His glasses lopsided, his cufflinks over-large, hands clutched and knees all a-knock, Andy Burnham looked a bag of nerves when meeting Donald Trump at the United Nations building in New York. Social-media wits were reminded of Ronnie Corbett doing one of his monologues. The political reality was less comical. Here was our new Prime Minister on his first big foreign test.

Any fair-minded patriot wanted Mr Burnham to represent us with aplomb. No doubt he tried his best but it was not enough. He seemed daunted. Indecisive. Ridiculous. Not so much a head of government as a small-time mayor on an overseas jaunt.

President Trump was pretty gentle with the newcomer but there were two sticky moments. A reporter asked about Labour’s Chagos Isles deal, the one whereby we would pay Mauritius billions to rent an Indian Ocean air base that we already own. Mr Trump dismissed this as a ‘terrible and ridiculous’ idea. Mr Burnham stared through his wonky spectacles, frozen in horror.

‘Excuse me, sir, there’s a dead mouse in your soup.’ It was that awkward.

Then someone mentioned Labour’s sanctions against the West Bank, a policy that has been welcomed by Hamas terrorists but criticised bitterly by Washington and Jerusalem. Mr Trump diplomatically pretended to know nothing of the matter (this was a fib). He suggested instead that ‘prime minister Andy’ might like to say something. Gulp. A tangibly queasy Burnham hummed and hawed and lamely reminded the US president that he had, in fact, telephoned him about it at the time. This was the equivalent of sobbing, ‘but I did tell you, Grandpa’. It was little less than excruciating.

On the edge of the shot, to the left, sat Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. The camera just caught him grabbing one of his knees and hugging it towards his chest. The British delegation continued to squirm while Mr Burnham essayed a rambling justification of his anti-Israel sanctions. Mr Trump did nothing to put his British guest at ease. Welcome to grown up geopolitics, Mr Mayor.

Meetings with Trump are never easy. The old man is an erratic megalomaniac and there is no sure formula for dealing with him. His sit-downs with other heads of government – Trump always on the right, his victim on the left – are interesting mainly for what they betray about the character of the visitor. That is why Monday’s 12-minute press conference was so worrying. How gauche Mr Burnham was. He emerged from the encounter much reduced in stature. Sir Keir Starmer may have been a nasal oddball, but he coped with the US president a lot better.

Being Prime Minister is a vast and serious duty, much harder than Mr Burnham may have imagined back in 2021 when he tweeted that ‘any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed’. To represent your nation abroad – to lead its government and people – you cannot be a croucher. Shrivelling behind others may be okay for municipal functionaries but it is not an option for PMs. Nor is striking childish poses on social media.

Heads of government must deal with live scrutiny and find the strength of character to state their country’s interests. The alternative is to assume a poker face and create clever ambiguity. Give or take some flattery and joshing – Mr Burnham did mumble his way through some of that with Mr Trump – there really isn’t another course. International leadership demands clarity or cunning.

These are tense times. The Kremlin is threatening to expand its war beyond Ukraine into European Nato countries. Russia’s Navy is already causing trouble in waters off Britain. The Middle East is in flames and there have been threats to the RAF base on Cyprus. Argentina is making bellicose noises about the Falklands and is suing energy firms that hold drilling rights in the South Atlantic. China has blacklisted several MPs and been caught spying on British-based Hong Kongers; there are also claims that it has planted agents inside Parliament.

Even puny Jamaica and Ghana, both members of the Commonwealth and recipients of British aid, are nakedly on the offensive, outrageously demanding billions of pounds from us in ‘slavery reparations’.

As if that lot weren’t enough, Mr Burnham must persuade France to honour promises – for which we have paid a fortune – to stop small boats leaving its beaches for England. There is also our trade relationship with the European Union. Problems, problems.

On the edge of the shot sat Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. The British delegation continued to squirm while Mr Burnham essayed a rambling justification of his anti-Israel sanctions

How strong will Andy Burnham be in the face of these assaults? Enemies will be trying to gauge the character of the new man in 10 Downing Street. After his meeting with Donald Trump will they divine a brisk, coherent leader with an innate sense of command? Will they conclude that he has mastered the principles and arguments for his policies? Or will they suspect that he can be blown about the place? Will they think him a trimmer who, having reached high office without a general election, could struggle to win the public’s confidence?

