Wildfires could engulf ‘all of Europe’ within days, the EU’s emergency response chief warned on Wednesday, as two firefighters were killed battling a blaze in Greece and infernos continued to rage across France, Spain and Portugal.

Greece, Italy and Central Europe are now expected to face the highest wildfire risk in the coming weeks, raising fears of fresh disasters even as firefighters continue battling major blazes across southern Europe.

Maria Zuber, head of the EU’s Emergency Response Co-ordination Centre, said the next few days would be ‘very difficult’ and warned the wildfire threat was shifting eastwards after devastating parts of France and the Iberian Peninsula.

‘The next risk, it’s already moving to Greece and also Central Europe,’ Ms Zuber told reporters. ‘Greece for the moment was spared, and now we see that it will go to Greece. 

‘Italy will face risk at the beginning of August, and we will need to see what will happen with the Iberian Peninsula, because if (it is) there as well, we will have all Europe on fire.’

The forecast reflects weather conditions that help fires ignite and spread rapidly, such as high temperatures, dry air, wind and a lack of rain.

Europe suffered its worst wildfire season on record last year, with more than a million hectares of land burned. Ms Zuber said Europe’s fire situation this year so far was similar.

‘We have the potential that this is another record,’ Ms Zuber said. 

Trees burn during the wildfires in Artana, Spain

Fire crews and emergency vehicles operate along the Fethiye-Antalya highway close to the fire

Firefighters respond to a forest fire both from the air and land in Turkiye’s Seydikemer district 

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Footage shared on social media shows bright orange flames rising above the mountains as dark clouds of smoke engulf the Greek island Paros

According to Greek news outlet Proto Thema, emergency crews have been battling the blaze non-stop since Tuesday afternoon

Firefighters respond to a forest fire in Turkey

A firefighting vehicle operates as smoke rises from a fire burning inside a military base, amid drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France

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The EU centre coordinates the deployment of aircraft and firefighters to countries that request emergency support, drawing on resources pooled by European countries and rented by the EU. It has sent seven planes and four helicopters to France, and six planes and three ground forest firefighting teams to Spain.

Not all planes in the EU fleet are currently occupied, and some are pre-stationed in eastern and central Europe as the risk there rises, Ms Zuber said.

More of Europe’s tourism destinations have been hit by wildfires today, as nine villages were evacuated on the Greek holiday island of Paros.

Footage shared on social media shows bright orange flames rising above the mountains as dark clouds of smoke engulf the island.

Nine villages have been evacuated due to the growing inferno. Local media has reported that residents are fleeing to the beaches on the instructions of emergency services, while two firefighters died in Crete after becoming trapped in their vehicles.

According to Greek news outlet Proto Thema, emergency crews have been battling the blaze non-stop since Tuesday afternoon.  

State TV ERT said the men had been trapped by the fire in their fire engine in the foothills of a mountain near the western city of Rethymno.

The fire department in a statement said the men had died ‘during an operation to contain a rural forest fire in the Krya Vrysi area of Rethymno’.

Local municipal official Sifis Vavourakis told ERT the fire front was over nine miles long.

‘The fire is out of control,’ he said.

Some 110 firefighters with 27 fire engines and four aircraft had been dispatched to deal with the fire, the fire department said earlier.

But the winds had complicated efforts to fight the fire from the air, local mayor Yiannis Tatarakis told ERT, adding that six villages had been evacuated so far.

‘The wind keeps changing direction, it’s very easy to get trapped,’ Mr Tatarakis said.

1949: A photo of the gigantic fire of the forest of Landes de Gascogne which killed 82 people taken on August 22, 1949

2026: An aerial view depicting a residential area engulfed in flames during a wildfire in the forest of Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France on July 23, 2026

The blaze comes as Europe is battling some of the worst wildfires in living memory across multiple popular holiday destinations including France, Spain and Turkey.

The response team in Paros includes 66 firefighters, specialised forest firefighting units from Athens, five helicopters, and two water-bombing planes. 

They will soon be reinforced by 20 additional firefighters travelling from the mainland town of Rafina.

One resident who fled to the neighbouring island of Antiparos told Swiss outlet Blick: ‘This is turning into a real catastrophe! The fire spread further south with the wind in just three hours.’

Early on Wednesday, residents in Trypiti, Glyfa, Pyrgaki and Aspro Chorio were ordered to evacuate towards Dryos, after an earlier alert told people in Ageria to flee to Aliki beach. 

The orders followed Tuesday’s evacuations from Agios Charalambos, Kambi, Bougados, Aneratza and Kamari as the blaze continued to spread.

Deputy Mayor Haris Giourtzidis said authorities did not yet have ‘a clear picture of the extent of the damage’, adding: ‘So far, we know that two barns have burned down.’

He said strong, persistent winds were hampering firefighting efforts and revealed emergency crews had been forced to remove some residents from their homes after they refused to leave their animals behind.

Local media said the wildfire had split into two fronts advancing towards Faragas Beach and Tripiti, with Agkairia among the worst-hit areas. 

Fire service spokesman Yiannis Artopoios said the blaze was slowly being brought under control by 86 firefighters but warned: ‘The battle continues so that the fire does not escape.’

Elsewhere on the island of Crete, two firefighters, aged 28 and 60, died after becoming trapped in their vehicle as they battled flames in the Sachtouria area, in Nea Krya Vrysi, Rethymno, Greek news outlet OEMA reported. 

