The cancer centre has been accused of over-spending on senior managers at the expense of frontline workers

Staff at a Welsh cancer hospital have accused bosses of overseeing a toxic culture. The Velindre cancer centre, in northern Cardiff, recently commissioned an independent report into allegations of bullying and harassment but has come under fire for not showing staff the full findings.

Whistleblowers also claim the centre made a costly and unpopular decision to prioritise senior managers over frontline staff in a recent restructure. They allege a manager in Band 9 (the highest-paid category, with an annual salary of at least £112,782) and seven managers in Band 8 were hired to replace the previous structure of two Band 8 managers. Meanwhile, the hospital allegedly failed to replace some nurses and frontline workers who had left.

Velindre University NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, says the year-long restructure process “enhanced” services ahead of the transition to its new £885m cancer centre, which is due to open in 2027 in Whitchurch.

The change in personnel was “achieved at a net cost of £345,000”, according to the trust, which forecasts it will meet its statutory duty to break even in 2025/2026.

After an anonymous group of staff made a serious complaint about the hospital’s culture, the trust commissioned an independent report but chose not to provide employees with a copy after its completion.

Instead they held a meeting in which staff were taken through a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation detailing vague themes of “learnings” taken from the report. We understand these included bullying, harassment, and staff feeling scared to speak up.

One employee told us: “‘Lessons learnt’ were discussed. However, as staff we have no confidence in this feedback or that any action to improve the toxic culture will be implemented. The report remains a secret and will not be shared.”

The trust acknowledged some staff had felt “let down” by the restructure process and had made complaints about “bullying, harassment, and communications”. It accepted there were “a range of lessons learned” but added that the report did not find “formal action” was needed.

Whistleblowers recently wrote to Welsh NHS bosses – as well as health secretary Jeremy Miles and the leaders of Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives – about “incidents of bullying and the pervasive atmosphere of fear that many of our colleagues across all departments are experiencing” at Velindre.

The letter claims staff have been instructed not to “comment on matters outside their direct responsibility” , leading some to feel “speaking up safely is not possible”.

“The atmosphere of fear that has permeated the workplace is deeply troubling,” it goes on. “Many employees have expressed a reluctance to speak up about their concerns, fearing retaliation or negative repercussions.

“Staff wish to communicate a vote of no confidence in the executive but are being actively silenced. We are unable to identify ourselves but given the opportunity through an independent person we will speak out and identify ourselves with the evidence if it is safe to do so.”

Plaid Cymru health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor MS told WalesOnline the party is “incredibly concerned by these allegations of serious governance failings” and has raised the matter with the Welsh Government.

He added that the health system must have more “transparency and accountability” to reassure staff and patients that allegations of “corporate abuse” in the NHS are being dealt with.

The trust said its cancer service has “a track record of delivering safe, high-quality care” and that there was no evidence of patient safety being compromised by cultural issues.

“We have robust systems in place for patients, clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, scientists, and any staff groups to raise any safety issues,” it added. “We actively encourage everyone to raise any concerns.

“There has been no frontline recruitment freeze, and both nursing and medical staffing levels have increased steadily since 2020. In the past 12 months up to January 31, 2026, the turnover rate for Band 5, 6 and 7 [nurses] at Velindre cancer service is 2.75%, which compares very favourably with NHS averages.

“We wish to make it clear that any bullying or harassment is unacceptable. We encourage staff to speak up safely and are committed to addressing all formal concerns seriously.

“We will continue to strengthen our speaking‑up culture, and our staff survey results continue to see us perform well against NHS Wales benchmarks… But we recognise and want to do much more to support our staff.

“Finally, we have no evidence of any collective vote of no confidence in the executive team or operational directors.”

The Welsh Government said it had “discussed the matters raised” with the chair of the trust’s board and that it expects all NHS staff to be “treated with dignity and respect at work, and able to speak up safely”.

The Welsh Conservatives did not respond to our approach for comment despite their leader Darren Millar being among the recipients of the whistleblowers’ letter.

