Start now and you could have red-breasted visitors right through winter

If you’re dreaming of a robin popping into your garden like a living Christmas card, the key is to start before winter comes. By putting out the right food and water through early autumn and keeping it up every day, you can teach these red-breasted birds that your garden is a reliable destination.

Wildlife advice says consistency matters most because robins return to places that keep meeting their needs when natural pickings drop. Begin in September and keep going through October and November, and you’ve got a better chance of seeing the same bird come back to eat, drink and maybe even settle nearby, when Christmas arrives.

What should you offer?

The three strongest crowd-pleasers are mealworms (live or dried), suet pellets or balls, and sunflower hearts. Extras like crushed unsalted peanuts and soft fruit (berries, raisins or chopped apple) are also proving popular.

How you present the food is just as important as robins prefer to feed close to the ground rather than from hanging feeders, according to the RSPB. A low or sheltered bird feeder suits them far better, ideally positioned somewhere that predators like cats cannot easily approach undetected, reports the Mirror.

A garden that offers ‘real’ foraging opportunities can be even more tempting than a feeder alone. Leaving a couple of wilder corners encourages worms and beetles, giving robins the kind of hunting they’re built for.

Don’t pile food out like a buffet. Put down only what will be eaten within a day, then reduce the amount if leftovers remain and clear anything that could attract pests.

Water is just as important as snacks once the cold sets in. A clean birdbath topped up regularly helps with drinking and bathing, and some people use a heated option to stop it from freezing solid.

A crucial cleaning component for this task is white vinegar, which most households already stock in their cupboards. The white vinegar approach works perfectly for monthly or seasonal thorough cleans, particularly when dealing with stubborn algae or high bird activity.

If you want more than a quick flying visit, add a nesting option so they’ll consider making your garden their home as well. An open-fronted bird box near ivy or climbing plants can provide cover and a safer place to settle.

One warning before you roll out the welcome mat: robins may look cute, but they can be fiercely territorial. That means a confident newcomer might chase off other birds once it decides the garden is “theirs”.

Don’t expect instant trust on day one. Keep the routine steady, give them space, and over time, you may find a robin following you around while you garden, hoovering up insects you turn up from the soil.

The company’s plans to relocate last year ‘fell through’ as it was ‘no longer affordable’ for them

A landmark Cambridge business has been sold more than a year after its plans to relocate “fell through”. Marshalls Aerospace, based at Cambridge Airport, had announced plans to relocate to Cranfield University’s base in Bedford.

However, the company announced last year that these plans “fell through” as it was “no longer affordable”. Marshalls has now confirmed the company has been sold to the Aurelius Group.

A Marshalls Aerospace spokesperson said: “Marshalls has been going through a wider, deliberate transition as a group, with a longstanding plan that Marshall Aerospace would relocate from the Cambridge Airport site.

“We’ve been exploring options to secure the best possible long-term future for the Aerospace business, with a focus on ensuring a stable and sustainable future for its people and operations.

“The group has now entered into an agreement to sell Marshall Aerospace, in its entirety, to Aurelius Group. Aurelius is well positioned to support the aerospace business through its next stage of development.

“The acquisition is now subject to UK government review under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act, which is currently underway. Final Marshall Group shareholder approval and Austrian antitrust approval are also necessary.”

Marshalls expects the transaction to be completed by late September.

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has spoken about the four-man leadership team for the squad this season

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Marc Guehi and Gianluigi Donnarumma will be part of the four-man leadership team at Manchester City this season. January arrival Guehi and goalkeeper Donnarumma will both step up to take extra responsibility.

Ruben Dias will be the club’s main skipper for the year, taking over from Bernardo Silva after the Portugal international left on a free transfer in the summer. Erling Haaland also remains part of the group, despite Maresca joking that the No.9 could not be the main captain because the manager needs his skippers to pass on instructions to the rest of the team when they score rather than celebrate and the Norwegian scores too many goals for that.

With Rodri having also departed, there were two vacancies in the squad for captains. Maresca made the decision that he would pick the skippers rather than have a dressing-room vote, and also wanted to have an English player as part of his team.

