A tiny Suffolk village is to hold a crunch meeting within days to ask residents whether it should launch a Piddington-style independence referendum in protest at government plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers at a nearby military base.

A delegation from Barnham travelled to the trailblazing Oxfordshire village last night to learn from the high-profile poll there that garnered international attention.

The five-strong team, led by parish council chairman John Bauer, have now decided to hold a special parish meeting within a fortnight to discuss holding an in/out vote and other measures it can use to highlight its plight.

The urgency is due to the speed at which Labour is trying to push the scheme through as it tries to move migrants from expensive hotels.

Details only emerged in June and a decision is expected this autumn, with asylum seekers potentially moving in by Christmas.

Mr Bauer told the Daily Mail: ‘The whole exercise is because people in Barnham and Piddington feel that the democratic process, as far as the asylum seekers accommodation process is concerned, just wasn’t working.

‘When we heard about it, it was quite shocking because we were being asked about something that hadn’t yet been passed on to us by the Government.

‘We knew nothing, the district council knew nothing, the county council knew nothing and the MPs knew nothing. That is not how the democratic process should work.’

The delegation to Piddington included another parish councillor, Conservative district councillor Andrew Smith, who is chairman of its development control committee, and two villagers who will be able to devote significant personal time to setting up a referendum or other measures.

‘We will be putting a proposal to them [villagers] which could well include a referendum and if there’s an appetite for that. If there is then a yes, we will go ahead,’ Mr Bauer said.

The meeting will have Piddington Parish Council chairman Tim McNally as a guest to explain his community’s approach to plans for asylum seekers’ accommodation in his area.

It is also expected to launch a ‘skills audit’ similar to one carried out in Piddington which identified what expertise individuals can bring to the resistance.

Mr Bauer, 66, said: ‘I don’t think the Government are listening to us. The fact they’ve taken this very high-handed route without even informing their MPs and they’re using the urgent Crown Development route [where applications are decided by the Secretary of State] to get it through with indecent haste I think means they aren’t listening.

‘But something like the referendum that Piddington has given them pause for thought.’

The village, which only learned of the plans in June, is considering a Piddington-style independence referendum

The vote in Piddington earlier this month over Home Office plans for MoD Bicester saw 90 per cent of locals opt to secede from the UK.

Barnham, which has around 580 residents, would see the population more than double if the plan to accommodate asylum seekers is given the go-ahead.

This ratio could be even greater after details of a private meeting between Home Office officials and councillors in Norfolk, which borders RAF Barnham, were leaked in which the Government department admitted ‘a lot more’ migrants could be housed at the facilities than had been admitted.

The village has a hall, church and primary school but no other amenities such as a shop or pub where migrants – who will be able to come and go from the base as they please – will be able to spend time.

Protests have taken place outside RAF Barnham since the controversial plans for the base, as well as the one in Bicester and a third site in Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, were announced three months ago.

Violent disorder also broke out over several nights two miles away from Barnham in Thetford, Norfolk, last month, after it emerged the Home Office was looking to quadruple the number of asylum seekers placed in private accommodation.

Until now, Barnham has relied on an ‘evidential’ approach involving planning issues such as environmental concerns.

Protesters gather outside RAF Barnham in July

The base was once used to store nuclear and chemical weapons and there are concerns the land could be contaminated.

The site is also a nesting ground for stone curlews, a species of bird so endangered that any development within 1,500m is forbidden.

Locals were vocal in their opposition to the Home Office’s plans at Barnham’s last parish council meeting.

Mother-of-two Collette Skelly, 58, who has lived in the village for 15 years and was at the meeting, said: ‘It’s a good way of raising publicity.

‘At the moment, there is nothing on the news about Barnham. So Piddington had to do it as a publicity stunt to raise attention.’

A man in his 60s added: ‘It’s on the news, they’re questioning the Prime Minister about Piddington today, so it’s working, isn’t it. I’d absolutely support it.’

Adrian Whittle, the leader of Reform UK at West Suffolk Council, declared he would support the village’s right to hold a referendum.

‘It raises the profile that people haven’t just given up, they want their country back, they want their lives back,’ he said.

An aerial view of part of the base at MoD Bicester

Some were concerned that it would become a distraction from the formal planning approach to blocking the scheme.

James Hollins said: ‘The referendum is rubbish, it can’t go anywhere, it’s got no legal standing.

‘We can demonstrate but they’re not going to listen.’

Announcing the referendum result on Wednesday last week, Piddington Parish Council chairman Mr McNally said: ‘We have given a message to the world.’

Vice-chair Susannah Parden added: ‘We are Piddington, the village that roars.’

