BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, her family said. She was 96.

Kennedy had been hospitalized after suffering a stroke in her sleep on Oct. 3, her family said.

“It is with our hearts full of love that we announce the passing of our amazing grandmother,” Joe Kennedy III posted on X. “She died this morning from complications related to a stroke suffered last week.”

“Along with a lifetime’s work in social justice and human rights, our mother leaves behind nine children, 34 grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren along with numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom love her dearly,” the family statement said.

The Kennedy matriarch, whose children were Kathleen, Joseph II, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas and Rory, was one of the last remaining members of a generation that included President John F. Kennedy. Her family said she had recently enjoyed seeing many of her relatives, before falling ill.

A millionaire’s daughter who married the future senator and attorney general in 1950, Ethel Kennedy had endured more death by the age of 40, for the whole world to see, than most would in a lifetime.

She was by Robert F. Kennedy’s side when he was fatally shot in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, just after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. Her brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas less than five years earlier.

Her parents were killed in a plane crash in 1955, and her brother died in a 1966 crash. Her son David Kennedy later died of a drug overdose, son Michael Kennedy in a skiing accident and nephew John F. Kennedy Jr. in a plane crash. Another nephew, Michael Skakel, was found guilty of murder in 2002, although a judge in 2013 ordered a new trial and the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his conviction in 2018.

In 2019, she was grieving again after granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an apparent drug overdose.

“One wonders how much this family must be expected to absorb,” family friend Philip Johnson, founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, told the Boston Herald after Michael Kennedy’s death.

Ethel Kennedy sustained herself through her faith and devotion to family.

“She was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant, and we are comforted in knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, our father, Robert. F. Kennedy; her children David and Michael; her daughter-in-law Mary; her grandchildren Maeve and Saorise and her great-grandchildren Gideon and Josie. Please keep our mother in your hearts and prayers,” the family statement said.

Ethel’s mother-in-law, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, initially worried about how she would handle so much tragedy.

“I knew how difficult it was going to be for her to raise that big family without the guiding role and influence that Bobby would have provided,” Rose recalled in her memoir, “Times to Remember.” “And, of course, she realized this too, fully and keenly. Yet she did not give way.”

She founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights soon after husband’s death and advocated for causes including gun control and human rights. She rarely spoke about her husband’s assassination. When her filmmaker daughter, Rory, brought it up in the 2012 HBO documentary, “Ethel,” she couldn’t share her grief.

“When we lost Daddy …” she began, then teared up and asked that her youngest daughter “talk about something else.”

In 2008, she joined brother-in-law Ted Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, likening him to her late husband. She made several trips to the White House during the Obama years, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 and meeting Pope Francis in 2015.

Many of her progeny became well known. Daughter Kathleen became lieutenant governor of Maryland; Joseph represented Massachusetts in Congress; Courtney married Paul Hill, who had been wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing; Kerry became a human rights activist and president of the RFK center; Christopher ran for governor of Illinois; Max served as a prosecutor in Philadelphia and Douglas reported for Fox News Channel.

Her son Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also became a national figure, although ultimately not as a liberal in the family tradition. First known as an environmental lawyer, he evolved into a conspiracy theorist who spread false theories about vaccines. He ran for president as an independent after briefly challenging President Joe Biden, and his name remained on ballots in multiple states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.

Ethel Kennedy did not comment publicly on her son’s actions, although several other family members denounced him.

Decades earlier, she seemed to thrive on her in-laws’ rising power. She was an enthusiastic backer of JFK’s 1960 run and during the Kennedy administration hosted some of the era’s most well-attended parties at their Hickory Hill estate in McLean, Virginia, including one where historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. was pushed fully clothed into the swimming pool. In the Kennedy spirit, she also was known as an avid and highly competitive tennis player and a compulsive planner.

