The driver tried to outdrive police and then ran away from his car after crashing it into a building

A young man narrowly missed pedestrians after crashing into a city centre building. Mohammed Halani, 19, was driving an Audi S3 at around 1pm on May 24 when he failed to stop for police in Lincoln Road, Peterborough.

He sped off and ignored bollards and no entry signs and drove dangerously in a busy area. Officers had to slow down their driving to avoid pedestrians.

Halani continued driving dangerously before losing control of the vehicle. He crashed into a building in Westgate, causing two people to jump out of the way.

The 19-year-old ran from the scene, dashed through the Queensgate shopping centre, and attempted to hide in a restaurant in Westgate. Officers found him sitting at a table in the restaurant and arrested him.

Halani, of Audley Gate, Netherton, admitted to failing to stop, dangerous driving, and driving without insurance. On Tuesday (July 28) at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, he was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 days rehabilitation activity. He has been disqualified from driving for two years.

PC Martyn Chapman said: “This was a shocking incident that could easily have been far worse. Halani narrowly missed multiple pedestrians when he collided with the building on what was a busy Sunday over a bank holiday weekend.

“A matter of milliseconds was the difference between at least two people being seriously injured – or worse. It is remarkable nobody was hurt.”

Jo Whittaker, chief executive of Betfred, said: “We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer national insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.

Mercedes has revamped its compact SUV and now caters for electric as well as petrol drivers. 

Entering its third generation, the GLA was due an upgrade with the second iteration in much need of an update having been in showrooms since 2019.

A best-seller for the German brand, the GLA was its first foray into the compact luxury segment. The diesel version was the UK’s fastest-selling car in 2025, taking an average of just 23 days to shift, says Autotrader.

The 2026 GLA sits on Mercedes’ new compact ‘MMA’ architecture, has a new interior and infotainment display, will come in electric and hybrid form, and has all of Mercedes’ latest design cues. Essentially, it’s a whole new GLA.

The longest-range all-electric version of the GLA will cover 408 miles on a single charge, which is more than the new all-electric CLA and larger GLB SUV.

In just a few months, the new all-electric version of the GLA will arrive, followed by the hybrid version next year. Here’s what we know for now…

Interior and exterior: How the GLA has evolved

The new GLA is much more grown-up looking, with a wider rear track, muscular shoulders and an athletic stance. 

It’s also longer, wider and lower than the Mk2 version preceding it.

The front is dominated by Mercedes’ huge blanked-off grille, usually reserved for its biggest, plushest vehicles. The grille has animated micro-LED lighting and illuminated stars to make the GLA even sportier.

Inside, the GLA is more minimalist in design, with a floating MBUX Superscreen that spans the entire width of the dashboard, totalling almost 40in. 

It comes with AI voice assistance to relieve some of the distracting consequences of trying to operate such an expansive infotainment display. 

There are also circular sporty vents, concave doors and floating-style door panel inserts, as well as a floating sporty centre console and a Burmester 3D surround-sound system.

The third-generation GLA (left) is now in keeping with Mercedes’ other larger, more luxurious SUVs 

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The GLA is more minimalist in design with a floating MBUX Superscreen that spans the entire width of the dashboard, totalling almost 40 inches. It also comes with AI voice assistance. 

It too boasts a panoramic roof divided into seven segments. Each one can be controlled individually so passengers can decide how much light and visibility they want in their section.

Boot capacity stands at 410 litres, 70 litres more than the outgoing model. 

Fold the rear seats down (which split 40/20/20) and this increases to 1,400 litres. 

There’s also a 107-litre frunk.

Powertrain options

There are three fully electric versions of the new GLA: the GLA 200 with a 58kWh battery, the GLA 250+ with an 85kWh battery, and the GLA 350 4MATIC, which also has a 58kWh battery.

The 350 has the most power, offering 349bhp and a 0-to-62mph time of 5.4 seconds.

Another model will arrive in early 2027 with a 71kWh battery.

The maximum range, available in the 250+ version, is 408 miles on a single charge, which gets you from Birmingham to Glasgow.

The GLA can also charge at speeds of up to 320kW, allowing you to add 168 miles of range in just ten minutes to get you back on the road faster.

At the beginning of 2027, the hybrid GLA will launch and will be available as either a front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive car.

It will feature an all-new electrified 1.5-litre turbo engine and a 22kW electric motor. Peak power will hit 187bhp and around 50mpg is expected.

