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“Not one more”: thousands rally in Belfast against gender-based violence

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Belfast protest

Belfast protest

Thousands of protestors marched in Belfast at the weekend to condemn the north of Ireland’s appalling rates of violence against women. Between 2020 and 2025, a shocking 30 women were murdered. This is the highest rate across Britain and Ireland, and over three times the figure in the south of Ireland for the same period.

The socialist-feminist movement ROSA organised the march. The route went from the Royal Courts of Justice to City Hall. Protestors held banners reading “Not One More”, meaning no one else should suffer the fate of women like Natalie McNally. She was horrifically murdered by her partner in 2022 while 15 weeks pregnant.

Natalie’s brother Brendan spoke at the City Hall. He said of his sister:

I knew her as the gentlest of people who would have sympathised for anyone in a difficult situation. She worked here in Belfast and supported and was involved in various activist movements.

“Criminal negligence”: vulnerable women left exposed by housing shortage

People Before Profit’s Fiona Ferguson cited the economic factors endangering women under our cruel capitalist model:

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In 2026, violent misogyny and sexism should be a relic of the past, it should be a matter for the dustbin of history. But the reality is that right now, today, far too many women in our society are living in violent homes that they cannot escape from.

There are no public houses available because the waiting lists are too long. Refuges are oversubscribed because cuts have been made by the storming executives to services like women did. And women do not have economic freedom because of cuts to social security and they cannot escape. That’s criminal negligence.

The latest horrendous figures show 50,000 people waiting for a home. Ferguson’s comments echo those we previously reported from Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey, who called out:

…blockages in housing for women who are in situations where there is violence perpetrated against them.

ROSA themselves have cited the need to “end poverty wages” and fight back against an economic order that:

…allows wealthy and powerful men to abuse ordinary people rampantly.

Ferguson also slammed the far-right who falsely claim to act as the protectors of women and children:

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We are facing a growing global right-wing movement that is coming for our rights. Fuck them! Right here in Ireland, North and South, there are people who want to see the politics of Donald Trump brought to our streets and brought to our doorsteps.

We cannot let them. Some of those people are organising far-right rallies in our city centre. Some of them are writing laws in Stormont.

One of the ways that the far-right are trying to grow is by using the fear that women face every day. Fear of violence, fear of sexual harassment, fear of rape and fear of femicide. And they want us to blame migrants and they want us to blame trans people. We won’t do it.

Research by The Detail found that:

Almost half those arrested for race hate disorder in Belfast last August had previously been reported to the PSNI for domestic abuse…

Continuing austerity in Belfast impacting women

ROSA asked women why they were marching in Belfast. One activist said:

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I’m marching against gender-based violence because Stormont claims to care about violence against women and girls while making cuts to vital voluntary and charitable services that support victims and survivors.

This is likely a reference to changes the Department of Health made to grant allocation in 2023, that resulted in some women’s support charities losing money.

Another recent change by Westminster resulted in a nearly £16 million drop to funding of voluntary and community sector organisations in the Six Counties, particularly those providing support for unemployed people. Stormont has not found a way to plug the gap. The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) specifically cited the impact this would have on women.

Despite the many moving placards at the protest, ROSA used their Facebook platform to call for people to get actively involved in campaigning for an end to misogynistic violence:

Not one more can’t just be a slogan – it must be a call to action! DM this page if you want to be involved in a campaign against gender based violence.

Featured image via ROSA

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By Robert Freeman

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Trump ‘Honoured’ By Assassination Attempts After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting

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Trump 'Honoured' By Assassination Attempts After White House Correspondents' Dinner Shooting

President Donald Trump quipped he was “honoured” by assassination attempts against him following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.

During a press conference at the White House shortly after the shooting, Fox News’ senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy brought up a New York Post report that said that the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, assembled a “long” weapon at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

“Why do you think this keeps happening to you?” Doocy directly asked the president about the shooting.

“Well, you know, I’ve studied assassinations and I must tell you the most impactful people, the people that do the most, you take a look at the people — Abraham Lincoln — I mean, you go through the people that have gone through this where they got ’em. But the people that do the most [and] the people that make the biggest impact are the ones that they go after,” Trump replied.

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The president has faced at least five major security breaches and assassination attempts since 2024, according to LiveNOW from FOX.

