who proposed the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill
A report published last week on McArthur’s bill sheds some light on questions that will shape the Holyrood debate — and
The document from the Scottish Parliament’s health committee
makes no comment on its “general principles” but suggests areas which require further consideration
self-administration and conscientious objection”
Three statements in the report are particularly worthy of note
it concedes that the definition of terminal illness in McArthur’s bill is broad enough to cover people who “may not be approaching death for a considerable period of time”
McArthur’s proposal includes no requirement for a life expectancy timescale
“progressive” condition from which they are “unable to recover”
and which is “expected to cause their premature death”
This controversial approach has drawn criticism from various groups, who note that people with disabilities, dementia or anorexia could be eligible under this definition — a thought that will make many MSPs uncomfortable. Parallels may be drawn with permissive assisted dying regimes abroad, such as Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) programme
It remains to be seen whether proponents of assisted suicide at Holyrood would be willing to amend the legislation to reduce its scope
but McArthur has been defensive of his definition to date
claiming that doctors would make appropriate judgements
Much rides on the debate at Holyrood in two weeks’ time. As with the debate at Westminster last year
the onus will be on supporters of assisted dying to explain how serious problems associated with the practice can be overcome
The muddled definitions highlighted by last week’s report should provide cause for serious concern
Jamie Gillies is a commentator on politics and culture
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Representatives of Chiptech attended the event hosted by the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon during his recent visit to the UK
Food and Rural Affairs also attended the reception at the Great Hall in Westminster
alongside innovators and business leaders
The event celebrated the enduring and growing partnership between New Zealand and the UK
Chiptech announced a major new initiative to drive healthcare innovation across the UK and Europe
including the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the North West-based Electech Innovation Cluster
This establishes a groundbreaking funding and mentoring programme to support startups focused on people safety and healthcare innovation
New Zealand in 2000 and based in Dalton Square in Lancaster
Chiptech is a global leader in Technology Enabled Care
Chiptech has become the leading provider of digital telecare products
serving over 200,000 users and supporting independence and safety for elderly and vulnerable individuals
The company employs 50 people across the UK
Chiptech’s current UK operations contribute savings of £2bn per year to the NHS and the wider Health and Social Care sector
These savings are projected to reach £5bn as service volumes continue to grow and develop
“Our mission is to create technology that genuinely improves people’s lives”
“This exciting new initiative will support early-stage innovation and bring to life new products and services with global reach and real world impact.”
a business-led network that bridges the gap between industry
said: “This partnership signifies the start of an exciting relationship between Chiptech and the Electech Cluster
We're thrilled that Chiptech will be investing in the local supply chain and hope that the relationship helps us share newfound best practice with our counterparts in New Zealand too.”
and global market access to startups developing solutions in medical safety
companies will gain access to Chiptech’s R&D
the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds (Secretary of State for Business and Trade)
the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon (New Zealand Prime Minister) and the Rt Hon Steve Reed (Secretary of State for Environment
Chiptech) and Daniel Knowles (Cluster Manager)
Real Local Radio Across North Lancashire & Morecambe Bay - 103.5FM
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Presenter released on bail by Westminster magistrates court and told he faces Old Bailey trial on five charges
Russell Brand has appeared in court on charges of rape and sexual assault
During a brief hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Friday
he was told he faced a trial at the Old Bailey in London on the five sexual offence charges
An investigation was launched after Brand was accused of sexual offences by several women
in a joint investigation by the Sunday Times
In a video previously posted on his X account
Brand said he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence
On Friday he appeared in court wearing a dark blue shirt
dark grey trousers and carrying a pair of sunglasses
date of birth and address in Buckinghamshire
told Brand he was being released on bail and would be expected to attend a hearing at the Old Bailey on 30 May
He said nothing when leaving court flanked by three minders
jumping into a waiting car and being driven away
Brand presented a BBC Radio 2 show between 2006 and 2008 as well as the Big Brother spin-off shows Big Brother’s Big Mouth and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack in the 00s
The presenter and actor was married to the US pop singer Katy Perry from 2010 to 2012
and is now married to Laura Gallacher – the sister of the TV presenter Kirsty
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The Duke of Westminster’s wedding was one of the biggest high society events of the year in 2024
but many may be wondering who exactly he is
We’re taking a closer look at everything there is to know about Hugh Grosvenor
is a 33-year-old billionaire businessman and aristocrat
Referred to as ‘Hughie’ by his friends, he is one of the richest men in England, and is the 7th Duke of Westminster. He inherited his title and estate from his late father Gerald Grosvenor in 2016
Hugh shares a close bond with many members of the British royal family, particularly brothers Prince William and Prince Harry
The Duke is not actually directly related to the British royal family.
The title of ‘Duke of Westminster’ was created by Queen Victoria in 1874
and was given to Hugh Grosvenor’s relative
who was the 3rd Marquess of Westminster at the time
While the Grosvenor family has no familial relation to the royal family
they have maintained a close connection with the monarchy for centuries
is especially close with Prince William and Prince Harry
Hugh is the godfather of both of their sons
and Prince William played a key role at the Duke’s wedding
6th Duke of Westminster passed away in 2016
Hugh inherited not only his title but also his estate
The Duke has control of the Grosvenor Estate as well as the seat at Eaton Hall
140,000 acres of land in prime locations across the country including Oxfordshire
According to the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List
Hugh is one of the wealthiest men in Britain and is worth an estimated 10.1 billion pounds
The Duke of Westminster married Olivia Henson on 7 June 2024
The pair tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Chester Cathedral in Chester
Olivia is a senior account manager at a luxury and sustainable food company in London called Belazu
and the pair met through mutual friends in 2021
Hugh and Olivia’s nuptials came just over three years after they first met
a spokesperson for the couple confirmed they were pregnant with their first child
“The Duke and Duchess of Westminster are very pleased to share that the Duchess is expecting a baby in the summer,” the rep shared in a statement
“The couple are delighted with the news and are very much looking forward to starting a family together.”
Although the Duke of Westminster currently resides in London
it has been revealed that once he and Olivia are married they will live at his Cheshire estate
The pair are currently in the process of moving
“It’s obviously a place where we will live
where we’ll be building our lives together,” Olivia told Town & Country recently
“And we’re slowly transitioning to move up from London and be much more permanent here and really putting roots down
yes it was a really easy decision in the end.”
Ohio — Music filled the halls of the First Westminster Presbyterian Church as the Ohio Valley Chorale presented its spring concert
"Together We Sing." The event featured arrangements from artists such as Dan Forrest and Keith Hampton and was open to the public free of charge
expressed gratitude for the community's support
"When I look out and see this many people in the audience
it means the world to me as a founder of this group because it means that the community is behind us
the community wants the arts in Steubenville
and they're willing to come out to make sure that they continue," he said
The chorus will begin rehearsals the second Monday in September
with their Christmas concert scheduled for early December
LONDON (AP) — Russell Brand got out of a sleek black Mercedes on Friday and took his first steps toward a court where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault in a scene far removed from a walk down a Hollywood red carpet
wearing a black collared shirt open to his midsection and sporting a gold cross
He stood bolt upright and paced slowly forward through a crush of media and onlookers
protected by a ring of bodyguards and uniformed police officers
author and “Get Him To The Greek” actor gave a thumbs-up motion as he entered Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London
his beard was peppered with gray and he wore a pair of gold-framed sunglasses
Brand stood in the dock and confirmed his name
birth date and address during the brief hearing and was granted conditional bail after a prosecutor read a summary of complaints made by four women that date back a quarter century
was charged last month with two counts of rape
two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault
and has previously denied the allegations made against him
READ MORE: Comedian Russell Brand charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault
The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005 — one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in London
The Associated Press doesn’t name victims of alleged sexual violence
and the British law grants them lifelong anonymity in the media
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring ordered Brand to show up at the Central Criminal Court
on May 30 and granted him bail on the condition that he keeps the court informed of where he is staying
but is obliged to attend all future court appearances
Prosecutor Suki Dhadda said that Brand raped a woman in 1999 at a hotel room in Bournemouth when she attended a Labour Party conference in the town and met him at an event where he was performing
It’s alleged that while the woman went to the bathroom
Brand removed some of his clothing and later pushed her on the bed
A second woman accused Brand of grabbing her by the forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet at a television station in London in 2001
A third accuser was a television worker who met Brand at a friend’s birthday party at a bar in Soho in 2004
He is accused of grabbing her breasts before allegedly pulling her into a toilet and forcing her to perform oral sex
The final complainant worked at a radio station and met Brand while he was working on a spin-off of the “Big Brother” reality television program between 2004 and 2005
Brand is alleged to have grabbed her by the face with both hands
pushed her against a wall and kissed her before grabbing her breasts and buttocks
The charges follow a September 2023 joint investigation by British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times
Brand denied the allegations when they first surfaced . On the day that he was charged last month
he posted a video saying he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence
“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the lord,” he said
I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity
I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
Known for his unbridled and risqué stand-up routines
Brand hosted shows on radio and television and wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol
He has appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012
Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media
but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories
He recently said that he had moved to the United States
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When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week
it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime
Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US
The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia
as well as in countries including France and Australia
the community in Southern California comprises the largest and most well-established Vietnamese population anywhere outside Vietnam
Memories of Wednesday’s anniversary of the fall of Saigon — the South Vietnamese city renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the communists — has conjured up mixed feelings from grief and resentment to honor and pride in the diaspora here
the 50th anniversary marks a time of mourning as they remember what they lost — their homeland
One man still can’t bring himself to say much about the family he had to leave behind
Others were barely toddlers when they arrived in a foreign land
1975 — is referred to by the older generation as “Black April” or “National Day of Resentment.”
the anniversary is a time to honor the resiliency of an immigrant community and to celebrate the accomplishments of a population that started as refugees and now has become an influential part of California and US society
“I don’t really think about it in a negative light,” said Linda Nguyen
a local business leader whose parents were refugees
but also celebrating our future and our current successes.”
