There is a huge financial bonus on offer for the referee who oversees the World Cup final

Michael Oliver will miss out on a staggering financial bonus after being banned from officiating the World Cup final. Oliver, one of two English referees at this summer’s tournament, had been one of the favourites to take charge of the final at MetLife Stadium this Sunday, given his vast experience and solid displays.

But neither Oliver nor his fellow Premier League referee Anthony Taylor will be permitted to oversee the most prestigious fixture in world football. The pair have essentially been blocked from receiving the full pay package available for a FIFA referee at the tournament due to a combination of England reaching the semi-finals and geopolitical factors.

England’s 2-1 win over Norway booked the Three Lions’ place in the last four. But according to FIFA’s rules, a referee cannot officiate their home nation’s match, ruling Oliver out of the semi-final against Argentina and the final, should England progress.

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Referees cannot be assigned to a game that has a direct consequence for their home country in the next round, either, meaning they can’t oversee the other semi-final between France and Spain. And to top it off, English referees are not allowed to officiate Argentina’s games, meaning Oliver is ruled out of the final if either England or Argentina is involved.

With both Oliver and Taylor being English, it is deemed inappropriate for either to referee Argentina or a game that has a direct next-game consequence for Argentina at the World Cup, due to the 1982 Falklands War.

The war remains a sensitive topic, having been referenced by Argentina’s players when they sang a song called ‘Muchachos’ in the dressing room.

Unfortunately for Oliver, through no fault of his own, he will therefore miss out on the maximum salary available for a referee at the World Cup. The Times had reported that referees at this summer’s tournament could earn up to $100,000 (£85,000) and would even be paid sizable bonuses for officiating matches in the latter stages of the competition.

51 referees were left on FIFA’s official list going into the tournament after Somalia’s Omar Artan was refused entry into the United States. Reports claimed a standard basic rate was handed to officials for up to six weeks’ work since they arrived at the tournament base in Miami in June.

The baseline figure is said to be around double what officials received over a decade ago at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Officials then receive an extra sum per game for the knockout rounds.

Oliver has officiated four fixtures across the tournament: Netherlands vs Sweden, Norway vs France, Canada vs Morocco and the quarter-final clash, Spain vs Belgium. During the latter, Oliver suffered an embarrassing moment as he accidentally impeded Dani Olmo during a Spain attack, after which he apologised and stopped the game.

England’s 2026 World Cup kits

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A multimillionaire tax accountant – who signed everything he had over to his wife to dodge paying debts – could now lose his “chocolate box” country home after a £600,000-plus defeat in court.

Tax specialist John Dixon, formerly a £2m-a-year partner at top accountancy firm Ernst & Young, enjoyed a stellar career, during which he was invited to Downing Street and appeared at Parliamentary committees.

But after running up a huge personal debt with the taxman, he was made bankrupt in 2017, owing more than £600,000 in unpaid tax, penalties and interest.

However, when bankruptcy trustees tried to get his cash, they learned that years earlier he had signed documents handing everything he had – or would ever have – to his wife, Janet, in a bid to avoid any future debts.

A judge subsequently set aside the documents, having found that the trusts, established prior to his tax bill, were intended to “defraud” any future creditors by putting his assets beyond their reach.

Having previously lived a multimillionaire lifestyle with expensive cars, an apartment in Barbados and a lochside mansion in Scotland, Mr Dixon, 70, says he and his wife are now reduced to living on their state pensions after the couple were hit with a freezing order.

The pair now face losing their home – a Grade-II listed three-bed thatched cottage in the Welsh Borders – after the trustees launched a bid to seize and sell it.

In a hearing at the High Court last week, at which a judge upheld the findings about his assets, Mr Dixon said he felt he had been “mugged” by an “unfair” court process, with the threat of being kicked out of his home now hanging over him.

The high-flying accountant was formerly a partner at Thornton Baker, which later became Grant Thornton, before joining Ernst & Young as a partner in 1997. He was later appointed managing partner and UK head of tax for the financial giant.

In her ruling on the dispute last year, Judge Sally Barber said Mr Dixon had in 2010 executed a series of declarations of trust in favour of his wife.

The declarations “purported to divest himself of all present and future assets in favour of his wife,” handing her ownership of valuable properties and cars, and all of his future income – leaving him completely dependant on her for money.

