Prime Minister Andy Burnham has argued that parliament should wait before returning to assisted dying until palliative and social care are properly funded. His intervention comes before MPs are due to debate a new assisted-dying bill for England and Wales on September 11.

Public debate often centres on people with terminal illnesses who are experiencing unbearable suffering and want greater control over how they die. Burnham’s argument raises a wider question: can a choice be fully voluntary when access to palliative care, social care, suitable housing or practical support restricts the alternatives someone believes are available?

Supporters argue that failures in care should be addressed without indefinitely denying terminally ill adults an autonomous choice. Our comparative analysis of parliamentary debates in Canada and England and Wales nevertheless shows why the language surrounding that choice deserves attention.

Politicians sometimes present choosing when and how to die as an expression of independence, courage or dignity. Others suggest that avoiding dependence on relatives or public services can be part of behaving responsibly in later life. A 2025 ethical analysis argues that framing assisted death as both an autonomous choice and a social responsibility could create pressure on older people who need care.

This does not establish that requests are generally caused by poverty, pressure or inadequate services. But it does raise questions about how circumstances can shape a decision without amounting to direct coercion.

Different systems

Canada’s medical assistance in dying law, known as Maid, allows practitioner-administered and self-administered deaths, although every recorded Canadian Maid provision in 2024 was practitioner-administered.

The terminally ill adults (end of life) bill would create a narrower system in England and Wales. It would apply to adults with decision-making capacity who have an inevitably progressive illness or disease and are reasonably expected to die within six months. They would have to take the final action that causes their death themselves.

Suffering is not a separate eligibility requirement. The bill instead requires a clear, settled and informed wish, made voluntarily and without coercion or pressure from another person.

MP Lauren Edwards reintroduced the bill in June 2026 after the previous version passed the Commons but fell because it did not complete its Lords stages before the parliamentary session ended. Its second reading is scheduled for September 11.

Canada’s law also changed after its introduction. Following the Supreme Court decision in Carter v Canada, parliament legalised Maid in 2016 for adults with a grievous and irremediable condition, advanced irreversible decline, enduring intolerable suffering and a reasonably foreseeable natural death.

In 2021, parliament removed foreseeable death as an eligibility requirement. Canada now distinguishes between Track 1 cases, in which natural death is reasonably foreseeable, and Track 2 cases, in which it is not. England and Wales would not inevitably follow the same course, but Canada shows that eligibility rules and safeguards can be substantially revised after legalisation.

What Canadian evidence can show

Health Canada recorded 16,499 Maid provisions in 2024. Of these, 95.6% were Track 1 and 4.4% were Track 2.

The distribution across neighbourhood income groups was broadly similar to that of all people who died from natural causes. Track 2 recipients were slightly more likely than this comparison group to live in the lowest-income neighbourhoods. Compared with Track 1 recipients, they were also slightly younger and more likely to be women or live alone. More lived in neighbourhoods with high residential instability.

These area-level measures do not reveal an individual’s income, housing conditions or reasons for requesting Maid. They cannot establish whether disadvantage contributed to a particular decision.

An Ontario chief coroner’s committee examined three deliberately selected Track 2 deaths involving possible social or structural vulnerability, including isolation, unsuitable housing and inadequate support. The committee stressed that the cases were not representative. They show the questions unmet needs can arise during an assessment without indicating how often these circumstances occur.

Practitioners reported that 74.1% of all recipients had received palliative care, compared with 23.2% of Track 2 recipients. The groups had different illnesses and proximity to death, and the figures do not establish whether available care was appropriate or adequate.

Small qualitative studies show that bereavement experiences vary. Interviews with nine people found that knowing the date of death could allow farewells and family rituals while creating an emotionally intense countdown. A separate study of 12 people who had experienced disagreement around Maid, documented unacknowledged pain and disenfranchised grief. Neither study shows how common these experiences are.

Choice and social circumstances

Our analysis suggests that praising assisted death as inherently brave or dignified risks creating an implicit contrast with people who continue to need care. Treating avoidance of dependence as socially responsible may reinforce fears of becoming a burden.

The England and Wales bill requires two doctors and a review panel to assess eligibility. Doctors must examine relevant records, make inquiries of health and social care professionals where appropriate, and discuss available treatment, palliative care, hospice care, symptom management and psychological support.

