Setting out the EU’s political and policy priorities for the year ahead, von der Leyen also proposed the formation of a European Security Council, which would include the UK and Ukraine, amid an ongoing threat to the continent from Russia.

“For a long time, we have discussed a leaders’ format focused on the security of our continent, with partners like Canada, Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and others involved,” she said in the wide-ranging address.

“This is even more urgent now, given the nature and scale of the risks at play. This is why we will set out our ideas to make a European Security Council a reality.”

Calls for such a body have been growing since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

It was initially a French-German conception but more countries have shown support, particularly as Trump has questioned the Nato military alliance. Other nations worry such a council could unhelpfully rival Nato.

Von der Leyen said the EU was “strengthening our work with Nato” and that expanded defence spending would be “fully aligned” with the alliance.

But at the core of such a security council would be the ability to trigger an emergency meeting if one member felt under threat, similar to Nato’s Article 4.

The EU chief said it would be a “mechanism to flank” Article 4, a term that could be interpreted as complementing Nato functions or – if taken in a military context – bypassing them.

Alongside global threats, von der Leyen also said many European families were worried about the cost of living, and the “dizzying speed of change” of technology and its impacts on jobs and society.

Other proposals included inviting the world’s largest AI labs for talks on how to support industry efforts to pace the frontier, as well as slashing bureaucracy for businesses in the EU.

Plans to curb social media use among children, including banning platforms for under 13s, were also put forward. Under the proposal, children aged 13 to 15 would only be able to set up social media accounts which are supervised by parents.

A new emergency tool to help countries better deal with mass migration movements following the deadly influx of migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July would also be outlined.

The pledge chimes with the message of European politicians on the right and hard right who have gained support in recent years for proposing a tougher approach.

Some of them called the mass attempt to enter the EU through Ceuta an “invasion” and argued asylum rules should be suspended to deal with such a crisis.

Von der Leyen said the new emergency tool would “only be triggered under a strictly defined set of criteria” and for a specific period of time, and that fundamental rights would be protected.

Human rights groups worry such a move would see vulnerable people, including women and children, turned back and denied the protection afforded to them under international law.

When The Great British Bake Off returns for its 17th series this autumn, viewers will be greeted by a new judge – Nigella Lawson. There are connections between Lawson’s domestic goddess persona and the world of Bake Off, which make her a logical choice for the show’s new judge.

For more than two decades, Lawson has occupied a distinctive place in British food culture. Since the publication of How to Be a Domestic Goddess (2000), she has cultivated a tongue-in-cheek persona that reimagined domestic labour for the noughties generation.

The title of Lawson’s cookbook was deliberately provocative. At a time when domesticity was often framed as something women should escape, Lawson embraced and reinvented its language. Her domestic goddess persona was neither the dutiful housewife nor the professional celebrity chef. Instead, she offered a mode of culinary femininity that was sensual, confessional and self-consciously performative.

As I argue in my new book, Women, Food, Performance: The Tyranny of the Domestic Goddess, the persona Lawson popularised remains a defining cultural figure through which the fantasies and contradictions of food, femininity and domesticity are performed and negotiated.

Cooking, in Lawson’s world, is less about obligation than pleasure, transforming the kitchen into a space of self-expression.

This is where the first alignment with Bake Off emerges. Although framed as a competition, the programme has become a key stage for telling stories about family, heritage, local identity and nationhood, generating powerful narratives of togetherness and belonging.

Since 2010, Bake Off has helped revive interest in home baking in Britain, positioning baking as a meaningful social and cultural practice. Audiences invest in contestants’ journeys and discuss weekly challenges and disasters. It not only represents community through baking but also actively produces it through shared spectatorship.

Who can be a ‘star’ baker?

A second alignment lies in their shared celebration of amateurism.

Lawson has always identified as a home cook rather than a professional chef. Through autobiographical storytelling and stylised television aesthetics, she celebrates everyday pleasures and amateur culinary creativity, inviting audiences into an aspirational yet accessible world.

Similarly, Bake Off emphasises encouragement, camaraderie and amateur expertise. Contestants are valued not only for their technical skill but also for qualities associated with home baking: patience, generosity and care. The programme’s enduring appeal rests on the idea that ordinary people can create extraordinary things, a vision central to Lawson’s construction of the amateur cook.

Yet, despite its reputation for kindness and camaraderie, Bake Off is also a place where particular baking identities are produced, judged and legitimised. Contestants perform their skills before judges whose authority rests on established ideals of expertise, tradition and taste.

Women contestants have frequently faced scrutiny of their appearance, competence and emotions. This was reflected in the experiences of former contestants Ruby Tandoh and Nadiya Hussain, who have spoken publicly about sexism, racism and the heightened scrutiny surrounding their participation in the programme. The tent, then, is not simply a celebration of baking but a space where the figure of the star baker, and who gets to embody it, is continually negotiated.

Lawson’s presence brings these questions into sharper focus. Through television, cookery writing and the domestic goddess persona, she has spent over 25 years shaping understandings of food and femininity. Her significance lies in her ability to connect food to the intimate textures of everyday life. She does this by using cooking to organise and aestheticise the messy realities of pleasure, care, family and domesticity into a coherent and aspirational way of living.

Tongue-in-cheek cooking

Perhaps the strongest connection between Lawson and Bake Off is their investment in domestic fantasy. Neither presents baking as an obligatory feminine duty. Instead, they turn it into a pleasurable performance, inviting audiences to enjoy idealised visions of home, tradition and community while recognising their artifice.

