When the billionaire owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, bought the Washington Post from the Graham family in 2013, he promised a “golden era to come”. In February 2017, one month into Donald Trump’s first term as US president, the paper adopted the motto: “Democracy Dies in Darkness”, reflecting the perceived threat posed by Trump’s authoritarian leanings and the suggestion that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election.

That motto was turned against Bezos last week when it was announced that the Post was laying off one-third of its editorial staff, including its sports section and several of its foreign bureaus. The news was greeted with dismay in America’s journalistic circles. Marty Baron, a celebrated former executive editor of the Post, called the layoffs “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations”.

But in the years since Bezos acquired the Post it has become a symbol of a global wave of democratic backsliding in the US which accelerated as the prospect of a second Trump presidency grew through 2024. After an initial period of investing in the Post and hiring more reporters, he has now overseen a long period of decline.

Political concerns began seriously to mount in 2024 when, in the run up to that year’s presidential election, the newspaper broke a 36-year precedent by refusing to endorse a candidate (which most readers, given the paper’s traditionally liberal leanings, had assumed would be Democrat Kamala Harris).

Since Trump has returned to the White House further evidence of this backsliding at the Post includes suppression of a cartoon critical of Trump’s relationship with US tech oligarchs by the Pulitzer Prize winning artist Ann Telnaes and a refocusing of the opinion pages to centre them on “personal liberties and free markets”. The changes have reportedly cost the Post many thousands of subscribers.

But the malaise in US journalism is a much broader story than just the travails of the Washington Post. There’s a sustained campaign of cultural and structural violence against a profession that is under economic and political strain, yet essential to democracy.

Trump’s hostility toward certain sections of the press is not new. During his first term he used non-journalistic platforms to brand mainstream media outlets “the enemy of the people”. His hostility was directed at both institutional and personal level, launching attacks against individual journalists and their employers (the “failing New York Times”, his clash with CNN’s Jim Acosta, etc).

In his second term this hostility has intensified, its impact often obscured by the rapid pace of news emanating from the White House. We’re seeing press freedom in the US under attack on three distinct fronts: restricted access to information, threats to the safety of journalists and use of legal pressure to discourage dissenting voices.

Controlling the message

Restrictions began as soon as Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January 2025. Within a month, the Associated Press lost access to the Oval Office and Air Force One (in other words, to direct contact with the president) after refusing to adopt an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”.

Accreditation rules soon tightened. In October, the newly minted secretary of war Pete Hegseth announced that henceforth journalists reporting from inside the Pentagon would be allowed to only report official government pronouncements. Many mainstream reporters handed back their Pentagon accreditation in protest. In response, Hegseth announced what he called the “next generation of the Pentagon press corps”, mainly comprising journalist from far-right outlets.

Meanwhile the president’s verbal attacks on journalists have escalated, particularly targeting women and especially women of colour. Incidents such as the “quiet Piggy” remark (directed at Bloomberg journalist Catherine Lucey) exemplify a broader pattern of public humiliation of female journalists. Research suggests that such conduct contributes to the normalisation of hostility toward female journalists, who were already disproportionately quitting journalism.

Journalists covering protests also face heightened risks. During the “no kings” demonstrations in October 2025, multiple incidents were reported in which police used force against accredited reporters. In November 2025 the White House escalated the pressure, launching a “Hall of Shame” site naming journalists and outlets it said had misrepresented the administration.

‘Lawfare’

The Trump administration has also brought considerable legal pressure to bear on the news media over the first year of its second term. The US president has filed multiple lawsuits alleging bias on the part of one or another media organisation that had attracted his disfavour.

In July, Paramount reached a US$16 million (£11.69 million) settlement over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris in 2024 that the president accused of bias. At stake was a US$8.4 billion merger that required approval from the Federal Communications Commission, a public body headed by Trump loyalist Brendan Carr.

The president also has active suits against the Wall Street Journal and the BBC (an episode which led to the resignation of director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness). By the middle of 2025, Axios reported that Trump-related media and defamation suits had already matched the annual historical record.

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Why has the BBC’s director general resigned and what could happen next?