These are substantial safeguards. The bill does not, however, list an applicant’s reasons or unmet social needs as separate eligibility tests. Nor does it expressly require assessors to decide whether inadequate care or housing has narrowed the alternatives the applicant believes are available. A person may feel like a burden even when nobody has pressured them directly.

Reliable monitoring would therefore need information about applicants’ circumstances, access to care and reasons for requesting assistance. Canada’s data shows how difficult it is to assess inequality when official records rely heavily on neighbourhood measures and contain limited information about unmet needs.

Personal choice remains central to the case for assisted dying. Parliament should also consider how care shortages, isolation and fear of dependence may shape that choice before changing the law.

The incident began at around 12.55pm this afternoon (Thursday, August 6), when fire services were called to the scene due to a collision between the motorcyclist and a van.

One fire engine was called to the scene, taking around 35 minutes to ensure the area was safe before leaving.

(Image: David Wilkinson)

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue: “At 12.55pm on Thursday, August 6, one fire engine from Bolton Central was called to a road traffic incident between a motorbike and van on Park Road, Westhoughton.

“Crews arrived quickly and made the area safe and were on the scene for approximately 35 minutes.”

Greater Manchester Police also stated: “It was a minor road traffic collision involving a motorbike and a van. No injuries reported, no arrests made.”

The incident took place at the junction between Park Road and Captain Lees Road, near the Unsworth Group Practice.

Westhoughton Cllr David Chadwick said: “It’s a difficult one. As we get more and more development in the area it increases the likelihood of these things happening.

“Park Road has become an arterial route.”

Park Road is a particularly busy road, and is frequently the site of crashes.

In April, Park Road was the site of a motorcycle crash which left the rider ‘seriously injured.’

There was another collision later that same day, this time involving a car.

Cllr David Wilkinson, who saw the latest crash, said: “By the time I arrived we just saw the fire engines and all the motorbikes.

“Everybody was just stood around looking at it.

“It seems like every time I look on my phone at the moment there’s another crash story.

“It’s one of the reasons I get so concerned about potholes. With four wheels it can be dangerous, but with two wheels you can be killed.”

Adding to difficulties for drivers, there is also work being undertaken further up the road on a large pothole.

Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, known as Lisa, was found dead in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens on Saturday, July 18

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The family of a Scots woman murdered in Greece have spoken of their “deep pain” following her tragic death. Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, known as Lisa, was discovered by a homeless man in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens on Saturday, July 18.

The missionary has been described by her loved ones as “selfless”, with those closest to her adding that she “dedicated her life to helping others in need”. Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, appeared before a court in the Greek capital facing suspicion of killing the aid worker, alongside weapons offences and robbery charges.

Lisa had travelled to Greece from Edinburgh on Friday, June 26 and had initially been staying with friends in Piraeus, a port district of Athens.

Her family said: “Lisa will always be remembered by us as kind, principled and selfless.

“Her integrity was absolute, and she dedicated her life to helping others in need. We are in deep pain, and we ask for time and privacy as we come to terms with our loss.”

On Thursday, Ahmadzai — a professional boxer from Afghanistan — attended the Court of First Instance in Athens, where he was held on charges of illegal weapons possession and homicide with intent. Ahmadzai’s solicitor Christos Erdos confirmed his client remained silent throughout Thursday’s hearing, reports the Daily Record.

He entered no plea in connection with any of the three charges he faces. It is understood he denies murder and claims he discovered Lisa already dead on the bathroom floor.

The court complex is situated on the city’s Evelpidon Street, a short distance from the derelict building where the charity worker’s body was discovered. Floral tributes have been laid on the ground beside the structure, with one card bearing the words “Elisabeth-Jane Ross. Rest in peace” written in Greek.

Police confirmed the suspect was taken in for questioning after investigators examined nearby surveillance camera footage. Following the alleged killing of Ms Ross, Ahmadzai is accused of sending a series of messages from her phone to her friends and family before switching the device off.

He is then alleged to have purchased another phone and texted her friends in Athens, including his wife, while impersonating an unnamed jihadist claiming he had killed the Scot because of her religion, Greek newspapers Proto Thema and Ta Nea reported.

The newspapers revealed that his wife, a US citizen named Alaina Hall, told police she had grown suspicious of her husband’s involvement in the killing when she awoke to find him absent from their apartment and tracked his phone to the location where Ms Ross had been staying.

Ahmadzai’s lawyer has also claimed that his rights “have been violated”. In a statement released to the media, Paraschis-Erdas and Associates said that the leak of “information and documents” amounted to the violation.

