The Treasury has enlisted an expert to review how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels and make recommendations for reform of the system

Pub and hotel valuations will be made fairer under plans to make the system more transparent.

Both the pubs and hotels sectors saw significant increases in rateable value at this year’s revaluation in large part due to the ending of pandemic-era valuations. People are concerned that the current system does not reflect the realities of the pub and hotel market, the Treasury admitted.

The Treasury has enlisted an expert to review how business rates are calculated for pubs and hotels and make recommendations for reform of the system.

Jerry Schurder, former business rates policy lead at advisory Newmark UK, will lead the independent review into valuations and report back to the Treasury by the end of March 2027.

A Call for Evidence, which launches on Monday, will ensure landlords, brewers, hoteliers and business owners are properly represented in the process, ministers said.

The government last month cut business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues by 20% from April next year.

The move was largely welcomed but there were calls to apply the relief to a wider range of businesses and to go further with broader changes to the system. No 10 has said it will look to set out further reform, including small business rates relief, at the Budget.

The Mirror is campaigning for more support to protect Britain’s struggling boozers.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said: “Pubs and hotels are vital for communities and bringing growth to every postcode.

“Last month we announced tax cuts for pubs to give them the breathing room they need. Today we’re going further with a rethink of valuations – so that we can build a fairer system for the future.”

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “For years pubs have paid a disproportionately higher business rates bill which has ground down their ability to keep the doors open, so this review is sorely needed and hugely welcome.”

Neal Jones, EMEA president at Marriott International, said “The current valuation methodology creates a significant burden for hotels, and it is right that the system is being examined to ensure it is fair, transparent, and reflective of today’s market realities.”

Allen Simpson, chief executive at UK Hospitality, said: “Business rates remain a significant burden for hospitality businesses and the system needs to better reflect the trading realities for the sector. Comprehensive review and reform can address these challenges, while also supporting investment and growth.”

Braden Saunders, UK Spirits Alliance spokesperson and owner of Battersea-based Doghouse Distillery and Bar said: “The Prime Minister’s business rates cut for hospitality costs £100 million.

“The excise duty hike at the last budget lost the Treasury nearly the same amount in spirits revenue last year. Cut excise duty on spirits, fund the rates cut – it pays for itself. We welcome this review and look forward to engaging.”

This was a fitting race with a thrilling finale to end Zandvoort’s six-race stint on the F1 calendar, though home hero Verstappen’s participation ended before he crossed the finish line at the end of the first lap.

Exiting the final corner, still damp from a heavy shower 30 minutes before, he put a tyre onto the white lines on the inside. He lost control of his Red Bull, smashing into one barrier at the top of the track before rolling to a standstill, destroyed, at the bottom of it. The race was stopped for more than 30 minutes.

As for the championship leader? This was arguably Antonelli’s poorest weekend in recent memory, yet he managed to find a way to finish ahead of Russell for the eighth time in 12 rounds in 2026. That, too, sums up his season. His hopes of a home victory at Monza, though, will be dented by the news that he will take a hefty grid penalty for a power-unit change.

“In theory our calculations say that’s the best track to take it – obviously algorithms do not take nationality into consideration, but we are here to fight for the championship and not get the most PR,” Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, joked after the race.

The way this season has gone, the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will be cancelled, and, as rumoured, the finale will be held in Imola. It could be that Antonelli is crowned champion – or enjoys a victory lap – at a track just 25 miles from his Bologna birthplace. How fitting that could be.

Verstappen ‘caught out’ by conditions in front of home crowd

By TOM MIDLANE and NATALIE PENZA

Published: 00:30 BST, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 00:42 BST, 24 August 2026

The health of Norway’s King Harald deteriorated over the weekend while in hospital, the royal household has said.

Harald, 89, Europe’s oldest current head of state, was hospitalised on Monday and treated for anaemia.

In a statement on Sunday, the palace said: ‘His Majesty the King’s health deteriorated over the weekend. 

‘The King is receiving antibiotics for a bacterial infection in his blood, and has responded to this treatment.’ 

The statement added that the monarch’s condition was stable.

It comes after King Harald was rushed to hospital with haemolytic anaemia, a disorder which sees red blood cells destroyed at an abnormally fast rate and leads to fatigue, paleness and breathing difficulties.

The head of state was admitted to hospital in Oslo and will be on sick leave for the next two weeks, it was reported on Monday. 

The palace said in a statement: ‘The King has been treated with cortisone for the blood disease haemolytic anaemia in recent weeks. 

Queen Sonja and Harald in 2018

The King pictured in Oslo in March 

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‘This has led to fluid accumulation in the body that requires treatment in hospital.

‘The King is on sick leave for two weeks. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is Regent during this period. 

‘We will return to the consequences this will have for the Royal House’s official programme.’

Harald visited the hospital only days ago for a ‘planned check-up and follow-up with a doctor’.

