GTA 6 – story first or exploration? (Rockstar Games)
The Tuesday letters page examines the full cost of only buying physical copies of games, as one reader is unimpressed by publishers selling five days early access.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Where to start We’re in July now but it still seems like forever before GTA 6 is going to be out, even though it’s less than four months now. The whole thing is going to be so massive it’s going to be surreal just sitting down and playing it on launch day, like a normal game.
If only we knew more about it, I’d try and plan out what I was going to do but at the moment all I can say is what do I want to do more: follow the story or go off and do my own thing in the open world. I’m curious to know what other readers will choose but I think it will probably be a long time before I get around to doing the story properly.
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The temptation to just drive off and try and get myself in trouble, and explore the game world, is going to be too tempting. I don’t see that as a negative or even going against what Rockstar planned. I expect to be wowed and be allowed to do exactly what I want. I don’t know if GTA 6 will live up to all the hype but I guarantee it’s going to be a great game. Cranston
Simulation theory I’m not going to lie, getting the World Cup winner right five times in a row is pretty impressive for FIFA/EA Sports FC. I’d be curious to know what EA puts this down to. Are they implying it’s just luck or that their stats are so accurate they can perfectly simulate every player exactly?
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I guess Spain was one of the favourites going in, but it’s not like the game knew that, it just simulated the team based on the current stats for their players, right? Either way, it’s an impressive and slightly spooky thing.
I’d ask whether Football Manager made its own predictions but that game seems to have tanked its reputation, and on a World Cup year too. I wonder if that means if any other company will try and step and challenge it. Boatswain
First release I know that Xbox states Halo: Campaign Evolved releases on the 28th of this month but it actually releases on Wednesday the 23rd, you just have to pay 20 quid over the normal price to play it then.
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Early access as it is doesn’t bother me too much, as long as it doesn’t ever extend beyond the current five days norm.
But I’m a bit tired of the release date being given as when the standard edition is available. They should be made to state the premium edition as the official release date.
Will your review be up on the 23rd? Simundo
GC: Yes, we’re allowed to say the embargo is on Thursday.
Worth the while I enjoyed reading Tim Keeling’s Reader’s Feature about collecting and maintaining arcade cabinets. The inclusion of this sort of content keeps me reading your website. I do wonder how much time and effort it takes to curate and possibly edit reader submissions, such as weekend Reader’s Features and Inbox letters, but for me the daily letters and weekend features are what elevates GameCentral over its rivals.
I trust your professional reviews also, to an extent that I tend to use them as my main buying guide, but it’s the hotchpotch of reader submissions that really keeps the site interesting for me. When you invite input on any subject, as long as it’s loosely connected to video/computer games, the tastes and activities of fellow enthusiasts can sometimes prove really surprising.
I might compare reading GC to visiting an art gallery. Turn the next corner and you never quite know what you’ll see or what to expect. Michael Veal
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GC: The arcade one took a while as it was unusually long, but we didn’t mind that as a lot of effort had gone into it, including providing photos.
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Pricing issue Just read your bit on GAME. It’s got nothing to do with the UK leaving the EU, that was six years ago we left and as for the no new consoles, like GC said, Switch 2 came out. And as for them saying it’s Sony ending physical games, that’s two years in the future.
The reason why GAME failed was the prices and the platform stores, but mostly the prices. I’ve always bought physical games, other then the odd game here and there, but the prices were a joke on PlayStation 4. They were charging £75 for a game you could buy on Amazon and in Tesco £25 cheaper.
And their reason was they pay for exclusivity for free DLC with them, which was Nuketown. They thought gamers were going to pay £25 more four Nuketown, which would be free to everyone after 30 days. The prices were too high, and no Gen Z players could be bothered to get up and walk to the game shop. David
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Great ape That was a nice retrospective on Donkey Kong Bananza on Monday. For me it’s an immensely fun and inventive achievement that gave me over 70 hours of some of the most joyous, cathartic, tactile gameplay I’ve experienced in my 37 years as a gamer.
I revisited the game last week in the run up to its first year anniversary and was delighted by how effortlessly it still made me smile and become engrossed in its layered playgrounds.
