Royals and the UK’s political elite watched as VE Day celebrations unfolded in the capital Lifestyle | Fashion Sign up for the best picks from our travel I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice Central London teemed with patriots on the Early May bank holiday, as four day celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day officially got underway marks 80 years since the Allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender saw armed forces from Nato allies join a procession in the capital before King Charles was joined by four generations of senior royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the Red Arrows flypast Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said this week’s events are a reminder that victory was “not just for Britain” Catherine, Princess of Wales selected a berry-purple Emilia Wickstead coat dress previously worn to welcome the South African Prime Minister to the UK in November 2022 She finished the look with a matching shade Sean Barrett pillbox hat and a gold winged RAF brooch which is thought to nod to her paternal grandfather Peter Middleton who served as a fighter pilot during the Second World War She was joined by her husband, William, Prince of Wales and three children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. The latter celebrated her 10th birthday on Friday, May 2, marked by a new picture taken by her mother during a walking trip to Cumbria earlier in the year Prince Louis, aged seven, showed some signs of unrest in his navy suit, white shirt and tie, as he sat in the royal box between his father and Prince George, aged 11, before members of the royal family watched the flypast from the balcony of the Palace Duchess of Edinburgh opted for spring shades wearing a light pink double-breasted button gingham dress by Suzannah London and a raised headband who has also worn the outfit to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party in 2023 and the Trooping the Colour in 2022 Queen Camila meanwhile opted for a cobalt blue ensemble with matching hat as she stepped out alongside King Charles. The family will hope that this display of pomp will distract from recent comments made by Prince Harry The Princess Royal instead wore the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry uniform which her late mother Queen Elizabeth II also wore on Buckingham Palace’s balcony as she celebrated the first VE Day in 1945 Kemi Badenoch dressed for the slight chill in a plain trench coat See our full coverage from VE Day 2025 here. Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Lady Victoria Starmer VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from her hospital bed after surgery Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from hospital arrive ahead of the military procession for the 80th anniversary of VE Day The Princess of Wales was a vision in purple as she led the nation's VE Day celebrations alongside other members of the royal family Fergie is rarely seen at official royal engagements, but she joined King Charles and Queen Camilla after an appearance at the family's Easter Sunday celebrations the Royal Family will return to Buckingham Palace before appearing on the balcony to watch a flypast Veterans will watch the flypast from the gardens of Buckingham Palace with the Prime Minister and other senior guests The Princess of Wales with Princess Charlotte Prince of Wales during the military procession to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day The Princess of Wales opted for an elegant purple ensemble for the occasion pairing a vibrant coat dress perfectly with a simple fascinator She swept her brunette hair back from her face opting for a touch of eyeshadow and highlighter across her cheeks Kate Middleton arrived alongside Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis ahead of the celebration. The three Wales children were dressed in smart navy outfits for the outing. The Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of Edinburgh were photographed alongside the Wales family Later today, the family will host a tea party at Buckingham palace for around 50 veterans and people who lived through the Second World War. The group – now supported by the Royal British Legion – including British and Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, WRENs, Special Operations Executives and those who contributed to the war effort on the home front, accompanied by their families and carers. The 89-year-old Duke of Kent, cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, is the oldest working senior British royal. In a recent interview, however, his daughter, Lady Helen Taylor, cautioned royal watchers that the Duke's body is slowing down The Marble Corridor of Buckingham Palace will be decorated in bunting made from fabricsrecycled from the Royal estates as guests enter for a tea party reception to honour thebravery and service of the Second World War generation. The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, The Princess Royaland Sir Tim Laurence and The Duke of Kent will join Their Majesties and the Prime Minister,meeting veterans during the reception. The incident is said to have occurred at approximately 1am on Saturday South Wales Police confirmed an investigation has been launched following the assault outside the Church Inn Detectives were previously searching for a 28 year-old suspect in relation to the incident The force has now confirmed he has since handed himself in and has currently been released on police bail The 61-year-old victim of the assault remains in hospital where his condition is described as critical but stable Police say the investigation into the incident is ongoing and anybody who may have information and hasn't yet spoken to officers is urged to do so The Welsh Government has brought together a group of leading experts in democracy community engagement and policy development to explore new approaches to improving democratic participation across Wales was established by the government in response to a recommendation from the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales which found that many Welsh citizens feel disconnected from decision-making processes that affect their lives The group hopes to address the lack of engagement through what it describes as “innovative approaches to civic education and participation covering all levels of government.” the Group will provide expert advice to the Welsh Government while also seeking to engage directly with the Senedd and local government in coming months as they begin their work The Deputy First Minister met with the Group during its first meeting He said: “Through their combined expertise members of this Group will work to ensure everyone’s voices are heard and valued Their innovative work extends beyond traditional electoral processes to revitalize democracy at all levels.” Dr Anwen Elias said: “I  am delighted to be leading the Innovating Democracy Advisory Group to take forward the Commission’s recommendations We have brought together a diverse group of influencers and advisors in the field of democratic innovation “We are committed to working in partnership with others across Wales who are already demonstrating best practice in public participation and democratic education we’ll explore where this Group can add real value to ensure that the people of Wales are heard in decision-making at all levels of government.” More information on the members of the advisory group is available here. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" The best platform to get people motivated into politics is social media Hardly see anything online in regard to Welsh politics I think we will most definitely need another “democratic “group of experts to assess this expert group of experts And perhaps a subsequent evaluation group to assess their evaluation followed by a task and finish report group leading to an interim report and a subsequent major conference at one of Wale’s finest conference centres with guest speakers from other European democracies and beyond I for the life of me can’t see why people don’t vote I doesn’t help when the press run “don’t vote for them and don’t for them either” i dont use the socials but guess the same message was there as well That is a football team there…this guy is a waste of money…Huw’s Day Out… Perhaps everyone who votes for the first time could be given a £20 Spoons voucher I don’t think there will be a shortage of voters next year as I have recently met so many people who said that they are going to vote Reform The people of Wales will turn out in decent numbers for the Senedd Election and they’ll be supporting English Thatcherite Nationalism It amazes me that Westminster elections garner more people than the Senedd elections Picking fluff out of each others’ navels It would be incredibly difficult to find a more impressive talented and well connected line-up of ‘experts’ and advisors than this one I’m sure their report will be brilliant and learned and the Welsh government will take due notice and act positively according to their recommendations… oh In reality this newly created group to boost participation in democracy in Wales shouldn’t actually exist because the Welsh public should care about their country not be reminded Sadly most here aren’t engaged Welsh politics because for decades both Labour & Conservatives has dumbed down Welsh society the public here aren’t even aware because what they read & hear in their newspapers and on TV doesn’t feature or reflect Wales or their own lives back this because the media is largely anglocentric in Wales or based entirely in England Why do we think Wales voted for Brexit… Read more » Connect with Nation.Cymru on Facebook and Twitter If you would like to donate to help keep Nation.Cymru running then you just need to click on the box below it will open a pop up window that will allow you to pay using your credit / debit card or paypal Enter your email address to receive instant notifications of new articles All information provided to Nation.Cymru will be handled sensitively and within the boundaries of the Data Protection Act 2018 In 2017 Nation.Cymru was launched after raising £5000 from a crowdfunding campaign Today it is one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK attracting over 1.5 million visitors a month We are not backed by billionaire owners or hidden behind a paywall but we depend on our readers' support to continue our work If everyone who visited the site over the course of a month donated at least £1 we would have enough funding for the next eight years To guarantee our future please consider making a donation today. The TimesTom Watts-Jones had his first pint in the Hare & Hounds The chef — since trained in lauded London restaurants — grew up in Aberthin just outside the town of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan The old drovers’ inn he now owns was once his local And corned beef pasties on match days,” he says I thought of this while sitting in the pub’s crisp white dining room eating Watts-Jones’s beef shin pappardelle topped with a golden sourdough crumb from his own bakery I thought of it again as my teeth broke his confit pork belly with a satisfying crunch and as his house-churned ice cream oozed on my tongue Everything on the menu — and I’d opted for the evening saver option exceptional value at £30 for three courses — is made from scratch and even picked from the pub’s smallholding (hareandhoundsaberthin.com) while the Hare & Hounds’ community soul has been retained under its present owner — “I couldn’t strip everything out they’d attack me!” — the food scene has evolved As it has across this overlooked chunk of Wales The Vale of Glamorgan is Wales’s double chin bulging into the Bristol Channel just west of Cardiff and south of the M4 easy to bypass en route to Pembrokeshire — unless you’re a Gavin and Stacey fan on pilgrimage to Barry But the hungry should also take the slip road at junction 34 of the M4 The Hare & Hounds has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by MichelinWith its rolling fertile lowlands the Vale has always been an agricultural county Recently it’s become the surprising rising star of the Welsh food scene Award-winners have popped up: the Hare & Hounds has long held a Bib Gourmand (the Michelin rating that recognises places that serve good food at moderate prices) and was joined in 2024 by Penarth’s hip Touring Club restaurant won a Michelin star six months after opening (eight courses from £145pp; homeatpenarth.co.uk) There are also great producers doing interesting things from coffee roasters and tea growers to a dozen or so vineyards including Llanerch home to the UK’s first vineyard hotel (opened 2019) and my base for an unlikely foodie mini-break A big plus of sleeping over was the chance to drink from Llanerch’s cellar who guided a small group of us through a hugely entertaining tasting She started by explaining how to properly assess a wine from sniffing for faults — “does it smell like wet carpet?” — to swirling and slurping “The wine wants to battle everything we’ve eaten “The only way to help it is to drink more.” Llanerch Vineyard Hotel was the first of its kind in the UKANDY STOYLEI obliged earthy pinot noir sparkling rosé (unexpected with a hint of tomato) and peppery red rondo Hamm made us giggle while outside March vines I ignored usual pairing rules and ordered the pinot noir précoce with my whole roasted fish • Read our full guide to Wales After day one I was fairly full but I knew how to work up an appetite again: a brisk dip in the Bristol Channel the Dawnstalkers wild swim club meet daily come hell or freezing water — and they welcome all comers My alarm beeped horribly early and I had to scrape ice off my car but I was buoyed by the cheery group and the sort of peachy sunrise that makes you feel smug about having got up The water was speech-stealingly cold but undeniably invigorating Fortunately Piotr Skoczylas soon turned up with his yellow cart this morning ritual isn’t just about cold water wellness Penarth pier looks out over the Severn estuaryGETTY IMAGESIt was still early so I headed off on a short walk along the Glamorgan coast a crumbling layer cake of cliffs and fossil-flecked pebbles where Marconi sent the world’s first over-sea radio transmission the air trilled with greenfinchs and linnets • 12 of the best things to do in Wales By the time I returned to Penarth it was time for my second breakfast — a citron knude pastry at the cool Danish bakery Brod (£3.45; thedanishbakery.co.uk) — and a spin around this attractive town My nose soon led me to the fromagerie Fauvette He sliced me a piece of hyper-seasonal la bouse cut through with wild garlic (fauvette.co.uk) I asked what made him open his cheese shop and tasting bar here He’d initially thought about the Cotswolds but said Head to Forage Farm Shop in Cowbridge to stock up on Welsh cakesI lunched at the Touring Club where the chef Mark Dowding makes a menu of on-trend small plates in the open kitchen including a mean Welsh rarebit dripping with beery cheese (mains from £14; thetouring.club) I ate as much as my belt would allow before returning to my boozy base — not just Llanerch but Hensol Castle This restored turreted pile now has a craft distillery You can learn to make your own gin or rum but I figured I’d leave that to the experts smooth enough to drink neat (gin tour £25pp; hensolcastledistillery.com) To help counterbalance all this consumption I spent the next day walking one of the region’s ten Vale Trails which explore Glamorgan’s coast and rural hinterland (visitthevale.com) The 6.5-mile Vale Trail 9 centres on the pretty market town of Cowbridge following in the wake of the poet Iolo Morganwg (1747-1826) Vale Trail 9 is a 6.5-mile route along the Glamorgan coastNEIL HOLMANI ignored the “historic” Costa Coffee (once Morganwg’s bookshop) and got my fix instead at Watts-Jones’s Hare & Hounds bakery heading west out of town to Forage Farm Shop stocking up on Welsh cakes shaped like bottoms (£3.59; foragefarmshop.co.uk) A loop from here into the Penllyn Estate took me past happy far-roaming chickens and on to a wooded ridge I couldn’t see much but I could hear the banging: this is one of Wales’s most ambitious amateur doer-uppers (just visit @mywelshcastle) eventually picking up the burbling River Thaw and emerging in St Hilary once named Wales’s best village by this newspaper I met the owner Liz Loch at her house and she led me onto the slopes behind where she and her husband Peter started growing grapes Neighbours kept asking what they were going to do with their land and eventually low-intervention wine a year (sthilaryvineyard.wales) They’re open by appointment and as part of the Vale Food Trail a celebration of local producers (May 25 to June 3; valefoodtrail.com) Webcam set up to monitor egg-bearing nest atop oak tree guarded by dozens of volunteers in Usk valley and over the next hour or so he and his mate took turns sharing the fish he had caught and sitting on their three eggs The appearance of these two ospreys on farmland in the Usk valley in mid-Wales is seen as a milestone in the recovery of the species It is believed to be the first time a pair has nested and produced eggs in these parts for more than 200 years and the site is thought to be the farthest south in the UK for a pair that has not been deliberately reintroduced one of the team of 60 volunteers keeping an eye on the ospreys and once a nest has been established it may be used for decades At the end of the summer the adults – and chicks if they thrive – will fly separately from the UK to winter in west Africa The chicks have an innate knowledge of where to go “To think of them flying thousands of miles vying for space on the beaches and lagoons in west Africa – it’s not surprising you get attached to them and try to protect them while they’re here,” said Milne This corner of Powys turns out to be an excellent spot for ospreys As well the fish in the Talybont reservoir there are brown trout in the River Usk and bream in Llyn Syfaddan (Llangorse Lake) The female and male ospreys take turns to eat food and sit on their three eggs Photograph: Usk Valley OspreysOn the morning the Guardian visited the male osprey was seen heading towards the reservoir showed it to his mate on the nest then took it over to a favourite perch nearby to eat his share “It’s like when the oxygen masks come down in a plane,” said Milne “You help yourself before helping others.” If the eggs hatch the male will soon have three more mouths to feed “He’ll have to up his hunting skills,” said Milne Later he had a turn sitting on the eggs while the female took the fish to a perch for her turn After being persecuted in the UK to the brink of extinction a pair of ospreys naturally recolonised Scotland by successfully nesting at Loch Garten in 1954 There are now thought to be about 300 pairs in Scotland Ospreys began recolonising north Wales 20 years ago the number of sightings of them farther south in Wales has increased Young ospreys began to identify the Usk valley as a potential breeding site because of its excellent fishing sites and in 2023 a nest was spotted at the top of an oak tree near the village of Talybont-on-Usk – but no eggs two ospreys were again seen at the nest but did not breed possibly because they had arrived late or were not the right age the same two ospreys spotted in 2024 were back Their comings and goings are watched carefully by the Usk Valley Ospreys charity, which has been preparing for this happy moment by setting up a webcam trained on the nest recruiting teams of “watchers” to keep an eye from a canal towpath 400 metres away and getting an exclusion zone set up around the site to stop people getting too close RSPB