“They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much because they like it that way,” Trump continued. “And when you look at the people – whether it was an attempt or a successful attempt, they were very impactful people. Just take a look at the names here. The big names, and I hate to say I’m honoured by that, but I’ve done a lot.”

Trump went on to say that there are many people who are “not happy” that his administration has “changed this country.”

“We’ve done a lot. We have taken this country and we were a laughingstock for years and now we are the hottest country anywhere in the world,” he added. “We’ve changed this country, and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that. So I think that’s the answer, Peter.”

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Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C, said the suspect was being charged with two counts: use of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

Pirro said that Allen would be arraigned on Monday in federal court at 1 pm local time.

Watch Trump’s response below. Skip to the 14:10 mark to hear the president’s remarks.

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I’m A Celebrity Dismisses Adam Thomas ‘Favouritism’ Claims

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Jimmy Bullard had some things to get off his chest at the I'm A Celebrity: South Africa final

ITV has responded to accusations of favouritism following the chaotic I’m A Celebrity: South Africa finale.

On Friday night, the cast of the all-star I’m A Celebrity came together for a special live reunion, during which contestants Jimmy Bullard and David Haye claimed that the show – which was pre-recorded last year, and aired on ITV over the last month – was edited to make Adam Thomas appear, in the former boxer’s words, “look like a victim”.

Jimmy specifically took issue with the coverage of a blazing row he and Adam had towards the end of their time in camp, during which the soap star repeatedly called him a “cunt”, which did not make it into the final edit.

Jimmy Bullard had some things to get off his chest at the I'm A Celebrity: South Africa final
Jimmy Bullard had some things to get off his chest at the I’m A Celebrity: South Africa final

Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock

When the former footballer raised this at the reunion, hosts Ant and Dec pointed out that Adam’s language had been “unbroadcastable”, with ITV insisting at the time: “We show an accurate and fair representation of events.”

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Since the final, a representative for the broadcaster told The Mirror: “Suggesting ITV favours anyone is an incorrect and harmful accusation. All campmates were invited to the live finale to celebrate the series and to share their thoughts, individually and collectively.

“Once all campmates were invited on stage, Ant and Dec spoke to Jimmy first; he arguably received the most airtime during this part of the show.”

During the final, viewers chose Adam as the winner of the show, ahead of runner-up Sir Mo Farah, meaning the soap star is the second former contestant to be crowned an I’m A Celebrity “Legend” after Myleene Klass in 2023.

Adam Thomas celebrating his win with I'm A Celebrity hosts Ant and Dec
Adam Thomas celebrating his win with I’m A Celebrity hosts Ant and Dec

Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock

Following the broadcast, both Jimmy and David claimed they’d been ejected from the I’m A Celebrity studio.

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A show source told HuffPost UK: “Some campmates were uncomfortable being on stage with David and Jimmy, so we sent them home during Unpacked.”

I’m A Celebrity will return to our screens for its regular series, filmed in Australia, later this year.

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Euphoria Star Chloe Cherry Addresses Sydney Sweeney OnlyFans Scenes

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Sydney Sweeney as Cassie in the latest season of Euphoria

Euphoria star Chloe Cherry has shared her take on some of season three’s most divisive scenes.

Chloe previously worked as a pornographic performer and OnlyFans model, at one point even appearing in a porn parody of the Emmy-winning series, before being cast as Faye Valentine in the second season of Euphoria.

During a recent interview with Refinery29, the actor was asked for her thoughts on the recent season three storyline in which Sydney Sweeney’s character turning to OnlyFans to pay for her wedding, posing in a series of increasingly provocative photo-shoots, which has raised eyebrows among many viewers, with some critics suggesting that these scenes cross a “degrading” line.

She responded that people today have the “weirdest ideas” and “fantasies of sex work being so empowering” based on news stories about OnlyFans making huge amounts of money.

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Sydney Sweeney as Cassie in the latest season of Euphoria
Sydney Sweeney as Cassie in the latest season of Euphoria

“I don’t even really understand what it means to be on OnlyFans. Honestly, I don’t even really know what people are doing on there,” she explained. “It’s really hard to say if it would give [Cassie, Sydney Sweeney’s character] any power.