Democratic backsliding

Taken together, these developments reflect a broader pattern of institutional stress affecting US democratic structures. The pressure on these established media organisations has created a situation in which they manage to survive with their independence eroded.

Comparative research consistently demonstrates that journalists are among the first actors targeted in such processes because of their frontline work. Control over information remains central to the success of an authoritarian government.

What, then, should journalists and media organisations do? Standing together matters. We saw that in 2018, when about 350 American newspapers jointly defended press independence against Trump’s “fake news” attacks. This prompted the US Senate to adopt a resolution supporting a free press and declaring that “the press is not the enemy of the people”.

But the danger is that this structural violence against the news media and its attempt to hold power to account becomes normalised. If the Trump administration’s contempt for the fourth estate continues to percolate through to the public at large, a population already struggling to tell truth from lies will be further blindfolded and darkness will fall over American democracy.

A diversion route is in place overnight

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The M62 motorway is shut overnight on Wednesday night following a lorry fire that damaged the carriageway.

Emergency services were called to the eastbound carriageway on Tuesday morning, February 10.

The closure is in place to allow emergency resurfacing to take place.

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The road is shut to traffic between Junction 18 and Junction 19 (Heywood) and is expected to reopen on Thursday morning.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “The M62 in Greater Manchester is closed eastbound between J18 (M60/ M66) and J19 near Heywood for emergency resurfacing works following a HGV fire which occurred shortly before 06:00 on 10th February.

“Service providers are in attendance. The closure is expected to remain ongoing throughout the night.”

M62 diversion route:

Drivers are being advised to follow the Hollow Triangle diversion symbols on the road signs: Exit the M62 at J18. At Simister roundabout, take first exit onto M66 clockwise and follow for 3.4km. Exit M66 at J3

At M66 J3, take first exit onto slip road, turn right on Pilsworth Road and follow for 1.3km. At Pilsworth Road/Moss Hall Road Junction, turn right onto Moss Hall Road and follow for 0.4km. At Moss Hall Road/Pilsworth Road Junction, turn left onto Pilsworth Road and follow for 1.1km

At Pilsworth Road/Hareshill Road Junction turn right onto Hareshill Road/Queen Elizabeth Way and follow for 1.9km. At Queen Elizabeth Way/M62 J19 roundabout take the second exit and re-join M62.

Joe Thomas has given an update on The Inbetweeners comeback after creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris bought back the rights to the hit E4 comedy and confirmed they are writing new material

Joe Thomas, best known for playing Simon from The Inbetweeners, has revealed that creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris are “writing something” new for the beloved teen comedy.

After the E4 coming-of-age series ended in 2010 and the follow-up films in 2011 and 2014 the writers secured an agreement with production company Banijay UK to develop additional Inbetweeners content. Ever since, there has been speculation online discussing a potential comeback for the show.

Now, Joe has offered fans fresh insight into what might be on the horizon for The Inbetweeners. Speaking at The Comedy Rooms, the 42-year-old actor explained: “What has happened is that the people who write The Inbetweeners a while ago sold the rights to a larger entity, and they recently bought them back so they can make some more.

“I’m really excited. I don’t know what they’re doing. I just know they’re writing something, and I would really love to do it.

“That’s pretty much it. I hope there’s more because I’ve not got that much else to do! I do like The Inbetweeners as well.” For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter

The Fresh Meat star mentioned that fans frequently yell catchphrases from The Inbetweeners at him on the street – including references to Simon’s love interest Carli D’Amato (Emily Head).

He added: “Well yeah. People shout ‘Carly’ and things like that. One time I was playing football with Simon Bird who plays Will, and someone just shouted out ‘Your mum’s a c***’. That’s not a line from the show, that’s just rude.”

Thomas appeared alongside Simon Bird (Will McKenzie), James Buckley (Jay Cartwright) and Blake Harrison (Neil Sutherland) throughout The Inbetweeners’ three E4 series and both films.

The quartet reunited in the 2019 special The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited, during which they looked back on the show’s enduring impact.

In October 2025, Beesley and Morris revealed they were developing fresh content for The Inbetweeners.

The duo told The Sun newspaper: “It’s incredibly exciting to be plotting more adventures for our four favourite friends (ooh, friends).”

