West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has stepped down from his position as joint chairman of the club with immediate effect.

The Hammers said they had “been made aware of the impending publication of serious historic allegations” concerning Sullivan.

In a statement of his own, the 77-year-old said a “small number of improper conduct claims” have been made against him adding: “I categorically deny these claims.”

He said the “decades-old allegations concerning my personal life” are “factually incorrect and entirely false”.

Sullivan, who had held the role for 16 years, said he stepped down “to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations”.

The Hammers were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2025-26 season after finishing 18th.

“At what is already a challenging and important time for the club, I refuse to allow personal matters concerning me to become an unnecessary distraction or a source of instability,” added Sullivan, who has also resigned as a director.

“Therefore, after very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign.”

In a club statement, West Ham said Sullivan has denied any “illegal conduct” and is leaving “in order to avoid disruption to the club while he addresses the matter privately”.

Sullivan has been the club’s largest single shareholder since the death of his business partner David Gold in January 2023, which left him with a 38.8% stake.

Sullivan and Gold became joint chairmen of West Ham when they completed their takeover of the club in January 2010.

“It is understood none of the allegations relate to West Ham United or any of its operations,” said West Ham.

“Interim chief executive officer Karim Virani, reporting into the current board of directors, will continue to be responsible for leading the club’s day-to-day operations.

“The club will provide an update on the future structure of the board of directors in due course, but will make no further comment at this time.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation

A fire in the early hours of this morning has caused “significant damage” to a former gospel hall in Belfast.

The fire service attended the scene on the Shankill Road at around 2.30am on Saturday, June 6. Three appliances attended from Springfield, Westland, and Central fire stations alongside a Turntable Ladder appliance.

Officers forced entry to the building, with a drone and jets also used to tackle the blaze. Images from the scene show the road was sealed off for a period of time, but has since reopened.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said no injuries were reported but “significant damage” was caused to the building. Fire crews were in attendance at the scene until around 5am.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The PSNI have been contacted for comment.

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Cult pop pioneers Sparks, have announced a long-awaited return with a headline show at York Barbican this summer – their first performance in the city since 1974.

The brothers Ron, on keyboards, and Russell Mael, vocals, will take to the stage on Tuesday, August 25 as part of a wider international tour spanning Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe.

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The York date has been added due to demand, alongside a second new UK show in Southend-on-Sea, following previously announced performances in London, Glasgow, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Bristol.

The career-spanning set comes off the back of the band’s latest releases, their 28th studio album MAD! and companion EP MADDER!, and follows a critically acclaimed 2025 world tour.

Reviews praised the band’s enduring live appeal, with Louder Than War calling the show “a hundred minutes of energetic, thrilling pop songs”, while The Spectator described it as “an unadulterated triumph”.

Sparks first rose to prominence in the UK in 1974 with the hit This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both of Us, and went on to inspire artists such as Joy Division, Depeche Mode to Björk, Beck and contemporary acts including The Last Dinner Party.

The band, dubbed “your favourite band’s favourite band”, were also the subject of Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers.

Alongside their headline shows, Sparks are set to appear at Green Man Festival and will support Gorillaz at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Mael brothers recently joined Gorillaz on Jimmy Kimmel Live to perform The Happy Dictator, a collaboration featured on Gorillaz’s latest album, The Mountain.

The royal family have begun to arrive in the Cotswolds for the wedding of the Princess Royal’s son Peter Phillips.

The King and Queen, the Princess of Wales, Zara and Mike Tindall and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh have all been pictured arriving in the small village of Kemble, near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, for the private nuptials on Saturday.

Mr Phillips is the late Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest (and, according to some, favourite) grandson.

He is the King’s nephew, William and Harry’s first cousin, the brother of Zara, and the son of Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips.

His engagement to NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, who he began dating in 2024, was announced in August last year.

It is not known whether an invitation was extended to Mr Phillips’s cousin Harry, Meghan and their children, amid reports the Sussexes were left off the guest list.

Harry and Mr Phillips were close when younger but it is reported they have lost touch, with the duke, who has a longstanding rift with his brother William, moving to the US, from where he has criticised members of his family and the royal institution.