“Obviously, Cassie is extremely attractive, so it probably would lead to her making a lot of money. But it just feels crazy as fuck to see somebody living like Cassie turn to sex work. It’s like, ‘holy shit, that’s where we’re at in society?’.”

She added: “I really think that OnlyFans is a crazy, weird phenomenon of the 2020s that we will look back on and be very confused by.”

Euphoria creator Sam Levison previously weighed in on Cassie’s OnlyFans storyline before the new season began airing.

“What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion,” he insisted, pointing out the use of lighting and the inclusion of her housekeeper as a makeshift photographer was intended to provide a “gnarly and jarring” contrast.

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He added: “We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it, but then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”

New episodes of Euphoria are coming to Sky and HBO Max every Monday in the UK.

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Military spending splurge needs to be resisted by the left

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Military spending - an aircraft is stationary in an airplane hangar

Military spending - an aircraft is stationary in an airplane hangar

Ongoing rearmament efforts by European NATO members led to the sharpest annual growth in spending in Central and Western Europe since the end of the Cold War, with 2025 marking the record increase.

While this is sombre news from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), resisting rearmament offers the British left a historic opportunity to link working class material gains with anti-imperialist struggle.

Military spending continues to rise

Between 2024 and 2025, global military expenditure rose by 2.9 per cent to $2887 billion, the eleventh consecutive year of growth. European NATO rearmament efforts have largely driven the increase, which led to the sharpest annual spending surge in Central and Western Europe since the Cold War, even as US spending declined.

Although the decline in US military expenditure in 2025 is likely to be short-lived — US Congress has approved more than $1 trillion for 2026 and President Trump’s latest budget proposal could raise spending to $1.5 trillion in 2027 — the 2025 decline shows transfers to Ukraine by the US are falling.

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Xiao Liang, a researcher with SIPRI’s military expenditure and arms production programme, said:

Given the range of current crises, as well as many states’ long-term military spending targets, this growth will probably continue through 2026 and beyond.

Lining the pockets of arm dealers

The real question is who is benefiting from this eleventh consecutive rise in military spending.

BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, Thales and Leonardo led a record $5 billion shareholder payout in 2025, according to Vertical Research Partners.

British BAE Systems has paid a total of $16 billion to its shareholders since 2016. Its shareholders are the usual suspects — America’s Capital Research & Management Co, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, WCM Investment Management LLC, Fidelity Management & Research Co, and The Vanguard Group. Together, they hold more than 25% of the company’s equity.

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The wealthiest 10% of Americans hold 93% of all stocks, the highest level ever recorded. Therefore, the profits from this military spending surge flow overwhelmingly to the wealthiest American households.

War and death are opportunities for the arms dealers of the world. The FT summarised their fortunes well recently:

Many defence contractors have seen their fortunes transformed by the Ukraine war, with order books and revenues hitting record highs. The Middle East conflict promises another injection of cash into the sector as the US and its allies rush to refill their weapon stockpiles.

Resisting rearmament as a political strategy

The UK, as a part of NATO, has clearly subordinated itself to the needs of US monopoly capital. The extensive dealings of the UK government with Palantir are another case in point.

Britain’s subordination to US monopoly capital is evident in its support for three pillars of US grand strategy: NATO enlargement, Zionist hegemony in West Asia, and strategic confrontation with China.

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Climate Vanguard recently published a primer on why resisting British rearmament should be a primary strategic focus of the British left.

The four reasons they articulate are:

  1. Resisting rearmament can provide material gains to the British working class while weakening imperialism. It is a historic opportunity to link material gains for the British working class with the imperative of anti-imperialism.
  2. Resisting rearmament has the potential to re-energise, unite, and strengthen a scattered left.
  3. Resisting rearmament is a wedge issue that can fracture the far right’s coalition. It distinguishes the left as a genuine insurgent force from the far right’s faux populism.
  4. Resisting rearmament is necessary to prevent the two existential threats of our time: thermonuclear war and ecological breakdown.

While the news from SIPRI is somber, Climate Vanguard is right to argue that resisting rearmament presents a historic opportunity: one that links material gains for the British working class and weakens US imperialism.

Featured image via the Canary

By Nandita Lal

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Jet2, TUI, easyJet, Ryanair: Latest Boarding Pass Rules 2026

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Jet2, TUI, easyJet, Ryanair: Latest Boarding Pass Rules 2026

Recently, airline Ryanair announced that they’ll be making changes to their boarding passes from 12 November, 2026.

