The restaurant has won awards for its burgers

A new restaurant has been given the go-ahead to open on a city centre street. The Beefy Boys Holdings has been told they can change the use of a former bar on Bene’t Street in Cambridge into a new restaurant.

The restaurant chain sought permission from Cambridge City Council in June and it has now been approved. The site, on 15 Bene’t Street, forms part of the Grade II listed Barclay’s Bank. It was last used by Brewdog, but has been vacant since March 2026.

The Beefy Boys opened its first restaurant in Hereford in 2015, before opening a second site in Shrewsbury in 2021 and a third site in Cheltenham in 2023. It also has sites in other locations including Oxford and Nottingham.

Now, Cambridge locals could get a taste of its award-winning burgers. The burger chain has won both Signature Burger and Burger Chef of the Year at The National Burger Awards.

The applicants said the new restaurant will “serve as a meeting place for local people and visitors” and will provide a “suitable alternative facility to the existing use”.

Planning documents state it would provide a “high quality restaurant”, enhance the “vitality and viability of this part of Cambridge City Centre ” and help to “secure the future up keep of the Grade II Listed building”.

The new restaurant would be situated close to a range of existing pubs and restaurants including The Eagle, The Bath House and Pint Shop.

The building’s existing use permits opening hours between 11am and midnight between Sunday and Thursday and between 11am and 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. The Beefy Boys Holdings Ltd said these hours are “considered suitable for the proposed use”, but there is considered to be no concerns if earlier hours from 8am were permitted to allow “flexibility for a future use”, they said.

Alongside a change of use request, the applicant sought permission for Listed Building Consent for works to the building including internal changes and new signage.

Many people will learn CPR using a flat-chested manikin. A 2024 study of 20 models of CPR manikins sold worldwide found that three quarters were described as male or had no sex specified. Of the 20, only one offered a breast overlay.

The manikins reflect a wider tendency in medical teaching and research to treat the male body as standard. The terms “male and female” and “men and women” in this article reflect the sources, which often fail to distinguish sex from gender or say whether gender-diverse people were included.

The lack of female representation can have consequences. In a US study of 19,331 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, 39% of women who collapsed in public received bystander CPR, compared with 45% of men.

For CPR, even a short delay can affect survival. Another US study found that people who received bystander CPR four to five minutes after a witnessed cardiac arrest had 27% lower odds of surviving to hospital discharge than those who received it within one minute. In England, fewer than one in 12 patients for whom ambulance services attempted resuscitation survived 30 days, according to figures reported in 2024.

If bystanders hesitate to perform CPR on women because of the presence of breasts, training on more representative manikins could help. Historical gaps in representation now have another consequence. Healthcare increasingly uses artificial intelligence trained on medical records and research data produced when male bodies were often treated as the norm.

When old data trains new systems

Healthcare AI learns associations from health data. But medical records reflect clinical decisions as well as biology. If women and men with similar symptoms have historically been assessed differently, an algorithm may learn that pattern without knowing why it exists.

For example, an experimental study of medical students and residents found that when coronary heart disease symptoms were presented alongside psychological stress, women received fewer coronary heart disease diagnoses and cardiology referrals than men, and their symptoms were more likely to be interpreted as psychogenic. An AI system trained on records shaped by such decisions could treat that pattern as though it reflected disease itself.

Reviews of AI in medicine warn that unbalanced datasets can produce uneven performance. It can also be difficult to assess performance: a 2024 review of 692 AI-enabled medical devices approved by the US Food and Drug Administration found that demographic information and details of performance studies were often missing from public documents.

Understanding that risk requires looking at how the medical evidence AI may draw on was created.

How men became the medical default

Females are consistently underrepresented in medical studies. Hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle have historically been viewed as a source of unwanted variation. After the thalidomide tragedy of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the US Food and Drug Administration in 1977 recommended excluding women who could become pregnant from early drug trials. The policy was reversed in 1993 amid concern that it was limiting knowledge about how medicines affected women.

Women of childbearing potential were routinely excluded from industry-sponsored trials. Male animals have also been favoured in laboratory research, despite evidence that females are no more biologically variable, and many studies fail to report the sex of cells used in experiments.

