The Archbishop of Canterbury’s office has revoked an award given to a Muslim cleric on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 due to Osama bin Laden comments.

Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was given The Hubert Walter Award on Friday by Dame Sarah Mullally for reconciliation and interfaith co-operation.

However, in 2007, when serving as head of the Pakistan Ulema Council group of Islamic clerics and scholars, he had said Bin Laden should be given the title Saifullah.

This means ‘Sword of God’, which he said would be for ‘serving Muslims by waging jihad against infidelsserving Muslims by waging jihad against infidels’.

Ashrafi was pictured at Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop’s London home, as he was recognised ‘for his outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan.’

However, the National Secular Society (NSS) criticised the award after previous comments about Osama bin Laden resurfaced.

The society called it ‘obscene, and almost beyond parody’, especially on such an important anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy.

The terror attacks in New York in 2001 killed almost 3,000 people, including 87 British citizens, when Al Qaida flew two planes into the Twin Towers.

‘Previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn,’ Lambeth Palace stated.

At the time of the award, the palace had said: ‘It is a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue and co-operation that we must engage with one another across deeply-held differences, and that remains the case.’

A representative for Ashrafi has since said the remarks were taken out of context and he had originally said them at a protest against Salman Rushdie’s knighthood.

He explained to the Press Association that he was ‘giving an example’ to show the scale of the offence caused to Muslims by the Satanic Verses author receiving that honour.

His spokesperson said: ‘Regarding Osama bin Laden, Ashrafi’s remarks have been presented without their proper context. His comparison was not an endorsement of bin Laden; it was made in the context of explaining the hurt felt by many Muslims over the British honour given to Salman Rushdie.

‘His longstanding record against terrorism and violent extremism should be considered when assessing such remarks.’

No title was ever given to Osama bin Laden, who was killed on May 2, 2011, during a US military operation.

Ashrafi’s spokesperson added that criticism was aimed at his wife and daughter, who wear traditional religious attire.

He said: ‘The decision of Ashrafi’s wife and daughter to observe hijab is their personal and religious right. Ashrafi also dedicated his recent Hubert Walter Award to his wife, acknowledging her support and contribution throughout his work.’

The NSS executive Stephen Evans said: ‘We welcome the withdrawal of this award, but it is astonishing that it was given in the first place – on the anniversary of 9/11, no less.

‘This episode reveals not only appallingly poor judgement and inadequate due diligence, but a dangerous naivety about the religious figures legitimised through interfaith engagement.

‘A Church capable of such a serious failure of judgement should not enjoy constitutional privilege, including 26 bishops making our laws. It is time the Church of England was disestablished.’

Ashrafi was awarded alongside 26 other individuals who had made ‘extraordinary contributions to the Church of England, the Anglican Communion and wider society’.

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According to the latest report from the administrators HM Revenue & Customs will also receive nothing towards its £2.4 million claim in unpaid VAT, PAYE and National Insurance.

Earlier this year, US beverage and medical cannabis firm Tilray took over the craft brewer in a deal worth about £33 million after the company collapsed with debts of more than £500 million, leading to hundreds of job losses.

The administration process saw BrewDog close 38 bars while the pre-pack sale rendered the holdings of about 200,000 crowdfunding “Equity Punk” investors worthless.

Tilray bought BrewDog’s brand, intellectual property, UK breweries and 11 bars, safeguarding 733 jobs while 484 redundancies were made across the shuttered pub network.

James Watt, who co-founded the brewer, stepped down as chief executive of BrewDog in 2024 (Image: BrewDog)

The progress report, filed by AlixPartners at Companies House and covering March 2 to September 1, 2026, reveals a sharp deterioration in returns to preferential creditors of BrewDog Retail Limited compared to initial proposals published in March.

At that stage, redundant workers, who are owed around £489,000 in wage arrears and accrued holiday pay, had been told to expect a dividend.

The latest report confirms there are now “insufficient funds” for any distribution to either the workers or HMRC. Unsecured creditors of BrewDog Retail, owed an estimated £207.6m, will also receive nothing.

Administrators blamed the shortfall on the collapse of deals to transfer leases to third-party pub operators, several of which had “progressed significantly” before failing at a late stage.

The administrators had initially expected leases could be assigned within six months of a licence to occupy being granted, allowing premises to be handed over cleanly. Instead, negotiations dragged on, racking up substantial legal, property and site-management expenses.

