Boris Johnson has claimed Donald Trump could “be the guy” to force Vladimir Putin to end his illegal war in Ukraine.

The ex-prime minister made the bizarre claim more than a year after the US president pledged to bring the conflict to a close in just 24 hours.

The war entered its fifth year back in February.

Trump also famously kicked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House last year after his team attacked his outfit and said Kyiv did not “hold any cards” in the war.

Since then, the US has oscillated between pushing Kyiv to give up more land to Moscow in the name of peace, and supporting Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Putin’s land grab.

But, speaking on Sky News, Johnson – who is an ardent supporter of Ukraine – said: “I think that, paradoxically, you know, Trump could be the guy really, to put the hard word on Putin and get this thing done, and there’s no doubt that when it comes to foreign policy initiatives, this is a guy who’s willing to do some, some pretty tough things, right?

“Nobody thought he’s the first American president to use violence against Iran, right?”

Trump chose to join Israel in launching strikes on Iran earlier this year, triggering a significant international conflict and sending the global economy into turmoil.

Johnson continued: “You know, whatever you think about about his logic and how that’s worked out, you know, he is I think he is the guy and I’ve said this to him and I said this repeat.

“I think, paradoxically, although I think that his instincts on on Ukraine haven’t always was language about Ukraine hasn’t always been, you know, put it mildly on, you know, totally on all fours with what I think I think he could he really could fix it. And that’s what I’ve always told him.”

Johnson also acknowledged that Trump has not actually been promoting a push for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

He said: “It would be a very powerful thing if the United States declared that it was, a strategic objective of the United States for Ukraine to be free, sovereign and independent country.”

“No, but you don’t hear that much from Washington, right? And number two, that Ukraine should be part of Nato.”

Asked by presenter Trevor Phillips how Trump responds when Johnson advocates for Ukraine, he said: “I mean, he’s, very good at listening. He’s very good listening.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Voters continue to punish Nigel Farage amid the row over his finances as Reform UK slips back in the polls.

According to strategic insight company Opinium, the right-wing party has fallen back to its lowest rate since 2024, having held a comfortable lead with voters for more than a year.

In a survey for the Observer, the pollsters found Reform are currently on 23%.

That’s just one percentage point away from Labour, who on 22%, are at their highest level since April 2026.

It comes as party leader Farage is fighting a by-election he triggered in his constituency of Clacton.

He chose to step down as an MP earlier this month amid heightened scrutiny over his finances.

A parliamentary probe into a £5 million donation he received shortly before he ran in the 2024 general election – but failed to declare – is currently on pause while he is outside of the Commons.

Farage claims he is fighting in a “people versus the establishment” contest, but all major parties have refused to put up a candidate.

The Reform UK leader is now mainly in a race against comedy candidate Count Binface.

Opinium also found the Conservatives are enjoying their highest poll rating since April 2025 on 20%.

Meanwhile, the Green Party lags behind on 14% and the Liberal Democrats are on 11%.

The survey comes after researchers at Survation put both at Labour and Reform UK at 24%.

Polling by More in Common from last week also undermined Farage’s claim not to be part of the establishment.

It showed that 45% of the public believe privately-educated Farage, who is a former MEP and stockbroker, is himself part of the establishment.

That is slightly below Keir Starmer (52%) and Kemi Badenoch (54%), but more than the 41% who think incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is in the establishment.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Former President Barack Obama is calling out Vice President JD Vance for his nativist, anti-immigrant rhetoric – but also offered a tiny sliver of hope.

Speaking with author Malcolm Gladwell for a podcast interview on Thursday, Obama noted that “we’ve been having the same arguments” about who should be considered a “real” American since the end of the Civil War.

He then pointed out the irony of Vance spreading white nationalist-coded rhetoric about birthright citizenship while married to the daughter of Indian immigrants.

“At least one of our major parties has been captured by politics that is not that subtle about suggesting that ‘We the people’ means a certain kind of people,” Obama noted to Gladwell.

“When you have the vice president – the current vice president – making a speech that is basically a blood-and-soil version of ‘We the people,’ that it matters who your parents were, how long they’ve been here, despite him being married to… a daughter of an immigrant himself, that echoes, then, ideas about who can be a citizen, who belongs, who gets to make decisions.”

It’s unclear which of Vance’s speeches Obama was referring to, but while speaking to a conservative think tank last year, the vice president heavily implied that real Americans are, well… a particular sort of people.