Among the properties were Pennymore House, in the village of Furnace in Argyll, Scotland, which was later sold, with the £126,000 proceeds going to his wife.

The couple’s eight-bedroom period property with a swimming pool, known as The Stonehouse, in Woolhope, Herefordshire, was also declared hers, before being sold for £1.2m at a loss.

They later moved to Toad Hall, his three-bed thatched cottage in picturesque Eardisland village, near Leominster, Herefordshire, now thought to be worth about £730,000.

Having signed the documents, Mr Dixon remained as managing partner and UK head of tax at E&Y for the next four years, earning £2m-a-year, while Mrs Dixon was a “housewife” alongside managing her fabrics business.

In 2015, HMRC served a demand on him for £627,302 in September 2015, which he responded to by claiming his assets were “nil,” the declarations of trust having beneficially transferred “all his assets and future income” to his wife.

However, he was made bankrupt over the unpaid debt in 2017. He was only discharged from his bankruptcy this year.

At the High Court last year, the trustees in his bankruptcy, Emma Sayers and Jeremy Willmont, argued that 2010 trust declarations were attempts to place his assets beyond the reach of future creditors.

Mr Dixon defended the claim himself, arguing that he had no such intention and that he did what he did as part of inheritance tax planning and due to economic fears amid the credit crunch.

Giving judgment, Judge Barber said she was satisfied he had entered into the declarations for “no consideration” and for the “purpose of putting assets beyond the reach of a person who may at some time make a claim against him or of otherwise prejudicing the interests of a person in relation to the claim which he may make.”

She ordered that the declarations be set aside, opening the way for the trustees to pursue his assets in order to pay off his debts.

Last week, Mr Dixon returned to court, where he argued that he should be given permission to appeal the judge’s order on the basis that what happened was “unfair.”

Representing himself before Mr Justice Richards, he said the case was “of critical importance” to him and his wife, adding: “We are facing an application by the claimants for possession and sale of our home. It’s not a happy situation to be in.”

He said that because the couple’s assets are currently frozen, they have been limited to their state pensions and so could not get legal representation.

Complaining at having had to argue his own case against a team of top lawyers last year, he said: “We basically were sort of mugged over three days. I find it very difficult to manage that sort of situation.”

Mr Dixon put forward a range of procedural grounds of appeal and challenged the judge’s factual finding that his purpose in signing the trusts was to put his assets beyond the reach of any future creditors.

Pointing out the fact that, at the time the trusts were established, there was no debt to the taxman, he said there was “no evidence” of “any intention to transfer assets away from creditors.”

“Do you really think that I would jeopardise a career of so many years – I was in Number 10 Downing Street 20 times – over just over £500,000 worth of penalties and interest when I was earning £2m a year?” he said.

“It’s inconceivable that I would have done that. The reality is – now and for many many years – that I have been totally reliant on Janet for financial support.”

Giving judgment on his application for permission to appeal, Mr Justice Richards said Judge Barber had found as a fact that the declarations of trusts were intended as a way of “defrauding creditors.”

“There were matters for the judge to weigh in the balance,” he said.

“The fact he considers a different conclusion was available doesn’t approach the threshold for a realistic challenge to findings of fact.”

Although acknowledging that the case is an “important matter” for Mr Dixon, he concluded: “I have reached the very clear conclusion that there isn’t an appeal here with sufficiently realistic prospects of success.”

The appeal bid was refused, with the trustees’ application for possession and sale of the couple’s home set to go ahead at a later date.

NEW YORK (AP) — “Artificial,” Luca Guadagnino’s starry film about Sam Altman and OpenAI, has been acquired by the indie distributor Neon after it was dropped by Amazon MGM Studios.

Neon said Tuesday that it bought the film following a bidding process. Amazon dropped the nearly complete $40 million film, starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, earlier this month, a surprise move that came just months after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.

Amazon said then that “Artificial” would “be better served if it were released by a different studio.”

Neon said Tuesday that it will release “Artificial” this year and “compete in this year’s Oscar race.” The film, which chronicles the days leading up to the 2023 firing and reinstatement of Altman as OpenAI chief executive, also stars Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance. Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk.

In late February, Amazon signed an expansive multiyear partnership with the artificial intelligence startup. Then earlier this month, Amazon MGM said it would put the film up for sale to find it a new home.