Tory home affairs spokesman Chris Philp said the vote should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the government.

The Charlotte Beauvoir actress has two very famous parents who fans will recognise

There’s been plenty of change to speak of in season seven of All Creatures Great and Small, including blossoming romances for the men of Skeldale House.

The much-loved Channel 5 period drama returned on Thursday (September 17), entering a post-war era, taking viewers back to Spring 1946. The characters are finally enjoying a more peaceful world, and things are looking up for James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph), who continues to impress as a vet and as Helen’s (Rachel Shenton) husband.

Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) is now in a relationship with Dorothy (Maimie McCoy), the returning long-term friend of Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley). Meanwhile, the eccentric vet’s brother, Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse), is now also committed to Charlotte Beauvoir (Gaia Wise).

The pair originally met after Tristan answered a veterinary call to examine and save her beloved horse in series six. The pair quickly found a lot of common ground over their shared traumatic experiences during the war, with Tristan serving on the front line and Charlotte serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in Sicily, looking after animals.

Despite Charlotte hailing from an upper-class background, as her father is General Beauvoir (Jonathan Hyde), and Tristan living in a cramped Skeldale House, their relationship continues to develop as they navigate life together in the Yorkshire Dales.

Speaking about Tristan’s on-screen relationship with Charlotte, actor Callum Woodhouse told PBS: “I really love it too. It’s been one of my favourite relationships I’ve ever got to play on screen. I think Gaia [Wise], who plays Charlotte, is one of the most wonderful actresses I’ve gotten to work with.

“She was a joy to play all those scenes with, she’s just spectacular. And I think our chemistry is wonderful, so I really lucked out in finding someone that I get along with. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for Tristan. I think he’s past flitting from woman to woman.”

Who plays Charlotte in All Creatures Great and Small?

Actress Gaia Wise plays Charlotte in the period drama, and fans may recognise her from crime dramas including Silent Witness and The Chelsea Detective, in which she had guest roles.

The 26-year-old, from London, also starred in the films A Walk in the Woods, based on Bill Bryson’s book of the same name, and the suspense thriller Dead of Winter, both of which also star her mum, Dame Emma Thompson.

Oscar winner Emma, 67, has enjoyed an acting career spanning decades with notable movie roles including Margaret Schlegel in Howards End, Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Karen in iconic holiday romance Love Actually, Professor Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter, Agent O in Men in Black, and the title role in Nanny McPhee.

In 1995, Emma met her future husband, Greg Wise, while filming the period drama Sense and Sensibility, where he played John Willoughby, and they married in 2003. The couple welcomed their daughter Gaia into the world in 1999 before formally adopting Tindyebwa Agaba four years later.

Greg, 60, originally from Newcastle, has starred in a long list of television shows and movies, including Johnny English, Walking on Sunshine, and Military Wives. He is also famed for playing Lord Louis Mountbatten in series one and two of Netflix’s The Crown.

All Creatures Great and Small airs Thursday at 9pm on Channel 5

When comparing Scotland with the rest of the UK, NRS uses a wider measure of age-adjusted drug poisoning deaths.

This includes all deaths where the underlying cause was listed as mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance abuse or poisoning by drugs whether accidental, intentional, of unknown intent or as a result of assault.

The most recent comparable data are for 2024 and show that Scotland had an age-adjusted death rate of 216 per million compared with 91 for England, 140 for Wales and 135 for Northern Ireland.

Catriona Matheson, professor of substance use at Stirling University, told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that the potency of nitazenes was unpredictable. Some can be 50 times stronger than heroin.

“People are not expecting that in the drugs that they’re taking,” she said.

“They may be buying what they think is heroin and in fact it may contain several other substances in it.”

Matheson said an increase in “polydrug use” in recent years had contributed to the problem and could prove to be lethal.

Gambit Corporate Finance has assessed the acquisition of more than 2,000 Welsh firms from 2000 to 2025.

The vast majority of firms acquired in Wales over the last 26 years remain operating here, countering a narrative that ownership exits can lead to significant extraction with businesses being hollowed out or moved elsewhere.

A new in-depth analysis by Cardiff-based boutique corporate advisory firm Gambit, based on more than 2,000 exit deals in Wales from 2000 to 2025, shows that following a change of ownership, more than 90% of firms remain actively trading in Wales.

The most popular route to exiting over the period was via a trade sale, with 74% of shareholders choosing this transfer of ownership option. The second most popular exit route was via a management buyout (MBO) or management buy-in (MBI), which accounted for 21% of the deals surveyed. Notable MBO/MBI exits were the MBO of Pembrokeshire holiday resort Bluestone Resort in 2013 for £87m and the MBO of Flintshire-based supermarket chain Iceland in 2020 for £115m.