If you would like to let us know about a story we should be investigating, email us at conor.gogarty@walesonline.co.uk

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of its late supreme leader, the Islamic Republic’s next ruler on Monday, putting a hard-line cleric in charge as the war spreading across the Middle East sent oil prices skyrocketing with Iran launching new attacks on regional energy infrastructure.

With Iran’s theocracy under assault by the United States and Israel for more than a week, the country’s Assembly of Experts chose the secretive, 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as the new supreme leader. The Guard has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since the younger Khamenei’s father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed Feb. 28 during the war’s opening salvo.

Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has also all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman through which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried. Brent crude oil, the international standard, surged to more than $114 a barrel on Monday, some 60% higher than when Israel and the United States first attacked Iran.

As global concerns grew over economic effect, U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the spike in prices as temporary.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Trump wrote on social media.

Iran has been firing on Israel and American bases in the region since the start of the war, but has also been launching missiles and drones at energy and water infrastructure.

On Monday, a fire broke out at an oil facility that was attacked in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones attacking the Shaybah oil field.

Israel, meantime, said it was launching new airstrikes on central Iran.

New Iranian leader seen as even more hard-line than his father

The younger Khamenei, who had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, had long been considered a potential successor. That was even before the Israeli strike killed his father, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

There appeared to be some dissension over his selection. Political figures within Iran criticized the idea of handing over the supreme leader’s title based on heredity and thereby creating a clerical version of the rule of the shah, who was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But top clerics in the Assembly of Experts likely wanted Khamenei to prosecute the war.

Khamenei, who is believed to hold views that are even more hard-line than his late father, now will be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.

While the country’s key nuclear sites are in tatters after the United States bombed them during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, there’s still highly enriched uranium in Iran that’s a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose to do what his father never did — build a nuclear bomb.

Israel has already described him as a potential target, while Trump had called him “unacceptable.”

“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump had said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a statement expressing support, as did the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, speaking to Iranian state television, praised the Assembly of Experts for “courageously” convening even as airstrikes continued in Tehran. He said the younger Khamenei had been trained by his father and “can handle this situation.”

Regional anger grows as attacks continue on energy infrastructure and oil prices spike

Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following a thwarted drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states.

The Foreign Ministry said Iranian attacks mean “further escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future.”

In addition to targeting energy facilities also in the UAE, Iran on Monday also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where it hit a residential area wounding 32 people, including several children, according to authorities.

Bahrain has also accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online. Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travelers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.

On Monday, Bahrain’s state oil company declared force majeure for its oil shipments, state-run Bahrain News Agency reported, a legal maneuver that releases a company of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances. It insisted that local demand could still be met.

In Iraq, air defenses show down a drone as it attacked a U.S. military compound inside the Baghdad International Airport, a security source told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

There were no reported injuries or damage and it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but Pro-Iranian Iraqi militias have previously targeted the base.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military had said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. soldiers have now been killed.

The U.S. State Department early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia following the escalation in attacks.

Eight other U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials. Israel reported its first soldier deaths Sunday, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting Hezbollah.

___

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon, Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and Qassem Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed reporting.

REGARDING the reports of vandalism with the slashing of car tyres overnight in Clarence Street, York, between the hours of 8pm and 9am on February 23.

I walk past the mud verge (it used to be grass ‘but that’s another story’) every morning as I collect my papers, around 7am, and damage to cars are a regular thing, on this particular piece of land.

At least once or twice a week I’ve noticed similar problems.

A month or so ago I noticed a small silver car with all four tyres “deflated”.

Obviously there is a “Jack or Jackie the tyre ripper” on the loose in Clarence Street and perhaps Sherlock Holmes should get involved to chase down the perpetrators.

D M Deamer,

Penleys Grove Street,

Monkgate,

York

Read more:

York – multiple car tyres slashed in Clarence Street

Here is a better idea for our Home Secretary…

THE Home Secretary has announced a new gimmick to throw to us during an otherwise busy time for news; pay failed asylum seekers £10,000 to go home.

