The UK government has issued a travel warning for Israel and Palestine and withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Iran, as the US advises embassy officials in Jerusalem they can leave.
The Foreign Office warned Britons against “all but essential” travel to Israel and Palestine on Friday due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.
It also moved some staff from Tel Aviv to “another location within Israel”, amid concerns the security situation “could escalate quickly” and international borders might close with little notice.
The alert was issued shortly after Britain pulled its staff out of it embassy in Iran as a “temporary” precautionary measure.
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“We have temporarily closed the British Embassy in Tehran, this will now operate remotely,” a government spokesperson said.
Image: Talks between the US and Iran have failed to produce a deal. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told embassy employees in an email that a decision had been made to authorise departures for non-essential personnel and their families who wished to leave.
Mr Huckabee said in the email that staff who wish to leave should do so that day, adding “there may be outbound flights over the coming days, there may not be”.
“Persons may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available,” the US embassy said.
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Image: US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Pic: AP
The travel warnings are one of the strongest indications yet that a regional conflict could be imminent, as the threat of US military strikes on Iran looms.
They come just a day after talks between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme ended without an agreement.
Image: The treat of US strikes looms over Iran. Pic: AP
The US State Department revealed on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel early next week to “discuss a range of regional priorities including Iran, Lebanon, and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan for Gaza”.
The announcement suggested a longer timeframe for US any military action.
The US president said while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Mr Trump has previously threatened to take military action against Iran if a deal is not reached.
The US has spent the last month amassing a fleet of aircraft and warships in the region.
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Iran has in turn threatened to attack Israel, raising the risk that military action could trigger another regional war.
A confidential report from the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran has not offered inspectors access to sensitive nuclear sites since they were bombed during the 12-day war launched by Israel last June.
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Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and denies pursuing a nuclear weapon.
The attacks, along with retaliatory strikes by Iranian forces have seen targets in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq hit, have prompted several oil companies to suspend the shipments of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Edmund King, president of the AA, has now warned that the bombing across the Middle East will cause significant disruption to the oil trade.
“The turmoil and bombing across the Middle East will surely be a catalyst to disrupt oil distribution globally, which will inevitably lead to price hikes,” Mr King told The Times.
At least 201 people were killed in US-Israeli strikes, Iranian media reported (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“So drivers beware, within the next 10 to 12 days we could be seeing record prices at the pumps.”
Oil prices are expected to surge when the New York Futures market opens at 11pm on Sunday, with crucial shipping lanes affected by the joint US-Israeli assault, which Iranian media reports has killed at least 201 people so far.
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Several oil companies and tanker owners have suspended crude oil, fuel and liquefied natural gas shipments via the Strait of Hormuz following the eruption of conflict in the region, trading sources earlier told Reuters news agency.
The strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudia Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
An Israeli submarine is seen in the Haifa Bay , northern Israel, Saturday, 28 February (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“Our ships will stay put for several days,” one top executive at a major trading desk said. Satellite images from tanker trackers showed vessels piling up next to big ports, such as Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, and not moving through Hormuz.
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Multiple vessels in the area have received VHF transmission from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz”, an official with the EU naval mission Aspides told Reuters.
The UK Navy said Iran’s orders were not legally binding and advised vessels to transit with caution.
An official from the European Union’s naval mission Aspides had earlier said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were warning that “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz”.
Iran has not formally confirmed any such order. About 20 per cent of global oil and gas flows through this narrow shipping lane in the Gulf, and blocking it could have serious consequences for the global economy.
LAREDO, Texas (AP) — A month after ICE agents sent the young Ecuadorian mother and her 7-year-old daughter to a sprawling detention center 1,300 miles from their Minnesota home, they were finally free.
But when the bus pulled up to a migrant shelter in the border city of Laredo, dropping off a half-dozen families lugging bags stuffed with belongings, the stress of recent weeks tracked mother and daughter like the long shadows on that mid-February afternoon.
Night after night inside south Texas’ Dilley Immigration Processing Center with hundreds of other families, the grade-schooler wept and pleaded to know why they were being held.
“She would tell me, ‘Mom, what crime did I commit to be a prisoner?’ I didn’t know what to tell her,” said the 29-year-old, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear being identified could negatively affect their immigration case. Her husband was deported to Ecuador soon after they were taken into custody.
