Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, Our Freedom: Then and Now is a nationwide photography project exploring how communities understand freedom.

The show opened at London’s Southbank Centre in April and is now touring the UK. This exhibition offers an alternative perspective to the idea that this is currently a nation divided. From the Highlands of Scotland to libraries in southwest England, it asks a simple yet powerful question: what did freedom mean in 1945, and what does it mean now?

The Socially Engaged Photography Network sent 22 photographers to work closely with community projects, ensuring the photographs were created in collaboration with participants. This approach is distinct from traditional photojournalism, which often speaks about rather than with the people photographed.

By spending time in places such as Maesteg Town Hall and libraries in Stornoway, artists including Johannah Churchill, Sam Ivin and Leticia Valverdes have focused on making photographs that portray the viewpoints of the people involved.

Projects marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war can easily lapse into cliche, but Our Freedom: Then and Now avoids sentimentality. In fact, part of its power lies in engaging with the complexities of contemporary society and culture. It avoids simple slogans and instead the photographs foreground thoughtful reflections on conflict and the ongoing importance of finding common ground and sustaining connection.

As Stephanie Peacock, the UK’s minister for sport, tourism, civil society and youth, said at the launch, the project comes at an important time. With fewer people having direct memories of the war, sharing their reminiscences alongside the voices of schoolchildren and young artists creates a conversation between those who remember 1945 and those who will shape 2045.

Advertisement

This exchange fosters two forms of understanding: participants learn about themselves, and viewers learn about others. According to Simon Mellor, Arts Council England’s deputy chief-executive, these works bring local experiences into national conversations, offering a valuable space for dialogue in difficult times.

This was certainly my experience. I left the gallery surprised by the many ways freedom is experienced and understood across the UK. Whether it’s a veteran in Wolverhampton or a student in Hartlepool, the cumulative effect of individuals’ thoughts about freedom and community was fascinating and thought-provoking.

The exhibition is grounded by poet laureate Simon Armitage’s specially commissioned poem, Freedom Road. Echoing the participant photographs, the poem shifts its focus from grand images of liberation to the simple, everyday actions that make up real freedom. He writes:

You can’t dig up freedom like a potato

from the verges of Freedom Way, or pan it

from Freedom Beck like inklings of gold;

Advertisement

it won’t be delivered to Freedom Avenue

gift-wrapped in silver string.

Armitage suggests that freedom is most real when it goes unnoticed, such as the ability to disagree with a neighbour, walk where we want, and live as we choose. This idea aligns with the exhibition’s main goal: to show that freedom is something we live every day – not just a piece of history to remember now and then, but something current and vital.

The exhibition on tour

The exhibition’s tour is as ambitious as the work itself. After starting at the Southbank Centre, it travels to places like Eden Court in Inverness, the McKechnie Institute in South Ayrshire and the Strand Arts Centre in Belfast, bringing the art back to the communities that helped create it.

This return is important because it shows that art doesn’t just happen in big cities; it grows from local libraries and community centres and derives its power from these regional identities. In 2025, more than 530,000 people took part in the events and performances leading up to this exhibition.

By steering clear of easy sentimentality, Our Freedom: Then and Now does something more meaningful. It offers an honest look at how we live together. The exhibition recognises the difficult parts of our shared histories while reminding us of our shared humanity.

In a nation that can feel divided, Our Freedom: Then and Now uses photography to highlight what people have in common and where we might work harder to find those commonalities. It’s a reminder that, even though freedom requires work, it is not only worth it but necessary.

It is now almost a decade since the UK voted for Brexit and since the tariffs of US president Donald Trump’s first term increased global trade frictions. Brexit removed the UK from the European single market for goods and services. Now though, the country is proposing a pivot back towards alignment with EU regulations.

What could have not been widely predicted back in 2016 was the COVID pandemic, nor a war on European soil. The UK has been exposed to these shocks without the EU support system. So what may once have been impossible to imagine is now on the cards: adopting EU single market rules under new UK legislation.