I’ve got an even better idea – fine them £10,000 plus all costs for their stay while they were here and then instantly deport them to whichever country they came from.

They can find cash to pay the smuggling gangs in France so they can afford the exit fee as well.

Dr Scott Marmion,

Woodthorpe,

York

—

UK defence gaps exposed by war in Middle East

ONE thing of great importance has been exposed by the war in the Middle East.

Our defences are patently lacking in any substance, we are bare to the bone, a navy moored in harbour awaiting repair, an army ill-prepared, an air force the same.

We are further embarrassed on the international stage by having a leader who is content to sit on the fence instead of making any sensible, positive decisions.

Peter Rickaby,

Moat Way,

Brayton

What do you think?

Feel strongly about an issue? Write us a letter. Please write no more than 250 words and you must provide your full name, address and mobile number. Send your views by email to: letters@thepress.co.uk

Ditch cash and go card-only? How would we manage?

THE mind boggles, Mr Deamer, as to how we can possibly manage without cash as everything stops as it is when we have an odd power cut.

Mary Morton,

Hob Moor Drive,

Holgate,

York

—

Here is every road closure you need to know about in and around the town this week (March 9-13):

BLACKWELL

Blackwell will see a major road closure due to ongoing utility repair and maintenance works.

The restrictions are expected to remain in place from January 5 until April 15. This closure affects the road from the junction with Bridge Road to the junction with Carmel Road South.

The work involves the replacement of existing pipes and connections.

CLIFTON ROAD

Clifton Road will undergo highway repair and maintenance, leading to a road closure starting March 11 until March 18.

The restrictions will affect the major carriageway, specifically where a double road hump will be removed and renewed. 

SKINNERGATE

Skinnergate is currently experiencing a road closure due to emergency highway repair works.

This closure began on March 3 and is scheduled to remain in place until March 23.

The work is critical due to an unsafe building, and both the footway and carriageway will be affected.

ABBEY ROAD

Abbey Road is also facing a significant road closure as highway improvement works continue.

The closure started on February 23 and is set to last until April 17.

This work spans from the junction of Carmel Road North to just past Neville Road, focusing on the installation of speed tables and improvements to the footway.

SHEARWATER AVENUE

Shearwater Avenue will see a temporary road closure from March 9 to March 11 for miscellaneous works.

The nature of these works has not been detailed, but the carriageway will be closed for the duration.

YARM ROAD (A66 ROUNDABOUT TO SADBERGE ROAD ROUNDABOUT)

A section of Yarm Road, between the A66 roundabout and the Sadberge Road roundabout, will undergo road closure beginning March 2 and concluding on March 15.

This closure is part of scheduled works accommodating necessary improvements to the carriageway.

DODDS STREET AND BRANKSOME TERRACE BACK STREET

Dodds Street and Branksome Terrace will be closed due to urgent utility repair works.

This closure started on March 3 and is expected to continue until March 9.

The repairs involve locating and fixing a leak in the main water line, ensuring safety and service reliability for residents.

SALISBURY TERRACE AND BARNINGHAM STREET BACK STREET

Roadworks will also affect Salisbury Terrace and Barningham Street from March 10 to March 13.

This expected closure is due to utility repairs requested by a customer.

The work aims to excavate and renew existing service connections, leading to temporary disruptions on the carriageway.

ARCHDEACON CRESCENT

Archdeacon Crescent will face a major road closure as utility asset works are anticipated to continue from February 10 until March 19.

The work involves digging in the footway and carriageway to install new underground electric cables.

THOMPSON STREET WEST

Thompson Street West is also closed as utility asset works are in progress. The restrictions began on January 21 and are set to last until March 26.

This prominent closure affects work related to underground electric cable installations.

KILLIN ROAD

Killin Road will close temporarily on March 9 for unspecified works but will revert to normal on the same day.

MYRTLE GARDENS

Myrtle Gardens is currently closed due to utility repair works that commenced on January 27 and will continue until March 13.

