The completion of a project to install giant concrete bridge beams took place over the bank holiday weekend (May 2-3) on part of the York Central site, forming the backbone of a new pedestrian and cycle crossing over the railway at Water End.

Infrastructure contractor Sisk carried out the work over two weekends where beams, each measuring 86 metres long and weighing up to 130 tonnes, were lifted into place across the East Coast Main Line by a 1,250-tonne specialist crawler crane.

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Alan Rodger, managing director at Sisk Infrastructure, said: “This is major milestone for our York Central project team.

“It required meticulous engineering and planning, which included temporary works and digital construction, right through to our supply chain partners, client, Network Rail and other key stakeholders.

“Together, we’ve delivered a complex piece of engineering with precision and collaboration over a stretch of the busiest rail network in the UK.

We’re excited to carry this momentum into the summer months as we move into the next phase of this transformative development.”

Steel beams being lifted into position over East Coast mainline railway at York Central (Image: Chris Winter / SISK)

Sisk said it led the operation on behalf of the York Central partnership —comprising Homes England, Network Rail, City of York Council and the National Railway Museum— and added it also relied on precise weather and railway access conditions.

The new bridge will connect the new Park Street access road to Water End, forming a key part of the final phase of infrastructure works for the wider York Central site.

Steel beams being lifted into position over East Coast mainline railway at York Central (Image: Chris Winter / SISK)

Councillor Claire Douglas, leader of City of York Council, said: “Seeing the York Central site evolve over recent months and start to be used by our residents has been amazing.

“Preparing for the bridge lift has been a huge partnership effort and is a significant engineering feat. I want to thank everyone who has been involved.

“While there is still more work to do before the bridge opens this was a major step forward for the York Central project which in time will transform our city, deliver new homes, high quality jobs and amazing public spaces for the people of York.”

The 76-metre-long, 7.5-metre-wide bridge is expected to open in 2027 following completion of the new junction and remaining infrastructure.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven has revealed that her recent ban from the Women’s Series in darts has triggered painful childhood memories, though she remains resolute, declaring she is “not done” with the sport.

The history-making player is now ineligible to compete following rule changes implemented by the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) last month, which prohibit transgender women from participating in women’s events.

The governing body’s decision came after a review of its policy in 2025, which included a report from academic developmental biologist Dr Emma Hilton.

Her findings concluded that “multiple, small-magnitude sex differences accumulate to generate male advantage over females in darts”.

Van Leuven, 29, from the Netherlands, described the news as having “changed everything” for her, a decision she learned about via email just a day before it was made public.

“It brings up childhood memories of people not accepting me for who I am or what I am,” she said.

“It happened in middle school. It happened at kindergarten. It happened. And it’s just something that keeps coming back.”

She added: “It’s been a rough couple of weeks. I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t, but I guess every year has been like this. Every year something happens, and every time I crawl out of the big hole I get pushed in, I keep coming back.”

Van Leuven said: “This one really sucks. And I truly still don’t get it. I just don’t believe darts really is a ‘gender-affected sport’ as they call it, especially with the points that they’re coming up with. It feels like the decision is influenced by gender-critical perspectives, which I strongly disagree with.”

She challenged the notion of a physical advantage, arguing: “If you’re a biological male, you should have advantages in being taller, having longer arms, whatever. But take a look at who has been taking every title in this game? Phil Taylor, (Luke) Littler now. Neither of them is above 180cm.

“So, I just don’t get it. It changed everything for me, and I found out about it without any real warning, which made it even harder to process.”

Her argument was given more fuel by Beau Greaves’ recent victory in a Pro Tour event in Milton Keynes, making her the first woman to secure a PDC Tour ranking title.

Van Leuven, however, was keen not to politicise Greaves’ success, insisting her contemporary deserved to celebrate her “amazing” achievement.

Van Leuven herself has competed alongside Greaves on the Women’s Series since 2022, a path that led her to become the first trans player to qualify for the World Championship and Grand Slam of Darts.