Cymru said it believed the Usk ospreys were the most southerly breeding pair. There are breeding ospreys at Poole Harbour in England, but the male bird there was translocated from Scotland and the female from Rutland. Andy King, the chair of Usk Valley Ospreys, was wary of getting too excited as it would be weeks before any chicks hatched. “It’s best to be a bit cautious,” he said. But he added that it was good news the birds were there – and showed that the rivers, reservoir and lake had good fish stocks. “They’ve seen the lovely oxbows and the sweeping nature of a very natural course of the river. They’ve been attracted by that. That’s why they’re here in this quiet valley. And people are delighted to see them.” This article was amended on 5 May 2025. An earlier version said a breeding pair of ospreys in Poole were translocated from Scotland. Only the male is from Scotland; the female was hatched in Rutland. Credit: PA ImagesNigel Farage says Reform UK is competing to be the biggest party in Wales with the party targeting the Senedd elections a year from now It comes after his party’s victories in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election in Cheshire taking the party's number of seats in the Commons to five and other local election contests in England The next Senedd election takes place on 7 May he said: "What's next is planning preparing for the Welsh and Scottish Parliament elections next year In Wales if you believe the opinion polls we're competing potentially to be the biggest party in Wales and in Scotland we've made great advances and the Conservative Party there has almost disappeared The Reform leader said that they “dug very deep into the Labour vote” in the Cheshire constituency and have “dug very deep into the Conservative vote” in other parts of England In one of the closest parliamentary contests ever new Runcorn and Helsby MP Sarah Pochin took the seat which Labour won with a majority of more than 14,000 last year by just six votes Ms Pochin’s victory takes Reform’s number of seats in the Commons up to five Five MPs were elected for the party last year but the whip has since been suspended from Rupert Lowe former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns was elected for Reform UK as the first Greater Lincolnshire mayor with a majority of almost 40,000 over her former party A 29-year-old man has been jailed for strangling his former partner Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.comand on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Sam Trommelen of Berwyn Street, Llangynog, near Oswestry attacked the victim while the pair were on holiday in Aberdyfi Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Shropshire Star’s free newsletter Following an altercation in their room after Trommelen accused the victim of cheating He eventually let go and she fled the property but Trommelen followed and continued the altercation with the victim in the street A local resident who witnessed the incident intervened and called the police he kicked a nearby door before ripping off his top He was subsequently arrested in the early hours of Saturday claiming he had restrained her to prevent her attacking him He later admitted intentional strangulation two counts of criminal damage and possession of cannabis At Mold Crown Court on Thursday he was jailed for two years and three months He was also handed a five-year restraining order to protect the victim Detective Constable Gutun Lake said: “Violence of any kind against women will not be tolerated in our communities “This attack was a terrifying experience for the victim She has shown considerable bravery in reporting what happened to her “We continue to act on any report of violence against women and we will not stop in our efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.” An innovative new scheme will provide farmers working in National Parks and National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - AONBs) in Wales with practical assistance and dedicated funding for projects that support nature to recover and thrive. The £1.8m Ffermio Bro: (Farming in Designated Landscapes) scheme will encourage nature-friendly farming practices in collaboration between farmers and local bodies responsible for areas of land officially recognised and protected for their unique natural, cultural, and scenic qualities. It was formally launched this month by the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies. The Deputy First Minister said: "Our National Parks and National Landscapes are truly special and unique. While our landscape bodies have a responsibility to look after these precious areas, our farmers living and working in them know them best. “That’s why Ffermio Bro has partnership working at its heart to deliver bigger and better projects across our landscapes, because a whole-Wales approach is needed to tackle the nature emergency. “This scheme will support farmers to work together, allowing nature to thrive alongside the sustainable production of food across our finest landscapes. Ffermio Bro will also help inform the Collaborative Layer of the Sustainable Farming Scheme to help target collaborative funding in future.” Ffermio Bro will support in the delivery of the Welsh Government's commitment to protect 30% of land, freshwater and seas for nature by 2030 (30by30) by funding a wide range of collaborative projects such as: • Planting of low-density woodland such as Ffridd • Fencing and activities to facilitate grazing and improve upland grasslands • Improving and promoting access routes and permissive paths • Protecting traditional landscape features such as hedgerows, stone and slate walls The first projects are expected to begin this summer, with the majority delivered between September 2025 and January 2026. As well as enabling activity on farms, the funding will also support a cohort of Ffermio Bro advisers, based within the Landscape bodies. These advisers will work closely with farmers, helping deliver successful collaborative projects and signposting them to other support available. The Deputy First Minister added: “We know which interventions will benefit nature, but places like National Parks are also about culture, traditions, and providing wonderful experiences for the wider community. “Repairing stone walls and slate fences, improving routes for walkers and other users, and helping preserve historic features on our farms will have a big impact – allowing local people and visitors alike to take full advantage of discovering, enjoying and understanding our incredible landscapes.” Comments Tel: 01834 843262[email protected]Follow us Further Links Owned or licensed to Tindle Newspapers Ltd | Independent Family-Owned Newspapers | Copyright & Trade Mark Notice & 2013 - 2025 Legendary All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson believes that the British and Irish Lions should always win a series while landing a savage takedown of Wales Wilson expects the Lions to be ‘well and truly prepared’ in a few months and the Wallabies will be no match for the touring outfit Andy Farrell is set to name his squad this weekend which many predict will largely feature Ireland stars On recent tours under the tutelage of Warren Gatland the Lions squad has had a plethora of Welsh players but that is unlikely to be the case this time around considering the team’s results since the Rugby World Cup Former referee Nigel Owens highlighted five players that he hopes will be selected, stating that he would be ‘shocked’ if Wales captain Jac Morgan wasn’t named in the touring squad But Wilson states that the Welshmen included will be more back-up acts to the main players “For starters, the Lions shouldn’t lose any series because they’re four international squads,” he said on the Breakdown show Before delivering his brutal slam on Wales: “Well three international squads and whatever Wales can offer in terms of back-up support crew so they should come with a stacked team every single time they come on tour “There’s no doubt about it that they will be a beast a beast of an organisation who will be well and truly prepared and well coached.” Nigel Owens ‘braced’ for limited Welsh influence in British and Irish Lions squad but reveals one snub that would ‘shock’ ‘Sea of red’ fails to materialise as fans snub British and Irish Lions squad announcement event 🤭 Jeff Wilson with a brutal smackdown of Wales 🗣️ “The Lions shouldn’t lose any series because they’re four international squads – well, three international squads and whatever Wales can offer in terms of backup support crew.” pic.twitter.com/xM7Tm6VQGI — Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) May 5, 2025 The former winger predicts that the Wallabies could steal a Test but he has little faith in them winning the series as they just don’t have the tight five to match the Lions Wilson suggests that Australia should consider the 6-2 split on the bench to boost their chances but questions if they have the depth to do so “They could find a way to win one but for them as a tight five numbers one through five and then 16 through 20 will need to be significant they might explore the 6-2 bench which I think they should to give themselves as much depth up front but this will be a beast of a squad up front and you will have to be very I’m not sure I’m finding what they need out of a front row to compete.” The former double New Zealand international’s remarks came after Stephen Donald boldly predicted that the Australians would win the Test series Stephen Donald predicts the Wallabies will beat the Lions but is shutdown by All Blacks legend Former All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson believes that Ardie Savea is a frontrunner for the Super Rugby Player of the Year Ex-All Blacks believe that Jordie Barrett must prove himself again after playing in the URC which is a 'low level' compared to Super Rugby Jeff Wilson has floated a radical change to stop Super Rugby from suffering at the hands of the All Blacks sabbaticals Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website We use some essential cookies to make this website work We would like to set additional cookies to remember your settings and understand how you use the site Crime against individuals and households has generally decreased over the last 10 years with some notable exceptions there have been increases across some crime types in the latest reporting period The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated 9.6 million incidents of headline crime (which includes theft and violence with or without injury) in the survey year ending (YE) December 2024 This was 14% higher than last year's survey (8.4 million incidents in YE December 2023) because of increases in fraud and theft fraud increased by 33% (to around 4.1 million incidents)  theft increased by 13% (to around 2.9 million incidents) mainly because of a 50% increase (to around 483,000 incidents) in theft from the person   computer misuse decreased by 23% (to around 757,000 incidents) because of a 29% fall in incidents of unauthorised access to personal information  and stalking among people aged 16 years and over are presented separately as prevalence estimates (the proportion of all people who were victims in the previous 12 months) in our statistics there has been a gradual decrease in domestic abuse Data from the YE December 2024 CSEW showed no statistically significant change in these estimates compared with the YE March 2023 survey 4.2% of people aged 16 years and over (around 2 million victims) had experienced domestic abuse in the last year   3.1% (around 1.5 million people) had experienced stalking  2.1% (around 1 million people) had experienced sexual assault  Police recorded crime does not tend to be a good indicator of general trends in crime it can give more insight into lower-volume higher-harm offences that are reported to the police including those that the survey does not cover or capture well the number of homicides decreased by 5% (to 535 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (563 offences); this was the lowest in a decade (533 offences in YE March 2014)  offences involving knives or sharp instruments increased by 2% (to 54,587 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (53,413 offences)  offences involving firearms decreased by 20% (to 5,252 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (6,563 offences); this was mainly because of a 32% fall (to 1,882 offences) in imitation firearms there was no change in robbery (81,135 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (80,822 offences); a 54% increase (to 14,707 offences) in robbery of business property was offset by a 7% decrease (to 66,428 offences) in robbery of personal property  shoplifting offences rose by 20% (to 516,971 offences) compared with the previous year (429,873 offences); this is the highest figure since current police recording practices began in YE March 2003 The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is an interviewer-administered face-to-face survey asking people (aged 16 years and over) resident in households about their experiences of crime in the past year It provides a reliable measure of crime trends for the population and offence types it covers This is because it is unaffected by police reporting or recording changes The CSEW captures a broad range of victim-based crimes with the interviewer-administered questions Estimates are reported as both incidents (the estimated number of crimes) and prevalence (the estimated proportion of the population that were victims) and harassment are not included in CSEW headline crime and are presented separately The survey excludes crimes against commercial or public sector bodies or those living in communal establishments like care homes The survey does not cover "victimless" crimes Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime data together give a fuller picture of crimes experienced by individuals and households (Table 1) The CSEW is better for tracking long-term trends in violence with or without injury Our headline CSEW crime measure captures theft offences There were an estimated 9.6 million incidents of CSEW headline crime in the YE December 2024 survey compared with YE December 2023 (8.4 million incidents) This is mainly because of a 33% rise in fraud (to around 4.1 million incidents) and a 13% rise in theft (to around 2.9 million incidents) Providing context from a longer time period CSEW headline crime remains lower than in the YE March 2017 survey (11.2 million incidents) when fraud and computer misuse were first included There has been a gradual decrease in the proportion of people experiencing violence with or without injury stalking has remained relatively flat and sexual assault has increased after previously decreasing from the YE March 2005 survey to the YE March 2014 survey there was an increase in the prevalence of fraud to 7% and a decrease in the prevalence of computer misuse to 1.3% Police recorded crime covers more offences than the CSEW It includes crimes that come to the attention of the police against:  including those aged under 16 years and those not permanently resident in households  Trends in police recorded crime are affected by improvements to recording practices and variations in police activity. These effects are more pronounced for some crime types. For further information, see Section 19: Data sources and quality compared with the previous year (6.7 million) Increases over the last decade may include some genuine changes in trends in crimes that are reported to it will also be because of changes in police activity and recording practices It therefore should not be used to say that overall crime has increased Information on the investigative outcomes of crimes recorded by the police can be found in the Home Office's Crime outcomes in England and Wales publication The police recorded 535 homicide offences in year ending (YE) December 2024 This was a 5% decrease from 563 offences in the previous year and is the lowest in a decade (533 in YE March 2014) The homicide rate was 8.8 per 1 million people Knives or sharp instruments were used in 41% of homicides which is a drop from 45% in the previous year For the latest analysis on homicide offences held within the Home Office Homicide Index, see our Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2024 article Police recorded crime data are better than the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for measuring trends in serious but less common violence like offences involving a knife or sharp instrument (knife-enabled crime) Knife-enabled crime includes offences where a knife or sharp instrument has been used to injure a victim or used as a threat This will include offences where the weapon may not have been seen but is believed to be present at the time of the offence by the victim or another witness Knife-enabled crime increased by 2% in the year ending (YE) December 2024 (to 54,587 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (53,413 offences) This was 1% lower than pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in YE March 2020 (55,170 offences) Most knife-enabled crimes were assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm (43%) and robbery (43%) offences Fewer than 1% of knife-enabled crimes were homicide offences (0.4%) Most knife-enabled crime takes place in metropolitan areas across England and Wales The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recorded 31% of all offences The MPS and Greater Manchester Police recorded 16% (to 16,789 offences) and 6% increases (to 3,452 offences) in YE December 2024 The West Midlands Police saw a 12% decrease (to 4,664 offences) Levels for the MPS Force Area were 14% higher compared with the pre-pandemic YE March 2020 (14,680 offences) and 8% higher for Greater Manchester Police Force Area (3,188 offences) levels for West Midlands Police Force Area were 7% lower compared with YE March 2020 (5,023 offences) Police recorded “possession of article with a blade or point” offences increased by 1% in YE December 2024 (28,150 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (27,892 offences) Trends in possession offences can be influenced by police activity and operations the latest provisional admissions data for NHS hospitals in England and Wales showed a 6% decrease in the number of admissions for assault by a sharp object in YE December 2024 (to 3,663 admissions) This was 23% below the pre-pandemic YE March 2020 (4,769 admissions) Data related to stop and searches can be found in the Home Office's Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics publication Offences involving firearms cover various weapon types from imitation firearms to handguns and shotguns These offences decreased by 20% (to 5,252 offences) in year ending (YE) December 2024 compared with YE December 2023 (6,563 offences) The largest fall was in offences involving imitation firearms which decreased by 32% (to 1,882 offences) Firearm offence levels were at their lowest levels since YE March 2016 (5,182 offences) and were much lower than at the peak in YE March 2006 (11,088 offences) Imitation firearms like replica weapons and BB guns are the most used Around 36% of these offences involved imitation firearms More detailed data on offences involving firearms are available for YE March 2024 in our Offences involving the use of weapons: data tables In the year ending (YE) December 2024 CSEW, people aged 16 years and over experienced an estimated 1.1 million incidents of violence with or without injury. There was no statistically significant change This follows a trend moving generally downward since 1995 The prevalence of CSEW violence with or without injury was 0.4% where the perpetrator was an acquaintance and 0.8% where the