Patrick Banks, 42, was jailed for three years by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court

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A police officer has been jailed for sexually assaulting a woman while investigating a sex offence she suffered from someone else. The single mother, who was homeless and ‘vulnerable’ at the time, said the police officer was “supposed to protect us”.

Patrick Banks, 42, was jailed for three years by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court who told him on Wednesday: “You grotesquely abused your position as a police officer.” The court heard how Banks had been assigned to investigate the woman last year.

The Mirror reports she had complained to West Yorkshire Police that she had been the victim of a sex assault in Leeds in April 2025. A judge told the court how Banks asked the woman to translate messages for him from French, before touching her inappropriately as he smelled her hair.

Prosecutor Mark Bates said the messages, which Banks had generated himself using Google Translate, included: “I like you a lot”, “I want to take off your underwear with my teeth” and “Do you miss sex”.

The court heard how the defendant messaged the woman from his personal phone, and visited her off-duty in his own car, but gave the impression he was on-duty. He also bought presents for one of the single mum’s children and officers found that he had viewed her social media more than 100 times.

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Facing Banks in court on Wednesday, the woman outlined the problems she had been having at that time, which had left her homeless with two children and made her especially vulnerable. She told the court: “What revolts me today is that the man who was supposed to protect me took advantage of this vulnerability.”

The woman said: “This trauma prevents me seeing the beauty and goodness in the world.”

The judge was told how Banks also made inappropriate contact with a second woman, who had also reported a sexual assault to West Yorkshire Police. Mr Bates told the court that police recovered 53 pages of messages between the defendant and this second woman, some asking her about personal matters, including her previous employment as a sex worker.

He also asked her for a “peck on the cheek”. Officers found the woman’s mobile phone in Banks’s house after he had told her it was going off for forensic examination.

The prosecutor said West Yorkshire Police had only one official record of the defendant visiting either of the women’s homes on official police business.

Sentencing Banks, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said: “It is a particularly aggravating feature of this case that you grotesquely abused your position as a police officer whilst working in the safeguarding unit of the West Yorkshire Police when you were supposed to be investigating sexual crimes perpetrated upon vulnerable women.“It is bad enough to behave inappropriately in such circumstances. It becomes exceptionally serious when the misconduct embraces a sexual crime.

“You were unhampered by scruples of any kind and your serious misconduct eclipsed your professional duty.”

Banks admitted misconduct in public office and sexual assault at a previous hearing. The court heard how he joined Essex Police in 2019 and moved to West Yorkshire Police in 2022 and was working as a detective constable in a specialist adult safeguarding unit.

He resigned in September 2025.

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Last week’s landmark US court ruling may prove to be a turning point in our relationship with the digital world. In a case already being described as a “big tobacco moment” for tech giants, jurors found that Meta, owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, and Google, which owns Youtube, had intentionally built addictive platforms that had damaged a young woman’s mental health.

The claimant, a 20-year-old woman referred to in court as Kaley, sued Meta and YouTube over her childhood addiction to social media. In the bellwether case, judges ordered the tech companies to pay Kaley $6m (£4.5m) in damages, setting a precedent for thousands of similar cases against social media companies that are waiting elsewhere.

The verdict hits home for many of us because the behaviours described feel so familiar: the endless scroll that keeps us up later than intended at night, the instinctive reach for a phone in any spare moment, the sense of being sucked into a digital distraction machine. They’re not simply bad habits or a lack of willpower; they’re the predictable outcomes of platforms designed to hold our attention for as long as possible.

Tech companies have consistently framed social media as a neutral tool. In this case, Meta argued that any harm was “the result of a complex mix of factors”, with outcomes depending on “individual behaviour, parenting, or wider social factors — not just platform design,” according to The Guardian. Judges disagreed and their ruling challenges that idea head on, suggesting that the design itself plays a direct role in shaping our behaviour, particularly for younger users.

Whilst the tech firms involved are appealing the decision, a broader cultural shift is already under way, with a growing number of countries looking to follow Australia’s lead by banning social media for under-16s.