And despite it being the fastest-selling diesel last year, Mercedes won’t be offering one with an oil burner under the bonnet. 

The panoramic roof is divided into seven segments, with each segment able to be controlled individually so passengers can decide how much light and visibility they want. 

Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but the GLA is expected to cost around £45,000, similar to the new CLA 

Boot capacity stands at 410 litres, 70 litres more than the outgoing model. But the EV version also gets a 107-litre ‘frunk’ (pictured)

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How much does it cost? 

For the first time, the GLA will be available with four trim levels and a Night Package. 

You’ll be able to opt for AMG Line and AMG Plus if you want a more luxurious and sportier feel to your GLA.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but the GLA is expected to cost around £45,000, similar to the new CLA.

A family of six has fled ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires in Suffolk just days after being forced to do the same by forest blazes in France.

Firefighters have been tackling the blaze in Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, since Wednesday evening, with hundreds of holidaymakers and scores of residents evacuated.

The fire, which is now the size of 210 football pitches, is a few miles away from Sizewell B and the construction site for the new Sizewell C – but authorities insist there is no risk of the fire spreading towards the power station.

While the cause is not yet known, the blaze started on an RSPB wetland reserve before spreading on to the coastal heathland. 

Jo Arkle, 42, a renewable energy sector worker whose family from Norfolk had just arrived in Dunwich for a break but were now reloading suitcases into their car, said: ‘It’s time to go.

‘This is the second time we had to evacuate – we had to leave France before we came here. We thought we’d stick it out a little longer and see what happens.’

She and her family were close to Cotignac in France last week, where wildfires have burned across 42,000 hectares. 

She added: ‘It’s quite stressful, definitely. You realise quite quickly there’s nothing you can do about it. The smoke was coming up right across here.’

One of the family’s teenagers said: ‘It’s scary when you go to bed. You don’t know if it’s going to get worse overnight.’ 

Dozens of farmers have joined efforts to slow the progress of the ‘apocalyptic’ fire with many using their tractors to transport water bowsers.

Richard Negus, a hedgelayer, told the Daily Mail: ‘We got contacted across Suffolk through the farm watch network to ask if we had water bowsers to help with the wildfire.’ 

‘So farmers put their combine harvesters down and joined the efforts at Dunwich Heath. Farmers did what they do when we’re asked to bring kit and they all rushed to the fire and the farmers managed to help get it under control.’

Today, another fire has broken out at Middlewick Ranges near Colchester in Essex. Firefighters are currently at the scene battling to bring the blaze under control. 

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A helicopter drops water on the wildfire. It is understood the fire started on an RSPB wetland reserve with the cause of the ‘apocalyptic’ blaze not yet known

Drone footage shows the scorched woodland surrounding a caravan park in Suffolk 

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Firefighters tackle the blaze at Dunwich Heath. Heroic stories are emerging of how dozens of farmers joined efforts to slow the progress of the fire

Pictured: A tractor joins emergency vehicles to tackle the blaze in Suffolk. Dozens of farmers have joined efforts to slow the progress of the ‘apocalyptic’ fire

Mr Negus also claimed that one volunteer found ‘remnants of an open fire’: ‘[The open fire] shows people aren’t aware of the consequences of their activity.

‘Our site team has been working alongside the emergency services, surveying the areas the fire has been through – it’s complete devastation.’

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said today crews and officers remained at the incident. The service said the fire remained a ‘dynamic incident’ but appeared to be ‘stabilising’ today.

Fire crews from London, Essex and West Yorkshire have joined local firefighters and helicopters  – which were seen scooping up seawater in an effort to bring the wildfires under control.

Ms Arkle said that communication had been better in France, including alerts sent to their phones, adding: ‘There’’s no reception here, no wifi, so that’s why we decided to go. Without power, how do we know unless we get a knock on the door?’

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has thanked the ‘firefighters, specialist equipment and resources’ that had been sent to work alongside its crews.

‘We are incredibly grateful for the support they have provided during this challenging incident,’ it said.

‘We would also like to thank the many local businesses, farmers, volunteers, community groups and partner agencies who have stepped forward to help. Whether it’s been donating food and drinks, lending equipment, providing practical support, or helping to look after those affected by the incident, people have gone above and beyond.’

Adam Rowlands, RSPB area manager in Suffolk, said: ‘We know right across the heathland that risk is there at this time of year when the habitat is so dry […] that first spark emerged from the RSPB land and that’s devastating to know.’

He also warned that it could take 25 years for the area around Dunwich Heath to recover.