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Immigrant families settle in for the night at the Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
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Immigrant families settle in for the night at the Holding Institute in Laredo, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
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Many Americans were alarmed last month when photos circulated showing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis detaining a 5-year-old boy wearing a bunny hat and carrying a Spiderman backpack. The concern followed Liam Conejo Ramos and his father when they were sent to Dilley, surrounded by chain-link fences on a dusty plain about 75 miles south of San Antonio.
But Liam was hardly an outlier. ICE has been holding hundreds of children at Dilley — many for months.
“We are all Liam,” Christian Hinojosa, an immigrant from Mexico, said by phone from Dilley, where she and her 13-year-old son were held for more than four months. They were released this month and allowed to return home to San Antonio where she works as a health aide.
She noted that Liam and his father were released from Dilley after 10 days, when members of Congress and a judge intervened.
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“My son says, ‘That’s unfair, Mama. What’s the difference between him and us?’”
Ramping up family detentions
When the Obama administration opened Dilley in 2014, nearly all families detained there had recently crossed the border from Mexico. Detentions at the facility were scaled back by the Biden administration in 2021, before it was closed three years later.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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Since being reopened by President Donald Trump’s administration last spring, life inside Dilley — a compound of trailers and other prefabricated buildings — has been shaped by three decisive changes.
The number of detained families has risen sharply since last fall. The government is holding many children well beyond the 20-day limit set by longstanding court order. And many detainees have lived in the U.S. for several years, with roots in neighborhoods, workplaces and schools, according to lawyers and other observers.
“Just imagine that you’re a child and you’re taken out of your surroundings,” said Philip Schrag, a Georgetown University law professor and author of “Baby Jails: The Fight to End the Incarceration of Refugee Children in America.”
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Suddenly you’re in “a completely strange environment with the doors locked and guards in uniform roaming around,” said Schrag, who counseled Dilley detainees as a volunteer lawyer during the Obama administration.
ICE booked more than 3,800 children into detention during the first nine months of the new Trump administration, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project. On an average day more than 220 children were held, with most of those detained longer than 24 hours sent to Dilley. More than half of Dilley detainees during that period were children.
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A young immigrant girl who just arrived at the Holding Institute, a shelter in Laredo, Texas on Feb. 12, 2026, pets a cat as her mother and other families receive a welcome and instructions on how to purchase tickets to get back to their homes in the U.S. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
A young immigrant girl who just arrived at the Holding Institute, a shelter in Laredo, Texas on Feb. 12, 2026, pets a cat as her mother and other families receive a welcome and instructions on how to purchase tickets to get back to their homes in the U.S. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
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Nearly two-thirds of children detained by ICE were eventually deported and almost 1 in 10 left the country when their parents accepted voluntary departure, according to an AP analysis of the latest comprehensive data. About a quarter were released in the U.S., requiring their parents to check in regularly with ICE as their legal cases proceed.
The number of detainees at Dilley has risen sharply since the period covered by the data, nearly tripling between last fall and late January to more than 1,300, according to Relevant Research, which analyzes immigration enforcement data.
“We’ve started to use 100 days as a benchmark for prioritizing cases because so many children are exceeding 20 days,” said Leecia Welch, the chief legal director at Children’s Rights, who visits Dilley regularly to ensure compliance. In a visit this month, Welch said she counted more than 30 children who had been held for over 100 days.
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The increased detention of children comes as the Trump administration has gutted a Department of Homeland Security office responsible for oversight of conditions inside Dilley and other facilities.
“It’s a particular concern that family detention is being increased,” said Dr. Pamela McPherson, a child and adolescent psychiatrist contracted by DHS from 2014 until last year to inspect and investigate conditions at Dilley and other ICE facilities holding children.
“Just who’s providing that check-and-balance now?”
Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents the congressional district where Dilley is located, said multiple visits have convinced him criticism of the center is unfair.
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He said he’d been impressed by Dilley’s facilities and the professionalism and dedication of staff. “They’re not doing policy. They’re just fulfilling a duty,” said Gonzales, a Republican.
DHS did not respond to detailed questions about Dilley submitted by the AP. But both DHS and ICE sharply refuted allegations of poor care and conditions there.
“The Dilley facility is a family residential center designed specifically to house family units in a safe, structured and appropriate environment,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons said in a statement this week. Services include medical screenings, infant care packages as well as classrooms and recreational spaces.
But concerns about Dilley are personal for Kheilin Valero Marcano, a Venezuelan immigrant detained with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Amalia, in December and held for nearly two months.
