After undergoing reconstructive surgery on his hands in hospital this week, he told the Record he has quit the biker gang over fears his family will be caught up in the violence.
The 63-year-old said: “I was driving on the motorway when I noticed one of our bikers had broken down.
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“We stopped to help and the next thing I knew, masked men were hacking at me with machetes.
“My wife is terrified – I can’t go on living like this.
“I have left the Mad Dogs now and need to think about my family.
“Enough is enough. I won’t be back on the road with any motorbike club and just want to put this all behind me.”
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Bruni revealed he has been targeted several times after he left rival biker gang the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club three years ago.
He continued: “I don’t know if it was Blue Angels who attacked me.
“Ever since I left Blue Angels my home has been petrol bombed, my car was torched, and now this.
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“I’ve been in hiding due to threats on my life. We had to leave our home a year ago.”
Bruni and other Mad Dogs members were returning to Scotland from a weekend partying in England when they were set upon.
Armed thugs had been travelling in four vehicles and left the cars to attack the bikers who are regularly seen wearing leathers emblazoned with 1% logos, in reference to outlaw motorcycle gangs.
A red Mazda car used in the attack was later recovered in Ayrshire.
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Earlier this week a social media post on a Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club page issued a defiant message and said they would not be forced off the road.
The now deleted post read: “A bit of background to what has been going on with the dogs. This is NOT rumours or bulls***, just straight facts.
“To set it straight YES we were attacked on the M74 motorway by 12 masked and heavily armed cowardly cardboard gangster puppets with swords, bats and anything they could grab as a weapon.
“Here’s their version, ‘We are all in hospital and some of us are dead. Clearly not, you incompetent cowards. You know what, we’re still standing and always will be!
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“We have the same rights to drive on the roads as anyone else, doing what we want to do, but some people just can’t handle the fact we’re still here and growing stronger.”
The post was accompanied with pictures of Bruni but he told the Record it was nothing to do with him.
He was released from hospital on Thursday morning and claims injuries to his hands left him unable to pick up a phone.
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He added: “This Facebook post was written as if it were speaking on my behalf but nothing could be further from the truth.
“Whoever put the message out there is just putting a target on my back.
“I was furious when my wife told me about it.
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“Most of the injuries I suffered were defence wounds on my hands and I had two operations over the past week.
“I’m not able to hold a phone never mind post on ‘defiant’ messages on social media.
“I am waiting to find out if the surgery was successful, but if not I am facing amputation.”
Police are probing the M74 attack and asked motorists with dashcam footage to come forward.
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Detective Sergeant Craig Wait said: “We believe this was a targeted attack on the group of motorcyclists and it’s vital we trace the people responsible.
“One man has been seriously injured as a result of the attack and many others, including members of the public who witnessed what happened, have been left shaken.
“I’m appealing to anyone with information to come forward.”
The attack comes weeks after Mad Dogs members were struck by a car outside a pub in Renfrewshire. Bikers were mowed down outside Lorimers boozer in Bishopton, after they had left a meeting on July 11.
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Police said they were treating the incident as attempted murder.
The Mad Dogs MC gang broke away from Blue Angels – Scotland’s oldest motorbike outlaw gang – in 2023 and the two tribes have remained at war.
Mad Dogs founder and former president Dan Laponder is serving a nine-year jail term for blowing up a van linked to a Blue Angels rival. Laponder had been a leader of the Blue Angels but left and formed the Mad Dogs.
In June 2024 the van used by Blue Angels member David Rollo’s dad was blown up near his home in Lennoxtown, Dunbartonshire. Fire crews found the pipe bomb lying underneath.
Police traced Laponder to a barge where he was living in Kirkintilloch and he told them about a shotgun he had inside. Laponder’s DNA and fingerprints were recovered from a bottle and duct tape used in the making of the pipe bomb.
Bruni then took over as President of the club but they have been repeatedly attacked over the past two years by the Blue Angels.
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Last August violence erupted at the funeral of crash victim Gordon Luke, 71, at The Hurlet Crematorium in Barrhead, Renfrewshire.
Several men wielding machetes were said to have jumped from vehicles and attacked Mad Dogs members, leading to a 65-year-old grandad and men aged 44 and 30 being hospitalised.
In April of this year a fire on Edison Street in Hillington was linked to the feud but no injuries were reported.
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From a small YouTube channel with barely 50 subscribers to a cushy jail cell curtesy of pipe bomb plot, Dan Laponder has had an unusual rise to infamy. A founder and former president of the the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club, Laponder is well known among bikers.
He was one of the lead figures when the gang broke away from Blue Angels – Scotland’s oldest motorbike outlaw gang – in 2023. That move sparked conflict between the two tribes who have remained at war ever since.
Violent confrontations have seen several bikers injured – including former Mad Dogs president Mark “Bruni” Brown who has been forced to step away from gang. Two years ago, Laponder planted a pipe bomb under a rival’s father’s van amid the feud and he was subsequently jailed for nine years.
As the gang war between the two groups wages on, just who is Dan Laponder? Daniel McMillan Laponder, now 45, was originally a member of the Blue Angels and he rose to become a leading figure within the gang.
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He was always destined to be a key figure in the biker gangs of Britain – his younger brother David followed as he became a member of the Sons of Hell biker gang in Tameside. In November 2020, David was sentenced to nine years behind bars after striking Daniel Gibbons – the president of the Warrington branch of the gang – over the head with a meat cleaver eight times during a ‘frenzied attack’.
In February 2023, he opened a YouTube channel – easy entry locksmith – which he used as “a record of my locksmith training”. The videos, which include “drilling a yale lock”, “snapping a lock” and “practice opening a car with non destructive entry kit” show Laponder testing his skills.
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He barely speaks in the videos which show different locksmith techniques and were published between April and November 2023. It was around this time that he led the split from the Blue Angels.
The exact reason for the unceremonious break is unknown but Laponder took a bunch of bikers with him to found Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club. Two further videos entitled “digger driver vibes” and “digger v dumper driver race” and published on his YouTube channel in 2024 show Laponder driving construction vehicles.
All told, his 24 videos have racked up 22,200 views and he has drawn a whopping 51 subscribers. In May 2024, Laponder thanked killer John Bingham for “a very generous financial contribution” to the club.
Bingham, who had been cleared of murder after admitting stabbing love rival Alister Milroy to death in 2013, leapt from a car before threatening a female motorcyclist in a road rage incident. With the two gangs separated, they began a brutal war which has led to serious injuries, fire attacks and even a pipe bomb plot.
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Laponder’s part in the feud has landed him a cushy life in jail after he was sentenced in November 2024. The then 43-year-old targeted David Rollo senior’s work van outside his home in Lennoxtown on June 8 that year.
Mr Rollo’s son is a member of the Blue Angels and Laponder chose the vehicle as his target during the gang feud. An off duty firefighter was alerted after the van was spotted on fire.
He attended to assess the situation and, underneath the van, he observed a device – a pipe bomb – made up from bottles, a copper pipe and RF receiver with an antenna. The bomb squad was quickly alerted and the area locked down as experts worked to defuse the device and make it safe.
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Laponder was linked to the pipe bomb after DNA and fingerprints were recovered from the bottles and tape. A forensic investigation on the device found that it comprised of petrol and ball bearings with a remote activation attached to it.
At the time, he was living on a barge in Kirkintilloch and police attended his home on July 3 where he was found with a loaded side-by-side, double barrel, break action shotgun. When quizzed by officers, Laponder stated: “I’m not a Blue Angel anymore, I retired a year ago.”