In May 2025, the UK and EU reached a new trade agreement, paving the way for both sides to move closer on their economies and business. This was hastened by unpredictable US trade tariffs and a weakening of the US-UK-EU relationship. In addition, it has been estimated in a comprehensive study that Brexit has reduced the size of the UK economy by 6-8%.

Politically, the approach announced by the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, is a courageous step. UK legislation would allow the country to adopt new EU laws without the need for parliament to vote each time. But any plan is certain to provoke strong opposition from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

However, it is a signal of the seriousness of the UK’s intentions to move closer to the EU by adapting to its regulations and giving up independence from EU law. That is a costly move for the UK in terms of its credibility, but the U-turn should reinforce its commitment to the EU.

But beyond this, there are three clear benefits to the UK.

1. The EU is built on rules and regulations that guide the bloc’s labour market, trade and security systems. Alignment would clearly help UK businesses, consumers and individual workers to manoeuvre within these systems.

2. By breaking from the single market, the UK chose a costlier approach to trading and investing across the EU border. Aligning regulations would reduce cross-border bureaucracy.

3. The EU is looking for new trading partners after supply chain disruptions from COVID and the Ukraine war – not to mention the current impact on oil and gas supplies. The EU does not need to rely on the UK, but a new direction in the relationship could reduce the threat of supply chain disruption in future.

A better deal for consumers?

So what could this mean for UK businesses and consumers? Food producers trading within the UK-EU zone would have a quicker turnaround of their fresh produce. This would reach shop shelves in the UK and EU more quickly, giving shoppers better-quality fresh foods.

Reducing the amount of complex paperwork and export health certificates at borders would allow a free flow of fresh food even between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which remained part of the single market). This trade has been disrupted since Brexit and affects both trade between food producers due to paperwork and border delays, and food security.

Border checks, paperwork and adapting to legal requirements are expensive and so increase food prices (and with that, inflation). Bringing trade between the EU and the UK closer could reduce these costs, and should also allow producers to benefit more from global value chains.

US tariffs are at their highest levels since the second world war, and the knock-on cost effects of supply chain disruption in the Middle East make a strong case for strengthening ties between neighbours.

Going forward, it will be resilience rather than efficiency in trade that will be important for both businesses and nations. Both will want to be able to reconfigure networks at speed. If inflation rises due to product shortages, governments have limited fiscal space to offer direct support to citizens (which would mean increased levels of spending), or to cut taxes.

Another benefit could come in the form of foreign direct investment into the UK from overseas. In 2025, this began shifting from low-cost developing countries towards capital-intensive and technologically-driven investments in developed countries – and especially in the EU (Germany, Italy and France).

Alignment with EU regulation could give investors more confidence to commit to the UK. Foreign direct investment in renewable energy and AI products, for example, would benefit both the UK’s workers and its consumers.

This is a time of new geopolitical alliances, cooperation and blocs. Trading and investment options could help secure economic, political and societal stability in a volatile world. So far, this is a relatively small step by the UK – but starting to align to EU regulations could ease a complex relationship.

A popular Spanish airport is set to close for five weeks this spring to carry out construction on its runways.

Santiago-Rosalia de Castro airport in northern Spain will be closed from 23 April to 27 May for runway resurfacing works.

During this period, the airport will be closed to all air traffic, and no take offs or landings will take place.

Airport operator Aena said: “If you have any questions about your flight status, schedule changes, or possible rebooking, we recommend contacting your airline.

The airport near Santiago de Compostela is the busiest airport in Galicia and the second-busiest in northern Spain.

Several airlines operate flights out of the aviation hub, including British Airways, Ryanair and Vueling, with hundreds of journeys expected to be impacted during May half-term.

Elsewhere in Spain, holidaymakers face severe disruption as airport staff stage an “indefinite” strike across the country.

Industrial action by ground staff has been ongoing at 12 major airports, including Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Palma, Ibiza, Malaga and the Canary Islands since 30 March.

Groundforce and Menzies employees are on strike over an ongoing pay dispute.

Spanish airport operator Aena said in a notice: “Groundforce staff have called an indefinite strike starting 30 March. Partial work stoppages will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during three time slots: 5-7am, 11am-5pm, and 10pm-midnight.

“Please contact the airline to find out the status of your flight.”