perpetrator was a stranger in YE December 2024 These showed no statistically significant changes Trends in police recorded violence with or without injury should be interpreted with caution. This is because improvements to recording practices have had a substantial impact on the recording of violent crime over the last 10 years. For further information, see Section 19: Data sources and quality The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) self-completion module is more reliable for measuring domestic abuse than police recorded crime data Estimates from the CSEW year ending (YE) December 2024 showed that 4.2% of people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the last year Police recorded crime data do not provide a measure of domestic abuse prevalence. Caution should be taken when comparing domestic abuse-related police recorded crime data with previous years, because of changes in police recording practices. For further information, see Section 19: Data sources and quality The police flagged 819,449 offences as domestic abuse-related in YE December 2024 including 639,475 violence against the person offences This was a 6% decrease from the previous year (868,915 offences) mainly because of fewer violence against the person offences (down from 685,053 offences) While this decrease may reflect some genuine falls in these offences it could also reflect how offences linked to conduct crimes (stalking and harassment) are being recorded since May 2023 The proportion of violence against the person offences flagged as domestic abuse-related was 33% Further information and data related to domestic abuse can be found in our Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2024 bulletin The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) self-completion module provides a more reliable measure of trends in sexual offences than police recorded crime data In the CSEW year ending (YE) December 2024 2.1% of people aged 16 years and over had experienced sexual assault (including attempted offences) we use the 16 to 59 years age range to give a comparable data time series Although there is year-to-year volatility in these estimates over the last 10 years there has been an increase in sexual assault after previously decreasing from YE March 2005 to YE March 2014 2.6% of people aged 16 to 59 years had experienced sexual assault (including attempted offences) compared with 1.5% in the YE March 2014 survey The CSEW shows that fewer than one in six victims of rape or assault by penetration reported the crime to the police (Table 13 of our Nature of sexual assault by rape or penetration, England and Wales dataset) Trends in police recorded sexual offences should be interpreted with caution. This is because improvements in recording practices and increased reporting by victims have contributed to increases in recent years. For further information, see Section 19: Data sources and quality There have been general increases in police recorded sexual offences over the last decade largely because of improvements in police recording practices There was an 8% increase in YE December 2024 (to 205,465 offences) compared with the previous year (190,300 offences) Around 35% (71,227 offences) of all sexual offences recorded by the police in YE December 2024 were rape offences compared with YE December 2023 (68,045 offences) There was a small decrease in the proportion of police recorded sexual offences that had taken place over a year before the crime was recorded (20%) Further data related to sexual offences can be found in our Sexual offences in England and Wales overview: year ending March 2022 bulletin The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) self-completion module provides a more reliable measure of stalking than police recorded crime data The CSEW year ending (YE) December 2024 estimated that 3.1% of people aged 16 years and over had experienced stalking in the last year The CSEW does not capture all aspects of stalking We plan to begin research to improve the data collected on stalking in the self-completion section of the CSEW soon The CSEW started measuring harassment, including one-off incidents, in April 2022. This is different from how the police define harassment where the behaviour must occur on more than one occasion. This is explained in the Home Office's Crime Recording Rules for frontline officers and staff guidance 8.7% of people aged 16 years and over reported experiencing harassment This cannot be compared with the previous year because of changes in the survey Further data related to stalking and harassment can be found in our The nature of violent crime: year ending March 2024 article Police recorded stalking and harassment should be interpreted with caution. This is because changes in recording practices and counting rules have affected the recording of these crimes over the last 10 years. For further information, see Section 19: Data sources and quality Changes in recording rules in May 2023 removed the requirement to record two crimes reported at the same time involving the same perpetrator This led to fewer crimes often associated with conduct crimes compared with the previous year (to 111,411 offences) police recorded stalking increased by 8% to 135,156 offences and harassment rose by 9% to 301,539 offences This may suggest that the changes are leading to a greater focus on identifying these more affecting crimes Robbery involves the use of force or threat of force to attempt or complete a theft (see Section 18: Glossary for definition) Police recorded 81,135 robbery offences in year ending (YE) December 2024 which is no change compared with the previous year (80,822 offences) there was a 54% increase in robbery of business property (to 14,707 offences) This was offset by a 7% decrease in robbery of personal property (to 66,428 offences) Overall robbery offences were still 10% lower than the pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic YE March 2020 The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated 107,000 robbery incidents in YE December 2024, which was no statistically significant change Police data are preferred for robbery offences This is because the CSEW estimates are subject to year-to-year volatility because of the small number of victims found in the sample The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is the best way to track long-term trends in common crimes like theft can show trends in specific theft offences that are well reported and well recorded The CSEW for year ending (YE) December 2024 estimated 2.9 million theft incidents compared with the previous year (2.6 million incidents) this was 75% lower than the peak in the YE December 1995 survey when there were an estimated 11.6 million incidents This is also 11% lower than in the pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic YE March 2020 survey (3.3 million offences) There were no statistically significant changes in other theft of personal property with 1.8 million offences in YE December 2024 This rise was mainly because of a 20% increase in shoplifting (to 516,971 offences) and a 22% increase in theft from the person (to 152,416 offences) There have been sharp rises in these offences since the pandemic Both shoplifting and theft from the person offences are at their highest level since current police recording practices began in YE March 2003 Police recorded vehicle offences decreased by 7% (to 364,208 offences) during the same period which includes both residential and non-residential burglaries Burglary levels were 71% lower than in YE March 2003 The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) year ending (YE) December 2024 estimated around 659,000 incidents of criminal damage. This showed no statistically significant change The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) year ending (YE) December 2024 estimated 4.1 million fraud incidents compared with the YE December 2023 survey (3.1 million incidents) and a 12% rise compared with the pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic YE March 2020 survey (3.7 million incidents) Bank and credit account fraud increased by 27% to about 2.4 million incidents Consumer and retail fraud rose by 35% to about 1.1 million incidents Out of the estimated 4.1 million incidents of fraud around 3 million incidents involved a loss Victims were fully reimbursed in 2.1 million of these cases The CSEW also helps provide context for police data. For example, the latest estimates from our Crime in England and Wales: Annual Trend and Demographic Tables dataset showed that one in seven fraud offences were reported to the police or Action Fraud (the public-facing national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre) The recorded crime series incorporates fraud offences collated by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) from three reporting bodies These are Action Fraud and two industry bodies - Cifas and UK Finance - who report instances of fraud where their member organisations have been a victim The recorded crime series showed a 6% increase in fraud offences in YE December 2024 (to 1.2 million offences) This included an 8% rise in cases (to 557,007 offences) referred by UK Finance and a 12% increase in cases (to 378,697 offences) referred by Cifas Increases in cases referred by UK Finance were partly a result of UK Finance working with member firms to improve the volume of actionable intelligence shared with the NFIB Levels of fraud reported to Action Fraud in YE December 2024 (301,972 offences) decreased by 2% compared with the previous year (308,033 offences) The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) captures more incidents of computer misuse than those reported to the police, because it includes unreported cases. The latest CSEW estimates, from our Crime in England and Wales: Annual Trend and Demographic Tables dataset showed that approximately 1 in 15 computer misuse offences were reported to the police or Action Fraud The year ending (YE) December 2024 CSEW estimated around 757,000 incidents of computer misuse because of a 29% fall in incidents of unauthorised access to personal information (to 609,000 incidents) This was 57% lower than the 1.8 million incidents in the YE March 2017 survey The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) records computer misuse offences and refers those with good investigative leads to the police The NFIB reported a 46% increase in offences referred by Action Fraud for YE December 2024 (to 52,030 offences) compared with YE December 2023 (35,676 offences) This was because of increases in social media and email hacking offences The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for year ending (YE) December 2024 showed that 36% of people experienced or witnessed anti-social behaviour (ASB) There was no statistically significant change from the previous year (35%) The number of police-recorded ASB incidents including those by the British Transport Police The CSEW also asks about people’s perceptions of ASB in their local area 24% of people thought ASB was a fairly or very big problem and 8% felt their area had a high level of ASB These trends have stayed relatively consistent since YE March 2014 Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables Dataset | Released 24 April 2025 Trends in Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) crime and Home Office police recorded crime for England and Wales Also includes more detailed data on crimes such as violence Crime in England and Wales: Police Force Area data tables Dataset | Released 24 April 2025 Police recorded crime figures by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership areas (which equate in the majority of instances to local authorities) Computer misuse is when fraudsters hack or use computer viruses or malware to disrupt services obtain information illegally or extort individuals or organisations which are offences where there has been unwanted or unwarranted behaviour which amounts to a course of conduct The course of conduct or behaviour must comprise two or more occasions or events for an offence to be recorded by the police Criminal damage results from any person who destroys or damages any property belonging to another This includes either intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged Fraud involves a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain of property or money or causing loss or risk of loss to another Most incidents fall under the legal definition of "fraud by false representation" where a person makes a representation that they know to be untrue or misleading (for example CSEW theft offences include all personal and household crime where items are stolen domestic burglary and other household theft is used either during or immediately before a theft or attempted theft Violent crime covers a range of offence types from minor assaults such as pushing and shoving that result in no physical harm This includes offences where the victim was intentionally stabbed as well as offences where the victim was threatened with violence More information and further definitions can be found in Section 5: Offence types of our User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales: March 2024 Police recorded crime data are not designated as accredited official statistics The CSEW is primarily an interviewer-administered face-to-face victimisation survey in which people (aged 16 years and over) resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of selected crimes in the 12 months before the interview It tracks long-term crime trends from year ending (YE) December 1981 to YE December 2024 The latest figures are based on interviews between January 2024 and December 2024 covering crimes that occurred between January 2023 and November 2024 The interviewer-administered questions give headline estimates of CSEW crime and include theft They are reported as both incidents (the estimated number of crimes) and prevalence (the estimated proportion of the population that were victims) Questions on domestic violence and sexual assault are included but may underestimate these crimes as victims might not disclose them to an interviewer domestic abuse and sexual assault are better measured through a self-completion section of the survey and reported separately While sexual assault estimates from the interviewer-administered questions are excluded from CSEW headline crime domestic violence is included as it is a form of violence with or without injury The Home Office collects crime data from the 43 police forces in England and Wales These data are sent monthly for each crime on their notifiable offence list These figures are updated continuously and represent a snapshot taken on 10 February 2025 The National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS) tool now helps automatically flag offences involving knives 42 police forces had switched to NDQIS for knife or sharp instrument offences 37 forces for domestic abuse-related offences and 31 for child sexual abuse-related offences 28 police forces have started to use NDQIS for identifying offences that have an online element Further forces will adopt this tool in the future For more information on NDQIS methodology, please see our Police recorded offences involving knives or sharp instruments: methodology changes The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) includes crimes not reported to but only covers crimes against people resident in households and does not cover all crime types The CSEW is better for tracking long-term trends than police recorded crime because it is unaffected by changes in reporting or recording practices The survey's methods have remained comparable since the CSEW began in 1981 The CSEW uses a sample, not the whole population. The sample aims to be accurate within practical limits such as time and cost. Therefore, the estimates have some uncertainty and are not precise figures. This affects how changes in estimates should be interpreted. View more information on how we measure and communicate uncertainty for our surveys Police recorded crime has wider offence coverage and population coverage than the CSEW It is the primary source of local crime statistics and is a good measure of offences that are well reported to including lower-volume crimes (for example the time lag between occurrence of crime and reporting results tends to be short providing an indication of emerging trends it misses offences that are not reported to or recorded by the police Trends can be affected by changes in how crimes are recorded There are also concerns about inconsistent recording quality across police forces and over time Changes in recording practices have led to discontinuity in police recorded crime figures, especially for violent crime over the last 10 years. Most recently, in May 2023, changes were made to the Home Office Counting Rules for conduct crimes (stalking reported at the same time by a victim involving the same perpetrator the police continue to investigate all offences This has led to a reduction in offences often associated with conduct crimes and an increase in offences such as stalking and harassment The impact of these changes on statistics is difficult to measure as compliance in crime recording in this area has been inconsistent across policing caution should be taken when comparing data with previous years Figures may differ slightly in later reports for the same period but this does not mean that earlier figures were wrong at the time that they were reported The NDQIS methodology will increase the number of offences identified as being domestic abuse-related Data from eight police forces showed a 3% rise in such offences for YE March 2024 the latest year's data cannot be directly compared with previous years The NDQIS methodology may also lead to an increase in offences identified as having an online element For most of the police forces that are not yet submitting data via NDQIS force analysts have started to prepare and improve data quality ahead of the transition online crime data include crimes using SMS and phone calls made over online platforms the latest year's data are not directly comparable with previous years Guide to finding crime statistics Methodology | Last revised 24 July 2024 A guide that directs users on where best to find different crime statistics Crime in England and Wales QMI Methodology | Last revised 24 April 2025 Quality and Methodology Information for crime levels and trends in England and Wales detailing the strengths and limitations of the data The nature of violent crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2024 Article | Released 26 September 2024 An overview of the extent of violent crime in England and Wales Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2024 Bulletin | Released 27 November 2024 Figures on domestic abuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales police recorded crime and other organisations Sexual offences in England and Wales overview: year ending March 2022 Bulletin | Released 23 March 2023 Data on sexual offences from the year ending March 2022 Crime Survey for England and Wales Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 24 April 2025, ONS website, statistical bulletin, Crime in England and Wales: year ending December 2024 Metrics details Through the use of a unique natural experiment this study provides evidence of a dementia-preventing or dementia-delaying effect from zoster vaccination that is less vulnerable to confounding and bias than the existing associational evidence It is also an assumption that cannot be empirically verified which have simply compared vaccine recipients to non-recipients while trying to control for the myriad of differences between these groups In Wales, individuals