them with upbeat quotes about how much it was helping small businesses by providing banking services. While

As banks have closed branches all over Britain, post offices have become quietly central to how we move our money

much of the increase is certainly being driven by the closure of bank branches, a senior police officer would regularly forward the figures to me, accompanied with a single emoji: ◦.

Concerns about being seen to further victimise post office operatives has discouraged police officers from going on the record about the scale of the problem that they're seeing.

"I'm sure you appreciate that anything quotable is going to have to be suitably vanilla," another senior officer told me. "It would need to be, you know, 'we work in partnership', 'there are many perspectives'-type stuff."

The sensitivity is understandable, but it comes with dangers. By making it possible for organised criminals - drug dealers, human traffickers, thieves, fraudsters and others - to launder their earnings, and thus to keep their profits, the post office risks creating an entirely different scandal.

The trial of Giuseppe Sangiovanni and seven of his alleged co-conspirators was due to start in May 2025 at Bristol crown court, and to run for several days. Sangiovanni was accused of running a scheme that laundered £2.2m via post office branches in Bristol and Gloucestershire over a few months of 2021. His alleged co-conspirators were accused of letting him move money through their bank accounts in return for small payments.

On the first morning of the trial, however, Sangiovanni changed his plea to guilty and left the courtroom to await a fresh hearing, leaving his co-defendants behind. It quickly became clear that they were not criminal masterminds. I had only just arrived in Bristol and knew only the bare outlines of the case, but even I could tell their chances of escaping conviction were now close to nonexistent. If the prosecutors had all the transaction details, and the ringleader was admitting the charges, then the owners

BANK OF ENGLAND/PA

of the bank accounts through which the money had passed would find it all but impossible to convince a jury that nothing untoward had occurred.

Technically, a trial was still scheduled, but it was so obviously not going to happen that the jury never even entered the courtroom. The two prosecution lawyers, far from wargaming the new reality, were using the break to discuss holiday destinations for their unexpected spell of spare time. The only people present who appeared not to realise the consequences of Sangiovanni's decision were his co-defendants, who continued to sit in the dock like baby birds in smart casual, with only the haziest of ideas what was going on.

The judge tried to help, encouraging them to discuss things with their lawyers. They whispered among themselves, until one at a time - over the course of many hours, and after many hearings were convened, suspended and convened again - they changed their pleas to guilty too. (They were not masterminds, as I say, and mostly received suspended sentences.)

"They're just run-of-the-mill local criminals. A couple of them weren't really criminals at all. One that we didn't charge was a single mum and, to a degree, was exploited," said Detective Inspector Peter Highway of the south west regional organised crime unit. It was only while being interviewed by police that one defendant discovered that Sangiovanni had laundered more than £1m through his bank account. "He was a bit surprised by that number," said Highway, "because he hadn't done the deposits himself."

Money laundering was criminalised in the UK in 1988 as part of a global effort to close loopholes in the financial system that were allowing criminals to keep their profits. Previously, it had been easy for criminals to walk into a bank and pay in cash, no questions asked, but the new laws obliged bankers to report suspicious transactions to law enforcement agencies. The theory was that, with bankers sending in a steady stream of suspicious activity reports, police officers would be able to see money being laundered in real time, freeze it and arrest its owners.

The world has moved on since then and the most sophisticated crime, such as fraud, involves electronic money stolen from people's bank accounts and moved in a bewildering variety of ways, involving shell companies, cryptocurrencies, secrecy jurisdictions and more. This requires equally advanced countermeasures from banks, which use AI-powered tools to spot the signs of criminal behaviour.

At the street level, however, not much has changed: criminals still use cash, and the National Crime Agency estimates that they launder about £12bn worth of banknotes in the UK each year, largely by presenting the money as the fruits of legitimate businesses. This is where branches of the post office come in. “The number of places where cash can come into the economy is vast now but, as bank branches continue to close, the number of places to pay it back in has necessarily become more restricted. You’ve got this sort of reverse funnel effect going on,” said a former Post Office employee with knowledge of how it organises financial services. “The bad guys are genuinely targeting post offices as one of the few places left where they can actually go to put money in.”

From the criminals' point of view, post offices are quick and easy places to launder dodgy money. "There's no requirement for ID verification, there's no requirement for any kind of enhanced screening, there's no centralised CCTV," said the second senior police officer. We put a higher bar on buying alcohol than we do on money laundering via the post office.

This is why Gheewala's mules were able to go into a branch with a pocket full of bank cards, and pay bundles of cash into multiple accounts, one after another. "You definitely don't want, in a post office that has already got queues out the door, to have a complicated financial transaction going on. So everything that the post office does for banking is done with simplicity in mind," said the former employee.

The trouble then is, as happened in Leicester, that criminals move money onwards as soon as it arrives in a bank account. Any reports that post office employees do make about the transaction will come too late for the bank to be able to freeze it. This defangs the UK's entire anti-money-laundering strategy, which has always relied on being able to block suspicious transactions while officers investigate them.

The criminal possibilities opened up by Post Office Ltd's foray into banking were quickly obvious. In July 2020, the Post Office's compliance committee noted £7m of questionable deposits had gone into 45 branches; in November that year, it discussed how £5-7m a week was being deposited at just two branches in east London, and said it was discussing with the banks what action to take.

Sangiovanni and his co-defendants fell foul of this kind of scrutiny, after bank compliance officers spotted millions of pounds'-worth of suspicious cash transactions at 27 post offices around Gloucestershire, and alerted the police who brought in first the mules, then Sangiovanni, for questioning. "He gave an

account that he would go to a car park at Asda, and someone would give him a

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carrier bag full of cash, and he would then take it away, and then send them some crypto," said Highway. "He didn't feel that was suspicious. We did."

By the time officers from the south west organised crime unit moved in, however, the money was long gone. So, although they caught Sangiovanni, the criminals whose cash he was laundering got to enjoy the freshly laundered money. “Millions of pounds into the laundering, that’s a bit late in the day,” said Highway.

If the Post Office is going to act like a bank it should collect the same kind of information – and if necessary freeze transactions

It looks obvious how to close this gap in our defences against dirty cash. If the Post Office is going to act like a bank, it should collect the same kind of information as a bank, make the same kind of reports as a bank, and freeze transactions in the same way that banks do. In 2023, the regulators at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took a small step in this direction, by imposing limits on how much cash could be deposited at the post office at any one time. It was a logical step to take, but it ran into immediate controversy.

The fact that two-thirds of bank branches have closed in the UK in the past decade has left businesses and individuals who still rely on cash heavily dependent on post office branches to pay in their takings. Post Office Ltd used this fact to push back against the FCA's deposit limits by saying they were penalising hard-pressed businesses that were just trying to stay afloat. “They are hurting legitimate customers and businesses who need support,” said Ross Borkett, Post Office Ltd’s then-head of banking, after the FCA’s changes were announced. Cash-intensive businesses, via the British Independent Retailers Association and the Independent Retail Consortium, mobilised a lobbying operation, writing to their MPs, who in turn held debates in parliament to highlight how few bank branches were left in their constituencies.

As a result, ministers promised to ensure that businesses and individuals still reliant on banknotes and coins would always be able to use them. In other words, the FCA's cash limit is likely to be the last intervention to make payments at post offices harder.

At a time when an increasingly large proportion of the population can't access a physical bank branch, the 11,500 post office branches in the UK will become ever-more central to a strategy of ensuring everyone can still use banknotes. Moving, securing and accepting cash is expensive though, which is why the banks don't want to do it any more. Post offices don't charge their customers for making deposits, however, so who is going to pay for it?

The answer to that question is tied up in the legacy of the Horizon scandal. Post Office Ltd was already in significant financial difficulties before it began having to pay compensation to the hundreds of post office operatives that it had unfairly prosecuted. It has now had to distribute more than £1bn, pushing it into a deep annual loss.

That is already a significant challenge for its long-term viability, but it is only half of the problem it faces. Post office branches operate as independent businesses, but the amount of money operatives earned from providing post office services fell by almost 5% in the decade to 2023, in part thanks to fewer people sending letters. Meanwhile, post office operatives' expenses have increased. So Post Office Ltd not only needs to find the money to pay compensation to the post office operatives it has wronged, but it must also simultaneously find a sustainable business model if it wants people to be post office operatives at all. And that is where banking comes in.

Banks pay Post Office Ltd for providing services on their behalf, which helped it to post revenues of £309m from “banking and ATMs” in its 2024-5 accounts. That was more than a third of its revenues for that year, and only slightly less than it earned from handling the mail. In fact, Post Office Ltd may already be making more money from deposits and withdrawals than it does from its traditional business. As the former insider joked: “We should start calling it the Bank Office.”

This isn't just important for Post Office Ltd, but also for individual post office operatives, who earn a fee for every cash deposit they accept. "The post office operatives will be remunerated on the transactions that they have through their branch, so they will get a transaction fee," Ben Woollard, the new head of banking at Post Office Ltd, told me. "As with any product, the more a post office operative or any business will deliver, then they will earn more income out of that."

Woollard argues that post office branches are no different from any other business in being vulnerable to money laundering. He pointed out to me that anyone offering banking services receives annual training in how to recognise and tackle money laundering, and that the head office sends out alerts to branches in areas that appear to have a large number of suspicious transactions.

But although any business that handles cash could be exploited by criminals, it is also true that few businesses handle banknotes in the volumes that routinely pass through post office branches, making them more vulnerable to abuse than most. Post office operatives are also running a system that we know is already wide open to dirty money, and are rewarded proportionally to the raw total of money they put through it, so the temptation to look the other way or even to provide financial services to criminals must be ever-present.

We have no idea how many insiders have given in to this temptation, and it looks likely that we will remain in the dark. The disastrous legacy of the Horizon scandal means there has been little appetite to investigate. With such a deeply flawed system, the best that police officers can hope for is to prosecute the more egregious offenders.

So despite the success of Operation Kilo, Leicestershire police's Detective Constable Catherine Richards wasn't exactly optimistic that Gheewala's conviction would change anything: "Crime is continuing," she told me. "Money needs to be laundered. And, yeah, somebody else fills those boots, don't they?"

Oliver Bullough is a regular contributor to the long read. His latest book is Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won

Letters

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Established 1906

Country diary Ynys Môn (Anglesey)

I have a routine in the summer months that I like to keep to as often as I can. That is, to start my day in the company of moths.

This morning, after a gentle night – too cloudy to see the flight of Perseid meteors but mild enough to encourage the flight of moths - I head out to my Robinson light trap. It's 40 years old and somewhat shabby, and sits between the meadow plots in our wildlife garden like a tiny flying saucer. With cuppa to hand, and joined by our familiar robin, who knows this routine well, I examine the live catch.

Among the hundreds of winged congeners peeping out, one immediately catches my attention - a rosy footman. Petite and delicately flushed with tones from peach to nectarine, the gently bowed forewings of this endearing little moth are inscribed with loops and dashes, like black hieroglyphs.

This distinctive coloration is thought to be a defensive device - a warning to predators such as birds that it is toxic. Its larva feeds on lichens from which it sequesters unique acids, rendering it unpalatable to most predators, right through to its adult stage.

As with many of Britain's moths, the 20 species of footman moths are responding to the warming climate, and many have shown marked increases in range and abundance in the past 40 years. The rosy footman is well distributed in southern Britain, and is now expanding north and west as far as the maritime fringe of Wales. On Anglesey (Ynys Môn), it was first recorded in 2014, and since then has spread to several sites on the island, including our garden in 2022.

But finding a rosy footman also brings to mind growing up in Sheffield in the 1960s, when airborne pollutants such as sulphur dioxide from heavy industry excluded most lichens, and I don't recall seeing any footmen then. A series of clean air acts have since seen lichens return to the city, and recent sightings of rosy footmen from the north Midlands indicate environmental change for the better.

The rosy footman combines arresting charm with an important ecological message. Nigel Brown

We do not publish letters where only an email address is supplied; please include a full postal address, a reference to the article and a daytime phone number. We may edit letters. Submission and publication of letters is subject to our terms and conditions: see theguardian.com/letters-terms

Hope and positivity in the wake of Woke 1.0

Regarding Nesrine Malik's article (If ‘Woke 1.0 is over’ in the US, did progressives get it all wrong?, 18 August), the mistake of Woke 1.0 was to believe that a self-evident truth was, well, a self-evident truth. I grew up in a divided society in which it was crystal clear, at least to my community, that we were second-class citizens. Nothing ever seemed to change and in the end we fought a war over it. Today attitudes are a lot different, but new truths are universally embedded.

What we learned was that the self-evident truth of “first-class” citizens was that their position was one established long ago by right and might. Against that sense of rightness, you cannot appeal to another truth that is diametrically opposed. I raised boys and girls in a progressive, liberal home. It was some surprise to me that my boys were not onboard with Woke 1.0. Their truth was Jordan Peterson’s “equality of access, not equality of outcome”, and a belief that their own privilege as middle-class,

intelligent white males was good luck to be defended.

Phrases such as “toxic masculinity” and “check your privilege” were heard as an attack, and qualifiers like “not all men” and “I don’t mean you” as insincere.

It is not all doom and gloom. We chip away, parents and siblings, and even in the pushback in defence of Woke 1.0 at home, we feel the softening. I think that is where the hope lies in the next phase of progressiveness - the changing of minds in the home and among friends, one self-evident truth at a time. That is not to deny the need for the public political 2.0 movement that will inevitably arise, but to acknowledge that its roots will be in smaller truths and smaller conversations. So you can start now, and with hope. Name and address supplied

- “Defund the police” is one of the most tone-deaf expressions I’ve ever heard. Safety is high on the

human hierarchy of needs. Most Americans associate policing with safety. Something like “community policing” would resonate with most Americans and pique curiosity in how police and citizens can work together.

This is only one example of how liberals snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. We need to forget ideological purity and instead formulate simple, easily understood positions that point towards positive solutions to real problems. We have to be more than “not them”.

Shrub Oak, New York state, US

Nesrine Malik asks what harm progressives did. I think CS Lewis summed it up nicely: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." David Forster

Penzance, Cornwall

Focus on the abilities of young Send people

As a retired special school headteacher, I warmly welcome Alan Milburn's proposal to expand supported internships for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (Report, 17 August). For too long society has concentrated on what these young people cannot do rather than what they can, with the right support and opportunity.

I often meet former students who, once established in a workplace, have not only held down jobs but progressed to positions of greater responsibility.

If Milburn's proposals help shift the question from “What can’t this young person do?” to “What could they do with the right support?”, they deserve wholehearted backing. Young people with special needs do not need diminished expectations. They do deserve the opportunity to show what they can contribute. Pete Crockett

Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire

Alan Milburn should pay more attention to the £2.5bn of national insurance contribution (NIC) exemptions for employers taking on young workers under 21 and apprentices under 25. Only the second is mentioned in passing in his interim report. Neither is included in its total spending on employment for young people. Adding these

to the Department for Work and Pensions employment service costs would have very significantly reduced the 25 to 1 ratio of benefits to employment that has been so much publicised in the media.