Without a main PDC Tour card, Van Leuven’s competitive options are now limited to second-tier Challenge Tour events or World Darts Federation competitions. The PDC, which organises the tournaments, is bound by the DRA’s rules and has offered Van Leuven counselling in the wake of the policy change.

Looking ahead, Van Leuven remains determined. “I just want to try to enjoy the game again,” she said. “I just want to improve myself this year and maybe hope I get a Tour card for next year.

“Hopefully, I can still find enough opportunities to do that. I’m not done with this game, but it still hurts, and all my goals for this whole year, they’re gone, and there’s not a lot of time left to get new big goals.”

Van Leuven views the decision as symptomatic of broader issues facing the trans community.

“I’m not sure if it would actually help to fight it,” she commented. “You’ve got the court ruling on trans women not being women in the UK. If you take a look at America, trans rights are kind of gone everywhere, and it’s only getting worse and worse. It’s not easy to fight this at this moment.

“It’s not only happening in sports, but also take women’s restrooms. I don’t know any trans woman who actually transitioned just to go to the women’s room. They just want to be themselves. They just want to live their own lives. They’re not scary, they’re not angry human beings.

“I hear a lot of people talking really bad about trans people, like they’re not even human beings, like they’re some sort of object. But yeah, we’re human beings. We also have feelings.”

When contacted, DRA reiterated that its decision was made after extensive legal advice and was not taken lightly.

EcoJet Airlines, which aimed to be the world’s first electric airline, has collapsed last year following a reported failed bid to raise £20 million.

Dozens of flights have been axed after liquidators were appointed to a doomed Scottish based airline.

EcoJet Airlines, which aimed to be the world’s first electric airline, collapsed last year following a reported failed bid to raise £20 million.

Provisional liquidators were appointed in February – and, as reported by The Herald, Opus Restructuring has now been appointed as the formal liquidators for the firm.

The update was announced in the Gazette government records, with Paul Dounis and Mark Harper from the firm appointed to wind up the company.

Opus restructuring said the owners of EcoJet are funding the process in order to aid employees.

A spokesperson said: “EcoJet was a start-up business and has no material assets. The members have elected to fund the liquidation process to ensure that the company’s employees receive their full statutory entitlements.”

EcoJet had planned flights from Edinburgh to Southampton and wanted to launch other journeys across Europe, but the schedule was never launched amid the collapse.

The travel firm was launched in Edinburgh back in 2023 by entrepreneur Dale Vince. Mr Vince, who is also the founder of green energy firm Ecotricity, said he has “paused investment into EcoJet”.

He said: “We remain committed to electrifying all forms of transport – aviation is the last frontier and the hardest.

“It’s taking longer than we hoped, to get the technology and regulatory pieces of the puzzle in alignment, and so we’re pausing work at this time.”

Mr Vince added: “This is a vital frontier in the move to net zero, green living, whatever you choose to call it – and it’s absolutely doable. It’s a matter of when not if.”

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The BAFTA-nominated hidden gem has been deemed ‘stranger than fiction’ by viewers

Documentary enthusiasts are being encouraged to watch a “stranger than fiction” film that frequently flies under the radar.

Three Identical Strangers emerged as one of the most recommended titles after a Redditor sought “blow your socks off” documentaries that weren’t widely recognised.

The BAFTA-nominated film, running just over 90 minutes, chronicles the remarkable story of triplets – Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman – who were separated at birth. Unaware they were triplets, they had no knowledge of one another’s existence, reports the Mirror.

Through an extraordinary coincidence, the three crossed paths as young adults during the 1980s, entirely by chance. Their astonishing story propelled them to fame, leading them to share a home, appear in films and launch their own business.

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However, as they delved into their history, they uncovered a disturbing truth that would alter their lives irrevocably.

“I’m looking for documentaries and I love all types except for murder mystery because they’re typically all the same,” the initial Reddit post stated. “Could you guys suggest a few documentaries that completely caught you by surprise and you always recommend it to people because of that?”