‘The problem is [the area] will look like a scene of devastation afterwards. All the vegetation will go and the majority of those birds will lose the places where they nest,’ he told BBC News.

Mr Rowlands added: ‘Some of that habitat will take five, 10, 25 years to come back to what it looked like before the fire broke out yesterday afternoon.’

National trust said that ‘Total devastation’ is the most likely outcome of the fire.

Matt Wilson, the charity’s countryside manager for Suffolk, said: ‘The impact on this site in particular is looking to be fairly catastrophic, to be perfectly honest.

A helicopter flies water collected from the sea to drop on the wildfire at Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, close to the Sizewell B. Fire crews warned that the blaze near the nuclear power plant was still a ‘dynamic incident’

An update from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service this morning said that ‘crews and officers remained at the incident overnight’ and that they ‘maintained a watching brief during darkness’

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The fire in Suffolk is seen from a plane flying over the area yesterday morning 

‘The fire is estimated to be 150 hectares [371 acres], but the whole of Dunwich Heath owned by the National Trust is just over 100 hectares [247 acres].

‘So we’re looking at total devastation across the National Trust site.’

Meanwhile, residents and holidaymakers in Suffolk have been warned to keep their windows and doors closed due to the risk of heavy smoke and falling ash.

Around 50 people have been evacuated from their homes and a local holiday park to Westleton, whose village hall now serves as a rest centre.

Speaking to local media, Freddie Gulliver, from the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit, said there is currently no concern of the fire spreading towards Sizewell B.

Mr Gulliver also told journalists that the local community has been ‘absolutely fantastic’ in opening up their homes, adding only a few people will need to stay in the rest centre on Thursday night.

He praised the local people that run the village hall, adding: ‘They’ve been absolutely brilliant at looking after everyone, so I want to stress my thanks and gratitude to everyone involved.’

Mr Gulliver added that the fire service is ‘confident’ it is tackling the blaze, including by filling trenches with water and dropping thousands of litres of seawater from helicopters.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the county’s fire service will have ‘all of the support’ they need in tackling the blaze.

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for Mr Burnham to host an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the outbreak of wildfires in Britain, including in Suffolk.

On Thursday afternoon, an EDF spokesperson gave reassurances that the fire was ‘not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station’.

The energy supplier said it was ‘closely monitoring the situation’ and it is understood Sizewell B has an emergency plan in place that covers a range of scenarios including a fire on site.

Pictured: A fire at at Middlewick Ranges near Colchester in Essex. Firefighters are currently at the scene battling to bring the blaze under control

Fire crews are seen battling a fire in Romford, east London, yesterday where around 30 acres of grassland were destroyed

Suffolk County Council said Cliff House Holiday Park, containing some 200 caravans, had been completely evacuated as a precaution.

Lisa Gordon, 54, on holiday with her husband and dog in their touring caravan, evacuated from Cliff House Holiday Park on Wednesday night.

Mrs Gordon said: ‘Just looking at the pictures… it’s quite worrying how close it is to the park now.

‘It’s a car, it’s a caravan, and it’s insured but at the end of the day it’s a lot of hassle, isn’t it?

‘They are things that can be replaced. But it’s not the relaxing day we thought we’d be having.’

She said that when she and her husband were told to leave the holiday park, they could see smoke behind the trees.

Mrs Gordon added: ‘It was only as we walked to reception to meet the police that all of a sudden it kind of hit us.

‘So where we were it didn’t seem too bad at all. We weren’t really panicking at all.

‘But as we got to sort of the reception and the entrance, then the smoke hit and we had to drive with the police through quite a lot of smoke.’

Martin Harris, 80, and his wife Sheila Harris, 76, who have visited Dunwich Cliffs Estate holiday park for more than 40 years, said they only had time to pack their medication before leaving their static caravan.

Mrs Harris said they saw a ‘glow’, adding: ‘It went from just being in the distance, and suddenly we were just covered in this black, and it was really scary so we just wanted to get out, really.’

She added: ‘Yesterday, I had a really bad moment because I suddenly thought: ‘I’ve been on (the caravan) site since 1980.’

‘And I thought: “If the caravan goes, then no chance of affording another one”.

‘I want to make the decision when I leave forever. I don’t want it taken out of my hands.’

She added: ‘I’ve never, ever wanted to go home in all the years I’ve been coming, but today I just want to go home.’

Mr Harris said they were lucky to get a room in a bed and breakfast.

He continued: ‘A lot of people, they had to sleep in their cars.

