The hospital is one of those that was built using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC)

Redevelopment ambitions that will see Hinchingbrooke Hospital replaced with a brand-new hospital are continuing to move at pace.

The existing hospital site, which has played an important role in the lives of people across Peterborough since it opened in 1983, will be redeveloped to accommodate a new, state-of-the-art facility.

Deborah Lee, Senior Responsible Officer for the Hinchingbrooke Hospital Redevelopment Programme, said: “Hinchingbrooke Hospital has been at the heart of local life for more than 40 years, and this is a once-in-a-generation chance to build a hospital fit for the decades ahead.”

Hinchingbrooke is one of seven hospitals across England set to be rebuilt due to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). The scheme forms part of the national New Hospital Programme, with the new hospital expected to open by the end of 2032.

The redevelopment will create a modern, digitally enabled hospital built to the latest NHS standards, including single rooms for every inpatient. Key services, including a full Emergency Department and maternity care, will remain on site.

While core elements of the programme are confirmed, local people and hospital users are being asked to share their views via a public engagement campaign on how the new hospital should look, feel and operate.

“Some things are settled…” Ms Lee said, “but a great deal is still genuinely open, and that is where local people come in.”

The public engagement is open from now until August 16, 2026, with multiple ways to take part, such as online surveys, in-person sessions, focus groups and community pop-up events. The online survey can be found here.

The three pups are part of plans to maintain the species, with only 1000 to 10,000 individuals remaining in the wild.

A trio of endangered lemurs have perched up at Blair Drummond Safari Park as the local attraction helps ensure the animals stay safe for years to come.

The adorable black-and-white ruffed lemur pups have been named Domino, Zero and Ebony in a nod to their striking black-and-white markings, and were born to experienced parents Cali and Páraic.

Cali has now given birth to 11 pups during her time at the Stirling park, with the latest arrivals part of conservation efforts to protect the species, with only 1000 to 10,000 individuals remaining in the wild.

The pups are staying close to their mum for now, with visitors able to see them climbing around in their indoor habitat.

As their confidence grows, they will join the other occupants of the park’s Lemur Land section and then move on to other conservation-led collections to continue the global breeding programme designed to protect the species long-term.

Native to Madagascar, black-and-white ruffed lemurs are among the world’s most threatened primates.

Famous for their striking markings and powerful voices – the second loudest of any primate after howler monkeys – their calls can travel long distances through the forest canopy.

But the lemurs have faced threats, particularly from the illegal pet trade and also the impact of widespread habitat loss caused by deforestation for agriculture, logging and mining.

As a result, the species has been pushed to the brink in securing its long-term future.

Blair Drummond now plays an active role as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for this species, helping to build a healthy ‘insurance population’ in zoos across Europe.

The new arrivals are the fourth litter born at the park, with several of their older siblings now living in other leading zoological collections across the UK.

Lemur Land team leader, Lesley Grant, said: “It’s always incredibly special to welcome new arrivals but knowing just how vulnerable this species is, makes these births even more meaningful.

“Cali is a brilliant mum, and it’s fantastic to see the pups doing so well.

“Every birth is an important step in helping to secure the future of these amazing animals.”

The contest will play out on July 30

George Galloway has announced he will stand as a candidate in the election to replace Andy Burnham as the mayor of Greater Manchester.

Mr Galloway has served as an MP for five different constituencies during his parliamentary career spanning across five decades – the latest being Rochdale.

The leader of the Workers Party of Britain became the town’s MP after a victory at the Rochdale by-election held at the end of February, 2024.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

He came up short, however, against Labour’s Paul Waugh at the July General Election – cutting his latest parliamentary tenure to just four months.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, Mr Galloway confirmed he was the Workers Party of Britain’s candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral election, which will be held on July 30.

He said in the post: “Labour under Starmer are apparently running so scared of losing the position they are planning the election for July 30, the dog days of summer in the middle of the summer holidays.

“I have today asked my lawyers to seek from the Starmer government the assurance that I will be allowed by them to fight the election and not held, again, by armed police officers under the Terrorism Act at the airport.

“What else can I do, fight a British election from China?”