Phil Foden had put his name forward but Maresca has opted for former Palace skipper Guehi who has already become an important part of the first team. The 26-year-old also stepped up into midfield in the opening game as Maresca sees more uses for him.

Enzo Fernandez, the club’s record signing after they paid Chelsea £125m for him on deadline day, has not been instantly added to the leadership team. The Argentine international was a key enforcer for Maresca at Chelsea and the manager was keen to reunite when he arrived at City this summer, but has refrained from naming him as one of the captains.

“London, make some fucking noise!” they yell, unnecessarily, given the screaming going on. Internet Girl and That Way, both from this year, are followed by an early single (from 2024), Touch, and it quickly becomes apparent that this level of arena show is not going to be a stretch, material-wise. Rather, as the show moves forward, the gripping part is watching Gabriela, Lara, Megan and Yoonchae getting to grips with the entity of Katseye and their own places in it.

Israel has released four more Lebanese civilians who had been detained by its forces in southern Lebanon. Ship traffic remains low on the Strait of Hormuz days after the U.S. and Iran exchanged attacks for the first time in a month. And fighting has intensified in Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and government forces.

Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Israel releases 4 more Lebanese civilians

Israel released four Lebanese civilians to Lebanese authorities on Friday as part of a deal between the countries, a day after the first was freed. All had been detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, where troops now occupy a large swath in the wake of new fighting with Hezbollah began two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Israel on Thursday said it had agreed to release them after Lebanon provided assistance in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who went missing in the 1980s during Lebanon’s civil war.

Officials said the release comes as a result of U.S. mediation and negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. Another round of talks is expected in Rome later this month.

Ship traffic remains low after latest attacks

Ship traffic on the Strait of Hormuz remained low after the renewed U.S. attacks on targets in Iran earlier this week and Iran’s retaliatory attacks in the region, including firing at U.S. Gulf ally Kuwait on Thursday.

Fuel prices are again affected. Diesel hit a new record price in the U.S. on Friday, soaring to an average of $5.85 a gallon for the first time ever.

The benchmark U.S. crude price rose above $91 a barrel with the new wave of uncertainty around traffic on the strait, which Iran continues to use as leverage after six months of war with the U.S.

Fighting in Yemen has casualties on both sides

Fighting intensified overnight between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces along Yemen’s west coast near an important supply route.

ِAn official with the internationally recognized government’s health ministry told The Associated Press there were an unspecified number of casualties on both sides in the fighting in mountainous Taiz province. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media. A military official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media, confirmed casualties on both sides.

Jabal Nu’man overlooks a major supply route for Yemeni government forces between Taiz province and Mokha, a port city heavily targeted by the Houthis in recent weeks.

The Houthis’ expansion of attacks in these areas appears to indicate an effort to gain full control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, according to Moahmed Abdelrahman, a Taiz province spokesperson.

Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst on Yemen at the International Crisis Group, told the AP that the Houthis want to take control of the mountains overlooking the coast.

It is not yet clear how or to what extent the sanctions will be imposed or tightened. In Argentina, a current law already allows for restrictions of activities of oil companies participating in projects considered unauthorised on the islands.

Two oil companies – Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum – are due to begin extracting oil in the Sea Lion oilfield off the Falklands coast within two years, something Milei said Argentina could not allow.

A joint statement from the two firms on Friday said it had the valid licences granted by the government of the Falkland Islands, “and with the full support of the UK government.”

The project is due to deliver its first oil in 2028, Rockhopper and Navitas said the partnerships’ timetable would not be affected.

The Sea Lion oilfield, around 130 miles from the islands, contains an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil – described by Rockhopper as a field containing “highly marketable crude”.

Milei also announced plans for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego in the south of Argentina, saying Trump and the US were “assessing their historical position in regard to the Falklands”, which Argentina refers to as Las Malvinas.

“That is not empty words as they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for decades to come,” he said, describing the UK as a nation “in decline”.

On Thursday, President Trump hinted the US would not help the UK in any future Falklands conflict because Britain “had not been there to help me” during his war with Iran.

Trump’s latest remarks on the islands come after he previously said the US position on the Falklands is one of many under review.

On Friday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK would “resolutely uphold” the self-determination of the islands.

