UK borrowing costs have spiked amid a global bond rout – just as Andy Burnham stood by his notorious assertion that Britain should be less ‘in hock’ to bond markets.

Yields on ten-year UK bonds, known as gilts, leapt from 5.24 per cent to 5.35 per cent on Wednesday in the biggest one-day jump for three weeks.

They rose again to more than 5.38 per cent on Thursday. Bond yields rise as their prices fall – pushing up borrowing costs for the Government as well as households and businesses who face higher rates on mortgages and corporate loans.

Jitters on bond markets partly reflect nerves over Mr Burnham’s spending plans. Ten-year gilt yields were less than 5 per cent just before he became PM and have since touched levels not seen since 2007.

But the moves also reflect global factors. This latest sell-off is happening at the same time as a surge in US bond yields driven by rising oil prices and fears of more US interest rate increases.

Higher borrowing costs will create a headache for Chancellor John Healey at next month’s Budget.

Mr Burnham had previously spooked bond markets in the run-up to last year’s Labour party conference amid speculation that he would unseat Sir Keir Starmer.

Back then, his comments about not wanting to be ‘in hock’ to the markets were interpreted as a troubling sign of disregard for the investors who finance Britain and could bankrupt the country if they turn against it.

Then chancellor Rachel Reeves said at the time that while she would also likely to be less in hock to bond markets, ‘we rely on those bond markets and those people participating in them to buy our debt’.

In a new interview with the New Statesman, however, the PM said his original remark had been taken out of context by Sir Keir’s team.

‘I mean, the point about the bond markets, it holds – in that what I was saying was the country has left itself over-exposed,’ he said.

Mr Burnham argued that he was not calling for spending restraints to be abandoned, but rather making the case for ‘a much more streamlined, productive state’.

He added: ‘They couldn’t understand why I was saying some of the things that I was saying.

‘[They] didn’t know what to do with it, but they did what they always do, which is they pulled one line out of it and then framed that one line within their world, rather than the one that I was talking about.’

The bond market ructions are feeding through to higher mortgage rates – with analysts warning of worse to come.

Figures from Moneyfacts show the average two-year fixed rate mortgage now stands at 5.92 per cent, the highest since July 2024, while a typical five-year fix is at 5.96 per cent, a level last seen in October 2023.

Borrowing costs have risen sharply in recent months as investors bet interest rates will have to rise to tame rampant inflation fuelled by the Iran war and spike in oil and gas prices.

UK bonds have been hit particularly hard amid concerns that Labour is unwilling to take tough choices on spending – and will instead borrow even more to fund their lavish plans.

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Official figures this week laid bare the impact of rising borrowing costs on the Government’s finances with debt interest payments hitting a record high of £8.8billion last month – the highest bill for August on record.

That took interest payments on the near £3trillion national debt to £50billion for the first five months of the fiscal year – or £327million a day.

The surge in interest payments piles pressure on Mr Burnham and Mr Healey ahead of next month’s Budget.

It is feared he will be forced to borrow yet more money – or hammer the economy with ever higher taxes – to fund Labour’s spending plans.

Analysts warned this risks fresh turmoil on the bond markets – pushing up borrowing costs for the government, households and businesses.

It is now thought that the Prime Minister and Chancellor may opt for less fiscal headroom in next month’s Budget to limit tax rises and avoid spending cuts.

Even as analysts warned ‘bond yields are blowing out again’, reports suggested Mr Burnham and Mr Healey are looking at setting a lower buffer than the £24billion forecast in March.

Having seen the headroom eroded by higher interest rates and a ballooning welfare bill, it is thought they could settle on around £14billion in the Budget on October 28.

This would allow them to temper tax rises and spending cuts – but risks spooking the bond markets at a time when the UK government already pays more to borrow than any other G7 country.

Neil Wilson, an investor strategist at Saxo Markets, said: ‘Bond yields are blowing out again.

‘Gilt market participants may have had an eye on the prime minister, Andy Burnham, making the kind of comments you kinda wish he just wouldn’t make. He said he stands by his view that the UK is “in hock” to the bond market. There is this cognitive dissonance where he says we are at the mercy of the bond market but shouldn’t be – like it’s something the government cannot control.’

