Sadiq Khan has launched an outspoken attack on Keir Starmer in the wake of Labour’s humiliating by-election defeat in Gorton and Denton.

The London mayor said the party and the government must “fundamentally rethink its approach” after coming third behind the Greens and Reform UK.

Writing in The Observer, he said: “Many people who voted Labour in July 2024 are now angry and frustrated.

“They are impatient to see the change promised at the last general election, including better public services and a growing economy, and they want a Labour government that shares their values.

“People need to know what this Labour government really stands for and be able to believe that it still holds true to the core beliefs the party was established to promote.”

Accusing the PM of taking taking “progressive voters for granted”, Khan criticised his approach to Brexit, immigration and Gaza.

Khan also took aim at Starmer’s suggestion that voters in Gorton and Denton had fallen for the “extremism” of the Green Party.

“Many share our values and hopes for the country but are disappointed with the government,” he said. “Calling them extreme will only turn more people away.”

However, the mayor insisted he was not joining the calls from many in the Labour Party for Starmer to resign – but said there needed to be “real change and a vision that provides hope for the future, not doom and gloom”.

Meanwhile, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell also took a thinly-veiled swipe at Starmer’s decision to block Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from being the party’s by-election candidate, insisting he “probably would have” won the seat.

She said voters “see in him someone who is on their side, someone who is delivering those Labour values and those Labour policies”.

Powell added: “We have to draw on that, make use of Andy Burnham, but also draw on that and reflect on how we could do that better nationally and better as a Government.

“And I know from talking to Keir many, many times over recent weeks, before this by-election and since, that that is something he is very focused on doing.”

Donald Trump has warned Iran against launching retaliatory strikes after the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an attack by the US and Israel.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the early hours of Sunday that the 86-year-old dictator had died, and said it would launch its “most-intense offensive operation” against American and Israeli targets in response.

But in a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning, Trump said: “Iran just stated that they are going to hit very hard today, harder than they have ever hit before. THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”

Hours earlier, Trump announced Khamenei’s death in another Truth Social post and urged the Iranian people to seize “the single greatest chance … to take back their country”.

The US and Israel described Saturday’s attacks on Iran as a “pre-emptive” strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons.

It retaliation from Iran, with strikes reported in several Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Hundreds of thousands of British nationals are believed to be present in the Gulf, and those in Bahrain, Israel, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE have been urged to register their presence with the Foreign Office.

In a statement from Downing Street on Saturday, Keir Starmer “played no role” in the strikes on Iran.

“But we have long been clear – the regime in Iran is utterly abhorrent,” he added.

“They have murdered thousands of their own people, brutally crushed dissent, and sought to destabilise the region.”

The PM said Iran had “backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on UK soil” in the last year alone.

Starmer said Iran “must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon” and called for the resumption of diplomatic efforts to prevent that from happening.

He said: “Iran can end this now. They should refrain from further strikes, give up their weapons programmes, and cease the appalling violence and repression against the Iranian people – who deserve the right to determine their own future, in line with our longstanding position.

“That is the route to de-escalation and back to the negotiating table.”

Sexologist comment provided by licensed sexologist, relationship therapist, and author at Passionerad, Sofie Roos.

Sexologist and therapist Sofie Roos tells me that, in her job, “straight men regularly seek my help to get guidance” on their sex lives.

In fact, she said, “I want straight men to know that they’re far from alone” when it comes to physical and mental issues in the bedroom.

Here, she told HuffPost UK about what straight men bring up the most in her sessions.

Issues like erectile dysfunction are the “main reason for hetero men seek professional help,” Roos said.

That can include getting and/or keeping an erection. “Stress, performance anxiety, and increased age are the most common causes.”

The sexologist said premature ejaculation is the next most common topic.

Thirdly, straight men often come to Roos with concerns about “problematically high and low libido, where a high interest in sex feels difficult to control… while a low libido often negatively affects romantic relationships”.

