Richard Ayling, 40, tragically died in hospital after falling several floors from a bar in Birmingham city centre – he has been described as ‘above all else a family man’
01:05, 12 May 2026Updated 01:08, 12 May 2026
Tributes have poured in for a newly-wed dad who fell to his death from a roof-top bar.
An inquest into the ex-serviceman’s death has opened this week. Opening the inquest at Birmingham Coroner’s Court, the coroner described his death as “violent and unnatural”. The hearing was adjourned until August 10
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The venue of the said on Tuesday, May 5 that it was ‘deeply saddened’ by the incident, which it confirmed happened on its premises.
“Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with their family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,” it said.
Mr Ayling, a maintenance engineer originally from Germany, lived in Newhall near Swadlincote, Derbyshire, with wife Amy.
Heartfelt tributes have since poured in for the dad-of-three and a GoFundMe page set up to support his family. The page described his death as a “sudden and devastating loss”.
“His loss has left a hole in the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
“Richard was, above all else, a family man.”
The fundraiser said that Mr Ayling had recently married his “beloved wife Amy”. The couple were building a life with their three children Ronnie, Ellie and Logan.
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“He was a proud and devoted dad, and his love for his family was at the centre of everything he did,” the tribute continued.
“Richard dedicated himself to serving and protecting others.”
Mr Ayling has over 20 years of experience in the rail industry and also worked as a part-time firefighter, where “he gave his time and courage to keep his community safe.”
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The tribute added: “He was the kind of person who showed up for others, whether on the job or in everyday life.”
The fundraiser, launched by Duncan Watson, will be used to support Amy and the children during this difficult time, with funds going towards funeral costs. Any additional contributions raised will go towards something lasting in Mr Ayling’s honour, such as a plaque or bench.
At the time of writing, more than £14,750 had been donated you can donate to the GoFundMe by clicking here.
The TV doctor addressed the widespread concern caused by the virus outbreak
4 things you need to know about hantavirus
Hantavirus has been commanding global media attention and has generated significant concern amongst those worried it might develop into the next pandemic-scale crisis. BBC’s Dr Xand shared his verdict on this possibility and pinpointed the single demographic he feels should genuinely be anxious about the situation.
The medical expert featured on Morning Live on 11th May, voicing his desire that audiences would gain “reassurance” from his appearance, saying: “Viruses make people nervous, but actually this is not a thing that we should be concerned about.”
He stressed: “The main thing to say about hantavirus is that this, it’s not like Covid.”
Dr Xand explained that the only people he believes “should be concerned” are the cruise liner travellers who may have been in sufficiently close contact with those infected to have contracted the virus themselves.
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Dr Xand addressed some comments particularly to the ship passengers currently self-isolating in the UK: “If they are watching telly at the moment we should say; we’re thinking of you, this has been very difficult for you. It is great that you’re home and we hope you’re feeling good.”
The TV doctor made a plea to anyone who might be located near or within the hospital where the passengers are quarantined: “These poor people have been on a boat. It’s been very traumatic, very nerve-wracking; they will have been very worried about catching what is potentially a deadly virus in the confines of a cruise ship.
“We shouldn’t (make them feel) contaminated or ostracised or anything. Of course, we’re taking precautionary measures, but it’s great that they’re home and they don’t pose a risk to us.”
The expert drew attention to the key difference between the two conditions, which lies in how they are transmitted. Covid was a highly contagious illness capable of spreading through brief encounters via airborne particles whenever an infected person breathed, spoke, coughed or sneezed.
Hantavirus, by contrast, is generally caught through contact with faeces, saliva or urine from infected rodents. The specific strain behind the outbreak on the luxury cruise ship has previously had documented cases of person-to-person transmission.
However, even in these rare instances of human-to-human spread, prolonged and close contact with the infected person during the early stages of the illness was required for the virus to be passed on. It was most commonly seen amongst those living in the same household or intimate partners.
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Dr Xand pointed out another significant difference between this outbreak and the emergence of Covid: “(Hantavirus) not a brand new virus, it hasn’t suddenly emerged out of somewhere.” While medical professionals have understood hantavirus for many years, there remains no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment available, according to the UKHSA.
Instead, treatment focuses on symptom management tailored to each individual patient. This can include hospitalisation and respiratory support. Prompt medical attention can improve a patient’s outlook, however diagnosis can be difficult as early hantavirus symptoms resemble typical flu, which may cause people to dismiss crucial early indicators when they should be pursuing medical care.
