United Kingdom is facing growing Russia and China threat as Britain confronts a new ‘moment of consequence’ amid shifting geopolitical tensions throughout a world of political upheaval

One of Britain’s top spy bosses is warning Russia is boosting its covert action against the UK and everyone has a role to play in combating cyber warfare.

And she will emphasise the growing power of China ’s military and intelligence capability as the UK faces new threats from hostile powers. Anne Keast-Butler, boss of UK listening station GCHQ, says the UK is at a “moment of consequence,” fighting “brazen behaviour from adversaries.” The 56 year-old spymaster will make a keynote speech at Britain’s Second World War spy centre Bletchley Park on Wednesday, where GCHQ was first based.

In GCHQ’s first annual lecture at the legendary first home of the UK’s code-breakers, she will warn that: “Russia is scaling up its daily hybrid activity.” And in order to combat the daily threat from the UK’s enemies, Britons all have a role to play in ensuring we are cyber-secure “from living rooms to boardrooms”.

Chillingly she will also say that the threat from foreign adversaries now makes the need for greater caution on cyber security “ten times more urgent.” The need for the UK to prepare for grey-zone attacks on the internet and in our security systems is becoming more urgent as time passes, she says, as the threat is “ten times more urgent.”

READ MORE: More Russian attacks feared after spooks target John Healey’s planeREAD MORE: Charing Cross tube station becomes fake wartime HQ to prepare for Europe’s fight against Putin

The married mother-of-three, an Oxford University Mathematics graduate from Cambridge, who began her intelligence career within MI5 will warn we are in: “A new era of radical uncertainty, contested geopolitics and rapidly changing technology.”

And worryingly “the risk of miscalculation is as high as I’ve ever seen it. In the face of such aggression and chaos, GCHQ is working tirelessly with intelligence and defence partners to degrade and reduce the Russian threat.”

She will also highlight GCHQ’s work in “disrupting Russia’s efforts to smuggle Western tech, fending off cyber attacks, and countering reckless sabotage and assassination attempts”.

And this means: “As we remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine, Putin is going backwards on the battlefield.” She will address an audience of media, experts, academia, government and national security partners at the inaugural GCHQ Annual Lecture.

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And she will tell them Russia is “relentlessly targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust.” Acknowledging the pace of technological change throughout her 30-year career in national security, she will warn here is a “narrowing window for the UK and allies to stay ahead.”

She will tell the audience: “China is now a science and tech superpower – with sophisticated capabilities across their intelligence, cyber and military agencies.” And Artificial Intelligence advancements means “the ground beneath our feet is shifting.”

The director will urge the tech industry and national security community to “anticipate and drive advancements, together, at the speed of the frontier.” Referencing a series of 1939 letters from GCHQ’s first Director, Alastair Denniston, the GCHQ will note how in its more than 100-year history GCHQ has always prided itself on “foresight, practicality … and partnerships” in order to keep the country and its allies safe, adding, “When humanity is at its worst, we are at our best.”

Bletchley Park, which to this day serves as a symbol of collaboration amidst conflict. Anne Louise Keast-Butler was appointed in May 2023 the seventeenth person to hold the role and succeeded Sir Jeremy Fleming.

A doctor in his 50s was brutally stabbed by a patients suspected of having mental health issues – police were quick to arrest the patient who smiled as he was taken away

A doctor has been brutally attacked while treating a patient at a hospital A&E unit.

The doctor in his 50s survived being stabbed with a huge knife in the early hours of Tuesday, May 26. Met Police officers were already at Hillingdon Hospital in West London dealing with a separate incident when they were notified about the shocking attack.

Police dragged the 27-year-old attacker away and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

A witness in the unit said he saw the suspect attacking the doctor on the floor in a corridor with. He said the suspect used a “big knife” to carry out the attack.

“He was smirking while he was stabbing him,” the witness said.