There were 29 deals with a value of more than £100m. The highest, at £3bn, involved the sale of the assets of what was the listed utilities group Hyder.

During the 26-year period, South East Wales accounted for 61% of all Welsh exits, South West Wales 22% and North Wales 17%.

There were 34 flotations during the period, with the largest IPO (initial public offering) being Admiral’s £368m flotation in 2004.

During 2000-2011, 55% of exits involved businesses that were less than 10 years old. This dropped to 38% between 2012 and 2025. Gambit said this was symptomatic of the lack of available liquidity during a prolonged recession and market uncertainty around Brexit.

At 57, the average shareholder age at exit has been rising over the past decade. This may be an indication that external factors, such as Covid-19, have delayed owners from transferring their businesses.

On the figure that more than 90% of firms have remained active in Wales post change of ownership, founder partner of Gambit, Frank Holmes, said: “It’s a myth we can finally put to bed. There’s a persistent assumption in Wales that when a local business is bought, it gets hollowed out: the business relocates, the jobs go.

“We individually checked what actually happened to over 2,000 exits across 26 years. Around 90% of genuinely Welsh companies that were acquired are still active and trading in Wales today. Change of ownership isn’t the threat people assume it to be, particularly for buyouts and IPOs.”

The research shows that exit activity in the second half of the period – 2013 to 2025 – comfortably outpaces the first half, with 1,251 exits against 843, representing an average of 96 exit deals a year versus 65.

Mr Holmes said: “Whichever way you cut it, the Welsh market has been getting busier, not quieter. A catalyst for the spike can be attributed to the October 2024 Budget. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rose immediately on its announcement and continued in 2025 and 2026.

“That’s a strong incentive to complete a sale before a deadline, and we know from our own activity it pulled a good deal of transactions forward into 2024 that might otherwise have been executed a year or two later.

“However, it was also four years post-Covid, which allowed companies to regain financial performance and improve valuations, thereby demonstrating the sustainable profitability necessary for exit, fortuitously in a strong, liquid market.”

The research shows that 50 firms were acquired by employee ownership trusts (EOTs) – a structure that did provide 100% CGT relief for sellers. The EOT exit route could well have peaked.

Mr Holmes said: “The maturation of the employee ownership trust option became increasingly favoured for predominantly people-services companies, with over 50 transactions in the period.

“This option benefited from the 100% CGT allowance or nil-rate tax incentive, since halved, which was compelling for owners but often funded with revolving debt structures, compromising growth potential. The jury is out on the sustainability of some of these businesses, as some notable failures have already emerged.”

On business owners considering an exit, or a partial one, Mr Holmes said: “Selling up should not be viewed as being a threat to their legacy and the economic wellbeing of their employees and other stakeholders, as it’s sometimes made out to be. It is an important factor in the lifecycle of a business, often left unaddressed and best approached in a planned fashion.

“An ageing generation of owners is going to drive a lot of succession decisions over the next few years.

“Those businesses which have a succession plan will be the ones that make themselves genuinely investable, by adopting tech and innovation-led strategies, cultivating credible management, thereby creating capacity to grow and understanding the optimum routes for exit, well before making a decision to embark on a transaction process.”

Congratulations to Emily Robinson, historian and professor at the University of Sussex, who is our 2026 winner of The Conversation Prize for writers for her entry on Ravenser Odd, the sunken medieval island that continues to inspire and obsess.

Now in its second year, the prize invites academics to submit a 2,000-word article and book pitch. The competition is run in partnership with Faber and Curtis Brown, with the winner receiving mentorship from both organisations and £1,000.

A huge thank you to everyone who entered this year. The standard was very high and it was very difficult to pick just one winner and one runner up.

We are particularly grateful to our judges: Catherine Clarke, professor and director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community at the Institute of Historical Research; Tim Minshall, the inaugural Dr John C. Taylor professor of innovation at the University of Cambridge; and Steven Vass, senior editor for Science Insights at The Conversation. Also to Fiona Crosby, senior commissioning editor for non-fiction at Faber, and Elliot Prior, associate agent at Curtis Brown.

The judges said: “After much deliberation, the judges have unanimously selected Emily’s article on Ravenser Odd as the winner of the competition. It tells the hugely intriguing story of a mysterious island in the Humber in the 13th century that then disappeared beneath the waves.

Her story does a lovely job of taking the reader on the writer’s journey to this remote corner of England, as well as exploring the fascination with the folklore of the island. The judges thought it would make a beautiful book with broad appeal that feels particularly timely in light of the threat of climate change.”