These gaps can affect treatment. Women clear the sleeping drug zolpidem more slowly than men, and in 2013 regulators recommended halving the starting dose for women. A 2020 analysis found that women experienced adverse drug reactions nearly twice as often as men, with differences in how drugs move through the body explaining many of them.

Representation has improved. The 2016 Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines encourage researchers to consider and report sex and gender. But equal participation does not guarantee equal understanding. A 2026 review of 574 papers found that 61% included both sexes, yet only 44% of those analysed results by sex.

Biological sex and gender can both affect health, and separating their effects is difficult. Sex-related biology may influence drug metabolism, while gendered experiences may affect access to healthcare and how symptoms are interpreted. Yet many health databases collapse both into one binary category, limiting what researchers can conclude.

Biology or bias?

Heart-attack symptoms show why precision is needed. An analysis of more than one million people with acute coronary syndromes found that 74% of women and 79% of men experienced chest pain, but women had higher odds of reporting other symptoms including neck or jaw pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.

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Women are at a higher risk of dying from heart disease − in part because doctors don’t take major sex and gender differences into account

Stroke care presents a similar problem. An Australian study of more than 202,000 people admitted with stroke found that among those under 70 arriving by ambulance, women were less likely than men to be assessed as having a stroke by paramedics and less likely to be managed under the pre-hospital stroke protocol.

Finding a difference is only the starting point. A study of 6.9 million people in Denmark found that women were older at their first hospital diagnosis for most conditions examined. That does not necessarily mean doctors took longer to diagnose them: disease onset and use of healthcare may also vary.

Medical research is becoming more representative, but much of today’s evidence was collected when male bodies were more often treated as standard. Careful design could help AI identify patterns that older research missed. As tomorrow’s healthcare is built from yesterday’s records, researchers must ask whether an apparent difference reflects biology or the way patients encountered healthcare. Otherwise old assumptions could become embedded in new technology.

A rare catch-and-kill order has been issued for a great white shark off the coast of Western Australia, after a man was killed while on a morning swim at a popular beach on Friday. His body has still not been found.

Authorities have said that beaches along the state’s coast, including in the capital Perth, will remain closed until at least Sunday as the search for the shark continues.

It is the second shark attack in Western Australia (WA) this week, and the third fatal attack in the state this year.

The incident, at Sorrento Beach in Perth’s north, has reignited debate about how to keep beachgoers safe in Australia.

The swimmer has been identified as 63-year-old Greg O’Neill, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has reported.

“Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all-round generous, witty guy,” his family said in a statement to the broadcaster.

Witness Jacqui Rapaic told the ABC that two men were swimming, but only one made it back to shore, and that she could see “a pool of blood” in the water.

Another witness told WAtoday that she saw the man being “mauled” as the shark “tossed him around like a fish”.

Members of the public reported seeing a 2.5m-long (8ft 2in) shark at around the same time.

Authorities in Perth’s Joondalup area, where Sorrento is located, said all beaches were closed “as a precautionary measure” and would remain so until at least midday on Sunday.

Pictures on Saturday showed the coastline being patrolled by a police boat and helicopter.

The mum-of-three was last seen in Southampton in December 2019

A close friend of a mother-of-three whose remains were found nearly seven years after she disappeared said “nothing could prepare” her for the tragic news.

Rachel Roussel, from Southampton, said the discovery of the remains of Joanne Sheen – affectionately known as “Little Jo” – was “absolutely devastating”.

The Metropolitan Police were called on the evening of August 12 after bones, thought to belong to a woman aged between 25 and 45, were found at shrubland known as The Pits near Padstow Walk in Feltham after the area was affected by a blaze. Detectives had launched a murder probe, but Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary have taken over the investigation after the remains were identified as those of Ms Sheen.

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A 56-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder on Thursday (17 September).

Of the police update, Ms Roussel told the Press Association (PA): “It’s something that everybody’s heavily anticipated, and you kind of get yourself ready and prepare yourself for it. But nothing could prepare you for that, nothing at all.”

The 47-year-old said the years of uncertainty had been particularly difficult for Ms Sheen’s three daughters, two of whom she said have since become mothers themselves.

“Her daughters are mums themselves now, so they’ve had their babies, and their mum wasn’t there for that,” she said. “To have to go through something like this and to have to be going through it for so long, seven years, is just unfathomable.”