Laponder was asked about the bomb and replied: “Link the dots, we’ve been getting attacked all the time. What is a remote detonator? It goes off with a remote, perhaps it was a shot across the bow.”
A garage linked to the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club was raided and two remote firing systems similar to the one used in the bomb attack were recovered. Laponder pleaded guilty on October 15, 2024, to a charge of wilful fire raising and a charge under the Firearms Act 1968.
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He was sentenced to nine years behind bars the following month and his since been incarcerated at HMP Greenock. Despite his convictions, Laponder last month claimed his “window” for a low-security transfer is just months away. If so, he would be moved to HMP Castle Huntly near Dundee.
The low-supervision facility, set on a 15th-century castle estate, allows inmates deemed low-risk more freedom to go into the community to prepare them for release. In a social media post from his cell, Laponder boasted about his easy life behind bars, revealing he has penned a tell-all book about his crimes to set the record straight, recorded an acoustic album, and been handed a plum job mentoring new inmates.
He said: “My window to go to open prison is in six months, so that is my focus… I’ll be back on top soon enough.”
The post added: “Well it’s coming up on two years I’ve been in prison. Time has gone by quite fast, probably because I have kept myself busy. Sooooooo what have we achieved in prison?
“I’m competent now on the guitar and I’m getting better by the day, I’ve been practicing for hours ever day learning scales, chords, progressions, different picking techniques so I’m happy where I am. I can play a few tunes on the harmonica but I’ve only got one in the G so only a couple of my own songs I can play both at the same time.
“My own songs I’ve written around 100 of, I’ve got some in the Koestler awards this year and we started recording an album up at music class using a desktop studio. It sounds good though lol. It’s just acoustic right now but in my head there’s loads going on, I’ll need to wait until I get out and find musicians to help me bring it all to life.
“I’ve written two books, one is a tutorial on how I taught myself guitar and the other is a short story of how I came to be in here, I thought people would be interested to hear the truth. I’ve got some poems down but most of my folders are full of scripts for a social media channel idea I have.
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“Talking about ideas I’ve got some inventions to patent when I get out. Last year I won an award for a painting I done but I’ve not been painting much I’ve got five of my own hanging up in my cell, them and some pics of Razor Candy, I started learning Spanish and Sign Language.
“I’m still finding time to smash the gym no one has knocked me off the board yet. The jail made me peer mentor so when new prisoners come in I show them around and tell them how everything works.
“I do miss my wee man terribly though. My window to go to open prison is in 6 months so that is my focus so I can get home to see him.
“Home? I have no home! I need to start all over again. I ain’t got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, mans got skills though I’ll be back on top soon enough. Hey – I can always go busking now, anyway hasta luigo for now.”
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Kiena Dawes had written a note before ending her life saying ‘Ryan Wellings killed me’ (Picture: Lancashire Police/PA)
‘I hope my life saves another.’
Kiena Dawes’ last words before ending her life were a plea for her abuser to be held accountable for the ‘torture’ he put her through – and for no other women to be failed in the way she was.
But while Ryan Wellings was eventually found guilty of assaulting Kiena and subjecting her to prolonged domestic abuse, he was cleared of having any ‘criminal responsibility’ for her death.
High profile trials like Kiena’s ending in not guilty verdicts on manslaughter charges have led families, campaigners and even police and lawyers to call for a new law to ensure perpetrators are held responsible when their abuse leads to a person ending their own life.
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Kiena’s Law would see the creation of a new standalone offence for domestic abuse- related suicide.
Campaigners are also calling for coercive and controlling behaviour to be included within the ‘dangerous offender’ framework, allowing courts to impose extended sentences.
Kiena’s mother, Angela Dawes, backed calls for a law in her daughter’s name, saying: ‘My girl didn’t want to die. My girl wanted to live. But she lived in fear.’
That is despite the grim fact that women in abusive relationships are now more likely to kill themselves than die at the hands of a current or former partner.
In its latest annual report, the Domestic Homicide Project, a programme led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), recorded 150 suspected domestic abuse-related suicides in England and Wales.
That is up from 98 suicides in the previous 12 months, and significantly higher than the 80 recorded intimate partner homicides.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
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With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
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Yet figures show only 3% have resulted in any kind of prosecution.
When it comes to manslaughter, there has been just one conviction – that of Nicholas Allen, who pleaded guilty and was jailed for 10 years in 2017.
Kiena’s Law
Kiena’s Law would see the creation of a new standalone offence for domestic abuse-related suicide (Picture: Lancs Live/MEN Media)
Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw in partnership with charity Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA), hosted a conference in Blackpool last month to launch a petition calling for Kiena’s Law and address concerns about the link between sustained domestic abuse and suicide.
He told Metro: ‘If you can imagine the pain, the anguish, the trauma that somebody must be in for them to be in such circumstances that they feel that taking their own life is the only escape from the abuse they’re enduring, it is horrendous.
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‘We believe that the courts and the judicial system need to have the power in those circumstances to get justice for the victims, and there needs to be a greater deterrent for perpetrators.’
Frank Mullane, founder of AAFDA, said law change is critical if perpetrators are to be properly held to account.
He told Metro juries are ‘struggling’ with the link between domestic abuse and suicide and the legal concept of ‘causation’.
Ryan Wellings was found guilty of abusing Kiena but he was cleared of having any ‘criminal responsibility’ for her death (Picture: Lancashire Police/PA)
Defence teams are also being left free to ‘exploit any mental health difficulties the deceased may have had – even though some or all of those difficulties may have been caused or contributed to, by the abuse’.
‘Causation’ and the link between domestic abuse and suicide
In simple terms, causation is proof that a defendant’s conduct contributed to a victim’s death in a ‘significant’ way.
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Several problems arise from that in cases of domestic abuse-related suicide.
They include the victim likely being nowhere near the defendant when they die and the suicide being seen as a ‘choice’ freely made by the deceased.
Another obvious difficulty is the absence of the victim’s voice from the witness box.
In that void, defendants can point the jury in the direction of myriad other issues to explain why they may have taken their own life, minimising the effects of their abusive behaviour and avoiding accountability for it.
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Jurors are then left with what can appear to be a choice between either the abuse or the victim’s mental health as factors behind the decision to end their life, rather than an appreciation of how the two are intrinsically linked.
Dr Anne Lodge, a senior lecturer in law at Teesside University, told Metro: ‘Too often, suicide is treated as a completely independent choice of the victim.
‘But where someone has been subjected to years of coercive control, their autonomy may have been so eroded that they no longer see any other way out – they may be effectively stripped of their freedom to make choices.
‘That’s something the law needs to recognise.’
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Tim Woodhouse, suicide prevention researcher at the University of Kent, found that one in three suicides in the county between 2018 and 2024 were impacted to some extent by domestic abuse.
If that number was applied nationwide, it could mean as many as 1,000 domestic abuse victims are taking their lives each year.
Mr Woodhouse told Metro: ‘Being physically abused, sexually attacked and emotionally tortured, week after week, month after month, is clearly exceptionally damaging to anyone’s mental health.
‘It’s made even worse when the person abusing you is someone you once loved.
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‘So, on the one hand, it’s easy to understand why such a high number of victims are killing themselves, but we are just beginning to understand that these tragic deaths actually happen for a number of different reasons.
‘Some victims have been beaten so badly in the past that believe that they are going to be murdered by their perpetrator, so they attempt suicide as a way of controlling the way they die – even though they don’t actually want to stop living.
‘Others attempt suicide because they believe the lies that their perpetrator tells them, for example that their family and friends hate them and the world would be a better place without them it.