From that date, they explained, they’ll be getting rid of paper passes completely to “reduce costs, improve service, streamline rebooking, and save 300 tonnes of paper annually”.

Here’s how that’ll work, as well as the latest boarding pass rules from various airlines:

Ryanair

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From 12 November 2026, they’ll only offer digital boarding passes.

Before arriving at the airport, check in on Ryanair’s site or app. You can do this from 60 days to two hours before your flight departs.

“After check-in your DBP [digital boarding pass] will appear automatically in your Ryanair App,” the airline’s site reads.

You will need to present this at security and at the boarding gate. You’ll get reminders to check in online both at 48 and 24 hours before departure.

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“If any passenger arrives at [the] airport but hasn’t checked in online (having ignored these reminders), they will still be required to pay the airport check-in fee,” Ryanair’s site reads. This is usually £55.

If you’ve already checked in online or on the app and you lose your phone or tablet or its battery dies, Ryanair says “you will receive a free of charge boarding pass at the airport”.

Additionally, from 10 November 2026, check-in and bag drop will close 60 minutes before departure rather than Ryanair’s current 40 minutes.

British Airways

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You can check in digitally via Manage My Booking online or through their app from 24 hours before departure. Once you’ve done that, you can either download or print your boarding pass.

Alternatively, you can check in at the airport at British Airway’s kiosks and they’ll print a paper boarding pass.

“All you need is your booking reference (PNR) or passport,” their site explained.

If you lose your digital boarding pass for any reason, you can “print it again at a check-in kiosk at the airport”.

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easyJet

You can check in online between 30 days and two hours before your flight departs via Manage Bookings on their site or through the app.

Then, you’ll be able to see and download your boarding passes. “The best way to store your boarding passes is to use the free easyJet mobile app or you can choose to print them out,” they explained, adding, ” You cannot use a PDF scan of your boarding pass on your mobile device as the airport security team will be unable to scan them”.

If you lose your boarding pass but have checked in, they will be able to print them again, they added.

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You can make changes to your flight up to two hours before departure online and 90 minutes to an hour before departure in the airport, but you’ll need new boarding passes.

Kids under two who will sit on their parents’ laps don’t need a boarding pass, but if they have their own seat, they do. In that case, “You may not be able to check in online so if you have any difficulty please check in at the airport at least two hours before your flight.”

They also add that the following airports in their network don’t currently accept mobile boarding passes, and you will need to print yours out from easyJet’s site instead:

  • ADB – Izmir
  • AGA – Agadir
  • AYT – Antalya
  • AQJ – Aqaba
  • BEG – Belgrade-Beograd
  • DJE – Djerba
  • ESU – Essaouira
  • EVE- Harstad
  • HRG – Hurghada
  • JSH – Sitia
  • LXR – Luxor
  • NBE – Enfidha-Hammamet
  • RAK – Marrakech
  • RBA – Rabat Sale
  • RMF – Marsa Alam
  • SCR- Scandinavian Mountains
  • SPX – Cairo Sphinx
  • SSH – Sharm El Sheikh.

Jet2

You can check in online using “Manage My Booking” from their site or via the Jet 2 app from 28 days to six hours before departure to access your boarding pass. Then, you can download it to your phone or print it off.

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Alternatively, you can use their kiosks in the airport from three hours to 40 minutes before departure for a paper boarding pass.

“At the airports, our check-in desks generally open at least 2 hours 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time – see the check-in opening times at your airport,” their site reads.

“Please arrive at the airport in good time, as our check-in desks will close 40 minutes before your scheduled departure time. By this point, you must have completed the check-in process.”

TUI

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You can check in online via My Booking on the site or through the app from 48 hours to two hours before departure (except for Mexico and Jamaica; these are only available from 24 hours before departure). Then, your boarding passes should be available for download or printing.

If you don’t want to do that or if it’s not possible in the airport you’re travelling from, you can go to their kiosks for printed boarding passes. And if you pay for certain features, including Premium flights or Extra Legroom, your online check-in will be available 14 days before departure.

Some of TUI’s partner airlines will charge for airport check-ins, their site added, so check beforehand. And “you’ll need to check in for your outbound and inbound flights separately”.