All of which raises an obvious question: if the apps are designed to keep us hooked, how can we begin to take back control?

Here are seven simple ways to reclaim your attention: 

As of the end of February 2026, some women faced a 76-week wait for an urgent appointment and a 108-week wait – over two years – for a routine gynaecology outpatient appointment.

The latest NHS Tayside waiting times show some women have had to wait almost year-and-a-half for an urgent gynaecology appointment.

As of the end of February 2026, some women faced a 76-week wait for an urgent appointment and a 108-week wait – over two years – for a routine gynaecology outpatient appointment.

NHS Tayside has arranged extra appointments and operations and said, by the end of this month, it will reduce the waiting time to within a year for an appointment and to “only a small number of women” who will have waited over two years for surgery.

In spring 2023 Rosemary (54) from Perth discovered she had a prolapse. She had a smear test in April 2023 and was referred to gynaecology and for an ultrasound at Perth Royal Infirmary. The ultrasound revealed she also had an ovarian cyst which was about 3-5cm. Rosemary learnt she had endometriosis.

In March 2024, Rosemary had an MRI scan at Ninewells and the cyst – which was benign – was about 7cm.

Just over a year-and-a-half later, in November 2025, Rosemary successfully underwent surgery at Ninewells to remove the cyst. Surgeons ended up removing not one but two cysts. However, she was still left with her prolapse and was told – after her op – it too would now require surgery.

In December 2025, she was given a follow-up appointment in Forfar two weeks after her operation.

Rosemary said: “She told me there was a waiting list. When I asked how long it was, she said ‘years’.

“And my heart sank.”

Rosemary is on her feet all day because of her work.

She said: “My problem was the prolapse. Why couldn’t they fix it at the same time?

“It’s been going on for three years.”

In February 2026, Rosemary received a letter from NHS Tayside confirming she would be getting prolapse surgery but has no idea when.

She said: “I got a letter to say I would get an operation ‘in due course’. ‘In due course’ means nothing. One of my friends is to have an urgent hysterectomy but it’s in six months.”

NHS Tayside’s latest outpatient waiting times at the end of February 2026 showed the longest waits for any speciality were for gynaecology. The list is based on completed waits in the previous three-month period for an urgent or routine consultant-led acute outpatient appointment and list the 90th percentile wait – the longest that nine out of 10 patients waited.

NHS Tayside has said it is working to drive down the waiting times for gynaecology.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “Waiting times for gynaecology treatment are longer than we would like and therefore there has been a drive to deliver a significant number of additional appointments and operations with both our own staff and with the support of staff from the independent sector.

“This additional work means that by March 31, 2026, no one will be waiting longer than 52 weeks for a gynaecology outpatient appointment and there will remain only a small number of women who will have waited longer than 104 weeks for an operation. We will be working to continue to improve this position further over the course of the year.”

NHS Tayside said it cannot comment on individual cases. The health board has invited Rosemary to contact its Patient Experience Team to discuss any concerns she may have.

3D Trading is recalling M&M’s Pipoca (popcorn) because the product poses a potential safety risk.

The product, manufactured for the Brazilian market, contains allergens including peanuts, gluten, barley, rye and wheat which are not mentioned on the UK label.

Only M&M’s Pipoca with a 3D Trading ingredients label is being recalled.

Food Recalls Explained

The affected packets of chocolate come in 35g bags, and all batch codes and best before dates with the 3D Trading ingredients label are included.

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said: “3D Trading is recalling the above product from customers and has been advised to contact the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall.

“The company has also issued a point-of-sale notice to its customers. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.

“This product contains peanut and gluten and may contain barley, rye and wheat making it a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to peanut, an allergy or intolerance to barley, rye, wheat or cereals containing gluten or with coeliac disease.

“If you have bought the above product and have an allergy to peanut or an allergy or intolerance to barley, rye, wheat or cereals containing gluten, or coeliac disease, do not eat it.

“Instead return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund with or without a receipt. For more information, please call 07596 571086 or contact UK@3dcandy.co.uk.”

What is a product recall?

