Britain came close to blackouts during last month’s heatwave – but energy bosses tried to hide it, whistleblowers have claimed.

Tory energy spokesman Claire Coutinho told MPs yesterday that operators said the grid failed to meet necessary standards as temperatures reached 34C on June 23. 

She added that they claimed that the Neso (National Energy Systems Operator) corporate affairs team had tried to cover up the crisis.

But energy minister Michael Shanks insisted that electricity supplies were maintained and that no customers lost power.

However, he said that Neso – a government body set up by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband – had now ordered an independent investigation into the claims against it.

In an urgent question, Ms Coutinho told MPs that whistleblowers had warned that the country was close to blackouts.

‘I’ve been approached by multiple whistleblowers within our grid operator,’ she said.

‘The allegations are that first, on June 23, the operator failed to meet the grid security standards put in place to prevent blackouts.

‘Second, that the corporate affairs team interfered with operational decisions.

‘That is not something that the minister denied – putting the reputation of the operator above security of supply.

‘And third, that operational decisions are being recorded in live documents with no audit trail. Again, something the minister did not deny.’

She previously accused grid bosses of ‘risking blackouts to protect Neso’s reputation’.

In the run-up to the incident in June, Neso issued an emergency margin call – a request to generators to increase supplies – after forecasting a shortfall.

Government departments were warned about the risk of power cuts.

Mr Shanks said that there had been no blackouts last month and said that there was no kind of ’emergency situation’.

‘Electricity supplies were maintained throughout the June heatwave. No customer demand was disconnected,’ he said.

‘Statutory frequency limits were maintained throughout the whole event, and the largest credible loss that could have occurred was also covered.’

He added that at no point did the country ‘come close to breaching’ the ‘margin’ – the buffer above peak demand.

‘It did not indicate any kind of emergency situation. Demand was met, and those are the facts,’ he added.

He later added that although the electricity demand had been met, ‘I don’t for a second doubt that it was difficult on some of those days, as it was across all of Europe.’

He also said that Neso had instructed a legal firm to conduct an independent investigation into the claims of the whistleblowers.

The report will be delivered to the operator and to regulator Ofgem ‘in the coming weeks’, Mr Shanks said.

But Ms Coutinho dismissed this as a ‘sham’ because there was no guarantee that workers would be granted anonymity.

Her fellow Tory MP Julian Lewis questioned whether the review would be independent because Neso was paying for a law firm to investigate.

Meanwhile, Bill Esterson, the Labour chair of the energy committee, said a director at Neso had told him it was ‘not plausible’ that corporate staff had taken decisions in the control room.

Neso issued its third electricity margin notice of the year last week.

They are the first such notices to be put out in summer and it has issued only two others – both in January last year – since it took charge in October 2024.

Extreme heat puts pressure on the electricity system by making processes less efficient, including generation from nuclear power plants, gas stations and water-cooling systems.

Britain has not suffered a major blackout since 2019 when the Little Barford gas-fired power station in Bedfordshire and the Hornsea windfarm in the North Sea failed at the same time, causing large parts of the grid to automatically shut down.

An unprecedented blackout left Spain and Portugal without electricity for several hours last year, leading to questions about the reliability of the electricity supplies in times of stress.

George the seagull has become part of the family – and even welcomed by two Bengal cats.

An abandoned baby seagull has become an unlikely member of a family – and their Bengal cats have become adoptive parents.

Andrew Moore, 33, from Arbroath, has been raising the gull, named George, after the week-old chick tumbled from the roof above the family’s home and fish shop last month.

The dad who lives above The Fish Hoose with his children, Eva, 13, and Nairn, 10, said the family initially hoped George’s mother would return.

“We had seagulls nesting on our roof and one of the young fell off at about a week old,” he said.

“It was on our balcony, so we just left it because we thought its mum would come back. But she never did, so we decided to feed it.”

Since then, George has gone from strength to strength, thanks to a steady diet of fresh fish from the family’s shop.

“He’s become quite a part of our family,” Andrew said. “We’re keeping him well fed with little bits of fish from our shop. He’s scoffing down everything we give him.

“My son named him George. He had been staying out on the balcony but somehow made his way into the house.

“We even got him a wee paddling pool.”

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The biggest surprise has been George’s relationship with the family’s two Bengal cats, Benji and Bow, who have been keeping a watchful eye on the chick.

“They’ve really taken to him, which is quite a surprise because they’re hunting cats,” Andrew said. “They just seem to be intrigued by him.