Fire crews and emergency vehicles operate along the Fethiye-Antalya highway as thick smoke from a forest fire reduces visibility in the Seydikemer district of Mugla, Turkey

Firefighters respond to a forest fire both from the air and land in the Seydikemer district of Mugla, Turkey on July 29

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Firefighters work as flames and smoke rise during a wildfire, amid drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France

Residents smother embers with dirt to prevent reignition after a wildfire was brought under control near La Adrada, 95 kilometres west of Madrid, on July 28, 2026

Trees burn during the wildfires in Artana, Spain

Smoke rising from right next to the settlements is covering the sky as firefighters and Turkish General Directorate of Forestry teams continue their efforts to extinguish the fire

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According to initial reports, the pair lost their orientation as they tried to navigate thick smoke. 

The fire in Crete’s Rethymno area has been burning uncontrollably since early afternoon on Wednesday, forcing six villages to evacuate. 

Some 156 firefighters are understood to be operating in the area. 

A wildfire also broke out in Moroni, Heraklion, in Crete, with a team of 58 firefighters working to extinguish it. 

In mainland Greece, a blaze also tore through the seaside village of Ageranos in Laconia, sparking an evacuation order.

The fires in Greece come as Europe is battling some of the worst wildfires in living memory across multiple popular holiday destinations as temperatures hit up to 47C (117F).

Around 4,000 holidaymakers were evacuated yesterday from a popular French beach resort.

Officials ordered campsites, holiday villages, tourist residences and leisure parks to be cleared in the surfing hotspot of Lacanau, around 35 miles west of Bordeaux.

1949: A photo taken on August 22, 1949, of a gigantic fire in the forest of Landes de Gascogne which killed 82 people

2026: Residents on their bicycles looking at smoke rising behind a residential area during a wildfire near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France taken on July 23, 2026

Firefighters in France and Spain were battling to contain the blazes before the arrival of a fourth heatwave of the summer brings scorching temperatures.

Flames have torn through vast swathes of forest in both countries, incinerating properties and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

In a sign of progress, Spain’s interior ministry said it ended evacuation orders for 13 municipalities on Tuesday afternoon, without providing details of how many people were covered.

Locals in Bordeaux are suffering the economic fallout of the devastating fires, with one tour guide telling the Telegraph: 

‘For one of our most popular walking tours, we’d normally have 20 to 30 people at this time of year. This morning we had six. I’ve had 10 people cancel next week.’ 

‘This city relies heavily on tourists – we get about 6.5 million tourists per year – and this is going to really severely impact us. This is the busiest time of year. We are looking at a severe financial hit.’

Roland Lescure, France’s finance minister, said on Monday: ‘This is also an economic thunderbolt, hitting a region that did not need it.’

Conditions are set to worsen as a fresh heatwave hits western Europe this week, with temperatures climbing again in France from Tuesday and Spain from Wednesday, according to meteorologists.

French firefighters were ‘on the offensive’, commander Eric Pitault insisted, standing beside a 50-metre-wide, 25-kilometre-long firebreak cut with the help of civilian volunteers on the Cap Ferret peninsula.

Over the past six days, the largest French wildfire since 1949 has raged west of Bordeaux, forcing more than 220,000 people to flee and destroying 240 homes.

The prefect’s office said that, while there were flare-ups overnight, these were under control and the burnt area had not increased.

An aerial view of emergency vehicles near a wildfire in Lege-Cap-Ferret in the Gironde department

A firefighting helicopter makes a water drop as a wildfire burns next to the village of Plomari on the island of Lesbos, Greece

Firefighters use controlled burning to halt a wildfire that continues to spread near Cebreros, Spain, on July 28, 2026

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Nine villages have been evacuated due to the growing inferno in Turkey

Outside Spain’s Aldea del Fresno, on the edge of the vast fires burning west of Madrid, evacuated locals queued up in their cars in the hope of returning to properties and pets.

They were among 60,000 people forced to flee by fires that have consumed 190,000 acres, an area almost the size of New York City.

For now, though, the Guardia Civil gendarmerie was blocking their return, blaming the risk of smoke inhalation.

Galia Borisova, a 55-year-old domestic helper, wanted to reach her animals in nearby Picadas but was having to wait.

‘They say there’s so much smoke that you can’t breathe, even with a mask. And I believe it, because you could see it from here.’

Gemma Collins has revealed her beloved mum Joan has passed away ‘peacefully’ and ‘surrounded by love’ at the age of 70.

The former TOWIE star, 45, took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to share the sad news with her followers. Joan’s cause of death has not been revealed. 

Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. She was admitted to hospital last month, with Gemma writing at the time: ‘Sending my mummy so much love she has caught Pneumonia.’ 

Gemma penned in her tribute to her mum as she announced her death: ‘My heart is shattered into a million pieces. Today our beautiful mum passed away peacefully surrounded by LOVE. Mum, Today, every piece of my heart left with you.

‘No words will ever be enough to thank you for loving me, guiding me, and being my mum. You gave me life, you gave me strength, and you gave me memories that I will carry for every day I have left.

‘The house will never sound the same without you. Your voice, your smile, your little ways, they are woven into every corner of my life. I will miss you more than I could ever put into words.