“Social bonds form among people who have something in common. They share the same neighborhood. They share the same church. They send their kids to the same school. And what we’re doing is recognising that if you stop importing millions of foreigners into the country, you allow that social cohesion to form naturally,’” Vance said.

Griping about the “modern left,” he continued: “I think the people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don’t belong.”

Vance later added, “America is not just an idea. We’re a particular place, with a particular people, and a particular set of beliefs and way of life.”

Obama’s point about “who your parents were, how long they’ve been here” was also echoed in Vance’s acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention, in which he romanticised his own heritage while talking about the people who live near his “ancestral home” in Eastern Kentucky.

Vance described them as “good,” “very hardworking people” who would “give you the shirt off their back even if they can’t afford enough to eat.”

“And our media calls them privileged and looks down on them,” Vance said. “But they love this country, not only because it’s a good idea, but because in their bones they know that this is their home, and it will be their children’s home, and they would die fighting to protect it. That is the source of America’s greatness.”

In response to Obama’s comment about JD and Usha Vance, Gladwell made a slightly optimistic, if cynical, point.

“A hundred years ago, a vice president could not stand up and make a nativist argument if he was married to the daughter of an Indian immigrant — but today he can,” Gladwell said. “So, we’ve moved on from malice to hypocrisy — that’s progress!”

Obama laughed in response.

“Listen, hypocrisy is progress,” he agreed. “Because it means that… you feel guilty enough to either lie to yourself or others. And that is better than not even thinking about the idea that maybe you’re doing something wrong.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

I’ve been called out for saying “sorry” a lot – it doesn’t help that my automatic response is to apologise.

Jess Baker, a chartered psychologist and author of The Super-Helper Syndrome, told HuffPost UK: “Saying sorry a lot is not always a sign of a deeper issue. For many empathic people, apologising is a sign of awareness, kindness and a desire to maintain good relationships.”

But sometimes, the reflex might reveal something worth exploring.

“The key question is: are you apologising to acknowledge impact, or to manage other people’s reactions?” she asked.

The psychologist, who works with “super helpers”, or those who feel a compulsion to go out of their way for others even at their own expense, said she often sees apologies “become a form of emotional over-responsibility”.

“People who are highly attuned to others can start believing it is their job to prevent disappointment, discomfort, or conflict,” she added.

“‘Sorry’ becomes a way of saying: ‘I don’t want to be a problem’, ‘I hope you’re not upset with me’, or ‘I’ll make this easier for you’.”

Baker added there are lots of reasons why people might start to over-apologise, including:

As Baker said earlier, some people say “sorry” a lot without it really being an issue. However, “it becomes something to investigate when someone apologises for having needs, boundaries, opinions or presence,” she suggested.

“If ‘sorry’ appears before a reasonable request, a challenge, or an idea in a meeting, it may point to a deeper pattern of self-doubt or people-pleasing.”

The aim, she reminded us, is not to stop people saying “sorry” when they want to – the word itself isn’t the problem here.

“A genuine apology is a sign of emotional intelligence. The aim is to make sure you are apologising from compassion, not from fear of taking up space,” she ended.

A divisive discussion thread about supposed “constant feeding” and “snacking” among children has garnered hundreds of comments on Mumsnet.

One user shared that they’d been at a swimming lesson (presumably watching their child), while sat next to two children who they described as “chomping their way through a packet of crisps and a packet of chocolate biscuits at 4pm”.

“We had a day out with friends on Tuesday at a farm park and kids are being handed food every five minutes,” they added.

“You go down the street and everywhere you look the toddlers in buggies have their little hands stuffed in packets of puffs or gripping a biscuit. It’s no wonder we have such chubby children everywhere.”

Asking other Mumsnet users if they were being “unreasonable” for bringing this up, 41% agreed they were, while 59% said they weren’t.

One commenter said: “This completely winds me up. I’m with you OP [original poster]. The snack culture in this country is doing everyone a huge disservice.”

But another parent couldn’t quite understand what the issue was: “I thought it was normal to give your children a snack, we do fruit/crackers/oatcakes/yogurt/veg sticks and hummus mid morning, mid afternoon and sometimes before bed. I also like a snack. We also all eat normal meals.”

A new “Great British Snacking Crisis” report from Imaginakery found that children ask for almost four snacks every day, on average. For one in five (20% of) parents, the snack requests start as early as before 8am.