The European Commission may not exactly be an enemy but it hardly intends to do us any favours after Brexit (not that it liked us much beforehand). Any new trade deal with Brussels will therefore need to be negotiated with canny muscularity. The best way to go about that is by playing hard-to-get. Alas, Mr Burnham has already struck a supplicant tone, begging for better terms. He has called Brexit a disaster. It most certainly is not. Look at how many more billions of pounds the City now makes from exporting services. Why is our PM so down on our own country? Donald Trump may be annoying but at least he radiates self-belief rather than sitting there in a puddle of his own making.

With the departure of international-law fanatic Sir Keir, Labour could have easily ditched the terrible Chagos deal. The self-styled judges and Left-wing KCs who enabled Mauritius’s demands could have been told to get lost. The same solid resolve could have been taken on the Jamaican slavery demands. No one did more than Britain to get slavery abolished!

But Mr Burnham lacked the character to say boo to the goose. Such timidity, which merely emboldens antagonistic chancers, is born of a parochialism that considers only his core vote. Labour voters in metropolitan Manchester may well take pessimistic positions on Brexit, anti-colonialism and so forth. But Mr Burnham is Prime Minster now, and a prime minister must take a bigger view.

A proper premier, defiantly jealous of British interests, alive to national feelings, fizzing with intent, would not ascribe the 2016 Leave vote to Russian black propaganda, as Mr Burnham has. A proud head of government would not use that false claim to set up a hideous-sounding ‘Ministry of Truth’ which will likely impinge further on our freedom of speech. With each such authoritarian lurch, Labour just drifts further away from the electorate. Do they not see that this is why Brexit, and indeed Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, started in the first place? The Leave vote was not caused by Russian bots. It was caused by the arrogance of the political establishment.

Andy Burnham is a ‘nice enough guy’. You often hear that said and from my limited encounters of the man I would say it is true. But niceness never won a war. Niceness never sealed trade deals or defended national interests. Niceness may win you the Mayor of Trumpton’s chain of office but a prime minister needs harder, sharper qualities.

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As a former Tory leadership challenger, Rory Stewart has been used to facing intense questioning from Britain’s toughest political journalists.

But the former MP and The Rest Is Politics podcaster appeared to channel his own inner politico after spinning intensely in his seat to stare at a fellow panellist on Newsnight.

Mr Stewart’s violent swivel to New Statesman political editor Ailbhe Rea during a discussion on artificial intelligence went viral on X overnight.

The former Army officer and diplomat’s rapid twirl was compared to, among other things, a jackknifing lorry and a labrador hearing the opening of a bag of crisps.

‘He’s a caricature, it’s performative,’ one user opined, while another said: ‘If someone did that to me in a formal conversation I’d just burst out laughing. How did she [Ms Rea] manage to keep a straight face?’

Mr Stewart had been asked about his involvement in King Charles III‘s private AI summit – a closed-doors pow-wow in Scotland with the who’s-who of the AI world, including the boss of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, and leaders from OpenAI and Anthropic.

Ms Rea did not react to Mr Stewart’s sudden swivel – nor did presenter Matt Chorley or ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock

The former MP and The Rest Is Politics podcaster held his gaze for a moment or two before reaching for a mug

After describing the potential of UK infrastructure being dependent on US and Chinese AI software as ‘terrifying’, Mr Stewart swivelled to Ms Rea.

The veteran political journalist did not react to the gaze as she was asked about the Government’s approach to the developing technology – nor did presenter Matt Chorley or ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock, also on the panel. 

Mr Stewart held his stare for a second or two before suddenly sitting back and reaching for a mug on the table in front of him.

A two-second clip of the reaction was published on X last night, where it has been viewed 1.6million times and gained 10,000 likes.

‘When your Dad said it’s up to your mum if you can get an ice cream from the van,’ said one user.

‘When someone whips out a 6 pack of Wagon Wheels out in a board meeting,’ said another.

‘There’s a high degree of Kevin Eldon energy to this. Magnificently strange,’ said columnist Mark Wallace. 

Others criticised his appearance on the panel, which coincided with the paperback release of his memoir of his time as an MP, Middleland.

‘He’s mistaking being a celebrity commentator with being an operator with skin in the game,’ one observer claimed.