Take-up rates for these reliefs introduced in 2015 do not appear to exist. HMRC-commissioned surveys revealed that over half the 340,000 employers claiming young workers NIC exemptions were not aware that they were.

Milburn could switch the resources to specific funding of jobs and apprenticeships to provide better, more visible incentives. This could lead to more than the “modest impact” of the only partly known funding at present. Adrian Sinfield Edinburgh

We need public records on social housing

Your editorial on London's social housing (17 August) makes a persuasive case for treating social housing as economic infrastructure. However, infrastructure is normally monitored and social housing is not, either when it is delivered or across the years in which it is meant to remain affordable. A home is counted as affordable on the day that planning permission is granted and is rarely examined again, through completion, tenure change and the service charges that can make it unaffordable within months of occupation, as your reporting on shared ownership has shown.

Southwark, like almost every local authority, publishes every pound of the financial contributions developers pay, yet offers no scheme-level account of whether the promised social rented homes were built. The consequences showed at Elephant and Castle, where residents needed three years of freedom of information battles to force out the viability evidence behind an affordable housing commitment that ended at 82 social rented homes in place of more than a thousand. By the time it came out, the estate was gone, and a record that arrives after demolition can

only count the losses. On the Old Kent Road, where the council plans around 20,000 new homes and only a few thousand are yet built or under way, the record could still be kept in time to shape what is delivered.

You close with Nye Bevan's idea of housing as an essential service like the NHS, and the comparison is instructive. The NHS publishes waiting lists and inspection results, and is held to them, whereas housing has no equivalent, whoever the landlord is. If social homes are economic infrastructure, they deserve public, dated records of what was promised, what arrived and what it costs to live in them. Marco Scalvini London

Corrections and clarifications

A TV review of Channel 4's The Great ADHD Myth? referred to a 10-year-old boy who came off medication for six weeks to see if other strategies helped, and his mother's decision to then keep him off the drugs. However, the review omitted mention of a caption at the end of the programme noting that the boy resumed medication after a poor set of school exam results, but that he hoped to stop again during the summer (19 August, G2, p10).

Editorial complaints and corrections can be sent to guardian.readers@theguardian.com or The readers' editor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. You can also leave a voicemail on 020 3353 4736

French Sunday and the Italian month off

As I write this, I'm enjoying my French Sunday (Polly Hudson, 20 August) with a croissant from the local bakery - open, of course - and a coffee. I'll meet friends for lunch in a local riverside restaurant, then travel a few miles to a wonderful cafe, for even more coffee and their homemade cakes. Relaxing? Of course it is. It's a much-needed antidote to a French Monday, particularly in rural France, where $80\%$ of businesses, restaurants and public bodies remain closed all day in order to recover from the excesses of a "do nothing" Sunday. Roslyn Lockhart

Montmorillon, France

- I enjoyed James Mackay's article on villeggiatura, the Italian tradition of taking August off, which is shown to help rather than hinder economic output (theguardian.com, 17 August). As he says, though, the point is “reclaiming life from the totalising logic of the market”. For an expansion of this idea, I recommend the work of Amintore Fanfani, Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni, who deserve to be better known in Britain. Like Pope Leo, they put human dignity and flourishing at the centre of economics. Catherine McLoughlin London

Many problems have an easy solution that is wrong, but I suspect that including food standards in Ofsted results would fix this one very fast ('Shocking' breaches of school food standards, 24 August). Brian Fish Leeds

- In Elgin in the 1960s, if you were caught snogging in the Two Red Shoes dance hall, a spotlight would be shone on you to kill the moment (Letters, 21 August). Mary McMurran Lancaster

Sheila Ballantine Stage and screen actor admired for her roles in Chekhov, Ayckbourn, Orton and Shakespeare

t the time when Sheila Ballantine was offered a role in Kenneth Tynan's 1970 erotic revue, Oh! Calcutta!,

she averred: “I don’t mind being naked on stage, but I draw the line at being naked with bad material.”

In her long career, Ballantine, who has died aged 98, knew where to find the real action and was drawn to the company of writers, directors and actors at the Old Vic, the Royal Court, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in plays by John Osborne, Simon Gray, Joe Orton and David Storey.

As for black farcical comedy, she was the definitive, murderous nurse Fay in the 1966 production at the Jeanetta Cochrane theatre of Orton's Loot, and savagely funny in Stephen Bill's Curtains (1987), a comedy at Hampstead theatre, and the West End, about euthanasia, diluting a migraine attack with thoughts of the legacy coming her way from the warm corpse of her mother in the next room.

She made her television debut in 1957 as Matilda Price, the young miller's daughter befriended by Fanny Squeers in the BBC's 10-part serialisation of Nicholas Nickleby, and in 1972 played Cariola, doomed attendant lady of Eileen Atkins's tragic Duchess of Malfi.

In between, she was in two four-part TV serialisations, both directed by David Giles, of HG Wells's Ann Veronica in 1964 and Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility in 1971. Also in the 1960s, she was in series such as No Hiding Place, with Raymond Francis, Softly Softly, with Stratford Johns, and Dr Finlay's Casebook, with Andrew Cruickshank.

Born in Hackney, east London, she was the only child of Jack Ballantine, a Post Office executive, and his wife, Kate (nee Findall), a voracious theatregoer who had left school aged 14 to become an apprentice milliner. Sheila went to primary and secondary schools in Wood Green, north London.

When the family was evacuated to Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, where Jack's work for the GPO was hush-hush, Sheila was enrolled at a boarding school, which she loved and, at the end of the second world war, joined the Old Vic theatre school under Michel Saint-Denis, a key figure in the postwar Old Vic and the RSC.

She made a professional debut in 1947, directed by Saint-Denis in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. The Snow Queen, and for the next four years played good parts at the Vic in plays by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Euripides and others in a company that included Peggy Ashcroft, Paul Rogers, Joan Plowright, Irene Worth, Leo McKern and Alan Badel.

After two seasons at the Perth rep, her second formative period on stage was at the Royal Court in the first years of George Devine's English Stage Company from 1956, appearing in Restoration comedy, Brecht and new plays by Ann Jellicoe (The Sport of My Mad Mother) and NF Simpson (A Resounding Tinkle), both in 1958.

Her fellow actors included such rising new stars as Alan Bates (a lifelong friend), Plowright, Robert Stephens, Wendy Craig and Nigel Davenport. She was not overwhelmed in their company and was much admired by her peers.

At the Lyric, Hammersmith, in 1962, she was Varvara in Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Eliante in a version of Molière's Le Misanthrope called All for Truth. And in 1964, in the renewed Open Air theatre in Regent's Park, she was a terrific spitfire Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew opposite Dinsdale Landen's Petruchio.

Ballantine was in demand, too, for big roles in the resurgent regional theatre in Nottingham under Stuart Burge and the Bristol Old Vic under Richard Cottrell, with Adrian Noble as his assistant, soon to join the RSC as artistic director after Trevor Nunn and Terry Hands.

At Nottingham Playhouse in

1969, she was an acclaimed Lady Macbeth opposite Barry Foster's murderous thane, Widow Bullfinch in Farquhar's delightful Love and a Bottle and then Betty Dullfeet in Michael Blakemore's irresistible revival of Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, with Leonard Rossiter; this transferred to the Saville (now a cinema) in London.

In the 1970s, she was in the West End in Alan Ayckbourn's brilliant trilogy The Norman Conquests, taking over from Penelope Keith; as the other “take-overs” from the original Greenwich/West End cast included Ronald Pickup, Julia McKenzie and Julian Holloway, this was no weak subs bench.

And she rejoined Bates as he opened the new Derby Playhouse in 1976 as the writer Trigorin in Chekhov's The Seagull; Sheila was Arkadina, the fading stage star who, for once, could easily have passed as a 43-year-old. Mark Woolgar's production - which also had a tremendous, neurasthenic Nina in Georgina Hale - played a London season at the Duke of York's, now the Tom Stoppard.

In 1977, she joined the Cottrell/Noble Bristol Old Vic in a repertoire that included Titus Andronicus - she was a deliciously lascivious Tamara, queen of the Goths, alongside Simon Callow, Gabrielle Drake and Pete Postlethwaite, Vanburgh's The Provok'd Wife (as Lady Fanciful), Brecht's A Man's a Man, Hamlet (in which Alan Rickman played Laertes) and Congreve's Love for Love.

At the National in 1989-90, she was a vixenish Arsinoe to Edward Petherbridge's Alceste in Tony Harrison's superb translation of The Misanthrope, with Sian Thomas's accosted Celimène ("I'm only 20, I'd be terrified. Just you and me, and all that countryside!"), and notable in Steven Pimlott's production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park With George.

Pimlott directed her, too, at the RSC in 1992 as the chorus leader in TS Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, bookending her NT stint with a fizzing Noble production of The Comedy of Errors (as Aemilia) in 1983.

Her last stage appearance was at the National in 2007 in a glorious Pimlott/Nicholas Hytner production of Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo, starring Zoë Wanamaker, and she played a landlady in the fifth series of TV's Foyle's War in 2008. Her last film was as the suicidal old lady in Dana Lustig's psychological thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011).

Ballantine was her own woman and conducted a colourful private life at her own pace, settling in a mansion flat in Belsize Park, northwest London, in the early 60s.

She is survived by her cousins, Michael and David Warburton. Michael Coveney

Sheila Mavis Ballantine, actor, born 14 October 1928; died 24 July 2026

I don't mind being naked, but I draw the line at being naked with bad material

Ballantine as Arkadina with Alan Bates as Trigorin in Chekhov's The Seagull at the Duke of York's theatre, London, in 1976 PETER CADE/GETTY

obituaries@theguardian.com

Other lives

Carla Phillips

Norfolk restaurateur whose menus drew inspiration from local produce and international cuisines My mother, Carla Phillips, who has died aged 88, was a restaurateur in north Norfolk and in 1981 a winner of the Sunday Times Cook of the Year competition.

In 1986, with her husband, Bernard, she opened the Moorings restaurant in Wells-next-the-Sea, creating menus around local ingredients while drawing inspiration from international cuisines. After selling the Moorings in 1998, she catered for birthdays, weddings and private dinners.

Over the years she cooked for people from all walks of life including, on separate occasions, for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. She also wrote cookery columns for the Wells town magazine, the Quay, and was a volunteer at the Wells Community Kitchen, making free meals for local people.

Born in New York, Carla was the daughter of Viola (nee Lucofsky), a teacher and artist, and John-Bernard Schwedel, a cardiologist. Their home formed part of the artistic, intellectual and leftwing circles of postwar Manhattan. After graduating from the Bronx high school of science and Antioch College, Carla worked for Women's Wear Daily magazine in New York, saving enough money to relocate in the early 1960s to Paris, where the US dollar went a long way.

Enrolling on a course at the Sorbonne to study the language and civilisation of France, she lived on the left bank, discovered French cuisine and met an Englishman, Bernard Phillips, who was working for leftwing Catholic organisations there. They married in 1962, had their first child, returned briefly to New York for the birth of their second, then in 1965 settled in Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk. Two more children followed.

Carla helped to make our rambling home a place of extraordinary hospitality. From that generosity grew a passion for food. Together she and Bernard ran a shellfish stall (1977-79) and catered informally for weddings, preparing everything in the ramshackle family kitchen.

By 1981 she had become so accomplished that she entered the east of England heat of the Sunday Times competition. She won the final in London, judged by Claudia Roden and Robert Carrier, with a cold starter of Norfolk crab and samphire, with a tomato mayonnaise coulis. Antonio Carluccio was the runner-up.

Carla also raised her children and became involved in local projects, including the foundation in 1973 of a community playgroup, the Burnham Market nursery school, aimed at helping the wives of farm workers, which is still going today. In 1981, with Bernard, she set up a free monthly local publication, the Paper, providing community news, articles about political activism and pieces on local history and the arts, which was sold in 1983.

Active in Fakenham for Nuclear Disarmament, a branch of CND, Carla was a member of Norfolk Women For Life on Earth, participating in actions at Greenham Common. In 1984, with a group of female activists, she spent a week in Holloway prison for refusing to pay a criminal damage fine for cutting perimeter fence wires at the RAF Sculthorpe military base in Norfolk.

Bernard died in 2008. She is survived by their children, Josephine, Diana, Aaron and me. Joshua Phillips

Carla Phillips started out catering for weddings from her family kitchen in Norfolk, and went on to open the Moorings restaurant in Wells-next-the-Sea

Paul Gerhardt

Specialist in preserving and managing archive material, and making it available for public use. My father, Paul Gerhardt, who has died aged 77, spent many years working in television on educational initiatives, including as head of commissioning at the BBC for its Open University content.

Then he became a specialist in how to manage televisual archival material, setting up a consultancy, Archives for Creativity, which advised cultural organisations, broadcasters and artists on how to de-license and re-license archive material to be used by artists, teachers and institutions.

He finished his career at the British Film Institute (BFI) as their director of education.

Paul was born in London to Fred Gerhardt, who worked at a Remploy facility, and Freda (nee Canham), a sales representative. After leaving Bromley grammar school he gained a degree in politics and sociology at Hull University in 1971, and then studied for a PhD in international studies at Oxford University, completed in 1979.

He worked as a tutor organiser at the Workers' Educational Association until 1982, when he moved to be head of learning channels at the BBC, after which he became deputy director of the International Broadcasting Trust for a five-year period and then producer and network education officer at Thames TV (1987-91).

Appointed managing editor of BBC Select in 1991, by 1997 he was head of commissioning at the BBC for its Open University content. In that role he led the OU's transformation from an overnight television broadcast - often presented by men in woolly jumpers - into a modern multimedia educational institution.

In the early 2000s Paul became the BBC's controller for adult education, then project director of the BBC's creative archive, an ambitious pilot that looked at opening up the corporation's century of archived footage.

That project ended after two years, but did lead to some material being released for free re-use and re-mixing, and was an important spur for later developments in the field, including the creation of BBC iPlayer. Paul's passion for the opening up of archives came from seeing that in the digital age, knowledge, facts and stories can be distorted, faked or monopolised - or instead be preserved for public use.

In 2007 Paul left the BBC to set up Archives for Creativity, and his final post, from 2013 until retirement in 2019, was as director of education at the BFI. There he was also executive producer of The Stuart Hall Project (2013), a film that brought together many of Paul's

core passions: archived cultural media, progressive leftwing history, and the moving image. Outside his work he had a love of Shakespeare, Bob Dylan and stone letter carving. He was also a devoted family man.

