Emergency services have attended a “very serious collision” on the A14
14:31, 12 Sep 2026Updated 14:40, 12 Sep 2026
A busy stretch of the A14 has been partially closed in Cambridgeshire after a “very serious collision”. Emergency services were called to the A14 between J31 (Girton Interchange) and J33 (Milton) at approximately 1.40pm on Saturday (August 12).
National Highways said Cambridgeshire Police are leading the response to the incident, which has been described as a “very serious collision”. The agency said a police investigation is ongoing and is “likely to take several hours” so the closure on the eastbound carriageway “will be protracted”.
East of England Ambulance Service also attended the incident. Both emergency services have been contacted for further information.
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A spokesperson for National Highways said: “National Highways Traffic Officers are attending to implement the closure and once this is completed they’ll work on releasing road users caught within the closure.
“There is currently no official emergency diversion route for this section of the A14. Traffic is being diverted off at the Girton Interchange to use either the M11 southbound or the A1302 towards Cambridge. Road users will need to follow local routes through Cambridge to reach and re-join the A14 eastbound. Heavy congestion is expected on this routes.
“If this closure impacts on your planned route, please allow extra journey time. Plan ahead, you may wish to re-route or even delay your journey.”
Q I cannot stand my son’s wife. She is in her early 30s and initially we were pleased when he met her as she seemed pleasant, was polite, well-spoken and attractive and had a good job (in corporate law).
However, a few years in, I am finding her unbearable. She is apparently very successful at work and as a result she seems to be rather bossy and opinionated, and I think she dominates my son, even though he has a good career of his own.
They are talking about having children and when we saw them recently, my son was even saying that he might be the one to stay at home and take care of them part time because her earnings are double his.
What about his career? He will fall behind. My wife tells me not to be so old-fashioned but I think it would be emasculating for my son to be a househusband. He has a first-class degree.
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A What you don’t mention is what your son thinks. Is he unhappy? Does he feel dominated or controlled by his wife? Would he resent taking a step back in his career? If the answer is no, then I wonder whether you’re worrying about a problem that doesn’t actually exist.
You describe your daughter-in-law as successful, bossy and opinionated – and sometimes success and high salaries can make people a little too full of themselves. However, have you noticed that only women are ever referred to as bossy? Could it be instead that she is confident and decisive – qualities you might well have yourself but which you might see differently in her? It can help to look for the things we do like in a person. You liked her initially, so perhaps you can accept her faults while appreciating her other qualities.
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I wonder if some of your discomfort comes from an understandable but old-fashioned notion of a man’s role, as your wife suggests. There is nothing emasculating about a father choosing to spend more time caring for his children. Your son’s first-class degree and career do not disappear because he takes time out to care for them. If his wife earns twice as much, it may simply make financial sense for them to arrange things this way. And your grandchild will be very lucky to have a loving parent to care for them.
Try looking at their choices through your son’s eyes rather than your own. Perhaps he is proud of his wife’s success, happy to support her career and excited about being an involved father. You clearly love your son and sometimes the most loving thing that parents can do when our adult children make choices that we don’t understand is to step back and trust them.
MY COLLEAGUE EXPECTS ME TO SWAP SHIFTS
Q My job sometimes involves evening or weekend shifts, which I don’t mind because it’s work I enjoy. I have a colleague with children under ten who often asks me to swap shifts. As I’m in my 50s, divorced and child-free, I’ve usually agreed because I’ve been able to be flexible.
However, I’ve now met someone and I’d really like to spend more evenings and weekends with him. When my colleague recently asked me to swap some shifts, I said I’d prefer not to. She became quite angry and said I was being unhelpful. I feel as though I’m in the wrong, and it’s upsetting.
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A It is difficult to combine shift work with having young children and, like you, I can sympathise with that. But that doesn’t mean you have to rearrange your life to make hers easier – and she certainly had no right to become angry when you have been kind and accommodating for years, presumably because you could be. But perhaps that very kindness has become something she takes for granted.
There can be an assumption that people with young children need more consideration, but this may also mean that colleagues with fewer responsibilities are expected to absorb the inconvenience. So tell her, kindly but firmly, that your circumstances have changed and you are no longer able to swap shifts as frequently.
Please don’t feel bad about this. You can sympathise with her situation without taking responsibility for solving it.
Your rugby morning stories making headlines on Sunday, September 13.
