The revelation came on the second day of Martin Greensmith’s trial following the death of Steven Shevels on Christmas Eve last year.

Jurors at Teesside Crown Court heard how the 61-year-old was asked to leave The Queen’s Head pub in Willington after he became an annoyance to the Greensmith family.

Wayne Palmer, who worked as a barman in the pub, was too ill to give evidence in person and his statement was read out by prosecutor Jolyon Perks.

In the statement Mr Palmer said Greensmith’s mum Angela had told him “that Steve was Martin’s dad and that she had told Martin that he was his father.”

“I felt that Angela had just told Martin by the way she was talking – I was absolutely shocked at the news,” he said.

“I never mentioned it to anyone else, and nobody else overheard.”

The witness said he had bumped into Mr Shevels in the King’s Head in Crook before he started his shift at the Queen’s Head, and the deceased later turned up unexpectedly.

Mr Palmer described him as a ‘vulnerable soul’ who liked a drink and had a reputation in pubs in his home town of Crook.

The court has heard how Greensmith was in the pub with his mother Angela, uncle, grandmother and two brothers enjoying a drink during the festive period.

Describing what happened on the day, the barman said a customer urged him to keep on eye on Mr Shevels as there was ‘an awkward atmosphere’ as he talked to the defendant’s uncle Trevor Greensmith.

“I could tell by their body language that it was not too pleasant,” he said. “On seeing this, I immediately left the bar and asked Steve to drink up.”

He said Mr Shevels finished his pint and headed to the toilet and thought no more about it.

“A short while later, Martin appeared at the bar asking for a glass of water saying – ‘he’s gone over’.

“I followed him into the beer garden and once there saw Steve laid on the ground with people working on him as he appeared unconscious and unresponsive.

“Martin was with Steve crying and I asked him what happened and he didn’t reply, he just continued to cry.”

Greensmith’s mother, Angela, was doing CPR on Mr Shevels until the paramedics arrived at the scene and took over before declaring him deceased an hour later.

Police outside the Queen’s Head in Willington on Christmas day (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The court heard how earlier in the afternoon, Ms Greensmith looked at Mr Shevels sitting at the bar and then gave a look towards the barman who, laughing, said ‘I know, he’s an arsehole, isn’t he’.

Mr Palmer said: “Angela then told me that Steve was Martin’s dad and that she had told Martin that he was his father.

“I felt that Angela had just told Martin by the way she was talking – I was absolutely shocked at the news.

“I never mentioned it to anyone else, and nobody else overheard.”

Paul Rooney, representing the 37-year-old, told jurors he would have raised a number of topics with the witness if he had been well enough to attend court.

He said he would have explored the demeanour of Mr Shevels in the pub and the defendant at the time of the incident. Mr Rooney said he would also have checked which pubs Mr Shevels was barred from and the reason why.

The jury heard how police body-worn camera footage captured Mr Palmer telling officers that Mr Shevels was ‘getting on their nerves a bit’ – the Greensmith family – and asked him to leave.

Another clip captured Mr Palmer telling an officer that Mr Shevels was not getting aggressive but he could see he was getting on their nerves.

Earlier in the trial, CCTV footage captured a series of interactions between Mr Shevels and the defendant’s mother Angela Greensmith, before he barged into the alleged victim while he was at the bar.

Greensmith then made an indecent hand gesture towards Mr Shevels before his mother and uncle intervened and moved him away.

Later in the day, cameras captured the defendant push Mr Shevels to the ground in the pub’s beer garden and the 61-year-old cracked his head on the concrete.

Pathologist Jennifer Bolton told the court that Mr Shevels suffered a cardiac arrest while unconscious and never recovered.

She said the cause of death was triggered by the fall and not an underlying heart condition he had.

Greensmith, of Rockingham Road, Sunnybrow, Willington, denies a charge of manslaughter and maintains that he acted in self-defence.

The trial continues.

A federal judge has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell‘s bid to overturn her conviction and 20-year prison sentence, ruling that her claims of ‘new evidence’ are meritless.

Judge Paul Engelmayer said Maxwell’s ‘new’ evidence, much of it drawn from files recently released by the Justice Department, was ‘largely irrelevant’ to the charges against her.

‘On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges,’ Engelmayer wrote in the opinion issued in the Southern District of New York.

Maxwell, who represented herself in the petition, had argued that newly released files supported claims of juror misconduct, a 2007 non-prosecution deal, prosecutorial misconduct and other errors that she said undermined her conviction.

Engelmayer branded her filing ‘lengthy and rambling’ and said that her claims were ‘all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous.’