Their shared irony lies in presenting baking as both sincere and self-conscious. It is a source of genuine comfort and connection, but also a carefully staged cultural performance. This sensibility can be seen in their similar use of humour and innuendo. Whether through Lawson’s flirtatious descriptions of food or Bake Off’s famous “soggy bottoms”, both cultivate an affectionate, self-aware approach to domesticity that prevents baking from becoming too earnest or moralising.

Twenty-six years after How to Be a Domestic Goddess, the “domestic goddess” figure that Lawson popularised continues to resonate because it captures a persistent cultural contradiction. Domesticity remains a powerful source of pleasure and creativity even as its relationship to gender remains contested. Both Lawson and Bake Off thrive by inhabiting this tension, inviting us to enjoy the comforts of home and tradition while acknowledging that they are also cultural performances.

Lawson remains influential because she embodies a form of femininity that is modern and traditional, glamorous and domestic, privileged and somehow also ordinary. Her arrival in the Bake Off tent speaks to her ability to make a highly classed and culturally privileged version of British femininity feel warm, intimate and attainable.

Beneath the cakes, bunting and good humour lies an ongoing negotiation over who gets to represent culinary culture, what expertise matters and how domestic life is valued, desired and performed.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

Lena Dunham, creator of the hit TV series Girls, has welcomed her first child with husband Luis Felber via a surrogate.

The writer and actress announced the birth of her daughter in an op-ed published by Vogue on Wednesday, where she wrote she was “bashful and dizzy with joy”.

Dunham, 40, has spoken publicly about her struggles with fertility and chronic illness, and grief around her dreams of motherhood after undergoing a hysterectomy when she was 31 years old.

Of meeting her surrogate, she wrote in Vogue: “While I’ve been known to make friends quickly – airport terminals, veterinary offices – ​this was the quickest leap from first coffee to gynecological procedure I’d ever done.”

In the op-ed, Dunham wrote about the moment she met her daughter, who she said announced herself “13 days late, in the face of a solar eclipse and a meteor shower”.

“I sat on a hospital bed, between the legs of a woman I hadn’t known a year ago, waiting for a glimpse of this person who I had been waiting for with something related to patience, but also none at all,” she wrote.

“I forgot to look down until I heard our baby’s cry. I saw her face, gasping just as she did. Her eyes, wide and unfocused, taking in the light and shadow, blinking rapidly.”

Dunham has written extensively about her experience with endometriosis and its impact on her plans to have a family.

“The moment I lost my fertility, I started searching for a baby,” she said in her memoir Famesick, which was published in April 2026.

Detailing the gruelling process of extracting her eggs during the pandemic, Dunham said would lie on her couch “one day obsessed with adoption and another, dying to locate a surrogate – one day sure I’d be fine if I never had children, and the next convinced my life had been a waste”.

Years later, in June 2025, Dunham told the Times that she and Felber were “in the process of expanding our family in new ways”, but refused to be drawn on how.

“I want to safely meet our children and then figure out how to talk about it,” she told the paper.

In an earlier essay for Harper’s Magazine, in 2020, the writer said it is ironic that “knowing I cannot have a child – my ability to accept that and move on – may be the only reason I deserve to be anyone’s parent at all. I think I finally have something to teach somebody.”

The Go Well Trail is designed to encourage people of all ages to get active in South Park through a smartphone-led experience.

Participants will follow a route guided by QR codes, answering questions and learning new facts to earn points.

Matt Roche, cabinet member for health and housing at Darlington Borough Council, said: “This trail is a really fun way to get people who already use the park, and new visitors, to move more and enjoy their surroundings.

“One of our ambitions laid out in the Council Plan is to help our residents live well and stay healthy and initiatives like this really help achieve that goal.”

People can take part alone, with friends and family, or through a school, community group or organisation.

Each group will appear as a registration option, allowing members to contribute to a team score while competing individually.

Mr Roche said: “The trails are suitable for all ages and I love the idea that community groups can personalise their own trails and make a really unique activity for their members.”

Schools and community groups are also being invited to create their own personalised trails by submitting questions for members to answer.

The YMCA-backed scheme runs from September 19 to November 14.

If it proves successful, the trail could be introduced in other parks across the town.

To register, people can scan one of the QR codes displayed on posters around the park, or visit the South Park page on the Darlington Borough Council Website. 

Alternatively, Community groups can get involved by emailing Marti Gray (Marti.Gray@darlington.gov.uk) or Sean O’Connell (Sean.O’Connell@darlington.gov.uk).

A Brazilian influencer has died at age 22, just weeks after she had breast reduction surgery.

Duda Alves, whose real name is Maria Eduarda Alves, had racked up more than 762,000 followers on TikTok by sharing comedic videos venting about everything that annoyed her, and had become known online as ‘the girl who hates everything.’

Fellow TikTok star Clarissa Pavie confirmed her death by sharing an emotional tribute on Sunday.

‘What hurts me the most is knowing that you’ll never read this, but I’m comforted knowing that it’s from the heart,’ she wrote, alongside an array of photos of them together.

‘I have never lost a friend before, [let alone] one of my best friends. Some know her as the little girl who hates everything and everyone. Well, for me it’s different.

‘For those who never had a chance to meet Duda for real, I’m sorry! She wasn’t just light, she was a calm authenticity, with a hint of acid humor. Made in God’s perfect measures and proportions.’