The firm claimed that there were “no injuries whatsoever” and that “there was a complete absence of any obvious cause of death”.

The statement went on to say: “His approach toward the prosecutorial and investigating authorities was therefore not one of refusal to cooperate, but rather one of reservation, so that he could provide a full statement once the case file had been completed with the above essential documents.

“These documents had not been sought by the pre-trial investigating authorities. The sole objective is to establish the substantive truth, for the benefit of both sides.”

Ms Ross is thought to have passed away several days before she was discovered, during a period when temperatures soared to 36C. Authorities were able to confirm her identity through fingerprint analysis.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time. We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson commented: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece. Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”

“They’ve seen their fares go up. They do not care about New York. And quite frankly, I just want to make sure that here in London, the Mayor of London does not increase fares anymore until his office, finds a way to reduce the level of fare evasion, because we are literally subsidising criminal activity on our network.”

The show had been scheduled to open today (Thursday, August 6), at Sunderland Empire, but has now been postponed until Thursday, August 13, due to “technical requirements”.

The delay has led to the cancellation of performances originally planned for the first week – and affected ticket holders have been offered vouchers to rebook.

However, one fan claimed: “The same tickets are more! How do you work that out?”

Another simply said: “Not impressed!”

The postponement came just days before the start of the show’s UK tour, which was originally meant to begin in Woking before being shifted to Sunderland.

Burlesque the Musical is based on the 2010 film starring Christina Aguilera and Cher, which featured hit songs such as Express, Show Me How You Burlesque, and Cher’s Golden Globe-winning You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.

The stage adaptation made its debut in Manchester in the summer of 2024 before moving to Glasgow and then London’s Savoy Theatre.

It was due to return to London for a run at the new Arts Theatre in Marble Arch this September, but that engagement has now been postponed until 2027.

The revised schedule means Sunderland is now the first stop of the tour, though its run at the Empire will be shortened by a week due to the delays.

The last-minute change has caused frustration for many who had planned to attend during the original opening week.

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2015

A rapist who died inside a Cambridgeshire prison “had been dead for some time” before his body was found by prison officers. Jason Sedgwick, 40, died at HMP Littlehey on January 25 following convictions for a number of sex offfences which happened in Long Eaton in Derbyshire more than 10 years ago.

He pleaded guilty to rape in 2015 and was handed a 16-year jail sentence. Derby Crown Court heard how he had raped a woman on the grounds of Long Eaton Library after a night out. He was also sentenced for two sexual assaults which happened before the rape. He denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury on both counts.

The Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) launched an investigation inth Sedgwick’s death in January after his cause of death was confirmed to be cardiac arrhythmia and ischaemic heart disease. The PPO found that prison officers failed to properly check on Sedgwick during routine head counts, which meant he had likely been dead for some time before his body was found.

The report also found that his health was not properly monitored. Sedgwick had a BMI of 40 in 2022, which is well above the NHS‘ ‘obese’ threshold which is set at 30. In a post-mortem, Sedgwick’s weight was recorded as 128kg, 10kg less than when his last BMI measurement had been taken four years prior.

Sedgwick was transferred to HMP Littlehey in June 2021 from HMP Nottingham, and before this change he had seen a nurse and had been prescribed 28 days’ worth of medication for sciatica, anxiety and depression. But when a GP saw Sedgwick for a medication review 10 days before his death, he was still taking the sciatica medication, which he was then advised against because of the risk of developing stomach and kidney issues.

Sedgwick said he wanted to continue on the medication as it was managing his pain and his blood pressure was acceptable. But the PPO found that he didn’t regularly attend the prison’s healthcare department and he hadn’t undergone an NHS health check before his death. The health check would have measured his liver function and cholestrol levels to determine his risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.

Following his death, more than 1,000 tablets were found under his bed. Whilst toxicology reports didn’t identify an excess of medication in his system at his time of death, the PPO said it was “concerning” that this had not been monitored.

The PPO also said that the officer’s head count on the day of the 40-year-old’s death was “ineffective”. When Sedgwick’s cell was checked during the 7am roll check on the day of his death, the prison officer didn’t turn on the night light. He claims it was dark and he didn’t have a torch as these aren’t provided by the prison. He claimed he could hear Sedgwick snoring and “interpreted it as a sign of life before moving on with his checks”.

At 8.45am on the same morning, another officer started unlocking prisoners and when opening Sedgwick’s cell, found him face down on the floor. When he was found, he was “cold and rigid”. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead at 9.21am.