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be ‘withdrawn’ (taken off the shelves) or ‘recalled’ (when customers are asked to return the product).

The FSA issues Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food.

In some cases, a ‘Food Alert for Action’ is issued.

This provides local authorities with details of specific actions to be taken on behalf of consumers.

A rubber boat carrying migrants has capsized off the Turkish holiday resort of Bodrum after a high-speed chase, killing 19 people, officials have said.

The vessel, detected by authorities in the early hours of Wednesday, had ignored repeated warnings to stop, according to the Turkish coastguard.

Officials said in a statement that the boat, which had attempted to flee at speed, capsized and sank in rough seas.

A coastguard helicopter from Izmir was sent to the area along with three boats, and 20 migrants were rescued from the Aegean Sea, according to officials.

The statement did not ​say where the boat had ​departed from, or its destination, and the nationalities of those who were on board are not yet known. Search and rescue operations are continuing.

The Greek island of Kos, an entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, lies 13 miles from Bodrum. Other nearby islands include Kalymnos, Leros and Symi.

Read more from Sky News:
What we know about the kidnapping of US journalist in Iraq
Dwindling diesel and jet fuel supplies prompt EU warning

While the journey across the Aegean Sea is relatively short, it can also be treacherous. Many of the boats are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common.

Turkey hosts millions of ​refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

​David Skaith, the elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, has hit back at North Yorkshire Council for its criticism of the Combined Authority’s management of bus services across the county.

​Mr Skaith said it was “quite a low bar” for bosses at NYC to tell him to “step up to the mark” on bus service delivery, as the council agreed on Tuesday to “manage the buses as previously” while also deferring a decision to accept the mayor’s devolved powers relating to the provision of bus services until March 2027.

​At a meeting at County Hall in Northallerton, the leader of NYC, Cllr Carl Les, said: “We had hoped that by this time this year we would not be in the position to continue with the delegation because it is very much the mayor’s initiative and he’s been very public about wanting to control bus operations in North Yorkshire.”

​However, speaking on Wednesday, Mr Skaith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I think that’s quite a low bar from North Yorkshire to say that when we see over the last 10 years, that 50 per cent of bus mileage has been lost in North Yorkshire due to inaction from North Yorkshire Council and not funding the buses properly.

​“I’ve come into a situation where bus services and delivery in North Yorkshire have been poor. I don’t think anyone would say that bus services work well in North Yorkshire, so we’re starting from a very low place, and we’re having to fix a lot of problems that have been born out of the last 10 or 15 years of underfunding of buses in North Yorkshire.”

​A council report has set out “the requirement to continue to delegate some of the mayor’s transport powers back to North Yorkshire Council (NYC) and City of York Council (CYC) in order to discharge the mayor’s duties in relation to bus service provision in the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) area”.

​It recommended that the mayor’s devolved powers relating to the provision of bus services are delegated to NYC and CYC from April 2026 until March 2027.

​Conservative councillor Simon Myers, NYC executive member for culture and housing, said: “It’s about time the mayor stepped up to the mark.

​​“But, for the good of our residents, it’s the right thing that we continue this delegation, and he needs to look at how he intends to fund these services that he was ambitious to take on when he was elected mayor.”

​Alison Hume, the Labour MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said she did not agree with that characterisation of Mr Skaith who she said “is stepping up with bus services”.

​She said: “The responsibility for running the bus services has been given to North Yorkshire Council for another year while the combined authority hires all of the people that it needs to hire.

​“But what David has inherited is a broken bus service and we are going to build it back.

​“It does depend on national funding and there are conversations around that. We’ve seen improvements in Scarborough through Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP) funding to many of the routes, and I’m determined to keep those improvements in place.”

​Asked what his plan was for buses next year, Mr Skaith said the Combined Authority was “working on the first franchising pilot, which will be coming back in about October, November this time”.

​He said: “That’s going to really lay out the blueprint for how we can best fund and support bus services across York and North Yorkshire.

​“When we have that linking in with our improved rail connectivity as well, it’ll paint a really solid picture of how we can improve buses and how we can get the best investment that’s needed into the areas that require it the most.”