“The police were there in less than a minute when they got him and walked him past me, the bloke smiled at me.”

The attacker is suspected to have mental health issues.

The doctor underwent treatment for his wounds at the hospital.

Police said the his condition “has been deemed not to be life-threatening or life-changing.”

The Met Police asked anyone with information to call 101 quoting CAD 926/25May.

A Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We continue to support and reassure our staff following this incident.”

“The safety and well-being of our staff is our highest priority and any form of violence or aggression towards our teams is unacceptable.”

Violence against A&E nursing staff in England has doubled in the five years up to 2024 with 4,054 acts of violence recorded against staff. This equates to just over 11 incidents per day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After 15 years at a convention center in suburban Maryland, the Scripps National Spelling Bee moved this year to a grand stage befitting the stakes of the competition: Constitution Hall, Washington’s largest dedicated concert venue.

Not everyone at this week’s competition appreciates the change.

“I feel like they should not have moved it. The old venue was better. Because it’s a bit of a hassle, getting on the bus and going there and then coming back,” said 14-year-old Yahya Mohammed, a three-time speller from Hoffman Estates, Illinois. “The old venue was more spacious, and it feels kind of isolated in the hotel.”

As the National Spelling Bee began with Tuesday’s preliminary rounds, spellers and their families marveled at the historical significance of their new venue and the nearby cultural opportunities while also dealing with logistical hurdles: crowded hallways, limited dining options and shuttle bus rides to and from their hotel.

Built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Constitution Hall sits a few blocks from the Washington Monument and the White House. Spellers and their families are staying at the nearby J.W. Marriott, a favored haunt of lobbyists and interest groups, and the quickest route to the competition venue would normally be a stroll across the Ellipse, the grassy expanse south of the Executive Mansion.

However, the Ellipse is surrounded by temporary fencing and security checkpoints as crews construct an outdoor octagon on the South Lawn of the White House for UFC Freedom 250, a June 14 event timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and marking the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

“Two very disparate forms of entertainment,” said Rajeev Malhotra of Boston, the father of speller Rajeev Malhotra, describing the bee and the mixed martial arts extravaganza.

Venue change brings heavy security but plenty of history and culture

Security was beefed up at the hall, with guards and metal detectors stationed at every entrance and explosive-sniffing dogs patrolling the hallways. Three blocks away and three days earlier, a man opened fire at a White House security checkpoint, injuring a bystander before he was fatally shot by Secret Service officers.

At the prior venue, the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, spellers moved freely throughout the building, roaming between their hotel rooms, the ballroom that housed the competition stage and a massive food court where they grabbed quick meals between last-minute study sessions.

“Last year was better,” said Arpit Aggarwal of Columbia, Missouri, whose daughter, Ananya, is competing for the second time. “Everything was in one place.”

“It’s an adjustment,” Ananya’s mom, Deepti Bahl, said diplomatically.

Other spellers appreciated the buzz of gathering downtown, saying it was more appropriate for a national competition. The bee began in 1925 and was held at a series of Washington hotels before it moved to the suburbs in 2011.

“I just love being here, right next to the National Mall. You can see the Smithsonian, you can see the Jefferson Memorial. It’s such a lively and unique city and I love being in the heart of it,” said three-time speller Oliver Halkett, a 14-year-old from Los Angeles. “There’s so much history, there’s so much culture. The memorials and the museums are fascinating to go to.”

Speller Andie Seavey of Fairbanks, Alaska, and her mom, Kristin, went to see the musical “The Great Gatsby” at the National Theater next door to the hotel.

After 80 spellers were eliminated Tuesday during onstage spelling and vocabulary rounds, the remaining 167 competitors reconvened at the hotel for a high-stakes written test that determined the 100 or so who would move on to Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals. The competition concludes Thursday night.

At the spelling bee, the bell is not necessarily the end

Last year, Faizan Zaki won the National Spelling Bee even though he misspelled a word and heard the dreaded bell rung by head judge Mary Brooks. In fact, he knew it after a few letters. He stopped spelling and told Brooks, “Just ring the bell.”