“The combined effect of increased costs and lower-than-anticipated property realisations has resulted in substantially lower net property realisations for Retail than originally forecast,” the report states. “As a consequence, fewer funds are currently expected to be available for distribution to any class of creditor of Retail.”

The report also reveals that administrators had to call in legal advisers and security teams after “unauthorised occupiers” broke into several closed BrewDog bars.

“During the Period, the Administrators became aware of a number of instances in which unauthorised occupiers had gained access to certain properties, notwithstanding the steps taken to secure the sites following appointment,” the report states.

Administrators had to deal with squatters in shuttered pubs (Image: BrewDog)

Administrators said they worked alongside landlords and agents to remove the squatters, but the unexpected security and court measures directly reduced net funds available from the retail estate.

By contrast, parent company BrewDog PLC is still expected to pay its preferential creditor, HMRC, in full, covering £3.66m in tax liabilities at 100p in the pound. Unsecured creditors of the PLC may also share in a statutory “prescribed part” fund capped at £800,000, though this represents less than one penny in the pound against total unsecured claims of £189.8m.

Senior lender HSBC faces an estimated shortfall of £16.76m across its main facilities, though administrators noted this could be reduced through asset realisations in the United States and government loan guarantee schemes.

Private equity backer TSG Consumer Partners, which took a 22% stake in the brewer in 2017, faces a total wipeout on its debt. TSG holds £27.6m in second-ranking secured loan notes backed by charges over group assets and the Ellon headquarters, with administrators confirming an expected return of nil.

Brook’s fireworks in Southampton rather obscured Baker’s superb bowling. He took three wickets there, but this was better still, because England were bowling first and he was shaping the game. Baker had two bruising white-ball international debuts last summer, then an introduction to Test cricket at the Oval in June that would have left him in no doubt of the difficulty of the longest format’s challenge. But Baker is a bundle of energy, and a voracious listener with natural pace: a good combination. Here, his greatest skills were the variations he used at the death.

The third of the trio, Banton, turns 28 this year, and made his England debut almost seven years ago. He never quite settled and lost form, before a recall under Brendon McCullum and Brook – a good friend from England U19 days – last year. He was asked to bat lower down than he is used to, and has done pretty well, whilst always fielding superbly.

A 24-ball half-century here made this one of his best nights in an England shirt, with some crisp striking towards the River Taff, and smart use of the deeper pockets on this unusually shaped ground. When Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran return, there will be a squeeze on for places, but Banton showed his worth here.

Whoopi Goldberg has shared that she will be absent from several upcoming episodes of The View.

Goldberg, 70, revealed news of her absence, which begins September 22, while speaking with The View executive producer Brian Teta on the ABC daytime talk show’s Behind the Table podcast. The hit show is currently celebrating its milestone 30th season.

“We’re going to lose you for a couple of days because you’re going to be doing this movie,” Teta said, referencing Netflix’s Women Like Us. “You’re going to be gone over the next two weeks but you’ll be here on Mondays. And the next few weeks, we’re going to have filling in for you, some of our friends, former co-hosts of The View.”

In Goldberg’s absence, several former co-hosts of The View will fill in, including Lisa Ling, Star Jones, Sherri Shepherd and Debbie Matenopoulos. Current co-host Joy Behar will step in as the panel’s moderator while Goldberg is out.

“Joy’s up for it,” Teta said. “She’s always excited to moderate.”

Goldberg spoke about the film — which is being produced by Michelle Obama — and the plot. “It’s five really wonderful women — several of whom I’ve worked with before,” she told Teta.

“It’s about change and getting older and having fun with your friends and people who get you. It’s about finding your people. I’m excited to do it. It’ll be fun.”

This will not be the first time Goldberg takes a hiatus from her co-hosting duties to film another project. She previously pressed pause on The View to work on the Italian soap opera Un Posto Al Sole and the Anansi Boys TV adaptation.

Goldberg said during an August episode of Keke Palmer’s podcast that she enjoys the flexibility that doing The View provides as she continues to pursue other outside projects.

“I constantly say to people, ‘Yes, I’m still open for this.’ And especially now, because people say, ‘Well, you’re on The View, you can’t do anything.’ If I need to go, I go,” she told Palmer.

Goldberg has served as the Hot Topics moderator on the show since 2007, holding the record for the most consecutive seasons as the program’s host — even surpassing its creator, Barbara Walters.