Read more: All the airlines cancelling flights and adding extra charges amid jet fuel crisis

Weather maps predict temperatures will surge to 26C across parts of the UK at the start of May, with 74 counties including Cambridgeshire expected to see highs of 20C or above

Advertisement

Weather forecasting maps indicate that temperatures could climb to as high as 26C in certain parts of the UK in the coming days.

The data reveals that up to 74 counties across England, Scotland and Wales are set to experience temperatures of 20C or above at the beginning of May. Northern Ireland is forecast to reach a slightly lower peak of 19C.

According to the GFS weather model, the temperature rise will begin on 4 May, with 21C and 22C expected across much of southern and central England. North Wales could also enjoy highs of 21C at around 6pm.

The mercury is forecast to continue climbing throughout the week, reaching 24C in the south-east on 5 May, with London benefiting most from the warmth. Parts of Scotland could touch 20C at 6pm, while Wales may see highs of 23C.

The GFS model data suggests 6 May will be the hottest day, with temperatures of up to 26C in and around London. The Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia could all record highs of between 24C and 25C, though Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to remain considerably cooler, reports the Mirror.

Across this three-day period, the maps indicate that 74 counties or county boroughs could reach 20C or above, with the south-east of England experiencing the most intense heat.

UK regions facing 20C or above in May

England

• Bedfordshire
• Berkshire
• Bristol
• Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire
• Cheshire
• City of London
• Cornwall
• County Durham
• Cumbria
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Dorset
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Gloucestershire
• Greater London
• Greater Manchester
• Hampshire
• Herefordshire
• Hertfordshire
• Isle of Wight
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Merseyside
• Norfolk
• North Yorkshire
• Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Rutland
• Shropshire
• Somerset
• South Yorkshire
• Staffordshire
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Tyne and Wear
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands
• West Sussex
• West Yorkshire
• Wiltshire
• Worcestershire

Wales

• Gwynedd
• Conwy
• Denbighshire
• Flintshire
• Wrexham
• Powys
• Ceredigion
• Pembrokeshire
• Carmarthenshire
• Swansea
• Neath Port Talbot
• Bridgend
• Vale of Glamorgan
• Cardiff
• Rhondda Cynon Taf
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Caerphilly
• Blaenau Gwent
• Torfaen
• Monmouthshire
• Newport

Scotland

• Roxburghshire
• Kirkcudbrightshire
• Morayshire
• Banffshire

Despite the scorching conditions, this hot period at the beginning of May is unlikely to be classified as an official heatwave. A heatwave is formally declared when temperatures meet or surpass the heatwave threshold for three days running.

The heatwave threshold ranges from 25C to 28C throughout the UK. It sits at 28C in the south-east of England where conditions tend to be hotter, and falls to 25C the further north you travel.

Shaun Murphy has blasted an audience member who berated one of his shots during the opening session of his first-round match against Fan Zhengyi at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.

Murphy said he lost concentration after a spectator in the front row muttered “s*** shot” during a gruelling battle which the former champion edged 5-4, ahead of Tuesday evening’s conclusion.

Murphy wrote on Instagram: “Just a friendly reminder that if you’re sat on the front row in the Crucible and I play a shot that may not work for a particular reason, it’s probably best not to say ‘s*** shot’ out loud. I’ve got ears.”

Murphy joked: “I missed my last shot as I was contemplating which end (of) my cue to hit him with.”

Judd Trump hauled back an early 3-1 deficit to nudge 5-4 in front of Gary Wilson in a match that was also due to conclude on Tuesday night.

Wilson made a superb break of 139 as he moved into a commanding lead but Trump responded brilliantly with breaks of 128 and 77 as he looked to go deep in the tournament and protect his current status as world number one.

Liam Pullen made four half-centuries but still trails 13th seed Chris Wakelin 5-4 after the first session of their first-round match that concludes on Wednesday.

Pullen, 20, looked unfazed on his tournament debut and delivered a crucial break of 58 to win the final frame of the morning and keep himself well in contention.