“They watch everything he does and keep an eye on him. I think they just think he’s part of the family.”

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The family has been learning how to care for the gull as they go, relying on online advice while hoping to prepare him for life in the wild.

“We’ve just been Googling how to look after them,” Andrew said. “We just want to bring him up and hopefully he’ll be okay to go on with his life.

“They’re supposed to fly within about six weeks. He has been spreading his wing and jumping around.

“I reckon it’s nearly time to say our goodbyes.”

While Andrew hopes George will soon take to the skies, he suspects the young gull may not become a complete stranger.

He added: “He’ll probably be coming back to see us when he knows he gets food.”

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Videos of George’s adventures have attracted plenty of attention online, with viewers charmed by the unusual friendship between the gull and the family’s cats.

“We’ve had a lot of folk messaging us joking about how they can get a pet seagull from our videos,” Andrew said. “I’ve even had customers coming in wanting to see him.”

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Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes were convicted of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters in the Cheshire home invasion murders on 23 July 2007

One Connecticut family became the target of a horrifying ordeal inside their own home when a brutal killing duo launched a seven-hour rampage of rape, sexual assault and ultimately murder.

Joshua Komisarjevsky and his accomplice, Steven Hayes, were found guilty of murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit, a nurse, along with her daughters during the terrifying attack on July 23, 2007.

The pair had spotted Jennifer and her daughter at a supermarket and tailed them back to their residence in New Haven, where the family’s harrowing nightmare would begin.

Komisarjevsky memorised their address, returned home to put his own daughter to bed, then came back to the Petit family home in the dead of night while they were sleeping. His original intention was burglary — but this straightforward crime escalated into an act of unspeakable depravity.

The duo subjected the family to hours of torment. They began by beating father William Petit with a baseball bat so severely that he was rendered unconscious as the nightmare unfolded around him, reports the Express US.

His two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, were bound, and Jennifer was compelled to withdraw $15,000 from a bank account after the depraved pair escorted her to a local branch.

Hayes raped and strangled Jennifer, while Komisarjevsky sexually assaulted her 11-year-old daughter, Michaela. Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied to their beds and succumbed to smoke inhalation after the house was doused in petrol and set ablaze.

Both Hayley and Jennifer were sexually assaulted, according to Vocal Media. The entire nightmare lasted seven hours.

Jennifer even managed to discreetly alert their bank, who then notified authorities the family was being held hostage, but by that point Komisarjevsky and Hayes had escalated their crimes into a full-blown nightmare. One detective described the crime scene as something that “never leaves your mind.”

The intruders doused the house in accelerant before setting it ablaze. Miraculously, William Petit, the father, managed to survive.

The doctor had been beaten, bound and dragged to the basement, where he drifted in and out of consciousness for several hours.

He managed to break free and crawl to a neighbour’s house to raise the alarm, but was unable to save his two daughters or his wife.

Petit campaigned to retain the death penalty in Connecticut, successfully lobbying state senators to delay repeal legislation while Komisarjevsky was still facing a capital punishment trial.

“July 23, 2007, was our personal holocaust,” Petit said following Komisarjevsky’s death sentence, referring to the day his family was murdered. “A holocaust caused by two who are completely evil and actually do not comprehend what they have done.”

Hayley endured horrific final moments after managing to free herself from her restraints, before collapsing from smoke inhalation. Michaela never made it out of her room.

The killers tried to flee in the Petit family’s car, but were arrested by police almost immediately. Komisarjevsky has since said he considers volunteering to be executed on his darkest days.

In the past 50 years, Connecticut has carried out only one execution — a serial killer who was put to death in 2005 after voluntarily waiving his right to appeal.

“I don’t think I’ll be executed against my will,” Komisarjevsky said in his first interview since his conviction the previous year. “I think if I volunteer, the state will execute me.

“I guess my reaction is not the reaction society expected,” Komisarjevsky said.

Cynthia Hawke-Renn, the sister and aunt of the victims, told NBC she had not anticipated any apology from the killer, according to ABC.

“He doesn’t have nightmares, but I have nightmares and I can’t stop thinking about it,” she said. “I wish I could. And I think it’s really sad that he doesn’t have a conscience and have remorse and apologize to my brother-in-law or my parents.”

Komisarjevsky now passes his days in solitary confinement by drawing, watching television, reading, and responding to both hate mail and letters from supporters.

“Some days you’re just overwhelmed by the isolation and the difficulties in communicating with loved ones, dealing with your own crisis of conscience,” Komisarjevsky said.

