The mass exit came moments after the Prime Minister labelled Nigel Farage an ‘absolute disgrace’

Reform UK MPs walked out of the House of Commons chamber during Prime Minister’s Questions after Sir Keir Starmer labelled Nigel Farage an ‘absolute disgrace’, the Mirror reports.

MPs jeered and said “bye” as they walked out at around lunchtime today (Wednesday, March 25). Tory turncoat and newbie Reform member Robert Jenrick was the last to leave as the party threw a collective tantrum this morning.

Before the exit, Mr Farage had said: “Smash the gangs. That is what the Prime Minister promised us. ‘Trust me, I will stop the boats from coming’.

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“But 70,000 later and 1,000 in the last week, and too many young men that pose a threat to national security,” Mr Farage continued. “Is it not time to admit ‘smash the gangs’ has been a total abject failure, along frankly, with most of his other policies, and isn’t it now time he told us, as summer approaches, what is Plan B?”

Sir Keir replied: “This is from the man and the party that voted against giving law enforcement counter-terrorism style powers to tackle it. So he wants a grievance, he doesn’t want it sorted.”

Moments before this exchange, the Prime Minister announced that donations in cryptocurrencies would be blocked after the Rycroft review set out the “stark threats posed by illicit finance”.

“I hope that will be welcomed across the House,” he said. “There is only one party leader who has shown he will say anything, no matter how divisive, if he is paid to do so.”

Mr Farage ignored the Sir Keir’s jibe before challenging the Labour leader over his record on small boat migrants.

A tearful Savannah Guthrie, in her first interview since her 84-year-old mother was apparently abducted from her Arizona home, said that “someone needs to do the right thing” and come forward with information to help the investigation.

“We are in agony,” she told NBC News colleague Hoda Kotb in a portion of the interview aired Wednesday on the “Today” show. She said she wakes up in the middle of each night thinking of what her mother went through.

NBC said Wednesday that a full interview with its “Today” show host will air on the program Thursday and Friday. It is Guthrie’s first interview since her mother was reported missing on Feb. 1. Based on security footage, authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped or otherwise taken against her will.

Both Guthrie and Kotb were crying during the brief portion of the interview aired on Wednesday. Kotb, Guthrie’s former co-host, has returned to “Today” while her former colleague has been away.

While Guthrie said that while it is unbearable to think of the terror her mother must have felt, “those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now.”

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Savannah Guthrie has been a co-host of NBC’s morning show since 2012, and is expected to return at some point, although no date has been set as she spends time with her family.

Despite offering a $1 million reward for information, there has been little movement in the investigation. Guthrie’s family last weekend appealed to neighbors in Arizona to search back through their memories for anything they might have seen that could help the investigation. “No detail is too small,” they said.

Kotb said Wednesday that “there is a desperation and a steeliness about Savannah. She hopes that somebody, whoever that person is, will say something.”

We’re offering one lucky reader four free tickets to Alton Towers Resort theme park – including an overnight stay with buffet breakfast, Gold Fastrack Passes, a family ticket to the Waterpark & nine holes of Extraordinary Golf.

To celebrate the launch of a brand new ride for 2026 – Bluey The Ride: Here come the Grannies!, we have teamed up with Alton Towers Resort to give one lucky winner an overnight stay at Alton Towers Hotel or Splash Landings Hotel for a family of four (two adults and two children under the age of 12) with buffet breakfast, 1-day Theme Park Entry, Gold Fastrack Passes, a family ticket to the Waterpark & nine holes of Extraordinary Golf.

For the first time ever a Bluey junior coaster made for kiddos and big imaginations opens on 28th March 2026! Bluey and Bingo dressed up as the Grannies, Janet and Rita, get up to some grannies-themed mischief through Bluey’s backyard, whisking you over gentle dips, around turns, and through colourful trees, flowers, and playful surprises.

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Newcastle Racecourse will host the event on Good Friday, April 3, alongside the All-Weather Championships final, with tickets starting at £39 for two adults and up to six children.