‘I hope you are finally free from pain. I hope you can walk again, laugh again, and feel light. I hope you are surrounded by peace and by everyone who has gone before you, watching over us with love.

Gemma Collins has revealed that her mum Joan has passed away ‘peacefully’ and ‘surrounded by love’

The former TOWIE star, 45, took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to share the sad news with her followers 

‘Thank you for every hug, every sacrifice, every lesson, and every moment. Thank you for being my mum. It has been the greatest privilege to be your daughter.

‘Until we meet again, I will carry your love with me. I will look for you in the sunrise, in the flowers, in the birds singing, and in the quiet moments when I need you most. Sleep peacefully, my beautiful Mum.

‘You will be loved forever, missed every single day, and never, ever forgotten. Gemma.’

She was quickly inundated with messages of support from her nearest and dearest, including celebrity friends such as Dani Dyer, who wrote: ‘Oh Gemma I’m so so sorry, thinking of you.’

Amy Childs added: ‘Thinking of you Gemma, what a beautiful lady your mum was, xxxx RIP beautiful Joan xxx’

Lauren Goodger commented: ‘So sorry Gem. Thinking of you and sending you so much love my darling, thinking of you all xx.’

Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. 

She was admitted to hospital last month, with Gemma writing at the time: ‘Sending my mummy so much love she has caught pneumonia but she is doing well thank you to all the wonderful nurses and doctors for looking after her.

‘Still looking glam mummy.’

Gemma’s mother has battled with ill health in recent years, in December 2025, she was admitted to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex, after contracting pneumonia but she made a recovery after five weeks.

In March 2020 she was hospitalised with pneumonia for the first time.

In 2024, Joan was in intensive care after she stopped breathing. The health scare left Gemma fearing the worst after Joan made an emergency dash to the hospital.

She told The Sun newspaper at the time: ‘I’ve had a lot of stress the last couple of weeks.

‘My mum was suddenly taken into hospital and I was told she could die. They would not resuscitate her if she went into cardiac arrest.

Joan battled pneumonia twice in the last six months of her life. She was admitted to hospital last month 

In 2024 Joan also appeared on Gemma’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? which delved into their family past 

The episode traced the story of her mother Joan’s biological mother who was forced to give her up to a foster family leading Gemma to break down 

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‘So imagine that, you know, I’m in the hospital having been out for dinner the day before, and then the next day I’m like, ‘Wow’, so that was a massive shock.’

Joan, a former hairdresser, was well-loved by TOWIE fans and made several appearances on the show.

In 2024, Joan also appeared on Gemma’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? which delved into their family past. 

The episode traced the story of her mother Joan’s biological mother who was forced to give her up to a foster family. 

Joan had lived most of her life thinking that her mother – also called Joan – had abandoned her. 

But Gemma and the team on the show discovered she may have been forced to give up her daughter amid misdiagnosed mental health problems.

Joan had lived most of her life thinking that her mother – also called Joan – had abandoned her 

Gemma’s grandmother was in and out of psychiatric hospitals from 13 years old and was eventually diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic – which has now been disputed.

An expert then said that when she got pregnant as a teenager out of wed lock she could have been told to give up Joan and was forced to limit her contact with her child due to her ‘mental health issues’.

Joan broke down as she spoke about feeling abandoned and unloved as a child as she said: ‘You’re always left wondering. My foster family was my family. I went into foster care a two weeks old.’

As Joan and Gemma read her foster statement they both broke down in tears as they said: ‘This is a lot. It’s a huge mix of emotions.’

Joan herself then told how she was sent to a children’s home at age 13 for playing truant and cried again as she told how she was bullied there.

In tears she said: ‘I went in with my suitcase, it brings it all back and the other kids started taking all my clothes off me. It felt like a prison to me. I went back home after that.’

Of her biological mother Joan added: ‘She did come and meet me my real mother once. We had a cup of tea and then she said goodbye. I only saw her three times.’

Viewers penned on X amid the emotional scenes: ‘Not knowing a family history must be so hard bless her. #WDYTYA.’,

‘That’s so sad #wdytya.’,

‘God, poor Gemma’s mom #wdytya.’,

At the start of the episode Gemma said: ‘My mum was fostered. Why was she left at the hospital? Why did they not try and come back for her? She never talks about it. I just think it’s too painful for her to go there.’

The clip ended with Gemma saying: ‘It will be nice to know where my mum is from. And just put all the pieces together.’

Gemma has recently spoken out on her own health issues, describing how her Ozempic journey left her ‘liberated’ before she encountered side effects and was forced to stop after she experienced a gallbladder attack.

She detailed how taking the drug was ‘great, it was liberating, freeing’ yet she was forced to end her journey, although she has still managed to shed 3.4st.

By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

Published: 19:49 BST, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 22:10 BST, 29 July 2026

Marjorie Taylor Greene got married to a dapper former TV reporter in a surprise lavish ceremony on the Las Vegas strip.

The former Georgia Republican congresswoman and ex-ally of Donald Trump shared pictures from their Nevada nuptials on social media on Wednesday. 

She married her longtime partner Brian Glenn, a former White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice, a day earlier. 

‘Last night, surrounded by our families … and I said ‘I do.” Greene wrote alongside the wedding photos.

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The couple, who are both on their second marriage, met at a Trump rally in 2022. They were both married at the time, but began dating the next year in 2023 after Greene went through a divorce.