Little Saigon in Orange County has evolved from a commercial district contained within a few city blocks in Westminster in the late 1980s to a sprawling region spanning several cities
It’s also now considered the cultural capital for the Vietnamese diaspora around the world
“We were looking for a freedom to prosper,” said Tri Tran
Irvine professor who left Vietnam by sea on a boat in 1986
Little Saigon is not only home to Asian Garden Mall
the largest Vietnamese shopping mall in the US
but it also hosts the world’s largest international Vietnamese film festival
The population has become a powerful voting bloc in Orange County
elevating some of the first Vietnamese-Americans to elected office
Orange County elected a Vietnamese-American to Congress
triumphed in a district historically favorable to Republicans
“We’re very much a young community in this country,” Tran said
but we’re also figuring out how to consolidate our voice and our culture and our history.”
Marking the anniversary that ultimately led to the war’s end
many Little Saigon businesses and storefronts are adorned with South Vietnam flags
Even the Asian Garden Mall has a prominent 1975 sign
bearing both the US and the South Vietnam flags
a member of the South Vietnamese military who arrived in 1975
plans to reunite with old friends and share stories at a community event about how daily life was reshaped by life in the US
who owns a uniform store that specializes in recreating the South Vietnamese military’s uniforms
He recalled feeling overwhelmed in a new country where he couldn’t speak the language and didn’t understand social norms
He didn’t even know how to get around or make a living
“The knowledge gap was tremendous,” Vu said in Vietnamese
so we went out and found a way to feed ourselves.”
including former members of wealthy South Vietnamese families
were forced to take on low-paid jobs in their new country
such as cleaning houses and working at nail salons
Some worked multiple jobs while going to school to send money back to relatives in Vietnam
They included teenagers who arrived in the US alone
who studied the experience of the first generation of Vietnamese Americans after the war
Those born and raised in the US often were shielded by their parents from learning about the horrors of the war and the divisions in their homeland that erupted into civil conflict between North and South Vietnam
The younger generations no longer carry the fervor of anti-communist sentiment that was once a big part of life in Little Saigon
where a portrait of the late North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in 1999 prompted a 53-day protest
“The political theme that was once significant to our parents did not carry on to us,” Linda Nguyen said
The focus for the younger generations is on today and what lies ahead
Young Vietnamese American entrepreneurs no longer shun Vietnam and are working directly with businesses in Vietnam with much success
the head of the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce
They are also talking about their mental health needs
while artists are exploring ways to expand the Vietnamese-American narrative beyond the war
the former head of the chamber of commerce
is among a growing number of Vietnamese-Americans who are choosing to return to Little Saigon to preserve their families’ business legacies
He took over his parents’ cosmetology school in Little Saigon
which has trained more than 50,000 students over four decades
“We’re the cultural bridges between generations,” he said
while we’re also proud that we’re contributing greatly to the American society.”
The inscription along the top reads "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ" (from the book of Revelation)
who worked for one of the clergymen in the 17th century
The silver gilt cross was given in 1899 by Lord Rosebery
In front of the High Altar is one of the Abbey's treasures. This is a marble pavement dating from 1268 and the method of its decoration is known as Cosmati work
after the Italian family who developed the technique of inlaying intricate designs made up of small pieces of coloured marble
It is 24 feet 10 inches square and one of the three Latin inscriptions incorporated in it calculated that the world would last for 19,683 years
On the north side are three medieval tombs to Edmund Crouchback, brother of Edward I, Aymer de Valence and Edmund's wife Aveline
Also in this area is the Abbey lectern, or reading desk, given in 1949 in memory of the Baptist missionary William Carey
The 17th century oak pulpit stands near the steps up to the Sacrarium
High Altar mosaic detail - the Annunciation
At a coronation ceremony, the ancient Coronation Chair stands facing the High Altar and the anointing and crowning take place here. Various royal weddings have taken place at the altar, including that of Prince William in 2011
The ancient Retable, now on display in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries at the Abbey, is thought to have formed part of the medieval altar. A depiction of the altar appears in the 1532 mortuary roll of Abbot Islip
You are surrounded by history at the Abbey, not like a museum where it’s just displayed, but here you are standing where history has happened.
Westminster Abbey, a cornerstone of British history, has witnessed coronations, royal weddings, and burials of monarchs for nearly a millennium. Consecrated on December 28th, 1065, the Abbey was commissioned by Edward the Confessor, predating the Norman Invasion. Professor James Clark from the University of Exeter takes us back to its origins and explores its enduring legacy.
Westminster Abbey, London, England, 2004.(Flickr: edwin.11)
Published: YesterdaySun 4 May 2025 at 12:00pm
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has announced that she is expecting a baby with her husband
In a twist that will leave socially ambitious society mothers grieving for what could have been
the country’s most eligible bachelor is now married
The ghosts of Christmases future will haunt their minds
replete with the finest wines in the world and family getaways to the Duke’s seat at Eaton Hall
worth a stitch short of £10 billion at £9.878 billion
I mean one hundred and twenty two million pounds
this French chateaux style mansion is the seat of the Dukes of Westminster
So who is the winner of the Duke’s heart (along with his title and access to his vast fortune)? Olivia Henson, 30, was introduced to the Duke through friends two years ago. After dating for two years, the Duke proposed to her at Eaton Hall in Cheshire and the pair later shared the news with a casual photograph.
Revisit Tatler’s September 2024 issue, where the hottest chef on the planet spoke to Harriet Kean about working for a billionaire, that scandal and butter (of course)
having flown like a night owl into one of the most coveted bedrooms in Britain
One thing we do know is the nature of Henson's career: she is a senior account manager at Belazu
an environmentally friendly B-corp which imports high-quality ingredients from across Europe
Prince Harry and the late Gerald Grosvenor
sixth Duke Of Westminster attend the wedding of Lady Tamara Grosvenor & Edward Van Cutsem At Chester Cathedral in 2004
The aunt of Queen Elizabeth II, who was born 123 years ago this month, prospected for gold in Africa, smuggled herself into Afghanistan and worked with the Red Cross during WWII
This bitter twist was divulged ahead of the event – a hard pill to swallow for both Hugh and Harry
The pair are lifelong friends and Hugh is godfather to Prince Archie – but he seems to have decided that any further royal drama would risk overshadowing his wedding day and the moment of pledging himself to his wife-to-be
Most will regard this as a prudent decision
The city was just beginning to expand to the west
Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Chester where we lay our scene …
priceless real estate now the jewels in the crown of the Grosvenor fortune
the Grosvenor Group owns 300 acres of this prime central London territory
and investments in more than 60 cities around the world
including a chunk of Silicon Valley in California
He inherited the title and the family business worth £10 billion. But as the Duke of Westminster announces he is expecting his first child, revisit this investigation, published in the September 2017 issue of Tatler, which revealed that Grosvenor has almost no control over the wealth that defines him
‘The party was simply amazing – a birthday and a party I will never forget
It is the beginning of a new era in my life and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead
the Duke is known – like the negative of a photograph – for the splash he does not seem to make
particularly when compared with some of Britain’s other wealthiest young men
Charlie van Straubenzee and Arthur Landon attend the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel
Henson's education began at the private Dragon School in Oxford, before she was off to Marlborough College, where alumni include Kate and Pippa Middleton. She studied in Ireland, at Trinity College, Dublin where she got a 2:1 in Hispanic Studies and Italian
Olivia Henson will know that if she and the Duke do not have a son
her husband’s title and estates will not pass to his direct descendant
such a genealogical twist is exactly what thrust the Dukedom into Hugh’s lap in the first place
only inherited the lands and titles when his uncle died childless
‘I had a wonderful childhood in Northern Ireland
I was quite happy and content to have lived there all my life
I wanted to farm and take it all rather gently
It was rather forced upon me,’ Gerald once said
Official photograph taken at the wedding of Ed Van Cutsem and Lady Tamara Grosvenor
Hugh Grosvenor can be spotted behind the bridesmaids on the right
and Prince William attend the wedding of Edward van Cutsem and Lady Tamara Grosvenor at Chester Cathedral
is clearly a determined and motivated character
there is clearly also a good deal of will and determination to this young man
who has been suddenly thrust into a place of massive wealth and power
with all the responsibilities that go with that’
After university, Grosvenor joined the family business, working across various of its many arms before spending time in San Francisco and Hong Kong
as the bulk of the assets were placed in trust
He is now chair of the Grosvenor Group as well as chair of the Westminster Foundation
which the family use to disburse their charitable donations
The dowager Duchess and the late Duke of Westminster attend a national service of thanksgiving to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday at St Paul's Cathedral
Hugh’s father Gerald served for decades with the Territorial Army and contributed £50 million to the construction of the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre for injured servicemen and civilians in Stanford on Soar
Hugh recently added a further £20 million through the Westminster Foundation
At the start of the pandemic he donated £12.5 million through the foundation to NHS charities
Having studied countryside management at Newcastle – and with responsibility for his family’s estates – Hugh is tuned-in to rural affairs. He has spoken of his concern about the continuing shift to urban living around the world
‘The key thing — and this is as true in London as in any of these huge new Chinese cities that are springing up every year — is that it imposes duties on planners to protect the green spaces
the environmental sustainability and the essential character of the places
There will be tremendous pressure to cut back on those
Grosvenor2023/PA MediaOther rural estates besides Eaton Hall owned by Grosvenor include a shooting estate in Lancashire, a forest estate in in the northwest highlands of Scotland and another hunting estate in Spain
It is said that an invitation to one of the Duke’s hunting parties is one of the hottest tickets on the society scene
The Duke himself is not an inconsiderable shooter
representing Great Britain in skeet shooting and spending a substantial amount of his time in training and competing internationally
the family have long been known for their shooting prowess
The Duke presently divides his time between London and his Cheshire home
With Henson’s job at Belazu it seems likely that they will base themselves at the duke’s London flat – that is
Russian-born UK citizen and Tory party activist Sergei Cristo fought to make MI5 sit up and take notice of the Russian political interference operation now threatening democracy in Britain – and around the world
He’s not kidding. He has photos of himself with everyone from Margaret Thatcher to Boris Johnson
and his favourite place to hang out used to be the Carlton Club
the grand Conservative private members’ club in central London
I read and loved The Adventures of Roderick Random
an 18th-century novel by Tobias Smollett that’s cited as a classic example of the picaresque
The picaresque hero has random encounters with random people and goes on even more random adventures
And Cristo I always think of as the classic picaro
much like his speaking style: if you ring him for a quick chat
you’ll be on the line for at least an hour
But if you have the patience to follow him as he takes you down some meandering path
usually via an anecdote involving a high-ranking member of the Conservative party
We were discussing another Sergei: Sergei Nalobin
the former political first secretary at the Russian embassy in London and a subject of special interest to us both
it was because he believed Nalobin was a spy
He thought he’d been targeted by him when Nalobin was looking for a route into the Conservative party
which Cristo believed he later successfully infiltrated
it was because of my interest in Russian information warfare: he is a self-described expert in “digital diplomacy”
In 2012, Cristo had become a whistleblower. He’d teamed up with the Guardian’s Luke Harding to expose Nalobin’s involvement with a group called Conservative Friends of Russia
They had revealed it to be a Kremlin-supported influence operation
It was a big front-page story and the group had collapsed in disgrace
the second one in a government building off Whitehall.” There were two officers
“The senior one just had a very offhand kind of attitude
He hadn’t managed to persuade the authorities to take the allegation seriously
“So two years ago I wrote to the chair of the [parliamentary] intelligence and security committee [ISC]
a very old friend – we used to campaign together – and he told me to go to the police
So I went to Charing Cross police station to report it.”