I also continue to be impressed by how technically ambitious the destruction physics are. It’s innately enjoyable creating tunnels and levelling the carefully constructed levels to your heart’s content. The game is a smashingly successful deconstruction of the 3D platformer in general, in my opinion.
The game’s quality is such that I honestly didn’t mind that a new 3D Mario wasn’t present in the Switch 2’s first year, because the nucleus of Bananza’s game design was exactly the sort of dynamic, playful, and original thinking and execution that I have come to expect from Nintendo’s EAD.
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Nintendo could’ve easily made Bananza a brand new IP if they wanted to, considering how different its structuring and mechanics feel compared to past Donkey Kongs, or really, anything else made to date for that matter.
A recurring fallacy, I believe, is this notion that Nintendo always rests on their laurels by not bothering to create new IPs. But how many new IPs from other developers actually introduce a single new idea to call their own? Far too few from what I’ve come to learn.
Personally, I’m low-key just as excited to see where Nintendo take the Donkey Kong Bananza IP next as much as I am about the moustachioed jumping maestro’s latest adventures! GG
75% extra Heads up if anyone has played Storyteller (it comes free with a Netflix subscription), there has been a massive free update, with new chapters, characters, updated stories, and stamps.
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Even though I completed it 100% a few years ago, I found my save is now standing at only 25%! Ali K
Digital tax Having never really got into the Assassin’s Creed series before, I decided to get the new Black Flag remake. And it’s kind of highlighted the whole Sony digital debacle.
On the main menu screen it shows a timeline of the recent Assassin’s Creed games. If you click on a title it takes you to the PlayStation storefront to buy said game digitally. If I wanted to complete the collection of games listed, by purchasing the games I didn’t already own via PSN – these being Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Mirage, Shadows, and the Black Flag remake – it would cost a whopping £240.
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A quick look on Amazon shows it would only be £110 to buy these games in physical form and that’s without using any cashback sites or other discounts. I’m sure if I shopped around other sites I could lower the price even more.
Out of interest, I also went to a website I’d recommend for PC players called isthereanydeal.com and it would only cost £58 on PC. To me this is the issue in a nutshell. Personally, I’m not against digital games per se, just when one company has a monopoly and can dictate prices and set ridiculously high prices. matc7884
Inbox also-rans I feel that reader’s pain about the lack of Mass Effect but I’ve long ago accepted that there’s never going to be another one. If I’m wrong I’ll be ecstatic but I’d rather be happily surprised rather than constantly let down by keeping hope. Preston
Just to let everyone know but there’s a free demo now of Yoshi And The Mysterious Book. A lot of people, including GC, have said it’s better than it looks, so I’m curious to give it a go. Tibel
The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
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Holly Willoughby shares a rare video with her daughter Belle, 15, as she asks for advice on how YouTube works despite launching her new show on the channel
Holly Willoughby turned to her 15-year-old daughter Belle for advice on how YouTube works – despite launching her brand new show, Together, on the channel.
The presenter, 45, filmed herself in the back of a taxi as she and Belle headed to the press launch on Monday.
While Belle didn’t make an appearance in the clip, her voice could be overheard in the background sniggering as Holly tried to explain how YouTube works.
Holly said: ‘Hello, hello, I’m heading over to the press launch of the new show, Holly Willoughby together.
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‘It’s the launch, I’m very excited because this is the first time anybody is going to get to see the trailer. Today’s the day.
‘What I’m going to do is I’m going to put the trailer so you guys get to see it, over on the YouTube channel. First time I’ve said that, tomorrow, so that’s Tuesday.
Holly Willoughby turned to her 15-year-old daughter Belle for advice on how YouTube works, ahead of launching her brand new show, Together, on the channel
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‘I’m not quite sure when it’s going to go on there, so I think, and I’m looking at my daughter here now because this is all new territory, but if you head on over there, search it, Holly Willoughby Together YouTube, go and subscribe.’
After fluffing the word subscribe, Holly admitted she has to start saying it.
Then the presenter turned to Belle and said: ‘Then I think you press the bell thing which gives you a notification when something drops, is that right?’