Images posted by the couple show Greene looking stunning in a white wedding dress standing next to her new tuxedo-clad beau.

In the background, the Vegas strip and skyline can be seen around dusk from The Bellagio’s Terrazza di Sogno, which overlooks the hotel’s iconic fountains. 

The couple couldn’t help but indulge in Sin City’s many luxuries; Glenn and Greene dined at Italian staple Spago before the ceremony and were spotted gambling while still in their wedding wardrobes afterwards, TMZ reported. 

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Former Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene married former Real America’s Voice White House correspondent Brian Glenn in Las Vegas on Tuesday

In the background, the Vegas strip and skyline can be seen around dusk from The Bellagio’s Terrazza di Sogno, which overlooks the hotel’s iconic fountains. Greene and Glenn met in 2022 at a Trump rally. Glenn proposed to the former Congresswoman in December

The outlet also shared that they played craps, roulette and slots with family and friends at the hotel. 

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The couple got engaged in December last year at  Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Washington, DC. 

‘I called ahead to make sure I had our usual table in the back that has a curtain,’ Glenn previously told the Daily Mail of the engagement. 

‘After the waiter delivered the drinks to our table, I proposed to her via a surprise. And she said yes. We are both overjoyed and have shared the news with our families.’ 

The announcement received widespread congratulations from GOP circles. 

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‘Congrats to two great people,’ Republican Congressman and Greene’s close friend Thomas Massie responded to the wedding pictures. 

Greene and Massie vacationed together recently in Costa Rica with their spouses. The current and former lawmaker became close after crusading for the Trump administration to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

That effort earned Greene the scorn of the President, who has since referred to his formerly close ally as a ‘traitor,’ among other nicknames. 

‘Last night, surrounded by our families … and I said ‘I do,” Greene wrote alongside the wedding photos she posted

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The newlyweds and their families were spotted gambling in the casino after the ceremony. The announcement received widespread congratulations from GOP circles

The former representative resigned her seat in Congress earlier this year as the spat with the President intensified.

Glenn later gave up his White House reporting gig to move to Georgia and be closer to his then-fiancée. 

Greene and Glenn were contacted for comment.  

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An investigation by consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First revealed that 14 travel adaptors purchased from major platforms like AliExpress, eBay, Amazon Marketplace and TikTok Shop all failed basic safety tests.

The worst offenders posed a risk of serious electric shock or electrocution.

Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, said: “Shopping for your holiday getaway should be an enjoyable experience, not one that puts you at serious risk.

“Shoppers in the UK shouldn’t have to question whether the products they buy might put them at risk, yet our investigation shows that dangerous electrical goods are still finding their way into people’s homes through online marketplaces.”

What travel adaptor issues were identified?

Among the most serious failures were universal travel adaptors that allowed more than one set of plug pins to be exposed and live at the same time.

This design flaw means users could come into contact with up to 240 volts of electricity.

In total, 14 adaptors (eight universal and six basic) were tested, all of which failed.

Several also lacked surge protection despite being labelled as offering it, and all universal adaptors failed mechanical strength tests, meaning pins could snap off in sockets.

Some listings had thousands of reviews and sales, raising concerns that thousands of dangerous devices may already be in UK homes.

One Amazon Marketplace listing had almost 9,000 reviews, with customers reporting overheating and device damage.

Another on AliExpress was reported to have exploded during use.

Mr Capanna said: “What looks like a bargain could come at a much higher cost.

“We urge Brits heading abroad this summer to think before they buy and only purchase travel adaptors from reputable retailers they know and trust, so they can travel with confidence and avoid taking a potentially dangerous device away with them.”

Basic travel adaptors, designed for use in a single region, were also found lacking.

Failures included missing safety shutters, absent fuses, oversized pin holes and lack of earth connections—all of which increase the risk of electric shock or fire.

One Amazon Marketplace adaptor with more than 1,000 reviews was reported to have “fell apart” in a customer’s hands, who said they “could have been electrocuted” if it had broken while in use.

Laboratory flammability tests showed that six adaptors failed to resist ignition and would contribute to spreading a fire.

This investigation follows a similar one by the charity less than a year ago, which found 15 dangerous travel adaptors across multiple major platforms.

Electrical Safety First has repeatedly called for online marketplaces to be legally accountable for the safety of products sold on their platforms—a measure currently under government consideration.

How did online platforms respond?

A spokesman for AliExpress said: “Product safety is our top priority at AliExpress.

“We have removed the three travel adapter listings identified by Electrical Safety First and are contacting affected customers to initiate a recall through our established channels.

“We welcome detailed findings like these and remain committed to tackling product safety issues through our established processes.”

eBay also took action following the investigation.

Recommended reading:

A spokesman said: “We have removed the listings identified by Electrical Safety First and we’re carrying out wider checks to find and remove any similar listings.

“At eBay, we combine technology, AI-supported monitoring and specialist teams to help maintain a safe and trusted marketplace.”

Amazon issued a similar response.

A spokesman said: “We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and our own policies.

“The products identified have been removed from sale.”

TikTok also removed the identified listings and associated videos, and said it continues to use a mix of technology and manual moderation to enforce its product safety policies.

Have you bought a travel adaptor from an online platform? Let us know in the comments.