if you think there’s any impropriety on the part of the security services
You walked into Charing Cross police station and said: “I want to report MI5 for failing to investigate a suspected Russian spy”
I said: ‘Can we just speak somewhere where we cannot be overheard?’ And the police officer said: ‘No
here’s fine.’ So I told him that I’m concerned for my security because I took a matter about a Russian spy to the security services and they didn’t do anything about it.”
not least because he’s a stickler for due process
he learned English from the BBC Russian service and used to write to the British Council and British embassy in Moscow
He was sent a map of London that he stuck on his bedroom wall and a picture of the queen that he framed and put on his desk
“You knew you could just walk into parliament and there was this special clerk in the central lobby and he could call your MPs out of the chamber
View image in fullscreenWith Rory Stewart and the former Archbishop of Canterbury after a dinner debate Cristo organised at the Carlton Club about the global refugee crisis
Photograph: Courtesy of Sergei CristoHe’s absorbed that and respects and honours it in a way that maybe only an immigrant can
And he asserts his rights: he’s an endless letter writer
He showed me the letter he’d sent to the ISC – on proper stationery
embossed address – and the response he got from the chair
including from the investigatory powers tribunal
the judicial body that oversees the intelligence agencies
Because Cristo believed he had evidence that confirmed what the ISC had itself already revealed when
a scandal that had been rumbling under the surface of British politics for months erupted into the news
The committee had finally published the Russia report
the committee’s MPs couldn’t contain their anger
“The report reveals that no one in government knew if Russia interfered in or sought to influence the referendum because they did not want to know,” one said
“The outrage isn’t if there is interference,” said another
“The outrage is [that] no one wanted to know if there was interference.”
View image in fullscreenJohnson with Putin at a summit in Germany in 2020
Photograph: SPUTNIK/ReutersAnd then Johnson had doubled down
The committee’s MPs said Britain urgently needed an inquiry to understand what had happened in order to protect Britain from future foreign interference: Johnson refused again
calling it a plot by “Islingtonian remainers” to stop Brexit
As we stand on the verge of a whole new world of national security threats from a new world order
with Elon Musk already interfering in UK politics
It’s crowdfunded, made on a shoestring with the help of freelance producer Ruth Abrahams, and it’s the latest step in a nearly five-year effort to force the government to launch that inquiry. In 2020, I helped organise a group of MPs – including Caroline Lucas and Chris Bryant – to sue the government to demand that inquiry
With the help of two campaigning lawyers, Tessa Gregory and Tom Short at Leigh Day, that case is now working its way to the European court of human rights, challenging the government under article 3 of the convention
It’s been flagged as an “impact” case of significance to other member states and is being expedited
launched between Christmas and the new year
shocked us by reaching the top of the Apple podcast chart within 48 hours of release
But the most shocking thing is that Cristo stumbled on a Russian diplomat who looked very much like a spy operating with impunity at the heart of Westminster
revelations about a group of British spies who passed information to the Soviet Union scandalised Britain
the alleged spies weren’t part of the British establishment
but it was the British establishment that the Kremlin was targeting
And it was an operation just as bold and ambitious
View image in fullscreenSergei Cristo
Nalobin surprised him at their first meeting by focusing on ‘chit-chat’
Photograph: Cyril Zannettacci/Agence VUCristo’s story begins in the summer of 2011 with a phone call
The man on the other end introduced himself and said he had newly arrived in the capital to take up a post as a diplomat at the Russian embassy
They talked and although Cristo was suspicious – he’d left Russia aged 19 and had his own reasons to mistrust the Russian government – he agreed to a meeting
“Curiosity got the better of the cat,” he said
And he arranged to meet the diplomat at the Carlton Club
He looks a bit like a professor and wearing a shapka
one of those hats where the ears come down.”
Cristo suspects his contacts within the Conservative party had drawn Nalobin’s attention
But expecting a serious conversation about policy
he says he was taken aback when Nalobin focused on what he thought was gossip
One question was about the relationship between Boris Johnson and David Cameron
and he was basically asking me whether they had real rivalry between them
or was it just something that the press made up.”
Given how Cameron and Johnson’s rivalry played out in the EU referendum
Cristo now thinks it was actually a pretty smart question: he wanted to understand their psychology
But it was what came next that took him back
“He said: ‘We have Russian companies that would like to contribute to the Conservative party.’ I thought that was illegal
And if true, it was a red flag; it is illegal in the UK for foreign companies to donate money to British political parties. It’s why there’s been such alarm about suggestions Elon Musk might donate £100m to the Reform party
Cristo held back from asking him how or which companies
One of the more unlikely bits of his CV is that he once went undercover for the BBC’s Panorama and infiltrated a human trafficking gang
“I knew from working for Panorama that if you ask once
An even more extraordinary bit of his CV is that he’s a great friend of Oleg Gordievsky
an ex-KGB colonel who’s the highest-ranking double agent and defector of modern times
Gordievsky was recruited by British intelligence and his escape from Russia – in the boot of a car driven by a British diplomat and his wife – is one of the great spy tales of our time
Cristo says Nalobin had made it clear to him that he knew Cristo and Gordievsky were friends
gesturing to an article he’d written in that day’s Telegraph
the ex-FSB agent murdered on Putin’s orders with a nuclear isotope
And she actually remembered her husband mentioning Nikolai’s name: they worked together
“It’s not a very common surname,” she told us
I immediately thought it must be the son of Nikolai
people with this background can’t be a simple diplomat.”
When Cristo first told me that story it was November 2017
I’d rung him because I was interested in a photo I’d found of Boris Johnson with Sergei Nalobin
The photo that illustrated it showed members of Conservative Friends of Russia
who’d been invited on an all-expenses paid trip to Moscow
and there among the “young political leaders” – hand-picked by Nalobin – was someone else I recognised
was a key figure in the Brexit campaign that Johnson had fronted: the chief executive of Vote Leave
There’s no suggestion that Elliott – now Lord Elliott since he was elevated to the peerage by Liz Truss – did anything untoward
only that he’d been targeted by the friendliest diplomat in London
The article I wrote prompted a ferocious response from various quarters
including a volley of letters from the Russian embassy to the Observer
The correspondence continued over months and included a letter from Alexander Yakovenko
and eventually a long note was added to the end of the article saying the Foreign Office confirmed Nalobin was “not expelled from the UK” and that “Mr Nalobin left the UK upon the expiry of his vignette”
but also noted the embassy refused to comment on why it had complained that he was and refused to “correct” anything
View image in fullscreenFormer Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott was targeted by Nalobin
Photograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersWhy was the Russian government so upset about what you told me
“I was only quoting RT [the Russian state-run news organisation]!” he said
“And it quoted the Russian government’s own press release that said Nalobin left the country after the British government refused to renew his ‘vignette’ or diplomatic visa
They said it was a breach of the Vienna conventions.”