Pavie went on to brand Alves as the ‘most fair and kind person she ever met.’

‘Her inner beauty was so extravagant,’ Pavie continued. ‘What a privilege it was to have been your friend in this life. 

Alves, whose real name is Maria Eduarda Alves, had racked up more than 762,000 followers on TikTok by sharing comedic videos venting about everything that annoyed her, and had become known online as ‘the girl who hates everything’

‘What a privilege it was to be able to share a few years of my life by your side, to follow your phases, your evolution and to be able to accumulate so many beautiful memories that will be eternal, just like you. 

‘Thank you for changing my life and holding me when I needed you. Eternally your baby girl. I love you forever and ever.’ 

Weeks before her passing, Alves posted about undergoing breast reduction surgery.

According to The Sun, local police are investigating her death but ‘authorities have not established any link between the procedure and her death,’ the outlet said.

An official cause of death has not yet been revealed. 

Her last video was shared on September 10 and featured her discussing some of the negative comments she received after the procedure.

It comes weeks after fellow Brazilian influencer Marta Kelly died at age 33 following massive cosmetic surgery.

Kelly had gained over 500,000 followers across her TikTok and Instagram accounts, where she often shared fashion-based content and documented her life as a mom-of-three. 

According to The Sun, local police are investigating her death but ‘authorities have not established any link between the procedure and her death,’ the outlet said

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Fellow TikTok star Clarissa Pavie confirmed her death by sharing an emotional tribute on Sunday, branding her friend the ‘most fair and kind person she ever met’

Her husband, Marcus Vinicius, shared the news of her tragic death in an Instagram post in late August.

In a lengthy message, Vinicius said that Kelly had ‘lost the battle’ after ‘fighting until the last moment with all the strength she had.’

‘Yeah, people… WE HAVE LOST THE BATTLE,’ he wrote in Portuguese.

‘Still very hard to write these words. I don’t think any sentence could explain the amount of pain I’m feeling right now.

‘Marta was the love of my life. My best friend, my partner, the best wife I could ever ask for and a great mother to our kids.

‘She fought until the last moment. She fought with all the strength she had.’

Vinicius did not share details surrounding the circumstances of Kelly’s passing and her cause of death has not been revealed.

According to reports, she had a ‘three-in-one’ procedure on August 12, which included liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck.

She was reportedly discharged one day after the surgery but returned to the hospital on August 14 when she started feeling sick; she died on August 17.

Lawyers for Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs are seeking to be relieved as counsel for the incarcerated music mogul in his defamation case against multiple parties, alleging the rapper has failed to render payment for six months.  

In court documents obtained by The Daily Mail, the law firm Sher Tremonte LLP filed a motion requesting for leave to withdraw as Combs’s counsel in his lawsuit against Courtney Burgess, Ariel Mitchell, and NewsNation’s parent company Nexstar Media Inc. 

Attorney Michael Tremonte, a partner at the law firm, alleged Combs is in ‘substantial arrears in paying’ for their work and has made representation ‘unreasonably difficult’ due to his ‘lack of cooperation.’

Tremonte has asked that the court ‘grant the instant motion to withdraw’ as lawyers for Combs.

Through a representative, Combs said he was changing lawyers after being overcharged by the firm – a claim Tremonte called ‘simply false.’ 

‘Mr. Combs is in substantial arrears in paying Sher Tremonte’s legal fees,’ the attorney wrote wrote in legal documents seeking withdrawal. ‘For many months, while Sher Tremonte has been rendering legal services, Mr. Combs has not remitted any payment for the substantial balance of attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses incurred.’

Tremonte said the rapper has not paid the firm for services ‘for over six months,’ causing an ‘unreasonable financial burden’ due to the ‘magnitude of past due balances’ and ‘volume of work.’

Further, the attorney claims they have had a ‘total breakdown in cooperation and communication’ with Diddy, 

‘In addition to Mr. Combs’s refusal to pay… Mr. Combs has declined to make himself available for timely, substantive, and direct communications about his cases for over four months,’ Tremonte wrote in legal docs. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to a representative for Combs and his lawyer for comment. 

A representative for Diddy responded to the claims with a quote from the rapper, who is currently behind bars after he was convicted on two prostitution charges last year. 

‘I made the decision to switch lawyers because I won’t let anyone take advantage of me by overcharging me and running up bills that were never approved,’ Diddy, through his representative Juda Engelmayer, said in a statement provided to The Daily Mail. 

‘This is strictly a business matter, and any talk about unpaid fees is just part of our dispute over those unapproved charges,’ he added. 

Engelmayer, on behalf of Diddy’s lawyer Jonathan Davis, further added:  ‘Jonathan Davis, Mr. Combs’s civil litigator for 33 years, has been representing him and his companies in lawsuits in multiple states since his arrest in 2024, and has encountered no resistance from the client in defending him. 

Attorney Michael Tremonte, a partner at the law firm Sher Tremonte LLP, claimed the rapper had filed to pay them for their legal services for six months. Above, in 2016

Through a representative, Combs told The Daily Mail he was changing lawyers after being overcharged by the firm – a claim Tremonte called ‘simply false’

‘The complications of representing an incarcerated client are always difficult, but never insurmountable. Mr. Davis said that he “continues to defend Mr. Combs undaunted because he is confident the truth will be exposed” and that his client will be vindicated.’ 

