Motherwell gave Hearts renewed hope five minutes from time, though, when Liam Gordon, shortly after coming on, fired home following a series of saves from Sinisalo, which was quickly followed by Blair Spittal curling into the bottom corner to wrap up a commanding 3-0 victory over Falkirk.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalized relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday.

Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a gathering that “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” according to the statement.

The announcement came just a day after the U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that Israel had sent Iron Dome air-defense weapons and personnel to operate them to the UAE. The publicly acknowledged deployment of Israel’s military to the Emirates underlined the growing relationship between the two countries.

The UAE, which has not commented on the reported visit by the Israeli leader, has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached last month. It has been trying to signal to nervous investors that it remains open for business and safe.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM reported that Netanyahu was among the leaders who called the Emirati president to condemn Iranian attacks and express their solidarity with the Gulf federation.

It was rare public acknowledgment of direct talks between the two countries, which normalized relations in the 2020 Abraham Accords and have strengthened their ties during the Iran war. That agreement was criticized by Iran.

Iran in the past has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.

Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after normalizing relations.

Iran demands Kuwait release detainees

Iran’s foreign minister accused Kuwait of attempting to “sow discord” by detaining four Iranians that the Gulf Arab country accuses of being Revolutionary Guard operatives.

In a post Wednesday on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded the Iranians’ immediate release and said Iran reserved the right to respond.

“This illegal act took place near an island used by the U.S. to attack Iran,” Araghchi wrote.

A day earlier, Kuwait said four men were detained and two escaped while trying to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf on May 1.

Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of a Chinese plan to build infrastructure across the world. It also came under Iranian attack during the war.

Iranian human rights lawyer released

Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from prison more than a month after being detained, a rights group and her daughter said Wednesday.

Sotoudeh, who is known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, was detained by Iranian intelligence agents at her house in Tehran in April.

Her release comes as U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in China for a long-anticipated visit that is expected to touch on the war in Iran.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which closely tracks developments in Iran, said that Sotoudeh was released on bail from Tehran’s Evin Prison.

Her daughter, Mehraveh Khandan, posted on social media that Sotoudeh was released on temporary custody. Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency also reported Sotoudeh release.

Sotoudeh has been imprisoned multiple times. Her activist husband, Reza Khandan, has been imprisoned in the same prison as his wife.

Nobel Peace laureate needs long-term care

Doctors who examined Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi more than a week after she collapsed at a prison in Iran say she needs months of treatment, according to her foundation.

Mohammadi, 53, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. She was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran where her specialists examined her.

The doctors said her vascular disease has worsened since she was last checked in 2024 and recommended an eight-month treatment course .

She was awarded the Nobel in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career. Her latest imprisonment began in December when she was arrested in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.

___

Schreck reported from Dubai. Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Investigators revealed she had secretly taken out multiple life‑insurance policies on her husband

A mother who wrote a children’s book about helping youngsters cope with grief after her husband’s death has been jailed for life — after it emerged she murdered him herself.

Kouri Richins, 26, poisoned her husband Eric, 39, with a fentanyl‑laced drink at their home near Park City, Utah, in March 2022. The real‑estate agent was convicted in March of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, fraud and forgery.

Prosecutors said she was driven by mounting debts from her house‑flipping business, which was millions of dollars in the red, and by plans to start a new life with another man.

Investigators revealed she had secretly taken out multiple life‑insurance policies on her husband and wrongly believed she would inherit his $4 million estate. Jurors also heard she had tried to kill him weeks earlier, on Valentine’s Day, by giving him a sandwich laced with fentanyl.

On Wednesday (May 13), her deceased husband’s birthday, Richins was sentenced at the Summit County Courthouse to life in prison.

She had laced Mr Richins’ drink with five times the lethal dose of fentanyl, leading to her arrest in May 2023 while promoting her children’s book “Are You with Me?” about a boy coping with the death of his father.

Mr Richins’ family tearfully remembered him as a skilled outdoorsman, hardworking businessman and loving dad to his three sons during the emotional trial.

“Eric was their coach, their father, but most important, was their very, very best friend,” his father Eugene Richins told jurors.

A jury was shown text messages between Richins and her lover in which she fantasised about leaving her husband and gaining millions in a divorce. Prosecutors also presented internet search history from her phone, including queries about the lethal dose of fentanyl, luxury prisons and how poisoning is recorded on a death certificate.

‘I think my wife tried to poison me’

The court heard that Richins had first attempted to kill her husband weeks earlier, on Valentine’s Day, by giving him a sandwich laced with fentanyl.

