Reform UK has been accused of a “complete lack of respect” after a party candidate triggered a standalone by-election, expected to cost more than £20,000, for an area that will go to the polls again in just two weeks.

Residents of Barton and Winton, in Salford, voted on Wednesday to elect a new councillor following the death of David Lancaster, who had held the seat since 1965.

Michael Felse was duly elected and has become Reform UK’s first member on Salford City Council, winning with 676 votes to Labour’s 643 – a narrow 33 – to represent the ward.

But Labour sources have criticised Reform for triggering the by-election, describing the move as “unnecessary” and “indefensible”. The party, which lost the seat, points out that the event will have cost the local authority over £20,000, despite a third of the council’s seats being up for election on May 7, when it also could have been held.

The by-election was called by Lewis Croden, another Reform UK candidate in Salford, and a relative of his. Reports indicate that the pair were able to force the event under a rule from the Local Government Act 1972, where two local electors can trigger a by-election within 35 days of formally requesting by writing to a senior council officer.

Mr Croden and his relative made the request less than two months after the passing of Barton and Winton Mr Lancaster, who was England’s longest serving councillor.

A local Labour spokesperson said: “The decision by Salford Reform UK to trigger an unnecessary early by‑election in Barton & Winton was entirely indefensible.

“The financial implications of this decision are significant. A stand‑alone by‑election costs the council over £20,000, when it could have been seamlessly incorporated into the citywide elections in May. In addition, the extension of the pre‑election period has disrupted other workstreams across the authority, potentially at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds.

“That a duly nominated Salford Reform UK candidate chose to trigger this by‑election before the late councillor David Lancaster (the longest‑serving councillor in the country, who served the people of Salford with distinction for over 60 years) had even been laid to rest demonstrates a complete lack of decorum and respect.”

Responding to the allegations, Mr Croden said: “Salford has been taken for granted by Labour for years. Public money is being wasted on a loss making stadium, £668 million in high interest PFI debt, and over £100 million wasted on a failed clean air charge zone. Time we fix our roads and fund essential services.”

Reform UK has been contacted for comment.

The Prime Minister spent this morning (Thursday, April 23) at the Newcastle United Foundation, amid mounting speculation over his future in the wake of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal.

Jonathan Brash, Labour’s MP in Hartlepool, told GB News that it was “not a case of if, it’s when” Sir Keir will leave Downing Street and that he did not think anyone “reasonably expects the Prime Minister to lead the party into the next election”.

Speaking at the foundation’s NUCASTLE community centre, the Labour leader rejected suggestions that cabinet members were losing confidence in his premiership.

Sir Olly Robbins was sacked as head of the Foreign Office for failing to tell the Prime Minister that officials had recommended against granting Lord Mandelson high-level security clearance for his post as ambassador to Washington.

Asked if the cabinet was 100 per cent behind him, Sir Keir said: “Let me deal with the issue head on, because last week my political opponents were saying it was inconceivable that a civil servant wouldn’t have provided the security vetting information to me. Turns out they were wrong about that.

“Then they accused me of dishonesty. Turns out they were wrong about that. Now my political opponents – by which I mean the Tories, Reform, and all those other parties – are going after any allegation they can.

“The real divide here is what is happening in politics.

“We are a government that has delivered the biggest investment to the NHS on record, which is bringing down waiting lists.

“The Employment Rights Act, which is giving people more rights at work, including statutory sick pay from day one, rights to time off for bereavement if it is a loved one, really important.

“And the Renters Rights Act is coming in just a few days time to give people in rented accommodation more rights. 

“I know why the Tories and Reform are opposed to all of that, but it is important we see it in that context.

“As for the cabinet, I can tell you what we are focused on in the cabinet is delivering – with a particular focus on the cost of living.

“The last few cabinet sessions have been discussing at some length the conflict in Iran. It is really important we do not lose focus on that while we are dealing with all these other issues.

“There is a huge conflict in Iran, it is having an impact on the cost of living, and so at cabinet level we have been discussing internationally what we can do to de-escalate the situation and domestically what we need to do to protect people in our country from the impact of that conflict.

“The cabinet is working really hard and together on that issue.”

Newcastle is one five Labour-run councils in Tyne and Wear staging local elections on May 7.

Like authorities in Sunderland, South Tyneside, and Gateshead, it also has ‘all out’ elections this year – meaning that every single council seat is up for grabs, instead of the usual one-third.