Responding to the recommendation of Three Identical Strangers, one viewer commented: “I remember this documentary. It made me so angry. But, producers did a great job telling the story.

“Yess this is one I would typically scroll past but wow it was definitely one of the best,” confessed one viewer who decided to give it a chance. Another fan remarked that the narrative presented in the film “felt impossible.”

While no longer streaming on Netflix, the film – characterised by many as ‘dark’ – is currently accessible on YouTube, Apple TV, and Prime Video for a modest charge. With an impressive 96 per cent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and 88 per cent from audiences, the general consensus suggests it’s a worthwhile viewing experience for documentary enthusiasts.

“Starting as a fascinating curiosity, the movie takes a dramatic and breath-taking turn to expose a much more unsettling story. Really great documentary,” another viewer commented, awarding it five stars.

“Classic case of reality being far stranger than fiction. Watch this and you’ll be rewarded (if that’s the proper way of putting it) with a story so wild you’d think it’s made up. Yet this is a documentary,” remarked yet another impressed viewer.

Three Identical Strangers is currently available to watch on YouTube, Apple TV and Prime Video for an additional fee.

The Pemberton Masonic hall in Wigan has hosted numerous events and celebrations over the years

A special school is to be created at a Masonic hall in Wigan after it closes its doors for the final time later this month. Wigan council has agreed the use of Masonic hall on Chapel Street in Pemberton as a school.

The two-storey hall has been used over the years to host events and celebrations, including wedding receptions, christenings, charity functions and sports club dinners.

Applicant Northridge Education Group, which is based in Bamber Bridge, describes itself as ‘a multi-service care provider’ across Lancashire and the North West.

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Its website states that in 2027, it intends to open two specialist SEND schools in Wigan and Chorley to ‘cater to young people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities, providing the specialist support that mainstream settings often can’t’.

In March, Wigan council decided that using the building as a school would not constitute a material change of use as both the existing lawful use of the site as a community hall and the proposed use as a school fall within the same category.

Earlier this year Wigan and Leigh Masonic group said that the Pemberton Masonic Hall would be closing at the end of May. Orrell lodge, who were based at the hall, will move to their new home at Hindley Masonic Hall.

In the past week, a planning application was lodged by Northridge for alterations to the building including installing exterior cladding and additional windows and doors.

The application states that alterations are also sought ‘to parking layout following creation of playing field and sensory garden and erection of 2.45 metre high mesh and timber boundary fencing’.

The planning statement describes minor changes to the layout of the site. It said: “There are no major changes. Existing site entrances will be used for drop off only and the rear for staff only access.

“The spaces within the site and surrounding the building will retain the hard-standing as well as introducing grass for a more pleasant site atmosphere.”

Northridge said the Pemberton site would be its ‘first specialist school, designed from the ground up to provide outstanding SEND education with fully integrated clinical and therapeutic services’.

It added: “Set in the heart of Wigan, this school will offer a nurturing, purpose-built environment for young people who need a different approach to education.”

Prior to being sold, the building was marketed by estate agents Fazakerley Sharpe with a price tag of £650,000. Planners at Wigan council will consider the building alteration plans in the coming weeks.

The three men stole a bike during the incident.

Cambridgeshire Police has released CCTV images of two men they want to speak to after an assault and robbery in Peterborough. Three teenage boy were assaulted by three men on the railway footbridge between Maskew Avenue and Ivatt Way at around 5pm on Saturday, April 18.

The group of men stole a bike. One of the boys suffered minor injuries but didn’t need to go to hospital.

One of the men, Imran Ali, 41, of no known address, was charged with two counts of attempted robbery, two counts of robbery, possession of a knife in a public place, and possession of an offensive weapon in public.

On Thursday, April 30, Ali appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court. He is set to appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on May 27.

Anyone who recognises the men in the images or has any information relating to the incident should contact the police. You can report anything through the Cambridgeshire Police website by quoting the reference 35/28529/26.