The work includes the replacement of pipes, affecting both the footway and carriageway, causing significant disruptions near the junction with Mayfair Road.

HARROWGATE VILLAGE

Harrowgate Village remains closed due to ongoing highway improvement works stretching from March 31, 2025, to March 27.

The closure includes major adjustments to the carriageway, footway, and verge from Dewberry Lane to Village Hall.

BEAUMONT HILL

Beaumont Hill is undergoing similar works with a road closure in effect from March 31, 2025, until March 27.

Improvements will affect the road from Dewberry Lane to number 25 Beaumont Hill, as part of development projects.

BURTREE LANE

Burtree Lane is undergoing road closure from March 2 to March 9 for various maintenance works. Drivers are urged to avoid the area if possible.

LIME LANE

Finally, Lime Lane is experiencing a road closure starting March 2 and is expected to be closed until March 13.

This closure aims to facilitate carriageway patching.

Residents and drivers are encouraged to plan their journeys accordingly and use alternate routes where possible during these essential maintenance works.

She chats on the newest episode of the Postcards from Northern Ireland podcast

Comedian and actress Diona Doherty has spoken about her ‘proud Derry roots’ in the newest episodes of Discover Northern Ireland’s new podcast.

Postcards from Northern Ireland, presented by broadcaster Ralph McLean, hears local famous faces reminisce on how our giant spirit, people and place have shaped their happiest travel memories and instilled a passion for local adventure.

Diona relives her nostalgic holiday memories and reveals the local experiences she can’t wait to rediscover with her young family.

READ MORE: Local famous faces send their ‘Postcards from Northern Ireland’ in new podcastREAD MORE: Shane Todd one of first guests on new BBC quiz show ‘Do You Know Your Place?’

During the podcast, she looks back on her childhood holidays across Northern Ireland and reveals the places she cherishes visiting now.

Diona reflects on her first trips out of her hometown, exploring the beauty of the Causeway Coast.

She said: “I was on the train out of Derry two or three times as a child. It was like getting the Polar Express. That train along the north coast… it’s stunning.

“I remember looking and thinking is this where we live? It’s such a magical train journey. You pass Mussenden Temple and it’s so gorgeous.”

Diona also paints a colourful picture of “the most magical time” spent picking apples in an orchard in Co Armagh, wandering among the trees with her husband, fellow comedian Sean Hegarty, and her step-sons.

She added: “We had a beautiful afternoon picking apples and watching how they make the cider. There was a woman making pancakes with apple spread and they were making apple crumble. It was like something out of a Hallmark movie. It was just the most wholesome day.”

Newcastle, Co Down is also revealed as the couple’s happy place, with Diona choosing the comfort of a hotel over Sean’s love of camping in the Mourne Mountains.

Diona continued: “We always imagine ourselves retiring down there. I love looking onto water, staying in the Slieve Donard… even going to the amusements. That will transport you back to your childhood.”

Proud of her roots, Diona loves going home and insists that she needs to take her children to explore the historic Walled City.

She said: “When I go back, I feel like I’m on a wee holiday, I can reclaim my teenage years. I have never actually taken my kids to the Derry Walls. It’s on my bucket list of where I need to take them.”

Derry Halloween has become a standout attraction for more than 100,000 people every year and Diona admits she has grown to value the spectacle more with adulthood.

She said: “As a professional working there, I was so proud of what this city has created for Halloween. There are hundreds of thousands of people who come from all over the world to this wee place.

“I didn’t realise that as a child, when I was hanging around the Derry Walls dressed as ET! If you go to Derry over that week to celebrate Halloween, you will not get bored.”

Returning time and time again, Diona also reveals how she is a big fan of the Ulster American Folk Park in Co Tyrone.

She said: “I absolutely love the Ulster American Folk Park. We went there as kids, and I have taken my kids about three or four times. You are just transported to a different world.”

The podcast invites audiences to “fall in love all over again with our favourite local destinations” but also explore new places that may be off the beaten track.