That could result in a dramatic power shift across our region, with Labour bracing for heavy losses across the country and both Reform UK and the Greens targeting massive gains.

Asked if he could remain in Downing Street if Labour lost control of councils in areas like Newcastle and Sunderland, Sir Keir told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We have excellent candidates.

“Not a single vote has been cast at the ballot box yet. I was with quite a number of the candidates and activists last night. They are in good spirits, we have great candidates, many of them have been serving their communities for some considerable time already.

“They have delivered real results across the North East and they are asking for permission to continue to serve their communities and to deliver those results.

“And I am absolutely with them and right behind them.”

Road construction in the Amazon, a process often linked to deforestation, is also revealing a rich ancient history. Archaeological surveys along the BR-156 highway in Brazil’s northern state of Amapa have unearthed significant discoveries from long before European colonisation.

Among the findings from nine dig sites are pottery vases, potentially serving as funerary urns, alongside small artefacts crafted to resemble human faces. Lúcio Flávio Costa Leite, who manages the Archaeological Research Center at Amapa’s Institute for Scientific and Technological Research, described the complex nature of these projects, stating: “What we now about the region’s past is also tied to the opening created by these projects, which gives our relationship with them a somewhat ambivalent character.” He added this new knowledge compels closer attention and “permanent protection measures.”

These discoveries reinforce a growing understanding that the Amazon was far from a “human desert” before colonisation, but rather a landscape shaped by sophisticated, interconnected societies. The material unearthed along BR-156, for instance, includes pottery exhibiting multiple styles and techniques, reflecting cultural influences stretching from Brazil’s Para state to the Caribbean.

A team for the National Department of Transport Infrastructure meticulously cleaned and analysed the artefacts. Archaeologist Manoel Fabiano da Silva Santos described the excavated layers of Amazonian soil as a historical timeline. He explained that upper strata yielded items such as Portuguese porcelain and nails, indicative of European occupation, while deeper excavations uncovered “pottery and ceramics associated with earlier Indigenous presence, marking the site’s transition before and after the arrival of colonizers.”

The artifacts will eventually go to Amapa’s state collection, overseen by Costa Leite, which includes about 530,000 pieces. The oldest piece is around 6,140 years old, confirming a long human presence across Amapa, he said.

The artifacts offer insight into how ancient Indigenous societies lived, died and interacted with the rainforest.

“Here is something I often debate with my students — we usually think of technology as computers and microchips,” Costa Leite said, walking through shelves of ancient pottery. “But all of this required careful reading of the landscape and deliberate choices of materials.”

One of the most impressive historic areas in Amapa is in the city of Calcoene, where a 1,000‑year‑old stone monument made up of 127 carved monoliths arranged in a circle about 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, set in open grassland amid the rainforest and bordered by a slow river.

Some have dubbed the Archaeological Park of the Solstice the “Stonehenge of the Amazon” for its resemblance to the British monument. Researchers found that the stones were positioned so that during the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere they marked the exact point where the sun rises, said archaeologist Mariana Petry Cabral, a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais who was part of the team that began digging at the site some two decades ago.

“It’s hard to say exactly what all the stones mean, but what we do know is that they are not from the site itself. They were brought from other nearby locations,” she said.

Subsequent research and excavations found the site also served as a burial ground. Radiocarbon dating showed it was occupied for hundreds of years, beginning around 1,100 years ago, she said.

The site, discovered by scientists in 2005, can be visited with prior approval from Amapa’s Institute for Scientific and Technological Research. At the same time, the site is going through the process to become a national park, which will allow more people to visit.

Such archaeological sites are protected by Brazilian law, which prohibits them being altered. That adds a layer of protection for surrounding rainforest.

Modern archaeological and historical ecology research shows that Indigenous peoples not only lived in the Amazon for centuries but also shaped it. They managed and cultivated the landscape through long‑term, sustainable practices, said Eduardo Neves, an archaeologist professor at the University of Sao Paulo.

Neves has studied the Amazon rainforest for more than 30 years and, since 2023, has led the Amazon Revealed project, which uses satellite scans to identify archaeological sites hidden beneath the forest canopy.

Scans have revealed roads linking archaeological sites and buried patterns in the rainforest that point to repeated occupation and deliberate landscape modification. Together, Neves said, the features suggest large settlements.

Archaeologists had long suspected such connections, Neves added, but technology has made it possible to see their broader geographic reach. The scans show networks of roads connecting clusters of settlements across the forest, most clearly in southern Amazonas state and Acre.