‘The people of Westleton have been fantastic. I don’t know what we’d have done without them.’

The couple plan to go home to Uxbridge in west London after collecting some belongings on Friday afternoon, but said they will return to their caravan in two weeks for another visit.

The fire service posted a video of damage caused by the blaze, with parts of RSPB Minsmere nature reserve, showing blackened trees and scorched ground.

Fires have also been raging in east London – where around 30 acres of grassland were destroyed in a blaze in Romford on Thursday, and a further ten acres were damaged in Rainham.

London Fire Brigade reported a second wildfire had broken out in Rainham in the afternoon, while a grass fire in Hornchurch burned across 15 acres.

The fire is now under control, and its cause is currently under investigation.

The number of wildfire incidents recorded this year already matches the total annual figures seen in 2021, 2023 and 2024 combined.

But the number is below the same point in 2025 when long-lasting drought and heat caused severe fire risk.

Temperatures soared across parts of the UK on Wednesday, reaching into the 30s in some places as Britain baked in its fourth heatwave of a record-breaking summer.

Suffolk has only received 2 per cent of its average monthly rainfall for July so far, according to the Met Office.

The forecaster said on Thursday afternoon other counties have recorded as low as one per cent or zero per cent of average rainfall for July, with Friday being the last day of the month.

Going into the weekend, temperatures will be cooler and closer to average for this time of year.

Ceuta, on Morocco’s northern coast, is separated from mainland Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar and has long been a focal point for migrants attempting to reach Europe.

Local officials had appealed to Madrid for help after a recent rise in attempted crossings, but there were chaotic scenes on Thursday as border controls apparently broke down.

Videos and images from Thursday show thousands of people swimming into the city, while local media reported crossings continuing into Friday.

The astonishing estimation by Spanish officials suggests the number of migrants who entered into Ceuta in the last day or so could be more than half of the population of the city – which sits at around 83,600 according to the latest local figures.

Spain has now deployed its armed forces to bolster security in Ceuta and at its sister city of Melilla, where between 300 to 400 crossings were also reported overnight.

Speaking on Friday during a visit to Ceuta, the prime minister condemned the crossings and said it was an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity.

Sánchez added that the government would be looking at reinforcing the border with Morocco.

The prime minister blamed the dangerous events on criminal networks manipulating the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, adding that incorrect information had “spread like wildfire in recent hours”.

He said authorities in Morocco were co-operating with plans to return those who had entered illegally.

Ceuta and Melilla trace their Spanish past to the 15th Century, and they have enjoyed a limited degree of self-government since 1995.

Coveted by Morocco, they have long been a flashpoint in diplomatic relations between the two countries.

They form the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The last time Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma hosted the nation’s governors, it didn’t go so well.

The annual gathering of state leaders in Washington in February was overshadowed by a fight with President Donald Trump, who refused to allow two governors — both Democrats — to attend a White House meeting. As head of the National Governors Association, Stitt successfully pressed Trump to reverse course but got an earful in the process.

Trump, who carried each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties in 2024, blasted Stitt as a “RINO,” meaning Republican in name only, and criticized the term-limited governor’s performance in office.

Stitt is again hosting his colleagues this weekend, this time on his home turf in Oklahoma City as he turns over leadership of the National Governors Association to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat and one of the governors Trump had sought to exclude. In an interview, Stitt discussed the dust-up with Trump, warned against efforts to federalize elections, and expressed concern that a mammoth federal government has contributed to the country’s tense political climate.

Here are highlights of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: You’ve spent the past year working closely with governors from both parties. What have you learned?

STITT: We agree on much more than we disagree. I was never in politics until I ran for governor. I’m like everybody else. I’m watching Fox News. I’m in my camp, and the other guys are in the MSNBC camp, and we’re over here thinking the other people are bad. But when I get in these roles and I meet the governor of Maryland and the governor of New York and these other governors, I realize that, literally, we’re all Americans.

AP: You’ve talked a lot about states’ rights. Going into the midterms, are you confident that states will be able to conduct their elections without interference from Trump or the federal government?

STITT: You know, I do.

First off, I don’t think that we should federalize the elections at all. I believe that is a state issue. The states should control their own elections. Should we make sure they’re done fairly and U.S. citizens are voting? 100%. I think there’s broad agreement with that. Oklahoma, literally, all of our absentee ballots have to be notarized. We have to know who they are. And then they have to be in by Election Day. So they’re all counted, and then when the polls close at 7, we drop all the absentee and early votes counted. Bam, you know what they are at 7:01.

