For Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, better known as Lady Phyll, advocacy feels less like a choice and more like something woven into who she is: “Activism really found me, when I didn’t have the language for it, growing up as a Black queer woman.”
She traces the connection back to being 12 years old, when she remembers a British National Party march taking place nearby, and an elderly woman urged her to go into a shop before they arrived as they “didn’t like your sorts”. The comment was directed only at Lady Phyll, not the blonde-haired, blue-eyed friend she was standing beside.
“It made me think there is something very different about me that people don’t like,” she recalled. The moment stayed with her and helped ignite what would become a lifelong commitment to campaigning.
“At my core, activism has always been about dignity and people wanting to feel safe, visible, and worthy of joy.” Joy is a word Lady Phyll returns to constantly throughout the conversation. For her, it’s key to have joyful moments, and it’s an essential part of her work.
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Lady Phyll pictured on stage for the finale of UK Black Pride 2024 (Getty)
That attitude to activism eventually led to the creation of UK Black Pride in 2005, which celebrated its milestone 20th anniversary last August. Lady Phyll now marks her third year as CEO after previously holding the role of executive director, and she has been included in The Independent’s Pride List 2026 for the fourth consecutive year for her decades-long work on race, gender and LGBTQ+ rights.
“UK Black Pride came from a need, frustration and desire to see ourselves in spaces where we could be fully ourselves,” she said. “Without having to fragment parts of our identity of being Black and being queer.”
At the time, she said many Black LGBTQ+ people felt pressured to choose between their Blackness and their queerness. Lady Phyll was then running Black Lesbians UK (BLUK), and organised a coach trip to Southend-on-Sea, which became something much bigger. “It felt joyful, liberating. We understood that shared commonality we had with each other,” she explained.
As they walked back to the coach, Lady Phyll floated the idea of creating a UK Black Pride similar to events in Chicago and Washington DC. A few people laughed it off, thinking it was just a “wacky idea”. The idea, of course, turned out to be anything but wacky.
Building UK Black Pride was far from easy, though. Lady Phyll said she struggled to find support and advice, faced resistance, and even received death threats in the organisation’s early days. Two decades later, she is still frequently asked why a Black Pride is needed at all. “It’s not something I feel the need to justify,” she said.
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Lady Phyll has been named on The Independent’s Pride List 2026 for the fourth consecutive year (Getty)
Part of the problem, she explained, was that Black queer communities often felt invisible within wider Pride spaces, or “tokenised with one Black speaker who’s supposed to speak on behalf of everybody… We’re not a monolith,” she said.
For Lady Phyll, intersectionality remains central to the organisation’s mission, and she’s encouraging people to look further than just the need for ‘diversity’, which she said is important, but doesn’t cover the full picture. “We should not have to separate our identities,” she added, explaining the lived experiences of race, gender, class, disability, age and more all matter.
Now 20 years on, the anniversary event was attended by25,000 people at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Beyond London, events also took place elsewhere in the UK, including Cymru Glitter in Wales, recognising that not everyone can travel to the capital. Queer Britain (the UK’s first LGBTQ+ dedicated museum) also hosted an exhibition showcasing items from UK Black Pride’s archive. “When I walked in, I almost felt like breaking down and crying,” Lady Phyll said.
The anniversary wasn’t just about celebrating the past, but the momentous milestone meant the team began to look at how to sustain this event for the future, and as a result, UK Black Pride will be taking a break this year and will return in 2027. “It’s not because of a lack of sponsors or funding,” she explained. “It’s more about how we sustain UK Black Pride in an increasingly hostile environment, and make sure we can maintain it as a free event for the future.”
Lady Phyll traces her connection to activism back to when she was 12 years old (Getty)
Over its two decades, UK Black Pride has grown into the world’s largest celebration for LGBTQ+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Indigenous descent. Though she knew the event would be big, as there was already “the traction and the need for it”, she didn’t envisage it would grow to the size it has done. “What it’s become today, I just think, ‘wow’,” she said, while stressing the importance of the work, efforts and dedication of the wider team behind the event. “I may be the face behind it, but it’s the people that make it happen.”
What moves her most about UK Black Pride’s success is not the scale of the event, but what it represents. “When parents come with their queer children, or seeing generations of global majority people [Black, Asian, brown, dual-heritage or indigenous people] dance together and when trans people feel safe enough to just exhale.”
