TONIGHT’S episode of The Apprentice saw Lord Sugar fire a third contestant following an awkward mix-up on which stars would be brought back into the boardroom.

This year’s crop were tasked with writing and illustrating a children’s book before attempting to sell it to retailers.

Lettings agency owner Andrea Cooper led the charge for the women while barbershop owner Marcus Donkah took charge for the men.

After everything was said and done, it was revealed that the women had triumphed, with more books being sold to retailers than the men.

Lord Sugar bemoaned that the boys’ book “had no point to it” and it was missing illustrations after the sub team ran out of time to finish it.

Marcus decided to bring back Dan Miller and Keiran McCartney back into the boardroom with him.

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However, as the three men were told to stand outside while Lord Sugar debriefed with Baroness Karren Brady and Tim Campbell, Marcus dramatically asked to be brought back into the boardroom to speak to the mogul.

He requested to change his decision by sending Dan back to the house and instead asked to bring back Priyesh Bathia.

However, not putting up with the nonsense, Lord Sugar decided to bring back all four men back into the boardroom.

Ultimately, the business magnate fired project manager Marcus, blaming him for the failure of the task.

The other three men were sent back to the house after narrowly avoiding being fired by Lord Sugar.

Speaking about his untimely exit, Marcus said: “I was absolutely gutted. I had so much more to give to the show.

“I feel as though I didn’t really get to showcase my business acumen and my business skills, considering I’ve been running a business for five years and a successful one at that.

“And I was mostly upset at the fact that I couldn’t see the other candidates. They were amazing people, absolutely class individuals.

“I think the production team did an amazing job gathering the candidates together. We all fit together really well. So yeah, I think missing them was probably the biggest part.

When asked if he deserved to be fired, the contestant explained: “No. I definitely did not deserve to go.

“I feel as though, in the real business world, you have a lot of information – you do have to make quick decisions, but you have a time to think.

“It was really intense in the boardroom, I had to make a decision very quickly on who to bring back.

“ So, changing my mind didn’t help, but I feel as though there were other candidates that performed a lot worse than I did, didn’t do what they were supposed to do, and I feel as though they deserved to get kicked off rather than myself.”

The BBC One show returned last week for the milestone 20th series, with the group heading to Hong Kong for the opening episode.

The groups were tasked with having to find nine items but both failed miserably and were only able to find a couple each.

To make matters worse, half of the ladies arrived back at the meeting point two hours later than required, incurring them huge penalties.

The dramatic episode ended with a double firing, with both Nikki Jetha and Georgina Newton being sent home after a poor effort from both teams.

The Apprentice continues next Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

IT’S a heartbreaking case that has gone unsolved for more than two decades.

Kellie Pratt was just 28-years-old when she vanished from the streets of Norwich in July 2000.

The mum-of-two, who had bravely been pulling herself out of heroin addiction and sex work, was desperately trying to reunite with her children.

Tragically, just weeks after making arrangements to see her boys, she disappeared – and is now sadly presumed dead.

But her son, Kurtis Pratt, is determined to seek justice for his mother – and fears serial killer Steve Wright could be behind the heinous crime.

Wright, who earned the macabre moniker Suffolk Stranger, this week admitted to killing 17-year-old Victoria Hall in September 1999.

‘NOT THE END’

I’m sure ‘epitome of evil’ Suffolk Strangler killed more women, says ex-wife

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KILLER BRO

My brother is Suffolk Strangler – why I KNOW tragic Vicky is tip of the iceberg

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The tragic teenager was found naked in a ditch after a night out with her friends in Felixstowe.

It’s the first time the monster has admitted murder, although he is currently serving a full life tariff for killing five women in 2006.

His known victims are Tania Nicol, 19, Gemma Adams, 25, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29 – but it’s suspected there could be many more.

The Suffolk Strangler’s own brother told The Sun he believes Vicky Hall was just the tip of the iceberg.

It is believed Wright could have murdered multiple sex workers from Norwich, cops say.

Kellie Pratt went missing a year after Victoria’s killing and was last seen in Norfolk.

She had split up with Kurtis’ dad Michael two years prior and relocated from Newcastle to be near her mum.

The mum-of-two was last seen outside the Rose Inn pub in Norwich, at 11:30pm on June 11, wearing a black skirt, black t-shirt and light blue coat.

Around the same time someone called her and she told them she was with “a punter”.

Her pals raised the alarm when she failed to turn up at an arranged place and time.

