20 h. ago Little Simz on breakthroughs, betrayal and becoming one of the UK’s best

Critics’ favourite and curator of this month’s Meltdown festival, the British artist is flying high. But a nasty legal battle with her closest collaborator and a crisis of confidence left her close to calling it quits. Instead, she put it all on the new albumIt’s an unseasonably warm spring afternoon and sunlight is beaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of a north London photo studio. When I arrive, Little Simz is out on the balcony. Wearing chunky sunglasses, a skirt and comfy cardigan, she sits on a chair with her back to the sun, eyes on the horizon, and pulls her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees in a defensive position that’s verging on foetal.It’s curious body language for an artist at the top of her game. At 31, Simz is looking out at a city she can justifiably claim to have conquered since emerging as a teenage rapper more than a decade ago. But that’s not where she’s at right now. “I genuinely felt like I could disappoint everyone,” Simz says when I ask abo...

Politics

3 d. ago DEAR JANE: I committed a heinous betrayal at my bachelorette party... then I vomited mid

Last weekend was my bachelorette party, and my maid of honor - my best friend from childhood - planned the whole thing.

Politics

4 d. ago Keir Starmer can dress up the migrant figures, but he's betrayed the British people: ALP MEHMET

ALP MEHMET: The truth is that on Starmer's watch, the number of small-boat migrants removed in the 12 months to March fell 3 per cent year-on-year to 2,240.

Events

5 d. ago RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: White working class children have been betrayed

Saturday night at eight o'clock found me not at the movies but at the Cinema Museum, a hidden gem near the Oval cricket ground in South London.

Events

8 d. ago Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine: ‘Stab in the back’

Russia has criticized Serbia for exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it’s a stab in the back by its traditional Slavic Balkan ally

Politics

9 d. ago Justin Bieber keeps humiliating his wife Hailey with brutal betrayals... his true feelings about their marriage have always lurked beneath the surface, writes CAROLINE BULLOCK

Justin Bieber has a billion reasons to be proud of his wife Hailey. For that's the number of dollars she just got for her skincare brand Rhode, which was acquired by e.l.f. Cosmetics on Wednesday.

Politics

1 week ago Rachel Reeves is set to betray farmers AGAIN 'by cutting a massive £5billion lifeline'

In a fresh blow to the industry, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering slashing lifeline subsidies worth billions of pounds to farms in her spending review on June 11.

Economics

2 w. ago Spies, lies and betrayal: my ruinous relationship with an undercover cop

He was the first partner Kate Wilson ever moved in with; they were together for 16 months, and friends for years afterwards. Then she found out he had been spying on her all alongIn February 2004, Kate Wilson – then 25 and known to her friends as Katja – decided to make a Valentine’s card for her partner, Mark. He was an affectionate person – he would write her poems, give her gifts, text her love messages – and she wanted to reciprocate in some way. “He was quite demonstrative and I was not. That was a little bit awkward for me,” she says. “The gesture of making a card for Valentine’s Day, which to my anarchist self was soppy and commercial, was a big deal.”More than a decade later, Wilson read the incident back, as recorded in a police log:Sunday 15th February. 19.37 Call from Source who has received a Valentines card from Katja. This has put Source’s mind at rest re the challenges about being an undercover/informant. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Netflix viewers horrified by VERY explicit movie that's '80% sex'

The movie premiered in 2023 and is based on Sue Hecker's novel of the same name.

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer's surrender: Sir Keir accused of Brexit betrayal as he caves in over fishing rights

The PM is today set to sign an agreement at what has been dubbed his 'Surrender Summit' that will mean Britain must once more follow EU laws and abide by its judges' rulings.

Politics

2 w. ago Sir Keir Starmer warned he risks Brexit vote betrayal if he agrees new deal to put the UK back under EU control in new 'Surrender Summit'

The Prime Minister is today set to sign an agreement that will mean Britain must once more follow EU laws and abide by its judges' rulings.

Events

3 w. ago Prince William betrays 'true feelings' after appearing 'glum' at FA Cup final

The heir-to-the-throne initially 'appeared glum' as he sat down for the FA Cup Final bout between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, but his 'true feelings' later broke through

Politics

3 w. ago The good news from Kyiv: with or without a ceasefire, Ukraine has a newfound confidence | Nathalie Tocci

Its European allies must commit to the long-haul – but they, as much as Zelenskyy, will reap the rewardsMy train rolled into Kyiv last week as Russian ballistic missiles and drones hit the city, killing a mother and her son. I had last been in Ukraine just over a year earlier. Back then, in April 2024, the mood was dark. Frustrated by delays in western military aid, people had a palpable fear of escalating Russian territorial gains, perhaps even a collapse of Ukraine’s frontline. Today, the international context is even more fraught. The Biden administration was frustratingly slow and scared, but few doubted that the US wanted to prevent Russia from prevailing. The same cannot be said of Donald Trump, whose ideological affinity with Vladimir Putin has thrown Europe, starting with Ukraine, off balance.But despite the Trump administration’s betrayals, I found the mood in Kyiv more confident than a year previously. After more than three years of war, Ukrainians are tired, but they are ...

Events

3 w. ago Taylor Swift believes Blake Lively 'exploited' her: Heartbroken singer finally lays bare former bestie's betrayal and the move that's left her 'completely floored'

Despite putting on a brave face in Philadelphia this weekend, it is understood that Swift, 35, has been 'completely floored' and is 'very upset'.

Politics

3 w. ago ANDREW PIERCE: The reward for betraying your party? £600 a day

When Tory MP Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour last May, most of us assumed she would be rewarded for her treachery. How right we were!

Economics

3 w. ago 'Brooklyn betrayed us. Nicola's a viper': That's Victoria Beckham's heartbroken verdict, say her friends

Victoria Beckham has glumly conceded to friends that she's lost her son Brooklyn to a woman she's said to have privately referred to as a 'viper'.

Politics

3 w. ago Victoria Beckham's heartbroken verdict on 'Brooklyn's betrayal' revealed by her friends

Victoria Beckham has glumly conceded to friends that she's lost her son Brooklyn to a woman she's said to have privately referred to as a 'viper'.

Politics

4 w. ago The Beckhams feel 'betrayed' by son Brooklyn after 'real reason' for birthday snub revealed

David and Victoria Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn was noticeably absent from his dad's 50th birthday celebrations.

Politics

4 w. ago Beckhams feeling 'betrayed' by Brooklyn as 'real reason' for missing birthday exposed

As the feud between the Beckham family and Brooklyn and Nicola refuses to disappear, a source has claimed that Victoria is 'devastated' by her eldest son's 'betrayal'

Events