He added: ‘This morning a test balloon is being flown with a report that the Chancellor would be comfortable with reducing the fiscal headroom in order to avoid more tax hikes. It’s likely the roughly £24billion of headroom left by Rachel Reeves in March has been halved by the spike in bond yields, which would ordinarily require tax hikes to offset.

‘The balloon being floated is that Healey would just accept less headroom and the bond market would be totally fine with this, which I very much doubt.

‘The key will be that the underlying fiscal plan underpinning a Budget with less headroom is credible, but I would think that the gilt market has a low threshold for this kind of thing. It’s not messing with the fiscal rules as such, but it would undermine confidence the government can stay within them and would signal a deeper issue; that they are not willing to take tough decisions on welfare spending.’

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Blue Note London opened yesterday, on the exact centenary of John Coltrane’s birth. Grammy winner Robert Glasper, the club’s creative ambassador, marked the occasion with a set that honoured Coltrane, covered Radiohead, sampled D’Angelo and Dolly Parton and declared hip hop inseparable from jazz’s future. Following weeks of teaser videos showing Glasper in a high-vis vest and hard hat surveying the raw St Martin’s Lane basement, the Texan pianist sauntered, unnoticed and chewing gum, through the sold-out crowd of 250. “Mental advisory alert,” read his T-shirt. “Creative content within.”

Far-right activist Daniel Thomas has been arrested by police on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life after an incident in the English Channel.

Mr Thomas, known as Danny Tommo to his supporters, was arrested on Wednesday, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.

The force previously said it was “conducting inquiries” into the incident, but said on Wednesday a 37-year-old man had been detained after a boat was damaged in the English Channel.

He remains in police custody.

A police spokesperson said: “A man has been arrested after a boat that had an emergency responder on board was damaged in the English Channel.

“We received a report of the incident on Tuesday evening (22 September).

“Last night (Wednesday 23 September), a 37-year-old man, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of destroying ships or fixed platforms or endangering their safety under Section 11 of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, criminal damage, criminal damage with intent to endanger life, and conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals under Section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

“He remains in custody at this time.”

Footage shared online appeared to show a man using a blade to damage a dinghy while a rescue worker could be seen onboard.

In the video, the man can be heard telling the rescue worker to “get off” the boat, before sailing away.

It comes after hundreds of anti-migrant protesters gathered in Gosport on Tuesday under the belief that a boat of asylum seekers, which had travelled from France, would be brought to shore.

Six people were arrested by officers during the evening, the force said.

Shannon Dodds, 32, of Gosport has been charged with two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker. She has been remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Sally Pearson, 31, also of Gosport, has been charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker and a racially aggravated public order offence. She has also been remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Toby Matthews, 33, from Gosport, has been charged with common assault of an emergency worker. He was bailed to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on 9 November.

A 19-year-old man and a 36-year-old man from Salisbury, who were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, have been bailed with conditions until 22 December while inquiries continue.

A 67-year-old man from Gosport was handed a Fixed Penalty Notice for driving without due care and attention.

He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and has been bailed with conditions until 22 December while inquiries continue, the force added.

Some of the protesters in Gosport wore black clothing and face coverings, and chanted “send them back”, wrongly assuming the boat would be guided to the Hampshire coast.

In fact, it docked in Dover, Kent, at around 12.30am on Wednesday after 51 migrants on board reportedly refused help from a French ship and spent 33 hours at sea.

A government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”

Andy Burnham has only been Prime Minister for a few months but eyes are already on a potential next general election.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claimed that the Labour leader is a ‘gambler’ and suggested that he might ‘fancy his chances’ in an election.

When on LBC radio, she said: ‘I’ve said that if he cannot fund defence, which he needs to fund by cutting welfare, then he should call an election.

‘That’s why John Healey resigned. He said the money that was going into defence was not enough.’

She quipped that the Tories ‘fancy [their chances] as well’, having been in power for 14 years until Labour’s 2024 victory.

While Burnham hasn’t said he’s about to call an election, a major YouGov survey has suggested Labour would still be the largest party, followed by the Tories.

However, polls point to a hung parliament with Labour losing 170 seats, with Reform in third place.

Nigel Farage’s party is neck and neck with the Tories – respectively on 123 and 130 seats in the projection – which is far below the projection from last year.

YouGov suggested they would take 188 fewer seats than in the September 2025 version but also up from their actual number of five seats in 2024.