England: Pickford, White, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Mainoo, Anderson, Rogers, Foden, Gordon, Palmer.
Substitutes: Trafford, Steele, Henderson, Maguire, Bellingham, Rashford, Burn, Solanke, Barnes, Bowen, Garner, Spence, Livramento, Hall.

Japan: Z Suzuki, Taniguchi, Watanabe, Ito, Doan, Kamada, Sano, Nakamura, Ito, Mitoma, Ueda.
Substitutes: Hayakawa, Osako, Suguwara, Seko, Fujita, Y Suzuki, Machino, Maeda, Hashioka, Tanaka, Ogawa, J Suzuki.

Available for over a year

Today, the Prime Minister has given a press conference warning that things are not going to be easy as the US-Israeli war in Iran continues to put pressure on the cost of living.

His address to press in Downing Street came hours after the President gave an interview to the Telegraph, saying he’s considering pulling out of Nato.

Adam assembles Henry Zeffman, chief political correspondent, Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent and Michelle Wiese Bockmann senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — King Charles III will deliver an address to Congress during his visit to Washington in late April, becoming the first British monarch to give a speech to a joint meeting of U.S. lawmakers in more than three decades.

The joint address was announced on Wednesday by congressional leaders, who said it was part of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaring independence from Britain. The speech also comes at a time of friction between the two nations, which have since become close allies.

President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy has called into question the U.S. commitment to European allies, and Britain has declined to support the U.S. involvement in the war in Iran.

Still, congressional leaders emphasized the close relationship between the U.S. and Britain.

“The American experiment endures in no small part because of the British tradition from which it sprang,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a letter addressed to Charles. “We believe an Address to Congress will provide a unique opportunity to share your vision for the future of our special relationship and reaffirm our alliance at this pivotal time in history.”

In Britain, some members of Parliament have called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to cancel the state visit by Charles in retaliation for Trump lashing out at them for declining to support the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Starmer decided to proceed with the state visit, which could potentially ease the tensions caused by the war.

The pomp and circumstance of state visits by the British monarch have been used for years to bolster relations with countries around the world. Queen Elizabeth II was the last British monarch to deliver a joint address to Congress, in 1991.

But some lawmakers also want to use the occasion to press forward their investigation into sexual abuse by New York financier Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna wrote to Charles to request a meeting between him and survivors of abuse from Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

“I respectfully ask that you privately meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s abuse, so they may speak to you directly about the ways powerful individuals and institutions failed them. Survivors want this meeting,” Khanna said in the letter.

In Britain, there has been intense scrutiny of Epstein’s ties to powerful figures in the British government. Last year, Charles stripped the former Prince Andrew, his brother, of his royal titles and evicted him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein.

Some U.S. lawmakers have bemoaned the fact that the reckoning over Epstein has extended further in Britain and other parts of Europe than it has in the U.S.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking but has sought to be freed from her 20-year prison sentence, saying new evidence proves constitutional violations spoiled her trial.

The former Prince Andrew, now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has repeatedly denied committing any crimes.

A man was taken to hospital with minor injuries

A BMW driver crashed their car into a garden. Cambridgeshire Police were called to a crash at the junction of Bevis Lane and Barton Road in Wisbech St Mary at around 1.16pm on Wednesday (April 1).

Officers arrived to the scene to find a white BMW had crashed into a property’s front garden. Photographs from the scene appear to show that the car had smashed through a brick wall.

A police spokesperson said: “Officers from Policing Fenland, alongside Wisbech Community Fire & Rescue Station and the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, located a white BMW that had crashed at the scene.

“A male has been taken to hospital with slight injuries. Enquiries are ongoing.”

Police are appealing for information into the crash. Anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage should contact police online or call 101 and quote incident 239 of April 1.

Barton Road reopened this week after being closed for almost three years due to complex works carried out by Anglian Water.

Do you want more of the latest Cambridgeshire news as it comes in from across the county? Sign up to our dedicated newsletter to make sure you never miss a big story from Cambridge or anywhere else in the county. You can also sign up to our dedicated Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in.