Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in the US after British authorities issued 38 new charges against the pair.

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Andrew was being charged with seven further counts of rape, as well as charges relating to sex trafficking and indecent images of a child.

Tristan’s charges include two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The total number of charges against the brothers is now 59, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police said.

The alleged offending is said to have taken place between July 2010 and August 2017. The Tates have previously denied any wrongdoing.

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven,” Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said.

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire police have been investigating a number of offences in what it called a “complex investigation”.

As a result, 38 new charges were authorised against the brothers, meaning there are now a total of 42 charges against Andrew and 17 against Tristan.

The US Marshals confirmed to the BBC that the Tates had been taken into custody, while a US Department of Justice spokesperson said the arrests were “pursuant to extradition proceedings”.

The CPS said in its statement it has requested the extradition of the brothers, who are dual British-US citizens, from the US.

A lawyer who represents the Tates, Joseph McBride, said “the world knows Andrew and Tristan are innocent” in a statement released after their arrest on Saturday evening.

“Their enemies know it best of all. That is exactly why they have been attacked,” McBride continued, describing the new UK charges as a “political hit”.

He said the new charges were designed to counter a defamation action filed by the brothers in the US.

“We are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts, and once the Department of Justice confronts this egregious abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. America does not do Britain’s political dirty work,” he continued.

In May 2025, prosecutors confirmed a list of 21 charges Andrew Tate, 39, and Tristan Tate, 37, will eventually face in the UK.

These alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2012 and 2016.

In 2024, Bedfordshire Police secured European arrest warrants for the pair to have them returned from Romania, where they are based and are under criminal investigation.

In June, the brothers lost a legal bid to be told the names of their UK accusers, after the CPS decided it was necessary to withhold the names of their alleged victims until legal action formally started.

The River Swale at the Fosse car park, next to Barrie’s Ices, is now a designated bathing water site.

Following a successful campaign by Save Our Swale, the Environment Agency is regularly testing the water there.

The River Swale at Swimming Pool Beach, Richmond (Image: SAVE OUR SWALE)

The latest Environment Agency results show occasional spikes in E. coli and intestinal enterococci.

However, the site is currently classed as meeting acceptable bathing water standards overall.

The picture is very different at Swimming Pool Beach below the Station car park.

The site is not a designated bathing water location and is not monitored by the Environment Agency.

Save Our Swale has continued to carry out its own testing there, including at Station Bridge and the river bend opposite the beach.

The Save Our Swale warning sign (Image: SAVE OUR SWALE)

Between April and June this year, the group recorded an average E. coli level of 4,500 per 100ml of water.

That is around four-and-a-half times higher than the level considered safe for bathing and could pose a health risk to anyone entering the river.

The group says the results highlight the difference in water quality between the two popular swimming locations and is urging people to be aware of the risks before entering the water.

Anyone choosing to swim is advised to follow World Health Organisation guidance, according to Save Our Swale.

Swimmers should avoid entering the river until at least 48 hours after heavy rainfall, when sewage pollution is more likely to affect water quality.

They should also cover any cuts with waterproof plasters, avoid swallowing river water or getting it in their mouth or nose, and wash thoroughly with soap and clean water after swimming.

Save Our Swale is now working with North Yorkshire Council to install warning signs at Swimming Pool Beach to help inform visitors of the potential health risks.

Set against the curve of the craggy cliffs that punctuate Cornwall’s northern coastline, Polzeath is a glorious sweep of sand that stretches in a golden arc down to the shore.

During the day it’s a surfer’s paradise. Families also love to descend on the Blue Flag beach with their buckets, spades and bodyboards, not leaving until the sun dips or hungry tummies demand.

But when night falls in early July, it’s a very different feel.

For there is a tradition that when private schools close (usually a good two to three weeks before state schools), hordes of well-heeled and very well-spoken teens descend on the exclusive holiday homes that pepper this particular stretch of coastline.

Polzeath transforms from wholesome seaside resort to a hedonistic party venue more typically associated with the 1990s debauchery of Faliraki – the Rhodes hotspot beloved of club 18-30 holidays – than the desirable coves and tranquil fishing villages of Cornwall.

Take photographs of scenes witnessed last week: a vast crowd of young people swarming across the sand, an evening of partying in full flow.

It all came to a rather unfortunate end, however, when the neighbourhood policing team was forced to issue a dispersal order, covering the beach and its surrounding area.

Such orders are more typically associated with major anti-social incidents such as protests and riots, so why on earth would police need to deploy one in sleepy Polzeath?