born between 2 September 1933 and 1 September 1934 (16,595 adults in our data) became eligible for the zoster vaccine for at least 1 year on 1 September 2013. Eligibility was then progressively extended to younger, but not older, age cohorts annually on the basis of their exact date of birth (Methods) The date-of-birth eligibility cut-off led to a large discontinuity in zoster vaccine receipt (a) but there is baseline exchangeability across the cut-off for uptake of other preventive interventions (flu vaccine (d) pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) (e) and statin medications (f)) as well as past shingles (b) and dementia (c) diagnoses The data source for this analysis was the SAIL database for Wales All analyses were run on the same sample as those for the effect of the zoster vaccine on dementia occurrence for which we did not exclude individuals with a diagnosis of dementia before the start of the zoster vaccine program The grey dots show the mean value for each 10-week increment in week of birth The grey shading of the dots is proportionate to the weight that observations from this 10-week increment received in the analysis the fact that not all those who were eligible received zoster vaccination does not bias our analysis Effect estimates of being eligible for (a) and having received (across different follow-up periods (b) and across different grace periods (c)) the zoster vaccine on the probability of having at least one shingles diagnosis during the follow-up period the MSE-optimal bandwidth is 145.7 weeks (95,227 adults) the MSE-optimal bandwidth for our primary specification is 116.9 weeks (76,316 adults) The triangles (rather than points) depict our primary specification The red (as opposed to white) fillings denote statistical significance (P < 0.05) Grace periods refer to time periods since the index date after which the follow-up time is considered to begin The grey vertical bars show the 95% CIs around the point estimate of the regression coefficient (two-sided t tests) 35,307 among 282,541 adults in our sample were newly diagnosed with dementia the zoster vaccine on new diagnoses of dementia the MSE-optimal bandwidth is 134.4 weeks (83,167 adults) the MSE-optimal bandwidth for our primary specification is 90.6 weeks (56,098 adults) we generally do not detect effects of zoster vaccination on new diagnoses of these other common health outcomes Comparison of absolute effect estimates of having received the zoster vaccine on new diagnoses of dementia shingles and postherpetic neuralgia between the DID-IV and the regression discontinuity analyses The sample size for the dementia outcome is 96,767 adults and the sample for the shingles and postherpetic neuralgia outcomes is 105,258 adults P values were calculated using two-sided t-tests The P value for the DID-IV effect on shingles is 0.001 The error bars depict the 95% CIs around the point estimate of the regression coefficient (two-sided t-tests) A protective effect of zoster vaccination on dementia diagnoses could arise from three (non-mutually exclusive) mechanisms: (1) changes in healthcare pathways as a result of a shingles episode; (2) a reduction in reactivations of the varicella zoster virus (VZV); and (3) a VZV-independent immunomodulatory effect (for example one mediated through heterologous adaptive immunity or trained innate immunity) we present evidence to examine each of these mechanisms Reduced healthcare use resulting averted shingles episodes from zoster vaccination receipt could have translated to fewer opportunities for the health system to (1) diagnose dementia (ascertainment bias); or (2) implement care changes (for example initiation of a new medication) that increase the risk of being diagnosed with dementia in the future It is important to point out that this mechanism is unlikely to fully explain our findings because the size of our effect estimates for reductions in shingles episodes from zoster vaccination were considerably too small to plausibly account for the observed reduction in dementia diagnoses As the effect of zoster vaccination on shingles episodes is moderate (Fig. 2) and the five types of analysis in this section document only small and short-lived effects of shingles episodes on healthcare pathways even the most conservative assumptions about the effect of these care paths on dementia imply that changes in healthcare as a result of a shingles episode cannot explain our findings We therefore conducted the following analyses to further examine reductions in VZV reactivations as the effect mechanism Effect estimates of being eligible for (a (women) and d (men)) and having received (b and c (women) and e and f (men); across different follow-up periods (b and e) and across different grace periods (c and f)) the zoster vaccine on new diagnoses of dementia Red (as opposed to white) fillings denote statistical significance (P < 0.05) The grey vertical bars depict the 95% CIs around the point estimate of the regression coefficient (two-sided t-test) the MSE-optimal bandwidth is 95.5 weeks (32,601 women) the MSE-optimal bandwidth for our primary specification is 149.1 weeks (50,816 women) the MSE-optimal bandwidth for our primary specification is 121.3 weeks (33,725 men) the MSE-optimal bandwidth for our primary specification is 91.8 weeks (25,563 men) The patterns that we observe remain largely unaffected by whether or not patients were taking any immunosuppressive medications in the year preceding the start of the zoster vaccination program overall and with the caveat that these exploratory analyses are suggestive only our analyses indicate that both a mechanism of action through a reduction in clinical and subclinical reactivations of VZV as well as through a VZV-independent immunomodulatory effect are plausible these two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive combined with the relatively low cost of the zoster vaccine the zoster vaccine will be both far more effective as well as cost-effective in preventing or delaying dementia than existing pharmaceutical interventions type of data (death certificates as opposed to electronic health records) and outcome (deaths due to dementia) In addition to this confirmation of our results in mortality data the probability of a chance finding is further reduced by the fact that we successfully replicate our main findings using a second analysis approach (DID-IV) and that our effect sizes remain stable across a multitude of analysis choices width of the week-of-birth window drawn around the date-of-birth eligibility cut-off and index date definitions our effect estimates apply to the live-attenuated zoster vaccine only The live-attenuated zoster vaccine (Zostavax) was made available to eligible individuals in Wales through a staggered rollout system starting on 1 September 2013 individuals aged 71 years or older were categorized into three groups on 1 September of each year: (1) an ineligible cohort of those aged 71 to 78 years (or 77 years who became eligible in the future; (2) a catch-up cohort consisting of individuals aged 79 years (or 78 years again depending on the year of the program); and (3) those who were ineligible as they were aged 80 years or older and who never became eligible especially in the first two eligibility cohorts took up the vaccination during their first year of eligibility (as opposed to during later years) and that vaccination uptake in these first two eligibility cohorts was of a similar magnitude which includes full electronic health record data for primary care visits linked to information on hospital-based care as well as the country’s death register data which begins in 1996 and includes primary and contributory causes of death from death certificates Dates for deaths were those on which the death was registered Cause-of-death data use ICD-9 coding until 2001 and ICD-10 coding thereafter This dataset was generated by the ONS from the 2011 UK Census for all usual residents aged 16 or over born in Wales between January 1925 and December 1950 The data were categorized by the ONS by sex month and year of birth (January 1925 to December 1950) highest level of qualification and occupation Ethics approval was granted by the Information Governance Review Panel (IGRP the IGRP oversees and approves applications to use the SAIL databank All analyses were approved and considered minimal risk by the Stanford University Institutional Review Board on 9 June 2023 (protocol number Our study population consisted of 296,603 individuals born between 1 September 1925 and 1 September 1942 who were registered with a primary care provider in Wales on the start date of the zoster vaccine program rollout (1 September 2013) As we only had access to the date of the Monday of the week in which an individual was born we were unable to determine whether the individuals born in the cut-off week starting on 28 August 1933 were eligible for the zoster vaccine in the first year of its rollout We therefore excluded 279 individuals born in this particular week 13,783 had a diagnosis of dementia before 1 September 2013 and were therefore excluded from the analyses with new diagnoses of dementia as outcome The size of our final analysis cohort for all primary analyses for new dementia diagnoses was therefore 282,541 This analysis cohort was used for all analyses except those with incidence of dementia before zoster vaccination program start shingles and postherpetic neuralgia as outcomes; analyses for which we did not exclude individuals with a dementia diagnosis before 1 September 2013 The two authors who analysed the data (M.E and M.X.) have coded all parts of the analysis independently resulting from different data coding choices we determined the effect of being eligible for the zoster vaccine (regardless of whether the individual actually received the vaccine) on our outcomes we estimated the following regression equation: where Yi is a binary variable equal to one if an individual experienced the outcome (for example The binary variable Di indicates eligibility for the zoster vaccine and is equal to one if an individual was born on or after the cut-off date of 2 September 1933 The term (WOBi − C0) indicates an individual’s week of birth centred around the cut-off date The interaction term Di × (WOBi − C0) allows for the slope of the regression line to differ on either side of the threshold The parameter β1 identifies the absolute effect of being eligible for the vaccine on the outcome we calculated these by dividing the absolute effect estimate β1 by the mean outcome just left of the date-of-birth eligibility threshold individuals who were born immediately after the date-of-birth eligibility threshold had a far higher probability of receiving the zoster vaccine compared with those born immediately before the threshold Other than the abrupt change in the probability of receiving the zoster vaccine there probably is no other difference in characteristics that affect the probability of our outcomes occurring between those born immediately after versus immediately before the date-of-birth eligibility threshold the indicator variable for the date-of-birth eligibility threshold is a valid instrumental variable to identify the causal effect of receipt of the zoster vaccine on our outcomes To compare the probability of experiencing the outcome between those who actually received the zoster vaccine versus those who did not the instrumental variable estimation scales the effect size for being eligible for the zoster vaccine by the size of the abrupt change in the probability of receiving the vaccine at the date-of-birth eligibility threshold The size of the jump is estimated through the following first-stage regression equation: where Vi is a binary variable indicating whether the individual received the zoster vaccine and θ1 identifies the discontinuous increase in vaccine receipt at the date-of-birth eligibility threshold. All other parameters are the same as in regression (1) The CACE estimated by rescaling the effect of eligibility with the first-stage effect from equation (2) can be represented as an IV estimate for μ1 from the following second-stage regression: where \({\hat{V}}_{i}\) is the predicted probability of zoster vaccine receipt obtained from the first-stage estimation from equation (2) represents the (absolute) average causal effect of receiving the vaccine among compliers patients who take up the vaccine if and only if they are eligible Our analysis can only be confounded if the confounding variable changes abruptly at the 2 September 1933 date-of-birth eligibility threshold such that individuals very close to either side of this threshold would no longer be exchangeable with each other The most plausible scenario of such a confounding variable would be the existence of an intervention that used the exact same date-of-birth eligibility threshold as the zoster vaccine rollout and that also affected the probability of a dementia diagnosis during our follow-up period We conducted five analyses to demonstrate that the existence of such an intervention is unlikely by establishing that measures of outcomes and behaviours that would be affected by such an intervention are smooth across the date-of-birth eligibility cut-off As is the case for balance tables in clinical trials these plots provide reassurance that individuals close to either side of the 2 September 1933 eligibility threshold are likely to be exchangeable with each other we conducted the same analysis as we did for individuals with birthdays on either side of the 2 September 1933 threshold also for people with birthdays around 2 September of each of the three years of birth preceding and succeeding 1933 when moving the start date of the program to 1 September 2011 we started the follow-up period on 1 September 2011 and compared individuals around the 2 September 1931 eligibility threshold To ensure the same length of follow-up in each of these comparisons we had to reduce the follow-up period to 5 years for this set of analyses we shifted the start date of the program to 1 September of each of the six years preceding (but not succeeding) 2013 which enabled us to maintain the same seven-year follow-up period as in our primary analysis If another intervention that affects dementia risk also used the 2 September threshold to define eligibility we may then expect to observe effects on dementia incidence for these comparisons of individuals just around the 2 September thresholds of other birth years we conducted the identical comparison of individuals around the 2 September 1933 date-of-birth threshold as in our primary analysis except for starting the follow-up period 7 years before the start of the zoster vaccine program rollout If there was an intervention that used the 2 September 1933 date-of-birth eligibility threshold but was implemented before the rollout of the zoster vaccine program then we may expect to see an effect of the September 1933 threshold on dementia incidence in this analysis We additionally used a difference-in-differences instrumental variable approach (DID-IV) to confirm the findings from our regression discontinuity design because in contrast to the regression discontinuity analysis this approach does not rely on the continuity assumption (that is the assumption that potential confounding variables do not abruptly change at precisely the date-of-birth eligibility threshold for the zoster vaccine program) we restricted our sample to patients born between 1 March 1926 and 28 February 1934 We then divided our sample into yearly cohorts centred around 1 September (that is a cohort is all patients born between 1 March of one year and 28 February of the following year) we divided each yearly cohort into a pre-September birth season and a post-September birth season Using a difference-in-differences approach we then compared the outcome (new diagnoses of dementia) between patients born in pre- and post-September birth seasons and across yearly cohorts we tested whether the difference in outcomes across birth seasons is different for the 1933/1934 cohort than for the other cohorts we exploit the fact that zoster vaccination eligibility only differs between the two birth seasons in the 1933/1934-cohort but not in other cohorts while accounting for the possibility that pre-September and post-September birth seasons may be systematically different for other reasons we find that the between-birth-season differences in vaccine uptake diverge only in the 1933/1934 birth cohort The absence of a between-birth-season difference in other birth cohorts supports the validity of our DID assumption To estimate the CACE in this DID-IV framework we used two-stage least-squares regression we identify the vaccine uptake due to the exogeneous change in vaccination eligibility by the following regression equation: where Vi is a binary variable indicating patient i actually received the zoster vaccine Si and Ci are binary variables indicating that patient i is born in the post-September birth season and in the 1933/1934 birth cohort γ identifies the vaccine uptake due to the change in eligibility we estimate the effect of vaccine receipt by the following regression: where Yi is the outcome of patient i. \({\widehat{V}}_{i}\) is the probability of vaccine receipt predicted from the first-stage regression (4) we verified that our results are similar when using a local second-order polynomial specification instead of local linear regression We conducted four analyses to examine this potential effect mechanism the first three of which are described in detail in the main text The fourth analysis was an event study that focused on the date of a shingles diagnosis during the follow-up period Our event study compared the mean outcome in each month relative to the month before the date of the shingles diagnosis Our regression model controls for changes over time (such as due to ageing of the study population or seasonal patterns in healthcare provider visits) using month-level fixed effects we restricted our study population to those 56,098 individuals born within the MSE-optimal bandwidth of our primary regression discontinuity analysis for dementia We then aggregated our event-level data into monthly longitudinal data For each outcome of interest (as described in the main text) we then estimated the following event-study regression: where Yit is the outcome of interest for individual i in period t; shingles is a binary variable equal to one if the individual was diagnosed with shingles during the follow-up period; Dk are indicator variables for the k months before and after the shingles diagnosis (with k = −36 and set to zero for individuals who were never diagnosed with shingles during the follow-up period); γk are the coefficients of interest which capture the difference in the outcome in month k relative to the month before the shingles diagnosis; ηi is an individual-level fixed effect capturing time-invariant differences across individuals; and λt is a month-level fixed effect We used standard errors that allowed for clustering at the individual level The largest bandwidth that achieved balance across all variables was 54.4 weeks to explore whether experiencing recurrent shingles episodes was associated with a higher risk of dementia than having only a single episode we used the same study population as in our analysis for treated versus untreated shingles We matched individuals (via 1:1 propensity score matching) who had more than one shingles diagnosis (with the diagnosis dates having to be at least three months apart) after 1 January 2000 to individuals who only received a single shingles diagnosis after 1 January 2000 We matched individuals on proximity in the date of their first shingles diagnosis as well as the same list of baseline