The first modern mention of the Flemish painter Michaelina Wautier (1614–1689) introduces an artist who defies expectation. Referring to her monumental Triumph of Bacchus (1655–59), Gustav Glück, the first art historian to serve as curator of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, wrote in 1903 that “even in an age of female emancipation, one would hardly wish to ascribe this picture, which shows a highly vigorous, almost coarse conception, to a woman’s hand”.

And thereby hangs the achievement of Wautier: she may have been able to paint “like a man”, but in most of her works, she does not feel the need to do so. Instead, Michaelina Wautier emerges as an artist with a distinctive style of her own.

The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) in London is currently host to the most complete representation of her work to date. It is a landmark exhibition that reintroduces an artist who in her day was highly successful and championed by the court and elite in Brussels; but, who subsequently almost disappeared from public and scholarly notice for close on 300 years.

Restoring Wautier to a place in the artistic canon through an exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts seems especially apt for an artist who defies expectation. The RA was the first institution to provide professional training for artists in Britain. Wautier’s work and the RA’s presentation of it shows clear evidence of the sort of training that was at the time the exclusive prerogative of male artists.

The point on her training is made straight away through the image that opens the show, a graceful and confident Study of the Medici Ganymede Bust (1654). The drawing depicts the famous ancient Roman sculpture, which was at the time in Rome. Drawing competently was a much valued skill and the Ganymede suggests not only a meticulously trained artist, but one whose work is up-to-date and reflects contemporary trends.

Many will be questioning where she sits in relation to the titan of Baroque painting and her contemporary, Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654) – the favourite subject of feminist art history. Both women disappear from view after the 1650s, both worked with close relatives (Wautier with her brother, Gentileschi with her father), both were championed by high-ranking patrons. But this is where the similarities end.

Gentileschi’s violent personal history has often overshadowed the discussion of her consummate skill and mastery of her craft. For instance, works like the Beheading of Holofernes (1612) are frequently interpreted as responses to her experience of sexual violence.

In Wautier’s case, however, there just isn’t much known about her life beyond bare facts such as who her parents were, that she shared a studio with her brother in Brussels and that she never married. This lack of information is partially due to the artist’s will going up in the flames of the French bombardment of Brussels in 1695.

So where for Gentileschi it feels as if we can’t separate the art from the biography; in Wautier’s case, there is nothing but the art. And, what wonderful art it is too.

Wautier excelled in portraiture, with her elegant palette and her mastery of textures – be it hair or textiles. In her portraits, especially in the depiction of children, she is vivacious and lively and so observant of quirks and foibles. You can see this in her Five Senses (1650) series. For instance, Smell features a little blond boy clutching a rotten egg in one hand and pinching his nose shut with the other, recoiling from the egg’s stench.

Despite their brilliance, however, she never signed her portraits. She did, however, sign two large-scale religious paintings, a Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and an intriguing and unusual panel depicting the Education of the Virgin. Both panels centre around educated, confident, elegant female protagonists, defined by their actions.

These paintings defy contemporary ideas that women artists excelled at imitation but lacked the capacity to imagine and create a subject from scratch. Wautier signs these paintings “invenit et fecit”, which translates as “invented and executed”. Here she is staking her claim to possessing the imagination to execute significant work at large scale. She attests to be a master of her craft, and this is nowhere more apparent than in the centrepiece of the Royal Academy’s exhibition, her immense Triumph of Bacchus.

Here, Wautier tackles the epitome of artistic mastery: a large-scale mythological subject that featured in the work of her most significant contemporaries, such as Andrea Mantegna, Titian and of course the artist who dominated the market in Flanders and the Netherlands, Peter Paul Rubens.

Wautier’s Triumph of Bacchus is larger than that of her male competitors, and she combines in her image the fleshiness of the central male nude with the grace and the elegance of Titian. She presents the viewer with a powerful image of a flabby Bacchus reclining in a wheelbarrow, surrounded by his followers. Wautier’s skill in painting a variety of male nudes in a range of poses looks effortlessly competent, with the Bacchus becoming the work that firmly places her within art history, a masterpiece designed to defy the challenge that a woman can not paint like a man.