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Migrants from Venezuela, Stiven Arrieta Prieto and his wife, Kheilin Valero Marcano, with their 18-month-old daughter, Amalia Arrieta Valero, pose for a photo in Southern California on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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Migrants from Venezuela, Stiven Arrieta Prieto and his wife, Kheilin Valero Marcano, with their 18-month-old daughter, Amalia Arrieta Valero, pose for a photo in Southern California on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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When the child got a high fever, Valero Marcano said Dilley staff told her it was just a virus. Two weeks later, Amalia started vomiting, then losing weight. Valero Marcano said she took her to the Dilley doctor’s office at least eight times but was offered Tylenol and ibuprofen.
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The baby was eventually sent to two hospitals, where doctors diagnosed COVID, bronchitis, pneumonia and stomach virus, she said.
ICE disputed Valero Marcano’s account, saying in a statement the baby “immediately received proper medical care” at Dilley before being sent to the hospital. Back in Dilley, “she was in the medical unit and received proper treatment and prescribed medicines,” it said.
The family’s return to Dilley coincided with a measles outbreak there. They were released earlier this month after their lawyers petitioned the court.
“I’m so worried for all the families who are still inside,” Valero Marcano said.
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A teen in distress
After more than two months in a cramped room at Dilley with three other families, the 13-year-old girl’s depression turned increasingly dark.
The eighth grader stopped eating after finding a worm in her food, family members said. Staff sometimes withheld medications she’d long been prescribed to keep her anxiety in check and help her sleep.
When a total lockdown was imposed, a guard blocked the teen from leaving the crowded room to join her mother and sister in the bathroom. She spiraled into crisis, and used a plastic knife from the cafeteria to cut her wrist.
“She said she didn’t want to live anymore because she preferred to die rather than having to keep living in confinement,” her mother, Andrea Armero, told the AP in a video call from Colombia, where the family was deported this month. The AP generally avoids identifying people who attempt or die by suicide.
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The girl’s struggles began before she arrived at Dilley. Soon after starting middle school in Colombia, she learned a family member had sexually abused her younger sister. Armero said she saw no option but to leave and in early 2024 she and her daughters traveled to the U.S. border with Mexico, applying for asylum.
Living with family in Florida, the 13-year-old was doing well in school but sometimes experienced panic attacks about being sent back to Colombia. Under a psychiatrist’s care, she was prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications and regularly saw a therapist. Then, in December, ICE agents detained Armero and her daughters during a routine check-in.
At Dilley, the 13-year-old calmed herself by drawing, producing haunting pictures of a girl locked inside gates. But when she and other detainees took part in a protest after 5-year-old Liam and his father got to Dilley, guards took away drawing materials and ordered everyone to stay inside.
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This image provided by the family in February 2026 shows a drawing made by a 13-year-old Colombian girl when she was detained at South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where the Trump administration is holding immigrant families. (AP Photo)
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This image provided by the family in February 2026 shows a drawing made by a 13-year-old Colombian girl when she was detained at South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where the Trump administration is holding immigrant families. (AP Photo)
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The teen’s mental health collapsed. She tried to harm herself with the plastic knife, Armero said, and repeatedly hit her head. The family was put into isolation without seeing a doctor, then deported to Colombia on Feb. 11 after a judge ordered them removed, she said.
Dilley discharge documents described “active problems,” including a “suicide attempt by cutting of wrist” and “self-harm,” in addition to a “history of post-traumatic stress disorder” and “history of anxiety.” AP also spoke with detainees and attorneys who independently described the girl’s suicide attempt.
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Responding to questions from AP, a DHS official acknowledged there had been “a case of self-harm” inside the facility, but did not specify what had happened, or how staff handled the incident. When AP asked for details, DHS did not respond to follow-up questions.
“No child at Dilley … has been denied medical treatment or experienced a delayed medical assessment,” said Ryan Gustin, a spokesman for CoreCivic, the for-profit prison company that operates the facility under contract with ICE. Gustin declined to answer specific question about the 13-year-old girl, citing privacy rules.
Detention weighs on children
On a phone call from inside Dilley, 13-year-old Gustavo Santino-Josa introduced himself to a reporter by name and the 9-digit identification number ICE assigned him when he was taken into custody with his mother.