variables as for our analysis of treated versus untreated shingles and forced an exact match on week of birth and gender we used the date of the second shingles diagnosis of the individual with more than one shingles diagnosis as the start date of the follow-up period we then regressed new diagnoses of dementia made during the follow-up period onto whether or not the individual had received more than one shingles diagnosis we again required that a new diagnosis of dementia must have been made at least 12 months after the start date of the follow-up period To estimate the treatment effect heterogeneities described under this section in the main text we fully interacted our fuzzy regression discontinuity model with a binary variable that indicates having the condition in question (for example the fully interacted model was specified as: Yi is a binary variable equal to 1 if an individual was newly diagnosed with dementia during the follow-up period The binary variable Vi indicates receipt of the zoster vaccine The binary variable Di indicates eligibility for the zoster vaccine (that is The term WOBi − c0 indicates an individual’s week of birth centred around the date-of-birth eligibility threshold The interaction term Di × (WOBi − c0) allows for the slope of the regression line to differ on either side of the date-of-birth eligibility threshold The binary variable HETi is equal to one if an individual had the condition in question Adding the terms (WOBi − c0) × HETi and Di × (WOBi − c0) × HETi allows the slopes to vary by this condition Vi and Vi × HETi are instrumented by Di and Di × HETi Using the two-stage least-squares approach the parameter β4 identifies the effect heterogeneity the difference in CACE on the outcome between patients with and without the condition β1 and β1 + β4 identify the effect among compliers in the reference and comparison group The estimates of the effects and heterogeneity are reported in absolute terms To be consistent with our primary fuzzy regression discontinuity model (that is we used local linear triangular kernel regressions and the MSE-optimal bandwidth from the primary model of the respective outcome Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article uploading the package (SQL and R scripts) to the SAIL Gateway through the secure file upload process and executing the scripts in the Gateway environment The viral hypothesis: how herpesviruses may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease Viral hypothesis and antiviral treatment in Alzheimer’s disease The antimicrobial protection hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease Anti-herpetic tau preserves neurons via the cGAS-STING-TBK1 pathway in Alzheimer’s disease Implications of non-specific effects for testing The non-specific and sex-differential effects of vaccines Vaccination and all-cause child mortality from 1985 to 2011: global evidence from the Demographic and Health Surveys Michalik, F. et al. The effect of herpes zoster vaccination on the occurrence of deaths due to dementia in England and Wales. 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GBD Compare vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation A new method of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: development and validation Zoster vaccine: current status and future prospects A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults A review of evidence for pneumococcal vaccination in adults at increased risk of pneumococcal disease: risk group definitions and optimization of vaccination coverage in the United Kingdom Risk of herpes zoster in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases: implications for vaccination Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a meta-analysis Chronic medical conditions as risk factors for herpes zoster Risk factors for herpes zoster: a systematic review and meta-analysis A proposed classification of the immunological diseases Targeting key proximal drivers of type 2 inflammation in disease Sex differences in vaccine-induced humoral immunity Sex and gender differences in Alzheimer’s disease: current challenges and implications for clinical practice: position paper of the Dementia and Cognitive Disorders Panel of the European Academy of Neurology Varicella zoster virus vasculopathy: a treatable form of rapidly progressive multi-infarct dementia after 2 years’ duration Successful antiviral treatment after 6years of chronic progressive neurological disease attributed to VZV brain infection Targeted RNA sequencing of VZV-infected brain vascular adventitial fibroblasts indicates that amyloid may be involved in VZV vasculopathy The varicella zoster virus vasculopathies: clinical Varicella zoster virus vasculopathy: analysis of virus-infected arteries Varicella-zoster virus vasculopathy: immune characteristics of virus-infected arteries The overlap between vascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease-lessons from pathology Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and cognitive outcomes in community-based older persons Potential involvement of varicella zoster virus in Alzheimer’s disease via reactivation of quiescent herpes simplex virus type 1 Do vaccinations influence the development of Alzheimer disease The SAIL Databank: building a national architecture for e-health research and evaluation A case study of the Secure Anonymous Information Linkage (SAIL) Gateway: a privacy-protecting remote access system for health-related research and evaluation The SAIL databank: linking multiple health and social care datasets Protecting health data privacy while using residence-based environment and demographic data Residential Anonymous Linking Fields (RALFs): a novel information infrastructure to study the interaction between the environment and individuals’ health Welsh Demographic Service Dataset (WDSD) web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/cea328df-abe5-48fb-8bcb-c0a5b6377446# (Digital Health and Care Wales Welsh Longitudinal General Practice Dataset (WLGP)—Welsh Primary Care web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/33fc3ffd-aa4c-4a16-a32f-0c900aaea3d2 (SAIL Databank The history of the Read Codes: the inaugural James Read Memorial Lecture 2011 Patient Episode Database for Wales dhcw.nhs.wales/information-services/health-intelligence/pedw-data-online/ (Digital Health and Care Wales ICD-10: International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems: Tenth Revision apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42980 (WHO Outpatient Database for Wales (OPDW) web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/d331159b-b286-4ab9-8b36-db39123ec229 (Digital Health and Care Wales Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU) phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/ (Public Health Wales Annual District Death Extract (ADDE) web.www.healthdatagateway.org/dataset/15cf4241-abad-4dcc-95b0-8cd7c02be999 (Digital Health and Care Wales Herpes zoster-associated mortality in Europe: a systematic review Stoltenberg, E. A. Regression discontinuity design with right-censored survival data. Preprint at arxiv.org/abs/2210.02548 (2022) 2022 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures Attributable risk of Alzheimer’s dementia attributed to age-related neuropathologies Person-specific contribution of neuropathologies to cognitive loss in old age A comprehensive history of regression discontinuity designs: an empirical survey of the last 60 years Gelman, A. & Imbens, G. Why high-order polynomials should not be used in regression discontinuity designs. J. Bus. Econ. Stat. https://doi.org/10.1080/07350015.2017.1366909 (2017) Optimal bandwidth choice for the regression discontinuity estimator Robust nonparametric confidence intervals for regression-discontinuity designs Regression discontinuity designs: a guide to practice Regression discontinuity designs in epidemiology: causal inference without randomized trials Inference in regression discontinuity designs with a discrete running variable Simple and honest confidence intervals in nonparametric regression Mediation analysis: a practitioner’s guide Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing Autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular risk: a population-based study on 19 autoimmune diseases and 12 cardiovascular diseases in 22 million individuals in the UK Usage of allergy codes in primary care electronic health records: a national evaluation in Scotland Xie, M. et al. A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia. Preprint at https://osf.io/cfnr6/?view_only=d3774e4fda2649e2b2031431b1234874 (2025) Download references This study makes use of anonymized data held in the SAIL Databank We thank the members of the SAIL Databank analytical services team for continuous advice and support throughout all stages of the project We acknowledge all the data providers who made anonymized data available for research The responsibility for the interpretation of the data supplied by SAIL is that of the authors alone SAIL bears no responsibility for the further analysis or interpretation of their data by The Phil & Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute the National Institute on Aging (R01AG084535) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (DP2AI171011) and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub–San Francisco These authors contributed equally: Markus Eyting Division of Primary Care and Population Health Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH) Vienna University of Economics and Business Department of Epidemiology and Population Health The Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute wrote the Methods section of the original draft and reviewed and edited the original draft was responsible for administration and supervision interpreted the results and wrote the original draft The authors declare no competing interests reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations All Read and ICD-10 codes used throughout the analysis Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08800-x Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Policy in Practice analysis shows twice as many people affected in north-east north-west and Wales than in London and south-east A £5bn programme of disability benefits cuts planned by the UK government will disproportionately hit people living in Wales and northern England “entrenching deprivation” The consultancy Policy in Practice has looked at how the proposed changes would affect individual regions and local authorities and found the impact across the UK starkly uneven The research shows that north-east England north-west England and Wales would be the hardest hit suffering three times the economic impact and with twice as many affected residents as London and the south-east Hartlepool and Blackpool “face economic costs around five times the national average” nearly one in 10 of the population will be affected said local authority leaders needed to understand how people in their areas would be affected to prepare for rising service demand and to protect the people most at risk “These reforms will have an uneven impact on different parts of the country,” he said “Some parts of the country will get a double whammy because they have a smaller economy and will lose a larger share of it “One of the reasons they have a smaller economy is that they have more people impacted so the proposals have a serious risk of entrenching existing patterns of deprivation.” The government’s controversial benefit changes include tightening the criteria for personal independence payments (Pip) for people with disabilities to limit the number of people who can claim it Policy in Practice estimates that the planned reforms will affect about 2.9 million people It says that by the end of this parliament 8,000 people are expected to lose Pip worth between £3,800 and £5,700 Ministers have said the changes are essential to overhaul a “broken benefits system” that denies job and skills support to ill and disabled people who can work. But they have struggled to persuade many MPs that the cuts are not simply crude budget savings aimed at the worst-off The Policy in Practice analysis finds that in north-east England nearly 170,000 people will be affected (6.2% of the population) and the wider financial impact will be £400m lost nearly 190,000 people will be affected (6.1% of the population) with £470m lost nearly 430,000 people will be affected (5.7%) with over £1bn lost The analysis lists the 10 most affected local authorities, with nine of those in the north-east, north-west and Wales The financial impact of the cuts and the number of people affected is far higher in these areas than others “Together this means that deprived areas that have more people on disability benefits who risk losing out also see a greater proportionate impact – impact that hits an already struggling economy “These reforms will work against efforts to level up local economies unless the cuts to disability benefits are replaced by other forms of investment.” More than 3m UK households will be hit by the changes to disability and incapacity benefits starting from next year Official estimates forecast 250,000 people A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “As part of our Plan for Change we’re creating a sustainable welfare system that delivers proper support to help sick and disabled people into work “This is on top of our Get Britain Working white paper which set out the biggest employment reforms in a generation – backed by £240m – working across government and with our mayors to drive up employment and opportunity and grow the economy.” We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK remember your settings and improve government services We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services You have accepted additional cookies. 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You can change your cookie settings at any time Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports Final preparations are underway for a multinational deployment led by the Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales reaffirming the UK’s commitment to the security of the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific while providing an opportunity to promote British trade and industry Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is scheduled to sail from Portsmouth on 22 April where it will proceed to join a formation of warships before departing for the Mediterranean where it will conduct exercises to reinforce European security Around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy and 592 from the Royal Air Force will be involved in the eight-month deployment which will see the group sail through the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises and port visits with partners including the US They will be joined by around 900 personnel from the British Army for exercises during the deployment provides an opportunity for the UK’s Armed Forces to conduct a major global deployment and a chance to exercise complex operations alongside partners and allies in the region with 12 other nations supporting the deployment with ships or personnel The Indo-Pacific is a critical region for UK trade with imports and exports in the region worth billions of pounds for the UK economy and the deployment will provide a chance for UK companies to take part in trade events during port visits Trade between the UK and Indo-Pacific accounted for 17% of total trade between the UK and all trading partners in the 12 months to September 2024 with the total amount traded in goods and services between the UK and Indo-Pacific standing at £286 billion in the same period As the biggest class of ship in the Royal Navy the flight decks of HMS Prince of Wales and her sister ship are roughly the size of three football pitches and defended by advanced weapons A maritime strike force of this size is composed of multiple types of ship I want to thank the thousands of our Armed Forces personnel involved in the delivery of this immensely complex operation demonstrating the UK’s world-leading capability to deploy a major military force around the world This is a unique opportunity for the UK to operate in close coordination with our partners and allies in a deployment that not only shows our commitment to security and stability but also provides an opportunity to bolster our own economy and boost British trade and exports As one of only a handful of countries in the world able to lead a deployment of this scale the Royal Navy is once again demonstrating its formidable capability while protecting British values and sending a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary Of the 12 other nations supporting the deployment Norway will provide a warship to support the carrier strike group for the entire duration of the deployment Canada and Spain are among the other nations providing support to the deployment After its complement of up to 24 Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning fighter jets is embarked on board HMS Prince of Wales the group will initially be placed under NATO command as it joins Exercise Neptune Strike – testing the Alliance’s ability to use high-end maritime strike capabilities including multiple aircraft carrier and amphibious strike groups The group will transit though the Indian Ocean conducting exercises and port visits with partners including the US before joining 19 partner nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia and then training alongside the Japanese Self Defence Forces and conducting a port visit to India Through this deployment of our Carrier Strike Group and 4,000 Service Personnel we will stand firm with our allies against those who challenge the international order Reminding the world that the security of the Euro Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are fundamentally indivisible This isn’t just about hard power; it’s about building influence and opening new trade opportunities both for defence and other sectors of our economy which will deliver British jobs and growth This deployment follows the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP demonstrating this Government’s commitment to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad Following the inaugural deployment in 2021 the Carrier Strike Group 2025 highlights the strength of the UK’s leadership in seeking to uphold stability in the Indo-Pacific This has been bolstered by the Royal Navy’s persistent presence in the region through HMS Spey and HMS Tamar as well as the landmark Global Combat Air Programme collaboration Keeping the country safe is the Government’s first priority and is the foundation of its Plan for Change capability and global reach of the Royal Navy is critical to the security and stability of the UK supporting the delivery of the Government’s five missions Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution Burning wood at home adds more particle pollution to the UK’s air than the exhausts of all of the vehicles on its roads but there is very little information on where this burning takes place and who is most affected To address this knowledge gap, researchers have produced the first high-resolution map of wood burning in England and Wales Dr Laura Horsfall, from University College London, said: “We began investigating domestic wood burning after our earlier study identified rising rates of lung cancer in non-smokers living in affluent areas of the UK This raised important questions about potential exposure to carcinogens from wood smoke as the use of wood fuel for home heating has increased in recent years.” The researchers found that the spatial density of burners determines the amount of air