NewsBeat
Thousands without power in Northern Ireland after Storm Darragh
NIECommunity assistance centres are open for the thousands of households who are still without power after Storm Darragh.
Latest figures from NIE Networks show that about 95,000 customers were affected by power cuts over the course of the storm, with just under 12,000 customers remaining without power.
NIE Networks say it may be a number of days before they can reconnect all those affected.
The energy provider said it had deployed 600 staff and was working to bring in additional personnel from across the UK.
NIE Networks operations manager Alex Houston said: “Most of the faults affecting high numbers of customers have been repaired which has allowed us to restore significant numbers of customers.
“However, there are still around 1,200 faults across the network some of which are affecting very small numbers of customers so we do anticipate that it will take some time before we can get all of these cleared.”
Paul Wright and his son Luca were among those affected by power cuts on the Markethill Road area in Craigavon.
“We’ve been without electricity for about 24 hours.
“So we’re doing a lot of talking to each other instead of playing with our tablets.
“We’ve been lucky to have family close by.”
Assistance centres
NIE Networks will open community assistance across Northern Ireland on Sunday.
From 14:00 to 16:00 GMT on 8 December, leisure centres in the following areas will open to offer assistance to those still without power:
- South Lake Leisure Centre in Craigavon
- Lagan Valley Leisureplex in Lisburn
- Ards Blair Mayne in Newtownards
- Seven Towers in Ballymena
- Cookstown Leisure Centre
- Kilkeel Leisure Centre
- Fermanagh Lakeland Forum
Additionally, Coleraine Leisure Centre will open from noon until 15:00 GMT on Sunday.
The centres will offer warm drinks, charging and changing facilities and NIE Networks staff will be on hand to answer any queries.
The Red Cross will also be working with NIE to provide support in a number of locations across Northern Ireland.
An amber warning for wind – the second highest level of weather warning – was issued from 01:00 GMT until 15:00 on Saturday.
A yellow wind warning had them come in until 06:00 on Sunday.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said it responded to about 900 incidents, mainly debris on roads, fallen trees and flooding.
Essential travel only was advised on Saturday and there were several road traffic accidents.
A substantial number of road closures remain in place and road users are advised to plan their journeys in advance.
Maxine JohnstonAt one point on Saturday morning, there were no trains running in Northern Ireland but many lines have now resumed albeit with delays.
Bus services, flights and ferries were also affected.
Electricity generation was temporarily suspended at Ballylumford, one of Northern Ireland’s main power stations, after the natural gas-fired power station reported structural damage to one of its smaller chimneys.
A number of festive events were cancelled and councils closed some facilities on Saturday and Sunday.
All six Irish Premiership games were cancelled, with late postponements having left fans in an “appalling situation”, according to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.
PacemakerStorm Darragh is the fourth named storm of the season, following Ashley, Bert, and Conall.
The strongest gusts on Saturday included:
- 78mph (126km/h) at Orlock Head, County Down
- 71mph (114km/h) at Killowen, County Down
- 68mph (109km/h) at Magilligan, County Londonderry
In the Republic of Ireland, gusts of 87mph (140kmh) were recorded in County Galway as the storm moved in from the Atlantic.
At the height of the storm, around 400,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Republic.
ESB Networks said a “significant number” of homes and businesses could remain without supply over the coming days due to the damage caused.
Useful contacts and websites
PacemakerAll the latest road closures and fallen trees can be found on the Traffic Watch NI website.
For the latest on weather you can check the Met Office website, or keep up to date with BBC weather.
To report faults or emergencies you should contact:
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive: 03448 920 901
- Openreach: 08000 23 20 23 or visit openreach.co.uk
- Gas networks: 0800 002001
- NI Water: 03457 44 00 88 or visit niwater.com
- Flooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100
- NIE Networks: 03457 643 643 or visit nienetworks.co.uk
Western officials have told the BBC that North Korean troops have already suffered nearly 40% casualties in the fighting in Russia’s western Kursk region, in just three months.