Here are your rugby morning headlines for Sunday, September 13.
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New Wales cap steals show
New Wales cap Kane James stole the show for Exeter during their Prem Cup victory over Bristol Bears.
Team-mate Olly Woodburn grabbed a hat-trick in the 45-21 victory, but back-row James – who made his Test debut off the bench against Argentina this summer – was perhaps player of the match.
The 21-year-old scored one try after bumping off Tobi Wilson with ease. Then, an explosive carry by James from a lineout laid the platform for Ethan Roots to score.
James should have had a second try near the end, after Exeter’s scrum drove over the line. However, scrum-half Jake Murray snuck in to ground the ball at James’ feet.
“Kane just looks like he loves playing rugby, doesn’t he? Running at speed, running around, making tackles – there’s something exceptional about that young man. We’re very lucky he’s here,” said Exeter boss Rob Baxter.
“I thought he gave a lot of energy to the game today and was probably one of our real energy drivers.
“It’s a really good start to the competitive season. I’m really pleased with our attitude and how we came through things, because there were pressure moments in the game.
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“We went down to 14 men when we were 10 points up, with a quarter of the game still to play, and those moments almost brought the best out of us.
“We could have looked around and thought, ‘This is getting a little bit tough now, what are we going to do?’ Instead, we upped our attitude and our effort, and I think that’s the most pleasing thing for me.
“There are still things we can improve. Our lineout was off at times, we got a little loose at a couple of breakdowns and gave away a couple of soft penalties. But you’re always going to have those things.
“My overriding feeling today is that we were pretty good. We had good attack, we were physical, we scored a lot of tries and at times we looked very clinical in the first half.
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“Some of the tries were really well worked, while at other times we had to work hard for them. The scrum went very well, the maul went very well and, as I say, the lineout was a little bit shaky.
“Outside of that, most parts of our game held up really well. To concede only 21 points against a dangerous Bristol side, when you actually start to break the game down, is pretty pleasing.”
Springboks wrap up Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series
A relentless South Africa wrapped up Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series with a 43-28 victory over New Zealand in Baltimore.
Having already had one hand on the trophy after going into the final Test with a 2-1 lead, the Springboks ensured that the trophy would not be split as they added more silverware to their cabinet.
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The back-to-back world champions outscored the All Blacks six tries to four in the United States, with Damian de Allende, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom scoring for the Boks.
New Zealand once again showed their attacking side – with Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder and Beauden Barrett all crossing – but it wasn’t enough.
Both sets of players knelt together on the pitch afterwards to mark the end of a remarkable Test series, before Dan Carter and Schalk Burger brought the trophy onto the pitch at M&T Bank Stadium for Siya Kolisi to lift.
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SRC starts with last-gasp thriller
Super Rygbi Cymru champions Llandovery were beaten by Pontypool at the death as the season got under way on Saturday.
Evan Lloyd’s 78th-minute penalty settled a thriller, with Pooler – who had finished bottom of the league last season – coming out on top in a 13-try thriller, winning 43-31.
Elsewhere, Aberavon saw off Bridgend 36-17, with wing Frankie Jones grabbing two of the Wizards’ six tries.
Cardiff came away from west Wales with a victory, having beaten Carmarthen Quins 27-17.
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Last season’s runners-up Ebbw Vale started their campaign with a comfortable victory over Swansea, winning 40-12 at Eugene Cross Park.
And Newport defended the SRC Challenger Shield with a 34-25 victory over Newport.
England shrug off slow start to register dominant win over Australia
By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent
England recovered from a poor first-half to storm to a 48-15 victory over Australia with Abi Burton emerging as the star at CorpAcq Stadium.
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Trailing 10-5 at the interval, the Red Roses burst into life with their set-piece initially turning the tables before they cut loose to finish the WXV Global Series opener with eight tries and a 39th consecutive Test win.
In their first outing since being crowned Grand Slam champions by beating France in May and first with the new smaller 4.5 ball being trialled in the women’s game, they took time to blow away the cobwebs with their high error count before the break leading to frustration.
Australia deserved to be ahead after controlling the breakdown and showing resilience in defence and they even played 10 minutes of the first-half with 14 players after Samantha Wood was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on.
But in the 47th minute England’s pack took charge with May Campbell finishing a line-out drive before they made an ominous statement with a dominant scrum.