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Aside from film and television, Goldberg recently expanded her literary footprint with the launch of her book imprint, WhoopInk. She is planning to publish a sequel to her memoir on the imprint.

“I am personally looking forward to finding new authors, working with established authors, and bringing influential voices into this curated imprint,” Goldberg said at the time of launch.

Clarice Berry, 77, died when a 3,800kg wall collapsed on top of her at the rented property in Wigan – eight years after her husband first raised concerns over the state of the building

A woman died in a horror wall collapse at her home nearly eight years after her husband first raised the alarm about the rented property, a coroner found.

Clarice Berry, 77, died from chest injuries “incompatible with life” after the 3,800kg gable wall of her home collapsed onto her on July 18, 2021, trapping her beneath the rubble.

Eyewitnesses described a frantic scene as neighbours desperately attempted to rescue her from the wreckage.

She suffered a severe fracture of the sternum and fractures to all her ribs, and was pronounced dead at 4.10pm at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.

Assistant coroner for Manchester West, Bronia Hartley, ruled her death could have been prevented if action was taken – finding concerns about the wall were repeatedly raised in the years leading up to the incident.

In a prevention of future deaths report published today, Ms Hartley said Mrs Berry’s husband reported the bowing wall nearly eight years before her death. The home was an end-of-terrace rental property owned by landlord S&G Properties (No 2) Limited, and overseen by property management company KMPM.

The property showed signs of cavity wall tie erosion as early as 2013, Ms Hartley’s report said. Mr Berry reported concerns to the property’s previous managing agent, but his report “fell by the wayside” when a new managing agent, Kaye Mackenzie, took over. A property manager from Kaye Mackenzie visited the property in August 2013, and recorded in his notes: “Gable wall big bulge in wall – needs urgent repointing/+rebuild.” The same manager visited the property again in March 2016, and noted that the gable “needs repointing”. The manager retired when Kaye Mackenzie was wound up in January 2020.

One of the former partners continued the property management side of the business as the company KMPM. The bulge in the gable wall was pointed out again in around February or March 2021 to a gas engineer who was at the property to install a new boiler, but no works were carried out, Ms Hartley wrote. She said in her report: “There was no monitoring of, and no structural engineer or quantity surveyor was instructed to investigate, the defective brickwork.” After Mrs Berry’s death, investigations revealed the bowing had been caused by “the complete failure” of a series of wall ties in the upper part of the cavity wall below the gable wall. The inquest heard evidence that the wall’s eventual collapse was “inevitable” without the necessary repairs, and that it was unlikely to have lasted another winter had it not collapsed when it did, the report said.

Ms Hartley wrote: “I found that any reasonably competent property management company and/or responsible landlord would, at the very least, have ensured that the wall was monitored for any signs of progression and, by no later than 2018, would have ensured that a structural survey was performed.” She added that had such investigations happened, the collapse which caused Mrs Berry’s death would have been prevented.The coroner found neither the landlord not the property management company followed government guidance designed to minimise potential hazards. Ms Hartley said no clear systems were in place to prevent a similar incident from happening again, “namely the development of a serious hazard during a tenancy which, as in the deceased’s case, is reported but is not appropriately or timeously responded to, or which is not identified by the tenant”. Neither company carried out a post-incident evaluation to assess whether their properties were free from serious, outstanding hazards which have not come to the attention of the local authority, she added. In their response, a director of S&G Properties (No 2) Limited, whose name has been redacted, said Mrs Berry’s death was “a terrible tragedy and one which has caused me considerable sadness”.

The company said it had made ”significant changes” since the incident, including arrangements for independent inspections to be carried out for all its residential properties.

In its response, KMPM said: “KMPM has undertaken a comprehensive review of its property management procedures and has introduced a number of significant changes to its inspection, hazard identification, escalation, compliance monitoring and project management procedures.”

Coco & Rum has built a reputation on the North Yorkshire coast for bold, made-to-order dishes blending traditional Thai cooking with modern influences, with diners choosing a mild, moderate or spicy heat level for each dish.

In the heart of Saltburn, the restaurant attracts diners with its Thai-inspired food served in stylish surroundings, with its success leading to the opening of a second restaurant in Middlesbrough in 2024.

Coco and Rum, Saltburn. (Image: Tees Valley Combined Authority)

The menu blends classic Thai dishes with house specials showcasing the cuisine’s rich flavours and aromas, while starters include chicken satay with peanut sauce, crispy Thai-style fish cakes, spicy squid and clay-pot mussels.