The officials, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said that out of the estimated 11,000 troops sent from North Korea, known as DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), 4,000 were battle casualties.
That term comprises those killed, wounded, missing or captured. Of the 4,000, the officials said around 1,000 are believed to have been killed by mid-January.
These losses, if confirmed, are unsustainable by the North Koreans.
It is not clear where the wounded are being treated, nor even when and to what extent they will be replaced.
But the figures point to an extraordinarily high cost being incurred by President Vladimir Putin’s ally, akin Kim Jong Un, as he seeks to help him evict Ukrainian forces from Russia ahead of any possible ceasefire negotiations later in the year.
Ukraine launched a lightning thrust into the Russian oblast of Kursk last August, taking Russian border guards by surprise.
The government in Kyiv made it clear at the time that it had no intention of holding onto the territory seized, merely to use it as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.
Ukraine’s early gains in Kursk have since been steadily pushed back, partly due to the arrival in Russia of the North Koreans in October.
But Ukraine still retains several hundred square kilometres of Russian territory and is inflicting huge losses on its enemy.
The North Korean troops, reportedly from an “elite” unit called the Storm Corps, appear to have been thrown into the fight with comparatively little training or protection.
“These are barely trained troops led by Russian officers who they don’t understand,” says the former British Army tank commander, Col Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.
“Quite frankly they don’t stand a chance. They are being thrown into the meat grinder with little chance of survival. They are cannon fodder, and the Russian officers care even less for them than they do for their own men.”
Reports attributed to South Korean intelligence say the North Koreans are unprepared for the realities of modern warfare, and appear especially vulnerable to being targeted by Ukrainian First-Person-View (FPV) drones, a weapon that has been a familiar part of the battle space further south in Ukraine’s Donbas region for years now.
Despite this, Ukraine’s top military commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi warned earlier this week that North Korean soldiers were posing a significant problem for Ukrainian fighters on the front line.
“They are numerous. An additional 11,000-12,000 highly motivated and well-prepared soldiers who are conducting offensive actions. They operate based on Soviet tactics. They act in platoons, companies. They rely on their numbers,” the general told Ukraine’s TSN Tyzhden news programme.
Politics
Reform UK declare ‘national security emergency’ as staggering number of illegal migrants in London laid bare
London is home to as many as 585,000 illegal migrants, equivalent to one in 12 of the city’s population, according to a previously confidential report commissioned by Thames Water.
The study, conducted by Edge Analytics and demography experts at Leeds University, aimed to quantify “hidden” users of water services.
The report estimates between 390,355 and 585,533 illegal migrants live in London, with a median figure of 487,944.
Most illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas before overstaying, the report suggests.
Zia Yusuf declared a national emergency
GB NEWS / PA
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf said he was “not the least bit surprised” by the figures, stating that “anyone who has walked or lived in London knows in their bones these figures are true.”
He accused the Office of National Statistics of “gaslighting” the public, pointing to how legal migration figures were revised upward by 20 per cent.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Migrant small boats continue to arrive from across the channel.Getty Images“The Tories allowed hundreds of thousands of largely men to cross our Channel illegally and what did they do? They put them up in phones and basically give them every incentive to come here,” he added.
Yusuf warned the situation represents “not just a national emergency, it’s a national security emergency.”
He expressed particular concern about demographics, stating: “90 per cent of the people crossing the Channel are men.”
“The number of military age males making that journey legally surpasses the number of available soldiers, both standing and territorial,” he said.
Zia Yusuf joined Patrick Christys on GB News
GB NEWS
“And most of them come from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran – countries with not the friendliest track records to this country,” Yusuf added, calling the situation “incredibly and grossly unfair.”
In total, there are estimated to be more than one million illegal migrants in the UK, with 60 per cent of those in the capital.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice told The Telegraph: “One in 12 people in London are here illegally, probably working illegally using taxpayer-funded public infrastructure and services. It is totally unacceptable.”
