“There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any such suggestion. We have asked the MPS for the evidence relied upon to justify the arrest. Peter Mandelson’s overriding priority is to cooperate with the police investigation, as he has done throughout this process, and to clear his name.”
The Preston boss clearly wasn’t having any of the hype surrounding Swansea’s celebrity investor
Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom claimed there was a ‘smell of weed’ in the tunnel during his side’s highly-anticipated clash with Swansea City.
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Swans investor Snoop Dogg was in attendance for the clash at the Swansea.com Stadium on Tuesday night, with his arrival attracting a record home crowd, and a huge atmosphere ahead of kick-off.
Snoop was introduced to the Jack Army around 15 minutes before the start of the game, and did his part in geeing up the home crowd.
What unfolded was a surreal night that few in attendance will ever forget.
However, visiting boss Heckingbottom clearly wasn’t all that fussed, and dismissed suggestions the hype around Swansea’s celebrity investor had an impact on the game.
Having seen his side go ahead through Daniel Jebbison in the 26th minute, the Lilywhites boss was frustrated by their inability to see the game out, with Liam Cullen coming off the bench to net a stoppage-time equaliser.
After it was suggested to him that his players were potentially walking into an ‘intense’ atmosphere, the North End boss said: “It wasn’t was it?
“It was quiet. We kept them quiet. That’s how we played. Our fans were the loudest.
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“We only let them have their occasion at the very end by conceding.
“So that’s the frustrating thing.”
Asked if he felt the atmosphere was potentially different to other games, he added: “I can’t tell. It’s only different for people who are here every week, isn’t it? It’s not different for us.
“We don’t play at Swans every week, so it’s no different for us.
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“We go away to Ipswich the other week, they were at it, their fans were at it, and that was noise all game.
“It was just a game for us and we kept, I felt, everyone quiet until the end.
“I think just the smell of weed in the tunnel is the only thing where we realised something was different.”
Newcastle are certainly enjoying life back at Europe’s top table.
Howe’s side are the top scorers in the Champions League with 26 goals, and have won six games in a single campaign in the competition for the first time.
It has been quite a turnaround in the last two-and-a-half weeks.
Howe was the first to admit he was not doing his job “well enough” after his side were booed off by a section of supporters following a 3-2 defeat against Brentford in the Premier League in their previous game at St James’ Park earlier this month.
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The Newcastle head coach embarked on some soul searching in the aftermath of the loss, while his players set out to “fight for the manager”.
Newcastle have won four of their last five games in all competitions since, and secured a place in the knockout stage proper.
Given the revenue gap between the Premier League and a number of clubs on the continent, and the competitiveness of the top-flight, outsiders may question whether that should necessarily come as a huge surprise.
Even beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur, who are hovering above the relegation zone in the Premier League, finished in the top eight of the league phase.
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Yet the manner of Newcastle‘s six Champions League victories against Qarabag, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Athletic Club and Union Saint-Gilloise were far from foregone conclusions.
Qarabag, for instance, had drawn against Chelsea and defeated Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Newcastle hammered the Azerbaijan Premier League champions.
Although Howe wanted more from his much-changed side in the 3-2 second-leg win on Tuesday night, Newcastle have shown they can battle the continent’s elite on their day.
Newcastle drew 1-1 against holders Paris St-Germain in the French capital last month and suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in their opening game of the competition.
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No wonder, then, defender Dan Burn feels Newcastle can “compete with anybody” at their best.
“We’ve shown that, especially against Paris St-Germain, how good we can be,” he wrote in his programme notes.
“I think we elevate our game going into those games because there are bigger, better teams at this stage of the competition.”
Good evening and welcome to our coverage of the second leg of Newcastle’s knockout play-off vs Qarabag. Eddie Howe’s men coasted to a 6-1 victory in the first leg in Baku, so there is a sense tonight will be a procession.
Unsurprisingly, no team has ever surrendered a five goal lead aggregate lead in major European competitions.
