Burnham is unusual in politics because even colleagues who are furious that he ousted Sir Keir Starmer say he is an affable and decent person.

But does he have the experience and skills to pick Labour’s morale up off the floor, and tackle the deep problems the country has?

One old friend wonders: “He is a lovely bloke, but I just don’t know if he is up to it – that is the honest question.”

Being Mr Nice Guy isn’t enough to be an effective prime minister in a confusing and brutal political era.

But you can be ruthless with a smile, and Andy Burnham is willing to follow advice from one of the most effective leaders of recent decades – not one of the prime ministers, but Sir Alex Ferguson.

I’m told the former Manchester United boss bumped into Burnham and wanted to chat politics.

He wanted to know why there had been so much bad blood and briefing between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, saying if he’d been Blair, he would have “got him in a room, and said, you’re either with me, or you can sod off”. The actual phrasing he used was far ruder than that – but you get the drift.

A close ally of Burnham told me: “We might need the Ferguson hairdryer – this is our moment and we might have to tell people, if you’re not with me, well bye, and thanks for your time.”

“Officers, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended, however, sadly the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene”

A young man has died following a two-vehicle collision on Friday, the PSNI has confirmed.

The PSNI said it was alerted to a crash between a blue Yamaha motorcycle and a blue Skoda Enyaq in the Ballymena Road area of Doagh at the junction of Deer Park Road at around 1.40pm on Friday.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service also attended but the motorcyclist, 26-year-old Jamie Fleming, was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Fleming was from the Ballyclare area.

Detective Inspector Stewart, from the Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Our inquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who may have any information which could assist with our investigation, including dashcam or other footage, to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting reference number 827 of 17/07/26.”

Members of the public can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form at psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.

A funeral notice for Jamie read: “July 17th 2026 as the result of a tragic road accident, aged 26. Late of Doagh, Ballyclare.

“Deeply loved son of Cathy and Alan, much loved brother of Dan and partner Leah, Lauren and partner Adam, devoted Uncle Jamie of Joseph and Hollie, and dear grandson of Brian and the late Ray. Family and friends are welcome to call at his home from Sunday afternoon onwards.

“A Service will be held in Antrim & Newtownabbey Crematorium on Wednesday 22nd July at 11.00 a.m. Donations in Jamie’s memory, may be made to Crosskennan Lane Animal Sanctuary online via flemingandcuthbert.co.uk or by telephone (028 9334 4242 Mon – Fri 9.00am – 5.00pm).

“The stories will be told, the laughs will be shared. You’ll never be forgotten.”

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Residents feel the trees are ‘sad-looking’ and have a lot of overgrowth around them

Residents feel nearly 200 trees planted as part of a major road project have been left “neglected”. The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) recently redeveloped Milton Road, aiming to improve public transport, cycle, and walking infrastructure.

As part of the project, the GCP planted 199 new trees. Since the project’s completion, some residents feel the trees have been “abandoned”, and say they have been left in an unappealing state.

Naina Cowell, who’s lived on Milton Road for 47 years, said the trees look “neglected”. She said: “I miss the cherry blossoms. I like the road improvements, but it would have been nice if they planted proper things. I think greater thought could have gone into making the road prettier. Trees are important, but they are neglected.”

Another lady, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed and said the trees were “sad looking”. She added: “They vary in size, like some look fairly bushy, but then some are so small. It makes the road look bad, considering it’s quite a big road into Cambridge. There’s a lot a lot of overgrowth around then that could be better cared for. It doesn’t make the road look very appealing.”

Ashwin Patel, who has lived along the road for over 50 years, said the state of the trees “doesn’t look good”. “It’s not a view I want from my office,” he said. He added: “We don’t have complaints about the trees, as long as someone tidies up. But it’s annoying as they need to be tidied up.”

Andrea, who asked to use only her first name, said the trees look “worse” further down the road. She said: “The project was to make the road better, but I don’t think they thought a lot about the trees and greenery.”

