The political editor of ITV News and former BBC reporter has predicted trouble ahead. But, despite his downbeat ideas of what lies ahead, he insist he is not being totally negative

ITV star Robert Peston, who predicted the 2008 financial crash, has warned of a looming AI-driven market crash.

The political editor of ITV News, 66, previously foresaw not only incoming money issues of the UK, but also warned the government about a flu outbreak in China which led to the covid pandemic.

Now his concerns are around Artificial intelligence. Peston told Radio Times: “I am genuinely anxious that we’re going to get a serious financial crash, globally, in the next year or two, because there is the most astonishing amount of money going into building the data centres and power plants for AI and as we saw when SpaceX floated on the stock exchange, a late-1920s degree of breathless excitement on the markets.

“And I worry that the profits aren’t going to be delivered on a scale to justify all this, so businesses will go bust, investors will take fright and we will have a significant market shock.”

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Making things sound even worse, he added: “Despite that, the AI industrial revolution will be possibly the most important one since the Steam Age.

“Even if there is a financial crash, the AI infrastructure will survive it, much like we had a railway boom and bust [in the 1840s], but the railways themselves were still there after. AI and robots will displace incredibly large numbers of jobs, and there may not be conventional productive employment to replace those lost jobs, so how are people going to live?

“And if vast numbers lose their jobs, nobody pays income tax, so the government can’t pay for public services, and society collapses.”

Peston has incorporated some of his feelings and predictions into his latest novel, The Kill Switch. And despite his downbeat ideas of what lies ahead, he insist he is not being totally negative.

He said: “I’m actually a great optimist, but I also think we need to look at possible dystopias in order to prevent them happening.”

Peston was previously a senior journalist for the BBC between 2006 and 2015 and whilst there some viewers ‘hated’ his distinctive intonation. It was his exclusives, particularly with regards to the Northern Rock crisis, that ultimately saw audiences forego their initial hesistance towards him, Peston claimed in 2024 on the podcast Walking the Dog.

At the time, he explained: “Broadly, what happened was I broke a series of important stories, did some investigations, got some scoops. From the middle of 2007 onwards I was giving people information that was directly relevant to their lives (and) which they weren’t getting from anywhere else.“I think at that point people concentrated more on what I was saying rather than on how I was saying it. It is interesting for me looking back on it: I must have a very thick skin because, even though there was a lot of criticism, I didn’t feel particularly anxious. I just kept doing what I was doing and fortunately I then had this breakthrough.”

The broadcaster was appointed the BBC’s business editor in 2006 in what was his first TV role: he had previously worked in print journalism at the Independent, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times. He left the BBC in 2015.

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Years ago, my wife took our two little girls into the Oxford Union to show them her picture as an undergraduate.

They feigned polite interest until they saw the photograph of a young Ann Widdecombe. It set them squealing with delight.

They reminisced excitedly for the rest of the morning about her performances on Strictly Come Dancing.

Ann had that effect on people. Yes, her public persona was severe. She leaned into being the nation’s disapproving maiden aunt. But her natural warmth and playfulness shone through despite her best efforts.

She was a traditionalist in every sense – she never really accepted the idea of divorce, for example – but it never had the slightest effect on her friendships.

While she was one of the last figures in public life to reject same-sex partnerships, the gay people who knew her were devastated by her death. The Daily Mail’s Andrew Pierce and the broadcaster Iain Dale were among those who gave public voice to their grief, and many others without platforms expressed similar feelings.

Peter Tatchell, the long-standing equality agitator, was not among them. His immediate response to the news of her death – for which he later apologised – was to list various LGBT causes she had voted against and to call her a ‘BIGOT!’

It was a bizarre way to respond to the sudden death of a 78-year-old lady, even if, at the time, he was not aware that she had died violently.

Yet he was far from alone.

‘Good riddance’, declared the Socialist Worker, claiming that Ms Widdecombe had ‘dedicated her career to attacking migrants, LGBT+ people and the working class’.

Even in its own terms, it was an odd line of attack.

The former Home Office minister had argued that trans convicts who had undergone operations should go to the prisons of their new gender. Even if she had been the politician that the Trotskyists imagined, though, who celebrates a sudden death?

Quite a few people, it turns out. Bluesky, a haven for the self-proclaimed #BeKind crowd after Elon Musk bought Twitter, became a cesspit of hatred. ‘No tears here’, ‘Irredeemable monster’, ‘Rest in piss’, ‘The only good Tory…’ etc.