“Until today I don’t know what we did wrong to get detained,” Gustavo said. “I’ve seen my mom cry almost daily and I ask God that we can go out and go home soon.”
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He worried they might never be released.
“My mom says that as long as there is hope it is worth fighting for,” Gustavo said before handing the phone to his mother, Christian Hinojosa, the health care aide originally from Mexico.
“All his friends have left already,” his mother said. “Some were deported. Some got released recently. And it hurts. It hurts to see people leaving and you’re staying here.”
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Andrea Armero, right, and her daughter, who were deported from the United States, sit in a park in Colombia, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Andrea Armero, right, and her daughter, who were deported from the United States, sit in a park in Colombia, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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Dilley was built to hold 2,400 people, housed in clusters ICE calls “neighborhoods.” Bunk beds are arranged side-by-side for up to four families, frequently putting parents with young children in close quarters.
Once in full operation, Dilley is expected to generate about $180 million in annual revenue for CoreCivic, according to the company’s recent filing with securities regulators.
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In a video on its website, CoreCivic says Dilley’s “open campus layout allows residents to move freely and unescorted throughout the day.”
It does not mention that parents and their children are locked inside.
In response to questions from the AP, CoreCivic’s Gustin said the staff at Dilley includes a pediatrician, pediatric nurse practitioner, other trained medical professionals, as well as mental health services to “meet the needs of children and families in our care.”
In talks with parents of children held at Dilley, however, the same problems come up repeatedly, said Welch, the children’s rights lawyer.
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Kids cry often and don’t get enough sleep, in part because lights are on around the clock, she said. The water tastes terrible and causes stomachaches and rashes, so some families stick to what they can buy in the commissary.
Their children don’t eat enough and have lost weight, Welch said. There are classrooms, but instruction is limited to an hour daily, mostly filling out worksheets.
A 14-year-old girl, identified in court papers by the initials NVSM, reported there were tensions with up to 12 people sharing their room. At night when she and her mother tried to sleep, others insisted on turning up the TV.
“I feel very sad and stressed to be here,” the teen said in an account filed with the court that oversees a binding settlement governing detention and release of children. “My nerves are so high. I don’t know what is happening. My muscles will twitch because I’m so nervous and on edge.”
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Concerns about oversight
As the government’s detention of parents and their children came under scrutiny in 2014, an ICE official insisted that family detention centers, equipped with basketball courts and medical clinics, were “more like a summer camp.”
The characterization irritated McPherson, the child psychiatrist who, along with another physician, was retained in 2014 by DHS to inspect family detention centers. Their contracts were not renewed by the Trump administration last year after DHS announced sweeping staff reductions.
“Having a clean place to sleep, having food, that’s not the same thing as having family and community,” McPherson said.
The doctors’ investigations of family detention centers exposed consistently inadequate staffing and disregard by administrators for the trauma caused by detention, concerns they reported in 2018 to a Senate caucus set up to hear from whistleblowers.
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At Dilley, the doctors noted a persistent shortage of pediatricians and the inability to hire a child psychiatrist from the time they began their inspections until they alerted senators.
Employees unsure how to deal with 2-year-olds biting and hitting each other placed the children and their parents in medical isolation for days, McPherson and her colleague told senators. Without supervision, a nurse at Dilley gave adult-strength hepatitis A shots to about 250 children in 2015, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported.
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Kheilin Valero Marcano, hugs her 18-month-old daughter, Amalia Arrieta Valero, in Southern California on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Kheilin Valero Marcano, hugs her 18-month-old daughter, Amalia Arrieta Valero, in Southern California on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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DHS responded to many of the findings by making changes before a special committee recommended in late 2016 that the government discontinue family detention except in rare cases. The first Trump administration increased family detention before the Biden administration began phasing it out in 2021.
That the Trump administration is again holding families at Dilley after so many warnings feels “dystopian,” McPherson said.
“The decision to knowingly traumatize children and subject them to chronic stress, I just have no words for it,” she said.
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Worries even after release
Huddled around picnic tables at the Laredo migrant shelter, parents released from Dilley searched anxiously for flights back to the homes they left behind. They called relatives, friends, teachers, anyone who might help with money to get there.
The young Ecuadorian mom talked of returning to Minneapolis, where her 2-year-old daughter, born in the U.S., was staying with a friend. With her husband deported, parenting will be entirely her responsibility.
That means getting her 7-year-old back in school. Then the woman, who had a work permit and a job in a Minneapolis restaurant before being detained, needs to keep her children fed.