Writing on X on Friday, Miliband said the Islands would remain British as that is the “overwhelming position of the islanders.”

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting also said Britain’s commitment to the Falkland Islands was “absolute and unshakeable”.

“Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,” he wrote in his own post on X.

In an earlier statement, Downing Street said it was “not the first time” the Argentine government had made economic threats against the Falkland Islands.

“We are clear that the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination extends to the right to exploit their own natural resources,” it said.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said “Britain does not surrender to bullies”.

“If (Milei) wants a stronger Argentina, he should build its economy, not threaten others.”

Although the US is formally neutral, Washington provided support for Britain’s campaign to retake the islands after the Argentinian invasion in 1982.

Argentine forces landed on the Falklands to stake a territorial claim in 1982, sparking a 74-day war over the territory as a British military task force ejected them.

The conflict led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel, three islanders and 649 Argentine military personnel.

In a sign of the ongoing tensions between the two countries over the issue, Argentina players celebrated their victory over England in the World Cup by waving a banner in support of their country’s territorial claim.

He was sentenced to 59 months after being convicted of common law riot.

A 33 -year-old man has been jailed for his role in disorder in Portadown last summer.

At Craigavon Crown Court on Thursday, September 3, Ryan Pepper was sentenced to 59 months, with half to be spent in custody, and half to be spent on licence after he was convicted of common law riot.

Pepper, from the Portadown area, was arrested on June 16 2025, after he was identified as having participated in serious disorder in the town days earlier, specifically in the West Street area.

In what police say were shameful scenes last year, there was large-scale disorder by people intent on causing harm. Damage was caused to roads, homes, cars and local business premises with people left fearing for their lives.

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector O’Loan said: “Our officers came under attack and many left injured after petrol bombs, heavy masonry and fireworks were thrown at them.

“At the time, we assured the public that we will work tirelessly to restore calm and ensure that anyone who chooses to take part in this criminality is brought to justice. Our dedicated investigation team has worked tirelessly to ensure that those involved are prosecuted – today’s sentencing is one of many over this disorder.

“We would also repeat our appeal to anyone who has been the victim of, or has any information on, any crime to contact police on 101, or 999 in an emergency. We can assure you that we will always act on concerns and information we receive.”

Alternatively, a report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals Should you wish to make a report anonymously, you can do so by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

How predictable, how awful, how depressing, but most of all how very, very, very drear of Keir.

Despite earlier pledges that he would stay on in the House of Commons until the next General Election, Sir Keir Starmer has surprised no one by announcing he is to stand down as an MP to focus on a role in ‘international affairs’ instead.

Look at you, dear Keir. Such a big, important muffin of self-puffing global grandiosity. I mean, international affairs? What might they be? A breakfast meeting with a junior attaché in Tuvalu; a photo op with Zelensky; an exchange of decorative crystal with the supreme leader of Lower Malta?

It’s not as if you distinguished yourself on the world stage during your two years as British Prime Minister. No one has forgotten when you mistook an interpreter for the president of South Korea, or when President Trump made you stick your hand in the air like a schoolboy begging for attention.

You tried to give away the Chagos Islands, you failed to establish a unified stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict, you even made Peter Mandelson our ambassador to the US. Keir, you are an embarrassment, a naïve fool, a constipated, ongoing cultural cringe with all the oratorial skills of a squeaky, slowly deflating balloon.

Nothing in your past qualifies you for a self-appointed role as an international statesman of the future, except your own gilt-edged belief in your diplomatic skills, an affectation shared by few.

Yet, just like a depressing number of leaders and prime ministers before him, Starmer has decided that he is not going to hang around on the back benches post-power.

So crushing for voters! It makes me feel that we are not a valued electorate whose views matter, but just – please steady yourselves for this truth bomb – collateral damage in the power plays of greedy individuals whose determination to become post-political, revenue-creating celebrities is nothing short of monstrous.

Despite his many promises, Starmer will not continue to honourably serve his constituency of Holborn & St Pancras; specifically, those trusting people who voted for him in the first place, generously providing his platform and route to power.

He will not repay their loyalty by fixing local bus services, the high levels of child poverty or the wealth inequality in a community where £5million townhouses and impoverished social housing estates occupy the same postcodes.