Police officers patrol Polzeath Beach – the village has also had its own beach ranger since 2019 to cope with the annual gathering of teenagers

It turns out there’s not just the noise – 300 odd teens partying through until 4am makes quite a din – but a litany of other anti-social behaviour: broken glass, litter, vandalism, young men urinating in public and more than one couple disappearing for liaisons that shouldn’t be public and quite possibly, given how young they look, aren’t legal.

When the Daily Mail visited this desirable little resort this week – former Prime Minister David Cameron and TV chef Gordon Ramsay both have homes nearby and Princes William and Harry learned to surf here – the huge crowds had shrunk.

Instead there was a gathering of 30 to 50 teens milling around in groups on the sand. Still, most looked quite clearly younger than 18 and several were clearly the worse for wear.

At around 11.30pm on Tuesday we witnessed a boy and girl – who might just have been 16 – coming out of the ladies’ toilet together. The not remotely abashed couple then hurried back to the sand.

Such behaviour is, sadly, not uncommon.

One frustrated local told the Daily Mail that he has seen children who looked as young as 13 getting paralytically drunk and having intercourse on the beach.

Only last week a teenage couple were caught having full sex on the sand, a mere 10 metres away from the rest of their friend group.

Meanwhile, a police officer reportedly caught two more in the middle of a sex act, ‘round the back of [a] food van’.

As one angry resident observed: ‘They’re all private school kids. This doesn’t happen at any other time of the year. They’re really obnoxious and behave outrageously.’

During our visit we’re directed to a couple who own six holiday lets in the village. Dominic and Zoe do not want to give their surnames, but their observations are revealing.

Only last week one of their properties (rented to apparently responsible adults) was trashed after the younger occupants of the house held a party which got out of hand. A raucous crowd of teens who were not staying in the house had descended at 1.30am.

When Dominic and Zoe visited the three-bedroom beachside property the following day, the parents of the party goers (repeat visitors to the property, who appear to have ignored the polite email reminding them to respect both the property and neighbours) admitted they hadn’t been home at the time. Had they deliberately rented a party house, while choosing to sleep somewhere else themselves? Nobody is sure.

Zoe says: ‘There were broken wine and beer glasses around the house. They had been throwing beer bottles onto the lane and beer poured all down the sides of the walls, inside and out. There were also loads of cigarette butts in the bins.’

The couple have operated holiday-only rental properties in the village since 2008 and, says Dominic, it’s early July when the tone of the resort changes.

‘The first two weeks of July when private schools break up, they all coordinate to come down together. Large groups of youngsters from the same schools gather on the beach and their parents don’t really know where they are. It doesn’t seem to matter.

‘The last three years it’s been building, the places have been left in a terrible state.

‘The first year it was so bad we had to second other people in to help clean. It took 12 to 13 hours just to clean a small house.

‘It’s only this fortnight. The minute the other families come down on holidays it’s very nice, everybody’s friendly and the houses don’t take such a beating.

‘Polzeath and Rock seems to have the most trouble in Cornwall so they should provide more police for these two weeks.

The neighbourhood policing team was recently forced to issue a dispersal order, covering the beach and its surrounding area

Average house prices in the area regularly hover around the £1million mark and locals often find themselves priced out of the market by second homeowners

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‘I know the police used to write to the private schools asking them to warn children about their behaviour.’

Down on the beach an even more colourful picture is drawn by another local, a father who has watched ever more dramatic scenes unfold.

‘Police officers patrolling in the village last week were called “f****** pigs” by a group of boys. It can get quite threatening when there are 50 or so lads advancing. It feels like they just aren’t used to being told what to do.

‘The kids have mostly come down in friend groups. Their parents put down credit cards to rent them luxury holiday homes. I heard of one house that was rented out to teenagers for £8,000 a week last year and was trashed – the owners decided not to rent it out for these two weeks this year.’

Since 2019, the village has had its own beach ranger to cope with the annual teenage bacchanal, first funded by the council and now by a community interest company.

The issue of night-time partying grew during the pandemic – when everyone was encouraged to socialise outside – and has continued to expand.

In 2022, the beach rangers had to launch night patrols after partying got out of control and that year police had to impose a two-day 10pm curfew. There were broken prosecco bottles littering the sand; beach bonfires fuelled with benches, fences and shed doors stolen from local properties, then left to smoulder until morning; and emergency life-saving equipment vandalised.

