It’s a habit 60 percent of us undertake at least once a week. 

Many see mouthwash as an essential part of oral hygiene, killing bacteria in the mouth to banish bad breath and help prevent tooth decay.

But dentists are now warning that, for most people, the habit is unnecessary – and may even be doing more harm than good.

Dr David Conway, from the University of Glasgow Dental School, previously said: ‘I would not advise routine use of mouthwash, full stop.

‘It isn’t needed as part of general oral hygiene.’

Researchers warn that there is no good evidence that mouthwash is more effective than tooth brushing in preventing cavities or solving bad breath.

At the same time, some small studies have warned that it could raise blood pressure – or even put users at a higher risk of cancer. 

So, should you really keep using mouthwash regularly?

To maintain mouth health, doctors recommend brushing teeth at least twice a day using a toothbrush and toothpaste that contains sodium fluoride, which strengthens enamel and prevents cavities.

The mechanical action of the toothbrush removes bacteria that could cause cavities and any food they could colonize, raising the risk of tooth decay. The foam formed during brushing also helps fluoride adhere better than if it were in mouthwash.

There are two main types of mouthwash: Therapeutic mouthwashes, which contain active ingredients that kill bacteria and help with common dental issues such as bad breath, gum disease and tooth decay, and cosmetic mouthwashes, which temporarily mask bad breath and leave a pleasant taste but do little more. 

While cosmetic mouthwashes simply mask a problem such as bad breath, experts warn that therapeutic ones could do damage to your health because of the disruption to the mouth microbiome.

The mouth is home to billions of bacteria that help boost oral health. But when a mouthwash is used, both the ‘bad’ and ‘good’ bacteria are swept away, raising the risk of complications. 

According to Dr Joanna L’Heureux, a public health expert in the UK, one of the main roles of bacteria in the mouth is to create chemicals to help manage blood pressure, with high blood pressure being one of the most common health conditions in the US.

Bacteria at the back of the tongue convert nitrate in our food, from sources such as leafy greens, into nitrite. The body absorbs this and converts it into nitric oxide, a compound that is essential for helping blood vessels dilate to lower blood pressure.

One small trial published in 2020 tracked 36 healthy adults in Britain who rinsed their mouths twice a day for seven days with a placebo mouthwash, and then did the same with a therapeutic mouthwash.

It found there was a ‘major shift in the salivary microbiome’ of the mouth and a major drop in the population of bacteria needed to maintain healthy blood pressure.

Many use mouthwash to help reduce their risk of dental cavities 

Another small study of 19 healthy volunteers found that adults who used mouthwash for seven days saw a small increase in blood pressure and reduced levels of nitrite. 

In another trial involving 15 adults who already had high blood pressure, three days of using mouthwash was found to further increase blood pressure. 

In these studies, the mouthwashes used contained chlorhexidine, a strong antiseptic available via prescription in the US that is only recommended for short-term use in people with gum disease or other dental problems. 

Some experts have warned this may also raise the risk of heart disease because high blood pressure is known to cause more damage to blood vessels, raising the risk of suffering from heart problems. 

There is also evidence to suggest that using a mouthwash may raise your risk of cancer.

Many mouthwashes contain up to 27 percent alcohol, which helps to kill off bacteria but is also a known carcinogen – linked to cancers of the mouth, throat and larynx.

A study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2014 linked mouthwash to oral cancer, although only among people who used it more than three times a day.

When it comes to treating bad breath, experts also warn there is particular concern over using mouthwash to do this. 

Dr Praveen Sharma, a dentist in the UK and adviser to the British Dental Association, said: ‘Bad breath may be caused by gum disease, in which case using mouthwash is effectively just blasting it with air freshener – it’s masking the symptom without treating the cause.’

So, how often is it safe to use mouthwash? 

Dr Purnima Kumar, an oral medicine expert at the University of Michigan, previously told the New York Times that if someone uses mouthwash occasionally, such as once a week or once a month, it is unlikely to do damage to their oral health.

But she warned that using mouthwash daily for months or years on end could lead to various complications.

She said: ‘Do I have a bottle of mouthwash next to my toothbrush? Absolutely. But do I use it every day? Certainly not.’

