Asked whether the PM was confident claims were being scrutinised closely enough, the spokesman added: “The asylum system is built on robust safeguards, so every claim is rigorously and fairly assessed, abuse is actively uncovered, and these procedures are continually reviewed to shut down misuse.”

The Alan Partridge star will have a guest role in the second series of the BBC comedy

The BBC has given Funboys fans a glimpse at the upcoming series while confirming Steve Coogan is joining the cast.

The Alan Partridge actor will have a guest role in the second series of the comedy about young men in small-town Northern Ireland. He will portray frustrated thespian Phillip, who has found himself at a folk museum performing as part of the aristocracy, reports the Irish Mirror.

“Pompous, cruel and petty, the line between Phillip and the land steward he plays is a very thin one and his role at the folk park is more just an excuse to let his pungent sadism run riot,” the broadcaster said.

The BBC and BBC Northern Ireland comedy launched last year and proved popular with audiences. Its second series will track the Funboys of rural Ballymacnoose “as they flounder their way into adulthood”.

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A synopsis revealed: “The soft bellied boys of Ballymacnoose are back. After last year, tackling the weight of grief, suppository drugs and being a bastard, the gang have come out the other side all grown up.

“Callum’s (Ryan Dylan) trying out a lovely perm, Gemma (Ele McKenzie) and Lorcan (Lee R James) are smooching seven times a day, and it’s been four months since Jordan’s (Rian Lennon) last full throated screaming strop with his Daddies.

“Things are bright in Ballymacnoose. But dark clouds loom! The gang belatedly get involved in Irish history and it’s all down-hill from there. Bigotry, balding and competitive robot combat, if they aren’t careful the funboys are about to become the doneboys. Aghh!”

The synopsis continues: “Will the soft kindness of their teletubby hearts overcome the scars of the past? Is Jordan losing his hair or is it, as he insists, just a double crown?

“Are the close-minded people of Ballymacnoose ready for Lorcan to explore previously uncharted territory in the love department? Is Lorcan even ready? Who’s exploring Lorcan’s departments?”

Rian Lennon, who portrays Jordan, commented: “If Funboys Season One was a freshly born fawn, skittering around in its own amniotic sack, then season two is a sinewy young buck galloping through forests thick, leaping into the unknown and screaming ‘Hawwwwww!’”

His co-star Ryan Dylan, who takes on the role of Callum, urged viewers: “Please take your time with Funboys series two. Enjoy every suck, smack and sniff, and allow this succulent comedy to slide down your gullet and into your soul.”

Amongst the familiar faces returning to the screen are Brian Devlin, Owen Colgan, Paul Bazely and Richard Croxford. Newcomers include Nicky Harley, Saorlaoith Brady, Lalor Roddy, Donal O’Hanlon and Amanda Doherty.

Funboys is set to air on the BBC.

Victoria Beckham has finally spoken out after months of speculation over the family feud with eldest son Brooklyn Beckham.

In January, the aspiring chef launched a brutal takedown of his parents in a statement shared on social media, in which he accused them of ‘controlling’ him and ‘trying to ruin’ his relationship with his wife.

He also claimed that his mother ‘hijacked’ his and Nicola Peltz’s first dance at their 2022 wedding, and ‘danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone.’

He has since completely detached from his family, reportedly asking for no contact while living in the US with wife Nicola Peltz.

While Sir David Beckham did tentatively address the fallout, Victoria stayed quiet after the ‘humiliating’ accusations.

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, the former Spice Girl said: ‘I think that we’ve always—we love our children so much. We’ve always tried to be the best parents that we can be.’

‘And you know, we’ve been in the public eye for more than 30 years right now, and all we’ve ever tried to do is protect our children and love our children. And you know, that’s all I really want to say about it.’

She was asked if she felt guilt or remorse for bringing her family into the spotlight at such early ages.

All of their kids – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper – have spent much of their childhoods chased by paparazzi and shared on social media.

Victoria continued: ‘I wouldn’t say it comes with guilt, I’d say that there was a lot of adjusting from my mum and dad, when all of a sudden there were paparazzi outside their house.

‘We’ve really taken our families on this ride with us.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE: Brooklyn Beckham’s ex reveals ‘warning signs’ during their relationship

MORE: Chris Evans’ controversial series returning to Channel 4 in days

MORE: Victoria Beckham shares cringe-inducing reaction to Cruz’s naked single promo

Kacey Musgraves has a message for skeptics who doubt her recent UFO experience.