Kirsty took on the pressure cooker that is the Masterchef kitchen, nailing the quarter final with fantastic marks from judges Grace Dent and Anna Haugh despite a shaky start.
There were six hopefuls, but it was Kirsty who was named the outstanding chef of the night.
On last night’s episode, the chefs had to create two dishes – the first had to be based around fruit, with Kirsty cooking up an Eve’s pudding with spiced cinnamon and ginger custard.
“Your sponge is cooked quite nicely and there’s a lovely sugary custard bit on the bottom, and the custard has a real elegant touch of the spice,” said judge Anna Haugh.
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“But for a fruit invention test we need more fruit Kirsty! Where’s the pear and where’s the apple?”
Fellow judge Grace Dent agreed: “The reason you’re in this group of six is because you are good and you do have potential – stop playing it safe and give us everything!”
Kirsty reflected: “I do wish that I’d shown them more today.
“I didn’t push myself today – putting a little fruit salad at the side to give it a little more visual appeal wasn’t nearly enough, and I knew that really.”
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But Kirsty was not the only one who struggled on the fruit test, with the other five chefs failing to make an impression on the judges.
“There was no real shining star from that challenge,” said judge Haugh.
For the next challenge, the judges were joined by a guest judge – the famous food critic and broadcaster Leyla Kazim.
MasterChef (Image: BBC/Shine TV)
Leyla offered the episode’s second challenge – to construct a dish based around an ingredient the chefs hated at kids.
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This is where Kirsty really began to shine, choosing burgers as her hated childhood dish.
Her burger patties were stuffed with gouda and seasoned with egg, mustard Worcestershire sauce, and paprika.
She then braised beef ribs and pressure-cooked them alongside all the ingredients from a Bloody Mary – tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and vodka.
The burgers were served with shoestring fries, garlic mayo, and a Bloody Mary cocktail.
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“The burger is so well seasoned and succulent,” said judge Kazim.
“It’s got this great acidity to it, full of flavour, the meat is soft – like, give me a whole bowl of it!
“It’s such a delicious interpretation of the thing you used to hate.
“It’s really lovely, well done!”
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Judge Haugh agreed: “You’ve got it just right with the quantity of cheese – it’s not too much cheese.
“Your bacon and chilli and tomato chutney is really really nice.
” You have absolutely shown us that you really want to stay in the competition – well done!”
Judge Dent was concerned that the fries were too salty and that the garlic mayo had too much garlic but had high praise for the burger.
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“I am ecstatic about this beef short rib,” she said, “this is a great dish!”
Kirsty was singled out for specific praise from the judges, who called her the outstanding chef of the quarter final.
Kirsty will appear next week for knockout week, where she will be cooking in a professional kitchen for the first time.
The house designs for the backyard area of Main Street (17-19) had been recommended for refusal by planning officers, but the application was called in for review.
Committee chairperson James Tinsley said:”How confident would you be of no damage caused to the wall?”
An application spokesperson said:”There are clearly other backyard developments in Hillsborough including a children’s play park and modern housing developments.
“I am very confident there would be no damage to the wall.
“We would be willing to apply for listed consent before construction.”
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Hillsborough Castle is the official Northern Ireland residence for the British Monarchy with a boundary wall around an area in the village required to be protected due to its historic nature.
The strong local links to the Crown were shown with a Royal Gun Salute last week at the castle to mark the third anniversary of the coronation of King Charles III.
There have been 18 objections on the NI Planning Portal against the Main Street application. One objection stated: “If approved, this will set a serious, unwelcome precedent for Hillsborough Conservation Area” with claims of “a lot of Airbnbs on the street”.
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However, the chamber heard from an application spokesperson that the Historic Environment Division (HED) has been “impressed with the sensitive and considered nature of the plans” for the former bakery site.
According to a council report “consent” was given for a separate application for the demolition of an existing bakery buildings to rear of 17-19 Main Street, Hillsborough in April 2025 for the same developer, ‘Bedside House Ltd’.
This was to allow for the renovation and extension to the existing houses, to provide three guest apartments, three guest houses and off-street parking, according to the council paper.
Documents on the NI Planning Portal show communication with the ‘Historic Royal Palaces’, but that it has not been requested to consider the works on the latest application.
Though, it has confirmed the wall in question forms the boundary to the Hillsborough Castle Gardens.