Whilst the precise direction for The Inbetweeners’ future remains unclear, it has been confirmed the IP may return “across a range of platforms, including film, TV and stage”.

Authorities have released the audio of an emergency call made by a 13-year-old boy who swam for hours to save his family after they were swept out to sea.

Austin Appelbee, his mother, brother and sister, from Perth, were on an inflatable kayak and paddleboards when they got into difficulty off the west coast of Western Australia.

Mum Joanne Appelbee, 47, asked her son to swim around 4km (2.5miles) to shore – where he then ran 2km to find a phone he could use to call the emergency services.

With Ms Appelbee’s permission, the Western Australia Police Force has released the audio of Austin’s call, on which he can be heard calmly explaining the life-threatening situation.

“Hello, my name is Austin and I’m outside [the] beach,” he says, before explaining that he has two siblings, brother Beau, aged 12, and sister Grace, eight.

“We went out on a kayak trip and a paddleboard trip, and we got took out to sea and we got lost out there,” he continues.

“We got lost around about, I don’t know what time it was, but it was a very long time ago. You know, we couldn’t get back to shore and mum told me to go back and get help, and then I haven’t seen them since.”

Austin then suggests: “I think we need a helicopter to go find them.”

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Teen swims 4 kilometres to save family

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to explain, I think I need an ambulance because I think I have hypothermia,” he adds.

When the emergency services operator checks that they have the correct information, Austin admits being “really scared” and explains: “I had a kayak, and then I had a bunch of water in it.

“It started to sink and I kept on, like, falling off it. So I decided to ditch the kayak and I decided to take off my life jacket, and I had to swim around about four kilometres facing the current.

“And like I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I think I have heatstroke and I feel like I’m about to pass out. I’m very dizzy.”

After Austin’s call, a multi-agency search and rescue response was coordinated and his family members were located clinging to a paddleboard at about 8.30pm local time – 10 hours after they had entered the water.

They were then safely brought back to shore by a volunteer marine rescue vessel.

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WA Police Force has praised Austin for “his composure and ability to make critical decisions”, with Forward Commander Acting Sergeant Andrew McDonnell adding: “What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary.

“His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

Jeff Narvil, 58, from Mississippi, dedicated 14 months to learning Welsh independently before travelling to Cardiff University to sit his exam

A judge from the United States travelled 4,000 miles to sit a Welsh-language exam in Cardiff. Jeff Narvil, 58, from Jackson, Mississippi, has devoted the past 14 months to learning Welsh in his free time.

The administrative law judge learned the language mostly on his own using apps, textbooks and online resources. In January he made the journey to Cardiff University to take the A1 language exam which tests reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.

On his Welsh studies, Jeff said that the more effort he put in the more he enjoyed it. “I enjoyed it, or I would have quit, because nobody made me do this,” he said.

“It was 100% voluntary, and there are many languages, and there are many other things to do with your free time. But the more time I put into it the more I enjoyed it. Then the experience of finally getting to go to Wales.

“I planned it so that I could experience the country for the week before the exam, and I loved the few brief times I got to practice with somebody.

“I really enjoy trying to read the road signs, or read things at the restaurant. That, to me, was very entertaining, and people smiled and made it worth it.”

Besides Welsh, Jeff completed the European A2 levels in French, Spanish, and German and the A1 in Italian and Irish. He explained he has maintained a longstanding fascination with language and history.

He first encountered the Welsh language 15 years ago whilst studying Irish and various Celtic languages. As daily commitments increased, it wasn’t until late 2024 when seeking to learn another language that he chose to pursue Welsh.

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“Welsh came to mind as something that I thought would be, in fact, very different and unusual,” he said. “I thought it was a great connection to my love of travel, and my love of my ancestors, and British history – and I have no regrets. I have really enjoyed the time that I spent on it.

“One of the attractions about studying Welsh is that there was an exam that was available, and having that deadline is very motivating sometimes. Knowing that I had to be ready by the end of January to do that.”

As someone who taught himself, apps, textbooks and digital resources proved essential, though he acknowledged the shortage of practice partners in the US presented challenges.