For many diners, the extensive noodle and curry menu is the main draw, with authentic Pad Thai and drunken rice noodles with vegetables and basil alongside green, red, yellow, Panang and Massaman curries, all customisable with vegetables, tofu, chicken, duck, king prawns or sea bass.

Dishes are unique, with a wide range of flavours to suit every taste. (Image: Tees Valley Combined Authority)

Seafood dominates much of the menu, with several signature dishes such as steamed sea bass with chilli and lemon, and mixed seafood served in creamy red curry sauce with king prawns, mussels, squid, fish and scallops.

The chef’s specials underline the range of Coco and Rum, with dishes including a sizzling chicken, beef and king prawn surf-and-turf platter, rich XO sauce dishes, and crispy battered duck and king prawns with tamarind sauce.

Those looking for something heartier may also be tempted by the slow-cooked lamb shank Massaman curry, served on the bone with potatoes, tomatoes and pickled red cabbage.

Coco and Rum are well-known for its range of curries, made-to-order. (Image: Tees Valley Combined Authority)

Another standout lamb dish is the restaurant’s ‘Sleeping Black Sheep’ dish, featuring marinated lamb chops served sizzling from the kitchen on a hot platter.

The menu also caters for a wide range of dietary requirements.

Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners can enjoy many of the restaurant’s curries, noodle dishes and stir-fries prepared with tofu and vegetables, while traditional options such as papaya salad, hot and sour Tom Yum soup, and vegetable spring rolls offer some lighter alternatives.

Freshness and flexibility run through the menu, from shared starters and fragrant curries to Thai seafood and chef’s specials, with Coco & Rum serving Thai flavours in dishes cooked from scratch to order.

Nearly a decade on, the restaurant remains a Saltburn food-scene favourite, blending traditional Thai recipes, modern influences and freshly cooked ingredients to leave a lasting impression on local foodies.

Channel 5 viewers returned to Darrowby this week as the seventh season of All Creatures Great and Small took people into the Spring of 1946.

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Fans of All Creatures Great and Small were quick to share their thoughts on the first episode of the beloved Channel 5 period drama as a brand new series kicked off. As the residents of Darrowby begin to enjoy a post-war world, the start of the episode shows James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Helen (Rachel Shenton) in London, as they meet up with her little sister Jenny (Imogen Clawson).

However, on their way back home, a rather impatient person overtook the bus, which didn’t go unnoticed by Helen. In the episode, it was revealed that the driver in question was newcomer Granville Bennett (Caolan McCarthy), the rival vet on the scene and his arrival has rustled a few feathers.

James, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) decided to confront him in the pub as they accused him of ‘poaching’ their clients by advertising his new practice in the paper.

Whilst Granville apologised for the misunderstanding, they seemed to get along as they enjoyed one too many in the pub, as the three vets were seen worse for wear at home the next day.

Although when there was something wrong with a cat that James couldn’t solve later on in the episode, the owner wanted a second opinion from Granville. As James agreed, wanting what was best for the animal, the suggestion that the newcomer was more advanced infuriated Siegfried.

Despite James being able to work out what was wrong with the pet himself and not needing Granville’s help, could this mark the beginning of trouble in Darrowby for Skeldale House?

It wasn’t long before people commented on the new arrival, as many shared their suspicions about his true intentions. One person on X said: “I don’t trust that new vet. He’s too nice #acgas“

Another added: “The new vet is hiding something. I don’t trust him #ACGA.” Someone else shared: “Oh, oh, competition.”

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Although some were thrilled with the addition, as one person commented: “Just like in the books & the old BBC All creatures, Granville Bennett is just as chaotic & enthusiastic about life.” As another shared: “The first of many legendary nights with Granville Bennett. A superb character from the books.”

Speaking about joining the show, actor Caolan commented: “I was delighted to find out I was going to play him and be in the show.

“When you read the character description, he’s the guy who is most comfortable in a pub telling stories. So, thankfully, I’d researched that for about 20 years.

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“He is the life and soul of the party. He’s the kind of guy who turns the evening around when he arrives, and that’s a fun part to play. I was really excited to enter the world of All Creatures, but also to come in as a new character with a different energy from the characters that are already established.”

All Creatures Great and Small is available to watch on Thursdays on Channel 5 from 8pm