A year later, villagers upped the ante; CCTV was installed to watch the beach, along with rechargeable floodlights, which illuminate this year’s antics.

The current ranger is Andy Stewart, a police officer for 30 years, who on Tuesday was joined by police.

At midnight, the Daily Mail witnessed them gently evict those gathered from the sand before any more alcohol was consumed.

Most left on foot, but as is typical of these gatherings there were a handful of cars – a smart Audi and several Land Rovers – driven by smartly dressed parents, pulling up to collect their offspring.

Six youngsters piled into the back of a black BMW SUV that was quite clearly not designed to safely hold that many passengers, before the middle-aged couple in the front drove off.

Meanwhile, a group of half a dozen boys, looking slightly the worse for wear, loudly sang the ‘10 German Bombers’ football chant in their crisp Home Counties accents as they weaved their way home.

Homes are a particularly thorny question around these parts.

Average house prices in the area regularly hover around the £1million mark and, as with many parts of the county, locals often find themselves priced out of the market by second homeowners.

In St Minver Highlands, the parish in which Polzeath sits, nearly 30 per cent of properties are second homes, while in neighbouring St Minver Lowlands (where the even more exclusive village of Rock sits) 36 per cent of properties are in the hands of second homeowners.

And if parents don’t want to put up with their noisy offspring on their early summer break, they can always pack them off to a nearby holiday let, preserving their own peace and quiet.

But at what cost?

A litany of incidents was described to us on our visit.

Police, we were told, have been taking alcohol away from under-age children, only for the youngsters to stash fresh supplies in the public toilets so they can retrieve it, a couple of cans at a time.

Police say last week’s 48-hour dispersal order was an ‘unusual step’ and that it was the ‘behaviour of a few’ that was detrimental to the wider community

Rubbish left on Polzeath beach. Cleaner Katherine Perkins, who lives in Polzeath, says: ‘The amount of rubbish gets really bad. We end up picking up after them. It’s really frustrating’

We were told of one 13-year-old boy who was discovered on the beach completely incapacitated by booze. When police called his parents, they too were under the influence, so couldn’t drive to collect him.

Another mother asked police to return the £30 bottle of wine they confiscated from her 15-year-old child.

Last year, a girl nearly drowned when she passed out on the shoreline alone. She had to be dragged to safety, with her rescuer using her thumb to unlock her phone so he could ring her parents.

Bar worker Anna Foster, 21, from nearby Wadebridge is young enough to know how much fun it is to let your hair down at the end of term, but says: ‘I feel like the behaviour has been getting worse for the last few years.

‘You see 18-year-old kids racing up and down the road in huge Range Rovers forcing everybody else out of their way.

‘When we open in the morning the first job we have to do is clear up all the smashed glass bottles on the terrace from the night before.

‘Locals can tell who they are from a mile off, what they’re wearing, how they speak. I overheard a conversation between father and son about whether he would go to Eton and whether it was still good enough. How mad is that?

‘We’ve seen lots of treating all their friends to meals and drinks on Daddy’s credit card, but you just get desensitised after a while.

‘We’ve had to confiscate quite a few fake IDs, and the parents will come down and ask for them back.

‘In previous years we would go out to Surfside [the village’s ever popular beach bar] after work but this year as soon as we close we get out of here.’

Only last week the owner of Surfside, Guy Taylor, revealed he spends more than £17,000 on extra security at his beach bar during the first two weeks of July.

It’s all a familiar story to another young woman, a shop assistant, who gives a wry smile when we ask about the July frenzy and says: ‘The way they behave is just so selfish.

‘The other day when we opened the whole street was just covered with shattered glass.

‘They have thrown barriers and debris off the cliff, but as soon as the police show up their parents all drive down and pick them up, so they don’t get into any trouble.’

Cleaner Katherine Perkins, who lives in Polzeath and has to tidy up homes when the occupants depart, adds: ‘The amount of rubbish gets really bad. We end up picking up after them. It’s really frustrating. They don’t have any respect for the local people.’

But for all those who despair when the rich kids arrive, it is incredibly lucrative.

One businessman told the Daily Mail that he estimates the first two weeks of July alone pump an estimated £1million into the local economy.

As for police, they say last week’s 48-hour dispersal order was an ‘unusual step’ and that it was the ‘behaviour of a few’ that was detrimental to the wider community.

Inspector Adam Stonehill told the Daily Mail: ‘We’re pleased to report that there’s been a significant reduction in antisocial behaviour in Polzeath as a result of our response, including the introduction of the dispersal order, foot patrols and engagement with young people.

