Labour Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons was accused of commissioning surveillance of journalists

Labour MP Josh Simons has stepped down as a Cabinet Office minister following an inquiry into claims that a think tank he headed before joining Government commissioned surveillance of journalists.

Labour Together, regarded as one of the most influential bodies within Labour circles, was accused of paying Apco Worldwide £36,000 to investigate reporters who had written articles about its work.

An inquiry by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser concluded that Mr Simons had not violated the Ministerial Code, but the Makerfield MP said he had “become a distraction from this Government’s important work”.

Mr Simons had faced mounting pressure to quit and had maintained that Apco had been engaged to look into an unlawful hack. In a letter to the Prime Minister, ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said Mr Simons now accepted that the terms he had agreed with Apco were “wider than he had understood” and that he had acted “too hastily in confirming their appointment”.

Sir Laurie said Mr Simons had acted “in good faith” and noted that the MP acknowledged the “perceived gap between his public statements and what he now accepts appears to be a more extensive scope has been damaging”, reports the Express.

He added: “I see no basis for advising you of any breach of the Ministerial Code by Mr Simons but you will wish to consider, in the light of this distraction and potential reputational damage, whether he continues to hold your confidence as a member of your Government.”

The Prime Minister said he accepted “with sadness” the resignation of Josh Simons from his position as a Cabinet Office minister.

“I want to express my thanks for the commitment, focus, and energy you have brought to ministerial office,” he said in his response to Mr Simons’ resignation letter.

Sir Keir added: “In accepting your resignation, I also want to place on record that the Independent Adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, found no breach of the Ministerial Code. I am grateful for your full and proactive cooperation throughout his work. I understand that, to avoid any ongoing distraction from delivering the Government’s mission, you have taken the difficult decision to step aside. I respect that decision, and I look forward to continuing to work with you in driving forward the Government’s priorities.”

In his resignation letter, Josh Simons stated: “I welcome that Sir Laurie Magnus has cleared me of breaching the Ministerial Code. It was important to me to complete this process to prove that I behaved with integrity and that my public statements have been truthful and honest.

“Nonetheless, it is clear that my remaining in office has now become a distraction from this Government’s important work. For that reason, and with sadness and regret, I offer my resignation. It has been an honour to serve this great country.

“The work of reporters like Gabriel Pogrund, Harry Yorke, and Henry Dyer sustains our democracy. With rigour and objectivity, they hold those in positions of power to account. In an age when trust in politics is low, anything perceived to be an attack on their integrity and independence deserves thorough investigation. As I have said many times, I never sought to smear these newspaper reporters.”

Apco was commissioned to investigate the “sourcing, funding and origins” of coverage in 2023 regarding Labour Together’s failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations. The think tank was fined £14,250 in September 2021 for delayed reporting of donations between 2017 and 2020, after a self-referral to the Electoral Commission.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said Sir Keir Starmer ought to have dismissed Mr Simons sooner. In a post on X, he wrote: “Labour waited to refer the case to the Independent Adviser to delay judgement until after the by-election (fat lot of good that did). Need full investigation into Labour Together now.”

Close allies of Mr Simons maintain he has done the “responsible thing” to bring an end to the “distraction”, and that he never sought to smear or investigate journalists. They insist he “won’t be quiet on the backbenchers” but will argue passionately for change that benefits the country.

A further ally added: “In stepping aside despite being cleared, Josh has shown he’s the type of person to take responsibility and put the long term direction of the Government first. He’ll not give up his energy in driving the party and this country forward.”

Celtic legends attended the statue unveiling for European Cup-winning hero Tommy Gemmell.

A statue paying tribute to Celtic European Cup-winning hero Tommy Gemmell has been unveiled in his hometown. Emotional spectators, including Hoops boss Martin O’Neil, attended the ceremony in Craigneuk this afternoon.

The sculpture pays homage to local icon Tommy Gemmell who scored in two separate European Cup finals for the Parkhead side, including their first goal in Celtic’s famous victory over Catenaccio giants Inter Milan. The landmark project, to honour the Lisbon Lion who passed away aged 73 on the March 2, 2019, was led by the Tommy Gemmell Project Committee and supported by our Community Partnership Team.