“Petite and peppy Ethel, who doesn’t look one bit the outdoorsy type, considers outdoor activity so important for the children that she has arranged her busy Cabinet-wife schedule so she can personally take them on two daily outings,” The Washington Post reported in 1962.

In February of that year, she accompanied her husband on a round-the-world goodwill tour, stopping in Japan, Hong Kong, Italy and other countries. She said it was important for Americans to meet ordinary people overseas.

“People have a distinct liking for Americans,” she told the Post. “But the Communists have been so vocal, it was a surprise for some Asians to hear America’s point of view. It is good for Americans to travel and get our viewpoint across.”

Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, the sixth of seven children of coal magnate George Skakel and Ann Brannack Skakel, a devout Roman Catholic. She grew up in a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut, and attended Greenwich Academy before graduating from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945.

She met Robert Kennedy through his sister Jean, her roommate at Manhattanville College in New York. They moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he finished his last year of law school at the University of Virginia, and then in 1957, they bought Hickory Hill from by John and Jacqueline Kennedy, who had bought it in 1953.

Robert Kennedy became chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee in 1957. He later was appointed attorney general by his brother, the newly elected President Kennedy.

She had supported her husband in his successful 1964 campaign for the U.S. Senate in New York and his subsequent presidential bid. Pregnant with their 11th child when he was gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan, her look of shock and horror was captured by photographers in images that remained indelible decades later.

The assassination traumatized the family, especially son David Kennedy, who watched the news in a hotel room. He was just days before his 13th birthday and never recovered, struggling with addiction problems for years and overdosing in 1984.

In 2021, she said Sirhan Sirhan should not be released from prison, a view not shared by some others in her family. Two years later, a California panel denied him parole.

Although Ethel Kennedy was linked to several men after her husband’s death, most notably singer Andy Williams, she never remarried.

In April 2008, Ethel Kennedy visited Indianapolis on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A monument there commemorated King’s death and the speech her husband had given that night in 1968, which was credited with averting rioting in the city.

“Of all the Kennedy women, she was the one I would end up admiring the most,” Harry Belafonte would write of her. “She wasn’t playacting. She looked at you and immediately got what you were about. Often in the coming years, when Bobby was balking at something we wanted him to do for the movement, I’d take my case to Ethel. ‘We have to talk to him,’ she’d say, and she would.”

Ethel Kennedy joined President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — each held one of her hands — as they climbed stairs to lay a wreath at President Kennedy’s gravesite during a November 2013 observance of the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death.

The nonprofit center she founded remains dedicated to advancing human rights through litigation, advocacy, education and inspiration, giving annual awards to journalists, authors and others who have made significant contributions to human rights.

She also was active in the Coalition of Gun Control, Special Olympics, and the Earth Conservation Corps. And she showed up in person, participating in a 2016 demonstration in support of higher pay for farmworkers in Florida and a 2018 hunger strike against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

Hickory Hill was sold in 2009 for $8.25 million, and Ethel Kennedy divided her time between homes in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Palm Beach, Florida.

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the UK employment myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

UK employees who are still on probation will receive a lower level of compensation for unfair dismissal under proposals set out by the Labour government as part of its sweeping overhaul of employment law.

A provision giving workers protection against unfair dismissal from their first day in a job is the most contentious element of a wide-ranging employment rights bill published on Thursday, presented by ministers as a once in a generation upgrade of workers’ rights.

About a third of the UK’s workforce have been in their current job for less than two years and could benefit from the new right, which Daniel Pollard, a partner at the law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, described as “the most radical change to unfair dismissal law since it was first instructed in 1971”.

But after fierce lobbying from business groups, which argue the policy will put a freeze on hiring, the government has conceded that employers will be able to follow a “lighter touch” process, if they determine a recruit is not right for the job over the course of their probation.   

Details of how a statutory probation process will work have yet to be decided, and will be set out in regulation and a code of conduct after the bill becomes law. But proposals outlined on Thursday pointed to a significant softening of the original policy. 