Mr Stewart was contacted for comment. 

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A clip of the moment was viewed over one million times and quickly garnered reaction from users on X

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Mr Stewart developed a reputation for endearing eccentricity and nerdiness during his time in Parliament, particularly as he ran in the 2019 Tory leadership contest ultimately won by Boris Johnson.

His earnest attempts at connecting with voters saw him taking awkward, unpolished selfies with members of the public. 

He was later named a ‘weird crush’ by viewers of the televised Tory leadership debates, particularly as he removed his tie during one debate – in order to, he later said, escape from the ‘alternate reality’ of the TV studio.

During the 2020 London mayoral race, in which he ran as an independent candidate, Mr Stewart launched a bizarre campaign in which he tried to invite himself into voters’ homes to see how the capital’s denizens live.

‘I want to know your concerns and your ideas. And I promise to bring a sleeping bag and a box of chocolates,’ he had quipped. He polled favourably during the race but ultimately dropped out after the Covid pandemic delayed the election by a year.

Prior to his political career Mr Stewart served briefly as an officer in the British Army, but quit the armed forces to study at Oxford, where he briefly tutored Princes William and Harry.

He then joined the Foreign Office in the late 1990s, working at the British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, before serving as the British Representative to Montenegro in the aftermath of the Kosovo War before taking leave to walk across Asia.

The written chronicle of his walk across Afghanistan, The Places In Between, garnered international praise and was, rumour had it, optioned for a movie.

He became MP for Penrith and The Border in 2010 and served in the Cabinet in environment, international development and prisons positions before quitting Boris Johnson’s cabinet in 2019.

Mr Stewart had the Tory whip withdrawn in 2019 after joining a rebel cohort of MPs who sought to stop a no-deal Brexit, and stood down from his seat that December to run in the London mayoral race.

He warned on Newsnight that the UK cannot become dependent on US and Chinese-run artificial intelligence software.

‘The big question around what the UK does – on a global level the US and China must begin to get regulation in place for safety on AI,’ he said.

‘These things could be phenomenally dangerous but it’s the US and China who are driving the frontier labs.

‘Then the question is Britain, and how we protect ourselves from being completely dependent on the US and China if we build all of our military, all of our hospitals, all of our businesses on American and Chinese AI, and they have the kill-switch, and all the value goes to them? It’s terrifying.’

Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly has given a surprise answer when asked who is the toughest opponent he has faced in the Premier League.

Still just 19 years old, Lewis-Skelly has made 81 first team appearances for the Gunners across all competitions and won six England caps.

He broke into the team in the 2024/25 season and starred at left-back, but has been used more recently in midfield.

The teenager has a Premier League winner’s medal to his name and started in the Champions League final last season. He has seen an awful lot already in his short career, ahead of turning 20 before the end of this month.

Lewis-Skelly certainly has plenty of options when it comes to his toughest Premier League opponent, be it a right-winger or central midfielder.

It is the latter that has stood out to him, naming a Tottenham player as his most testing opponent, but when he played for his previous club.

‘Matheus Fernandes, when he was at West Ham,’ Lewis-Skelly told Men In Blazers of his toughest Premier League foe.

Fernandes has had an interesting career so far, arriving in England in 2024 when Southampton signed him from Sporting in his home country of Portugal.

He was relegated with the Saints after one season and moved to West Ham, where he also suffered relegation after just one year.

Spurs then paid £85 million for his services over the summer, but he has made a slow start to life in north London.

The midfielder started the meeting with Aston Villa on Saturday but was replaced at half-time, with manager Roberto De Zerbi saying he did not like what he saw from the Portugal international.

‘I have a big confidence in Mateus, but I didn’t like the performance of Mateus today. Otherwise I couldn’t change,’ said De Zerbi on replacing Fernandes with Mohammed Kudus during the 3-2 defeat.

‘He knows. But it’s normal. It’s not an attack on Mateus, I love Mateus, it’s not a problem. But I think for Mateus, we need more from Mateus. Because he can, even in that position.’

Lewis-Skelly also commented on another midfielder, his new teammate Bruno Guimaraes, who is providing him more competition at Arsenal.

‘Bruno brings energy, experience, intensity,’ said the England international of the Brazil star. ‘When I heard he was joining I was super happy because it’s someone to learn from and pick the brain of.