There are now eight Reform MPs, all of whom are Tory defectors, with Farage holding onto Clacton after the by-election against Count Binface.

However, even a projected Tory-Reform coalition would fail to pass the 326-seat bar for a majority in the House of Commons.

Badenoch did rule out a Tory coalition with Reform or the Lib Dems, saying: ‘It’s been done before, 1974. We had two elections. We had two elections in one year. 

‘But what I saw with the coalition 2010 to 2015 was actually us not being able to deliver many of the things that we promised people because we made concessions to the Lib Dems and nobody thanked us for it later.’

The survey suggested that unless Burnham could pull together a ‘rainbow coalition’ of left-wing parties, he would be unable to get a majority.

The projection also points to gains for the left, with Greens up from a projected seven to nine (they currently have five MPs).

Welsh national party Plaid Cymru also saw projected gains of nine seats, while the SNP could gain around 10 seats.

In more than a third of the seats, the winning margin was less than five points, showing just how conflicted the country is.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Why Andy Burnham has been talking about Russia this week

MORE: Inside the protests that threaten to derail Burnham’s first Labour conference this weekend

MORE: Two moments where the Trump-Burnham meeting could have fallen apart – but didn’t

Sabrina Washington found herself embroiled in a ‘frosty’ interview with Good Morning Britain‘s Susanna Reid on Thursday as she fiercely denied blindsiding her Mis-Teeq bandmates with split news and solo tour announcement. 

In the wake of Mis-Teeq’s epic reunion show at OVO Arena Wembley this month, the singer, 47, quashed fans’ hopes of a more permanent comeback when she instead  announced she was embarking on her very own headline tour.

Following this news, her bandmate Su-Elise publicly hit out at Sabrina’s actions in an Instagram post in which she said Mis-Teeq’s split was ‘news to her’, while Alesha Dixon, 47, shared a cryptic post alluding to ‘hurting privately’. 

But joining Thursday’s GMB, Sabrina flat-out denied that she’d issued a press release informing everyone of Mis-Teeq’s split and insisted that there were no plans in the pipeline for further Mis-Teeq shows. 

As she was grilled by host Susanna, 55, about her band mates being blindsided by the news, Sabrina shut down any suggestion that she instigated a split, telling the host: ‘No! I have not said split in any way, shape or form- it’s not come from me.’

With the Why hitmaker becoming increasingly irritated by Susanna’s direction of questioning, GMB viewers watching at home were quick to comment about the ‘frosty’ atmosphere between the pair.

As she was grilled by host Susanna [pictured last year] , 55, about her band mates being blindsided by the news, Sabrina shut down any suggestion that she instigated a split

They penned: ‘Oosh! Sabrina is frosty on @GMB’

‘I just caught that Sabrina Washington interview on GMB and ohhhh my goodness…’

‘What an awful energy from this human being.. @GMB presenters sitting listening to that, I feel for them. ‘

‘Sabrina Washington #MisTeeq just now on breakfast TV. Boy is that woman in a bad mood or what!!!’

However, leaping to her defence, another person claimed that Susanna addressed her like a child. 

They penned: ‘Wow, does she always speak to adults like she’s talking to a naughty child’ 

Confirming that she didn’t reveal a split and that she has nothing but love for Alesha and Su-Elise, Sabrina told Susanna and co-host Tom Swarbrick: ‘I have not said split in any way, shape or form. That has not come from me. 

‘What’s happened is this: We had an amazing show for our anniversary, which was filled with love, filled with good energy and there was nothing planned. There has been nothing else planned after that.

Sabrina flat-out denied that she’d issued a press release informing everyone of Mis-Teeq’s split and insisted that there were no plans in the pipeline for further Mis-Teeq shows

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With the Why hitmaker becoming increasingly irritated by Susanna’s direction of questioning, GMB viewers watching at home were quick to comment about the ‘frosty’ atmosphere 

However, leaping to her defence, another person claimed that Susanna addressed her like a child

‘I would never say no to another Mis-Teeq show ever, because I have never ever said no to a Mis-Teeq show. I love the girls. So it may still be something that could happen because I’ve never said no and I’ve never said split.’

On Alesha and Su-Elise’s ‘shock’ at her doing her own thing, Sabrina continued: ‘Remember, we got together for a One Night Stand for our 25th anniversary. It was only ever one night.’