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed legislation abolishing the state’s death penalty for future crimes, though the new law does not apply to those already on death row.

“In order for some to swallow this bitter pill, it was inevitable that we would be left out,” Komisarjevsky said.

Micah Richards was told of his father Lincoln’s death just before he went on air for England and Argentina’s World Cup semi-final tie

BBC pundit and ex-England star Micah Richards has revealed he learnt of his father’s death moments before going on air for the Three Lions’ World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

Richards was joined by presenter Mark Chapman, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney and former Manchester City team-mate Joe Hart in Atlanta, having spent most of the tournament in a studio in Salford.

The BBC’s coverage had shifted to the United States for the latter rounds, just in time to air England’s almighty collapse and bitter 2-1 defeat to Argentina. Anthony Gordon had given Thomas Tuchel’s side the lead on 55 minutes, before they set up shop and conceded two late goals.

However, shortly after the match had concluded, fan-favourite Richards shared that he had been informed of his father’s death just before going on air for the semi-final.

Richards took to social media to confirm his father’s passing, posting: “Not long before going on air today, I received the awful news that my father Lincoln had passed away. His death was unexpected, and he has left us all too soon. He was my greatest fan. He barely missed a game my entire life.

“He would take me wherever I needed to go when I was a kid and he was the proudest parent possible during my professional career. It was so rare for him to not be by my side. I know how much watching England World Cup games means to everyone at home, and how the experience bonds families together across the generations, like nothing else.

“I know, particularly as a proud old-school Yorkshireman, dad would’ve wanted the show to go on this evening. And so it did. Thinking of my siblings and all my wider family today as we remember my father Lincoln, my hero and inspiration.”

Richards has previously spoken of the profound influence his father had on his career path. He said in 2007: “I grew up in Chapeltown, a rough area of Leeds. There was all sorts of stuff – drugs and fighting. There is a point when you are 15 or 16 when you might want to get involved in it. There was definitely a temptation but I stayed grounded.

“I have been able to deal with all the stuff that has come my way. That’s down to Dad. He’s brought me up well. My Dad is a strong character. He is very principled. He’s a Rastafarian. He has set standards for me.

“It’s been great to have that sort of person behind me but at the same time I learned how to be my own man. Dad’s always been here for me. He has missed only one game I have ever played in and that was my debut at Arsenal when I wasn’t even been supposed to be in the squad.”

Tributes from across the sporting world have poured in for Richards. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who works alongside Richards on CBS, was amongst the first to reach out.

“Sending love to you and all the family,” he said. Hart, who had been working beside Richards on Wednesday evening, said: “Sending love Meeks… here for you all. RIP Lincoln.”

“Sorry for your loss Micah,” commented Juan Mata. Ex-England international Jill Scott added: “Thinking of you and your family Micah.” Former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button said: “Praying for you brother, Sorry for your loss.”

A new angle has emerged of Jude Bellingham‘s clash with Argentina’s stars after England‘s heartbreaking exit from the World Cup.

Bellingham was at odds with Valentin Barco, who did not even play in the match, in the aftermath of the Three Lions’ late collapse and 2-1 defeat in Atlanta.

It was clearly an emotional time for Bellingham, who has been one of the best players during the World Cup with six goals, and stood alone after the final whistle. 

The Real Madrid midfielder’s scrap was caught on television and now a new angle from high above has emerged, captured by a journalist from Spanish outlet Diario AS.

In the build-up to the flashpoint, one Argentina player consoled Bellingham before a group huddled near him.

Barco then turned his head to say something – it wasn’t clear towards who or in which language – and shortly after, the England star seemed to snap.

He was also at loggerheads with defender Nicolas Otamendi as other players tried to stop them

Bellingham appeared to initiate the conflict by slapping Barco on the back of the head 

He went over to Strasbourg midfielder Barco and slapped him on the back of the head. 

The full-back then turned around and pushed Bellingham with tempers flaring. Nicolas Otamendi also came over and gave the England man a shove. 

Several Argentinian players attempted to act as peacemakers, but it looked as if, even when they were separated, that Bellingham and Otamendi wanted more head-to-head action.

This came on the back of a highly passionate and rather thuggish game, so it is understandable that tensions were running high.

Ultimately, Argentina remained the calmer side when the going got tough. England took the lead via Anthony Gordon on 55 minutes, but quickly sat off, inviting pressure.

That, and the defensive substitutions made by Thomas Tuchel, proved to be England’s undoing.

