Katie Nicholl, the former Mail on Sunday Mail Royal Editor, and Rebecca English, the Daily Mail’s current Royal Editor, were repeatedly asked where information about Prince Harry had come from. They said they, or their sources, were on the fringes of his social circle. And his friends talked.

The Covid variant BA.3.2 has been detected in 23 countries, including the UK

A new Covid-19 variant has been detected in the UK, health officials have confirmed. The BA.3.2 variant, dubbed the ‘Cicada’ variant, is currently being monitored, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The latest UKHSA data, which looks at positive Covid tests between February 16 and March 1, shows two per cent of cases in England are the BA.3 variant. However, experts warn the new strain is ‘expected to become the dominant strain’ in the UK.

The latest variant has been confirmed in 23 countries since it was first detected in November 2024, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was declared a ‘variant under monitoring’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 5, 2025.

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According to the WHO, a ‘variant under monitoring’ needs prioritised attention due to characteristics that may pose an additional threat compared to other strains of the virus. Despite this, officials say it is not believed to cause more severe disease or different symptoms to currently circulating Covid strains.

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How concerning is the ‘Cicada’ Covid variant?

BA.3.2 is descended from the Omicron variant, which emerged in late 2021. It also carries 70 to 75 genetic changes in its spike protein, the part of the virus that helps it get into cells, according to the CDC, suggesting that the it might evade immunity or that the vaccine may not be as effective against it.

However, the WHO says ‘currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to continue providing protection against severe disease’, despite its differences to circulating strains.

“Overall, available evidence suggests that BA.3.2 poses low additional public health risk compared with other circulating Omicron descendent lineages,” the WHO report added.

It said in December last year that ‘there are no clinical or epidemiological data to suggest that BA.3.2 infection is associated with increased disease severity, diagnostic failure or reduced susceptibility to available antivirals compared with other Omicron descendent lineages’.

It added that the new variants ‘pronounced immune-escape profile’ – its potential ability to evade immunity – warrants continued monitoring from Covid experts.

Will Covid cases rise in the UK?

The latest UKHSA data shows Covid is currently circulating at baseline levels, with positive tests and hospital admissions remaining stable.

Prof Ravi Gupta, of Cambridge University, who advised the UK government during the pandemic, told The Mirror: “This is different from the [Covid-19] viruses we have been dealing with for the last two years.”

Prof Gupta said: “It has been found in the UK, has been increasing in prevalence and I would expect it to become the dominant strain. BA.3.2 is undergoing testing right now. We have been looking at it in terms of immune evasion and the immunity that we’ve all got.”

He added: “Some people have done analysis on this suggesting it may be more prevalent among young children. Children get infections all the time but this might be something to do with the fact that they have never been exposed to Covid vaccines.

“So this is something we’re looking at in the lab to try and work out why. The problem with this is that it is an infection that spreads fast. Eventually it ends up in someone who is vulnerable.”

Symptoms of the new variant are expected to be the same as circulating Covid strains. According to the NHS, these include:

• a high temperature
• a new, continuous cough
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
• shortness of breath
• feeling tired or exhausted
• an aching body
• a headache
• a sore throat
• a blocked or runny nose
• loss of appetite
• diarrhoea
• feeling sick or being sick

Tottenham have appointed Roberto de Zerbi as their new head coach after the Italian signed a five-year contract with the club.

The former Brighton boss has seven games to save the club from relegation to the Championship.

If they do go down, he does not have a relegation clause that would allow him to walk away.

In two months’ time, Spurs’ third boss of the season will have either secured his place as a hero at the club, or be forever connected to one of the worst campaigns in their history.

He said: “I am delighted to be joining this fantastic football club, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world.

“In all my discussions with the club’s leadership, their ambition for the future has been clear – to build a team capable of reaching great achievements, and to do that playing a style of football that excites and inspires our supporters. I am here because I believe in that ambition and have signed a long-term contract to give everything to deliver it.

“Our short-term priority is to climb the Premier League table, which will be the complete focus until the final whistle of the last game of the season.”

De Zerbi has been the overwhelming first choice to become the club’s new permanent head coach.

BBC Sport reported on Sunday that De Zerbi was the man Spurs wanted to replace Igor Tudor, who officially left the club by mutual consent over the weekend.

Talks have been ongoing since Sunday and those discussions have been successful.