Of those polled, one in 10 said they never refuse snack requests from their children, while nearly three-quarters (72%) said they are unlikely to refuse more than five requests in a day.

Baby and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed told HuffPost UK some of the comments shared online around children’s snacking are “harsh” and “unfair”. That said, she does believe “we have become a hugely snack-dominated culture”.

She mentioned supermarket aisles, where processed snacks are commonly marketed towards young babies and toddlers. “Snacks under 12 months are not recommended at all,” she said. “But actually, right from that age and above we have become a hugely snack-driven culture.”

Off the back of a Panorama investigation into baby food pouches which lacked key nutrients, the BBC previously shared how there’s also been a “rise in sales of snacks like fruit and vegetable-based straws, puffs and wafers”.

This led former chief nutritionist to the government, Dr Alison Tedstone, to remark: “Companies are dressing these products up as being healthy, when actually they’re much like a crisp or a sweetie. They’re putting profit before health.”

Stirling-Reed understands why parents turn to snacks and highlights that “parenting is tough”. She’s right – many of us are time-starved, dashing from A to B and simply trying to keep our kids happy, satiated and any “hanger” at bay.

But often snacks are being used for reasons other than hunger or offering nutrients and balance, she claimed, suggesting parents use them to pacify, bribe, entertain or distract.

“We’re not necessarily using them for the reason we should be using snacks,” she added.

“I think a lot of parents aren’t trying to do this wrong, I think they’re actually struggling with the advertising of snacks that are available – with the bombardment that you get when you go to a supermarket or a petrol station.”

The NHS advises families that fruit and vegetable snacks are “always the best choice” for children, but if they are having packaged snacks “aim for two a day max”.

Imaginakery’s report found biscuits (69%), chocolate (59%) and crisps (57%) top the rankings for the snacks most frequently consumed by kids.

These all fall under ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, which have been linked to everything from gut disruption to “hedonistic hunger” (eating for pleasure or comfort). These snacks are typically nutritionally poor, calorie-dense, and easy to eat quickly.

Stirling-Reed said she doesn’t want parents to feel shamed as messaging around snacking is “confusing”, but claims that how parents are using snacks at the moment “is not how they’re meant to be used”.

She explained that some children are “grazing” on food throughout the day “which means they’re not really having much of an appetite for their mealtime”.

“They’re not learning ‘am I hungry?’, ‘am I not hungry?’,” she continued. “And then, they often get to those mealtimes – it might be lunch, it might be dinner – with very little in the way of an appetite”.

This can then result in children skipping meals (or not eating much of them) – and therefore missing out on important nutrition – because they simply aren’t hungry.

“It’s not helping children with their relationship with food, with their appetite, with getting the right amount of nutrients and the right balance in, with eating those evening meals that we spend our time creating,” the nutritionist said.

If you’re thinking of overhauling your snack system at home, it might be worth readdressing what a snack actually is. The nutritionist suggested they should be “mini meals” (check out some ideas here) that are “balanced, so we’re trying to get some of those food groups in”. These are fruit and veg, carbohydrates, dairy, proteins, fats and oils.

We should also be trying to address important nutrients like iron, protein, zinc, fibre and omega-3 in our snacks as well, she added.

“But they also should be timed, so we should know they’re happening at certain times through the day,” the expert continued.

“It might be between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner, and it should be a mini top-up to help them get through to the next meal, rather than what we are currently using snacks for.”

As for processed snacks aimed at babies and toddlers, Stirling-Reed added: “I’m not saying never, ever offer them – of course that’s not realistic. But actually, people relying on them as snacks most of the time is not going to be helpful.”

Nutritionist Dr Emma Derbyshire, who is working with Imaginakery, said children mimic their parents’ actions, so parents can encourage healty snacking habits by regularly eating healthy snacks with their children.

She added that it’s worth appealing to their inquisitive sides by giving them the chance to get involved with washing, peeling or chopping fresh fruit and vegetables. Growing your own produce can also help keep them engaged and interested.

Some parents swear by leaving out “veggie plates” an hour or so before dinner, which are filled with chopped veggies like peppers, cucumber and carrots.

It’s also worth considering which snacks you have readily lying around your home.

“If children see unhealthy snacks lying around, they become accustomed to these products feeling like the norm for snacking,” said Dr Derbyshire.

“Keep healthy snacks at eye level on counters, in fridges and in cupboards, while unhealthy treats should be stored out of reach and view.”