He speculated that maybe the embassy had messed up: that its statement had blown Nalobin’s chances of getting another foreign posting
we learned Nalobin had been expelled from Estonia for “undermining its security”
He’s now high up in the Russian ministry of foreign affairs in Moscow
I recently rediscovered the emails from the embassy
“We think it’s a textbook example of bad journalism
which raises quite a few questions regarding the true colours of the author,” reads the first one
We’ve even learned some detail of what’s in the censored annexe of the Russia report – and why that might have scared Johnson
The person taking the real risk here is Cristo
the Kremlin has only targeted its own citizens on foreign soil
Cristo gave up his citizenship after the security services failed to act for exactly that reason and has never been back to Russia
View image in fullscreenNetworking: Sergei Nalobin with Boris Johnson
Photograph: TwitterBut we are all at risk if this government does not take action and prepare for what we know is going to be foreign interference of a strength and type we’ve never seen before
“Foreign interference” is what the KGB called “active measures”
And it’s one aspect of what modern militaries understand as “hybrid warfare”
I rang Cristo to ask him some more questions
He’s doggedly pursuing this and many other matters
is in protracted correspondence with the Electoral Commission over donations to the Carlton Club
and is studying for an MA on western investments into Putin’s regime
I ask him how he feels about us naming Sergei Nalobin
it’s when things get personal that they start getting ugly
takes a wildly circuitous route to answer that question
he set up an environmental group that was invited to an event at the UN
“and then I met some Southern Baptists who invited us to Texas so we got on a bus and that’s where I met George W Bush”
This is not going to be one of his shorter stories
the Woody Allen character who turns up at every pivotal moment in history
He eventually gets to the point and tells me a tale he’s never disclosed to me before: he had also come to Britain on an environmental trip
But before leaving he had to get a stamp in his passport
His three friends had all got theirs but his hadn’t arrived
“My father was working in light alloys at the time
which is not a code name for nuclear research,” and there were some incidents on his US trip that he thought could have tripped their alarms
“He got another deputy to take my file out
the KGB visited my mother.” He didn’t go home
he went to interview someone at Kroll Associates
and found himself chatting to someone who said he worked on the security side at the British embassy in Moscow
The Kremlin is slicing through underwater cables and the best time to have had an inquiry was five years ago“And I said: ‘There was this very nice lady at the embassy who’d send me leaflets about Britain and I once went to visit her and she gave me tea and biscuits.’ And the man said: ‘Oh yes
Her husband was the air attache.’ So the nice lady’s husband was basically military intelligence
and my father was in the aircraft industry
It’s a classic spy story buried deep inside this other tale of intrigue
It’s how Cristo got his British citizenship
and it’s his patriotism to Britain – its values
that open society that took him in – that has fuelled his persistence to expose the malevolent forces that have sought to undermine it and corrupt it from within
And then there’s a Cristo conversational hand-brake turn
“Have you ever seen Carry On Up the Khyber?” he asks me
how long is this going to take and where is it going
“There’s this scene where the Khazi of Kalabar
is outside the embassy with all his troops and they’re bombarding it
is having this grand dinner under crystal chandeliers and the band is playing
And they just sit there as the ceiling is collapsing
bits are falling off the crystal chandelier into their soup and they’re all pretending it was just the weather and saying: ‘The band is not very good today.’ And that’s what Russian interference reminds me of.”
The Kremlin is slicing through underwater cables and the best time to have had an inquiry was five years ago
This is hybrid warfare and we’re living it
For more information about Sergei & the Westminster Spy Ring, or to join the campaign for an inquiry into foreign interference in UK elections, visit the-citizens.com
This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025
The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media
GROVE CITY, Pa.--Freshman right-hander Cheyenne Piper (Latrobe
Ligonier Valley) struck out five in a one-hit shutout to lead Westminster College to an impressive 11-0
five-inning run-rule victory over Thiel College to begin its run at the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Championship Tournament Thursday
Second-seeded Westminster pushed its record to 26-11 with the win
5 Bethany College in the tournament's second elimination game Friday at 12 p.m
lowering her earned-run average (ERA) to 1.58
She gave up a leadoff single to Dani Faceti in the second before retiring Thiel's final 12 batters in order
Field) went 3-for-3 with an RBI and scored a pair of runs
Westminster's first five batters reached in the pivotal seven-run fourth. Freshman leftfielder Sam Levac (Oakville, Ontario, Garth Webb) smacked a two-run double in the inning. It was her sixth two-base hit of the year.
Friday, Westminster will take on top-seeded Grove City College Friday in Game G at 2 p.m. Grove City advanced with a 7-0 shutout over No. 4 Allegheny College. The Westminster-Grove City winner advances to the championship series on Saturday.
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SOME 60 firefighters, with eight engines, tackled a blaze at a specialist school for children with severe learning difficulties.
Part of the roof of Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School in Kennet Road, Maida Vale, was destroyed by the fire on Wednesday at about 1pm.
One woman was treated at the scene by the London Ambulance Service after dozens of people were evacuated.
Station Commander Hardeep Dale said: “The school was safely evacuated before our crews arrived, and we are working closely with partner agencies to support everyone affected by the incident. Firefighters used two of the brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders as water towers to tackle the fire from above and bring the situation under control.”
The council-funded school is for four- to 19-year-olds with severe learning difficulties.
Crews from North Kensington, Paddington, West Hampstead, Kensington, Hammersmith and surrounding fire stations to the scene. brought the fire under control by 2.40pm.
The fire is believed to have been accidental, but the exact cause remains under investigation.
26th anniversary of Admiral Duncan nail bomb attack
City Lord Mayor Robert Rigby among the crowd at the Admiral Duncan pub in Old Compton Street
CITY Lord Mayor Robert Rigby was among those who gathered outside the Admiral Duncan pub in Old Compton Street to mark the 26th anniversary of the nail bomb attack on the popular Soho venue.
Andrea Dykes, Nik Moore and John Light were killed and 140 others were injured in further attacks in Brixton Market and Brick Lane.
Revd Simon Buckley, vicar of St Anne’s Church, leads the procession at the memorial event
Cllr Rigby spoke to survivors and their families and then joined a vigil in St Anne’s Gardens where he spoke of Westminster’s values as a community. Lamps were lit and the crowd were greeted to three songs by the Pink Singers choir.
After the event he said: “It was important to show our support for the LGBTQ+ and global majority community who were the target of these attacks. It was also a moment to thank the emergency services who act so heroically in the darkest of moments.”
Dragonmeet Call to Adventure saw 30 providers from across the UK host gaming campaigns, miniature painting, family games, puzzles and more in Central London. The event was open to all ages with a particular focus on first time and budding gamers who wanted to take their first step into the exciting world of strategy and imagination-gaming.
Tabletop gaming is being increasingly recognised as a valuable tool for young people to build confidence, engage critical thinking, aide problem solving skills and encourage creativity with real world applications.
It also gets young people off their mobile phones and devices, encouraging real-life socialising.
Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea Councils joint Library and Archives service worked closely with Dragonmeet to make this event a reality. It comes following investment from the service into games libraries across the two central London boroughs.
The Councils have over 400 board games for loan and have allocated space and time in their library timetables for people to come and enjoy tabletop gaming for free in a welcoming setting.
Cllr Aicha Less, Cabinet Member for Children and Public Protection at Westminster City Council said:
We really support imagination-gaming initiatives and events such as Dragonmeet as it enables people, especially young people, living in Westminster to improve their problem solving and strategy skills, think creatively and socialise with others face to face, away from screens and wider technology pressures we face in our daily lives.
It has been great to see so many people at this event today, and just shows how increasingly popular tabletop gaming has become.
Dungeons and Dragons is a globally popular game, first launched in 1974, which sees players assume the role of different characters in a fantasy board game world.
Journalists and visitors usually view sittings of the House of Commons from the galleries high above
we can enter the empty debating chamber floor
You see details at ground floor level that you cannot see from above
You notice the speaker’s green velvet bag into which MPs traditionally stuffed motions accepted for debate – it’s where the phrase “it’s in the bag” comes from
You also notice the little speakers discreetly built into the MPs’ green benches
you may see MPs leaning back with their heads rested behind
they have their ear pressed to the bench speaker trying to hear the debate above the din
you also notice the coats of arms on plaques on the walls above the backbenches
These cannot be seen from the overhanging galleries above
only MPs and the ushers have a view of them
Each coat of arms commemorates a different MP killed while in office
Most of these heraldic plaques are faded and old – some
commemorate MPs who died during the second World War
Two stand out with shining prominence. On the back wall of the opposition side, one is for Labour MP Jo Cox, the member of parliament for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, murdered by a far-right extremist
He shot her three times and then stabbed her as he shouted “Britain first”
Her coat of arms includes red roses for Labour and white for Yorkshire
His coat of arms includes five roses for his children
the Tories have been ousted and Labour MPs have taken their place on the government side
That means Labour MPs now sit directly facing Cox’s plaque and Tories face the one commemorating Amess
chances are their gaze will be drawn to the shiny plaque of their fallen comrade opposite
The memory of what so recently befell Cox and Amess hangs ominously over British parliamentary politics in a way that is not often fully appreciated in Ireland, including on the streets of west Belfast, which spawned the Irish language republican rap trio, Kneecap
The potency of that memory is why Kneecap was destined to lose the recent publicity war in Britain once the Daily Mail dug up footage of one of the group’s members apparently shouting at a November 2023 gig in London: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory
The band’s supporters may say the exhortation was ironic and not meant to be taken seriously
but such nuance matters little in a publicity firestorm
even if some of the Tory criticism of Kneecap was as performative as the band’s raps
The previous five heraldic plaques were for MPs who were all killed in the Troubles by Irish republicans
another factor that didn’t help Kneecap this week
Her department said it wouldn’t give cash to “people who oppose the United Kingdom itself”
a ludicrous position given the legitimacy of Irish unification as a political aim
also shared the Commons chamber with MPs from Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party
both of which have the effective end of the UK as their aim
An hour-long debate over Kneecap’s comments was held in the Commons on Tuesday
during which the group took criticism from all sides
The band should get a breather this Thursday when England goes to the polls in crucial local elections on Thursday and the political news agenda moves on.