Tom then went on to read a statement from Mis-Teeq’s representative stating that Sabrina’s team issued a press release about their split without consulting Alesha, Su-Elise or any of the Mis-Teeq team.

Reiterating her point, Sabrina remarked: ‘Wrong!’ before adding: ‘That’s what I’m saying. I didn’t do a press release at all. I’ve not said anything about the girls and the group, I don’t do that.’

Breaking into third person, she went on: ‘Sabrina doesn’t talk. She’s a person that doesn’t really talk. Sabrina, this Sabrina sitting down here, the one in Mis-Teeq. I don’t talk like that!’

Sabrina went on to claim that Alesha did in fact know about her tour and even congratulated her, before saying she hadn’t yet spoken to Su-Elise as she was currently in Australia.

Rounding off her points, Sabrina said: ‘It definitely is scandalous because I’ve said nothing on top of more nothing on top of more nothing. I love the girls.’

She then went on to try and discuss her tour but was abruptly cut-off by Susanna as the programme had come to an end. 

The Daily Mail has contacted Mis-Teeq and Sabrina’s representatives for comment.  

A Mis-Teeq representative told the Daily Mail: ‘Alesha knew nothing about her solo tour or the split announcement until we heard about it from the media on Monday morning.’

While Sabrina’s representative confirmed lines from her press release, which included: ‘The reaction to the Mis-Teeq reunion has honestly been overwhelming. We knew there was still so much love for the music, but seeing just how much these songs continue to mean to people 25 years later has been incredibly emotional.

From the moment Wembley was announced, I was receiving messages from people saying, ‘What about Manchester? Where’s Birmingham? Are you coming to Scotland? What about the rest of the world?’ and I kept seeing people saying that one night simply wasn’t enough. So there really could only be one name for this tour!’

Sabrina, Alesha and Su-Elise delighted fans when they took to the stage at the OVO Arena Wembley last month, to celebrate 25 years since the release of Mis-Teeq’s debut album

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Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Alesha Dixon alluded to how she was feeling as she reposted a post about Libras and hinted she was ‘hurting’ in private

While Sabrina may well be excited to take to stages across the UK for a personal celebration of Mis-Teeq’s music, it appears that she forgot to inform the rest of the group 

Su-Elise informed her fans that on the very day of Sabrina’s announcement, Mis-Teeq had a deadline to confirm plans of more shows, including performing at a major UK festival

Furthermore, the star went on to ‘like’ comments from fans slamming Sabrina’s decision to organise a tour behind the backs of her fellow group members

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Meanwhile, Su-Elise ‘liked’ a response by former Mis-Teeq member Zena McNally – who joined the girls on stage during their gig – with many fans calling for her to rejoin the group 

While Su-Elise publicly hit out at Sabrina’s actions in an Instagram post in which she said Mis-Teeq’s split was ‘news to her’, Alesha has remained tight-lipped on the matter, only sharing fan clips of their recent gig. 

But taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the Britain’s Got Talent judge alluded to how she was feeling as she reposted a post about Libras and hinted she was ‘hurting’ in private.

The post read: ‘She is Libra. Hurts privately. Heals privately. Figures it out privately. Then shows up like it never happened.’

It comes as just hours after Sabrina’s big announcement, Su-Elise took to Instagram sharing a screenshot of an article stating Mis-Teeq have split amid Sabrina’s solo plans, with the singer expressing her shock at the news.

Sharing her thoughts, Su-Elise informed her fans that on the very day of Sabrina’s announcement, Mis-Teeq had a deadline to confirm plans of more shows, including performing at a major UK festival.

Su-Elise penned: ‘As far as I was aware, today was our deadline to make a decision on some incredible Mis-Teeq offers for 2027… including headlining a major UK festival, performing at another huge UK festival and potentially taking the show regional for everyone who couldn’t make Wembley.

‘After the incredible response to our sold-out Wembley Arena show, I genuinely believed these were opportunities we were all excited about and hopefully saying YES to today as Mis-Teeq!

‘So to find out that a press release went out to media today saying ‘Mis-Teeq have split’ has taken me by surprise.

‘That’s news to me…’

Signing off on her post, the Scandalous hitmaker added: ‘Either way, I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved at Wembley and so grateful to everyone who came out and supported us.’

