50 m. ago ‘He still features in my nightmares’: how a sinister psychiatrist put hundreds of women in deep, drug

In the 1960s, William Sargant used a combination of narcosis and ECT to ‘reprogram’ troubled young women. Now his patients, including the actor Celia Imrie and the former model Linda Keith, are trying to piece together what happenedFrom the reinforced windows of ward five, high up in the Edwardian eaves of London’s Royal Waterloo hospital for children and women, a 14-year-old Celia Imrie used to stare down, hoping to spot her mother. “When I walk past that old, redbrick hospital building today, on my way to the Imax or the National Theatre,” says Imrie, who went on to become a successful actor, “I can see the window where I’d sit waiting for her and a deep chill passes through me.”Every day, thousands of commuters and tourists pass beneath the former hospital. Some might look up to admire the terracotta facade, with its ornate colonnades and glazed tile lettering, but few are aware of the medical horrors that took place in one small room on the top floor: the Sle...

Events

83 m. ago Interactive graphic reveals whether the British public view Meghan Markle and other members of the Royal Family as celebrities or royalty

Over the past few years, the Duchess of Sussex has struggled to define her role, as former actress, former royal, and now aspiring businesswoman.

Politics

88 m. ago Ukrainian man, 30, is identified as suspect in Amsterdam mass stabbing after British tourist stopped knifeman who had slashed five

Investigators say he hailed from the Donetsk region in the east of the country - which has operated as a breakaway state from Ukraine for a decade and was unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2022.

Politics

1 hour ago Latvia’s Tautumeitas bring their harmonies to the London Eurovision Party 2025

Latvia’s Tautumeitas bring their harmonies to the London Eurovision Party 2025  wiwibloggs

Politics

1 hour ago Fulham vs Crystal Palace LIVE: FA Cup match stream, latest team news, lineups, TV, prediction

London derby to decide the first FA Cup semi-finalist

Politics

1 hour ago Watch the partial solar eclipse live from London's Royal Observatory

Watch the partial solar eclipse live from London's Royal Observatory  New Scientist

Politics

1 hour ago ‘Maybe people see Edward Hopper, or a spaceship, or something else’: Martin James Burton’s best phone photo

The British photographer saw an echo of a famous painting when he shot three strangers in a Toronto galleryWhile in Toronto on a work shoot, Martin James Burton decided to take the opportunity to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario. The photojournalist, who is based in Lewes, East Sussex, England, had some lunch before heading in to see the art. While there he happened upon these three strangers. “The people in the picture are sitting waiting either for nothing to happen or for something to happen. There is a feeling of the surreal to it and an odd sense of anticipation,” Burton says. “The man with his head turned towards you draws you in, and the huge bright, blank screen is like a giant softbox lighting the subjects perfectly.”Burton remembers his excitement at taking the shot: he immediately knew that he had captured something unusual. He also saw a resemblance to the painting Nighthawks, by American artist Edward Hopper, which portrays four people...

Events

1 hour ago ‘My patient was happy with her partner of 25 years – then started a torrid affair’: a psychotherapist on why people cheat

I heard every last detail. Eventually we uncovered the truth behind the passionProfessor M was a 60-year-old academic in a scientific, technical field. She chose to lie on my couch, rather than sit opposite me, from our second meeting. Thick black glasses framed her strong nose and she wore monochrome, androgynous clothes. She had a stern authority about her that I noticed the very first time I met her. Her hair was uncoloured and cut into a chic crop. She had lived in London since university in her home country on another continent, and English was her third language, which she spoke perfectly. She had never seen a psychotherapist before.In the first weeks of our work together, she talked – without stopping, breathlessly – about a man she had known in her 20s while undertaking doctoral work in America. By chance, they had met again recently at a conference overseas where both were presenting papers. They had sex in a hotel room hours after this meeting. A relationship began, with i...