‘Finally other victims feel so isolated, trapped and helpless, that they simply can’t see another way of making the abuse stop.
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‘Many of the victims in this group will have reached out to services like the police, the family court, domestic abuse charities and social services but not got the support they needed to make the abuse stop.’
In 2022, a coroner ruled that Jessica Laverack, 34, ended her life at her home in East Yorkshire after suffering domestic abuse.
Hers was the first inquest to make clear the link between domestic abuse and suicide.
Phyllis Daly, Jessica’s mother, told the Blackpool conference coercive control ‘leaves few visible signs, but can destroy a victim’s life’.
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‘Jessica stated that she felt she had no escape and her life wasn’t her own anymore,’ she said. ‘She was trapped, miserable and fearful.’
She added: ‘Sustained domestic abuse that ends in suicide is not incidental. It’s a foreseeable outcome, a preventable outcome, and accountability has to follow.’
‘I didn’t want to end my life – I wanted the fear to end’
Dr Lodge said: ‘Many victims already have existing vulnerabilities, whether that is previous trauma or mental health difficulties.
‘Those factors can be used by the defence to argue that the abuse was not a sufficient or significant enough cause of the suicide.
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‘This narrative potentially downplays the devastating impact prolonged coercive control can have and makes it harder to hold perpetrators criminally responsible for manslaughter.’
Kiena Dawes was a young mother who took her own life four years ago in July 2022 after suffering prolonged domestic abuse (Picture: Lancs Live/MEN Media)
The conference got a harrowing glimpse of what a jury might hear if a victim could give evidence at their own manslaughter trial.
One survivor bravely spoke publicly for the first time about how she contemplated ending her life.
‘When people hear the words domestic abuse, they often imagine bruises, broken bones, black eyes,’ she said.
‘But abuse is rarely defined by one incident. It took years and a whole new vocabulary – gaslighting, stonewalling, coercive control – before I fully understood what had happened.’
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She added: ‘People often think suicide is about wanting to die. For me, it wasn’t.
‘I didn’t want to end my life. I wanted the fear to end. I wanted the intrusive thoughts to end. I wanted to feel safe again.
‘There is a profound difference between wanting a life to end – all the things you love – and desperately wanting unbearable pain to stop, because when you’re in so much pain you can’t feel anything anyway.
‘No joy, no pleasure, no hope. You’re not living anymore anyway.
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‘When someone dies after domestic abuse, we often ask “why did they take their own life?”
‘Perhaps we should begin by asking a different question – “what happened in the years before they died?”’
Local MPs Chris Webb and Lorraine Beavers pledged to campaign for Kiena’s Law in Parliament.
And Jess Phillips, the former minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls (VAWG), told the conference ‘justice is evading us’ currently but insisted the issue is ‘a fundamental part’ of the government’s VAWG strategy.
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Ministers are ‘keen to look at what the solutions are in this space’, she added.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to halving violence against women and girls, and our thoughts remain with all those who have lost loved ones as a result of domestic abuse.
‘We have now introduced better protection for victims by strengthening the management of offenders convicted of controlling and coercive behaviour.
‘The Law Commission is currently reviewing homicide law, including the use of manslaughter offences where abuse may have driven someone to suicide.’
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‘Girls shouldn’t have to die to be heard’
During Wellings’ trial, the jury heard he was an ‘entitled, aggressive bully’ who would regularly slap and ‘rag’ Kiena by her hair.
He also threatened to use a drill to take her teeth out and ‘make her look like Katie Piper’ by throwing acid in her face.
More than once police were called, but Wellings threatened Kiena that she would have their daughter taken off them if she told them what was happening, so she declined to help prosecute him.
A final assault ‘broke’ Kiena, leaving her needing hospital treatment. This time she did make a statement to police and her tormentor was arrested.
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He then broke his bail conditions but was not locked up, leaving her feeling let down by police.
Angela Dawes (right), the mother of Kiena Dawes, pictured at the Home Office (Picture: PA)
Four days later she killed herself.
In her suicide note, she wrote: ‘The end. I fought hard, I fought long. I went through pain no-one could imagine.
‘I was murdered. Ryan Wellings killed me. He ruined every bit of strength I had left. I had dreams. I had a future at one point. That was taken away from me.’
But Wellings’ defence team described Kiena as a ‘very troubled young lady’ who ended her life not because of him, but because of ‘multiple factors’ including the loss of her father.
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They also pointed to the fact she had made several attempts to end her life in the past, before she met Wellings.
Mr Mullane said: ‘Kiena’s Law represents an opportunity to recognise the devastating and sometimes fatal consequences of coercive and controlling behaviour, improve accountability and help prevent future deaths.
‘We owe it to Kiena and to every family affected by domestic abuse-related suicide to make that change.’
Mrs Dawes added: ‘Girls shouldn’t have to die to be heard, and my daughter had to die to be heard.
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‘Nothing is ever going to bring my baby back, but if we can change things moving forward, I’d hate to see another family go through what we’ve been through.’
You can sign the petition Kiena’s Law: Recognise domestic abuse–related suicide in law by clicking here.
However, one of the cast members in his latest big-screen epic has made it clear that meeting the director’s strict rules are no major hardship.
Adam Croasdell – who had a minor role in The Odyssey as the father of the young Antinous – has insisted that he and his co-stars were more than happy to oblige Nolan’s strict rules on the movie’s set.
“From what I understand – and I think quite rightly – Chris hates cell phones on set,” the former EastEnders star told BANG Showbiz, as reported by FemaleFirst.
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“And I think that’s right because I’ve been on sets where, the moment ‘cut’ is called, actors pull out their cell phones and start scrolling or responding to messages. And I think it breaks the concentration. So there were no cell phones on set.”
He continued: “You were also there until the scene was done. In our particular case, we were standing on the side of a mountain with gale-force winds blasting across it, trying to perform the scene in those conditions.
“Between takes there was no, ‘Hey, take a seat. Here’s a green room for you guys, and something to warm you guys.’ There was nothing like that. And I really enjoyed it.”
Adam recalled: “Friends of mine who were part of Odysseus’ crew aboard the ship with him – I know Himesh Patel from EastEnders, and there were a bunch of others as well – they reported back that you’re on that ship, and you’re going to get the scene. And if you need to go to the restroom, that’s your problem.”
However, he has since confirmed reports about actors not being allowed to wear Ugg boots on his sets.
“I want the actors to stay in the moment,” he claimed last month. “For me, the Ugg boots are a signifier of modernity, absurd though that is.”
Nolan added: “It’s like if someone’s eating a bag of chips off camera. There’s certain things that just remind you’re in the real world, as opposed to the world we’re trying to create for the actors.”
Putin could test Nato’s unity with attack on alliance member within next few years, report on US intel warns
New US intelligence assessments have reportedly warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin could test Nato’s unity with a limited attack on an alliance member within the next few years.
According to US officials cited in a Wall Street Journal report, the scenarios under consideration include cyberattacks, sabotage or a small-scale ground incursion, rather than a full-scale invasion.
The assessment also comes as the US faces shortages of key munitions – including long-range missiles and Stinger air-defence missiles – after supplying Ukraine and conducting military operations against Iran.
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Maroosha Muzaffar7 August 2026 05:58
Ukraine says it struck Russian oil refineries and Black Sea vessels in long-range attacks
Ukraine said it carried out a series of long-range strikes on Russian energy and maritime targets on Thursday.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian drones struck oil refineries in the Bashkortostan and Yaroslavl regions, with the Bashkortostan facility located more than 1,300km (800 miles) from the frontline.