NEW YORK (AP) — Mirra Andreeva remembers looking up to Anastasia Potapova well before they became rivals on the court.

So when Potapova fell and was injured late in their fourth-round match Monday at the U.S. Open, Andreeva put aside the tennis and went to assist.

The French Open champion helped Potapova up so she could get treatment, then finished off a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory that sent her to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows for the first time.

“It’s not the perfect end to the match,” Andreeva said.

Andreeva led 5-3 in the final set when Potapova lunged to hit a running forehand and went down holding her left knee. As Potapova sat on the court in pain, the 19-year-old Russian came from the other side of the net and rested her hand on the 25-year-old’s shoulder.

She helped the No. 24 seed up and Potapova was able to limp to her bench, where Andreeva asked if someone could bring her ice. Potapova was treated and eventually able to continue with her knee bandaged, though with limited movement she didn’t win another point and didn’t even attempt to get Andreeva’s final shot.

Potapova appeared to be tearing up as Andreeva came around the net for a long embrace after the final point.

Potapova now represents Austria, but she was born in Russia and still played under that flag when she won the junior Wimbledon championship in 2016.

“For me, Nastya, she was always like a prodigy,” Andreeva said. “She came on tour early. She also had a lot of wins. I also remember we were all watching and cheering for her when she won juniors Wimbledon title. I remember watching that match. For me, she was always, like, a little star that I was kind of always looking at.”

Potapova won their first meeting on tour in 2022 but Andreeva has won the last four. This one prevented Potapova from reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

“First, she just beat me. So after, I just kind of knew that she’s a tough player to play, but at the same time, she was so nice,” Andreeva said.

“Then since then we would practice together, and just like that, the more you see each other, the more you spend time together, then you just talk about everything, discuss everything. Then just like that, I feel like we have a good connection off the court.”

___

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

By QUENTIN LETTS, PARLIAMENTARY SKETCHWRITER

Published: 21:40 BST, 7 September 2026 | Updated: 21:53 BST, 7 September 2026

John Healey, our new Chancellor, gave a speech designed to soothe the financial markets. Soothe or sedate? Mr Healey probably sent them to sleep faster than a doxepin bap.

He ambled to the lectern mid-morning at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry. Strong coffee beforehand. It was soon evident why. They should have issued cattle prongs, to prod audience members who started snoring.

The Healey voice whirrs. You sense it is there yet you remain unsure in which corner of the room it has settled. There is just this bucolic bombilation. It is not quite a buzz, more an amiable susurration as it dawdles in the dahlias. You find your eyelids becoming heavy. Your pulse slows. The chin droops.

Give that person a prod!

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He is not the first Chancellor to be a boring orator. Geoffrey Howe was humdingingly dull. John Major‘s speeches had the colour and texture of whipped egg white. I used to keep myself awake by staring at his hairy hands and imagining what horrors they committed in that bath with Edwina.

Alistair Darling was charming but his Budgets would leave the Commons in various states of narcolepsy, some MPs with heads back, mouths like sinkholes, others having slumped against colleagues’ shoulders. And yet those Chancellors were not entirely without their merits, so a comatose tone may not intrinsically be a bad thing. It may indicate fiscal caution.

Mr Healey’s speech, sadly, merely exuded continuity. His words were little different from those Rachel Reeves used to utter. He desired growth but would not promise the spending and tax cuts that could create it. He claimed to ‘want to leave a sense of real urgency and imperative’ but there was no concomitant undertaking actually to do anything. One week before the TUC conference, and three before Labour’s, he was probably never going to say anything radical.

He is less obviously a bluffer than Reeves. The eyes do not dart so much – Rachel used to look like a shoplifter – and Mr Healey comes across as more experienced and calm. But the cliches were terrible. We had ‘win-win’, ‘brightest and the best’, ‘let me be clear’, ‘acting at pace’ and ‘defining mission’. These were typed in his script. Why does no special adviser edit such atrocities? Do political aides not understand how language can kill interest?

