Author: Tara Whitman

Sarah Ferguson has had her Freedom of the City of York removed by local councillors following a vote on Thursday evening, as scrutiny of her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to grow. Members of York council voted to withdraw the ceremonial honour from the former Duchess of York, who is mentioned on multiple occasions in files related to Epstein released by the US Department of Justice. Being named in those files does not imply wrongdoing. Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019, had connections to a number of high-profile figures whose associations with him…

Matt Brittin, the former president of Google’s European, Middle East and Africa operations, has been appointed as the BBC’s 18th Director-General, taking up the role on 18 May following an interim period under Rhodri Talfan Davies from 2 April. The 57-year-old Cambridge alumnus spent nearly two decades at Google after beginning his career as a McKinsey consultant, rising to lead the technology giant’s operations across three continents before announcing his departure last year. He will receive a salary of £565,000 in the role and has said he will also be appointing a Deputy Director-General. Brittin replaces Tim Davie, who announced…

Jack Kay, the Newcastle-born internet sensation known as the Ibiza Final Boss, was reportedly targeted by four masked men carrying weapons at a pub in Ryton, Tyne and Wear, last Friday evening, with Northumbria Police now appealing for witnesses. The 26-year-old former construction worker, who shot to global fame after being filmed dancing at Wayne Lineker’s O Beach Club in Ibiza last August, was inside The Runhead bar and grill on Holborn Lane when the incident unfolded at around 5.45pm. According to an eyewitness, four masked individuals entered the premises armed with weapons, grabbed Kay and threw him across the…

A bishop’s public appeal to King Charles to stand up for Britain’s Christian identity has attracted more than two million views on X and gathered over 3,500 signatures of support, after the letter was posted on social media and quickly spread across the platform. Bishop Ceirion H Dewar FSHC addressed the open letter directly to the monarch, urging him to use the authority of the Crown to defend what the bishop described as a faith that had shaped the foundations of the nation. The post received 56,000 likes and prompted widespread discussion online within days of being published. The letter…

Jordan Wright, a British reality television personality known for appearing in The Only Way Is Essex, has been found dead in a drainage canal in Phuket, Thailand, at the age of 33. Wright’s body was discovered at approximately 12:30pm on 14 March by a member of the public, who alerted officers from Choeng Thalay Police Station. He was found lying face down in a drainage canal close to Bang Tao Beach, wearing a grey shirt and black trousers and no footwear. A hotel keycard for the nearby Coco Phuket Bangtao Hotel was found in his pocket, with his mobile phone…

A previously unseen photograph showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein seated together has surfaced in files released by the US Department of Justice, marking the first time the three men have been pictured together. The image, believed to have been taken at Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, shows the disgraced former prince and the current UK ambassador to the United States wearing bathrobes, while Epstein appears fully clothed. The three men are seated around a wooden table bearing mugs decorated with the US flag. As with all photographs contained within the Epstein files, no date or contextual information accompanies…

A 35-year-old Canadian mother of four has died in a Turkish hospital hours after undergoing routine cosmetic surgery, with investigators now examining whether substances used in the days before the operation may have contributed to her death. Jessika Chagnon Gailloux, from Saint-Lin–Laurentides in Quebec, travelled to Antalya on 2 March alongside her friend Stephanie Jobin specifically to undergo a tummy tuck and breast lift procedure at a private hospital in the city’s Kepez district. The operation concluded without reported complications, but Gailloux began feeling unwell shortly after being moved to her hospital room for post-operative monitoring. Despite efforts by the…

Almost 70 of the most popular dog breeds in Britain face the prospect of being banned from breeding under new government legislation that uses a ten-point checklist to identify dogs with extreme physical characteristics deemed harmful to their health. The assessment tool, revealed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, scores dogs against a range of physical traits including excessive skin folds, bulging or outward-turning eyes, drooping eyelids, mottled colouration, under or overbites and muzzle shapes that interfere with breathing. Only dogs that score eight out of ten or above would be permitted to breed under the proposed rules.…

A woman has been taken into custody by Los Angeles police after allegedly opening fire on Rihanna’s Beverly Hills home on Sunday afternoon, with the singer confirmed to be inside the property at the time of the shooting and unharmed. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed it responded to reports of gunfire at 1.15pm local time. Officers located a female suspect, described as being in her 30s, and took her into custody. Law enforcement sources indicated the woman had driven up to the property before firing multiple rounds at the home. The road outside the property was closed off by…

Britney Spears spent the night in custody after being arrested by highway patrol officers in California on Wednesday evening, with her representative describing the incident as “completely inexcusable” and calling for it to mark the beginning of a significant change in the pop star’s life. According to records from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Spears was detained at 9.28pm and released at 6.07am the following morning. She has been scheduled to appear in court on 4 May. Various US media outlets reported the arrest was made on suspicion of driving under the influence. Ventura County, situated to the north of…