The government said in a “next steps” document, published alongside the bill, that its preference would be for a nine-month statutory probation period — longer than the three- to six-month periods that many employers currently operate.

Kate Bell, assistant general secretary at the Trades Union Congress, said that making sure employers followed a fair process when they dismissed an employee would be more important than the length of probation

But the government will also “consult on what a compensation regime for successful claims during the probation period will be, with consideration given to tribunals not being able to award the full compensatory damages currently available”.

Ministers are nervous that the new right could lead to a surge in claims to employment tribunals that are already overburdened, with waiting lists of up to two years for a hearing.

The next steps document made it clear the government is seeking to deter people from pursuing shaky claims.

But a principle that workers with a shorter tenure should not qualify for the same level of compensation as those with longer tenures will be controversial with unions, which have campaigned for “day one rights”.

Darren Newman, a consultant on employment law, said there were fears that even a “light touch” process for dismissing employees during probation could “cause chaos”, as HR departments became “bogged down in the technicalities of the procedure”.  

But limiting compensation during probation periods would be “a surprising move” given that earlier versions of Labour’s plans included proposals to lift statutory caps on tribunal awards, he noted.

The maximum award a tribunal can make for unfair dismissal is whichever is lower out of £115,115 or a year’s gross pay. But tribunals already take into account length of service when calculating compensation, and “regularly . . . award zero compensation”, Newman said.

Caspar Glyn, chair of the Employment Lawyers’ Association, said the “lighter touch” process could amount to “bringing a day one right in through the front door and smuggling it out through the back door” for employees dismissed on performance grounds.

Yet it would still be a “sea change” in protection for recent hires facing dismissal as part of a collective redundancy round, he noted.

HUNDRED of thousands of families are missing out on vital pension credit payments worth up to £3,900 annually, according to new figures from the Department for Work and Pensions.

The latest statistics reveal that up to 760,000 families entitled to pension credit did not claim it during the financial year ending in 2023.

1

This is a slight improvement from the previous year when around 870,000 families were eligible but didn’t take up the benefit.

Pension credit, a means-tested benefit designed to top up the income of the poorest pensioners, is becoming increasingly important as it is now linked to other crucial support.

In particular, those claiming pension credit are eligible for the winter fuel payment, which has become more restrictive following recent government changes.

The benefit goes to those who’ve reached State Pension age, which is currently 66, whose weekly income is less than £201.05 if you’re single, or £306.85 for couples.

Those who have a higher income may still be eligible if they have a higher income but have others costs like housing, a disability, or even savings.

Claiming Pension Credit can also unlock extra help, including, a free TV licence if you’re over 75, help with council tax and support with household costs such as ground rent.

A surge in pension credit applications was observed after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that the winter fuel payment would only be available to pensioners receiving pension credit or other means-tested benefits.

This change, aimed at addressing a £22billion deficit in public finances, is expected to reduce the number of recipients of the £300 winter fuel allowance from 11.4million to just 1.5million.

Despite the recent uptick in claims, a staggering £1.5billion worth of pension credit went unclaimed last year.

This is a slight improvement from the £2billion left unclaimed in the previous year, but it highlights the ongoing issue of low benefit take-up among pensioners.

It comes as thousands of Sun readers flooded our Winter Fuel SOS helpline yesterday looking for help to hang on to the payment.

Figures from the DWP show that 65 per cent of those entitled to pension credit claimed it in 2023, up from 63 per cent in 2022.

While the rise is encouraging, campaigners argue that far more needs to be done to ensure older people receive the financial help they’re entitled to.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Boosting take-up of pension credit has been a major problem that has proven tricky to crack, with previous campaigns being derailed by the pandemic.

However, there are signs that progress is being made, with take-up creeping up to 65 per cent from 63 per cent the previous year.”

Morrissey added that the recent focus on linking pension credit to the winter fuel payment may drive further increases in applications.