The country singer, 37, posted videos on her Instagram Story Thursday in which she detailed the “craziest… orb, UFO experience” she had on a recent flight.

Shortly after, science writer and self-identified “UFO analyst” Mick West took to X to debunk the patterns shown in her video as satellite flares, writing: “The @KaceyMusgraves UFO sighting video has been identified by @flarkey as being 100% consistent with Starlink horizon flares.

“Her plane was in the flare zone for the entire flight, and the flares appeared in the right position, moving and fading at the same speed as seen on the video. If she could share the exact time the video was recorded, then we could identify the exact satellites.”

However, the “Space Cowboy” singer didn’t seem too interested in West’s take. “Hey Mick if you zoom way into the videos you can also see a really clear angle of Bigfoot riding your mom,” she wrote.

West did not respond to Musgraves’s zinger.

The Grammy-winning singer, whose Instagram handle is ironically named spaceykacey, has not provided further update on her out-of-this-world experience, which she said occurred during a flight from Fort Worth, Texas, to Nashville, Tennessee.

“I’ve seen many crazy things,” she said in the video. “I’ve seen fire burning in the sky, things that I can’t explain, so this is not the first time.”

She continued, “I was about to lay down and take a nap, and I saw these lights that caught my eye that just didn’t look normal. And I watched them for a minute.”

Musgraves described the lights as initially appearing to be an orange-ish color, but said they would become “extremely bright and chance color, change size.”

“These orbs were not moving like any craft that we can control,” she said. “They were intermittently coming and going, forming triangle patterns. The craziest thing is… so they were following us from about the Little Rock area. That’s when I noticed them all the way to Nashville.”

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The “Deeper Well” singer said that once the plane landed in Nashville, the pilots exited the cockpit and laughed as they told passengers on the plane that “we’ve seen these every single night, and all the other pilots are seeing them too. And nobody knows what they are.”

Musgraves joked, “S*** is weird, but I’m here for it! I am open to it, I’m here for it.”

The singer’s story comes after former President Barack Obama appeared to confirm the existence of extraterrestrials in a February interview, but backtracked shortly after and said he knew of “no evidence” to prove it.

The game will be played in Lille in June and be part of an away double-header say the IFA

Northern Ireland will take on 2018 World Cup winners France in an international friendly this summer.

Kylian Mbappe and Co will be fine-tuning their preparations for the World Cup and have lined up Michael O’Neill’s team for a pre-tournament friendly.

The match will take place on Monday, June 8th in Lille, the fourth largest stadium in France, at 9.10pm local time (8.10pm UK time).

Didier Deschamps team this week lost Liverpool striker Huge Ekitike to a serious Achilles injury which will keep him out for the World Cup. However, they will have the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann and William Saliba preparing for the World Cup, which starts just a few weeks afterwards.

France’s first game is against Senegal on June 16th in New Jersey.

The two teams have not met in 27 years. In 1999, France came to Belfast and beat Northern Ireland 1-0. That came a year on from their maiden World Cup triumph on home soil in 1998

It is the first time Northern Ireland have played in France since the UEFA Euro 2016 campaign. The team played in Nice, Lyon and Paris in that tournament, but have never played in Lille.

“This is exactly the level of challenge we want. France are one of the top sides in world football so it’s a great test for our players,” said Irish FA Technical Director, Aaron Hughes, who was part of that famous journey to France a decade ago.

The Irish Football Association say the France game will be the second of two away friendlies, with the ‘date, venue and opponent of the first game to be announced in due course’.

“This fixture marks 10 years since UEFA Euro 2016 when our brilliant fans created such special memories so it’s a fitting occasion as we look forward,” said Irish FA President Conrad Kirkwood.

After losing the World Cup Play-off semi-final to Italy, Northern Ireland’s next competitive game is not until September. They will compete in Nations League League B, Group B2 in the autumn against Hungary, Ukraine and GeorgiaFurther details, including ticketing information, will be confirmed in due course.

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He has been elected as Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) due to the excellence in encouraging innovation and advancing knowledge for the benefit of society.

A University of Stirling Academic has been given a hugely prestigious honour.

Professor Paul Cairney has been elected as Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) for his work in providing vital advice in problem solving and encouraging innovation.