Norfolk Constabulary previously investigated links between Kellie’s disappearance and the murder of 16-year-old Natalie Pearman.

The teenager, who was also a sex worker, had been killed by “asphyxia” in 1992.

Cops also investigated possible connections when two years after Kellie vanished, another woman from the Norwich red light district was found dead.

Michelle Bettles, 22, was strangled and left in woodland on March 29, 2000.

Meanwhile Wright ran a pub in the same area with his ex-wife Diane Cole – who said he would frequently go missing and leave her to tend the bar.

Kellie’s son Kurtis, 30, has now appealed to the Suffolk Strangler to come forward about his mother’s case.

In a message to the prisoner, reported by The Mirror, he said: “Do you know where my mum’s body is?”

Kurtis grew up in foster care after his mother’s disappearance and was “scared of the world” due to a “tumultuous upbringing”.

He believes if she was still alive, Kellie would have made contact with him at some point.

HEARTBREAKING PLEA FOR ANSWERS

Despite having very few memories of his mum, and being told very little about her as a child, Kurtis “always thinks of her”.

“I tell people I’ve got her curly hair and I’ve got the same initials as her, it’s just little things like that,” he revealed.

“I just learned to live with the mystery of what happened to her and where she went but I now realise it would help me to know.”

Kurtis continued: “I want to reach out to Steve Wright directly and ask that if Steve himself wanted to rectify – even a little bit of damage he caused to his victims – it would be really important.

“I think now is the time to come forward to give the victims’ families and friends the peace they deserve.”

Is he key to more killings?

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By Mike Sullivan

SERIAL killer Steve Wright could hold the key to solving a string of other murders:

JEANETTE KEMPTON, 31, was found strangled off the A12, near Southwold, Suffolk, in February 1989.

She lived 120 miles away in Brixton, South London, and had no links to Suffolk — suggesting her killer did. Wright was living at the time in Chislehurst, South London.

MICHELLE BETTLES, 22, was last seen alive in the red light area of Norwich on March 28, 2002. Her body was found by a dog walker three days later.

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A forensic review into her murder in 2022 identified several DNA profiles on her clothing.

AMANDA DUNCAN, 26, was working as a prostitute in Ipswich in July 1993. The single mum-of-two was last seen alive in the red light area near Ipswich Town’s ground.

No trace of her has been found since.

NATALIE PEARMAN, 16, was working as a prostitute in Norwich’s red light district on November 20, 1992. Her body was found five miles away.

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She died from asphyxiation. It is possible she had sex with one punter before meeting Wright.

Kurtis, who began researching his mum’s disappearance as a teenager, urged the person responsible to disclose where his mother’s body is, so the family can have some sense of closure.

The 30-year-old admitted he has spent most of his life feeling “numb” to the realities of Kellie’s case.

But he insisted answers would allow him to “move on”, and begged Wright to come forward.

“All he can do now is cooperate to the best of his ability and try and get some kind of good karma out of this by letting us all know what’s happened and who the victims are, where they are,” he said.

‘HE’S AN ANIMAL’

Kurtis’ heartbreaking plea for answers comes as disgusted members of Wright’s family have spoken out this week in support of his victims.

Wright’s half-brother Keith told The Sun: “It’s time he did the right thing and told the police everything

“There’s still so much we don’t know, so many unanswered questions.

“How many more victims are there?

“I’d like to say that this is it, but I’m not convinced anymore.

“I just hope he comes clean about the whole lot for the families of everyone involved.”

Married dock worker Keith, of Felixstowe, Suffolk, said Wright was living with him just months after he murdered tragic Vicky.

He said: “There were no outward signs of what he had just done.

“To know that he was living under my roof having done something like that makes me feel sick.

“People want answers, an explanation, a reason, not just a guilty plea.

“We want to know why. What possesses someone to do these things? Vicky Hall was just 17 years old.

“He’s an animal.”

‘EPITOME OF EVIL’

Wright’s former wife also urged the serial killer to confess to any other potential crimes.

Diane Cole, 71, told The Sun: “He needs to come clean.

“It’s time the families of his other victims had some sort of closure.

“He needs to break the habit of a lifetime and just tell the truth. He should tell the police everything.”

Diane, who married sadistic bully Wright after they met while working on the QE2 liner in the mid-1980s, added: “I don’t think this is the end.

“We only know about the ones he has been convicted of, but there will be others, I’m sure of it . . . he’s the epitome of evil.”