This one can, but she takes the challenge up a notch with the intriguing inclusion of a self portrait. Wautier depicts herself as an elegant, bare-breasted Bacchante, a female follower of Bacchus, clad in a striking robe of salmon-pink, looking out at the viewer, the only person to do so in the array of figures depicted. Wautier’s Bacchante stands tall and proud, inviting the viewer to look at her. But it’s Wautier who controls this gaze; in the painting, a sallow-skinned faun attempts to grab the Amazonian, composed woman. She shrugs off his leering, and ignores him grabbing her hair. She is in charge.

Michaelina Wautier is on at The Royal Academy in London until June 21, 2026

Manchester City are locked in a thrilling title race with Arsenal and Erling Haaland, on course to again be the Premier League’s top goalscorer, insists they’ll be even better next season

Erling Haaland has warned his Premier League rivals Manchester City will be even better next season – with or without Pep Guardiola.

City are locked in a thrilling title race with Arsenal as the season reaches a dramatic climax. Guardiola’s men trail Arsenal by three points, but still have a game in hand as City look to win a domestic Treble.

Haaland appreciates Guardiola has had to integrate several new signings into his team in the last 18 months. It remains to be seen of Guardiola extends his stay at the Etihad beyond this season, when he will have completed a decade in charge.

But whatever happens, Haaland has told the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United that City will be stronger next season, having got used to playing with each other.

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Haaland said: “It’s been a lot of change now the last couple of years, I would say in the last year. There’s been lots of players that have been here for a long time. So with new players, it takes time.

“It’s not easy to come into a new league for someone, new country, all of this. It takes time to adapt. I think exciting times (are ahead) and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”

Haaland has been linked with a move to long-time admirers Real Madrid and Barcelona, despite signing a record 10-year-deal with City in 2025. But Haaland insists he is going nowhere.

He added: “I’m super happy and I’m looking forward to what’s next, because I think it’s exciting times for City as a club and also me as a player. I’m looking forward to continuing with City.”

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John Stones will leave Manchester City in the summer after a glittering 10-year career at the Eithad

Unlike some of his more celebrated team-mates, John Stones might not get cast in bronze outside the Etihad. But during his illustrious decade-long spell at Manchester City, for long periods Stones was pure gold.

He arrived from Everton at the same time as Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2016. In the previous months, even though he hadn’t officially taken charge, Guardiola had been instrumental in the signing of Stones. He wanted Stones for a reason. Quite simply, he rated him as the best footballing centre half in English football.

Over the next 10 years, Stones proved Guardiola right.

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He has suffered some cruel luck with injuries, but Stones has stood shoulder to shoulder with Guardiola in the process of turning City into the greatest club side of a generation. Perhaps the best of all time in English football.

Stones was part of the side which claimed a historic Treble in 2023, crying on the pitch in Istanbul when attempting to sum up the achievement and has won 16 major trophies during his stint at the Etihad.

Guardiola once said: “Since I arrived, he arrived. The many good things and the sad things, we lived together. We share it. He’s an incredible human being.”

There was a reason he earned the nickname the Barnsley Beckenbauer. Because he is as comfortable on the ball as the German legend used to be. So much so that during the Treble success, Guardiola deployed Stones in a hybrid midfield role, operating in front of the back four alongside Rodri. Not a role your average defender would be trusted with.

At his best, Stones was a classy combination of composure, speed, vision and calmness under pressure.

“You don’t quite appreciate him until tore playing alongside him,” said Kyle Walker, who shared countless moments with Stones for both club and country. “He rarely gets beat, is great on the ball and very calm and level headed.”

Stones, who also appeared in two European Championship finals with England and a World Cup semi final, will leave City in June when his contract expires. Due to long standing fitness issues, he has not been handed an extension.