The GCP planted the trees as part of the Milton Road project, but Cambridge City Council now oversees the maintenance of them. A spokesperson for the GCP said it was “sad” to hear about some of the trees along Milton Road.

They added: “When we delivered the Milton Road project in 2024, we planted 199 trees. Last year, we replaced some trees and this year, Cambridge City Council took on the maintenance of the trees. We understand the trees have been added to the City Council’s tree regime and are being managed in accordance with their policies.”

A Cambridge City Council spokesperson said: “Cambridgeshire County Council owns the trees planted through the GCP’s Milton Road improvement scheme, while Cambridge City Council maintains them under existing highway tree arrangements. Scheme funding covered an initial two years of watering and replacement planting, during which survival rates were generally good. After this the trees entered the city council’s routine maintenance programme.”

The spokesperson went on to say that tree establishment and survival is based on a range of factors, including weather, species, planting stock, and site conditions. They added: “The city council monitors trees within its maintenance programme and considers appropriate management interventions according to their condition and individual circumstances.

“An unusually dry winter and spring, followed by prolonged hot weather, have caused stress to trees across Cambridge, including those on Milton Road. River birch trees appear particularly affected, as larger specimens can be harder to establish despite becoming more drought tolerant over time.”

The council said it will continue to work with the GCP to monitor the trees, including through live monitoring by contractors to when they are watered. They added: “[The council] will consider appropriate measures to support those that remain capable of successful establishment, and assess any failures for replacement, subject to available funding and wider planting priorities.”

The majority of United’s representatives in North America will not feature in the first pre-season fixture of the summer, explaining the absences of Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Matheus Cunha, Noussair Mazraoui, Altay Bayindir, Amad, Senne Lammens, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, and of course, World Cup 2026 finalist Lisandro Martinez.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Horrifying footage from the scene of the attack in Uttar Pradesh, India, captured the moment 12-year-old Sunil was thrashed around by a killer crocodile

A 12-year-old boy was snatched and hurled around by a crocodile in a deadly attack in front of his uncle as the two knelt down to wash their hands in a river.

Distressing footage captured the moment the reptile thrashed about with the child clamped between its jaws after rising out of the water in Baundi, in India’s Uttar Pradesh, on July 16. The boy, named Sunil, had been helping his uncle plant rice seedlings that afternoon when he and his guardian stopped at the Ghaghara River on the way to their home in Tikuri to wash their hands and feet.

As the two bathed, the youngster’s leg was snatched by the crocodile, which suddenly emerged from the river and dragged him in, leaving bystanders watching on in horror as he was pulled to his doom.

The 6pm attack took place after Sunil had worked for several hours with his uncle, Vijay Raj Singh, and the two had stopped to wash off dirt they had accumulated during the day. Mr Singh raised the alarm when the boy was dragged under water, and tried desperately to free him from the croc’s grip.

Locals, one of whom started filming the shock scenes, quickly tried to intervene but to no avail as bricks, stones and sticks failed to stop the predator’s rampage.

Sunil was repeatedly thrashed for some time before the crocodile made a bid to escape, dragging the boy into deeper water before eventually disappearing from sight. Locals quickly mounted a desperate search for the young boy using bamboo poles to try and locate his body in the water.

After several hours of searching, the group was able to recover Sunil’s remains from the water, with his body removed at around 10pm that day.

Local authorities said his right leg and abdomen had been partially eaten when they found him later in the day, adding that his right leg and lower waist were severely mutilated. TN Maurya, a station house officer from the nearby Baundi police station, confirmed that footage circulating in the aftermath of the attack was real.

Schoolboy Sunil was an orphan who had lost both of his parents some years earlier and was being looked after by his uncle. He is survived by a brother and two sisters

According to local reports, state authorities are set to compensate his remaining family with a payment of 400,000 INR (£3,091) following his death. Forest officials have said they are monitoring the area after the attack, although residents have long used the Ghanghara River waterway for their daily activities despite the continued presence of crocodiles.