pollution that builds up in neighbourhoods on winter evenings The density of wood burners was greatest in urban areas outside the major cities Cambridge and Hastings councils had more than 100 wood burners per square kilometre In separate research on 6,900 preschool children in New Zealand the spatial density of solid-fuel heating was also associated with an increased risk of emergency hospital admissions Horsfall said: “The sharp contrasts across small urban areas were particularly striking was the high concentration of wood burners in smoke-control areas.” In Sheffield the greatest density of burners was found in the west of the city, and in Greater Manchester it was mainly around Stockport and Trafford. All these are smoke-control areas, raising questions about their effectiveness Combining the home energy data with data on deprivation reveals that wood burning is overwhelmingly a pastime of those in the wealthiest areas Most people had other forms of heating available The certificates also revealed a steady increase in homes with a wood burner since 2009 Horsfall said: “We’re in a situation similar to what happened with diesel cars where we were encouraged to use an apparently environmentally friendly option only to later discover its unanticipated impact on air quality.” This article was amended on 18 April 2025 An earlier version stated that burning wood at home adds more particle pollution to the air than vehicles on the roads; however this should have said the exhausts of the vehicles Met Office expects a month’s worth of rain in 48 hours to end warm and dry spell A month’s worth of rain is expected to fall on parts of the UK within 48 hours as the good weather the country has basked in for weeks comes to a soggy end Western England and the whole of Wales have been warned of possible flooding as the Easter weekend approaches The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain beginning at noon on Tuesday and lasting for 24 hours advising that there could be transport disruption flooding of homes and businesses and a chance of power cuts Spray and flooding on roads could make journey times longer and there may be delays on bus and train services Areas within the zone include popular holiday spots in Cornwall and Devon as well as Bristol The Met Office said: “Whilst there is some uncertainty in where the heaviest rain will fall A few places may see 50-75 mm of rain during this period.” By Tuesday evening 36mm (1.4in) had fallen in Culdrose in Cornwall in 24 hours and 30mm in Milford Haven in south-west Wales The east of England did not completely escape By the end of Wednesday as much as 75mm was expected to have fallen in some areas of west Wales over 48 hours – about the same as the average for the whole of April Wind was also expected to be an issue on Wednesday with very strong gusts hitting parts of the south coast of England and 50mph flurries inland A yellow warning was in place for Northern Ireland for much of Wednesday where up to 60mm of rain was predicted over the high ground of Antrim and Down After weeks of fine weather for many parts of the UK the Met Office said low pressure was leading to unsettled conditions said: “After a long spell of high pressure bringing dry weather and sunshine gloomier and unsettled conditions are on the horizon Low pressure has become established to the west of the UK rain showers and lower temperatures for many “More persistent and heavy rain is expected on Tuesday into early Wednesday A low-pressure system near Portugal is of particular interest as it moves towards the UK bringing with it potentially heavy rain and thunderstorms with further wet conditions anticipated on Thursday and another weather front moving in on Friday.” In England, the Environment Agency had nine flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in place on Tuesday afternoon The Environment Agency was monitoring the River Mimram where the persistent rain in December and January has led to high groundwater levels It said there may be risk of flooding there to very low-lying properties is due to bring strong winds and rough seas to parts of the Mediterranean this week where over 200mm (8in) may fall by Thursday giving a risk of flash flooding and landslides Temperatures in the UK are likely to be around average for the time of year The AA issued an amber warning for traffic for the Easter weekend. It said more than 19m journeys were expected on Good Friday and more than 18m on Easter Monday. Only Wrexham and Cardiff City have won more Welsh Cups than The New Saints The New Saints came from behind to beat holders Connah's Quay Nomads 2-1 to win the JD Welsh Cup Final and complete the domestic treble for the first time in 10 years Nomads started the final at Newport's Rodney Parade with only 10 players after an error in naming the team but were ahead inside seven minutes. Midfielder Declan Poole scored his first of the season following a great piece of skill from Everton academy product Rhys Hughes. But Saints responded and, although Adam Wilson's goal was harshly overturned for a pull on the shirt of Nomads defender Kris Owen, they were level on 17 minutes. Nomads captain John Disney brought down Jordan Williams 25 yards from his goal, and Rory Holden curled a free-kick into the top corner. Eight minutes into the second half a Jordan Williams header from Danny Redmond's cross gave the Cymru Premier champions the lead. Connah's Quay would create a flurry of half-chances for the remainder of the game but TNS would do enough to see the game out and win a 10th Welsh Cup, equalling Swansea City's tally, with only Cardiff City and Wrexham having more. Having already qualified for the Uefa Champions League by winning the league, TNS' win means that second-placed Penybont will play in next season's Europa Conference League qualifiers. Caernarfon will play Cardiff Met on Sunday, with the winners playing Haverfordwest seven days later to decide who gets the third and final European place. The New Saints manager Craig Harrison told BBC Sport Wales: "Connah's Quay made it difficult, they always are and where they finished in the league is completely false. They've got good coaches, good players and good people behind the scenes. "They've got some real men in that changing room. We knew it was always going to be tough. "I'm not giving Connah's Quay any disservice but I don't think there's many teams in the league who could go toe-to-toe with us playing football. "They won it last year by doing something similar, we weren't great and we ended up losing. "But today I thought we were a bit more of ourselves – we still got drawn in a little bit – but overall we got over the line and deservedly so." Newtown's 3-2 defeat at home by already-relegated Aberystwyth in April saw them also drop out of the Cymru Premier Aberystwyth Town and Newtown will have new managers next season as they adjust to life outside the JD Cymru Premier Both clubs had been ever presents in the league since its formation in 1992 but the two mid Wales clubs will be in tier two next season Antonio Corbisiero returned to Aberystwyth to replace Anthony Williams in November 2024 The Seasiders did reach the final of the Nathaniel MG Cup but ultimately Corbisiero could not save the club from relegation "I'd like to thank everybody at the club for the opportunity of leading the team in the fight for survival this season," Corbisiero it wasn't to be and I'm gutted for everybody involved that relegation was the outcome "My thanks go to the fans who have been with us all the way — especially the incredible support at the Cup Final in February "It'd be fantastic to see that support week in week out next season for a new manager to help get this club back to the JD Cymru Premier." Where Aberystwyth will play next season - JD Cymru North or JD Cymru South - remains unclear with the Ceredigion club waiting on the licensing processes for tiers two and three Newtown had sacked manager Callum McKenzie with two games of the league season remaining and before their fate had been decided Craig Williams took charge of those final two games but Newtown were relegated in their penultimate game defeat at home by already-doomed Aberystwyth The Robins have acted quickly to make a new appointment with former Guislfield boss Nathan Leonard who had been Newtown assistant – an experienced manager at tier two level – now in charge ambitious plan for how he wants to develop the team both on and off the pitch," Newtown chairman Nick Evans said "His values align closely with the club's identity and aspirations and we're confident he is the right person to lead us in the next chapter of our journey." 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Chris Marriott walked out with the Connah's Quay Nomads team but was not on the pitch when the final kicked off Connah's Quay Nomads kicked off the JD Welsh Cup final against The New Saints with only 10 men after making an error naming the team The cup holders had mistakenly named the injured Kai Edwards in their starting line-up and wanted to replace him with Chris Marriott But Marriott had not been initially included among the substitutes and Saints objected to him being named in Nomads' starting side Nomads instead had to name substitute goalkeeper Jon Rushton in the starting line-up with Marriott added to the bench Rushton did not take his place on the pitch at Newport's Rodney Parade and remained on the bench with Nomads opting to start with only 10 players When the ball went out of play inside the opening minute Nomads made the substitution which saw Marriott Nomads went ahead through Declan Poole but The New Saints came back to win 2-1 to complete the domestic Welsh treble Midfielder Joe Allen has made almost 600 club appearances and won 77 caps for Wales Joe Allen once said that he wished he could have worn an invisibility cloak throughout his career such was his unease about the attention that comes with being an elite footballer The midfielder made the comment during a conversation he had recorded for a podcast with his good friend and former Wales and Swansea City team-mate Owain Tudur Jones That was a rare insight into Allen's innermost thoughts Although he is approachable and a thoughtful the 35-year-old prefers the quiet life to the one his sporting gifts have bestowed upon him But it is difficult to shun the limelight completely when Gareth Bale – Wales' greatest player of all in most people's eyes – describes you as a "legend" A central figure in Wales' golden age combative constant as his country soared to dizzying new heights with their inspiring ascent to the Euro 2016 semi-finals The midfielder was named in Uefa's team of the tournament in France and then helped Wales qualify for the next European Championship as well as a first World Cup in 64 years "I'm incredibly proud," Allen says "To be part of this group and era that have had many great times has been a privilege "The team-mates and staff I've worked with have made it incredibly special The support both for club and country in my career has been exceptional as well." Wales and Swansea midfielder Allen retires 'When you're 35 you're only getting worse' - Allen Allen reflects on his career in the same way he played – selfless He was more than a cog in the machine; his technical quality on the ball set the tone for his teams as much as his tenacity without possession That is why Brendan Rodgers took the then 22-year-old he had dubbed 'The Welsh Xavi' with him from Swansea to Liverpool in 2012 Allen would make more than 100 appearances for the Reds and then later the club he had supported as a boy and joined as a nine-year-old Allen's hero status was already secured having been part of the Swans team promoted to the Premier League a decade earlier but his second spell was hindered by injury Allen's game-time gradually decreased as his powers waned he had the self-awareness to know when the time was right to retire "Getting older and the physical demands the punishment that the body's gone through already and staying fit since coming back has been an issue," Allen says "It's not going to get any easier It's been a dream to come back and have three years at this club I haven't been able to play or give as much I wanted but it's been a pleasure to come back and I'm looking forward to a home game to wrap up this season and my career." Swansea's final game of the Championship season at home to Oxford United on Saturday will be Allen's last but there will be no such curtain call with Wales Allen had retired from international football in the wake of Wales' group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup only to be persuaded to reverse his decision last year by head coach Craig Bellamy not only as a player but as a role model for the younger members of his squad These conversations are tough to have but he was nothing but supportive," Allen says about the moment when he told Bellamy he would be retiring permanently "I thanked him for everything he's done for me I played with him as a team-mate and also had him as a manager and learned a lot from him from both sides I'll always be grateful for him giving me the opportunity to come back to the squad "He had some really important advice I'll certainly be using once retirement happens." Gareth Bale (left) and Neil Taylor helped Wales beat Belgium 3-1 in their momentous Euro 2016 quarter-final Bellamy had said he wanted to give Allen the "fairytale ending" his Wales career deserved He was at least given a rapturous welcome by his adoring fans when he came on as a substitute against Montenegro last October his first international appearance for nearly two years he was no longer the force he once was for his country A rare misplaced pass against North Macedonia in March almost consigned Wales to a last-gasp defeat in their World Cup qualifier only for David Brooks to equalise even deeper into added time now able to laugh at what was a "depressing" moment at the time "The team dug me out of a big hole by equalising it was great to come back and pull on the shirt again." Brooks said in his post-match interviews that he and his team-mates were even more determined to level the game so the "legend" Allen was not blamed for defeat Even though Wales were able to salvage a draw in Skopje it is a little sad that Allen was not able to bid farewell on home soil he had avoided such fanfare when he first announced his international retirement the aim was to qualify for the 2026 World Cup but My instinct told me I wasn't going to get there," he says it wasn't going to be at the level I wanted to be representing my country at a World Cup." No World Cup final act and no swansong this summer as Allen did not entertain the idea of making Wales' next game - a qualifier at home to Liechtenstein in June - a personal send-off "I think it would have complicated things in many ways to have played my last club game and then turn up for international football," he says "A tough choice but one I think made sense." And so when Wales return to Cardiff City Stadium in June they will be beginning life after Joe Allen once again A nation will show its appreciation for one of its greats but he will not be on the pitch to soak up the adulation For a man who wanted the anonymity of invisibility during his stellar career A 61-year-old man has been taken to hospital in a critical condition following a serious assault. It happened outside The Church Inn, Old St Mellons, Cardiff, in the early hours of Saturday. South Wales Police said is was looking for a 28-year-old suspect in connection with the incident. Det Sgt Laura Slocombe, from Rumney CID, said: "We know there were people in the vicinity of the incident when it happened. If they haven't spoken to officers, they are urged to get in touch. The suspect involved also knows we are looking for him and he is urged to hand himself in to a police station." Winter fuel cuts were factor at elections, says minister Germany's Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor Conclave: How Vatican keeps its papal vote secret Experience the VE Day flypast from inside a Red Arrows cockpit in 360 video Deliveroo deal shows UK still can't hang on to big firms Americans used to be steadfast in their support for Israel. Those days are gone Attenborough at 99 delivers 'greatest message he's ever told' 'I'm an NHS dentist who took on 4,000 new patients - now I can't afford to treat them' VE Day moments so far - and what's still to come Future Earth newsletter: Get exclusive insight on the latest climate news from Justin Rowlatt Your first look at the new series hosted by Dannii Minogue A story of love, loss and hope in the face of disaster Solid gold, six armed robbers and an audacious heist The ultimate crash course in interior design is back Visa applications for some nationalities could be restricted Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on Moscow days before WW2 parade From lathering mustard and lard on your chest to onion water and old sweaty socks BBC archive footage from 1959 captures how people conquered the flu before modern medicine Alan Whicker and Fyfe Robertson took to the streets to hear people's tips with some saying they sweat it out while another advised to just "get on with it" "Just don't be languid and hang about just get out of it and work it off yourself," one man said adding: "I've still got it now and I'm still about" ShareSaveMan recalls moment car turned into 'ball of flames'Tony Johnson pulled a driver from a burning car after a crash with two vehicles in Bodfari. Watch: Labour MP criticises gender ideology 'damage'Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi says Welsh government and others were "captured" by LGBT charities. Race Across the World 'much harder than we thought'Sioned Cray and Fin Gough thought they were prepared for the challenge of the reality TV show. Party time in Merthyr as Martyrs clinch promotionThe fan-owned club won the Southern Premier League South title with victory at Penydarren Park. Paddleboard tour victims' families pay tributeFour people died after paddleboarding in "extremely hazardous conditions" on the River Cleddau. Judge sentences river death paddleboard firm ownerWatch as a judge sentences Nerys Bethan Lloyd for the gross negligence manslaughter of four people. Footage shows firm owner at paddleboard death sceneWatch as Nerys Bethan Lloyd tells police what happened during a fatal paddleboarding incident. 'He was a great listener to everyone'Bishop of Wrexham Peter Brignall and Mark O'Toole, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia, pay their respects. Watch as stranded dog rescued from cliff edgeEmber became stuck after chasing after a ball while out walking along a coastal path with her owner. Dangerous driver involved in 'shocking' crashSwansea Crown Court heard that Peter Gilmore had 44 previous convictions for 104 offences. Watch: Life raising a toddler with 'butterfly skin'Protecting Albi's skin is a daily battle for parents as it can blister or tear from any friction. Watch: 'Disgusting' vandalism of owl sanctuaryOwl sanctuary toilets targeted by vandals. Watch the moment thieves take charity truckOasis Cardiff, which supports refugees and asylum seekers, says the truck was crucial to its work. Watch: Can you spot a fake football shirt?Vintage football shirt expert, Daniel Rees, explains how to keep your money safe from fakes. How a Welsh uni helps F1 star reach top speedFormula One season favourite Lando Norris is put through his paces at Swansea University. 