Given City’s need to keep evolving and with Stones turning 32 next month, it’s an understandable decision. His best times are now behind him. But my how good they were. They should never be forgotten.

Barry McLeod’s victim needed 24 staples in a head wound on one occasion, Airdrie Sheriff Court was told.

A Cumbernauld brute is behind bars after repeated attacks on his partner who finally reported him because she feared for her life.

Barry McLeod’s victim needed 24 staples in a head wound on one occasion, Airdrie Sheriff Court was told.

McLeod, 26, was jailed for 22 months after he admitted a course of abusive behaviour towards the woman.

Annette Ward, prosecuting, outlined a number of assaults, the first being in March 2024.

She told the court: “They had an argument in a close. McLeod hit her with such force that she fell and struck her head on a wall.

“She sustained a large wound to the back of her head that required 24 staples.

“She didn’t report this to the police and told family members she had fallen.”

Two months later the couple were in Millcroft Road, Cumbernauld, and McLeod asked his partner for a vape. She refused and he punched her on the face, leaving her covered in blood.

She again went to hospital for treatment. There was “significant” bruising around her eye.

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Then, on May 12 last year, McLeod and his partner were in a house in Cuilmuir Terrace, Croy, when he punched and choked her, leaving her struggling to breathe. He then pushed her down a set of stairs.

The final straw for the victim came on August 19 last year when another argument started, this time at an address in Beechwood Court, Cumbernauld.

She punched McLeod and he responded by throttling her, restricting her breathing.

Ms Ward said: “She pleaded with him to stop and he released his grip.

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“At this point she believed McLeod wanted to seriously harm her. She was in fear for her life.

“The following day she disclosed the assault to her mother and sister.

“She was distressed and had red marks on the side of her neck.

“She and McLeod had been in a relationship since 2019 and had two children.

“The woman told police he had been aggressive towards her on a regular basis. He would kick and punch her, especially after drinking or taking drugs.”

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Defence lawyer Ross Brown said McLeod wanted to plead guilty after seeing photographs of the woman’s injuries.

Mr Brown stated: “His partner is in court today. She was not overly supportive of this prosecution and it appears she is still supportive of him.

“When sober he is respectful, a decent individual, but that changes when he is under the influence.”

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READ MORE: ‘My dog was stabbed 29 times for protecting me and I was forced to watch footage in court’

The Department for Work and Pensions has paved the way for free frequent PIP health assessments after charities called the current application process as “long, complicated, and emotionally distressing”

Nearly four million people who get Personal Independence Payments will benefit from less frequent health assessments under new changes.

The Department for Work and Pensions has set out regulations which allow it to move all existing PIP award reviews to a minimum of three years for a new claim, rising to five years at their next review if they remain entitled. The new longer time frame has already started to apply to many brand new PIP claims.

According to the government, the changes to new and existing PIP claims will deliver savings of around £300million overall, with the changes to existing customers making up around £230million of this. The DWP said the measure aims to free up health professionals to carry out more face-to-face assessments and deliver more reassessments.

PIP is the main disability benefit for people of working age in the UK. People may be able to qualify for PIP if they need extra help with everyday tasks due to an illness, disability or mental health condition. Eligibility to PIP isn’t based on people’s conditions, but rather how it affects their life.

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Under changes that came into effect from April 6, health reviews have been extended to a minimum of three years for the majority of new PIP claimants aged 25 and over, rising to five years at their next review if they remain entitled.

Since 2016 in England and Wales, almost 60% of award reviews resulted in no change.

The changes are separate to a review being conducted by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms, which will look at the role of PIP, eligibility for the daily living and mobility components and assessment process.

Commenting on the new changes, Sir Stephen said: “Reforming the welfare system so that it better meets the needs of disabled people is a priority for the government. A major part of this is ensuring that Pip is fit and fair for the future – and we are taking an important step to improve the system through new legislation, which will reduce the frequency of reviews for many existing Pip customers.