The Manchester Evening News has previously reported Mr Galloway spent more than £150,000 in expenses during his brief stint as Rochdale’s MP.

The majority of the cash – some £106,098.30 – was spent on staffing. In a statement, the party said the Electoral Commission and Parliament ‘have been completely satisfied with all accounts and returns’.

Mr Galloway, a former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, is currently living in Russia in self-imposed exile. The former Labour Party politician was detained at Gatwick Airport by counter-terrorism police in September.

He represented Glasgow Hillhead and Glasgow Kelvin for Labour in parliament from 1987 until 2003 when he was expelled and became an independent. He went on to lead the Respect Party, representing Bethnal Green and Bow between 2005 and 2010 before taking the Bradford West in a by-election in 2012 – where he served for three years.

There are long delays on the M6 this afternoon (June 25) following a multi-vehicle collision on the carriageway near Warrington, National Highways has said.

The transport body said on X that emergency services are at the scene between junction 20 (Lymm) and 21 (Woolston) of the northbound carriageway following the collision.

All traffic is being held with current delays of 70 minutes through the area and around six miles of congestion on approach.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

This is a developing incident – updates to follow below.

The supermarket chain will offer late-night deliveries from more than 50 stores across the UK until midnight, or in some cases, 24 hours a day, for the duration of the tournament.

The decision comes after a 17 per cent rise in orders was recorded during recent England and Scotland matches, with a 1,700 per cent surge in searches for Waitrose’s No.1 pizza and a 1,400 per cent rise in searches for ‘World Cup crisps.’

Laura Burbedge, director of online at Waitrose, said: “Whether you are glued to the screen for a midnight thriller, need a snack to sustain you through a penalty shoot-out or up with the lark for a pre-dawn kick-off, footy fans will have everything they need at hand.

“We are making sure that whether you need a half-time pizza or a full breakfast spread to celebrate the final whistle, our delivery partners are on hand to keep your fridge stocked throughout the whole tournament.”

Delivery slots will be available through partners including Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat.

Waitrose has clarified that supermarket opening hours will not be extended and alcohol will not be available for delivery during the late-night slots.

If the service proves popular, the supermarket says it may roll it out to more locations.

UK supermarket fruit recall

Fruit sold at Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Morrisons has been recalled due to a salmonella risk.

Prepworld is recalling several fruit packets from a number of major UK supermarkets after testing identified salmonella in apples and kiwi fruits used in the products.

Symptoms caused by Salmonella usually include fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.

Tuesday 23 June 2026 – Prepworld recalls fruit products because of possible contamination with Salmonella: https://t.co/BfvJZChOcQ

Products are prepped fruit sold at ASDA, Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.#FoodAlert pic.twitter.com/FGZhPDlgO5

Advertisement

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) June 23, 2026

These are the products affected by the recall, where they are sold, and their use-by date.

• ASDA Pink Lady Apple, Mango, Strawberry & Blueberry – June 23 and 24
• Morrisons Kiwi, Melon & Strawberries – June 24
• Tesco Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry – June 24
• Tesco Kiwi Fruit Pot – June 24
• Waitrose Pink Lady Apple and Grapes – June 23
• M&S Café Pink Lady Apple – June 24
• M&S (FTG) Pink Lady Apple – June 24
• M&S Pink Lady Apple Slices – June 24
• Sainsbury’s Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry – June 23
• Sainsbury’s Orange & Kiwi – June 23
• Sainsbury’s Pink Lady Apple & Grape – June 23
• Tesco Fruit Kebabs – June 23
• Tesco Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry – June 23 and 24

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency warned: “The possible presence of Salmonella in the products listed above. Symptoms caused by Salmonella usually include fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.

“If you are experiencing these symptoms, you should stay away from work, school or nursery until you have stopped having symptoms for at least 48 hours to avoid passing it on to others.

“Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling these products.

“These notices explain to customers why the products are being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the products.

“If you have bought any of the above products do not eat them. Instead, return them to the store from where they were bought for a full refund.”

Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, M&S and Morrisons all apologised to shoppers for any inconvenience caused but added no other products sold at the supermarkets were affected by the recall.

The health board was put under a Level 3 intervention in October last year after a failure to improve on a poor record of replying to Freedom of Information requests.

