Deputy PM David Lammy Claimed Almost £7,000 For Help With His Tax Returns

David Lammy has charged taxpayers nearly £7,000 for help with his tax return.

The senior Labour MP used his Commons expenses to pay accountants’ fees 10 times before the practice was outlawed last year.

Figures published by the Parliamentary pay body reveal that he first used public money for the service back in 2012, with a £936 claim for ’60 per cent of accountants’ fees’.

He continued to claim back more than £600 a year for ‘parliamentary accountancy’ for much of the next decade, with a final claim for £247 in March 2024.

In total, his claims came to £6,604 before the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) declared that it would no longer ‘accept any claims relating to preparing a self-assessment tax return’ from the 2024-25 tax year onwards.

A spokesman for Mr Lammy, who is now Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, insisted his claims were made and declared in line with rules set out by IPSA.

But John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance campaign group said: ‘Taxpayers up and down the country are finding the tax burden ever more burdensome with successive chancellors raising rates, freezing thresholds and layering on complexity.

‘With the Deputy Prime Minister’s Government being the worst culprit of this, he should be considering how this will look to his constituents.’

And independent tax consultant David Whiscombe said: ‘I’m sure that many MPs with income and gains from non-parliamentary sources have complicated tax affairs which warrant taking professional advice. But that has never been a reason, in my view, to expect the cost to be funded by the public.

‘Being an MP does not of itself complicate an individual’s tax affairs to the extent that it makes it necessary to take professional advice. In my view, IPSA’s change of practice is justified and overdue.’

It just goes to show that some MPs are screwing the taxpayer, and we’ve still got three and a half years of these Labour cheats – roll on 2029.

However, before they’re gone, they will have us paying tens of billions more to the EU that we will be tied into for decades, even though Labour keeps on finding even more black holes that we, the taxpayers, have to fill and that will not benefit the UK or its people.

Not only that, they are giving away our freedoms, and the population here will have risen by another 10 million, as they said they wanted to welcome another 5 million foreign workers, even though we have millions unemployed here, but they still keep receiving them, rather than doing anything physical to stop them.

Being a small nation, we are unable to support both those who are already here and those who are being welcomed by our government.

Our MPs have been creaming the system for years, even before Labour. Looks like they’re not as stupid as they look, especially Diane Abbott, who always looks miserable – does the woman ever smile? But then, cunning and intelligence are not the same because they are all self-serving, odious parasites who should be serving prison time.

WWII Codebreaking Hero Ruth Bourne Dies Aged 98

Codebreaker Ruth Bourne, who worked alongside Alan Turing to crack the Germans’ Enigma code, has passed away aged 99.

After joining the Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Service), Ms Bourne, from High Barnet in north London, worked at locations around Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire as a Bombe machine operator and checker.

She was chosen to work at the secret location to decode intercepted Nazi messages.

In 2018, she was awarded the Legion d’honneur – France’s highest military honour – in honour of her service.

The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans wrote on Facebook: ‘Ruth’s contribution to the monumental task of breaking the Enigma cypher was truly historic.

‘Ruth was a remarkable woman with immense charm and charisma, and she will be dearly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.’

Millions of lives were saved during the war when codebreakers used the Bombe machine to crack the Nazis’ Enigma code, which was employed to encrypt messages.

Their work allowed British intelligence to move more quickly and act upon the data the Bletchley team gave them, contributing to a number of fundamental military successes during the war.

Additionally, it led to the industrialisation of codebreaking and paved the path for the earliest modern computers.

Having signed the Official Secrets Act, Ms Bourne, who was raised in a Jewish family from Birmingham, kept silent about her work for more than 35 years.

Ruth was just 17 years old when she was a trainee member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, when she was told that she would be joining the Women of Bletchley Park.

She had to sign a contract that bound her to endless hours of work, no social life and no way to leave once she had agreed.

Ruth was recruited to be a member of the team at HMS Pembroke V as part of the SDX special duties. Bletchley Park workers consisted of two different teams, the ‘y station’, who were the women responsible for picking up the German Enigma code, and the ‘x station’, who were responsible for bombe operation, like Ruth herself.

Most of the ladies hired were blind-sighted and had no prior experience with bombe operations.

The workers were only shown a few machines for training purposes for the recruitment of the job. They were told not to ask any questions.