‘He’s another winner, he’s someone who plays in a similar position to you, so you can always learn from him. Being a sponge to Bruno is going to be really impactful.’

Confirming his preference in position, the teenager added: ‘I’m a midfielder. But at the end of the day it’s all down to the team needs. No player, no individual is bigger than the team goal. Whatever has to help the team, I’ll do it.’

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Argentina’s president demanded UN help to seize the Falklands today, hours after Donald Trump declined to endorse UK sovereignty of the islands.

Hard-Right leader Javier Milei said ownership of the archipelago was a ‘national cause’ for his country and demanded talks with Andy Burnham in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

In a rambling address in New York, he lambasted the ‘useless’ organisation for not helping his country with its illegitimate claim over the ‘Malvinas’ and vowed to continue to take action against oil companies acting in the waters around them.

Argentina this month began sanctions proceedings against more than 60 firms linked to an offshore oil drilling project, a move the UK said was ‘unacceptable.’

‘For us the Falklands are a national cause. They are also a test of the gulf that can exist between the words of international institutions and the reality in which they purport to act,’ Mr Milei said.

It came the day after Mr Trump, a close ally of the struggling Argentine leader, declined to back Mr Burnham‘s plea for support in the row.

The President sat silently as the Prime Minister revealed they discussed the latest claim on the South Atlantic archipelago at a meeting in New York.

The President sat silently as the Prime Minister revealed they discussed the latest claim on the South Atlantic archipelago at a meeting in New York.

Milei has escalated tensions over the UK overseas territory in recent weeks. He used a nationally televised address to reiterate his country’s claim to the Falklands, saying the islands ‘are our future’. 

But Argentina’s opposition has accused the president, who is expected to seek reelection in 2027, of using the dispute to bolster domestic support.

‘It’s simply something to look good in the eyes of society or to try to shift the agenda,’ said Guillermo Michel, a Peronist opposition congressman in the chamber of deputies.

Speaking alongside Mr Trump in New York, Mr Burnham said the President had been ‘good enough to listen to us’ about the islanders’ right to self determination, 44 years after the war.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump questioned the UK’s ability to defend the British Overseas Territory due to its domestic problems with immigration and energy. 

Mr Burnham said the UK ‘will stand firm in the face of any threats’ to the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

Mr Burnham said: ‘I didn’t react immediately when the Argentinian president made his recent comments, but in this forum, I think it’s right for me to set out the position clearly, and the clear position is: we will stand firm in the face of any threats.

‘We will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British.

‘And I just wanted the president to know directly from me, that’s the clear British position, and he very much understood what I was saying.’

He told broadcasters in New York that Mr Trump ‘understood why we’ve taken that view’.   

Mr Milei will address world leaders at the UN General Assembly later today, and is likely to hit back. 

In his televised address earlier this month, Mr Milei seized on suggestions that Mr Trump could reconsider Washington’s neutral stance on the sovereignty of the islands.

‘The United States is considering this change in position because it knows that Argentina has a reliable partner, aligned with western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,’ Mr Milei said.

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

It sparked the Falklands war, which led to the deaths of 255 British servicemen in just over 70 days. It also led to the deaths of 655 Argentinians and three Falkland Islanders.

During a visit to Ireland this month, Mr Trump said the US would be forced to ‘settle’ any fresh dispute over the Falklands.

He suggested the UK would not ‘be willing to travel that far’ if Argentina invaded the Falklands again, adding it would be ‘weeks by boat’.

He said: ‘I’m not sure they’re doing that. They have a little problem with immigration.

‘They have a little problem with energy and then have some other problems they have to take care of.’

He added: ‘I’m sure I’ll be called into that potential disaster, but if they do, I’ll probably be able to settle, settle it out.’

The couple were on holiday at the coastal resort town of Hersonissos on Crete’s north coast when the man was reportedly found dead in his hotel room

A British tourst has reportedly been found dead by his “heartbroken wife” while on holiday on a Greek island. The 71-year-old was found in a hotel room where the couple had been staying in the coastal resort town of Hersonissos in Crete.

The couple are said to have been visiting Crete’s northern coast on holiday when tragedy struck, reports the Mirror. Local media reports suggest the man’s wife alerted emergency services after finding him unconscious in their hotel room.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the man was pronounced dead a short while later. He is yet to be named as authorities work on the circumstances of his death.

