“Nigel Farage is dead in the water,” Piers Morgan boldly declared on the BBC last week.

The broadcaster said the Reform UK leader has been left “rattled” by the row over the undeclared £5 million gift he received from a crypto billionaire.

Farage received the huge lump sum just before he announced he was running in the general election back in 2024.

Though he insists he has not broken any rules, he is being investigated by parliament’s standards watchdog for not declaring the money when he was elected MP for Clacton.

If he is found guilty, Farage could even face a by-election if he is suspended from parliament for longer than 10 days.

But a senior Reform UK source told HuffPost UK: “If Labour are smart, they’ll suspend him for nine days, which would mean he’s guilty but wouldn’t trigger a by-election.

“If they’re daft enough to suspend him for longer, Nigel would easily win the by-election and could then just turn around and say voters don’t care about it whenever the £5 million gift gets brought up again.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, things got worse for Farage over the weekend.

An investigation by the Sunday Times revealed that the Reform boss received financial support from convicted criminal George Cottrell before he became an MP.

Farage has called it “an establishment hit job”, but could face yet another Commons sleaze probe after being reported by Lib Dem MP Josh Babarinde.

It is Farage’s reaction to the furore which has raised eyebrows among his political allies, as well as as enemies.

Not so long ago, it was virtually impossible to switch on the TV or radio without being confronted by Farage’s grinning face, while he was holding press conferences the length and breadth of the country on a weekly basis.

But since the Harborne story was broken by The Guardian in April, he has been noticeably more camera-shy.

And when he has made himself available for scrutiny, his explanation for the gift, and what he plans to do with his massive windfall, has been far from consistent.

At first, he said the funds were to be spent on his private security, then he claimed it was given to him as a reward for his Brexit campaigning.

On a round of car crash interviews two weeks ago, he insisted it was no one’s business but his, and he could spend the money on Ferraris if he wanted to.

Farage has also insisted that the money was unconditional, but he now faces the prospect of a second parliamentary probe over claims he lobbied the Bank of England to drop a cryptocurrency plan that could have impacted Christopher Harborne’s own business.

Farage denies any wrongdoing, but even his own supporters are concerned about the effect the various controversies are having on the Reform leader.

“Nigel is tired and stressed,” said one ally. “He needs to have a rest.”

As the party’s frontman, recent months have been especially punishing for Farage.

He led his party’s campaign in the May 7 elections, then the Makerfield by-election, which saw Andy Burnham comfortably defeat Reform’s Robert Kenyon.

That result confirmed that despite leading in the national opinion polls for the best part of two years, Reform’s electoral record has been decidedly patchy of late.

In February, the Greens’ Hannah Spencer defeated Reform’s Matt Goodwin in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

And last October, Plaid Cymru won the Caerphilly by-election for the Welsh Senedd, confirming that anti-Reform tactical voting is a major problem for the party.

This will once again be evident in the by-election for the Greater Manchester mayoralty at the end of July, which Reform insiders concede they are likely to lose to Labour.

Internal divisions risk rocking Farage’s party, too.

Tensions between senior figures have burst into the open, with home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf publicly slapping down Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick in May over Reform’s own immigration plans.

Some see that as a foretaste of the jockeying for position which would inevitably take place if Farage did decide to chuck it all in – a scenario he openly speculated on in a recent LBC interview in which he also refused to say he wants to be prime minister.

Former Reform chair David Bull said earlier this month that Farage is not bigger than his party, but few believe that it would be business as usual for Reform should he end up being replaced by one of his underlings.

It is far too early to write Farage off, however.

This is a man, after all, whose time in the public eye appeared to be over until he made the unlikeliest of comebacks by coming third on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! in 2023.

His victory in Clacton in 2024 also followed seven previously unsuccessful attempts to get a seat in the Commons.

If there is one thing Farage is good at, it is defying the odds.

Who, for instance, would have thought he would successfully campaign to take the UK out of the European Union when he first emerged on the political scene as chairman of the UK Independence Party back in 1998?

In this week’s Commons People podcast, we examine the row threatening to bring down the Reform leader – and assess whether or not the end really is nigh for the comeback kid of British politics.

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.

Most of us already know that getting enough sleep on the reg can reduce heart attack risk, make you more likely to exercise, and even help you live longer.

But working out exactly why that might be can prove difficult. In recent years, scientists have been looking more closely at the biological mechanisms behind sleep’s benefits.