Emily said: “Entering the Conversation Prize helped me to really focus on why this story fascinates me. I’m now looking forward to working with the mentors and working out how to make it equally fascinating to other people.”

Emily is a historian of political ideas, identities and cultures in modern Britain, with a particular interest in the way that both time and feeling are conceived within different ideological traditions. Her current research focuses on popular understandings of history, and changing cultures of history-telling through the example of Ravenser Odd.

You can read her winning story here.

Runner up in the competition is Alison Garden, senior lecturer and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast, for her story on mixed marriages during the troubles in Ireland and what they reveal about the more intimate side of conflict in Ireland.

The judges said: “Alison’s entry focuses on a much overlooked part of Ireland’s story: all the marriages that straddled the religious divide and how they affected the lives of these people and their families.”

The judges “commended the quality of the writing in Alison’s story, and the case studies that told of everything from houses being burned to mothers sidelined in their children’s baptisms. This has the potential to become a fascinating and important book.”

Alison said: “This is such a vital part of the Irish story, and it just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It is a real privilege and joy to be able to share these histories. Through this project, I’ve talked to huge numbers of people, in Ireland and beyond, about mixed marriages and mixed families. I wanted to see whether there was a broader readership for this work and I’m absolutely delighted that taking that chance has brought this neglected intimate history to a wider audience.‘

Fans noticed an announcement could be on the horizon after a countdown appeared on her website and she changed some of the letters in her social media bios to zeroes

Taylor Swift surprised fans yesterday (September 22) by announcing new music. The songstress teased fans with a series of hidden clues and a countdown on her website, sending the rumour mill into overdrive.

The Blank Space singer confirmed that ‘Patient Zero’ will be released on streaming services on Friday, but it’s not yet clear whether the song represents a new era or a vault track from one of her previous releases.

Its release marks Swift’s first since she married NFL star Travis Kelce at Madison Square Gardens in July, and her first single since the Toy Story 5 soundtrack song ‘I knew It, I knew You’, which topped the charts this summer.

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“I’ve been impatiently waiting to tell you that my brand new single “Patient Zero” will be out on September 25 (!!!!!!) and it’s available to pre-order now on my website for 24 hours,” she wrote on social media following the teasers.

A series of clues pointed to a big announcement in the run up to the reveal, with her bio on Instagram and X changed to read, “And, baby, that’s sh0w business f0r y0u.” Each ‘O’ in the phrase was replaced with a zero.

It was paired with a countdown clock on her website, which then eventually revealed the upcoming single. Fans prior to this had been speculating that the countdown was something to do with an album re-record or re-release, Taylor Swift, while others suggested the music star was hinting at a deluxe version of her latest album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, or even a totally new album.

At the same time, one of Swift’s beloved backing dancers, Kameron Saunders fuelled the fire that a tour announcement could also be imminent. The backing dancer shared a Instagram post, which showed an image emblazoned across a digital screen next to Manchester’s Arndale Shopping Centre.

Kam toured with Taylor Swift on her record-breaking Eras Tour which hit UK venues including Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and Wembley – the latter including a record-breaking eight nights at Wembley Stadium. Kameron teased a clue with an image showing him in a scene from the ‘Opalite’ video in which he holds a judge’s panel with the number zero on it.

Manchester was not included on the Eras Tour, with the closest location for fans over at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. Taylor Swift last played Manchester during the Reputation Tour at the Etihad Stadium in 2018, so many fans will be hoping it might finally be time for the singer to come back to the city.

Taylor Swift and Spotify billboards also recently appeared in New York City’s Times Square to celebrate the launch of all her music videos on the streaming platform.

‘Danny Tommo’ is being investigated by police after he shared footage of himself slashing a dinghy in the English Channel while a rescuer was still on board. 

The anti-migrant activist – real name Daniel Thomas – brought his boat up alongside the dinghy after all the migrants on board had been picked up by the RNLI.

Seconds later, a French rescuer stepped onto the empty dinghy to secure it, before Thomas sliced through one side of it.

‘You’re on English territory. This is England, this is not France any more,’ he told the rescuer. 

He then shouted at the Frenchman to get off the dinghy and return to his own boat. 

‘Get off the boat, you’ve got time to get off the boat,’ he said several times before shouting ‘let’s go’ and sailing off. 

The 37-year-old told his online audience that he was heading towards Gosport – where a crowd of black-clad protesters from his group, Patriot Platform, were expecting the migrants to be taken ashore from lifeboats. 