It therefore could be a good chance for Howe to continue boosting confidence into players who have been struggling in the league as of late. Anthony Gordon scored four first half goals from centre forward last Wednesday, but struggled to get himself into the game in a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on the weekend. Newcastle were able to get their speedster in behind against City’s high line – Qarabag will surely have to play with one tonight – but he lacked players to link up with. Howe seems to be backing the Gordon up top, Nick Woltemade in the midfield selection for the remainder of the season so any chance to gel that combination, with next year’s European hopes hanging by a thread, should be taken.
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Conversely, it could be a chance for Howe to get minutes into some young legs and keep his bench fresh. Malik Thiaw, who scored in the first leg, is suspended and Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth are still injured, so there’s a perfect opportunity to re-introduce Sven Botman who returned to training this week and is awaiting the results of a late fitness test.
Yoane Wissa was also back in training, so could come into start – it would do some of Newcastle’s front line players no harm to have a rest with the result all but secure having travelled from Birmingham to Baku to Manchester to home all within the last 10 days. William Osula is another player who could do with some minutes up front – he has struggled for goals this season.
Plenty of chance to experiment or really turn the screw for Newcastle, hopefully Gurban Gurbanov has told his players to chase the impossible so we can enjoy an open game. This is their first ever knockout match in the Champions League, nothing to lose!
Stay tuned for team news, build up and live coverage here on Telegraph Sport!
A medic who gave up a promising Wall Street career on to serve on the frontlines in Ukraine has told Sky News it was the “easiest decision she ever made”.
Viktoriia Honcharuk said she was “living the American dream” with a fledgling career in investment banking when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
But seeing how her homeland resisted the advance of Putin’s “special military operation”, she was inspired to return home and take up a medical role on the frontline – despite her fear of blood and needles.
Image: Viktoriia Honcharuk serving in Ukraine.
Speaking to The World with Yalda Hakim, she said: “Everything was quite good in my life, but then Russia attacked my country. My mum, my dad, my sister… they all joined the resistance as soon as they could.
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“They said, look, we’re not going to go anywhere… we’re going to fight for our home, our town. And that was very admirable – that inspired me a lot.
“After a couple of months helping from far away, I said, well, I cannot also stand back. I cannot watch Russia, the biggest country in the world, attacking my country.”
Despite the misgivings of her friends in the US and even her own mother, Victoria made the decision to return home, and called her sister with some questions.
Image: Viktoriia Honcharuk serving in Ukraine.
“She was like, why are you asking this?
“And I’m thinking: I’m ready to go back to Ukraine and I want to join the army, and it’s going to be, I think, something in medicine.
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“And she just took like five seconds. She said, ‘okay, I’ll put you in touch with the right people’.”
She added: “A lot of people think it was a difficult decision to leave a good career, good life, and go back to Ukraine and go to the frontlines.
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“But looking back… I think that is the easiest decision I ever made.”
Image: Viktoriia Honcharuk, right, serving in Ukraine.
After a “couple of days of training” Victoria was deployed to the frontlines, but she would not only be helping her countrymen.
“I was afraid of blood and needles before the invasion,” she admitted. “But, at that point I just realised this is something that needs to be done.”
Among the thousands of people she’s treated, are Russian prisoners of war.
She said: “It’s something that we have to do, right? I don’t get to choose who I have to work with.
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“We’re following the Geneva Convention. We have to treat prisoners of war, Russians.”
Image: Viktoriia Honcharuk serving in Ukraine.
She added: “You get to speak with them… and understand that Russia is not going to stop where what they’re doing right now.
“They are ready to go further and they are preparing for something bigger.”
Viktoriia, who has now been painted by British artist Max Denison-Pender, believes it is the actions of ordinary Ukrainians that have staved off Russian domination.
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Image: Ukrainian medic Viktoriia Honcharuk as painted by Max Denison-Pender. Pic: Max Denison-Pender
She said: “If we were all to say ‘this is not my war’, I think Russia would be pushing through the rest of Europe at this point.
“But just because of this, like men and women in Ukraine have decided to stand up to a bully and join the resistance.”
Channel 4 has announced that one well-known face will replace Paddy McGuinness as host of the reality show’s third series
21:28, 24 Feb 2026Updated 23:46, 24 Feb 2026
Tempting Fortune: Amani heads back to camp after taking a temptation
Fans of the hugely popular reality series Tempting Fortune have been given a boost, as Channel 4 has confirmed a third series is in the pipeline.