She then told her daughter to ‘stop laughing’, before asking: ‘You press the bell, don’t you, Belle?’
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Holly’s daughter Belle provided inspiration for her next venture as the teenager is of a generation that no longer watches terrestrial TV but is glued to YouTube instead.
The new project, which she is self-funding, will involve both producing and presenting her own show, as well as celebrity interviews. Read the full story here.
Holly Willoughby Together will launch on July 28 as a twice-weekly broadcast under five sections: Talk Together, Cook Together, Look Good Together, Better Together, and Hang Out Together.
She is working with a team at her husband Dan Baldwin’s television production company Hungry Bear, which is behind shows such as Gladiators and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, both screened on BBC One.
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Holly Willoughby Together will launch on July 28 as a twice-weekly broadcast on YouTube
‘Holly has done television for 25 years, and now she wants to make her own thing,’ a friend of the star told The Mail on Sunday in January. ‘And now daytime television is very much on the slide and it’s time for something new. She is excited, it is something so new and innovative, hopefully it will work.
‘The television landscape has changed so much, people are consuming content on TikTok and other digital platforms.
‘Holly has seen an opportunity now to start something new, which has a future, unlike the kind of stuff she has done in the past.’
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When Holly left This Morning after learning of an extraordinary plot to kidnap, rape, and murder her, she found herself with much more time on her hands.
For 14 years, she’d been up at the crack of dawn to sit on the sofa and present the show next to her former co-star and friend, Phillip Schofield. Holly had been ITV’s busiest star, and bosses at the network wanted her on screen as much as possible.
But Holly had been left badly shaken by the kidnap threat, for which former security guard Gavin Plumb was handed a life sentence in 2024.
Her return to TV was gradual, first hosting two episodes of You Bet for ITV and the Netflix reality show Bear Hunt in February 2025.
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Since then, she has been a stay-at-home mum to Harry, 17, Belle and 11-year-old Chester, which she ‘loved’. Now, however, she is ready to get back out into the limelight.
Residents of Cambridge and surrounding villages have reported assaults and robberies
Five teenagers have been arrested after anti-social behaviour concerns. Assaults and robberies are among the incidents that have been reported by residents of Cambridge and surrounding villages.
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A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said: “We know many residents in Cambridge city centre, Histon, Impington and Cottenham have raised concerns about anti-social behaviour, assaults, robberies and other incidents involving groups of young people.
“Our officers have been carrying out extensive enquiries and have made a number of arrests in connection with reported offences.”
Five teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been arrested and/or charged in relation to reported offences. These include:
A 14-year-old boy charged with three counts of common assault and arrested on suspicion of robbery.
A 17-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of theft of a pedal cycle and dealt with through the Youth Offending Service. He has also been arrested on suspicion of robbery and criminal damage.
A 17-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of theft, racially aggravated common assault and robbery. He has been bailed with conditions not to enter Cambridge city centre.
A 13-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of assault, theft, robbery, racially aggravated common assault, attempted robbery, theft of a motor vehicle and criminal damage. He has been bailed with conditions not to enter Cambridge city centre.
A 16-year-old boy charged with three counts of common assault and bailed in connection with a robbery investigation.
A 13-year-old boy was also voluntarily interviewed in connection with allegations of theft, robbery and assault.
Game Retail Limited, the video games retailer that once had more than 300 stores nationwide, fell into administration earlier this year.
A report from joint administrators James Saunders and Lauren Wentworth of KR8 Advisory revealed that, of the £15.8 million total debt, £3.5 million is owed to a secured creditor and around £12 million is owed to unsecured creditors.
Administrators have been appointed for a second time, with the company’s 2011 administration, The Herald exclusively revealed.
Game has fallen into administration (Image: Getty)
The administrators said: “The Game brand was originally established in 1990 and developed into the UK’s leading high street retailer of video games and consoles.
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“The company started trading in 2012 following the acquisition of the UK trade and assets of the former The Game Group Plc out of administration.
“At the point of acquisition, the business operated over 300 retail stores together with two e-commerce platforms under the Game and Gamestation brand names.