Mr Richins suffered hives and briefly lost consciousness after taking a single bite of the sandwich, which his wife had left for him on the front seat of his truck on February 14, 2022.

Prosecutors said she had bought the sandwich from a local diner in Kamas at the same time she acquired several dozen fentanyl pills. A housekeeper later told investigators she had sold Richins the pills in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, and that Richins subsequently complained they were “not strong enough” and asked her to obtain a more potent batch.

Two of Mr Richins friends recalled phone conversations from the day in a witness statement. After injecting himself with his son’s EpiPen and chugging a bottle of Benadryl, he woke from a deep sleep and told a friend: “I think my wife tried to poison me.”

The trial was set to last five weeks, but ended early after she waived her right to testify. Richins’ legal team rested its case without calling any witnesses, with her lawyers saying they were confident prosecutors had not produced sufficient evidence to convict her of murder.

Still, an eight-person jury found her guilty on all counts after deliberating for just under three hours on March 16.

Eric Richins’ sister Amy said she was “just very happy that we got justice for my brother” after the conviction, adding that she could now focus on supporting his sons.

Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

‘I would never ever leave you,’ Richins tells sons

Speaking publicly for the first time at her sentencing hearing, Richins said she wanted to convey a message to her sons, with whom she has not been able to speak since early 2024, after custody was transferred to her husband’s family.

“The one thing I need you boys to know is that I did not abandon you,” she said. “Regardless of what anyone tells you, I would never ever leave you, boys. And I am so sorry that even for one second you think that I did.”

In a court filing this week, the Summit County Attorney’s Office invoked the Richins’ three sons as they urged Judge Richard Mrazik to sentence Richins to life without parole.

“The boys deserve finality and should not have to revisit their father’s murder at future hearings or worry about the Defendant’s potential parole,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum. “Given the tremendous trauma and upheaval that the Defendant inflicted upon their childhood, this Court should ensure that she does not harm their adulthood.”

The couple’s eldest son – now aged 13 – said he misses his dad but not his mum. “I’m afraid if she gets out, she will come after me and my brothers, my whole family,” the boy said, according to the filing. “I think she would come and take us and not do good things to us, like hurt us.”

The incident happened on a busway

Police have released an image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with an indecent exposure which happened in broad daylight. Cambridgeshire Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward following the incident in St Ives.

The incident happened in broad daylight last month, and officers are investigating. The indecent exposure happened on the busway near Meadow Lane, on April 28 at about 9.15am.

Sergeant Andy Caruana, from the St Ives neighbourhood team, said: “This was a very distressing experience for the person who witnessed it. We would appeal for anyone who knows the man or anyone with information to get in touch.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or via 101 quoting crime reference 35/ 35/31161/26/. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Phil Foden shone as Manchester City moved back within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush both struck from Foden passes in the first half before Savinho added a late third as City kept their slender title hopes alive at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

With both title challengers having two games remaining, City do still have a chance of securing a seventh league crown in nine years.

Yet after Pep Guardiola made six changes and, with the game played in a subdued atmosphere, there appeared an acceptance the odds were heavily against them and focus had shifted to the FA Cup final.

City were frenetic against Brentford on Saturday but Arsenal’s victory over West Ham on Sunday seemed to have changed the mood.

City arguably benefited on this occasion from facing a Palace side whose eyes may already be on the Conference League final. On this evidence, however, they can expect few favours when Eagles play Arsenal next.

There was an obvious positive in the performance of Foden, who was making his first Premier League start in more than two months.

After two seasons of struggles with form and fitness, there was ample evidence of why the club are prepared to offer him a new contract.

His selection however, while Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku were among the substitutes, indicated Guardiola was looking ahead to Saturday’s Wembley clash with Chelsea.

City were slow to get going and Palace thought they had scored in the second minute.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s shot looked to have crossed the line before Gianluigi Donnarumma clawed away but Brennan Johnson was ruled offside in the build-up.

Yeremy Pino also had an effort deflected narrowly wide and Chris Richards headed over from the resulting corner.

City gradually settled and grew in confidence after Rayan Ait-Nouri rifled a shot into the side-netting.

Foden then took centre stage as he played Semenyo in on goal with a clever backheel. The Ghana international finished clinically.

Palace almost responded instantly as Tyrick Mitchell tested Donnarumma but Marmoush could have doubled City’s lead when he jinked into the area, only for a heavy touch to let Maxence Lacroix clear.

Marmoush made no mistake after 39 minutes, turning and firing past Dean Henderson after Foden brought down a high ball in the area.

Foden almost set up another when he crossed for the fit-again Josko Gvardiol, who was making his first appearance since January, but Henderson saved his header.