An employee of Aberdeen University is being investigated for posting that she hoped Ms Widdecombe had suffered ‘an extremely painful death’, adding: ‘I hope she was handcuffed to the bed as she screamed in agony.’

(For what it’s worth, I don’t believe that she should face disciplinary action. Coming under pressure from your employer for doing or saying something unrelated to your job is the definition of cancel culture.)

What, though, prompted her to react in such an inhuman way? I don’t use the word ‘inhuman’ lightly. There are moments that prompt us, as social primates, to react in natural ways. We smile at contented babies. We feel a warm glow when people get married. We respond with due solemnity to news of a death. ‘Send not to know for whom the bell tolls’ and all that.

What makes some people respond so differently to the rest of us? And why does it tend to come from one side of the political spectrum?

Yes, you can find unpleasant people espousing all manner of views, but the glorying in the death of opponents is asymmetric.

Police outside the home of former minister Ann Widdecombe on July 11, 2026

Reform MP Lee Anderson, home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf and deputy leader Richard Tice pay their respects to Ann Widdecombe near her home

Recall the delirium with which the hard-Left greeted the death of Margaret Thatcher. Trade unions organised festivals. Leftist agitators sold T-shirts declaring ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead!’

Or glance across the Atlantic at grisly celebrations of the sudden death of the Trumpian Senator Lindsey Graham. I was not on Senator Graham’s page politically, but it would not occur to me to explain why, let alone disparage his character. ‘De mortuis nil nisi bonum,’ said the Ancients. If you can’t find nice things to say about the deceased, say nothing.

Why the political one-sidedness? Why is it unimaginable – literally unimaginable – that Rightists will respond to the eventual and (I hope) distant deaths of, say, Gordon Brown or Sir Keir Starmer, as Leftists did to that of Margaret Thatcher?

The short answer was given by the late conservative philosopher Roger Scruton. Conservatives could be friends with socialists, he said, because they simply thought they were mistaken. But socialists struggled to reciprocate, because they thought conservatives were evil.

Most of us know from experience that Scruton was right. But where does this difference originate?

To find an answer, we must plunge into the field of behavioural psychology. Are Leftist brains wired differently from Rightist brains? Does their wiring enable the paradox whereby people who think of themselves as empathetic and inclusive struggle to extend those feelings to their political opponents?

In short, yes. Your political opinions are a lot more emotional than you like to imagine. Two people can look at the same event in very different ways because they are unconsciously primed to see what they want.

Person A sees a brave policeman defending himself from a criminal; person B sees a racist copper abusing his powers.

If I know enough about where you stand on a series of apparently unrelated issues – tax, immigration, abortion – I can make a pretty accurate guess as to whether you will be A or B. Psychologists call it social intuitionism.

What makes Left and Right-wing brains different is that, while conservatives let a series of different intuitions inform their views – concerns for freedom, fairness, sanctity, loyalty and so on – Leftists are driven overwhelmingly by just one, namely sympathy with the underdog.

For them, society is a hierarchical pyramid, and all that matters is backing the group designated as oppressed.

It leads them into all sorts of apparent contradictions. They might favour indigenous rights in Canada or New Zealand while recoiling at the suggestion that ethnic Britons have an equivalent prior claim to the UK. And it causes them real difficulties in understanding the other side.

The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt ran a series of political questionnaires which people were invited to fill in sincerely, and then as they imagined that a typical Leftist and a typical Rightist might. He found that conservatives had no difficulty imagining themselves as socialists, but that the reverse was not true.

Boiled down, the Left-wing take on the world goes something like this: ‘I am a good person. I care about poor people, minorities and underdogs. You disagree with me, so you must dislike all these groups, which makes you a bad person.’

If you have only one moral axis by which to judge things, you struggle to see how someone could want to end poverty and make underdogs better off while disagreeing with you.

If you have read this far, the chances are that you are a conservative. And the chances are also that you will sometimes find your Leftie friends ascribing the blackest of motives to you. Other than giving them Haidt’s 2012 book The Righteous Mind, there is not much you can do.

Still, I keep being struck by one thought. Margaret Thatcher won three elections. Ann Widdecombe was the best known and most popular woman in politics in more recent times.

If they really were as terrible as their detractors claim, what would that say about the country as a whole? Answer me that one, comrades.

Daniel Hannan is Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs

The July Bank Holiday fell on a substitute day this year

With the Twelfth of July Bank Holiday behind us, many people may be curious when their next day off will be.

