Author: Eleanor Price

A Leeds bookshop has drawn sharp criticism from gender-critical campaigners after organising a fundraising event that allows participants to vandalise copies of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books in exchange for donations towards transgender healthcare. Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, a sex-based rights charity, described the initiative as “the most striking example I’ve seen of trans activists misrepresenting where the real harm lies.” She characterised the vandalism scheme as “childish displays of petty destruction.” Ms Forstater added that the author had been vindicated for raising concerns about trans issues “well before the Government and NHS started to recognise this…

Comedian Drew Desbordes, known online as Druski, has provoked widespread criticism after posting a video in which he wore whiteface makeup, prosthetics and a blonde wig to mock conservative commentator Erika Kirk in the months following the fatal shooting of her husband Charlie Kirk. The video, captioned “How Conservative Women in America act,” was posted on Wednesday and accumulated more than 670,000 likes, 110,000 reposts and 13,000 comments. In it, the 31-year-old comedian recreated and parodied a series of viral public appearances made by Erika Kirk after Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative non-profit Turning Point USA, was shot dead…

Hertfordshire Constabulary has reopened its investigation into rape and sexual assault allegations made against influencer Andrew Tate, the force has confirmed, one day after the policing watchdog announced a former detective could face gross misconduct proceedings over the original handling of the case. The allegations were first reported to the force between 2014 and 2015. The Independent Office for Police Conduct had said a former detective constable faced potential gross misconduct proceedings for “alleged failures to properly investigate” the claims at the time. In a statement, Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “We are committed to doing what is right and ensuring that…

Two beaches in Worthing have become the latest to adopt AI-driven smart signage that allows visitors to ask questions about bathing water quality and report live conditions directly from the shoreline. The signs, which take the form of QR codes mounted on posts near routine water sampling points at Goring Beach and Worthing Beach House, use Hello Lamp Post technology funded by the Environment Agency. Scanning the code with a mobile phone connects visitors to an artificial intelligence system capable of answering questions about water quality and flagging any current concerns. The same system also gathers real-time information from beachgoers,…

Mel Schilling, the relationship expert best known to British and Australian audiences as a central figure on Married At First Sight, has died at the age of 54 following a two-year battle with cancer. Her husband announced her passing in a deeply personal statement, describing the moment she died as one that encapsulated everything about the woman he had spent 15 years alongside. Despite her condition, he said, she found the strength to whisper a final message to him and their daughter Maddie — a gesture he described as defining her character entirely. “Even then, her only thought was for…

A mother from Namibia is urging parents never to allow others to kiss their young children after her toddler son contracted herpes simplex virus in his eye through a kiss — losing his sight and facing the prospect of permanent blindness as a result. Michelle Saaiman’s son Juwan was just 16 months old when he developed what appeared to be a routine eye infection in August 2024. When antibiotic drops failed to clear it up and his condition worsened, doctors delivered a diagnosis that left his mother stunned — a herpes cold sore had begun growing on the boy’s cornea.…

Nearly two decades of planning, consultation and £179 million of public money have come to nothing after the Government formally revoked the development consent order for the long-contested A303 tunnel near Stonehenge, drawing the curtain on one of Britain’s most divisive infrastructure projects. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander made the decision to formally withdraw consent following what the Department for Transport described as a “substantial change in the scheme’s deliverability.” Officials said the project “no longer aligns with current strategic policy objectives” and confirmed that alternative infrastructure plans would now be developed in its place. The department cited “exceptional circumstances” as…

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told the House of Commons that four cases of meningitis B have been confirmed in Canterbury and East Kent, with a further 11 under investigation, as the Government announced an emergency vaccination programme for University of Kent students. Addressing MPs on Tuesday, Streeting described the situation as an “unprecedented outbreak” that was “rapidly developing,” and confirmed that both deaths associated with the cluster had now been formally linked to the confirmed cases. He said the majority of cases traced back to the Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury on the evenings of 5th, 6th and 7th…

Deborah Meaden, one of the BBC’s most familiar faces after two decades on Dragons’ Den, has become embroiled in a significant controversy following a series of reposts on social media platform X that have drawn accusations of spreading antisemitic content and misinformation about the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States. The 67-year-old entrepreneur, who has nearly 700,000 followers on the platform, has reposted a range of material in recent weeks touching on the escalating Middle East crisis. The reposts included claims that Donald Trump is “Israel’s slave” and that the US Congress is “owned and operated by the…

A backstage video from the 98th Academy Awards showing Teyana Taylor in a heated exchange with a man has divided social media, after the singer and actress was filmed accusing him of physically pushing her during the ceremony. In the footage, which spread rapidly across social media platforms, Taylor can be heard telling the individual: “You’re a man putting your hands on a female. You’re very rude.” When someone nearby asked what had occurred, she added: “Because he was putting his hands on a female, he literally shoved me.” The clip prompted an immediate split in public reaction. A number…