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It ignited their attacking game with captain Meg Jones then dotting down a low kick through by Holly Aitchison, who was winning her 50th cap on her ground, to begin the stampede of tries.
Wings Mia Venner and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald were among those to breach the Australian whitewash but the world champions’ standout figure was Burton, the blindside flanker who bagged their first try as part of an impressive all-round display.
I began wearing a hijab at 12 years old, one year after 9/11. Almost overnight, I went from blending in to being stared at and bullied, as if my scarf had erased the girl my classmates previously knew.
When my daughter started school, I worried about how she would be treated in the classroom. I wanted her to take pride in her faith and her Muslim identity. I wanted her to feel she belonged just as she is.
And for a little while, I started to believe that was possible.
When my daughter was in preschool, her teacher called and asked, “What can we do for Ramadan?” So I came into the classroom and taught a lesson about Ramadan. Small hands folded paper lanterns and covered them with shapes and patterns. Then the lanterns went up around the room, representing our celebration on my daughter’s classroom walls.
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The little girl I used to be felt seen, too.
In kindergarten, we continued to be welcomed. I taught the moon’s phases and explained that breakfast means “breaking a fast”. We all fast while we sleep, I told the class. We were not so different from one another. After the ESL teacher saw my presentation, she asked me to give the presentation to the rest of the kindergarten classes.
My daughter brought Ramadan treat bags, just as her classmates brought treats for Christmas and Easter. I watched a better childhood begin to take shape in front of me.
Last year, when March came, my daughter packed the bags herself the night before. They showed painted lanterns, palm trees, geometric buildings, moons and stars, and she filled them with little stamps and bracelets chosen in her friends’ favorite colours. Only one was labelled, with “Ramadan Kareem,” for the only other Muslim child in the room.
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But this time, her teacher would not hand them out.
The teacher called me in the middle of the day and informed me that she would not be handing out the Ramadan goodie bags because they had “religious undertones”. When I asked her to explain what she meant by that, she referred to the designs on the the bags as “pictures of your temples”. I explained that Muslims do not worship in temples.
Following my phone conversation with the teacher and learning of her decision not to distribute the bags, I called the school and requested a meeting with the principal and the teacher. Several days later, I met with the principal alone; the teacher did not attend the meeting.
The principal later told me he had concluded that the images on the bag were religious symbols because he had searched the word “Ramadan” and saw pictures depicting crescent moons and stars. That is how it was decided – with Google Images. He never even actually saw one of the bags.
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This despite the fact that the school welcomed Santa visits and hosted Easter egg hunts. Children coloured dreidels and made candles for Diwali. My daughter’s school photograph came home on a holiday ornament.
When my daughter came home, she was upset with me. Her teacher had told her that “her mother had asked her not to” pass out the bags because there wasn’t enough time. She thought I had taken that moment away from her.
I sat beside my six-year-old and explained, in words small enough for her to carry, what had happened. Then I told her adults make mistakes, too.
A few nights later, she asked again whether she could pass out the bags. She still could not comprehend what was wrong with them. How could she? When I told her “not yet,” she grew quiet and offered to donate them to other children if her friends did not want them. She had concluded that her classmates had rejected a piece of her. They had not. They had never seen the bags she made.
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Two years earlier, a teacher at the same school invited me to help with an Easter egg hunt. Knowing my daughter could not eat pork-based gelatin, she prepared eggs marked with my daughter’s name so she could participate fully.
The school already knew how to include her. It had done it beautifully. But with this moment, someone dragged a stroke of black paint across six years of work.
Photo Courtesy Of Mariam Hussein
The goody bags the author sent to her daughter’s first-grade classroom. Each contained a light-up bracelet, a stamp, a tic-tac-toe keychain and a small treat.
After the school returned them, I posted photographs of the actual Ramadan goody bags in a parenting group I’m a member of, and asked whether parents found anything about them offensive. Many of the parents and teachers in the group were Christians, but said they appreciated the thoughtfulness of the gift and the learning opportunity it could provide.
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One parent who identified herself as Jewish commented, “They have to be consistent. If they want to celebrate one holiday, they’re going to have to celebrate all of them.”
I taught in K-12 classrooms before becoming a university educator. I do not believe harm always begins with malice. Here, it grew from three failures that are far too common in schools. The first was a failure to ask before deciding. No one asked what the images meant. One question – “What is this?” – could have prevented everything.