“When people think of an Indigenous tribe, they often imagine a small village isolated in the middle of the forest. But evidence shows a high degree of interconnectivity linking different settlements,” Neves said.

“Amapa is a key piece that helps us see how dynamic and active these populations were, and how they maintained networks of exchange that have been in place for millennia,” Cabral said.

Sara, who has been announced as Scott Mills replacement, said it has “been a dream” to host the Breakfast Show since she joined the iconic station many years ago.

The 51 year-old radio DJ from Bolton, who currently hosts Radio 2’s weekday Teatime show (4-7pm), will launch her first show this summer.

Sara commented: “There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed.

“It’s been a dream to host the Breakfast Show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me.

“I’ve had the most glorious seven years of my career on Teatime so thank you to my brilliant Teatime listeners who hopefully will join me at Breakfast for excellent music and all my usual nonsense plus some superstar guests.

“I honestly can’t wait to wake the nation up with the biggest most fun breakfast show ever.”

Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2 added: “I’m delighted that Sara Cox will be the new host of the prestigious Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

“Sara is adored by her millions of listeners at Teatime, and having regularly deputised in the slot, I already know she’ll build a brilliant rapport with the Breakfast audience and get the nation going each morning with her trademark warmth and humour.

“She captured the hearts of the country last November, raising a staggering £11.5m for Children in Need on her Great Northern Marathon Challenge and thoroughly deserves this gig. I can’t wait to hear her first show.”

Who is Sara Cox?

Sara kicked off her BBC radio career when she joined BBC Radio 1 in 1999 to present a Saturday lunchtime show, moving on the following year to present the Radio 1 Breakfast Show until December 2003.

Over the next 11 years Sara presented various shows on the network, including the weekday afternoon show, a weekend afternoon show and weekday mornings.

Sara joined Radio 2 in 2011, deputising for various presenters across the schedule.

She launched Sounds of the 80s on the station in 2013 and raised £1.2 million for Comic Relief by taking part in a non-stop 24-hour 80s Dance Challenge in 2017.

In May 2018, Sara began presenting a weekday 10pm-midnight show on the station, moving to host the Teatime (5-7pm) show later that year.

The show was extended to three hours (4-7pm) in 2022.

Meanwhile, in November 2025, Sara completed Sara’s Great Northern Marathon Challenge, walking and running 135 miles in five days from Kielder Forest in Northumberland to Pudsey in West Yorkshire.

Thousands of listeners lined the streets to cheer on and support the radio star, who raised £11.5 million for Children in Need, capturing the hearts of the nation along the way.

In March this year, Sara was honoured with the Audio Presenter of the Year prize at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

On TV, Sara’s work includes The Big Breakfast (Channel 4), The Girlie Show (Channel 4), MTV, The Great Pottery Throwdown (BBC Two), Love in the Countryside (BBC Two), eight series of Between the Covers (BBC Two) and currently, The Marvellous Miniature Workshop (BBC One).

The presenter of the weekday 4-7pm slot on Radio 2, which Sara currently presents, will be announced in due course.

Are you pleased Sara Cox is the new host for Radio 2’s Breakfast Show? Let us know in the comments below.

A woman who was featured on The Jerry Springer Show three times as a teenager claims the talk show ruined her life.

Jennifer Kreis, the daughter of late Ku Klux Klan member August Kreis III, was invited on the controversial Nineties show with her father multiple times to discuss their involvement with the white supremacist hate group — but she is now accusing the TV appearances of destroying her reputation at a young age while she was being influenced by her father’s hateful beliefs.

Kreis, who first went on the show in 1993 for an episode about white supremacy when she was 14, revisited her experience on ID’s new docuseries Hollywood Demons, where she spoke about her regret for spewing racist and antisemitic ideology in her appearances.

“I just felt like I was a circus animal under attack, but no one knew the truth,” Kreis, now 47, said. “I was a kid. What choice did I have?”

She said that her family moved after filming the episode because she was bullied for her racist beliefs.

“I was 14 years old, just trying to come into my own as a teenager, and I was already dealing with the backlash of his beliefs in school,” she said. “I was threatened on a daily basis. I had to start carrying mace to school. They tried jumping me, a handful of times. I just had to deal with it.”

Kreis said she attended rallies and marches with her father before they were invited on the show, but that she never wanted to go on television. She alleged that the show never obtained her mother’s consent for her to go on the show, despite a joint custody agreement.

She also alleged that the show paid her father $1,000 for each appearance, although production for The Jerry Springer Show denied any claim that guests were compensated.