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Yaroslavl governor Mikhail Yevrayev confirmed that a refinery had been attacked and that oil storage tanks caught fire.
Zelensky also said Ukrainian forces struck two Russian military patrol boats in the Black Sea, as well as vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet used to circumvent Western sanctions on oil exports.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences intercepted 605 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.
Maroosha Muzaffar7 August 2026 05:30
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UN appears to blame Russia and Ukraine for attacks on civilians
As Kyiv observed a day of mourning for victims of Russia’s latest missile and drone attack, the UN appeared to condemn attacks on civilians by both Russia and Ukraine.
“These latest series of attacks follow an alarming pattern of escalating strikes against populated areas,” said Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general.
“The secretary general strongly condemns the latest large-scale missile and drone attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine … [Guterres] also condemns the recent Ukrainian drone attacks on several regions of the Russian Federation.”
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Russia has increasingly claimed that strikes causing civilian deaths in Ukraine are aimed at military facilities or dual-use infrastructure such as warehouses, ports and logistics hubs, while portraying Ukrainian attacks on military and economic targets inside Russia as deliberate strikes on civilians.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video a few days ago that he said showed a Russian drone deliberately pursuing a civilian in southern Ukraine, describing it as evidence of a Russian “human safari” attack in which drones hunt people rather than military targets.
A woman walks in a damaged street market following Russian strikes in Kyiv on 6 August 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (AFP/Getty)
He used the footage to accuse Russia of intentionally targeting civilians, the BBC reported.
Russian forces have also reportedly repeatedly used anti-personnel explosive FPV drones against civilians in Ukrainian cities including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.
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Maroosha Muzaffar7 August 2026 05:00
Kyiv region marks official day of mourning after Russian missile and drone barrage kills 17
The Kyiv region marked an official day of mourning on Thursday after a Russian missile and drone barrage killed 17 people a day earlier.
According to the UN office in Kyiv, 1,396 civilians were killed and 7,978 wounded in Ukraine during the first six months of 2026 – up 37 per cent from the same period in 2025 and 114 per cent higher than in 2024.
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The UN said the increase was driven by an escalation in Russia’s long-range aerial strikes.
Maroosha Muzaffar7 August 2026 04:30
Zelensky wants ‘concrete results’ in developing anti-ballistic missile defence system
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine aims to achieve “concrete results” by the end of this year in developing a European anti-ballistic missile defence system under the Freyja programme.
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“Ukraine is capable of producing its missile and launcher, while our partners will provide the necessary components and critical elements – radars, sensors, and everything else required … Others spent decades developing their systems. Ukraine must do this as quickly as possible, with concrete results already in place by the turn of 2026–2027,” he said.
He also said Ukraine is accelerating work on its own ballistic missile programme, adding that tests have shown “strong potential” and that the goal is to turn it into a “real weapon”.
“We are creating all the necessary conditions to make that happen.”
Maroosha Muzaffar7 August 2026 04:00
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Trump says Biden gave ‘tremendous amount’ of munitions to Ukraine as he denies shortages
Iran on brink of deal to open Hormuz as Trump denies munitions shortage
Harriette Boucher7 August 2026 03:00
Zelensky to visit Serbia on Saturday
Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Serbia on Saturday in his first visit to the Balkan country since he became president in 2019.
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President Zelensky will meet his counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, in what will be seen as a symbolic trip for Ukraine’s leader.
Serbia has maintained close ties with Russia, but has maintained neutrality in its invasion of Ukraine.
Harriette Boucher7 August 2026 02:00
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Ukraine to help farmers hit by Russian attacks
Ukraine will provide support to farmers hit by Russian attacks on shipping and port facilities, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The measures had been elaborated at a government meeting and would focus on farmers “who are now in a difficult situation because of Russian strikes on our ports and the maritime corridor”.
Ukraine’s president added support would include subsidised credits and other assistance with financing, would “begin to be implemented in the coming days”.
Harriette Boucher7 August 2026 01:00
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Zelensky says US knows ‘exactly’ what it needs to provide
Volodymyr Zelensky has told the US it knows exactly what Ukraine needs, as he renewed calls for further military support.
“As of now, the number one challenge is Russian strikes,” he said.
“The United States knows exactly what we need and that this is not about something abstract. This is about protecting lives. These are real people, individual lives.
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“Air defence support is needed, and that requires political decisions. In Europe too. In the G7 countries too.”
As of now, the number one challenge is Russian strikes. The United States knows exactly what we need and that this is not about something abstract. This is about protecting lives. These are real people, individual lives. Air defense support is needed, and that requires political… pic.twitter.com/v4w8fmav3w
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 6, 2026
Falling Ukrainian drone debris slightly damaged the facade of a Wildberries logistics complex in Russia’s Tver region, Vitaly Korolyov, the local governor, said on Thursday.
The incident is the latest in a series of Ukrainian strikes targeting Wildberries facilities.
At least 20 warehouses owned by the company have been attacked since July 18.
A council has said the decision to cut down the tree was a ‘last resort’
Residents in part of St Ives have been left feeling “deeply upset” after a 200-year-old tree was chopped down. Huntingdonshire District Council insist that the tree felling was a “last resort”, as the tree was causing “structural damage” to three nearby homes.
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However locals say they were not told about plans to cut down the tree, and feel that a prominent part of their street has been lost. Local resident Rod Izatt’s friend told him that the mature oak tree in the Crescent, St Ives had been felled at the end of July. Rod went to see the tree for himself and was upset to see it had been cut down.
He shared a photo of it to Facebook and it gained over 170 comments, with many residents sharing their upset towards the loss of the tree. Rod and other residents feel they were not informed about the tree being cut down and he feels the street has lost a prominent sight.
He said: “My major concern is that this tree was over 200 years old – many people are deeply upset. With global warming and flooding occurring more, we need to change our focus from trees being obstacles to trees being solutions. They are living entities and support thousands, if not millions of species of wildlife.
“Essentially by cutting down this tree, we are breaking that link in nature. We need our woodlands, and that comes down to single trees in the end.”
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Huntingdonshire District Council made the decision to fell the tree as it was causing “structural damage” to three nearby homes. A HDC spokesperson said: “We understand why people are upset by the loss of this mature oak tree.
“The tree was removed following a complex insurance subsidence claim affecting three neighbouring properties. Independent investigations concluded that it was a significant contributing factor to ongoing structural damage.”
The council spent three years trying to find options to retain the tree, however “no viable alternative was identified”. They added: “Although the tree appeared healthy, healthy trees can contribute to subsidence due to soil conditions and moisture demand.
“Removal was therefore a last resort, based on the evidence gathered and the need to prevent further damage to the affected properties.”
Nicole Kidman radiated a blissful glow when she was spotted holidaying in the Greek islands, as romance rumors continue to swirl about her and a private equity mogul.
Now, Kidman, 59, has jetted back to Europe, where she was spotted indulging in a boating trip off the coast of Mykonos with her Lioness co-star Zoe Saldana, 48, on Wednesday.
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A broad smile played across Kidman’s face as she strolled onto the vessel and enjoyed the sea breeze amid the fever-pitch speculation about her love life.
They even opted for a sartorial match, draping their enviably svelte summer bodies in white outfits perfectly suited to a day luxuriating in the sun and surf.
Nicole Kidman, 59, radiated a blissful glow when she was spotted holidaying in the Greek islands, as romance rumors continue to swirl about her and a private equity mogul
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Kidman was spotted indulging in a boating trip off the coast of Mykonos with her Lioness co-star Zoe Saldana, 48
She stunned in a white crochet dress perfectly suited to a day luxuriating in the sun and surf
The Eyes Wide Shut star had slid her statuesque physique into a knit sundress, accessorizing with a gleaming pair of cat-eye shades.
