16 h. ago Steve Bannon advised Jeffrey Epstein for years on how to rehab his reputation, texts show

Pair devised responses to public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful people Hundreds of texts over almost a year show Maga influencer Steve Bannon and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein workshopping legal and media strategies to protect Epstein from the legal and publicity quagmire that enveloped him in the last year of his life.The texts, released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, show that as early as June 2018, the pair were devising responses to the gathering storm of public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his favorable treatment by the justice system, and his friendships with powerful figures in business, politics, and academia. Continue reading...

Events

32 h. ago Chris Eubank Jr reveals how he’s fended off accusations over his sexuality and humiliation of his parents’ break

CHRIS EUBANK JR is keeping his personal life private after witnessing his parents’ public break-up and having rivals questioning his sexuality. The 36-year-old middleweight revealed to his legendary father that he is expecting twin boys with his long-term girlfriend. But the heart-warming revelation sparked fans’ interest into who the star’s love interest is. Eubank Jr -...

Politics

37 h. ago Who could be behind the phantom briefing and the tax rise that wasn’t? Inspector Starmer is on the case | Marina Hyde

Chaos and ineptitude dog our poor PM. Perhaps the explanation lies (very) close to homeAt this rate the only businesses who will want to invest in Britain after the budget are heroin dealers. No 10 used to have a news grid, now it has an apology grid. Even so, why did Keir Starmer apologise for a sensationally self-destructive round of briefing against Wes Streeting if he didn’t do it? This is like me apologising for accidentally releasing sex offenders from prison. I suppose there is the occasional previous example in public life. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor apologised for his association with Jeffrey Epstein and gave a woman he’d never met a reported £12m. Perhaps that provides the prime minister with the warming cover of precedent.If you’re just joining us, this is a week in which the government finally achieved the chaos spiral of several recent Conservative administrations. We can now officially say: same car, different clowns. We are less than two weeks out from the budget, wit...

Politics

57 h. ago Meet the remarkable man who has brought almost 20 London pubs back to life

Meet the remarkable man who has brought almost 20 London pubs back to life  Ham & High

Politics

64 h. ago Park Avenue review – Fiona Shaw is fearless in upmarket New York mother

Having left her husband, Shaw’s daughter moves in with her at the family’s Manhattan apartment and soon tensions arise – wry, sweet, melancholic but somewhat insubstantialFiona Shaw finds some tremendous form in this upmarket dramedy of mother-daughter tension and first-world problems, and Katherine Waterston is (as ever) really good. There’s plenty of amusement and wry, sophisticated sadness here, though co-writer and director Gaby Dellal has confected what is, in the end, a pretty middleweight movie.Shaw plays Kit, an elegant and wealthy widow living in a handsome apartment on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, known for her witty disdain for those less stylish than herself and about to publish a memoir of life with her late husband, a collector of Chinese art. Out of the blue her grown up daughter Charlotte (Waterston) appears, having run out on her abusive rancher husband; she intends to stay for a while with her mother in her childhood Park Avenue home while she figures things o...

Politics

3 d. ago There’s a missing link in British public life – and it underpins crises from the BBC to our prisons | Rafael Behr

A declining sense of collective identity is corroding trust in our institutions and undermining democratic politicsImagine you are given a pile of tokens, representing real money, and invited to donate to a common pot. There are other players but you can’t interact with them. The sum of collective contributions will be trebled, then shared equally among all players. What do you do?If everyone submits all their money, all get richer. But if everyone except you pays in, you can enjoy the collective payout while retaining your original stash. The flaw in the selfish strategy is that other people might have the same idea. If no one pays in, there is no bounty to share.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Princess Andre, Cat Deeley and Amy Childs lead the glamour at star

CELEBS brought the glamour to London tonight as stars turned out in style for the annual ITV Palooza at the Barbican Hall. The showbiz brigade made sure all eyes were on them as they posed up a storm on the blue carpet. This Morning host Cat Deeley led the charge in a festive sequin minidress...

Politics

4 d. ago It’s the BBC v Trump, Farage and co. Who in their right mind would want to be its new boss? | Marina Hyde

Public life is a minefield and the best and brightest just don’t want to know. How convenient for foes of the most trusted news organisation in the worldListen, I hate to ruin a yarn wall but I don’t think it’s at all helpful to start framing the current crisis at the BBC as a giant conspiracy or coup by dark rightwing forces, and get stuck in the weeds of that. The fact is, the three mistakes that form the bulk of Michael Prescott’s explosive leaked memo about impartiality – the Panorama edit, issues with coverage of the transgender issue and bias in the BBC Arabic service – happened and are bad. Given their spectacular fallout and the highest-level scalps that have been claimed, the opportunity to now deal with them might as well be taken by what is, let’s not forget, the most trusted news organisation in the world.There is no news organisation in the United States that reaches more than 25% of people in a week. BBC News reaches 74% of UK adults in a week. There is vastly more dis...

