The father of a teenager who took her own life after viewing harmful content online has accused Keir Starmer of “gambling with young people’s lives” over his plans for a social media ban for under-16s.

Ian Russell accused the prime minister of “playing politics” by rushing the announcement amid speculation about his future.

Starmer is expected to announce on Monday that the government plans to ban young people from using some social media platforms.

But Russell, whose daughter Molly died in 2017 aged 14, said the PM’s behaviour was “deplorable”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said: “In opposition, Keir Starmer promised to tighten up the online safety world by regulating better.

“Early last year, father to father, I met with him briefly and he was very concerned – and he promised me he would look into effective solutions to deal with this problem.

“But as we sit here on the verge of this announcement, it seems that he’s not kept either of those promises.”

He said the prime minister had “promised a group of bereaved parents” an announcement could be expected by the summer recess, which falls in mid-July, “so he’s rushed that forward for some reason”.

“I can’t think of a reason other than a political reason… if he’s playing politics, what he’s doing is gambling with young people’s lives – and I find that deplorable,” he said.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy told the same programme she “respectfully disagreed” with what Ian Russell had said.

She said: “There is an urgency to this because young people need help now and we cannot stand aside and not act when we see that very clearly.

“The tech companies have had more than enough time to get their own house in order and to be able to create products to keep children safe online. If they’re not prepared to do it, they lose the right to market their products towards children, and I don’t think the government should be neutral about that.”

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Not only are we entering peak bee swarming season, but James Higgins, Head of eCommerce at Grass247, said we’re about to be beset by woodworms too.

“Most people associate woodworm with lofts, floorboards, and old indoor furniture, but many don’t realise that wooden features in the garden can also be vulnerable,” he shared.

With recent wet, warm weather “and woodworm season underway, it’s a good time to check timber features around the garden for the early warning signs of damage,” he added.

This can include a dust-like substance called “frass”.

They’re the larvae of different species of wood-eating beetles.

Their peak season is usually from March to October.

Woodworms cause the most damage in their larval stage, when they gnaw through the cellulose, hemicellulose and nitrogen present in the wood. That can cause structural damage.

Additionally, the adult beetles tunnel their way out of the wood, leading to further tiny holes.

They usually have a pale body with a black head, but you probably won’t see them if you’ve got them – they hide deep in the wood.

They typically like older, softer, wetter materials. They can be found in joists, floorboards, lofts, and vintage furniture.

But they can be found in your garden, too.

“Woodworm tends to favour timber with higher moisture levels because it’s easier for larvae to feed and develop within the wood. That means everything from garden furniture and decking to timber sleepers, raised beds, and wooden lawn edging can be worth checking at this time of year,” Higgins shared.

“Damp conditions won’t suddenly create an infestation overnight, but they can make existing problems easier to spot and allow damage to worsen if it’s left untreated.”

One sign you’ve got an infestation is a substance that looks like dust at first glance.

“Fresh woodworm activity often leaves behind a fine, cream-coloured dust known as ‘frass’. It can collect beneath things like furniture legs, decking boards, timber edging, sleeper borders, and around the base of raised beds,” Higgins revealed.

“It looks very similar to sawdust, but if it keeps reappearing after being brushed away, it could indicate active woodworm.”

Other signs of woodworm include:

• Soft, crumbling, or weakened timber,
• Dead beetles around windows, sheds, or conservatories,
• Tiny round holes (1-2mm) appearing in timber.

“Pay particular attention to garden sleepers, timber edging, pergolas, decking, and other wooden landscaping features that are exposed to the elements year-round or sit close to the soil” when looking for softer or crumbling wood, the expert continued.

Remember: beetles usually come out en masse from June to July, meaning you’ll benefit most from a keen bug watch, especially around sheds, conservatories, garages, and windows during those months.

If you think you might have woodworm, drying, ventilating, and treating the wood can help. If you’re not sure, it’s best to reach out to a professional.

Former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK champion Danny Beard has been unveiled as the lead in a new play about the late Paul O’Grady.

On Monday morning, it was announced that Danny would be starring as Paul in Savage, named after the late TV personality’s drag alter-ego, Lily Savage.

The play was penned by screenwriter and playwright Jonathan Harvey, whose biggest credits have included Beautiful To Heaven, Closer To Heaven and the award-winning TV comedy Gimme Gimme Gimme.