And in February the 89-year-old was rushed to hospital while spending time with his wife, Norwegian Queen Sonja, 89, in Tenerife. 

The monarch’s condition at the time was said to have been ‘satisfactory’ after he received treatment for an infection and dehydration at Hospital Universitario Hospiten Sur.

It came just two years after he suffered a similar problem while on holiday in Malaysia. That ordeal resulted in him having a pacemaker fitted.

The monarch has, however, insisted that he will never abdicate from his position due to poor health, arguing that he took a lifelong oath before ascending to the throne in 1991.

Harald has been suffering from haemolytic anaemia, a disorder which sees red blood cells destroyed at an abnormally fast rate and leads to fatigue, paleness and breathing difficulties

‘I stick by what I’ve always said, that I swore an oath to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) and it is for life,’ he said previously.

Harald has presided over a difficult few months for the Norwegian royal family amid a scandal involving his daughter-in-law, Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Mette-Marit faced intense scrutiny when a tranche from the Epstein Files revealed she stayed at the paedophile financier’s Palm Beach mansion in 2013 – after his conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

One email suggested she was still in contact with Epstein just months before his death.

Mette-Marit, 53, who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, later issued a grovelling apology in which she claimed the emails ‘do not represent the person who I want to be’.

Harald defended his daughter-in-law during a public appearance that month in which he insisted: ‘We must remember that the Crown Princess has not done anything illegal.

‘Unlike some others in Norway, she broke the connection very early. So I think we should give her credit for that.’

It came in the same week that Queen Sonja was rushed to Oslo’s National Hospital after experiencing ‘heart problems’.

At the time, a statement from the Norwegian Royal House read: ‘Her Majesty the Queen was admitted to the National Hospital today due to heart problems.

‘The Queen has heart fibrillation and heart failure, and has been hospitalised for a few days for examinations and observation.’

Sonja was later discharged and said to have been in ‘much better form’. The 89-year-old had a pacemaker fitted last year after experiencing cardiac fibrillation – a rapid and irregular heartbeat.

Harald became Norway’s Crown Prince in 1957 after the death of his grandfather. He married Sonja in 1968 before becoming the monarch 23 years later when his father, King Olav, passed away.

They are hunting the person responsible for a series of incidents on Wednesday and Thursday when vehicles in the town were searched and items taken.

A spokesman for the police said: “As part of our ongoing investigation, officers have recovered several items which we believe may have been taken from vehicles affected during these incidents. However, the items recovered do not appear to belong to any of the victims who have come forward to date.

“We are therefore making a further appeal to members of the community to check their vehicles again, even if they have not previously identified anything missing.

“In some cases, victims may not immediately realise that items have been removed, particularly if they are not used on a regular basis.

If, upon checking your vehicle, you discover that anything is missing, please report it to North Yorkshire Police as soon as possible.”

Police thanked Tadcaster residents for their support in their investigations and those victims which have already reported items missing from their vehicles.

Reports to the police can be made via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling  North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Police ask that victims provide as much detail as possible regarding the missing item or items, including any identifying features, as this may assist officers in linking property to its rightful owner.

The collision took place on Russell Street, Bolton just before 6pm, a residential street near the entrance to Queens Park.

(Image: Public)

One car was left overturned as a result, and several other cars parked on the street were left with damage.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “Just before 6pm this evening (Sunday 23rd August), two fire engines from Bolton Central fire station were called to reports of a road traffic collision involving three vehicles on Russell Street, Bolton.

“Crews arrived quickly at the scene.

(Image: Phil Taylor)

“Firefighters used a hearth kit to make the vehicles safe, and treated a man at the scene, who was then taken to hospital by colleagues from North West Ambulance Service.

“Firefighters were in attendance for around thirty minutes.”

People from across the globe have been in touch with the Cat Action Trust

A missing cat has been reunited with his tearful owner nearly a year after disappearing, after turning up 86 miles from home living alongside a feral cat colony.

Ginge, a friendly ginger tom from Sunderland, was spotted in Garforth, Leeds, by animal volunteer Lucy Roche, who immediately suspected he was no ordinary stray. The Cat Action Trust 1977 branch leader safely caught the cat and took him to a vet, where a routine microchip check revealed the incredible truth: Ginge belonged to a family in Tyne and Wear, the Mirror reports.

Ms Roche said the owner was in a “flood of tears when she called to tell her he had been found and could not believe her missing pet was coming home.”

Volunteers at the colony regularly provided food and drink for Ginge when he first appeared at the facility a few weeks earlier.

“I was stroking him and I thought he’s so friendly he could be somebody’s cat”, Lucy said. Eventually, she was able to catch Ginge in a humane trap before taking him to the vets, where his microchip led them to his owner. The long-lost pet then spent the night at Lucy’s home as his family travelled to collect him.