The second was a failure to apply the same standard to every tradition. Christmas marks the birth of Christ yet arrives as decoration. Easter arrives as plastic eggs. Familiar traditions are treated as culture, but my daughter’s Muslim traditions are treated as a problem.
The third was a failure to repair harm. I never asked for discipline. I wanted curiosity, accountability and repair. Instead, the teacher and administration defended their decision. The unfamiliar may cause discomfort, but that discomfort should invite curiosity, not erasure. Rather than examine their adult discomfort, they expected my daughter to become smaller.
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Photo Courtesy Of Mariam Hussein
After a classroom lesson about Ramadan, each student in the author’s daughter’s Pre-K4 class created a lantern, choosing the colors of the construction paper, balloon and decorative tape.
I could not let her learn that belonging required her to disappear. So we unenrolled her, and she now attends another school. I remain grateful to the teachers who asked what they could do to be inclusive – who marked the eggs, invited me into their classrooms and hung lanterns on the walls. They showed me inclusion was possible. But my daughter learned the other lesson anyway.
Every classroom is a painting. When teachers hang one child’s lanterns beside another child’s snowflakes, they do more than say both children belong. They build a classroom where they actually do.
Differences should stir curiosity, not ignorance. They should open doors into worlds we have not yet seen, not build walls between children. When a child hands you something unfamiliar, ask what it is before deciding what it means. One sincere question can turn a barrier into a doorway.
Mariam Hussein is a Teaching Specialist of Mathematics and First-Year Studies at Stockton University. As a Muslim mother and educator, she is committed to empowering students, strengthening their sense of belonging and mathematical identities, and helping Muslim students embrace their faith and identities with confidence.
Things change when you turn 80. Health is involved, but not in the way we usually think of age and medical stuff. Instead, there is the moment – that magical instance when people you met three minutes ago think they now have a license to raise the most intimate questions.
“So tell me,” they ask, “how do you account for such good health at your age?”
This question includes various assumptions. It implies that I want to talk about health, that I wish to talk about my health, that I do not have a terminal condition that will result in a sudden collapse, and that I know something about health – maybe a special inside secret I might reveal to a stranger.
These assumptions are tragically wrong, and here is what I want them to know:
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I have no interest in talking about health matters, especially when they involve me. Instead, I believe there is a zone of privacy that people should respect.
Just because I’m 80 and older than 96% of the population does not mean I’m required to answer questions from people I don’t know or even questions from people I do know.
My current medical condition is a private matter, and I hope yours is too. I really don’t want to know about your lumbago or that oozing sore on your lower lip. (And please, please, don’t try to hug me on the way out.)
There is no secret longevity formula. When I see my doctor and answer his questions about my health, he never looks at me and says, “Oh wow, that’s amazing. Medical science spends hundreds of billions of dollars a year on research, yet no one ever thought of your approach.”
Most importantly, I don’t know why I’m among the fortunate few to not only be 80 but also be in good health – good health, but not perfect health. I have a suspicion about this, but it disappoints most investigators.
My theory? You don’t get to be my age without a lot of luck.
Think of the Silicon Valley folks who are spending millions of dollars to attain what I have. Their days are built around copious amounts of exercise, pill consumption by the bucket and the careful documentation of each burp and callus. They don’t seem to be having a lot of fun, which to me is one of the great benefits of having their money.
Meanwhile, regardless of how many pills they take, such rich people are just like the rest of us; they can still get hit by a truck or die from an aneurysm. As Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner) wisely told us long ago on SNL, “It’s always something – if it’s not one thing, it’s another”.
The standard recommendations for a longer health span tell us to drink less, exercise more, lose weight, don’t smoke, stay away from drugs, sleep seven or eight hours a night, get a dog, take care of our teeth, get married, stay married and see a doctor regularly. Oh, and genetics count. It’s a plus if your family has a history of longevity.
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Got it. It’s great advice. But in some sense, it may not matter. Take genetics. We can’t change our birth parents. And money matters. Those with a high net worth tend to live longer than those without.
In any case, we all know of good people who died young. As the great economist John Maynard Keynes told us, “In the long run, we are all dead.” (If you want one reason why economics is described as the “dismal science”, there you have it.)
Better life spans are already here. For instance, people live longer in France (about 83.5 years), Canada (82.7 years), and Japan (84.8 years) than we do in the U.S. (79.5 years), according to the World Population Review.