You’d think this would be enough to occupy a true socialist for the rest of his political lifetime; such a juicy microcosm of social inequality set within five square miles of inner London, somewhere a man with a mission could really make a difference. Especially after serving six years at the head of a party which runs on the petrol of envy politics and perceived inequality.

Instead, all this class agony is now in Starmer’s rear-view mirror as he presses pedal to the metal and accelerates into his new life. In many respects he’s like Brooklyn Beckham; talentless but addicted to fame. He’s like Prince Harry; powerless but drawn to the stage and the spotlight he feels his status affords him.

He’s a political Cinderella; a blushing wannabe who feels he deserves the glass slipper of international eminence and doesn’t care that his actions have sparked a by-election – one he knows his party might lose, ushering in the spectre of boob-whisperer Zack Polanski snaffling this prime London seat, dear God.

These are not the actions of a patriot, a man we can salute and admire. These are the manoeuvrings of a second-rater out for himself, a politico with an eye on the main chance and hopefully a luscious book deal for his ditch- water memoirs.

And he’s not alone. A distressing number of recent leaders have taken this stance. David Cameron vowed he’d see through whatever verdict the British people delivered in the Brexit referendum, only to flounce off and resign five minutes later.

Tony Blair took a similar view, and went on to make millions for himself, not the country he left behind. Boris Johnson left the House of Commons within a year of losing power, Liz Truss wasn’t given much choice and was booted out by her own electorate, Rishi Sunak stayed on, but one could argue he could afford to, so he did.

Meanwhile, former SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon left high office saying she wanted to spend more time with her nieces and nephews. Never mind the scandals massing on the horizon like apocalyptic storm clouds.

Nobody seems to care that Nicola has left Scotland in a red-hot, boiling mess with her husband in jail and a fiscal deficit of £25billion as she reinvents herself as a London-based literary ‘star’ who is considering writing her first novel.

‘I won’t forgive myself if I don’t at least try,’ was the gist of her simpering messaging on Instagram this week. The utter nerve of this woman and these people, who leave us and their countries in disarray, but glide on to the next triumph in their own gilded lives.

There was a time when politicians who held high office would do the decent thing and hang on to see what they could do for their country and their constituents, instead of focusing on themselves.

Now it seems like every man (and every Nicola) is out for themselves.

Sir Keir Starmer rinsed through his time in office like a barrel going over a waterfall, like a snowball tossed off an Alp. He didn’t make much of a difference, we never really knew what he stood for, yet now he somehow sees himself as a global grand vizier; striding across the international stage, staying in a Davos hotel suite on someone else’s dime, ordering the cheese plate and chuntering on about policy to roars of applause in some UN enormodome.

Would golden epaulettes on his off-the-peg suits be a touch too much? He is probably ordering them as we speak.

Nicole’s dress is sheer magic!

Nicole Kidman stunned onlookers in her absolutely epic, black Versace dress in LA this week

Can we just pause to salute Nicole Kidman’s absolutely epic Versace dress, which she wore to the premiere of Practical Magic 2 in LA this week?

The hand-crafted, black lace confection with matching choker was the debut outfit by the label’s new designer Pieter Mulier. The former architect was appointed in February and has wasted no time in putting the struggling label back on the map.

Behold the drama! Somehow this dress marries saloon-girl chic with power-woman grit, making it both seductive and sensational, classy rather than tarty, and somehow entirely appropriate on a 59-year-old woman. That is what great design does, it makes everyone want to applaud it, wear it or just worship it from afar. And that really is practically magic.

Clancy trial is a terrible tragedy – not reality TV

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial has become entertainment for some, despite the issues at stake

By the time you read this, anything could have happened in the Lindsay Clancy trial. The deadlocked jury could have come back into court and finally made a decision, delivering their verdict after nearly a week of struggle. This would bring some relief, no matter how controversial the judgment might be.

However, if they fail to reach a consensus, the judge could declare a mistrial, bouncing everyone back to a hellish square one.

