Policy experts have called for the DWP to scrap the mixed-age couples rule

The Department for Work and Pensions is facing calls to change the qualifying rules for a key benefit, as many are being missing out. Policy experts addressed a parliamentary committee to voice their apprehensions about the existing benefits framework and propose potential improvements.

Discussions covered enhanced data sharing and changes to eligibility requirements that could help struggling households obtain vital assistance.

Morgan Vine, director of policy, grants and influencing at the financial support charity Independent Age, highlighted a specific qualifying condition that prevents numerous people from accessing Pension Credit. The benefit becomes available upon reaching state pension age, supplementing income to £227.10 weekly for individuals and £346.60 for couples. Additional payments may be awarded based on personal circumstances.

If your partner hasn’t yet reached state pension age, you’re ineligible for the benefit, regardless of whether you have reached state pension age yourself. During testimony before the Work and Pensions Committee, Ms Vine argued that this eligibility requirement “is not a good policy and needs to be reversed”.

According to some projections, she noted, affected households could be missing out on as much as £5,000 or potentially £7,000 annually because of this rule, reports the Mirror. The expert suggested this would be an ideal time to abolish the policy, given other upcoming changes on the horizon.

She explained: “This is a good time to reverse it, as we’re looking at, in the context of the state pension age rising, the people that we support are going to have to wait even longer, if they are in a mixed age couple.”

The state pension age is set to increase from the current 66, rising gradually from April 2026 to reach 67 by April 2028. She said one of her organisation’s advisers recently assisted a 79-year-old whose partner is 59, meaning they cannot access the benefit. She said in this instance, the younger partner was unable to work due to suffering from long-term health conditions.

Ms Vine posed the question: “Why does it have to be on a working age household entitlement level, why can’t it be on a pensioner age household entitlement level? Because then, largely you’d be supporting somebody also in the most at-risk group, in their 50s to 60s, who has an older partner. It would be a double-win, because you’d also be helping them.

“If their income is low, which is why they’d be entitled to that benefit anyway, they’re not in work. If they were in work, neither of them would be entitled to it.”

She described how many elderly people consider this to be unjust. Ms Vine said: “We definitely think it’s something that should be looked at. For a lot of the people we support, they very much feel like they are being penalised for who they love, which isn’t something anyone wants to be in a situation of.”

The expert also noted that the most recent figures on how many people are impacted by this are considerably outdated, meaning the true scale of the issue remains unknown. The DWP was approached for comment and asked whether there are any plans to amend the policy.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Supporting pensioners is a top priority and our commitment to the triple lock means millions of older people will see their state pension rise by up to £2,100, with an extra 47,300 pensioner households awarded Pension Credit – worth on average £86 a week.

“Pension Credit is intended to aid pensioners who have left the labour market. A person of working age is entitled to different benefits which include employment support, such as Universal Credit.”

The state pension is expected to increase by up to £2,100 per year over the course of this Parliament due to the triple lock. The policy guarantees annual increases each April based on whichever is highest: 2.5 per cent, average earnings growth, or inflation.

Latest DWP data reveals that between November 2024 and November 2025, 179,455 Pension Credit claims were processed and granted – a 36 per cent jump, equating to 47,285 additional claims compared to the previous year’s figures.

When previously questioned by the committee regarding the mixed age qualifying rule, the Government responded: “There are no plans to change or explore the requirement for mixed-age couples to claim Universal Credit, or the conditionality requirements for the younger partner.

“This working age customer will receive the same labour market support as other Universal Credit claimants and any conditionality applied to them will take into account their individual circumstances.”

Savannah Guthrie’s replacement for Olympics coverage has been announced as she focuses on finding her missing mother.

NBC revealed that her co-host, Craig Melvin, is also canceling his trip to Italy.

Veteran Olympics broadcaster Mary Carillo will replace Guthrie as co-host on Friday’s telecast of the opening ceremonies for the Winter Games after Guthrie was forced to pull out of the gig to help search for her mother.