Among Maxwell’s arguments was that a juror who had survived sexual abuse concealed his history during jury selection and was biased against her.  

But Engelmayer said the Second Circuit had already rejected that claim, finding the juror had served ‘fairly and impartially’, while Maxwell’s purported new evidence did not change that conclusion. 

Maxwell, 64, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 over her role as Jeffrey Epstein’s madam, supplying the financier with underage girls. She is being held at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, a minimum security facility.

Epstein was found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in August 2019. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide, and the FBI found no evidence of a criminal act in his death.

Maxwell remains the only Epstein co-conspirator ever jailed.

She argued that she had been selectively prosecuted, claiming other people who could have been considered Epstein co-conspirators were never charged.

Engelmayer said Maxwell had identified no similarly situated person who participated in Epstein’s abuse to anything like the same degree, leaving her unable to establish the discriminatory prosecution required for the claim.

Judge Paul Engelmayer

She also argued that Epstein’s infamous 2007 plea deal in Florida shielded her from prosecution in New York, pointing to newly released DOJ records that she said showed the deal covered his co-conspirators.

But Engelmayer said the agreement was expressly limited to the Southern District of Florida. He said Maxwell had ‘distort[ed]’ some of the material to reach her conclusion.

The disgraced British socialite further claimed lawyers for Epstein’s victims had improperly acted as ‘de facto prosecutors’ and influenced the government’s decision to investigate her.

Engelmayer found that the lawyers had provided information to prosecutors but that the government itself had made the decision to investigate Maxwell. 

Maxwell also challenged her sentence, arguing that Judge Alison Nathan improperly considered allegations that she had committed perjury even though those counts were ultimately dismissed.

Engelmayer rejected that argument, saying Maxwell was not sentenced for the dismissed counts but that a judge can consider reliable evidence of uncharged conduct when determining an appropriate sentence.

President Donald Trump faced pressure over the release of the Epstein files, amid claims that he was suppressing their release because his name appears in the documents. Being named in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing

The judge’s ruling leaves Maxwell languishing in the Texas prison camp. 

Her conviction and sentence have already been upheld by the Second Circuit, while the Supreme Court denied her petition challenging the 2007 Epstein non-prosecution agreement last October. 

Maxwell was interviewed by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July last year over her role in Epstein’s operation and whether she could give up the names of other conspirators.

The interview fueled speculation about what the Trump administration might do with Maxwell, amid renewed scrutiny of the Epstein case. 

Donald Trump faced pressure over the release of the Epstein files, amid claims that he was suppressing their contents because his name appears in the documents. Being named in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi was ultimately fired over the fiasco. 

In the interview with Blanche, Maxwell herself told prosecutors that she continued running Epstein’s properties, staff and business affairs until 2009. Engelmayer said that account undermined her claim that she had largely left Epstein’s orbit by 2002. 

A Home Office minister has been criticised by a senior Tory after she paid tribute to the five dead youths who killed two police officers on the A66.

Anna Turley, the Labour MP for Redcar, took to social media the following morning of the crash in her constituency, sharing a photo of her laying flowers for the seven victims.

The five dead youngsters died driving the wrong way down the A66 when they struck and killed PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in a response vehicle.

She wrote: ‘This morning I went down to South Bank to lay flowers and pay my respects, on behalf of our whole community, to the seven people whose lives were so tragically cut short yesterday.

‘There really are no words for the heartbreak their families, friends and loved ones will be feeling today.

‘May you all rest in peace.’

The Labour politician has now come under fire for the tribute, with a Conservative MP accusing her of putting the ‘thugs’ on a ‘par’ with the two police officers whose lives were tragically cut short.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: ‘Anna Turley is a Home Office minister.’

Ms Turley, a Home Office minister, has been criticised for seemingly putting the five youths on ‘a par’ with the two dead officers in her immediate response

Top Tory Nick Timothy criticised her post, sparking a furious war of words with Ms Turley 

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‘She wants to ‘pay her respects to the seven people whose lives were tragically cut short’ in the Middlesbrough crash this weekend. I can’t be the only one for whom this statement jars.

‘Two police officers – one an army veteran – were needlessly killed while on service. The five thugs who caused the crash – who killed PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades – also died.

‘These criminals, with many past offences between them, were driving illegally and irresponsibly the wrong way down an A road.

‘We don’t want to speak ill of the dead, I understand that. But the tragedy is the loss of those two police officers. The five thugs who killed them were responsible not only for their own demise but for the deaths of two innocent men.

‘We may live in an age of emoting, but we should be able to see the difference between right and wrong.

