“When people find out they can fire the sofa out in the alleyway and it is collected in a day or two, I think it really defeats the purpose.”

A DUP Councillor has lambasted bulky waste collections provided by Belfast City Council for large items, suggesting that it has become easier and quicker to get rid of items by flytipping them, rather than using the council service.

At the latest meeting of the council’s People and Communities Committee DUP Councillor Ruth Brooks said: “The bulky waste collections appear to be taking too long. We are facing an uphill battle trying to get bulky waste items that have been flytipped and left in alleyways, right across the east of the city, and no doubt in other people’s areas.

“If people are booking in for a bulky waste collection, and they are being told it will be two or two and half weeks, and they find out they can fire the sofa out in the alleyway and it is collected in a day or two, I think it really defeats the purpose.”

READ MORE: Appeal made after treasured “Foxglove Alley” trashed six times in 10 days

READ MORE: Belfast Council awards £100,000 to Irish language group in secret meeting

She said: “I received an update from officers, just to say there would be an additional weekly collection on a Tuesday. We do bulky waste collections on a Friday, but I think we just need to drill down in relation to resources.

“Why is it taking so long? Is it because we have become a lot more reactive, rather than being proactive? I have had constituents get in touch saying they have been told a date, then they left the items out, but it hasn’t been lifted because it hasn’t been sitting right on the pavement, rather on the edge of their driveway. People don’t want to block pavements unnecessarily.”

She asked for a report back from officials to ensure “providing a service that is fit for the constituents who are paying rates.”

SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite also asked for an officer report on the council’s policy on refuse bags being left on the street in the city centre, and powers the council has to stop private waste providers leaving refuse bags on the street in the city centre and arterial routes.

Belfast City Council provides a free bulky waste collection service for households only in the council area. They do not collect items from businesses. Households can only make one request at a time, and the council says it will cancel any duplicate or multiple requests.

The council collects bedroom furniture, kitchen appliances, living room items, small electrical appliances and TVs, and other items. If the council can’t collect the item, residents are advised they may be able to dispose it at a city recycling centre or civic amenity site.

The council website states: “Leave your items where your general waste bin is picked up by the lorry. We will not go into your property. This could be at the front of your house, on the kerb side of your house, on the kerb, on the rear of your house in an open space where the vehicular access is at the back, or at the end of an entry, outside any entry gates.”

The council stresses it will not collect any items in an entry or behind entry gates. It adds it will not collect heavy, waterlogged items.

The service runs Monday to Friday, not on bank or public holidays. Residents can request a collection up to three months in advance.

For more details on the service visit here

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

It was prototypical Nigel Farage. A cryptic announcement that a statement is about to be made, a wholesale hijacking of the news agenda hinting at a “will he won’t he?” state of affairs, followed by a blistering attack on “the establishment” (or, at least, Farage’s conception of the establishment), and a big finish – he is resigning as MP for Clacton, therefore triggering a by-election – in which he will stand once more (though it appears the other main parties will not).

This news does rather bury the bigger story, which most would agree is actually the allegations being made about his finances; and particularly that he accepted gifts worth millions from businessmen.

It’s worth working through the various claims that he made about rules he may or may not have broken, to see how they stack up – before thinking about how the by-election itself might play out.

Claim 1: ‘I have not broken the law in any way at all’

This is accurate. The main investigation Farage currently faces is from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over a £5m gift he received from businessman Christopher Harborne. Farage did also seem to intimate that financial gifts made to him by George Cottrell, as reported in the Sunday Times, had triggered a second investigation. He insisted several times: “I have done nothing wrong.”

But it should be very clear – the investigation over the £5m gift from Harbourne was never a criminal matter. It is and always was a matter of whether the House of Commons Code of Conduct had been breached. He has not broken the law and no one is accusing him of doing so. But he may have broken the code of conduct for a man in his position.

The Labour Party has referred elements of the Cottrell case to the Electoral Commission (though this would be a civil, not criminal, matter).