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During Kreis’s first appearance on the show, she threatened to kill Springer’s daughter for being Jewish. When she watched the footage back during ID’s docuseries, she began to cry and said she felt “embarrassment, anger and sadness that I was ever put in that position by all the adults.”

Kreis and her father were thrown off the show during their second appearance. They returned a third time when she was 17.

“I think, by that point, I was starting to get really mad because I did not want to be there,” Kreis said. “I didn’t want to be saying these things. I didn’t want anything to do with it.”

She continued: “The Jerry Springer Show destroyed my life, and I’m sure many other people’s as well. It was horrible. I hated it. It wasn’t me at all.”

Kreis left home at age 18. Her father died in prison in May 2025 while serving 50 years in prison for child molestation, according to the documentary.

In a 2022 interview on the Beyond Barriers Media podcast, Kreis said it was “freeing” to reclaim her experiences and apologize for her past behavior.

“I’m very sorry for hurting people,” she said on the show. “At the same time, grant me the grace that you can wrap your head around and understand that I had no choice. It was about survival, for me. I lived surviving. I wasn’t living. I was surviving.”

Sara Cox has been announced as the replacement for Scott Mills on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show.

The news was confirmed just under a month after Mills was fired from his popular slot following allegations about his personal conduct, bringing an end to his three-decade career with the BBC.

Cox, who until now had been hosting the station’s weekday teatime show between 4pm to 7pm, will being presenting the breakfast show to its weekly 6.5 million listeners this summer.

In a statement, the radio host, 51, said: “There are not enough adjectives to really sum up how I’m feeling about being trusted with such an iconic show but let’s start with ecstatic, honoured and incredibly chuffed.

“It’s been a dream to host the Breakfast Show since I joined Radio 2 and it feels like a bit of a full circle for me. I’ve had the most glorious seven years of my career on Teatime so thank you to my brilliant Teatime listeners who hopefully will join me at Breakfast for excellent music and all my usual nonsense plus some superstar guests.”

She added: “I honestly can’t wait to wake the nation up with the biggest most fun breakfast show ever.”

Cox started out on BBC Radio 1 in 1999, replacing Zoe Ball on the breakfast show and hosting it for three years. She stayed with the station until 2014, when she officially moved over to Radio 2.

She started out hosting Radio 2’s Sounds of the 80s on Saturday nights before replacing Simon Mayo in the drivetime slot in 2019.

Cox made her TV debut in 1996 as co-host of The Girlie Show, before presenting the Brit Awards red carpet and joining the UK’s Eurovision team as a UK Commentator in 2011.

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She is reportedly set to replace Scott Mills as a main commentator for this year’s Eurovision following Mills’ firing from the broadcaster. The BBC said in a statement at the time: “While we do not comment on matters relating to individuals, we can confirm Scott Mills is no longer contracted to work with the BBC.”

More to follow…

The row over what the Prime Minister knew and when about Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US is fuelling speculation about the Prime Minister’s future.

Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash has said that he doesn’t think “anyone reasonable expects the Prime Minister to lead the party into the next election”.

Speaking to GB News after Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (April 22), Mr Brash said: “Ultimately, we are in a situation where I don’t think anyone reasonable expects the Prime Minister to lead the party into the next election and I think we have to refocus this Government on the priorities of the British people.

“We have got fantastic Labour councillors, canvassers, activists up and down the country working hard and delivering for their constituencies like mine in Hartlepool, facing local elections in the shadow of this absolute mess.

“They just need to get a grip.

“I’m completely fed up about it and I think it’s got to the point now where I genuinely think, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned, it’s not a case of if, it’s when, and I just think we need to get a handle on this.”

The fallout from the row over Lord Mandelson’s appointment has intensified scrutiny of Sir Keir’s leadership, with some MPs questioning his judgment and future prospects.

Sir Keir is facing calls to resign for misleading MPs about the appointment process, as news that Lord Mandelson was cleared for the Washington posting against the recommendation of security officials appeared to contradict his previous statements that due process was followed.

But the defiant Prime Minister told MPs: “Last week, they were all saying that it must have been shared with me. Sir Olly was very clear yesterday, it was not. I believe not sharing it was a serious error of judgment.

“That information should have been shared with me and other ministers, and if it had have been, Mandelson would not have been committed to post.”

Polly Billington, vice-chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, declined to express confidence in Sir Keir’s judgment, saying only that Labour had a “mandate from the British people” to deliver change.

Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, said that Labour MPs should back Sir Keir.

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He said: “He’s been in office less than two years.

“He led the Labour Party to a very big election victory just under two years ago, and I think we’ve had far too many changes to Prime Minister in the UK in the last decade.

“It hasn’t done the country much good.”

Kobbie Mainoo is set to agree a new long term contract at Manchester United just months after rumours circulated around a potential exit

Kobbie Mainoo’s impending new deal and resurgence at Manchester United show Marcus Rashford that redemption is possible. The forgotten star is currently on loan at Barcelona with reports suggesting that the academy hero would prefer to stay in Spain next season.

The two clubs have a £26million fee in place for Rashford, with Barca failing to renegotiate the price. However, they have until June 15 to come to a permanent agreement. Another loan next season is a possibility.

Despite all signs pointing to Rashford leaving Old Trafford, Mainoo has shown that there is still hope for a return for the 28-year-old. The midfielder looked checked out in Manchester, with a six-month loan to Napoli on the table.

Ruben Amorim had been omitting Mainoo from the starting XI, with the 21-year-old playing fewer than 180 minutes under the former boss. The youngster considered searching for regular minutes elsewhere to fight for a place in England’s World Cup squad.

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But when Amorim was sacked and Michael Carrick arrived, Mainoo’s situation did a complete 180. The midfielder has become an integral part of the starting XI, helping United climb up to third place and in contention for Europe.

The interim boss is understood to have spoken with the club’s hierarchy to highlight Mainoo’s long-term value. Carrick also endorsed United’s decision to increase the midfielder’s wages exponentially to reflect his importance to the team.

Mainoo’s new contract is set to keep him in Manchester until 2031 and boost his weekly wages by £100,000. The 21-year-old currently earns £20K a week, meaning he will also pocket a huge increase in his annual salary.

If Rashford returned to United, his £315,000-a-week wages would be reinstated. So, it seems like money is not the main driving force for the England international’s career decision.

It is clear that Rashford’s gametime is his main concern after joining Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ last year. The 28-year-old was ostracised from the first-team squad for pre-season training in 2025.

Rashford – alongside Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia – were told to stay away from the team and to find another club. Garnacho joined Chelsea, Antony headed to Real Betis and Sancho is currently on loan at Aston Villa.

Rashford headed to Spain on a temporary basis and has found his footing with Barcelona. The United academy graduate has reached 25 goal contributions this season, a level he previously achieved at Old Trafford.

Mainoo’s redemption arc at United is a clear picture for Rashford that fortunes can change for the better. Whether the Carrington hero can see past his previous struggles and return to his boyhood club remains to be seen.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

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Police have confirmed that the body found on open land near Easingwold on Friday (April 17) has been formally identified as Robert Rees-Hughes.

 A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Robert’s family have been informed, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. 

 “Robert was reported missing to us on 29 November 2025, and extensive searches were carried out in the weeks that followed. 

 “Thank you to everyone who shared our appeal or provided information. Please now remove any photos or details of Robert that you previously shared.”

Staff at the airport are set to strike over what they describe as an ‘unacceptable’ pay offer

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Dozens of staff members who perform crucial jobs at Stansted Airport have announced they will participate in industrial action next month following a dispute over pay.

Around 100 workers for AMB are planning to strike as early as next week with many said to carry out important jobs across the airport, like escorting passengers on and off flights.

The strike comes after what they say is an “unacceptable” pay offer, with staff to strike on May 3 to May 6 reports The Mirror.

Staff had been scheduled to take industrial action from April 17 to 20, but it was called off to allow workers to vote on a last-minute pay offer.

But the strike is now going to go ahead with Unite calling the situation “unacceptable”. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “ABM staff do a vital job for passengers at the airport, yet they are struggling with low pay while their employer makes huge profits. This situation is unacceptable and workers at ABM continue to have Unite’s full support.”

And a statement from Unite reads: “Industrial action by Unite members who look after passengers with disabilities at London Stansted Airport will go ahead next month, after they rejected a new pay offer.

“Around 100 workers at ABM will now walk out from 3 May to 6 May, coinciding with the first May bank holiday weekend, after rejecting a substandard pay offer from their employer. ABM staff, who do a crucial job escorting passengers on and off flights and through the airport say the offer failed to tackle low pay.

“Many of the workers are paid below the London Living Wage of £14.80. Yet ABM is a highly profitable global company, reporting in March that it made $2.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 6.1 per cent on the previous year.”