Tommy’s wife, Mary Gemmell, said: “It’s just incredible. The statue looks so like Tommy, the likeness is unbelievable. Andy Edwards has done such an outstanding job. When I first saw it properly, it really took my breath away.

“This has always been about more than a statue. It’s about bringing Tommy home and celebrating him in the community he loved so much. I can’t thank everyone enough for the support, the fundraising and the kindness shown throughout this whole journey.”

Hundreds gathered for the unveiling, including current Celtic FC manager Martin O’Neill and club legends Roy Aitken, Tom Boyd, Peter Grant and Joe Miller. They were joined by a number of well-known faces, including actor Tony Roper.

A piper kicked off proceedings before Martin O’Neil left the crowd in stitches with a beautiful tribute to his former Nottingham Forest teammate.

“It was my first year there at 19 and Tommy was 104. Sorry Mary, he wasn’t,” he joked.

He continued: “I couldn’t wait to speak to Tommy. I was fawning all over him, I must admit.

“I said to him, ‘Tommy, that was a great goal you scored in the European Cup final’. He then said, ‘Which one son?’.

“Tommy was not a modest man. You couldn’t pay Tommy any higher compliments which he hadn’t already paid to himself.

“I had about four months with him and we was fantastic company. He really looked after me. I am honestly honoured to be speaking for just a moment this afternoon.

“It’s a great tribute to Tommy and the community.”

A countdown then commenced and the statue was unveiled showing Tommy in the famous hoops while carrying a football. Martin McCrum from the Tommy Gemmell Project Committee, paid tribute to the sculptor and the community effort behind the project.

He said: “Andy Edwards is an incredibly talented artist and he’s captured Tommy perfectly, the stance, the expression, even that quiet determination. It’s like he’s standing there ready to strike a ball again.

“I was lucky enough to call Tommy a close friend for many years. We travelled together, did business together, and spent hours talking, not just about football, but about Craigneuk. He never forgot his roots. He cared deeply about this area and the people in it.

“When Tommy passed, people said we needed a statue. At first, I wasn’t sure I was the right person to lead it. But after seeing the challenges our community faced, I knew we needed something positive. Something that could inspire hope.

“That’s why this has always been about more than a statue. It’s about giving the community something to believe in, a focus for good, and a reminder that someone from here made it to the very top, and never forgot where he came from.”

Provost Kenneth Duffy helped officially unveil the statue and he praised the wide range of support that made the event such a success.

He added: “This has been a special day for Craigneuk and for North Lanarkshire. The council was proud to support the project, and I want to thank our events team, Community Partnership and Roads teams, and the staff at the Jim Foley Community Centre for their hard work behind the scenes to make today run so smoothly.

“A huge thank you as well to the pupils and teachers from Berryhill PS who took part in the ceremony, and to the council school pipe band for piping guests on the day, including well-known football figures from past and present. It was a real community celebration, just as Tommy would have wanted.

“The statue is not just a tribute to a footballing great, it is a symbol of community spirit, resilience and ambition. Tommy Gemmell is home. And his legacy now stands proudly in the place it all began.”

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The HDMI-based streaming service offers a ton of platforms for you to watch TV and films.

You can also use it to listen to music from the likes of Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music.

Here are some further features that come with the compact device you might not have been aware of.

Amazon Fire TV Sticks can stream TV, films and music among other things (Image: Getty Images)

5 Amazon Fire TV Stick features you’re going to wish you knew about sooner

Pin apps on the home screen

If you have a few commonly used apps/streaming services on the Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can pin them to the main menu.

There are usually six streaming apps pinned there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those are the ones you want to use.

You can do this by going to the home page and then ‘Applications’ (the three squares and a plus icon).

From here, you can hover over the app you want to move and press the menu button on your remote (the three lines icon).

You’ll see a side menu pop up, with the option to move the app, Pocket-Lint shares.

Select that, and then move the app into your pinned apps at the top of the screen.

Turn off navigation sounds

You might have noticed that the Amazon Fire TV Stick makes a noise when you’re moving around the pages and various apps.

If you’re finding it an annoyance, you can turn it off, though.

Just head to Settings > Display & Audio > Audio > Navigation Sounds and toggle it off.

Cloud gaming

As an additional feature alongside the TV, films and music, you can play some games through the Amazon Fire TV Stick.

You can access games on Fire TV devices running Fire OS 5 or higher.