Members of the public and media have gathered in the Gloucestershire village.

Metal barriers have been erected and roads closed around All Saints Church, which sits in the heart of the village, about four miles south of Cirencester.

Rain was forecast in the area on Saturday, with those waiting in the morning standing under sunshine and showers.

Local residents gathered at the cordon, with many describing their hopes of seeing senior members of the royal family arriving.

Sarah and Jez Smith came from their home in nearby Poole Keynes to watch the royal wedding with their dog Ziggy.

They joined dozens of other wellwishers at the cordon in Kemble.

Mrs Smith said: “It is something that doesn’t happen normally on your doorstep.

“It’s a great thing to come and watch.

“It’s really important that it is a local church for Harriet.

“I think it’s great that they’ve chosen to come locally.”

Members of the public and media have gathered in the Gloucestershire village of Kemble ahead of the wedding of the Princess Royal’s son, Peter Phillips.

Metal barriers have been erected and roads closed around All Saints Church, which sits in the heart of the village, about four miles south of Cirencester.

Rain was forecast in the area on Saturday, with those waiting in the morning standing under sunshine and showers. Local residents gathered at the cordon, with many describing their hopes of seeing senior members of the Royal Family arriving.

Sarah and Jez Smith came from their home in nearby Poole Keynes to watch the royal wedding with their dog Ziggy.

Mrs Smith said: “It is something that doesn’t happen normally on your doorstep. It’s a great thing to come and watch. It’s really important that it is a local church for Harriet. I think it’s great that they’ve chosen to come locally.”

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Go crazy, New York. Or, perhaps more accurately, crazier.

The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.

Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.

“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”

The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.

Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.

Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.

“We can’t change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We’re already thinking about Game 3.”

The series now shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.

The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama’s three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.

“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up … and try to play to that same level.”

But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.

Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.

The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.

The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.

“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.

They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Disorder broke out on the evening of June 2

Six more people have been charged with violent disorder after protests in Southampton earlier this week following the murder of Henry Nowak. It brings the total number of people charged following the events on June 2 to 11.

Kevin Reeves, 31, of Portswood Road, Southampton; Andrew Riddett, 38, of Seacombe Green, Southampton; Harry Varney, 34, of Briarswood, Southampton; Taylor Grundy, 22, of Pavillion Way, Gosport; and Dillon Crawford, 29, of Wilton Avenue, Southampton, were charged with violent disorder, Hampshire Police said.

Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Banning Street, Romsey, was charged with violent disorder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, the force added. All of them will appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning, PA reports.

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The charges come after protests following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa, 23, to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old Mr Nowak in December last year.

Anger erupted after police body-worn video was released showing Mr Nowak being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and subsequently died.

The treatment of the 18-year-old triggered a political row, with the Prime Minister urging politicians to heed the teenager’s family’s pleas to not to use the case “to create further division, hatred or tension”.

Violent protests erupted near where the student was fatally stabbed on Tuesday night following Digwa’s sentencing.

Digwa claimed he had been the victim of a racial attack, while Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police who ignored his pleas that he could not breathe as he lay dying.

A woman is struggling to come to terms with the baby name her husband has chosen for their daughter, as she can not stop thinking about its horror film reference

Finding the ideal name for a newborn can be a daunting task for many parents, with some taking months or even years to decide. One expectant mum has now shared her dilemma after her husband put forward a baby name she’s not particularly keen on for their daughter. The woman took to the internet to air her concerns, revealing that her partner wants to give their little girl a name inspired by a horror film.

Posting on Reddit’s r/BabyNames forum, she explained: “My husband so badly wants to name our daughter Clarice but I can’t help but think of The Silence of the Lambs, and that’s exactly the character he wants to name her after because he thinks she’s a badass.

“I suggested Clarisse instead but he says no if it’s not spelled the same.”

She went on: “I picked the middle names after my grandmother so I really want to let him lead on the first name so I just need some outside opinions on the name.”

Clarice Starling is the lead character in the 1991 psychological horror-thriller The Silence of the Lambs, unforgettably portrayed by actress Jodie Foster.