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He was swarmed by photographers as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court for his first hearing since being charged last month
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Brand to present himself at the Central Criminal Court in central London on May 30 and granted him bail on condition he keeps the court informed of where he is staying
He currently lives in Florida but is obliged to attend all future court appearances
listened intently to the details of the charges as he sat in the dock
address and that he understood his bail conditions
author and "Get Him To The Greek" actor faces one count of rape
one of oral rape and two of sexual assault
The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005 — one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in the Westminster area of central London
British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times published claims by four women of being sexually assaulted or raped by Brand
Brand has been interviewed by police about the allegations
Brand has denied engaging in "non-consensual activity." In a video posted on X after he was charged
Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines
Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories
He recently said he had moved to the United States
Westminster Christian Academy's Annie Collier
shown in this file photo from the 2024 state championship win
Westminster earned a spot in its third straight state semifinals with a win over Guntersville on Saturday
.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By AL.com ReportsThe fifth-ranked Class 5A Westminster Christian girls soccer team earned its way to its third straight Alabama High School Athletic Association state tournament final four with a 4-0 win over No
3 Guntersville at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville on Saturday
The contest was moved from Guntersville due to wet field conditions
Westminster (16-3-1) will be looking for its third straight state championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville next week
The Wildcats won the 2023 and 2024 titles in Class 4A
WCA will face two-time defending 5A state champ Springville
a 2-1 winner over Westbrook Christian on Saturday
The Wildcats went 9-0 in April and outscored their opponents 48-3 over that span
We are looking forward to playing whoever is next.”
Westminster outshot Guntersville 14-10 in the win and got a goal from freshman Ava Martinez
2 from eighth grader Carston Heater and a corner-kick header from Elizabeth Riley
The winners’ defense got its third shutouts thus far in the playoffs
Keeper Piper Blazier got the shutout with all 10 saves
Martinez also questioned her team’s final regular-season ranking
“We should not have been ranked 5 and I’m not sure what happened there,” she said
Saturday’s win sets up a rematch with Springville
Here are the weekend results and the schedule for this week’s state playoff finals in Huntsville:
Wednesday-Saturday at John Hunt Park in Huntsville
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2025 To the People of our Diocese of New Westminster,Last night in Vancouver
a black SUV drove through a block party for Lapu Lapu Day
About 100,000 people were in attendance for the party which celebrates an Indigenous resistance fighter in the Philippines who stood against Spanish colonization
The SUV drove through the celebration
killing 11 people and injuring many others. I am deeply shocked and horrified that this event could take place anywhere in the world
but particularly here in the bounds of our Diocese
disregard for human life and human dignity leaves one shaken and concerned
For the Filipino community in our Diocese and throughout the Lower Mainland
please know of my prayers and the prayers of our Diocese
May those who were injured know God’s healing and loving hand
May those who are left deeply troubled and anxious as a result of this incident
We are people of the resurrection and people who aim to live out loving our neighbour as ourselves
“In the face of unjust and painful situations
faith brings us the light which scatters the darkness.” -Pope Francis. May God bless
hold and keep each one of us. In faith in the Easter gospel,
+John StephensArchbishop of the Diocese of New Westminster
The Blue Note Jazz club has been granted permission for a 350-seater venue in the basement of the St Martin's Lane hotel
News | London
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A jazz club branded ‘the most famous in the world’ will open in Covent Garden weeks after its owners launched a legal battle against Westminster City Council
It is an offshoot of the renowned Blue Note in New York
which opened in 1981 and is often dubbed the most famous jazz club in the world
The decision comes after the owners of the proposed jazz club, near Leicester Square, launched a legal fight after Westminster council said it would have to adhere to the "core hours" policy, which says any new pubs, bars, fast food, music and dance venues wanting to open in much of Soho must close by 11.30pm on weekdays
midnight on Friday and Saturday an 10.30pm on Sunday
president of Blue Note Entertainment Group and son of the original Blue Note Cafe founder Danny Bensusan
previously told Sky News he had been left questioning support for live music in the capital after his late licence application was turned down
I can't imagine how they would be supportive of other smaller venues
which are important for the ecosystem in general,” he quipped
But Westminster City Council granted the famous jazz club a license on Thursday
adding that it wanted “to ensure late night entertainment can continue to thrive”
in charge of planning and economic development at Westminster City Council
said: This is exactly the kind of venue we want to see more of in Westminster and which is encouraged in our After Dark strategy as part of a more varied evening and night time offer across the city
The council recently launched its first “After Dark” strategy amid concerns the capital’s nightlife is being crushed by bureaucracy and spiralling costs
The town hall said the draft policy aims to “champion sensory-friendly and inclusive entertainment - encouraging venues to host ‘quiet nights’ with reduced noise levels
Kneecap’s manager says rap trio ‘happy to meet’ Sir David Amess’ daughter
What's on at Walthamstow's new Soho Theatre
Kneecap teases new music after counter-terrorism officers launch investigation
How Give Your Best aims to solve clothing poverty in the UK
A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: “Every licensing decision is carefully considered
based on the evidence presented to committee and keeping in mind the needs of residents
it was clear that venue management have engaged extensively with local people to improve their application and address the concerns that were raised by the police
following the approval of this application
jazz lovers will soon be able to enjoy the Blue Note Jazz Club.”
Scotland Yard had previously objected to the venue’s bid to be allowed to stay open and serve alcohol until 1am
saying they believed it “could add to crime
disorder and public nuisance” in the West End
Officers told Westminster City Council that they believed the late hours would “expose more people to crime and disorder in the immediate area”
They said jazz fans “leaving the venue late at night” may become a target for illegal taxis who “prey on vulnerable
as well being targeted for mobile phone snatches
The concern was echoed by a resident who asked councillors to limit the venue’s hours to 11pm to protect “vulnerable” jazz enthusiasts from criminals operating in the West End
The unnamed resident wrote: “It is suggested that it is extremely likely that some of the dispersing jazz lovers may be inebriated to a greater or lesser extent or perhaps slightly disorientated by their emergence into the cool night air
“They will be immediately vulnerable to the gangs of criminals who already prey on similar groups of people in the Soho area.”
The team behind the venue had previously urged councillors to allow it to open until 1am
saying it was “integral” to its functioning as a live jazz club
They said: “London’s cultural fabric is on the line here
Grassroot music venue infrastructure will fall even further and remain below replacement rate if new venues like this application are not supported.”
They added that the proposed location - which was formerly a gym until its closure in 2023 - has been lying empty
According to research carried out by the Mayor of London’s office
the number of grassroots music venues in the capital plummeted from 144 in 2007 to just 94 in 2016
The Music Venue Trust in March last year estimated around one grassroots venue was closing per week on average nationally
with its research showing that in 2022 “the number of shows taking place at grassroots level fell by 16.9%
representing a significant threat to the talent pipeline”
The first Blue Note venue was opened in New York in 1981 by owner Danny Bensusan and has played host to many famous names in the genre
Other outlets have been established in Los Angeles
David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash in London 'shut down' by council over noise complaints
David Beckham’s 50th birthday bash 'shut down' over noise complaints
VE Day 2025 flypast and parade LIVE: King Charles and senior royals watch procession as crowds line the Mall
King joined by senior royals to watch VE Day parade before flypast
Donald Trump says non-US movies to be hit with 100% tariff in major blow to UK film industry
Trump says non-US movies face 100% tariff in blow to UK film industry
UK tourists face major travel shake-up as Dubai airport set to close
Revealed: The real reason Brooklyn Beckham snubbed dad David’s 50th birthday amid family feud
Revealed: Why Brooklyn Beckham snubbed dad David’s 50th birthday
Adolescence writer and creator appears in front of parliamentary select committee
Jack Thorne addressing MPs on Tuesday and Owen Cooper in his Netflix series Adolescence
JACK Thorne was in a self-deprecating mode when he appeared in front of a parliamentary select committee on Monday
weird-looking man,” the writer and creator of the Netflix series Adolescence told MPs as they explored how the series could further debate on toxic masculinity and tackle the messages being pumped into the heads of teenagers
“And some people have made something of the fact that I’m a bald
weird-looking man and saying these things… that somehow my masculinity is the reason why I’ve questioned other people’s masculinity.”
explaining: “That’s the thing when I talk about boys feeling like they need to look a certain way
my role model was Jarvis Cocker and Jarvis Cocker made it OK to look like I do.”