Enzo Fernandez struck a peach of a strike from outside the area after 85 minutes, before Lautaro Martinez broke English hearts with a header two minutes into stoppage time.

Bellingham, who has been so brilliant throughout the tournament, appeared pained at that. In seeming frustration at Jordan Pickford, who produced a number of impressive saves, he looked to the sky, stretched out his arms, and appeared to say: ‘It’s in the middle of the goal.’

Tuchel concluded to BBC Sport: ‘We’re disappointed, we were so close but we got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances.

‘We could not turn the ball possession around and then conceded so many crosses, chances and shots. We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored.

‘Of course we wanted to go for the second goal but I did not have the feeling that offensive substitutions would help. We stayed in our 4-4-2 but we became passive, more and more passive.

‘We couldn’t win any balls, we couldn’t keep the ball so I think it was not a structural problem, we changed nothing. But the match changed completely.’

Harry Kane said: ‘I’m gutted for the boys, the team, the staff, the fans. We played a good game for the vast majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to try and hold on. At this level that’s not enough. Just gutted as we worked so hard to be here and the boys gave every last bit of sweat, blood, and tears.

‘We struggled to get pressure on the ball. Frist half, start of second half, we pressed well and put them under pressure. After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us not being able to match them man-for-man, it was wave after wave. lads were putting blocks in but it wasn’t enough.

‘The boys are ready for any moment. When we went ahead, the messaging was to go again and get another goal. Once they scored their two goals, it was to try and find something but we couldn’t get the momentum.

‘We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games. We’re close, we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament. thee tournaments take it out of you, so much effort and pressure and mentality. We’re missing that final piece.’

Dan Burn added: ‘Absolutely gutted. I thought we had the gameplan pretty well for the majority of it. But obviously, when we scored, we went a bit passive and dropped off and were ultimately punished for it.

‘We probably conceded too many chances and if you do that, they are going to get goals. Disappointing from us. We have defended games better and seen them out. When you get that close to the World Cup final, that hurts.’

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This is the moment Met Police officers rescue a lone Argentina fan from a baying mob of England supporters in Piccadilly Circus.

Police were called into action to help remove the fan from an angry crowd on Regent Street St James’s in central London after Thomas Tuchel‘s team crashed out of the World Cup last night.

Footage from Piccadilly Circus shows Met officers escorting him away from the scene as England supporters can be heard shouting before they are pushed away. 

One officer shouts ‘stay back’ as the cops push England supporters away in an attempt to bring the fan, who is wearing an Argentina shirt, to safety.

Other footage from Piccadilly Circus last night shows the Met trying to control a crowd of hundreds of people.

The Argentina fan is seen being led away by police as one officer holds on to his arm while others have their truncheons drawn, warning England supporters not to try and approach him. 

In one shot, more than half a dozen officers crowd around him to prevent the baying mob from getting face-to-face with him as they appear to shout abuse following England’s crushing 2-1 semi-final defeat at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

The Argentina fan is then brought to safety after he is escorted into a police van as he holds his palms up in the air. 

Hundreds of baying Englsand supporters crowd around the Argentina fan in Piccadilly Circus 

Boos and chants of ‘f*** Messi’ are heard as officers escort the lone fan to safety

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Officers shield the van from crowd as chants of ‘f*** Messi’ can be heard as well as synchronised ‘boos’ from England supporters. 

One England fan is captured climbing on top of a telephone box in the iconic central London square. 

Despite the team’s loss, supporters appeared jubilant as they cheered at the cameras filming the chaos while the Met tried to control the crowd. 

Some England supporters attempt to chase the van as it leaves the area but officers hold them back. 

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing from the Argentina fan or baying England supporters. 

The man wearing the Argentina shirt appears to be a YouTube prankster known as Maciej, who in separate footage from last night posted on his TikTok shows him trying to rile up England fans. 

In the short clip, the social media personality, who has over 220,000 followers on the platform, is approached by an English man telling him to ‘get the f*** out of here bro’ before he is pushed.

Another man, wearing an England shirt, asks Maciej where he is from. The prankster replies by telling him he is from Argentina, when calls for him to leave the area are repeated. 

The TikToker has previously posted videos claiming to ‘ragebait’ Tottenham Hotspur fans while wearing an Arsenal shirt.  

He brought to a police van which then drove away from the scene as England supporters attempted to chase after it

Police officers intervene and speak to fans in Atlanta as they try to keep the peace following Argentina’s semi-final victory

He is then approached by several England supporters demanding he leaves, telling him to ‘jog on’ and ‘f*** off’, while a bouncer escorts him away. 