Melvin was due to host late-night Olympics broadcasts early next week, and he’ll be replaced in that role by Ahmed Fareed, NBC announced.

An NBC Sports spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Independent, “Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time. Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother.”

The mystery of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has cast a pall over what was anticipated to be a giant week for the television network.

Investigators believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Arizona home against her will.

The Olympics is among the few events to still draw consistent, big audiences to broadcast television. Other notable draws include the Super Bowl, which NBC is due to televise this weekend.

Savannah Guthrie had been scheduled to co-host the opening ceremony with Terry Gannon, but NBC said she was no longer traveling to Italy because of her mother’s disappearance.

Carillo is a familiar face to people who watch the Olympics — these will be her 17th Olympic Games — and she will co-host with Gannon.

Carillo lived in Milan for two years as a child, NBC said. She has hosted closing ceremonies at three Olympic games — in Salt Lake City in 2002, Beijing in 2008 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

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NBC News has aggressively covered the story of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, but it hasn’t been alone. It was the lead story of ABC’s World News Tonight on Tuesday, too.

But in a message, released as part of the latest batch of the Epstein files, headed “draft statement” sent by a “G Maxwell” to Jeffrey Epstein in 2015, she wrote: “In 2001 I was in London when [redacted] met a number of friends of mine including Prince Andrew. A photograph was taken as I imagine she wanted to show it to friends and family.”

Warning: This is a report of the inquest into the death of Darren Meah-Moore and contains evidence that may be distressing

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Police have used CCTV to piece together the final movements of a young man who ended up dead beneath cardboard boxes in a city centre laneway.

Darren Meah-Moore was also known as the drag queen, CC Quinn, Crystal Coutoure and Dolly Diamond in Cardiff. The video footage shows Meah-Moore engage with two men on the night, disappearing from sight but reappearing again. However, its after a third encounter with a man that he fails to reappear.

He was later found dead in a lane close to Windsor Place and Park Lane in Cardiff City centre on Sunday, January 22, 2023, reports Wales Online. The 39 year old lived in Newport but performed in venues across South Wales, England and abroad with his act that included jokes, funny stories and songs by Tina Turner and Amy Winehouse.

The CCTV video combined with witness statements show Mr Meah-Moore entering the lane where his body was found. The man that was with him cannot be named due to a reporting restriction made by the court.

The man gave evidence about a sexual encounter involving his pet dog on the second day of the inquest. South Wales Police detective superintendent Paul Raikes gave evidence the following day as he was the assumed senior investigating officer responsibility on duty on January 23.

He explained how there was “clearly concern and suspicion of the nature of the death” and it was a suspected potential homicide. Due to the location where Mr Meah-Moore was found, blood found at the scene, and cardboard covering his body was a “possible method of concealment.”

Mr Raikes explained how the investigation was focused on obtaining “hundreds of hours” of CCTV. This was obtained to track Mr Meah-Moore’s movements that Saturday evening.

The footage clearly showed him travelling on the train from his home in Newport to Cardiff and revealed that he visited some of the city’s LGBTQ+ venues including, the Golden Cross, the Cambrian Tap, Proud Marys, Main Stage and Popworld.

Mr Meah-Moore stood outside before engaging with an unknown man and vanishing out of view for 37 minutes. He then re-appeared on CCTV at 2:23am on his own before heading to Pulse where he stayed until 4:51am.

The inquest was told that he went into Park Lane with an unknown man before he disappeared out of sight for seven minutes. He then re-appeared with the same man before turning onto Queen Street and they walked in separate directions.

DS Raikes said that he could “confidently say” that Mr Meah-Moore looked to be uninjured and unharmed when he emerged from the lane. He then socialised for some time with others on Queen Street.

He is then seen engaging with another man, who cannot be named before entering the lane again. This time, as he disappears from view, he does not reappear. It was the last time he was seen before he was found dead.

It was originally thought that robbery could be a motive but DS Raikes reported that Mr Meah-Moore’s bag and belonging, which contained a mobile phone and £200 in cash were all present.