But they were instead taken ashore at Dover early this morning after completing an unprecedented 38-hour voyage to the UK.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said they are ‘aware’ of the video, which appears to have been filmed at around 4pm. 

‘We are aware of a video circulating online relating to damage being caused to a boat in the English Channel on the afternoon of September 22, and we are conducting enquiries into the matter,’ a spokesman said. 

Seconds later, a French rescuer stepped onto the empty dinghy to secure it, before Thomas sliced through one side of it 

The French rescue worker did not react after the activist slashed the dinghy with a knife 

The migrants’ voyage started from Port-en-Bessin, north of Bayeux in Normandy, just before 10am on Monday, and the 51 migrants arrived in the Kent port after midnight following reports they had been bound for Gosport. 

It is thought to be the longest duration of any voyage undertaken by small-boat migrants – and it was branded a ‘fiasco’ by the Conservatives.

Following reports yesterday the dinghy was to dock in Hampshire’s Gosport, hundreds of protesters turned out in the town – and in nearby Portsmouth – but the effort dissipated after the boat was rerouted to Dover.

Hampshire Police described some of those who remained in Gosport thereafter as ‘hostile’ towards officers and said it arrested six people for offences including careless driving, assaulting an emergency worker and aggravated trespass.

Around a dozen protesters were seen in Dover as the migrants arrived and officers closed nearby roads in anticipation.

The dinghy incident raised serious questions over the effectiveness of Labour‘s £662million deal with the French to prevent crossings.

French authorities, who shadowed the dinghy across the Channel, said they decided not to intervene due to safety concerns.

As tides took the boat back towards the French coast on Monday evening, it was so close to shore another 10 to 15 migrants were able to board, it is claimed.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘This latest fiasco shows that the French are not even trying to stop the illegal immigrants’ boats in French waters – instead they are escorting them here.

‘Our border security has descended into chaos with migrants crossing at will over ever larger distances and in ever larger boats.

‘The Government’s claim to smash the gangs is laughable and their deal with the French is clearly not working.

‘The Conservatives have a plan to end all accommodation and benefits for illegal immigrants, and instead deport them on arrival. Then, these farcical crossings would soon stop.’

Four French lifeboats plus the search-and-rescue tugboat Abeille Liberté, along with a French Navy helicopter, were scrambled to the 40ft dinghy’s location on Monday. A spokesman for local rescue services said: ‘The boat was in a very bad way, and very low in the water, with just a single small outboard motor to power it.

‘The sea was calm, and weather conditions were good, but the decision was taken to escort the boat, without intervening.’

The Abeille Liberté continued to follow the migrant boat yesterday morning and afternoon.

At about 4.30pm, the migrants were transferred from their dinghy to two RNLI lifeboats. Half an hour later, they switched to Border Force’s HMC Vigilant.

A mega-dinghy with at least 60 migrants on board began its 38-hour journey escorted by the French Navy

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Before the French sailors handed over to the RNLI in the Channel

Protesters – some wearing masks – gathered in Gosport and Portsmouth, Hampshire, as reports suggested the dinghy may dock nearby

Photos last night showed the migrants making their way into a Border Security Command compound in Dover

Hampshire Police said it made six arrests in Gosport after some protesters who remained on the streets became ‘hostile’ towards officers

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The cutter then headed towards Gosport but last night the town’s Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage said she was ‘pleased’ Border Force had confirmed the migrants were instead being taken ‘to Dover by water as we asked’.

She added: ‘This must now set a clear precedent. If further boats are intercepted in our part of the Channel, they should be taken straight to Dover.’

Hampshire Police said it was investigating a reported slashing of a boat in the Channel after a video appearing to show the attack was posted on social media.

Migrants are normally processed at Manston, near Ramsgate. This incident comes just over two weeks after a mega-dinghy with 120 migrants aboard was brought into Eastney Marina, three miles from Portsmouth’s main harbour, sparking protests.

The Daily Mail reported yesterday how a migrant boat reached Folkestone in Kent without being intercepted by UK Border Force.

The migrants then arrived in Dover at around midnight.  

Defence minister Luke Pollard said a Home Office investigation was under way.

Up to Sunday, 17,480 migrants have arrived via the Channel this year.

A Government spokesman said: ‘The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.’

Part of Atherton Road is closed following a crash involving a police car.

Greater Manchester Police says it was called out to the scene at around 8.30am.

It followed a collision involving two cars, including a GMP one which was responding to another incident on blue lights.

There are not currently thought to have been any serious injuries caused by the crash.

It’s the second time part of the road has been shut in less than 24 hours, following a fatal motorbike crash on Tuesday.

Updates will follow in this blog.