He recalled: “I did not take any lessons online. The only online class that I took was where the teacher was to prepare for the exam, which was a four-hour class, one week before the exam.

“I had to get up at 3am in order to do that, because of the time change I’m six hours behind Wales. I did Duolingo every day for over a year, I read some books about the history of the Welsh language.”

The time difference presented an additional obstacle, with certain online courses timetabled for the early morning hours in Mississippi.

“I would like to have taken the language course, because I do think they do a great job,” Jeff said. “It’s just that with a time change, it’s very difficult and with my work schedule.

“I would recommend other people do the class, though, because, especially living in Mississippi, there’s zero opportunity to speak to somebody who knows Welsh.

“Nobody can correct my pronunciation if I learnt it incorrectly. It would have been much better in hindsight for me to hire a tutor or something like that online.”

Alongside sitting the exam in Cardiff, Jeff and his partner Fran Weeks journeyed throughout the country, exploring Caerphilly castle, St Davids in Pembrokeshire, Betws-y-Coed in Conwy county and Harlech in Gwynedd.

He said: “I made the best of it. I made a complete circle around Wales. I went to all three national parks. I visited several castles.

“I love genealogy, and my partner and I, we’re both very, very great grandchildren of King Edward, so we went to visit some of his castles and I loved all that.”

He also seized the opportunity to practise his Welsh with locals, including shop assistants and café workers.

Jeff said people were supportive and understanding when he mentioned he was studying the language. Despite not yet knowing his exam results, he said the experience had already fulfilled its purpose.

“It’d been a long time since I was in a university classroom but it brought back a lot of good memories. I cannot believe how encouraging everybody’s been about the exam.

“It’s been overwhelming, and it’s been very, very positive, and it really makes me want to continue to study Welsh.

“But I’m going to wait to see how I do on these exams. If I failed it I don’t know that I can do much better in the future without courses or speakers.

“But if I passed it then maybe I could continue to go a little further beyond day one.”

Jeff’s exam results are anticipated in early March.

Social Media Murders looks at the tragic death of 19-year-old Bianca Devins who was murdered by a friend she met online.

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Social Media Murders returns to our screens tonight, highlighting the case of 19-year-old Bianca Devins.

Originally broadcast in 2021, the 10-part docu-series is being re-aired, with the third episode set to air tonight, Wednesday, February 11, at 11.40pm on ITV.

The episode, titled The Murder of Bianca Devins, delves into the harrowing circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death in July 2019. She was murdered by her friend Brandon Clark, 21, whom she had recently befriended on Instagram.

The pair were returning from a concert in Queens, New York City, when Clark fatally stabbed Bianca and shockingly posted graphic images of her body on social media.

Following the murder, Clark attempted suicide but survived. Upon his arrest, it was discovered that he had also filmed the horrific act.

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Where is Brandon Clark now?

In February 2020, Brandon Clark pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is currently serving a 25-year sentence at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York.

As reported by Distractify, during his sentencing, Clark expressed remorse, stating: “I hate myself for what I did to her.

“I don’t understand how I could do something like that. It disgusts me.”

This wasn’t his only public statement. Three years ago, he participated in a contentious interview with Yinka Bokinni for Channel 4’s Interview With A Killer.

At the time, Bianca’s mother Kim penned a letter to Channel 4 and Plum Productions, imploring them not to broadcast the documentary.

She expressed her concern that it would inflict “immense emotional distress” on Bianca’s family and friends.

In the wake of her daughter’s tragic passing, Kim has been advocating for changes in social media practices as images of Bianca’s body persistently circulated online.

Bianca’s Law was enacted in 2020, making it unlawful in New York State to share offensive images of crime victims.

Social Media Murders: The Murder of Bianca Devins is available to watch on ITVX.

‘This type of language and leadership has no place in English football, and we believe most fans will feel the same’

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claim that the ‘UK has been colonised by immigrants‘ has been described as ‘disgraceful’ by Kick It Out. The billionaire, who is founder and chairman of one of the world’s largest chemical companies, Ineos, said in an interview with Sky News that politicians needed to ‘do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track’.