She said: “The restriction of the winter fuel allowance to people on benefits such as pension credit has garnered many headlines, with people urged to check if they can put in a claim.”

However, she warned that the scale of the problem remains significant.

She continued: “More than 750,000 families who could receive pension credit are still not claiming it.”

“Pension credit is a hugely valuable benefit that not only tops up income but also acts as a gateway to other support such as a free TV licence for the over-75s as well as help with council tax.”

With energy bills set to rise again this winter, the winter fuel payment will be critical in helping pensioners manage their household costs.

Campaigners have urged those who think they might be eligible to apply for pension credit as soon as possible.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, described the figures as “disappointing” and warned of the real-life consequences for those missing out on financial help.

Joanna said: “Behind these statistics are real people who are worrying about whether they will be able to afford next month’s bills.”

She added that the winter fuel payment should be protected from means-testing to ensure the most vulnerable pensioners don’t miss out on essential support.

Joanna continued: “To ensure this group don’t also miss out on the winter fuel payment, we continue to call on the UK Government to pause their plan to means test the winter fuel payment.”

Campaigners argue that the current approach to encouraging pension credit claims isn’t enough and are calling for a more innovative, long-term strategy to reach those most in need.

With winter approaching, the pressure is mounting to ensure that pensioners don’t face financial hardship as energy prices soar.

For many, claiming pension credit could provide a much-needed lifeline during the cold months ahead.

Meanwhile, money saving expert, Martin Lewis was seen clashing with government minister Lisa Nandy over the Winter Fuel Payment decision that will affect millions of pensioners.

The Sun’s Winter Fuel S.O.S Campaign

Advertisement

WORRIED about energy bills? The Sun’s Winter Fuel SOS crew are taking calls on Wednesday.

We want to help thousands of pensioners worried about energy bills this winter, with tips and advice on how to make cash go further.

Our Winter Fuel SOS crew will be able to help answer your questions on whether you can get Pension Credit and the Winter Fuel Payment.

Ten million OAPs are set to lose the £300 Winter Fuel Payment due to government cutbacks.

It comes in the same month that millions of households are hit by a ten per cent rise in bills as the Energy Price Cap shoots up.

Advertisement

We can help with advice on how else to save money.
Our phone line is open 7am to 7pm Wednesday October 9 – you can call us on 0800 028 1978.

Or you can email now: WinterfuelSOS@the-sun.co.uk

WHEN Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park hit the big screen in 1993, fictional paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler made fossil hunting look cool.

However, Brit holidaymakers don’t need to visit a desert – or an island covered with dinosaurs – to step into Dr Grant’s fictional shoes because England is home to one of the best fossil hunting spots in the world.

4

4

Advertisement

Smithsonian Magazine named the Jurassic Coast as one of the best fossil-collecting sites on Earth because visitors are actively encouraged to save fossils, where possible, for research purposes.

The Jurassic Coast was also named one of the best fossil hunting spots in the UK by Countryfile.

England‘s Jurassic Coast stretches for 95 miles from East Devon to Dorset, meaning there’s lots of space for dinosaur enthusiasts – whatever the age.

Would-be paleontologists should make a beeline for Lyme Regis, which is often dubbed the Jurassic Coast’s fossil capital thanks to English fossil collector Mary Anning.

The 19th-century paleontologist made some important discoveries, including finding the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton and the first plesiosaur skeleton. 

And there are still plenty of skeletons, dinosaur footprints and fossilised treasures waiting to be found, with a 6ft-long pliosaur skull found just last year.

Other prime fossil hunting spots include Kimmeridge Bay, a sheltered and secluded bay that’s a mixture of pebbles and sand.

There’s also Ringstead Bay, an unspoilt beach that’s backed by farmland and cliffs.

At Ringstead Bay the bedrock must not be disturbed, meaning fossil hunters will need to look with the eyes rather than taking their finds home to be verified.