'Blaring' wildfire burns close to homes Crews have been battling wildfires across Wales, with firefighters described as "on their knees". Watch: E-bike riders caught using police drone Police in Newport use a surveillance drone to spot a group of e-bikers on city streets. Rugby fans react to Cardiff administration newsThe Welsh Rugby Union is in line to take over the regional side. Watch: Massive wildfire filmed from aboveFirefighters are striving to get a huge blaze under control after it started four days ago. Crews battle wildfires for third day Crews were called to three different fire fronts on Tuesday afternoon. says it was a "really magical" experience She has seen hedgehogs and "the occasional fox" but never an otter in the two years she has lived there Kerry said it was "absolutely magic" to have an otter in the pond and she hopes to see it again soon ShareSaveDrone footage captures fire at 19th Century churchMore than 20 firefighters tackled the fire at the 18th Century church. CCTV shows head attacking love rival teacher with wrenchAnthony Felton is jailed for attacking his friend and colleague in his office at school. Man recalls moment car turned into 'ball of flames'Tony Johnson pulled a driver from a burning car after a crash with two vehicles in Bodfari. appeared to be in distress on the shoreline near Aberystwyth Pier A HM Coastguard crew and members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were sent to the scene on Friday afternoon to assist and advise the public Porbeagle sharks can grow up to 11ft (3.5m) long and are regular visitors to the UK coast although are usually found in deeper water "Porbeagles are not naturally aggressive towards humans though there are reports of people being bitten when trying to help them back to sea," said BDMLR Joe Allen: 'When you're 35 you're only getting worse' Swansea City and Wales midfielder Joe Allen is to retire after Saturday's final game of the Championship season is out of contract at Swansea this summer and has opted to call time on a career in which he has made almost 600 club appearances and won 77 international caps He was one of the key figures in the most successful period in the history of Wales' men's team playing at three major tournaments and establishing himself as one of the nation's finest players Allen's club career started and finished with boyhood club Swansea while he also spent four years at Liverpool and six years with Stoke City and had a brief spell on loan at Wrexham as a teenager This is not something I've taken lightly I've spent a lot of time pondering it," said Allen Reluctant hero Allen bids quiet but proud farewell 'I understand the Pirlo comparison now' I wasn't sure how the last few weeks would go but it's actually been a good spell really The Swans host Oxford United in their final match of the Championship season which will also be the last game of Allen's career "I've had a chance to reflect and take it all in I'm really looking forward to what's going to be my last game on Saturday," he added I didn't think I'd be sat here playing as many games as I have for clubs I have done at that level and for Wales as well "I've been incredibly fortunate and as I've reflected over the last few weeks very grateful and thankful to everyone who has has helped me on my way to have these amazing experiences." Allen's retirement is likely to come as a disappointment to Wales head coach Craig Bellamy, who brought the Pembrokeshire-born player out of international retirement after taking charge last year Allen had originally halted his Wales career in February 2023 Wales ended a 64-year wait to play at the World Cup in Qatar but the tournament was a disappointment for Robert Page's side as they went out at the group stage Allen started Wales' final game in the competition having returned after a long-term injury lay-off in their second group match against Iran and most memorably at the 2016 European Championship including three after coming out of international retirement in 2024 Allen was one of the stars of what proved to be a golden summer as Chris Coleman's side reached the semi-finals of Wales' first major tournament since 1958 Allen won his first Wales cap in 2009 having come through the ranks at Swansea where he made his league debut as a 16-year-old in 2007 He helped Swansea win the League One title in his full season then played a central role as they became the first Welsh club to win promotion to the Premier League in 2011 After a year in the top flight with Swansea Allen followed manager Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool in a £15m deal in 2012 and was part of the side which came close to ending the Reds' wait for a Premier League title in 2014 Allen played more than 200 games for the Potters staying with the club despite relegation to the Championship in 2018 before opting to rejoin Swansea when his contract expired in 2022 While he has had various injury issues since returning to Wales Allen remained an important figure when fit to play as well as being continually hailed for his influence away from the pitch He made just short of 250 Swansea appearances across two spells with the club he first joined at the age of nine I had an intensely Catholic early life but haven’t been much in churches for years Francis was a humble man whose heart was in the right place He mistrusted the Vatican civil service (“the Curia”) He was personally tolerant and merciful and spoke up for immigrants when practically no one else would The part of his mission which was to be a shepherd and lead by example I’m less sure about the institutional side of his mission His personal support for those marginalised by the Church – women divorcees – didn’t translate into reform The Church in this generation is overwhelmed by the dimensions of abuse carried out by its priests and institutions you might think Satan had chosen to destroy the Church not through the Armageddon foreseen by St John of Patmos in the Book of Revelation but by infiltrating the priesthood and poisoning from within It’s not actually clear whether the Church can ever again re-assert moral authority with full conviction condemned by its stunning immorality and complacency The Church is slow to admit error and too proud for apology Only in 1992 did it admit Galileo was right after all I am interested to see who they pick after Francis and how he will address the future the Catholic Church has always felt like a cuckoo in the nest It was thoroughly eradicated in the Reformation The country is carelessly indifferent of its Catholic and Anglican saints; neither Bishop Farrar nor St Richard Gwyn excite real interest Their moral conviction and astonishing bravery should mark them out in any culture – but not here churches were erected to minister the needs of mostly Irish immigrants pouring into Wales through industrialisation Later immigrants replenished the congregations: Italians the Catholic Church remained somewhat apart from mainstream Wales and until recently there was a distinctly anti-Catholic strain in the culture If that’s now gone it’s because the kind of Protestantism which sustained the prejudice has itself declined and Wales was among the more religious parts of Britain The angst between the Church in Wales and Nonconformists kept the pot boiling and disestablishment was a defining cause for generations Nonconformity successfully captured the character of Wales perhaps exacerbated by the absence of a political outlet (while Ireland remained militantly Catholic for the same reason) It combined individual salvation with strong collective commitments ideas which filtered through into secular politics in other words) in favour of white-washed walls; altars were torn down I’m always struck that the Welsh version of Congregationalists is “Annibynwyr” Nonconformists formed a direct relationship with God The minister is recruited and employed by the congregation Wales is attached to an illusion of the egalitarian society We can connect a century of Welsh support for Labour to this tradition The decline of religion as a force in politics is a feature of our times most politicians had – or affected – at least a notional connection to Christianity; candidates would struggle to get through the first selection meeting without it the BBC confected shock-horror for half a day when Nick Clegg told Radio 4 he was an atheist Keir Starmer is an atheist and today no one bats an eyelid One Welsh writer (Goronwy Rees) described 1920s Aberystwyth as a “theocracy” both in the number of chapels relative to population and their import on people’s lives (his father was a minister) there was an English version round the corner A city of 100,000 could scarcely have merited more chapels (or pubs Chapels have been closing at the rate of one of week The Church in Wales says around 10 churches a year are shut Less than half of Welsh people are Christian for the first time in around 1500 years since all those tonsured Celtic saints paddled their coracles along the coast stopping to preach on hillsides For years people said they were Christian because it was expected and they couldn’t be bothered If someone today identifies as a Christian they’ve probably thought about it and describe a choice rather than a default spirituality is now more widely defined and many look outside organised religion for nourishment and expression other religions have grown as Wales’ population has changed Does Wales have a future as a Christian country it looks like institutional Christianity will continue to decline at least as measured by chapels and congregations although there’s a long history of revival at unpromising moments The Anglican Church was going nowhere when the Methodist insurgency emerged and that very torpor was one of the reasons why Methodism took off Perhaps a major social shift – the AI revolution – might stir some craving in people’s souls on a large scale Elim-style charismatic churches (Elim was founded by Welshman from Maesteg) have grown as traditional chapels declined the evangelical movement serving as a Nonconformist re-invention for the modern age that the charismatic churches are scooping up congregants that might otherwise have gone elsewhere They are not growing the total number of Christians in Wales carried the seeds of destruction at its birth there’s precious little to fall back on when the traditional basis of faith mutates The Anglican and Catholic Churches re-invented themselves through liturgy providing a spiritual and ceremonial punctuation to life Nonconformity seemed particularly defenceless when the sea of faith withdrew The level of public dialogue about Christianity is pathetic except for formulaic constructs like “Songs of Praise” Dechrau Canmol” which are largely bland and uncritical safe spots Easter and Christmas are almost wholly secular now in the public realm Discourse on Christianity has practically disappeared and the churches have retreated to sanctuaries away from public gaze – essentially the opposite of what their mission to the world demands Brilliant figures like the late Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins captivate the digital airwaves and public space Politicians are scared to cite Christianity for fear of being labelled illiberal and have Tim Farron resigned the Lib Dem leadership because of supposed clashes between Christian convictions and liberal politics Is it really evidence of pluralism to exclude from public dialogue the religion which shaped this country’s culture The churches are sustained today by their link to the state education system Every major town in Wales has a Catholic school and large chunks of the population live within travelling distance of an Anglican one If faith-based schools were abolished (I’m not suggesting they should) then the churches would struggle even more Ideas once widely accepted die when they can no longer be sustained under public view (which is not the same as saying everyone must agree with them) communism: all these ideas were once mainstream but have fallen away Christianity’s part in our history gives it no divine right to the future good deeds and presence in people’s hearts and lives as they confront what surrounds us it is absolutely right to affirm that Christianity has no automatic “divine right” to cultural dominance But to equate the inclusion of Christianity in public discourse with a form of cultural imposition is to misunderstand both pluralism and history Pluralism is not exclusion. True pluralism doesn’t mean sweeping away foundational voices in the name of neutrality it invites all perspectives—secular To silence or sideline Christianity because of its historical significance is not progressive; it’s a form of selective amnesia that impoverishes the… Read more » We need to keep that distance growing as census results have suggested Apples and Pears…Pray and Prey… There is…It’s called Humanism… Or give a Quaker and a Jain the levers of power… loyalties and other emotions that give us the ability to set moral standards Christianity is dying because the basis of biblical faith is counter-factual (the idea that death came into this world as a consequence of our original sin requiring the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus’ life as atonement … er Death existed hundreds of millions of years before homo sapiens appeared on the planet and is a function of natural laws that happen to drive the evolution of species – no death As people are better informed they recognise better the contradiction with basic natural facts why adhere to a superstitious exercise in pointlessness the same can’t be said about all other forms of religion Hopefully they will have their enlightenment period sooner rather than later and then we can all get on with our lives with one less issue to worry about Every civilisation has been founded on a mythology – ours happens to be Christianity “Is Wales still a Christian country?” The majority of us who live here are not Christians these days but the tide has turned and those days are behind us where everyone has the freedom to believe and practise any religion or none and no religious group gets to dictate how others behave Ask yourself where such secular societies with freedom of religion stem from though In fact gen z is going back to church in increasing numbers Richard Dawkins still won’t debate the best Christian thinkers like Dr Bill Craig (philosophy) or Dr Hugh Ross (cosmology) Abiogenesis has not found a naturalistic explanation of how life started Mutation and natural selection cannot explain rapid periods of speciation when the mathematical simulations are run So the assumption that science has explained how we got here is simply not true The assumption that Genesis insists on a seven day creation is also wrong The word in ancient… Read more » Surely Henry burning down the monasteries and setting up his own fake religion was the end of it How can a poor man stand such times and live… Huw Jenkins spent 17 years with Swansea City Newport County want to appoint a new manager by the end of May and chairman Huw Jenkins says there has been plenty of interest in the vacancy Nelson Jardim recently left his role as head coach by mutual consent after just under a season in charge of the League Two club Assistant Dafydd Williams stepped up to take interim charge for the final two games of the season with Jenkins looking to make a permanent appointment by the end of the month "I think it's important it's done in May," Jenkins told BBC Radio Wales Sport "But first and foremost it has to be right for us – anybody who comes in to manage our club "They have to know clearly where they are and what we're trying to do." Williams open to managing Newport full time Former Swansea City chairman Jenkins become Newport's majority shareholder and chairman in January 2024. Jenkins confirmed there has been more interest from candidates in the managerial position than last year "Things have definitely changed a little bit the perception outwardly on Newport County has changed a little bit," Jenkins said "Some of the conversations I had last summer are different to now because we've had many phone calls off people who are interested in putting their name forward "People can see and probably feel what we're trying to do as a club and perhaps they may have been reluctant to dip their toes in the water last season and they wanted to see how things went "Perhaps they've reconsidered that and feel we can provide as a football club the opportunity for people." Jenkins insisted appointing Jardim as head coach last July was not a mistake but acknowledged the team had struggled for consistency "We started the season in a reasonable way and went on a period of losing a few games," Jenkins added "That sort of form continued right through the season "Every time we thought we were getting somewhere we went backwards and when we would go backwards we somehow found something that got us forward again "It's slightly been below the word comfortable but overall I think we've got to take it on the chin "We've got to quickly move on and make sure we learn a few lessons from this year and make sure we're better next year." Newport's disappointing season ended with a 4-1 defeat at home to Tranmere Rovers which saw them finish just above the relegation zone Jenkins wants to create a buzz at Newport once again with the club challenging for the play-offs as well as FA Cup runs "I didn't get involved with the club just to have the odd cup run and like we have done the last couple of years just to avoid relegation," Jenkins said "I decided to take the risk and bring in younger players to develop – we've learnt from that from this season "Getting into play-off finals like Newport have done with the last 8-10 years is important "We've got to create that proper mentality within the club that we want to do that regularly "We want to be up in the top 10 – the odd year you're going to get in there and have a chance and we also need to be around that fighting our way "My main remit – and it goes back to what I've experienced in the past – is making sure every year you build on it and every year you get better than the year before "If we continue that we'll certainly have a chance in the next few years to get those feelings back around the club "It's important we get that feeling back at the club." Getty ImagesPublished4 May 2025Phil Parkinson joked he would switch off his phone while his Wrexham players celebrate a third successive promotion in Las Vegas later this month Wrexham finished their League One campaign with a 2-0 win at Lincoln City on Saturday. Having sent players to the United States following promotion from the National League and then League Two co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney promised the squad a third visit to the famous 'Strip' should they secure their place in the Championship for next season That's the main thing this week," defender Max Cleworth told BBC Radio Wales after his side's 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic last weekend I don't think I'll sleep until we go." And manager Parkinson says the carrot of a trip to Nevada's 'Sin City' has given his players an added incentive to achieve success under the ownership of Hollywood duo Reynolds and McElhenney "They deserve the trip," he told BBC Sport Wales and the owners said at the start of the season that they'd go again "That's a good target as well during the season not just getting promotion and what it means to everybody "Having that group together next week [in Vegas] will be amazing I just want a message when they're all back in the country in one piece and that's all I need to know." Libby Woolford was spiked while on a night out with her boyfriend and some friends(Image: Libby Woolford)A 19-year-old woman was left "screaming in pain" and unable to remember much of the night after she was spiked at a popular valleys nightclub. Libby Woolford, 19, from Porth was out with her boyfriend and some friends at The Banc nightclub in Pentre when she went from "sober to in a complete state" within minutes