Sir Jim also claimed that the UK population has swelled by 12 million since 2020, drawing a strong reaction from football’s leading anti-discrimination body, who said in a statement: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments are disgraceful and deeply divisive at a time when football does so much to bring communities together.

“In addition to the inaccurate figures mentioned, it’s worth reminding him that Manchester United has a diverse fan base and plays in a city whose cultural history has been enriched by immigrants. This type of language and leadership has no place in English football, and we believe most fans will feel the same.”

Ratcliffe said in the interview with Sky News: “You can’t have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK is being colonised. It’s costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the comments ‘offensive and wrong’ and has called on Ratcliffe to apologise.

The billionaire, who also described the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as an ‘intelligent man’ with ‘good intentions’, bought a minority share in United in late 2023 and his Ineos group has since taken control of football operations. He has presided over a variety of contentious changes since becoming part of the ownership, with ticket pricing and availability causing particular anger among United fans.

A protest against the club’s owners – including towards Ratcliffe as well as the majority owner the Glazer family – took place before Manchester United’s recent home game against Fulham. Ratcliffe has made a string of controversial cuts during his two years at Old Trafford, as well as sacking two managers in that period, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.

“I’ve seen quite a bit of this at the football club,” he said. “If you do difficult things, which we felt that we had to do at Manchester United… we felt like they were the right things to do. But you do become very unpopular for a while.

“Well, I’ve been very unpopular at Manchester United because we’ve made lots of changes. But for the better, in my view.

“And I think we’re beginning to see some evidence in the football club that that’s beginning to pay off.”

Manchester United have been contacted for comment by the Press Association.

Eleven days after the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie vanished from her home in the foothills outside Tucson, Arizona, investigators had yet to identify a suspect or even a person of interest Wednesday.

What seemed like a major break Tuesday — when authorities detained a person for questioning — fizzled when the man was released hours later. The detainment followed another potential break earlier in the day when investigators released video footage showing a masked and apparently armed man at Nancy Guthrie ’s doorstep the night of her disappearance.

The overall lack of progress has generated pressure and questions for local and federal investigators who haven’t held a news conference in days. From the outside, it might seem like solving the case and finding the 84-year-old Guthrie is growing unlikely, but investigators may be further along than they let on.

It’s not uncommon for cases to seem dead in the water at the outset and still eventually get solved, said Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler who worked on the yearslong search for the “Unabomber.”

So how do investigators tackle cases like this?

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The masked figure and the Unabomber

Surveillance footage released Tuesday showed a person on Guthrie’s porch wearing a ski mask, backpack and what looked like a holstered handgun.

It offered the best opportunity yet for the public to help identify the suspect, said O’Toole, thinking back to the hunt for Ted Kaczynski, known as the “Unabomber,” who was caught in 1996 after a yearslong search.

Kaczynski, who carried out a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, wrote a manifesto that was published in The New York Times and The Washington Post before he was caught.

His brother recognized Kaczynski’s tone in the screed, tipped off the FBI, and Kaczynski was arrested in a cabin outside Lincoln, Montana.

Similarly, Luigi Mangione, who allegedly shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York, was arrested five days later when someone recognized him at a McDonald’s and called in a tip.

In Guthrie’s case, the release of the surveillance footage and Savannah Guthrie’s plea for the public’s help is the same strategy, O’Toole said.

Someone who knows the suspect may have noticed them acting unusual, such as not going to work, following the news closely or making offhand comments about the case.

If they recognize anything familiar about the masked person on camera, that could confirm their suspicions and lead them to tip off investigators, O’Toole said.

DNA and the University of Idaho murders

Investigators said DNA from blood on Guthrie’s porch matched her, and O’Toole said investigators will still be casing the area for DNA from a possible suspect, including hair or fingerprints, which have helped solve other cases.

Bryan Kohberger, the criminology student who sneaked into a home and stabbed four University of Idaho students to death in 2022, was arrested after trace DNA was found on a knife sheath left on one of the victim’s bed.

That DNA didn’t yield any results from standard law enforcement databases, so investigators turned to publicly available genealogy services, searching for possible relatives.

After homing in on Kohberger by tracking his car using surveillance footage near the crime scene, investigators got a Q-tip from the trash outside his family’s home and tested the DNA.