Politics

4 d. ago Sidcup Family Golf staff 'saved boy's, 5, life' after horror wall collapse at mini

Staff at Family Golf on Sidcup Bypass have earned praise from members of the public, who have said they may have saved the life of a young boy who sustained a head injury

Events

9 d. ago Shirley Valentine gave Pauline Collins a role to match her talent. She seized it with style and glee

The film for which the actor, who has died aged 85, is best-remembered is also that in which she was afforded most airtime. If only more film-makers had managed to channel her warm, sharp charmPauline Collins was the smart, funny, cherubically sexy female actor in the 1970s who became a recognisable star on both sides of the Atlantic in the smash hit British TV show Upstairs, Downstairs, the Downton Abbey of its day.She played Sarah, the pert-yet-vulnerable parlour maid with a dodgy past, who has a relationship with the handsome chauffeur Thomas, played by Collins’s real-life husband, John Alderton. It was a TV marriage that the public loved and which carried on into spinoff shows Thomas and Sarah and No, Honestly. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago How Andrew pocketed a bumper final Pitch payday: EDEN CONFIDENTIAL

His retreat from public life is now almost complete. But before he heads off to internal exile at Sandringham, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been tidying up a few loose ends.

Politics

9 d. ago Man orders drink at pub then realises familiar face standing behind the bar

A man and his friends were out for the night when they stopped by a pub – but were left utterly gobsmacked after realising the familiar face standing behind the bar...

Politics

1 week ago A night with Gareth Southgate: jokes, waistcoat chat and a bagful of lessons

Former England manager was engaging with selfies and sharing his sense of purpose on the York stop of a promotional book tourGareth Southgate has a good story about cockapoo vomit. Alone, exhausted and about to leave England’s impossible job, it was the first thing that greeted him on returning home from defeat in last year’s European Championship final. Obviously, he immediately set about clearing it up and consoling the pup suspected of overeating. Another moment of pathos in a life that has experienced the extremes of the public eye, another hurdle cleared.Southgate is on a promotional tour but you wouldn’t guess at first glance. He has a book coming out this week and has only just started talking about it. After a swift round of interviews with the BBC on Monday morning, in the evening he moved to the Barbican in York; a perfectly commodious venue with decent acoustics, but not a customary place for launching a nationwide media blitz. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Jennifer Aniston shares sweet snap with new boyfriend Jim Curtis as they go Instagram official

Friends icon Jennifer Aniston made the big step of making her relationship with new boyfriend Jim Curtis Instagram official after usually opting to keep her personal life out of the public eye

Politics

1 week ago Jennifer Aniston goes Instagram official with new boyfriend Jim Curtis

Friends icon Jennifer Aniston made the big step in making her relationship with Jim Curtis Instagram official after usually opting to keep her personal life out of the public eye

Politics

1 week ago ROBERT JOBSON: Revealed: What Harry and Meghan did that made the late Queen so furious she hurled her newspaper to the floor

For the late Queen's generation, teatime was sacrosanct: a pause in the day to reflect and refresh. For the monarch herself, it was also a cherished private time in a life devoted to public service.

Politics

2 w. ago ROBERT JOBSON: The late Queen's shocking gesture which revealed the depth of her fury at Harry and Meghan

For the late Queen's generation, teatime was sacrosanct: a pause in the day to reflect and refresh. For the monarch herself, it was also a cherished private time in a life devoted to public service.

Politics

2 w. ago Mary Earps: ‘I don’t look back with bad blood. It worked out well for everybody’

Former England goalkeeper reveals full story behind her international retirement, her problems with eating and alcohol, and why she’d struggle on The TraitorsRead an exclusive extract from Mary Earps’ book“I’ve learned a lot about what truly matters in life,” Mary Earps says on a quiet and cloudy afternoon as, at Paris Saint-Germain’s training centre on the outskirts of the French capital, the former England goalkeeper reflects on the achievements and drama of her last five years. “My life has accidentally come into the court of public opinion. People talking about your performance comes with the territory but when it starts to become about your character, and assumptions people make about you, that can be really, really challenging.”Between 2020 and 2023 Earps overcame depression, a drinking problem, eating issues, won the Euros with England, forced Nike to change their attitude to female goalkeepers, saved a penalty in a World Cup final and won the BBC’s Sports...

Events

2 w. ago Andrew is erased from Royal Family website: Disgraced royal's life as 'ordinary member of the public' begins after he was stripped of his Prince title

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been deleted entirely from the official Royal Family website just a day after he was sensationally stripped of his Prince title and booted out of the Royal Lodge. 

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Andrew’s downfall: Britain’s relationship with the royals needs a reset | Editorial

The former prince’s retirement from public life is welcome. Problems around royal secrecy and entitlement remain to be tackledPrince Andrew is no more. Henceforth the king’s younger brother will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. With the Thursday night announcement, and the news that Mr Mountbatten Windsor will quit his 30-room home in Windsor, the monarch hopes to draw a line under the shame of the former prince’s friendship with the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and alleged sexual assault of Virginia Giuffre when she was 17, which he has always denied.These “censures” – as Buckingham Palace termed them – were made necessary by Mr Mountbatten Windsor’s poor judgment and deceit, including the lie that he had broken off contact with Epstein in 2010. But the real damage was done by his grotesquely entitled behaviour and appalling choice of friends. It should not have taken the painful details in Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, an extract of which was pub...

Politics