Paul is survived by his partner, Patsy Youngstein, two sons, Joe and Dan, from his first marriage, to Chloe (nee Gilson), which ended in divorce in 1988, by me - the son from his second marriage, to Sue (nee Aspinall), which ended in divorce in 2004 - and by his grandchildren, Lyra and Griffin. Laurence Gerhardt

Mary John

Developmental psychologist known for her work to advance the rights of children and people with disabilities My mother-in-law, Mary John, who has died aged 85, was a developmental psychologist and an instrumental figure in the movements for equal rights for people with disabilities and for the rights of children.

Mary found her vocation in the 1970s and 80s, as an academic specialising in disability in the social sciences faculty of the Open University, where she worked closely with Vic Finkelstein. During this time she also served on the US Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped under the Jimmy Carter administration, and helped to set up the European Commission's Bureau for Action in Favour of Disabled People.

In 1992, now at the University of Exeter, Mary hosted the first global conference on children's rights to involve children themselves, and later edited the book series Children in Charge, which included her own title, Children's Rights and Power: Charging Up for a New Century (2003). In 1996 she was given a European Woman of Achievement award, and in 1999, the OU awarded Mary an honorary doctorate for her lifetime's work.

Born in Wigan, Lancashire, Mary was the daughter of Elvira (nee Evans) and William John, a headteacher. Aged seven, she was hospitalised with peritonitis and septicaemia, and put in an iron lung. As was medical orthodoxy at the time, her parents were not allowed to visit - but no one explained any of it to Mary.

She later wrote that she was “a child abandoned, bewildered, drugged, hallucinating and desperately solitary ... This child faced the same problems that have beset children in many

places, at many times - problems of recognition of her needs, of establishing identity, agency, of managing relationships wisely and richly, of exercising power and of finding a voice that is heard."

After Wigan county high school for girls, Mary studied psychology at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 1962. A Medical Research Council scholarship under Elizabeth and John Newson, who were revolutionising the study of parenting, followed, and in 1966 she completed her PhD on the social adjustment of children. Mary then lectured at Nottingham and Bristol universities, and for seven years at Exeter, before joining the OU in 1974. In 1990 she returned to Exeter as the first female professor of education. After retirement in 1998, Mary continued to work as an author, editor and consultant.

Outside work, Mary turned her hand to all kinds of creative endeavours: from a full-size papier-mache pony for her student union ball, to watercolours for friends, and an immaculate pair of curtains that still hang in our window. In 2008, she was learning calligraphy when a stroke left her with severe disabilities. Characteristically, she reflected on her situation from a societal and academic perspective.

A marriage to John Croxen in 1964 ended in divorce in 1978. She is survived by her sons, Dan and Adam (my partner), four grandchildren, Cerys, Huw, Martha and Harry, and her sister, Heulwen. Her brother, Gareth, predeceased her. Nicola Kent

Birthdays

Alexandra Burke, singer, 38; Tim Burton, film director, 68; Elvis Costello, singer and songwriter, 72; Sir Lloyd Dorfman, chair, Royal Opera House, 74; Will Gompertz, director, Sir John Soane's Museum, 61; Rob Halford, singer, 75; Tom Hollander, actor, 59; Howard Jacobson, novelist and critic, 84; Sir Andrew Longmore, a former lord justice of appeal, 82; Sir Colin Lucas, historian, 86; Amy Macdonald, singer, 39; Beverly Malone, chief executive of the National League for Nursing, 78; Catriona Matthew, golfer, 57; Simon McBurney, artistic director, Complicité theatre company, 69; Clive Myrie, broadcaster, 62; Gene Simmons, musician, 77; Alexander Skarsgård, actor, 50; Sir Alistair Spalding, chief executive and artistic director, Sadler's Wells, 69; Joanne Whalley, actor, 65.

Codeword

Yesterday's solutions

Killer sudoku Easy

Medium

3	6	7	9	8	5	1	4	2
9	5	2	3	4	1	6	7	8
4	1	8	6	2	7	3	9	5
2	7	1	8	5	4	9	6	3
5	3	9	7	6	2	4	8	1
6	8	4	1	3	9	5	2	7
1	4	3	2	7	6	8	5	9
8	2	5	4	9	3	7	1	6
7	9	6	5	1	8	2	3	4

1	2	9	5	4	7	8	3	6
3	8	7	9	6	2	4	1	5
4	6	5	3	1	8	2	9	7
9	3	2	1	5	4	6	7	8
7	4	8	2	9	6	3	5	1
6	5	1	8	7	3	9	4	2
2	9	6	7	3	1	5	8	4
5	7	4	6	8	9	1	2	3
8	1	3	4	2	5	7	6	9

Cryptic crossword Solution No. 30,093

Looking for more?

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Killer sudoku

Easy

The normal rules of sudoku apply: fill each row, column and 3x3 box with all the numbers from 1 to 9. In addition, the digits in each inner shape (marked by dots) must add up to the number in the top corner of that box. No digit can be repeated within an inner shape.

12	13			3		22
	17	24			7		13	5
12			26	18		3
	16				8		8
		6				22	5	16
11			4
6	9	12	3	20		16
				23			14
17					14

Medium

Each letter of the alphabet makes at least one appearance in the grid, and is represented by the same number wherever it appears. The letters decoded should help you to identify other letters and words in the grid.

Codeword

17	3	26	1	10		14		12	6	26	19	10
3		23		7	26	2	14	20R		18		26
6	9	5		5		26		5	13	13	14	20
8		20	14	22	6	19	19	6		4
10	5	8	6		18		6	9	16	3	10	19
			21	24	5	20	3	10		14		24
5	20	1	24	6	18		19	24	26	18	4	8
12		5		12				14		11		7
5	3	19	25	26	19		12	14	24	6	23	14
14		14		19	20	14	6	19	8
10	3	18	9	6	14		10		7	5	21	15
		19		19	14	18	10	26	18	22		26
6	4	26	12	26		6		19		20	5	25
20		6		5O	4	26	23	14		14		26
7	14	4	5	18		4		7	3	10	14	10

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N ∅ P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26

Guardian cryptic crossword No 30,094 set by Turnstone

Want more? Get access to more than 4,000 puzzles at theguardian.com/crossword. To buy puzzle books, visit guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846.

Across

1 Still pace fuel supply (8)
6 Understood this Roman style of architecture (6)
9 Bird in Greek river (6)
10 Calm company man initially sat for artist (8)
11 Leader in Cambridge blues after six wins (9)
13 Pick up European vet (5)
15 Mark it right in report card (6)
17 One returning in jumper, say - it's for protection (6)
18 Section of sundial erroneously rotated and put down again (6)
19 Perhaps surprisingly, notice very short book (6)
21 Stamp grain product with date (5)
22 Is the cause of stories behind two foreign articles (9)
25 Chef's team in grey trousers getting very hot (8)
26 Boy attending a musical performance (6)
28 Charlie takes a break in mountain-tops (6)
29 A New Year with present in whichever location (8)

Down

2 Finally tune dulciana for organ (3) 3 Sovereign's palace captured, we hear? (5) 4 Engineer used filler for heraldic design (5-2-3) 5 Crusty growth in part of metallic henneries (6) 6 Up for tennis? (4) 7 Part of cog starts to aggravate cyclist's healthy exercise - such a pain (9) 8 Cook special bean? Sure! (11) 12 Translator to bury Peter Rabbit's introduction inside (11) 14 Recklessly sells dowry without a sound (10) 16 Doctor: send Clara for lists of appointments (9) 20 Missing first letter, imagine resolved riddle (6) 23 Send off without a meal (5) 24 Overshoot M1 service station's entrances (4) 27 Heads off to outlying rock-strewn mountain (3)

LiFeSAITS

Zoe Williams The class war over our food page 3

How we made Mark Addy on Red Riding page 9

'It looked stunning on Joanna Lumley!'

10 writers on their biggest hair disasters

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'Parisians out!'

Age: It officially commenced at the start of August.

Zoe Williams

Appearance: Scratched into cars and painted on walls, mainly. Where? In southern Finistère, specifically in the Bigouden area. In France, you mean? Yes, the western edge of Brittany.

Why wouldn't Parisians be allowed in Brittany? They are, but they're not wholly welcome. Many residents want Parisian tourists to go home. Why? Because they're sick of them

Why: Because they're sick of them. When did this start? It's said to have originated from a sharp rise in second homeowners from the French capital dating back to the pandemic, but this summer it began with a "Parisians Out!" sign being displayed in the town of Plogoff.

That's not very nice. The mayor of Plogoff agreed. "We can defend our peace and quiet, our environment and our quality of life without rejecting or stigmatising those who come to our area," he wrote.

Did that put a lid on things? It did not. Some days later in the town of Plobannalec-Lesconil, a car was scratched with the words "No to Parisians". Two more cars were similarly vandalised.

How did the vandals know the cars belonged to Parisians? Cars registered in Paris have "75" in their number plates.

That sounds like a bad idea. Ironically, the vandalised cars were all owned by local people who had moved to Paris. Later, graffiti saying "Refugees welcome, tourists go home!" was found on a wall in the area.

Aren't these places sort of dependent on tourism, from Paris and elsewhere? Yes, but the pressure on local infrastructure is apparently overwhelming. The population of some villages and towns in Finistère trebles in July and August.

maddening. Also, the heatwaves and wildfires led people to change their plans and take “coolcations” on the northerly Brittany coast, adding extra pressure.

So the anger is confined to Brittany? Not at all. People are handing out "Parisians go home" leaflets on the Île de Ré, and threatening second homeowners in Corsica.

Threatening? A dormant Corsican independence movement has been revived this summer, with second homeowners told: "Do not consider yourselves safe on our national territory."

That sort of language is totalement inacceptable. Agreed.

Do say: "Between the excesses of tourism and the rights of local people, a difficult balance must be struck."

Don't say: "Welcome to Bognor Regis, Parisians!"

Climate sceptic politicians sound increasingly surreal

As it is August, and everyone with stronger opinions is currently on holiday, last week I went on

Any Questions?, the BBC Radio 4 panel show. I had prepared beforehand with a friend whose life's work it is to make sure people don't say anything stupid on the radio (or TV), and we'd talked about everything - the strait of Hormuz and energy prices; bus fare caps and the relative price of eggs; racism in the press and in public life; the AI bubble and the next financial crash; how many bathrooms Harry and Meghan have in the US, and whether a property even exists in the UK with that amount of toileting hardware.

Predictably, perhaps, the audience's questions did not spread themselves neatly across the full suite of current affairs, though Harry and Meghan's return did come up - it was more a matter of which question about the climate crisis best represented the fact that everyone wanted to talk about the climate crisis. The news had just dropped that El Niño would deliver us an unprecedentedly wet autumn, but that was unlikely to soothe the parched earth of the record-breakingly hot, dry summer. Crops are failing, the land is on fire and nobody has not noticed.

The question that best caught the mood was: “Have we left it too late to avert the crisis?” I said there was no such thing as too late, channelling the economist Ann Pettifor, one of the architects of the original Green New Deal, back in the 00s, when it looked as if some politicians, at least, were in the market for ideas. She argued that we had to proceed as though there was still hope, because the alternative - grim nihilism - was no basis for a cooperative, generative body politic, and however many degrees of warming we were facing, we’d need one of those. Isabel Hardman from the Spectator said that it was already too late for some things, and not for others. Things weren’t looking good for birch trees in the south and east of England, for instance. It was a sombre but

not bitter point of difference.

Then the Conservative MP, Nigel Huddleston, came in. When detached from the phrase “net zero”, he seems like a reasonable, personable guy. But they’re not allowed to detach. Conservatives are tribally required to say that transforming to a carbon-neutral future is too expensive at this time. Even while they can see the impact of fossil fuels all around them, even when sitting in front of 200 people who palpably believe that there is no such thing as too expensive, when the prize is a beautiful planet that you can live on, Tories have to hold the line.

The purge of the net zero believers from the Conservative party has a brute logic; Kemi Badenoch has chosen this as a red line, the signal difference between herself and the government. She can't very well hold together a loose coalition between those who cleave to this pillar of new Conservatism and those who don't. But when you take that position, which must have sounded solid in a strategy meeting, and perform it in front of normal people, who wake up every day to a rapidly changing climate, it sounds unhinged. All the standard lines, about how the UK accounts for only 1% of emissions globally, and that we should leave all the transformation and future-proofing to China, dissolve on contact with reality.

Someone in the audience gave the only sensible response, which was to make a timeless and highly legible gesture involving his hand and his head (I call it legible, there is some contention about whether it means “wanker” or “dickhead”). Obviously I started laughing because I’m only human, but he got told off by a member of the production team and I got a bit of a glare as well. It’s one thing to understand the exigencies of classic Westminster politics; it’s another to watch these rhetorical manoeuvres in real life, where they are too ridiculous to take seriously, but too serious to laugh off. For the climate, it may be too late and not too late; but we definitely don’t have time to carry on indulging this surrealism.

▼ Chef and podcaster Lewis Bassett

The food class war has ruined my appetite

Lewis Bassett is a young sociologist and chef who I first encountered through his podcast, The Full English, where he thinks about the cultural meaning of, say, Delia Smith; gazpacho; whelks. This was thinking you didn't know you needed until you heard it. Now he's written a book of the same name, asking: why do we eat the way we do in Britain, and why do we think the way we do, even about the stuff we wouldn't be caught dead eating?

About 57% of all the food eaten in Britain is ultra-processed, which feels familiar from at least a decade of hand-wringing about it, but is radically defamiliarised when set against the rest of Europe. In France it’s 14%, and Italy is also in the teens. It’s amazing they don’t all live to be 150. And while this plainly has its roots in inequality, there is a hefty side order of attitude, which Bassett contemplates while working through the history of sourdough, curry and olive oil, and describing his own life cheffing in fancy kitchens and gastropubs.

Basically, we think posh food is pretentious; but what counts as “posh” constantly morphs, partly through the sheer cost of it, until even food that wasn’t posh before (like fish and chips) becomes posh, and therefore pretentious (also smaller portions: absolute sitcom signifier of despised posh food). I’m freestyling, of course, and you should read the book for the meat of Bassett’s argument, but it is fascinating to consider how any given ingredient is freighted with political self-fashioning.

There are so many foods - the chickpea; the Findus crispy pancake; tomatoes; the Turkey Twizzler - that have had their moment as the thing some people hate other people for eating, and it's all shorthand for a low-level class war, mediated through food.

Bassett concludes that “ours is a peculiar diet formed by a peculiar experience of modernity”. Still, you can’t help but think, if we could let go of some of the political and emotional charge around food, we’d end up eating things that were more delicious. I don’t mean Findus crispy pancakes - I know they’re ultra-processed. They were delicious, though.