For children under two years old, they will be issued a boarding pass but not a seat.

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And if you’re flying with TUI Airways but lose or damage your boarding pass, you can “reprint your boarding pass up to six hours before your flight departure”.

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Celebrity Finish Times From The London Marathon 2026

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Celebrity Finish Times From The London Marathon 2026

The London Marathon’s 2026 runners broke plenty of records. We had not one, but two, sub-two-hour finish times from winner Sebastian Sawe and runner-up Yomif Kejelcha, respectively – a feat not recorded under normal marathon conditions before.

Runner Tigst Assefa smashed her then-world-beating 2025 time with a new women’s world record of 2:15:41, too.

Remarkably, that meant Assefa finished an entire marathon before the last wave of non-elite runners had even started the race.

But people don’t just tune into the 26.2 mile race for the displays of athleticism. The London Marathon is also associated with star power, too, and this year was no different: Cynthia Erivo, Tilly Ramsay, and even Daddy Pig made an appearance.

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Which begs the question: how did they get on?

Cynthia Erivo flew through the race

The Wicked star finished the marathon with a remarkably fast time of 3:21:40.

For context, the average woman’s marathon finish time in the UK is just over five hours.

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It’s a new personal best for the actor, who announced the achievement on Instagram to praise from stars like Gigi Hadid and Gordon Ramsay.

Tilly Ramsay finished her first marathon in barely over four hours

Tilly Ramsay, whose family members, including dad Gordon, have previously taken part in triathlons, ran her first-ever marathon this year.

She finished in a great time of 4:01:26. Her father shared a post after the event which read, “Such a proud dad today watching my little girl @tillyramsay run her first ever marathon!”

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She ran with Flora for Feeding Britain.

Daddy Pig paired up with an unlikely companion

Fitness influencer Joe Wicks’ finish time was 5:51:54, a second after Daddy Pig’s (yes, he of Peppa Pig fame).

That’s because the pair were running together, with Daddy Pig raising money for the National Deaf Children’s Society.

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Wicks also ran with his brothers.

Alexandra Burke, Fern Brady, and Kitty Scott Claus also took part

Alexandra Burke, who finished the race in 4:25:03, said on Instagram, “I never take it for granted that I’m able to move my body and do things that challenge me!”

She raised money for the Melissa Bell Foundation and Parkinsons UK.

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Fern Brady, who was running her first-ever marathon and finished in 5:49:12, joked on Instagram: “That was piss easy and at no point did I lose my grip on reality or believe I was crying hysterically and making a holy show of myself when in fact there was no tears coming out my eyes.”

She raised money for Autistica UK.

Drag Race UK star Kitty Scott Claus, meanwhile, finished at 4:25:35 – running for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

“This one’s for you Grandma,” she titled her post-run Instagram post.

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Celebrity finish times, 2026 London Marathon:

  • Cynthia Erivo – 03:21:40
  • Tilly Ramsay – 04:01:26
  • Daddy Pig – 05:51:53 (he beat fitness influencer Joe Wicks by a second; the pair ran together)
  • Joe Wicks – 05:51:54
  • Alexandra Burke – 04:25:03
  • Kitty Scott Claus – 04:25:35
  • Sebastian Vettel – 02:59:08
  • Tony Adams – 06:21:17
  • Aaron Ramsey – 03:00:30
  • Sir Alastair Cook – 03:05:15
  • James Norton – 04:29:04
  • Jack O’Connell – 04:41:00
  • AJ Pritchard – 05:15:27
  • Sir Ben Ainslie – 04:13:44
  • Dame Laura Kenny – 03:45:05
  • Nikita Kuzmin – 04:19:17
  • Ore Oduba – 05:17:08
  • Harry Judd – 03:05:25
  • Shane McGuigan – 02:44:51
  • Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy – 04:50:47
  • Fern Brady – 05:49:12
  • Aimee Fuller – 03:36:48
  • Lee Grant – 03:00:33
  • Darren Randolph – 07:36:27
  • Bryony Gordon – 05:56:36
  • Helen Thorn – 04:55:01
  • Rob Deering – 03:47:22
  • George Rainsford – 03:15:57
  • Christopher Harper – 04:24:28
  • Laura Doddington – 04:58:53
  • Lucas Aurelio – 04:49:38
  • Evie Pickerill – 06:20:25
  • Dan Hudson – 03:35:51
  • Dani King – 03:07:43
  • Aaron Howlett – 06:55:55
  • Sean Fletcher – 04:48:09
  • Samantha Spiro – 05:00:42
  • Harry Clark – 04:38:34.