It’s no spoiler to say that the drama starring Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham tells the story of a 13-year-old accused of killing a girl at his school
We have been asked to suspend reality and believe that every MP in the country and the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer have watched it all – rather than read a cribsheet – but it certainly has made an impact
Suddenly a dramatist is sharing his thoughts with the nation’s decision-makers
He did repeatedly say he was not an expert and talked persuasively about what he had learned telling the lead character Jamie’s story
“If you’re being told constantly the only way that you can have any legitimacy is if you’ve got muscles
“In terms of national level at government level
I do think we need to think about children’s access to social media and I do think that what Australia is doing in terms of age of consent is really exciting
It is the Wild West out there and boys – and girls – are hearing things which are really troubling and do affect them.”
robotic algorithms jump on any unhealthy view and show you
Maybe one of Mr Thorne’s most interesting insights from the session was that
the rush is always to talk about that macho kingpin Andrew Tate
But that’s not really what the young lads are watching
“A couple of people talk about Andrew Tate
If you’ve got Andrew Tate at the top of the waterfall
there are the people in the middle or the bottom
It was the 13 to 14- year-olds talking to themselves
6,000 hits on their stuff rather than 10 million but it was the stuff that was really troubling.”
He warned too many children go to bed with the phones and screens become their companions when they are alone and confused after waking up in the middle of the night
Will the government ever really challenge the big tech firms making money out of all this
Naomi Alderman’s 50-part history of great thinkers gets off to a flying start
an exposé of Russian interference in UK politics; and in the week the BBC axed Short Cuts
made in association with the Open University; 50 15-minute episodes
It’s called Human Intelligence to contrast with the artificial kind
whom she calls disruptors: Socrates (who thought about thinking)
George Washington (who introduced the two-term US presidency)
Malcolm X (black civil rights and a huge personal capacity for learning) and Mary Wollstonecraft (equal rights for women)
an investigative series that tells a modern tale of Russian influence in and on the UK
The blurb informs us that “not since the reach of the Cambridge spy ring… has the Kremlin been so successful in penetrating the highest echelons of British intelligence”
But this is no all-action Bond tale; instead
it concerns Russia’s gradual infiltration of the UK’s political hierarchy
The story is built around Sergei Cristo
a Russian-born British citizen who came to the UK in the 90s and worked as a fundraiser/activist for the Conservative party
Nalobin seemed keen to find out if any politicians might be interested in forming a Conservatives for Russia group
Cristo gave him nothing but watched as Nalobin gradually parlayed his way into making Tory friends and influencing people
By episode two, Cristo is seriously worried but can’t seem to get either the Metropolitan police or MI5 interested
The Conservative Friends of Russia group is launched with a big party and bad jokes about Pussy Riot
Russia wants to know how to use the internet for election campaigning
“They basically opened up all their learnings to Russia,” says one person who was there
This is soft power with hard consequences (episode 4 will cover Brexit)
does a great job of unpicking sexy Russian obfuscation and Tory and MI5 slackness to reveal what’s actually been in plain sight for years
You could try UnReality
a short series of personal documentaries about truth and lies
which featured Augustidis trying to interview her sleep-talking boyfriend
was selected for the 2022 Tribeca festival
and I’ve heard three episodes of series two (it starts on 15 January)
These cover Augustidis and her colleagues using tarot cards to understand their sudden redundancies; the time a young Augustidis bought what we might call “an alternative version” of Wuthering Heights; and – my favourite – a show where she talks to her father about the jokes she’s made about him in her short standup set
Duke has her own intelligent approach to this tangled world of contemporary conspiracy theories
In the first episode she wonders if sending the rioters to prison rehabilitated or radicalised them
she looks at alleged US election fraud via an interview with “constitutional sheriff” Mack
a locally elected law enforcer who believes that he and his “posse” must protect people but
but young talent will always elbow its way up and out
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has been officially named the UK’s richest person under 40 according to The Sunday Times Rich List
The newly married British aristocrat and businessman was among the likes of Sir Lewis Hamilton
Continue reading to discover more about Hugh Grosvenor…
Hugh recently made headlines after he and his girlfriend of three years
The ceremony was held at Chester Cathedral on June 7
with the newlyweds planning to relocate to Chester following the big day
the couple’s wedding was dubbed the royal event of the year with Prince William holding the rather important role of usher
both King Charles and Queen Camilla were noticeably absent from the day
Hugh released an official statement announcing their engagement
The couple were rumoured to be introduced by a mutual friend
are known for their relaxed nature and preference for keeping a low profile
with her early studies ensuing at Marlborough College
the same school as Princess Catherine and Pippa Middleton
She then continued her education at Trinity College
the new Duchess of Westminster works as an account manager for Belazu
a B-Corp certified sustainable food company
Hugh Grosvenor was once considered the most eligible bachelor in Britain
the young Duke is off the market and his impending nuptials are set to be the event of the season
But, who is the Duke of Westminster and what is his connection to the royal family
Hugh Grosvenor’s father was the 6th Duke of Westminster and inherited this title after an Uncle had passed away
Because of his more relaxed upbringing in Ireland
Gerald Grosvenor was set on giving his children the same experience growing up
was raised alongside his three sisters at Eaton Hall in Cheshire
His education was less grand than expected from children of the aristocracy
but Hugh still attended reputable schools in his early years and finished his education at Newcastle University where he studied countryside management
In 2016 Gerald Grosvenor sadly passed away
the system of primogeniture declared that the title was to be passed on to the eldest son
he has sat as the director for multiple charities and organisations in alignment with his family name
These positions include Owner of Grosvenor Group Limited
and Chair of Trustees of the Westminster Foundation which aids vulnerable youth and their families to ensure they are supported in areas where it is lacking
Hugh also heads the Defence and Rehabilitation Centre supporting wounded military veterans
the Duke was placed on the Sunday Times Rich List
His net worth was estimated to be a considerable £9.878 billion ($18,830 billion)
Although the link to the royals is distant
the Grosvenor family still has strong and present familial ties
The Duke of Westminster is Godfather to both Prince George and Prince Archie
While completing a Bachelor of Arts (Majoring in Journalism and Photography) at The University of Wollongong
Jessica worked for four years in both the coworking industry
After falling in love with storytelling and recognising the power of social media for a brand at a local level
Jess took her passion to The Weekly where she began managing their social platforms and writing for their digital site
Subscribe and be in with the chance of winning $25,000 cash or prize pack
exclusive content via our monthly subscriber newsletter
Relive the wedding day of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
from the moment the guests arrive to the moment the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Sixteen royal weddings have taken place in Westminster Abbey and the tradition goes back nine hundred years - to the marriage of Henry I and Princess Matilda of Scotland in 1100
It’s been ten years since His Royal Highness Prince William married Catherine Middleton at the Abbey on 29th April 2011
Here we look back on a very happy day in the Abbey’s history
and relive the wedding ceremony – a service watched by an estimated billion people around the world
There were seven months between the couple announcing their engagement and the day of the wedding
Here are some key dates in the run-up to the big day:
The Abbey’s doors are opened and guests begin to arrive – from official guests including members of Foreign Royal Families and government and Commonwealth representatives
to friends of the couple and figures from the worlds of sport and entertainment including David Beckham and Sir Elton John
around 2,000 specially-invited guests fill the Abbey
Sir Elton John is among the members of the congregation arriving for the servicePicture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
the Abbey’s bells peal joyously across London as the guests arrive
arrive at the Abbey and are escorted inside to wait in St Edmund’s Chapel for the start of the ceremony
They had both stayed a mile away at Clarence House the night before
Prince William and Prince Harry process from St Edmund’s Chapel to the High Altar to await the arrival of the Bride.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
members of Foreign Royal Families arrive followed closely by Catherine’s mother
Members of the Middleton family are seated by the High Altar.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
members of the Royal Family begin to arrive with Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall joining guests at 10.42am
a fanfare is sounded by the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry as Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh arrive
making the journey to the Abbey from the nearby Goring Hotel
HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh are greeted by the Dean at the Great West Door.Picture: Press Association
Catherine steps from her car revealing the first glimpse of her beautiful lace and ivory wedding dress which has been designed by Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen. Her bouquet is myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet william and hyacinth. She enters the Abbey with her father Michael through the Abbey’s West Door and pauses at St George’s Chapel, where the Coronation Chair is located
Catherine and her father pause inside the Great West Door before the procession to the High Altar.Picture: Press Association
This video recreates the steps Catherine Middleton took on the day of her wedding when she entered Westminster Abbey
She starts her walk down the Abbey’s Nave to the High Altar, a distance of 97 metres, carefully making her way around the Grave of the Unknown Warrior – the only grave in the Abbey which is never walked upon
The aisle has been transformed into an avenue of trees
lined with six field maples and two hornbeams
reflecting the couple’s love of the English countryside
‘I was Glad’ by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal
St James’s Palace with the London Chamber Orchestra and the Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force
Catherine walks through the Quire with Prince William and Prince Harry ahead
Prince William awaits the arrival of the Bride.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Just below the steps leading up to the Altar
the families of the bride and groom are seated
with the Royal Family on the south and the Middleton family to the north
and takes her last steps to the High Altar to greet Prince William
The marriage takes place in the Sacrarium upon the beautiful Cosmati Pavement
The service is conducted by the then Dean of Westminster
and the marriage solemnized by the then Archbishop of Canterbury
the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams
O Thou Great Redeemer is sung by the congregation
a powerful and much-loved Welsh hymn often sung at State occasions
The Archbishop receives Catherine from her father’s hand
for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish
according to God’s holy law; and thereto I give thee my troth
and grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other
and live together in love until their lives’ end
Prince William takes the ring and places it upon the fourth finger of Catherine’s left hand
Prince William: With this ring I thee wed; with my body I thee honour; and all my worldly goods with thee I share: in the name of the Father
the author of everlasting life: Send thy blessing upon these thy servants
they may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made
whereof this ring given and received is a token and pledge; and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together
and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord
The Archbishop joins their right hands together and says:
Archbishop: Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder
The Archbishop addresses the congregation:
Archbishop: Forasmuch as William and Catherine have consented together in holy wedlock
and have witnessed the same before God and this company
and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other
and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring
and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be man and wife together
The marriage is solemnized by the Archbishop of Canterbury.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
The congregation sing the hymn Love Divine
a popular choice at English weddings and often voted one of Britain’s favourite hymns
It was sung at the wedding blessing of HRH Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles on 9th April 2005
It includes the words: ‘Let love be genuine; hate what is evil
hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.’