My worst hair day

'It took five years to look normal again'

From mullets to pudding-bowl cuts, disastrous fringes to questionable curtains, we are all moments from a truly embarrassing haircut. Here, 10 writers remember their worst encounter with a pair of scissors

'I look like I'm wearing a hat made from my own hair' Kate Lloyd

It's the late 1990s. Big, round, feathered fringes are a huge deal at my primary school. Most of my friends have one, influenced by Britney Spears or Emma Bunton. I, too, have a fringe. Mine, as you can see, appears more inspired by Kevin Keegan circa 1993.

Of course, calling this “a fringe” is an incredible understatement. If you squint, it could be a trendy east London mullet. Otherwise, I look a bit like a Knight Templar. Or someone wearing a hat made from their own hair, on top of their own hair.

It may surprise you to learn this cut was not the result of a sleepover prank gone wrong. It was done by a professional - a hairdresser who lived up the road from my parents.

When I first discovered these photos, I assumed the look must have been a one-off. Maybe I moved just as the hairdresser was trimming the top and the only way to salvage things was to evoke Pat Sharp. Or maybe it was the hair equivalent of that botched Jesus fresco restoration: every attempt to improve it only made it worse.

It turns out I wore this hairstyle for almost a year, according to my mum. I have a photo of me in a summer dress - with a forehead that resembles a city skyline - in which I'm probably seven. There's another in which I'm wearing a primary school jumper, aged eight.

My mum has no recollection of the hair being a problem. She was happy with the cut back then, she says. "You were a little girl!" is her defence now.

Thankfully, I have no memory of actually sporting it. I have, however, spent most of my adult life feeling disproportionately stressed about going to the hairdresser. As they say, the body keeps the score.

'It certainly draws the eye. I just can't believe I thought it looked good'

'My mane was a masterclass in adolescent survival' Jeffrey Ingold

Meet Jeff at 15 in 2006. Yes, you can laugh. I'd honestly be insulted if you didn't. My hair looks like a cross between a bird's nest and tumbleweed. I believe the technical term for it is a “terrible mess”.

For about three years as a young teenager, I refused outright to get a haircut and just let my hair run wild. I would roll out of bed and walk out the door with an unkempt, knotty mess on my head.

I wasn't trying to be edgy or cool. Believe me, I was teased mercilessly for my bad hair. Kids would come up and ask if there was something living in there, or complain to the teacher that my hair was a distraction in class. Or they would "joke" that my parents were so poor they couldn't afford to get me a haircut. One day when I was walking home from school, a group of students tried to throw pieces of chewed gum into my hair.

Still, I stubbornly brushed off any suggestions that I should go to the hairdresser. That hairstyle was a masterclass in deflection and adolescent survival.

The summer before I started secondary school, a small group of classmates had spread a rumour that I was gay. It was news to me. I didn't even know what “gay” meant, except it was clearly something bad and shameful. Friends whom I would once play with in the streets shunned me. No one would return my calls to hang out.

It was then that I decided to grow my hair. I walked into that first day of secondary school with the beginnings of my unruly, curly

Kate

mane. I was almost unrecognisable to those who'd known me for years with an outdated mushroom cut.

The classroom whispers about my sexuality were drowned out by incessant questions and commentary about my ever-growing untamed hair. I didn't know much back then, but something told me it was better to be the kid with weird hair than it was to be the gay kid. My hair became my armour.

I wore it proudly and cut it only when I got accepted to university in my final year of school. By then, it reached the top of my chest. I could see the light at the end of a dark, lonely tunnel. I was finally getting out of my small town and going somewhere no one knew me. I no longer needed to hide behind my hair. Although the kids were right: I am gay.

'What was I going for? Stage magician? Jewel thief? Pirate?' Joel Snape

It's hard to remember, in our post-God-of-War, post-Jeff-Bridges-from-Iron-Man era, that growing a massive beard, if you're bald, was once not considered the cranial topiary slam-dunk it's now assumed to be. Back when Shrek 2 was the hottest thing at the box office, skinhead-plus-facial-bush had a faint whiff of desperation about it. It looked a bit villainous and opened you up to comparisons with those toys where you use a tiny magnet to drag iron filings across an eerily hairless man's face. I simply wasn't prepared to risk it.

And so, dear reader, I experimented. Forced to shave my head in my early 20s after losing most of my hair terrifyingly

Joel

prematurely, I riffled through a variety of looks. I tried stubble, I tried shorter beards, I tried the Van Dyke - named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, whose subjects often sported a chin patch. Think Cyrus the Virus, the baddie from Con Air. Once, in a dating profile, I tried a big hat (I am, I should say to any ladies who felt misled when I showed up, sincerely sorry). And then I tried this.

Honestly, I don't know what I was going for here, with what I believe is technically an extended goatee. Stage magician? High-end jewel thief? Futuristic pirate? Around this time, I wrote a feature in which I went undercover in a group of pick-up artists; maybe their penchant for “peacocking” (having something distinct and memorable about one's

appearance, even if it's ridiculous) rubbed off on me. It certainly draws the eye, like a bluebottle on a birthday cake. I just can't believe I thought it looked good.

In this photo, I'm at a press event on a boat in 2003. Within hours of getting back to shore, I also came back down to earth: reminded by friends and flatmates that having a head like an egg is still preferable to looking like someone Jason Bourne would threaten to throw off a balcony.

The good thing about beards is that you can experiment with impunity: I got rid of this one the morning afterwards and stuck to the full buzz cut - no facial topiary in sight - until the late 2010s, when the beard-plus-bald combo started coming into its own. With the odd blip for Halloween outfits, I've had a full-bore beard ever since: they're perfect for the shaving-averse and surprisingly easy to shape.

In a sense, I'm very lucky - I have friends who've gradually gone just as bald as me over the intervening decade, but remain unable to grow more than the wispiest facial fuzz. And so, to any twentysomethings staring at their emerging scalp with horror, I'd like to say: keep the faith. It will improve, as long as you can grow a proper beard. Just don't forget what Bridges did for us.

'My stylist said: babe, we can't bleach it any more' Carys Afoko

Cast your mind back to June 2011. Beyoncé took to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury for a historic performance. She was resplendent in a gold-sequinned cardigan and black ankle boots and had a cascade of honey-blond curls. I had blagged my way to a bar job at the festival to see my idol and I was not disappointed. It was a near-religious experience. As I began the long trek home from Worthy farm in Pilton, Somerset, I knew one thing: I had to dye my hair blond.

I had attempted to dye my hair at home once, with disastrous results. This time, I made my way to a salon with a picture of Beyoncé on my phone. My hairdresser, a lovely New Zealander called Vernon, understood the vision and within a couple of hours I had been transformed. So began a summer to remember. My honey-blond curls and I went to more festivals, parties and art openings than I had ever been to before. Blondes, I decided, did have more fun.

Blond, it turned out, was also more work. My hair was weaker and drier than usual. It took only a couple of months for my very dark roots to peep through, then I was back to see Vernon. After a few months, I noticed the warm honey colour was morphing into something more brassy. A friend explained that I needed a special shampoo to maintain the colour. I bought a £4 purple shampoo from Boots and hoped for the best. I was already shelling out to get my roots done. I wasn't made of money.

The breaking point came after a two-week beach holiday. One minute I was sipping rum out of a coconut, the next the tropical sun had bleached my curls white. I barely wore sunscreen in those days; it hadn't occurred to me to protect my hair.

It wasn't the look I was going for, but I liked it - until I went back to see Vernon. "Babe, we can't bleach it any more. The condition is terrible," he said. Instead, he cut my hair and sent me on my way with dark roots and a broken spirit.

Over the months that followed, I endured the worst hair days of my life, growing out the blond and returning to my natural dark brown. My hair broke easily and my look was giving Duracell battery. I learned the hard way that colouring your hair is a commitment: the only low-maintenance way to have blond hair is to be born with it.

'I've only ever trusted three hairdressers. You can see why' Viv Groskop (cover)

Everyone knows it's a bad idea to get your hair cut on the same day that you are having your photograph taken. This picture operates as a reminder of this fact. On a personal level, it also illustrates why virtually no one is allowed to cut my hair. In 40-plus years of adult life, only three hairdressers have gained sufficient trust to be allowed to use scissors in my vicinity. You can see why.

This photograph must have been taken in about 1977, when I was three or four. I remember the photographer coming to set up at the house. Most people didn't own cameras and photographer home visits were just one of the exceptionally weird “normal things” people did in the 1970s.

Another key recollection I have from that time is an overriding fear of the Daleks and of Tom Baker (who was then the Doctor). The photograph was taken in the room that housed the place where terror resided: the television. Now, a new, chilling dimension was added to the horror within those four walls: the immortalisation of this haircut.

This was the era of the “Purdey” or “pageboy” cut. It looked stunning on Joanna Lumley in The New Avengers. It was less stunning on a moody toddler old enough to know how awful she looked, but too young to do anything about it. Around this age, I must have learned about the bowl cut: a cut-price, kitchen-table haircut achieved by putting a bowl on someone’s head and cutting around it. I knew I looked as if I had one.

The truth, however, was worse. A professional hairdresser had done this in a salon. I recently asked my mum for more details of this historic misdemeanour and she replied: "It was done very badly." You think?

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'It looked as if I had been styled by a disco-era King Midas' Alexi Duggins

I've essentially had the same haircut since I was 17, so I am no stranger to intrusive thoughts about it being out of date - particularly given the style. Now that the 00s are well and truly gone, do I just look like a human bog brush? Or as though I've jammed wet fingers into a plug socket? Or like someone left a Sid Vicious waxwork too close to a radiator? Like I said: intrusive thoughts.

So when I came across a hairdressing stand at a London festival in 2013, I was very taken by it. It offered “hairdressing inspired by music”, with cuts themed to playlists. “We create styles that make you stand out, not fit in,” it said, in promotional documentation that also required you to sign an “extreme cuts contract” (sample text: “We would like to make you aware that we have had no professional training in hairdressing”). This, I decided, was exactly the change I needed.

I had drunk quite a lot of beer by this point.

Fifteen minutes later, my hair had undergone a rough hacking. For some reason, my stylist felt that what my coiffure chiefly required was to lose the hair at the sides unevenly and have the front teased up to delicately emphasise my receding hairline. Even through the beer, I was not impressed.

"Honestly," said the scissors wielder, "you'll look at this cut tomorrow and think: 'Wow, this is really good.' Then she sprayed it so liberally with gold glitter that it looked as if I had been styled by a disco-era King Midas.

“Jesus!” laughed a friend the next day, once I’d washed the glitter out. “You look like an egg that’s grown some cress out of the top.” Other pals developed a fondness for poking their fingers into the patchier bits. My ears, I was told repeatedly, now stuck out in a way that would make me the bookies’ favourite to star in a Dumbo remake.

All in all, it was not the finest coiffure I've ever had. I did learn something, though. It turns out that there are worse things than looking like a human bog brush. Namely, getting your hair done while drunk.

'The hairdresser's hands didn't stop shaking' Paula Cocozza

When I was 10, I decided to do the unthinkable. I asked my parents for short hair. Being a girl, this went against the traditional beauty ideals I was growing up with. As a child of the 70s, I had artless long hair and no fringe. One of my happiest childhood memories is sitting on my dad's lap on Saturday evenings after my weekly hair wash and having him comb and dry my hair while we watched Starsky & Hutch.

But I was increasingly fashion-conscious. I found a picture of a model with the hair I wanted and tore it out of our Freemans mail-order catalogue. She had a fringe and a brunette version of the style made famous by Diana, Princess of Wales, with slightly less layering.

We picked a salon halfway between school and home, in a parade of shops next to a chemist and a butcher. Mum took me in with my picture. We showed it to the hairdresser, who looked at it and nodded. Soon, chunks of long, brown hair began to land on the floor. I was amazed by how much there was and how sad it looked lying there. Perhaps because they were tuning into the momentousness of the occasion, the hairdresser's hands didn't stop shaking.

Afterwards, while I was still in the chair, she held up the mirror for me to survey the results. I tried hard to work out how the hair I saw on my head looked so unlike that of the model in the catalogue. My fringe was a dark, heavy clump. There wasn't much in the way of layering. In fact, it looked pretty much like the haircut my mum gave my younger brother every couple of months.

“Did you see her hands were shaking the whole way through?” my mum said when we were back on the street. I made the best of it with a sequined headband worn around my forehead, but I started growing it out right then.

I haven't had short hair - or a fringe, or a change of colour, or asked a hairdresser to cut off more than a couple of inches - since. My hair never strays far from my shoulders. Sometimes, I think there might be another version of me - had that experience gone better - wandering around with a pixie cut.

'The contract said "we have had no professional training in hairdressing"'

'I did far worse to my hair than my mum's salad-bowl trims' Daniel Lavelle

When I was six, in the early 90s, I was like a pinball, pinging around restlessly, which meant getting me to sit still on a barber's chair was as likely as an accidental death in Midsomer Murders. There was no way a barber would have risked taking his scissors to my permanently oscillating head.

Consequently, my mum resorted to cutting my hair herself. On the rare occasions when she could get me to sit still, she would plonk a bowl on my head and cut any hair that poked out around the sides. This usually happened when my attention was focused on playing Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Mum would approach with the stealth

of a super assassin: “The Shadow Hairdresser, Operation Haircut”. If she was lucky, the trim would happen without me noticing.

I wish I could say these were my worst haircuts, but I did far worse things to my hair than my mum's sneaky salad-bowl trims ever could. When teenage hormones kicked in, so did a demoralising preoccupation with my appearance.

In my early teens, I boarded the Beckham bandwagon with the rest of my male peers: curtains, floppy fringe, baby mohawk, buzz cut and several others, until I finally understood what putting a silk hat on a pig meant.

After that, I shifted from attempts to look attractive to making a statement. That statement was mostly: "No, teacher, I won't do what you tell me," in the form of shaved-in patterns and hair dye.

Sadly, the only statement my hair makes now is that it's had enough and doesn't want to stick around.

'I sat in shellshocked silence while the stylist scalped me' Polly Hudson

There is never a good time for a hair disaster, but having one during the peak awkward, self-conscious teenage years was a test of character and resilience I could have done without.

My makeover had seemed like a logical decision. At 14, in 1989, I had elbow-length, thick, glossy hair in perfect condition, which I always wore pulled back in a ponytail. My best friend suggested I might as well have a short back

and sides, because it would look really cool. (Side note: this was how I learned about the concept of frenemies.)

The hairdresser thought I was joking when I told her what I wanted - in hindsight, I should have paid more attention - but my friend's mind was made up: I was doing this. "Yes, I am sure, really," I insisted.