Following the last round of talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Iran’s foreign minister and negotiator Abbas Araghchi declared in a post on X on April 17 that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open”. This came after he also signalled that his government could be flexible over the issue of nuclear enrichment as well as Iran’s support for its proxies in the region.

Then came an abrupt correction. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who was recently appointed as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, is understood to have complained to the IRGC, submitting a report that criticised Araghchi for “deviation from the delegation’s mandate”.

The negotiating team was called back to Tehran. Araghchi was attacked by state-run media which said his post had “provided the best opportunity for Trump to go beyond reality, declare himself the winner of the war and celebrate victory.” And the Strait of Hormuz was declared closed.

This episode demonstrates the new reality in the Islamic Republic, where the IRGC increasingly calls the shots in all matters of statecraft and government. The rest of the state is a façade at most.

Over the six weeks of war, Iran’s former leadership has been decimated: the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in a US strike on the first day of US and Israeli attacks. Many of his senior colleagues have also been killed. Iran is no longer best understood as a state with a powerful militia. It has become, more precisely, a powerful militia with a state – a political order with the IRGC at its core.

The other traditional centres of power – the government and the clergy – have effectively been relegated to mere front organisations. Amid the fog of war, even the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, appears merely as a legitimising ornament. In any case, Khamenei is reported to have been severely injured in the attack that killed his father and is apparently taking no part in government.

So who is running the country? The answer points unmistakably to the IRGC and its leader, Ahmad Vahidi.

Guardians of the revolution

The IRGC was created after the 1979 revolution, precisely because Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his allies did not trust the conventional state apparatus to defend the revolution. Over time it grew beyond its role as guardians of the revolution into an all-encompassing, all-channel network. It became a military, an intelligence service, an economic conglomerate and a regional expeditionary network. Its internal security force, the Basij, gave it an arm of mass social control inside Iran. The Quds force was set up to export the revolution across Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and beyond.

Far from destroying this architecture, sanctions deepened it. They led to the creation of front companies linked to the IRGC doing illicit deals and operating circuits of patronage that enriched those closest to the centre of power. What emerged was a parallel state that gradually outgrew the formal one.

The IRGC is organised as a network with a core and a periphery. Its central hub decides strategy. This is surrounded by a network of decentralised cells capable of operating with a high degree of autonomy. This is called Iran’s “mosaic defence doctrine”. And it was built to operate precisely the way it is now: to keep fighting amid attempts at decapitation and disruption.

A new leader emerges

After IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour was killed on the opening day of the conflict, Ahmad Vahidi, a former interior minister and a founding member of the IRGC, has emerged to take his place. After being appointed in an emergency capacity after his predecessor was killed, he has consolidated effective control as the civilian presidency has been hollowed out.

With the new supreme leader apparently incapacitated and the clergy sidelined, Vahidi and his group of allies – IRGC commanders and security council hardliners such as Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr – have set the mandate and red lines for the ceasefire talks.

The IRGC’s red lines are clear: it will not surrender uranium enrichment altogether; it wants to preserve its missile program and the axis of resistance; it wants sanctions to lifted and access to Iranian assets overseas that are presently frozen. Room for negotiation only exists on technical details about enrichment levels, timelines for lifting sanctions or the language of any deals that are agreed.

In times of war, states tend to centralise as civilian institutions shrink. Hard men tend to rise, especially after many of the influential political pragmatists, such as Ali Larijani, the former secretary of the security council, were deliberately taken out by Israel.

The IRGC was not suddenly conjured by this war, but prepared by decades of institutional entrenchment, economic capture and delegated coercion. The IRGC’s military dictatorship in the making needed this war to consolidate its influence over competing nodes in the network – most importantly the clergy.

This has profound consequences for the negotiations. Instead of being straightforward bargaining between statesmen, Washington’s real estate moguls turned negotiators are speaking to Iranian counterparts who are on a short lead held by the IRGC. Progress in negotiations should not be judged by what Iran’s diplomats say in public, but by what the guard allows to be implemented in practice.

Trump and Israel’s failed decapitation strategy leaves a potent system in place that feels emboldened by the desperation in the White House to find a diplomatic off-ramp. To think that this war-hardened system of hardliners will capitulate is wishful thinking.