Furthermore, the star went on to ‘like’ comments from fans slamming Sabrina’s decision to organise a tour behind the backs of her fellow group members, with one criticising her for her ‘complete lack of integrity’ and ‘disrespect’. 

Meanwhile, Su-Elise ‘liked’ a response by former Mis-Teeq member Zena McNally – who joined the girls on stage during their gig – with many fans calling for her to join forces with Su-Elise and Alesha.

Amid Su-Elise’s anger, it appeared that Alesha too was unaware of the major update as around the same time, she was still sharing clips of the band’s nostalgic show at Wembley. 

The Daily Mail has contacted Mis-Teeq’s representatives, who shared: ‘Sabrina and her team issued a press release to media saying ‘Mis-Teeq Split’ and announcing her solo tour, without telling Alesha, Su-Elise or anyone on the Mis-Teeq team’.

Mercedes driver George Russell headed both practice sessions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Briton led team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.552 seconds in the second session. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was Russell’s closest rival in the first session, when Antonelli suffered a hydraulic failure.

Antonelli’s reliability problems also meant he missed the first half of the second session, and overall the Italian had half the amount of running of Russell.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad had his second crash in consecutive race weekends in practice, clipping the wall on the exit of the tight chicane leading into the section around the castle.

In the context of the day, the margin between the two Mercedes drivers is to be expected but Antonelli is likely to close in on Friday in the run up to qualifying.

Mercedes spent the first half-hour of the second session finishing off the repair to Antonelli’s car, which involved an engine change.

That meant he had to go straight into his performance runs on the soft tyre, having missed set-up and development time at the end of the first hour and the beginning of the second.

Emergency services, including the air ambulance, were called to the crash on Crane Lane Row, between Hamsterley and Bishop Auckland, just before 6.15pm on Wednesday (September 23).

Despite the best efforts of medics, a 60-year-old passenger in the van was declared dead at the scene.

His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers, Durham Police said.

Another second casualty was taken to the RVI in Newcastle for further treatment, the ambulance service confirmed.

The road was closed for several hours while crash investigators examined the scene.

It has since been reopened.

A spokesperson for Durham Police said: “Officers would like to speak to any witnesses, or those who may have dashcam footage of the vehicles leading up to the collision.

“If you can help, please contact Durham Constabulary’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit by email at SCIU@durham.police.uk quoting incident number 413 of September 23.”

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We were called to a road traffic incident on Crane Row Lane at 6.40pm. We dispatched two ambulance crews and were supported by Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). One patient was taken to RVI hospital by road for further treatment.”

A spokesperson for Great North Air Ambulance said: “Our critical care team was activated at 6.51pm to an incident near Hamsterley.

“We had a paramedic and doctor on board our aircraft and they arrived on scene at 7.02pm.”

Rumours of a rift between Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale followed the pair during their time as Real Madrid superstars

Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo have repeatedly dismissed rumours of a rivalry between them during their time as Real Madrid team-mates.

Ronaldo, 41, is set to start in Portugal’s opening fixture of the 2026/27 Nations League campaign against Wales on Thursday night at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Bale, meanwhile, retired from professional football in January 2023 as Wales’ most-capped player and top goal-scorer of all time.

The pair played together at the Bernabeu for five seasons prior to Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in 2018, tormenting opposition full-backs while at the peak of respective their powers.

Despite forming a highly successful forward trident along with Karim Benzema, which won four Champions League titles, there were plenty of suggestions in the media and online that they did not have the best relationship on or off the pitch – unlike Barcelona’s trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

The rumoured tension boiled down to Ronaldo sometimes appearing unimpressed when Bale scored, while the Portuguese also fuelled the notion of their fractious relationship by admitting he did not spend a lot of time with his team-mates away from training, specifically name-checking Bale.

But Ronaldo had already shown his true colours by defending Bale in his first season following his big-money move to Madrid. Bale, who arrived in 2013 from Tottenham Hotspur for £85million, was immediately under intense pressure to perform after injuries disrupted his start in Spain.

“I think Gareth Bale is doing well since he arrived,” Ronaldo said in a 2013 press conference. “He has had a difficult time because [of a lack of] pre-season, and injury. It’s better to leave him alone, don’t put pressure on him, because I’m sure 100% he’s going to do well for the club because he is a fantastic player, a fantastic boy and he always wants to learn.”