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The Healey voice whirrs. You sense it is there yet you remain unsure in which corner of the room it has settled. There is just this bucolic bombilation, writes Quentin Letts

Meanwhile, Angela Rayner made a triumphant return to the Commons front bench, mispronouncing Worcester as ‘Whirrchester’

Mr Healey has a slender face, long chin and a forehead that often wrinkles. His upper lip lifts at the left, baring larky teeth. Had he a little more hair, the effect would be vintage Leonard Rossiter. If he leaned backwards and put his hands on his hips he would basically be a bald Reggie Perrin.

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He began by praising his ‘brilliant Treasury team – James, Dan, Lucy.’ Pause. Then: ‘Torsten’. Fancy that: almost forgetting Torsten Bell. The speech’s buzz-phrase was ‘growth in every postcode’. He blamed the Tories for lack of growth in those postal codes: ‘Cameron’s austerity, Johnson’s hard Brexit, Liz Truss’, plus Thatcher-era deindustrialisation. 

Even as he spoke, just down the road, Jaguar Land Rover was axing 4,000 jobs. Maybe Labour’s high energy and employment costs had something to do with that. As for Ms Truss, Labour has now zoomed past her record on gilt costs.

Having complained about Brexit, Mr Healey boasted about the trade deals that, er, Brexit made possible. He claimed the credit for interest rate cuts. When a reporter mentioned the possibility interest rates could soon rocket, that was attributed to global factors.

The venue by this point resembled the day room of an old people’s home, the audience in various stages of poleaxed slumber.

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Which leaves room briefly to report that Angela Rayner made a triumphant return to the Commons front bench, mispronouncing Worcester. It popped out as ‘Whirrchester’. John Prescott used to beam when he mangled words. Ditto Mrs Rayner. Beside her sat Matthew Pennycook, her deputy. For a few precious months he thought he had escaped Big Ange. Now she is back.

Poor old Pennycock’s expression was unbearably tragic.

Chief Constable Victoria Fuller and Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey have written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to ask for an increase of £20m of funding per year. 

They say that “longstanding and systematic funding inequalities” has left the region “disproportionately underfunded for many years”. 

It comes in the wake of the devastating A66 crash on August 22 where PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died in the line of duty. 

Police at the scene of the crash on the A66. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The letter, backed by a string of civic leaders across the region including mayors and council leaders, has laid bare how there are no police force areas with higher levels of crime than the region that receive less funding than Cleveland Police.

There are approximately 40 per cent more crimes per police officer in Cleveland than the national average, and despite this level of demand, Cleveland receives around 35 per cent less funding per crime than the average police force. 

Cleveland Police Chief Constable Victoria Fuller (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The letter also reveals that bringing officer workloads closer to the national average would require around 500 extra officers.

It comes just days after Ms Mahmood announced that the force would get an £2 million to tackle serious and organised crime following the tragic A66 incident and Grangetown house blaze.

Shabana Mahmood announced an extra £2m in funding would be given to Cleveland Police to help tackle organised crime. (Image: House of Commons/PA Wire)

But the letter argues that, despite the boost, the force has a funding model that “fails to reflect the reality of policing one of the most crime-affected areas in the country”.

“These are not simply statistics. They are stark facts that have a significant impact on our workforce,” the letter states. 

“They represent heavier workloads, growing pressure on workforce wellbeing, victims waiting longer for justice, communities requiring greater protection and public services operating under increasing strain.

Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey (Image: Supplied)

“The consequences are felt far beyond policing, placing significant pressure on our fire service, local authorities, health and mental health services, children’s services, housing providers, schools, community organisations and the voluntary sector.” 

Ms Fuller and Mr Storey argue that a recurring uplift of at least £20 million per year would enable police to recruit, train and retain approximately 200 additional police officers. 

They said: “The evidence is clear, the challenges are longstanding and the need for action is urgent. What is now required is a funding settlement that reflects the reality of the demands facing our force and the communities we serve. Our communities are looking for action. 

PC Matthew Blades (left) and PC Tom Clough (right) (Image: CLEVELAND POLICE/CARMEL COLLEGE)

“While we recognise the Government’s commitment to police reform, Cleveland cannot afford to wait for future reviews, reforms or changes to funding formulas. 