Palace rallied after the break as Ismaila Sarr shot at Donnarumma and Jorgen Strand Larsen blazed over.

But the visitors were unable to trouble City regularly and substitute Cherki combined with Savinho to wrap up the scoring, six minutes from time.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from countries that have qualified for the World Cup and have bought tickets for the soccer tournament pay as much as $15,000 in bonds to enter the United States, the State Department said Wednesday.

The department imposed the bond requirement last year for countries that it said had high rates of people overstaying their visas and other security issues as part of the Republican administration’s broader crackdown on immigration.

Travelers to the United States from 50 countries are required to pay the new bond, and five of those countries have qualified for the World Cup — Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

Citizens from those five countries who have purchased tickets from FIFA are now exempt from the visa bond requirement. World Cup team players, coaches and some staff already had been exempt from the bond requirement as part of the administration’s orders to prioritize the processing of visas for the tournament.

“The United States is excited to organize the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. “We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets” and opted in to the FIFA Pass system that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15.

The waiver is a rare loosening of immigration requirements under the administration and will ease travel burdens for at least some visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup, which begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The administration has taken dramatic steps to restrict immigration in ways that critics say are incongruous with the type of unifying message that a global sporting event such as the World Cup is supposed to project.

For instance, the administration has barred travelers from Iran and Haiti, though World Cup players, coaches and other support personnel are exempt. Travelers from Ivory Coast and Senegal, face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban, even without the visa bond exemption.

Foreign travelers also had faced potential new requirements to submit their social media histories, although that policy from U.S. Customs and Border Protection had not gone into effect. Also, the administration had deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at airports recently when Transportation Security Administration personnel were not being paid during a partial federal shutdown.

Those measures prompted Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups to issue a “World Cup travel advisory” that warns travelers about the climate in the U.S.

In a report this month, the main advocacy group for U.S. hotels blamed visa barriers and other geopolitical issues for “significantly suppressing international demand,” leading to hotel bookings for the soccer tournament that are far below what had initially been anticipated.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association said travelers are concerned about potentially lengthy visa wait times and increased fees, along with uncertainty about how they’re being processed to enter the U.S.

The bond requirements are part of the administration’s larger effort to clamp down on migrants who travel to the U.S. on temporary visas but then overstay them. Visa applicants from the affected countries are required to pay $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 in bonds, which will be refunded if the traveler complies with the terms of the visa or if the visa application is denied.

As of early April, the number of World Cup fans affected by the bond requirement was believed to be relatively small, perhaps only about 250 people, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But they said that number was changing rapidly as more people buy tickets and some with tickets opt against traveling.

FIFA had requested the waiver, which had to be approved by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, and was the topic of discussion at multiple meetings at the White House and elsewhere in Washington for several months, the officials said.

The government has set out its legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session in the king’s speech. Our panel of experts reveals the key points.

Measures to ease high living costs

Jonquil Lowe, Visiting Academic, The Open University

Surveys suggest that the cost of living is still a major concern for UK households, with energy and food prices topping the list of worries. In response, some campaigners have called on the government to use the energy independence bill announced in the king’s speech to break the link between electricity and gas prices and volatile global gas prices. And they want it to provide support, especially for low-income households, to switch away from heating homes with fossil fuels.

Among other measures, the bill aims to ensure landlords upgrade their properties to reduce tenants’ energy bills. These kinds of measure need to be introduced urgently if they are to save households from heftier energy bills expected this winter.

Other cost-of-living reliefs are welcome, although their impact may be small. For example, a move to “strengthen ties with Europe” may ease food inflation by reducing red tape and border checks on some imported foods.

The leasehold and commonhold reform bill (carried over from the previous parliamentary session) will help owners of leasehold flats and houses by capping ground rents at £250 a year, and then reducing them to a negligible amount after 40 years. Meanwhile, the social housing renewal bill aims to increase the stock of affordable social homes.

A ‘Bresignation’ bill: options for UK-EU closer relationship remain limited

Miriam Sorace, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, University of Reading

The government clearly recognises that to improve the UK’s economic and trade security, strengthening ties with the European Union is paramount. But public attitudes are still characterised by “bresignation” rather than wholehearted “bregret”.

While support for rejoining the EU sits at around 55%, this obscures deep polarisation and strong conditionality. Support drops sharply in rejoining scenarios that require the UK to relinquish its previous opt‑outs, notably euro adoption and participation in the Schengen agreement on free movement. These would probably be among the concessions demanded by the EU, given public opinion across member states. Support for rejoining the single market (48%) or the customs union (50%) lags behind support for rejoining the EU and remains highly polarised.