Episode three of ‘Postcards from Northern Ireland’ it out now on Discover Northern Ireland’s YouTube and Spotify, where you can also catch episodes featuring Colin Davidson and Nathan Anthony.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our What’s On newsletter

Louis Theroux has spoken to key male influencers on social media in the Manosphere for new Netflix project

As a concerned father-of-three, Louis Theroux has admitted he doesn’t know what his own kids are looking at online half the time. So this might explain why he has got involved with male content creators online, with millions of followers, who are part of what is dubbed “The Manosphere” for his new documentary.

Louis says: “These aren’t figures on the margins – anyone who’s got kids, and especially boys, will know that they are making inroads into the culture. Their influence is being felt in schools, in the workplace and all across the internet.

“Going back to the earliest days of my programmes I’ve always been interested in the taboo and people who believe things which run against the grain of values I’ve grown up with. Those in the manosphere embody a swaggering machismo that is by turns misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and racist. So there’s a whole bunch of red flags there which I find interesting.”

TV host Louis, 55, starts the Netflix documentary by saying he noticed a few years ago “parts of the internet were being taken over” by a collection of male influencers who claim to give young men “cheat codes to win at life”.

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Asked about his own sons and what they are watching, Louis replies honestly: “I think as a parent you hope that your influence will outweigh whatever they’re being fed online, but truthfully they probably spend more hours looking at their phones than they do talking to us and we don’t always know what they’re looking at.”

In his 90-minute film, Louis explores how key figures, including Harrison Sullivan (known online as HSTikkyTokky), Myron Gaines, Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy (AKA Sneako), Justin Waller and Ed Matthews, are helping to reshape young men’s ideas about masculinity and fuelling a resurgent global men’s rights movement.

Louis immerses himself in their world, encountering prominent figures within the movement, each presenting their own interpretations of traditional gender roles and values.

Sullivan, 24, was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence at Staines Magistrates’ Court in November last year after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.

He has also been disqualified from driving for two years. Asked what his message is, he tells Louis: “I coach boys how to be f**king boys, how to make money, how to be outside the system, how to not have a boss telling you want to do.

“I teach guys to be proper boys and not gimps that walk around in the modern world.”

These men online have similar ideas to those of influencer Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist.

A 2025 YouGov poll suggested one in eight Gen Z men (aged 14-29) had a “favourable view” of Andrew Tate, one of the leading figures of the manosphere, while more than one in three believed misandry – hatred or discrimination against men – was widespread in the UK.

Sounding worried about their impact, Louis said: “It was my kids who first made me aware of Andrew Tate – it would have been around 2022 and they kept referencing him and what he was saying – I had no idea who he was. Four years later, he’s still got cultural influence because he has millions of hours of content sitting out there for people to discover.

“As a parent I’m obviously concerned about the impact that that has, and it would be easy to say; ‘oh well, they don’t take it too seriously’, which a lot of the time I think they don’t, but at a certain point, a joke is no longer a joke – especially when it’s unchallenged and repeated. So we try to stay on top of what they’re watching and try to have conversations with them about it, but it’s hard.”

Louis encounters difficulties in the film which see the male influencers film him for their own social media and subject him to abuse and questions they receive from their followers whilst streaming footage live. It leads to Louis being abused about his previous documentary with the late Jimmy Savile.

He also witnesses homophobic behaviour by HSTikkyTokky whilst Myron Gaines speaks in front of his girlfriend about wanting multiple wives in the future.

Sullivan says he would “disown” his own daughter if he had one and she joined Only Fans, despite claiming to own an agency that represents girls on there. He also says he could not have a son who was gay.

There is also much discussion in the documentary on the notion of ‘red-pilling’ which Louis explains can mean “that men and women are fundamentally different and that women don’t want what they say they want – all they actually care about is big, rich guys with big dicks.”