Families can enjoy a day packed with entertainment, including circus workshops, magic shows, live dance performances, and a K-Pop Queens meet and greet.

There will also be a funfair, inflatable zone, Easter treasure hunt, and free Easter egg giveaways from a superhero and princess.

A circus-themed family fun day will be held at Newcastle Racecourse on Good Friday, alongside the All-Weather Championships final, offering entertainment for all ages (Image: Supplied)

The £39 ticket package includes admission to seven flat races, circus activities, magic shows, and the full line-up of themed attractions.

Additional activities such as face painting and K-Pop hair braiding are available at a small extra cost.

Food options are also available, including a Taylors of North Shields Fish & Chips – a family of four package is just £60 for two adults, two children, two racecards and fish and chippies all round.

Gates open at 11.45am, with the first race starting at 1.15pm and the last scheduled for 4.45pm.

Tickets can be purchased from the Newcastle Racecourse website.

For years, Joanna Harrison lived with the shame of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein. But when her name was included in the millions of documents released as part of the Epstein files, she felt she had to speak up.

“It gets to a point where you’re being suffocated, and you need to breathe, and I feel this is my way of trying to breathe,” she told BBC Newsnight.

Ms Harrison and four other Epstein survivors were brought together to share their stories of grief and anger and memories of his private island, Little St James.

She met Epstein in Florida, aged 18, and recounted how he raped her on his birthday.

Speaking publicly for the first time, she expressed her concerns that she and other survivors would not get justice now that Epstein is dead.

Another survivor, Chauntae Davies, who is a trained massage therapist, shared images with the BBC from her time travelling with Epstein on his private plane to Africa. They included photographs of actor Kevin Spacey and former president Bill Clinton, who were travelling on a humanitarian trip to promote Aids prevention.

She recalled travelling on a “once-in-a-lifetime trip” to five different countries in five days, but she said the experience was “tainted by what was happening behind closed doors”.

She said she was raped by Epstein on his private island after being hired to give him massages. But she said she never considered telling Clinton, who, while giving testimony in front of the US House Oversight Committee in February, said he wished Ms Davies had told him about Epstein’s wrongdoing.

Being included in the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and the former US president has repeatedly said he did not witness Epstein’s abuse. Spacey has called for the release of all the Epstein files, saying: “For those of us with nothing to fear, the truth can’t come soon enough.”

The release of files by the US Justice Department brought to light allegations that prompted the US state of New Mexico to reopen a criminal probe into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, after an investigation in 2019.

Ms Davies said the ranch was where “most of the assaults happened”, calling it “dark” and “eerie”. Another survivor, Lisa Phillips, also said the range was “creepy”.

Ms Phillips, who was a fashion model when she met Epstein, spoke about his connections to the King Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. She said her friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, was allegedly instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in a New York apartment in 2003.

The former prince, who was stripped of the last of his royal titles last year over his links to the convicted paedophile, has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

The former Duke of York was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations he had shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy. He remains under police investigation by Thames Valley Police, whose officers are assessing the claims that emerged in the Epstein files.

Ms Philips told the BBC she asked Epstein why he had made her friend have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. She claimed Epstein replied: “I like to have things on people.”

Survivors Jena Lisa Jones and Wendy Pesante both met Epstein when they were aged 14. Ms Pestante said that a 14-year-old should not have “the mindset of a sex worker”.

An 18-year-old who murdered his mother in a hammer attack at a nature reserve – which he recorded on a dictaphone and boasted about online – has been jailed for life.

This is a breaking story – more follows…

Morecambe and Wise are sadly no longer with us, but Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel in Eric and Ern are as close to the real thing as you are ever likely to get.

It’s quite a surreal experience sitting in the audience watching all the classic routines of your childhood being brought to life in front of your eyes.

This show is the antidote to much of today’s comedy which appears to be driven by certain agendas or anger.