The prison’s head of safety told the PPO that at the time of Sedgwick’s death, the prison didn’t give staff torches however they have now been purchased for night staff.

An inquest into Sedgwick’s death on July 9 concluded that he died of natural causes. He’s the 42nd inmate to die at the prison since January 2022. Of those previous deaths, 37 were natural causes and four were self-inflicted.

The Prison Service has been contacted for comment.

Cambourne residents have voiced strong objections to retirement flat plans, with concerns over expected amenities including a pub for the South Cambridgeshire town

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CambridgeshireLive readers have been debating proposals for Cambourne’s centre, the prospect of a new pub, and whether previous pledges have been honoured. Numerous comments centred on trust, finances, and what the town genuinely requires at present.

Residents have been left feeling frustrated over plans for retirement apartments after being “promised” a pub or community facility. Should the application receive approval, land off Back Lane, north of the Holiday Inn Express in Cambourne, would be transformed into 58 retirement apartments.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Planning Committee is scheduled to examine the proposals at a meeting on August 12, 2026. Cambourne Town Council said the application has “attracted significant interest and objections from members of our community”, noting that the Committee’s decision will be “an important one for Cambourne”.

The application, lodged by McCarthy Stone Retirement Lifestyles Limited, seeks to provide 58 apartments for individuals of retirement age and older. Of the 58 apartments, 39 would comprise one-bedroom units and 19 would be two-bedroom properties.

One of our readers, Fatsi comments: “We were promised 2 million pounds of new shops, then they said there were sewer pipes in the way. They closed down the police station and still haven’t told us why. We were promised a McMullens pub on that land, and all we get in Great Cambourne is retirement flats they can’t sell.”

Calumen Nomen said: “Pubs are closing by the dozen. No one is going to open a new one as long as this miserable excuse for a government is in place.”

2ndincommand writes: “Developers say all sorts of things in their applications. When Cambourne was first mooted, there was a golf course and an ice rink in it. What happened to them?”

Over on our Facebook page, Kevin S asks: “Does any company WANT to put one of their pubs there?”

Jayne R comments: “Retirement apartments, when I went to the concept centre years ago, when Cambourne was in its infancy, there were no plans for anything like that or social housing. Now they want a pub? Oh well, another slum in the making. Cambourne already has plenty of retirement flats which aren’t selling. More social facilities are needed in the centre of the town.”

What do you think would be the best option for Cambourne? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section or HERE.

The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak on the night of Wednesday, August 12, into the early hours of Thursday, August 13, with the best views after midnight and before dawn

Stargazers across the Scotland are in for a rare treat this August as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak just hours after a partial solar eclipse.

The timing means astronomy enthusiasts could witness two major celestial events on the same day, with the eclipse occurring during the evening before the meteor shower produces a spectacular display overnight.

When will the Perseid meteor shower peak?

The Perseids will reach their peak on the night of Wednesday, August 12, into the early hours of Thursday, August 13.

The optimal time to observe the most meteors will be after midnight and before dawn, when the radiant – the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate – sits higher above the horizon.

During the peak, observers in locations with dark skies could witness dozens of meteors every hour, with the shower capable of generating up to around 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.

What causes the Perseid meteor shower?

The Perseids are amongst the most renowned meteor showers of the year and occur when Earth passes through a trail of dust and debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.

As tiny fragments of space rock enter Earth’s atmosphere at tremendous speeds, they burn up, producing bright streaks of light across the night sky.

The meteors are known for being particularly striking because they are often bright, fast and can leave glowing trails in their wake.

Will the solar eclipse affect the meteor shower?

The partial solar eclipse will occur earlier on August 12, with the Moon passing across the face of the Sun during the evening hours.

The eclipse will not affect the Perseids later that night, and the timing could actually improve conditions for viewing the meteor shower.

The eclipse will begin shortly before 6pm in parts of Scotland, with the maximum eclipse taking place at around 7pm before the event ends at around 8pm. Exact timings will vary depending on location.