Jonathan had briefly worked with Paul on the play, prior to the Bafta winner’s death in 2023 at the age of 67.

Paul had previously said of the project: “I’m delighted Jonathan has agreed to write the script, I really am, as he’s perfect for this and he’s such a great writer.”

An official synopsis teases: “The show follows Paul’s journey from the streets of Merseyside to the heart of London’s club scene, where, armed with little more than his wits and a wig, he began carving out a place for himself.

“From humble roots and an unassuming start emerged Lily Savage: the fearless, foul-mouthed alter ego who would defy convention and win the hearts of millions.”

Speaking in a promotional video, recorded at London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern, where Paul previously performed as Lily, Danny called the role a “dream come true”.

Jonathan enthused: “I was so thrilled when Paul gave me the opportunity to turn his life story into a stage show. I first saw Lily in a scuzzy gay bar in West London in the late 80s and laughed ’til I hurt, so it’s an honour indeed to bring his story and the colourful escapades of the blonde bombsite herself to life.

“This is one of those few shows that I’m involved in where I can go ‘You need to come. It’s really good’… because the zinging one-liners are all his.”

“It’s so sad he’s not here to see it, but hopefully this will be a fitting testament to everything he achieved, and a cracking night out full of humour and heart,” he added.

Savage will premiere at Leicester’s Curve theatre in February 2027, before touring the UK and arriving in London’s West End.

In 2026′s Tokyo marathon, runner and teacher Annie Tran said the secret to her speedy finish was a disposable toothbrush.

“Every runner knows that mile 20 is where we have to dig deep and find what little energy we have left. After brushing my teeth, I felt revived and refreshed,” she said on Instagram.

That’s one way of getting past “the wall”. But whether you’re running a marathon or not, runner Katy Laser pointed out an issue dentists say could be common among distance joggers – and might even be mitigated by a post-run brush.

Despite not eating much sugar or drinking many fizzy beverages, Katy said in a viral TikTok that her dentist called her out on some issues, which she later attributed to gel packs.

“In addition to [gels] being little packs of sugar… that are very sticky… your mouth gets drier when you run,” she explained. “It is just sticking to your teeth in a ‘desert mouth’… running gels are essentially the perfect storm of cavities”.

Ultra-runner and dentist Arden Young agreed.

“The amount and frequency of carbohydrate that an endurance athlete ingests during competition and training can wreak havoc in your mouth, increasing risk of enamel erosion, dental cavities, and inflammatory periodontal disease,” she shared on Instagram.

She added that most sports drinks are acidic. And while saliva helps to wash away both sugar and acids, as Katy explained, this is diminished during a run. This may be exacerbated by heavy breathing.

One paper found “high levels of poor oral health” among London 2012 Olympians; 76% had gingivitis, and 55% had caries (tooth decay).

Young advised drinking water after taking running gels. Pond Square Dental added that staying hydrated is the “first and most important step” when you’re on a long run.

If your dentist thinks you need higher-fluoride toothpaste, they can prescribe them. Good basic oral hygiene and fluoride rinses can go a long way, too.

Reducing the number of sugary snacks and gels you consume may also help.

And if those don’t work for very long runs, Dr Douglas Elliott at Elliott Orthodontics said “brushing your teeth before and after workouts” is worth a try too.

Steven Spielberg has clarified his stance on AI in cinema after Emily Blunt′ recent comments about their new film, Disclosure Day.

In Spielberg’s new sci-fi blockbuster, Emily plays a local weatherwoman who begins speaking in an unusual, clicking alien language mid-broadcast, for reasons that become apparent over the course of the film.

During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the British star opened up about the origins of these noises, claiming that Spielberg had told her: “You know, we could do it with AI, or you could do it.”

“I was like, ‘I feel confident I can make some weird noises’,” she then quipped.

Meanwhile, she also revealed to Hot Ones host Sean Evans that AI was something she was “a bit terrified of” when it was apparently presented to her as an option for her Disclosure Day character’s alien language.

Since then, Spielberg sat down with ITV News to discuss the film, during which Emily’s comments about him supposedly offering to create these sounds with generative AI were brought up.