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Prison ombudsman names youth who died in Feltham child jail

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Feltham

Feltham

The 16-year-old boy who died in custody in London’s Feltham young offenders’ institute on 20 April has been named. A Prison and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) comms officer told the Canary on 27 April:

I can confirm we are investigating the death of Eder Duarte on 20 April 2026 at HMP Feltham. I’m afraid we cannot comment on the details of Mr Duarte’s death as the investigation is live.

As the Canary reported in the aftermath of the death:

His [Duarte’s] girlfriend described to reporters that he was “covered in bruises” after identifying his body. Yet much of the corporate media has since pulled her comments. Feltham is widely described as the most violent jail in the UK’s woefully dysfunctional prison system.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) scrambled to tell the Canary that they did not agree with that assessment of Duarte’s condition.

Adrian Usher, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, released a further statement on 27 April:

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My office is conducting an independent investigation into the death of Eder Duarte on 20 April 2026 at HMP Feltham. I offer my condolences to Mr Duarte’s family and friends. I will make my final investigation report public after the conclusion of the inquest.

The Canary previously spoke to the NGO Inquest which lobbies for those who’ve lost loves ones in deaths related to the British state. Director Deborah Coles said on 23 April:

No child should be dying in the care of the state, let alone a prison. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Away from their families and support systems, locked in their cells for most of the day, with high rates of violence and self-harm, and prison guards now allowed to use PAVA spray, it is clear that imprisoning children will always be harmful and never be safe. This death is a urgent reminder of this.

Adding:

The government must divest money away from punishment and prisons and into community based support services to prevent further death and harm.

High levels of violence at Feltham

Prisons magazine The Justice Gap reported in 2025 that Feltham has major problems with violence:

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Conditions at Feltham prison remain ‘insufficiently improved’ after an inspection by the prisons watchdog found high levels of violence against staff and one of the highest levels of drug use in any category C prison.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has also condemned the authorities over conditions at the jail. The facility has both a youth and adult jail. Chief Executive Frances Crook slammed both in 2025:

These are two of the worst in a long line of terrible prison inspection reports. It is all the more disturbing that they concern children and young people.

These children are suffering abuse and neglect by the state. Feltham has failed to care for children and help them turn their lives around for decades. It is time to put an end to this abusive failing system and properly help children live law-abiding lives.

In August 2025 the prisons inspectorate found:

levels of violence were still the highest of any prison in the country.

The inspectorate said things had been improved by a policy of:

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‘keep-apart’ lists that prevented children from mixing, allowing for a better regime.

Authorities are yet to publicise a cause of death for Eder Duarte. Feltham is just one especially egregious example of a broken UK jail system. In 2019, Inquest said:

Deaths, self-harm, violence, impoverished regimes and conditions are the daily reality of the prison system.

And, as various charities and civil society organisations regularly point out, a system which puts minors in jail needs deeper examination and serious reform.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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Half of NHS hospital trusts using non-doctors in doctor rotas

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Wes Streeting Labour NHS

Wes Streeting Labour NHS

Nearly half of NHS hospital trusts are using non-doctors in their doctor rotas, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) responses to the British Medical Association. The revelation is a continuation of the Starmer government’s scandalous push to ‘downskill’ the NHS and reduce staff costs to allow greater profits for private providers.

An absolute shambles in the NHS

Starmer’s health secretary Wes Streeting is an ardent advocate of the expanded use of ‘medical associates’ (sometimes called ‘physician or anaesthetist assistants’) and ‘advanced practitioners’. Streeting, who has accepted huge amounts of cash from the private health industry, claims this is safe for patients. Labour’s own data show it to be “high risk” to patients, but Streeting has told doctors who protest that it’s none of their business.

Streeting is so committed to this that he has pressured the General Medical Council (GMC) to remove the need for medical training to be GMC-registered. He also says he will let the NHS ‘die’ if it doesn’t submit to such ‘reforms’ as part of his ten-year slash-and-burn plan.