It matched the father of the person whose DNA was on the knife sheath.

Strange encounters and the Brown University shooting

In the days after a shooter killed two people at Brown University in 2025, investigators didn’t appear any closer to identifying the suspect.

When police eventually shared images of a person of interest, a man started posting on Reddit that he recognized the person and that police should look into a gray Nissan.

The source, named only as “John” in a police affidavit, told investigators that he’d bumped into a man in the bathroom and thought his clothing was “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather.” John saw him again outside acting nervous and jumpy near the Nissan.

John’s tip about the car helped identify the shooter, Claudio Neves Valente, six days later, leading investigators to a storage unit where he was found dead from suicide.

It’s unclear if John took the $50,000 reward for information that was offered in the case. The FBI is offering the same amount for information in Guthrie’s apparent abduction and hoping a tipster like John may come forward. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday that they have received nearly 18,000 calls since the day Guthrie was reported missing.

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said in a previous statement: “Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home.”

Manchester United are leaning towards making an external managerial appointment despite Michael Carrick’s impressive return to Old Trafford.

United have taken 13 points out of a possible 15 since Carrick was appointed caretaker manager last month, winning four games in a row before Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Manchester United were sixth in the Premier League when they decided to pull the plug on former boss Ruben Amorim, who had a disappointing 14-month reign.

While that represented a marked improvement on a team that finished 15th last season, United were still struggling for consistency, exiting both domestic cup competitions at the earliest possible stage.

It was not only underwhelming performances that cost Amorim his job but also his public criticism of those above him at Old Trafford in the days leading to his sacking.

Champions League qualification appeared unlikely at the time of Amorim’s departure but Carrick has taken the Red Devils back into the top-four.

Carrick’s tenure as caretaker manager started with impressive wins over title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, before United beat Fulham and Tottenham.

Manchester United were not at their best against West Ham but Benjamin Sesko’s injury-time equaliser maintained Carrick’s unbeaten record.

Carrick’s return to Old Trafford was initially only expected to be temporary, with United always planning to make a permanent appointment at the end of the season.

But United’s brilliant form under the ex-midfielder has led to calls for Carrick to be named as Amorim’s full-time replacement.

England legend Wayne Rooney, for example, has suggested Carrick will become ‘impossible’ to ignore if United’s current form continues until the end of the season.

But according to Sky Sports, Manchester United are not accelerating their plans to appoint a new manager and still do not view Carrick as the favourite for the job.

The likes of Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti, Mauricio Pochettino, Oliver Glasner, Luis Enrique and Roberto De Zerbi have all been linked with United since Amorim’s sacking.

The Manchester Evening News claim England boss Tuchel is emerging as the ‘preferred choice’ of Old Trafford decision-makers.

Tuchel took charge of the Three Lions last year but is only contracted to England until after this summer’s World Cup, meaning he will likely be available come July.

Before becoming England manager, Tuchel had spells at Bayern Munich, PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, where he won the Champions League and Club World Cup.

While much could change before the end of the season, overlooking Carrick would be fairly surprising as he already appears to have the backing of the United squad.

Captain Bruno Fernandes has repeatedly praised the former England midfielder since he took over and goalkeeper Senne Lammens followed suit after the West Ham draw.

‘We can be happy with the first five games with him as a coach,’ Amorim’s £18m summer signing said.

Gary Neville reveals Man Utd’s ‘official position’ on manager search

‘I actually spoke to the club, because ultimately the club get asked all the time from journalists and broadcasters, what’s the position of the club.

‘It’s a very difficult situation, you’ve got a massive movement now with what’s happened towards giving Carrick the job, saying that really he should be considered.

‘That’s only going to build the more that he wins and the more that he gets closer to Champions League football. I asked the club what is the official position of the football club in terms of what you’re saying publicly to everybody else.

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‘I have to say I thought their answer was pretty good. They said they’ve actually begun the process now, starting to look for another manager, which I thought right.

‘It’s a very difficult situation, you’ve got a massive movement now with what’s happened towards giving Carrick the job, saying that really he should be considered.