Ms Roussel, who met Ms Sheen in 2003, has launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help give her friend “a send-off that she so rightly deserves”.

“Now we can focus on helping the girls, bringing her home, and set about laying her to rest finally, which is what they’ve wanted to do,” she said. The two became close while raising their children in Townhill Park in the Hampshire city, with Ms Roussel describing her friend as a “devoted mum” with a “wicked sense of humour”.

“She was just lovely, she’d do anything for you, if you needed to nip to the shop, she’d stay and watch the children,” she told PA. “If you needed to borrow some money, and all she had was £5 in her pocket until the next income support payment dropped, she’d lend it to you.

“She was just lovely, and a devoted mum, a completely devoted mum, every ounce of her energy went into those girls, it was amazing.”

Ms Roussel continued: “Jo was just so much fun to be around, she had a personality that was a bit crazy, but you loved her for it. She had a wicked sense of humour, a fantastic laugh that I’ll never forget, she could make you belly laugh until your belly hurt.”

Ms Roussel recalled them celebrating birthdays, Halloween and New Year’s Eve together. Explaining why she set up the fundraiser, Ms Roussel said she had found herself asking: “What can I do?”

“She was my friend and I loved her very much and I wanted to do something to help the girls,” she said. Ms Roussel said she wanted Ms Sheen to be remembered above all as a mother and friend.

Ms Roussel added: “She was just an amazing human being who’d light up a room, I know that’s a very cliche thing to say about people but she really was. She was a big, big personality, an amazing friend, and she will be very sadly missed, very greatly missed by lots of people.”

The 44-year-old had not been seen since travelling from Fareham towards her home city of Southampton on December 5, 2019.

A Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson said more than 4,000 lines of inquiry have been raised, more than 300 statements taken, and detailed searches carried out at more than 10 addresses and on numerous vessels.

Detective Chief Inspector Toby Elcock said the identification of Ms Sheen’s remains is a “significant development” in a “long and complex investigation”. Crimestoppers has reinstated a £20,000 reward for information.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that the remains were found by a member of the public after the nearby land was affected by a recent wildfire. The site is close to Bedfont Lakes Country Park.

Shrubbery appeared to have been burned at a woodland area close to where the police crime scene was in place last month and a large patch of the ground was charred.

An incident log on The London Fire Brigade’s website showed that four fire engines and about 25 firefighters had tackled a grass fire in the area on August 5. About two hectares of shrubland were damaged in the blaze.

At issue is Earl Spencer’s account of a conversation with the then Prince Charles after the death of Diana, with the prince accused of telling Earl Spencer: “We’ll forget her soon enough.”

He is accused of sounding “giddily elated” and like a “lottery winner” after the news of her death.

Buckingham Palace hit back with a response, which although dressed in courtier-like politeness, was essentially saying the conversation had never happened like that.

The King was said to be “mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways that others do not recognise”.

Anyone who has lost someone knows how feelings can run high, people can hear different things about the same conversations – and families can fall out, or come together, in the wake of a death.

Psychotherapist Nick Hatter says he doesn’t have a view on which version of events is correct, but he says that during traumatic events memories can be “distorted”. A phone call doesn’t have any of the visual clues or body language to give a fuller picture, he adds.

Hatter says there can be very different and unpredictable responses to grief, including a condition known as “bereavement mania” where someone can seem inappropriately hyper or even euphoric after the loss of a loved one.

The first opinion poll on who to believe has been published by YouGov – and it suggests a very split view, with 31% believing Earl Spencer’s allegations, 36% suspecting it’s not true and 33% saying they don’t know.

Low thinks the book is unlikely to change many opinions, as “people have settled into their camps about how they regard Charles, how they look back on the Diana years”.

There could also be a feeling that it’s “tawdry” to rake up these claims so many years later, he says.

That’s echoed by historian and author Sir Anthony Seldon who says Earl Spencer showed great courage at the time of Diana’s funeral, but says his memoir is a “sad and unnecessary publication”.

Royal commentator Richard Palmer says the book threatens to take the royals back to the difficult days of 1997.

“This book and the run-up to next year’s 30th anniversary of Diana’s death threaten to undermine the Royal Household’s three decades of work to rehabilitate Charles and Camilla’s image,” he says.

Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby, who led the BBC’s coverage of Diana’s funeral, said it seemed “odd” Earl Spencer would release the book now.

“Why 30 years later for god sake you should do it, well again you have to ask him,” he said, adding he wished the appetite for the “cycle of gossip” would decline and instead focus would shift to what kind of monarchy the country needs.

Cardiff City return to Championship action this lunchtime as they welcome boyhood Bluebirds fan Nathan Jones and his Charlton Athletic side to Cardiff City Stadium.

The Bluebirds are still searching for their first league win of the season, having drawn four and lost three of their opening seven games under Brian Barry-Murphy. Charlton, meanwhile, are also looking to end a four-game winless run after making a strong start to the campaign.

Kick-off is at 12.30pm, with the game being shown live on Sky Sports+.

We’ll have all the build-up, team news, action and reaction from Cardiff City Stadium right here.

Scroll down for live updates…

‘The risk you’ve got this winter is that we run out of gas’

The co-owner of Manchester United FC, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has said he has ‘no confidence in the UK’ and that the country is ‘on the slide’

One of Britain’s wealthiest businessmen, Sir Jim said Britain was in decline because of high taxes and immigration.

The founder of chemicals giant Ineos, who moved to Monaco from the UK in 2020, told the BBC’s Big Boss Interview: “I think the UK, unfortunately, it was a fantastic place. We had the greatest empire in the world. We were a great people. We won two world wars. We’re good, honest folk.

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“But unfortunately, at the moment, I think the UK is on the slide. It’s quite difficult to see how we arrest it. Two things: we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are.

“And we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. And we haven’t had one of those for a long time.” Asked what issues politicians should focus on, Sir Jim said immigration was ‘clearly one’, as well as high taxes.

Earlier this year, Sir Jim told Sky News the UK had been ‘colonised by immigrants’ before he said he was sorry if those remarks had ‘offended some people’.

The billionaire also said failing to invest further in North Sea resources by handing licences for the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields amounted to “insanity”, and warned the UK’s reliance on energy imports meant the country could “run out of gas” if there was a cold spell this winter.

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He said: “The risk you’ve got this winter is that we run out of gas. If we have a really sharp cold spell, then there is conceivably the possibility that we’ll run out of gas and have to switch the industry off.”

It comes after Andy Burnham insisted he was “determined” to reach net zero by 2050. The Prime Minister faces pressure from both sides over looming decisions on whether to approve the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank fields.

Climate campaigners have urged him to block the proposed new developments in the North Sea while the oil and gas industry and opposition politicians have argued they would create thousands of jobs and cut bills. Permission for one or both would throw his commitment to net zero into question.

Sir Jim also said the UK had “a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment”, “encouraging” the wealthiest to relocate.

He told the podcast: “In America they applaud people who create wealth. And the good thing about those people who create wealth is that they then spend that wealth in the economy in which they’re resident. Unfortunately, the UK has got a bit of a green eye towards wealth at the moment.

“And, unfortunately, with the things that they’ve been doing, they’ve been encouraging the people who have created wealth to leave the UK because it’s just become uncomfortable for them for tax reasons or whatever. Also, crime on the streets has gone up as well, which doesn’t help.”

Asked if he was planning on returning to the UK, the businessman said: “Not at the moment, no. I don’t see growth being tackled. “I would like to see the benefits bill cut in half and all the savings spent on robotics and AI.”

Asked whether AI would have an impact on the job market and leave many jobless, Sir Jim said: “No, no. I mean, you think about the two biggest industries that are going to change our lives, at the moment, is AI and robotics. “I mean, it’s going to have fundamental changes to the way in which we live, the way in which we work, and the UK is nowhere at the moment in those two technologies.”

Katseye have unfollowed Ed Sheeran on Instagram days after Macklemore announced that he’d been dropped from the British singer’s tour.

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that members Megan Skiendiel, Manon Bannerman, Yoonchae, Daniela Avanzini, Sophia LaForteza and Lara Raj were no longer in Sheeran’s followers list this week – amid a firestorm enveloping the British singer, with all his opening acts dropping out of his tour in the wake of the drama.