Claim 2: ‘It was given to me as a gift, I can do with that money exactly as I wish’

This too, is correct. The Code of Conduct is very clear that there is (currently) nothing particularly wrong with holding outside interests or earnings – only that all these things must be declared. And many MPs have held significant outside interests and earnings and have received quite significant gifts in the past (you may remember Keir Starmer’s glasses).

There are no qualitative judgements made about what one does with this money, just that it is declared. Looking at the Register of Members’ Interests, you find any number of politicians’ gifts, with varying degrees of information about what the gift was for. Farage could very simply have written “£5m; Christopher Harborne; Security”. If that was too intrusive, he may even have been able to write “£5m; Christopher Harborne; Gift”.

The problem with the Harborne donation, as it relates to the Code of Conduct, is not – and never has been – about what is what for. It is about whether it should have been declared.

It is worth remembering that if Farage has indeed broken the MPs code of conduct, that one punishment is suspension from parliament. If that suspension is greater than ten days, then a recall petition can be called (which could lead to a by-election).

À lire aussi :
Why Nigel Farage is resigning as an MP, only to stand again – expert analysis

One view is, then, that Farage is getting ahead of a decision he thinks isn’t going to go his way and pre-empting the inevitable. There is, however, an added wrinkle that these investigations are now on hold. If he wins the by-election, is recalled to parliament as an MP, the investigation is then unpaused. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility, then, that we could be looking at two by-elections in one year in Clacton.

Claim 3: ‘The establishment has decided that they can’t beat us fairly, so they have chosen to use foul means’

Well, okay – but scrutiny follows success. And, indeed, this has been the problem for Farage and Reform. With the Tories on life support, and Labour barely faring better, over the past year they have become an established (and, whisper it, establishment) party, just look at all the former Conservatives they have among their ranks. To many, they are the government in waiting.

One might say, then, that Farage is a victim of this success. But he isn’t, he’s a victim of a laissez-faire attitude to transparency. When it comes to regulating standards – and this is particularly true of money in politics – the UK doesn’t ask much of our politicians. Compared with other countries it is incredibly permissive. The one thing that politicians are asked to be is open and honest about who is funding them and follow the rules for disclosure.

There have been questions asked again and again about Reform’s opaque financial arrangements. The easiest way to address these is to just be open and honest, and follow the spirit as well as the letter of the law. Transparency is not just an oversight tool for regulators, pen pushers and bureaucrats (as I suspect they view it) but the very tool politicians can use to cut difficult questions off at the pass with.

Claim 4: ‘This will be a people versus the establishment by-election’

Well, only if other parties make it one. I thought an analogy that BBC political editor Chris Mason drew after the speech was important – that of former Conservative MP David Davis. In 2008 he resigned as an MP to bring forth debate on what he thought were erosions of civil liberties by the then Labour government. However, as Mason outlined, neither the Liberal Democrats or Labour stood candidates because “they didn’t want to play into the self-delivery of theatre, as they saw it, that Davis chose to engineer”.

The same might be true here. There’s no reason that any party necessarily has to fight this by-election. They might see it as a similar piece of political theatre (from admittedly a master of the form) and prefer to let Farage duke it out with Rupert Lowe, Count Binface and the guy dressed as a fox from the Makerfield by-election.

Given that this might not be the only Clacton by-election fought this year, better – they might think – to keep their powder dry for a second when the facts of the various allegations swirling around Farage’s various financial arrangements may become clear. One thing is for sure: if we thought Makerfield was one of the most consequential by-elections in recent history, we haven’t seen anything yet.

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER

Published: 18:40 BST, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 21:38 BST, 7 July 2026

A volunteer coastguard allegedly mowed down his live-in partner and then attempted to stage a road collision to make it appear that she had committed suicide, a court heard.

‘Controlling and coercive’ Rowan Sutton ran over Aimee Pike in the dark in the countryside and then transported her body to another place in a second car, a jury was told.