‘That’s only going to build the more that he wins and the more that he gets closer to Champions League football. That’s good to hear because you need to plan for everything.

‘They’ve started the process of speaking to and looking at other managers, building all the sorts of data and analysing who should be the next manager of the football club.

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‘But what they’ve said is they’re not going to be bounced into – irrespective of wins or draws or losses on the pitch in this next couple of months – making an appointment.

‘They’re going to wait until towards the end of the season.’

Gary Neville speaking on his Sky Sports podcast

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‘The West Ham result was a little bit disappointing because we wanted to continue winning and now, being two weeks without a game, we wanted to go in that period with a good feeling.

‘But it’s a little bit less bad because we scored at the end. One of his [Carrick’s] strong suits is communication, being clear about what he wants. We knew what we had to do and executed the plan.

‘Man City and Arsenal were different kinds of games because we didn’t really have to make it ourselves.

‘It was more about being compact, playing from the counter and creating chances, which is one of our strong suits. We know we can do well against those teams.

‘Against Fulham and Tottenham we had to play more of our game. It was not always the prettiest, but the result was there, which is the most important thing, and something we haven’t really done all season.’

Due to being knocked out of the FA Cup by Brighton, Manchester United have almost two weeks off before they return to Premier League action on February 23 against Everton.

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Armed police were seen escorting gorillas from the Bristol Zoo Project in Clifton to their new home at Easter Compton, which is set to open to the public this spring

Armed police were spotted at a former city zoo as gorillas moved out of their enclosure.

Staff at Bristol Zoo Project are relocating the gorillas from the Clifton site to their new home on the outskirts of the city. Lorries and vans from JCS Livestock – the country’s leading transportation firm for large wild animals – were seen leaving the site on Wednesday afternoon, escorted by armed police, Bristol Live reports.

Eight western lowland gorillas have lived at Clifton since the zoo closed three and a half years ago. The last animals remaining at the site will soon move to a purpose-built home at Easter Compton, near junction 17 of the M5 at Cribbs Causeway.

A spokesperson for the Bristol Zoological Society said the move will take place gradually over the course of several weeks. “The planning for the move of the zoo’s troop of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas is extensive and being overseen by the expert team at Bristol Zoological Society to ensure the highest possible animal welfare,” the spokesperson said.

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“Operational preparation for the move has been planned to take place over several weeks. The date of the move won’t be made public to ensure that it progresses without interruption, and the gorillas’ welfare is not impacted. As soon as the move is complete, we will share information with our supporters, volunteers, and members.”

Last month, the zoo unveiled images of its new “African Forest habitat”, including an indoor ‘gorilla gym’, ahead of its planned opening in the spring. The timber structure spanning three indoor areas was crafted using “oak sourced sustainably from Devon”. It features resting platforms, nests and a ‘biofloor’ of bark chip mulch, which the zoo says will encourage natural behaviours like climbing and nesting.

“Plans to create a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project continue to progress, as work is close to completing on the new African Forest habitat for some the world’s most endangered species,” the spokesperson said.

“Completion of African Forest enables the much-anticipated arrival of the zoo’s existing troop of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas. They will be joined by Endangered cherry-crowned mangabeys in a UK zoo first for the two species.

“African Forest will also be home to Critically Endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, Endangered African grey parrots and several extremely threatened species of West African freshwater fish.

“African Forest will open to the public in spring 2026 and the gorilla move has been carefully planned to enable a period for the animals to settle into their new habitat prior to the public opening.”

Since the Clifton site closed to visitors in September 2022, keepers have continued to care for the gorillas daily, although occasional break-ins by “urban explorers” have caused the animals distress, the Bristol Zoological Society previously said.

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Last month, a campaign to reopen the Clifton site as a zoo was relaunched, with campaigners telling a packed public meeting that time was running out to stop the final sale of the land to property developers.

The campaigners said Bristol Zoological Society will only be able to complete the sale of the Clifton Zoo Gardens site to Acorn Property Group once the gorillas have been moved, as the deal requires vacant possession.

The society overcame a legal challenge last year over plans to build 198 new homes on the former zoo site, with proceeds from the sale funding the expansion of the Bristol Zoo Project in South Gloucestershire.