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Lady Phyll also believes Pride must remain political at its core, particularly at a time when some feel events have become overly corporate or sanitised. “Pride can’t just be a party when we’re still fighting to survive… it was born out of disruption from people who had been criminalised and marginalised,” she said. “You can’t take the politics out of Pride.”
Despite growing hostility toward LGBTQ+ communities globally, Lady Phyll, who seems to be endlessly full of positivity and joy, feels hopeful about the future. “I come from communities that have always found ways to survive,” she concluded. Adding that she “finds hope in young people and definitely our trans activists who refuse to disappear.”
Members of the public and media have gathered in the Gloucestershire village of Kemble ahead of the wedding of the Princess Royal’s son, Peter Phillips.
Metal barriers have been erected and roads closed around All Saints Church, which sits in the heart of the village, about four miles south of Cirencester.
Rain was forecast in the area on Saturday, with those waiting in the morning standing under sunshine and showers. Local residents gathered at the cordon, with many describing their hopes of seeing senior members of the Royal Family arriving.
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Sarah and Jez Smith came from their home in nearby Poole Keynes to watch the royal wedding with their dog Ziggy.
Mrs Smith said: “It is something that doesn’t happen normally on your doorstep. It’s a great thing to come and watch. It’s really important that it is a local church for Harriet. I think it’s great that they’ve chosen to come locally.”
The dust is beginning to settle following the meltdown caused by Thomas Tuchel springing one or two surprises with his 26-man squad for this summer’s showpiece in North America.
Aside from Arsenal’s quartet – Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze – who featured in last weekend’s Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, the rest of the squad have been put through their paces since arriving in the United States at the beginning of the week.
This is one of three friendlies England have planned before facing Croatia in their World Cup opener on June 17, with a training match against Miami United and a showdown with Costa Rice to follow next week.
Tuchel will be hopeful of better results and performances in comparison to the last international break when his side were held to a draw by Uruguay before losing to Japan at Wembley Stadium.
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New Zealand, meanwhile, go into the game on the back of a 4-0 loss to Haiti, aiming to get back on track before facing Iran in their opening game of the World Cup.
Here’s everything you need to know about where to watch the match…
How to watch England vs New Zealand
TV channel: In the UK, England vs New Zealand is being shown live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 8.15pm BST ahead of a 9pm kick-off at the Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa Florida
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Live stream: You can also watch the game live online via the ITVX app, which is free with a sign-up.
Live blog: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring expert analysis!
The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.
Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.
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Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.
“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”
The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.
Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.
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Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.
“We can’t change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We’re already thinking about Game 3.”
The series now shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.
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The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama’s three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.
“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up … and try to play to that same level.”
But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.
Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.
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The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.
The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.
“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.
They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.
Six more people have been charged with violent disorder after protests in Southampton earlier this week following the murder of Henry Nowak. It brings the total number of people charged following the events on June 2 to 11.
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Kevin Reeves, 31, of Portswood Road, Southampton; Andrew Riddett, 38, of Seacombe Green, Southampton; Harry Varney, 34, of Briarswood, Southampton; Taylor Grundy, 22, of Pavillion Way, Gosport; and Dillon Crawford, 29, of Wilton Avenue, Southampton, were charged with violent disorder, Hampshire Police said.
Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Banning Street, Romsey, was charged with violent disorder and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, the force added. All of them will appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning, PA reports.
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The charges come after protests following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa, 23, to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 21 years for the murder of 18-year-old Mr Nowak in December last year.
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Anger erupted after police body-worn video was released showing Mr Nowak being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and subsequently died.
The treatment of the 18-year-old triggered a political row, with the Prime Minister urging politicians to heed the teenager’s family’s pleas to not to use the case “to create further division, hatred or tension”.
Violent protests erupted near where the student was fatally stabbed on Tuesday night following Digwa’s sentencing.
Digwa claimed he had been the victim of a racial attack, while Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police who ignored his pleas that he could not breathe as he lay dying.
A woman is struggling to come to terms with the baby name her husband has chosen for their daughter, as she can not stop thinking about its horror film reference
Finding the ideal name for a newborn can be a daunting task for many parents, with some taking months or even years to decide. One expectant mum has now shared her dilemma after her husband put forward a baby name she’s not particularly keen on for their daughter. The woman took to the internet to air her concerns, revealing that her partner wants to give their little girl a name inspired by a horror film.
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Posting on Reddit’s r/BabyNames forum, she explained: “My husband so badly wants to name our daughter Clarice but I can’t help but think of The Silence of the Lambs, and that’s exactly the character he wants to name her after because he thinks she’s a badass.