“It’s another reason why we need to properly control our borders and welcome those who come here legally but thank those who are here illegally as we return them where they came from,” he added.
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government is strengthening global partnerships and rooting out the criminal gangs who profit from small boat crossings which threaten lives.”
The spokesman added they had “removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months, the highest figure in half a decade, making it clear that those who arrive illegally will be returned.”
The Home Office confirmed 1,000 migrants had crossed the Channel so far this year, following 38,816 in 2024, the second highest total on record.
A peer has claimed ADHD is a “fashionable disorder” and that many diagnosed with the condition are “not that ill or not ill at all”.
NewsBeat
How did Prince Harry force apology out of The Sun and how much will they pay him in damages?
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The Duke of Sussex has settled his claim against the publisher of The Sun on Wednesday, the day after his trial to prove allegations of unlawful information gathering was set to begin.
Prince Harry, 40, was expected to return to the UK in February to give evidence over several days, supporting his claim that journalists and private investigators working for the newspaper targeted him.
He was pursuing the joint case against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) alongside former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson.
On Wednesday morning, the duke’s barrister said the parties had “reached an agreement” and that NGN had offered an “unequivocal apology” and would pay “substantial damages” to Harry.
While it has not yet been confirmed, the sum stretches into a reported “eight-figures”, according to ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship.
The trial, which has been adjourned twice since Harry initiated his legal action, was one of several court battles the prince has undertaken since stepping down as a working royal five years ago.
As the Duke of Sussex’s legal battle is settled, here are the key questions:
What did Harry accuse the publishers of?
Harry brought legal action against NGN over allegations of unlawful information gathering. He claimed that journalists and private investigators working for NGN targeted him to obtain material for news stories.
In July 2023, the High Court ruled that Harry’s case could proceed to trial, though he was barred from bringing a claim related to phone hacking. The case will now focus on other allegations, including the use of private investigators.
In March 2023, Harry was also denied permission to amend his claim to include allegations that The Sun hired private investigators to target his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle in 2016. He was further prohibited from pursuing claims against Rupert Murdoch himself, whom he accused of making a “secret deal” with senior royals.
However, Harry was permitted to use emails exchanged between NGN executives and members of the royal household, sent between 2013 and 2019, as part of his evidence.
What was the outcome of the proceedings?
The Duke settled his legal action against News Group Newspapers as it offered a “full and unequivocal apology” for “serious intrusion” by The Sun and for phone hacking by private investigators working for the News of the World.
An up-to-10-week trial was set to begin at the High Court in London on Tuesday, but three requests for adjournments and a Court of Appeal bid meant that the case remained unopened.
On Wednesday morning, Harry’s barrister David Sherborne said that the parties had “reached an agreement” and that NGN had offered an apology to the duke and would pay “substantial damages”.
Lord Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, was also taking legal action against the publisher, but also settled his claim.
Lord Watson was also offered a “full and unequivocal apology” by NGN “for the unwarranted intrusion carried out into his private life during his time in Government by the News of the World during the period 2009-2011”.
Who else is involved?
Lord Tom Watson, former deputy leader of the Labour Party, was pursuing legal action alongside Harry but also settled.
While their cases were due proceed to trial, many high-profile individuals previously settled claims against NGN. Between July and December last year, 39 people reached settlements, including actor Hugh Grant, who resolved his claim in April after being warned he risked £10 million in legal costs if his case went to trial.
Other individuals who settled included actress Sienna Miller, former footballer Paul Gascoigne, comedian Catherine Tate, radio presenter Chris Moyles, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, ex-Boyzone member Shane Lynch, and actor Mathew Horne.
Speaking at The New York Times DealBook Summit in December, Harry seemed set on going through with the trial and said: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.”
What do NGN say?
NGN, a subsidiary of News UK owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, denied the allegations but issued an apology to Harry as the settlement was announced.