Edinburgh solar eclipse timings

• Eclipse begins: 6.08pm
• Maximum eclipse: 7.05pm
• Eclipse ends: 8.00pm
• Maximum coverage: Around 91% of the Sun

Glasgow solar eclipse timings

• Eclipse begins: 6.08pm
• Maximum eclipse: 7.06pm
• Eclipse ends: 8.00pm
• Maximum coverage: Around 91% of the Sun

Inverness solar eclipse timings

• Eclipse begins: 6.05pm
• Maximum eclipse: 7.03pm
• Eclipse ends: 7.57pm
• Maximum coverage: Around 91% of the Sun

Fort William solar eclipse timings

• Eclipse begins: 6.06pm
• Maximum eclipse: 7.04pm
• Eclipse ends: 7.59pm
• Maximum coverage: Around 92% of the Sun

Lerwick solar eclipse timings

• Eclipse begins: 6.01pm
• Maximum eclipse: 6.58pm
• Eclipse ends: 7.52pm
• Maximum coverage: Around 88% of the Sun

A new moon means there will be very little natural light in the sky, making it easier to spot fainter meteors once darkness descends.

Best places to watch the Perseids.

For the greatest chance of seeing shooting stars, experts advise seeking out a location well away from streetlights and built-up areas.

Open countryside, beaches, parks and other spots with wide, unobstructed views of the sky offer the most favourable conditions.

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Allow your eyes time to adjust to the darkness beforehand, and avoid looking at your phone as the bright screen can hamper night vision.

No specialist equipment is required, with the meteors best observed with the naked eye as they can appear anywhere across the sky.

Weather will determine how much of the display is visible

Clear skies will be absolutely vital for anyone hoping to catch the Perseids at their spectacular best. Cloud cover may obscure visibility, however the meteor shower remains active from mid-July through to late August, meaning there should still be plenty of opportunities to catch shooting stars around the peak period.

With a partial solar eclipse followed by one of the year’s most popular meteor showers, August 12 could become one of the biggest dates in the 2026 astronomy calendar.

A former Cambridge professor embroiled in a plagiarism scandal once claimed he was awarded an MBE in an interview he later asked to be scrubbed from the web, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Jason Arday resigned on Wednesday from the university, where he had become a poster boy for diversity as its youngest ever black professor, after an investigation was launched into dubious claims on his CV.

It followed an avalanche of revelations about seemingly tall tales from the 41-year-old’s past, as well as allegations he had copied parts of his PhD from another student.

The latest bizarre development earlier today involved claims he was paid ‘1.4million’ for his memoirs.

The saga now threatens to overshadow the expected publication next week of his memoir, Great and Unfortunate Things, which describes how he overcame autism so severe it left him non-verbal until the age of 11 to rise to the top of academia.

Yet one particularly extraordinary episode from his life does not feature anywhere in the book, despite Professor Arday once talking about it on a podcast: being awarded, but apparently declining, an MBE.

In a 2023 interview with the Before Our Friends Die podcast, he described how his supposedly prolific fundraising for charity had led to him being offered the honour in 2017.

The episode has since been deleted from the show’s YouTube channel, but audio of the interview has been obtained by the Mail.

Arday’s biography ‘Great and Unfortunate Things’ is due to be published on Tuesday in the US

Critics have accused Professor Arday, pictured on This Morning in 2023, of taking chunks of his PhD thesis from research by another student, leading him to admit errors in his work

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In it, Professor Arday says: ‘In 2017, I was awarded an MBE for services to charity. For me, there were two things: there’s a lot of people who do amazing work and helped me get to that point, so if there’s a way of acknowledging it, that would be the first thing.

‘But the thing that’s probably bigger than that is – for me personally – you can’t critique empire and do work on race and accept that kind of award.

‘There are situations where you get your integrity compromised and you’ve got to make a choice.’

Professor Arday does not explicitly state he turned down the award, but there is no mention of his name in either the New Year’s Honour list or Birthday Honours list for that year.

Nor has the academic described being awarded an MBE or grappling with such a seismic life event in his 336-page memoir or any of the talks and interviews he has given either before or since.

The Cabinet Office does not comment on individual honours and details of individuals who have refused honours are kept confidential.

Sources have told the Mail that the reason the podcast mysteriously disappeared from the internet was due to a request from Professor Arday himself.

The academic is understood to have contacted the podcast hosts last year and asked that they delete the episode from their archive, citing unspecified ‘security’ concerns.

Professor Arday was approached for comment about his purported MBE award and asked why he had ensured the podcast was deleted, but no response was provided prior to publication.

It comes after The Guardian revealed on Thursday that Arday told them publisher Simon and Schuster had offered ‘1.4million’ for a ‘pre-empt’ deal, a high early offer for a book before auction.

Industry experts suggested the payment was very high but possible if the company’s UK and US arms had teamed up to buy the book and sought worldwide rights.