Anyone without access to the internet should call 101.

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Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana reports a fantastic first few weeks at its new Harrogate restaurant.

The venue in the former Banyan Bar and Restaurant says it has welcomed more than 7,000 diners since the opening on Saturday April 11.

The opening was boosted by a 3,000 free pizza giveaway and a charity night in aid of the  Harrogate Homeless Project, which raised £1,678.

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Rudy’s Pizza opens in Harrogate town centre on Saturday

The pizzeria in John Street offers 120 covers inside the restaurant and 35 covers outside.

The restaurant interior (Image: Pic supplied)

Since launching in 2015, Rudy’s has grown from one base in Manchester to 37 pizzerias nationwide, including York.

A warm welcome at Rudy’s (Image: Pic supplied)

Rudy’s Pizza managing director Neal Bates of Rudy’s Pizza, said: “The reception we’ve received in Harrogate has been fantastic. We are ideally located in the heart of the town’s food and drink scene and already feel very at home.

“From our charity event to meeting literally thousands of locals through our Pizza on Us offer, we’re thrilled to be a part of the Harrogate community and look forward to experiencing more of  the town’s unique culture as we head into a summer of fantastic festivals and events.”

Online reviews back up the company’s praise of the opening weeks of trading.

TripAdvisor awards Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana – Harrogate 4.9 stars out of five, based on 96 reviews, ranking it14th out of 297 restaurants in Harrogate.

Outside the Harrogate restaurant (Image: Pic supplied)

The latest review gave five stars and described their visit as a “fantastic experience.”

It continued: “First time here, fantastic experience – the food was fabulous and came in good time, our server Jimmy was very cordial and friendly. 10/10 would definitely come again.”

Google also awards the Harrogate restaurant 4.9 stars out of five, based on 44 reviews.

Its latest review also gave five stars and said: “Great food and atmosphere. Jimmy our server was fantastic.”

It’s pizza time (Image: Pic supplied)

Rudy’s opened in York in July 2024 in High Ousegate.

TripAdvisor currently gives it 4.6 stars, based on 199 reviews, ranking it 128th out of 786 York Restaurants. Google awards 4.5 stars, based on 450 reviews.

For more information and bookings visit: https://www.rudyspizza.co.uk/location/harrogate/

A former Foreign Office diplomat has spoken about his encounters with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who served as a trade envoy for the government, revealing staff were left treading on eggshells

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A former Foreign Office diplomat has talked about the five occasions he met Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – revealing one “uncomfortable” detail that stood out immediately.

The disgraced former prince served as a trade envoy for the government between 2001 and 2011. It was in this capacity that he crossed paths with Simon Wilson, who held the position of deputy ambassador to Bahrain from 2001 to 2005.

Reflecting on his dealings with the late Queen’s son, Simon remarked: “I have to say I was a little bit surprised about how sort of cocky he was.”

He suggested there was initial optimism when Andrew first accepted the unpaid role as a trade envoy, with those within the Foreign Office believing it would help unlock opportunities with royal families across the Gulf.

However, according to Simon, matters “started to go wrong from the word go”. He told 60 Minutes Australia: “We started to get reams of instructions about his likes and dislikes in terms of food, that he didn’t drink, alcohol, tea or coffee, but would drink still water, room temperature, no ice,” reports the Mirror.

“One thing that was noticeable, which I didn’t encounter with any other visit of a Royal Family, they always went very smoothly anyway, was that his staff seemed to be petrified of him.”

He noted this was unusual because typically, when he’d worked with private secretaries of other senior royals, they appeared visibly “very proud” to be serving them.

Simon revealed those individuals enjoyed their overseas jaunts, but regarding Andrew’s staff, he added: “You really got the impression that they were really uncomfortable all the time, treading on eggshells, didn’t want to put a food wrong and of course that transferred in the wider picture to us, the embassy who were organising things, we were treading on eggshells.”