‘We will continue to take a proactive approach across summer, with officers maintaining a visible presence in the town, engaging with visitors and residents, removing alcohol from any underage drinkers and responding robustly to incidents reported to us.

‘Polzeath remains a safe, vibrant and welcoming destination, and we look forward to welcoming visitors over the coming weeks and months.’

Nobody wants to be a killjoy, but the residents of Polzeath are also quite looking forward to the coming weeks, when ice creams and pasties replace drunken antics behind the local coffee van.

In the wake of growing national interest in the approach, York and North Yorkshire’s business community gathered earlier this month to discuss what meaningful, place-based growth looks like and why the region is well-placed to lead the conversation.

The Meaningful Business Network’s third annual conference, held at York’s Priory Street Centre, brought together senior representatives from Siemens Energy, PwC, Aviva, and the University of York, alongside SMEs, social enterprises, and local authorities.

Katie Wytwyckyj, programme manager for the Meaningful Business Network, said: “Today shows what happens when a region commits to working differently.

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“York and North Yorkshire has the ideas, the ambition and the shared purpose to lead the place-based growth agenda and meaningful partnerships can turn that agenda into real impact.

“The energy in this network is real and it’s exactly what will drive change that benefits everyone who lives and works here.”

Robin Sundaram, a sustainability and community impact adviser, reinforced the need for joint working rooted in local priorities.

He described place-based collaboration as now central to economic resilience, and pointed to local procurement as one of the most effective ways to strengthen supply chains and keep value circulating within the community.

Paddy Schmidt of PwC shared findings from the consultancy’s Good Growth for Cities report 2025, which ranked York first in the UK for performance on jobs, youth and adult skills, income distribution, health and high streets.

Siemens Energy representative Chris Mackinnon offered a real-world example of place-focused growth.

The conference took place in York recently (Image: Pic supplied)

He highlighted Hull’s transformation through offshore wind and said that success depended not just on investment, but on long-term collaboration with suppliers, colleges, the council, and the wider community, underpinned by clear and consistent policy.

Professor Kiran Trehan, pro vice-chancellor for partnerships and engagement at the University of York, said: “Our job is to be more than just voices, it’s to ensure that the people in this room are around the tables where decisions are being made now.

“Change happens when we work as a collective and create that movement for change.

“There’s only one way to do business and that’s the right way, the responsible way.”

Rob Wolfe, managing director of Chy Consultancy, spoke about the power of procurement and social value in shaping stronger communities.

He emphasised that businesses of all sizes have an important role in creating meaningful places.

The Meaningful Business Network, a partnership between Enterprise Works and the University of York’s School for Business and Society, supports organisations across York and North Yorkshire with events, workshops, and practical resources to embed social value into everyday business decisions.

More information is available at https://www.york.ac.uk/enterprise-works/meaningful-business-network/

The drama before the ‘low-key family meeting’ was quite the media whirlwind.

But since Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, met the King and Queen for tea at Highgrove last Friday, all has been silent.

Just as I revealed in these pages three weeks ago, the conditions of the reconciliation were that there were to be no cameras in the room, no briefings and no Instagram posts about jam or anything else.

To these strictures, an apparently humbled Harry agreed ‘in a heartbeat’ and he has been as good as his word.

As a friend of his says: ‘Harry was never going to let the kids down, they were so invested in the trip.

‘They FaceTime with Charles all the time, so they already have a relationship but they were so excited to finally come. It was their first proper chance to meet.’

Meghan, 44, had not visited the UK since the Queen’s funeral in September 2022. The children meanwhile had not been in the UK since the Platinum Jubilee in June that year.

Queen Camilla, described by Harry as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ who left ‘bodies in the street’ in a television interview to promote Spare just three years ago, sat out his previous (brief) meeting with the King in February 2024. This time, significantly, she was also there.

However, this week People magazine – long understood to be the unofficial Sussex mouthpiece – reported that there was actually ‘a lot of sadness’ over how the week unfolded.

A friend of Harry’s said that he was ‘never going to let the kids down’ as ‘they were so invested in the trip’ to see their grandfather, King Charles

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Meghan was upset not to be able to be by her husband’s side in public and the fact that the chaos over their security arrangements was hashed out in public left her feeling ‘humiliated’.

But in the end the most important objective was achieved and those close to the Prince say that this significant step towards making peace with his father was actually all that mattered.