A pathological external examination carried out on Mr Meah-Moore at the scene, before his body was recovered and taken to mortuary for further investigation showed that there was a presence of semen. This was later confirmed to be both human and non-human through DNA sample.

The DNA sample was found to match a sample from the dog of the man who went down the lane. Mr Raikes said there were no signs of restraint and no injury to areas ordinarily associated with an assault.

He said, “His ears, nose, mouth, structure of the neck were not injured or damaged in any way. There were no defence injuries and no bruising present to hands that might suggest defence injury.”

Mr Meah-Moore had an allergy to dogs which may have cause some sensitivity and a potentially allergic reaction, the inquest heard. The man who entered the lane with him was considered a suspect following the incident which led to his arrest.

A further statement revealed that it had been discovered that Mr Meah-Moore had been in contact with a dog. Police are seeking expert advice from an animal behaviourist as part of the investigation through the National Crime Agency.

The inquest was told that the expert’s opinion was that it was “highly unlikely” this was the first time the dog had been used for this purpose. This was contrary to the evidence of his owner who said it was.

The man refused a police request to hand his dog over for examination. This had something that was considered a “cause for concern” for officers. Two mobile phones which had been taken from the man’s home were not examined which DS Raikes described as “unfortunate.”

The inquest continues.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba made his return to competitive football back in November but has now suffered another blow with French side AS Monaco

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has suffered another blow after his return to football. The Frenchman has been left out of Monaco’s squad for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Pogba made his return to playing back in November, just over two years after his previous appearance. The midfielder joined Monaco on a free transfer in June, after serving a reduced ban for testing positive for a banned substance.

He had to wait to make his debut due to building up his match fitness after so long out of action. That debut came as a late substitute in the Ligue 1 clash against Rennes back in November.

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Pogba has gone on to make a further two substitute appearances but has missed the last nine games in all competitions with a calf injury. In a latest blow, Pogba has been left out of Monaco’s squad for the upcoming knockout stages of the Champions League. Speaking in a press conference, via RMCSport, Monaco director Thiago Scuro gave an update on the 32-year-old.

“The entire medical department is focused on finding solutions,” he said. When asked when Pogba will be able to train again, he added: “There’s no clear answer to that question.

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“We still need to develop the process to clarify the situation. As with any injury, the first step will be to get back on the pitch, then continue to progress in training to regain the necessary fitness to play.”

As well as Pogba, defender Mohammed Salisu and midfielder Takumi Minamino have been removed from the squad, with both players also out through injury. January signings Wout Faes and Simon Adringra have come in to replace them, with Krépin Diatta also added to the squad.

Monaco are back in action on Thursday night (8pm kick-off), when they travel to take on Strasbourg in the round of 16 stage of the French Cup. They return to Champions League action on Tuesday, 17 February, when they host PSG in the first leg of their play-off clash.

The second leg takes place at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, 25 February (8pm kick-off). The winners will take on one of Barcelona or Chelsea in the round of 16 stage.

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The eldest son of Norway’s crown princess has denied that videos on his phone showed acts of rape as he broke down during his first day of testimony in his trial for rape and domestic violence.

Marius Borg Hoiby, 29, son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson ⁠to Crown Prince Haakon, could face years in prison if found guilty of the most serious of the 38 charges against him.

The case has shaken the Norwegian royal family, which has historically enjoyed high favourability ratings.

On Tuesday, the first day of his trial, he pleaded not guilty to the most serious charges of rape and domestic violence, but admitted some lesser charges, including driving too fast.

He also said he was partially guilty – a plea allowed under Norwegian law – of aggravated assault and reckless behaviour.

On Wednesday, Hoiby broke down in tears during his first day on the witness stand, saying: “It is very difficult for me to speak in front of so many people.

“I have been surrounded by the press since I was three. I have been harassed ever ‌since.”

He said he had received “heavy medication”, and would try to do as much as he could.

Hoiby spoke about growing up as the son of a crown princess.

He said: “I have an extreme need for affirmation. A lot of sex, a lot of alcohol. Few can relate to the life I have led. A lot of parties, alcohol, some drugs.”