Engelmayer followed up with: ‘At the appropriate time, Jonathan Davis and his firm will be represent Mr. Combs in his libel suit against NewsNation.’ 

Tremonte denied Combs’s claims in a statement to The Daily Mail.  

‘We represented Mr. Combs zealously and very efficiently under challenging circumstances. 

‘As stated in our court filings, we are withdrawing from representing him because he has not paid his long-overdue invoices and has become uncooperative. Any suggestion that we overcharged him is simply false.’ 

Diddy is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence following a widely publicized trial last year.  

A jury found Diddy guilty of two counts of transporting prostitutes across state lines for the purpose of sex at his 2025 federal trial. He was acquitted by the jury on the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

A judge sentenced the rapper to four years and two months in prison as the sentence began in October 2025.

Diddy’s release date has moved a number of times since he started serving his 50-month sentence, after his conviction on two prostitution charges back in October 2025.

He was originally set to be released in the summer before the date moved up to April, then February, then January and now back to February.

It was revealed on Tuesday that JJ Gabriel wants to leave Man United and Michael Carrick was asked to give his thoughts on the situation after the defeat to Brighton.

Michael Carrick said “the situation is what it is” when asked to give his thoughts on the news JJ Gabriel wants to leave Old Trafford.

It was revealed on Tuesday that teenage sensation Gabriel had decided he wanted out of the club. Gabriel looked set to become United’s youngest ever debutant with the Carabao Cup third round earmarked as a chance for a possible debut, but those plans were scrapped when it became apparent he wanted to leave the club.

United are understood to be fearful that Gabriel could walk away from the club on his 16th birthday next month. There are concerns that United will not be able to stop Gabriel from leaving on October 6 and signing for an overseas club, using his Irish passport to circumvent rules that normally afford United greater protection.

Carrick was asked about the situation after his side’s dire 3-2 loss to Brighton. “We have to be a little bit careful on that one. He’s a 15-year-old boy. It’s more about the welfare, the care and the attention of JJ as a child really,” Carrick told Sky Sports. “He’s certainly a young man. The situation is what it is, but we have to be a little bit careful about the exposure and how we jump on that.”

One youngster who was handed a chance against Brighton was Shea Lacey. The 19-year-old scored his first competitive goal for United, opening the scoring with a neat left-footed effort, but even after Mason Mount added a second United were unable to progress to the next round of the Carabao Cup.

Nevertheless, Carrick was delighted with Lacey’s showing. “I couldn’t expect any more from Shea as a younger player starting the game. That’s what he’s good at, that’s what he’s done all the way through the age groups,” he said.

“I’ve seen it so many times, so for him to come onto the stage and do that is a big plus. It was a great moment at that time of the game and I thought his performance in general was pretty good. He can be pleased with his night. It’s a big night for him, and his performance and his goal is a big plus for him.”

The fight against dementia must be pursued with the same vigour that turned the tide on cancer, Baroness Louise Casey has told the Daily Mail.

Lady Casey, chair of the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, called on ministers to make dementia ‘Britain’s next great national mission – just as cancer was for previous generations’.

Her intervention comes as a new report by Alzheimer’ Society and The King’s Fund think tank warns dementia care in England remains ‘stuck in the last century’ and is in need of a radical overhaul.

Huge leaps in cancer survival over the past 50 years give policymakers the ‘blueprint’ for tackling dementia but a rapidly ageing population and soaring cases make change more urgent, it adds.

Lady Casey and Professor Sir Mike Richards, the former national cancer tsar, will today urge the government to take action when they address the Alzheimer’s Society annual conference in London.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Lady Casey said: ‘Many people in this country will remember when cancer was widely seen as a death sentence, and little could be offered beyond making people as comfortable as possible in their final days.

‘Since the 1970s we have largely transformed that story through decades of research, earlier diagnosis, public awareness, clinical trials and better treatments.

‘This tremendous progress did not come from one miracle cure or one government.

Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.

‘It came because the country decided that cancer mattered, deserved our national effort, and kept up the fight, year after year.

‘It is time we gave dementia that same seriousness and ambition.’

The Daily Mail and Alzheimer’s Society have partnered in a drive to defeat dementia, which claims 76,000 lives a year as Britain’s biggest killer.

Our Defeating Dementia campaign aims to raise awareness of the disease, in an effort to increase early diagnosis, boost research and improve care.

The number of people living with dementia in the UK is expected to rise from 1million to 1.4million by 2040, with the cost to the economy predicted to double.

The new report sets out the steps experts believe the government, NHS and social care leaders must take if dementia diagnosis, treatment, care and support is to make the same progress seen for cancer, where survival rates have almost doubled since the early 1970s.

It calls for strong leadership, clear targets for diagnosis and treatment, and a commitment to improving the quality of data.

Alzheimer’s Society has previously accused the NHS of treating dementia patients like ‘second-class citizens’ who are often ‘cast aside’ with little more than a leaflet.

Professor Sir Mike Richards told the Daily Mail that ‘in many ways, dementia is where cancer was decades ago’ but there are ‘lessons to be learned’ and opportunities for dementia to ‘do a bit of catching up’.

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And the Daily Mail revealed an 18-week diagnosis target for dementia appeared in early drafts of an upcoming government guidebook but was removed in later versions, raising fears the condition is not being treated as a priority.

However, the government has committed to appointing a ‘dementia tsar’, who charities hope will drive the kind of sustained change that transformed cancer care, and there are promising new drugs on the horizon.