If you’re not much of an explorer, but still want to see traces of dinosaurs, then head to the Spyway Dinosaur Footprints.

What is it like to visit the Jurassic Coast?

Advertisement

ASSISTANT Travel Editor Sophie Swietochowski (centre) explains what it’s actually like to visit Durdle Door.

DESPITE the Jurassic Coast being one of the most well-known spots for rambling in the UK, it has managed to remain gloriously peaceful.

I barely passed another soul during a Sunday hike along the rugged coastal path above Durdle Door a few years back – only a herd of cows munching on the unkempt grass at the top of the cliff.

Admittedly, things grew a little busier as I approached Lulworth Cove. But that’s no surprise with a horseshoe-shaped pebble bay and turquoise waters that could rival those in the Caribbean.

Make sure to wander over to Fossil Forest while you’re here too, where you can observe ripples of an ancient sea floor within the rocks and fossilised remains of old tree stumps that date back to the dinosaur era.

Advertisement

Located in Purbeck, next to a working quarry, it is easily accessible from the Priest’s Way walking path.

The footprints were made 145 million years ago when the area was covered in tropical forests and swamps, giving visitors the chance to step back in time.

The fossils were discovered in 1997 by quarrymen Kevin Keates and Trev Haysom before the site opened to the public in 2016, with the Jurassic Coast Trust occasionally running guided walks of the site.

Charmouth, a village in Dorset, is another prime location for fossil hunting.

Make a beeline for Charmouth Beach and get booked onto a fossil hunting walk with Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

The 90-minute walking tour takes place outdoors where a guide helps holidaymakers search for fossils, with visitors even able to take their treasures home.

A trip to the Jurassic Coast isn’t complete without seeing Durdle Door – one of the area’s most well-known landmarks.

The natural arch was formed from a layer of hard limestone that stands almost vertically out of the sea.

Durdle Door stands at the foot of a steep path, which is accessible from the South West Coast Path.

In the last few years, some holidaymakers have likened Durdle Door to beaches in Portugal because of its coastline and rock formations.

One person wrote on TripAdvisor: “Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door: Reminded me of the Algarve in Portugal!”

While another added: “The rocks protruding out of the sea were so pretty you would forget you’re still in England and reminded me of a trip to Portugal.”

A third commented: “You don’t feel like you are in the UK. It seems more like Portugal or California.”

If you’re looking for somewhere to stay overnight, then the Sun’s Head of Travel recommends Durdle Door Holiday Park.

The family-owned holiday park has endless sea views as well as unrivalled access to Durdle Door.

Sun Online Travel have found touring pitches from £30 per night per pitch.

There are plenty of other places across the Uk where dinosaur enthusiasts can get the Jurassic Park fix.

One of those places is Paradise Park in East Sussex, which is home to life-size moving dinosaurs, fossils and a Dinosaur Safari at Paradise Park.

Meanwhile, Knebworth House in Herefordshire has a dinosaur-themed adventure section.

And Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park in North Devon has 19 animatronic dinosaurs, including a life-sized T-Rex, Dino Express train and a play zone.

Meanwhile, ROARR! Dinosaur Adventure in Norfolk is set to open a new land in 2026.

Gigantosaurus Land will be based on an animated series of the same name, which currently streams worldwide on services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney Plus.

4

4

Analysts attribute Huawei’s resurgence to strong demand for its flagship Mate series, the Pura series, and innovative models like the foldable Mate XT.

These models have captivated local consumers, helping Huawei reclaim its top position in its home market.

China remains Huawei’s largest market, accounting for a significant 89% of the company’s global smartphone sales.

Meanwhile, overall sales of foreign smartphones in China, including Apple’s, experienced a decline.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, foreign smartphone sales dropped 12.7% year-on-year to 1.87 million units in August.