The Big Conversation on Care is the latest attempt to fix England’s broken social care system. Getting a handle on this issue has been attempted no fewer than 22 times since the 1990s – but Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed that this time they’ll find the right answers. But what might these be – and will the tough choices on how to pay for it lose Labour votes?

More pay, more prestige for care workers

Anna Barford, Research Professor, Language Technology Lab

Care is a broad concept covering things like cooking, cleaning, childcare, teaching and healthcare. These labour-intensive activities are essential to enable individuals, communities and societies to survive in the face of challenges such as poverty, economic shocks and climate change. As such, spending on care should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

Care needs are met by a diverse set of people, including the family or household, volunteers, not-for-profit organisations, businesses, and the state. Some of this work is paid (often underpaid), while some is unpaid. And it falls disproportionally on women.

England’s social care budget does not cover this full range of activities. For adult social care, the budget includes spending on community-based support as well as care homes. Investing in adult social care translates into better jobs, better-supported families, and care needs that are met more fully. Burnham’s speech pointed to this, with his plans to increase pay and prestige in the social care workforce.

Spending should be understood within the wider ecosystem of care. However, decision-makers often overlook how unpaid care work, paid care work and other paid work relate to one another. As paid and unpaid care is largely done by women, well-paid care work could improve gender pay gaps. And providing paid-for support for care activities can free up women’s time to do paid work. For example, providing childminders and carers for elderly relatives can help to balance the competing demands on women’s time.

Fixing social care is a huge – and expensive – job

Conor O’Kane, Senior Lecturer in Economics

The prime minister has outlined what he would like social care reform to look like. Broadly speaking, he wants to see better pay and career paths for those who work in the sector. He would also like to protect people from having to sell their property or other assets to pay for care, which can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. But while almost all political parties in England agree that social care needs to be reformed, there is little consensus on how this should be paid for. Burnham provided no further detail.

I suspect that the UK nations will eventually adopt a scheme similar to the one the Republic of Ireland introduced in 2009. The “Fair Deal” addresses some of the key concerns that the PM has raised. The scheme takes into account a person’s income, savings and assets when deciding how much the state contributes towards residential care costs. Crucially, the assets element, which for many will be their home, only counts for the first three years that they are in residential care. This prevents assets being completely consumed by care costs. But this type of scheme does not come cheap.

Ireland’s Fair Deal costs the state the equivalent of around £1 billion a year. Given the difference in populations, a similar scheme for the UK could cost around £13 billion a year. That still does not cover the cost of the pay increases that Burnham wants to see for that sector. To raise this kind of money, he would need to increase the 20% income tax rate by about 2%, for example.

There is also some talk of an estate tax to raise the funds. Given that the PM is committed to both the current fiscal rules on borrowing and not raising taxes, I would expect Labour to go into the next general election with an outline of how a reformed social care system would operate and be paid for. But only time will tell whether voters will give them the mandate to finance this major reform to adult social care.

Public are confused – but clear that the state should pay

Anthony Kevins, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Studies

Any discussion of attitudes on social care in England must begin with two
observations: people are not happy with the status quo, but they also don’t really understand how the current system works or how it is funded. This is a tricky starting point, since it makes it difficult to assess how much public support there would be for any proposed reforms.

What does seem clear however, is that most people want the state to share the cost of social care with users. Support for full state coverage for everyone is relatively low, and even fewer people believe that users should have to cover costs on their own.

So how might the public want that new spending to be financed? My research suggests a hierarchy of preferred funding options, ranging from council tax – the least popular option – to a wealth tax on people with assets worth more than £1 million – the most popular option. Increases in inheritance tax and national insurance contributions were relatively unpopular. And an income tax rise on higher earners was second only to wealth taxes in popularity.

As always though, the devil will be in the detail of the funding plan. It’s unlikely that any mechanism will avoid at least a little backlash.

Technology is not a silver bullet

Kathrin Cresswell, Professor of Digital Innovations in Health and Care

One of the biggest challenges is moving beyond treating health and social care as separate systems. Burnham has promised a more integrated approach. I don’t believe that the two necessarily need to be fully integrated, but they do need to work together more effectively. That means investing in the relationships, governance and basic infrastructure that allow organisations to coordinate care around people’s needs. It is this kind of investment that enables lasting change.

Technology will undoubtedly be part of the solution, but it is not a magic bullet. The history of large-scale digital programmes in the NHS shows a consistent pattern. Expectations have often exceeded reality because the complexity of implementing the changes was underestimated.

New technologies, including AI, are unlikely to be different if they are seen as solutions in themselves. Real transformation depends less on adopting the latest tech than on supporting organisations to work together, developing shared ways of working, and building the culture needed for information and services to flow across organisational boundaries.

Social care presents an even greater challenge than the NHS. It is more fragmented, operates with fewer resources, and levels of digital maturity vary greatly. For many providers, the priorities are quite simple: reliable connectivity, basic digital infrastructure and technologies that support communication, independence and day-to-day care. It’s not always about the latest innovations.

Perhaps most importantly, we need to be realistic about how quickly success can be realised. Social care is fundamentally about supporting people to live well, maintaining independence and preventing crises. These benefits emerge gradually, requiring sustained investment and realistic expectations.