Asked why he thinks the manosphere is attractive to many teenagers, Louis said: “I think there’s a lot of lonely men out there, and there’s now a whole industry dedicated to them. There are millions of hours of podcasts that talk about the masculinity crisis – how we’ve seen a decline in manufacturing jobs in the west and how there’s been efforts to correct the patriarchal skew in society that has in turn triggered a backlash.”

Louis also defended his decision to make the documentary in the first place, which could be seen as amplifying potentially harmful ideologies and helping the men to get even more followers thanks to them being shown on Netflix.

For him it is a case of trying to understand and challenge the ideas which are being pushed to youngsters.

He said: “My view is always I’m not trying to embarrass them or trick them in any way. I am trying to tell the truth and I will confront them appropriately. I’m not trying to pick a fight. I’m just trying to understand them, get my questions answered and then challenge and push back on the parts that don’t make sense to me or strike me as dangerous. At the end of the day I’m trying to make TV that engages people – so a few fireworks don’t go amiss and some raised voices or a sense of menace is actually quite helpful.”

In the concluding moment of the documentary, after spending weeks with these male influencers, Louis concludes: “In a world that’s changing at dizzying speed with narrowing opportunities, where the old entitlements of manhood have been challenged. It is perhaps not surprising that some have sought the comfort of a simplified world of game hacks and conspiracy theories. It struck me that the matrix they rail against more accurately describes the algorithmic prison they’ve created for their followers, an illusion of endless wealth and power that actually only enriches a few at the top.

“We are in a world where the fringe is no longer fringe. Where we are all increasingly, inside the manosphere, and it’s up to us how we get out.”

* Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere is available on Netflix from March 11.

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Julie Hatton, 51, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease just weeks after her mum died from the same illness, and died seven months later. Her husband John has written a book about their journey

A woman tragically lost her life just months after her mother succumbed to the same cruel disease.

Julie Hatton, 51, received a Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis mere weeks following her mum’s death from the condition, and passed away seven months later as the illness took hold rapidly.

Her husband, John Hatton, from St Helens, described how their world was shattered when Julie started displaying alarming symptoms. In November 2023, whilst preparing one of her go-to dishes, she knew something was amiss when she abruptly lost power in her left arm and couldn’t manage to lift a pan off the cooker.

Before long, Julie’s left leg also weakened, and after undergoing examinations, the pair received the heartbreaking MND diagnosis. The condition advanced swiftly, forcing the family to confront the harsh truth about how precious little time remained.

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Following her passing, John, who teaches A-level maths, has penned a book called ‘No Plan B’ chronicling their final months as a couple, drawing on diary entries he started keeping throughout Julie’s battle with the disease to honour her memory and shine a light on the condition.

Speaking to the ECHO, John shared: “When Julie’s mum was diagnosed, the words MND came as a massive shock. Julie’s mum died in July, and it was only in November when Julie noticed her own symptoms.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.

“She was concerned and I told her that her mum was in her 70s and Julie was only 51. I said, ‘let’s not think the worst just yet’. But she was convinced. From that day she always said she could feel it and knew what it was.”

Julie initially attempted to regain strength in her arms through gym sessions, but the weakness persisted and deteriorated further. Whilst on a weekend break to Leeds, her condition took a deeply concerning turn when her left leg abruptly collapsed beneath her.

John recalled: “She described it as being like a cardboard tube from a kitchen roll, as if it had kinked and bent in the middle. She cried the whole way home.”

Faced with neurology waiting lists extending for months, the pair opted to go private. Julie underwent examinations at Spire Hospital in Warrington before having an MRI scan at the Liverpool branch.

Subsequent nerve conduction tests ultimately confirmed the diagnosis after detecting widespread muscle fasciculations, especially in the muscles around Julie’s neck, and medics delivered the crushing blow that Julie had MND.

John remembered: “For Julie, it was kind of just confirming her suspicions. For me, it was one of those moments where you see it on adverts, in films but you never believe it will be you. But it was, and we just stood in the reception and hugged. It was like one of those time lapse videos; people were coming and going, and we were just stood stationary. It’s heartbreaking. It’s the worst news you can ever have.”