The Professor of Politics and Public Policy has been elected in recognition of excellence in his discipline, and an ongoing commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of society.

The RSE was founded in 1783 and leverages the combined knowledge of its 1,800-strong Fellowship to tackle the most pressing issues facing society, provide independent expert advice to policy-makers and inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers.

Professor Cairney uses scientific research on policy-making to inform real-world problems, at Scottish, UK, and EU levels of government.

In October, he became the Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded FORTH2O, which fosters policy innovation and coherence through collaboration.

Professor Cairney, said: “I am delighted to have been elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

“I look forward to working with many new colleagues to show how research can inform policy routinely, and to help early career colleagues understand the policy processes in which they engage.”

Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, said: “On behalf of the University community, I warmly congratulate Professor Paul Cairney on being elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

“We are very proud of Professor Cairney’s achievements and of this recognition by the RSE, a prestigious organisation of international renown which celebrates excellence and advances knowledge for the public good.”

Professor Cairney is among 43 individuals elected as RSE Fellows in 2026, who will use their knowledge for the public good as part of Scotland’s National Academy.

RSE President Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli PRSE added: : “It is a great privilege to welcome this group of such exceptional people into the Fellowship of the RSE. Each of our new Fellows brings a unique background, expertise and insight to the National Academy of Scotland, and we are thrilled to have them join us.”

It is set to open this year

UNIQLO has revealed it will open a Cambridge branch this year. The Japanese retailer is set to open its first store in Cambridge this autumn.

It will open in a unit by the main entrance of the Grand Arcade. The shopping centre hosts 60 shops and leisure facilities, including the Everyman cinema, John Lewis & Partners, Apple, Oliver Bonas, Dr Martens, Mango, and many more.

The fashion retailer has opened multiple locations across the UK. A new store is opening in Bristol on Thursday (April 16) and a new branch is also set to open in Leeds in 2026.

Ramsay, never knowingly promo shy, barely seems to have done publicity for this place. Has he even been here? But fair enough, after his recent Michelin push, Ramsay does TGI Fridays is hardly the best look. Perhaps it is an intended cash cow, a 250-cover canteen meant to offset any losses elsewhere in the company. It certainly costs: a cheap night out this is not. Of the eight mains, six are north of £40, with the signature beef Wellington at £65 (the next day I lunch at Chelsea’s upmarket NoFifty Cheyne, £59 to share). Sides include a £22 lobster tail. Cocktails are mostly £17; the wine list’s opening gambit is champagne from £105-a-bottle, with just three still wines under £50. Wines they pour at speed and in large portions, edging you towards a second bottle. It is easy to resent this sort of avarice encouragement. Ramsay’s Savoy Grill costs about the same for a similar menu, only at the Grill there is a sense of history and far fewer bandanas. Oh, and I’ve never eaten there worried the table might collapse.

Overall, Lady Hallett made five recommendations, including reforming the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme; giving regulatory bodies access to healthcare records for safety monitoring for new vaccines and therapeutics; establishing a “pharmaceutical expert advisory panel” to ensure the UK is well placed to develop, procure and manufacture vaccines and new treatments, and producing targeted vaccine strategies and better monitoring of vaccine uptake and delivery.

Shelia Ward faced the decision of turning off her husband’s life support after he showed signs of having a stroke

A woman has shared the heartbreaking moment she had to decide to turn off her husband’s life-support machine just 11 days after he received a Covid-19 vaccine. Stephen Ward was taken to the hospital 10 days after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, according to his wife.

The 57-year-old man, who lived in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, showed signs of having a stroke, including trouble speaking and weakness in his limbs. Mr Ward, who had been employed at the Co-op for 40 years, developed a blood clot, and doctors tried hard to save him.

However, the following day, his family was informed that the bleeding was too serious for him to recover. It eventually led to the decision to turn off his life support.

“Stephen was one of those people who would help anybody do anything,” his wife Sheila Ward told the Press Association. “If your car wouldn’t start in the morning he would help you, if you were unwell he would mow your grass, he was just one of those community-minded people.”

She went on: “We had both had Covid back in the November before the vaccines were rolled out, so from our point of view there was no urgency to take the vaccine. It was just the obvious choice really – to take the vaccine to protect loves ones, and like everyone else we wanted to get back to normal.” Mrs Ward had to wait for almost a year for a coroner to confirm that his death was a “result of complications of medical vaccination”.