The show first launched in 2023 and saw presenter Paddy McGuinness bring together 12 individuals in a remote wilderness setting, as they undertook an 18-day expedition with the aim of sharing a £300,000 prize fund.
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Throughout the journey, their resolve will be continuously tested as they are repeatedly offered lavish comforts, including delectable treats, comfortable beds and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
However, should any contestant succumb to temptation and choose to accept something on offer, money will be deducted from the overall pot, affecting everyone’s share.
Now, a brand new group of contestants will be required to make their way through the Malaysian jungle, equipped with nothing more than basic provisions and sheer willpower, reports the Mirror.
The third series will be hosted by comedian Rob Beckett, who steps into the role previously held by Paddy McGuinness.
Reflecting on his new role, Rob said: “Put people in the jungle, take away everything nice, then tempt them with hot showers and burgers. It’s hilarious.
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“Everyone thinks they can resist temptation until they’re hot and filthy, and suddenly morals go out the window. I’m very happy to be hosting this show, especially from the comfort of a lovely crew hotel.”
A synopsis for the series reads: “With big brands lining up to transport their products to the jungle to offer up comforting tastes of home, the temptations on offer are more tempting and more emotionally evocative than ever before.
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“This new series promises more extreme conditions, more enticing temptations, and some dramatic new twists that will put even greater pressure on the shared cash pot.”
It’s not yet been confirmed when the third series will air.
Since the programme launched three years ago, it’s received nothing but acclaim from fans as one person on X said: “This is amazing #TemptingFortune.”
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Someone else wrote: “Thoroughly enjoyed #TemptingFortune, what a great series and SO well made. Easily some of the best tv I’ve watched this year so far. From the brilliant cast, epic set builds and incredible filmmaking feats of the crew, production and producers on the ground.”
Series 1 & 2 of Tempting Fortune is available to watch on Channel 4.
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As part of a proposal for charges to rise by 10 per cent at car parks run by North Yorkshire Council, the authority had also proposed introducing charges where parking is currently free during evenings and on Sundays.
After pressure from coastal politicians, a council director has said that the changes will now “not include evening or weekend charges, which will be matters that will be considered in future as part of the local area reviews”.
Cllr Janet Jefferson, who represents Scarborough’s Castle division on NYC, had urged council bosses to reconsider the evening charges over concerns that it would “kill our post-6pm trading and economy”.
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She suggested that the town, which advertises itself as being ‘open for business’ should be rebranded as ‘we will be closing businesses’ if the evening charges were introduced.
In an email to the authority’s corporate director of environment, she said: “You will be more than aware of the pressure such [evening] charges will incur, especially to residents and also to our Scarborough economy, and with Park and Ride closing so early, visitors will leave earlier, damaging our hospitality economy”.
She added: “Overnight stay visitors use our car parks, which in turn relieves our resident zones. All the streets in Castle division are resident parking and at night, they need to be able to park. It is difficult now, so goodness knows what charging at NYC car parks will do.”
A council briefing note had identified an estimated £198,000 income “specifically attributed to the introduction or harmonisation of evening charging across the county”.
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Cllr Jefferson said: “I estimate that as a town we would lose this in a week in our economy. Tourism is hard enough, and this will kill our post-6pm trading and economy.”
The new charges would have been introduced where parking is currently free during evenings and on Sundays.
However, on Tuesday, North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, confirmed in an email that the council’s report “is being revised to take account of a number of issues raised”.
He noted: “The revised report will be available either later today or tomorrow and will not include evening or weekend charges, which will be matters that will be considered in future as part of the local area reviews.”
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Cllr Jefferson, an Independent, described the decision as “great news”.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It’s not just Scarborough, but it was particularly pertinent to us because it will help our nighttime economy.”
Council bosses have estimated that the 10 per cent increase in parking charges will give the authority a £3.563 million boost in 2026/27.
A man who fled from police was carrying a knife in his waistband. Cambridgeshire Police were on patrol in St Neots last Wednesday (February 18).