“Following the completion of the acquisition, the company consolidated its operations under the single Game brand and undertook a financial and operational review, which resulted in the closure of certain loss-making stores but included plans to open new stores.”
Despite a period of renewed profitability, the company was unable to adapt to long-term changes in consumer behaviour and the broader retail landscape.
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Administrators pointed to the industry’s shift from physical games to digital downloads, ongoing Brexit uncertainty, and mounting competition as key challenges.
Financial results highlight this decline.
What happens when a company goes into administration?
In the year ending July 2016, Game reported revenue of £584 million -a 10% drop on the previous year – while profit before tax fell 71% to £6.8 million.
By 2017, the company was operating at a loss before tax of £7.1 million on turnover of £493 million.
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The financial outlook continued to darken.
By 2019, Game had posted a loss of £43 million on turnover of £423 million.
In a bid to stabilise the business, shareholder Frasers Group later agreed to acquire the company’s intellectual property for a cash sum “to support the ongoing business and make payment of outstanding rent due on the head office”.
However, the move was not enough to turn things around.
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The administrators said: “Despite these efforts, the company’s financial position continued to deteriorate during the final quarter of 2025, which historically had been one of the busiest trading months for the business.
“There have been no major console releases since 2020, and large manufacturers have cited global chip shortages as a reason for further delays.”
UK high street shops that no longer exist
The business model, once reliant on physical game and console releases, was unable to pivot effectively to the digital-first landscape now favoured by manufacturers and consumers alike.
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Game Retail Limited was ultimately placed into administration.
The administrators said after reviewing the company’s financial and operational position, “the business was no longer viable.”
The company’s secured creditor also withdrew financial support, sealing its fate.
Recommended reading:
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Administrators now estimate that there may be “sufficient realisations available to enable a distribution to be made to the secured creditor.”
However, they said: “It is currently anticipated that there will be insufficient funds available to enable a distribution to be made to unsecured creditors, other than by way of the prescribed part.”
Some concessions remain operational as part of Frasers Group’s efforts to preserve elements of the Game brand.
Which high street retailer do you miss the most? Tell us in the comments below.
The incident took place in the car park of Eggborough Fisheries on Saturday (July 11) at around 9.30am and involved multiple individuals.
North Yorkshire Police are continuing their investigation and are appealing for information and video footage from the public, including dashcam recordings from passing motorists.
Recommended reading:
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A police spokesperson said: “Extensive enquiries are ongoing and officers are now appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or has any video footage, including any passing motorists who may have captured the incident on dashcam, to get in touch if they have not already spoken to the police.”
The two individuals have been released under investigation.
Members of the public with information can contact police online or call 101, quoting reference 12260131194.
Call The Midwife star Helen George has addressed her split from businessman Dan Innes after she accused him of ‘disrespect’.
The actress, 42, had been dating property marketing agency boss Dan, 52, since March 2025 and he moved into the home she shares with her two children at the beginning of this year following a whirlwind romance.
On the latest episode of her Mystic Mates podcast, released on Tuesday, Helen spoke about her heartache for the first time, saying: ‘There’s been voice notes, there’s been tears, it’s been pretty s**t.’
Earlier this month, it emerged Helen’s relationship had come to an end after Dan was seen moving his belongings out of her west London home – having only moved in at the start of the year.
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Asked by her co-host Yvette Robinson what was weighing on her mind, she replied: ‘The recent events in my love life.’
Call The Midwife star Helen George has addressed her split from businessman Dan Innes after she accused him of ‘disrespect’ (pictured on her latest podcast episode)
The actress, 42, had been dating property marketing agency boss Dan, 52, since March 2025 and he moved into the home she shares with her two children at the beginning of this year (pictured in June)
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Yvette joked: ‘Do you think that’s because you got a little bit drunk at the weekend?’
Helen replied: ‘No, I’ve been going through some personal things. It’s been pretty s***.’
Later on in the podcast, Yvette decided to do a tarot card reading on Helen’s love life and what she can expect in the future.
She said: ‘You got some challenges ahead, you know. Challenges are good, they make you grow.’
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‘Babe, don’t you think I’ve had enough challenge,’ Helen snapped.