Her tortoiseshell sunglasses complemented her strawberry blonde hair, which she let cascade freely over her shoulders, framing a luminous complexion.
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She and Saldana, who also serve as executive producers on the Taylor Sheridan series, proved their social bonds are as strong as their professional ones on the trip.
The ladies were pictured laughing it up and even dancing on the dock.
Saldana opted for a casual t-shirt teamed with a stylish tennis skirt, sweeping her hair back into a tight bun and warding off the rays with pink sunglasses.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actress added a pop of contrast to her ensemble by slinging on a black cross-body purse in the shape of a heart.
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While Kidman appeared to be stag for her latest waterborne excursion, Saldana was accompanied by her husband of 13 years, Italian movie producer Marco Perego.
Perego had slipped on a flowy set of white linen trousers and a light denim shirt, leaving a few top buttons undone over his sun-bronzed chest.
A broad smile played across Kidman’s face as she strolled onto the vessel and enjoyed the sea breeze amid the fever-pitch speculation about her love life
She and Saldana, who also serve as executive producers on the Taylor Sheridan series, proved their social bonds are as strong as their professional ones on the trip
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Kidman carried a straw hat in her hand
She accessorized with a gleaming pair of cat-eye shades
Her tortoiseshell sunglasses complemented her strawberry blonde hair, which she let cascade freely over her shoulders, framing a luminous complexion
Saldana opted for a casual t-shirt teamed with a stylish tennis skirt
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Her hair was swept back into a tight bun and she warded off the rays with pink sunglasses
While Kidman appeared to be stag for her latest waterborne excursion, Saldana was accompanied by her husband of 13 years, Italian movie producer Marco Perego
Perego had slipped on a flowy set of white linen trousers and a light denim shirt, leaving a few top buttons undone over his sun-bronzed chest
Kidman walked alongside her pals
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Saldana threw her hands up in the air while flashing a bright smile on her face at one point
After stepping off the boat and doing some shopping, the ladies also met up with the former Vogue Editor Edward Enninful for lunch at Nammos Beach Club.
Kidman’s display of lighthearted tranquility comes amid claims that Urban is heartbroken at her allegedly having moved on with a new man.
According to New Idea, the 58-year-old country music star was ‘absolutely devastated’ by claims Kidman had begun a romance with Reinstein.
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The Oscar-winning actress was reportedly seen looking affectionate with Reinstein during a recent outing, with photographs appearing to show the pair holding hands and sharing a kiss.
An insider claimed the images came as a painful blow to Urban, who had allegedly continued to hope that he and Kidman might one day repair their relationship.
‘Up until now, the door had been firmly closed on his relationship with Nicole,’ the insider alleged.
‘But now he still had hopes there might be a chance at reconciliation. He’s absolutely devastated and is going through that feeling of deep loss all over again.’
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The source further claimed that seeing Kidman apparently moving forward had prompted the Blue Ain’t Your Colour singer to reassess his own romantic future.
‘Seeing Nicole seemingly moving on is permitting him to do the same,’ the insider said.
Urban is nevertheless said to be wary of entering a high-profile relationship, with the source claiming he would prefer to keep any future romance private.
She wore red netted ballet flats
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The actress rocked a heart-shaped purse
They appeared to dance on the dock
The ladies also met up with the former Vogue Editor Edward Enninful for lunch at Nammos Beach Club
‘Don’t be surprised if Keith steps out with a ‘revenge romance’ of his own,’ the insider alleged.
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‘He knows he has to move on.’
Kidman and Urban were married for nearly two decades and share two daughters.
The Hollywood actress was seen sipping on an Aperol Spritz while sitting poolside with the silver fox in the Italian Riviera.
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The pair shared lighthearted conversations and at one point, Reinstein was seen playfully lifting up her hat, which protected her from the bright sunshine.
A source close to Kidman told the Daily Mail, ‘After everything she went through with Keith, she deserves to find happiness.’
The insider added, ‘She never thought her marriage wouldn’t work out and she tried as best as she could to keep her family intact.’
‘Her daughters are her best friends, and she seems really content in her life. She’s so easy to get along with and kind. She keeps her personal life extremely private.’
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In June, reports surfaced that Kidman was romantically linked to a ‘high-profile businessman.’
According to online gossip site DeuxMoi, the pair have been taking things slow.
A source told DeuxMoi at the time that ‘the relationship has been quietly developing for the past few months and the pair have been keeping things extremely low-key and largely out of the public eye.’
Last year in September, the Oscar winner and Urban’s separation came to light following 19 years of marriage, with the divorce being officially finalised in January.
Having split from her husband Keith Urban, 58, last year, Kidman was glimpsed last month sunning herself on holiday in Italy with the dashing tycoon Michael Reinstein (pictured)
Urban is said to be heartbroken after learning that his former wife has reportedly moved on with a new man; The exes pictured in 2022
It came after the pair had hit a rocky path in summer 2025, with the separation being reportedly a long-term development, according to Daily Mail sources.
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Not long after ringing in the new year, the former couple reached a settlement agreement to finalize the divorce.
During an interview with Variety in March, Kidman opened up about the split and how she is now ‘moving forward.’
‘What I’m grateful for is my family, and keeping them as is, and moving forward. That’s that.’
The Big Little Lies star added, ‘I’m staying in a place of, “We are a family,” and that’s what we’ll continue to be. My beautiful girls, my darlings, who are suddenly women.’
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When questioned if she was ‘doing all right’ after the split, the actress replied, ‘I am, because I’m always going to be moving toward what’s good.’
Geri Halliwell left fans stunned as she revealed her very unlikely friendship with Hollywood royalty Meryl Streep on Thursday.
The Spice Girl celebrated her 54th birthday with The Devil Wears Prada icon, 77, as she posted selfies from their ‘special day’ on set of Only Murders In The Building.
Geri gushed meeting Meryl was ‘a moment she will always treasure’ after the actress planted a kiss on her cheek.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘The best birthday present ever. ❤️ Spending my birthday with the extraordinary Meryl Streep was a moment I’ll always treasure. Thank you, @onlymurdershulu, for making it so special. ✨’
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Geri has joined the cast of Only Murders In The Building for its sixth season, alongside Meryl, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.
Geri has previously acted, having played herself in musical comedy film Spice World (1997) and more recently featured alongside Orlando Bloom and David Harbour in sport film Gran Turismo (2023).
Fans went wild for the unlikely pairing and wrote in Geri’s comments: ‘Wow wow WOW!!!’, ‘ICONIC’, ‘This is epic!’,
‘This is blowing my mind’, ‘Omggg, Geri and Meryl Streep!? This is so cool!!! Love you both’.
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Geri Halliwell, 54, left fans stunned as she revealed her very unlikely friendship with Hollywood royalty Meryl Streep, 77, on Thursday
Geri gushed meeting Meryl was ‘a moment she will always treasure’ after the actress planted a kiss on her cheek
The Spice Girl celebrated her 54th birthday with The Devil Wears Prada icon, 77, as she posted selfies from their ‘special day’ on set of Only Murders In The Building
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It comes after Mel C admitted she had words with Geri when her Spice Girls bandmate turned up to her wedding in a white dress.
Sporty Spice Mel, 52, married model Chris Dingwall in a ‘perfect’ Lake District wedding in the grounds of The Country House Cumbria last month.
But Geri’s decision to wear white, her signature colour, raised eyebrows among fans, prompting newlywed Mel to address the drama during a new interview.