Morecambe and Wise served their apprenticeship in variety theatres across the country; their comedy was gentle, at time silly, occasionally surreal but guaranteed to make you laugh.

More than 50 years on those routines – in the hands of Messrs Stephens and Ashpitel – still have the power to leave you laughing out loud.

Eric and Ern is effectively a two-hour greatest hits show. It is gloriously old fashioned in one sense but it works with a modern audience. The success of this show is in the first place due to the quality of the original material but also in the way it has been lovingly crafted.

Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel in Eric & Ern (Picture: Paul Coltas)

Jonty Stephens as Eric Morecambe is captivating; you cannot take your eyes off him. Goodness knows how many hours have gone into studying every mannerism, every glance but all that effort pays off in abundance. On that stage, he is Eric.

Through the live show you also come to fully appreciate the role Ernie Wise played in the partnership and Ian Ashpitel has him off to a tee. He’s the prefect foil for his on-stage partner.

The speed of the dialogue will surprise you, it rattles back and forth. Carefully scripted ad libs are dropped in with casual ease – alongside some genuine unscripted moments which threaten to derail proceedings but never quite do.

Read also ‘We’re not comedians, we’re actors’ Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel on bringing Eric and Ern to the stage

Presented in the style of Morecambe and Wise’s TV shows, the audience is treated to a series of routines ranging from Eric’s interpretation of Shakespeare to him playing Greig’s piano concerto by Grieg the Andre Prévin sketch albeit without Andre Prévin and an orchestra).

You can sense the audience’s anticipation as certain catchlines or phrases approach. A fire engine siren sounding outside prompts the ‘he won’t sell many ice creams going that fast’ response which leads to a veritable roar from the audience, the majority of whom clearly grew up watching Morecambe and Wise.

But even if you have never heard or Eric and Ern, if you don’t laugh at what is being served up then you don’t have a sense of humour. The paper bag trick remains one of the great comedy moments of any era.

This is not some tribute show with the two stars doing a decent impression of Morecambe and Wise. It is much more subtle, much more nuanced and much more sophisticated than that.

Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens in Eric and Ern (Picture: Paul Coltas)

You can tell it has been assembled with love. Stephens and Ashpitel respect Eric and Ern, they embody Eric and Ern. As with the original partnership, one would not be the same without the other.

Eric and Ern is a richly rewarding celebration of a comedy duo who were unique. In the hands of Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel their legacy is in good hands.

Eric and Ern is at the Lowry until Saturday. Details from www.thelowry.com

The Galaxy A57 has a 6.7-inch screen, which is larger than what you get on Apple’s mid-range smartphone, the iPhone 17e.

Aside from the skinnier bezels, the biggest change this year is the increase in screen brightness. The A57’s screen is 58 per cent brighter, with Samsung bumping it up to 1,900 nits (the unit of brightness) versus last year’s 1,200 nits. This made a big difference in my demo session, with no impact on visibility underneath the bright overhead lights.

I wasn’t able to fully test the screen quality, but at first glance, it seems there’s a lot to like here. It’s a large screen that’s colourful and vibrant, and I can’t say I noticed much of a difference compared to the display on the much more expensive Galaxy S26.

There’s plenty of power

The important thing about buying a mid-range smartphone (apart from saving money) is that you hit the key specifications. That’s one thing the Galaxy A series has always been good at: it’s a cheaper Samsung handset, but it does much the same as the flagship model.

It’s powered by a less powerful chip than the Galaxy S26, but there’s a sizeable upgrade over the 2025 model, with a boost to gaming performance. It’s going to be better at playing mobile games, and it should be able to handle more power-hungry tasks, thanks to a better vapour chamber to keep the phone cool.

There’s a 5,000mAh battery, which is a fairly average capacity these days, although the charging speeds have been increased, with Samsung saying that it can charge to 60 per cent in just 30 minutes.

There’s a triple camera on the back, which promises smoother transitions between lenses, but I didn’t get to test them to any great degree.

Is it really ‘Galaxy Awesome’?