reads from St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
a new anthem commissioned specially for the service by the Abbey from celebrated composer and conductor John Rutter
a beautiful setting of verses from the psalms with elegant melodic lines and warm harmonies
The Address is given by the Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dr
then Bishop of London and Dean of Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal
telling the couple: ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’
friends and dignitaries fill the Abbey.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
Prince William and Catherine move to the High Altar the Choirs sing Ubi Caritas et Amor in a newly-adapted setting by young Welsh composer
which catapults him to international stardom
Hubert Parry’s beautiful setting arranged by Edward Elgar which many consider to be the nation’s most popular patriotic hymn
The service is sung by The Choir of Westminster Abbey and The Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal
St James’s Palace.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
and in the works of thy commandments; that through thy most mighty protection
we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
The congregation sings the National Anthem accompanied
by the Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force
Edward the Confessor for the signing of the Marriage Registers
This is the only part of the ceremony not shown on television to the audience of tens of millions of people watching around the world
giving the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a private moment with their families before they depart the Abbey
The bride and groom prepare to leave the Abbey following the signing of the Marriage Registers.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
accompanied by the London Chamber Orchestra
Parry’s setting of John Milton's ode At a solemn Musick
After the Bride and Bridegroom sign the Marriage Registers they exit the Shrine and process with their families to the West Door as the London Chamber Orchestra plays William Walton’s stirring Crown Imperial
The newly-wed couple depart to the sound of the Abbey bells and cheers from the crowds
A full peal of 5,000 changes is rung by the Abbey’s Company of Ringers which will last three hours
The newly-wed couple depart the Abbey.Picture: Press Association
Full peals are rung on the Abbey’s bells only for significant occasions
One long-standing member of the team of ten bell ringers taking part had also rung the bells in celebration of Prince William’s birth
The Royal Standard flies until The Queen leaves when the Abbey flag will again be raised
Prince William and Catherine travel to Buckingham Palace followed by Prince Harry
The couple appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace before a large crowd
After the wedding, The Duchess of Cambridge returned her bouquet to the Abbey to rest on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, joining a poignant tradition begun by Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923
On entering the Abbey for her marriage to The Duke of York (later King George VI)
the future Queen Elizabeth laid her flowers on the Warrior's grave in memory of her brother Fergus who was killed at the Battle of Loos during the First World War
The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding bouquet rests on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.Picture: Dean and Chapter of Westminster
HM The Queen continued the tradition at her wedding here to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 1947
Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice have all sent their wedding flowers to rest on the Warrior’s grave
You are surrounded by history at the Abbey
not like a museum where it’s just displayed
but here you are standing where history has happened
David Hockney’s stained glass window at the Abbey
is a vibrantly-coloured contemporary work commissioned to celebrate the reign of Elizabeth II
next to other more traditional stained glass windows
it can be seen on a general visit to the Abbey
The Dean of Westminster in 2016, the Very Reverend John Hall, wanted to commission something to celebrate the reign of Elizabeth II
the United Kingdom's longest-reigning monarch
one of the most influential British artists of this reign
was asked if he would undertake the commission to design a stained glass window to be erected in a space which was then just 19th-century blank glass
and has been recognized with an Order of Merit and as a Companion of Honour but had never worked in stained glass
The Dean's brief to Hockney was to provide something symbolic or representational of the subject
rather than a heraldic or figurative design
Within a day of being offered the commission
Hockney sent the Dean a first-draft design
Hockney's design depicts a country scene featuring hawthorn blossom and using his distinct colour palette of yellow, red, blue, pink, orange and greens. It follows on from his acclaimed Royal Academy exhibition A Bigger Picture (2012)
collages and electronically-produced art depicting the landscape and flora of the East Riding of Yorkshire
A Bigger Picture was notable for the inclusion of a number of works produced by Hockney on his iPad
and Hockney again used an iPad to design this window
Hockney considered the iPad a natural design tool for this project because
Hockney was also inspired by the work of Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall
The window reflects Elizabeth II's interest and delight in the countryside
and is described by Hockney as "a celebration"
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The Queen's Window depicts the Yorkshire countryside in Spring
Stained glass artists and craftspeople at Barley Studio created the window using traditional techniques
working with the artist to translate his vision into glass
Barley Studio is a leading stained glass studio of over forty years based in York
Helen Whittaker was primarily responsible for translating Hockney’s design to stained glass
Helen Whittaker works on the window at Barley Studios
The vividly-coloured glass in the window was made by Glashütte Lamberts
Barley Studio installed the window in the north transept of the Abbey in September 2018, and the window was dedicated by The Dean at a service on 2nd October 2018
The window measures 8.5 metres high by 3.5 metres wide
Unlike most other stained glass windows in the Abbey
apart from the artist's hand-painted signature in the bottom right corner
The window was made possible thanks to the generosity of Lord Harris of Peckham and Sir Harry Djanogly CBE
The Queen's window by David Hockney
David Hockney's hand-painted signature
the light falling in the Abbey will light up something that you have walked past a million times and never seen before
Heartfelt drama looking at the knotty subject of assisted dying raises interesting questions
Friday, 2nd May — By Lucy Popescu
Justina Kehinde (Jodie) in How to Fight Loneliness [Mark Douet]
Neil LaBute’s latest play looks at the knotty subject of assisted dying which is largely illegal in the United States and criminalised here
Jodie (Justina Kehinde) has a stage-four brain tumour
the endless chemotherapy and dealing with the emotional fallout as she waits to die
So Jodie and her husband Brad (Archie Backhouse) have invited someone into their home who they hope can help them
Over the course of two hours (with an interval) the characters circle around the subject: our right to choose how and when we die
LaBute’s trademark stilted dialogue works well here
reflecting our own reluctance to discuss such thorny issues
But after a while the conversations become repetitive
The main tension lies in Brad’s opposition to Jodie’s decision and there are only so many arguments they can have about this
How to Fight Loneliness (the title comes from a song by Wilco) remains tonally in the same key
and despite Lisa Spurling’s steady direction
it’s a challenge to remain fully invested in their existential crisis for the play’s entire duration
when Jodie meets Tate on a deserted highway
lacks credibility and much of the final scene feels redundant
believable performances and La Bute raises interesting questions
heartfelt drama needs trimming and more light to balance the shade
A night behind the velvet ropes at the Super Bowl of canines
America’s oldest continuously held sporting event
was enough to change even the staunchest skeptic
spectacle and the smell of 2,500 dogsThis article is more than 2 months oldA night behind the velvet ropes at the Super Bowl of canines
Read moreBut I kept those feelings to myself during the Westminster Dog Show
lest they take me out back to get mauled by a pack of Belgian Malinios
The 149th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the oldest continually held sporting event in the US
The first thing I noticed upon entering the Javits Center
where best-of-breed competitions were held on Monday
was that even the security dogs were fancy
No boring German shepherds or lolling Golden Retrievers here
guards held manicured poodles or super-fit hunting dogs on leashes
Don’t let Getty Images of dogs getting blowouts or YouTube clips of bang trims fool you
The stench of 2,500 dogs representing all 50 states adds up
View image in fullscreenValentina
Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel ClubArchetypical over-bearing mom types (soccer
boy) all share a hawkish sense of their child’s exceptionalism
who stared down the competition as if they were a 14-year-old Dunkin employee who just got their order wrong
I appreciated their dedication to the event’s dress code
which I might describe as sequined business casual
“She’s here to do her job,” one man said of his bulldog
with all the seriousness of a cop at a press conference speaking about how the suspect is still at large
both two- and four-legged,” said Suzanne Terrant
“He would rather be swimming in a pond,” Terrant said
“She wants to be the center of attention,” said her breeder
View image in fullscreenThe Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
is the oldest continually held sporting event in the US
Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Westminster Kennel ClubOne dog who was definitely not French
flopped over and showed its belly in the middle of the ring
begging for pets while waiting for the judge to come over
Only the winners of Best of Breed would go to Madison Square Garden on Monday night
treated to all the pomp of a professional sports game
a hyped-up arena crowd (ready to boo the judges’ decisions)
a performance of the national anthem to start out the event
This year marks the show’s return to Madison Square Garden after five years away due to Covid
This was when I started getting nervous as a writer
There are only so many ways you can talk about show dogs
elegant Afghan hound: “That’s a psychotic breed.” Of the Redbone Coonhound: “There we go
A beautiful dog.” Of the Rhodesian ridgeback: “They’re dumb as hell.”
affectionate companion pets: “I never understood these little ones.”