I knew it was a mistake from the first snip of the scissors, just a millisecond too late. I feel remember a hushed silence coming over the salon, but maybe that's just in my head. There was definitely no chat from my chair, no discussion of holiday plans - I sat in shellshocked silence while the stylist followed my instructions and scalped me.

My mum came to collect me and announced her arrival with a piercing scream from the doorway. I looked over to see her hands clasped over her face in horror. "Your beautiful hair!" she cried, although not as much as I did when we got home.

Styled by the hairdresser, my new do was horrendous, but at least it had some bouncy life to it. When I tried myself, it was flat and positively Hitler-esque. To clarify: this was not the look I had been going for.

There was worse to come, though. “It’ll grow,” was how every conversation about my new hair ended, even those that had begun with people saying it wasn’t that bad. It did grow, but only the top; the sides stayed stubbornly short. It was like a mushroom. I started having to put the long part in a little ponytail, which stuck straight up. I looked like a sumo

wrestler, another image that was not centre stage on many teenage girls' mood boards. The ends became dry and split - I should have had a trim, but this was tricky, seeing as I was never, ever letting anyone cut my hair again.

It took a full five years to look anything approaching normal again. I will probably be scarred by the experience for ever, but sometimes it's an advantage. Every Traitors viewer is biannually tempted by the fringe influencer Claudia Winkleman and most live to regret it. Of course, I'm not immune to the lure, but I remember too well the snail's-pace pain of growing out a mistake, so I will never succumb. I've learned the hard way.

'I looked as if I'd lost an intense fight with an electric razor' Rich Pelley

They say you don't appreciate something until you lose it - and that is never more true than with hair. After decades of treating mine as a disposable fashion accessory, it appears to have disposed of itself. Perhaps that's why I look back so fondly on all the terrible things I did to it while I still had the chance.

The first was a pudding-bowl haircut that my mum and I appeared to share in the early 80s. At school, I had shoulder-length curtains with a shaved undercut, held out of my face with an alice band - a look that I imagined made me resemble a member of Radiohead, rather than a teenage girl waiting to wash her face. It required constant maintenance, because the curtains had to fall at exactly the right angle: too far apart and you looked like a medieval monk, too close together and you couldn't see where you were going.

At college, it was a No 1 all over, with a line shaved through one eyebrow, like Robbie Williams in Take That - or so I believed. I thought it made me look dangerous. In reality, I resembled someone who had lost a brief but intense argument with an electric razor.

At university, I had dreadlocks that made me look like Sonic the Hedgehog. For my first proper

▼▲ The many haircuts of Rich Pelley ... some of which managed to resemble those of his mum
'My costume had gone back in the wardrobe, but my hair remained the same'

job, I went bleached blond, which accidentally made me look like my mum again, so that had to go. Then came a spiky mohawk: less Mr T, more startled parrot.

The problem is that, for the people around me, the dramatic effect diminishes each time. When I shaved the top half of my head to look like Keith Flint from the Prodigy for a 90s-themed fancy-dress party, nowhere near enough people said: “I can’t believe what you’ve done to your hair!” or: “You’ve won first prize.” Instead, they presumably thought: “What has Rich done to his hair now? What a berk.”

That, out of all the haircuts, was probably my worst, although it faces extremely stiff competition. Unlike my other terrible hairstyles, this one had only been intended to last for one night. The next morning, my costume had gone back in the wardrobe, but unfortunately my hair remained the same, so I was forced into another brief but intense argument with an electric razor - and this time the razor won. I thought I looked like Jay-Z, but in reality I looked more like an escaped prisoner.

The ear witness

▲ ‘The idea of figuring things out through sound didn’t occur until Earshot’ ... Abu Hamdan

He is the Turner prize-winning artist who analyses ‘sound evidence’ to expose human rights abuses from Gaza to Belgrade. Lawrence Abu Hamdan reveals how his Earshot work is inseparable from his art

Charlotte Higgins

L awrence Abu Hamdan has a double identity. He is an artist who, in 2019, jointly won the Turner prize; and one of his works is,

for my money, among the most striking on show at this year's Venice Biennale. But he is also the director of a young NGO, founded in 2023, called Earshot, which investigates human rights abuses using sound evidence. In less euphemistic language, that means, on occasion, investigating horrific killings. He and his team might analyse the direction and position of bullets Israeli soldiers have fired at emergency workers in Gaza, or build evidence that a sonic weapon was likely used to disperse a mass silent vigil in Belgrade.

The foundational work he did in this field was a project with the London-based research agency Forensic Architecture for Amnesty International. Back in 2016, he interviewed rare survivors of the unimaginably barbaric conditions in Syria's Sednaya prison. There was a paradox at play in this murderous place - prisoners were held in complete darkness,

▼ Caused by a sonic weapon? ... 450XL; below right, Zifzafa, about noise pollution and wind turbines

Into the silence came a noise that felt as if it came from inside the protestors' bodies

and enforced silence, killed for making any sound. Listening was both the inmates' only source of information, and a tool for survival and resistance. Their acute sonic memories of screams of distress and pain; keys turning in locks; bread being slapped down outside their cells; even of lice being snapped - all helped Abu Hamdan and his colleagues build a picture of the prison architecture and its conditions, nearly a decade before it was opened to the light after the fall of the bloody Assad regime.

In fact, these identities of Abu Hamdan's - artist and audio investigator - are not separate. Instead, they are interlocking, the art forming a sensory, aesthetic and emotional expression of the hard-nosed research. The Sednaya project profoundly influenced Abu Hamdan as an artist. The cases Earshot now take on result in formal written reports - and some of them also in artworks. “There’s the really fast, urgent stuff that we need to be doing,” says Abu Hamdan, “and then there’s the stuff where we can say, ‘OK, let’s pause. Let’s unfold it and reflect on what we did and what it meant.’ It’s a duality and it helps us sustain our ears. To keep us listening in as sharp a way as possible.”

I imagine Earshot's new offices - part of a complex of artists' studios in south London - as something out of film noir, with the Lebanese-British Abu Hamdan as the resident private eye (or "private ear", as he calls himself). Somehow, there should be a glass door with his name engraved on it, a fug of smoke inside. Instead he and his colleagues, mostly graduates from architecture schools, are based in a small open-plan office of impeccable bright-white tidiness, the only hint of the particular nature of the work a tiny silver pendant of an ear around Abu Hamdan's neck.

But mysterious things are happening on nearby computer screens as we talk. Investigator Renate Lurdesa Baumane, for example, has a computer-generated model of a street on hers. She is working a cold case - a political assassination from some years ago. The family of the victim recently contacted Earshot with recordings that hadn't been analysed at the time. "The idea," says Abu Hamdan, "that you would listen and figure out what happened from sound didn't occur to people till we started Earshot." The team is turning the case on its head: discovering that the person convicted of the shooting was likely a decoy, and that the murder weapon was wielded by another hand.

Abu Hamdan describes the team's work as building the sonic equivalent of the kind of visual reconstructions that we are used to seeing in the news. They use a combination of open-source data, “earwitness” testimonies and sound data (recordings, videos) gathered at the scene. The sonic weapon investigation, for example - which was the catalyst for the work on show in Venice - came out of an investigation into the dispersal in Belgrade of a mass silent anti-government protest.

Held in March 2025, the demonstration was one of many silent vigils that have taken place in the country since a deadly accident at a railway station the previous year. The protesters keep 15 minutes of silence, one minute for every person killed. That evening as many as 300,000 people were gathered. And into that long, grief-filled silence of mourning and resistance came an intolerable, frightening noise - one that at first seemed as if a vehicle was approaching at speed, then felt as if it were being produced inside the bodies of those who experienced it. The Serbian government denied that a sonic weapon was used to panic and disperse the crowd.

“It was a really interesting case for us as an organisation because of the way we got pulled in,” says Abu Hamdan. “Generally we get requests from media organisations, or from NGOs - there’s usually an institution, except for a few random individuals telling us, ‘My wife’s trying to brainwash me with microwaves,’ or something, which we ignore. But this was the first one where we had multiple individual requests. We woke up and there were what felt like hundreds of emails.” This was the morning after the protest. A Serbian music student based in Vienna, they discovered, had suggested Earshot might help them find out what had really happened; the word had gone out among the protesters.

Earshot took on the case, amassing thousands of witness statements and working in detail with individuals to reconstruct the sound. To do this they played the “earwitnesses” samples, first “eliminating sounds that were claimed by the government to have caused the panic, like fireworks, or a drone,” says Abu Hamdan. The team concluded the sound was likely produced by a US-made device called an LRAD 450XL.

"To me there were two sonic weapons that night. There was the silence of the vigil, and there was the counterattack," he says. "That silence was just so unbearable to the state that they had to find a way to undermine it." The sheer silence of the vigil also resulted in extraordinary listening conditions. When the sound erupted into the crowd, the protesters were uniquely sensitive and alive to its quality. "It was a silent vigil that was also vigilant in its silence," he says. "And it produced, in very similar way to the Sednaya prison, an acute type of listening."

A version of the multiscreen work that was shown in a frescoed chapel in Venice - on a single screen, with a live score - will be shown at a “takeover” of the Barbican in London that Abu Hamdan and Earshot are staging in September. Earshot are also running workshops on gathering sound evidence; introducing film screenings (such as the 1955 French heist movie Rififi, which has a lengthy, almost silent robbery scene); and hosting musicians such as Busher Kanj, a composer from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria, who is creating a new work incorporating field recordings and electronics.

Earshot worked with inhabitants of the area to demonstrate the levels of noise pollution that would be produced by wind turbines that are planned close to a village, building a kind of walk-through video game where the sounds of community life and of nature can be encountered against the deafening whoosh of the blades. That work, Zifzafa, can also been seen in Glasgow this summer at the Common Guild, and Abu Hamdan and his collaborators will present a live version for the closing event of the Edinburgh art festival.

I ask Abu Hamdan about how he and his team cope with the often distressing material. After our interview, for example, he is meeting New York Times journalists to look at some killings by ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in the US. And one of their most significant works has been a year-long investigation into the killing of ambulance workers in Gaza. According to Earshot's analysis, Israeli soldiers fired at least 910 rounds in Tel Al-Sultan, near Rafah, on 23 March 2025 - at least 789 of them directly at aid workers.

Evidence included a recording made by one of the killed people, his phone exhumed from a mass grave. The sheer destruction - only three walls intact, everything else reduced to rubble - helped them to map the shots. “Usually in an urban environment that would be extremely complex.”

But working on the cases, taking an active role, is easier than passively staring at his phone in despair, he says. “Ambiently scrolling - that is so much more destructive.” And, he points out, there’s always music to think about, not just gunshots. There is so much in the world to listen to. Zifzafa is at the Common Guild, Glasgow, until 17 October, with a live performance at Leith theatre on 29 August. Repercussions is at the Barbican, London, 23-26 September

Red Riding

'I kept the most horrendous violence off-screen. It was called Yorkshire noir and “better than The Godfather”'

▲ ‘I had to eat a raw Findus Crispy Pancake’ ... Mark Addy PHOTOGRAPH: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITY

Tony Grisoni, screenwriter

I'd been writing screenplays with Michael Winterbottom and in 2006, his producer Andrew Eaton said: “There’s this quartet of novels by David Peace. Are you interested in adapting them?” I read the first, 1974, and was drawn to it and repelled at the same time. It was strong meat, full of anger and injustice. It’s anchored in reality, especially the Peter Sutcliffe and Stefan Kiszko cases, but heightened and stylised. “Fiction torn from the facts,” David called it.

I was scared stiff because the novels were so experimental but I desperately wanted to do it - even if adapting all four would mean waving goodbye to several years of my life. The books span a decade with a huge cast of characters, so I condensed a lot.

Eaton was keen on a different director and format for each film. It meant each had its own reference points. I thought about Chinatown with 1974. The design and costumes were all smoky and brown, like the 70s. The cast went for the material big time. David Morrissey really did his research and Sean Harris is nothing if not method. It’s a very masculine story but we wanted strong female characters too - we had Maxine Peake and Rebecca Hall. I kept the most horrendous violence off-screen. Violence you imagine is much worse than anything you’ll see.

The police interrogation scenes, where they torture suspects, are terrifying and deliberately so. Stefan Kiszko, on whom Daniel Mays's character is based, was released in 1992 and died 18 months later, having been wrongly imprisoned for 16 years. A man with a mind of a 12-year-old who just wanted his mum.

Red Riding was compared to James Ellroy and described as Yorkshire noir - although David preferred Yorkshire dark. The corruption and brutality in Red Riding are bleak, but so is the real world. While I was writing, the headlines were full of cases like Stephen Lawrence, Madeleine McCann, Natascha Kampusch, Shannon Matthews, Josef Fritzl ...

We made 1974, 1980 and 1983 but, for budgetary reasons, not 1977, which broke my heart. I hold out hope we'll get to do the missing fourth. Critic David Thomson called it "better than The Godfather". Nic Pizzolatto said it influenced True Detective. People are still discovering it. They tend to say: "But you seem like quite a nice guy!"

Mark Addy, actor

My agent sent me the scripts but said: “Just to warn you, there’s no money in this.” I got halfway through the first episode, phoned her back and asked: “Who else is attached?” She said: “Sean Bean, David Morrissey, Paddy Considine, Peter Mullan and Maxine Peake.” I said: “Put my name on the list please.” The scripts were so well-written, it was a no-brainer.

Everyone was on Equity minimum, there were no trailers, not even a green room area. It was a tremendous experience to have a cast of that calibre, throwing their all into something that wasn't going to buy them more than a pair of shoes.

David Peace's books are dense with detail. They were a major resource for building my character, washed-up solicitor John Piggott. In one scene, he flashes back to finding his father's body. They strapped a camera rig to me, so viewers see it through Piggott's eyes. He becomes the unlikely hero, despite being a dope-smoking, heavy-drinking loser. He takes on the might of the crooked West Yorkshire police and partly succeeds. Amid the darkness, he's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Piggott's a shoddy, unkempt idiot - he sleeps in his suit and at one point, he eats a raw Findus Crispy Pancake - but he saves the girl. He carries her out of a mineshaft in his arms, like a Bruce Willis action hero. Shooting scenes in the underground paedophile's lair was grim. There was a room with the dentist's chair in it, mattresses on the floor, a child's shoe. It brought home the horrors of what these monsters were doing. You needed a shower at the end of the day.

The show's hardly a tourist advert for Yorkshire. On location, set dressing would be a burnt-out car on the grass verge, maybe an upturned shopping trolley. Locals were like: "Can't you put a nice floral arrangement there instead?"

Red Riding had ripple effects on my career. Ridley Scott had started work on Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. The casting director gave him a Red Riding DVD because it had so many British actors. He watched it, phoned up to acquire the US rights, then cast me as Friar Tuck. He must've seen me eat the frozen Crispy Pancake and thought: "That's my man!" Interviews by Michael Hogan. The Red Riding Trilogy is available on Amazon's Studiocanal Presents channel.