To find them, navigate to games on the home screen, select the game that you want to play and then select ‘Get’ to download the game.

If you have Amazon Luna already, you can play through that by selecting ‘Play with Amazon Luna’ and following the on-screen prompts.

The live TV guide

If you navigate to the ‘Live’ tab and click ‘On now’, you can find the live TV guide on the Amazon Fire TV Stick.

This pulls together free live TV channels from multiple apps, including Pluto TV and Plex, instead of jumping between apps to see what’s on.

Links with the Fire TV app

You will soon be able to link your Amazon Fire TV Stick with the Amazon Fire TV app, which has a few useful features.

It will act as a free smart remote, offering voice search, keyboard entry, and navigation for Fire TV devices.

The upgrade began to be rolled out on Thursday, February 26 and should be made available for all UK customers over the coming weeks.

Recommended reading:

In a statement, Amazon said: “Millions of customers use our Fire TV mobile app as a backup remote, but we knew it could do more.

“The redesigned app adds the ability to browse content, manage your watchlist, and play titles on your TV—all with a look and feel that matches the new Fire TV design.

“Now you can use your phone as a second screen to discover what to watch next or add a friend’s show recommendation to your watchlist when you’re away from home.”

Do you have an Amazon Fire TV Stick? Let us know in the comments.

Arsenal take on Chelsea tomorrow in a huge London derby at the Emirates Stadium, but all eyes will be on Man City this evening as they bid to keep the pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side. As for the hosts, they have undergone a recent resurgence under Daniel Farke. The Yorkshiremen are unbeaten this month, having beaten Nottingham Forest and drawn with Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Sahibzada Farhan made a superb century as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by five runs in the T20 World Cup Super 8s but missed out on a semi-final spot on net run-rate.

Farhan’s 100 off 60 balls featured nine fours and five sixes as Pakistan posted 212-8 – their highest-ever total at a T20 World Cup.

Pakistan needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or fewer in their reply to ensure their net run-rate was better than New Zealand’s in Group 2.

However, Sri Lanka managed to scrape past the figure in 15.5 overs for the loss of five wickets which saw the Black Caps progress to the knockout phase.

It ensured New Zealand finished with a net run-rate of +1.390 as they claimed second spot ahead of Pakistan (-0.123).

Sri Lanka came up just short of pulling off the second-highest chase in World Cup history after some late big hitting from captain Dasun Shanaka as Pakistan’s players went through the motions.

With 28 needed off the final over Shanaka, who made an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls, crashed a four and three sixes.

But with six required for a Sri Lanka victory, Shaheen Afridi switched back on and bowled two dots with wide yorkers.

Earlier, a 176-run stand between Farhan and Fakhar Zaman had given Pakistan hope of delivering what had seemed a big ask on paper.

Fakhar, restored to open after batting in the middle order against England, played his part with some crisp ball striking en route to 84 off 42 balls.

In what was just his second innings at this World Cup, Fakhar clubbed nine fours and four sixes as Sri Lanka’s bowlers were flayed to all parts.

But after his dismissal Pakistan struggled to maintain the momentum – as Dilshan Madushanka claimed 3-33 – with 14 runs off the final two overs not quite enough.

Taken from a passing vehicle, the footage shows flames in the entrance area of the five star hotel as thick black smoke pours into the sky

Video shows a luxury hotel in Dubai up in flames following an alleged missile strike. Images reportedly taken from the scene show a fire raging through The Fairmont Hotel in the Palm Jumeirah area.

Taken from a passing vehicle, the footage shows flames in the entrance area of the five star hotel as thick black smoke pours into the sky, while explosions can be heard in the background. In a statement earlier the Dubai government’s media office said four people had been taken to hospital following an ‘incident’ in the Palm Jumeirah area.

A fire in the area is now ‘under control’, the body reported. Several witnesses on social media have described a ‘nightmare’ situation in Palm Jumeirah. One said she felt her ‘windows shake’ following an apparent explosion.

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Further footage shows people running for shelter as air raid sirens sounded and a loud bang was heard near the Marina. Witnesses say they saw debris falling from the sky. Another video circulating on X appears to show flames breaking out near the City Walk, close to the Burj Khalifa.

Boxer Chris Eubank Jr has also shared footage of fires in Dubai on his Instagram page. The clips show flames and thick black smoke billowing into the sky, reportedly near the Fairmont hotel.