As the first ‘cancer tsar’, appointed as National Cancer Director in 1999, Sir Mike oversaw three consecutive cancer strategies.

Speaking ahead of today’s event, he told the Daily Mail that ‘in many ways, dementia is where cancer was decades ago’ but there are ‘lessons to be learned’ and opportunities for dementia to ‘do a bit of catching up’.

Sir Mike added: ‘When I started working in cancer 50 years ago, an eminent professor asked me why I wanted to work in oncology, adding “Don’t they all die?”.

‘There was so little hope and ambition. But look at what we have managed to achieve.

‘While there are still real challenges in cancer, the progress made shows what can be possible when investment, collaboration, leadership and hope combine.

‘Today, what continues to make the difference are clear diagnosis and treatment pathways with timed targets, and a national registry that tracks progress.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said approaches to dementia care are ‘still stuck in the 20th century’.

Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said ‘urgency is critical’ and the country cannot wait 50 years for improvements.

‘Dementia deserves the same ambition that has transformed cancer care. Now is the time to build momentum.

‘The conditions are right for the incoming dementia tsar to lead a movement for change, but it will require everyone involved – patients, clinicians, health service managers, academics, charities, industry, together with ongoing political will – to deliver long-term change.’

The gulf between people’s experiences of dementia care and cancer care are further exposed in a new survey of 1,000 people caring for someone with dementia.

Around a quarter of respondents were able to make a direct comparison between diagnosis, treatment and support for both dementia and cancer.

Over half (51 per cent) said their experience of dementia care was worse and only one in ten (11 per cent) said it was better.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said: ‘There was a time when cancer was thought of as a death sentence, frequently referred to as the “Big C”, such was the fear around a diagnosis.

‘Whilst still a major killer claiming far too many lives, many people are living well and after cancer and there has been a remarkable transformation in cancer outcomes in a relatively short space of time.

‘The same cannot be said for dementia care, with approaches to treatment still stuck in the 20th century.

‘There is ambition that this might be about to change, with recent major scientific advancements giving hope that dementia treatment on the cusp of a cancer-style revolution in care.

‘We will only be able to fulfil this potential if the health and care system is ready to diagnose dementia swiftly and roll out new innovations at scale.

‘That is currently far from the case, and we believe that lessons can be learnt from the progress made in cancer.

‘The potential for wholesale change is within reach; policymakers now need to follow these steps in order to grasp it.’

Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘If you have cancer, it is treated urgently, you get a specific diagnosis, and there is a clear pathway that takes you through your care and treatment.

‘With dementia, it can be years before you get a diagnosis and, all too often, people are sent home with a leaflet and little else.

‘Both are horrendous conditions, and there is still much to do for cancer care, but people’s experiences are worlds apart.

‘I know first-hand, as a former Director General in the Department of Health and Social Care, what happens when something is made a priority, with proper targets, investment, leadership and accountability. We desperately need this for dementia.

‘Urgency is critical. Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and we cannot afford for this to take 50 years.

‘Government must make dementia a priority and learn what it can from cancer to create a future where dementia no longer devastates lives.’

Social care minister Alison McGovern will admit dementia has been ‘neglected for far too long’ when she delivers a speech at the conference.

She is expected to say: ‘Nowhere is the division between health and social care felt more sharply than by people living with dementia and their families – too often left to navigate a fragmented system at the most difficult time in their lives.

‘That is why, this year, we will publish the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, our guidebook for better support.

‘It will bring health and care workers together, adhering to a set of clear national standards, sharpening our priorities, and raising expectations of the help that people living with dementia and their families should receive.

‘We must put a floor under the kind of care that people can expect.

‘And we must improve quality of care, giving the workforce the direction and support it needs to reach those standards.

‘No one wants a future where we live longer but can do less. We want a future where our loved ones stay with us for more years with more joy and more life to live.’

Baroness Louise Casey 

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Lady Casey warns: ‘We cannot stick our heads in the sand.’

By Baroness Louise Casey, chair of the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care.

Many will remember when cancer was widely seen as a death sentence and little treatment could be offered beyond making people as comtortable as possible in their final days.

Since the 1970s, we have largely transformed that story through decades of research, earlier diagnosis, public aware-ness, clinical trials and better treatments.

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This tremendous progress did not come from one miracle cure or the actions of one government. It came because the country decided cancer mattered and deserved our effort. And we kept up the fight year after year.

It is time we afforded that same seriousness and ambition to treating dementia.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month. It should be a moment of national resolve: a commitment to make dementia Britain’s next great national mission, just as cancer was for previous generations.

Dementia is not a normal part of ageing, but a collection of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s. Yet, too often, it is treated as part of a person’s inevitable decline or a social care problem rather than a series of major health conditions that can be diagnosed, researched and treated.

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It’s people with dementia, and their families and loved ones, who feel the consequences. I have met far too many people who receive a diagnosis… and then are left alone to cope.

Alzheimer’s Society is right to call for those with dementia to receive a diagnosis, care plan and access to treatment within 18 weeks of GP referral. This standard, or better, is already in place for other major health conditions. Dementia should be no different.

But this is just the beginning. The lesson from cancer is that our efforts work best as part of a wider mission: investment in research, expanded trials, better treatments, support for people after diagnosis and a workforce ready to deliver those new treatments.

That is why we must make this country a great place to conduct dementia trials. I implore the NHS to get ready to deliver the next generation of breakthrough treatments.