But one senior publisher said a book like this would normally sell about 5,000 copies – and with £2 of royalty per copy, that would equate to an advance of £10,000.

Arday gave no currency for the amount during his interview, which is likely either £1.4million or $1.4million (£1million). Simon and Schuster has not confirmed the sum.

Separately, it has been revealed that the head of Arday’s former Cambridge faculty claimed that he was appointed after the university listened to its black students.

Professor Hilary Cremin, head of Cambridge’s faculty of education, spoke prior to Arday’s much-heralded appointment as professor of sociology of education in 2023.

She told the BBC that these conversations with black students had helped Cambridge to ‘face up to some of the structural issues that people face’ at the university.

Professor Cremin was asked questions by Arday about his appointment, including: ‘How can this become the norm?’

She replied: ‘We’ve listened to the voices of our black scholars and our black students and some of it has not been easy to hear, to be honest, but we’re able to face up to some of the structural issues that people face.’

Arday also asked Professor Cremin what she thought about people claiming his was a ‘tokenistic appointment’.

She replied: ‘The board of electors on your interview day were absolutely unanimous. We are so lucky to have you. You are the best in the world in terms of the research that you do.’

Questions about the academic’s life and career have not been quelled by his dramatic resignation as professor of sociology of education at Cambridge on Wednesday night.

Professor Arday had struck a defiant tone in his resignation statement, refusing to accept any wrongdoing and condemning ‘an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack’ against him.

But in a surreal twist, social media users were quick to notice that his statement was judged to be AI-generated when run through specialist detection software.

Pangram – which is widely considered to be one of the most accurate AI detection tools available – returns a conclusion that ‘100 percent of this text is AI’ when asked to analyse Professor Arday’s statement.

The company, however, warns its tool has a ‘non-zero error rate’ and says its findings should be treated as ‘one signal among many’, rather than as conclusive proof, in disciplinary or legal proceedings.

Professor Arday was approached for comment about whether he used AI to write his resignation statement, but no response was provided prior to publication.

The announcement by Cambridge that the former star academic would be investigated over claims about his ‘academic qualifications and honorary appointments’ also led to an apparent exodus among his supporters.

Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, the celebrated psychologist, and Sonita Alleyne, master of Jesus College, where Professor Arday was a fellow, quietly removed their names from an open letter published by the Left-wing campaign group Good Law Project which had accused ‘Right-wing newspapers’ of trying to ‘smear’ him with ‘fake accusations of plagiarism’.

Professor Arday was initially backed by Cambridge, which had condemned a ‘vile campaign to undermine his credibility’.

But after the Daily Mail revealed a string of universities disputed Arday’s claims that he held academic posts with them, the university yesterday announced it was taking action.

Announcing its investigation into Professor Arday this week, the University of Cambridge said: ‘While we are fully aware of the public commentary and concerns around this matter, it remains vital that any process is thorough and adheres to both university policies and employment law.

‘We also fully recognise that there is a person at the centre of this situation, and we continue to provide support to him.

‘We are aware that Jesus College, Cambridge, will be taking their own steps in relation to some of these matters.’

Sarah Nelson, who was unable to get to work in Manchester, was one of a number of affected passengers who told BBC Your Voice about their disruption.

She said she faced a “nightmare” five-hour round trip to just get back to her home in Blackpool.

The remedial massage therapist’s train was stuck at Horwich Parkway for more than 90 minutes.

Chris, a technology consultant, travelled to Manchester from Scotland on Wednesday on business.

He said he would likely book a hotel for the night, despite the expense and inconvenience, describing the delay as “costly, inconvenient… frustrating”.

“We’re still being told there is no power to any of the trains, no electricity – and they don’t expect anything to run today until the end of the day,” he said.

“I will have to get a hotel here and see if I can get home tomorrow.”

A couple returning from a trip to Gibraltar were planning to get a train home to Clitheroe, Lancashire, after landing at Manchester Airport.

But Matt and Sarah had to book an Uber to take them home instead, adding it was “costing a fortune”.

Stacey was among passengers who were evacuated from a train that stopped prematurely in Manchester when signalling failed.

The 38-year-old office worker, who was travelling from Deansgate to Leyland, Lancashire, paid £60 for a taxi home.

“The train stopped when the signals went,” she said, praising the “phenomenal” staff for their “calm and professional” efforts organising a controlled evacuation from the viaduct.