The current Al-Nassr forward’s words hardly painted a picture of animosity with Bale. In March 2019, Bale returned the favour by telling MailOnline: “Cristiano is an incredible player, I thoroughly enjoyed playing with him. Obviously the media try and hype up these problems which were never there. We got on really well.”

In a July 2023 interview with The Times, the winger addressed the speculation about his uneasy dynamic with the Manchester United legend.

Bale insisted: “I never had one single problem with anybody. I don’t think I ever had an argument with anyone. Even through the hard times, it was good in the changing room. I honestly really enjoyed my time there apart from the few moments where it was difficult on the pitch.” The Welshman added: “I have no regrets. I made the right decision.”

The former Tottenham talisman left the Spanish giants in 2022 and hung up his boots less than a year later, aged 35, following a brief stint with Los Angeles FC and representing Wales at the 2022 World Cup.

He appeared on the Stick To Football podcast earlier this year, where he once more shed light on the fact his relationship with Ronaldo was always professional, dismissing any animosity. However, Bale explained that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was obsessed with scoring goals to the point where his body language sometimes suggested he was angry with his team-mates – which he also defended.

Bale said: “We got on very well in the dressing room. We never had a problem. Karim was very calm. Cristiano and I were on the wing with more spark, but he was holding it all together. I came in as the last piece of the puzzle.”

“Whether in training or matches, all he wanted to do was score goals. If you didn’t pass him the ball, you noticed it,” Bale said regarding Ronaldo with a laugh while recalling the Portuguese star’s mentality.

“I’ve had a few arm flails when I’ve missed a one-on-one and I maybe could have passed to him. You also have to take that that is his drive and motivation. He just wants to score, not just one but he wants to score three, four, five, six a game, if he can.

“You know, he’s chasing records and wants to beat Lionel Messi doing that. You get it, and also you can’t argue because he’s scoring the goals.

“He was just so driven. Going into a game you knew pretty much that you had a 1-0 headstart because he was going to score at some point. He was a confidence booster for the team.”

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will contest their long-awaited all-British heavyweight fight at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on 11 December.

The bout, more than a decade in the making, will be broadcast globally on Netflix.

BBC Sport understands the main event could take place in the early hours of Saturday morning in the UK, with organisers considering a late start to cater for audiences in the United States.

Joshua and Fury will come face-to-face at a news conference in London on Wednesday, 30 September, as the build-up begins to one of the most anticipated fights in British boxing history.

“I am inspiring a generation,” Joshua, 36, posted on Instagram. Fury, 38, is yet to comment on the announcement.

The event is being promoted as a collaboration between Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh’s The Ring and UFC chief Dana White.

“Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together,” Alalshikh said.

“This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history. I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans.”

The former two-time world champions had already signed contracts for the bout earlier this year, but the date and venue had yet to be confirmed.

London’s Wembley Stadium and New York’s Madison Square Garden were the frontrunners to stage the fight, but both presented issues before Cardiff recently emerged as an alternative.

The Principality Stadium has hosted late-night boxing before, including Joe Calzaghe’s fight with Mikkel Kessler in November 2007, which began at 01:00 GMT.

Welsh Rugby Union and Cardiff Council officials welcomed the fight, saying it would reinforce the city’s reputation for staging major events and could bring a significant economic boost, although some operational details still need to be finalised.

Joshua had been pushing for the fight to take place in the UK and has got his wish.

“Forever indebted to the UK public for their support of Anthony Joshua. We couldn’t have got this over the line without you,” his promoter Eddie Hearn said.

It is notable that White, who fronts Zuffa Boxing, is involved in the promotion.

“For more than a decade, boxing fans have been clamouring for the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Together, they bring 66 wins, 52 knockouts and multiple heavyweight world titles into the ring,” White said.

“On December 11, two of the biggest heavyweights of this generation finally collide – and the winner will take a significant place in heavyweight history.”

There was no official statement from Hearn or Fury’s promoter Frank Warren in the official news release sent by Netflix. Hearn had previously said he did not want White to be involved in promoting the fight.

By DAVID BARRETT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR

Published: 12:37 BST, 24 September 2026 | Updated: 13:38 BST, 24 September 2026