‘And it doesn’t feel right for a Home Office minister to put two police officers on a par with the thugs who killed them.’

Ms Turley hit back in a furious letter to Mr Timothy, saying she was ‘utterly appalled’ by his criticism.

The letter, seen by the Daily Mail, doubled down that ‘all [seven dead] were human beings with families who are grieving them’.

It added: ‘The fact that you have sought to create media hits and political points out of this horrendous event is beneath contempt.’

Ms Turley insisted that the identities of the five young men in the car that crashed into the police officers ‘were not even public when I paid my respects’ and claimed that Cleveland Police ‘had specifically requested that I pay tribute to all victims in any message’.

When approached by the Daily Mail, Cleveland Police refused to confirm or deny that any directive had been issued to the MP.

Around 19 hours before Ms Turley posted her tribute to Facebook, Cleveland Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said her thoughts ‘are with the families of everyone involved in today’s incident’.

Ms Turley sent a letter to Mr Timothy claiming that Cleveland Police had ‘requested’ that she pay tribute to all seven dead

PC Matthew Blades (left) and PC Tom Clough (right) both died when their police vehicle was struck by the Volkswagen Passat driving the wrong way down the A66

Mr Timothy has now written back to Ms Turley, saying it ‘would be an extraordinary thing for a police force to ask an MP to do’. 

The minister, who spent years working as an adviser in the Home Office for then-Home Secretary Theresa May, added: ‘I have never known such a request to be made in my years working with the police.’ 

He has asked her to provide written evidence to prove that her local force made a request about how she responded to the tragedy.

Ms Turley has been approached for comment. 

Local Labour councillor Alec Brown, who leads the Labour grouping on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, also sparked outrage in his response to the fatal crash. 

At 7pm on Sunday, Mr Brown announced a book of condolences would be opened at the council offices for the ‘2 family men in the prime of their lives needlessly lost their lives’ and the ‘5 young kids have gone before they even got started in adult life.’

But following widespread backlash on his Facebook post from local voters, he later U-turned and said ‘the book of condolences at the council will be for the 2 Cleveland Police officers only’ in order to prevent ‘anymore distractions or upset to the community’.

The row came as balaclava-clad youths sparked anger as they set off flares and fireworks in tribute to the five dead youths.

The chaotic scenes were filmed last night, and stood in stark contrast to a silent prayer vigil hosted in a nearby church to honour PC Clough and PC Blades.

Friends and family of Jakub Matusiak, 23, gathered at a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, just yards from the scene of Saturday’s catastrophic collision.

What began as a balloon release descended into confusion of smoke and noise when attendees lit up the sky with flares and rockets.

A gang of around 20 masked youths on motorbikes and quad bikes roared around the field in honour of Mr Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.

Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns.

Scores of people yesterday held orange flares aloft in a field in South Bank, Middlesborough, to mark the deaths of the five youths

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A group of masked bikers tore around the field  and joined in with the pyrotechnics

The scenes sparked anger, with onlookers accusing the crowd of showing ‘disrespect of the highest order’.

Hundreds of people on social media criticised yesterday’s scenes. 

Diane Pennock said: ‘I get it that their family’s and friends will be devastated and grieving but surely in circumstances where they have killed two innocent men who were simply out doing their jobs, you grieve in private?

‘To me, the public show of grief is completely excusing what they have done and that they have taken two young men’s lives who had families and children they should have gone home to.’

Writing on Facebook, Wendy Allington accused the mourners of showing ‘disrespect of the highest level for the two murdered policemen’ and said a quiet vigil would have been more appropriate. 

The balloon release was also criticised by environmental campaigners, who insist the plastic in balloons spreads pollution that risks harming wildlife. 

Balloons can block animals’ digestive and respiratory tracts, causing them to die a slow and painful death. 

The BBC has announced the cast of The Detection Club, a new 10-part detective drama inspired by the golden age of crime fiction

Everybody loves a good detective drama and fans of the genre are in luck as the BBC and BritBox have announced a new series that draws inspiration from the golden era of detective fiction.

Cast and series details have been confirmed as production starts on a 10-part mystery series called The Detection Club.

Against a setting of literary sophistication, societal transformation and lethal mystery, the series follows the enigmatic society established by three of Britain’s most renowned crime authors as they become embroiled in a succession of genuine murder investigations.

The Detection Club features Miles Jupp as G. K.Chesterton, Bryony Hannah as Agatha Christie, and Cara Theobold as Dorothy L. Sayers, together with Viraj Juneja as D.I. Greenway. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter

Developed for television by Kit Lambert, best known for his work on Father Brown, Cooper & Fry and Whitstable Pearl, the series is based on the original concept by acclaimed writer Simon Brett.