The position itself included preparing the machines each day, turning the drums on the front and plugging up the boards at the back according to settings laid out in a menu.

While Ruth was a checker, she would be in charge of waiting for data to come through as ‘confirmed.’ When this occurred, she would then have to make a call to report the stop on the code menu, which would be checked by other members of Bletchley.

Ruth had little time for breaks because her job required her to be on her feet all day.

There was a term ‘mustard’, which meant that workers at Bletchley Park were told what they were going to do without any debate or choice of their own. From the very first day of her work as a bombe operator to when her time at Bletchley ended, Ruth did what she was told on request. Her work as a bombe operator started in early 1944 and continued until the end of the war in 1945.

In 1945, when World War II ended, all of the workers at Bletchley Park were informed that they must continue to keep their work there a secret. It was not until 1974 that the book ‘The Ultra Secret’ was published. It was then that she, along with other Bletchley Park workers, was able to tell their families about their involvement in bringing down Nazi Germany.

Ruth explained what it was like when the news eventually broke, saying that ‘you got so used to not talking to anyone’, and that even after they were permitted to reveal their positions, she would still not talk about her experience in depth.

On 18 December 2025, it was reported that Bourne had died at the age of 99.

It’s amusing how we hand out honours to tattooed footballers, TV presenters and singers, but not to people who helped save our country.

We should be sanctifying all those who were code breakers, because without them, the outcome of the war would have certainly been different. These people were the brains of the war. In fact, we will never actually know how many lives these people saved, and we owe them a world of debt and gratitude.

It also makes me wonder what she thought of what has become of the country that she helped save.

What Did You Say?

It is widely acknowledged that effective communication is essential in all clinical consultations.

In all English-speaking nations, English must be spoken fluently.

Nurses and doctors should not be hired unless they are highly proficient in the language; otherwise, how can they demonstrate safe practice in their line of work?

In order to deliver high-quality treatment and practise in the UK, they must be proficient in the English language.

Clinicians who consult in languages other than English are not welcome. Patients, particularly the elderly, find it impolite in addition to perplexing.

Patients must be informed in an understandable manner, and it is absolutely inappropriate and disrespectful for health professionals to speak to one another in the presence of a patient in a language other than English, especially when the patient involved doesn’t understand that language.

One of the tenets of the medical profession is that physicians must always behave in the best interests of their patients.

To facilitate communication with patients, a physician or nurse should speak the same mother tongue.

The problem is, we are not an English-speaking country anymore, and most of the people that live here have little or no English comprehension, and that makes life very difficult indeed.

Some people would say that they don’t care that they can’t speak the language and that if they don’t like it, they should go home. Well, that might be the case, but while they are here, they should be entitled to some healthcare, but they should also be able to support themselves so that they can pay for it – we are not a charity!

Nigel Farage said that the NHS should not hire doctors who don’t speak very good English, and I agree with him, but then, on the other hand, he was probably ranting empty words which he knew would get him a ton of support from his target audience. After all, it doesn’t matter whether it actually makes any sense, so long as loads of his voters believe it does.

I’m not suggesting that doctors who don’t speak very good English are not highly qualified, I’m sure that they are, but all doctors in England should have the ability to communicate in English so that we can understand them because by not understanding them it doesn’t give the patient very much confidence in their doctor, and also having to ask over and over again, ‘What did you say?’

Builders Use “Swift Bricks” And “Garden-Grabbing”

Labour has disclosed additional sweeping changes to England’s planning rules as ministers scramble to build a promised 1.5 million new homes within five years.

Under what is declared to be the most significant planning shake-up in more than a decade, ministers said thousands more homes will be built faster in every region.

The Government said its latest update to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) would make the planning system ‘clearer’ and ‘more predictable’.

The proposed modifications are in line with earlier Labour-introduced policies from December of last year, and the NPPF outlines how planning regulations should be applied.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government pledged the latest modifications would bring ‘higher-density development’ and ‘simplified biodiversity rules’. 

But the Tories argued Labour was returning ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics and targeting green belt land due to a failure to build on brownfield sites.

Wildlife organisations also reacted negatively to the relaxation of biodiversity regulations.

This is how your neighbourhood might be affected by Labour’s most recent planning revisions:

More homes near train stations in the green belt

High-rise projects in towns and cities, as well as default permits for residences near rail stations, are among the suggested modifications to the NPPF.