Originally created by author Thomas Harris in his 1988 novel, Clarice is depicted as a sharp, ambitious and tenacious FBI trainee who is recruited from the Quantico academy to assist with a high-profile serial killer investigation.

Multiple contributors recognised the link to The Silence of the Lambs, with one saying: “SOTL was definitely the first thing I thought of lol but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s still a really great name. If you don’t like it though, maybe Clarissa instead?”

Another person noted: “I mean, Clarice Starling is a badass. But if the name makes you uncomfortable, maybe there are other strong female characters he could take inspiration from instead?

“If it matters, I don’t think it’s a catastrophically unusable name. Way at the opposite end of the scale compared to Khaleesi in terms of pop culture-associated names.”

A third commenter pointed out: “She’s going to hear ‘hello Clarice’ all her life.”

While a fourth proposed: “I knew a Clarissa that was pretty cool. Or a Clair, Callista, or Charlisse… maybe something near that isn’t linked to The Silence of the Lambs.”

Personal finance guru said women who took time off work to care for children between 1978 and 2010 should check if they are owed thousands of pounds

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to all women aged 41-90 who have children, cautioning that they could be owed ‘substantial sums’ by HMRC.

The money-saving expert told listeners on his BBC Podcast this week that anyone who stepped back from employment during this period may have been ‘short-changed’ as a result of a significant National Insurance error spanning several years – potentially leaving them thousands of pounds worse off.

His intervention follows HMRC’s decision to stop writing to those potentially affected, meaning people must now pursue any claims on their own.

He explained: “This is about a state pension error. The reason that I’m doing it now is not because it’s new – it isn’t new – this has been around for quite a long time and the government were contacting the potentially hundreds of thousands of primarily women aged between 41 and 90 – it isn’t only women it’s primarily women and it’ll generally be of that age.

“They could be the victim of a state pension error that could mean they’re owed a fortune. The government was contacting them but then Steve Webb former pensions minister got in touch with us, with me, and said ‘they’ve stopped contacting them – they’re no longer trying to rectify this’. They’re not trying to rectify it so I’m trying to rectify it by getting it out there.”

The Money Saving Expert founder emphasised the potentially life-altering consequences, citing listener Cilla who reached out to him saying: ‘I’ve just received 15 years back pay from HMRC of £31,674 for underpayment of my state pension.’ This matter could impact anyone who left work to look after a child or someone with a long-term disability across a 32-year period, reports Wales Online.

He explained: “From 1978 to 2010 the government had a system in place to protect state pension entitlement for those people who didn’t earn enough to accrue a state pension through paid work because they had taken time off work to look after their children or someone with a long-term disability.

“Clearly in that time period it was mainly women who were doing that. It was called Home Responsibilities Protection and it should have been awarded automatically to those claiming child benefit or who’d received income support throughout a full tax year while they were caring for someone with a long-term illness.

“It effectively gave you the national insurance contributions you would have otherwise got. You need around 30 years of national insurance contributions to get the full state pension. If you’re short of years you don’t get the full state pension.

“if you’re missing 15 years, as that case study was, it’s a huge amount of money because the state pension once you get to retirement age it you’re in it.”

Mr Lewis explained to listeners which individuals were most likely to be affected by the mistake: “Who is most likely to be affected? Women currently between the age of 41 and 90, though it’s mainly women of the age of 60s and 70s.

“But it could be anyone 41-90 who took time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability at any point between 1978 and 2010 who claimed child benefit or income support for the first time before May 2000.

“So effectively your kids were born before May 2000. You go onto Gov.uk, you find your state pension forecast and you look if you’re entitled to the full state pension years. If you’re not then you need to check your gaps in national insurance years which you can also do on gov.uk.

“If there are gaps in your record from 1978 to 2010 these were the years you took off work to care for a child or someone with a long-term health condition. You may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection. At that point we’re getting technical in what you need to do. Go and look it up there are good guides online on what to do next.

“It’s worth checking, it’s huge money, these mainly women have been done over by a system error.”

More details on the Gov.uk website here. To listen to the podcast click here.

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