Simon pointed out that while the position wasn’t salaried, the reality was Andrew travelled with a substantial entourage who required payment.

He further alleged the former prince refused to fly commercially, even in first class, and that he demanded private aircraft instead.

The ex-diplomat also claimed Andrew turned down stays at ambassadorial residences, which came at no cost, opting instead for the island’s most luxurious hotels.

He said he was “surprised” Andrew remained in his position for a decade given that “so much went wrong”.

Simon was involved in arranging three visits for Andrew, and he recently told the i Paper he was “rude and arrogant” before disclosing his unflattering nickname. He said: “The term ‘His Buffoon Highness’ was used among diplomats.”

British police are seeking to extradite a German man to stand trial in the UK in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The man, identified by local media as Christian Brueckner, was released in September 2025 after serving a seven-year sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005.

However, Met Police said at the time that the 49-year-old remains a suspect in the Madeleine case – with Portuguese and German authorities also probing the three-year-old girl’s disappearance.

Scotland Yard are now hoping to bring him to the UK to stand trial relating to the suspected abduction and murder of the young girl, according to the Telegraph.

Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

The mystery of what happens to the young girl remains unsolved. Her body has never been found.

Here is a reminder of the events of the case.

Madeleine disappears from her bed on 3 May, 2007

The story began when the McCanns – doctors Kate and Gerry, their three-year-old daughter Madeleine and her two-year-old twin siblings Amelia and Sean – joined a group of seven family friends and their five children on holiday at the Ocean Club in the village of Praia da Luz on the southwestern tip of Portugal on 28 April 2007.

After a pleasant spring break by the sea, the adults in the party went out for dinner at the resort’s open-air tapas bar on 3 May, gathering at 8.30pm. The children were left behind sleeping in their respective apartments with the doors unlocked and a rota system in place among the parents to ensure that someone returned every half-hour to check on them.

When Kate McCann took her turn and returned to her apartment at 10pm, she raced back to the restaurant screaming “Madeleine’s gone! Someone’s taken her!” The police were quickly called and 60 staff and fellow guests searched the complex, calling out the girl’s name in vain until daybreak the following morning.

Border police and airport staff were put on alert and hundreds of volunteers joined the efforts to find the missing girl over the coming days, the case fast becoming a sensation.

The Portuguese authorities would later attract criticism over their conduct in the crucial earliest hours of the investigation when the trail might still have been warm, accused of making rudimentary mistakes like failing to conduct a house-by-house search of every local residence or interview all of the other guests at the resort, acting slowly to erect roadblocks and potentially compromising forensic evidence at the crime scene.

The police initially stated that they believed Madeleine was still alive and had been abducted from the room by a stranger as the parents described their “anguish and despair” over her vanishing, a worst fear realised for any parent.

The search continued as the summer progressed amid a wild media circus and with huge fundraising activities underway, the McCanns setting up Madeleine’s Fund on 15 May to raise cash to support further investigation and keep the profile of the case high, attracting generous donations from celebrities like Richard Branson, Simon Cowell, JK Rowling and Coleen Rooney.

A local man, Robert Murat, subsequently became its first suspect and had his house and car searched, his swimming pool drained and his electronic devices confiscated but no evidence was found to link him to Madeleine and the matter was soon dropped.

By June, the Portuguese police admitted that they had failed to protect potentially useful evidence at the scene as frustration with the lack of developments grew and the media began to question whether the McCanns themselves had been involved in the matter.

In July, British police sent over two springer spaniel sniffer dogs to search for DNA.

Spotlight turns to Madeleine’s parents in September 2007

Relations with the local authorities would ultimately sour as the latter came to resent British intrusion into a Portuguese inquiry, according to Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan’s book Looking for Madeleine (2014).

By August 2007, Madeleine had been missing for 100 days and police admitted for the first time that she may never be found. They also told the McCanns that they were no longer considering the matter an abduction case but, rather, a murder inquiry.