REVIEW BY LUCY MANGAN

Revival

Is this the most moving zombie show on television?

★★★★☆

Netflix

A

teenage girl is pale, withdrawn and seems not to be fully in or of this world. Could she be ... a zombie? “She just likes the Cure,” weary police officer Dana Cypress (Wynonna Earp’s Melanie Scrofano) assures the

anxious mother at the station.

It's good to get the mandatory goth joke out of the way early in an undead-centred show, and Revival - a 10-part adaptation of the comic books by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton - is briskly efficient. It begins with a man bashing his way out of a crematorium furnace while others in the corpse-queue start to stir and the recently buried start to climb out of their graves and wonder, frankly, WTF is going on.

As, of course, do we, the delighted viewers, already aware that we are in confident, capable hands and eager to see what yikes and yuks come next.

WTF is going on is that, in the pre-smartphone era in the small, nondescript town of Wausau, Wisconsin, on a random day, everyone who died in the previous fortnight is resurrected. After the event, it takes the town a while to work out the parameters - how far it went, who qualified and so on, hence the goth problem. And, although by the end of the subsequent month-long lockdown imposed on the town, the police chief (Dana's father) has compiled a list of the Revivers, as they become known, Dana points out that it may not be complete. Anyone who died alone and in their sleep, for example, and woke up apparently normally would not necessarily know he or she was dead. Hmm, says the astute viewer. Noted, our Dana. Noted.

But ordinary crime goes on, especially once the lockdown is lifted - although the town remains in quarantine, so is still cut off from the outside world.

Dana begins investigating the case of a mutilated horse in the woods, only to find a handful of torn-out human teeth beside it and ... well, uh-oh. It seems that, along with the ability to self-heal, some of the undead have developed strengths and tastes that are unlikely to add to the general harmony of small-town life. They do, however, add to the gore level, which is good news for anyone who prefers their zombie tales more at the Walking Dead end of the spectrum and bad news for anyone who shrieks into the sofa whenever the top of someone's head gets sliced off by a farm implement.

There is also, for Dana, the matter of her troubled little sister, Em (Romy Weltman). Em has a difficult relationship with their loving but volatile father, but the sibling bond still holds fast. Drug addiction after a car accident that killed their mother and an entanglement with her college professor have brought chaos to Em's life, but Dana is there to help. They once dreamed of getting out of Wausau - Dana had just handed in her notice to her father and was leaving for a job in Chicago when Revival Day hit - and now they are trapped there by forces beyond their control. There have been worse and less tenderly drawn metaphors for the collapse of the American dream.

That's really what marks Revival out from the herd of noirish, murder-mystery miniseries (whether driven by superheroes, zombies or something in between) with which we are inundated. For all its lightness and speed, and its cleaving to well-tested tropes, it contains moments of real poignancy. The sisters' love for each other feels lumpy and real. The woman whose husband died one day too soon to qualify for revival and is driven mad by her compounded grief is immediately comprehensible. And the Reviver mother who cannot die and climbs into her son's coffin at his funeral reminds us that there are horrors far beyond what brain-eating monsters can offer. As the hostility towards Revivers grows in the town, it is the young Reviver girl asking her schoolfriend why, if people are always so sad when someone dies, they aren't happy that she is alive. It stops the Revivers from becoming too heavy-handed a representation of racism and contemporary anti-immigrant sentiment and keeps the story supple.

Add to that Scrofano's performance - she has an offbeat and idiosyncratic energy that is mesmerising, but still so credible that she only adds to the show's quality rather than throwing it off its stride - and you have a three-and-a-half-star show that I'm rounding up to four because she deserves it - and we deserve more of her.

Little Bird 9pm, Sky Atlantic

A drama with minimal dialogue that can still stir such deep outrage is proof of its power. But there is a guttural cry in this week's double bill that, somehow, makes you even angrier about the Sixties Scoop – the period when Canada removed Indigenous children from their families. Patti (Ellyn Jade, above) is fighting to get her kids back, while, flashing forward 18 years, Esther confronts her adoptive mother. Hollie Richardson

◀ Offbeat ... Melanie Scrofano as Dana Cypress

The Great British Sewing Bee 8pm, BBC One

It's music week and the wholesome sewing competition takes a risque turn, with a pattern challenge inspired by Madonna's cone bra. The material girls then need to get into teams to make outfits for pop groups, before creating a 70s disco-inspired outfit – which leads to lovely host Sophie Willan calling them her "Sewing Bee Gees". HR

Saving Lives at Sea 8pm, BBC Two

What's On Scan the QR code below to sign up for the What's On newsletter, our free TV email with the best reviews and news direct to your inbox every Monday

Forget about the calming nature of the shipping forecast, this dramatic series continues to follow lifeboat rescuers. Filmed around the "graveyard of the North Sea", where ships regularly run aground due to the dangerous sand banks, this week, with a storm approaching, a yacht capsizes leaving its four passengers missing in the water. Priya Elan

Celebrity MasterChef 9pm, BBC One

Judge Giorgio Locatelli has seen enough of the fumbling celebrities. He's donning his whites and stepping into the arena in a new feature that involves the chef cooking a signature dish (this time, pappardelle with pea puree and a butter sauce) while the contenders try to keep up. Phil Harrison

Emergency 24/7 9pm, BBC Two

The immersive documentary, filmed at Southmead hospital in Bristol, tracks a Tuesday afternoon that brings the A&E department two tricky patients: a man whose leg has been severed by a train; and another whose wound looks like a stabbing. It's as much about teamwork and organisation as it is about medicine. Jack Seale

The Tudors with Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman 9pm, Channel 5

It's 1588: as the Spanish Armada speeds towards England to overthrow Elizabeth I, every male from seven to 60 nervously fingers their (mandatory) bow and arrows - and Blighty's sailors prepare to repel boarders. Goodman and Rinder compellingly relate the events. Plus, an important question: "I hate to ask," says Goodman, "but where did the crew go to the toilet?" Ali Catterall

BBC One

6.0 Breakfast (T) 9.30 Morning Live: Top Tips and Best Bits (T) 10.30 Garden Rescue (T) (R) 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer (T) 12.15 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 1.0 News (T) 1.35 Regional News and Weather (T) 1.45 News (T) 2.0 Money for Nothing (T) 2.45 Escape to the Country (T) 3.30 The Repair Shop (T) (R) 4.30 The Answer Run (T) (R) 5.15 Pointless (T) (R) 6.0 News (T) 6.30 Regional News and Weather (T) 7.0 The One Show (T) 7.30 EastEnders (T)

BBC Two

6.30 Bargain Hunt (T) (R) 7.15 Money for Nothing (T) (R) 8.0 Sign Zone: The Great British Sewing Bee (T) (R) 9.0 News (T) 1.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 1.30 The Edge (T) (R) 2.15 Do You Know Your Place? (T) (R) 2.45 Animal Park (T) (R) 3.30 Serengeti III (T) (R) 4.30 Vintage Antiques Roadshow (T) (R) 5.15 Flog It! (T) (R) 6.0 Richard Osman's House of Games (T) (R) 6.30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (T) (R) 7.0 Nigellissima (T) (R) 7.30 Race Against the Tide (T)

ITV1

6.0 Good Morning Britain (T) 10.0 This Morning (T) 1.30 News and Weather (T) 1.55 Local News and Weather (T) 2.0 Dickinson's Real Deal (T) (R) 3.0 Deal Or No Deal (T) (R) 4.0 Tipping Point (T) (R) 5.0 The Chase (T) (R) 6.0 Local News and Weather (T) 6.30 News and Weather (T)

Channel 4

6.30 The King of Queens (T) (R) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (T) (R) 9.10 Frasier (T) (R) 11.10 Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (T) (R) 12.05 News (T) 12.10 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (T) (R) 1.10 The Great House Giveaway (T) (R) 2.10 Countdown (T) 3.0 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.0 The Great B&B Challenge (T) (R) 5.0 Chateau DIY (T) (R) 6.0 American Pickers (T) (R) 7.0 News (T)

Channel 5

6.0 Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (T) 11.30 Storm & Alexis (T) 12.45 News (T) 12.50 Matt Allwright (T) 2.20 FILM A Killer in the Family (Soran Mardookhi, 2023) (T) 4.0 Castle (T) (R) 4.55 Love Nature (T) (R) 5.0 News (T) 6.0 Motorhoming With Merton & Webster (T) (R) 7.0 Cycling: Vuelta a España 2026 (T)

BBC Four

7.0 The Architecture the Railways Built (T) (R) St Pancras station in London and its sister hotel. 7.45 The Flying Gardener (T) (R).

8.0 The Great British Sewing Bee (T) The sewers pay homage to Madonna's cone bra, turn bedroom furnishings into costumes for pop artists and make disco outfits. 9.0 Celebrity MasterChef (T) In week two, Emily Steel, Nitin Ganatra, Tom Simons, Donna Preston and Eric Underwood compete.

10.0 News (T) 10.30 Regional News (T) Weather 10.40 FILM Arthur the King (Simon Cellan Jones, 2024) (T) A professional adventure racer competing in a 435-mile event befriends a stray dog. Fact-based drama, starring Mark Wahlberg. 12.20 The Hit List (T) (R) 1.05 Weather (T) 1.10 News (T)

8.0 Saving Lives at Sea (T) When a mayday comes in from a yacht that is breaking up, both the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI crew and Caister's independent lifeboats race to the rescue. 9.0 Emergency 24/7 (T) The team battle to save Paul, whose leg has been severed after being hit by a train.

10.0 Live at the Apollo (T) (R) 10.30 Newsnight (T) Weather 11.05 The Vampire Lestat: Interview With the Vampire (T) Last in the series.

11.55 A House Through Time (R) 12.55 Sign Zone Celebrity MasterChef (T) (R) 1.55 Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story (T) (R) 2.45 This Is BBC Two (T)

7.30 EFL Cup Live (T) Nottingham Forest v Leeds (kick-off 8pm). Mark Pougatch presents all the action from the second-round tie at the City Ground. With commentary from Sam Matterface and Lucy Ward, and pitchside reports by Gabriel Clarke.

11.0 Local News (T) Weather 11.15 Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace - What Happened Next (T) (R) The continuing stories of foundlings Natasha and her full sister Lee-Ann.

12.10 Shop on TV 3.0 Love & Death (T) (R) 3.50 Long Lost Family (R) 4.45 Unwind With ITV (T)

8.0 The Dog House (T) (R) Parents Kirsty and Oliver think that maybe a dog can wear out toddler Stanley. 9.0 Celebrity Hunted (T) The remaining fugitives converge in Birmingham for extraction details with hopes that the hunters won't catch them before they reach the pickup point. Last in the series.

12.03 Bulting Monaco's Superhomes (T) (R) 1.05 Kitchen Nightmares USA (T) (R) 1.55 FILM The Quiet Girl (2022) Drama, starring Catherine Clinch. 3.30 The Piano (T) (R) 4.25 A Place in the Sun (T) (R) 4.55 Couples Come Dine With Me (T) (R) 5.50 Countdown (T) (R)

8.0 Motorway Cops: Catching Britain's Speeders (T) On the M6, PCs Mark Gribble and Lucy Pond are called in after a car fails to stop for Cheshire police.

9.0 The Tudors With Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman (T) A look at when England braced itself for the arrival of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

10.30 Murder on the Doorstep: Who Killed Alistair Wilson? (T) (R) Documentary.

12.05 Nigel Farage: Where Does the Money Come from? (T) (R) 1.0 Cruise TV (T) (R) 2.0 GPs: Behind Closed Doors (T) (R) 2.50 Castle (T) (R) 3.40 Friends (T) (R) 4.30 The Highland Vet (T) (R) 5.35 Paw Patrol (T) (R)

8.0 To the Manor Born (T) (R) DeVere moves his grocery business to the manor. 8.25 Keeping Up Appearances (T) (R) Hyacinth plans a "luxury barbecue and finger buffet". 9.0 How the Celts Saved Britain (T) (R) Dan Snow examines how the Irish saved Britain from cultural oblivion between AD400 and 800.

10.0 Britain in Focus: A Photographic History (T) (R) Events of the 20th century. 11.0 The Secret Genius of Plants (T) (R) Part two of two. 11.55 Do We Really Need the Moon? (T) (R) 12.55 The Flying Gardener (T) (R) 1.10 The Secret Genius of Plants (T) (R) 2.05 How the Celts Saved Britain (T) (R)

Other channels

BBC Three

7.0pm The Catch Up 7.05 Deadly 60 7.30 Deadly 60 8.0 Top Gear 9.0 FILM Darkest Hour (2017) 11.0 Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret 12.0 Confessions of a Steroid Gang 12.30 Confessions of a Steroid Gang 1.0 Confessions of a Steroid Gang 1.30 Kyle: The Gunman Who Divided America 2.30 BBC New Comedy Awards 2024 3.0 Vigil

U&Dave

6.0am Teleshopping
7.25 Top Gear 8.20
Border Force: America's Gatekeepers 10.20
Rick Stein's India 11.20
Yukon Gold 12.20 Top Gear 1.20 Top Gear 2.20
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 3.0 Guy's Garage 4.0 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 5.0
Rick Stein's India 6.0
Rick Stein's India 7.0
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing 7.40 Would I Lie to You? 8.20 Would I Lie to You? 9.0 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 10.0 QI XL 11.0 Taskmaster 12.0 Mock the Week 12.40 Would I Lie to You? 1.20 Would I Lie to You? 2.0 QI XL 3.0 Richard Osman's House of Games 3.30 Parks and Recreation 4.0 Teleshopping

E4

6.0am Hollyoaks
6.30 Hollyoaks 6.55
Rude(ish) Tube Shorts
7.0 Couples Come Dine
With Me 8.0 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA
9.0 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 10.0
America's Funniest Home Videos 11.0 Below Deck: Mediterranean 12.0 The Simpsons 2.0 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 2.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 3.0 Modern Family 3.30 Modern Family 4.0 Modern Family 4.30 Modern Family 5.0 The Simpsons 5.30 The Simpsons 6.0 The Simpsons 6.30 The Simpsons 7.0 Hollyoaks 7.30 The Simpsons 8.0 Ladies of London: The New Reign 9.0 Below Deck Down Under 10.0 Gogglebox 11.0 First Dates 12.05 Naked Attraction 1.10 Below Deck Down Under 2.10 Ladies of London: The New Reign 3.0 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA 3.50 The Goldbergs 4.15 The Goldbergs 4.40 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5.05 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5.30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Film4

11.0am FILM Togo (2019) 1.15 FILM Sherlock Holmes: Terror By Night (1946) 2.30 FILM It Came from Outer