And recently, a new paper published in the journal Cell identified a deep sleep circuit that might play a role in building muscle and improving our brain function.

The researchers discovered a feedback system that keeps certain hormones in check during sleep, too.

We’ve known for a long time that growth hormone, which is linked to stronger cartilage, muscle, and bone and an improved metabolism alongside a potentially lower heart disease and diabetes risk, is produced during sleep.

But we weren’t really sure how it was released.

In this paper, researchers looked at the brains of mice. They found that growth hormone-releasing hormone (GRGH) and somatostatin, which can suppress the hormone, both rise during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. That leads to a greater overall release of growth hormone.

During other parts of sleep, though, somatostatin dips while GRGH only rises a little.

Additionally, the scientists found a feedback mechanism in a part of the brain called the locus coeruleus, part of the brain associated with attention, sleep-wake cycles, and thinking.

When growth hormone slowly builds up during sleep, it begins to wake us up bu stimulating this brain region, the study found. But when a more sudden influx of the hormone comes, it seems to make us sleepier.

“This suggests that sleep and growth hormone form a tightly balanced system: Too little sleep reduces growth hormone release, and too much growth hormone can in turn push the brain toward wakefulness,” study co-author Dr Daniel Silverman said.

“Sleep drives growth hormone release, and growth hormone feeds back to regulate wakefulness, and this balance is essential for growth, repair and metabolic health.”

The hormone’s interaction with our locus coeruleus, which keeps us attentive and alert, might also explain sleep’s cognitive benefits, he added.

“Growth hormone not only helps you build your muscle and bones and reduce your fat tissue, but may also have cognitive benefits, promoting your overall arousal level when you wake up.”

Researchers hope these findings can inform future therapies.

“Understanding the neural circuit for growth hormone release could eventually point toward new hormonal therapies to improve sleep quality or restore normal growth hormone balance,” Dr Silverman stated.

“There are some experimental gene therapies where you target a specific cell type. This circuit could be a novel handle to try to dial back the excitability of the locus coeruleus, which hasn’t been talked about before.”

As soon as it was revealed that Christopher Nolan would be following up his Oscar-winning historical biopic Oppenheimer with a new adaptation of the classic tome, The Odyssey, it was pretty obvious that we were in for another bum-numbing epic from the British director.

Nolan is already known for not shying away from a long runtime with his big-screen offerings, with some of his biggest films clocking in at long after the two-hour mark.

Inception, for example, lasts a total of 148 minutes, with Tenet beating that by two minutes.

Another of his most popular movies, Interstellar, lasts just shy of three hours at 169 minutes, while his latest film, Oppenheimer, ran for three hours exactly.

So, how will The Odyssey compare?

The good news for anyone worried about whether they’re going to need bathroom and snack breaks when planning their cinema trip for The Odyssey is that the film isn’t quite as long as Oppenheimer.

However, it has to be said that it’s still one of Nolan’s longest movies to date, at 172 minutes in total, as reported by Ireland’s official film classification body, the IFCO.

Of course, it’s understandable that The Odyssey would be a long one, considering how much material there is for Nolan to condense into one film.

Based on Homer’s Greek epic, the original story centres around Odysseus and his mammoth journey home to his wife and son in Ithaca at the end of the Trojan war, where along the way he has to face adversaries from mythology like the cyclops and sirens.

Matt Damon will take the lead as Odysseus in the new film adaptation of the tale, sharing the screen with everyone from Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland to Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron.

The Odyssey is due to hit cinemas on Friday 17 July. Check out our more in-depth guide to the new Nolan film here.

Harry Styles took a moment to pay tribute to his former One Direction bandmates after wrapping up his epic, record-breaking run of shows at Wembley Stadium over the weekend.

On Sunday night, the chart-topping star delivered the 12th and final Wembley Stadium gigon his Together, Together world tour, off the back of his hit album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.

During his London shows, Harry has been taking a moment to reflect on the early stages of his career, which was also the case during Sunday night’s concert.

“I wouldn’t be on this stage if it wasn’t for four friends of mine that were a massive part of this journey,” he told the crowd, before publicly thanking Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and his “dear friend”, the late Liam Payne “for these nights and everything that I learned in this time, the friendship, everything”.

“None of this would be possible, I wouldn’t be here without you, thank you so much,” he added.

Liam died in October 2024 at the age of 31, after falling from the balcony of a hotel where he was staying in Argentina, while under the influence of numerous substances.