Better connections with communities

Robin Miller, Professor of Collaborative Learning in Health and Social Care

Burnham is right to emphasise both that social care is more than a complement to health and that the NHS will not work effectively without a strong social care system. For the past 30 years, successive governments have sought to ensure better collaboration between health and social care. The latest iterations see multi-disciplinary teams working on the ground while overall coordination is handled by “integrated care systems” (partnerships between health and care organisations in both the public and private sectors).

While some progress has been made, long-standing tensions remain. These are due to professional dominance of healthcare in local and national debates and insufficient investment in social care. At the same time, national performance focuses predominantly on NHS waiting times.

The proposed national care service may bring some consistency, but ultimately collaboration will be achieved through closer working between professionals and services – focused on what matters to communities. Health and social care will have to be better connected with local people and the networks that sustain them – this will involve health and care professionals working as equal partners with the voluntary and community sector. One example of this is through community hubs, where professionals are available within accessible venues such as libraries, supermarkets and sports clubs.

This is certainly a good start from the prime minister. But improving social care will also mean tough choices for the NHS – including changing its priorities on how its money is spent to divert more towards community and prevention.

Holly Willoughby’s new YouTube show brought in 41,000 views on its first day – after it was panned by critics and branded ‘dire’.

The former This Morning host, 45, launched her first episode of the show on Tuesday, with desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendos with first guest, The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, 65. 

It failed to impress critics – with a one-star review comparing her show to Meghan Markle‘s attempt to enter the lifestyle realm with her own show last year. 

Last March, Meghan launched a Netflix lifestyle series, which was blasted, leading to The Guardian branding Holly’s show ‘a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan’ while The Telegraph stated: ‘[Holly’s] dire show makes Meghan look good.’ 

And 24 hours after it was posted to her YouTube channel, it had received 41,000 views. 

She now has 11,000 subscribers to the channel.

The star, 45, launched her first episode of the show on Tuesday, with desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendos with first guest Stanley Tucci, 65

For context The Rest Is Entertainment launched in November 2023 and currently has 138K subscribers. It currently sits as one of the top three entertainment podcasts in the UK. 

Their episode went up on the same day as Holly’s episode with Stanley Tucci. Their episode has accumulated 29,000 views.

On the episode, she joins Stanley in making a pasta dish – which led to The Telegraph’s Anita Singh stating: ‘They are so stuck for conversation that they end up reading out the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie.’

After a beer and wine, Stanley kicked off a cookery session by handing Holly a coloured courgette, which led to the star stating: ‘I’ve never seen one like this before’ – in a very unsubtle innuendo, similar to her This Morning slip-ups.

While fans appear to enjoy the show, the reviews have been lacklustre elsewhere, with complaints of shaky camera work and an overlong running time. 

A shocking one star review came from The Telegraph, who referenced Meghan’s Netflix show With Love, Meghan.

She writes: ‘Holly Willoughby’s dire YouTube show makes Meghan look good… Not even Stanley Tucci can redeem this 50-minute borefest of awkward small talk, forced swearing and pie tin trivia… 

‘Even Meghan’s producers had the good sense to keep changing things up, editing her so she whizzed from rainbow fruit platters to flower arranging to holding guests hostage while potato printing.’

Alongside a three star review, The Mirror complains: ‘The result is a 50 minute show to cook a simple dish which might have worked better as say a tighter 30-40 minute episode in my opinion…

‘And with only one guest to bounce off, a slightly edited down version, or in future having several guests with a connection might make the conversation more entertaining, fast flowing and lively. But it seems to be a deliberately laid back affair.’

The i Paper’s Sarah Carson, meanwhile, stated: ‘Her new YouTube series, ‘Together,’ is a confused attempt to present herself as relatable… 

‘The public either wants honest, unfiltered imperfection or glamour and something to aspire to. Willoughby still hasn’t decided which she wants to be. Together is proof that her superpower was always her ability to be professional, not a personality.’ 

The Times’ Carol Midgley writes: ‘Will it be a success? Well, it looks nice, Holly may take her fanbase with her, and her profile means she will probably be able to entice a good quality of guest… 

And 24 hours after it was posted to her YouTube channel, it had only received 41,000 views. She now has 11,000 subscribers to the channel

Last March, Meghan launched a Netflix lifestyle series which was widely panned, leading to The Guardian branding Holly’s show ‘a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan’ 

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‘Tucci was, as usual, effortlessly charismatic and at ease in front of the camera, and his recipe for spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano looked very tasty.’

Teasers show upcoming episodes will see Holly joined by best friends Nicole Appleton and Emma Bunton, alongside Katherine Ryan and Joanne McNally.

The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage also gave the show three stars, writing: ‘The former This Morning host has done a Meghan, rebranding herself as a cookery guru with a YouTube show that veers from agonisingly dull courgette slicing to sweary banter.’ 

Meanwhile, Holly revealed even her own children poked fun at her new show, confessing she was out of her depth when she switched from traditional TV to digital, with her daughter Belle, 15, laughing at her efforts.

Speaking on Sara Cox’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Holly gushed: ‘Today is launch day, this is like I’m giving birth today!’ Yet she confessed she found it ‘weird’ that YouTube was her new home. 

As Sara asked if her kids were ‘annoyed’ at her for encroaching on a younger digital platform, Holly admitted: ‘My daughter was laughing at me as I was saying ‘subscribe and ding the bell and you’ll get notifications.’

‘She was like, ‘mum, you really don’t know what you’re talking about’, and I’m like, ‘no I don’t but I’m learning!” 