Hoiby wore jeans and a dark blue jumper over a beige shirt, and spoke with his arms crossed, occasionally consulting handwritten notes from a notebook.

Some of the most serious charges against Hoiby are one count of rape ‍with sexual intercourse, and three counts of rape without intercourse, some of which the prosecution says he filmed on his telephone.

He denied the videos on his phone show acts of rape, and noted that he had never shared them with anyone.

“If I had thought I had material that showed an assault, I would never have kept that material,” he said.

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Hoiby’s trial is scheduled to run until 19 March, and prosecutors have said that he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The crown prince and princess do not plan to attend the trial of Hoiby, who is outside the line of royal succession and has no title.

A monarchy under pressure

The trial comes as the Norwegian royal family is facing challenges on multiple fronts.

Hoiby’s mother, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, is under intense scrutiny over her ties with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

An opinion poll conducted on ‍Monday for daily newspaper Verdens Gang, showed only 61% of Norwegians were in favour of keeping the monarchy – a drop of 11%.

First came the cars of the United Nations, then two coaches with blue paintwork. And then came a wave of emotion – proof that the heart has a power that the head can’t always match.

How to explain the logic of people desperate to return to the shattered ruins of Gaza?

To leave behind the safety and sanctuary of life in Egypt, and to rush back to a place where you search for running water, dream of functioning hospitals and fear the effects of airstrikes, collapsing buildings and unexploded bombs.

The only explanation is the profound sense of longing that can affect us all when we are separated from family, friends and the place we consider our home. And so it is in Gaza.

The people who came out of those coaches were among the first to have crossed the Rafah Crossing to pursue their dream of returning to Gaza.

It’s estimated that more than 40,000 people fled the Strip during the war. These were the first to come back.

Foreign journalists are banned from entering Gaza, but our Gazan colleagues have been reporting on our behalf ever since the war began. As they filmed, they saw a stream of emotional reunions and outpourings of joy.

Kariza Bahloul, 48, was one of those to have come home.

She told our colleagues in Khan Younis that it was “an indescribable feeling” to return: “I am very happy that I came back to my husband, my sons, my family, my loved ones, and also to my homeland. And the homeland feeling is the most important.”

A few feet away, Amati Othman Omran was also soaking up the feeling of homecoming.

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She had left Gaza to accompany her husband, Adel, to Egypt so he could have heart surgery. But her love for Gaza never diminished.

“When the road back was blocked, and I could not come back, I spent two years without a single day of peace, thinking of my sons, my brother, sisters. My family,” she said.

“I thank God that I have come back to Gaza. I smelled its scent and its air from far away.”

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Huda Abu Abed had left during the first ceasefire, traumatised by the death of her son. Then, she said, there were still houses and olive trees.

“Everything was not destroyed, as it is now,” she said.

So how, she was asked, did she feel about coming back to a land where she will be destined to live in a tent, surrounded by rubble?

“It is better than living in a villa,” came the reply. “If I sit under a tree, it is better than being away from home. I am happy to get back to a tent, because that tent will contain my family.”

It is an intoxicating strain of both optimism and loyalty. But it also feels so discordant to the reality of life.

Not only is everyday existence still unpredictable and fragile, but the danger of sudden violence lingers over everything.

Just hours after these people were joyously reunited with their families, more than 20 Gazans were killed by a combination of Israeli tank and airstrikes. Among them, a paramedic who had come to help.

The Israeli military later issued a statement saying it had targeted one of the leaders of the 7 October massacre, and offered its regret for any harm done to “uninvolved civilians”. It was near as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) normally comes to an apology.

A little while later came a separate IDF statement, accusing “Hamas terrorists” of “systematically using ambulances in Gaza by transporting terrorists and weapons”.

The effect, whether deliberate or not, was to dilute their own words of regret. In Gaza, the place where some are desperate to flee, and others are desperate to return, nothing is ever sure.