Raj then began following Macklemore on Instagram, while both she and Skiendiel liked the post the rapper shared revealing he was removed from the remaining Loop tour dates he was scheduled to perform at.

Now fans are speculating the girl group could boycott Sheeran, 35, on a larger scale.

Sheeran co-wrote Katseye’s single, Animal, which was released in July. 

The Shape of You hitmaker reached out to the group to collaborate after their 2025 single Gnarly.

Sheeran co-wrote Katseye’s single, Animal, which was released in July – pictured December 2025

It comes after Macklemore announced that he’d been dropped from the British singer’s tour after making a ‘Free Palestine’ speech – pictured July 2025

But many social media followers are calling on Katseye to cut ties with Sheeran completely.

One X user posted: ‘Also now that Ed Sheeran has been proven that he stands against palestine. A reminder for eyekons that he wrote a song called ‘Animal’ for KATSEYE.

‘Stop streaming it because he also gains from it since he is credited as the songwriter. #Edsheerandisband’

A third chimed in: ‘Streets saying Katseye is removing Animal from the Wild World Tour set list! Ed Sheeran, you’re toast!’

While another fan sarcastically quipped: ‘Palestinians are finally free bc they unfollowed Ed Sheeran. thank you Katseye, they’re so brave.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Katseye and Ed Sheeran for further comment but has yet to hear back.

Lara began following Macklemore on Instagram while both she and Megan liked the post the rapper shared revealing he was removed from the remaining Loop tour dates he was scheduled to perform at

Many social media followers are calling on Katseye to cut ties with Sheeran completely

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Macklemore has made it clear that he won’t be curtailing his pro-Palestinian activism after being dropped as Sheeran’s opener after making a ‘free Palestine’ statement.

Macklemore, real name Benjamin Haggerty, called out New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whom he has accused of conspiring with other stadium owners to get him blackballed from Sheeran’s tour, and challenged the billionaire to match his $1million donation.

The tactic appears to have been successful, as shortly after Macklemore announced his donation on Instagram, the billionaire shared a statement on X announcing that he planned to match a $2 million donation from Sheeran.

The latest development comes after Sheeran suffered massive blowback in the wake of Macklemore’s ouster as fans unfollowed him on social media in waves and every one of his remaining opening acts withdrew from his tour.

In his post, Macklemore announced that he would be donating to six organizations serving Palestinians: Anera, Gaza Soup Kitchen, HEAL Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA USA).

‘With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom,’ Macklemore began his statement on Instagram.

‘I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people,’ he continued. ‘And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation.

‘Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,’ Macklemore stated. ‘A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.’

After Macklemore announced on Wednesday that he would be donating $ 1million – which he earned from Ed Sheeran’s tour – to Palestinian aid groups, Ms Rachel is doing the same; Sheeran and Macklemore seen above in 2013 in Brooklyn

Macklemore announced his donation in a statement to Instagram. He said he would be donating his ‘net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people’

Macklemore then tried to move the focus away from his professional setbacks to the people he hoped to help.

‘That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy,’ he continued. It is about Palestinians’ right to freedom, dignity and safety in their homeland.’

He added that Palestinians living amid the destruction wrought by Israeli forces faced far greater setbacks and dangers than himself.

‘I want to center the parents carrying their children into hospitals without the basic resources to treat them, and the physicians, paramedics, journalists and aid workers who keep going back in,’ Macklemore said. ‘I want to center the organizers and activists who have paid real costs for standing with Palestine. Their risk is of a far different order than mine.’

‘Just yesterday, 15-year-old Muhammad al Zinati was killed in an Israeli strike while rushing to help aid worker Sherif Lubbad, who had already been injured,’ the performer wrote. ‘He was a child. Both were murdered. Both should be alive.’

Macklemore added that countless more Palestinians’ names might never be remembered, as their families may have been wiped out.

The Same Love rapper admitted that ‘Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me.

‘I am doing it because I can, and because these organizations are doing the work while much of the world debates it.’

But he went on to caution that ‘aid alone’ could not solve the crisis affecting Palestinians.

‘This is a manmade injustice, and I believe it requires immediate political change. Palestinians have lived for decades without basic rights and should not have to wait another day to be free,’ Macklemore wrote. ‘That is where my focus will remain. I will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation.’