“He was snuggled up next to me and was flat out snoozing because he was so tired. I don’t think he’s had a good night’s sleep in ages”, Lucy added.

An emotional video uploaded to social media shows the moment Ginge’s owner, Beth, is reunited with the feline the next day, going on to attract attention from around the world. Lucy continued: “We’ve had people from America, New Zealand saying what a wonderful story it is. The support has been overwhelming.”

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She said Ginge’s story also showed the importance of having cats microchipped, as it was the only reason the charity had been able to trace his family. Microchipping became a legal requirement for pet cats in England in 2024.

Cat Action Trust 1977 volunteers visit feral colonies across Leeds to provide food, water and warm shelters, while also arranging veterinary care and neutering where needed. Cats can also be rehomed if the area they are living in is considered unsafe, either with new owners or in rural settings such as farms.

Lucy said the Leeds branch, which is run entirely by volunteers, was receiving “non-stop calls for help” every day. She added: “So many cats are getting abandoned, lost or injured. We just want to make life better for all cats.”

PC Matthew Blades dedicated his life to protecting others with ‘courage, dedication and selflessness’, his wife said

A heartbreaking tribute has been paid to a police officer killed in the line of duty after a devastating crash on the A66. The widow of PC Matthew Blades has described him as her “beloved husband”, “best friend” and the “most devoted father” to their two young sons.

PC Blades, 37, died in the collision in the early hours of Saturday (August 22) after a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the dual carriageway crashed into a marked Cleveland Police armed response vehicle.

Fellow officer Pc Tom Clough died in the incident as well when their vehicle was hit by the car carrying Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak, who all lost their lives.

In an emotional tribute released by Cleveland Police on Sunday evening, his wife said no words could honour the officer, who she said was loved “beyond words” by family and friends and whose death had left “a space that can never be filled”.

She said: “No words will ever feel like the right words to honour our Matt, my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys.

“He was an adored son and brother, a perfect son-in-law, and the most fun uncle. He was loved beyond words by all his family and friends, and his loss has left a space that can never be filled.

Describing the father of two, she added that he had dedicated his life to protecting others with “courage, dedication and selflessness”, and that while he died serving the public, “his greatest legacy will always be the love he gave to his family”.

“He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness. The pain of losing him is beyond words, and our lives will never be the same. Neither will the love he gave us ever fade.

“Our children will grow up knowing what an incredible father he was and will always be, and I will carry his love, his memory and everything we shared with me always.

“He may have left this world committed to the duty he believed in, but his greatest legacy will always be the love he gave to his family.

“We would also like to express our deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks to all of the emergency services and to our police family who have stood beside us through the most difficult time of our lives.

“The kindness, compassion, love and unwavering support we have received as a family has meant more to us than words could ever express. Every message, visit, gesture of support and every person who has stood alongside us will never be forgotten. Forever loved. Forever missed. Forever our superhero. Our Matt and Dad”

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By SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 12:25 BST, 23 August 2026 | Updated: 23:55 BST, 23 August 2026

The funerals of Jeremy O’Brien and Jack Kennedy, two of the five teenage victims of the M9 crash in Co Kildare, are set to take place

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The funerals of two young victims of the devastating M9 motorway crash last weekend are set to be held this week.

Five teenage boys lost their lives after a high-powered BMW they were travelling in veered the wrong way along the M9, colliding head-on with a family en route to Dublin Airport in the early hours of Sunday, August 16.

The BMW is believed to have been travelling in excess of 120km/h when it struck the Hyundai near Junction 3 of the M9 in Co Kildare at approximately 3am that Sunday morning.

Four occupants of the Hyundai, sisters Niamh and Alma Kinsella and Ella Hendricken, along with a young boy, suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision and remain hospitalised.

Jeremy O’Brien, 18, from Carlow, Alex McCarthy, 16, from Carlow, Joey Carthy, 15, from Athy, Kildare, Jack Kennedy, 17, also from Athy, and Kamil Pustkowski, 17, from Limerick, all perished in the crash, reports the Irish Mirror.

Three of the teenagers have already been laid to rest, with 15 year old Joe Carthy becoming the first of the five to be buried earlier on Friday.

His funeral was held at St Michael’s Church in Athy just before 11.30am, while Alex McCarthy’s service took place in Askea, Carlow, on Friday afternoon.

A small gathering of mourners also assembled in Limerick on Friday to pay their final respects to Kamil Pustkowski, who lay in repose at a local funeral home prior to a cremation ceremony. The funeral mass for Jeremy ‘Bobbles’ O’Brien is scheduled for Monday at 11am at the Church of the Holy Family, Askea, with burial to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Carlow.

Jack Kennedy’s funeral mass will be held on Tuesday at 11am at St. Michael’s Parish Church, Athy, ahead of a private cremation later that afternoon.

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