“The challenges we face exist today, and they require action today.” 

The letter has been signed in support by the following people:

• Graham Harrison, leader of Hartlepool Borough Council 
• Matt Wilton, chief executive of Hartlepool Borough Council 
• Chris Cooke, Mayor of Middlesbrough Council
• Erik Scollay, chief executive of Middlesbrough Council 
• Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council
• Brian Archer, chief executive of Redcar and Cleveland Council
• Lisa Evans, leader of Stockton Borough Council 
• Mike Greene, chief executive of Stockton Borough Council
• Lord Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor 
• Tom Bryant, chief executive of the Tees Valley Combined Authority
• David Coupe, chair of Cleveland Fire Authority 
• Simon Weastell, interim chief fire officer, Cleveland Fire Brigade 
• Alison Smith, chief executive of Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust 

• Stacey Hunter, chief executive of the University Hospitals Tees Group 
• Matt Forrest, chief executive officer, Thirteen Housing Group 
• Rosemary Du Rose, chief executive, Beyond Housing 
• Mark Davis, on behalf of Tees Valley Infrastructure Partnership

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys asked the Supreme Court Monday to stay the execution of a Florida death row inmate scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday for the 1996 kidnapping and strangulation of a man who was found nude and emasculated.

Daniel Conahan Jr., 72, was sentenced to death for the April 1996 killing of Richard Montgomery. The victim was found in a wooded area in Charlotte County, Florida, which was described as what appeared to be a dumping area that contained a lot of trash.

Authorities said Conahan killed Montgomery after paying him to pose f or nude photos. Authorities suspect him of similar homicides committed in the 1990s in southwest Florida.

Conahan has denied his involvement in Montgomery’s murder. The petition said he has been requesting DNA testing since March 2025 of evidence collected at the scene and from Montgomery’s body to “conclusively establish that he is not responsible for the death.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant Aug. 11 while his motion for DNA testing was pending, the petition for the stay says. Within 24 hours of that warrant being signed the state postconviction court denied the motion.

“Mr. Conahan does not ask to be declared innocent at this posture. Nor does he ask to be released from prison. All he asks is for this Court to stay his imminent execution so that this Court can review his meritorious claims,” the filing says.

Florida has executed 14 people this year.

A police ID error saw a father spend weeks by the bedside of a teen boy before learning his son had died three weeks earlier in a crash

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An inquest has heard how a grieving family feel like they have been through two deaths after finding out their son had been the one to pass away in a car crash. A dad told the coroner he only found out his son had died three weeks later due to a police identification error.

Teen pals, Joshua Johnson, 18, and Summer Louise Scott, 17, tragically died when the car they were in crashed into a tree. Police determined the Toyota Corolla left Todwick Road, at Todwick, near Rotherham, in the early hours of December 13 last year, inquests in Doncaster heard on Monday.

A previous hearing heard how police originally misidentified front seat passenger Trevor Wynn, then 17, as the male who had died in the crash, with Mr Wynn’s family believing he was dead until he came out of sedation three weeks later, on January 4.

At the same time, Mr Johnson’s family sat at the bedside of seriously injured Mr Wynn, not realising their son was dead.

A statement from Mr Johnson’s father, Lee Johnson, was read at Doncaster Coroner’s Court on Monday, where a coroner ruled his son was unlawfully killed.

Mr Johnson explained how he and his wife spent weeks at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, in Sheffield, believing they were sitting with their serious injured son, only to be told there had been a mistake.

He said: “This information came as a huge shock and I cannot comprehend it.

“It felt like, as a family, we had two deaths.

“I felt I had missed out on the initial grieving part of the process.”

Senior coroner Nicola Mundy read the statement of Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles, of South Yorkshire Police, who told the court in January how the mix-up began when a number of items of personal property were found at the scene, “though were not physically about the person of either of the males”.

One of these items was a phone in a case, which also contained Joshua Johnson’s driving licence.

A second phone nearby contained medical ID information in the name of Trevor Wynn, and a bank card in the same name was also attached.