And body image concerns, like “being worried about penis size, looks, or one’s sexual skills,” which Roos said are “often affected by porn and unrealistic ideals,” are “common causes that make straight men seek professional sexual help”.

Throughout many of these concerns, the sexologist told us that “performance anxiety is almost always part of the picture.”

She said the men she sees in her work often don’t feel “man enough”, and “have difficulties… separating sex from performance… many men have been taught that their sexual value is what they can perform in bed.

“Many hetero men have grown up hearing that they should always be strong, know what they want, never show weakness, they should always want sex, and they need to perform.

“To say ‘I can’t get hard’, ‘I’m not in the mood’, or ‘I’m a bit unsure of what to do’ then feels like a threat to the ‘manly’ identity, which makes it way more difficult to talk with a partner or a friend.”

That, the sexologist said, can mean some straight men wait too long to get professional help.

In general, the sexologist said she wished straight men were less focused on their erections. “Remember that it’s a complicated function, and that it not always will work the way you want it to, just as a woman not always will get wet ― and this is okay, and must not mean that something is wrong,” she said.

“Secondly, I wish that more men could try to separate performance from intimacy. Sex is not a sport, but an emotional experience, and you should therefore shift focus from ‘How do I maximise my accomplishment?‘, to ‘How does this feel between us?’”

This, she told us, can relieve feelings of pressure and lead to better sex.

She also said that some men could benefit from considering lifestyle choices when evaluating their sexual satisfaction. “Diet, exercise, sleep, alcohol and porn consumption,” as well as communication with your partner and stress management, can all play a role.

Lastly, she said, “don’t stay away from seeking help if you feel you can’t deal with these issues alone. Sexual health is part of your general health, and should be treated that way.”

Roughly twelve hours after he launched a war on Iran early on Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said his military campaign had killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

But Trump’s effort to frame his war of choice as just and worthy of international celebration is a long shot. Instead, the administration’s latest military escalation is boosting a perception globally that could permanently and significantly hurt America’s and Americans’ role in the world: the view of the US as a rogue actor, fuelling instability, acting illogically and even illegally and risking innocent lives.

For all the questions remaining about the offensive – How long will it go on? Does the US have a plan to replace the regime if it falls? Is there any remaining hope for de-escalation? — a further degradation of America’s image abroad, including among its traditional allies, is one of few certainties.

“Even before today, the pattern was clear: this is a state that actively disregards international law and its protections for civilians, which makes civilians – makes children, makes pregnant mothers, make people who have nothing to do with geopolitical aims at all – less safe everywhere: in Gaza, in Canada, in Europe, in Asia,” said Mark Kersten, a professor at the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada. “Even in America itself, because international law is an important way to protect people in their own countries.”

Kersten characterised the new war as “unequivocally illegal… a wanton and clear violation” of the United Nations charter.

Trump began his offensive in Iran, in partnership with Israel, without even attempting to rally broader support from other countries or some legal basis for an attack through the UN Security Council, as former president George W. Bush did before the invasion of Iraq. He proceeded to assassinate Khamenei, who, while widely reviled, was a sitting head of state.

An anonymous US official eventually claimed to reporters that the U.S. acted preemptively in anticipation of an Iranian missile attack on American forces – but the administration has released no evidence of an imminent assault, experts see that prospect as very unlikely and another anonymous source contradicted the Trump administration’s claim to CNN. And the war represented the second time in less than a year Washington purported to be prioritising diplomacy with Tehran before choosing war.

Meanwhile, the administration has not offered any US plan to prevent a spiral of violence and atrocities in Iran and across the Middle East. A strike in the US-Israeli operation hit an Iranian primary school, killing more than 100 people, mostly schoolgirls, and throughout Saturday, Iranian retaliation struck neighbouring countries aligned with the US, wounding people and targeting civilian sites like airports and a hotel.