“This will make the system more efficient by freeing up the capacity of health professionals to tackle our inherited assessment backlog, while removing unnecessary pressure from disabled claimants whose conditions rarely change at each review.”

He added: “We are also increasing face-to-face assessments for Pip from 6% in 2024 to 30% of all assessments. Additionally, my review is looking into how we can bolster Pip for the future, and we have opened a call for evidence for people to share their views on how Pip should be reformed.”

Harriet Edwards, director of influencing at the national disability charity Sense, said: “The process of applying for disability benefits is long, complicated, and emotionally distressing, and so we welcome these plans to help disabled people go through fewer assessments in the future.

“Sense research found over half of disabled PIP claimants with complex needs felt humiliated during their assessment; clearly this process needs to urgently change.

“It’s vital that the Timms Review continues to work with disabled people to make the application process for PIP fairer and less distressing. But most importantly, what disabled people with complex needs require is reassurance that the government won’t make further cuts to benefits that provide a lifeline for them.”

Fazilet Hadi, Disability Rights UK’s head of policy, said: “Reducing the frequency of PIP reviews makes sense, both for disabled people and DWP. So often our needs remain the same, and reviews just cause anxiety. It is of concern that face-to-face reviews will increase, as these can be physically and emotionally challenging.”

“It has been a rollercoaster in many ways. I came as a kid and now leaving as a man – becoming a father, a husband and, on the pitch, a very fulfilled player.

“I lived all my dreams out and lifted all the things that I came here to achieve.

“At the start of my career here I never would thought I would be in this position. Firstly, to achieve everything but to have the love, the bond with everyone. Every dream has been smashed out of the park.”

Stones was Pep Guardiola’s second signing at City, becoming the world’s second most expensive defender at the time.

“I don’t think it would have been anywhere near as successful without him,” said Stones.

“I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to spend so long with him, win everything with him. I feel lucky and grateful for what he’s done for me.”

West Lothian agreed to join the majority of 32 local authorities in not declaring a bank holiday for the Monday after the opening game against Haiti.

There will be no public holiday in West Lothian for Scotland’s return to the World Cup on 15 June, West Lothian Council’s Executive has decided.

A bank Holiday was declared in the wake of Scotland qualifying for its first World Cup since 1998. Announced by John Swinney the then First Minister and given Royal Assent in the first week of February.

West Lothian agreed to join the majority of 32 local authorities in not declaring a bank holiday for the Monday after the opening game against Haiti kicks off at 2am in Boston.

Linlithgow’s Lib Dem councillor Sally Pattle slated the holiday as a political stunt by the SNP in the run-up to the Scottish Parliamentary elections.

READ MORE: West Lothian business partners with industry expert in bid to accelerate growth

She said SNP candidates had made an issue of the holiday “a bribe” at every hustings event she had attended.

Councillor Pattle pointed out that: “We didn’t get a public holiday when Andy Murray won Wimbledon or when Chris Hoy won the Olympics.”

Councillor Damian Doran-Timson, Conservative group leader pointed out that the match could be recorded.

He added that the SNP group leader Councillor Janet Campbell made “a nonsense statement to say thousands of fans will be prohibited,” he added.

Councillor Campbell had said the decision denied “thousands” of football fans the chance to see the match, and she branded the decision “classist”.

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Lesley Henderson, Head of Corporate Services told the meeting that only five of Scotland’s local authorities had opted for the holiday.

In her report to the Executive she pointed out that adopting 15 June as a public holiday would contractually oblige the council to pay public holiday enhancement rates and close schools- with associated increased costs for families.

Following the Scottish Government’s plans would incur extra costs when: “it is considered that an additional public holiday would place unnecessary strain on already limited public funding.”

Councillor Pattle asked how much more the adoption would cost the council. Ms Henderson replied: “£30,000 to £40,000.”