It is weird that in a swing state, in a certain county, it takes them a month to count the votes. So rightly, you should be questioning some of these things. But Oklahoma does it the right way, and those are the things that I’m responsible for. But, yeah, I trust our election process.

AP: But if you were to look at those vote swings, do you trust governors of those states to look at that as opposed to Washington?

STITT: 100%. I don’t think we should federalize that. Because then you’ve got a pendulum swing. What about the next guy gets in office and the next guy and the next guy? The system that we have with 50 different states is the right system.

Now, the Save America Act, making sure that we know who’s voting, I think that’s a very legitimate thing to do.

AP: You pushed back against the president when he wanted to exclude two Democratic governors from a White House meeting. The president had some words for you as well at the time. As a Republican, how do you disagree with the president?

STITT: All I simply said was, “Hey, we can’t call this a National Governors Association meeting if you’re not going to have all the governors there.” And so, to President Donald Trump’s credit, he said, and I think he was getting bad information from staff at the time, but, yes, we talked, and all the governors were invited to the business meeting. He excluded a couple of governors from the dinner. But that’s all I basically said. I didn’t want to get on the bad side of the president. But we have a good working relationship.

I’m trying to do what’s best for Oklahoma. In that case, I was representing the National Governors Association.

AP: It sometimes seems that when Republicans push back against the president, it’s often when they’re leaving office. Should there be more open and frequent disagreement?

STITT: Well, I mean, sure. If there’s something that we fundamentally think is going to be bad for our country, we all should say something. Every citizen, regardless if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, we should say, “Hey, that’s the wrong approach.”

AP: How do we bring down the temperature in politics?

STITT: I think one of the reasons the temperature’s so hard, so loud and divisive, is because of this one-size-fits-all, huge federal government.

Then we want whatever idea we have, then we want everybody to do it across the country. And that is not how our founders set it up. They thought that New York was different from Delaware, different from Virginia and South Carolina and Maryland.

And that’s OK, and that’s what I tell people. Hey, Minnesota’s elected Gov. Tim Walz. That’s OK. Why does that bother me in Oklahoma? Why do I care what Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s doing in New York City? It shouldn’t affect me.

But politics is becoming like, if Kamala Harris wins, she’s going to try to make Oklahoma like California. We don’t want to be like California. And so I think if we can bring that temperature down and say, “Hey, it’s OK that the states are different and they have different values and philosophies.”

AP: What do you see as the future of the Republican Party?

STITT: I hope we get back to the fiscal piece of our party. Like in 1994, when Newt Gingrich came in with the Contract with America, and President Bill Clinton was in office, we balanced a budget. Now, Congress won’t even vote on a budget — it’s continuing resolutions. And our Founding Fathers would just be like, “What is this? What do you mean they don’t ever vote on the budget? That’s all their job is.”

AP: Do you plan on running for anything again, maybe national office?

STITT: I’m just going to finish my job as governor and plan on going back to the private sector, and we’ll see what happens in the future.

Two crews from Malton responded at 7.27pm to a report of the combine on fire in a field near Settrington, which spread to 20 square metre of field.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “The combine was 100% damaged by fire. Crews extinguished the fire and damped down the surrounding area.

“Crews used two breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets, thermal imaging camera, triple extension ladder, small tools and a reciprocating saw to deal with the incident.”

Scottish Labour is tearing itself apart before the party’s latest leadership contest has even started.

A party that has lost five Holyrood elections in a row to the SNP and cannot connect with voters is once again staring at its own navel.

The smart money was on a three-way contest between moderate Michael Marra, former council chief Joe Fagan and left-winger Monica Lennon.

But there is a growing sense that Lennon, despite being the candidate party figures believe would have the most reach with voters, will fail to make the ballot.

Contenders need three Labour MSPs and three Scottish Labour MPs to become candidates and every indication is that Lennon is struggling.

Part of her likely exclusion reflects the rough and tumble of politics.

Marra has been preparing for a contest for months and has activated his machine to hoover up nominations.

Lennon’s return to Holyrood after Anas Sarwar’s resignation from Holyrood was accidental and she does not have the infrastructure to compete.

Marra does not want her on the ballot and his supporters have been energetic in ensuring this becomes a reality.

Personality clashes are another factor behind Lennon’s inability so far to attract the necessary support.

She had a reputation as a moderate when she was first elected in 2016, but she alienated this bloc when she backed Jeremy Corbyn.