“Let’s go home, Mom, but don’t go back to work because ICE is going to pick you up again,” the little girl said. Her mother tried to reassure her.
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That won’t happen, she said, because now they have a special paper telling ICE to leave them alone.
She hopes that’s a promise she can keep.
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AP Data Reporter Aaron Kessler contributed from Washington.
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Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/
Earlier today, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country’s airspace had been temporarily closed as the situation escalated, including debris falling on Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeirah.
Bangs have been heard across the city from missiles being intercepted by the air defence systems.
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The UK Foreign Office has also advised against travel to the Middle East.
Pattison, who was holidaying with her husband Ercan Ramadan, shared an update with followers explaining that her flight to Sydney was no longer going ahead.
She updated followers about her situation after a day of escalating international tensions (Picture: Instagram/Vicky Pattison)
She was previously sharing photos of her and husband Ercan on holiday (Picture: Instagram/Vicky Pattison)
She explained that her ‘flight was cancelled and now we’re effectively stuck in Dubai’ and confirmed that they were ‘ok’.
She continued: ‘We are currently in our hotel and have been assured were safe.
‘We are aware that the situation unfolding is scary and I’m also aware that there’s a lot of videos circulating on social media which are understandably concerning.
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‘I’m not sure what else to say, other than we’re doing our best to stay calm, not feed any unconfirmed narratives and we’re thinking of everyone who is feeling unsettled and unsafe right now.’
She and her husband had planned to fly to Sydney tonight (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Other people who have posted from Dubai about the situation include Lee Andrews and Laura Anderson (Picture: @wesleeeandrews)
Earlier today, Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews, who stayed behind in Dubai when the reality star returned to the UK, also shared a government update confirming that ‘the security situation in the UAE remains stable’.
Meanwhile, Love Island star Laura Anderson also issued an update.
‘Horrendous situation, Bonnie and I are fine,’ she said of her and her daughter.
The five-star £245 million ($330 million) Palm Jumeirah Fairmont was engulfed in flames with emergency serives seena round the 14-storey building.
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Welsh actor Michael Sheen has shared his thoughts on the upcoming election
Welsh actor Michael Sheen has spoken about the upcoming elections to the Senedd during an interview on Times Radio. The star shared his thoughts on Welsh politics and discussed the importance of the election occurring this year.
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The Senedd election will take place on May 7, 2026, where voters across Wales will choose new Members of the Senedd. It will be the first election held since the expansion the parliament from 60 to 96 members and the introduction to the new voting system using larger constituencies. The vote will determine which party forms the next Welsh Government and who becomes Wales’ First Minister.
Alongside acting, Michael Sheen is known for his social activism in Wales. In 2025, he launched a project shown on the Channel 4 documentary Michael Sheen’s Secret Million Pound Giveaway, using £100,000 of his own money to buy and write off £1 million in consumer debt for around 900 people in south Wales.
Ahead of the upcoming Welsh elections, actor Michael Sheen has told Times Radio, “everyone acknowledges that we’re in a moment of huge transformation, where, whether it’s conscious or not, people are sort of feeling that the old order is dying, or has died. And there’s a lot of anxiety around what the new is going to be”.
Speaking to Adam Boulton he said: “Labour has been the dominant political force in Wales for as long as anyone can remember. That seems to be about to change. And the leadership of Wales and the vision for Wales seems to be a battle between, it looks like, Plaid Cymru and Reform. And that’s a very interesting and sort of febrile argument.”
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The actor is set to play Owain Glyndwr, the medieval Welsh national leader and last Welsh “Prince of Wales”, as part of the Welsh National Theatre’s debut season. He highlighted the comparisons between the febrile atmosphere then and now but also the power of theatre to unite and the importance of community to people:“No matter whether they’re voting for Labour, Plaid, Reform, whatever it might be, you can see that there is a desire for a sense of community, of togetherness, of feeling like we’re together and a sense of being taken advantage of and being exploited by other groups”. He was also honest about this own current political position:Adam Boulton: “This time around, this election for the Senate, are you backing Plaid Cymru? Would it be fair to say that, or not?”
Michael Sheen: “Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I am. I think of the parties that look like they have a chance. There’s one that has the best interests of Wales at heart, and I don’t believe the other one does.”