Eubank Jr wrote: “Explosions going off on the Dubai Palm right now. Please everyone be safe.”

The flames come after Donald Trump stated that the US had launched ‘major combat operations’ in Iran overnight. US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Saturday morning in what the two countries described as a ‘pre-emptive’ strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes were being carried out ‘to remove threats’, while witnesses in Tehran reported hearing explosions. There have been ‘dozens’ of strikes across Iran.

The attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with missiles reported to have targeted Israel and countries across the Middle East. Four US in Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain have reportedly been struck.

In Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, a death was reported after debris fell on a residential area. It remains unclear what Iran is targeting with the strikes, but possibly due to a large US military presence in the country.

A British holidaymaker wreaked havoc at a Polish ski resort when he smashed his car into a hotel while allegedly high on drugs.

A British tourist faces up to five years in prison after smashing his car through the lobby of Gołębiewski Hotel in Karpacz, Poland.

The 36-year-old, who has not been named, reportedly acted like nothing had happened and drove off – despite his black Mazda ripping several doors off their hinges during the brazen incident, which was caught on CCTV, the Sun reports.

He was detained after cops spotted the badly damaged car around a mile away from the hotel.

Preliminary tests indicated he had drugs in his system and intoxicants were also found in the car, detectives said.

On Wednesday, he was charged with failing to stop for a traffic stop, damaging property, possessing psychoactive substances, and driving under the influence.

He remains in custody and faces up to five years in prison for the crimes.

He was also fined £10,500 for the damage caused to the hotel and was banned from driving in Poland for four years.

Police spokeswoman Edyta Bagrowska said: ‘Officers spotted a black Mazda with bodywork damage in a parking lot. A man was inside.’

When he saw the police, he tried to flee but crashed into a police car during the subsequent pursuit, Ms Bagrowska said.

Despite trying to resist, the ‘visibly agitated’ man was apprehended and taken into custody, she added.

The incident is not the first time shocking crashes have been caught on CCTV.

Last January, a Range Rover driver left a trail of destruction when their vehicle crashed into a sewing shop in west London.

Pictures from the scene showed the front of the Sewing Machine Centre on Hounslow High Street completely smashed up.

In another crash which happened in December, a car ploughed through a house’s garden wall ‘like a freight train’ and flipped over, dumping its driver midair into a swimming pool.

The house’s CCTV caught the carnage as it unfolded in Laughlin, southern Nevada in the US.

The house’s owner Cletis Reed later told Fox5 News: ‘I figured something happened in the street and I come out to see my entire backyard destroyed.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Meticulously maintained by the current owners, the property comprises a spacious entrance hall that leads to a light and bright lounge, a cloakroom, utility room, and, to the rear of the property, the kitchen, which is the hub of the home.

Living area accessed from entrance hall (Image: Harrington Brown)

Another light-filled space – thanks to two large glazed patio doors, which open onto a small balcony – the kitchen is home to stylish fitted units and integrated appliances including an oven, hob, and dishwasher, and has ample space for a bistro dining table.

There is also a handy storage cupboard on the ground floor for added convenience.

Upstairs is the family bathroom boasting a luxurious Jacuzzi bath and a shower plus three well-proportioned bedrooms, including the generous master bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe.

Bedroom one: Double room with walk-in wardrobe. (Image: Harrington Brown)

The loft, which is perfect for providing additional storage, can be accessed from the landing.

Externally, the property benefits from a block-paved driveway with parking for two cars.

A side gate from the driveway leads to the immaculate low-maintenance rear garden which features a gravel path to a storage shed, a neatly maintained lawn, a gravel seating area, and a raised deck ideal for relaxing on, alfresco dining, or entertaining guests.

Kitchen: Fitted units and integrated appliances with doors to balcony (Image: Harrington Brown)

Located a short drive from Consett town centre, this home is offered for sale with no onward chain.

PROPERTY FACTS

Warwick Avenue, Moorside

Price: OIRO £150,000

Harrington Brown

01207 258500

www.harrington-brown.co.uk

Bathroom: Family suite with Jacuzzi bath and shower. (Image: Harrington Brown)

Garden: Neat lawn with deck, gravel seating area, and storage shed. (Image: Harrington Brown)