Libby was at The Banc and enjoyed a couple of drinks with friends With a small amount of her third drink left Libby asked her partner's friend to watch her drink while she went to the toilet However she now knows that he didn't hear her and she returned and finished the drink Within 10 minutes Libby started to feel sick "I went to the toilet and for about 20 minutes I was being sick and it was green," Libby said "I eventually went back out with friends and one of them was talking to me but I couldn’t understand what she was saying because I was in such a state." Much of what happened next is a blur for Libby but she remembers leaving The Banc and planning to go to a friend’s house when she started "screaming" about stomach pain and “shaking uncontrollably” She also felt like she couldn’t breathe properly The next thing Libby remembers is waking up in A&E. Get the latest Rhondda news first by signing up to our newsletter here Libby said she went from being 'sober to in a complete state' within the space of minutes(Image: Libby Woolford)Her boyfriend had called Libby's mum and it took three people to get her into her sister’s car as she was unable to walk "When my boyfriend phoned her she thought that I was just drunk but when she saw me she knew something was wrong," Libby said She waited a number of hours in A&E after seeing a nurse but decided to go home as she wanted to sleep "I slept all night but the next day my legs were still shaky and I was struggling to walk I couldn’t keep anything down for a few days." She eventually did an at-home drugs test which came back positive She said she is feeling better now but has been left "in shock" about what happened A statement shared on The Banc's social media page said: "In the past week The Banc has been informed of a social media post of a young lady suffering the terrible experience of being spiked. The Banc management would like to take this time to inform all customers that we take the safety of you and staff above all else We aim to provide a safe environment for all "After some research we will soon be implementing anti-spike covers for drinks by request at no extra cost We ask that customers plan trips to the smoking area accordingly so no drinks are left unattended due to the council ruling on no alcohol being consumed in that area "If you have any concerns while on the premises please do not hesitate to ask to speak to a member of the management team "We are part of the community of the Rhondda We have sons and daughters of all ages and understand all concerns this incident has caused." The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response An appeal has been launched to find a 15-year-old boy missing for nearly a week on April 29 and may have travelled to Aberdeen in Scotland A North Wales Police statement said: "We are currently searching for Brandon who was reported missing from the Blaenau Ffestiniog area on 29 April "He is approximately six ft tall, of slim build, with light brown hair Officers believe Brandon may have used public transport to travel to the Aberdeen area on 29 April this appeal has also been shared with our colleagues at Police Scotland or have any information on his whereabouts please call North Wales Police on 101 and quote ref Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right Nine out of 10 school leaders tell survey they are finding it harder to meet special needs of pupils than a year ago The crisis in special needs education appears to be worsening with nine out of 10 school leaders finding it harder to meet pupils’ needs than they did a year ago Almost all (98%) of the respondents to a National Association of Head Teachers’ (NAHT) poll covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland said they did not have the resources to meet the needs of all their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). One school leader who took part in the research described levels of Send funding as “diabolical”, while another said demand was continuing to mount, with Send pupil numbers doubling in nursery and reception in the last three years. Four in five (82%) mainstream school leaders said they were struggling to support pupils who needed specialist provision that had been agreed in their education, health and care plan (EHCP) but was not available. The NAHT general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said pupils’ needs were becoming more complex. “Right now, too many schools have children who should be getting specialist support who are being let down by the lack of capacity and availability of places in the specialist sector. “Schools are desperately trying to do their best for those pupils, but without access to the specialist help they need, their hands are tied. We also know that many special schools are struggling to meet the demand on them for places and are massively oversubscribed.” The government is due to publish its plans to transform the Send system in Englandin a white paper, which is expected to prioritise inclusion and better support in mainstream state schools, with the aim of cutting council spending on costly private provision. Read moreGuardian analysis earlier this year revealed that many English councils had built up debts running into hundreds of millions of pounds as a result of Send spending on independent special schools pushing the councils to the brink of bankruptcy Whiteman said: “We are not opposed to the government wanting mainstream schools to be inclusive and school leaders take this duty really seriously resources and specialist staffing to be able to support their students appropriately and effectively “And this doesn’t remove the fact that there will also always be a need for special school places for pupils with the greatest needs Capacity in both mainstream and specialist schools must match need.” Delegates to the NAHT’s annual general conference in Harrogate this weekend will vote on a number of motions calling for more funding training and support for educating Send pupils “There is no higher priority now in education than fixing the Send crisis,” Whiteman said Free newsletterGet the day’s headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning The poll drew almost 900 responses from school leaders across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and included anonymous contributions that revealed the daily struggle faced by schools “We are in a deficit budget position,” one said “We are supporting children with significant needs and don’t receive the funding we need … It is having a detrimental impact on the education of others in school.” Another said: “We are at crisis point with the level of need and what we can actually offer the children Staff morale is low and staff are leaving the profession.” A Department for Education spokesperson said the government had inherited a Send system on its knees and had already invested an additional £1.7bn to improve provision we are thinking differently about what the Send system should look like to restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.” A walker yesterday fell and dislocated his knee on Llandudno's Great Orme Emergency services and volunteers were called and the patient was carried off the famous outcrop for medical treatment It is understood that both the Welsh Ambulance Service and Llandudno Coastguard Rescue Team went to help the injured man on Saturday. A Llandudno Coastguard spokesman posted on its Facebook page: "In the afternoon we were called out to assist Welsh Ambulance Service on the Great Orme They added: "Whilst our area of operations is strictly Coastal we also deal with many incidents on the Great Orme We are fully equipped to deal with a range of medical incidents and casualty evacuation from a variety of off road locations "If you become aware of anyone in any danger or distress anywhere around the coast (or on the Great Orme) please call 999 and ask for the Coastguard." * In another incident on Saturday Llandudno Coastguard Rescue team also helped a woman who collapsed on the town's North Shore Two members of Llandudno Coastguards were made aware of the patient and the rest of the team were called out to help A spokesman on the Llandudno Coastguard Facebook page wrote: "The casualty had collapsed whilst sitting on a bench and we were unable to establish the cause We communicated with the Welsh Ambulance Services control room kept the casualty comfortable and monitored her vital signs until an ambulance arrived "Many thanks to a passing A&E doctor who provided invaluable help and advice." With light winds and plenty of strong sunshine it will begin to feel quite warm The road is currently closed on the A493 at Penmaenpool The road is expected to remain closed for some time Bank Holiday Monday promises to be a dry day across the country There will be a fair amount of cloud at times this morning with the sunniest weather developing this afternoon Patchy cloud will clear this evening leaving a sunny end to the day followed by a dry and generally clear night Under light winds a patchy rural frost is possible 5 MAY 2025BookmarkWe've got the latest updates for you from across Wales and beyond - keep checking back for the latest updatesHello and welcome to WalesOnline's live blog for Monday We'll be bringing you all of the latest news from across Wales - whether you're on the move at home or at work - as well as the latest traffic and travel We'll also be keeping you informed of major news stories from the UK and overseas The Met Office forecast for Wales for Tuesday promises "plenty of strong sunshine" after a "chilly start" Tributes have been paid to a former RAF flight engineer from Swansea who set up anti-aircraft barrage balloons and went on to fly 30 bombing missions in the Second World War was seconded to a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron during the war after it suffered heavy losses After taking part in the bombing raids Mr Jeacock worked in various RAF roles including instructor before returning to Swansea and marrying Joan the young woman he had met while billeted in St Thomas 1945 - the day the war finally ended in the Far East You can read our full report by clicking here. Network Rail has issued a fresh update after several trains coming into Cardiff were impacted by a fire at an electrical substation on Sunday The disruption is due to continue on Welsh railway lines as the working week starts a day late A grassfire erupted near an electrical substation between Newport and Cardiff Central damaging an overhead line and signalling equipment Emergency services responded to the fire close to St Brides Wentloog and Network Rail staff were also on the site Though Network Rail has confirmed that the fire was put out disruptions remained throughout Monday as staff carried out "necessary repairs” You can read our full report by clicking here. The sports club that organised a car boot sale causing two-hour traffic delays says the abuse in response has been "beyond" People should be grateful if all they have got to moan about is congestion said Kelly Alderman from Sully Sports and Social Club She warned the club would not be able to survive without the income from the car boot sales and the large green space would be lost to the village Long traffic jams were a small price to pay for keeping the pitches and green space for community use and for sport for children and adults You can read our full report by clicking here. A “breathtaking” rotating sculpture is making its way to a Welsh Edwardian gardens promising people a chance to “see the sun like never before” this round sculpture is seven meters wide and was made by British artist Luke Jerram It will be on display at the South Lawn of Dyffryn Gardens in half term You can read our full report by clicking here. A 23-year-old Welsh woman was found hanged on the balcony of her hotel room on the Greek island of Zakynthos Pontypridd Coroners' Court heard the care worker died on September 25 a four-star hotel in the resort town of Kalamaki Coroner Kerrie Burge said: "There had been no previous indications that Melissa would harm herself but Melissa had sent a goodbye message to her family explaining her thoughts and intentions." You can read our full report by clicking here. A broken down vehicle has caused one lane to be closed on M4 Eastbound at J47 A483 (Penllergaer / Swansea West Services) The entry slip road is also partially blocked and congestion is reported upto the J48 (Hendy/Llanelli) Tributes are flooding in from the family and friends of Sanjit Evans, a young father-of-three who tragically died in an E-bike crash. Sanjit was riding his bike along Llethri Road in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire when he was involved in the crash His friends have taken to social media to remember Sanjit as someone who they could rely on who stuck to his word and that would "never let you down." Several people have described him as an amazing dad and fiancé You can read our full report by clicking here. Police are at the scene of "serious collision" in Tonyrefail with a road closure in place for Penrhiwfer Road South Wales Police have said that Penrhiwfer Road is closed in both directions from Co-op Tonyrefail to 24 Penrhiwfer Road and is expected to remain close for some time A statement by the force on Facebook read: "We're at the scene of a serious collision on Penrhiwfer Road (known locally as Barn Hill) "The road is currently closed in both directions between .The Co-op Tonyrefail and 24 Penrhiwfer Road It is expected to remain closed for some time; please avoid the area and use alternative routes where possible Five people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man sustained serious head and facial injuries in an attack at a town centre on Saturday The incident in Coleford town centre in Gloucestershire saw emergency services called to Market Place in the early hours of May 3 after a man in his 30s sustained serious injuries Police say a weapon was used but believe the incident was isolated You can read more by clicking here. A Welsh dentist who defrauded the NHS went on to run a clinic in Australia where he allegedly extracted large sums in patient prepayments before his death Dr David Hurst, from Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, was handed a suspended jail term in 2012 after admitting 69 counts of theft from the NHS. At the time Cardiff Crown Court heard he had stolen £15,584 by submitting claims containing forged patient declarations while working at the Bridgend Dental Centre in Nolton Street You can read the full report by clicking here. Global tariffs from US President Donald Trump will hit Wales harder than England but could create inward investment opportunities Last month Mr Trump's administration introduced a 10% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports and 25% on the automotive sector A 10% tariff on all UK goods, as well as a range of tariffs on nations globally and the EU at 20% Whether any trade deal can be struck between the UK and USA is yet to be seen You can read our full report by clicking here. A prisoner was found dead in his cell 45 minutes after a disciplinary notice was put under the door The death of 25-year-old Lewis Petryszyn came after a series of failings by staff at Bridgend's troubled HMP Parc according to a newly-released report from the prisons ombudsman Read the full story: Prisoner found dead 45 minutes after disciplinary notice put under door A teenager has been barred from parts of a town centre in a bid to curb her "reckless and disorderly behaviour" Read more: This teenage girl is banned from entering a town centre because she is so out of control South Wales Police had been looking for a suspect following an alleged assault that left a 61-year-old man badly hurt A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an alleged assault that left a 61-year-old victim in a critical condition Read the full story, here. A spokesperson for North Wales Police has confirmed there has been a crash on the A493 The road is expected to be closed for some time Police have launched an appeal for information after a hit-and-run on a busy roundabout The crash involved a cyclist and a car at a roundabout in Wrexham Read more here. Pontypridd Coroners' Court heard a 23-year-old care worker died on September 25 READ MORE: Welsh woman, 23, dies on Greek island A 19-year-old woman was left "screaming in pain" and unable to remember much of the night after she was spiked at a popular valleys nightclub. Libby Woolford, 19, from Porth Read the full story, here. A huge operation involving helicopters and boats was launched following reports of a man falling into the River Usk. You can read all about it, here. A M&S insider has told Sky News it could be "months" before the retailer fully recovers from an ongoing severe cyber attack - and that the company had no plan for such an incident The M&S employee described working for the supermarket giant as "complete chaos." Hackers have been holding the High Street brand to ransom for more than one week now forcing it to suspend online orders and stop recruitment Police have issued an urgent appeal to find a 44-year-old man saying they are concerned for his welfare Gareth Rees went missing from his home in Pentre, Rhondda Read more:Gareth Rees, 44, was last seen on May 4 A man has been charged with murder following the death of a man in Wiltshire was found dead inside a property along Davies Road in Longhedge He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Swindon Magistrates' Court today A drug dealer who sold drugs to a child has been ordered to pay back £57,000 despite making more than £72,000 He was spotted by police officers pulling into a car park and dealing cocaine to a teenage boy Read the full court report, here. Rail services into Cardiff are experiencing major disruptionwith journeys cancelled or delayed after a fire erupted on Sunday A grassfire on an embankment close to an electrical substation between Newport and Cardiff Central has damaged an overhead line and signalling equipment Emergency services attended and Network Rail staff were on site at the scene of the fire near St Brides Network Rail have confirmed that the fire has been extinguished but staff remain on site carrying out "necessary repairs" A spokesperson said: "A limited service of two trains in each direction every hour is able to continuing operating between Newport (South Wales) and Cardiff Central "Trains between these stations will be cancelled "Major disruption is expected to continue to impact services until the end of the day." Eight people have been arrested in two separate counter-terrorism investigations in England Five men were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act after police uncovered a suspected plot to target a single premises Four of the men arrested on Saturday were Iranian nationals and the nationality of the fifth is still being established The pre-planned arrests included a 29-year-old man in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man in west London; a 29-year-old man in the Stockport area; a 40-year-old man in the Rochdale area; a fifth man in the Manchester area the Met Police confirmed three Iranian men were arrested on Saturday were arrested at two addresses in north-west London A 55-year-old man was also apprehended at a third address A spokesperson for the Met Office issued the following forecast for today: A number of events have been planned to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in Wales spanning four days from the early May bank holiday on Monday The full list of VE Day 80th anniversary events happening in Wales can be found here. Bore da and welcome to WalesOnline's daily news blog The breaking news team is here to bring you all the latest news and updates today