He was said to feel ‘buoyed’ and ‘energised’ after the meeting and certainly was in high spirits the following day fooling around with water bombs and goat yoga at Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire, for the Scotty’s Little Soldiers charity, which supports bereaved military children.

But then I can reveal what was at stake was more than simply a grandfather, who has not been in the best of health, spending time with his grandchildren or even healing the wounds caused by Oprah, Spare, Harry & Meghan on Netflix, the court actions against the Home Office and all the rest of it – the Sussexes are seeking to reverse Megxit.

It seems that a return to the UK is being contemplated in some form and that the couple’s holiday home in Portugal will be used as a staging post back to Britain.

I’m told there are two key reasons for this.

A friend of Prince Harry says: ‘There is definitely a feeling in his camp that he has started to feel a bit unwelcome in America.

‘That has been an increasing and significant shift in sentiment, a feeling that the American dream might not be all that it was cracked up to be.

‘I am told that this is coming from Meghan as well as from him. I hear that Meghan is all for rekindling with and reconnecting with Harry’s English side. She is fully behind it.’

Their dwindling star power and the end of their deals with Spotify and Netflix must surely play a part, as must Meghan’s fading popularity among the supporters, like Ted Sarandos of Netflix, who had previously been her cheerleaders.

The source adds: ‘England is where Harry’s heart has always lain. It is no secret that they went to the States to try and seek their fortune, to try to capitalise on his fame and his royalty to some degree.

‘They have had successes. A $100million Netflix deal is not nothing.

‘But that American dream is cooling and she feels an outcast status as well.

‘She feels like she is trying to push fresh thoughts and projects but it is not easy. So maybe enough water has now passed under the bridge here for some form of a return.’

That’s not a permanent or imminent return, but to hear it being mooted still feels like a bombshell.

Another source, who is less sympathetic to the Sussexes, says they suspect a different kind of cooling may lie behind the manoeuvres.

The source said: ‘I don’t think he’s ever wanted to be estranged from his family. I think when he was madly in love with Meghan he could be blind enough to choose her. Now things are different, and the veil is lifting.’

Harry was said to feel ‘buoyed’ and ‘energised’ and was in high spirits after fooling around with goat yoga at Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire, for the Scotty’s Little Soldiers charity

Travelling to the UK is going to be made easier by the Sussexes’ purchase of a home in Portugal, perhaps allowing Harry and Meghan to be ‘half in and half out’

Prince Harry still sees himself as a ‘working royal’, but there’s a growing acceptance by the Palace that he and Meghan will have to be busy commercially if they are to fund their expensive life, and expensive private security, in Montecito.

The couple want to carry on making money in the US and elsewhere, but to be treated as ‘working royals’ when in the UK.

The situation now is that Harry earns money from sustainable travel company Travalyst and business coaching firm BetterUp, and is trying to make money from the Archewell production company, while Meghan has her lifestyle company As Ever and gets commission from plugging outfits she has worn on an e-commerce platform. But Harry is also undertaking charity work with his patronages on UK soil and being welcomed by the King in his home.

It is a short hop from that reality to Harry and his family staying in a royal palace when he is next in the UK.

And if that protocol is established, which Harry apparently feels sure can happen next time, then he looks as ‘half in and half out’ – precisely what the late Queen barred the couple from doing – as you can imagine.

What we do know is that Harry will be back in September for another charity event.

There is an expectation that there will be another meeting with the King, and that he will accept an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace – in good time, this time.

(On this visit he declared that he had accepted the offer to stay at Buckingham Palace but it then transpired that he had left it too late, and the offer had been withdrawn because it didn’t give staff enough notice.)

Next summer, he will be in Birmingham for all ten days of the Invictus Games and the plan is that Meghan will come with him for the whole thing. ‘If she is in the UK then they will want to bring the children too,’ says the friend.

If it is possible, I’m told he would like the children to see what he does and experience some of the atmosphere of the games, which are very close to his heart. Where might they stay? Highgrove would make perfect sense, geographically.

The view from the Palace side, as told to the Sunday Times, was that the King ‘will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because despite all the trouble, blood is blood’.

Crucially, this travelling to the UK is going to be made easier by the Sussexes’ purchase of a home in Portugal.

As revealed in October 2024 by Richard Eden in this newspaper, the home on a private estate in Alentejo is near to one owned by Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

A source says: ‘They had a house built in Portugal for the kids to be close to their royal side in case they want to participate. It’s in a private part, I’m not sure it’s finished yet. Meghan was having Soho House decorate it.’