The least polarising and most popular option is a broadly defined “closer relationship” with the EU, supported by around 63% of the public and even attracting a sizable minority (40%) of Reform UK voters (and 56% of previous Leave voters). Yet this plea reflects a degree of wishful thinking. Given the UK’s and EU’s red lines, marginal adjustments to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement are the only real options short of the various rejoin alternatives.

The status quo is widely disliked (only 33% prefer the current UK-EU relationship), but there is no other politically viable alternative to tinkering around the edges. “Closer relations” is not a concrete policy: it’s the default expression of living under sub-optimal constrained choice. In other words: “bresignation”. The UK is likely to remain locked into a status quo of continual negotiation with the EU for the foreseeable future, unless public opinion shifts towards accepting the significant concessions required to initiate rejoining negotiations.

Tourist taxes – England plays catch-up

Rhys Ap Gwilym, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor University’s Business School

England is set to become the 26th country in Europe to introduce a tourist tax. The overnight visitor levy bill, announced in the king’s speech, follows recent moves in Scotland and Wales allowing local authorities to tax overnight stays.

In Scotland, Edinburgh will lead the way, adding a 5% levy to accommodation bills from July 24 this year. In Wales, Cardiff intends to introduce charges from April 2027: £1.30 per person per night in hotels and Airbnbs, and 75 pence in campsites and hostels. Such measures have proved controversial, with strong opposition from parts of the tourism industry.

The UK government has framed this as “the first step in a new era of fiscal devolution in England”. In practice, it is a modest one. Revenues are likely to be small relative to existing local taxes and mayors may place greater weight on reforms to council tax caps or business rate retention.

That said, international evidence suggests well-designed tourist taxes can work. Even modest revenues can help fund destination management, ease pressures on local communities and improve the visitor experience. The detail of the legislation will ultimately determine whether England achieves these gains.

Plans to make it easier to align UK law with EU agreements

Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics & International Studies, The Open University

For all the talk from Prime Minister Keir Starmer of putting the UK at “the heart of Europe”, the proposed European Partnership Bill is a relatively modest and technical move. It would give the government powers to make adjustments to domestic legislation to ensure it complies with agreements being made with the EU. This would apply to those currently under negotiation (like youth mobility, food and veterinary standards, or emissions trading) or those that might be considered in future.

This streamlines a process that would have been necessary in any case, and remains reliant on those EU deals actually being struck. So there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the content. However, the repeated mention of “where it benefits the national interest” highlights how the government is trying to package this as something more.

Decisions about when to align are necessarily attached to decisions to sign up to deals with the EU, not to whether to make the domestic adjustments (which international law would consider to be an obligation). Much like Starmer’s flowery rhetoric in his speech on Monday, the substance doesn’t really match up.

Nationalising steel for security – but debts could burden the taxpayer

Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy and Regional Development, University of Bath

Plans to nationalise British Steel offer some comfort to UK steel workers in the form of preserving jobs and providing stability. More pertinently, the move represents a renewed willingness for the state to intervene in a strategically important industry facing financial difficulties, high energy costs, fierce global competition and the challenges of the green transition.

Steel is a critical element in UK sectors such as car manufacturing and defence, infrastructure projects like railways, and low-carbon technologies including wind turbines. Nationalisation should offer the UK a degree of security over steel supply in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical climate.
The risk is that British Steel continues to lose out in global markets and makes substantial losses. This will impose a huge financial burden on the UK taxpayer, at a time when public finances are tight. But public ownership could align steel production with the UK’s broader industrial strategy goals, such as infrastructure development and net-zero targets.

And state financing could allow for long-term investment in new electric steel furnaces and decarbonisation. In the future, the government could use other levers to ensure a market for British Steel, such as strategies which favour UK-sourced, low-carbon steel for green infrastructure projects.

Plans to clean up our rivers and seas could be watered down

Alex Ford, Professor of Biology, University of Portsmouth

Water bills are rising, public anger over sewage pollution has not abated, and the government has now set out a major overhaul of water regulation in England and Wales in the king’s speech.

The proposed water reform bill signals a shift in emphasis. Rather than focusing solely on water companies, the legislation aims to address pollution more broadly, including contributions from agriculture and industry. This is a welcome change. The bill also promises a more unified regulatory system to end the fragmented oversight that has characterised the sector for decades.

Yet despite the language of reform, the vision looks less like a radical reset and more like a reboot of privatisation. This focus will worry campaigners, as it suggests continuity with an economic model widely blamed for under-investment, rising bills and environmental harm.