While reviewers were left in shock, viewers seemed enamored at her shift from smiley magazine show co-host to an edgier character, writing: ‘Glad to see beautiful Holly back and with her own show a fantastic first episode Holly can’t wait for the next… 

‘I really enjoyed you and Stanley together, good to see you back hosting Holly it really suits you. I’ve followed you since This Morning, you’re an amazing host, one thing maybe have a website to put recipes up…

‘Love love love!!! Can’t wait for more. Going to cook tonight. Great show. Loved it and looking forward to more… Lovely to see you back Holly… Ahhh so excited.’ 

Last week, speaking to The Daily Mail’s Katie Hind, seven months after she revealed the project, Holly revealed she was not worried about reaction to the show. 

She said: ‘I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I know that and that’s fine. I don’t want to try to convince people if they don’t want to watch.’

Referring to her stalking ordeal, she added: ‘I don’t fear what people think. I’ve had real fear, I know what that’s like. Your perspective changes after something like that.’ 

Folk legend Linda Perhacs has been found, eight months after the star vanished after leaving a residential care facility.

A representative for the LAPD Missing Persons Unit confirmed to The Daily Mail that Perhacs was found on Wednesday.

They said in a statement, ‘She was found today. She’s safe. We can’t share where as it involves her HIPAA.’

This comes after Perhacs’ former co-producer, Fernando Perdomo, shared an update on the search, revealing that her inner circle had filed an official report with Adult Protective Services – part of the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department – which he said was ‘a step in the right direction.’

Perhacs’ friends also recently filed a police report with the LAPD.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Perhacs for further comment.

This comes eight months after Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill 

Perhacs is pictured on the cover of her 2014 album, The Soul of All Natural Things

This comes eight months after Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill.

The post read, ‘Linda Perhacs our dear friend and legendary singer-songwriter was discharged from a residential care facility approximately eight months ago under the supervision of her legal guardian. 

‘Since then, friends and longtime collaborators have been unable to reach her and repeated attempts to contact her guardian have reportedly gone unanswered. Please help us locate Linda to ensure her wellbeing.’

McNeill, who shared the post with Perhacs’ former manager Laurel Stearns, musician Julia Holter and director Jessica Hundley, advised followers to contact Stearns via email if they have any information.

Hundley later alleged to Rolling Stone in an email that Dolphin singer Perhacs ‘had been living at the care facility for several years, struggling with dementia.’

‘We have called elder care and filed several police reports and have now retained a private investigator to help in finding her.’

In an additional statement shared with People, Stearns said those issuing the statement ‘are not alleging wrongdoing’ but are instead ‘seeking confirmation that Linda is safe, well, and receiving appropriate care, while expressing concern over the prolonged absence of communication with a beloved public figure.’

Perhacs, known for her 1970 album Parallelograms, was last seen under the supervision of her legal guardian – with loved ones unable to contact her since she left the facility, per a post from her friend Mark McNeill

Perhacs, then working as a dental hygienist, first delved into music with the release of Parallelograms in 1970 – which failed to garner attention or sales. However, the record was rediscovered in 1998 and became a sensation among fans

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‘As a public artist whose work has profoundly influenced musicians and listeners around the world, Linda’s well-being is of genuine concern to a broad community of admirers and colleagues.

‘Those issuing this statement respectfully request that anyone with verified information regarding Linda Perhacs’s current condition or means of contact reach out to her authorized representatives or designated point of contact. 

‘The intention is not to intrude upon her privacy, but simply to ensure that she is safe and to re-establish communication with someone whose artistic contributions continue to resonate across generations.’

The identity of Perhacs’ legal guardian has not been released.

Perhacs, then working as a dental hygienist, first delved into music with the release of Parallelograms in 1970 – which failed to garner attention or sales.

However, the record was rediscovered in 1998 and became a sensation among fans, leading to Perhacs returning to music.

In 2014, Perhacs released second album, The Soul of All Natural Things, and a third, I’m a Harmony, in 2017.

Where has drought been declared in the UK?

Why was drought declared?

How can droughts affect us?

People urged to use less water

Across the land, in 23million gardens, hosepipes are lying dry, coiled like sad, dead serpents in the sun. Or are they?

Over the weekend, as more water companies announced or implemented hosepipe bans across Britain there have been growing signs that many of us are not playing the game.

In fact, after becoming suddenly subject to what the Water Industry Act amusingly calls a ‘TUB’ (temporary usage ban), a few gardeners have been spraying away in defiance.

Perhaps not with sufficient reckless selfishness to keep a croquet lawn green, but certainly enough to put a smile on the face of the vegetable patch and give the last roses a chance.

Nor do parents much fancy carrying 30 buckets from the kitchen tap to their children’s paddling pool – a resource without which the long summer holidays are taxing to even the most experienced toddler-wrangler.

Now the Environment Agency has declared a drought in seven regions covering half of England, from Devon and Cornwall to East Anglia.

Will this ensure that people keep their hosepipes coiled and empty? I doubt it. At the heart of it, I suspect, is that much of Britain is suffering from a sudden, but oddly deep, revulsion to rules and bans.

Possibly this current aggravation is the result of the still-sour memory of the more pointless bits of Covid regulation, only six years back.