A court heard Sutton, 31, took her to a main road and placed her body on a low wall while he waited for a van to pass so that he could fake her suicide at 4am.

Prosecutor James Dawes KC said Sutton filmed a passing bakery van and then placed her body on the road, conducting a fake one-way conversation with Ms Pike in which he begged her ‘don’t do it, stay there’ and shouting ‘Aimee’ as the van went by.

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Plymouth Crown Court heard Sutton made it look ‘like a car crash’.

The jury heard burly Sutton and his alleged victim were splitting up after five years together but Sutton feared he would lose access to their child.

Mr Dawes told the jury that Sutton then spread entirely false rumours that Ms Pike, 22, was suicidal.

He said Sutton told her family members and his coastguard colleagues that she was erratic, suffering with her mental health and suicidal.

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The jury was told Rowan Sutton, pictured, was prone to ’bouts of intense anger’ and was controlling and coercive towards Aimee Pike

Rowan Sutton told coastguard colleagues Aimee Pike was erratic, suffering with her mental health and suicidal, the court heard

Mr Dawes said: ‘That’s because he planned to fake her suicide but in fact he killed her and made it look like suicide.

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‘Around this time the defendant began to plan a way in which he could continue to have exclusive access (to his child) and that meant getting rid of Aimee.’

The court heard that despite separating four weeks before Ms Pike died, the couple still lived in the same flat together at West Charleton, near Kingsbridge, Devon.

The jury was told Sutton was prone to ’bouts of intense anger’ and was controlling and coercive towards Aimee.

The jury also heard that three weeks before she died and a week after they split up, Sutton allegedly sexually assaulted Aimee as she slept naked in bed and filmed the attack.

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Mr Dawes said Ms Pike sometimes stayed in Sutton’s caravan in the nearby village of Loddiswell – where he installed a secret camera in a clock to record her.

Ms Pike died in the small hours of April 23, 2025, after Sutton drove her six miles to the caravan in his Land Rover, where she planned to spend the night alone.

The court was told that after dropping her off, Sutton drove home but parked in a village hall car park out of sight of a CCTV camera.

Once the street lights went out two-and-a-half hours later, Sutton went back to his Land Rover and drove towards the caravan – taking a route to avoid any cameras ‘in a sneaky way’.

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The jury were told he left his phone at home to give the impression that he had not gone out, and had removed a dashcam from the Land Rover.

Mr Dawes said: ‘He went there not to check on Aimee but to murder her. The injuries to Aimee would suggest he ran her down in that Land Rover in the darkness in the countryside somewhere. There were no witnesses to this killing.’

The prosecutor said Sutton then moved the body after killing her, but only the defendant knows where he stored her body before transporting her in his Skoda car to the main A379 Embankment Road at New Bridge, Kingsbridge.

Mr Dawes said: ‘The prosecution case is that this relationship was characterised by controlling and coercive behaviour.’

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He said both Sutton and his alleged victim were looking for other relationships after their separation, and Sutton had been contacting people ‘for sexual reasons’.

Sutton denies murdering Ms Pike and sexually assaulting her three weeks earlier.

On Wednesday the jury will visit the scene with the judge and legal teams.

The trial continues.

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By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and KATRINA SCHOLLENBERGER, US HEAD OF LIVE NEWS and RUTH STYLES AND LUKE KENTON IN PROVO, UTAH

Updated: 21:27 BST, 7 July 2026

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson was seen walking in a limp in security footage played in court at his pre trial hearing on Tuesday. 

Earlier today, the defense was dealt a massive blow after the judge ruled prosecutors could play the never-before-seen footage of his movements on the day Kirk was killed.

After months of back-and-forth over the footage, Judge Tony Graf allowed video of Robinson driving into a parking garage, walking away, returning, and leaving to be played in court today.

Former Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent David Hull described the footage as it was played to court, and revealed that Robinson spoke with members of Kirk’s group, Turning Point USA, and got Chick-fil-A before the shooting.