Kate Scott also gave evidence to the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry after her husband Jamie was left permanently disabled after having a reaction to the vaccine. The senior IT engineer was 44 when he had the AstraZeneca jab in April 2021, Mrs Scott said. Ten days after receiving the vaccine, she says he woke with a headache, vomiting and impaired speech and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where he had multiple operations to treat a blood clot in his brain, she added.

The father of two boys was in a coma for four weeks and suffered with side effects including impaired speech, reduced cognition, memory and processing deficits, visual difficulties, concentration difficulties and fatigue. He received a payment under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) on the basis of the balance of probabilities that the vaccine caused his injuries.

Mrs Scott told the Press Association: “He is a warrior. I often say we are the luckiest unlucky people. He survived. He wasn’t supposed to – I was called in four or five times to be told that he wouldn’t make it through the night. We are incredibly lucky that he is alive and he is able to be in our lives with the children and have moments of joy.

“But it is very, very difficult. The lasting brain damage is the size of a credit card. He had to relearn to walk, talk, eat, and communicate. He’s got a hidden disability of brain damage, processing issues, he has lost peripheral vision in both eyes, he can’t split and divide his attention, he has got chronic fatigue. He has had over 300 medical appointments and just navigating life with a brain injury is difficult.”

Mrs Scott said that in his work as an IT engineer, Mr Scott spent his working life “problem solving and fixing things”. She added: “It’s very unlikely he will be able to work again.” She told the Inquiry: “His relationship with me and, mostly, his relationship with our children will never be the same again.”

Mrs Scott and Mrs Ward are members of Vaccine Injured and Bereaved UK (Vibuk). The group has been calling for reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme – which currently sees eligible people given a one-off payment of £120,000.

The calls have been echoed in the latest report from the pandemic probe, with Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett saying the scheme is “not sufficiently supportive” and requires “urgent reform”. The probe highlights how the vaccine response was a “success story”, and says that by March 2023, 475,000 lives had been saved by Covid-19 vaccines in England and Scotland.

But it acknowledges that there were “rare cases” of people suffering serious injury or death as a result of vaccination. Lady Hallett said: “Tragically, a number of people suffered harm as a result of having a vaccine. This was a small minority compared to the overall scale of the vaccination programme, but of no less importance to the individuals affected and their families.”

She recommended increasing the minimum payment, which was last revised in 2007, saying the current payment is “too low”. The payout should increase in line with inflation, the report says, which would mean it would now be in an ‘excess’ of £200,000, and this should rise with inflation.

Lady Hallett also calls for a “fairer system” for determining payment. She also called for regulatory bodies to have access to healthcare records for safety monitoring for new vaccines and therapeutics.

Reacting to the report, Mrs Scott added: “It is an uncomfortable truth, but vaccine injury and death are part of the pandemic story. Today’s recommendations somewhat recognises that reality. We welcome this as an important step towards fairness for those who suffered devastating consequences.”

Solicitor Terry Wilcox, of Hudgell Solicitors – which has represented some of the vaccine injured groups, said: “The Inquiry rightfully provided a platform for their stories to be heard, and what they are calling for is simple. They deserve acknowledgement of the impact on their lives, which for many has been life-changing illness and loss of loved ones, and changes made to ensure they are properly supported, and that lessons are learned for the future.”

A group of 48 claimants who have been seriously injured or bereaved as a result of a side-effect of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are represented by Leigh Day partner Sarah Moore. “The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, in its current form, fails to provide timely or adequate support to those who have been seriously injured or bereaved due to vaccine side effects,” she said.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, also known as Vaxzevria, was withdrawn from the market in May 2024. In December 2020, the vaccine became the second Covid-19 jab to be approved for use in the UK and former prime minister Boris Johnson hailed it as a “triumph for British science”.

Vaccine makers agreed that it could be manufactured on a not-for-profit basis for the duration of the pandemic worldwide and in perpetuity for low- and middle-income countries. Billions of doses were created and made available across 183 countries. Estimates suggest that the rollout of the jab saved 6.3 million lives worldwide.

On April 7, 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued updated information on the “possible risk of extremely rare and unlikely to occur specific types of blood clots” following vaccination with the AstraZeneca jab. AstraZeneca said in a statement: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority.

“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

“We are incredibly proud of the role the Oxford-AstraZeneca played in ending the global pandemic. According to independent estimates, over six million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic.”