For a hung jury leaves everyone in limbo; the prosecution have not proven Clancy’s guilt, the defence have not established her innocence, and Clancy would be sent back to the mental health hospital where she’s been detained since 2023, still held on the same charges. A new trial, a plea bargain, all charges dropped? Your guess is as good as mine.

One thing, however, will not change. And that is the terrible, sickening circus that has grown up around this case, surely one of the saddest to ever be brought before a court. The tragic facts are that Lindsay Clancy strangled and killed her three children before slashing her wrists and throwing herself out of a first-floor window, leaving her in a wheelchair.

The 36-year-old former nurse (right) does not dispute that she killed her two sons and daughter in their family home in Massachusetts. Her lawyer argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and therefore could not distinguish right from wrong. The prosecution claim Clancy made a calculated decision to kill them. She is charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

In court, her eyes are dark pools of horror, her life over and her future doomed, whatever the legal outcome. Yet, for far too many voyeurs, her trial has become just an entertainment; a pass-the-popcorn, thrill-a-minute amusement for clowns so high on the excitement of it all they forget they are witnessing the harrowing proceedings of a murder trial, not a TV show.

It is grievous that these rubberneckers lack the morality, decency and intellect to appreciate the gravity of these terrible proceedings. One ‘true crime follower’ has been arrested for photographing the jury. A journalist was fired by her magazine for giggling and winking in court. Every day the TikTok mob scrutinise complicated medical testimonies from experts as if considering the words of contestants on a reality show. The mums who post pictures of their babies on social media, saying it could have been me! The armchair sleuths who claim it was the husband that dun it.

Deciding on this case is a lot to ask of a jury, who under US law must unanimously reach a conclusion of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’. If they cannot, the judge can call a mistrial. There is no majority verdict option, as there is in the UK. Their task has not been made easier by the ghouls following every twist and turn of this case as if it were a soap opera.

The eco-meepers are back

Just Stop Oil returned to Parliament Square this week, glueing themselves to the road nearby

Summer has almost gone, there is an autumnal chill in the air and – please God no! – Just Stop Oil protesters are back after 17 months of peace.

Dozens of these eco warriors were arrested after glueing themselves to a carriageway near Parliament Square this week, just when Prime Minister Burnham was due to decide on whether to allow drilling on the Jackdaw and Rosebank gas and oil fields in the North Sea.

After being detained by the Met Police, the protesters complained about their ‘draconian’ bail conditions. Hankies at the ready, because several of them had their ‘train tickets, senior rail cards and oyster cards confiscated, before being released between 3 and 5am with no means of communication or way home’.

This approach is disgraceful, they meeped. You have to laugh. Heaven forbid they should be inconvenienced after holding thousands of hard-working Londoners to ransom.

Well done, the Met. You played a blinder.

Spain’s women’s football association are to pay for players to freeze their eggs. The agreement would give national team members access to fertility treatment, so they can focus on their sporting career but still have the option of motherhood later.

Is that a good idea? Critics warn it risks making delayed motherhood the norm in elite sport, while supporters argue having a family should not mean sacrificing a high-level playing career. One dream should not have to cancel another dream, they say.

Well, while I admire the sentiment, many things in life are a choice, especially if you are a woman. Encouraging another generation of girls to think they can have it all is, at best, irresponsible.

‘Women have always been an equal part of the past. We just haven’t been a part of history.’ 

These words are more than a truth that the late Gloria Steinem observed, they are the legacy of the work of a true trailblazer who dedicated her life to dismantling the structures of inequality designed to keep women out of the history books. 

Gloria didn’t just talk about change, she made it. 

Founding Ms Magazine, the first mainstream news outlet in the US which was run by women, Gloria sparked an international conversation about the devastating experiences of women that were too often hidden. 

In 1976, it became the first national magazine to feature a cover story which addressed domestic violence.

The following year, it ran a groundbreaking feature on sexual harassment at work and how to stop it.

Many shops refused to sell it at the time because it was seen as too controversial. But let’s remember – this was a time when employers could legally fire women for getting pregnant and abortion was illegal in most states. 

In the UK, women were required to resign from parts of the civil service when they got married. It is unthinkable now but women were denied mortgages and bank accounts unless they had the approval of a man. 