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how the modified Mediterranean, or MIND, diet has been linked to a 53% lower risk of dementia among its strongest followers, and a 35% reduced likelihood among moderate adherents.

And now, a new analysis published in Nutrients has reviewed hundreds of studies about interventions like these.

Researchers looked at lab, animal, clinical, and population-based studies and found polyphenols (antioxidants naturally present in some foods) “represent a biologically plausible and increasingly supported, yet not fully established, strategy for promoting healthy brain ageing”.

This included some specific foods and drinks, though the researchers stress that this isn’t so much about “superfoods” as it is maintaining a healthy overall diet.

“Polyphenols are not miracle cures, but research suggests they may be promising tools for supporting healthy brain ageing,” said the study’s senior author, Dr Mónika Fekete, an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, of Semmelweis University.

“The focus, however, should not be on dietary supplements but on a varied diet rich in plant-based foods.”

With that caveat, the study listed the following as polyphenol-rich food and drink sources:

1. berries,
2. grapes,
3. apples,
4. onions,
5. flax seeds,
6. sesame seeds,
7. vegetables in general,
8. fruit in general,
9. tea,
10. cocoa,
11. coffee,
12. whole grains, and
13. extra-virgin olive oil.

These featured a variety of polyphenol sub-classes, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbenes, and lignans.

Not all of these were absorbed in the same way by different people, though, possibly due to differences in individuals’ gut microbiomes.

“This may help explain why the same diet does not affect everyone in the same way,” said lead author Dr Noémi Mózes, an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of Semmelweis University.

“In the future, personalised nutrition could help us better understand who is most likely to benefit from a polyphenol-rich diet.”

EGCG, a compound found in green tea, appeared in a lot of the studies this paper reviewed and seemed to be linked to better memory.

A 2017 trial found that consuming oolong or green tea daily could slash your risk of cognitive decline in half, while more recent research suggested that the compound might help to give our brain cells more energy.

Again, Semmelweis University reminded us that there’s no anti-dementia “miracle diet”.

However, they did say “existing evidence suggests that regularly eating more vegetables, fruits, berries, fibre-rich foods, fish, and nuts” in addition to limiting highly-processed foods “may help support healthy brain ageing and preserve cognitive function over time”.

However, before the film had even been released, there was one supporting cast member whose performance was already being singled out for praise.

British actor Samantha Morton plays Circe in Christopher Nolan’s new take on Homer’s Greek epic, and has repeatedly been mentioned as a stand-out.

In fact, her performance in the movie was so jaw-dropping, the cast and crew apparently stood around and gave her a round of applause when she was done shooting.

“This was a massive film and she is someone who comes in and changes the dynamic,” Nolan told the LA Times. “In some weird way, the film lived or died over that character. She was the fulcrum.”

While The Odyssey might be one of Samantha’s most high-profile projects to date, the Bafta winner has been working steadily in both film and TV since the early 90s – and anyone who has seen her work over the last 35 years won’t be surprised to hear that she is a highlight in Nolan’s film.

In honour of her work in The Odyssey, here are 11 Samantha Morton roles you might well have forgotten all about…

Samantha’s very first role was in the ITV drama Soldier Soldier.

Nottingham-born Samantha discovered acting when a teacher recommended she apply to the Central Junior Television Workshop, which led to her playing Clare Anderson in four episodes of the first series.

The future Oscar nominee was just 14 when she appeared in the series, which starred Robson Green and Jerome Flynn, and took place in the aftermath of the Cold War.

Samantha followed her role in Soldier Soldier with a smart part in Robbie Coltrane’s crime drama Cracker, before being cast in Kay Mellor’s iconic series Band Of Gold.

Samantha was just 16 years old when she started filming her breakout role as Tracy Richards in the drama, alongside the likes of Geraldine James, Ray Stevenson and Cathy Tyson.

Band Of Gold centred around a group of sex workers in Bradford, with Samantha portraying a teen runaway who was hooked on drugs supplied to her by a pimp.

Years later, Samantha disclosed that there had been uncomfortable moments while shooting this series.

She told The Big Issue in 2019: “When I was in Band Of Gold, there was a scene a particular director wanted me to do topless, though that wasn’t in the script. I was 16 years old. 16! And I was having a sex scene with a man in his 60s.

“I was sobbing in the trailer and it was all, ‘Sam’s being tricky…’ I didn’t understand that I had a right to say I didn’t feel comfortable. I felt I was from the streets and I’d won the lottery even being in the show, rather than feeling I had earned the right to be there.”