The SNP group suggested that refusing the holiday would mean fans would miss the match.

However, the game kicks off at 9pm in the United States on Saturday, June 13, – or 2am on Sunday, June 14, in Scotland.

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Councillor Doran-Timson pointed out that the match could be recorded. “It’s a nonsense statement to say thousands of fans will be prohibited,” he added.

Answering a question Ms Henderson agreed that council employees could ask for 15 June as a day’s leave which would be granted depending on staff cover.

Labour councillor Danny Logue suggested a public holiday would have been a better idea if the team had progressed through the competition to the knock out stages rather than the initial stages.

Councillor Campbell told the meeting she wanted three abstentions, those of herself and two SNP colleagues, Councillors Pauline Stafford and Pauline Orr recorded.

Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick, the council leader chairing the meeting, said as there had been no vote abstentions could not be recorded.

The Governance Manager Lesley Montague said that dissent could not be noted under the Standing Orders.

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How did cycling seem to affect participants’ memory?

That might not be the only benefit

Two police officers and a car passenger were injured in the incident at Fleming Way in Hillhouse

Two police officers and a car passenger have been taken to hospital and a road in Hamilton has been closed off after a car crash on Tuesday morning.

Fleming Way in Hillhouse is shut for crash investigations after the collision on Tuesday morning, when “a vehicle made off after officers engaged with the driver”.

Local residents have reported seeing multiple police vehicles and even an emergency helicopter circling the scene following the crash, with police saying the driver “left the scene”.

A statement from Police Scotland read: “Around 9.30am on Tuesday, April 28, a vehicle made off after officers engaged with the driver on Fleming Way, Hamilton.

“It was then involved in a collision with a stationary vehicle a short distance away.

“The passenger of the car and two police officers were injured and have been taken to hospital. The driver of the car left the scene and enquiries are ongoing to trace them.”

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Police added that: “Fleming Way is closed to allow for crash investigations.”

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A former teacher convicted by a jury of sexually abusing pupils at an all-girls grammar in Belfast was handed a two-year jail sentence today (Tuesday).

The sentence was imposed upon William Lloyd-Lavery at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Patrick Lynch KC.

The 77-year old, from Richmond Avenue in Lisburn, will also spend the next ten years on the Sex Offenders Register.

As he sent Lloyd-Lavery to jail, Judge Lunch said the four victims – who were sexually abused when they were aged 13 and 14 – were “to be commended for coming forward to expose a paedophile.”

Lloyd-Lavery stood trial earlier this year and was found guilty by a jury of six counts of indecent assault against four females.

All the charges relate to a period spanning from August 31, 1975 and July 1, 1979 when Lloyd-Lavery worked as a history teacher at Richmond Lodge College on Belfast’s Malone Road.

The school merged with Victoria College in 1987.

Lloyd-Lavery denied all the charges against him and during the two-week trial, the jury of six men and six women heard evidence from his victims.

One woman who is now in her 60s said she felt she was “hunted like prey through my own school by a teacher for his own sexual gratification.”

The jury heard that she was lifted up and sexually abused by Lloyd-Lavery in a French stationery cupboard after telling her he needed help looking for a history book.

The woman recalled how, when her feet were off the ground, Lloyd-Lavery held her with his left hand whilst he used his right hand to touch her genitals which left her “frozen in horror.”

Her 94-year old mother also gave evidence at the trial and recalled how her “heart sank” when her then 13-year old daughter told her what had happened.

She added that her daughter told her how frightened she was and how she felt she couldn’t get away.

The woman said that as a result, both her and her now-deceased husband went to the school the following morning and that she felt the headmistress was “keen that nothing should be done.”

Another victim of Lloyd-Lavery’s gave evidence and recalled how she was taken by him to a storeroom where he asked her about the Bubonic Plague then touched her armpit, touched her breast then rubbed her groin over her school skirt.

The now-convicted sex offender also gave evidence at the trial and rejected the allegations of all the complainants and brandished their claims as “lies” and “nonsense.”