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Officers spotted Fynley Jefferies, 22, walking along the B1041. When officers approached him to talk, Jefferies ran away.
As he fled, officers saw him pull a knife from his waistband and throw it over a nearby garden fence. Jefferies, of Parker Close, Eynesbury, was arrested and a large purple kitchen knife was recovered.
During a police interview, Jefferies claimed he carried the knife for “protection”. The 22-year-old appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates Court on February 19 and pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in a public place and possession of cannabis.
He was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years. PC Tom Russell, from the Huntingdon Neighbourhood Team, said: “Thanks to swift action from our officers, another knife has been taken off the streets before it could be used to harm someone.
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“Carrying a knife is incredibly dangerous and completely unacceptable. We will continue to act quickly to tackle anyone choosing to carry weapons in our communities.”
A motorcyclist has been taken to hospital after being found on a Cambridgeshire road. Cambridgeshire Police were called to Ramsey Road at 6:50pm on Monday (February 23) with reports of a motorcyclist lying in the road.
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Officers attended. The motorcyclist was taken to Peterborough City Hospital by ambulance.
The police are now asking for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward. Anyone with information should contact the police quoting incident 457 of the 23 February.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Police were called at 6.50pm last night to a report of a motorcyclist lying in the road. He was taken to Peterborough City Hospital by ambulance.
“Anyone who witnessed the incident should contact the police quoting incident 457 of the 23 February.”
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The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was, without a doubt, a shocking moment. The release by US officials of 3.5 million pages of documents regarding Mountbatten-Windsor’s longtime friend, the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, have led to multiple allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the eighth in line to the throne – which he denies.
In fact, the affair pales in significance beside the abdication crisis of 1936. The latter has tended to be portrayed in the media as a romantic saga of forbidden love – with the young Edward VIII being forced to choose between the crown and his desire to marry his soon-to-be twice divorced lover, Wallis Simpson.
Yet in retrospect, it more resembles a rather genteel coup, with raised eyebrows taking the place of tanks on the palace forecourt.
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A set of key establishment figures, including the prime minister, the archbishop of Canterbury and the editor of the Times, effectively used the marriage crisis to lever from the throne a monarch whose morals and judgement they distrusted.
There might have been room for a compromise on the matter. Edward raised the possibility of a “morganatic marriage” with Wallis, under the terms of which any offspring would not be in line to the throne. Yet prime minister Stanley Baldwin, who kept negotiations over the king’s future tightly under his own personal control, would not hear of this.
The stakes were infinitely higher than in 2026. Britain was still a great global economic and military power, and its monarch was the figurehead of an empire of more than 500 million people. The British government was deeply concerned that the damage done to the monarchy’s prestige could weaken its own authority overseas.
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Meanwhile, at home, the right to vote for all adults was still a relatively new experiment. A government still dominated by the rural and urban elites worried about how working-class voters would react to a scandal at the pinnacle of Britain’s social hierarchy. Luckily for them, the British press and the BBC maintained a wall of silence around the king’s relationship with Simpson until just days before the abdication. This ensured that the government’s narrative dominated the headlines.
Ejecting Edward from the throne brought about the accession of his brother, whose debilitating shyness made him ill-suited to a public role.
The abdication crisis had concrete constitutional repercussions. In its immediate wake, the government of the Irish Free State, which had been granted dominion status by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, passed two bills designed to weaken ties with London and the crown.
They removed all mention of the king and his representatives from the Irish constitution, while allowing the monarch a limited role in the country’s diplomatic relations. The following year, the taoiseach (as he then became), Éamon de Valera, introduced a new constitution under which southern Ireland effectively became a republic in all but name.
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The abdication crisis signalled very publicly that the monarch was obliged to follow the will of the of the civil authorities, even in matters relating to his private life. Arguably, this played an important role in the evolution of the British constitutional monarchy, helping to ensure its survival into the 21st century.
Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. ZUMA press/Alamy
Even the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 certainly seemed at the time to present a more serious threat to the House of Windsor than the current scandal. In sharp contrast to the deferential restraint of the press in 1936, the media seemed determined to whip up public grief in ways that many observers found disturbing.