In a statement, News Group Newspapers said it offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex” for “serious intrusion” by The Sun and for phone hacking by private investigators working for the News of the World.
The statement said: “NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
“NGN further apologises to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”
How does it differ from his claim against the publishers of The Mirror?
In 2023, the High Court ruled on Harry’s case against the publishers of The Mirror.
A 386-page judgment found that “extensive” phone hacking had taken place at Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) titles over several years. This included phone hacking, “blagging” (gaining information by deception), and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
The case against MGN was heard over a seven-week trial and included testimony from Harry, alongside other representative claimants.
Politics
‘Deeply alarming’ new report shows 1 in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants as Home Office fails to publish population data
As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, a “deeply alarming” new report has revealed.
A previously confidential report found that almost 600,000 people live in the nation’s capital without the right to be in Britain – but the Home Office do not provide any official figures on the scale of the problem.
The figure – some 585,000 in London – has come to light after a study for Thames Water was brought to light by The Telegraph through freedom of information-style laws for the environment.
The report estimates that there are more than one million illegal migrants in the UK as a whole – 60 per cent of which reside in the capital.
As many as one in 12 people in London are illegal immigrants, the report found
PA
It suggests that the majority of illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then overstayed.
Migration experts have even warned that the numbers could be even higher as some of the underlying data dates from 2017, before immigration – both legal and illegal – soared under the former Conservative Government.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp – who served in said Government – called the figures “deeply alarming” and has called on Labour to ramp up its deportations.
In a veiled swipe at the ECHR, Philp added: “It is totally unacceptable to have these numbers of illegal immigrants in the UK. The law needs to be looked at so that spurious human rights, modern slavery and asylum claims cannot be used to delay or prevent removals of illegal immigrants.”
That sentiment was echoed by Reform UK’s migration hardliner MP Rupert Lowe, who said “mass deportations” are now required.
LATEST ON BRITAIN’S MIGRATION NIGHTMARE:
Almost 600,000 people live in the nation’s capital without the right to be in Britain
PA
While the party’s deputy leader Richard Tice warned: “One in 12 people in London are here illegally – probably working illegally using taxpayer-funded public infrastructure and services. It is totally unacceptable.
“It’s another reason why we need to properly control our borders and welcome those who come here legally, but thank those who are here illegally as we return them where they came from.”
The Thames Water report, carried out by Edge Analytics and Leeds University data analysts, had aimed to work out how many people truly used its services to enable the water firm to better meet demand.
It based its research on national estimates of illegal migrants from the Pew Research Center in the US, the London School of Economics, and Office for National Statistics data.
It then used National Insurance registrations for non-EU foreign nationals over a nine-year period to estimate the number of so-called “irregular” migrants in each London borough.
Reform’s Richard Tice called the illegal migration situation ‘totally unacceptable’
PA
For London, the study placed its estimate at a minimum of 390,355 illegal migrants and a maximum of 585,533 at its highest, with a median figure of 487,944.
The capital’s estimated population sits at 7,044,667. As a result, one in 12 of the capital’s population is an illegal migrant.
When other areas outside London covered by Thames Water are included, like Henley, Guildford, Reading, Swindon and Newbury, the range for the number of illegal migrants rises to between 415,568 to 623,351.
But in the face of this, the Home Office does not publish any full data on the total number of illegal migrants in the UK, while only since 2018 has it publicised figures on the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The Home Office, responding to The Telegraph’s findings, hailed how it had ‘removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months’
PA
A Thames Water spokesman said: “Water companies have a regulatory obligation to undertake a ‘water balance’, which includes understanding how much water our customers use on a per-person basis, and how it is distributed across our supply area.
“Analysis to estimate ‘hidden and transient’ populations is carried out by an independent firm of consultants, who draw from publicly available sources including census, surveys, and published academic research.