A New Jersey firefighter has died after falling into a frozen river — despite his colleagues’ best efforts to pull him out from underneath the ice.

A firefighter in Camden, four miles east of Philadelphia, fell into the Delaware River near the Wiggins Park Marina around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, as firefighters conducted a routine maintenance check of a fire boat, Camden Fire Chief Jesse Flax said during a press conference.

The tragic incident drew a “split-second” reaction from the firefighter’s colleagues on scene, Flax said. Authorities did not share the name of the firefighter, but said that he was a husband and father.

Despite the quick response, “rough reports” indicate that the firefighter was stuck under the ice for about 30 minutes, Flax said.

“It’s a tragic loss, and at this time, the family still has to fully come to grips with what just happened. Not everyone is aware of what happened,” Flax said.

The firefighter plunged into the icy water while conducting routine maintenance on the fire boat. It was not immediately clear what caused the fall, but Flax said the group working on the boat had all the tools and equipment required.

First responders performed life-saving measures before the man was taken to the hospital, officials said.

“This is a very difficult time for all of us. I do not have enough words that I can even say that could tell you how this is hurting all of us,” Flax said.

Flax said authorities are still investigating the firefighter’s death. Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said the city would provide full support to the man’s family.

“It’s a tough time,” Carstarphen said.

The Independent has reached out to officials in Camden for more information.

Officials said personnel from Philadelphia, across the Delaware River, jumped into action to help. The Philadelphia Fire Fighters and Paramedics Union expressed their condolences following the tragedy.

“Today is a heartbreaking day for the Camden Fire Department and for the City of Camden. IAFF Local 22 mourns the tragic loss of one of their firefighters. On behalf of the members of Local 22, I extend our deepest condolences and prayers to the firefighters’ family, loved ones, and brothers and sisters of the Camden Fire Department. We stand with you in grief, in solidarity, and in unwavering support,” IAFF Local 22 President Mike Bresnan.

It was unclear if any other firefighters were injured in the incident.

A medical examiner is still determining the cause of death.

Peter Mandelson, former UK ambassador to the United States, is currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police concerning an allegation of criminal misconduct in public office.

The allegation centres on evidence that Mandelson passed sensitive, confidential information – received in his capacity as a minister – to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

If that is true, then it is, of course, not the first time that ministerial confidences have been breached. However, what makes this case potentially serious is the possibility that the information passed to Epstein was known to be likely to assist Epstein financially and that this favour may have been bound up with a relationship between the men in which Epstein conferred financial benefits on Mandelson.

The offence of misconduct in public office – described by famous legal commentator Sir William Blackstone in 1765 as “a crime of deep malignity” – dates back many centuries. It carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. In most cases, a significant prison sentence is imposed on a convicted offender – and there are around 25 to 50 convictions each year. Misconduct in public office is what lawyers call a common law offence. That is to say, it is an offence invented and developed (like the definition of murder) by judges, without parliamentary intervention.

In its modern form, the offence has three main elements. The accused must have been acting in an official capacity at the time of the alleged offence, they must have wilfully misconducted themselves and their conduct must have fallen “so far below acceptable standards that it amounts to an abuse of the public’s trust”.

Prosecutors must be confident that the evidence for these elements points to a reasonable prospect of conviction and separately that there is sufficient public interest in prosecution.

A typical case might be one in which a prison officer accepts money for passing information to a prisoner on the whereabouts of the latter’s former criminal associates. Such cases are ones in which the offence operates in a broadly top-down manner: servants of the state entrusted with powers are called to account for the knowing misuse of those powers.

However, the offence can also operate in a more bottom-up manner. Those holding the highest elected or judicial offices can themselves be criminally accountable for misuse of power, if need be, through a private prosecution launched by an ordinary citizen or a pressure group. For example, the MPs in the so-called expenses scandal who knowingly made false claims were convicted of false accounting, but they could all equally have been charged with misconduct in public office.

Corruption in public office?

In Mandelson’s case, there seems to be evidence that while acting in a public capacity as a minister (element one), he wilfully – knowingly – misconducted himself (element two). He must have known that it was wrong to share confidential information with Epstein if he received it in a ministerial capacity.

The key is probably element three: did his wilful misconduct fall so far short of what is expected of a holder of ministerial office as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust? Misconduct in public office is a serious offence, and so this is a high bar to surmount. Central to the determination of element three will be whether information was wrongly disclosed for a purpose itself involving significant impropriety, such as benefiting a private individual financially.