Neon has established an enviable awards-season track record with Oscar winners like “Parasite” and “Anora.” The specialty label has backed the last seven Palme d’Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival. The studio declined to disclose how much it paid for the worldwide rights to “Artificial.”

“The acquisition underscores Neon’s commitment to partnering with visionary filmmakers, and bringing ambitious cinema to audiences around the world,” the studio said in a statement.

Over a four year period, between 2022/23 and 2025/26, more than £860,000 was paid out in compensation for accidents on footpaths in the town, a freedom of information request has revealed.

Independent Councillor Joan McTigue said she doubts it would have cost as much to “repair all the [footpath] damage in the first place”.

When accidents do happen, resulting payments are made through the council’s insurers.

A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said the safety of footpaths and pavements is a “key priority” for the council.

He added: “We have an ongoing programme of repairs and maintenance. Regular inspections are undertaken, and we also rely on the public to report issues to us where they arise so they can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

“While public safety is of paramount importance, where possible more extensive preventative work will also be carried out.”

The total figure over the course of four financial years amounted to £866,584, although it is unclear if this sum includes compensation for injuries that occur on damaged grass verges, which border many of the town’s pavements in residential areas. 

Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, has died at the age of 78, his family has announced

Actor Sam Neill has passed away at the age of 78, his family has confirmed.

The cherished New Zealand star, renowned for his portrayal of Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park series, died on Monday, July 13, in Sydney, Australia.

His family released a statement revealing Neill was with his loved ones at the time of his death and described the loss as “sudden and unexpected”.

They went on to say he had stayed cancer free and expressed thanks to the medical team who looked after him.

The statement said: “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

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“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.

“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”

Neill’s career stretched across more than 50 years, establishing him as one of New Zealand’s most familiar faces on screen. He achieved worldwide recognition playing palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 smash hit Jurassic Park, going on to reprise the character in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion.

Beyond the dinosaur series, he featured in numerous celebrated films and TV programmes, such as The Hunt for Red October, The Piano, Event Horizon, Peaky Blinders and The Tudors.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer but subsequently confirmed his treatment had proved effective and that he was in remission.

Additional details regarding his death have not been made public at this time.

As Ukraine‘s long-range strikes spark more petrol shortages and chaos, Vladimir Putin and his family might ‘jump’ out of a window, according to a senior Estonian minister.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna made the comment in an interview with the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on the topic of Russia’s faltering performance in the war with Ukraine.

‘Even among the oligarchs, more and more are doubting Putin’s war,’ Tsahkna said.

‘Many who spoke of victory a year ago no longer believe it,’ he added.

It comes as Ukraine is striking Russian energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, with Volodymyr Zelensky‘s intensified drone campaign triggering Moscow‘s worst fuel crisis in decades.

More than half of Russia’s regions have been forced to impose strict limits on fuel sales, with disgruntled residents queueing for hours and getting into dramatic brawls at petrol stations.

‘Putin could change his goals and enter into serious negotiations – if he acts rationally,’ Tsahkna said.

‘It’s just as possible that one day he’ll jump out of a window with his family. After all, things like that happen in Russia,’ he added.

Since the beginning of 2026, Russia’s refineries have been hit at least 194 times, an 11-fold increase from the same period the previous year, according to data from Rochan Consulting, a Polish analytical group monitoring the war

As Kyiv tightens the noose on oil supplies by targeting Russia’s refineries and tankers, new filling station fights are erupting

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Since the beginning of 2026, Russia’s refineries have been hit at least 194 times, an 11-fold increase from the same period the previous year, according to data from Rochan Consulting, a Polish analytical group monitoring the war. 

In June, Kyiv hit Moscow’s sole oil refinery several times, sparking huge blazes that sent clouds of smoke billowing over the capital.

The intensification of Kyiv’s aerial campaign comes as Zelensky announced that his forces would make a concerted push this summer to try to compel the Kremlin dictator to end his years-long war of aggression.

The Ukrainian leader said his military was carrying out ‘a 40-day influence operation’ with its long-range strike units to try and force Putin to the negotiating table.

‘By now, every Russian feels that this war isn’t happening somewhere far away, but has reached their own country,’ Tsahkna said.

On the efforts of the US president to broker peace, the minister said ‘Putin primarily wasted Trump’s time’, adding that ‘the talks have effectively failed’.