A probe into NHS Forth Valley’s handling of Freedom of Information requests has been closed after the watchdog in charge praised the health board’s “significant improvement” on the issue.

The health board was put into a Level 3 intervention by the Scottish Information Commissioner, David Hamilton, after initial complaints made in November 2023 where it was found not to have replied to 51 per cent of requests within the timeframe of 20 days.

The intervention was escalated in October last year after those performance issues weren’t improved and a meeting was then arranged in March where the lack of progress was raised – and extra time given to make improvements.

Any further lack of progress on the issue would have prompted a possible action being launched at the Court of Session. But the turnaround was confirmed by Mr Hamilton’s office in a statement on Thursday morning, which said the Level 3 intervention had now been removed.

Mr Hamilton said: “My intervention with NHS Forth Valley was escalated to Level 3 following a prolonged period of poor performance.

“NHS Forth Valley was responding to fewer than 30 per cent of all FOI requests and less than 20 per cent of all FOI reviews within the 20 working day statutory timeframe.

“Through a combination of positive collaboration with my office, investment in resource, heightened prominence of FOI throughout the organisation alongside the hard work and dedication of the NHS Forth Valley’s Information Governance Team, the latest monthly figures show NHS Forth Valley responding to 94 per cent of all requests – and 100 per cent of FOI reviews – on time.

“This significant improvement not only demonstrates a commitment to statutory compliance, but also a sustainable cultural shift towards a more transparent organisation.”

The move was met with delight by NHS Forth Valley chief executive Ross McGuffie, who said: “We welcome the closure of this intervention, and it reflects the hard work and commitment of staff across the organisation over the last few months to improve our FOI performance.”

At least 1,000 schools and nurseries will either be closed or partially closed in England and Wales over the next two days.

Some have brought in early finishing times or relaxed uniform rules, while transport services have been disrupted and people are being urged to stay inside, close windows and curtains and stay hydrated to beat the heat.

Night time temperatures have also been unusually high, staying above 20C in many places, with Brize Norton in Oxfordshire not dipping below 22.3C and Heathrow, west London, not dipping below 22.1C, the Met Office said.

These “tropical nights” make it hard to sleep and for people to recover from the heat of the day, experts warned.

More than 100 schools will be at least partly closed in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire. In Somerset, more than 200 schools will be shut or operating on more limited opening hours.

Children at some schools have been told they can wear PE kit rather than full school uniform, which can involve long trousers and blazers.

Since the start of the World Cup, the Tartan Army has overtaken social media feeds.

A Scot has opened up about how his mental health has improved since the Tartan Army’s trip to America has taken over his social media feed. Marking the change as “refreshing”, the Scot is calling for only Boston and Tartan Army content to be allowed on his for you page.

The Scots have made a massive impression on the Americans since they started celebrating their first appearance in the World Cup in nearly three decades. Having overtaken the city of Boston as their first host city for over a week, the streets were flooded with traffic cones, bagpipes, kilts, and singing.

While locals delighted in getting involved with the Tartan Army’s shenanigans, with Glasgow and Boston even becoming ‘twin cities’, many of us back on home soil have also been enjoying seeing the variety of joyful content flooding our social media.

Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the World Cup

Celebrate the World Cup with a chance to win £100 in Aldi vouchers

Removing many of the more negative or serious posts some of us see online, Glasgow business founder Andrew Dobbie has opened up about how this change has benefited his mental state. Voicing his thoughts on Instagram, many people have shared that they have also welcomed the change.

Captioning the clip, Andrew wrote: “Has your feed only been Boston and Scotland content this past week? My whole FYP has been a delight and full of joy, happiness and cones.” The video now has over 163,000 views and has garnered thousands of likes and comments.

In the clip, he says: “Do you know what’s been really refreshing about this whole Boston and Scotland thing? I don’t know about you but my whole feed – everything on my feed – has been Scotland and Boston having a great time, having great fun.

“And it’s removed from my feed of all the politics, all the bad stuff, all the AI stuff, all the negative stuff and the only thing I’ve been consuming on my phone is people having a great time and a great party.”

Andrew continues: “It’s just made me think it just shows you what that stuff does to your kind of mental state. I think we should just have Scotland and Boston content on our feeds. Only that… forever. Who’s with me?”