There is also the possibility that such an improper purpose was also associated with corruption. If the information was disclosed as part of an exchange of favours, that makes the case stronger for saying that there was an abuse of the public’s trust. Corrupt activity has long been equated in law with the abuse of public trust. Proof of both improper purpose and corruption would be very serious indeed.

The lapse of time, and his political disgrace, may have diminished the public interest in prosecuting Mandelson; and it should be noted that public outrage is not the same as public interest. Even so, he would be well advised to find himself a first-rate lawyer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House.

Democrats say they will not vote for a DHS spending bill when funding runs out unless there are “dramatic changes” at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement agencies in the wake of the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minneapolis last month.

The Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, released an expanded list of 10 detailed proposals on Wednesday night for restraining President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of immigration enforcement. Among the demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use of force standards and a stop to racial profiling.

Congress is trying to renegotiate the DHS spending bill after Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that it be separated from a larger spending measure and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties negotiate. The deal came after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, and some Republicans agreed that new restrictions were necessary.

But with nearly a week gone, a shutdown is becoming increasingly likely starting Feb. 14 as Republicans have been cool to most of the Democrats’ requests.

“This is not a blank check situation where Republicans just do agree to a list of Democrat demands,” said Thune, R-S.D. “The only way to get reforms to ICE is to agree to a bill.”

As of now, Thune said, “we aren’t anywhere close to having any sort of an agreement.”

In addition to ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the homeland security bill includes funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. If DHS shuts down, Thune said, “there’s a very good chance we could see more travel problems” similar to the 43-day government closure last year.

Democratic demands

Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is “astounded to hear” Republicans say his party’s proposals were political or unworkable.

“It’s about people’s basic rights, it’s about people’s safety,” Schumer said. If Republicans do not like the ideas, he said, “they need to explain why.”

Schumer and Jeffries, D-N.Y., have made several demands, including no masks for officers, judicial warrants and better federal coordination with local authorities. The list they released Wednesday added several new items, including a stricter use of force policy, legal safeguards at detention centers and a prohibition on tracking protesters with body-worn cameras.

Democrats say Congress should end indiscriminate arrests, “improve warrant procedures and standards,” ensure the law is clear that officers cannot enter private property without a judicial warrant and require that before a person can be detained, it’s verified that the person is not a U.S. citizen.

They also want an end to racial profiling, saying DHS officers should be prohibited from stopping, questioning or searching people “based on an individual’s presence at certain locations, their job, their spoken language and accent or their race and ethnicity.”

For officers conducting immigration enforcement, Democrats say that in addition to officers taking off their masks and showing identification, DHS should regulate and standardize uniforms and equipment to bring them in line with other law enforcement agencies.

Republican pushback

Schumer called it a “gut check moment for Congress” as the immigration enforcement operations have rocked Minneapolis and other U.S. cities. But Republicans were dismissive.

Wyoming’s John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican senator, said the demands are “radical and extreme” and a “far-left wish list.”

Sen. Katie Britt, who is helping lead negotiations, said the list is “a ridiculous Christmas list of demands” and warned that time is running out before the deadline.

“I encourage them to talk to the White House,” she said. “We only have one week left.”

Down to the last funding bill

Thune has also encouraged Democrats and the White House to talk. It is unclear whether they are or whether Democrats would be willing to back down on any of their demands.

Some Republicans have demands of their own, including adding legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote and restrictions on cities that they say do not do enough to crack down on illegal immigration.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said it is up to Republicans to ensure the government does shut down because they are in charge.

“The American people want this abuse to stop,” Murphy said.

Some look to limit shutdown pain

Other lawmakers are searching for options to prevent another partial shutdown.

One idea being floated is to essentially fund some of the other agencies within DHS -– the Coast Guard, airport operations under TSA and disaster assistance from FEMA.

“Why not take that off the table?” said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, whose state is in need of FEMA funds from recent disasters.

“If it doesn’t look like they can get it done,” he said about the immigration enforcement overhaul, “I really think they should look at a la carte funding of agencies.”

Some Democrats have said they agree, but Thune said Thursday that splitting apart the DHS appropriations bill to single out ICE would “defund law enforcement.”

Splitting the bill would mean essentially cutting ICE loose by allowing it to go without its routine federal funding because the agency already has such a robust budget from Trump’s tax and spending cut bill from last year.

ICE is expected to receive about $10 billion in the annual appropriations bill, a fraction of the $175 billion-plus for homeland security for the administration’s mass deportation agenda.

___

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.