Faizan’s flub let his two remaining competitors back in, since all three misspelled during the round.

Kushi Gottimukkala of Morrisville, North Carolina, is one of a few spellers competing this year who know what that feels like.

At her regional bee, sponsored by the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, it was down to Kushi and two other spellers for the final spot at nationals. She misspelled “anchialine,” and she thought it was over, only to see the other two spellers mess up.

Kushi rode the emotional roller coaster and ultimately got through.

“I was still thinking about the mistake, but I was also really grateful that I got a second chance, and so I took that into consideration and decided to focus on my next word,” she said.

Spellers have to prepare for the possibility that missing a word isn’t necessarily the end.

Oliver Halkett, too, has competed in a bee where he got a word wrong but wasn’t eliminated. He battled through the disappointment by focusing only on the word in front of him.

“It’s a peculiar situation, but I think, above all, mental clarity is so important, especially in those latter rounds,” he said. “I close my eyes and do some deep breathing and I visualize the word, and it’s just me and the word. That’s how you have to approach every single word.

“Treat every word as if it’s your first and last word.”

___

Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow his work here.

On the ambitious plans for a base, he added: “There’s certainly going to be a whole lot of inspiration that’s coming out of this for the next generation, but number one, we want to be in an environment where we can learn the skills, so that astronauts can go and plant the stars and stripes on Mars someday.”

On May 22, residents with the postcode WN7 2HQ woke up to the news that they have won £1,000 in the draw.

Those living on Speakman Avenue have won the prize if they are signed up to the Postcode Lottery.

The Postcode Lottery is a subscription lottery which aims to raise money for charities while also bringing cash prizes to homes across the UK.

Prizes include the weekly Millionaire Street prize and monthly £250,000 or Postcode Millions prizes.

Every day, there are £1,000 prizes to be won for every ticket in 20 postcodes. If you play with two tickets, you receive double the winning prize amount.

Players can sign up with their postcode and pay £12 per month with a chance to win when they are automatically entered into a draw.

Players have raised more than £1.7 billion through participating in the Postcode Lottery for thousands of good causes in Britain and internationally.

The Wednesday letters page is glad that 007 First Light is reviewing so well, as a reader wishes more games had couch co-op like Lego Batman.

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

Exceeding expectations
So 007 First Light reviews are out and it’s another top notch game?! It’s now the fifth highest rated game of the year on Metacritic, just behind Mewgenics (whatever that is), Resident Evil Requiem, and Forza Horizon 6. That puts it just ahead of Saros, Nioh 3, Pragmata, and Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight.

I’ve left out all the indie games, except Mewgenics, because there’s never a surprise when one of those is good, but these are big budget games that in almost every case turned out to be better than expected, and that to me seems pretty special.

I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting but I don’t remember any big budget disappointments this year and that’s pretty unheard of. Normally, if things were going this well, we’d be asking whether this will be the best year ever for games, but the problem is we know very little about what’s coming out in the second half of the year.

That’s probably GTA 6’s fault as much as anything but if the second half can come anywhere close to the first then 2026 is going to go down as a classic. Especially if GTA 6 doesn’t disappoint.
Cranston

Premium Bond
Great review of 007 First Light, GC. Really enjoyed that one. It was fun to read about a game that I assumed to be quite different to what it apparently is but even better that it turned out to be really good. I can’t say I’ve ever really liked Hitman, but I will try and give this a go, given the reviews. I also appreciate the fact that it’s not £70.

I wouldn’t call myself a Bond fan exactly, but I do like a lot of them, so I wonder how much the name is going to attract or put people off. I think ideally IO would’ve had this coming out alongside a new movie, but that’s going to take years so they didn’t really have any choice I guess.

I do wonder how much younger gamers are even aware of Bond anymore, but I guess we’ll see over the next few weeks.
Locke

GC: Thanks.