The series, situated in 1930s London, tracks the legendary crime novelists as they refine their expertise within the revered confines of a clandestine London venue. Following an invitation that draws them to their first genuine murder case, our celebrated trio collaborate to unravel a sequence of thrilling mysteries.

Their enthusiastic detective work places them alongside D. I. Greenway, an inexperienced young police officer whose eagerness to establish himself is simultaneously aided and complicated by the writers’ remarkable intuition.

Miles Jupp comments: “G.K. Chesterton was one of the great intellects and storytellers of his age. He’s an endlessly intriguing character – as well as a pleasingly eccentric one – and so I’m delighted to be joining The Detection Club. It really ought to be lots of fun.”

Bryony Hannah added: “Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time; and yet I knew very little about the woman behind the pen. The Detection Club gives us a chance to meet Agatha in a whole new light. I’m so looking forward to exploring her wit, intellect and flaws with such a fab team.”

Cara Theobold said: “Dorothy L. Sayers was razor sharp, wonderfully funny and gloriously uncompromising, so the opportunity to bring her to life and inhabit her world is a real thrill.

“Playing such a pioneering writer, especially alongside Miles and Bryony, is pretty much a dream job.”

Writer and executive producer Kit Lambert said: “The Detection Club asks, ‘What if the creators of our greatest fictional detectives had the chance to solve murders themselves?’ It is a celebration of three wonderful writers of crime fiction, inspired by their work, their lives, and their friendship. I’m thrilled that we have been able to bring together such an exceptional cast.”

Executive producer Deborah Sathe added: “It was like the avengers had assembled when Miles Jupp, Bryony Hannah and Cara Theobold brought Kit’s brilliant script to life into our casting room.

“Neil Irvine (Executive Producer) and I were over the moon to find such brilliant stars to bring a world that has long since fascinated us and fans of crime writing to life. We cannot wait to broadcast this fabulous show to the audience.”

Jon Farrar, chief content officer at BBC Studios, said: “The Detection Club is the perfect gift for fans of this iconic crime writing trio whose stories are beloved by BritBox audiences.

“We know this will add an exciting new dimension to the mystery genre they helped establish, as they band together to solve thrilling new cases, led by the incredible Kit Lambert and this standout cast.”

The BBC has not shared when the series will be released, however it has confirmed that production has started.

Calum’s main sporting passions are horse racing, football and, notably, golf, in which he trained to be a PGA professional. He oversees the running of Telegraph Media Group’s betting section and has been involved in the sports and betting industry for nearly 15 years, working with household names such as AC Milan, Aston Villa, Mercedes Formula E and World Rugby.

It happened in late June 2021 as pressure grew over a number of Freedom of Information Act requests and interest from politicians around a letter sent by Donaghy to the Cabinet Office.

Senior Mid and East Antrim Council officers met at their chief executive’s house on a Sunday for apparent crisis talks over the deletion of an email, a court has heard.

Former council chief executive Anne Donaghy and senior officer Aaron McClelland were among those present at the meeting, along with a policy manager Paul Thompson who had knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act.

It happened in late June 2021 as pressure grew over a number of Freedom of Information Act requests and interest from politicians around a letter sent by Donaghy to the Cabinet Office.

That letter, sent in January, outlined concerns about the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol at Larne Port following Brexit, and the safety of council staff operating those effective border posts amid opposition to the so-called Irish Sea border within the United Kingdom.

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A number of council staff were removed from the port after alleged threats against them.

Donaghy, 56, of Clonmore Road, Dungannon, has been charged with deleting an email and having attempted to delete an email to prevent the disclosure of information through the Freedom of Information Act, as well as procuring the deletion of an email.

McClelland, 49, of Clonmakate Road, Portadown, has been charged with one count of having attempted to delete an email.

They both deny the charges and are represented by defence barristers in the proceedings at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court this week.

The charges centre around the deletion of an email to former first minister Arlene Foster, and the attempted deletion of another.

These emails were the forwarding of Donaghy’s letter to the UK Cabinet Office.

It was forwarded to a number of DUP politicians, including MPs Ian Paisley, Sammy Wilson and Jeffrey Donaldson, as well as mayor Peter Johnston.

The prosecution outlined that Donaghy had been advised by the local MPs to write to the Cabinet Office to outline her concerns about the impact of the NI Protocol, and “sinister graffiti” at Larne Port threatening staff carrying out inspections at the border post.