Harry’s friend says: ‘The house in Portugal is a foot on the right side of the pond and I believe that they spent time there after being in the UK last week and before it as well. It’s striking distance for them to get to London.

‘Harry has no desire to be Eurotrash, he is very proudly British and English and wants to be in England but Portugal could be a kind of a stepping stone for a couple of years.’

The issue which vexed last week’s visit was security. Harry felt that the provision, unchanged for the past five years, wasn’t good enough.

He wanted RAVEC, the Home Office committee, to reassess the security he and his family were given, and he wanted his own private security to receive intelligence from the security services.

From the Palace side, the King has reportedly said he ‘will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because despite all the trouble, blood is blood’

What remains unresolved is the schism between Harry and his brother Prince William – but Harry’s friends claim the two men ‘do communicate’

According to briefings from Team Sussex, he believed this was going to happen but then, after announcing that he, Meghan and the children were coming to the UK together it became apparent that the security situation was unchanged. Within 24 hours, his PR team said that an ‘upset’ Prince had to reconsider everything in the light of their safety.

A few days on, a briefing document from his security team which said there were a number of credible terrorist threats to his safety somehow found its way to ITN News, to add to the pressure. Still nothing changed.

Meghan didn’t go to the Invictus ‘One Year To Go’ event, nor was she at his side for any public engagements. It felt like an ugly stalemate.

But she and the children still travelled privately to Highgrove, and are thought to have then gone on to Althorp to be hosted by Harry’s uncle, Earl Spencer, and pay a visit to his mother’s grave on the estate.

A friend says that despite appearances, and without going into operational details, security actually was ‘improved’ this time for the visit.

‘He would have liked full security from the start but that was not on the table. But what was on the table was a considerable upping of what was there previously. For that reason the visit was very much better and everything is in a better place. It is still baby steps, but there is reason to hope going forward.’

The Prince apparently believes his security will continue to improve and after the shocking murder of former MP Ann Widdecombe – that seems to be a fair assumption.

There’s no prospect of any further legal action from him against the Home Office – that legal action which had put his father in such a difficult position because he would not and could not intervene and which Harry lost on appeal last May. Indeed, I am told: ‘There are no more fights to come. That era has closed.’

The colossal defeat against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail, over wild allegations of bugging and hacking will, according to friends, be the very last time the Prince comes to court. ‘That’s it now, he is putting down his fists,’ says the friend.

The loss was ‘absolutely a no-go area for discussion’ during his visit.

The judgment was handed down on Tuesday last week, as Harry prepared to give a speech.

A friend says: ‘He was deeply disappointed but also somewhat embarrassed. He ended up with significant egg on his face.

‘The “CG” revelations [the release of a host of friendly messages in court between him and Mail on Sunday journalist Charlotte Griffiths] was a very embarrassing moment for him. The follow up piece in the Daily Mail last week [by Charlotte detailing their friendship] was mortifying, too.

‘It was a disaster which didn’t need to happen. He is shutting up about it – silence, silence silence now.’

First, though, he released an intemperate statement attacking the High Court Judge, Justice Nicklin, and saying the judgment was an ‘obvious whitewash’.

According to a well-sourced report in the Sunday Times last weekend, it caused astonishment in Palace circles.

‘There were jaws on the floor with a statement attacking not just a High Court judge but the entire judicial system that acts in the King’s name. There is profound upset constitutionally about that attack,’ a source said.

However, if he chooses to move on and be silent, there can surely only be relief for the Palace.

What remains unresolved is the schism between Harry and his brother Prince William, the heir to his spare.

Friends of Harry claim the two men ‘do communicate’ and say: ‘It would have been the most amazing signal to everybody if William had managed to be at Highgrove.’

That seems the faintest of prospects but Harry must be serious indeed about reconciliation to even talk about aiming for this outcome. As one Sussex source observes: ‘Everyone knows their future is not in his dad’s hands – it’s in his brother’s.’

After a World Cup repeatedly impacted by thunderstorms and with several games delayed due to adverse weather, there could be yet more weather-related disruption at this weekend’s final.

New York and New Jersey officials have issued an air quality health alert as a result of wildfire smoke caused by Canadian wildfires, which is affecting the entire northeast of the US and southern Canada.

Haze has blanketed the area and prompted concerns about residents’ health ahead of Sunday’s final, which is to be held at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The New York Office of Emergency Management said on Thursday that air quality levels in the city had reached “very unhealthy” levels and officials urged residents to avoid being outdoors for more than an hour at a time.