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Labour Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons was accused of commissioning surveillance of journalists
Labour MP Josh Simons has stepped down as a Cabinet Office minister following an inquiry into claims that a think tank he headed before joining Government commissioned surveillance of journalists.
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Labour Together, regarded as one of the most influential bodies within Labour circles, was accused of paying Apco Worldwide £36,000 to investigate reporters who had written articles about its work.
An inquiry by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser concluded that Mr Simons had not violated the Ministerial Code, but the Makerfield MP said he had “become a distraction from this Government’s important work”.
Mr Simons had faced mounting pressure to quit and had maintained that Apco had been engaged to look into an unlawful hack. In a letter to the Prime Minister, ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said Mr Simons now accepted that the terms he had agreed with Apco were “wider than he had understood” and that he had acted “too hastily in confirming their appointment”.
Sir Laurie said Mr Simons had acted “in good faith” and noted that the MP acknowledged the “perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging”, reports the Express.
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He added: “I see no basis for advising you of any breach of the Ministerial Code by Mr Simons but you will wish to consider, in the light of this distraction and potential reputational damage, whether he continues to hold your confidence as a member of your Government.”
The Prime Minister said he accepted “with sadness” the resignation of Josh Simons from his position as a Cabinet Office minister.
“I want to express my thanks for the commitment, focus, and energy you have brought to ministerial office,” he said in his response to Mr Simons’ resignation letter.
Sir Keir added: “In accepting your resignation, I also want to place on record that the Independent Adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, found no breach of the Ministerial Code. I am grateful for your full and proactive cooperation throughout his work. I understand that, to avoid any ongoing distraction from delivering the Government’s mission, you have taken the difficult decision to step aside. I respect that decision, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in driving forward the Government’s priorities.”
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In his resignation letter, Josh Simons stated: “I welcome that Sir Laurie Magnus has cleared me of breaching the Ministerial Code. It was important to me to complete this process to prove that I behaved with integrity and that my public statements have been truthful and honest.
“Nonetheless, it is clear that my remaining in office has now become a distraction from this Government’s important work. For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation. It has been an honour to serve this great country.
“The work of reporters like Gabriel Pogrund, Harry Yorke, and Henry Dyer sustains our democracy. With rigour and objectivity, they hold those in positions of power to account. In an age when trust in politics is low, anything perceived to be an attack on their integrity and independence deserves thorough investigation. As I have said many times, I never sought to smear these newspaper reporters.”
Apco was commissioned to investigate the “sourcing, funding and origins” of coverage in 2023 regarding Labour Together’s failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations. The think tank was fined £14,250 in September 2021 for delayed reporting of donations between 2017 and 2020, after a self-referral to the Electoral Commission.
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Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said Sir Keir Starmer ought to have dismissed Mr Simons sooner. In a post on X, he wrote: “Labour waited to refer the case to the Independent Adviser to delay judgement until after the by-election (fat lot of good that did). Need full investigation into Labour Together now.”
Close allies of Mr Simons maintain he has done the “responsible thing” to bring an end to the “distraction”, and that he never sought to smear or investigate journalists. They insist he “won’t be quiet on the backbenchers” but will argue passionately for change that benefits the country.
A further ally added: “In stepping aside despite being cleared, Josh has shown he’s the type of person to take responsibility and put the long term direction of the Government first. He’ll not give up his energy in driving the party and this country forward.”
Celtic legends attended the statue unveiling for European Cup-winning hero Tommy Gemmell.
Tommy Gemmell statue unveiled as Celtic boss Martin O’Neill pays tribute to Hoops legend
A statue paying tribute to Celtic European Cup-winning hero Tommy Gemmell has been unveiled in his hometown. Emotional spectators, including Hoops boss Martin O’Neil, attended the ceremony in Craigneuk this afternoon.
The sculpture pays homage to local icon Tommy Gemmell who scored in two separate European Cup finals for the Parkhead side, including their first goal in Celtic’s famous victory over Catenaccio giants Inter Milan. The landmark project, to honour the Lisbon Lion who passed away aged 73 on the March 2, 2019, was led by the Tommy Gemmell Project Committee and supported by our Community Partnership Team.
Tommy’s wife, Mary Gemmell, said: “It’s just incredible. The statue looks so like Tommy, the likeness is unbelievable. Andy Edwards has done such an outstanding job. When I first saw it properly, it really took my breath away.