Lisburn North DUP councillor Jonathan Craig said: “You suggested a site meeting to assess the boundaries of this rear development….this is a modern design for Hillsborough.”
The initial objections from the council centred around conservation concerns with many buildings in the village including the castle structures being listed.
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A proposal by Downshire West A lliance Alderman Owen Gawith to defer the meeting for a site visit was supported by a majority vote.
The move follows earlier plans to close the cafe on Leeds Road in 2021, which were dropped the following year, the the cafe was made smaller in the end.
Now, the retailer has announced the cafe closure as part of a nationwide cafe closure programme as more space is devoted to food.
A M&S Spokesperson said: “We know many of our customers want to be able to shop a wider range of our delicious M&S Food products. That’s why, after reviewing our Harrogate Oatlands foodhall, we have some exciting new changes planned.
“We are re-purposing our café space to offer more fresh produce from our Select Farm partners and deliver an improved in-store bakery – we will share more details in the coming weeks.
“All café colleagues will transfer to other roles across the foodhall and while we understand this will be disappointing news for some customers, our team will continue working hard to serve them in-store.
“Customers’ nearest M&S café will be at our nearby Cambridge Street store in Harrogate town centre.”
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No closure date has yet to be given, but Oatlands failed to appear on a national cafe closure list published recently in the national press for 2026. But one Harrogate media outlet has reported it understands the closure is late this year.
M&S told the Press there were no plans to repurpose space in York.
The report said a protocol should be developed with costed plans for protecting students and staff, by offering options such as merging with another institution, restructuring or an orderly exit, where the university effectively closes but with arrangements in place for students, staff and courses.
The victim said the attack has had a ‘lasting impact’ on her
12:42, 11 May 2026Updated 12:52, 11 May 2026
A man who snuck up behind a woman and sexually assaulted her has been jailed. Cameron McNally began to follow his victim down Devonshire Road in Cambridge at around 8.20pm on January 31.
The woman noticed McNally’s shadow behind her and she turned onto Mill Road where she still felt she was being followed. The 26-year-old, who had his hood up, overtook her and withdrew cash at a Sainsbury’s ATM.
Then, while the woman walked along Emery Street, McNally grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with his hand. He touched her before running off towards Mill Road while the victim screamed.
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The woman called police and McNally was arrested on February 3. He was already known to Cambridgeshire Police after being convicted in March 2023 of assaulting a woman on a bus.
After appearing at Cambridge Crown Court on May 7, McNally, of Fortescue Road, Cambridge, was jailed for 20 months. He had previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for ten years and handed an indefinite restraining order against the woman.
In her impact statement, the victim said McNally’s attack had had a “lasting impact” on her and she felt “paranoid” about walking on her own. She said it had also affected her social life, and she felt “restricted” by what she could do on an evening.
DC Will Kerslake, who investigated, said: “McNally carried out what must have been a terrifying attack for the victim, and he is clearly a danger to women. I’d like to praise the victim for her bravery in coming forward and helping us with a prosecution. I hope this sentence gives her some sense of closure to this traumatic period of her life.”
Call Of The Elder Gods – things can get pretty weird (Kwalee)
A point ‘n’ click adventure and sequel to Call Of The Sea is one of the month’s best indie games, if you have the patience for its old school puzzles.
Call Of The Elder Gods occupies a totally distinct niche in the gaming world – no mean feat, considering how many of them are published every year. But then again, how many other Lovecraftian narrative puzzle adventures are out there? Only one, given that this title is a direct sequel to 2020’s excellent Call Of The Sea.
In that, we were first introduced to Norah (a wonderfully wry Cissy Jones), a woman suffering from a mysterious disease and tracking down her missing husband, Harry, on a remote Polynesian island in the 1930s.
In Call Of The Elder Gods, we’re reunited with her once more. Although she’s technically dead (that or transformed into a fish person, depending on the first game’s two endings), she becomes the narrator, watching over the two protagonists as they attempt to unravel another mystery in one of many interesting meta touches.
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Our new hero is Evangeline Drayton, a student at Miskatonic University in the 1950s. She’s searching for answers about why she inexplicably lost her memory for three months and that search leads her to a much older Harry Everhart, a grouchy professor who lives alone in his massive, draughty Gothic mansion.