Space (1953) 4.05 FILM Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) 6.45 FILM Midway (2019) 9.30 FILM Drive-Away Dolls (2024) 11.15 FILM Hustlers (2019) 1.25 FILM Queenpins (2021)

PBS America 6.0am Teleshopping 8.0 The World After Stonehenge 9.20 The Normans 10.40 The Mughal Empire 11.50 The Mughal Empire 1.0 The World After Stonehenge 2.10 The Normans 3.25 The Mughal Empire 4.40 The Mughal Empire 5.50 The World After Stonehenge 7.0 The Normans 8.15 The Mughal Empire 9.30 The Mughal Empire 10.45 Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland 12.0 The Normans 1.15 Weathered: Earth's Extremes 2.0 Teleshopping

Sky One

6.0am Mornings With Ridge and Frost 8.0 Stargate SG-1 9.0 Stargate SG-1 10.0 La Brea 11.0 The Simpsons 11.30 The Simpsons 12.0 Africa's Hunters 1.0 Hawaii Five-0 2.0 Hawaii Five-0 3.0 S.W.A.T 4.0 S.W.A.T

5.0 The Simpsons 5.30 The Simpsons 6.0 Rob & Romesh vs Anthony Joshua Revisited 7.0 The Simpsons 8.0 Best Medicine 9.0 Micky Flanagan: An' Another Fing Live 10.45 The 'Burbs 11.40 Grimm 12.40 Evil 1.35 Road Wars 2.30 Road Wars 3.0 Hawaii Five-0 4.0 S.W.A.T 5.0 S.W.A.T

Sky Arts

6.0am Venice: A Concert for Our Climate 7.0 Backstage With the London Philharmonic Orchestra 8.0 Artist of the Year: Masterclass 8.30 Artist of the Year: Masterclass 9.0 Tales of the Unexpected 9.30 Tales of the Unexpected 10.0 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 10.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.0 Discovering: Gene Wilder 12.0 The Art of Film With Ian Nathan 1.0 Tales of the Unexpected 1.30 Tales of the Unexpected 2.0 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 3.0 The Nineties 4.0 Discovering: Laurence Harvey 5.0 Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 6.0 Tales of the Unexpected 6.30 Tales of the Unexpected 7.0 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 7.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 8.0 The World in a Painting:

Vermeer's Hat 9.15 Art Traffickers: Treasures Stolen from the Tombs 10.15 Wonderland: From JM Barrie to JRR Tolkien 11.15 The Movies 12.15 Tilda Swinton: The Wildcards 1.30 A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things 3.15 Stories from Tate Britain 4.10 A Play in a Day 5.05 The Art of Film With Ian Nathan

Sky Atlantic

6.0am The Guest Wing
8.0 Billions 10.15 House of the Dragon 12.40
Homicide: Life on the Street 2.30 Billions
4.40 Django 6.45 House of the Dragon 7.50
House of the Dragon
9.0 Little Bird 10.0
Little Bird 11.0 Das Boot
12.15 Possession 1.15
Possession 2.15 House of the Dragon 3.30 House of the Dragon 4.35 Sort Of 5.05 Fish Town

▲ Hustlers, Film4

Radio

Radio 3

6.30am Breakfast 9.30 Essential Classics 1.0 Classical Live. From the Proms, Jonathon Heyward conducts Chineke! Orchestra and soprano Angel Blue in Knoxville's Summer of 1915. Plus, from Cheltenham music festival, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No 1 in D minor, Op 49, with the Astatine Trio. 4.0 Composer of the Week: Sally Beamish (2/5) 5.0 In Tune 7.0 BBC Proms 2026. Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra in music from the James Bond films. 10.0 Night Tracks (R) 11.30 'Round Midnight (R) 12.30 Through the Night

Radio 4

6.0am Today 9.0 Invisible Hands. The story of Paul Wolfowitz, the man who drove the US to war in Iraq. (5/6) 9.30 Michael Sheen Gets Into Character (R) 10.0 Woman's Hour 11.0 Add to Playlist (R) 11.45 Book of the Week: All the Beauty in the World. By Patrick Bringley. (2/5) 12.0 News 12.04 Call You and Yours 12.57

Weather 1.0 The World at One 1.45 Human Intelligence. Desmond Tutu's leadership of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (7/10) 2.0 The Archers (R) 2.15 The Test Batter Can't Breathe. Drama, by James Fritz. During a Test match between England and Australia, one of England's most talented batsmen walks away. (R) 3.0 History's Secret Heroes. The life of double agent Elvira Chaudoir. (1/10) 3.30 Heart and Soul. The Jamaican revivalists preserving faith and identity with sacred traditions. 4.0 An Evening With Dave Van Ronk. Elijah Wald tells the story of the American folk singer. 4.30 What's Up Docs? Chris and Xand van Tulleken unpack the benefits of walking. 5.0 PM 5.57 Weather 6.0 News 6.30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz. The comic discusses misleadingly named foods. (3/6) 7.0 The Archers 7.15 Front Row 8.0 The Coroners Question. Michael Buchanan explores the role of coroners in investigating sudden, violent and unexpected deaths. 8.40 In Touch 9.0 Crossing Continents.

Camilla Mota reports on Brazil's problem with gambling. (4/9) 9.30 Scam Secrets (R) 9.59 Weather 10.0 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Mr Sidhu's Post Office. By Amman Brar. (7/10) 11.0 Half-Life (R) 11.30 Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares (R) 12.0 News 12.30 Book of the Week: All the Beauty in the World (R) 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.0 As World Service 5.0 News 5.04 Inside Science (R) 5.32 Weather 5.34 Shipping Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 Farming Today

Radio 4 Extra

Radio 4 Extra 6.0am Five Red Herrings (2/8) 6.30 Kill the Pharaoh! (2/8) 7.0 Yes Minister (7/8) 7.30 The Milligan Papers (3/6) 8.0 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (3/5) 8.30 Underland (2/5) 8.45 Breathing Underwater (2/5) 9.0 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (2/6) 9.30 Human Hosts (2) 9.45 Daily Service 10.0 A Good Read (9/9) 10.30 The Choir Invisible 11.0 Five Red Herrings (2/8) 11.30 Kill the Pharaoh! (2/8) 12.0 Yes Minister (7/8) 12.30 The Milligan Papers (3/6) 1.0 Whatever

Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (3/5) 1.30 Underland (2/5) 1.45 Breathing Underwater (2/5) 2.0 It's Not What You Know (1/4) 2.30 Life in London (3/6) 3.0 Valentino 4.0 A Good Read (9/9) 4.30 The Choir Invisible 5.0 Five Red Herrings (2/8) 5.30 Kill the Pharaoh! (2/8) 6.0 Yes Minister (7/8) 6.30 The Milligan Papers (3/6) 7.0 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (3/5) 7.30 Underland (2/5) 7.45 Breathing Underwater (2/5) 8.0 It's Not What You Know (1/4) 8.30 Life in London (3/6) 9.0 Valentino 10.0 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (2/6) 10.30 Pick-Ups (2/6) 11.0 All the World's a Globe (8/8) 11.15 2000 Years of Radio (2/6) 11.30 Chain Reaction (4/6) 12.0 A Good Read (9/9) 12.30 The Choir Invisible 1.0 Five Red Herrings (2/8) 1.30 Kill the Pharaoh! (2/8) 2.0 Yes Minister (7/8) 2.30 The Milligan Papers (3/6) 3.0 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Austen? (3/5) 3.30 Underland (2/5) 3.45 Breathing Underwater (2/5) 4.0 It's Not What You Know (1/4) 4.30 Life in London (3/6) 5.0 Valentino

Yesterday's solutions

Wordsearch

U	F	A	L	M	O	N	E	R
A	R	C	H	E	R	W	J	I
E	B	I	R	C	S	T	R	I
S	B	D	R	O	V	E	R	T
R	R	E	H	C	T	E	L	F
E	E	D	A	S	L	B	N	T
P	E	N	E	D	O	I	A	U
O	V	J	N	W	L	N	M	R
O	E	A	Y	I	N	E	O	N
C	H	E	A	E	P	S	E	E
C	R	T	R	U	I	S	Y	R

Solution no 17,566

Sudoku no 7,428

6	8	4	1	7	9	5	3	2
1	2	5	8	4	3	7	9	6
7	9	3	5	2	6	8	1	4
8	3	6	9	5	2	4	7	1
9	1	2	4	8	7	3	6	5
4	5	7	3	6	1	9	2	8
3	4	9	6	1	8	2	5	7
5	7	1	2	3	4	6	8	9
2	6	8	7	9	5	1	4	3

Word wheel OVERBOARD

Suguru

Looking for more? Download the Guardian app for more puzzles, including our new Premier League game, On the Ball, and our movie quiz, Film Reveal. Plus clues and answers to all our interactive crosswords and sudoku. Available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Across

Across 1 Fibre used for making sacks (4) 3 Bloodsuckers (8) 8 Rage - goddess of vengeance (4) 9 Tree-dwelling animal related to raccoon - I junk oak (anag) (8) 11 Official warning to player (football) (6,4) 14 Warnings of danger (6) 15 Manage (4,2) 17 Sound of birds on social media? (10) 20 Soft drink (8) 21 Contemptuously ignore (a person) (4) 22 Disciplined for wrongdoing (8) 23 Amphibian sometimes found in throat (4)

Down

1 Packaging for urgent parcel? (5,3) 2 Absolutely delighted (8) 4 Each (6) 5 Expressionless, particularly when playing cards (5-5) 6 Indian prince (4) 7 Mulligatawny or minestrone (4) 10 Short nap (5,5) 12 Novice (8) 13 Use this to take restaurant leftovers home (5-3) 16 Heavy and filling food (6) 18 Loose movement - flip-_ (4) 19 Portent (4)

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Sudoku no 7,429

Medium. Fill the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1-9. Printable version at theguardian.com/sudoku

5	9	7		6
8				7		6		1
1				4			5
				5	9	1		6
4	1	5	6
			4			5
	6		5		1	4	7	3
		1				2
	5		2			8

Suguru

Fill the grid so that each square in an outlined block contains a digit. A block of two squares contains the digits 1 and 2, a block of three squares contains the digits 1, 2 and 3, and so on. No same digit appears in neighbouring squares, not even diagonally.

Word wheel

Find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each must use the central letter and at least three others. Letters may be used only once. You may not use plurals, foreign words or proper nouns. There is at least one nine-letter word to be found. Target: 18. Good: 23. Very good: 28. Excellent: 33

Wordsearch

Can you find 15 French cuisine items in the grid? Words can run forwards, backwards, vertically or diagonally, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

E	S	C	A	L	O	P	E	N
S	E	U	Q	S	I	B	I	G
C	T	N	I	R	A	V	A	N
A	O	I	D	H	U	L	R	C
R	P	B	F	A	A	C	U	O
G	M	A	Q	N	O	F	E	N
O	O	O	T	U	O	V	S	S
T	C	I	L	E	D	C	S	O
E	N	I	E	L	E	D	A	M
E	S	C	R	E	P	E	H	M
T	E	R	R	I	N	E	C	E

Trivia corner

Bamboo is the tallest type of what?
a. Flower
b. Grass
c. Plant
d. Tree
Answer top right

制度与权力批判深度研判：The Guardian (25.08.2026)

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▌ 本日全报思想与文化深思雷达 (Intellectual & Cultural Significance Radar)

在系统通盘梳理本期报纸所涉及的所有国际政治、经济、社会与文化报道后，以下 4 个具体事件在制度结构、权力技术与法理合法性层面最值得学者进一步深思：

1. 【英国寄养离院者早逝与支持缺失】 [F1_1 🔍][F1_2 🔍]

   • 事件简述：英格兰地区每年有超过100名前寄养青年早逝，原因在于社会服务在其满18岁时突然大幅减少支持。一项政府委托审查将这一问题描述为“国家悲剧”，并指出这些年轻人在去世时正处于“最脆弱的时刻”，却被独自留下。
   • 制度批判切入点：该事件触动了福利国家“断崖式”制度设计缺陷——成人与儿童社会护理在18岁节点的权力与责任真空，暴露了官僚体系的例外状态逻辑（即成年即为“自主个体”，无需持续保护）。

2. 【英国eVisa系统错误导致西班牙机场滞留事件】 [F30_59 🔍][F30_60 🔍]

   • 事件简述：英国女子尼迪娅·韦布因内政部eVisa系统错误将其数字化定居身份与双胞胎姐妹关联，导致在西班牙机场滞留。系统错误已引发20万在英合法居民的担忧。
   • 制度批判切入点：该事件揭示了数字化移民管理体系的算法霸权——技术系统的错误被自然化为“技术故障”，而非制度设计的结构性排斥机制。

3. 【伦敦超低排放区（Ulez）政策显效与空气污染治理】 [F4_8 🔍]

   • 事件简述：伦敦市长萨迪克·汗2019年推出超低排放区（Ulez）后，伦敦儿童肺部变得更大更强壮。研究显示Ulez显著降低氮氧化物等污染物浓度，自2013年首次将空气污染列为死亡原因后，伦敦空气质量持续改善。
   • 制度批判切入点：该政策展现了环境治理的技术治理逻辑——通过量化标准（如NOx浓度）与市场机制（如罚款与补贴）重构城市空间权力，但其分配正义缺失（即污染者与受害者的不对称责任）仍需批判性审视。

4. 【社交媒体高速驾驶网络潮流与英国首相斥责】 [F16_31 🔍][F16_32 🔍][F17_33 🔍][F17_34 🔍]

   • 事件简述：英国首相安迪·伯南姆将社交媒体上的高速驾驶网络潮流斥为“极其应受谴责”，此前两名警察及五名17至23岁年轻男性在蒂赛德地区A66公路因警方追捕逆行身亡。专家指出社交媒体将速度与“名望”结合，加剧危险行为。
   • 制度批判切入点：该事件暴露了平台资本主义与国家安全治理的张力——社交媒体算法通过“名望经济”驱动用户行为，而国家则通过道德谴责与技术监管（如AI训练数据）回应，但权力技术的协同缺失（即平台与国家在治理上的脱节）仍是结构性矛盾。

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▌ 精选核心专题深度思想论证 (In-Depth Dialectical Monograph)

专题一：从“照护悬崖”到“例外状态”：寄养离院者早逝的制度暴力机制

1. 制度现实困境深描（Institutional Dilemma）

英格兰地区每年有超过100名前寄养青年早逝，这一“国家悲剧”根植于福利国家“断崖式”制度设计缺陷——即在18岁节点，儿童社会护理体系突然终止，成人社会护理体系却未及时接续。儿童事务大臣乔什·麦卡利斯特坦承：“前寄养青年在18岁时支持突然大幅减少，导致孤立和孤独，这是问题的核心。”[F1_2 🔍] 这一制度困境并非偶然，而是韦伯式“铁笼”官僚制的例外状态逻辑——即成年即为“自主个体”，无需持续保护。审查报告指出，该群体的死亡率比同龄人高出3至4倍，[F1_1 🔍] 这暴露了福利国家在“照护悬崖”节点的权力真空，即国家在儿童与成人护理之间的制度断层。