“This has always been about more than a statue. It’s about bringing Tommy home and celebrating him in the community he loved so much. I can’t thank everyone enough for the support, the fundraising and the kindness shown throughout this whole journey.”
Hundreds gathered for the unveiling, including current Celtic FC manager Martin O’Neill and club legends Roy Aitken, Tom Boyd, Peter Grant and Joe Miller. They were joined by a number of well-known faces, including actor Tony Roper.
A piper kicked off proceedings before Martin O’Neil left the crowd in stitches with a beautiful tribute to his former Nottingham Forest teammate.
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“It was my first year there at 19 and Tommy was 104. Sorry Mary, he wasn’t,” he joked.
He continued: “I couldn’t wait to speak to Tommy. I was fawning all over him, I must admit.
“I said to him, ‘Tommy, that was a great goal you scored in the European Cup final’. He then said, ‘Which one son?’.
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“Tommy was not a modest man. You couldn’t pay Tommy any higher compliments which he hadn’t already paid to himself.
“I had about four months with him and we was fantastic company. He really looked after me. I am honestly honoured to be speaking for just a moment this afternoon.
“It’s a great tribute to Tommy and the community.”
A countdown then commenced and the statue was unveiled showing Tommy in the famous hoops while carrying a football. Martin McCrum from the Tommy Gemmell Project Committee, paid tribute to the sculptor and the community effort behind the project.
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He said: “Andy Edwards is an incredibly talented artist and he’s captured Tommy perfectly, the stance, the expression, even that quiet determination. It’s like he’s standing there ready to strike a ball again.
“I was lucky enough to call Tommy a close friend for many years. We travelled together, did business together, and spent hours talking, not just about football, but about Craigneuk. He never forgot his roots. He cared deeply about this area and the people in it.
“When Tommy passed, people said we needed a statue. At first, I wasn’t sure I was the right person to lead it. But after seeing the challenges our community faced, I knew we needed something positive. Something that could inspire hope.
“That’s why this has always been about more than a statue. It’s about giving the community something to believe in, a focus for good, and a reminder that someone from here made it to the very top, and never forgot where he came from.”
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Provost Kenneth Duffy helped officially unveil the statue and he praised the wide range of support that made the event such a success.
He added: “This has been a special day for Craigneuk and for North Lanarkshire. The council was proud to support the project, and I want to thank our events team, Community Partnership and Roads teams, and the staff at the Jim Foley Community Centre for their hard work behind the scenes to make today run so smoothly.
“A huge thank you as well to the pupils and teachers from Berryhill PS who took part in the ceremony, and to the council school pipe band for piping guests on the day, including well-known football figures from past and present. It was a real community celebration, just as Tommy would have wanted.
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“The statue is not just a tribute to a footballing great, it is a symbol of community spirit, resilience and ambition. Tommy Gemmell is home. And his legacy now stands proudly in the place it all began.”
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The HDMI-based streaming service offers a ton of platforms for you to watch TV and films.
You can also use it to listen to music from the likes of Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music.
Here are some further features that come with the compact device you might not have been aware of.
Amazon Fire TV Sticks can stream TV, films and music among other things (Image: Getty Images)
5 Amazon Fire TV Stick features you’re going to wish you knew about sooner
Pin apps on the home screen
If you have a few commonly used apps/streaming services on the Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can pin them to the main menu.
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There are usually six streaming apps pinned there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those are the ones you want to use.
You can do this by going to the home page and then ‘Applications’ (the three squares and a plus icon).
From here, you can hover over the app you want to move and press the menu button on your remote (the three lines icon).
You’ll see a side menu pop up, with the option to move the app, Pocket-Lint shares.
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Select that, and then move the app into your pinned apps at the top of the screen.
Turn off navigation sounds
You might have noticed that the Amazon Fire TV Stick makes a noise when you’re moving around the pages and various apps.
If you’re finding it an annoyance, you can turn it off, though.
Just head to Settings > Display & Audio > Audio > Navigation Sounds and toggle it off.
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Cloud gaming
As an additional feature alongside the TV, films and music, you can play some games through the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
You can access games on Fire TV devices running Fire OS 5 or higher.
To find them, navigate to games on the home screen, select the game that you want to play and then select ‘Get’ to download the game.
If you have Amazon Luna already, you can play through that by selecting ‘Play with Amazon Luna’ and following the on-screen prompts.