Spain landed in New Jersey on Wednesday night, the day after beating France in their semi-final, and trained outdoors on Thursday, where they appeared unaffected by the weather. Argentina will begin training in New Jersey on Friday.

While conditions have been poor in the latter half of this week they are expected to improve, after rain forecasted for Saturday was expected to further disperse some of the smoke.

The stadium for the final is entirely open-air but the expectation is that by that point the weather will no longer be an issue.

A National Women’s Soccer League match between Gotham FC and Washington Spirit took place on Wednesday night in Queens despite the poor air quality, with players mandated to take two breaks per half as a result.

“I want to be taken seriously as an actor now – I don’t just want to be the Elvis guy anymore”

He may be best known as one of Belfast’s most famous buskers but Jordan Devine (aka Jelvis Pelvis) is now branching out into the world of acting.

Co Tyrone man Jordan has become known far and wide since taking to the streets of Belfast and TikTok with his Elvis tribute act to “The King of Rock and Roll”, having first made a name for himself on The X Factor in 2016.

For the 29-year-old, the alteration into Jelvis Pelvis wasn’t a sudden decision but rather a natural evolution, as his appreciation for Elvis began at a young age.

Busking in Belfast has become Jordan’s stage for showcasing his tribute act, and his presence has been a huge hit with locals and visitors alike. He also moved to Liverpool for several months in recent years where he took to the streets of the Scouse city to showcase his Elvis-inspired act before returning to Belfast.

But now he’s turning his attention to acting and with Northern Ireland already producing hit series like Line of Duty and Blue Lights, Jordan hopes a dream role is just around the corner.

He told Belfast Live: “Acting has given people a different perspective of me. They used to just see me as Elvis and put me in that box, but now they’re seeing me more than that. People are looking at me differently and treating me differently.

“They now know I’m not just capable of doing Elvis on the street, I’m capable of so much more, and it really has helped. I want to be taken seriously as an actor now – I don’t just want to be the Elvis guy anymore.

“It has opened many opportunities for me and helped me get to where I am, but it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m studying my screen course with Shelley Lowry so acting is where I want to focus.

“Since I was younger, I’ve always been really into movies and TV shows and it’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a young age. I’ve always imagined myself on the screen and looked up to actors like Liam Neeson or Clint Eastwood.

“I like to watch limited series and dramas on ITV, BBC, and Netflix, so I would love to get a role one day in some sort of a crime drama or thriller movie, some sort of Irish production.”

When asked if he’s hung up his mic as Jelvis Pelvis, Jordan added: “I’ve just separated the two sides of my life and want to separate the Elvis character from my acting and everyday life because I don’t want to get too muddled up. I’m using a wig now and I’m not dyeing my hair anymore for Elvis.”

“I’d love maybe in 10 years to be on some TV show. I’ve put all the work into Elvis for four years, so I’m capable of putting the same amount of work into acting,” the Strabane native added.

“I have a high following online and people are being very encouraging towards my acting. Many people have a lot of belief in me and this is what I want to do. Anyone interested in me for a role can look at my content on my Instagram and TikTok (@jordandevineactor) and contact me there if you think I could be the right person to fit into your project.”

Video: Justin Kernoghan

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Melatonin is best known for helping us sleep. But a new study suggests it might have another surprising use: easing muscle and joint pain.

Produced naturally by the pineal gland in the brain at night, melatonin helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle. That’s why this hormone is widely used as a treatment for insomnia and jet lag.

Sleep and pain are closely linked (poor sleep can make pain feel worse, and pain can make sleep harder). But melatonin may also reduce pain directly. Researchers believe it dampens pain signals in the brain and spinal cord, reduces inflammation, calms overactive nerves and protects cells from oxidative stress – the cellular wear and tear caused when harmful molecules build up.

In the new study, researchers combined the results of 23 clinical trials involving over 2,000 participants to identify overall patterns. These trials looked at melatonin for long-term muscle and joint pain as well as pain after surgery.

Overall, melatonin reduced both pain and sleep problems in people with chronic muscle and joint pain. But the improvements were modest. On average, pain scores fell by about nine points on a 100-point scale. That’s within the range reported for some anti-inflammatory drugs in similar studies, although the two treatments haven’t been directly compared.

Melatonin’s effects may also depend on whether people already have sleep problems or other long-term health conditions. Most of the chronic pain studies included people who already had poor sleep to begin with, but none of the trials looked at results separately for people with and without sleep issues. Because of this, it’s unclear whether melatonin works better for people who struggle with sleep or whether the effects are similar for everyone.