After writing the letter, Donaghy had her assistants forward it to the MPs, as well as then-agriculture minister Edwin Poots and economy minister Gordon Lyons on February 1, and later to Gregg McKeen, the DUP leader on the council, and representative for Larne Lough, as well as Mr Johnston and Ms Foster on February 2.

On February 8, the council received a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from a journalist asking for copies of letters sent to the UK Government about the NI Protocol and alleged threats to staff.

This was refused on the basis of health and safety, and security.

In April, Donaghy appeared before the Stormont Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, where she was questioned by Alliance MLA John Blair about her letter to the Cabinet Office, and why she had sought the views of DUP representatives, but not those of others parties.

In the same month, the council received another FOI request for emails concerning the NI Protocol, as well as a second FOI request from the journalist who previously made the request which was refused.

The prosecution said that by the end of April, there was “increasing political and media scrutiny”, and also described how Donaghy was concerned that she was being perceived as being “the DUP’s person”.

In June, a TUV delegation had a meeting with Donaghy over the letter to the Cabinet Office, and Timothy Gaston was described as inquiring why it was “only sent to members of the DUP”.

On Monday, the court heard from two of Donaghy’s former personal assistants, one who had deleted the email to Ms Foster, and the second who had refused to delete an email to another person.

Donaghy said in her police interviews that she was concerned about Ms Foster’s personal email address getting into the public domain, as there had been an issue with information being leaked from the council.

The court heard she accepted during her police interviews that she had asked one of her personnal assistants to delete the email to Ms Foster, but said a hard copy of it had been kept.

McClelland also maintained that hard copies of the emails had been kept by him in a locked cabinet.

Giving evidence to court on Tuesday morning, Mr Thompson said McClelland had texted him on Saturday June 26 asking him to call him.

Mr Thompson said when he did so, he was asked to attend a meeting at Donaghy’s house the following day (Sunday).

He said he was told of “whistleblowing”, and at the meeting he said he learned it was around emails being deleted, and asked for his opinion.

“I guess at that time, I was the person who had the most knowledge of the FOI Act,” he said.

The first journalist to request the information, also made a second request in April, to which he received the information.

Asked what had changed between requests one and two, Mr Thompson said: “I have no recollection.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter.

Balaclava-clad youths have sparked anger after setting off flares and fireworks in a noisy tribute to the ‘joyriders’ who killed two police officers on the A66.

The chaos last night came in stark contrast to a silent prayer vigil hosted in a nearby church to honour PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades.

Friends and family of Jakub Matusiak, 23, decided to gather at a field in South Bank, Middlesbrough, just yards from the scene of Saturday’s catastrophic collision – caused by the gang hurtling the wrong way down the dual carriageway.

What began as a balloon release descended into a confusion of smoke and noise when attendees lit up the sky with flares and rockets.

A gang of around 20 masked youths on motorbikes and quad bikes roared around the field in honour of Matusiak, who himself had convictions for motoring offences.

Footage showed dozens of flares being held aloft, filling the field with dense orange fog, as bikes revved their engines and blared their horns.

The scenes sparked anger, with onlookers accusing the crowds of showing ‘disrespect of the highest order’.

Today, a Home Office minister also came under fire for appearing to pay tribute to the five ‘joyriders’ in a post on Sunday.

It comes as police continue to investigate the lead-up to Saturday’s crash.

Nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, have so far been arrested on suspicion of offences ranging from possession of a firearm to drugs possession.

Several were arrested on suspicion of links to organised crime – and police are investigating reports of a second car, a Volvo XC60, which was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area on Saturday.

Two houses were previously rammed by vehicles earlier this month in what police described at the time as ‘targeted and linked’ attacks.

A group of masked bikers tore around the field  and joined in with the pyrotechnics

The memorial began as a balloon release but descended into noise and confusion

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The vigil to remember the two constables who lost their lives was a much more sober affair

Hundreds of people on social media criticised yesterday’s scenes. 

Diane Pennock said: ‘I get it that their family’s and friends will be devastated and grieving but surely in circumstances where they have killed two innocent men who were simply out doing their jobs, you grieve in private?

‘To me, the public show of grief is completely excusing what they have done and that they have taken two young men’s lives who had families and children they should of gone home to.’

Writing on Facebook, Wendy Allington accused the mourners of showing ‘disrespectot the highest level for the two murdered policemen’ and said a quiet vigil would have been more appropriate. 

The balloon release was also criticised by environmental campaigners, who insist the plastic in balloons spreads pollution that risks harming wildlife. 

Balloons can block animals’ digestive and respiratory tracts, causing them to die a slow and painful death. 