As the Twelfth fell on a Sunday this year, Monday, July 13 was the substitute Bank Holiday for this year’s celebrations.

NI Direct says: “Bank holidays are holidays when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day. Public Holidays are holidays which have been observed through custom and practice, such as Christmas Day.

“You don’t have a statutory right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment.”.

Here are the last remaining Bank Holidays for 2026 in Northern Ireland:

• 31 August – Summer bank holiday
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 28 December – Boxing Day (substitute day)

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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood took an hour of Commons questions about Ann Widdecombe’s murder. All I could feel was a hollowing sorrow.

Maybe it’s an end-of-summer-term thing and all this hot weather. Maybe it’s because I am getting older and milkier.

Jo Cox, Sir David Amess, now Ann: from my crow’s nest in the gallery I gawp down at these sailors on deck and wonder, horribly, who’ll be next.

‘May she now rest in eternal peace,’ said Ms Mahmood.

From a party often antipathetic to religion, it was a welcome touch. The unexpected reference to Higher Authority, spoken softly at the end of her opening remarks, pricked my eyes a little.

Likewise, Florence Eshalomi (Lab, Vauxhall), churchgoer: ‘May her gentle soul rest in peace.’ A Labour colleague chuckled at this, the idea of Ann as ‘gentle’ perhaps being laughable to strangers. But she could be. She could.

Her death elicited anguish, affection and some humour. Robert Jenrick (Ref, Newark) recalled that on his first day as an MP, then the youngest in the House, Ann peered at him and asked, ‘Are you here on work experience?’

Richard Tice (Ref, Boston) confessed that although she was a foot shorter than him, he always found himself looking up to her. When she telephoned, he would leap to his feet. She liked a dram, too. Mr Tice proposed a limited edition Widders’ Whisky, fiery on the tongue, ‘a blend to be treasured to eternity’.

As these and other pieces were being said, half-remembered images and sounds flitted across my brow: Ann’s teetering waddle, that Margaret Rutherford bust, her scarlet-varnished forefinger raised mid-oratory.

And the voice. It pinked like a Hillman on bad petrol. Not so much a woman’s larynx as the squawk of a disturbed pheasant, a stick being rattled inside a metal watering can.

She did not just roll her Rs – she played skiffle washboard with them.

In the hunting ban debate years ago she defended foxes from the Tory benches. On all sides sat colleagues, steaming with anger yet powerless in the theatre of the moment.

And then a moment of despair on election night 2017.

We were in a TV studio. After it became clear Theresa May had thrown away her power, London Lefties all around us were crowing about the result.

Ann grabbed hold of me. I felt like a rubber ring in a shipwreck. Such a squeeze. Then off she marched to do battle on air. Responding to her murder, MPs criticised social media for being engines of hatred.

Lee Anderson (Ref, Ashfield) said it was not as simple as that. Sometimes the venom was produced by parliamentarians.

Mr Anderson noted that members of the current Commons had denounced Reform MPs as ‘racists, Nazis, bigots’. What did that do for the political climate? Ms Mahmood said ‘we should show our best selves’.

Mr Jenrick suggested that it had been ‘unwise’ of the Home Office to downgrade security for Nigel Farage.

‘Many will conclude, perhaps unfairly, that it was only because of his political views,’ added Mr Jenrick. Ms Mahmood insisted that the decision was an independent one.

By the way, MPs on all sides defended Speaker Hoyle from accusations, by that little charmer Zia Yusuf, that he has somehow been negligent about MPs’ safety.

Any danger of the session turning too purple was saved by Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Con, Chingford), recalling that in her days as one of John Major’s ministers, Miss Widdecombe was an indignant defender of the pro-EU Maastricht treaty. Yet later she joined Reform!

Lucy Powell, reportedly soon to become deputy PM, insisted she had always ‘admired and respected’ Ann. She concluded: ‘We don’t make them like that any more.’

If that is true, the reason is that politicians have had the verve knocked out of them, not by any fear of violence on their own part as by party managers’ terror of difference.

The gloopy, risk-aversion brigade has been as bad for parliamentary democracy as any mad attacker.

Derek McInnes has told Rangers recruitment chief Dan Purdy to target quality attacking wide players as the Ibrox boss looks to complete his summer rebuild ahead of the Scottish Premiership season

Derek McInnes was the first to admit it.

Rangers may have been active in the transfer window this summer, securing six new signings, but as the new Ibrox boss acknowledges himself, there’s “still work to do”. And quite a lot of it.