Mr Knowles told the court earlier this year how an officer used this information to trace Trevor Wynn’s mother, who provided a college ID card, as well as a description of his build and footwear.

The senior officer said: “That officer then took this ID card to Rotherham Mortuary where, at that time, the deceased victim of the collision was booked in as an unknown male.

“Upon considering the comparison between the male’s features against the ID, and also considering the descriptive details of build and clothing, the officer was satisfied that this was the body of Trevor Wynn.”

Mr Knowles said a second officer, with the surviving but sedated teenager, was told this person was Joshua Johnson by colleagues at the crash site, and was able to obtain a photograph from Mr Johnson’s driving licence.

He said: “The officer liaised with medical staff and the photograph was compared against the casualty.

“Those present were then satisfied that this person was Joshua Johnson.”

Mr Knowles explained how he set out establishing the true identity of the deceased male with “no further reliance in this case on visual recognition as a form of ID” and this was done using dental records.

On Monday, separate inquests were held into the deaths of Mr Johnson and Miss Scott.

Senior Rotherham Coroner Nicola Mundy heard how Miss Scott was was driving the Toyota and lost control as she approached a slight bend.

The car went across a verge and hit a low wall which caused it to roll in the air before it struck a mature tree almost 50m from the road.

The inquests heard how police investigators used the tracking app Life360, which was on one of the phones in the car, to determine that the car was travelling at 95mph for about a kilometre before the crash happened, and had slowed to 86mph about 130m before the bend.

Forensic collision investigator Peter Gallagher said it was the first time his team had used this technique.

Mr Gallagher said tests showed the maximum speed at which the bend could be safety negotiated was 68mph.

The inquest heard how Miss Scott had a provisional driving licence but had not passed her test.

Pc Joe Binley said two men were arrested who were in a car which was following the Toyota.

He said officers investigated whether the cars had been racing but evidence, including a Snapchat video of the crash filmed by someone in the second car, showed there was a distance between the vehicles and it was Miss Scott’s decision to drive in the way she did.

Miss Scott had told friends there was an issue with the brakes on her car but the inquest heard there were no defects found on the vehicle which would have contributed to the crash.

The coroner heard that Miss Scott’s family described her as “loving, caring and very funny” but also “fierce and sassy”.

They said she had a long-standing love of cars.

Mr Johnson’s family described him a “gentle giant” with a “massive heart” who had a “bright future ahead that was tragically cut short”.

The coroner concluded that Miss Scott died as a result of a road traffic collision and Mr Johnson was unlawfully killed.

Earlier this year, the police watchdog, which is investigating the misidentification error, said it was “clear something has gone very wrong”, leading to “awful consequences” for the two families.

A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Monday that the investigation was “at an advanced stage” and they hoped it would conclude “in the coming weeks”.

South Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane said: “We recognise the shock and significant distress caused by the misidentification following the collision on Todwick Road, and the unimaginable consequences this had for the families involved.

“Only those involved can truly understand.”

Mr McFarlane said the force took immediate steps to review processes and will look at the findings of the IOPC, when it reports.

He said work is ongoing to ensure all officers are confident following new guidance issued by the College of Policing in August.

In other Oasis news today, it was reported that an archive of unreleased recordings, which span 63 live shows, as well as soundchecks and more than 100 hours of rehearsal from brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher in the 1990s, are set to be auctioned off next month.

They were collected by the Oasis’ sound engineer Huw Richards, who worked with the band from the release of their debut album Definitely, Maybe in 1994, until 2001.

However, Littleton Auctions, who have called the sale a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for fans and collectors alike”, has confirmed the band does not support the sale.

The auction house said their role was to ‘present these items responsibly and allow collectors and institutions to engage with an important part of British music history’.

READ THE FULL STORY: Oasis ‘express concerns’ as unheard archive of recordings goes up for sale

The red car was filmed driving across the Anderston Footbridge before the driver turned around and headed back.

A driver sparked disbelief after appearing to take a wrong turn and ending up driving across a Glasgow footbridge.

The red car was filmed travelling onto the Anderston Footbridge, which crosses above the busy M8 motorway and links the city centre with the West End. Footage shows the motorist attempting to reverse as pedestrians look on in disbelief at the bizarre scene.