The pensioner was questioned first by his barrister and when asked what his response was to the various allegations made, Lloyd-Lavery said: “There is no truth in any of them. They are all completely wrong, completely untrue.”

Lloyd-Lavery was also cross-examined by a Crown barrister who suggested to him that he used his “privileged position to take advantage of young girls” which he said was “totally untrue.”

Despite his denials and claims that he was the victim of a vendetta and that the complainants colluded against him via Facebook, the jury deliberated for around four-and-a-half before returning their unanimously guilty verdicts on six charges of indecent assault against four females.

The jury also returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on a further two charges of indecent assault whilst Judge Lynch directed them to find Lloyd-Lavery not guilty of one count of indecent assault on an evidential basis.

Earlier in the trial, two counts of gross indecency with or towards a child were withdrawn from the jury on a point of law.

Following his conviction, Lloyd-Lavery spoke to a Probation Officer and continued his claims of innocence.

After the two-year sentence was imposed today, Lloyd-Lavery was led from the dock by prison staff who took him into custody.

From 1976-1978, Lloyd-Lavery sexually assaulted four girls at Richmond Lodge School in Belfast, ranging from nine to 13 years of age.Now adults, the victims in this case have all come forward seeking justice.On November 16, 2022, he attended a police station voluntarily and was interviewed for all offences. He denied all.He was later reported to the Public Prosecution Service and then unanimously found guilty on January 23, 2026.Following sentencing today (Tuesday) of Lloyd-Lavery, Detective Inspector Kelly Foley said: “This man was an opportunist, using his position of power and trust within the school environment to prey on young girls.“He thought for a long time he had got away with this. Today has proven that the passage of time has no bearing on a criminal justice outcome.“I want to thank the bravery of the victims in coming forward. We have seen an increase in reports of non-recent child abuse over the last five years, with an average of 76 new referrals of this type each month across the province.“Sentencings like today, I hope, will provide those who have suffered with the confidence to break the years of silence they have endured.“Let this serve as another warning to those perpetrating child sexual abuse in our communities, we are working every day to break down reporting barriers and encourage victims to come forward.“Our specialist officers are working day and night to relentlessly pursue offenders and bring them to justice.”In an effort to encourage other victims of non-recent crimes to come forward, three of the victims in this case have bravely spoken out.Sarah, now 63 years of age, said: “It happened 50 years ago, but it may as well have been yesterday. That is the reality of non-recent child abuse, it stays with you. It shapes you and, if you let it, the silence will take its toll. I have not let him ruin my life but he has certainly given it a dimension I could do without.“A memory that resurfaces now and again to remind me that my bubble of innocence was burst at only 13 years of age.“Speaking out is hard, but staying silent is harder. Today we got justice against a man who thought he had got away with it.”Emma, now 61 years of age, said: “Each day, I hid myself within groups of girls when I moved between lessons, for fear of meeting him in the very long corridors and feeling his eyes on me, reliving what he had done.“It was like the constant, painful, picking at a scab that never heals and a profound sense of injustice has followed me all my life.“From the moment that I lifted the phone to the police, I was listened to and believed. Special measures are put in place for victims of abuse right from the start, so I felt safe and finally able to unload the toxic burden that I had been carrying for so long.”Lucy, now 61 years of age, said: “The assault in the autumn term of 1979 changed me. I felt so ashamed and was unable to speak to anyone. I blocked it out and tried to forget about it.“However, I stopped sleeping and spent most nights for some months on a mattress on my parents’ bedroom floor.“I was referred to a child psychologist. I am glad that I have finally stood up for the truth, I have no regrets.“I am a strong woman and will survive – I hope the outcome of the case will encourage other victims of historical sexual abuse to come forward.”Parents/guardians and wider local communities should report any activity, online or physical towards a child that they find concerning.Similarly, if you have been the victim of recent or non-recent child abuse, please report to the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

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