Science

1 hour ago Partial solar eclipse live: watch as moon blocks part of sun for people in northern hemisphere

Partial solar eclipse will be visible to differing degrees depending on where you watch it in the northern hemisphereHow visible today’s partial eclipse will be depends, unsurprisingly, on how clear the sky is where you are.What is surprising, however, is that some of the best visibility across the northern hemisphere will be above Guardian HQ in oft-rainy London, where there is barely a cloud in the sky. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Frank Bruno too unwell to collect top boxing gong after falling ill on long

Boxing legend Frank Bruno was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Boxing Awards on Friday night, but the 63-year-old was too ill to attend

Politics

2 h. ago Amsterdam police issue major update on knife attacker who went on rampage

A 30-year-old has been identified as a suspect in the Amsterdam mass stabbing - while a 'modest' British hero has been thanked in person by the city's mayor for stepping in to stop the attack

Events

2 h. ago Gatwick Airport evacuated after fire alarm sparks passenger chaos

Travellers were moved out of the terminal shortly after the alarm was triggered

Events

2 h. ago Adolescence’s Erin Doherty: ‘When did I last cry? Oh when was the last time I didn’t?! I cry all the time’

The actor on embracing ageing, people-watching (in a non-creepy way), and dreaming of Kate WinsletBorn in West Sussex, Erin Doherty, 32, studied at the Guildford School of Acting and Bristol Old Vic theatre school. She played Princess Anne in The Crown and the lead in Amazon Prime’s thriller Chloe. In 2022, she starred in The Crucible at the National Theatre and, in 2024, she was in Death of England: Closing Time at @sohoplace theatre, London. She has leading roles in the Disney series A Thousand Blows and Netflix’s hit drama Adolescence. She lives in Surrey.When were you happiest? Mornings. Playing music, fresh coffee, dippy eggs and soldiers, my girlfriend – what’s not to love? Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Notting Hill Carnival sound system team banned after man seriously injured and left in street

Kensington and Chelsea Council said it had no other choice but to revoke Volcano Sound System’s licence

Events

2 h. ago Partial solar eclipse live: watch as moon to block part of sun for people in northern hemisphere

Timing differs by location, but in London it will begin at 10.07am, with the moon reach its maximum coverage of the sun at 11.03am before ending at noonThe partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of the UK between 10am and noon on Saturday – with viewing chances best in the east where skies should be clearest – and in several other parts of the world, including western Europe, Greenland, north-west Africa and north-east North America.“It won’t be total anywhere but there are parts of Canada where it will be about 90%,” said the Royal Observatory’s Jake Foster. “So it’ll be very impressive over there.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Inside the London prison restaurant where convicts cook and serve your food

Inside the London prison restaurant where convicts cook and serve your food  Surrey Live

Society

2 h. ago The Southbank Centre has opened a new riverside terrace bar with dazzling views of the Thames and London skyline

The Southbank Centre has opened a new riverside terrace bar with dazzling views of the Thames and London skyline  Time Out London

Politics

2 h. ago The Five author Hallie Rubenhold: ‘I really hate true crime’

The award-winning writer turned the Jack the Ripper case on its head. Now she is giving Dr Crippen the same treatment – and questioning how we tell stories about murderous menIt was called “the crime of the century” and “the north London cellar murder”, and more than 100 years after it happened, the name of the murderer is still widely known. Dr Crippen has been the subject of multiple books, movies and TV shows and had a waxwork made of him at Madame Tussauds. But the story of his crimes, writes Hallie Rubenhold in Story of a Murder, remains one “predominantly about women but told almost exclusively by men”. As such, Crippen’s victim is long forgotten. Her name was Belle Elmore, and in Rubenhold’s book she is brought back to life.Rubenhold and I are in a cafe in Muswell Hill, north London, a 10 minute walk from where Elmore is buried, and where the 53-year-old author lives with her barrister husband, Frank. Writing Story of a Murder was nerve-racking, says Rubenhold, partly because...

Events

3 h. ago How London motorists are fighting back against councils making millions from penalty tickets

Almost half of appeals against London boroughs and TfL result in victory for drivers

Economics

3 h. ago Foreign Office issues Spain travel warning to British holidaymakers

The updated Foreign Office travel advice for Spain warns of the potential risk of street crime and 'highway pirates'

Events