The McCanns themselves were interviewed as “arguidos” (suspects) by Portuguese police in September 2007, with the parents told that the dogs had discovered DNA evidence from the missing girl in the boot of their holiday rental car, lines of inquiry that had already been leaked to the British press. They vehemently denied having any part in her disappearance.

Despite being listed as suspects (a designation that would linger until the following July), the McCanns were allowed to return to Britain on 9 September.

A day later, chief inspector Tavares de Almeida of the Policia Judiciaria in Portimao signed a nine-page report claiming that Madeleine had died in the apartment along with a series of other unproven allegations.

On 2 October, chief inspector Goncalo Amaral was removed from the case and transferred after alleging that the British police were only interested in pursuing leads favourable to the McCanns.

He would later publish a book, Maddie: The Truth of the Lie, the following summer, resulting in a lengthy libel battle with the McCanns that would run back and forth through the courts until March 2017. Their claim against Mr Amaral was unsuccessful.

Back in Britain, Gerry McCann issued a video that November in which he speculated that his family had been watched by a “predator” during their stay at Praia da Luz. His wife had come to believe that a potential perpetrator could have seen a note in the resort’s guest book visible to all in reception noting their dining arrangements on the evening of Madeleine’s disappearance.

The couple followed up on 20 January 2008 by releasing a sketch of a “creepy man” they said other holidaymakers had said they had seen loitering at the Ocean Club.

In April, a month before the one-year anniversary of the fateful night, Portuguese police travelled to Leicestershire to conduct further interviews with the McCanns’ friends.

McCanns are cleared in July 2008, Scotland Yard picks up the case

Then, on 21 July 2008, Portugal’s attorney general, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, announced that there was no evidence to link either the McCanns or Robert Murat to the disappearance and closed the case, unsolved.

With the trail cold and no closure in sight, the McCanns continued to publicise their cause, issuing computer-generated images of how Madeleine might look now that she had aged on 3 November 2009 and condemning the release of previously unseen Portuguese police files – detailing possible sightings of their daughter – to British newspapers in March 2010.

The McCanns published a book of their own about their ordeal in May 2011, entitled simply Madeleine, which was serialised in The Sun as the newspaper led a campaign calling on then British prime minister David Cameron to launch a new inquiry. He did so.

Commenced by then-home secretary Theresa May, the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Grange would be led by commander Simon Foy and comprise a team of three detective inspectors, five detective sergeants, 19 detective constables and six civilian staff.

It began to yield results in 2013, with Scotland Yard formally announcing a new investigation in July and saying in October it had identified 41 potential suspects. That same month, BBC Crimewatch released an e-fit image of a man of particular interest who had been seen in Praia da Luz with a child matching Madeleine’s description in May 2007.

Detectives arrived in Portugal in January 2014 promising new arrests and finally searched the village in June, interviewing four people the following month but without unearthing new information. The quartet would be definitively ruled out in April 2017, before the UK government said it would continue to fund the investigation until 2020, having already admitted it had cost £10m in its first four years of operation.

That investment had enabled detectives to have tens of thousands of documents translated, investigate over 8,000 potential sightings, take 1,338 statements, collect 1,027 exhibits and investigate 650 sex offenders and 60 persons of interest, all without definitively establishing the truth.

New suspect shoots case back into the spotlight in June 2020

The Madeleine McCann case lay dormant before suddenly exploding into life in June 2020 when German media revealed that Brueckner, a 43-year-old prisoner with a track record of child abuse and drug trafficking, had been identified as a new suspect by the public prosecutor of the German city of Braunschweig.

He had reportedly been living in a Volkswagen camper van in the Algarve at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance and one woman has since come forward to suggest she saw a girl that might have been Madeleine speaking German in a supermarket in Portugal in 2017.

German investigators classified their probe into his movements as a murder inquiry, saying they were working on the assumption that Madeleine is dead and reporting in July 2021 that they had found an abandoned cellar beneath his former allotment near Hanover where she could, theoretically, have been held captive.