Naturally, Harry is hiding a compelling backstory of his own (which will be familiar to players of the first game) and as the two dive deep into the world of the Elder Gods, they’ll unearth more secrets – about the Yith race, the history of the Earth, and even Evangeline herself.
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Similarly to its predecessor, Call Of The Elder Gods draws directly from the work of H. P. Lovecraft, the 1920s sci-fi author whose work gave us the tentacled monster Cthulhu, as well as the book The Shadow Out of Time, which forms the basis of the plot for this.
The scope is broader here than Call Of The Sea, and the storytelling more ambitious – although it steers clear of true Lovecraftian horror, instead embracing the more dreamlike elements of Lovecraft’s work: alien races, forgotten worlds, and flying saucers.
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Rather than Norah and Harry, the burgeoning relationship between Harry and Evangeline forms the meat of the action here, with players able to switch between characters at points in the game to solve its puzzles, as well as dive into their shared history as the game goes on.
And what puzzles. Be warned: this is not a title for the faint of heart, or short of attention span. The levels are lovingly crafted, and each one forms a complex escape room with multiple layers of clues to find and mysteries to solve.
It demands your complete attention – whether that’s figuring out how to open Harry’s greenhouse, donning a diving suit to wander around some gorgeous underwater caves, or stumbling across an old Nazi base in the middle of the Norwegian tundra (‘I’m not sure which I hate more, kooks or Nazis,’ Harry complains at one point). Each level feels distinct, and each feels gorgeously designed, with its 1930s style graphics, haunting score and hundreds of small objects to pick up and comment on.
It’s not the fastest paced of games (Kwalee)
Fortunately, there’s no sense of urgency (as if to illustrate this, all the characters move at a snail’s pace throughout the game). None of the puzzles are timed and there’s no countdown clock.
Call Of The Elder Gods gives you as much space as you need to figure out the answers on your own, which is good, because while trekking around these levels looking for clues can be surprisingly meditative, they’re also challenging. Dust off that GCSE Maths knowledge; it will be needed. On the flipside, every breakthrough and puzzle solved feels genuinely rewarding.
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Fortunately, developers Out of the Blue Games know this. There are two different difficulty option, one of which involves a handy notebook that automatically logs clues as the player finds them and provides hints about where to look next.
The other features no notebook or clues, which is a fiendishly difficult playing experience. Thank goodness, then, for the ‘hints’ section, which provides some much-needed guidance for those who get stuck.
As events build to their conclusion, the narrative stumbles somewhat, ladling in Nazis, secret cults, and forgotten alien races until the whole structure begins to creak, but that doesn’t really matter. The game’s key strength are its puzzles, and on this, it delivers solidly. For old school graphic adventure fans, it’s a mystical treat. For everybody else… well, there’s always the hints section.
Call Of The Elder Gods review summary
In Short: A fiercely imaginative puzzle solver that builds on all the best elements of Call Of The Sea to deliver a genuinely challenging, Lovecraftian-flavoured adventure.
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Pros: The puzzles strike the sweet spot between being fun and rewarding to solve; the graphics evoke a gorgeous, 1930s style sense of time and place. The relationship between Harry and Evangeline (as well as Norah) is surprisingly affecting.
Cons: The characters sometimes move achingly slowly, which at times makes the adventure drag. The plot stumbles towards the end under the weight of its own ambition.
Score: 7/10
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Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC Price: £19.99 Publisher: Kwalee Developer: Out of the Blue Games Release Date: 12th May 2026 Age Rating: 12
It’s nice to have puzzles that aren’t spelled out to you immediately (Kwalee)
The Tuesday letters page hopes the rumours about a FromSoftware pirate game are true, as a reader predicts the GTA 6 Trailer 3 reveal will be today.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Nintendo people Very interesting comments from Nintendo’s big boss, about the price rise and lack of games. Well, he didn’t exactly say a lack of games, but I think we all know what’s what he was getting at. I don’t think any reasonable person could blame Nintendo, or Sony or Microsoft, for price rises, as they don’t want to and it’s not their fault about the memory crisis.
But the question of whether the lack of news this year for the Switch 2 is on purpose or not is a hard one to answer. My interpretation is that it is a mistake, in that they did want to unveil stuff earlier but felt they couldn’t. I don’t really know why they wouldn’t be able to do a quick trailer or something, even it was CGI, but who knows what goes on in the heads of Nintendo people.