View image in fullscreenPug dogs rest during the best-of-breed judging at the Javits Convention Center on Monday on day one of the Westminster dog show
Photograph: Andrés Kudacki/Getty ImagesThe Toy Group
and honorary lifetime member of the Papillon Club of America from Chuluota
Pickett resembled Westminster’s version of Anna Wintour
Pickett seems like the type of person I’d want to drink six margaritas with, while mining her for kennel club gossip. But she seemed ruthless in her judging. I know a Miniature Pinscher must hate to see her coming. (Comet, a Shih Tzu who also won last year
Sports are only as good as their narratives: the Miracle on Ice
Westminster had its own emotional peak with Neil the Bichon Frisé
spent the day before the big show in the hospital after an unspecified health emergency
But she made sure to get out and hit the stage with Neil
loves people,” Bettis told a Fox reporter after they cinched the medal
or my being hypnotized after watching dogs run in circles for eight hours
but I started to rethink my whole “dogs are in their flop era” theory
These ones were athletes who knew how to work a crowd
and gamely put up with the foibles and follies of us humans
I guess spending a night with these top dogs can convert even the staunchest hater
Thousands brave plummeting temperatures to protest against plans they claim could bring the death of their farms
Honking tractors carrying young farmers and a sea of people clad in tweed and wellies signalled the countryside had come to the capital on Tuesday to demand the scrapping of Labour’s budget changes to inheritance tax on agricultural businesses
It would have taken more than plummeting temperatures and sleet to put off the thousands of food producers
from travelling from across the UK to Westminster
Many had jumped on buses which forced their way through snow, while others had travelled the previous night and were quietly gossiping about Jeremy Clarkson, the Top Gear presenter turned farming celebrity, joining them for dinner.
The volume of attenders was unexpected, given the rarity of farmers taking a day off, let alone in such numbers. The Metropolitan police estimated there were 13,000 participants at the peak of the rally, leading them to prevent the crowd from marching down Whitehall for safety reasons.
Many farmers came with donations for the City Harvest food bank. Farmer Andrew Ward, one of the organisers of the rally, said it amounted to “tonnes and tonnes of food”.
Limited to a procession around Parliament Square, many protesters clutched signs criticising “Farmer harmer Starmer” as they waited to hear from politicians and Clarkson.
Despite the mainly good-spirited nature of the rally, there was gloom in the air as farmers discussed their deaths or those of their parents. Many feared that could be followed by the demise of their family farm.
“It’s a way of life,” said Penny Fortescue, 69, a sheep and arable farmer in Cambridgeshire. “We put up with the hassle every day because it’s our way of life, because we care about providing food. We wouldn’t do it otherwise, there isn’t any money in it really.”
Deluged by recent heavy rain, Fortescue now fears her way of life cannot be passed down to her daughter and son-in-law, if an inheritance tax bill eats up all their profits.
“I have cancer, my partner has cancer. I don’t know how long we are going to live. And if we try to hand the farm over within seven years, we can’t afford to live because it’s our pension,” she said. “We aren’t allowed to take money out of the business once it’s been handed over – so what are we supposed to do?”
Matt Swales, her son-in-law, said: “We are going to have to sell a portion of our land to pay the inheritance tax. That’s the reality of it.”
The message from the speakers was one of unity, amid a disagreement over whether the Treasury’s figures were accurate and worries that even medium-sized farms are at risk.
Spotting a political opportunity, the new Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, brought her shadow environment, food and rural affairs team on stage to say they were the people who would “fight” for farmers. She called on those assembled to vote for her at the next election to reverse the tax changes. “Farming is not just a business,” she said. “It’s a way of life.”
The vast bulk of those in attendance were farmers, their families and supporters, but conspiracy theorists and far-right activists were present on the fringes. A contingent of activists from the Homeland party, a far-right group, appeared with a banner saying “Our Homeland needs Farmers” and posed for photos at the Cenotaph.
Many farmers attending the rally had spent some of their morning at the mass lobby event arranged by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), and had booked meetings with their local MPs, many of whom are newly elected Labour parliamentarians.
Gary Yeomans, who farms goats near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, met Catherine Fookes, the MP for Monmouthshire, along with eight other local farmers.
“She was sympathetic. Everyone had their say and kept their cool,” Yeomans said. “She said she wasn’t prepared to vote against the government, but said a group of 40 rural Labour MPs had got together.”
Others were left disappointed after they missed meeting with their MPs, either due to a large queue to get into the building where they have offices, or because their representative was not available.
Chris Robinson, a beef and sheep farmer from the Derbyshire dales, waited in vain for over an hour and a half to get into Portcullis House to meet his MP.
Meanwhile, Tom Rees from the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, was frustrated to have been told in advance that his MP, Labour’s Kanishka Narayan, was away from Westminster on the day.
“I’m angry,” Rees said, adding that the newly elected Narayan is the parliamentary private secretary to the environment secretary, Steve Reed. “He needed to front up to this.”
The Duke and Duchess of Westminster are expecting their first child after their wedding last year, where the Prince of Wales served as an usher for his friend
Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world's most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.
You’ve met the Grosvenors, now let Tatler introduce you to the Duke of Westminster’s new in-laws – and the grandparents of his baby
Much has been made of Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster’s family heritage in the run-up to his wedding to Olivia Henson today. The Grosvenor dynasty dates back almost half a millennium
The Prince of Wales, who is serving as an usher at the wedding between the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson, walked briskly into Chester Cathedral this morning ahead of the ceremony at 12pm
Caroline Henson arrives at Chester Cathedral alongside daughter Olivia's nieces – Isla van Cutsem
and Zia Snow served as flower girls at the wedding
Hoare & Co is the UK’s oldest privately-owned bank
and the fourth oldest of its kind in the world
the banks’ clients are said to have included Samuel Pepys
and Jane Austen – who no doubt would have found much inspiration in the Duke of Westminster’s wedding today
Caroline and Rupert Henson are pictured with Natalia Grosvenor
It's not the only special celebration the family have coming in the next few months; Jasper was accompanied to the event by his fiancée Isabel Rodríguez-Legorburu
The couple's engagement was announced back in April in the Daily Telegraph
‘The engagement is announced between Jasper
While the couple's wedding plans are yet unknown
Isabel was in attendance at the family event today
wearing a bright pink gown as she arrived with Caroline and Emilia
She is the daughter of Eduardo Rodríguez-Legorburu
a Spanish noble title held by Eduardo since 1966
but they are believed to have crossed paths while working for Knight Frank Spain in Madrid
There has been no sign yet of Caroline’s twin sister
Olivia’s aunt Angela is married to Charles Gordon
the 22nd of Hallhead and 11th of Esslemont who has served as Grand Master of Scottish freemasons
Pictured: Emilia Henson in blue standing alongside her future sister-in-law Isabel Rodríguez-Legorburu
If she managed to find time to leaf through the history chronicles in the ancient Chester Cathedral library, Olivia Henson would find her lineage links her to the 5th Duke of Rutland
making her a (somewhat distant) cousin of the Manners sisters
The daughters of the 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland, the Manners sisters are very well qualified if Olivia ever needs a quick refresher in aristocratic … well, manners. In 2017, Vanity Fair labelled them the ‘real-life Crawley sisters of London,’ and their family seat, 16,000-acre Belvoir Castle certainly lives up to the Downton Abbey reference.
Despite the blustery weather at Chester Cathedral, the Marlborough alumna was elegant in her satin and silk gown
Lady Tamara Grosvenor and Lady Viola Grosvenor attend the wedding of The Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral
The Grosvenor fortune was in fact borne out of another marriage
Sir Thomas Grosvenor was 21 when he took the hand of Mary Davies
in what has proven a fantastic match for the Grosvenor family
and had inherited substantial lands to the west of London from her great-uncle
Hugh Audley – a namesake of our present Hugh
(Hugh Audley was himself no stranger to a fortune
he became the subject of a popular 17th century pamphlet called The way to be rich according to the practice of the Great Audley.)
Audley’s ‘swampy meads’ to the west of the city have since become the Mayfair, Park Lane and Belgravia areas of London
priceless real estate and now the jewels in the crown of the Grosvenor fortune
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New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville 2025 federal election live results. Browse live results for all 343 ridings
193 of 193 polls are reporting as of 4:22 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election
193 of 193 polls are reporting as of 4:22 p.m. Follow our full coverage of the 2025 federal election
is projected to win in New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville
Sawatzky has 19,547 of 55,720 votes (35.08%)
is in second place with 17,624 votes (31.63%) and Indy Panchi
Julian has represented the riding since 2004
New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville used to be named New Westminster—Burnaby
The riding’s boundaries were updated for the 2025 federal election
24,909 voters cast ballots at advance polls
Looking for another riding? Here are the full results for the 2025 federal election.
The Liberals have 169 races called in their favour
They have 8,535,128 votes and 43.69 per cent of the popular vote
The Conservatives have 144 races called in their favour
They have 8,059,938 votes and 41.26 per cent of the popular vote
The Bloc Québécois have 22 races called in their favour
They have 1,232,095 votes and 6.31 per cent of the popular vote
The New Democrats have seven races called in their favour
They have 1,231,198 votes and 6.3 per cent of the popular vote
The Greens have one race called in their favour
They have 243,471 votes and 1.25 per cent of the popular vote
There were three independents and four vacancies in the 338-seat Commons
the Commons has grown by five ridings starting with this election
This article was automatically generated using data provided by Canadian Press and will update as riding results become available
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