One man can be seen stopping to speak to the driver before continuing on his way, while another pedestrian turns his head in disbelief as the car eventually heads back over the bridge.

Eyewitness Chris Watt said he watched the bizarre incident unfold after the driver approached from Waterloo Street.

He said: “I saw it happen. He was heading onto the M8 slip road at Waterloo Street. Went to the cycle lane at the lights. Parked for a bit. We were watching saying no way is he going to park there. Then he just carried on over the bridge!”

The car travelled along the main span before apparently coming to a halt at the tight, curved descent towards Argyle Street on the other side.

The car is understood to have been on the footbridge for around ten minutes. The footage shows the bemused pedestrians watching as the driver attempts to manoeuvre the vehicle before eventually turning around and retracing their route.

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The Anderston Footbridge has an unusual history of its own. Construction began in the early 1970s but was halted in 1972 amid opposition, leaving the structure unfinished for more than four decades.

The bridge was famously dubbed the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’, with its western end left hanging around 40ft in the air.

It was finally completed in 2013, providing a pedestrian and cycling link between the city centre and Anderston.

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The leader of the movement clashing with police after blocking ports in Dover and Portsmouth has cornered Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf in Portsmouth.

Daniel Thomas – who goes by the nickname Danny Tommo – is often referred to as English Defence League (EDL) co-founder Tommy Robinson’s right-hand man.

He ordered a ‘Dunkirk-style’ rescue mission for his 200 or so ‘patriots’ intent on blocking migrants from landing in Portsmouth. His call was answered by a granny on a kayak delivering power banks and water.

The mob damaged police cars and several police officers were injured in clashes as a coach tried to leave the port.

Hampshire Police Federation said two officers were pushed off their motorbikes while others, including a rookie who had finished training school only three days earlier, had stones and bricks thrown at them.

Thomas, who spent the night waist-deep in the sea splashing authorities trying to split the protesters up, and his group finally disbanded at 4am after being given blankets by police.

Barry John-Williams, 69, said he was returning from watching seals in his small rib boat when he spotted ‘big offshore lifeboats’ and ‘a lot of police barges’ and then noticed vessels ‘full of migrants’.

‘Then obviously it got on Facebook and then all the protesters from all over the South, like they said there was some from Gatwick … came here, and were just wading through the water, and yeah, then it started to get a bit nasty.’

He added: ‘The main guy who I think his name’s Danny on, you know, like YouTube, I guess, and he was saying like, you know, ‘don’t engage with the police and stuff’.

‘But then, unfortunately, along with them, are all the idiots with masks up who want to smash the vehicles up, and they put all concrete blocks in the road and stuff.’

He challenged Reform’s Zia Yusuf after Nigel Farage called his masked followers ‘disgusting’.

He said: ‘You know how bad the press are. They’ve gone for Nigel on every single level.

‘Nigel is a hero to this country for what he did for Brexit, and he’s a hero to this country for what he’s trying to do with the boats.

‘All I would ask you to do is take the message back to him and say, Nigel, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be calling working-class [disgusting].’

He added that his followers were likely to vote Reform in three years’ time but he had had enough of words.

He told him: ‘What do you expect the men of this country to do when they see all this violence against women, they see all these sexual assaults? What would you do as a man, as a father? Sit down and just wait? They’re coming out and making their voices heard.’

When challenged by Yusuf on the damage to police vehicles, he claimed: ‘That was nothing to do with us. That was probably done by the lefties to try and make us look bad.’

A Hampshire Police spokesperson told Metro: ‘Violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest.

‘No arrests have been made at this time, however an investigation to identify offenders responsible for any assaults to officers, criminal damage to vehicles, or other criminal offences has been launched.

‘We can also confirm that Border Force has advised us that individuals from the boat have been transported outside of Hampshire for processing as part of the normal process after they were safely disembarked.’

Some activists shared photos of volunteer Coastguards helping migrants calling them ‘Traitors’.

Imran Hussain, Executive Director of External Affairs at the Refugee Council, said ‘We are enormously grateful to the lifeboat volunteers who go out in dangerous conditions to save lives, and to the police officers working on our streets to keep people safe and maintain order. 