For England, James
Good to see 007 First Light get a high Metacritic straight off the bat, it’s on 88 as I type this. I notice that there doesn’t seem to be any of the big American sites yet though. No IGN or Gamespot or anyone like that. Then I read that they got their review copies later than Europe, which must be a first.

Can GC explain what happened and when you got your copy? I really hate the idea of publishers trying to influence review scores but in this case I’m not sure what was going on, especially as the game seems to be good. Not really the publicity they need though.
Colbat86

GC: Something strange was going on but we don’t understand what yet. We only got our review copy on Friday, which is very late for a big game like this, and we think we were one of the first. As you say, the US seems to have got them even later, but we have no idea why.

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

Phantom renaissance
Glad to see Lego Batman: Legacy Of The Dark Knight selling well and people enjoying it from the Inbox. I also was playing it at the weekend with my kids and we all enjoyed it. A lot of it went over their heads too but as long as the game is fun, and it’s co-op, that’s all they care about.

I do wonder why so few games have co-op, given how much people seem to enjoy it. I think a lot of the problems with Halo Infinite’s bad rep were because it didn’t have co-op at launch. When indie games started to become a thing with the Xbox 360 I hoped that might bring with it a new golden era for couch co-op, because a lot of indie games were like that back in the day, but it never really happened.

It probably won’t happen again now until the next Lego game, which is a real shame. I hope the next one isn’t Harry Potter though, or it’ll just end up going round in a circle from Star Wars to Batman to Harry Potter and back again. Even if we get another Marvel one, that’s been done a ton already as well.
Bootles

City builder
I never would have imagined a Lego version of Cities: Skylines, what a strange choice, especially if it’s out soon – a shadow drop at Summer Game Fest maybe? I would be interested in it but Skylines is a pretty complicated game, so I’m not sure how far it’s going to be dumbed down.

It also seems like it wouldn’t work that well with Lego bricks because you zoom out so far most things are just dots, but the smallest Lego brick is still pretty big. Maybe there’s some confusion and that’s not what the name is? Or it’s a more small scale thing but just by the same developer? Although I don’t know how an age ratings board gets that kind of thing wrong (or why they keep leaking these things).
Lucid

Paying the rent
Reading that Granzella has only made one game (R-Type Final 2) and not released anything since it made me wonder how studios stay in business?

How do they pay their staff if they only release one product in say, a six year period – are they literally raking in that much profit from sales that they can afford to keep paying their devs for years and years without releasing anything new? And that’s a studio that has released a very niche title with little mass market appeal.
Sven

GC: Granzella has only made one R-Type game in the 15 years of their existence, but they have made other games. Although we doubt the likes of Disaster Report 4 Plus: Summer Memories and City Shrouded In Shadow bring in much for them either. We don’t know the circumstances of Granzella, but we suspect that, much like Treasure, they have very few permanent staff and rely primarily on freelancers and associates when making a new game.

The wider issue you allude to is the biggest problem currently facing the games industry. Naughty Dog, to use an example of one of the biggest developers in the business, haven’t released an entirely new game all generation and yet they have an employee count of over 400. Even with TV deals for The Last Of Us that doesn’t seem sustainable for Sony or any company in a similar position.

Ice to see you
I was hoping you could clear something up for me.

I’m interested in buying the new Lego Batman game but for just one particular character.

I can see that Batgirl is in the game, but I heard the Alicia Silverstone Batgirl from Batman & Robin might be a playable character – can you confirm or deny as I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer?
TheSpectre N8 (gamertag)

GC: There’s a skin called Ice Armor that is based on the suit Alicia Silverston wore at the end of Batman & Robin, but we don’t recall if that was the only one she had in the film.