Reassuring her friend, Yvette replied: ‘I do feel like with you, Hels, I feel like you’re getting your power back.
‘I feel like you’re such a strong, powerful, amazing woman, and sometimes, can I say, you lose that power a little bit.
‘And we lose you, and we go, “we’ve lost Hels, but she’ll come back.” And then you do come back.’
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Shortly after their split, the mother of two shared a cryptic social media post about ‘disrespect’
The Daily Mail revealed last year that Helen had embarked on a new romance with Dan after they met on Raya
Helen split from Dan just seven months after they moved in together.
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Helen and Dan have gone their separate ways.
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‘They had a whirlwind romance but their differences became apparent. It has been a difficult time for them both.’
Helen had spent that week sharing Instagram posts hinting at heartbreak, uploading a picture of her daughter walking alone through a field with the caption: ‘When the chaos leaves, the calm resumes.’
She also posted a popular online quote on her Instagram story, which read: ‘I absolutely take responsibility for when I am wrong.
‘But I will never apologise for responding to disrespect. If you lit the match, do not stand in the flames pretending to be the victim.’
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Another repost read: ‘I don’t want my daughter to be like me. I want her to speak up sooner. Walk away faster. Trust herself deeper. Apologise less. Take up more space. Ask bigger questions. Dream louder. And if that means she becomes everything I wasn’t good.’
At the time, Dan deleted his Instagram account.
Representatives for Helen were contacted by the Daily Mail for comment.
The Daily Mail revealed last year that Helen had embarked on a new romance with Dan after they met on Raya.
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The pair spent Valentine’s Day together at a restaurant in Barnes, South London, which Helen documented on her Instagram Stories.
The couple enjoyed a meal at The Waterman Arms as Dan shared a snap of Helen beaming with a bottle of red wine as he joked: ‘Can I get this to go please? #yesyesyes’.
Helen also shared a photo of the two cuddled up in bed together during a Valentine’s break in Cornwall.
Dan had also accompanied Helen to a number of industry events, including a Call The Midwife screening in March and a Radio Times party in January.
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Dan split up from the mother of his two children – who are 14 and 12 – in 2016. They married in 2008.
Before her relationship with Dan, Helen sadly lost her boyfriend to leukaemia.
Helen was dating the man – whose identity she did not disclose – in 2025 when she learnt he had cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
The very next day, she had to travel to the Bahamas to film ITV series Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters.
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‘I had been dating someone who very suddenly got diagnosed with leukaemia,’ she said on her Mystic Mates podcast. ‘It was pretty serious from the start and he knew.
‘The next day after that happened, I had to fly out to the Bahamas to film the shark documentary.’
STEPHEN DAISLEY: Louise Haigh, the convicted fraudster who’s now Burnham’s Enforcer. And beware, her hair may no longer be deep red, but her politics still are…
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a grand and stately title but the office tends to be whatever the minister makes of it.
And all the signs are that Louise Haigh will exploit it for all it’s worth – in handing such a fierce and loyal ally control of the all-powerful Cabinet Office, our new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made clear what her real title is: The Enforcer.
From Burnham’s perspective, this appointment makes perfect sense. He and the MP for Sheffield Heeley first met a decade ago and the two soon realised they shared a desire to move the party on from the centrism of the Blair years.
She proved her worth to Burnham as a pivotal player in the long-term plot to oust Sir Keir Starmer, and it was she who managed the future PM’s by-election campaign in Makerfield, the emphatic result of which set the stage for his capture of the Labour leadership and arrival in Downing Street.
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No one in government understands his thinking quite like Haigh. And with her down-to-earth take on politics, many see her as Burnham’s representative on Earth.
However, Haigh comes with baggage. Just four months after Starmer made her one of the youngest female Cabinet minister ever appointed, at the age of 36, her stint as Secretary of State for Transport ended in ignominy.
Her November 2024 resignation was prompted by news reports that, a decade earlier, while working for insurance giant Aviva, she had misled police about the fate of a work-issued mobile phone.