Immigration bill to tighten rules on right to family life

Joelle Grogan, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, University College Dublin

The government says the new immigration and asylum bill will “tighten the application” of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Article 8 right to family life is inherently restricted, and both national courts and the European Court of Human Rights generally defer to government migration policy. So more detail of the bill in future will be welcome.

The background briefing notes state that Article 8 is stopping the removal of those living illegally in the UK, saying that 86% of people from January to September 2022 who raised rights-based applications in detention were released. However, this highlights the lack of data – both on how many removals have been stopped by the ECHR and its connection with the number of illegal arrivals. Research on available data on the ECHR and foreign national offenders indicate that numbers are very low.

The bill will define family life to ensure that it is limited to the core family unit of spouse, parents and children. But the European Court of Human Rights emphasises the “dependence” of one family member on another (for example by providing sole financial support) in migration cases as the trigger for Article 8. So by defining “family unit” without the condition of “dependence”, the government may unintentionally widen the definition rather than narrow it.

“We are the third security force here and have had very little recognition because no one wants to know what goes on behind the grey wall”

The chairperson of Northern Ireland Prison Officers trade union has called for all 11 councils to recognise staff “murdered in the line of duty”.

The plea comes as Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council signed off on a permanent cenotaph memorial to be erected before Remembrance Sunday in November. The local authority provides land for three prisons including Maghaberry, Hydebank and the now closed down Maze, with the chamber hearing personal links to abduction and murder.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service chairperson of the NI Prison Officers Association, Ivor Dunne said: “We are the third security force here and have had very little recognition because no one wants to know what goes on behind the grey wall.

READ MORE: Lisburn’s Fleadh fringe plan raises concerns over support for Orange Order

READ MORE: Lisburn city centre apartments approved despite anti-social concerns

“My ambition would be for a memorial in each of the 11 councils, because we lost 32 members of staff during the Troubles, and they came from all over Northern Ireland. Each county has had a member of staff lost to them, so for the families we should give them that recognition that their loved one has not been forgotten.

“It is something very dear to my heart and for current staff it would also be significant for morale.”

The first prison officer in Northern Ireland murdered was Officer R Walker in 1942 with the most recent officer to be killed, Adrian Ismay, who died in March 2016 following a dissident republican bomb attack.

A former prison officer, turned councillor brought forward the Lisburn proposal at Lagan Valley Island with the authority now ratifying the memorial location.

Downshire West DUP Alderman Allan Ewart said: “As a former member of the NIPS, I wholeheartedly welcome and support the efforts of the council to erect a memorial in memory of the 32 officers murdered in their line of duty, many of them known to me personally.

“Over the years of the Troubles I feel that the NIPS has been the forgotten service who gave so much during that period.

“Their sacrifice must never be forgotten. These brave men and women served with courage and dedication in the most challenging of circumstances and it is only right that their legacy is honoured with dignity and respect.”

According to a council report a design for the memorial has now been produced and a location chosen at Castle Street in Lisburn.

The paper states the aim is to have this memorial completed in advance of Remembrance Sunday 2026.

Alderman Ewart added: “This memorial will stand not only as a tribute to their lives but also a lasting reminder of the price that was paid in pursuit of peace and stability.

“I commend the officers and everyone involved in bringing this important project forward. I am honoured to propose the recommendation be accepted and look forward to the day the memorial is dedicated.”

A small number of memorials to prison officers are currently in place including at Hydebank and in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council with another understood due to be erected at Causeway Coast and Glens Council.

The LDRS contacted the Department of Justice.

A spokesperson said: “The Northern Ireland Prison Service welcomes the decision by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council to honour and remember the service and sacrifice of prison staff.

“Prisons are part of the community, not apart from it and we will continue to work with the council on this very important act of remembrance.”

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

Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard’s split with wife Laura Hilvin has been confirmed following a post on social media

The wife of Arsenal star Leandro Trossard has confirmed that she has split from the Belgian international. In a post to social media, Laura Hilven revealed that the pair had broken up after 13 years.

The Instagram story said: “With deep love, care, and respect for one another, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to separate amicably.

“This was not a choice made lightly. In fact we have been separated for some time now, and during that period we have taken the space and time needed to navigate this privately and thoughtfully.

“Our decision comes from a place of mutual understanding and a shared desire to create the healthiest and happiest future for everyone involved.

“Most importantly, we are and always will be devoted parents to our two beautiful children.

“We kindly ask for compassion, understanding, and privacy during this deeply personal transition.

“With love, Laura.”

There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible. Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.