In the days that followed, the four remaining members of One Direction issued a joint statement, which read: “The memories we shared with [Liam] will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.”

They then posted more personal tributes on their individual social media accounts, with Harry remembering his “lovely friend” as “warm, supportive and incredibly loving”.

Harry lamented: “The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always.”

More recently, Harry admitted that Liam’s death was something he has “struggled” to address over the last two years.

“There was a period when he passed away where I really struggled with kind of acknowledging how strange it is to have people kind of own part of your grief, in a way,” the Sign Of The Times singer shared.

“I [had] such strong feelings around my friend passing away, and then suddenly, being aware [that] there [was] maybe a desire from other people [for] you to convey that in some way – or it means you’re not feeling what you’re feeling or something.”

The Grammy winner added: “It’s so difficult to lose a friend. It’s difficult to lose any friend, but it’s so difficult to lose a friend who is so like you in so many ways. It’s like, I saw [in Liam] someone with the kindest heart, who just wanted to be great.”

The prime minister of Australia has apologised for comments he recently made about one of the country’s most famous residents, Kylie Minogue, on a podcast.

Last week, Anthony Albanese was interviewed by comedian Nikki Osborne on the podcast Bush Deep, where the host asked if he would “shag, marry or date” the famous Australian entertainers Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore.

Initially, Albanese tried to swerve the question, but eventually said “oh, Kylie, clearly” as a response to “all of the above”.

“She’s terrific,” he then enthused.

His responses were met with immediate backlash, with senator Sarah Henderson describing them as “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of prime minister”.

Australian MP Zali Steggall also said the comments were “entirely inappropriate”, saying that Albanese “needs to learn to push back” and should have led “by example” and “call[ed the question] out as sexist”.

Responding to the controversy in a statement on Monday, Albanese said (as reported by BBC News): “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.”

Albanese is presently out of the country on an official visit, with Richard Marles acting as prime minister in his absence.

Speaking to Australia’s ABC Radio National about the media furore surrounding Albanese’s remarks, Marles said: “From time to time, we obviously do different interviews to the one we are doing now. But I think the other point to make here is that the government that the PM leads is the first in history that has had equality in terms of the number of men and women in cabinet.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Kylie Minogue’s representatives for additional comment.

Keir Starmer is preparing for a dressing down from Donald Trump at his last Nato summit as prime minister over the government’s underwhelming defence spending plans.

The PM will fly to Ankara in Turkey a week after unveiling the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

Although it contained an extra £15 billion for the armed forces over the next four years, nearly one-third of it is unfunded, while there was no pathway for how the government plans to hit its target of spending 3.5% of national income on defence by 2035.

Starmer insisted that, once security spending is added, Britain will be spending 4.2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by then.

But that would still fall short of Trump’s demand that all Nato allies increase defence-related spending to 5% of GDP by the middle of the next decade.

It’s therefore no surprise that, judging by his social media posts, the US president may already sharpening his knives as he prepares to meet the outgoing prime minister.

Trump reposted a tweet on his platform, Truth Social, over the weekend which attacked England’s supposed decline.

“Just 100 years ago, England was the greatest empire the world had ever seen,” the post, from an account called Geiger Capital, read.

“A few generations later, they are a deindustrialized welfare zone unable to stop third-world men from invading on rubber boats.

“Decline happens fast. Weak leaders and suicidal empathy.”

The same post also pointed out that Britain is on the cusp of appointing its seventh prime minister in a decade, with Andy Burnham preparing to replace Starmer in two weeks’ time.

Trump’s dig comes after months of turmoil in the UK-US relationship, triggered by Starmer’s refusal to let American troops use British military base to launch attacks on Iran.

Trump has already criticised the incoming PM too, describing Burnham – the former mayor of Greater Manchester – as “the mayor of a town” and “extremely liberal”.

The US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker, has already hinted that the US president will be cracking the whip on his allies at the summit in Turkey this week.

In a thinly-veiled threat, he said: “Some allies are doing more than others.

“Poland, the North countries, the Baltic countries lead the way and Germany is on track for the 5%, reaching it in 2029, but many allies are lagging behind and President Trump expects all allies to step up immediately.

“We expect all allies to demonstrate meaningful upward trajectories both quantitively and qualitatively in defence spending that results in fairer burden sharing.”

Britain was Nato’s third largest defence spender in 2015 after the US and Greece, but last year it slipped down to 12th.

Burnham has vowed to “take my responsibilities fully” to fund the DIP if he gets into office.

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.