So here’s a thought. Instead of spending millions of dollars to improve longevity, maybe a few Silicon Valley tech bros could just book passage to locations where people live longer. Or come back in their next life as a woman. Women, after all, typically live longer than men, and given all the nonsense they put up with, a few more years only seems fair.
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And if we should ever meet, please – I beg you – don’t ask how I remain both old and hearty. I don’t know. Honestly. But you might want to buy a truckload of cornflakes…
Peter G. Miller is an author and veteran newspaper columnist. He wrote seven books published originally by Harper & Row, including one with a co-author. Peter has been an accredited correspondent on Capitol Hill, a member of the White House Correspondents Association and the author of a nationally syndicated newspaper column. He was the original creator and host of the AOL Real Estate Desk, one of the earliest comprehensive real estate and mortgage areas online. Peter has been featured on “Oprah!,” the “Today” show, NPR, CNN, CNBC and many other media outlets. He currently writes the “Silver Lining Report” on Substack.
Disability Rights UK has raised major concerns over the Timms Review’s draft recommendations for PIP eligibility changes
Some disabled people could be treated less favourably under proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment, campaigners have warned.
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Disability Rights UK raised concerns about plans for a revamped PIP system after the Timms Review published its draft recommendations. The organisation said there were some positives in the proposals, including a commitment that PIP will remain a non-means-tested benefit. But it warned there were ‘major concerns’ about plans which could see the benefit move away from being entirely cash-based. The review states that ‘cash will remain the foundation of the award’, but adds that ‘some awards will also include services and other non-cash support’.
This could mean some people being offered services or other forms of support rather than receiving the full value of their award in cash. The proposals include dividing support into ‘cost categories’, with examples including ‘equipment and aids; mobility and transport; clothing and bedding’.
Disability Rights UK said the language used in the draft recommendations was ‘vague and ambiguous’ and left ‘much room for speculation and interpretation’ over whether some disabled people would be treated less favourably than others.
It is particularly concerned about people with conditions which may be less visible or harder to assess. The organisation pointed to the forthcoming Fonagy report on ADHD, mental health and invisible impairments.
It also highlighted the Government’s recent £3million plan for community mental health support, saying this raised questions over whether groups who already struggle to qualify for PIP could be negatively affected by the proposed reforms.
The campaigners said: “The problem of vague language and proposals runs throughout the draft recommendations.”
They also highlighted what they described as ‘almost complete silence’ on a proposed new eligibility framework for a replacement for PIP. There is also no indication, they said, of whether a new benefit would apply to existing claimants as well as new applicants.
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One proposal is for a ‘light touch’ initial assessment, which Disability Rights UK fears could become a ‘tick-box exercise’ that divides impairment groups and sends people down different application pathways. The review does contain a series of proposals designed to improve the experience of applying for and receiving PIP.
These include better guidance, more respectful language, improved reasonable adjustments and an advocacy service for people who need help navigating the system. There are also plans to reform assessments and decision-making, including a new PIP assessment framework to govern how decisions are made and appealed.
The review recommends greater transparency around decisions and a review of how supporting evidence is used. Disability Rights UK said the proposed move towards improving support for people with fluctuating impairments would be welcomed by many.
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It said the current points-based system ‘doesn’t capture the needs of people with fluctuating conditions’. The warning comes amid evidence that the public may not support cutting disability benefits.
The latest NatCen Social Attitudes Survey, published on September 8, found that 49% of the public believe there should be more spending on disability benefits, even if this led to higher taxes. Only 7% backed reducing disability benefit spending.
The report said the findings suggested that proposals to reduce disability benefit spending ‘could carry political risks’.
Disability Rights UK said this should be a ‘wake-up call for Government and the media to stop the continued and unfounded attacks on Disabled people and the welfare bill’.
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It called instead for a social security system that is ‘fair and truly meets our needs’. The organisation also highlighted research involving 2,000 PIP recipients. Only 16% said PIP covered all of their additional costs.
Separate research into the so-called Activity Trap found that 80% of disabled people were worried about being physically active because they feared losing their benefits. Campaigners say this fear can discourage disabled people from taking part in activities because they worry that doing so could be interpreted as evidence that they no longer need support.
Disability Rights UK and the Activity Trap study back the Commission on Social Security’s proposed Additional Costs Disability Payment as an alternative to PIP. They say it should retain a payment, regardless of employment status, which helps cover the additional costs disabled people face because of ‘living in an inaccessible society’.