Given those facts, officials in the region and in Europe are alarmed, and their US counterparts are unlikely to be able to reassure them and encourage confidence in Trump’s strategy, said Jennifer Gavito, a former State Department official with senior roles across administrations of both parties.

“I look back to Libya and Iraq,” she said, referring to the chaos and mass death following American regime change missions in both countries. “I don’t know what reassurance could have been given in that moment – and especially with the benefit of history now on our side how you confidently project” success.”

Gavito noted public comments decrying the war from the foreign minister of Oman, which had sought to mediate between the U.S. and Iran: “It speaks to the betrayal that [other nations] feel that yet again we seemingly used negotiations as a cover and pretext for a strike that makes us in the future less of a credible partner.”

Reports suggest US and Israeli officials quietly planned the Iran campaign for months, even as Trump repeatedly said publicly that he wanted a deal.

The coming days and weeks are likely to bolster scepticism of the American strategy as Trump has offered conflicting visions of the resolution to the conflict, saying that he wants to see Iranian civilians abandon and topple the government and that he plans to continue bombing. A quick settlement on the core area of disagreement between Tehran and Washington – Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities – is hard to imagine as a more hardline leadership is expected to succeed Khamenei and seek to project strength and resistance.

“We have already made this existential for the Iranian regime….so they have no incentive,” Gavito said. Already loath to make big concessions, Iran had reportedly this week offered greater limits on its nuclear development than it had in a previous nuclear deal with world powers, which Trump abandoned.

Waging a bloody, domestically unpopular and unauthorised war without a clear end, the Trump administration is unlikely to attract greater international backing.

Disdain rooted in the Iran policy will compound wariness of the US’s conduct and judgment in recent years in various contexts, from Trump’s kidnapping of Venezuela’s president last month to Gaza, in which Trump and before him President Joe Biden have defied calls to reconsider heavy American support for devastating Israeli policies decried by most countries.

“Coming after the Gaza war, where the US was seen in violation of international law and working against all human rights statutes by enabling Israeli genocide, we have now another instance by another admin of a different political view, confirming again that the US does not work according to international law,” said Randa Slim of the Stimson Center think tank. “The US is increasingly seen as a country that does not play by the book.”

To the Trump administration, its allies and others, global goodwill and legitimacy may seem irrelevant. Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch proponent of attacking Iran and defender of Israeli conduct, on Saturday attacked European countries for suggesting the US should return to diplomacy with Tehran.

“It is so sad to see Western democracies lose their passion for justice and a sense of right and wrong,” Graham wrote on X. “You’re suggesting we should continue to negotiate with religious Nazis. It is pathetic.”

And Iran on Saturday also drew criticism from national security and legal analysts and other observers for its attacks on nearby countries, which had repeatedly said they did not want to see a war with their neighbor and attempted to overcome years of mutual distrust.

“These actions …set back years of rapprochement,” Slim said, noting Arab nations had recently come to see Israel’s heightened regional power as a greater threat but the risk posed by Iran was now “reemphasised.”

But with many people around the globe now wondering how US policy could unexpectedly spiral and harm them, Kersten described a heightened foreign focus on disconcerting Washington policy-making and the hope of changing it.

“Blatant threats to [Canada’s] sovereignty were in some ways a harbinger for how states can navigate [the Trump era] and I don’t think they have figured out how to navigate this,” he said, pointing to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s embrace of the attack on Iran despite his high-profile recent remarks urging countries to re-emphasise the importance of law and principles in international politics.

Kersten suggested foreigners are still searching for “voices of reason” in the United States, and feel dismayed by what they are seeing.

“If this dangerous path is to stop, it is only going to stop because of the actions of people within the United States,” Kersten said. “Canada can’t stop it . Middle Eastern partners have demonstrated they can’t stop it .. the UN will not. No international organisation or tribunal or coalition of states, whether [the European Union] or any other entity can.”

Times may change and TV tastes evolve, but there’s something enduringly appealing about a period drama – especially when it’s one as doused in sauciness as Bridgerton.