“I suggested Clarisse instead but he says no if it’s not spelled the same.”
She went on: “I picked the middle names after my grandmother so I really want to let him lead on the first name so I just need some outside opinions on the name.”
Clarice Starling is the lead character in the 1991 psychological horror-thriller The Silence of the Lambs, unforgettably portrayed by actress Jodie Foster.
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Originally created by author Thomas Harris in his 1988 novel, Clarice is depicted as a sharp, ambitious and tenacious FBI trainee who is recruited from the Quantico academy to assist with a high-profile serial killer investigation.
Multiple contributors recognised the link to The Silence of the Lambs, with one saying: “SOTL was definitely the first thing I thought of lol but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s still a really great name. If you don’t like it though, maybe Clarissa instead?”
Another person noted: “I mean, Clarice Starling is a badass. But if the name makes you uncomfortable, maybe there are other strong female characters he could take inspiration from instead?
“If it matters, I don’t think it’s a catastrophically unusable name. Way at the opposite end of the scale compared to Khaleesi in terms of pop culture-associated names.”
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A third commenter pointed out: “She’s going to hear ‘hello Clarice’ all her life.”
While a fourth proposed: “I knew a Clarissa that was pretty cool. Or a Clair, Callista, or Charlisse… maybe something near that isn’t linked to The Silence of the Lambs.”
Personal finance guru said women who took time off work to care for children between 1978 and 2010 should check if they are owed thousands of pounds
Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to all women aged 41-90 who have children, cautioning that they could be owed ‘substantial sums’ by HMRC.
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The money-saving expert told listeners on his BBC Podcast this week that anyone who stepped back from employment during this period may have been ‘short-changed’ as a result of a significant National Insurance error spanning several years – potentially leaving them thousands of pounds worse off.
His intervention follows HMRC’s decision to stop writing to those potentially affected, meaning people must now pursue any claims on their own.
He explained: “This is about a state pension error. The reason that I’m doing it now is not because it’s new – it isn’t new – this has been around for quite a long time and the government were contacting the potentially hundreds of thousands of primarily women aged between 41 and 90 – it isn’t only women it’s primarily women and it’ll generally be of that age.
“They could be the victim of a state pension error that could mean they’re owed a fortune. The government was contacting them but then Steve Webb former pensions minister got in touch with us, with me, and said ‘they’ve stopped contacting them – they’re no longer trying to rectify this’. They’re not trying to rectify it so I’m trying to rectify it by getting it out there.”
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The Money Saving Expert founder emphasised the potentially life-altering consequences, citing listener Cilla who reached out to him saying: ‘I’ve just received 15 years back pay from HMRC of £31,674 for underpayment of my state pension.’ This matter could impact anyone who left work to look after a child or someone with a long-term disability across a 32-year period, reports Wales Online.
He explained: “From 1978 to 2010 the government had a system in place to protect state pension entitlement for those people who didn’t earn enough to accrue a state pension through paid work because they had taken time off work to look after their children or someone with a long-term disability.
“Clearly in that time period it was mainly women who were doing that. It was called Home Responsibilities Protection and it should have been awarded automatically to those claiming child benefit or who’d received income support throughout a full tax year while they were caring for someone with a long-term illness.
“It effectively gave you the national insurance contributions you would have otherwise got. You need around 30 years of national insurance contributions to get the full state pension. If you’re short of years you don’t get the full state pension.
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“if you’re missing 15 years, as that case study was, it’s a huge amount of money because the state pension once you get to retirement age it you’re in it.”
Mr Lewis explained to listeners which individuals were most likely to be affected by the mistake: “Who is most likely to be affected? Women currently between the age of 41 and 90, though it’s mainly women of the age of 60s and 70s.
“But it could be anyone 41-90 who took time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability at any point between 1978 and 2010 who claimed child benefit or income support for the first time before May 2000.
“So effectively your kids were born before May 2000. You go onto Gov.uk, you find your state pension forecast and you look if you’re entitled to the full state pension years. If you’re not then you need to check your gaps in national insurance years which you can also do on gov.uk.
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“If there are gaps in your record from 1978 to 2010 these were the years you took off work to care for a child or someone with a long-term health condition. You may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection. At that point we’re getting technical in what you need to do. Go and look it up there are good guides online on what to do next.
“It’s worth checking, it’s huge money, these mainly women have been done over by a system error.”
On Friday, June 5, 2026, the Clearwater police announced that they had officially closed the investigation after an extensive review of evidence, witness statements, and Hogan’s medical records.