Haigh reported the device as stolen in a mugging incident but claimed to have later discovered it in a drawer. When her activation of the ‘missing’ phone alerted her employer, police were called in and Haigh was charged with false representation, a form of fraud.
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Louise Haigh has been appointed as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Andy Burnham’s new Cabinet
Ms Haigh is seen as Burnham’s right-hand woman, after managing his by-election campaign in Makerfield that made him eligible to lead the Labour Party
The matter went to magistrates’ court shortly before Haigh became an MP in 2015. She was convicted of fraud by false representation after pleading guilty and was given a conditional discharge.
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In her resignation letter, she stuck by her version of events but admitted it had been a ‘mistake’ not to inform her employer promptly upon finding the phone.
Starmer predicted Haigh would have ‘a huge contribution to make in the future’ but little did he know then that her contribution would be helping to bring him down and install his replacement. Politics is a ruthless business.
Given her abrupt exit from government last time, Burnham could be forgiven for harbouring concerns about a repeat performance. After all, Haigh has not always exercised the wisest political judgment.
In October 2024, she called P&O Ferries a ‘rogue operator’ for its 2022 decision to lay off 800 workers and replace them with cheaper agency hires.
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The then-transport secretary told ITV News: ‘I’ve been boycotting P&O Ferries for two-and-a-half years and I would encourage consumers to do the same.’
The reaction was swift and ferocious, with P&O immediately pulling out of a Government investment summit and briefly pausing a planned £1billion investment in the London Gateway port expansion.
Starmer was forced to rebuke his minister publicly to contain the fallout and get P&O back on board.
The P&O incident also provided an insight into Haigh’s immature brand of student-union politics: Rather than work with a sizeable employer, she preferred to grandstand and virtue signal against the hated boss class.
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This, more than her plotting prowess, is key to Haigh’s political personality and her likely impact inside the Burnham Government.
It has been made clear by the now Prime Minister that dragging the Labour Party back to the Left is one of the major objectives of the Burnham project.
Louise Haigh has stopped dyeing her hair but the truth is her roots remain a deep red, writes Stephen Daisley
Haigh, who is the product of a family of trade unionists, will be pivotal to this mission, for – like the boss – her natural territory is Labour’s soft-Left comfort zone, the place where difficult decisions are ducked and the party’s unworldly, economically illiterate core vote is pandered to.
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The extent of her radicalism was revealed in a 3,000-word essay she wrote in May for Renewal, a Leftist current affairs journal. In it, she set out an economic vision that should chill the blood of every ambitious and hard-working Briton.
After bashing Brexit – apparently it ‘scarred our economy while dividing our people’ – she lamented that ‘the state’s capacity to play an active role in economic development was hollowed out’ during the Thatcher years, an approach which ‘prioritised market allocation’.
Not only in Britain, but across the world, ‘states retreated from direct economic co-ordination and relied more heavily on liberalised markets and complex regulatory regimes’. Haigh thinks this is a bad thing.
If you strip away the policy wonk verbiage, it’s clear that she is yearning for a return to the bossy-boots socialism of government-knows-best, with its suffocating state interference in the commanding heights of the economy.
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Haigh’s prospectus is a manifesto for a lurch not only to the Left but into the past, a repudiation of Thatcherism and the free market and a reversion to the crippling Keynesian collectivism of the 1970s.
Haigh goes on to bemoan a policy of ‘meeting near-term fiscal targets’ to reassure the markets instead of ‘delivering long-term economic improvements’.
For the socialist ideologue now installed at the heart of Downing Street, the current economic model needs to be ripped up, and that means ‘looking at the role and mandate of organisations such as the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Treasury and the Bank of England’.
Again, it’s all very bland jargon on the surface but its underlying meaning is positively sinister: Haigh wants to ditch or dilute the very safeguards that prevent government from taxing and spending the country into economic calamity. Or, in her own Orwellian words: ‘The task is not to abandon fiscal discipline, but to redefine it.’
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That this is who Burnham considers his right-hand woman is a red flag in all senses of the term. From her lofty perch in the Cabinet Office, Haigh will have considerable power to push the new Prime Minister’s agenda through Whitehall, regardless of any misgivings from the Civil Service.