Four seasons in, Netflix’s Regency romp is still going strong after raking in nearly 40 million views in the new series’ first four days alone, proving that there’s still a market for yearning and a well-crafted sex scene.

If you’re all done with season four and wondering what the future holds for Bridgerton, we’ve done all the research to answer fans’ most burning questions.

Bridgerton has officially been renewed for two more seasons by Netflix, which will take us up to season 6. But with two more books and Bridgerton siblings left to take the spotlight after season 6 – it’s probable that won’t be the end (especially if Shonda Rhimes gets her way).

Here’s everything we know so far…

Although there hasn’t been any official line on this yet, showrunner Jess Brownell teased that production on Bridgerton season 5 will begin “very soon” in an interview with Decider.

This seems to tee up with recent unconfirmed reports claiming that filming would begin in March 2026.

That’s a trickier question to answer.

Again, Netflix hasn’t given any official indication on this yet – but based on the previous Bridgerton release pattern of there being around 18 months to two years between seasons, we could be looking at a release date of late 2027 or early 2028.

Having said that, Jess has said she is keen to cut down the two-year gap between seasons, recently telling Radio Times that the creators never planned for what many fans deemed a lengthy wait.

“I think there’s only been a year and a half actually between season three and four,” she claimed. “And we are on track with season five so far, fingers crossed, to either meet or match that year and a half mark.”

“We’re always trying to keep the trains going faster and faster,” she added.

It’s already been confirmed that seasons five and six will follow Bridgerton sisters Eloise and Francesca played by Claudia Jessie and Hannah Dodd, respectively. As for which of them will go first and get their story told in season five, Jess is still currently keeping us all guessing.

There’s a possible hint that it could be Eloise’s turn next in season four’s post-credit sequence, where she declares “I do love a wedding”.

Meanwhile, the death of John in season four also suggests that Francesca’s burgeoning relationship with Michaela could be the focus of the next run of episodes, too.

So far, Netflix hasn’t stayed entirely true to the order of the books Bridgerton is based on.

While seasons one and two were faithful to the novels’ running order – following Daphne and then Anthony – the TV series switched the third and fourth stories to focus on Colin in season three and Benedict in season four.

Should Netflix decide to follow the books again, season five will follow Eloise. But for now we’ll have to wait and see…

Bridgerton has officially been renewed for two more seasons by Netflix, which will take us up to season 6. And with with two more books and Bridgerton siblings left to take the spotlight after season 6 – it’s probable that won’t be the end.

Creator and producer Shonda Rhimes has no qualms about sharing her plans for Bridgerton to run for “exactly eight” seasons.

She’s also teased “a possibility for spin-offs”, which means as long as people are streaming Bridgerton, there could be a healthy future for the series.

All four seasons of Bridgerton are streaming now on Netflix.

Bridgerton is back for a new run of episodes with more dramatic romances, extravagant costumes and even bigger wigs.

The second half of season four follows bohemian Benedict Bridgerton as he continues his search for the mysterious Lady in Silver, after meeting her at a masquerade ball, not realising she’s actually Sophie Baek, who a maid he has also fallen for.

As the love story between Benedict and Sophie – played by Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha – unfolds, the pair must overcome a societal divide in order to be together.

With season four proving just as popular with Netflix users as ever, we’re going behind the scenes to find out how the team brought Julia Quinn’s books to life – and how the actors made those steamy love scenes look so realistic…

Australian actor Yerin Ha has admitted she was surprised to land the role of Sophie because she thought her attempts at a British accent were “terrible.”

Speaking to InStyle, she said that even after she landed a chemistry read with Luke Thompson over Zoom, she still thought there was no way she’d get the role.

“I just assumed that he probably had a day full of auditions, and he must be tired,” she recalled. “So I didn’t want to waste his time. I didn’t even really have chit-chat. I just got straight into the scene.”