Julie passed away merely 212 days following her diagnosis, dying on August 17 after receiving the news on January 17. John said: “Watching your wife deteriorate before your eyes, slowly taking her bit by bit is just devastating. Every day, something gets worse. You sleep a little bit longer, your arms and legs are a little bit weaker.

“Eventually, you need a wheelchair to get from the living room to the kitchen, and the bedroom moves downstairs. Eventually you have to go to the hospice because it’s unbelievably difficult to look after somebody at home. I suppose the hardest part is that you want to enjoy what little time you have left together. There’s no cure; there’s never a moment where you think you’ll beat it. You know your fate from the minute you’re diagnosed.”

Through everything, John said Julie remained remarkably resilient: “Even in the toughest of circumstances, Julie was an absolute warrior who fought the disease head-on. She didn’t ever play the victim; she was always so strong and she was absolutely incredible. I still get strength from her, and she’s been gone two-and-a-half years.”

Whilst Julie was ill, John started keeping diary entries, chiefly to document their journey and keep mates informed, but also to make sense of his own feelings. He expressed: “I just wanted to capture as much of Julie as I could. She was so popular and had so many friends, and as time went on, it became a way of keeping everyone involved. She wasn’t hiding away from anything; Julie wanted people to know and understand about MND, because a lot of people don’t. And the longer she slept, the more I wrote.”

Following Julie’s passing, John dedicated half a year to transforming those diary entries into a book. He further stated: “The book is not about me; it’s a love story. It’s about celebrating what Julie had, our life together, and trying to promote the plight of those with MND.”

For those intrigued by John’s book, ‘No Plan B’, you can discover more here.

NEW YORK (AP) — A device thrown by a counterprotester at an anti-Islam demonstration in New York City on Saturday was confirmed to be an improvised explosive, according to a preliminary police analysis. As the investigation continued on Sunday, police said they were looking into a second suspicious device found in the same area of Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Two people were in custody for their alleged role in Saturday’s confrontation, which unfolded during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event led by the far right activist Jake Lang outside the Manhattan residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The sparsely attended event drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators, including one person who tossed a smoking object containing nuts, bolts, screws and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd, police said.

In a social media post Sunday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s bomb squad determined the object wasn’t a hoax device or smoke bomb, but an “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”

The device extinguished itself steps from police officers, Tisch noted. The same person who threw it then received a second device from another counterprotester, which was dropped and did not appear to ignite, the commissioner said.

Charges against the two counterprotesters were still pending. Tisch said police were working with federal prosecutors and the FBI on the case. The FBI said agents with the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force were participating in the investigation.

“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” Mamdani said in a statement Sunday. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”

Later Sunday afternoon, police said on social media that authorities investigating Saturday’s events had “identified a suspicious device in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street.” Several streets were closed and “limited evacuations of buildings” were ordered as the bomb squad assessed and worked to remove the device, the post said.

Around 7 p.m., police used a flatbed truck to remove a Honda Civic and the streets were reopened.

A person associated with Lang’s protest was also arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, assault and unlawful possession of a noxious matter after allegedly macing counterdemonstrators, police said.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. He recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

Earlier this year, Lang organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump’s immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters that quickly chased him away.

Katherine Tee, a British sailor, claims she saw Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on fire as it crashed into the Indian Ocean in 2014, and believes she knows the exact location of the missing aircraft

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One woman believes she holds the answer to cracking the biggest aviation enigma of recent times.

Katherine Tee, a British sailor, claims she witnessed part of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft on fire when it went down 12 years ago.

On March 8 2014, 227 passengers and 12 crew members disappeared after boarding the Boeing 777-200ER in Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, China. Just 40 minutes into the journey, the plane vanished from radar tracking, never to be spotted again.

Tee is convinced the “bright orange” glow and the “trail of black smoke” she observed over the Indian Ocean was the Boeing aircraft engulfed in flames.

The hunt for the plane was relaunched at the end of last year, but numerous efforts to locate the craft have been unsuccessful despite state-of-the-art technology, reports the Mirror.