About whether Russia would consider an imminent attack on Poland or the Baltic states, Tsahkna dismissed the idea. 

‘I consider a large-scale invasion in the coming weeks to be out of the question. Russia lacks the resources for that,’ he said. 

Nevertheless, Tsahkna issued a clear warning: ‘Russia remains a dangerous country, and provocations are always possible.’

Thick plumes of smoke with flames rise from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow, Russia, June 18

Ukrainian drones have set the Mikhailovskaya oil depot ablaze in the southern Russian region of Stavropol

Ukraine claimed to have attacked 14 tankers of Russia’s shadow fleet on July 12

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The major Mikhailovskaya oil depot in Stavropol was ignited in a fireball followed by towering flames, further denuding Russian supplies

As Kyiv tightens the noose on oil supplies by targeting Russia’s refineries and tankers, new filling station fights are erupting.

Multiple drivers joined a brawl in Penza amid accusations of motorists jumping the queue.

In Moscow, a woman driver was in tears as she claimed a knife-wielding man had slashed her tyres, accusing him of leapfrogging her in the line.

In fear inside her car, she asked him: ‘Are you an idiot or something? What are you doing?’

She said: ‘This guy just ran out, threatened me with a knife, and slashed my tyres because he thought I was cutting in front of him at the petrol station.’

Tension is exploding over chronic and worsening shortages of petrol and diesel due to precision Ukrainian strikes on key oil facilities which are now causing serious harm to the economy.

On Monday, 15 more ships – mainly shadow fleet tankers breaking Western sanctions – were hit by kamikaze drones in the Sea of Azov.

This takes the toll to more than 100 in the past eight days, and further strangles supplies to annexed tourist region Crimea.

Images show tankers being hit and in flames amid a total failure of Russian air defences.

Overnight drones also struck the Kavkaz oil and passenger port linking Russia to the Black Sea peninsula.

Ukraine has vowed to stop the strikes if Putin halts his debilitating war – but he refuses to do so, at an increasing cost to Russians.

In a spectacular new strike Monday, the major Mikhailovskaya oil depot in Stavropol was ignited in a fireball followed by towering flames, further denuding Russian supplies.

Dozens of key refineries and oil storage sites have been put out of action.

Russian sources also said that 350 Ukrainian drones were flying towards Moscow.

Air defences downed many of the incoming unmanned planes but debris from one crashed into residential building in Pionersky, Moscow region, killing three and injuring others.

Russian rage over the strikes on oil supplies spilled over onto pro-Putin’s propaganda TV shows.

Leading Kremlin trumpeter Vladimir Solovyov demanded harsh revenge strikes on Ukraine.

‘They’re attacking our ships in the Sea of Azov, and they’re telling NATO countries we don’t care, we’ll attack in the Mediterranean too,’ he ranted.

‘Why aren’t we destroying every ship heading to and from [Ukraine]?

‘Not just the ports, but any shipping connected to Ukraine should be destroyed, and we don’t care what flag they’re flying…

‘And what’s more, we have submarines….What’s stopping us from using submarines to destroy ships heading for Ukrainian ports?’

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had foiled a series ‌of attempted large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks against two military air bases deep ​inside Russia, state news agency ​TASS reported. 

TASS cited the FSB as ⁠saying in a statement that Ukrainian ​secret services had attempted to strike ​the Shagol and Ukrainka air bases, in Russia’s Ural mountains and its far east, ​respectively, and that the perpetrators ​of the attacks had been detained.

It said ‌that ⁠Ukraine had used balloons and drones to deliver containers full of drones into Russia’s Bryansk region, which were ​then ​to be ⁠transported to the two targets.

The foiled operation appeared to ​resemble a 2025 attack ​on ⁠Russian military air bases, including the Ukrainka base, which destroyed around 10 ⁠Russian ​aircraft, according to the ​United States.

A Four in a Bed star was left wiping away tears before the result on the Channel 4 programme

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A Four in a Bed star was left in tears on payment day after an emotional admission.

During a repeat episode airing on Saturday (July 11), Norfolk property owners Phil and Gil heard from their competitors after a stay at Old Hall Country Breaks.

The couple’s self-catered accommodation had already been described as “stunning” and “amazing”.

“It’s like I’m visiting the King,” fellow Four in a Bed star Jack had praised, while the others were blown away by the facilities.