Ryan Gravenberch looks set to start at centre-back with Joe Gomez (injury) and Ibrahima Konate (compassionate leave) unavailable. Andy Robertson is given the nod to start at left-back ahead of Milos Kerkez. There is no Curtis Jones in the squad.

Liverpool: Alisson, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, Robertson, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike.
Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Endo, Kerkez, Chiesa, Nyoni, Nallo, Morrison, Ngumoha.

Qarabag: Kochalski, Cafarquliyev, Medina, Mustafazada, Silva, Jankovic, Bicalho, Zoubir, Montiel, Andrade, Duran.
Substitutes: Mmaee, Kouakou, Akhundzada, Addai, Bolt, Kashchuk, Qurbanli, Bayramov, A. Huseynov, B. Huseynov, Ramazanov, Buntic.

More than £66 million has been paid to over 33,000 bereaved people since Funeral Support Payment launched in 2019.

People in South Lanarkshire who lose someone over the winter months are encouraged to apply for support to help with funeral costs.

Funeral Support Payment is delivered by Social Security Scotland and is available to people living in Scotland who receive certain benefits.

The payment can help cover some of the cost of a funeral and can be used towards funerals for a baby, child or adult. The payment also covers funerals for babies who are stillborn.

More than £66 million has been paid to over 33,000 bereaved people since Funeral Support Payment launched in 2019.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “A bereavement is one of the hardest things a person can experience. On top of their grief, people often face the staggering costs of paying for the funeral. The average price for a funeral in the UK is now well over £4,000 – this is a cost many do not have the resources to pay for.

“Funeral Support Payment is there to ease some of the financial pressure for grieving individuals and reduce funeral poverty for people in Scotland. I urge people in South Lanarkshire to check their eligibility to receive Funeral Support Payment.”

To find out more information on Funeral Support Payment, visit: www.mygov.scot/browse/benefits/death/funeral-support

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A decade on from Ireland’s most notorious gangland hit, Irish police say they have had “unprecedented” success in tackling Dublin’s drug gangs – and ending a bitter feud that claimed at least 18 lives.

In 2025, the Gardai recorded a total of zero gangland gun murders “for the first time in modern times” – believed to be at least 30 years.

Ninety-eight members of the two most infamous organised crime groups – the Hutch and Kinahan gangs – have been jailed, and 51 attempted hits have been foiled.

It was the Hollywood-style attack on the Regency Hotel that changed Ireland’s crime landscape forever.

On 5 February 2016, a hit squad of assassins disguised as a police SWAT team besieged a boxing weigh-in at the hotel, near Dublin Airport.

AK47-style assault rifles were fired as hundreds of panicked attendees fled. Several were injured in the chaos, and one man – Kinahan associate David Byrne – was killed in the lobby.

The attack, Gardai say, was carried out by the Hutch gang – their target was Daniel Kinahan, head of their bitter rivals.

It accelerated a feud that shocked Ireland with its ferocity, and ultimately backfired on both gangs as the police backlash strengthened.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, only a year old, led the way.

Dubliners became accustomed to heavily-armed police checkpoints in the inner city, as politicians promised all the resources necessary.

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The Regency Hotel shooting “was not just an attack on a sporting event, and the murder of Mr Byrne, but an attack on our state and and an affront to all right-minded and peaceful citizens”, according to Garda Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis.

The gardai responded “with a sustained and relentless campaign to disrupt, degrade and dismantle the Hutch and Kinahan criminal organisations and their criminal activity”, she said.

At a press conference in Dublin today, Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland vowed that the force would not become “complacent” in combatting organised crime.

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“We don’t live in Nirvana”, he said, warning the continued demand for illegal drugs could fuel potential upsurge in gang violence.

Now, he says, the Kinahan cartel “no longer exists as it did in 2016”, although the Hutch group remains active and a target of investigation.

Its alleged leader, Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, was acquitted of Mr Byrne’s murder in a well-publicised trial in April 2023.

Against a backdrop of policing success, Boland says he does not regard that the absence of a murder conviction a decade on as a policing failure, or a regret.

“We’re not emotional about these things”, he says.

“There are no regrets.”