Fortunately, Luke didn’t share her feelings about the Zoom call, and remembers their chemistry read very differently.

“I just remember feeling, despite the artifice of an audition, the Zoom delay, and shaky internet connection, that we were actually talking to each other,” he explained.

In Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton book series, Sophie’s surname is Beckett. In the show, they switch it to Baek to honour Yerin’s own background.

Yerin revealed that the showrunner Jess Brownell asked the actor if there were any Korean names that start with B, so there was still a connection to the character from the books, with the actor offering up Baek, feeling it was a seamless swap.

“I was just super appreciative of her changing the last name so that it fits with my identity and my culture and how I look,” Yerin told Elle.

“For some people, it might feel like a small thing, but for a production of that size to mold a character to me really empowered me.”

The costume designer added some Korean influences to Sophie’s outfits in a special shout-out to the actor’s heritage.

“Her necklace is based on an Asian necklace that’s amethyst, which is the stone of Korea. That’s a little tiny Easter egg to her history that her mother gave her,” costumer John Glaser told The Kit.

Yerin added to Refinery29: “The fact that the costume department even thought about that and nailed the details, it just goes to show how much thought goes into everything, from the set to the costumes.”

In the past, when a Bridgerton brother becomes the main focal point of a series, they usually get a glow-up and a new wardrobe to make them more leading-man-ready.

For Benedict, this transformation was more subtle than those of his brothers – although there were some subtle shifts.

Costume designer John Glaser told The Kit that Benedict’s wardrobe was inspired by 1980s New Romantics, making use of sheer fabrics and frilled collars.

“This season we’ve taken the men and we Gucci’d them up,” he joked.

In an interview with Vogue, Glaser explained that his wardrobe was also inspired by Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare In Love.

“Because we’ve gone forward in time a little bit in the show, the men’s silhouette has become softer and a little more open,” the Emmy winner explained. “And Benedict specifically, we’ve pushed him into the future a bit so that he’s not as restricted as the other men on the show.”

Sophie’s “evil” stepmother Araminta Gun (played by Katie Leung), does something no woman has ever done before in all four seasons of the period drama.

“As far as women in Bridgerton, she’s our first character to wear black,” Glaser told The Kit.

The decision to dress Araminta in black was not because she was supposed to come across as evil, though. Instead, her dark attire represents the fact she’s a widow, who feels separated from the rest of society.

“Her shape and silhouette aren’t Regency – it’s a little 1820 mixed with 1970,” Glaser told Vogue. “We gave her as much texture and subtle sparkle as possible – it’s like this reflective shield that she’s wearing, it’s her armour.

“She has a stronger silhouette than other characters and we never see her skin.”

Showrunner Jess Brownell compared Araminta to Anna Wintour, telling Vogue: “Anna, when you see her walking down the street, you know right away who she is. You’re not afraid of her, but you’re going to respect her. You see her coming and you better be ready. She’s a strong person.”

While their masquerade ball meeting was what set the ball rolling for their characters, this was not the first time that Yerin and Luke were on set together.

In fact, episode three’s kite-flying sequence was the first scene the duo filmed together, something they have admitted to feeling relieved about, because it allowed them to let their walls down and relax into the characters.

“The weather was beautiful. I was wearing Daphne’s borrowed dress. I felt really beautiful. I felt like Cinderella,” Yerin told Town & Country.

“That’s really where Benedict and Sophie’s relationship blossoms,” she also told Tudum. “It’s a parallel between Luke and me, because that’s where our friendship started to blossom as co-stars. I have a nostalgic, sentimental attachment to that place now.”

The scene of Benedict and Sophie’s first meeting was an elaborate feast for the eyes, with Bridgerton’s resident costume designer creating more than 172 costumes for the scene.

Costumer John Glaser has opened up how they put together the looks for the masquerade, telling Town & Country: “We actually thought the people from the town would come to the ball, so it would be a mixed match of everything, which is what we tried to do.