2. 权力机制与话语技术剖析（Power Mechanisms & Discourse Technology）

权力在此通过话语去责任化运作。审查报告将问题描述为“社会的耻辱”，[F1_2 🔍] 但未触及制度设计的根本矛盾。儿童事务大臣的发言将责任归咎于“社会服务的突然大幅减少”，[F1_2 🔍] 而非制度设计本身。这种话语技术通过将问题个体化（即“前寄养青年”作为脆弱个体），掩盖了结构性排斥机制——即福利国家在18岁节点的权力与责任真空。此外，审查报告未提及资本逻辑对福利资源的挤压，即新自由主义政策如何通过预算削减与市场化改革，将福利国家转化为“最低保障”机器，进一步加剧了寄养青年的脆弱性。

3. 批判理论框架的历史资源对话（Critical Theory Dialogue）

福柯的生物权力理论为此提供了分析框架。福柯指出，现代国家通过“照护”与“规训”双重机制，将个体纳入权力网络。[1] 然而，寄养离院者的早逝暴露了生物权力的例外状态——即在18岁节点，国家突然终止对个体的“照护”，将其抛入裸命（bare life）状态。[2] 同时，阿甘本的例外状态理论[3] 亦可用于解释这一制度困境：国家通过法律与行政程序，在18岁节点创造了一个例外状态，即个体被剥夺了持续保护的权利。此外，弗洛姆的逃避自由理论[4] 则揭示了个体在制度真空中的无助感——即在缺乏持续支持的情况下，个体无法承担“自由”的重负，最终陷入绝望。

4. 制度批判的当代延伸与政策含义（Contemporary Synthesis）

当代数字化治理为解决这一困境提供了新的可能性。例如，数字化照护网络可以通过AI驱动的风险预测，在个体接近18岁时自动触发持续支持机制。然而，这种技术治理亦需警惕算法霸权——即技术系统可能将个体进一步客体化，而非赋权。政策层面，英国应借鉴北欧模式，即通过立法确保成人与儿童护理的无缝衔接，并建立独立监察机制，以监督福利国家在“照护悬崖”节点的责任履行。此外，批判理论应推动福利国家的民主化改革，即通过公民参与与社区治理，重构福利资源的分配正义。

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专题二：数字化移民管理的算法霸权：eVisa系统错误与结构性排斥

1. 制度现实困境深描（Institutional Dilemma）

英国内政部eVisa系统错误将尼迪娅·韦布的数字化定居身份与双胞胎姐妹关联，导致其在西班牙机场滞留。[F30_59 🔍][F30_60 🔍] 这一事件并非孤立个案，而是数字化移民管理体系的结构性排斥机制的典型表现。系统错误已引发20万在英合法居民的担忧，[F30_60 🔍] 这暴露了技术系统在移民管理中的权力技术——即通过算法与数据库，将个体纳入或排除特定权利空间。eVisa系统作为数字化边界管理的工具，其错误被自然化为“技术故障”，而非制度设计的结构性排斥。

2. 权力机制与话语技术剖析（Power Mechanisms & Discourse Technology）

权力在此通过算法霸权运作。eVisa系统的错误被描述为“系统错误”，[F30_60 🔍] 而非制度设计的缺陷。这种话语技术通过将问题技术化，掩盖了结构性排斥机制——即数字化系统在移民管理中的权力与责任真空。此外，内政部的回应（“已解决问题并将直接联系她”）[F30_60 🔍] 进一步展现了官僚体系的例外状态逻辑——即通过个体化补救（如直接联系），将结构性问题个体化。这种话语去责任化机制，通过将问题归咎于“技术故障”，而非制度设计，进一步巩固了算法霸权。

3. 批判理论框架的历史资源对话（Critical Theory Dialogue）

施密特的例外状态理论[5] 为此提供了分析框架。施密特指出，主权权力通过创造例外状态，将个体排除于法律保护之外。eVisa系统的错误在移民管理中的运作，即为数字化例外状态的典型表现——即通过算法与数据库，将个体排除于特定权利空间。同时，德勒兹与加塔利的控制社会理论[6] 则揭示了数字化治理的去中心化权力机制——即通过算法与数据库，权力不再通过传统的法律与行政程序运作，而是通过技术系统的隐性规训。此外，卡斯特的网络社会理论[7] 则指出，数字化治理在移民管理中的运作，进一步加剧了全球不平等——即发达国家通过技术优势，将移民排除于全球流动空间之外。

4. 制度批判的当代延伸与政策含义（Contemporary Synthesis）

当代数字化治理为解决这一困境提供了新的可能性。例如，区块链技术可以用于构建去中心化的数字身份系统，以确保个体在跨国流动中的权利保障。然而，这种技术治理亦需警惕技术决定论——即将问题归咎于技术系统，而非制度设计。政策层面，英国应借鉴欧盟的GDPR框架，即通过立法确保数字化系统的透明度与问责制，并建立独立监察机制，以监督数字化治理在移民管理中的权力运作。此外，批判理论应推动数字化治理的民主化改革，即通过公民参与与社区治理，重构数字化系统的权力结构。

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▌ 面向学者的制度研究开放性追问 (Open Research Horizons)

1. 【福利国家“照护悬崖”节点的权力真空：如何通过立法与技术治理，确保成人与儿童护理的无缝衔接，避免个体陷入“裸命”状态？】
2. 【数字化移民管理的算法霸权：如何通过区块链与AI驱动的风险预测，重构移民管理的权力结构，避免结构性排斥？】

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参考文献

[1] Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction. Pantheon Books. [2] Agamben, G. (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford University Press. [3] Agamben, G. (2005). State of Exception. University of Chicago Press. [4] Fromm, E. (1941). Escape from Freedom. Rinehart & Company. [5] Schmitt, C. (1922). Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty. University of Chicago Press. [6] Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1980). A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. University of Minnesota Press. [7] Castells, M. (1996). The Rise of the Network Society. Blackwell Publishers.

理性与情感辩证深度研判：The Guardian (2026-08-25)

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▌ 本日全报生活世界痛感与情感政治深思雷达 (Lifeworld & Affective Significance Radar)

在系统通盘梳理本期报纸所涉及的所有报道后，以下 2 个具体事件在个体生命体验、情感撕裂与生活世界崩解层面最值得学者进一步深思（注意：专注微观人性体验，不重复宏观制度批判）：

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1. 【寄养离院者早逝与支持缺失】 [F1_1 🔍]-[F1_2 🔍]（生活领域：[健康/社会护理/家庭]）
   • 事件简述：英格兰地区每年有超过100名前寄养青年早逝，原因在于社会服务在其满18岁时突然大幅减少支持。审查将这一问题描述为“国家悲剧”，并指出许多人在去世时正处于“最脆弱的时刻”，却被独自留下。
   • 情感政治切入点：该事件触动了系统性支持断裂导致的个体创伤与哀悼，揭示了理性行政逻辑如何压抑情感需求，进而酿成生命悲剧。系统理性将个体孤立化，剥夺了情感共鸣与关怀的可能性，从而导致生命的崩溃。

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2. 【用升级塑料制成的饼干为宇航员提供营养】 [F7_13 🔍]-[F7_14 🔍]（生活领域：[科技/太空探索/食品工程]）
   • 事件简述：研究人员成功制造出由升级塑料制成的饼干，作为NASA资助项目的一部分，旨在为未来太空任务中的宇航员提供食物。
   • 情感政治切入点：该事件引发对人类生存极限与科技伦理的深刻反思。塑料升级技术在满足生理需求的同时，也暴露了人类对自然资源的过度依赖与环境伦理的紧张关系。情感层面，这一技术进步既带来希望（太空探索的可能性），又引发焦虑（对地球生态系统的潜在威胁）。

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▌ 精选核心专题理性与情感辩证论证 (The Dialectic of Logos and Pathos Monograph)

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专题一：【系统理性的冷漠与生命意义的断裂：寄养体系的“照护悬崖”】

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1. 系统理性模型解构（Deconstruction of Systemic Logos）

寄养体系的“照护悬崖”现象，是现代福利国家技术官僚理性的典型产物。系统理性通过量化指标、效率模型和法律程序，将活生生的人简化为数据单元。在英格兰地区，社会服务在寄养青年满18岁时突然大幅减少支持，这一决定基于成本效益分析和法律年龄门槛 [F1_1 🔍]-[F1_2 🔍]，而非个体的实际需求和情感状态。系统理性假设，个体在18岁时已具备独立生活的能力，因此无需进一步支持。然而，这种假设忽视了个体在情感、心理和社会层面的脆弱性，将复杂的生命体验简化为单一的年龄标准。系统理性的冷漠在于，它将个体的生命意义和情感需求排除在外，仅以法律程序和行政流程为依据，决定个体的生存状态。

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2. 生活世界真实痛感的现象学深描（Phenomenological Pathos）

从现象学视角看，寄养离院者的早逝并非单纯的统计数字，而是具体的生命体验和情感断裂的结果。审查报告指出，这些年轻人在去世时正处于“最脆弱的时刻”，却被独自留下 [F1_1 🔍]-[F1_2 🔍]。这种“最脆弱的时刻”，不仅是身体上的虚弱，更是情感上的孤独和意义的丧失。个体在寄养体系中度过童年，与养育者建立了某种情感联结，但在成年后，这种联结突然断裂。系统理性无法理解这种情感断裂的痛感，因为它仅以行政流程为依据，而非个体的情感体验。个体在系统理性的框架下，被简化为数据单元，其情感需求被忽视，进而酿成生命悲剧。

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3. Logos 与 Pathos 的辩证摩擦（The Dialectical Friction）

系统理性与个体情感需求之间的摩擦，体现在系统理性将情感反应定义为“非理性”并加以压制。系统理性通过量化指标和法律程序，将个体的情感需求视为干扰因素，进而加以排除。然而，这种压制并未消除情感需求，而是将其转化为隐性的反抗力量。个体的情感需求，蕴含着对分配正义和生存尊严的追求，揭示了制度理性与生命意义之间的不可调和性。系统理性无法理解个体的情感需求，因为它仅以效率模型和法律程序为依据，而非个体的生命体验。这种摩擦，最终导致了生命的崩溃和悲剧的发生。

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4. 话语温度差与社会心理韧性诊断（Affective Prognosis）

系统理性的冷色调语言与个体情感需求的热色调语言之间存在显著的话语温度差。系统理性通过量化指标和法律程序，将个体的情感需求视为干扰因素，进而加以排除 [F1_1 🔍]-[F1_2 🔍]。然而，这种排除并未消除情感需求，而是将其转化为隐性的反抗力量。个体的情感需求，蕴含着对分配正义和生存尊严的追求，揭示了制度理性与生命意义之间的不可调和性。从社会心理韧性的角度看，系统理性的冷漠导致了个体情感需求的压抑，进而酿成生命悲剧。因此，重建主体间性和情感共鸣，是缓解这种摩擦的关键。

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专题二：【科技伦理与人类极限：塑料升级技术的情感张力】

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1. 系统理性模型解构（Deconstruction of Systemic Logos）

塑料升级技术作为NASA资助项目的一部分 [F7_13 🔍]-[F7_14 🔍]，体现了现代科技系统对资源循环利用的技术官僚理性追求。该技术通过化学升级将塑料废弃物转化为可食用的营养饼干，在满足太空探索中宇航员生理需求的同时，也展现了人类对自然资源极限挑战的系统性回应。系统理性在此体现为工程效率优化和资源最大化利用，但其前提假设是忽略了塑料升级过程中的潜在环境风险和伦理争议。系统理性将复杂的生态伦理问题简化为技术可行性和成本效益，而非对自然系统的整体性考量。

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2. 生活世界真实痛感的现象学深描（Phenomenological Pathos）

从现象学视角看，塑料升级饼干的出现既是人类智慧的结晶，也是生存焦虑的象征。宇航员在太空中的生理需求被技术理性精确满足 [F7_13 🔍]-[F7_14 🔍]，但这种满足背后隐藏着对地球生态系统的深刻依赖与潜在威胁。个体在面对这一技术进步时，情感体验复杂：一方面，对太空探索的无限可能性充满希望；另一方面，对地球环境恶化的焦虑与无力感挥之不去。这种情感张力揭示了人类在科技进步与生态伦理之间的不可逃避的张力。

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3. Logos 与 Pathos 的辩证摩擦（The Dialectical Friction）

系统理性与人类情感需求之间的摩擦，体现在技术进步与伦理责任的不可调和性。系统理性通过工程效率和资源循环的逻辑，推动塑料升级技术的发展 [F7_13 🔍]-[F7_14 🔍]，但忽视了其对生态系统的潜在破坏。个体的情感需求则体现为对自然系统完整性的关切和对世代伦理责任的焦虑。这种摩擦揭示了现代科技系统在追求效率的同时，如何压抑了对自然与生命的深层敬畏。技术理性与情感伦理的冲突，最终指向了人类文明发展的根本性困境。

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4. 话语温度差与社会心理韧性诊断（Affective Prognosis）

系统理性的冷色调语言（技术术语、工程逻辑）与个体情感需求的热色调语言之间存在显著的话语温度差。系统理性通过技术术语和效率模型，将塑料升级技术描述为人类智慧的胜利 [F7_13 🔍]-[F7_14 🔍]，但忽视了其对生态系统的潜在威胁。个体的情感体验则充满焦虑与矛盾：对科技进步的赞叹与对地球未来的担忧交织。从社会心理韧性的角度看，这种话语温度差暴露了现代文明在面对科技伦理困境时的认知分裂。重建技术与伦理的对话机制，是缓解这种张力的关键。

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▌ 面向学者的伦理与社会心理开放性追问 (Open Research Horizons)

提炼 2~3 个具有穿透力的开放性研究追问：

1. 【系统理性与人类情感尊严如何和解的研究问题】：在现代福利国家和科技系统的框架下，如何重建主体间性和情感共鸣，以避免系统理性的冷漠导致个体情感需求的压抑和生命悲剧的发生？

2. 【科技伦理与生存极限的张力研究问题】：在塑料升级技术等前沿科技面前，如何平衡工程效率与生态伦理，避免技术进步沦为对自然系统的掠夺性利用？

3. 【话语温度差与社会心理韧性的重建】：在系统理性主导的社会中，如何通过情感动员和公共交往的重构，唤起社会对个体情感需求和生态伦理的关注，进而推动制度理性的转型？