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Robinson’s parents appeared to smile as they arrived for the second day of his key evidence hearing, where prosecutors are expected to play testimony from his transgender lover.

Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, looked somber as they arrived at the Utah courthouse on Tuesday, while his widow Erika quietly entered through a private entrance after a dramatic first day in court.

Robinson, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk as the conservative firebrand spoke in front of thousands of people at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.

Prosecutors are expected to play bombshell testimony from Robinson’s transgender lover, Lance Twiggs, who goes by Luna, today.

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Robinson allegedly confessed to Twiggs that he had shot and killed Kirk before turning himself in.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robinson and are using the hearing to prove that he should stand trial for murder. 

Follow the Daily Mail for the latest updates…

Never-before-seen video of Tyler Robinson before Charlie Kirk shooting is shown in court

Never-before-seen footage of Tyler Robinson’s movements the day of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is being shown in court.

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The video showed a car that investigators say belongs to Robinson arrive at Utah Valley University’s campus at 8.30am on September 10, 2025.

Former Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent David Hull said they identified the vehicle as Robinson’s based on information they were provided about his driver’s license and vehicle records.

Hull then identified Robinson as the man in a red shirt walking out of the parking garage.

Robinson allegedly went to an amphitheater and interacted with Turning Point USA members before leaving.

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He eventually returned to campus and bought food from Chick-fil-A about two hours before the shooting.

Hull then send Robinson is seen returning to campus in different clothing and walking with a limp.

He allegedly walked in front of the Losee building, climbed onto the roof and was seen laying prone in the corner.

Then the individual on the roof, believed to be Robinson, was seen leaving the area at 12.44pm MT.

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Tyler Robinson made contact with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA colleagues before deadly shooting

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson made contact with several members of the conservative activist’s organization Turning Point USA before the assassination, his pre-trial hearing heard.

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FBI forensic analyst called to the stand

The prosecution allowed the defense to call FBI forensic analyst Amanda Bakker to the stand.

She signed the report that identified Robinson and Twiggs DNA on a towel and screwdriver at the shooting scene.

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Prosecutors introduce an FBI report that found DNA evidence from Robinson and his trans lover

The prosecution introduced an FBI report that found DNA evidence from Tyler Robinson and his transgender lover and roommate, Lance Twiggs.

The DNA was found on a towel wrapped around a rifle near the scene.

Twiggs has not been accused of wrongdoing and has been cooperating with investigators.

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Woman reveals Erika Kirk’s kind gesture during emotional hearing

A woman who is attending Tyler Robinson’s hearing said it has been emotional.

Denae Branch told the Associate Press when she teared up during the hearing Erika Kirk reached over to offer her a tissue.

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‘She doesn’t know if I’m Team Erika or not, yet she handed me a tissue, and I lost it,’ Branch said during the lunch recess. ‘She didn’t know if I was a friend or not, and she showed love.’

Charlie Kirk’s widow made a quiet entrance into the courtroom today, after Monday’s dramatic hearing.

Erika and her in-laws left the courtroom on Monday when horrific footage of the shooting was played.

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Erika Kirk fought back tears as she forgave her late husband’s suspected assassin in a heartbreaking moment during his memorial service in September.

She told the crowd of more than 60,000 mourners at State Farm Stadium that her late husband would have wanted her to forgive his killer.

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‘[Charlie] wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,’ Erika said, sparking roars from the crowd and a standing ovation.

‘That man, that young man, I forgive him,’ Erika Kirk said while breaking into tears.

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Court is back in session

The prosecution has called Utah Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jennifer Faumuina to the stand.

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Who is Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson?

Tyler Robinson, 23, is the man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, in front of thousands of students at Utah Valley University.

Prosecutors say he confessed in a message to his transgender partner, writing that he pulled the trigger because he had ‘had enough of [Kirk’s] hatred.’