Hans Christian Wolters, the prosecutor leading the investigation into Brueckner, has said he was “very confident” the inmate is responsible for kidnapping her.

“If you knew the evidence we had you would come to the same conclusion as I do but I can’t give you details because we don’t want the accused to know what we have on him – these are tactical considerations,” he told the BBC.

Portuguese police formally made Brueckner a suspect in relation to the case on 21 April 2022.

Following their unsuccessful libel claim against Mr Amaral, the former chief inspector who had investigated the disappearance, the McCanns applied to the European Court of Human Rights on the ground that the Portuguese legal system had breached their right to be presumed innocent. But on 19 September 2022, the Court rejected their claim.

In February 2023, a Polish woman called Julia Faustyna made headlines by claiming she was Madeleine, using the Instagram name @iammadeleinemccann. Ms Faustyna, 21, did not provide any supporting evidence but sought DNA tests to prove her origins. The results ultimately revealed that she was entirely of Polish origin, with no British heritage, disproving her claims.

In April 2023, a court in Braunschweig dropped a rape charge against Brueckner, unrelated to the McCann case, concluding it did not have jurisdiction, while police in Germany continued to claim they had“concrete evidence” that Madeleine is dead.

McCanns mark 16 years since Madeleine’s disappearance in May 2023

On 2 May 2023, Madeleine’s parents posted a statement on the Find Madeleine website marking the latest anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance, reiterating their hopes of being reunited with her one day.

“The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough. Thank you to everyone for your support – it really helps.”

Portuguese police also reportedly apologised to the parents offor the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.

Later that month, the case unexpectedly lurched back into life in when investigators launched a major search operation at a reservoir in the Algarve, with Mr Wolters saying they were acting on “certain tips” from Brueckner, whom the prosecutor said he remains “very confident” holds the key to Madeleine’s disappearance.

With help from Portuguese police and with Scotland Yard detectives watching on, German investigators carried out a thorough examination of the Barragem do Arade beauty spot in Silves.

They combed the shoreline and surrounding grasslands with sniffer dogs, rakes, spades and pickaxes and inspected the water in a rigid-hull inflatable boat. A no-fly zone was put in place in the skies overhead to allow police drones to survey the region undisturbed.

The site is located approximately 30 miles northeast of the Ocean Club resort, from which the missing girl first disappeared.

Brueckner cleared of further charges in October 2024

Brueckner was acquitted of rape and sexual abuse charges against separate children in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 following an eight-month trial.

Brueckner had been serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of a woman in Portugal’s Algarve region, in the area where Madeleine went missing.

In January 2025, Braunschweig Chief Public Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters admitted there was no current prospect of charging Brueckner over Madeleine’s disappearance, as police were still trying to secure forensic evidence linking Bruekner to the case.

Then in March, Wolters confirmed to The Independent that Brueckner had filed a motion for early release.

German police launch new search in June 2025

German police were in June been granted permission to undertake a widespread search of key areas in Portugal in a hunt for evidence, including Madeleine’s body.

The search, running from 2 June to 6 June, focused on an area around the spot where Brueckner had been living at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

Brueckner released from prison in September 2025

The main suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance left the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover on 17 September.

According to German media, he will have to wear an electronic tag, report to probation staff and give up his passport.

He will be required to take up a fixed residence and cannot move home without permission, although his lawyers are expected to appeal against the conditions.

Prosecutors believe he is still dangerous, following a recent psychiatric report that concluded he is likely to commit further crimes after he failed to undergo any therapy while in custody, according to reports.

After his release, he was placed under close monitoring including being tagged and subject to travel restrictions. He lashed out at camera crew when he was tracked down by ITV to a forest in northern Germany in September 2025. He was reportedly moved from his woodland tent to a new town in February 2026 after anger from local residents, according to the broadcaster.

Scotland Yard ‘seeks extradition’

A senior Scotland Yard official is now seeking to bring Brueckner to Britain to stand trial for Madeleine’s disappearance, according to The Telegraph.