“I could live here,” guest Justin also added, with all the other teams highly rating Phil and Gil’s stay.

“I’m a bit speechless,” Gil had said, after reading the feedback, while Phil commented: “It’s a competition that we came to win and it’s all about the money that goes into the envelope.”

On payment day, the praise continued, as Jack said: “From the moment I opened the door, I felt the level of detail.”

He later added: “With your attention to detail and you guys knowing what I want before I know I want it, it was one of the best stays ever.”

Justin’s partner Keighly also called it “perfection”, leaving Gil wiping away tears.

He said: “You guys have really got me going now, that means everything. I’m a perfectionist, and it’s not always easy. Knowing that you guys feel that we are right there, it means a lot.”

As he sobbed, he added: “It’s just because we’ve put a lot of our personal lives and everything to make that happen.”

After receiving the feedback, Phil added to the camera: “It was the stuff of dreams.”

Gil went on: “They are our peers in the industry and to hear that brilliant feedback just meant a lot to us.”

To no surprise, the couple received a total £10 overpayment, and were crowned winners that week.

Celebrating their win, Phil said: “We are completely speechless by how you’ve made us feel today, and just blown away by it.”

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Gil also told the cameras: “We did have a bit of pressure coming into this competition with our price range and to have the overpayments meant a lot.”

The couple both echoed: “I’m speechless, it feels like a dream,” as they were called “worthy winners” by their competition.

“Thanks to the best competitors we could have wished for,” Phil said over the toast.

He then quipped: “We always said we came to slay and not to play, we slayed!”

Four in a Bed is available to watch on Channel 4

For four long years, journalists at this newspaper have worked under the shadow of a series of terrible accusations. It was alleged they hacked phones, blagged medical and travel records and did other ‘unlawful information gathering’.

Then they had to endure an 11-week trial and were cross-examined, one by one, about their working lives. 

They are not princes. They are hard-working people who have mortgages and school runs and the ordinary dread of an ordinary person who has been publicly accused of something they did not do.

Last week, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all allegations. Every single one of them.

The man who, as a consequence of his litigation, put those people in that witness box is the same man who has spent the past decade instructing the rest of us to be kind.

The question that interests me is not whether Prince Harry had the evidence to prove what he was alleging – the court has answered that. 

As a psychiatrist, what most intrigues me is why he went to court in the first place? Why spend four years and presumably a lot of money on such a misguided crusade?

The answer, I suspect, has almost nothing to do with newspapers. We all know the story. He was 12 years old. He walked behind his mother’s coffin, watched by 100 million people, and he did not cry, because a boy of 12 in that situation understands that he is not permitted to.

Prince William and Prince Harry at the funeral of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 

Grief in childhood does not revolve around a neat timetable. It goes underground and it waits. And what it very often waits for is adulthood, because adulthood supplies the one thing a grieving child lacks: the power to act. 

What mourning wants, above everything, is to undo; to go back. And since that cannot be done, the wish attaches itself to whatever might provide answers.

A courtroom has that potential. It offers a defendant and it offers a finding of fact and a verdict. It offers the one thing bereavement doesn’t always provide, which is somebody to blame, even if that somebody has done absolutely nothing wrong. 

I have seen smaller versions of this play out in my clinic for over 20 years. The widow who devotes a decade to an unfounded complaint against the hospital. The son who cannot let his father be buried until every question has been asked and answered.

Somewhere along the way the pursuit stops being a route through the grief and becomes the place where the grief now lives. And while the case is still open, the loss seems somehow less final.

And there is something else that happens to people gripped by what they perceive to be a righteous cause, and this is the part I find hardest to forgive.

They stop seeing the people standing inside it.

Not because they are deliberately cruel, but due to a narrowing of vision that is so complete, other human beings drop out of the frame.

The reporter lying awake at 3am is not someone Harry has been unkind to. They are someone he is treating as if he has not noticed them at all.

I am not sure which is worse. From the lofty heights of the moral high ground, the little people can seem even smaller.

Harry has spoken often about the years of therapy he has had, and I don’t doubt a word of it.

But it prompts an uncomfortable thought about my own profession. There is a kind of therapy that hands a person a beautiful vocabulary for their injury, but then never once asks them to put it back down again.

They emerge able to describe their wound in exquisite detail, fluent, articulate, but entirely unhealed. Insight is not the same thing as change.