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The live TV guide
If you navigate to the ‘Live’ tab and click ‘On now’, you can find the live TV guide on the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
This pulls together free live TV channels from multiple apps, including Pluto TV and Plex, instead of jumping between apps to see what’s on.
Links with the Fire TV app
You will soon be able to link your Amazon Fire TV Stick with the Amazon Fire TV app, which has a few useful features.
It will act as a free smart remote, offering voice search, keyboard entry, and navigation for Fire TV devices.
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The upgrade began to be rolled out on Thursday, February 26 and should be made available for all UK customers over the coming weeks.
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In a statement, Amazon said: “Millions of customers use our Fire TV mobile app as a backup remote, but we knew it could do more.
“The redesigned app adds the ability to browse content, manage your watchlist, and play titles on your TV—all with a look and feel that matches the new Fire TV design.
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“Now you can use your phone as a second screen to discover what to watch next or add a friend’s show recommendation to your watchlist when you’re away from home.”
Do you have an Amazon Fire TV Stick? Let us know in the comments.
Arsenal take on Chelsea tomorrow in a huge London derby at the Emirates Stadium, but all eyes will be on Man City this evening as they bid to keep the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side. As for the hosts, they have undergone a recent resurgence under Daniel Farke. The Yorkshiremen are unbeaten this month, having beaten Nottingham Forest and drawn with Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Sahibzada Farhan made a superb century as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by five runs in the T20 World Cup Super 8s but missed out on a semi-final spot on net run-rate.
Farhan’s 100 off 60 balls featured nine fours and five sixes as Pakistan posted 212-8 – their highest-ever total at a T20 World Cup.
Pakistan needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or fewer in their reply to ensure their net run-rate was better than New Zealand’s in Group 2.
However, Sri Lanka managed to scrape past the figure in 15.5 overs for the loss of five wickets which saw the Black Caps progress to the knockout phase.
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It ensured New Zealand finished with a net run-rate of +1.390 as they claimed second spot ahead of Pakistan (-0.123).
Sri Lanka came up just short of pulling off the second-highest chase in World Cup history after some late big hitting from captain Dasun Shanaka as Pakistan’s players went through the motions.
With 28 needed off the final over Shanaka, who made an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls, crashed a four and three sixes.
But with six required for a Sri Lanka victory, Shaheen Afridi switched back on and bowled two dots with wide yorkers.
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Earlier, a 176-run stand between Farhan and Fakhar Zaman had given Pakistan hope of delivering what had seemed a big ask on paper.
Fakhar, restored to open after batting in the middle order against England, played his part with some crisp ball striking en route to 84 off 42 balls.
In what was just his second innings at this World Cup, Fakhar clubbed nine fours and four sixes as Sri Lanka’s bowlers were flayed to all parts.
But after his dismissal Pakistan struggled to maintain the momentum – as Dilshan Madushanka claimed 3-33 – with 14 runs off the final two overs not quite enough.
Taken from a passing vehicle, the footage shows flames in the entrance area of the five star hotel as thick black smoke pours into the sky, while explosions can be heard in the background. In a statement earlier the Dubai government’s media office said four people had been taken to hospital following an ‘incident’ in the Palm Jumeirah area.
A fire in the area is now ‘under control’, the body reported. Several witnesses on social media have described a ‘nightmare’ situation in Palm Jumeirah. One said she felt her ‘windows shake’ following an apparent explosion.
Further footage shows people running for shelter as air raid sirens sounded and a loud bang was heard near the Marina. Witnesses say they saw debris falling from the sky. Another video circulating on X appears to show flames breaking out near the City Walk, close to the Burj Khalifa.
Boxer Chris Eubank Jr has also shared footage of fires in Dubai on his Instagram page. The clips show flames and thick black smoke billowing into the sky, reportedly near the Fairmont hotel.
Eubank Jr wrote: “Explosions going off on the Dubai Palm right now. Please everyone be safe.”
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The flames come after Donald Trump stated that the US had launched ‘major combat operations’ in Iran overnight. US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Saturday morning in what the two countries described as a ‘pre-emptive’ strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes were being carried out ‘to remove threats’, while witnesses in Tehran reported hearing explosions. There have been ‘dozens’ of strikes across Iran.
The attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with missiles reported to have targeted Israel and countries across the Middle East. Four US in Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain have reportedly been struck.
In Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, a death was reported after debris fell on a residential area. It remains unclear what Iran is targeting with the strikes, but possibly due to a large US military presence in the country.