“We just thought of each person that would come, what they would make up at home. It’s not a Halloween party, but at a Halloween party, everybody has made their clothes or borrowed clothes. It’s just a mismatch stuff. And we wanted it to be exotic.”

As for the wigs, the team made 160 in total for the scene, with the most elaborate one being worn by Queen Charlotte.

Her elaborate design featured “a heart-shaped outer cage crafted from hair and adorned with silver leaf, and inside sits a replica of the nuptial crown that George gifted her – also made from hair”.

This was a nod to the queen’s late husband, and the Bridgerton prequel Queen Charlotte which followed the couple in their younger years.

It wasn’t just the costumes that the team put immense detail into for the ball scene.

The production designer, Alison Gartshore, themed the masquerade set around William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, adding lots of drapes to the dream-like setting alongside white florals.

Gartshore explained to Town & Country that the flowers were meant to feel like “the servants had gone out into the estate and just got whatever they could find – ivy, twigs, birds’ nests, the odd horn here and there, and they really kind of woven these garlands together from their own land”.

“All the florals had to be white because we wanted to look sort of moonlight flavour to it,” she continued. “It ended up looking really quite magical.”

Bridgerton is known for its sex scenes, and season four was no different.

In the first half of the season, Benedict and Sophie have in an intimate moment in a stairwell – in what served as a metaphor for the class divide between them.

This may have looked steamy on screen, but the atmosphere on set was apparently a lot less sexy.

“What we actually did is we both got ill. But different scenes. We kept falling ill!” Luke told E! News.

Yerin added: “We were very mentally a little bit weak, a little bit nervous, my immune system was down…”

Benedict and Sophie’s bathtub sequence was one of the most anticipated moments of Bridgerton season four.

Luke and Yerin have admitted that the scene was an especially slippery one to film – namely because production kept putting oil in the water.

“We were like two seals, because they kept pouring in this thing to make it milky, but I think it had oil in it,” Luke explained to Refinery29.

Yerin also revealed that, at just 5’2”, the long bathtub prop presented its own issues, with Luke joking: “She kept floating down the river. We had to sort of brace a little bit.”

It wasn’t just oil and the depth of the bathtub that caused issues for the actors, though.

“I put baby powder all on me because I was told it would help dry my skin to put the intimacy wear on with my tape,” Yerin recalled to Capital Breakfast.

“And then, basically, the next day, after the bathtub, I got hives all over my body, and I got folliculitis, so I needed steroid cream!”

Sophie and Benedict take refuge in Benedict’s sizeable countryside estate, imaginatively named My Cottage.

In real life, the scene where the couple has breakfast together was shot at Loseley Park. The Grade I listed manor was built in the 1560s and is closely linked to the Tudor family.

You can visit this 1,400 acre Surrey estate in person as it’s open to the public. You can even stay in one of the cottages on the estate – although sadly, it does not include a Bridgerton brother.

All four seasons of Bridgerton are now streaming on Netflix.

Donald Trump has said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was dead following the joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.

Khamenei was “unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems,” Trump wrote, adding that there was “not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”

Khamenei, 86, had held ultimate control over Iran’s political, military and religious institutions as Iran’s supreme leader since 1989. He had no known successor, per the Associated Press, making his death likely to create a power vacuum.

Trump had announced in the early hours of Saturday that the US and Israel had launched a major attack on Iran.

In his announcement, he seemed to push for regime change, urging the Iranian people to “seize control” of their “destiny.” He echoed that sentiment in his statement on Khamenei, calling the situation “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”

However, Trump said that “the heavy and pinpoint bombing” of Iran will continue “uninterrupted throughout the week” or “as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”

Iranian state media said on Saturday evening that at least 201 people were killed and 700 injured in the strikes, with more than 50 killed in a strike on a girls’ school.

Iran retaliated with its own strikes on Israel as well as US military bases throughout the region. As of Saturday afternoon, the US military had reported no American casualties.