When the new ‘department of government efficiency’ sent young techies to disrupt federal agencies, not everyone complied. Here’s what happened when one worker fought to protect immigrant data

In the early hours of Saturday 22 February 2025 the following email landed in the inboxes of the entire US federal workforce:

From: HR hr@opm.gov

On the day Andy Burnham spoke of the wrong turn Britain took under Thatcher, football was facing a day of reckoning over its own story of corporate acquisition

It was somehow fitting that Tuesday’s damning ruling against Manchester City landed in the heart of the Labour party conference, in the afterglow of Andy Burnham’s rapturously received prime minister’s speech.

I was there, and read the astonishing 40 pages of findings – that City created “sham” contracts to boost income artificially by £900m – on my phone during a long meeting of the Socialist Campaign Group, where people were celebrating Keir Starmer’s ousting and Burnham’s more leftwing direction.

A caiman wearing a wig, two brown bears laughing and a leopard doing a handstand feature in the selection of finalists from this year’s Nikon Comedy Wildlife awards. Winners will be announced on 8 December

Former England winger could face a prison term next month and his career collapse raises many questions

In another world, where careers broke in different directions, Raheem Sterling would be in this England squad now, playing for the manager, Thomas Tuchel, who made him the No 1 target of the new Chelsea era after the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover.

He is 16 months younger than Harry Kane, who continues to break records as England’s captain and hit a personal high of 73 goals last season. Sterling, meanwhile, is without a club and awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty at Basingstoke magistrates court to dangerous driving and possession of nitrous oxide after an incident that witnesses feared might kill someone.

This brilliant piece of balderdash – packed with money, class warfare, sex and dastardly lawyers – is the perfect antidote to life right now. We need this!

War … what is it good for? At last, we have an answer: delivering eight hours of high-quality balderdash direct to your TV screens for your glorious delectation. Hurrah!

For War, you see, is the name of George Kay’s latest venture. As the creator of, among many other things, two series of the impeccably preposterous Hijack, you know you are in for a rollicking treat. And so it proves with this story of two horrible rich, famous people, divorcing in the public eye and battling it out in court via two teams of even more horrible, rich lawyers with everyone bent on doing as much harm to the other side as possible.

From stag and hen dos to luxury weekends, fans are spending big to create their own version of the hit show

On Thursday night, the singer-songwriter James Blunt, Love Island host Maya Jama and mathematician Hannah Fry were among the 21 Celebrity Traitors returning to UK screens for another round of deceit and detective work. Famously, contestants do not stay at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands during filming, and the venue is not a hotel, so fans cannot book their own overnight stays without hiring the entire Ross-shire estate. But that has not stopped people from trying to recreate their own versions.

The show’s surging popularity has been accompanied by a bonanza in Traitors-style events across the UK. From stag and hen dos to castle conspiracy weekends, event companies now host year-round imitations for fans looking to recreate the drama of the candle-lit roundtable. The show is also proving to be a boom for the owners of Britain’s crumbling castles – with wealthy fans even hiring them out for their own private events.

Exclusive: Findings will bolster those in No 10 who want to negotiate on re-entry but some senior figures remain wary

Andy Burnham’s personal preference to rejoin the European Union after the next election is supported by almost half of all voters, a new megapoll has found, although cabinet ministers concerned about reopening Brexit divides are privately urging him to proceed with caution.

The poll by the Messina Group (TMG) found that renegotiating the UK’s relationship with the EU could boost Labour’s vote share by as much as seven points, if the prime minister offered a fresh referendum in which he campaigned to re-enter the bloc.

Man, most likely in Iran, was in contact with men arrested on the eve of Yom Kippur, police say

Two Iranian men have been charged in relation to an alleged terror plot targeting Manchester’s Jewish community.

​Police say another man, most likely in Iran, was in contact with them as part of a plot to get a bomb to attack Jewish targets.

Exclusive: Education secretary sends Ofsted back to ‘drawing board’ as teachers raise serious concerns about new system

School inspections in England will be overhauled for the second time in a year, after a barrage of complaints that the new system was dangerously stressful and damaging teachers’ mental health.

Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will tell the schools regulator Ofsted to “go back to the drawing board” after becoming concerned that inspection changes overseen by her predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, were creating problems for headteachers.

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts, say police

The man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe has been charged with engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism including against Nigel Farage.

Joshua Kerry, 28, of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service on Friday with one count of preparation of terrorist acts. The charge relates to activity alleged to have taken place between 31 May 2024 and 8 July this year, counter-terrorism police said.