De Zerbi was always open to taking the Spurs position, but it is understood he initially showed a reluctance to accept the job before the end of the season.

But the coach, who left Marseille earlier this year, has been persuaded to take the job immediately.

Tottenham are 17th in the Premier League, just one point outside of the relegation zone and without a win in the competition in 2026.

Should they fail to beat the drop, it would go down as one of the league’s most remarkable relegations.

Sporting director, Johan Lange, said: “Roberto was our number one target for the summer and we are very pleased to be able to bring him in now.

“He is one of the most creative and forward-thinking coaches in world football, and brings with him a wealth of experience at the highest level, including in the Premier League.”

After guiding Brighton to European qualification during his stint in the Premier League between 2022 and 2024, De Zerbi took Marseille to second in Ligue 1 last season before leaving in February.

The Italian’s first match as Tottenham boss will be a trip to Sunderland on 12 April, followed six days later by a home game against his former club Brighton. Their remaining fixtures are home matches against Leeds and Everton, and trips to Wolves, Aston Villa and Chelsea.

“He will be having his own way – he’s quite a character,” former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“He’s a very outspoken manger. He’s a manager in a similar way to Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte that Tottenham have had in the past.”

Emergency services were called to Gillygate, near its junction with Bootham, around 1pm today (Tuesday, March 31).

The cordon, which extends from Sore Thumb Retro Games to Fusion Hair and Beauty in the street, includes a First Bus – thought to have been involved in the incident.

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Police have closed a lane of Gillygate, with officers currently at the scene co-ordinating traffic.

A First Bus is believed to have been involved in the crash (Image: Newsquest)

A staff member at nearby business Love Cheese said of the crash: “We didn’t actually see anything as it has been so busy.

“The police popped in because we have a camera pointing in the general direction.

“There were ambulances at the scene but officers said everyone was ok, so that’s good.”

A police car and officers remain on the scene (Image: Newsquest)

A member of the public said a person is believed to have been involved in the crash, and that police had been seen questioning potential witnesses and had taken fingerprints.

Police said that no further information could be released at this time and an appeal for further information has yet to be launched.

Business along the road remain open, with Mali Thai Food – which is included in the cordon – operating a takeaway service to avoid any interruptions to the investigation.

Manchester United’s summer signing Senne Lammens has enjoyed a stellar debut season for the Reds and is destined to go to the World Cup

Manchester United’s fanbase have arguably never been so torn as when the club finally announced David de Gea would be leaving at the end of the 2022/23 season. The final player remaining from the Reds’ last Premier League title winning season was unceremoniously released after weeks of uncertainty.

As one of the club’s elder statesman, De Gea was a high earner and United were keen to reduce his salary if he were to stay. This was because Erik ten Hag wanted a new goalkeeper who could play out from the back and were the Spaniard to remain, he would have to settle for being second choice.

Towards the end of that season, De Gea was under increased scrutiny after a number of shaky performances. His display in the 2023 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City sealed his fate and, while there were conflicting thoughts as to whether the decision was right or not, everyone agreed De Gea deserved a better exit.

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Once the decision was made, all eyes were on the future and Andre Onana’s arrival was greeted warmly. The Cameroon international arrived having helped Inter reach the Champions League final and was renowned for playing out from the back.

However, what no one took into account was how few shots Onana faced at Inter. They were a dominant side in Italy and their strong defensive structure protected the goalkeeper. At Old Trafford, the Champions League finalist was found out.

In the 2022/23 season, the Reds conceded just 43 Premier League goals. This shot up to 58 in Onana’s debut campaign and dropped slightly to 54 last season, albeit goal scoring was sacrificed to shore up the defence.

With the jury firmly out on Onana in the 2023/24 season, many United fans were calling to bring back De Gea. The goalkeeper took the unconventional step of taking a year out of the game to spend time with his family while keeping in shape by regularly training at local National League club Altrincham.

De Gea was not getting any younger and re-signing him would have made United look desperate. What they needed to accept was Onana’s limitations.

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He was not consistent enough for the Premier League, especially for a team who conceded so many shots to the opposition. Only at the start of the 2025/26 campaign did United realise the error of their ways.

An injury for Onana in pre-season allowed Altay Bayindir to take on the No.1 role. And, after another disappointing Onana performance against League Two Grimsby Town, Ruben Amorim finally pulled the trigger and signed another goalkeeper to take on the role of first choice.