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Healthier lifestyles, earlier diagnoses and better treatments across the board mean we’re living for longer – and with that brings a new challenge. As more of us live into our 80s and 90s, it is not enough to simply add years to life – we need to ensure that our twilight years are as healthy as possible.

By 2040, there will be 1.4million living with dementia. We cannot stick our heads in the sand.

Delivering this national mission also requires someone with the authority to drive it. That is why I called for the appointment of a dementia tsar to lead the charge.

Responsibility is currently scattered: when responsibility belongs to everyone, accountability too often belongs to no one. We need someone to own the problem and drive the kind of action needed to solve it.

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Britain has repeatedly shown that it can achieve extraordinary things. We rebuilt the country after the war, we developed vaccines at record speed during the pandemic and have transformed cancer survival since the 1970s. The lesson is that progress follows when we act together.

Dementia can be that next national mission.

But lasting change cannot be designed by politicians and experts alone. We need the public to help decide what dementia sufferers and their families should expect and what system we are prepared to build together.

That is why we are asking people across the country to take part in the Big Conversation on Care. There will be many opportunities to get involved but, as a first step, I’m asking you to vote on the proposals the public have been putting forward before September 23.

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Together, we can turn national resolve into action. If we can improve diagnosis, treatment and care for people facing dementia today, there will be greater hope for all of us tomorrow.

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• For confidential advice, call Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Support Line on 0333 150 3456 

Katie Price‘s estranged husband Lee Andrews reportedly conned a man out of his $200,000 (£148,459) life savings – meaning he was forced to live in his car.

On Wednesday morning, Lee claimed on Good Morning Britain he has $50million in a crypto wallet as he spun his latest outlandish claim from Dubai‘s Al-Awir prison.

During her appearance on the show, Katie played a voice note from Lee where he continued to insist he is a multimillionaire after their recent split.

But now businessman Nicholas Fiaschetti, 40, has claimed that he was left penniless after investing into a business promoted by Lee in 2024. 

Nicholas claimed Lee told him he would get double his money back plus 20 per cent of the shares during a meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah.

Recalling how Lee garnered his trust, he told The Sun said: ‘He had so many people connected to him telling me I could trust him – and as an investor and businessman I was interested.

‘Lee worked hard to earn my trust. He tapped into my belief system in God, he made me think we both had the same way of thinking, the same morals and values.

‘Our conversations went on for a long time before any talk of investing came up. I honestly trusted him.’

Nicholas also said that Lee’s father Peter, who has also just been jailed on fraud allegations, posed as an international lawyer when he quested where his money had gone.

Katie told viewers how Lee ‘scammed her heart’ as she broke her silence on their split and branded their marriage ’embarrassing’.

The former glamour model parted ways from her husband of eight months in early September after discovering ‘he had just £2.22 in his account, despite claiming to be a millionaire’.

The TV personality has since consulted a divorce lawyer, while Lee remains in prison in Dubai and delivered a voice note from behind bars saying the split is ‘for the best’. 

Katie told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: ‘I feel embarrassed because I feel he scammed my heart. Do you know what I mean? 

‘I feel like he scammed my heart and stole my trust that I had and me defending a man constantly because he made me believe that, “Kate, come on, you know I’m not like this.”‘

Lee had claimed he had $50million in a cryptocurrency account, but Katie recently found out he had just $3 (£2.22). 

She added: ‘He hasn’t scammed me for money, but I feel he has scammed me because he fabricated a person that doesn’t exist.’

At the beginning of the segment, they also played Lee’s voice note from prison as he admitted: ‘Divorce is for the best.’ 

Katie broke her silence on her split as she said ‘he scammed my heart’ during a Good Morning Britain appearance

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He said: ‘I never throw Kate under the bus. I do feel that that’s happened to me, and it looks like there’s profit to be made from her side. 

‘And obviously, some things have happened recently while I’ve been in civil jail. I’m not being convicted of any crimes, nor am I a criminal. 

Lee then claimed that he has ‘funds’ and Katie was ‘exposing the wrong amount in a wrong wallet’ and that personal finances should be ‘between husband and wife’. 

Ending the voice note, he said ‘as far as filing divorce, I think that’s probably the best thing for it… I love Kate and always will.’

After hearing the lengthy voice note, Katie said: ‘It is exhausting, and I’m sitting here listening and I’m just shaking my head because where do I start?’

Believing that he does love her, she explained: ‘I do believe he did, and I think he’s got himself in such a situation where I think where he copy and pastes what he says to women, that he actually did fall from it.’

She continued: ‘I love him, but who is he? I love the man I met, but I just can’t take it. I’m not stupid, you know. I’ve been stupid. 

‘Well, obviously, I was stupid to fall for him. I’ve heard the same thing. I’ve heard it for nine months. I’ve heard it. He’s been in prison for two and a half months. I’ve heard from day one he was being extradited back to England. 

‘I’ve heard the same story every day. I’m coming out tomorrow. I’m coming out tomorrow… There’s only so much I can take.’

She also revealed that a ring Lee allegedly told her was worth £72,000 was valued at £5,000 when she attempted to have it insured. 

She found out it contained lab-grown diamonds, stressing that whilst she had no issue with the diamonds’ origin, she hates the fact it was another lie.  

Reflecting on another red flag, Katie told GMB that she also believed Lee’s claims that he owned a lavish property in Dubai.