The new FOI responses show that the net effect is that the sick are made to see non-doctors with a fraction of a real doctor’s training. The BMA received responses from 85 of the UK’s 202 NHS hospital trusts. Of them, 48% confirmed they are using ‘advanced practitioner’ roles to fill out doctor rotas.

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This number does not even include those using ‘medical associates’, who have just two years’ basic training. ‘Advanced practitioners’ are nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and pharmacists who complete an “Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) apprenticeship” or similar bolt-on training module. As the BMA notes:

While many are experienced in their base profession, working on medical roles is beyond their scope of practice.

People are dying

However, they are being used well beyond their qualified scope, as is also the case with ‘associates’, meaning many patients are being treated by people they think are doctors but aren’t. As of July 2025, at least six have died as a result.

BMA council chair Tom Dolphin said the findings prove NHS management’s ‘haphazard’ approach to staffing:

Our colleagues in advanced practice roles are valued members of our multidisciplinary teams. Yet our research reveals an NHS management that will risk patient safety to push these professionals out of what they do best and use them as spare capacity to fill up understaffed doctors’ rotas. While other healthcare roles can be enhanced within safe limits, this must never encroach into areas where a doctor’s training and expertise is required.

What is especially concerning is just how slapdash the NHS’s approach is. Many trusts have clearly and sensibly told us they would not put a non-doctor into the role of a doctor. Other trusts have unashamedly responded that they have done. That these responses split almost down the middle is an indictment of an approach by Trusts and the NHS which means that where you live determines whether you will be seen by a doctor or by someone else for the same condition.

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This is a potential disaster for everyone involved. Advanced practitioners are being asked to do jobs they shouldn’t have to. Patients are being given no clarity about who is treating them and what level of care they’re meant to be getting. Doctors are being left unclear on where the lines are drawn. The whole thing is a haphazard mess brought on by an absence of workforce planning and rational thinking about who can do what.

Patients deserve a good standard of care whichever hospital they happen to live near. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether the local managers have asked non-doctors to deliver care that only uniquely qualified doctors can safely deliver. ‘An NHS stretched to breaking point is no excuse. Better regulation and clear and uniform scopes of practice to stop this blurring of professional lines are needed, so no patient comes to harm.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council agrees. It told the BMA in March 2026 that “advanced practitioners are not a substitute for medical practitioners”.

Streeting has a lot to answer for

The use of these sub-medical roles as medics is a core part of the government’s ‘integrated care services’ ICS) plans to close hospitals and ration treatment. ICS used to be called ‘Accountable Care Organisations” (ACOs) after the dangerous US cost-cutting system it copies. However, after the US ACO scandal became known in the US, NHS ACOs were renamed to ICS. ICS even rewards NHS trusts and private providers for not treating the sick, putting healthcare further out of reach for those who need it.

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To the Starmer government, cost-cutting to enable private health corporations to make fatter profits trumps the needs of patients and the future of the NHS, every time. No matter how it’s dressed up or what terms they invent to disguise it.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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Gen Z Wants Matcha, Chokers And Sneakerinas For Their Wedding Day

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Gen Z Wants Matcha, Chokers And Sneakerinas For Their Wedding Day

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Gone are the days of the same old wedding ceremony: traditional white dress for the bride, tuxedo for the groom, and style over comfort.

We might have had centuries of the same, but that’s all about to change now that Gen Z is entering the marriage market.

A new report by Bridebook reveals what to expect the generation to prioritise when it comes to their big day – and you’d get no prizes for guessing it’s not what you grandmother would’ve planned for them.

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While previously, the run up to weddings is seen as the most stressful time in the couples’ lives, Gen Z is baking their obsession with wellness into the ceremony itself.

According to Bridebook, wedding parties of the happy couple should prepare themselves for starting the day with a guided breathwork session.

The ceremony itself will feature aura photography, or even energy readings, the report suggests, in a move away from traditional photoshoots with the couple and their families.

You might even have to take a day off work, as more than a third have moved to a weekday wedding to save costs, according to Bridebook.

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But, don’t worry, there is still something about Gen Z weddings that would make your elders proud, as they’re 25% more likely to get married in a place of worship than previous generations.

Although, er, just don’t tell them that this could be more to do with their penchant for ‘dark romance’ and gothic cottagecore aesthetics than their devoutness.