“Next year marks 20 years since Madeleine McCann went missing. If the evidence is strong enough to extradite the prime suspect and try him here, that is what we would seek to do,” a source at the force told the publication.

“Clearly, there are numerous hurdles but our priority at the moment is to amass the strongest evidence we can against that prime suspect.”

According to the publication the Met Police believes it can gather strong enough evidence to enable the Crown Prosecution Service to press charges.

Coronation Street have revealed the line up of official suspects in the ‘whodunnit’ that saw Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) bashed over the head before being thrown off some scaffolding in the climax of ‘murder week’.

Danielle Silverton (Natalie Anderson) the deeply scorned ex-wife, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) the father figure of Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) who Theo had been viciously abusing for close to a year and his girlfriend, Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins), Gary Windass (Mikey North), Theo’s former best friend and resident bully-buster, Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby), the adoptive daughter of Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) who Theo killed, and, of course, Todd himself, make up the suspect list.

While it is completely plausible and, more than likely, possible, that one of the above bumped monstrous Theo off, there is a chance that the killer is somebody else entirely. Cast your minds back to EastEnders’ mammoth ‘whodunnit’ event, ‘who killed Lucy?’, in which it was revealed that her little brother, Bobby Beale (Eliot Carrington), had done the deed, without ever having been announced as a possible culprit.

In the vein of ‘keeping it in the family’, a few Coronation Street fans have surmised that Theo’s killer isn’t a part of the official line up and that the reappearance of an infrequent character last week is a confirmation of guilt: Theo’s son, Miles (Lewis William Magee).

Who is Miles Silverton?

Miles has been pretty estranged from his dad since their family collapsed, with Theo leaving his wife and Miles’ mum, Danielle, to set up home with Todd.

Though Theo possessed very few positive traits, one was his dedication to his children.

In the aftermath of Theo choosing to be with Todd, Miles was understandable hurt, confused, and completely blind sided, having had no idea about his dad’s sexuality, with Theo having undergone sick ‘conversion therapy’ previously to ‘cure’ him of his homosexuality leading to him repressing it.

Things erupted violently at a family dinner, with Miles landing a punch on Todd. Stepping into the melee, Theo accidentally ended up hitting Miles himself, and things got even worse between father and son.

Billy later discovered Miles handing out leaflets promoting the conversion therapy alongside Noah Hedley (Richard Winsor), the man who’d practiced said therapy on Theo, and had recently gotten into a relationship with Danielle.

Billy tried his hardest to get through to Miles, who’d begun being poisoned by Noah’s anti-gay ramblings and when Billy wound up on the floor as a result of Miles and Noah’s response, he reported Miles to the police, resulting in him being interviewed and let off with a caution.

Could Miles have killed Theo?

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In Miles’ recent reappearance, Theo tried, above anything else, to mend things between he and his son, but new enemy Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard) put an end to that, insinuated that he’d slept with Theo the previous night in the back of his van in front of him.

This somewhat random reappearance of Miles has got the cogs whirring in fans minds. Could it have been more than just a brief return? Could yet another clash with his dad have finally driven him to extreme measures?

Ange certainly thinks so, and she’s not the only one!

There’s some very interesting points made. Despite Theo being truly evil, a murder won’t go unpunished by the soap Gods. Would Coronation Street really be willing to part with any of the main suspect line up?

Are Miles, or even Danielle, more expendable to the show? Absolutely.

Still, the exact circumstances of the death are still unknown. Could the final blow have been delivered in self defence, making Theo’s death an accident rather than cold-blooded murder?

Either way, we’re in for one hell of a ride as we try and out-sleuth the Weatherfield coppers!

MORE: Coronation Street’s Lisa is on the Theo case – but is torn between two suspects

MORE: Coronation Street confirms six characters who could have killed Theo as murder hunt begins

MORE: Coronation Street star confirms Todd’s future after Theo’s death