In contrast, domestic brands saw a sharp 26.7% surge in sales, reaching 24.05 million units.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

For a month now, UK small- and mid-cap broker Peel Hunt has been banging the drum about the potentially catastrophic effect that the removal of an inheritance tax loophole might have on London’s ever-eventful small- and mid-cap Alternative Investment Market (Aim).

Still smarting from Labour’s scrapping of the nascent “British Isa”, and with the UK Budget fast approaching, head of research Charles Hall warns that the hypothetical removal of IHT relief for AIM shares would lead to “permanent damage” to what the LSE still describes as “the world’s most successful growth market”.

The removal of the tax incentive, which was introduced in 1996, would threaten the very “future of AIM as a functioning market”, Hall added in a note on Thursday (with our emphasis):

We see material downside risk for AIM form removing IHT relief. Moreover, our forecasts show a net tax reduction to the Exchequer of £2.6bn, rising to £3.2bn . . .

We see an impact on the AIM market of 20-30% if [Business Property Relief, which can be passed on sans IHT upon the death of the investor] is removed, crystallising a loss of value [of] £14-21bn to UK shareholders, resulting in a permanent destruction of spending power.

Here are their numbers:

Other projections are available. Hall admits as much while taking a swipe at the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, two of which’s academics — Arun Advani and David Sturrock — think scrapping the relief would actually raise tax intake by more than £1bn.

Here’s Hall:

There have been several reports suggesting that removing [Business Property Relief, which can be passed on free from IHT upon the death of an investor] from AIM shares would be tax enhancing. Notably, the IFS suggested a £1.1bn increase in tax, rising to £1.6bn per annum. We believe these numbers are flawed for numerous reasons, and estimate a material reduction in tax revenue.

Back in May, Advani and Sturrock wrote that IHT relief “distorts investment choices towards these types of shares, particularly for older people seeking to minimise their inheritance tax liability”. From their article:

Revenue implications: We estimate that the removal of business relief for AIM shares could raise around £1.1 billion in the current tax year, rising to £1.6 billion in 2029—30. This could be an underestimate, since business relief on AIM shares is used very heavily by trusts, for which no direct statistics are available. If those currently using AIM shares to avoid inheritance tax would respond to its removal by using other avoidance strategies, the amounts raised could be lower, though.

Hall was in a fighting mood this morning, writing of the IFS’s £1.1bn: “We do not recognise this number”.

So we asked the IFS’ Advani what he made of Hall’s assessment. Unsurprisingly, he stood by his own figures while taking a swipe of his own at PH’s:

I don’t believe [Peel Hunt’s] assertion that the hit to AIM would be 20 to 30 per cent. It’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s a statement without any underlying evidence. I wouldn’t put much weight on it as I don’t know how they got there . . . 

The upfront cost of this relief is £1.1bn. If you spend that money on something else, direct public spending, whatever. That has positive effects for jobs elsewhere etc.

Advertisement

It seems like a very partial way to look at the world to say if you take away this relief, that jobs would go [PH notes that AIM companies are responsible for close to 800,000 employees]. Hall seems to have ignored the other side of the equation. We ignored both. We’re not burning this money, it’d be spent on something tangible.

I’m all for supporting investment. I just think this is the wrong place to do it.

Advani also points out that unlike other targeted tax reliefs (Enterprise Investment Scheme, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Capital Trusts), “the current design of BR does not do anything to explicitly focus investment into companies which are expected to be high-return”.

Aim might not be helped by the removal of the incentive. But its problems — namely a dearth of flotations, high costs and burdensome listing requirements — run far deeper than anything that maintaining IHT relief might fix. Either way, the ball is now back in Peel Hunt’s court. Or, we suppose, in Rachel Reeves’.

Further reading:
— Peel Hunt’s cunning plan
— How to fix London’s markets (if you get a chance, no worries if not)
— Meanwhile, on AIM (FTAV)
— Number of Aim-quoted groups drops to 22-year low in blow to London (FT)