Of course, this commitment to drama will also translate to their fashion, accessories, and drink options.

So to prepare you for your next guest experience, we’ve rounded up everything you’ll see at a Gen Z wedding.

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Star-crossed lovers, unite! Gen Z is embracing the Juliet Cap in a big way to live up to the drama.

Gen Z is also leading the return of the chocker, with searches for ‘bridal choker necklaces’ up 344% year-on-year.

There’s no such thing as too much for Gen Z, so expect cascading, oversized veils encrusted with everything from diamonds to pearls.

Pearls don’t stop at the neck – Gen Z wants them over their gloves, too.

I mean, they’re not exactly subtle: Gen Z clasps at anything that gives ‘theatre’, such as these long lace gloves, which FYI, have become 1,319% more popular on search in the last year.

With all those dainty pearl and lace details knocking around, you need some edge in there, too. So of course, Gen Z is pairing their opera gloves with black sunnies on their big day.

You can’t tear us away from our sneakerinas, not even when we’re walking down the aisle. And you know what, fair enough, because it can’t exactly be the best day of your life if you’re not comfortable now, can it?

For those not quite bold enough to embrace the sneakerina, a simple mary jane is shoving heels aside for top wedding shoe spot.

And for the gentleman, a little pastel. White gets pretty boring, we have to admit, so it makes sense there’s a sudden move towards more saccharine shades like this aqua number.

Trying too hard is embarrasing, so baggy suits will be making their way to the altar.

We’ve moved past jewellery being reserved for women, so naturally men are donning brooches during their betrothal. This one will literally help you tie the knot. But if that’s not your style, opt for a rosette-shaped pin to award yourself for getting down the aisle, or this pearly number to match with your beloved.

Forget the champagne towers, Gen Z is all about wellness, so we could see matcha towers become the drink of choice at wedding receptions. Hey, maybe this blueberry one could count as your something blue?

No one can deny the appeal of a spicy margarita, which is tying with the Hugo Spritz for Gen Z’s favourite cocktail. But what about a spicy vodkarita, with this Tabasco-flavoured Absolut?

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Green MP Disagrees With Zack Polanski About Trump And Putin

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Green MP Disagrees With Zack Polanski About Trump And Putin

A senior Green MP has distanced herself from her party leader Zack Polanski after he suggested Donald Trump is worse than Vladimir Putin.

The Green Party leader told Italian newspaper Repubblica last week: “As horrendous as Putin is… I’ve never seen him threaten genocide.

“I’ve never seen him threaten to wipe out a civilisation… Starmer’s so-called special relationship is more of a danger than what Putin is doing in Ukraine.”

But speaking to the BBC’s Politics Live show on Monday, the Greens’ leader in Westminster Ellie Chowns said: “That’s not my position, let me be clear.

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“I’ve seen Vladimir Putin himself launch an illegal invasion of Ukraine, he’s responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. Absolutely despicable.”

Asked if Polanski – who is not an MP – was suggesting Trump is worse than Putin, Chowns said: “I wouldn’t have said that, that’s not my view. I am however deeply concerned about the actual actions of Donald Trump.”

The MP for North Herefordshire then turned the focus onto Trump’s conflict in Iran, calling it “clearly illegal”.

The Greens have made their opposition to Trump very clear, with the party leader even suggesting the UK should consider expelling US forces from British bases – and leave Nato.

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Polanski also faced scrutiny on Monday morning when he clashed with Good Morning Britain presenter Ed Balls, accusing the show of “shock-jock tactics”.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Even Zack Polanski’s own MPs know his comments on Vladimir Putin are appalling. He must retract his comments and stop whitewashing Russia’s barbaric war in Ukraine.”

Defence minister Luke Pollard said: “Even Zack Polanski’s Leader in Parliament doesn’t agree with his disgraceful comments about Vladimir Putin.

“This is a new low for Polanski’s Green Party – and shows why he can’t be trusted with our national security. It’s time Zack Polanski urgently stopped pandering to Putin and made clear that he will stop attempting to whitewash Russia’s barbaric action in Ukraine.

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“While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has offered serious, calm-headed leadership at a time of international uncertainty, the Greens can’t even agree on who our allies are. They are just not serious.”

Subscribe 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.

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