Plenty of the residents of the surrounding streets chose not to attend the memorial events. 

Looking at the police officers standing beside their vehicles, a 58-year-old grandmother said: ‘What must they be thinking right now? This is nothing but a mockery of the lives of those two policemen.

‘I’ve watched them walking down there drinking and smoking weed and razzing about on their motorbikes. There’s nothing here to celebrate.’  

Just down the road, locals mourning the lives of the two constables quietly filed into St John the Evangelist Church.

Among them was Redcar’s Labour MP Anna Turley, who said: ‘I thought it was really important to come together. I was really pleased that the church has opened themselves up for the community to come together, because it’s such a devastating incident.

‘The whole community here is reeling, and we’ve lost lives, particularly those lives of brave police officers who are out in action to keep us safe. It’s a tragic incident.’

Today, Ms Turley came under fire for a post she shared on Sunday, shortly after news of the accident emerged.

She wrote on Facebook: ‘This morning I went down to South Bank to lay flowers and pay my respects, on behalf of our whole community, to the seven people whose lives were so tragically cut short yesterday.

‘There really are no words for the heartbreak their families, friends and loved ones will be feeling today. May you all rest in peace.’

Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said it did not ‘feel right’ for a minister to put the ‘joyriders’ ‘on a par’ with the police officers they killed. 

‘Anna Turley is a Home Office minister. She wants to ”pay her respects to the seven people whose lives were tragically cut short” in the Middlesbrough crash this weekend,’ he wrote on X. 

‘I can’t be the only one for whom this statement jars. We may live in an age of emoting, but we should be able to see the difference between right and wrong.

‘And it doesn’t feel right for a Home Office minister to put two police officers on a par with the thugs who killed them.’

In response, Ms Turley accused Mr Timothy of a ‘cheap political tweet’ and insisted her respect for the police officers’ heroism was not dimished by her recognising that ‘seven lives were lost’. 

Police announced the previous convictions of four of the five ‘joyriders’ on Monday – after Ms Turley’s tweet. She was acting in her role as a local MP. 

Family and friends of Matusiak, 23, decided to gather on the South Bank Back Field yesterday 

PC Matthew Blades, a father of two, was killed when his police vehicle was struck head-on by a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 near Middlesbrough 

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PC Tom Clough also died in the crash, which occurred around 10 seconds after a police pursuit of the Volkswagen had been called off. 

At the vigil yesterday, one female attendee in her 20s was indignant at the tone of the coverage of the deaths of the youths. 

She said: ‘Jakub was a lovely, caring lad and he’s somebody’s son and somebody’s brother, he’s not some scumbag who should just be written off and forgotten.

‘It was an accident that those police officers died, they weren’t trying to kill anyone and they lost their own lives but they’ve just been written off as if they don’t matter. 

‘The number of people who have come out for Jakub should show you that they do matter, they were loved and they will be missed.’

The gathering took place on South Bank back field, only a few hundred yards from where the collision took place on the A66, ending seven lives.

Cleveland Police attended but kept a low-key presence, a patrol car from the Matrix team – which the two constables worked in – was parked 500 yards away alongside a police van.

Another balloon release was scheduled at the same time in Middlesbrough for Cole Worthy, 17, another of those killed.

Matusiak, Worthy and their friends Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, died in a catastrophic head-on collision in Teesside early on Saturday morning.

The youngsters were driving the wrong way down the A66 when they struck PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were travelling in a response vehicle.

Another police car had been pursuing them before calling off the chase. Just ten seconds later, the VW struck PCs Blades and Clough, who had not been involved in the pursuit.

In the months leading up to the crash, Saddington had posted a string of TikTok clips that appeared to show him taking part in police chases. He had also been awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting police officers. 

Four of the youngsters killed in the VW had extensive criminal records, including convictions for drug offences, assault and robbery.

Cole Worthy, 17, had a balloon release memorial at the same time as Matusiak’s on Monday afternoon 

Makai Saddington, one of the five killed in the Volkswagen, posted videos on TikTok of him being chased by police and was awaiting trial for racially abusing and assaulting officers

Friends and family have paid tribute to Matusiak, with his sister describing him on social media as ‘my best friend, always and forever’.

A family friend, Jodie Stephenson, also paid tribute, writing: ‘I’ll miss the ADHD and the headaches you caused us, the late-night phone calls to pick you up quickly and walking into Jimmy’s to find you flat out on the bed.

‘You always came here when the s*** had hit the fan and that was quite often.’