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I think the most optimistic reading of what he was saying is that he acknowledges they’ve not had a very exciting 2026 so far (although they’ll hardly be upset with Pokémon Pokopia and Tomodachi Life) but they’re going to do better, presumably starting in June.
I’d love if the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is real, I’m sure most people would be to, but what I want to see is a major new franchise. You could argue that’s Pokopia and the new Yoshi game, but I mean completely new characters and gameplay, like they did with Splatoon and ARMS.
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Knowing that they’re the only big new games they’ve made in the last three generations is a bit underwhelming and I’d like to see them do better. Zeiss
The usual suspects Very disappointed to see your review of Directive 8020 as I was looking forward to that. I like Supermassive’s interactive movies, but I can see on Metacritic that your score seems to be in line with the more reliable sites, so that’s a shame.
Although once again I am staggered at some of the other scores going on here. Everyone sensible seems to have given it between 50 and 70 and yet it’s got two 95s from sites I’ve never heard of and four 90s. Now, everyone has an opinion but every time a game gets reviewed we have this happen where the good sites give a sensible score and the weird ones you’ve never heard of… don’t.
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I’m not going to name names, because we can all see them, but what fascinates me is who is reading these reviews? Who goes to a website where every time they give everything 90 or more? I know people like to hear what they want to sometimes but surely there’s a limit? Rostie
Of mice and men I am one of the people currently saving up for a PlayStation 6. Never saved up for a console before as I didn’t need to. However, since the PlayStation 5 released I’m now a father and also hoping to move house in the near future, so I thought I better start putting a little money away each week to give myself the option of buying one when the time comes.
When I started saving this time last year I also thought if I didn’t want a PlayStation 6 I could maybe invest in getting a PC to play games instead. Well that seems even more unrealistic than the PlayStation 6 now, unfortunately. Niall Maguire
Cashing in Well, Floodbourne is just too good to be true, isn’t it?
A pirate themed Suls game from the original wizards is a project that just hadn’t crossed my imagination, but, now it has, pressgang me and toss me in the hold until launch day.
Something that riffs on the grotesque of the Pirates of the Caribbean series would hold up quite well, I feel.
I’ve never asked for any Inbox magic before, so I’ll use up my token now (unless you count the time travelling dinosaur hunting/harvesting remake of 2000 AD’s Flesh, but that didn’t work). Shambling Reg
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First draft I’m beginning to wonder if Capcom would ever make a director’s cut of Resident Evil Requiem. I know all games probably have lots of cut content but with this one you can tell just by playing it, with the changing plots and the rushed ending, that they changed a lot of things.
I’m not too bothered about whether there was a merchant in it or not (although side missions seem cool) but I would love to see what the story was going to be originally and why they changed it. I think the problem is that they were basically going to have another game with Ethan Winters and when they changed that everything else got mixed up, but I’m very interested in what the ending was going to be in particular.
It’s probably not very likely but I’d much rather see that than a remake of Resident Evil 6. Or even Resident Evil 0, if I’m honest. That game sucked. Shubber
Expensive itch I recently got Borderlands 4, including the Vault Hunter and Bounty Hunter packs. And whilst all of that wasn’t cheap, I have to say the game is really fun to play and scratching the itch I had after spending several thousand hours on Destiny 1 and 2.
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I also like the fact I can do all the content single-player – I kind of had enough on Destiny needing to find random people to play with for dungeons and raids – often the time and stress of that negated the fun of the actual activities.
I have also really liked some of the missions/characters. Some have been genuinely amusing (the rocket with an existential need to explode for example).
The build crafting and diversity is also great!
So overall, just wanted to commend the team. Actually much better than I thought! Tom
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Early access There seems to be a lot of mistakes lately with companies uploading early versions of games and allowing people to play them before they were supposed. I don’t feel the Forza Horizon 6 ban was really justified, given it was Microsoft’s fault for making the files available.
Obviously, it’s going to be very easy for him to get around the ban but then there was also the stuff about uploading Lego Batman before they were supposed to. Is this going to become the new version of finding a friendly local video game shop to sell you a copy early?
ShopTo used to do that when they sent out games through the post. Not sure if they even sell physical games anymore though, that can’t be much of a racket nowadays. Wotan
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Ultimate combo I’m not doing it personally, but I would assume a lot of people are currently saving up for a PlayStation 6, at least vaguely in terms of having a bit of a gaming nest egg ready for next Christmas, when it may or may not all kick off.