Steve Tandy has made six changes to the side that lost 35-21 to Argentina in San Juan.

Wing Louis Rees-Zammit replaces Ellis Mee while there is also a new centre partnership with Ben Thomas and Max Llewellyn replacing Joe Hawkins and Eddie James.

There is also a change at outside-half with Dan Edwards selected in place of Sam Costelow.

Alex Mann returns at blindside flanker in place of James Botham while Teddy Williams replaces the injured Ben Carter at lock.

Freddie Thomas, Tommy Reffell and Reuben Morgan-Williams come onto the replacements bench.

Wales: Murray; Rees-Zammit, Llewellyn, B Thomas, Adams; Edwards, Tomos Williams; Carre, Lake (capt), D Lewis, Teddy Williams, Beard, Mann, J Morgan, Wainwright

Replacements: Elias, N Smith, Warren, F Thomas, Reffell, Botham, Morgan-Williams, Hawkins.

Tottenham have already spent over £200million this summer and remain interested in further reinforcements, though they have rejected an offer from Newcastle for Lucas Bergvall. Liverpool have tied down Dominik Szoboszlai to a new contract but are targeting a forward signing, or two, amid links to Bradley Barcola. Follow the latest transfer news, gossip and rumours live below!

If anyone has any information, CCTV footage or mobile phone footage that may relate to GMP’s investigation you can provide it via the Major Incident Public Portal here: Public Portal.

You can also contact police via 101 or the Live Chat at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 744 of 17/07/26.

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Potatoes may be a kitchen essential, but keeping them fresh for more than a few weeks can prove surprisingly difficult

Potatoes are among the most versatile vegetables around. Whether you’re after a classic Sunday roast, a hearty potato salad or simple sausage and chips, it’s always handy to have a few spuds tucked away.

Yet far too often, we head to the larder only to discover they have turned green and sprouted or, even worse, gone soggy and mouldy.

YouTuber Marandia Wright has a surprisingly straightforward, old-fashioned storage technique that could spare you from repeatedly binning bag after bag of rotten spuds. She explains: “Those of you who have grown potatoes know that, when you dig your potatoes up out of the dirt, you can put them in a cardboard box and just put them in a dark room.

“You can go and get them whenever you want them and they’re good all the way through until the next growing season,” she says on her Survival HT channel.

However, Marandia points out that shop-bought potatoes will rarely keep for more than a couple of weeks: “One of the major reasons is the plastic bag,” she says. “This thing sweats, it gets them wet, it starts them rotting and rot starts spreading.”

The solution, she explains, requires no costly equipment or specialist knowledge — in fact, she insists, “a toddler can do it.”

“This works with any kind of potato,” Marandia says. “Even sweet potatoes, and all you need is a box and some dirt.”

She explains that the first and most crucial step is to remove your potatoes from the plastic bag the moment you arrive home, as the humid environment inside encourages rot: “Another major reason,” Marandia says, “is because they have washed them.

“When you harvest [potatoes] yourself you do not wash them. You leave them in the original dirt, the original microbes, the things that they grew with are going to help to protect and to preserve them.”

Marandia says that you can restore shop-bought potatoes to a more natural condition simply by removing them from the bag and leaving them somewhere sheltered to dry out: “Make sure there’s no moisture on the skins,” she says, “and then all you have to do is get a cardboard box.”

The following step, she adds, is to gather some soil from your garden and leave it in direct sunlight for a day to make certain it’s completely dry. You won’t need a great deal of earth, Marandia says, just enough to give each potato a light coating.

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Finally, Marandia says, you should ensure each potato is kept apart from the others: “You can do this with newspaper by layering them: a potato layer and then a newspaper layer, then another newspaper layer.”

Should you not have sufficient newspaper to hand, she says, extra soil will do the trick, simply using a layer of earth to keep each potato separate.

With this straightforward age-old technique, you can keep a bag of shop-bought potatoes fresh for up to a year — that’s if you can resist tucking in!