The Mirror contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office for a comment.

The tragedy comes just days after a 60-year-old British tourist got into difficulty at Kato Gouves beach in Crete, and sadly died. The Brit was pulled from the water and rushed to the General Hospital Venizeleio in nearby Heraklion, but was pronounced dead.

An investigation into the incident is now underway, while an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.

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There are long delays on a section of the M4 following a crash.

One lane of the motorway is shut on the westbound side between junction 32 and junction 33 near Cardiff.

There are long delays in the area with lane one of three currently closed. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

According to traffic monitoring service Inrix: “Long delays and one lane closed due to accident on M4 Westbound from J32 A470 Northern Avenue (Coryton Interchange) to J33 A4232 (Cardiff West And Services). Lane one (of three) is closed.”

You can follow live updates below and make sure you sign up to get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here:

Eye-witnesses have reported that an RAF Hawk jet crashed shortly after take-off from RAF Valley on Anglesey.

Those reports state that they saw two occupants in the jet eject from the aircraft before the plane crashed.

The coastguard and air ambulance helicopcters are at the scene.

Police, the fire service and Ministry of Defence have been contacted.

The store, named as 4th Avenue Store, in Fourth Avenue, has been closed after an eyewitness described a heavy police presence in the area of Tang Hall on Wednesday afternoon (September 23).

It is understood that the activity in Tang Hall came as part of a county-wide operation by North Yorkshire Police.

Details of the operation are yet to be confirmed. North Yorkshire Police has been approached for comment.

A closure notice posted on shutters at 4th Avenue Store says a closure notice is being sought “due to nuisance or disorder associated with this premises”.

It states that from 3.15pm on Wednesday until Tuesday, September 29, “only the owner or persons who are habitually resident at the premises may enter the premises”.

“Anyone who enters the premises now who is not the owner or habitual resident commits an offence and may be arrested,” the notice says.

The closure notice will be heard at York Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and if the order is granted, the premises will be completely sealed and there will be no access. The occupier “will need to find alternate accommodation”, the notice says.

Numerous police officers and a police van were in Fourth Avenue throughout Wednesday with onlookers watching the scene.

An eyewitness described police “descending” on the area at about 12pm.

“There are police cars all over the area – on Seventh Avenue, the alley behind Fourth Avenue,” they said. “I’ve heard there’s lots of police activity in town as well. There must be something big.”

Children from nearby Tang Hall Primary School were steered away from where police officers and vans were in Fourth Avenue.

An elderly shopper stopped in surprise when she saw all the officers but said the sight was not uncommon in recent times.

A car is towed away in Tang Hall on Wednesday (September 23) (Image: Newsquest)

Numerous cars were parked up on the sides of the road and on grass verges with small groups of onlookers gathered.

At least one vehicle that was parked in Fourth Avenue close to the junction with Melrosegate was towed away.

The car had been the focus of attention involving numerous officers and a sniffer dog earlier today. It is not yet known what the reason was for the car to be taken away.

Love Island winner Davide Sanclimenti‘s girlfriend is facing an 18-month prison term after failing to declare millions of dollars in income on her tax returns.

Iris Rabaya Au, who calls herself ‘The Goddess’, received more than $2.6million (£1.95million) linked to illicit funds generated by her ex-partner Adam Iza – a self-styled cryptocurrency businessman who dubbed himself ‘The Godfather’.

Au, from Orange County, California, was sentenced to 18 months’ jail time on September 21 after agreeing a plea deal in March 2025, admitting one count of subscribing to a false tax return.

As well as her prison sentence, the 37-year-old mother-of-two was ordered to pay $1.4million (£1million) in restitution.

She has also been forced to forfeit assets including luxury cars, among them a Mercedes-Benz GLS, Porsche 911 and a Ferrari 488 Pista, according to court documents seen by the Daily Mail.

Au also surrendered 14 Louis Vuitton handbags, three Chanel bags and bags from Prada, Burberry, Hermes, Gucci and Dior – alongside three ‘Godfather’ sculptures.

United States District Judge Percy Anderson handed down the sentence. Au was represented by Christopher Darden, a co-prosecutor in the OJ Simpson murder trial.