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Some of the wreckage was discovered along the African coastline and on islands in the Indian Ocean – but that’s been all that’s been retrieved of MH370.

Aviation specialists believe the aircraft may have strayed from its intended route, heading west for several hours before vanishing.

Tee was sailing from Cochin, India, to Phuket, Thailand, with her husband Marc Horn when she claims to have witnessed MH370.

Speaking to the Phuket Gazette, Tee said she didn’t report it straight away because she thought she “was going insane.”

She said: “I thought I saw a burning plane cross behind our stern from port to starboard, which would have been approximately north to south.

“Since that’s not something you see every day, I questioned my mind. I was looking at what appeared to be an elongated plane glowing bright orange, with a trail of black smoke behind it.

“It did occur to me that it might be a meteorite. But I thought it was more likely that I was going insane.

“It caught my attention because I had never seen a plane with orange lights before so I wondered what they were. I could see the outline of the plane, it looked longer than planes usually do.”

She said she spotted another aircraft in the sky simultaneously and presumed the pilot would flag it.

She went on: “I wondered again why it had such bright orange lights. They reminded me of sodium lights. I thought it could be some anomaly or just a meteor.”

The pair carried on sailing to Phuket for two days before docking when they heard “everyone talking about the missing plane.”

Tee “doubted” what she had witnessed. She added: “Besides, I thought they’d find it.”

The Liverpudlian then reviewed the GPS logs from her voyage. She said: “Lo and behold, what we saw was consistent with the confirmed contact which the authorities had from MH370.

“This is what convinced me to file a report with the full track data for our voyage to the relevant authorities.”

Tee submitted her sighting to the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in June 2014.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a warning to all Brits last month, reminding them to avoid using four non-sterile alcohol-free wipe products:

• ValueAid Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes
• Microsafe Moist Wipe Alcohol Free
• Steroplast Sterowipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes
• Reliwipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes (testing revealed contamination with a Burkholderia strain not related to the outbreak cases)

The warning came after the wet wipes were found to be contaminated with Burkholderia stabilis, a bacterium found in natural environments that can cause infections.

⚠️ Together with @MHRAgovuk, we’re advising the public to stop using certain non-sterile alcohol-free wipes, as they may be contaminated with Burkholderia stabilis.
📰🔗 https://t.co/933w8rInHM pic.twitter.com/eXkExQm8Ax

— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) August 4, 2025

It rarely affects healthy individuals, but there is an increased risk of infection for those with a weakened immune system, cystic fibrosis, and patients at home with intravenous lines.

The MHRA has been working with the manufacturers and distributors of these wet wipes, and the sale and supply of the contaminated products has now ceased.

However, Brits are being urged to check for affected wipes as some of these products may still be in first aid kits and people’s homes.

If found, they should be immediately removed from use and disposed of appropriately.

Consultant in Epidemiology and Public Health at UKHSA, Dr James Elston, said: “We are reminding the public not to use, and to dispose of, certain non-sterile alcohol-free wipes which have been linked to an outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis.

“The overall risk to the public remains very low, and affected products have been withdrawn from sale.

“However, we are continuing to see a small number of cases in vulnerable patients, and we are now aware of one associated death.  

“Non-sterile alcohol-free wipes, of any type or brand, should not be used for the treatment of injuries, wounds, or broken skin; and they should never be used to clean intravenous lines.”

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Six deaths linked to “ongoing outbreak” of fatal bacterium found in contaminated wet wipes

The “ongoing outbreak” of Burkholderia stabilis associated with non-sterile alcohol-free cleansing wipes continues to cause infections and deaths in the UK.

The latest figures, released by Eurosurveillance this month, show 59 confirmed cases of Burkholderia stabilis associated with contaminated non-sterile alcohol-free wipe products in the UK as of February (from January 2018).

The infectious disease experts added: “Five confirmed and one probable case died within 30 days of detection of B. stabilis.

“One death was attributed to their Burkholderia infection.”