“I would never have used AI,” he insisted. “I would have gone the old-fashioned way, you get a dolphin, an elephant, you slow it down, you speed it up, you play it backwards.”

He added that his Oscar-winning sound designer, Gary Rydstrom, would have found an organic way to make the sounds had Emily not been able to do them herself.

Spielberg has put his foot down on using generative AI during the filmmaking process in the past.

“I’m not willing to substitute, because I don’t really believe in sentience,” he said on the IMO podcast in March. “I don’t believe there is any substitute for the soul. I don’t think that is an algorithm that is inventible.”

He claimed: “Use AI as a tool, but do not use AI as the final word on anything creative. That’s where I draw the line.”

Explaining how she settled on the sounds that eventually made it into Disclosure Day, she told Entertainment Weekly that she had sent the iconic filmmaker voice notes of herself “clicking, humming, doing weird Barry White low singing mixed with clicking mixed with Morse code sounds”.

“I just tried everything,” she added. “We sort of threw the kitchen sink at it, and I think he wanted it to sound mathematical and not too terrifying.”

The Devil Wears Prada actor shared that the final version audiences hear in Disclosure Day is a mix of layered noises she recorded in a sound booth.

Emily also expanded on Hot Ones about how she and the sound team for Disclosure Day ultimately created the chilling sounds that get broadcast across America in the film without AI.

She explained that the sound engineer had one microphone by her mouth and another by her throat to “capture it in a really weird way”.

“And then the sound designer went away and created that weird sound,” she continued. “Even kind of leading up to that moment where she starts speaking in this non-human language, it’s a four-minute oner that we shot that leads up to that moment where she’s gradually sort of disintegrating.”

Disclosure Day is out now in cinemas.

Alan Cumming has thrown his support behind a new charity campaign inspired by his character in the Russell T Davies drama Tip Toe.

In the Channel 4 series, the Emmy winner plays Leo Struthers, who runs the fictitious queer venue Spit & Polish on Manchester’s iconic Canal Street.

Since the show began airing, the HIV charity The Terrence Higgins Trust has begun selling a t-shirt inspired by Spit & Polish, which Alan was seen wearing in a video posted on Instagram over the weekend.

“If you’ve watched Tip Toe, you’ll know that I play Leo Struthers, who has been living with HIV since 1994,” Alan told his followers.

“As he says in the show, back when Leo was diagnosed, it was a death sentence, but since then, thankfully, successful treatments have been found. Now, people like Leo just take one pill a day, which keeps their HIV in check and means they cannot pass HIV onto anyone else.”

He explained that, in Tip Toe, Spit & Polish is “a sanctuary where everyone feels safe, celebrated and free”.

“Now, you can buy your own Spit & Polish t-shirt to support people like Leo, living with HIV,” he continued. “Because, while treatments have improved beyond our wildest dreams, the stigma around HIV still remains, with too many people still met with judgement, ignorance and isolation. And we see that, of course, in Tip Toe.

“So please, please do something positive today, and order your Spit & Polish t-shirt from the Terrence Higgins Trust website. All the money raised is being split between HIV charities The Terrence Higgins Trust and the George House Trust.”

He added: “By wearing your t-shirt, you’re helping to build a lasting legacy for Tip Toe and making sure that no one faces HIV alone. Thank you and wear your Spit & Polish t-shirt with pride.”

Earlier this month, Russell explained that the depiction of Leo’s HIV status is a part of Tip Toe which he feels especially proud of, as it’s the “one thing” he “could never show” in his hit 2021 Channel 4 drama, It’s A Sin.

He explained: “[The story of It’s A Sin] ended in 1991, which is before the medications, before there was any treatment, before people started surviving properly.

“So [in Tip Toe], I’ve got the chance to show off a man living for 30+ years with HIV. He takes one pill a day, he’s completely fine, it’s undetectable, it’s untransmittable in him. And that’s a nice pay-off – that I never got to do [in It’s A Sin].”

He added separately that this “feels like the natural legacy of It’s A Sin”, claiming (via Scene magazine): “There wasn’t the time in that show to tell the long‑term story – that medications were found which saved so many lives – so this feels like a right and proper continuation.”

A similar t-shirt inspired by It’s A Sin previously raised £20,000 for the Terrence Higgins Trust in just 24 hours.