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Speaking on Australian radio station Kiis1065, Mel gave her verdict on her guests’ dress choices, admitting: ‘I did have a little chat with Geri because it is her favourite colour.
‘She wears it every day. But she had a beautiful floral dress on and it was white white… I did have a little giggle with her about that.’
Mel gushed about her ‘beautiful weekend’ during the chat but did admit she missed Victoria, who had designed her stunning wedding gown.
Victoria missed out on her friend’s nuptials as they clashed with the World Cup final in New York, which she attended with her FIFA ambassador husband David.
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Addressing speculation that she was upset Victoria chose football over her friend, Mel insisted: ‘Victoria was very disappointed to not be there. She was with David in New York and it was the football final.
‘She tried to get out of it – she isn’t the biggest football fan, she won’t mind me telling you – but the family were there and David had commitments, being an ambassador for FIFA.
‘Of course she made my gorgeous dress and she was messaging me on the day. I actually saw her when I was in Ibiza so we had a little catch up. We were giving her updates and sending her pictures.’
It comes after Mel C admitted she had words with Geri Halliwell when her Spice Girls bandmate turned up to her wedding in a white dress (Geri pictured in her signature white at Ascot in June with husband Christian Horner)
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Sporty Spice Mel married model Chris Dingwall in a ‘perfect’ Lake District wedding in the grounds of The Country House Cumbria last month (pictured on their honeymoon)
Despite being in New York, Victoria’s influence on her best friend’s wedding was unmistakable in Melanie’s effortlessly elegant dress.
Mel added that she included several Spice Girls references in her big day, revealing there were multiple tracks from the girlgroup on her playlist, and she even walked back up the aisle to a rendition of 2Become1.
In a host of photos released by Vogue, Melanie was seen getting her dress fitted, and walking hand in hand with her new husband Chris.
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Melanie told Vogue: ‘The spark was immediate,’ she said. ‘I was 49 when I met Chris and I was in a really good place. We had a date in Australia, and it’s been difficult to separate us ever since.
‘He’s been such a beautiful addition to mine and my daughter’s life. Because, you know, I’m a single mum. My daughter is 17, and we’re pretty resilient the two of us, we’re a team. For anybody coming into our world… it was going to be tough, and he just fits perfectly. It’s a beautiful dynamic.’
Melanie met Chris, thought to be in his 40s, in 2023 on the exclusive dating app Raya.
She admitted she originally thought she was finished with romance following her split from previous long-term partners, including Thomas Starr.
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But during a night out at the pub, her friends convinced her to download the app, turning the search for a partner into a game they jokingly dubbed ‘boy Bingo’.
The couple first had a legal ceremony in Australia and one particularly sentimental detail was also unveiled, with Melanie incorporating a special Australian touch into her sleek ivory gown, which featured a dramatic open back and minimalist silhouette.
The Spice Girl had the words ‘Sydney’ and ‘7.6.2026’ embroidered in blue into the inside of her wedding gown as her ‘something blue’, commemorating the date and place where she and Dingwall officially became husband and wife.
One of Rennie Price’s victims was 98 during what was described in court as a ‘despicable’ spree of offending in Neath
A man targeted elderly and vulnerable pensioners, including one who was aged 98, pretending he had carried out work on their properties before demanding money in what has been described as a “despicable” spree of offending. Rennie Price was branded a “conman” by a prominent Swansea Crown Court judge.
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The court heard how between February and May this year, Price attended the houses of elderly people in the Neath area. It began on February 26, where he demanded £120 from his first victim, 79-year-old Maureen Hughes, after telling her he had completed work on her house without her request, claiming he spotted defects whilst working on a neighbour’s roof.
He attended the post office with her, where she withdrew the money and gave it to him. Ms Hughes reported the matter to police after she later spoke to her neighbour, and they told her they had not had any work done on their property. Don’t miss a court report by signing upto our crime newsletter here.
Prosecution barrister Georgia Donohue told the court that the second victim was Trevor Thomas, aged 85. He had been at home with his wife on May 12, when Price knocked on his door and said that he had repaired damaged tiles on his roof, charging him £250 on the spot. Mr Thomas went to Neath police station when he later discovered no work had been carried out on his home.
The third victim, a man in his seventies, had Price knock on his door, and offer to clear the guttering of his house and repair roof tiles for £120, and requested further large sums of money from him, which he refused and closed the door.
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Price continued to knock, and said he would meet him at the bank to receive the money. The victim also attended Neath police station to report the matter.
On May 14, Price attempted to obtain money from 87-year-old Anne Clark. The court heard how he spotted her near a bank and pretended to know her, asking “how are you keeping”, before telling her she owed him £120 for work he had completed on her house. She told him she did not have any money, and he pointed towards the bank. She refused and Price walked away.
Gwynfor Hughes, 79, was Price’s next victim on May 20. Price had attended his home and offered to remove an old wardrobe and carry out work in his garden, warning him to stay inside as he was “using chemicals”. Mr Hughes, who handed £140 to Price, later stepped outside to find Price had left and no work had been carried out.
Two days later, Joyce Thomas, 82, was approached by Price. He told her he had seen tiles come loose on her house and advised her work had to be done urgently as rain had been forecast. He charged her £240 and urged her to attend a cash point. The court heard the matter, reported to the police, left her feeling “stressed, worried and scared” in her own home.
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On May 23, Price attended the home of Susan Baker, 69, claiming he had completed roofing work for her, telling her he was “from Limerick, now living in Skewen”. She knew no work had been completed and asked for proof, to which he said he would provide an invoice and photographs.
He entered her house and asked for £220 for work he claimed to have completed. Ms Baker said she had no money but could write a cheque, which Price rejected, stating he had “completed the work as a favour” and to prevent ceiling defects.
Price left after Ms Baker’s neighbour intervened. The court was told how she had been feeling “flustered and pressured into giving money” when he attended, and that since the incident, she has “kept her doors locked and will only open the door when she knows who it is.”
The following day, on May 24, David Lewis, a man in his eighties, was also approached by Price, who told him he had asbestos dust on his roof garage. He asked Mr Lewis for £150, and he said he would only pay once the work had been completed. Price then asked for £25, but he again refused.
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Dennis Hathaway, 89, was approached by Price on May 26. He called out to Mr Hathaway by his name and told him he had “fixed his roof” and requested £120. He was given £60, but no work had been completed.
Price’s oldest victim, John Pritchard-Jones, 98, was approached on the same day, May 26. He told him that he had repaired loose tiles on his roof, but Mr Pritchard-Jones could see there were no loose tiles on his property.
Price pointed toward scaffolding on the street as a sign work was allegedly being carried out in the area and asked for £120. Mr Pritchard-Jones told him it was too much, to which Price responded: “How much you got on you?” He took £40 from the pensioner and left.
Diane Dark, 77, was approached by Price on May 27. He told her he had been working on a property next door and claimed he removed moss from roofing. He offered to paint her door and requested £60 to buy paint, but then requested £100 to enable him to buy brushes.
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Ms Dark later spoke to a man carrying out work at a neighbouring property and asked if he was working alone, and he said yes. She then reported the matter to the police.
A total of £2,075 was taken from eight complainants, the court heard.
Price, 53, of Cwrt Neville in Wern, Llanelli, appeared at Swansea Crown Court via Swansea prison video link for sentencing having pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud.
Sali Harmes, barrister, representing Price, said: “Mr Price tells me he does not wish to shy away from how serious these matters are and recognises it was selfish. It was a string of offending which was despicable.