They also want ‘adversarial, tick-box assessments’ replaced with personalised support and independent advocacy. And they argue that ‘proper financial support – paid in cash’ should be linked to a wider vision of dignity, independent living and full participation in society.
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Sophia Kleanthous, Campaigns and Policy Officer at Disability Rights UK, said: “The Government has consistently failed to properly include Disabled People’s Organisation’s in decisions and processes that affect us.”
She also criticised the lack of notice given over ‘significant updates and decisions during the Timms Review process’. She said the Government had failed to ‘co-produce any part of the Review with DPOs despite promises to do so’.
The next stage will see the draft recommendations considered by disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and charities through a series of round-table discussions.
Residents claim it is now ‘the best road in Britain’ after work to fix it
Potholes in a Cambridgeshire town had become so bad passing vehicles would set off car alarms, residents have claimed. Residents in March have praised the work that’s been done to repair roads after major concerns.
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The county council is undertaking an “innovation trial” to find a long-term solution to repairing peat-affected roads and have allocated sections of roads to try new treatments. The first of these is a section of Upwell Road in March, from where it meets Sixteen Foot Bank up to Trinity Farm.
Deep soil mixing, chemical stabilisation and the use of alternative lightweight materials are being used to strengthen the road’s foundations. Alongside this, a section of Upwell Road from the roundabout with Cavalry Drive to Binimoor Road has also been resurfaced, and residents said it is now “the best road in Britain”.
Martyn Cross said: “It’s excellent, really, that’s all I can say – it was getting terrible with potholes but they’ve done a great job. That’s probably the best road in Britain now.”
The 66-year-old said parts of the country roads are in a “terrible state” where there is an especially high amount of peat. Peat soil lies underneath 40 per cent of Cambridgeshire, but in Fenland this is 97 per cent, with nearly all roads affected, according to the council. They said that repairing roads built on peat can cost four or five times as much as repairs to conventional roads.
Alastair Morton said the resurfacing of Upwell Road is “fabulous” and everyone is pleased with the end result. The 60-year-old said: “It was horrendous out there, there was so much rattling when trailers went past that my car alarm went off twice.”
George Saule, 69, said: “It’s made a lot of difference – all they need to do now is stop those great big lorries going through.” Malcolm Gray said the roads were “never designed” for the weight of the vehicles that drive on it today.
The 76-year-old said: “If you walk or drive around here, you will see that the telegraph poles all lean away from the roads.” He said a long-term solution to address the foundations of the roads would save the council money rather than doing patchwork repairs.
He said: “It would cost money, but in the long-run it would pay for itself and potentially save lives because driving down here is dangerous. If you aren’t aware of the situation you could easily end up in a dyke.”
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the county council’s highways and transport committee, said peat-affected roads are one of their “biggest challenges”. The Lib Dem councillor said the trial will test three different techniques on the same road to figure out what works best on cost and longevity.
At the start of construction in August he said: “We’ll be learning from this and taking that evidence directly to government to make the case for a fairer funding settlement that reflects the unique challenges we face. It’s all part of our drive to get Cambridgeshire’s roads back on track.”
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The road improvement project is being funded through a £1.5m grant from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. Mayor Paul Bristow said he was “pleased” to see the trial get underway and that it’s “essential” to find effective solutions to the challenges of peat-affected roads.
He said: “Getting Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving means investing in infrastructure that is resilient and fit for the future. By finding better solutions for roads affected by peat soils, we can reduce disruption, improve reliability and make the most of available funding by investing in approaches that deliver long-term results.”
He said: “I sort of hate to see what’s happening with Europe.”
“I hate to see what’s happening on trade, I hate to see what’s happening on energy, and I hate to see what’s happening on immigration.
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“Woo, that immigration. What you’re doing to yourselves, you’re just killing yourselves. But we’re going to work with them.”
Trump added: “Very disappointing in many ways, that Nato didn’t want to help us with the Strait, even though we don’t get any oil from the Strait.
“We don’t need it. We have a lot of oil. We have more oil than anybody, as you know, but we thought it was important.”
Before the war, a fifth of the world’s oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but it has been effectively closed as a result of the conflict.
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That has sent to price of oil soaring, pushing up inflation around the world, including in American.