It’s quite a rise for the Northern lass, whose parents separated when she was a teenager and she and her brother – the darts and snooker journalist Phil Haigh – moved in with their mother, who enrolled her in an all-girls’ private school in Sheffield.
Haigh, whose father was a solicitor, went on to study at the London School of Economics, Nottingham University and Birkbeck College.
Before politics she worked as a waitress for seven years in Sheffield, served as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police, and was a shop steward for the Unite union.
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Haigh was eventually selected for the safe seat of Sheffield Heeley in 2015, when the incumbent Meg Munn stood down.
She was appointed to a series of Shadow Cabinet posts under Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, including Northern Ireland, and it was in this role she met her partner Colum Eastwood, the MP for Foyle and former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. Prior to that, she was in a brief relationship with TV presenter Nick Knowles.
Today, Haigh keeps her personal life in Sheffield separate from her political role in Westminster. She lives with her lurcher, Milo, and seeks solace from Westminster with old friends.
Haigh has stopped dyeing her hair but the truth is her roots remain a deep red. Be warned: If you’re hard working, high earning, aspirational, or would like to keep just a little of your own money, Louise Haigh is coming for you.
Nick Clegg’s former special advisor has been charged with an historic sexual assault.
Neil Sherlock worked for the ex-Liberal Democrat leader from January 2012 until March 2013, when he was Deputy Prime Minister.
The 62-year-old is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman over the age of 16 in Brighton, East Sussex, in September 2007. It was reported to police in September 2023.
At the time, he was a partner at professional services firm KPMG, where he worked from September 1985 until December 2011, before joining Clegg’s office.
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Sherlock, from Godalming, Surrey, was charged in May with one count of sexual assault.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 13 where he pleaded not guilty and was given unconditional bail. He will next appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on August 10.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sherlock said: ‘I absolutely deny the charges that have been made against me.’
The former civil servant was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for public and political service.
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Neil Sherlock who was Nick Clegg’s special advisor while he was Liberal Democrat leader from January 2012 until March 2013 is facing a trial for sexually assaulting a woman
Sherlock was awarded a CBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for public and political service
Clegg was leader of the Liberal Demorats and was approinted Deputy Prime Minister
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According to his LinkedIn, achievements during his time working for Clegg include bringing in shared parental leave and extending flexible working.
Clegg was appointed Liberal Democrat leader in 2007, before entering office as deputy PM in 2010, when his party’s coalition government with the Conservative Party was formed.
He resigned in 2015, after the Lib Dems performed disastrously at the general election.
Sherlock lives with his wife in a £1.3million detached house in the leafy market town of Godalming, Surrey. The couple have two adult children.
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Sherlock is now a partner at Acuti Associates, which he co-founded in 2023. The firm advises CEOs across the public and private sector on navigating a ‘new, more uncertain’ age.
He has also served as special adviser to Jonathan Holt, UK chief executive KPMG, since 2021, as well as on the boards of several charities.
This includes The Britain Project, a cross-party political group in ‘the radical centre’ which aims ‘to put hope, decency and integrity at the heart of UK politics’.
Other organisations he works for include Surrey Drug and Alcohol Care, ‘reputation research’ firm Echo Research and Words Matter, which campaigns against verbal child abuse.
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Sherlock has previously worked for the City professional services firm PwC, leading variously on communications, reputation strategy and the implications of Brexit for the firm.
His roles at PwC saw him publish a report on the company’s gender pay gap and help the firm fundraise for several charities, including Wellbeing of Women.
Previously, he was on the boards of the Centre for Justice Commission, the Armed Forces’ Pay Review and the National Literacy Trust.
Sherlock also served on the boards of charity Working Families, which advocates for flexible working, and the Prison Reform’s Trust Women’s Justice Taskforce.
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He once sat on a civil service panel on fair access to the professions, as well as a City of London local authority advisory board on ‘the business of trust’.
Clegg and former Prime Minister David Cameron are pictured outside Number 10 Downing St
Sherlock will next appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on August 10. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Sherlock said: ‘I absolutely deny the charges that have been made against me.’
The former civil servant read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford, graduating with a first-class degree in 1984.