She explained how he has shown her photos and videos of the house before they met in person and later drove her to the property, but they were never able to go inside. Lee told her he was having issues relating to a civil matter with the property.

The mum of five told Susanna and Ed that her ex partners tried to warn her about Lee, whilst she also thanked the media for exposing his lies.  

‘I’ve read stuff, I’ve taken it onboard, but I have to thank the media as well because they’ve investigated him and as much as I’m like, “No, that’s not true because Lee’s telling me it’s not true.”

‘It’s come to the point where I have found out stuff myself to be like, yeah, this is a joke.’

Revealing what her family think of the situation, she added: ‘They said, “Well, it’s your own fault. We have told you,” and they’re right. Everyone has been right, but I had to find out myself because I have got Lee, and I’m the one who’s met him. 

‘I’m the one who spent time with him, and it’s so believable. You know, when you’re in Dubai and he’s taking you these places, he’d take you in a jewellery shop, try on rings and stuff.’

Katie concluded: ‘Do you know one positive that’s come out of it is where he has been in Dubai, and so I haven’t been around him a lot, I’ve loved being on my own in my own space without a man in my pocket, and I’m not sitting here like in previous relationships, heartbroken. 

‘Like I’m sitting here with a smile on my face because, in a way, he’s done me a favour to make me realise: “Of course you could be on your own, Kate. Look what you can do,” and I’ve loved it. 

Confirming that the marriage is over for good, she added: ‘It is a shame it’s come to an end because I can’t let this drag on, and I won’t let it drag on. If only he was honest to me. That’s all I ask.’

Katie has called it quits with her husband Lee after discovering he had just £2.22 in his account despite claiming to be a millionaire 

Katie’s final message to Lee, 43, on WhatsApp earlier this month is reported to have said: ‘I have been played and you are not who you say you are. Why have you lied to me?’

According to The Sun, he had told Katie he had £37million in a crypto bank account. Lee, who is currently back in a Dubai jail, is thought to be struggling to find the funds to pay the fine for his release. Katie had no plans to see him.

Sources close to the situation said she had ‘come to her senses’ over Lee.

The insider told the publication: ‘It was, of course, an accumulation of many things but the final straw came after Lee had told Katie he had $50million (£37million) in a crypto wallet, and promised her some of the funds.

‘He gave her the “recovery phrase” – the passkey – to get into his account, and on Monday she had a financial expert access the wallet – and, to her shock, discovered it contained just $3, or £2.22.

‘Lee never had $50million; he doesn’t have a bean. The most he ever had on any one day was in March for $14,490 (£10,720) which was sent out the very same day.’

Katie’s marriage to Lee has been tumultuous. Since tying the knot with the controversial business leader following a whirlwind romance, Katie’s relationship has been plagued with drama including Lee’s prison stints, kidnapping, his various lies and accusations of scamming his exes. 

Lee remains in jail despite reports he was released last month. The conman business leader was said to have been released in July following his second spell in Dubai’s Al Awir prison after being hit with fraud claims.

Earlier this month, it was claimed Lee was never released, with sources reporting his fellow inmates are ‘fed up with his constant lies’.

The Sun alleged Lee has been telling inmates his exit paperwork is ‘sorted’ each week, but as each new week comes he remains in prison. Katie previously vowed to hold her husband to account for ‘hurting other people’. 

In her podcast, Katie said: ‘In fact, I’m going to get Ben [the producer of Katie’s podcast] to interview him and Ben is going to delve in deep and I want to hear everything and it’s too much and I don’t like people hurting people.

‘That’s all I’m saying on it, I’ve not put anything up online, so you’ve heard it here for the first time.’

The Daily Mail reached out to Katie’s reps who declined to comment. 

The Thursday letters page is excited for the new Resident Evil movie this week, as one reader asks how difficult Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Another Capcom hit
It shouldn’t really be a surprise, given this is the same guy that made Barbarian and Weapons, both of which I loved, but I’m seeing the reviews for the new Resident Evil movie by Zach Cregger are out of this world. It’s got 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 79 Metacritic, so it’s going to end up as one of the highest reviewed films of the year. Which isn’t exactly normal for a video game movie.

I don’t even know what most people consider to be the best movie nowadays. Maybe one of the Sonic movies or Uncharted? Up till now, not too bad is the most you could ever hope for and I’m not even that optimistic about the Zelda film.

But this just shows the difference it makes when you get a good director and you let them do whatever they want, while knowing they are a fan of the series.

The film opens at the weekend and I’m definitely going to see it. Just curious as to whether anyone here has already? Maybe GC or a reader that got early access? I can’t wait. This really is the year Capcom can do no wrong.
Tiddles

GC: We haven’t seen it, no. But we’ve heard only good things.

No further
I completely agree with the reader who said it’s crazy to even consider spending £1,000 or more on a PlayStation 6 (or even worse a next gen Xbox). Gaming has been one of my favourite things for basically my whole life but I wouldn’t dream of spending that much at the moment, especially if it’s out next year. And he’s definitely right that Sony’s attitude is only making it less likely that I’d splash out.

But I see this as a positive, an opportunity not a problem. Ever since the PlayStation 4, people have been saying that video games don’t really need better graphics. Not that it wouldn’t be nice but if that means games that take longer and longer to make, with bigger and bigger budgets (so it becomes a risk to try anything new), I don’t think it’s a good idea.