In May this year, Matusiak posted a video on social media which appeared to show him driving a Volvo recklessly through a Middlesbrough housing estate. At one point in the video, he was seen leaving the road and driving across a grassy area. 

Meanwhile, the families of the two officers have paid moving tributes to the heroes, and a GoFundMe appeal launched by Cleveland Police Federation to support them had raised more than £800,000 by this morning.

The federation said its officers had ‘paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty’ and left behind ‘heartbroken loved ones’. It added that the funds raised would be split equally between the families. 

PC Blades’s wife described him as ‘our superhero’ and said: ‘He gave his life in the line of duty, protecting and serving others with courage, dedication and selflessness.’

Former soldier PC Clough, 38, was described by his family as ‘our hero’ who was ‘always driven by a sense of public service’.

Police said there is no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning was carried out for the purposes of TikTok.

The Middlesbrough crash came less than a week after an incident in Co Kildare, Ireland, when five teenagers died in a head-on crash while driving the wrong way down the M9.

Close friends Theo Rae (left) and Cole Robert Worthy both died in the crash on Saturday

Michael Robert Cahill was one of the five in the VW

A family in the other car, comprising three women and a seven-year-old boy, were left seriously injured in the crash while travelling to the airport to begin a holiday, according to reports.

At least three of the teenagers had boasted online about driving the wrong way down motorways to evade police.

Speaking in Kyiv on Monday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the Government had urged TikTok and other platforms to remove videos which glorify dangerous driving.

Mr Burnham said those who share such videos are ‘doing something that’s truly reprehensible’.

A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The glorification of dangerous driving for clips and entertainment is utterly disgraceful and that is why we have raised the issue of this appalling content with social media companies since the tragedy.’

A US Air Force transport jet made a highly unusual landing in Moscow on Tuesday, sparking a frenzy of theories about its mysterious mission.

The C-17A Globemaster III touched down at Vnukovo International Airport on August 25 after taking off from Riga, Latvia, public flight-tracking data showed.

The aircraft is a large, long-range military transport aircraft used for strategic and tactical airlifting of troops, vehicles, and heavy cargo worldwide.

The C-17A left the NATO country around 8.50am Moscow time (12.50am ET) and landed in the Russian capital roughly 74 minutes later.

Its route took it through tightly controlled Russian airspace, which it would have needed official clearance to enter.  Data from FlightRadar24 tracked the jet as it arrived in Riga on August 23 from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC, home to the presidential fleet that includes Air Force One.

Neither Washington nor Moscow has explained the reason for the flight as of Tuesday morning, leaving it unclear who or what the giant military aircraft was carrying.

The silence prompted speculation that it could be connected to a prisoner exchange, sensitive diplomatic talks over the war in Ukraine or an operation involving embassy personnel.

One X user who tracks US military planes said: ‘In a highly unusual move, a US Air Force C-17 transport aircraft has just landed in Moscow from Riga, Latvia, flying across restricted airspace. I wonder what is going on…’ 

No evidence has emerged to support any of those theories, and the true purpose of the rare flight remains a mystery. The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.

However, the flight path was shared online, sparking a range of theories from users.

One X user posted: ‘I suspect possibly a prisoner exchange or maybe a group of US officials are going for negotiations?’

While many agreed that a prisoner exchange was likely the reason for the secret mission, another user said: ‘Wouldn’t that be public knowledge though? All seems a bit covert.

Another user suggested that a prisoner exchange would not likely happen with a C-17A, as previous swaps have all used smaller, private-style jets. 

Some military-aviation observers also speculated that the mission could be associated with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, raising the possibility that he could be travelling to Moscow. 

Pentagon records show Hegseth spent Monday, August 24, visiting Nebraska and Wisconsin as part of his ‘Arsenal of Freedom’ tour. 

The mysterious flight also coincided with a Reuters report on Tuesday that Ukraine had worked with US and European officials to draw up a fresh proposal for Moscow. 

The aircraft, flying under the call sign RCH4555, left the NATO country at around 8:50am Moscow time (12.50am ET)and landed in the Russian capital roughly 74 minutes later

The C-17A Globemaster III is a hulking four-engine military transport designed to carry troops, armored vehicles and oversized cargo around the world.

The Boeing-built aircraft stretches 174 feet from nose to tail and has a wingspan of nearly 170 feet.

It can haul up to 170,900 pounds, enough to carry 102 fully equipped paratroopers or a 69-ton M1 Abrams battle tank.

The jet cruises at approximately 518mph and can travel about 2,760 miles without refueling while carrying close to its maximum payload. Aerial refueling gives the aircraft a virtually global range.