The mood of the moment found expression in hostility towards the members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II herself, for their supposedly “unfeeling” response to the tragedy. Downing Street felt obliged to step in when the palace proved incapable of handling the public relations fallout of Diana’s death.
Is the monarchy under threat?
Recent polling has suggested that public confidence in the crown is at an all-time low. Yet although support for the outright abolition of the monarchy has grown in recent decades, it remains relatively low at only around 15%.
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Furthermore, the crown is so deeply embedded in the British political system that no government – without a staggering amount of self confidence and a lot of time on its hands – is likely to embark on the task of extracting it.
By contrast, of course, it will be relatively simple to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession in UK domestic legislation, although the British government will want to coordinate this with the other Commonwealth realms which could prove more complicated.
The royal family has time to redeem itself. And as Winston Churchill pointed out, it’s a mistake to ever let a good crisis go to waste.
Looking ahead to what may be a lengthy reign, Prince William, who has given strong hints that he is impatient with the status quo, has the perfect excuse when he accedes to the throne to sideline opponents of reform.
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For a would-be reforming king, there’s plenty of low-hanging fruit. There’s the antiquated honours system with its embarrassing use of the label “empire”. There’s the headship of the now largely obsolete Commonwealth, with its own embarrassingly imperial connotations. And with less than half the population of England and Wales now describing themselves as Christian, renouncing the supreme governorship of the troubled Church of England seems long overdue.
Although the fate of a disgraced uncle may be relatively peripheral to all this, Mountbatten-Windsor is still a potent symbol of the dangers of business-as-usual. His fall might just be the crisis the royal family needs.
Spurs suffered another painful defeat on Sunday (Picture: Getty Images)
Tottenham asked John Heitinga to stay on as coach after Thomas Frank departed, but he left as he felt his situation was ‘pointless’ in north London.
The Dutchman was only appointed as a coach at Spurs in January, brought in to work under Thomas Frank after an unsuccessful spell in charge of Ajax.
His stay at Tottenham was very short, with Frank axed earlier this month after a string of poor performances and results.
Heitinga went with him, meaning he was a Spurs coach for just 32 days, leaving the club languishing in a relegation battle in the Premier League.
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The former Netherlands international’s agent, Rob Jansen, claims that Tottenham wanted Heitinga to remain after Frank’s exit.
The coach even hoped he could step up to become manager, but the club decided he had not been around long enough to warrant that promotion.
Igor Tudor was brought in as interim manager, taking charge until the end of the season.
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John Heitinga had an extremely brief stint as Tottenham coach (Picture: Getty Images)
Jansen says Heitinga certainly had options to stay, but felt that working under a new manager, with new coaches, only for him to be replaced again at the end of the season, seemed pointless.
‘He was allowed to stay. They even asked him to stay,’ Jansen told the KieftJansenEgmondGijp podcast, via Sport Witness.
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‘All other coaches, all Scandinavian, left. And after three weeks, they told him: “Please stay and see out your contract here.” That’s quite an achievement for someone who worked there for three weeks.
Igor Tudor had a tough start against Arsenal as Tottenham boss (Picture: Getty Images)
‘But he said: “Yes, but now Igor Tudor, a Croatian coach, is coming with a whole staff for three or four months”. That man is always hired for emergency jobs.
‘That almost never works. Why they did that is a mystery to me. And then another coach will come in. So, you can leave twice. That new coach will also come in with 45 people. He said, “This is pointless, Rob. I have to leave now”.’
On the possibility that Heitinga could have stepped up to become Spurs boss, Jansen said: ‘There was a chance he would take over; we had that in mind. Only: the club didn’t. After three weeks, they decided it was too soon. So, then you have an interim manager.
Tudor has a lot of work to do on Spurs’ defence (Picture: Getty Images)
‘What does the management do, or in this case, the owners, the Lewis family? They opt for some kind of security. They hire someone with a track record, someone known as a crisis manager at struggling clubs for a few months.
‘That saves their image. Unless they dare to continue with Heitinga and a new staff, but they won’t.’
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Tudor started his reign with a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and is back in action at Fulham this Sunday in the Premier League.