We don’t know what the PlayStation 6 is going to be yet, but I can’t imagine it doing anything that would make me want to spend that kind of money on it. I also can’t imagine it being anything but a negative for the games industry, given the problems I’ve just mentioned.
Carlton

One weird trick
Someone was looking for cheap Game Pass Ultimate the other day and the popular method that people are using now is to buy three EA Play codes from Amazon for £19.99 each, but it must be on three separate transactions.

Before stacking these codes, it is crucial that you do not have an active Game Pass membership. Once the codes are stacked you then purchase one month of Game Pass Ultimate and it works at £77 for 10 months.
Charlie H.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Newbie friendly
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave was not on my radar to get but after reading your review and seeing the high scores it is getting from elsewhere, I must admit I am tempted now.

The Persona-like elements and story sound right up my street but I have never really played a Fire Emblem game before and am generally poor at strategy games, so I do worry it might prove too difficult.

Does it have an approachable learning curve and easier difficulty settings if needed?
Pigfish2 (NN ID/PSN ID)

GC: It has a lower difficultly setting and we wouldn’t say normal was particularly hard anyway, assuming you level up sensibly between big battles and turn off permadeath. We think you’ll be fine.

High score
A-woo-hoo! I finally rolled over 400,000 gamescore, really want 500,000 now! 20+ years of achievement hunting, Game Pass has helped in recent years of course!

The real question, though, is I was scrolling the advertised games at the top and eventually reached Microsoft Flight Simulator and I thought, isn’t that streamed through the cloud? Being the whole world like!? So then with these new restrictions does that mean people who own or enjoy the game are now limited to a few hours a week? What if you’re wanting to take a flight to Australia or Japan?

Doesn’t affect me, never played it, but what if you do, do they get a refund, some compensation? Would be interested to find out.
big boy bent

GC: Are you joking?

Nostalgia power
I’d be very curious to know how much Nightdive Studios makes from all these remasters of old 90s games. Very few of them seem to be big names, as far as I’m concerned, and yet they put so much effort and, I assume, money into them, so I guess they must sell well. They’ve been around for a while now too, which also shows they must do well.

Eternal Darkness is actually fairly well known compared to things like The Thing tie-in and PO’ed. I mean, who wanted a remaster of an obscure 3DO first person shooter? But they did it anyway.

I guess what I’m getting at is that none of these games seem like they’re worth the effort or that they’d have many people that were interested in them, and yet apparently I’m wrong because they keep making them. The power of nostalgia really is that strong.

I’m also surprised that Nintendo would agree to let them remaster one of their games, although we’re not exactly talking about Mario here and I would think Nintendo probably respect Nightdive’s work.

However, I doubt they have any serious plans for a new entry. They probably just see a remaster as an easy way to make money from a game they have just lying around. It’d be very expensive, I would think, to make a new game with so many different settings, like Eternal Darkness had, so I can’t see it happening.

Then again, the sanity effects were a neat idea, and quite Nintendo-esque, so maybe. They are working with Bloober Team already, so maybe they’ll ask them to do a new one.
Pascal

Missing the point
So much for trying to win back gamers, the latest rumour is Game Pass Ultimate will drop in price but day one releases will stop, which for many would of been the draw of Ultimate.

Who advises these people? Are they actually trying to fail as a business? Madness.
TWO MACKS

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Remake time
Pretty amazing that the remake of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time has been put out there in all its possible glory and wild to think it’s going to be keeping the gameplay and world layout in a pretty similar vein. Zelda: Link’s Awakening was a great remake but it definitely looked more child-like and though captivating I was unsure if it was going to keep its emotional quality.

I never really personally felt a remake was needed for Ocarina Of Time and I have completed this game so many times that I’d be happy not to play it again. The obvious reason Final Fantasy 7 is such a treat is the beautifully recreated world in a graphically awe inspiring 3D universe, compared to the original 2D isometric view. And also the promising new story arc and possibilities.

The problem with Ocarina Of Time is that it doesn’t seem to show any more than characters and the general world in an amazing new lick of paint and models. It was like that with Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, gorgeous to look at and magical to explore and rekindle past memories, but I’d already played it to the limit many moons ago, same with Ocarina Of Time!

My time now is taken up going back to ongoing Cyberpunk 2077 updates and back catalogues of indie games, as well as current new releases like The Blood Of Dawnwalker, which is my other go-to game. It’s just blooming amazing, with such an awesome premise and Interesting game mechanics. It has me wondering if I’ll have time for The Witcher 3 Remastered as well.

It’s great to see the classics get given this prestigious treatment and recognition they deserve and it feels good that a new generation of gamers will get to see these amazing classics in a brand new light and hopefully be equally as captivated by them as I was.

If Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night or Zelda: A Link To The Past had the same type of treatment though, I may just make time, as these are my other two all-time favourites and my imagination would definitely get super hyped for them for sure.
Alucard

GC: Oblivion was just a remaster, Ocarina Of Time is a full remake. At the moment it’s still unclear how much has been changed.

Inbox also-rans
I doubt Nintendo will mention it but just to let you all know that Wave Race 64 will be 30 years old this month. Still the best water-based racing game and at this point I doubt it will ever be beaten.
Taylor Moon

I have noticed a lot of people getting very angry about Marvel’s Wolverine and talking about it as if it’s the worst thing ever and a complete flop. I agree that it’s probably just general anger at Sony, which makes me feel a little sad for the developers, but what can you do? This is probably the only way to get Sony to listen.
KageGarden

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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.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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