“Thames Water played no part in the writing of the report and the conclusions drawn are those of the independent firm that carried out the research.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government is strengthening global partnerships and rooting out the criminal gangs who profit from small boat crossings which threaten lives.
“We have also removed 16,400 illegal migrants in just six months, the highest figure in half a decade, making it clear that those who arrive illegally will be returned.”
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The criminal investigation into the alleged abduction of Alex Batty, who returned to the UK after six years abroad, has been discontinued because he and his family would not support a prosecution.
Greater Manchester Police said the inquiry into his disappearance between September 30 2017 and December 13 2023 has officially concluded because there is no “realistic chance of criminal prosecution”.
Mr Batty and his grandmother Susan Caruana have been informed that case has been discontinued, police said.
He went missing at the age of 11 after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.
Mr Batty was found by a chiropody student near the French city of Toulouse in December 2023 after walking across the Pyrenees.
Detective Superintendent Matt Walker, who led the investigation said: “Alex and his safety has been at the forefront of our minds and actions since he was found in Toulouse, France, in 2023.
“In our commitment to protecting children, we felt it was important that the circumstances of Alex’s disappearance be properly and thoroughly investigated.
“I led a dedicated team to do exactly that when Alex was first found, and this has continued since.
“We have consulted with various partners, such as a complex case CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) lawyer and the National Crime Agency throughout, and concluded there would be no realistic chance of criminal prosecution.
“Given this, the right thing to do is bring closure to this chapter of Alex and his family’s lives, particularly as this is the outcome they wished for.
“Alex is now an adult, safe, and reintegrated with life back in Greater Manchester surrounded by those who love him, which ultimately is the priority.”
Officers in the UK interviewed Mr Batty when he returned from France and a criminal investigation was subsequently launched.
He left his mother for a better future, telling The Sun newspaper she was “a great person but not a great mum”.
The teenager, who is now under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, in Oldham, Greater Manchester, said his mother was “anti-government, anti-vax”, whose catchphrase was “becoming a slave to the system”.
He had become fed up with his nomadic lifestyle, with “no friends” and “no social life”.
It is thought Mr Batty had previously been living with his mother and grandfather, who had taken him to Spain in September 2017, across Spain, Morocco and France while he was missing.
You, the British people, are being gaslit. You are being lied to.
While the people always sensed there was something unusual about the Southport atrocities ever since that fateful day the authorities have hid behind legal processes and bureaucracies.
Yesterday, Keir Starmer admitted that he knew the details about Axel Rudakubana’s background long before they came out.
But this is not consistent with his previous actions.
Matt Goodwin spoke on GB News
GB NEWS
During the 2017 Finsbury Park terror attack, Starmer called it a terror attack before terrorism charges were announced.
He also did the same in the case of the London Bridge attack in 2017 and the Plymouth attack in 2019.
And of course after Southport he had no problem at all in deriding many people as “far right thugs” before they went to court and had their cases heard
Yesterday, he appealed to contempt of court laws for not releasing the information about Southport earlier.
But if it applies to Southport, why didn’t this apply to three other terror attacks, as well as those protests?
We’re now of course hearing reports that CPS pressured Merseyside Police not to release the suspect’s details.
Keir Starmer said he was aware of some of the circumstances surrounding Rudakubana
POOL
But just to top it all off, the government now wants you to believe this was a case of knife-purchase laws not being strong enough.
You may remember when David Amess was murdered by an Islamist terrorist.
Parliamentarians tried to make the issue about online abuse.
Well, the same thing is happening now.
The government has fast-tracked tighter restrictions on online knife sales for under-18s, as if Amazon was to blame for Southport.
Writing in the Sun today, the Prime Minister called Axel Rudakubana, a two-click killer.
But the fact of the matter is that the system, the state, failed the victims of Southport, much like it failed the victims of Pakistani rape gangs.
It’s time for the obfuscation, the concealment, the cover-ups and the deflections to come to an end.
It’s time for the people in power to tell us the truth!
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