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That year, he beat former prime minister Boris Johnson by more than 100 votes to become president of the Oxford Union, the university’s historic debating society.
A spokesperson for Sussex Police, which is leading the current investigation, said: ‘Police received a report in September 2023 of a non-recent sexual assault alleged to have taken place in Brighton in September 2007.
‘Following an investigation, Neil Sherlock, 62, of Godalming, Surrey, was charged on 15 May 2026 with one count of sexual assault on a female.
‘Sherlock will next appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on 10 August 2026.’
In addition to this, 16-year-olds in Greater Manchester will be able to activate their Our Pass one month earlier (from 1 August instead of 1 September), giving them an extra month of free bus and cheaper tram travel.
The move means that all young people in Greater Manchester will be entitled to free bus travel for the whole month, with under-5s travelling free on the Bee Network all year round.
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So, whether visiting the Imperial War Museum at Salford Quays, soaking up the sun in Heaton Park, or shopping at the Arndale in Manchester, all under-18s in Greater Manchester can travel for free on Bee Network buses this August.
Fran Wilkinson, Customer and Growth Director at Transport for Greater Manchester, said:
“We’re pleased to be taking part in the Greater British Summer Savings scheme which will mean free bus travel on the Bee Network for everyone aged five to 15 in August. This will help make days out more affordable for families this summer.
“To complement this national scheme, we are allowing Our Pass to be activated one month early which means no young person in Greater Manchester will miss out. The Bee Network is all about making it easier and more affordable to get around Greater Manchester and this national scheme will help us do just that.”
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The government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme, which is aimed at making days out more affordable for families this summer, was announced earlier this year.
The scheme offers 5 to 15-year-olds free travel on participating local bus services in England throughout August and will be available on all Bee Network buses in Greater Manchester.
No registration or sign-up is required to benefit from the Summer Savings scheme on the Bee Network, anyone aged between five and 15 can just ask the driver for a free ticket as they board the bus.
In addition to the national Summer Savings scheme, 16-year-olds in Greater Manchester will be able to activate their Our Pass a month earlier than usual this year.
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Launched in 2019, Our Pass is currently used by more than 50,000 young people across Greater Manchester who are entitled to free bus travel and some half-price tram tickets.
Anyone who was aged between 16 and 18 on 31 August 2026 and is a resident of Greater Manchester is eligible to apply for a digital Our Pass via the Bee Network app, with a one-off £10 admin fee.
Once approved, the Our Pass can be activated from 1 August, instead of 1 September – and for those who apply after August 1, once approved, it can be activated immediately.
For more information, visit the Our Pass website. Anyone who does not have access to a smartphone or the internet, or those who need additional help, can call 0161 244 1000 or visit their nearest Bee Network travel and information office for a paper application form.
A £2 cap on bus fares is also set to be unveiled, possibly as soon as tomorrow, as Burnham begins his time in office with a policy blitz.
During the Makerfield by-election campaign last month, Burnham said he wanted to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues by 20%.
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He also vowed to raise the threshold at which independent hospitality, leisure and retail companies start to pay the charge, thereby slashing their bills.
Burnham said the policy would be funded by increasing the rates on large, out-of-town warehouses used by the likes of Amazon.
He said: “Our high streets matter to me because they matter to the people who live here.
“I want to make sure that these family-owned businesses, as the heart and soul of this country, are protected and given the chance to thrive.”
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A source close to Burnham said they would not “get ahead of the announcement”.
The new PM has said he wants to tackle soaring costs to give Brits some “breathing space”.
Announcing his plan to slash electricity bills on Tuesday morning, he said: “Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with the cost of living.
“That needs to change. I said I wanted to give people breathing space, and that’s what I’m announcing on my second day as prime minister.
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“We’re taking immediate action to cut taxes on energy bills, put more money in people’s pockets and bring back hope.”
The new PM said removing VAT from bills would be paid for by his decision to scrap Keir Starmer’s digital ID scheme.
But Darren Jones, who was sacked from the cabinet by Burnham on Monday, said that scheme was “unfunded” so the government would have to find the money from somewhere else.
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