With just 18 days until the Premiership opener at Tannadice, the clock is ticking to find the missing pieces that will put the Light Blues in contention for silverware this campaign.

McInnes has already acknowledged he may need to take his squad to Tayside for that opening fixture against Jim Goodwin’s Dundee United with a couple of positions yet to be filled.

However, he remains confident he’ll have the squad required to mount a challenge against Celtic and his former Hearts side before the window closes on September 3, reports the Daily Record.

By all accounts, though, Del has worked through the priority checklist he had drawn up for the initial phase of his Rangers rebuild.

As Hearts manager last season, it was McInnes’ responsibility to identify the weaknesses in the Ibrox outfit and find ways to capitalise on them.

It would have been abundantly clear to the then Tynecastle chief that Rangers’ vulnerability lay firmly in their soft underbelly.

Little wonder then that the 55-year-old has made it his primary objective as Gers manager to shore up the Light Blues’ fragile backbone.

The arrivals of goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, defender Ben Godfrey, tenacious midfielders Dan Neil and Cammy Devlin, and versatile player Ross McCrorie – alongside the capture of McInnes’ former Gorgie skipper Lawrence Shankland prior to his own appointment – should guarantee this squad no longer displays the vulnerability that undermined last season’s championship challenge.

He remains in pursuit of a left-sided centre-back, which ought to strengthen matters further.

However, having secured the battlers, McInnes will acknowledge that phase two of his transfer strategy must focus on acquiring the creative talents capable of delivering the genuine quality needed to secure trophies.

Record Sport has learned that recruitment director Dan Purdy has been told McInnes desires significantly superior options in the wide forward positions than currently available, and having only invested a combined transfer fee of approximately £4million to bring in Pandur and McCrorie, he intends to allocate the majority of his remaining funds addressing this concern.

McInnes is also eager to bring in another game-changer in the engine room, with targets including £8.5million-valued Tromso midfielder Jens Hjerto-Dahl, Partizan Belgrade prospect Vanja Dragojevic, and his former Aberdeen lieutenant Lewis Ferguson all featuring prominently on his shortlist.

However, these potential deals may depend on Nico Raskin’s situation.

The Belgian midfielder has put himself squarely in the spotlight following impressive performances for the Red Devils during their journey to the World Cup quarter-finals.

With two years remaining on his Ibrox contract, the timing seems ideal to maximise his rising market value.

However, until Rangers secure funds from any potential sale, it seems chairman Andrew Cavenagh will be hesitant to invest heavily in another central midfielder, particularly given the club’s oversized squad already boasts 10 players who can operate in that position.

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That’s why McInnes told journalists who met him at the club’s warm-weather training base in southern Spain over the weekend that his immediate priority is reducing the 28-strong squad he’s currently managing.

While the rest of the squad departed for Alicante, John Souttar and Danilo were permitted to stay in Glasgow as they edge closer to leaving Ibrox.

Jose Cifuentes, Clinton Nsiala and Ross McCausland have been told they have no prospects at the club, while Lyall Cameron must produce something exceptional in the coming weeks to salvage his Rangers career.

Mohamed Diomande, Connor Barron, Nedim Bajrami, Oliver Antman and Bojan Miovski would be wise to explore opportunities elsewhere as McInnes accelerates his squad restructuring.

As for Youssef Chermiti, Rangers have no intention of hastily offloading a player they consider could prove invaluable next season partnering Shankland in attack. Lyon did express interest earlier this summer but were promptly rebuffed after suggesting the former Everton forward was valued at no more than £20million.

By rejecting the French club’s approach, new chief executive Jim Gillespie has sent a clear message that Rangers will no longer be bullied during transfer negotiations as they have been in the past.

His resolve to drive a tough deal is exactly why a comeback for Vaclav Cerny appears improbable, despite reports from Turkish outlets claiming Rangers have had an offer for the Czech winger turned down.

Cerny thoroughly enjoyed his time in Glasgow during his 12-month loan spell under Philippe Clement and subsequently Barry Ferguson.

However, having spent the past year at Turkish heavyweights Besiktas earning a weekly salary of more than £40,000, it’s unlikely Gers will be prepared to match those figures to bring him back permanently.

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Eight letters, two syllables, a place name you might clock on a road sign as you head out of Barnard Castle towards the Tees.

But is the ‘H’ silent or not?

(Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

How do you pronounce it?

Whorlton – the small County Durham village sitting on the north bank of the River Tees, three miles east of Barnard Castle – is pronounced WORL-ton.