Growing up in a Utah suburb, Robinson appeared destined for a bright future: he was raised in a close-knit conservative family, was a star student and earned a 4.0 GPA.

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Somewhere around the COVID pandemic, however, friends and family say he changed — and investigators believe he was radicalized online.

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Infuriating ways woke activists who were fired for mocking Charlie Kirk murder got the last laugh

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s horrific murder, an ugly specter emerged: people, perversely, celebrating his death.

In fact, more than 600 Americans were fired from their jobs over their negative reactions to Kirk’s murder, according to a November 2025 Reuters investigation.

Many of those terminations subsequently sparked a flurry of lawsuits, which all claimed their firings were in violation of their First Amendment rights.

A number of the legal filings, including one by a biologist and former cop, have resulted in eye-watering payouts and even seen some people getting their jobs reinstated.

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Read final texts Charlie Kirk suspect Tyler Robinson sent trans lover after assassination

Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson texted his transgender partner explaining his motive for the shooting, prosecutors allege.

His lover, Lance Twiggs, is expected to delivery testimony in a recorded statement at this week’s hearing.

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Kirk family released statement ahead of Monday’s hearing

Charlie Kirk’s family issued a statement ahead of Monday’s preliminary court hearing for his suspected assassin.

‘Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend, and father. Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children,’ said the statement from his widow, Erika Kirk, his parents, Robert and Kathryn, and his sister, Mary.

‘Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time. We ask for continued privacy as we navigate this process and immense grief.’

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Judge provisionally allows statement from TPUSA member

After an hour of arguments, Judge Tony Graf has agreed to allow a statement from Turning Point USA member David Engelhardt into evidence on a provisional basis.

The court the broke for lunch and is set to return at 1.45pm MT.

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ANL is the third publisher to face legal action from the duke, after he previously sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which published The Mirror, over alleged unlawful information gathering.

In a joint statement after the ruling, Harry and Lady Lawrence said the ruling was a “complete reversal of the position which previous judges have taken in relation to the hacking claims” brought against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and the defunct News of the World, and Mirror Group Newspapers, publisher of the Mirror.

Mission Digital Ltd, based in London, is known for providing digital imaging technology (DIT) and digital dailies services for feature films and high-end drama productions.

Services include video playback and virtual production for both large and small-scale projects.

The company built its reputation over more than a decade and has supported several of the film industry’s leading cinematographers and directors.

Mission Digital’s credits include:

• Project Hail Mary
• Barbie
• Enola Holmes 2
• The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
• Paddington in Peru
• Wonka
• Kraven the Hunter
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• Uncharted
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage
• Cruella

Mission Digital Ltd falls into administration

Mission Digital Ltd has now fallen into administration after 15 years in business.

Jeffrey Mark Brenner and James Stares from Antony Batty & Company Ltd were appointed joint administrators on June 29, The Gazette reported.

In accounts for the year to June 30, 2025, the company reported fixed assets of £1.1 million and current assets of around £144,000, according to Business Sale Report.

Despite this, net liabilities were close to £396,000, reflecting ongoing financial challenges in the sector.

UK administrations update: June 23 – 29https://t.co/5AoJzLkQLE pic.twitter.com/YH5peTSGZJ

— Business Sale Report (@BusinessForSale) June 30, 2026

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What happens when a company goes into administration?

When a company enters administration, it means that it is unable to pay expenses, debts, or other liabilities, according to SquareUp.com.

Companies House adds: “When a company goes into administration, they have entered a legal process (under the Insolvency Act 1986) with the aim of achieving one of the statutory objectives of an administration. This may be to rescue a viable business that is insolvent due to cashflow problems.

“An appointment of an administrator (a licensed insolvency practitioner) will be made by directors, a creditor or the court to fulfil the administration process.”

A statutory moratorium is put in place once a company enters administration, giving it “breathing space” to allow for financial restructuring plans to be drawn up free from creditor enforcement actions.

A company can continue to trade while in administration, but daily management and control are handed over to the administrators.