Trump has offered muddy reasoning for launching the war and hasn’t reached any of the stated objectives he laid out earlier this year. He has consistently expressed his frustration with Nato allies.
“I said, ‘Would you like to help us with the Hormuz Strait?’” Trump said regarding Nato.
He recalled European leaders turning him down, before appearing to suggest that he declined their support himself: “But I put it down because, why the hell are we helping them? So, you’ll be hearing that later.”
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Under Nato’s Article 5 provisions, member states can come to the aid of another, but only if they are under attack.
Trump, who is visiting Ireland for the closing weekend of the 2026 Amgen Irish Open at his Doonbeg golf resort, even claimed Nato is “saving us a lot of money” by opting out of his war, stating, “I didn’t do a heavy sell. I didn’t do a Trump kind of a sell.”
It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the lumpy stormtroopers deployed on our streets (including the street outside our offices) last week by the new national figure ‘Tommo’. It would also be hard not to cackle at Kent Police’s description of their carefully-planned appearance on Dover streets last weekend as ‘spontaneous’.
Tommo is a retired kidnapper, who failed at that ancient trade, and also (so we are told) a born-again Christian. I am tickled by the idea of ‘Tommo’, real name Daniel Thomas, trilling ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam’ in whatever Church, chapel or tent he worships at. I await the moving publicity video with sanctified soundtrack.
Did you notice his black-clad followers wear shorts rather than grown-up trousers? This is very odd. Having had a private education, can Mr Thomas be unaware of a previous (but fictional) organisation called the Black Shorts, a fascistic 1930s militia headed by the ludicrous Roderick Spode.
This was the invention of the comic genius PG Wodehouse, also known for creating Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse wrote of Spode that he looked ‘as if Nature had intended to make a gorilla and had changed its mind at the last moment’, but Spode’s ferocious, glowering image was undermined by his secret life as a purveyor of frilly ladies’ underwear.
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Should we also not laugh at people who no doubt growl that we should ‘ban the burqa’ – while themselves wearing a garment which is rather like a burqa, the balaclava helmet?
But dare we laugh? The accelerating collapse of the conventional parties, especially over immigration, makes it almost certain that people of this sort will grow closer to actual power in the years to come. In France, the dubious National Rally edges towards office. In Germany the AfD, which has some creepy connections, does the same. In the USA, the increasingly erratic Mr Trump continues to stomp wildly across the country and the planet like a giant with a sore head. The problem is that, just like the conventional parties, these movements will fail. Mass immigration has already happened. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who posed as the scourge of migrants and so won office, has almost entirely failed to do anything to solve the problem.
It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the lumpy stormtroopers deployed on our streets (including the street outside our offices) last week by this new national figure, ‘Tommo’
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These movements are like miracle cures which we buy in the hope they will work, then discard and replace with new, allegedly more powerful remedies.
Until eventually we realise there is no cure, or that the cure will be much worse than the disease.
Meanwhile our political system rots and loses confidence. Poverty, disorder and a strong intolerant state grow daily more likely. The governments of the last 30 years have much to answer for.
BBC can’t face the truth about grammar schools
Isn’t it inspiring that Diane Reay, the rather Left-wing Emeritus Professor of Education at Cambridge University, began life as a coalminer’s daughter on a Leicestershire council estate?
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I think so. It rejoices my heart that her talents were discovered and nurtured, instead of being ignored and wasted in some disorderly, bog-standard comp.
What is not so wonderful is that it can never happen again. The girls’ state grammar school where Professor Reay studied in the 1960s, and from which by dedicated hard work she won a place at university, was abolished in 1972. How odd then that Professor Reay’s moving achievement wasn’t even mentioned in a recent BBC Radio 4 documentary on the comprehensive school revolution, even though she appeared in it.
Don’t tell me, by the way, that this was especially rare in those days. In 1954 the Gurney-Dixon report noted that almost 65 per cent of grammar school pupils came from working class homes.
The BBC programme was very odd. I tried to get an advance recording but could not do so.
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It mistakenly suggested that the Left’s war of destruction on grammar schools dates from 1976, when it really got under way in 1965.
It interviewed plenty of supporters of comps, not least my former colleague Fiona Millar (another grammar school product), who is the mother of Alastair Campbell’s children.
But it did not interview a single supporter of selection by ability at 11.
Note to the BBC, I am such a supporter, I’ve written a book about it and am easily contacted. I have made several rather good documentaries on TV and radio.