Many over Instagram users have shared the same thoughts, as one person wrote in the comments section: “Yeah I’ve noticed a huge change in mine too, it’s brilliant. Just so much joy. Love to see it!”

While another person added: “I made a similar comment to one of my sons today. It’s truly been a much needed breath of fresh air!”

Other viewers also agreed, with one user commenting: “Yessssssssssss! I’ve been saying the exact same thing! I’m with you!”, while another followed on, adding: “100% it’s great. All positive now, no more drama.”

A fifth follower also shared: “I said the same, I just kept scrolling and smiling and laughing out loud. What a change to the normal stuff you see everyday. I’m in!”

During the Tartan Army’s time in Boston, many notable events occurred such as thousands of fans attending a Red Sox baseball game, the unofficial legalisation of haggis, traffic cones appearing on statues across the city, and Glasgow and Boston becoming sister cities.

Despite the majority of the Tartan Army having left Boston last week ahead of their third World Cup match against Brazil, Bostonians are still very much all over social media sharing videos of missing the Scots and adding to comments to Miami clips saying they want the fans to return.

While Scotland’s World Cup bid currently hangs in the balance as we wait for the third place standings, it is safe to say that the Tartan Army has been a highlight of the 2026 tournament.

Police were called to Osbourne Close in Hemlington on Thursday (June 25) after a man blocked himself inside and “made threats” – sparking the evacuation of dozens of residents.

A huge section of the street has been taped off, with neighbours cleared from 23 homes by gun-toting officers at the scene. 

Cleveland Police has described the incident as “isolated” and said negotiations were ongoing with the man inside the property this afternoon. 

(Image: ALEX O’LEARY)

Displaced residents have been forced to watch the 999 activity from the street amid 28 degree heat – with a rest centre set up at Hemlington Library. 

Residents have described waking up to the flurry of emergency services including several ambulances and a fire engine, at around 7.30am this morning. 

Jacqueline Howard described the armed police activity as “frightening”. 

The 65-year-old said: “I got up at about 8am, and all of the matrix police cars were here and the cordon was here. The police just told me to stay in. 

(Image: ALEX O’LEARY)

“I didn’t know how long it had been going on for. 

“I saw the bomb squad and thought that it must be serious.

“I nearly died – I thought, what the hell? I have never seen so many police. I counted about 11 officers and that wasn’t including the armed police.

“I have never seen them close up with guns. It was frightening. I don’t know how long we are going to be out here for.”

Pete, 75, had just arrived back from a trip away when he saw the police activity at 10.45am this morning: “I had to park my car around the corner.

(Image: ALEX O’LEARY)

“Everything was here and it has just gotten more and more. The bomb squad has come, armed police have come, the fire service has come.”

The dad-of-two added: “I have lived here for 41 years and we’ve had nothing like this. I have seen some things like but not on the scale, nowhere near.”

One man, who has lived on the road for 13 years, said he first came across the incident at around 7.30am: “There were just the police officers at the time.

“We were evacuated at about 7.50am, they just said to us that we had to leave. I’ve lived here for 13 years, it’s lovely.”

One 28-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “I first found out this morning when I tried to take my friend’s dog out at about 10.45am. 

(Image: ALEX O’LEARY)

“At the time, there was just one matrix van and about three or four police cars and one ambulance. It is quite a shock”

A cordon remains both at the front and rear of the home. Police officers guarded either side on Thursday afternoon while other emergency services waited on standby. 

Superintendent Paul Allen said: “At this time, we remain on the scene at Osbourn Close and negotiations with the man in the property are ongoing, our priority is to bring this incident to safe conclusion.

“We have extended the cordon; this has resulted in more properties being evacuated. Middlesborough Council has set up a rest centre for anyone who has been displaced, this can be located at Hemlington Library.

“I would like to reassure the community that this is an isolated incident, in a single property. Any specialist equipment and services, including the explosives unit, are at the scene as a precaution at this stage.  

A North East Ambulance spokesperson said: “We were called to an incident in Hemlington, Middlesbrough at 8.35am on 25 June.

“We are currently supporting the police and have three resources on scene.”