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New Horizons
Interesting seeing all the high scores for Forza Horizon 6. As someone that’s been there from the first game, the franchise is starting to feel a bit stale for me. It is a great game, but I feel it’s more fresh for those that haven’t played previous games. Someone on YouTube mentioned that the last few games are feeling very corporate, cut and paste, with a new map and that pretty much sums it up for me and all my friends.

Me and my mates spent hundreds of hours on the first three games but when 4 came out we fell of it fast. One of our favourite modes, the playground games, was ruined by making it team-based and 6 hasn’t even got this mode yet, which is strange. Also, the dialogue in 6 feels very AI, no soul to it, and the fact it still bombards you with constant stuff and rewards can feel overwhelming.

I looked on my friends list and hardly any of them are playing it. I know that’s not the bigger picture at the moment, as it’s selling well, but I wonder in a few weeks how many are still going to be playing it. I’m glad it is doing well, as it shows racing games can still appeal to many, and I will be interested in what changes they make and things they add, but for me it’s just not as fun as earlier games, which I feel is a shame.
Rob

GC: We can understand that point of view. If Forza Horizon 7 doesn’t add some new twists, we suspect the review scores, if not the sales, will start slipping.

Inbox also-rans
Just out of interest, what does GC believe the lifetime sales of Tetris are?
PazJohnMitch

GC: If this is alluding to Wikipedia’s penchant for counting every version of Tetris ever, from multiple different publishers and developers, as one game, we’ve always thought that was silly. For what it’s worth Guiness World Records doesn’t do it when considering what the best-selling game ever is; they go with Minecraft instead.

The PSP bag looks… really good? I have no idea why such a random company would make such a random thing but I’ll get one, especially at that price.
Ishi

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MORE: Games Inbox: Is Forza Horizon 6 the best game of 2026?

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Worshippers Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a Syrian-born British citizen, drove into the gates of the Heaton Park synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, in October last year, and then began attacking with a knife, wearing a fake suicide belt.

Preparations are underway at the White House South Lawn for an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event. The cage fight is scheduled to take place 14 June as part of the America 250 celebrations.

US President Donald Trump said UFC president Dana White, a longtime ally, will build “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House”, along with eight large screens in a nearby park for fans to watch from a distance.

Police said a search was launched shortly after 2pm today (May 26) after a report of a concern for safety when a boy entered the river after temperatures soared across the county.

The River Ribble (Image: Archive)

There was a large-scale search involving officers from Lancashire Police’s underwater search unit and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, along with North West Ambulance Service.

READ MORE: Emergency services searching for child in River Ribble at Ribchester

Police said a body was recovered from the river at 7.50pm and, while formal identification has not taken place, police believe it is the body of the missing boy.

His family are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.

His death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be passed to the coroner.

A group of English fans were detained by police following an alleged breach of the peace after clashes broke out in Leipzig ahead of Crystal Palace’s Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.

Videos shared on social media appeared to show rival groups fighting and throwing chairs during the incident. Many were seen falling to the ground as the clash began, while others ran for cover.

A group of men wearing black T-shirts arrived at the scene shortly before violence erupted between the two groups. Chairs and glass bottles were thrown, as seen in one of the clips, as police in riot gear moved in to break up the groups.

The Press Association reported the disturbance happened outside an Irish bar, where German police later detained several English people.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said German authorities told them those involved were being held over an alleged breach of the peace, which is considered a criminal offence under German law.

The group were as a result subject to police control measures, including detention, establishment of ID, search of person and full-body photograph.

Crystal Palace will look to take on the European trophy for the first time against Rayo Vallecano. A win for Palace will also secure them a spot in the Europa League next year.

If Oliver Glasner’s team is victorious, Crystal Palace would become the third English club to win the trophy, following West Ham in 2023 and Chelsea in 2025. Glasner has said his ultimate parting gift would be to see his team in the Europa League next season.

The match is set to be played at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, May 27, with kick-off scheduled for 8 pm BST.

Fans in the UK can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 6.30 pm BST. The game will also be available to stream live through HBO Max and the HBO app.