I have seen several people who after years of therapy remain obsessed with their trauma to the extent that they are unable to heal and move on with their lives.

Good therapy should, in the end, leave you rather less interested in your own story than you were when you started. Harry couldn’t get what he really wanted from this case. Not only because this newspaper hadn’t done what he alleged, but because there is no order any judge in England can sign that says: your mother should not have died, and you were only 12.

Nobody can give him that. Not this newspaper, not his father and not a High Court judge.

What might help is duller, and harder and free. It is the slow, unglamorous work of mourning something that cannot be returned. It is the only way of laying down a weight that has been carried since childhood.

The truth about infertility

New research has found that infertility among women aged 35 to 49 has been rising steadily since 1990, and is projected to keep climbing. 

Notice how the coverage of such findings always carries a faint note of reproach. As though women had put off having children for the fun of it. As though there were a cohort of thirtysomethings who chose the second holiday over the first baby.

I’ve never met her. What I have met is women who could not afford a home with a second bedroom. Women on rolling contracts who knew exactly what a pregnancy would do to their prospects. 

Women still paying off a degree they were told to get. And women who simply had not met anyone. 

Eva Beaujouan, of the University of Vienna, points to longer years of study, economic insecurity and unemployment. 

We ask women to establish themselves in the years when their fertility is at its best, then we tut when the sums don’t work. 

Not one woman I have sat with chose to run out of time.

I once had a patient in her 50s and every 20 seconds or so she would shift in her chair and wince. Her scans were clear. So for years she had been told there was nothing wrong with her. This is why a study from Johns Hopkins University into back pain matters. Working with mice, the team found that in a degenerating spine, pain-sensing nerve fibres grow into places they should not be in. But a hormone called PTH prompts bone cells to produce a protein that pushes them back out. So, we now have a mechanism for why back pain occurs and a possible solution. 

Ministers have promised to end corridor care in hospitals by the end of this parliament. But Jason Killens, of the London Ambulance Service, says some are simply moving the problem outdoors… to the car park. More than 20,000 patients a month are at risk of harm from handovers delayed beyond an hour. Clearing corridors might still help no one.

Dr Max prescribes…

Altruist sunscreen

Most of us apply nowhere near enough sunscreen. Studies suggest we use a quarter to half of the amount that SPF was tested at, which turns your SPF 50 into something far weaker. And the reason we are so stingy is that the bottle cost us £30.

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So cheap suncream is not a lesser suncream; it is the sort most people will use properly. Altruist was founded by Dr Andrew Birnie, a consultant dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon, to provide excellent suncream at the lowest possible price (from £6.36, altruistsun.com). 

As a man who has had skin cancer surgery himself, I buy it. For every tube sold, they send suncream to children with albinism in Africa, who develop skin cancers young. That amounts to almost £1.4million worth so far.

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This is the moment the prime suspect in Ann Widdecombe‘s murder climbed into his car with what appears to be a large baton bulging from the pocket of his shorts.

The man, who the Daily Mail is not naming, was arrested on suspicion of killing the former Tory MP after a dozen armed officers descended on his council house in South Yorkshire on Saturday night.

He was captured on CCTV leaving the property on a run-down Rotherham estate shortly before 8am on Wednesday – the day the 78-year-old was allegedly beaten to death.

The footage shows what appears to be a baton or pole more than a foot long in his left pocket.

The man, who neighbours described as a recluse, was filmed climbing into a red hatchback before allegedly travelling some 267 miles – a journey of around five hours – to Ms Widdecombe’s remote property at Haytor on Dartmoor.

Police believe the former Tory minister, who was found dead the following morning, was killed shortly after midday on Wednesday.

Neighbours said the man held over her death was an unemployed ‘loner’ who rarely left home and had become increasingly introverted following his father’s death last year.

But early on Wednesday morning, the suspect, who lived alone, was spotted on CCTV leaving his terraced home and getting into a run-down vehicle parked on the driveway.

‘He comes out of the house and walks towards the red car,’ said a neighbour familiar with the footage, which has been shared with police.

Ann Widdecombe was killed in her home on Wednesday last week and discovered 24 hours later

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They said he appeared to be carrying a stick concealed under his top before placing it inside the car. 

‘It looked like a wooden stick or an iron bar, about a foot long, and it was pushing up underneath his T-shirt as he got into the car,’ the person added.