Protesting, he asks: ‘Can I not support Argentina? What am I doing [wrong]?’ 

This is met by calls for him to ‘go home’, with one man telling him: ‘You can support Argentina but it’s not the right time.’ 

Maciej ends the video by talking to the camera, saying: ‘Someone’s crying. Who’s crying?’ 

There were clashes on the streets of Atlanta and Britain following England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday night.

Fights broke out outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia after the final whistle confirmed the Three Lions’ 2-1 defeat to Lionel Messi’s side.

Police made multiple arrests as they stepped in to calm the situation, with pictures showing several England fans being detained by armed officers.

Meanwhile in London fans caused chaos as they took to the roads of the city centre. 

A police officer breaks up an argument between Argentina and England fans outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium

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Fans are arrested in Atlanta by armed police looking to separate the two sides

US police stand guard in Atlanta as Argentina fans gather at the fan festival to celebrate

Supporters react when Argentina scored to level the game 1-1

England supporters react near the end as they watch the semi-final football match between England and Argentina at Boxpark Wembley

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Tensions had already flared inside the stadium after Argentina took a banner from fans which claimed the Falkland Islands belong to the South American nation.

The Falklands conflict had loomed large in the build-up to the semi-final tie, with rival chants about the war featuring in fan zones around the city.

After the match was over, tens of thousands of fans flooded out of the stadium to the surrounding streets, with some disputes boiling over into violence.

England fans branded the behaviour of Argentina’s supporters ‘absolutely disgusting’ and warned that things will ‘kick off, 100 per cent’.

The Atlanta Police Department deployed extra resources around the city, with officers lining the streets outside bars near the stadium after the crunch clash. 

Argentina and England fans outside bars near the stadium exchanged words – much of it Falklands-related. 

American police officers with large guns were seen placing both England and Argentina fans in handcuffs. 

The disruption is affecting services between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North, with train operator Northern warning that delays, cancellations, and changes to services are likely to continue throughout the day.

Trains through major stations including Manchester Piccadilly, Bolton, Chorley and Preston are being affected, with passengers advised to check before travelling.

Northern said via their website: “We apologise for the cancellation of this service today.

“If the train you have a ticket for is cancelled, you can travel on any Northern, TransPennine Express and East Midlands Railway service within 2 hours before or after your cancelled service was due to depart.

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“If you require any connecting services, please check information screens, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk/journey-planner or speak to a member of staff where available.”

Passengers who are delayed by 15 minutes or more may be eligible for compensation under Northern’s delay repay scheme.

Services that have already been cancelled include the 3.48pm, 4.48pm and 5.48pm departures from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North.

Southbound services from Blackpool North to Manchester Airport at 2.54pm and 3.54pm have also been cancelled, with further delays and cancellations expected as the fault continues to cause problems.

Passengers are being urged to check the latest travel information before starting their journeys, and to allow extra time for travel or consider alternative routes where possible.

Further information and live updates are available on the National Rail website and Northern’s social media channels, including @northernassist on X.

Following the announcement, customers said it is ‘such a shame’

A popular Cambridgeshire Italian restaurant is set to close its doors permanently, citing they will “cherish the memories”. Mangiare on Downham Road in Ely is set to close for good on Sunday, August 2.

Its owners said that, “with a heavy heart” the restaurant will close. This isn’t the end of Mangiare though, as its other locations in Newmarket and Frinton-on-Sea remain in operation. The restaurant has thanked customers for all their support.

The Mangiare restaurant shared on Tuesday, July 15: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce Mangiare Ely will close on Sunday, 2nd August. A huge thank you to all our wonderful guests for your support over the years.

“It has been our pleasure to serve you, and we’ll always cherish the memories we’ve made together. And if you’re nearby, COME AND ENJOY the same delicious Italian food and friendly service at our MANGIARE NEWMARKET restaurant. Thank you for everything.”

In response to the news, diners commented that it is their “favourite restaurant” and that it is “such a shame” to hear. In a recent review on Tripadvisor, one customer wrote: “We visited Ely Mangiare today and I couldn’t fault any aspect of out meal or the service. The food was sensational.”

Another previous customer wrote: “This authentic Italian ristorante offers great flavours, crowd-pleasing dishes, and a relaxed, friendly vibe.”

The vision of the restaurant comprised of the “finest Italian taste coupled with a relaxed atmosphere for a memorable experience”, according to Mangiare’s website.

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