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“He wants me to pass on his apologies to the court and to the victims, and says he is ashamed by his actions. He wants to make amends and wants to pay the victims back in full.
“His offending was motivated by financial selfishness and money he needed to fund his new found drug addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine.
“It is clear that this is a case that crosses the custody threshold, with an extremely high chance of a custodial sentence.
“He is someone who needs all the help available to him.”
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Sentencing Price, his honour Judge Paul Thomas said: “In 2014 you went to prison for defrauding people. It seems you have returned to your old ways.
“This year you set out on a deliberate campaign of planned dishonesty over several weeks. Your plan was to swindle elderly and vulnerable people claiming you’d done work that you clearly hadn’t done.
“Nearly all victims were in their seventies or eighties, one as old as 98.
“It was brazen, cynical and heartless.
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“It’s not just about financial loss, it is the feelings of stress and pressure on people during the final years of their lives, and the embarrassment over the feeling of being conned, and their erosion of trust in people generally.
“These courts have a duty to protect people from conmen like you. There were 11 different victims.”
Price was jailed for 20 months.
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Georgina Rodriguez’s VERY long wait to get down the aisle: Loyal partner waited nine years for Cristiano Ronaldo to pop the question after footballer claimed he was ‘waiting for the click’ with the mother of his kids
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez have spent a decade building an incredible life together.
During that time, they have raised a happy family, shared some of the biggest moments of their careers, and become one of the world’s hottest couples.
To celebrate their love, the pair are set to marry this weekend on the island where the footballer grew up, according to reports.
Yet despite everything they have experienced, one question continues to follow them: Why has it taken so long for the pair to get down the aisle?
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It wasn’t until August last year that the Portuguese star popped the question to the influencer – nine years into their relationship.
Georgina, 32, even joked that the soccer star, 41, popping the question with an ‘enormous’ diamond ring was ‘the least he could offer’ after waiting for so long to propose.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez have spent a decade building a life together. Yet one question continues to follow them: Why has it taken so long for the pair to get down the aisle?
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It wasn’t until August last year that the Portuguese star popped the question to the influencer – nine years into their relationship
However, Cristiano revealed that he didn’t plan to propose to the ‘woman of his life’ the night they got engaged, but it felt like the ‘right time’.
He said that two of his children inspired him to give Georgina a ‘not-so romantic’ and off-the-cuff proposal.
He said: ‘One of my friends gave me the ring to offer Gio (Georgina) and as I was giving her the ring, my two kids come in and say ‘Daddy, you’re going to give the ring to mum and you’re going to ask her to get married.’
‘I said, ‘Wow, this is the right moment to say yes.’ It was the time. I knew that I was going to do it one day but I hadn’t planned to do it then.
‘Because my daughters said that and my friends were filming, it was what I wanted and I offered (the ring). I didn’t (get on one knee) because I wasn’t prepared but it was a beautiful moment. I made a speech.
‘It was simple, I’m not a very romantic guy. Well, I am, but I’m not very romantic, not the kind of guy who brings flowers every week to the home. But I’m romantic in my way. It was beautiful and I knew that it’s the woman of my life so I did that and I hope that I did it well.’
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The news of their proposal left fans surprised, due to the fact they had assumed the couple were already married.
The Portuguese footballer has been involved in a relationship with Rodriguez after crossing paths at a Gucci store in 2016
Over the last ten years neither have moved to discredit persistent claims of a secret marriage
And why wouldn’t they? After all, many years have passed since their eyes first met across the well-appointed shop floor of a Spanish Gucci store.
Their relationship then continued to go from strength to strength, and neither has moved to discredit persistent claims of a secret marriage.
But the Instagram post of the giant rock, worth upwards of £2M, confirmed the footballer had only just asked for her hand in marriage.
So why did it take so long?
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In an interview with Marca last year, Cristiano revealed he hadn’t yet married Georgina, with whom he shares two kids, because he hadn’t felt the ‘click’.
He said: ‘I always tell her, ‘when we get that click.’ Like everything with our life, and she knows what I’m talking about.
‘It could be in a year or it could be in six months or it could be in a month. I’m 1000% sure that it’ll happen.’
The footballer has openly admitted that he is ‘not a romantic guy’ in the traditional sense, though he insisted he expresses romance in his own manner.
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What was the click he needed, you ask? Perhaps we’ll never know the answer, but the last ten years have not been without their fair share of turbulence – both on and off the pitch.
Cristiano had been Real Madrid’s talisman for seven years and was already a father to son Cristiano Jr when he met Georgina in Madrid, but his whirlwind career would soon see the couple uprooted to northern Italy.
It was a period of significant change, with Cristiano having welcomed twins Eva and Mateo via an American surrogate in June 2017 – just five months before Georgina gave birth to their first biological child, daughter Alana Martin.
However, the move to Turin and Italian giants Juventus took precedence as he adapted to life in a new city and a highly competitive league after close to a decade in the Spanish capital.
The couple moved from Madrid to Turin in 2018, where Ronaldo enjoyed a thrphy-laden three year spell with Serie A giants Juventus
It was a homecoming of sorts for the Portuguese ace, who had established himself as one of the world’s brightest talents during his first, trophy-laden spell with United.
But the couple were devastated when their male twin tragically died during childbirth the following April – a loss they later described as ‘the greatest pain.’
‘It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel,’ read an announcement shared by the couple.
‘Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.
‘We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support. We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.
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‘Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.’
The couple’s heartache mirrored a torrid spell in Manchester, with Georgina reportedly unable to settle in Lancashire and Ronaldo failing to replicate his earlier successes with United.
Indeed, the footballer’s inability to form a cohesive working relationship with then-manager Erik Ten Hag would ultimately lead to his early departure from the club, but not before launching a blistering public attack on the Dutchman during a sit-down interview with Piers Morgan.
Another move beckoned, and a hasty one at that, this time to Saudi Arabia, the Arab riches of Riyadh based football club Al Nassr and the rapidly developing Saudi Pro League.
Georgina has of course become something of a celebrity in her own right, albeit through association, having launched a hugely successful fly-on-the-wall docuseries with streaming giant Netflix.
But despite the domestic stability it promotes, there has been persistent conjecture regarding the circumstances and setting in which the couple first met.
Both parties have always maintained they met by chance during Cristiano’s now famous trip to Gucci, but separate sources tell a rather different story.
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Appearing on Spanish TV show Fiesta in June 2025, a former friend claimed the couple really met at famous Madrid nightspot Opium, a venue Rodriguez allegedly frequented in the hope of meeting wealthy sportsmen.
In 2021 there was joy on a personal front for Cristiano and Georgina, who confirmed her second pregnancy – this time with twins, a boy and a girl
But the couple were devastated when their male twin tragically died during childbirth the following April – a loss they later described as ‘the greatest pain’
The pair hold hands outside a Madrid courthouse in 2019
Releasing a statement in October 2018, he said: ‘I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.’
Kathryn, a former teacher and model from the Las Vegas area, was 25 when she met Cristiano at a nightclub in 2009 and went with him and other people to his hotel suite.
She alleged in her lawsuit filed almost a decade later that the star, then 24, sexually assaulted her in a bedroom.
Cristiano through his lawyers, maintained the sex was consensual and that the confidentiality agreement reached in 2010 was valid.
Her lawyer had asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a federal judge’s dismissal of the case in Las Vegas in June 2022 and reopen the civil lawsuit she filed in 2018.