The findings were much less convincing for pain after surgery. Melatonin did not make a noticeable difference to pain or sleep. One analysis found a tiny improvement (about 2.5 points on a 100-point pain scale), but this is far below what would matter to patients recovering from surgery.

The benefits in chronic muscle and joint pain are modest. Based on the current evidence, melatonin should be seen as a possible add-on treatment rather than a replacement for established therapies. The evidence suggests melatonin could complement treatments such as physiotherapy, exercise and anti-inflammatory medicines rather than replace them.

What we still don’t know

There is also still a lot we don’t know. The trials in this study used a wide range of doses, from 1mg to 10mg, and the researchers couldn’t determine which dose worked best.

There were hints that longer treatment helped more in chronic pain, but this was based on only a few studies. There is also very little evidence on the effectiveness of higher doses, even though they appear safe in other studies.

Melatonin is widely used and generally considered safe for short-term use, but it can cause side-effects, such as daytime sleepiness, dizziness, headaches and nausea.

People with liver or kidney conditions, or those with autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, should speak with a doctor or pharmacist before taking it.

It is also worth noting that melatonin is regulated very differently around the world. In the US, melatonin is sold as a dietary supplement, meaning people can buy it easily in supermarkets and online without medical advice. But in the UK, melatonin is a prescription-only medicine and is only licensed for short-term sleep problems and jet lag.

For now, the findings suggest melatonin may offer modest relief for some people with chronic muscle and joint pain, particularly if poor sleep is part of the problem. It’s unlikely to replace established treatments, but it could eventually earn a place alongside them. Larger, well-designed trials will be needed before doctors can say with confidence who is most likely to benefit.

Instagram users have taken to X to complain about problems with the app as reports of an outage continue to mount.

One user posted: “is instagram down again what is it so slow. It won’t load any posts.”

Another wrote: “is instagram down or something because no posts are coming up on my feed and when i refresh it, it says ‘welcome to instagram’.”

A third user said: “Is anyone else’s Instagram acting super weird today? Literally nothing is loading on any of my accounts.

“It logged me out of my account and it took me like five minutes to get back in. I got so scared.”

Harrogate-based Armexis has confirmed 90 letters of intent and pre-orders for its armoured vehicles, following recent orders for four armoured vehicles destined for Ukraine worth £17.5 million.

First deliveries are expected next year and include tracked armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

Richard Matthews, group CEO of Armexis, said: “The response to Armexis has been extraordinary.

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The UGV (T) 23 Pathfinder Fleet (Image: Pic supplied)

“Receiving letters of intent and pre-orders for 90 platforms is a major validation of the capability we are developing and the urgent requirement that exists for modern armoured vehicles that can be designed, manufactured and supported from the United Kingdom.

“This is not simply about building vehicles.

“It is about restoring and strengthening sovereign land capability, creating skilled British jobs, supporting allies and ensuring that the UK has the industrial capacity to respond when it matters most.”

Armexis manufactures both manned and unmanned defence platforms.

The UGV (T)23 Pioneer (Image: Pic supplied)

Mr Matthews said: “The unmanned market is one of the most exciting and important areas of modern capability, and Armexis has the ambition and technical foundation to play a meaningful role in that space.”

He emphasised the company’s need for further support to achieve its goals.

The ARMEXIS team (Image: Pic supplied)

Mr Matthews said: “We now need the right strategic investment, partners and people around us to help complete this mission.

“We are looking for individuals and organisations who understand the importance of national resilience, who believe in British engineering, and who want to play a meaningful role in strengthening the safety and security of the nation.”

To support its expansion, Armexis aims to build a highly skilled workforce of more than 4,000 direct employees by 2030.

The UGV (T) 23 Pathfinder (Image: The UGV (T) 23 Pathfinder)

The company is actively seeking investment and talent to grow engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing operations—including senior roles such as a finance director and design engineers.

Mr Matthews said: “The strength of Armexis will be built by the people who join us.

“We need hard-working, dedicated and highly capable individuals who believe in what we are doing and understand the seriousness of the mission.

The UGV (T) 23 Apocalypse (Image: Pic supplied)

“This is an opportunity to be part of something nationally important from an early stage.

“We are building a British defence manufacturer with the ambition, urgency and technical capability to support the UK, our allies and those on the front line who depend on reliable, protected mobility.”

The company is also exploring options for a larger manufacturing facility to support expanded production and employment, with discussions already underway involving local authorities.