“Most people do not want to see Britain become a country where masked groups threaten refugees, minorities, volunteers or police officers. This is bigger than the treatment of refugees. It is about the sort of country we want to live in.

‘We should not allow a small number of people who use fear and violence to undermine the decency, tolerance and respect for the law that the vast majority of people in Britain expect.’

Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said he is against ‘masked people turning up and protesting anywhere’.

Asked what he made of the protests in Dover, he told GB News: ‘Disgusting. Nobody in any political protest, whether they’re on the left or the right, should appear in balaclavas. It is wrong.’

Responding to claims families were stuck in horrific traffic jams, Mr Farage said: ‘Disgusting. Disgusting. And I… Look, nobody feels more strongly about stopping the boats than me. Nobody has flown the flag to say this could be a disaster.

‘I was the first out there. But I’ve also in the last few months, it was me that exposed the Iranian regime putting terrorist operatives into Britain. No one wants this stopped more than me. But turning up in balaclavas is not the way to do it.’

Who is Danny Tommo?

The 37-year-old campaigner was among activists spotted at the protest on Saturday, which brought traffic to a standstill on the A20.

Both he and Robinson were previously members of UKIP, the eurosceptic party formerly led by Reform leader Nigel Farage.

Thomas previously worked as a tank driver for the King’s Royal Hussars, an armoured regiment of the British Army.

He is understood to have been discharged on medical grounds without having performed any active service.

He served two years in prison in 2016 for breaking into a man’s house brandishing knives, accusing the owner of having stolen £10,000 of drugs from him.

Following his spell behind bars, he claims to have turned to God and Christianity, with his X bio referring to ‘trusting in Jesus Christ’ and posts quoting Bible passages.

However, he has continued to have run-ins with the police, including a standoff at a protest following Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament in 2019.

He was also detained by officers at a counter-protest clashing with anti-Trump demonstrations during the US president’s second state visit to the UK last year.

MORE: ‘I was assaulted at Reform’s conference – the party celebrates attacks on women’

MORE: Everything we learned at Reform UK’s 2026 party conference

MORE: 20,000 England flags being removed for £2,600,000 under cover of darkness

CAIRO (AP) — Houthi rebels in Yemen accused Saudi Arabia of striking a prison on Monday in the country’s north, killing seven, including a child, as tensions escalate between the Iran-backed group and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces.

The strike on the Central Corrective Facility in the strategic city of Hazm in Jawf province also wounded at least seven people, including a woman, said Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry.

The prison’s warden told the Houthi al-Masirah news channel 35 prisoners and a woman who was visiting her husband were trapped under the rubble.

Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when the Houthis descended from their northern stronghold and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government to flee southward, then into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition entered the Yemen war the following year in an attempt to restore the government.

Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel aired 46 seconds of footage it says shows the aftermath of Monday’s strike: a collapsed building, with structures crumbled into rubble and broken slabs scattered across the ground.

Several people, including what appeared to be rescue teams, were seen moving carefully across the debris, searching through the wreckage.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes and “committing massacres” in Jawf, as well as deploying a reconnaissance drone and supplying mercenaries with various weaponry.

“The ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unanswered or unpunished,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia’s media ministry.

Saree said later Monday that Houthi forces downed a total of four reconnaissance drones belonging to Saudi Arabia over the past 24 hours, including one that was spotted Monday morning in Bayda province.

The Houthi claim came as forces of the internationally recognized government advanced across multiple fronts in Yemen, including in Jawf, Bayda, Dahle, and Marib provinces.

Strikes on prisons haven’t been uncommon during the war.

In 2022, a strike by the Saudi-led coalition hit a detention facility in the northern province of Saada, killing at least 87 prisoners and wounding about 266 others. Another strike in Sep. 2019 hit a Houthi-run detention facility in southwestern Dhamar province, killing over 100 people and wounding dozens.

The civil war in Yemen has killed at least 150,000 people, according to U.N. estimates, and at times pushed the country to the brink of famine. A ceasefire that had mostly held since 2022 is now in tatters.