Her natural supporters in the Scottish Labour group – left wingers Katy Clark and Carol Mochan – are also withholding their support.

Mochan fundamentally differs from Lennon on trans rights while Clark inexplicably believes that she should be the left wing candidate in the race.

The end result is a likely all-male ballot between Fagan and Marra to succeed Anas Sarwar.

Even the staunchest supporters of both these contenders admit they have baggage.

Marra is an able politician who would be better than Sarwar at carving out dividing lines with the SNP.

But he will also struggle to shrug off his association with past Scottish Labour failures.

He was a senior adviser to hapless former leader Iain Gray, whose terrible Holyrood campaign led to an overall SNP majority in 2011.

Marra was also the architect of Labour’s dismal Holyrood manifesto in May – a document that failed to include a single eye-catching policy.

Scottish Labour has lost five in a row to the SNP and Marra was knee-deep in two of them.

Fagan also has a number of downsides.

As leader of South Lanarkshire council, he was suspended for two months for disclosing confidential information to the press.

He is also seen as a puppet of deputy leader Jackie Baillie, who critics believe wants Fagan to win so she can hold on to her power.

Senior party insiders also struggle to see the rookie MSP as a credible figure to lead Labour so soon into his Holyrood career.

One said: “Is he really going to be our candidate for First Minister? Will voters be able to picture him walking into Bute House? He is not a big league politician.”

Anger is also rising with Sarwar for plunging his party into a summer of infighting and rancour.

Party activists wanted the priority for Scottish Labour to be a review of their catastrophic election defeat in May.

The review is now irrelevant and the big structural issues Scottish Labour needs to consider will be shelved.

Senior party figures believe that whoever wins will lead a divided, inwardly-looking group at Holyrood.

And few people believe the victor will lead Scottish Labour into the 2031 Holyrood election.

The party of John Smith and Donald Dewar was already circling the drain before the leadership contest.

A pointless scrap that treats voters as an afterthought could see Scottish Labour vanish forever.

By WILL PICKWORTH, SPORTS REPORTER and BOBBY MANZI, FOOTBALL REPORTER

Updated: 12:09 BST, 31 July 2026

His actions pushed her to get help long before any other warning sign appeared

Kristine Richards thought her chihuahua was just being a pain – until she realised the little dog might be trying to tell her something important. The 61-year-old from Wellington, in Somerset, says eight-year-old Flag developed a strange habit of repeatedly pawing at the underside of her arm.

At first, she brushed it off as nuisance behaviour, but he didn’t stop. Soon after, she noticed a small lump, which set off alarm bells and prompted her to get it looked at by a doctor.

In 2018, Kristine decided to get checked after connecting Flag’s fixation with what she’d heard about dogs picking up on illness. Tests later confirmed she had hormone-sensitive lobular breast cancer, and she believes the timing was crucial because she’d felt completely normal.

She said: “My initial thought was that it was nothing, but then I started to wonder if there was a connection. I went to get it looked at and it was cancer. You can’t underestimate the shock. I couldn’t take it in. I just started crying.”

Kristine went for a full day of checks, including a mammogram and ultrasound, and was then told the cancer was aggressive and had spread to her lymph nodes. The diagnosis launched her into intense treatment that included surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and drug therapy.

Kristine says it wasn’t straightforward as doctors were forced to stop chemotherapy early because it began affecting her feet and legs, and there were fears she could lose her ability to walk. Even so, about a year after the nightmare began, she was told she was in remission and the cancer hasn’t returned since.

She added: “It was a very difficult time of my life. In times like those, you find out who your true friends are, and ultimately, I did, and the answer was my dog.

“I am now in remission, I cried with relief when they told me. It was like getting to the end of a very long journey where you don’t quite know where you are going.”

Now, Flag is a trained assistance dog who’s treated like a furry hero – with plenty of hugs and his favourite lamb treats. Kristine even says he’s saved her twice, claiming he later stopped her from being pushed into the path of a moving car.

The Chihuahua has become something of a local star, even being made honorary mayor of St Marychurch in Torquay. Kristine says he’s become known as a ‘community champion’ as the pair support charity causes and host coffee mornings.

Kristine added: “If he hadn’t alerted me, it would have taken much longer for me to go about it. He saved my life. I owe my dog everything.”

The pair are currently backing Breast Cancer Now’s Wear It Pink campaign, encouraging people to get involved to raise money and awareness. Kristine said: “The more people know about him, the more money we can raise for charity and the more awareness we can get.”