‘He seemed calm and there is nothing to suggest anything unusual was happening.’

It comes as Devon and Cornwall Police said there was no indication that the violent murder was ‘politically motivated’ or ‘terrorism-related’ despite Ms Widdecombe’s public profile.

She was first elected a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987 before she went on to serve as an MEP for the Brexit Party and then a spokesman for Reform UK.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said: ‘At this point, there is still no information to suggest that this is a terrorism-related incident and at this point we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this murder.

‘At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it was politically motivated.’

He said detectives ‘remain open-minded about the potential motive’ and stressed it is not believed there is any threat to the wider public.

He urged people ‘not to share or engage with that speculation’, saying: ‘It’s unhelpful, it doesn’t aid our investigation and particularly it’s distressing to family and friends of Ms Widdecombe.’

Chief Constable James Vaughan, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the force has ‘mounted an extraordinary response to a horrific murder of a very prominent public figure’.

He added: ‘The operation has been running at a lightning pace for 48 hours.

‘I am really pleased that we have a suspect firmly in custody and that will undergo some further work from us today.’

Forensic officers were still searching the man’s mid-terraced address in the town’s Kimberworth Park area on Sunday as uniformed officers stood guard outside.

Neighbours said around a dozen armed officers had surrounded the property at around 9pm on Saturday before knocking loudly at the door.

Courtney Foster, 25, who lives next door with partner Rayed Astle, 26, said: ‘We were in the kitchen and just saw the officers running up. Some were armed. Then they banged on the door very loudly.

‘They didn’t smash the door down because he opened it. They asked him his name, he confirmed it and they took him away.’

Ms Foster said police also took the man’s pet labradoodle, adding: ‘There were about 12 officers and quite a few cars. It was quite a shock.’

Describing the man, Mr Astle said that he had barely spoken to anyone since his father, who he had moved in with around a year ago, died last December.

‘He was someone you’d have a conversation with but that changed after his dad died. He became very quiet. He kept himself to himself and wouldn’t really speak to anyone,’ he added.

Ms Foster added: ‘He was always in the house and I don’t think he worked.’

Other neighbours said the man’s red Vauxhall Corsa ‘barely moved’ from the drive – to the extent it had begun to rust with weeds growing on it.

Forensic officers were seen heading into the house, after it was confirmed there is no evidence to suggest the murder was politically motivated

Police were searching an address in Rotherham on Sunday where they arrested a man on suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s murder

A cordon remains at Ms Widdecombe’s bungalow in Haytor, Devon, and police said locals will notice a heightened presence for the next few days

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Floral tributes have been left on the grass outside her home, including a framed photograph of Ms Widdecombe

‘The car was normally left outside for long periods, so it just stood out that he was driving away so early in the morning,’ one added.

Another local said: ‘He is one of three brothers but the others moved out, so he was living on his own.

‘His father died before Christmas and I think it affected him. He seemed to change because he became even more introverted.

‘You would barely see him – to the point where you’d presume the house was unoccupied. Now and again you’d see the upstairs light on but that was it.’

Another resident, who witnessed the arrest, said: ‘The police came at about 9.10pm. There were about a dozen officers armed with guns, both in the front garden and the back garden.

‘They knocked on the door and he opened up. They asked his name and he was taken away.

‘It was quite quiet, really. There was no commotion….It was very quiet how they turned up. There was no lights, no noise – our Ring doorbell didn’t even go off.’

Neighbour Kingsley Whybrow, 29, said: ‘I’ve never seen anyone come in and out of that house, ever.

‘He drove a red Corsa that was parked outside – it had started to rust and there was vegetation growing on it. They came at about 3am to tow it away.’

One of the man’s brothers is believed to live in Devon, while a second brother and his mother, who is thought to have worked as a teaching assistant, are said to live locally.

Ms Widdecombe had stopped responding to text messages regarding a TV interview around the time police believe she had been attacked.

She had been due to appear remotely as a guest on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show when she suddenly stopped responding to a producer at 12.19pm, according to ITV News.

The messages show she did not open a reply timestamped 12.48pm asking her to join the Zoom meeting which she failed to attend.

Reform UK is said to be reviewing emails sent to Ms Widdecombe in the weeks before her murder in search for any threats against her life.

The party has also said it is committed to providing round-the-clock security to its MPs in the wake of her death.