Despite its enormous size, the aircraft can take off and land on runways as short as 3,500 feet and even reverse under its own power.

The Air Force uses the aircraft, which is not an armed fighter,  to deliver troops and equipment, conduct airdrops, evacuate wounded patients and support humanitarian missions.

Its cavernous cargo hold can transport some of the US military’s heaviest equipment, and publicly available flight data did not reveal what was aboard the plane that landed in Moscow. 

The roots of the C-17 stretch back to the late 1970s, when the US Air Force began searching for a powerful new transport capable of delivering troops and heavy combat equipment directly to remote battlefields.

The service formally opened its C-X competition in 1980, calling for an aircraft that could carry enormous loads, including the M1 Abrams tank, into small, austere airfields.

McDonnell Douglas beat Boeing for the project in August 1981 with a design based partly on its earlier YC-15 prototype, and the aircraft was designated the C-17 the following month.

Development was plagued by cost overruns and repeated delays as engineers wrestled with mission-computer software, flight controls and a complex wing designed for short-runway operations.

The problems became so serious that the Pentagon placed McDonnell Douglas and the C-17 program on probation in the 1990s.

The prototype, known as T-1, finally completed its maiden flight on September 15, 1991, and the first operational squadron was declared ready in January 1995. 

Boeing inherited the program after merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and continued building the aircraft at its Long Beach, California, plant.

Production ended in November 2015 after 279 C-17s had been built for the US Air Force and military operators including the UK, Australia, Canada, India, Qatar and NATO partners. 

By CONNIE RUSK, ASSOCIATE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR

Published: 08:50 BST, 25 August 2026 | Updated: 11:14 BST, 25 August 2026

Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington. 

The actor boasts an impressive social circle and shared a picture from a star-studded dinner he hosted at his west London home over the weekend.

Fans hailed Richard’s 69th birthday celebrations their ‘fantasy dinner guestlist’, with stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Martin Short and his son Henry, Sir Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia.

But in a new interview, Richard has explained how his friendship group shrank after Joan passed away. 

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Dialect coach Joan died in 2021 aged 74, just eight months after being diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer two days before Christmas.

He was heartbroken that some of his so-called pals were crossing the street to avoid an awkward conversation, rather than provide him comfort after losing his wife. 

Five years on, Richard says he can’t forgive them as he told The Sunday Times: ‘I’m very unequivocal, black and white, all or nothing. I’ve tried to go for the grey areas but it’s not succeeded for very long.

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Richard E Grant has revealed he ‘edited’ friends out of his life after the death of his beloved wife of 35 years, Joan Washington

Stars including Christine Baranski, Steve Martin, Sir Gary Oldman, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short showing up to party alongside his daughter Olivia

‘There are people that have been edited out of my life and I will never see them again. If I had done that to them, I wouldn’t be able to look them in the face. People do everything to avoid talking about death.’

When the interviewer suggested these people might have good intentions, Richard thought about before answering: ‘No, portcullis down. Goodbye.’

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Richard added he has learnt to navigate his way around grief, but there isn’t a day he doesn’t wake up and remember what has happened. 

The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild following their daughter Olivia giving birth to a baby boy in June. 

He said: ‘I’ve felt that overwhelming thing that you’re part of the cycle of life. You’ve gone through death and now there’s a birth. I instantly thought, how many Christmases will I have to share with the grandchild? That’s the thing that galvanises you – how many years of life you have left.’

Richard and Joan met in 1982 at the Actors Centre in Covent Garden, where she was teaching. She was ten years his senior and at the top of her profession, while he was a struggling young actor newly arrived from Swaziland, now Eswatini.

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The couple married in 1986 and went on to have their daughter, Olivia.

In a new interview, Richard revealed his friendship group became a lot smaller after Joan passed away (pictured with Joan and his daughter Olivia in 2019) 

The actor said he finds it ‘impossible’ to get his head around the fact Joan will never hold their grandchild. In June, their daughter Olivia gave birth to a baby boy 

Their journey to parenthood was not an easy one. The couple endured the heartbreak of losing their first child together, who died shortly after birth, and Joan suffered multiple miscarriages.

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But she was determined they would keep trying – and Olivia’s arrival was the gift that completed their family.

When Joan died in 2021, Richard announced her death with a moving video of the pair dancing together, writing at the time of his love for the ‘Giver of Life to our daughter Olivia’.

The actor has been remarkably candid about his grief. He has spoken of crying every single day, of writing Joan every night and of carrying on what he calls an ‘ongoing silent conversation’ with the woman he describes as the love of his life.