But if Sony are worried about PlayStation 5 sales trailing off at the moment, because of its age, surely it’s going to go through the roof when GTA 6 comes out? They’re already trying to get people to upgrade but there’s going to be so many that never had a PlayStation 5 before, some that did but sold it, and probably a good number of ultra casual gamers who haven’t owned a console in ages.
Considering how many people are going to buy one just to play GTA 6 it makes even less sense to me, to expect people to buy an expensive PlayStation 6 the next year. Now, hardcore fans won’t mind, and maybe that’s not when it’s coming out now anyway, but the sort of casual person that’s only now buying a console isn’t going to rush out and get another one straight after.
I guess it’s different audiences, and the same sort of thing did happen with GTA 5, which came out right at the end of the Xbox 360, but if you’ve got a problem with keeping costs low and getting people interested I would’ve thought coasting on the PlayStation 5 and GTA 6 combo for a few years would be a good idea. Trancer
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Inbox also-rans Just in case anyone wanted to feel old but this week is the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of the Wii, before it was released the next year. Doesn’t time fly? Onibee
Just to let everyone know but the current rumour amongst the accounts I’m reading is that the GTA 6 Trailer 3 is going to be released today. I guess we’ll see but it’s got to be sometime soon… Heathcliffe
The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
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The Prime Minister is facing calls for him to stand down
Carrington Walker Live News Journalist and Josh Payne, Press Association Chief Reporter
22:14, 11 May 2026
Four Government aides have resigned and more than 60 backbench MPs have called on the Prime Minister to quit following Labour’s heavy defeats in the local elections.
A parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Mr Morris was among the first to resign their position, calling on Sir Keir to set out a “swift timetable” to step aside. In a message posted on social media, the MP for Hexham, Northumberland, wrote: “The message from last week’s elections was clear: the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public.”
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He added: “It is in the best interests of the country and the party that the Prime Minister sets out a swift timetable to ensure that a new leader is in place to regain the confidence of the public and to ensure that the government can deliver on the commitments it has made.”
Mr Streeting has widely been seen as a potential successor to the Prime Minister – with his allies pointing to results in his local authority, Redbridge, to show that he can retain the Westminster seat he holds with a majority of just 528.
Tom Rutland
Mr Rutland resigned as PPS to Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds, saying the Prime Minister had “lost authority” and “will not be able to regain it”.
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In his statement posted on social media, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham said: “It is with regret that I believe the Prime Minister should now set out a timetable for his departure and for a new leader to be chosen to lead the Labour Party and the country.”
Mr Rutland added: “It is clear to me that the Prime Minister has lost authority not just within the Parliamentary Labour Party but across the country and that he will not be able to regain it.”
Melanie Ward
The MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy in Scotland, Ms Ward resigned from her position as PPS to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy – saying Sir Keir had “lost the confidence of the public”.
In a statement on X, Ms Ward said: “So many of my constituents told me that they could not vote Labour as long as Keir Starmer remains Prime Minister.”
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She added: “Keir Starmer did important work to change the Labour Party, and governing in a time like this will never be easy.“But the message from last week’s elections was clear; the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public”. Mr Lammy previously rallied around the Prime Minister to defend his premiership, saying his “mandate” must be delivered.
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Naushabah Khan
Ms Khan, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham, resigned from her position as PPS to the Cabinet Office – calling for “new leadership”.In a statement on X, Ms Khan said: “The message from last week’s elections was clear: the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public.”
She added: “We need a clear change of direction now and no game playing. A Labour Government can and will rise to meet the moment if we act now.
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“I am calling for new leadership, so that we can rebuild trust and deliver the better future that the British people voted for.”
Catherine West
Ms West previously said she would challenge Sir Keir for the party leadership as early as Monday afternoon, in an attempt to force the Cabinet to put forward a replacement as prime minister.
The MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet withdrew threats to imminently launch a leadership challenge ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech on Monday, but went on to write a letter urging him to step aside that was signed by 80 MPs, PA understands. Backbench MPs
A growing number of backbench MPs have called for Sir Keir to resign as Prime Minister, including Richard Burgon, John McDonnell and Sally Jameson, an aide to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
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Ms Jameson, MP for Doncaster Central, said Sir Keir “is a man of deep integrity” but said she now feels he should “set out a clear timetable for his departure in September or shortly after”.
More than 60 backbench MPs had publicly called for the Prime Minister to resign by Monday evening.
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