The 72-page report concludes that there was no evidence of foul play or criminal wrongdoing.
Hogan is survived by his daughter, Brooke (Picture: WireImage)
The report from local law enforcement concludes that there was no foul play in Hogan’s death (Picture: Clearwater Police Department)
The investigation explored concerns raised in the aftermath of Hogan’s death, including those expressed by his occupational therapist, Justin McCamey.
McCamey had reportedly said that he believed Hogan may have been the victim of medical malpractice after a previous medical procedure by another surgeon.
However, examiners found nothing untoward in Hogan’s death.
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In this month’s report, investigators wrote: ‘Following an exhaustive review of the statements, medical records, surveillance footage from within the residence, and a visual inspection of Mr. Bollea’s body, there has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural.
It continued: ‘Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death.’
Hogan rose to fame as one of wrestling’s most recognisable figures (Picture: Getty Images)
WWE’s official X account also tweeted: ‘WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away.
‘One of pop culture’s most recognisable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s.
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David Sullivan, who is the fifth richest person from Wales with a fortune of £1.1 billion, says he will sue the BBC
The Welsh billionaire co-chairman and majority shareholder of West Ham United, David Sullivan, has announced he is stepping down with immediate effect to fight allegations made against him.
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Sullivan released a bombshell statement on Saturday, revealing allegations against him are soon to be published concerning his personal life and vowing to sue the BBC.
The 77-year-old, who made his fortune in the adult industry, denies all the allegations against him. His departure comes weeks after the resignation of vice-chair Karren Brady and the club’s relegation from the Premier League.
In a lengthy personal statement, Sullivan said: “I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.
“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.
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“I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.
“I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication. I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libelous allegations.
“None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football; West Ham United has been one of the greatest passions and privileges of my life. I care deeply about the club, its supporters, its players, its staff, and its future. At what is already a challenging and important time for the club, I refuse to allow personal matters concerning me to become an unnecessary distraction or a source of instability.
“Therefore, after very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as Joint-Chair and Director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect.
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“This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward.
“I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations. I have officially engaged my legal team and we are preparing to issue legal proceedings in respect of each and every false complaint that has been made against me. I will be seeking full redress, legally and publicly, on every single front.”
As of yet, no allegations have been published against Sullivan in the media.
Sullivan is the fifth richest person from Wales, with his net worth recently estimated at £1.1 billion in the Sunday Times Rich List.
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Born in Cardiff and raised in a Penarth council house, Sullivan earned his millions by selling pornographic content. By the late 1970s he ran half of the UK’s adult magazine market and 150 sex shops.
In 1982 he was convicted of living off immoral earnings and served 71 days in prison but he told the Standard in 2012 that he did not “feel embarrassed” by how he made his money.
Some plants going to compost are perennials that could be used by communities
A call has been made for healthy flowers and other plants that are regularly uprooted in Belfast parks to be donated to communities and residents, rather than be thrown into the compost bin.
Uprooted plants in Belfast parks are typically sent for green waste composting to be repurposed as soil conditioner. In tourist-heavy parks like Botanic Gardens, beautiful, in-season flowers are often uprooted at their peak, as wilting plants are seen by many as unsightly.
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Not only dead annuals are ending up as compost, but it appears some perennials, including bulb plants, are being disposed of when they could be maintained elsewhere in the city.
After an elected member decision was ratified this week at City Hall, officials at Belfast City Council have been tasked to look at how to establish formal redistribution schemes that allow healthy plants and bulbs to be donated directly to community gardens and residents.
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SDLP Councillor Gary Mckeown, who made the proposal, said at the last meeting of the People and Communities Committee: “A number of constituents have raised with me their observation that the occasions when plants are being removed from the parks, from the flower beds, that they appear to be on their way to disposal.
“They have opportunistically been able to avail of (some plants) for various projects. It seems unfortunate that it is the case, because often it is plants that can grow from bulbs, and can come back every year, or even rose bushes.”
He requested officials provide a paper outlining the process for transfer and disposal of plants taken from parks.
He said: “Is there an opportunity here to provide a facility for people who may be able to make use of them, in their gardens, or in entries or other projects, to give them new life, rather than just being disposed of?
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“With all the work going on by the council, reimaging the city, and especially in the entries, anything that can help that, certainly if it is free, will be a positive for communities. This is a request to see what the situation is in terms of the disposal.
“I want to see if we can put in place a formal process for members of the public to avail of any plants on their way to disposal, for a new lease of life.”
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