“Some of the male directors working in TV drama in the 90s were delicate and kind,” she added. “And some were bullies and brutal.”

A year after her performance in Band Of Gold, Samantha appeared in the British indie film Under The Skin.

She co-starred with Claire Rushbrook in the drama, which told the story of two sisters coping with the sudden death of their mother.

Following its release, she was lauded for her performance as the grieving teen, and winning multiple awards.

As Samantha became more well-known, she appeared in Jesus’ Son, a film based on Denis Johnson’s collection of short stories of the same name.

The drama followed a hopelessly lost man – played by Billy Crudup, and known as just FH – through his stint as an orderly in a hospital, and his time in rehab to treat his addiction to heroin.

Dennis Hopper, Jack Black and Holly Hunter were among the cast who played the colourful characters FH met in his life, while Samantha played Michelle, his love interest.

By the early 2000s, Samantha had racked up a role in the Hollywood blockbuster Minority Report and earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in the film In America.

Around this time, she starred in Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46, a dystopian love story set in the year 2077.

The high concept sci-fi flick takes place in a divided society, split up into those “inside”, who live in high-density cities, and the others, who live in sprawling concentration camps “outside”.

Access to the “inside” is forbidden to anyone without the right paperwork – with Samantha starring as Maria, a forger who works on creating fake versions of these documents.

Meanwhile, Tim Robbins plays a detective sent to investigate this forgery operation, only to wind up falling in love with Samantha’s character.

While the film itself received a lukewarm reaction, Samantha and Tiim were praised for their performances, with Empire calling them “two fine actors at the top of their game”.

The Libertine is one of many period dramas Samantha has starred in over the years, having also appeared in the likes of Harlots, The Seepent Queen and The Burning Girls.

In the film, she plays Elizabeth Barry, a struggling actor in 17th-century London. Her strong-willed character is taken under the wing of the titular libertine himself, Johnny Depp’s John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, and their subsequent affair leads to both of their downfalls.

Once again, the intoxicating biopic of the real-life poet and playboy received mixed reviews, but Samantha received widespread acclaim for her performance, in particular her moving Ophelia monologue.

In this biopic about British musician Ian Curtis, Samantha played Deborah, the late Joy Division singer’s wife.

Control charts the ups and downs of the couple’s lives, beginning with the formation of Joy Division in 1973, all the way to his death by suicide in 1980.

Co-starring Sam Riley, the musical biopic was described by the BBC as a “gritty” tribute, “with enough wit and credibility to entertain as well as educate”.

Meanwhile, The Guardian singled out Samantha’s work as Deborah as an “intelligent, sympathetic performance”.

The historical drama was a sequel to 1998’s Elizabeth, and followed the English queen as she faced the Spanish Armada, survived an assassination attempt and embarked on a forbidden romance with explorer Sir Walter Raleigh.

Samantha Morton played Mary Queen of Scots in the Queen Elizabeth biopic, which starred Cate Blanchett as the English monarch.

Joining them in the movie were impressive British names including Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans and Eddie Redmayne – not to mention a small role from a young actor by the name of Jonathan Bailey, still in the early stages of his own acting career.

You might not realise it, but The Odyssey is not the first time Samantha Morton has appeared in the same film as Robert Pattinson.

The two previously shared the screen in 2012’s Cosmopolis, a trippy adaptation of Don DeLillo’s book of the same name.

Samantha played Vija Kinsky in the David Cronenberg film, an advisor to Robert’s billionaire currency trader.

The eccentric film took place almost exclusively in the back of a limo, as Rob’s tycoon character was driven around New York with visits from various key figures in his life.

The same year as Cosmopolis, Samantha appeared in a very different type of film, providing both the voice and motion capture for a key role in John Carter (which, sadly, was thrashed by critics and went on to become considered one of the biggest flops of the 2010s).

In the ambitious sci-fi adventure movie, she played Sola, a kind-hearted Martian who helps Taylor Kitsch’s titular character navigate the red planet.

Samantha played a small, though memorable role, in the film which won Brendan Fraser his Academy Award in the early 2020s.

The divisive film focussed on a reclusive English teacher nearing the end of his life, who hopes to bond with his disillusioned teenage daughter before it’s too late.

Near the end of the film, Samantha appears in one key scene, sharing the screen with Brendan Fraser when she storms into his character’s apartment to give him a piece of her mind.

The Odyssey is in cinemas now.