Senne Lammens was a risk when he arrived. He had never played in one of the top five European leagues and he only had one full season to his name in senior football.

And yet, the Reds have discovered a goalkeeper who has reassured the defence with his composure and competence. Whether Lammens will go on to have the career of De Gea remains to be seen.

But we are no longer agonising over goalkeeper errors week in, week out as we were throughout Onana’s time as first choice and even during the final months of De Gea’s spell. Lammens has proven to be not only cheap but consistent.

United know what they are getting with him in goal. It has taken three years but finally United have managed to prove their decision to release De Gea was right.

Anthony Slaughter, Zack Polanski, and a sea of candidates gathered in what is normally an antiques fayre to formally launch the Green Party’s Senedd election campaign. West Wharf Gallery in Cardiff was fitted out with plants and disco balls for the event.

The Greens are going into this election promising to freeze rent, abolish the current tax system and bring bills down. And the Mr Polanski and Mr Slaughter told the optimistic gathering they would be “the kingmakers” of the upcoming election.

The most recent YouGov poll projects the party will take home 12% of the vote, which projections suggest would translate into 10 seats. If the poll projections are repeated on election day on Thursday, May 7, it would represent a staggering breakthrough for the party which have never had a member of the Senedd elected before. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Although Mr Slaughter was reluctant to quote the exact number of seats the latest poll projects, preferring to say ‘at least six or seven’, the second-placed candidate for his constituency, Tessa Marshall, was more than happy to quote the figures and was met with applause.

One of the party’s best results in Wales was two years ago at the 2024 General Election when Anthony Slaughter came second to Labour’s Stephen Doughty in the Cardiff South and Penarth constituency, collecting 14% of the vote.

The result that has energised the Welsh side of a party which has been buoyed by the popularity of new leader Zack Polanski. Their pitch to voters is that they are only the real left-wing option on the ballot paper.

The boom the party has experienced has also changed Mr Polanski’s ‘number one priority’. The leader of the party in England and Wales said when he was elected his key goal was getting Mr Slaughter elected to the Senedd in Caerdydd Penarth. Now he’s dreaming bigger.

When asked whether this potentially newfound success could lead to a split of the current England and Wales party, both Mr Slaughter and Mr Polanski refused to rule out the possibility of the party forming their own Welsh set-up. Mr Polanski said that if the party were to approach him and say they wanted to do so, his reaction would be, ‘understood, how can I help’.

While the mood was positive, some people had apparently headed to the Cardiff University sparc building where the launch was originally planned to take place. One person also said to the person he was sat next to, ‘I hope I get a copy of the manifesto’, which was wishful thinking given it was a campaign launch not a manifesto launch.

What are the party promising to deliver in the Senedd?

• To replace the broken council tax system.
• An immediate rent freeze moving on to rent controls.
• Build social housing at the scale and pace needed.
• Put Welsh Water back into public ownership.
• Bring in a £1 bus fare.

While their full manifesto is yet to be announced housing and bills appear to be central to their plans, rather than any future talk of independence for Wales.

Mr Slaughter said: “We’ve got to make Wales better for people before we have this conversation about devolution in the future.”

Mr Polanski added: “Before we even talk about independence the much more important conversation right now is making sure we get Green Senedd members into the Welsh Government who can be there to fix the problems that are facing people today that are not problems of independence but of high bills and needing better political representation.”

After Ms Marshall said the party would “bring bills down from day one”, Mr Slaughter said they planned to do so through rent controls, insulating homes, and bringing in an immediate rent freeze.

Explaining how they’d do so, he said: “We need rent controls but we know they can be complicated and they can have unexpected consequences. That’s why we’ll be calling for a rent freeze on day one. Just for a limited period of time a rent freeze would give us some breathing space while we figure out how to deliver fair rent controls.

“We’ll start with a programme of retrofitting and insulating people’s homes to get their bills down. The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use. Some of these things will take time but people will see a real difference in their material lives at the end of the four days.”

Ms Marshall added: “We need to devolve water to Wales because we need to bring Dwr Cymru into public ownership and make sure they are no longer polluting our rivers and making the people in Wales pay some of the highest water bills across the UK.”

Mr Polanski also refused to agree with Nigel Farage that the Senedd vote was “a referendum on Keir Starmer’s premiership”. Mr Polanski said: “I’m never going to take the opportunity to agree with Nigel Farage. What this election is about is people in Wales – their bills and having a better standard of living.”

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