He then warned his fans: ‘When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it.’

Macklemore concluded his post by simply stating: ‘Free Palestine.’

Macklemore has accused Robert Kraft of conspiring with other stadium owners to get him blackballed from Sheeran’s tour, and challenged the billionaire to match his donation

Macklemore and Kraft announced their donations just a day after Sheeran’s opening acts on his tour all dropped out in protest over Macklemore being removed from the live dates.

The rapper was due to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining ten shows on his tour in America, which continues on Friday in Philadelphia, but on Tuesday it was announced that he had been dropped.

The American rapper had faced a boycott petition to remove him after he delivered a politically motivated speech in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5.

Sheeran has now lost his remaining support acts – Billie Eilish’s brother and music partner Finneas, his close friend Myles Smith, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga – who have all put out separate statements announcing that they will not continue with their dates on the Loop Tour.

Responding with an Instagram statement after the news he had been dropped, Macklemore claimed that Sheeran told him billionaire Robert Kraft, whose company owns the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts where Sheeran is set to play later this month, orchestrated the move after ‘rallying stadium owners and issuing an ultimatum.’

Later that day, Sheeran, 35, addressed the 43-year-old rapper being removed from the tour with his own statement, which said that Macklemore’s speech had upset the owners of venues they were set to play while reminding fans he will never personally take a publicly political stance.

Finneas wrote: ‘Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.’

And Irish singer Aaron Rowe took a strong stance as he wrote: ‘Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life. I could never thank him enough for this.

‘But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.’

The Hey Ma hitmaker continued by saying he ‘cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up.’

The third support act who pulled out was the group Lukas Graham who wrote: ‘We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.’

It remains uncertain how the Loop Tour will proceed with zero openers scheduled and 18 dates still set through the end of the year.

Ed Sheeran’s opening acts on his tour have all dropped out after Macklemore was kicked off the live dates following a ‘free Palestine’ speech; Sheeran is seen in December 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts

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Sheeran broke his silence on Macklemore on Tuesday. The singer, who is a father of two, said that his audience is often young people ‘from different backgrounds,’ who do not expect his shows to be a political forum.

Sheeran assured his followers that Macklemore’s removal would not affect his tour, as he told them ‘I would never let down the fans who had made plans’.

In his reaction, which came two days after Macklemore’s own statement, he said: ‘I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

‘The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.

‘Macklemore asked to join my tour last year and I agreed, because I respect him as an artist. As with all my support acts, I agree that they play a setlist of their choosing.

‘After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting.’

Kraft has defended his decision to block Macklemore from performing, saying the rapper ‘crossed a line.’

‘Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,’ Kraft said in a statement.

‘Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.’

The promoter for the American side of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, Messina Touring Group, said in a statement that they were told by venues of future dates on the tour that ‘they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.’

‘Which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” a spokesperson continued to Rolling Stone. ‘After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.’

As seen in fan-taken footage from his September 5 performance in New Jersey, Macklemore wore a keffiyeh at one point during his set and also performed his 2024 song Hind’s Hall with footage of Gaza on the massive screen behind him.

In the lyrics for Hind’s Hall, the rapper criticises actions in Gaza. Proceeds from the song go toward humanitarian efforts from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

‘One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I said, Free Palestine!’ he told the attendees.

‘I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.’

He then introduced Hind’s Hall, stating that it ‘was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world. Opened up hearts, myself included.’

‘So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, “No.” CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace. Thank you guys.’

He addressed the Jewish community, stating: ‘To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.’

‘My message is for peace. Love. For all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. So I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. I say free Cuba. I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.’

Macklemore went on to post a video of his speech on social media with the caption: ‘Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.’

In 2014, Macklemore issued an apology after wearing a disguise on stage in Seattle that many condemned as an anti-Semitic Jewish caricature.

In his apology after the Jewish caricature controversy, he said: ‘There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended… I respect all cultures and all people.

‘I would never intentionally put down anybody for the fabric that makes them who they are. I love human beings, love originality, and… happen to love a weird outfit from time to time.’

Macklemore added that he never thought he looked Jewish. ‘Some people there thought I looked like Ringo, some Abe Lincoln. If anything, I thought I looked like Humpty Hump with a bowl cut,’ he said.