A woman walks her dogs over the parched grass at Wimbledon Common, south-west London, earlier this month

Many prime ministers have risen and fallen since, yet streams and eddies of resentment still boil in many hearts, memories of how largely pointless the unprecedentedly bossy regime of the government was at the time.

No10 was unruly, chaotically unable to curb their own revelry and yet rigorous as a Mother Superior in laying down ridiculous local ‘tiers’, ‘bubbles’ or ‘distancings’ and antisocial rules about the crime of sitting down on park benches.

Somehow, we’re less docile than we were then. It’s not quite a revolutionary fervour – come on, they’re only hosepipes, and we’re well-behaved Britons – but it’s certainly a stroppy and disobliging mood, and a steady abandonment of community spirit.

The irritation of gardeners and paddling-pool fillers is also aggravated no end by water-mains bubbling up in the street (water companies are wasting 2.87billion litres of water a day through leaks), sewage pumped into our rivers just as we need a refreshing dip, and reports of the massive pay rises awarded to water company bosses despite this (the head of Anglian Water got a £1.3million bonus this month regardless of the hosepipe ban). Not to mention the dividends harvested by these companies’ international shareholders.

Moreover, we are only now learning how vast an amount of water gets used by data centres (one small centre could use 26 million litres per year), especially since the AI boom, and how keen our masters are to build more.

So, if your patience with the corrupt water barons, your kids’ summer prospects and perhaps your local landscape are all under threat, there’s a strong temptation to uncoil the Hosepipe of Rebellion and save your begonias and courgettes for the nation.

Online and among acquaintances, I find it fascinating to hear these rumblings of rebelliousness over the simple, quite logical and desirable business of saving water.

In 1976, the last really serious drought in the public’s memory, I was on local radio covering Oxfordshire and beyond. We had experienced an oddly parched autumn and winter, then a series of heatwaves.

It was the driest 16-month span in two centuries. Tarmac melted, rails buckled and reservoirs depleted to dangerous levels. There were periods when people had to queue at standpipes in the street to get water and carry it home.

Local women queue to collect water in Northam, Devon, during the drought of 1976

Libby Purves worked for BBC Radio in the 1970s, when stations ran a ‘Droughtline’ during the extreme water deficit of 1976

On those old BBC local stations, we were very close to our audience and got to know them well. My memory is of an extraordinary, almost wartime-style willingness among our listeners to buckle down, keep to the rules and help out.

We had a ‘Droughtline’ section in the morning and afternoon shows, and people would ring in with useful tips for others. They told us about finding the best way to wash dishes and keep clothes clean with least wastefulness, and useful ideas about re-routing the washing-machine water outlet.

They told us how you could use your hose to siphon the children’s bathwater out of the upstairs window into the garden and make sure any soapiness didn’t damage your plants (I really can’t remember now quite how this was done – I think it may have come down to just using less soap).

There was an ironmonger offering lightweight plastic watering-cans at cost price to pensioners, and others who weighed in and said they were carrying the cans for elderly neighbours and, in standpipe areas, fetching cans for them too.

Of course there were complaints, but there were also a lot of jokes. Fewer people had showers in the 1970s, so couples sharing a bath was one of the saucier running gags.

I remember being so impressed by this Blitz spirit at the time that when the drought had really ended and the reservoirs were visibly becoming healthy, I got genuinely angry that the local water board refused for weeks to stop nagging about their economic plight. As a result, some careful souls were still siphoning bathwater months later, into rainswept gardens. It didn’t seem fair.

One glaringly obvious difference then, which has probably contributed to the contrast with today’s stroppiness, was that we all knew that we owned the water system.

Those who ran it were civil servants, like the police, or nurses, or train drivers – secure jobs but not particularly cushy. When water was privatised under Mrs Thatcher in 1989, with a hefty sweetener of public money to entice investors, England and Wales got the only wholly commercialised water supply in the world (Scotland’s and Northern Ireland’s stayed public).

There have been some benefits, some good feats of engineering and, at times, some decent management but, as the population grew, pipes got older and shareholders more demanding. We know of the inefficiencies we now suffer, and we also know that the system is not ours. In its ownership and motive it’s every bit as commercial and international as Netflix or Disney.

Drought Minister Denis Howell speaks next to a standpipe in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, during a visit in the summer of 1976 

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That, I think, makes a difference to anyone’s willingness to manoeuvre watering-cans with an aching back or save up cabbage-water to wash the dog. It really does.

But we are also less inclined to follow the small rules, it seems. When infrastructure breaks down, so does the public’s eagerness to help out.

Not only has Britain’s belief in a mutually beneficial relationship with our utilities deteriorated, but we have become atomised within communities and less likely to help out for the general good of everyone.

So, it’s interesting to watch the small rebellions of some, and the admirable and citizen-like behaviour of others. And perhaps it’s also useful to remember that this too shall pass.

Just as hot, dry Britain was reaching the end of its tether, in the last week of August 1976 the Prime Minister James Callaghan appointed a specific Minister for Drought: Denis Howell.

There was talk of getting him to do a rain dance, though at least one clergyman condemned the very idea. Manfully, the cheerful little Brummie Howell invited reporters to his home and spoke of how he regularly shared the bath with his wife, Brenda.

Within days, torrential rain caused floods across the hard dry land, and he was renamed minister for floods. In the subsequent winter, 1978-9, there were blizzards and naturally we all hailed him as minister for snow. Ah, happy days.