The past few days have made it clear that the IRGC is now a militia with a state using the civic and military institutions of the Islamic Republic as its outer skin. While there is room for negotiation to build a mutually acceptable deal, the US administration needs to be realistic about where the IRGC’s red lines are and what card it actually has to play against a resilient network with a very high threshold for pain.

Donovan Tanaka Mkutchwa, 26, was found dead on Oakdale Golf Course in Harrogate on Thursday, January 29.

Coroner Mark Armitage gave Mr Mkutchwa’s cause of death as being from the effects of cocaine.

He told Northallerton Coroners’ Court that Mr Mkutchwa’s body was identified by a police officer on the scene.

The coroner adjourned the inquest to a later date after the brief hearing on Tuesday (April 21).

Mr Mkutchwa’s family has described him as a “deeply loved son, brother and friend whose life was complex but whose character and potential should not be forgotten”.

A family spokesperson previously told The Press the death of Mr Mkutchwa, who grew up in Harrogate and attended Harrogate Grammar School, has left an “unimaginable void” in the lives of his loved ones.

Donovan Tanaka Mkutchwa as a schoolboy (Image: Family)

Speaking after the hearing on Tuesday, the family spokesperson said they “acknowledged that [Mr Mkutchwa’s] death has been attributed to cocaine use”, but added: “As a family, we do not consider the current explanation to be complete or sufficiently supported by the known circumstances.

“There remain material gaps in the factual narrative that require careful and thorough examination.

“In particular, there is no clear or coherent account of how [Mr Mkutchwa] came to be at the golf course, nor how he could have ingested a substance in a quantity said to be fatal without any apparent intervention, incident, or witness account in what is understood to be a public setting.”

The family spokesperson said there were also “specific factual matters that remain unexplained” such as Mr Mkutchwa’s personal items, including his phone, jacket and head covering, not being accounted for.

‘We will continue to engage fully with the inquest,’ says family

They added that Mr Mkutchwa’s clothing was found to be “heavily soiled with mud” when his body was found and there were “visible blood spots present on his t-shirt”.

“These are material factors that, in our view, require proper forensic consideration and explanation within the evidential record,” the family spokesperson said.

“Taken together, these issues raise legitimate questions about the sequence of events leading up to his death and whether all relevant circumstances have been fully established.

“We therefore expect that the inquest process will rigorously examine all available evidence, including toxicology, forensic findings, timeline reconstruction, witness testimony, and any potential third-party involvement, to ensure that no line of inquiry is left unexplored.

“We will continue to engage fully with the inquest and reserve our position pending the outcome of a comprehensive and evidence-based investigation.

“Our focus remains on establishing a clear and complete account of what occurred in the period leading up to our son’s death.”

They urged anyone with information about his death to contact North Yorkshire Police quoting reference number 12260017377.

Mr Mkutchwa’s death followed him being released from a four year and 10-month jail sentence which he received in May 2024 after pleading guilty to four drug dealing charges. He was arrested after being stopped by police in Harrogate in May 2023, when he was already serving a suspended sentence for drugs offences.

Current guidelines in England state that offenders sentenced to four years or more are eligible for release halfway or 40 per cent of the way through their sentence. Some serious offenders are released at the two-thirds point, according to the Sentencing Council.

The family spokesperson said that while Mr Mkutchwa “did have a run-in with the law in recent years”, he had “taken responsibility and paid for those offences through the court system”.

They said the family believes Mr Mkutchwa “was in a period of reflection and was working toward reshaping and rebuilding his life” before his death.

“Like many young people, mistakes can happen,” they said of Mr Mkutchwa’s jail sentence. “But those mistakes do not define the whole of a person’s life. Donovan had faced the consequences and was looking toward turning things around and moving forward.”

• The Samaritans say that whatever you’re going through, you can call them for free, at any time, from any phone, on 116 123.

When Sir Olly took over in the Foreign Office on January 20, Lord Mandelson had already gone through the Cabinet Office’s “due diligence” process, approval had been given by the King, the US had agreed to him, he was already allowed in the building and was being granted access to “highly classified briefings” on a case-by-case basis – without his security clearance being confirmed.