The ‘Wh’ is said like a ‘W’, and the ‘h’ in the middle is entirely silent.

Think “wall” followed by “ton”.

WORL-ton.

Simple once you know.

Why does it sound like that?

The answer lies in the name’s age.

Whorlton first appears in written records around 1050, recorded as Queorningtun – an Old English name that most likely means “farmstead by the mill stream”, derived from cweorn, the Old English word for a millstone or mill.

Over a thousand years, spelling and sound drifted apart in the way they so often do with the oldest place names in England, and the written form hardened into something that bears little relation to how locals have always said it.

Other areas

It is a pattern you will recognise across County Durham and the wider North East.

Wolsingham is wol-zing-um, not Wols-ing-ham.

Witton Gilbert is Witton Jill-bert.

Durham itself, to the bafflement of almost every visitor who arrives by train, is Dur-um – not Dur-ham.

The North East has a long tradition of place names that look one way and sound entirely another.

The village itself

Whorlton is the kind of place that rewards the effort of finding it and saying it correctly.

The village overlooks the River Tees from dramatic overhanging cliffs, with the landscape opening out towards the distant hills of the North Pennines.

Whorlton Lido – a much-loved open-air swimming spot nearby – has its own rich local history stretching back through much of the 20th century.

The village’s history goes deeper still.

It appears in the Domesday Book, though by 1428 fewer than ten householders were recorded there, suggesting it was already in long decline even then.

The church of St Mary the Virgin still stands, a quiet reminder of a settlement that once mattered more than its current size suggests.

A short drive away, just across the boundary into North Yorkshire near Swainby, a ruined medieval castle also carries the name – Whorlton Castle.

It is a 12th-century motte and bailey that served successive lords of the manor and played a role in both the Scottish wars and the Civil War.

It is freely accessible and, like the village itself, almost always quiet.

The bodies of Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and daughters Natalie, 15, and five-year-old Nala were discovered in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, last week

A mother and her two daughters were discovered at their home in Great Denham, Bedfordshire, last week after they died as a result of blunt force trauma, a post-mortem examination has found.

Police officers say Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and daughters Natalie, 15, and five-year-old Nala were found dead on Monday, July 6. It came after concerns were raised about their welfare after they had not been seen for several days.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma has now been charged with three counts of murder following the death of his wife and two daughters, the Mirror reports.

The 45-year-old, also known as Mark, was arrested in Kensington, Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday. He is said to have fled the country two days before the bodies were discovered.

On Monday, Bedfordshire Police confirmed blunt-force trauma was listed as the cause of death as Tshuma, a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage, appeared in court in South Africa. He was remanded in custody when he appeared before Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court, the Mirror reports.

Work is now underway to get Tshuma brought back to the UK, police say. Detective Inspector Lee Martin, senior investigating officer, said: “This case has attracted a huge amount of media coverage and we aware of international reports circulating which contain some speculation about this case.

“With three murder charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, proceedings around this case remain active and we are not able to provide any further detail at this stage.

“We continue to work with the CPS and international partners as the case progresses.”

The South African Police Service said Tshuma was tracked down and arrested following a “swift operational co-ordination and intelligence-led policing”.

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A 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl were detained by North Yorkshire Police shortly after the incident in Woodthorpe at around 3.30pm on Sunday (July 12).

As The Press reported, fire swept across a large area of wheat field, close to Moor Lane and Askham Lane, and was rapidly advancing toward homes before it was extinguished by firefighters from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with the help of local farm workers.

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North Yorkshire Police closed nearby roads due to the huge plume of smoke which resulted, causing near-zero visibility for some drivers.

The fire caused an estimated £30,000 in damage (Image: North Yorkshire Weather Updates)

The roads were later reopened but members of the public were advised to continue to avoid the area while emergency services worked to make the scene safe.

North Yorkshire Police said a further eight fires had been reported across North Yorkshire over the weeked – six of which the force said are being treated as deliberate and remain under investigation.

Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Ben Ambler, of North Yorkshire Police, commenting on the Woodthorpe fire, said: “Arson is a serious offence that puts lives at risk and, in this case, has caused significant damage to a local farmer’s crops.

“Two local teenagers were swiftly arrested in connection with the suspected arson in Acomb yesterday, and our investigation is progressing at pace.

“We have a problem-solving plan in place to address this issue and will continue our joint work with partners to educate young people about the dangers and consequences of fires as we head into the summer school holidays.”