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If you want to have another go at this very important subject, I am your man.
But you’ll be comforted to know that, despite my unpopular Right-wing opinions, I do still get some offers of broadcast appearances. Last week I was invited to take part in a Channel 4 Unreality Show called ‘Handcuffed’, in which (if I were fool enough to accept) I would be chained for the day to some other minor celebrity (chosen to be as different from me as possible).
If this were not bad enough, it would involve being superintended by the ghastly Jonathan Ross, embodiment of all that is wrong with today’s culture. Just so you know people do turn these things down, I can reveal here that I said ‘no thanks’.
A fourth Burger King restaurant has officially opened in Peterborough. Burger King has opened its fourth branch in the Cambridgeshire city today (Friday, September 11). The new restaurant has created 25 new jobs.
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On the opening day, the chain offered 1,000 Whopper or Chicken Royale burgers to those who visited.
Olivia, Restaurant Manager at Burger King® UK, Peterborough location, said: “My team and I are looking forward to meeting all our new customers in Peterborough! We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by giving away 1,000 of our iconic Whopper® or Chicken Royale burgers so get down nice and early to claim yours!”
The fourth restaurant has opened in Boongate in the premises of the former Frankie and Benny’s. This Frankie and Benny’s branch closed its doors in 2023 as a part of nationwide cuts.
Wingate Nursery School has become the first nursery school in the country to be rated ‘exceptional’ by Ofsted across every area inspected under the watchdog’s new framework.
The inspection, which took place on June 9, saw the school described as a place where ambition for children is “without limit” and where youngsters are encouraged to “think big”.
The nursery also ensures children get a breadth of experiences, learning essential skills and foundational skills so they are “exceptionally well prepared” for the future.
Children at Wingate Nursery School (Image: WINGATE NURSERY SCHOOL)
Headteacher Becky Wood said she was “incredibly proud” and “deeply moved”, saying: “It is an acknowledgement of the extraordinary work of our children, our families and our staff.”
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Inspectors awarded the top grade, the highest of five possible ratings, in all six categories assessed: achievement; attendance and behaviour; curriculum and teaching; inclusion; leadership and governance; and personal development and wellbeing.
Safeguarding standards were also confirmed as met.
The report derailed how leaders focus on forming “positive, supportive relationships” with the families and welcome them into the Wingate community.
Children at Wingate Nursery School (Image: WINGATE NURSERY SCHOOL)
Inspectors noted how children make “exceptional progress” where the opportunities for investigation and learning are “endless”
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The report describes how children thrive and have “consistently superb” behaviour, treating others and their environment with respect.
The nursery’s three sites – the main building, an allotment, and a woodland cottage – give children a “breadth of experiences” rarely seen in early years settings.
Staff, who are “excellent” role models, are “highly skilled” in supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring “no ceiling” on what any child can achieve.
Children at Wingate Nursery School (Image: WINGATE NURSERY SCHOOL)
Leaders’ expertise is influencing practice within the nursery, locally and nationally.
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Inspectors also recognised Wingate’s special relationship with the local community and its families with parents and carers describing it as a “special place in the community.”
Ms Wood said: “I am incredibly proud of this outcome, but more than anything, I feel deeply moved that the inspectors have recognised what we have always believed makes Wingate so special.
“This is not simply an inspection outcome; it is an acknowledgement of the extraordinary work of our children, our families and our staff, and of the courage we have to do things differently.
Children at Wingate Nursery School (Image: WINGATE NURSERY SCHOOL)
“This result belongs to every member of our Wingate family. I feel incredibly privileged to lead a school where creativity, curiosity, compassion and a respect for children and their childhood are at the heart of everything we do – every single day.”
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Chair of Governors Barbara Beels OBE, known to Wingate as ‘Paddy’, added: “This recognition of Exceptional, at the highest possible level, expresses the passion, vision, love and dedication that has been at the heart of Wingate Nursery School for many years.
“Under Becky’s inspirational leadership, the whole brilliant team remains true to the school’s values, working tirelessly to truly protect childhood.
“Children are ensured uninterrupted time for play within an enabling environment that provokes and empowers them to take responsibility for their own learning, supported sensitively by dedicated educators.
“We are so proud that these unique values and the joyful success they bring to the children, families and the whole community have been acknowledged nationally.’
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