Kathryn Mayorga (pictured) waived her right to anonymity by alleging Cristiano had raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 before subsequently paying her £375,000 in hush money
Kathryn and her lawyer Leslie Stovall (pictured) had their appeal for more money dismissed in 2023
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They argued U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey should not have rejected Kathryn’s attempts to unseal and make public the confidentiality agreement she signed in 2010 in accepting payments from Cristiano.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appellate court disagreed. It also rejected their argument that the judge abused her discretion by dismissing the case with prejudice, which prevented Kathryn from re-filing the case, and took the unusual step of levying a $335,000 (£267,450) fine against her lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall.
‘The district court clearly recognised the gravity of dismissing the case and accordingly provided a thorough analysis, amply supported by factual findings,’ Judge Johnnie Rawlinson wrote in a six-page opinion.
In dismissing the case in Nevada, Judge Jennifer sanctioned Stovall for ‘bad faith,’ saying he had improperly attempted to use documents that were leaked or stolen in a cyberattack to pursue Kathryn’s case.
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Leslie told the 9th Circuit panel during oral arguments in October that Kathryn wasn’t bound by the confidentiality agreement because Cristiano or his associates violated it before the German news outlet, Der Spiegel, published an article in April 2017 titled ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’s Secret’ based on documents obtained from ‘the whistleblower portal Football Leaks.’
Ronaldo signed a contract extension with Saudi club Al Nassr worth £167million-per-year
The footballer will likely end his career with the club, where his goalscoring exploits have continued in earnest
Las Vegas police reopened a rape investigation after Kathryn’s lawsuit was filed, but Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson decided in 2019 not to pursue criminal charges. He said too much time had passed and evidence failed to show that Kathryn’s accusation could be proven to a jury.
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Kathryn’s lawsuit claimed conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract, coercion and fraud. By the time Dorsey threw out the case, Leslie claimed Kathryn would receive far more than $25 million (£19.9m) in damages.
The 9th Circuit ruling noted the 2010 settlement ‘lay dormant until 2017, when `Football Leaks’ released hundreds of documents through a cyber hack of Cristiano’s former attorneys.’
‘Despite the settlement and confidentiality agreement between Cristiano and Kathryn, Leslie sought and used documents from ‘Football Leaks’ – including those clearly marked attorney-client privileged – to prosecute a new lawsuit on behalf of Kathryn against Cristiano,’ the circuit court said.
Having weathered their fair share of storms, Ronaldo and Rodriguez are now looking ahead to what will likely be an extravagant wedding ceremony – which is set to take place over the weekend.
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The Sun reported he will get married at a cathedral, with weddings usually starting from 3pm before moving to the Savoy Palace hotel, which boasts four restaurants.
A source said: ‘Guests at the hotel have been told two floors will be out of use on Friday and Saturday, as well as several bar areas.’
Funchal is the hometown and birthplace of football star Cristiano. There is a bronze statue in his honour and he even has a hotel named after him.
While he has a huge net worth, his choice to revisit his hometown is hugely sentimental as he grew up in poverty and shared a room with all of his siblings. He left home at the age of 11 to join Sporting Lisbon.
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The Daily Mail has contacted Georgina and Cristiano’s representatives for comment.
Forget footballers and popstars – today’s celebrity children want to be influencers.
And Rochelle and Marvin Humes’ 13-year-old daughter is the latest young nepo baby planning a career as a ‘content creator’ despite an upcoming social media ban for under-16s.
Rochelle, who rose to fame as a singer in The Saturdays and is now in a presenting duo with her JLS star husband, told how their daughter Alaia-Mai wants to be a social media creator when she’s older and next week will be doing work experience on her mother’s account.
Speaking at Vodafone’s The Opportunity Hub in Covent Garden on Thursday morning, she said: ‘Next week, Alaia-Mai is doing a week of work experience with me early. She wants to be a content creator, the girl who isn’t allowed any social media, which is ironic.
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‘But she loves Shannon [Rochelle’s personal content creator]. She thinks she is so cool, and Shannon is off on holiday, and Alaia-Mai was like, “Can I do Shannon’s job?” And I was like, “ok the team will write you a brief”, so she has been reading the brief while on a caravan holiday with my mum. They are currently on a 10-day caravan holiday; I’m actually really jealous.
She added: ‘I want to be a nepo mum! I’m like, go do your thing!’
Rochelle and Marvin Humes ’ 13-year-old daughter is the latest young nepo baby planning a career as a ‘content creator’ despite an upcoming social media ban for under-16s
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Rochelle, who rose to fame as a singer in The Saturdays, told how their daughter Alaia-Mai wants to be a social media creator when she’s older and next week will be doing work experience on her mother’s account
Alaia-Mai will be following in the footsteps of Harper Beckham, 15, Venezuela Fury, 16, Scarlett Thomas, 17, and Princess Andre, 19, who all intend to make a name for themselves on social media.
It comes as the UK government has announced plans to ban social media for under–16s in the spring of next year.
The change will mean youngsters won’t be able to access popular apps such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X.
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The Government also confirmed that 16- and 17–year–olds will face curfews.
As part of the new measures, their access to popular social media will be switched off from midnight to 6am every night.
Features that are designed to keep teens scrolling for longer will also be disabled by default for older teenagers. This includes videos that automatically play one after another and feeds that continually serve up personalised content.
Alaia-Mai is no stranger to a camera, as she and her siblings, Valentino, nine, and Blake, five, appear on their famous parents’ social media.
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They also participate in content for Rochelle’s successful family skincare and lifestyle brand, My Little Coco, which launched in February 2020.
Rochelle and Marvin pictured with their children Valentino, nine, Blake, five, and Alaia-Mai
For Rochelle, 37, balancing a successful career with motherhood is something she thinks about every day.
She admits there is a constant push and pull between work and family.
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Reflecting on the balance she strives to maintain, Rochelle said: ‘By being here, I’m not with my kids, but by being at home I wouldn’t be working; there is always that push and pull element.’
Despite the demands of her career, the presenter insisted that her priorities have never changed, adding: ‘My children and my family are my number one priority.’
Rochelle explained that she and Marvin, 41, made a conscious decision to adapt their working lives after becoming parents.
‘I don’t travel half as much as I used to, and me and Marvin knew by starting a family our lives would look different. If he’s travelling, I won’t,’ she said, revealing how the couple coordinates their schedules to ensure one parent is always at home with their children.
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‘We do one TV show together [BBC’s The Hit List], and we break our backs and do it in five days; we film three episodes a day.
‘I love how our kids get to see how ambitious we are as a family,’ she added.
The presenter was speaking at Vodafone’s The Opportunity Hub in Covent Garden
Vodafone offered practical support, expert advice, and inspiring talks from entrepreneur and broadcaster Rochelle (in conversation with Roman Kemp)
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Rochelle added she has found that what she is good at is being an entrepreneur, jokingly adding: ‘I was never very good at singing or dancing anyway!’
The presenter was speaking at Vodafone’s The Opportunity Hub in Covent Garden.
On stage, she admitted that she had been a Vodafone customer longer than she has been with Marvin – which is 16 years.
To help people turn ambition into action, Vodafone opened the UK’s first Opportunity Hub, offering practical support, expert advice, and inspiring talks from entrepreneur and broadcaster Rochelle (in conversation with Roman Kemp) plus writer and campaigner Anna Whitehouse and executive coach and psychotherapist, David Waters.
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The event, hosted by content creator and entrepreneur Jade Beason, provided visitors with the tools, tech, advice and connections needed to help unlock opportunity and builds on Vodafone Three’s commitment to create the UK’s best network, backed by a fully funded £11bn investment to grow coverage, boost reliability and strengthen the digital future for the nation.
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