Companies House continues: “Within 8 weeks it is the administrators’ role to formulate administration proposals.

“Creditors are then asked to vote by a decision procedure to approve the administrators’ proposals.

“If the administration involves a sale of all or part of the company’s business, the proceeds (after the costs of the procedure) will be distributed to creditors in a statutory order of priority.”

Administration will end automatically after 12 months unless the administrator asks the court or creditors for an extension.

Through administration, a company can be:

• Rescued and passed back to the directors
• Enter liquidation
• Be dissolved

Other UK companies that have closed or entered administration/liquidation in 2026

It has been a tough year for the UK high street, with several other retailers entering administration or liquidation and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street brands LK Bennett, Claire’s, and Quiz have been forced to close all their remaining stores after falling into administration.

UK fashion retailer Leading Labels is also set to close its remaining 15 stores after falling into liquidation.

TG Jones will be closing 150 stores across the UK as part of a “restructuring” plan approved by the High Court on Wednesday (July 1).

Other retailers have been forced to close stores this year, including:

Several UK travel companies have also ceased trading or entered administration in 2026:

Luxury UK holiday company Salamander Voyages shut down back in April after entering administration.

Meanwhile, four UK airlines have fallen into administration or liquidation:

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It hasn’t all been bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

Plus-size clothing brand Evans also returned to the UK high street recently after closing all its stores and concessions in December 2020.

Which company/store closure in 2026 has impacted you the most? Let us know in the comments below.

Another Cambridgeshire district is set to benefit from weekly food waste collections

Another Cambridgeshire district will soon benefit from food waste bins. In June, food waste collections began across East Cambridgeshire.

Residents across Fenland will soon be able to recycle their food waste too, with new caddies being delivered from next Monday (July 13). It will take around six weeks for all households to get their new caddies, and then weekly food waste collections will begin from Monday, September 7.

Councillor Steve Tierney, Fenland District Council’s portfolio holder for waste and recycling said: “We already have a fantastic waste and recycling service here in Fenland, and these new food waste collections will make it even better.

“Around a third of the waste that currently goes in our green bins is food waste – much of which can be recycled. By introducing free weekly collections, we’re not only meeting national legislation, but helping people recycle their food waste in an environmentally friendly way while freeing up space in their green bins.

“The service is completely optional too. Residents can decide whether to take part, but we’re confident everyone will enjoy the benefits. An information leaflet will be included in the food waste caddies to help people understand the new service and there’s lots of information on our website too.”

More than 90,000 caddies will be delivered to over 45,000 homes across the district from next week. Each household will receive a five litre indoor caddy; a roll of caddy liners; a larger 23 litre outdoor caddy; and an instruction leaflet.

The first phase of caddy deliveries are set to be completed by the end of August. Residents can start to fill their caddies on the week commencing August 31.

In December 2023, Carr was sentenced to nine years in jail for allowing her daughter’s death and to six years in jail for child cruelty. The two sentences are to run together, so the maximum she could serve is nine years.

In April 2025, the Court of Appeal agreed that this sentence was not unduly harsh.

However, due to the overcrowded nature of Britain’s prison, the 2026 Sentencing Act allowed prisoners not convicted of murder or violent sexual offences to be released having served just a third of their sentences as long as they had shown good behaviour and would not pose a risk to the public.

It is generally understood that the government had to do something to alleviate the problem of overcrowded prisons in the short term before more cells could be built, and early release was therefore a solution.

But the public imagined it would apply to petty criminals who had managed to kick their drug habit and so stood a chance in the outside world when released early.

Carr did not kill little Maya – her partner, Michael Daymond was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years – but child cruelty and permitting the death cannot surely be viewed as crimes that are suitable for the earliest possible release? What does that suggest about the value of Maya’s life?

The penal system should not be vindictive against offenders, but, equally, it should not inflict distress upon the families of victims. The Ministry of Justice really should think long and hard before embarking on a route that is bound to do so.