The influencer, who describes herself as a ‘devoted mother, survivor, and entrepreneur’, is currently in a relationship with Italian reality star Sanclimenti, 31, who won Love Island in 2022.

Davide previously told the Daily Mail that he knew of his girlfriend’s legal troubles when they first met, saying: ‘The truth is that I knew about her situation from the start which is why I was protecting her’

Au (right) pictured leaving court with Davide and friends influencer Alli Stavro (first from left) and personal injury lawyer Tina Odjaghian (second from left)

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Davide won Love Island in 2022 with his then-partner Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu (pictured)

The couple began dating in May 2024 and went public with their romance in January 2025 as his ex-girlfriend, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, appeared on Love Island: All-Stars.

Sanclimenti has vowed to stand by his long-term girlfriend, publicly supporting her on a recent Instagram post.

Before meeting the reality star, Au was in a relationship with crypto fraudster Iza, 26.

Iza has been in custody since 2024 and has admitted a series of offences, including fraudulently accessing and selling access to advertising accounts on Facebook, which he used to obtain and conceal millions of dollars of income.

Prosecutors said Au created shell businesses and opened bank accounts in the names of those companies at Iza’s direction.

They said illicit funds placed into the accounts were used to pay around $1million (£750,000), mostly in cash, to serving Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who provided private security for Iza.

Prosecutors said Iza also used deputies to obtain court-authorised search warrants and confidential information targeting people with whom he had financial and personal disputes.

The funds were allegedly used to buy or lease luxury properties, cars, jewellery and clothing and bankroll recreational spending to the tune of almost $10million.

Authorities said Au acquired around $16million (£12million) in cryptocurrency for her then-boyfriend using the shell accounts.

More than $2.6million (£1.95million) was transferred from various accounts into Au’s personal bank accounts between 2020 and 2023 that she did not declare to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax service.

Prosecutors said she wilfully failed to declare the income to the IRS on her tax returns.

‘(Au) set up the financial infrastructure that enabled Adam Iza to move, spend, and conceal millions of dollars in fraud proceeds while she personally benefited from the wealth,’ they said.

‘Au concealed entities and income from her tax preparer and filed returns reporting only a small fraction of what she had actually received.

‘Those were affirmative acts designed to prevent the IRS from learning the true extent of her income.’

She said in a video: ‘Davide stayed beside me, my family stayed beside me’ 

In a supportive comment he said: ‘I’m proud of how strong you’ve been through everything, you gave me strength too’

Adam Iza, the cryptocurrency fraudster with whom Au had been in a relationship at the time

The influencer said in a video posted the day before her sentencing that she had ‘made mistakes’, to which Sanclimenti responded: ‘You never deserved any of this’

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Au has suggested that she was a victim of coercion in a video she shared on social media on Sunday, the day before she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

She said in the video that she had been in ‘an abusive relationship with a former partner’ during which she ‘made mistakes, including with my taxes’.

‘I made mistakes, serious mistakes, and I take responsibility for them,’ she said.

‘Davide stayed beside me, my family stayed beside me. Whatever happens next, it’s a chapter. It’s not the end of my story.’

Davide, in a supportive comment, wrote: ‘I know how much you’ve suffered and you never deserved any of this. 

‘I’m proud of how strong you’ve been through everything, you gave me strength too… and I really believe there’s so much light and good ahead for you. You’ll come out of this even stronger.’

Au replied: ‘Thank you for staying by my side through my hardest seasons & loving me through all the healing. I love you.’

Davide had previously told the Mail that he knew of his girlfriend’s legal troubles when they first met, telling us in March: ‘The truth is that I knew about her situation from the start which is why I was protecting her.

‘Iris is an amazing person who has been through difficult situations that most people could never understand.

‘There’s so much of this extraordinary story that people don’t know yet. I will be there by her side to supply her as she deserves all the support and understanding.’

Adam Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.

He is due to appear in court on October 5, and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence over his involvement in an attempted Bitcoin robbery and kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.

Au made no comment as she left the courthouse following sentencing alongside Davide and two friends, influencer Alli Stavro and personal injury lawyer Tina Odjaghian.

Ms Odjaghian posted a picture of herself, Ms Stavro and Au to her Instagram Stories following the hearing, captioning it: ‘Friends show up for friends no matter what.’