It was also before women had the words to talk about their experiences – too often, violence was normalised. 

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

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Speaking at a conference in 2012, Gloria said: ‘When I was growing up, there was no term for domestic violence…It was just called life.’ 

We are indebted to feminists like Gloria who gave us language to name these social plagues, a step on the road to ending them.

Although Gloria began campaigning in America over half a century ago, her work resonates with ours. My own story began in the 1980s in the North East of England where women’s voices were often ignored. 

It was a time when the police would turn a blind eye to a man attacking his wife labelling it as ‘just a domestic’. I looked to trailblazing women like Gloria as I started my career fighting for women who have been victims of abuse and violence at the hands of men.

Before I became a politician, I ran a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. 

This work is what motivates me, it’s why I got into politics in the first place, so that I could bring real, meaningful change for women and girls everywhere.

Founded by my mam – a women’s campaigner in the 1970s just like Gloria – it was one of the North East’s first women’s refuges. 

Growing up in the shadow of that activism, I saw firsthand that for many women, ‘rights’ aren’t abstract concepts, they are the difference between safety and peril.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of giants, like Gloria, and my mam, who navigated a much harsher world so that we could occupy this one. 

I am now part of a record-breaking number of phenomenal women in the UK’s most representative Cabinet ever. 

We are making history, as the first government with a dedicated Cabinet Minister working solely on making the lives of women and marginalised communities better. 

The progress fought for by Gloria has been transformative in improving the lives of women and  girls around the world,. 

But despite all the advancements we have made, our liberties are being challenged.

Whether this is a dangerous rollback of women’s rights in other countries, or calls to abolish the Equality Act at home, I feel acutely reminded that our rights are hard won but can be easily lost.

I am proud to be continuing Gloria’s legacy. Serving women and advocating for the marginalised runs in my blood.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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A former Dragons’ Den investor has claimed that contestants were sometimes ‘bullied’ and subjected to unfair treatment on the show.

Richard Farleigh, who appeared as a Dragon during the BBC show’s third and fourth series, opened up about his time on the programme.

The Australian-born investor joined the show in 2006 alongside Deborah Meaden, replacing Doug Richard and Rachel Elnaugh, before leaving the series in 2007.

Reflecting on his time in the Den nearly 20 years later, Farleigh said in a LinkedIn post that the experience contestants went through left him ‘uncomfortable’.

‘For the contestants, it was a terrifying experience,’ he wrote.

‘And for many, it was the most important day of their business lives.’

Farleigh explained how entrepreneurs were not allowed to see the set before filming and would walk in to find themselves facing five Dragons and around 20 production crew members.

‘The dragons had all the advantages,’ he said.

‘Only about 10% of the footage made it to the final edit, and I suspect the BBC wasn’t keen on letting the dragons look too silly. In contrast, the same couldn’t be said for the contestants.

‘I was shocked by how nasty some of the other dragons were. The producers said the show needed a bit of nastiness – otherwise, contestants would have nothing to lose. There would be no sense of jeopardy.’

He claimed the Dragons would sometimes ‘over-criticise’ a presentation or contestant ‘to the point of ridicule’.

‘It was an unfair game – the dragons didn’t have much at stake, sitting comfortably in their chairs and sounding clever, while contestants had everything to lose,’ he said.

‘Occasionally, it even felt like bullying, which made me uncomfortable.’

Farleigh then recalled one incident where he was asked to speak to a contestant after filming because the man was extremely upset.

The contestant allegedly said that he had been told: ‘You’re either stupid or dishonest, or probably both. I was shocked.

‘He confided in me that he, too, had come through the care system and had hoped I would be the dragon to invest.

‘I told the director, politely, that if that footage ever made it on air, I would quit the show and publicly condemn it. Fortunately, the moment stayed off screen.’

Farleigh’s comments come nearly two decades after his time on Dragons’ Den, which sees business owners pitch their ideas to a panel of investors in the hope of securing funding in exchange for a stake in their company.

The investor stressed that his criticism did not apply to every appearance on the show, saying the programme was fair to contestants ‘in the vast majority of cases’ and that he enjoyed working with the BBC.

The BBC has declined to comment on Farleigh’s claims.