Scorched wheat field is all that remains (Image: Rob Loft)

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Station Manager, Nick Allenby added: “Fire spreads quickly and can be unpredictable. A fire can endanger lives no matter what size it is. Even a small fire can spread quickly and divert crews away from life threatening emergencies.

“By working with partners, including North Yorkshire Police, we aim to educate children and young adults about the dangers of fire and help them understand the wider consequences of their actions before someone is seriously harmed.

“We are appealing to anyone with parental responsibilities to explain the hazards, risks and potentially devastating consequences of setting fires especially ahead of the summer holidays.”

Those worried about a young person playing with fire can complete a FireSafe referral on North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s website.

The service also offers a free online home fire safety check.

When reporting a fire, always call 999 when there is an immediate risk to life or property.

For non-emergencies, contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Firestoppers can be contacted for anonymous referrals on 0800 169 5558.

The ‘No Boston No Party’ cone will be given to the city as a symbol of friendship as the World Cup comes to an official close.

A viral Tartan Army traffic cone is on its way to Boston. Andrew Dobbie and Danny Campbell are flying to the US from Edinburgh Airport with the now iconic cone, which shows the ‘friendship between the two cities’.

Andrew decorated the ‘No Boston No Party^‘ and placed it on the Duke of Wellington statue’s head in Glasgow. Since then, it’s been signed by the Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, reports Edinburgh Live.

Once the cone arrives in America it will be signed by Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey and Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu after they welcomed Scottish fans with open arms during the World Cup. The cone is to be given as a ‘gift to the city’.

Ms Wu said: “I’m being told that there is an official…. gift, repatriating the cone that is on the Duke of Wellington’s horse that says ‘Boston’ on it is being officially flown back as a gift to the city of Boston. So we will receive that very soon.”

Andrew explained to his 13.6k Instagram followers that he and BBC Scotland’s Home of the Year presenter Danny Campbell were invited back Stateside for an adventure with the cone. He explained: “I can finally tell you the news that I’ve been dying to tell you all that both the Mayor of Boston and the Governor of Massachusetts have invited myself and Danny Campbell over with the Boston cone.

“We’ll be flying next week all the way over to Boston to visit you all, and we’re going to be taking the cone on a tour of all your favourite spots… tell us where we should take the cone!”

On the Boston Cone website, Andrew and Danny said: “It all started with a bit of fun during the World Cup, with Andrew Dobbie, having the ultimate FOMO for not being there to party while everyone was having fun in Boston with the Scotland Tartan Army.

“So back in Scotland, he took a traffic cone and had it emblazoned with the word BOSTON on it, and along with some friends, placed it on the Duke of Wellington statue’s head in Glasgow to celebrate the twinning of our two cities.

“Millions of views later, it’s ending with us flying to Boston with its successor: a hand-illustrated ‘No Boston No Party’ cone, covered in motifs from both cities by Glasgow artist Rob Johnson, already signed by the Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Stuart Patrick, and heading over to be signed by the Governor of Massachusetts and the Mayor of Boston.”

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The Mexican inspired restaurant well-known for its tortillas, burritos and quesadillas will be coming to 3 Albert Road in Darlington in the foreseeable future.

The official opening date has yet to be revealed but said the town should “get ready” for the new highly anticipated addition.

Taking to social media on Saturday (July 11), the company said: “Darlington, get ready.

“The countdown is officially on.

“We’re getting ready to bring the Liv Más spirit to Darlington, and we can’t wait to welcome you through our doors.”

It comes after the chain was previously named a tenant at the Faverdale retail part as far back as July 2023 and was set to open a drive-thru restaurant.

However, in February this year it was understood by The Northern Echo it was no longer opening there.

Developers Metcalf Harland Property Investment said the Californian-founded chain did not sign on a lease.

Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee initially deferred its decision in July 2023 over fears the development could lead to business closures and job losses elsewhere.

However, the plans were green-lit a month later, with Cockerton councillor Jan Cossins saying at the time: “If we had taken the decision to refuse last time, my daughter would have killed me because she loves Taco Bell.”

But customers can now officially get excited as the restaurant will be giving behind the scenes updates, opening date announcements and exclusive competitions and giveaways on their Facebook page.

Since the announcement, many Darlington residents have shared their excitement about the new opening.

One person said: “I’ve always wanted to try Taco Bell, keep saying it and now it’s coming to our town which is even better.”

While another said: “I love Taco Bell, can’t wait for this to open.”

The company has said customers should keep their eyes peeled on social media for further updates.