Stations will be categorised as well-connected based on the number of train services available and the economic performance of the area.

Development within a 15-minute walk of the station will then be permitted, even if it is within the green belt.

The only prerequisite will be a minimum density of 50 homes per hectare.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said the default ‘yes’ approach will apply near stations ‘within existing settlements and around well-connected stations outside settlements’.

The same default ‘yes’ will apply to new homes building upwards in towns and cities.

Additionally, Labour promises to facilitate the construction of higher-density housing, such as contemporary apartments and flats, on smaller plots and, when suitable, underutilised land.

Ministers also promised to support a more varied mix of housing, including accessible homes for the elderly and disabled, as well as inexpensive dwellings in rural areas.

They promised to give special consideration to projects that boost regional economies and offer new services, such as stores, recreational centres, and food production.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: ‘Right now we see a planning system that still isn’t working well enough.

‘A system saying ‘no’ more often than it says ‘yes’ and that favours obstructing instead of building.

‘It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation.

‘We owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.’

A return to ‘garden-grabbing’?

In response to the NPPF changes, the Tories claimed that Labour was returning to ‘garden-grabbing’ tactics, where new housing is built on existing residential gardens.

Ministers were accused of obliterating planning protections introduced by the Coalition government, including the scrapping of a clause stating that local plans ‘should consider the case for setting out policies to resist inappropriate development of residential gardens’.

There are concerns that Labour’s changes could encourage developers to buy up swathes of homes and pack more properties into existing plots, including those on former gardens.

Sir James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said: ‘Rather than holding their urban mayors to account, they are returning to John Prescott’s failed regime of garden-grabbing, with quiet suburban neighbourhoods facing the prospect of ugly apartment blocks being erected on their green spaces against their wishes.

‘In desperation at their own failure to build, Labour are now abandoning any pretence of caring about communities.’

‘Swift bricks’ in all new homes

All new homes in England will have to include ‘swift bricks’ to help protect endangered birds under Labour’s shake-up of planning rules.

The cavity bricks cost about £35 each and are installed in homes to provide vital nesting homes for migratory birds.

Swift populations in Britain are estimated to have slumped by 66 per cent between 1995 and 2022, which has been blamed on a reduction in their traditional nesting sites.

There are worries that there could be fewer than 25,000 breeding pairs left in five years without action.

Swifts fly north to Europe each summer, where they frequently make their nests in buildings, but they spend the winters in sub-Saharan Africa.

The nooks and crannies where birds have built their nests for centuries have been eliminated by modern insulation, especially on roofs.

Swift bricks will be considered a prerequisite for new homes under Labour’s plans.

The new planning rules say: ‘New builds to include nature-friendly features, such as installing swift bricks, to support wildlife – adding little to building costs whilst delivering a win-win for nature and housebuilding.’

Gemma Cantelo, head of policy and advocacy for RSPB England, said: ‘The Government’s plans to include nature-friendly design features, like swift bricks, into new build homes must be mandatory and enforced.

‘Guidance that can be ignored is not enough. We need to make nature integral to building new homes, not an afterthought or a corner to be cut.

‘If nature-friendly building design is to become the norm, not just for wifts but for hedgehogs, bats and pollinators, we need firm rules, monitoring and enforcement.

‘And we need an end to the UK Government’s anti-nature rhetoric for good.’ 

A weakening of biodiversity rules

Conservationists warned about new exemptions from England’s ‘biodiversity net gain’ (BNG) rules.

They said this risked hollowing out the emerging market in which developers have to pay not only to replace habitat lost to development, but to deliver a 10 per cent gain for nature.

Labour has frequently targeted bats, newts, snails and other wildlife as it outlines steps to free the planning system in its scramble to build 1.5 million new homes in England over five years.

Under BNG reforms disclosed as part of the planning changes, ministers proposed that smaller developments under 0.2 hectares should be exempt from the rules, with an additional targeted exemption for brownfield housing sites.

In order to support medium-sized projects, the government also promised to make BNG delivery off-site quicker, simpler, and less expensive.

The Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL) coalition of environment and nature groups warned that exempting so many small sites, which dominate England’s planning system, could wreck the policy.

Richard Benwell, WCL chief executive, said: ‘To meet its electoral promise of halting wildlife decline, Government should strengthen green economy rules, not shrink them.

‘Rapidly applying net gain to all major infrastructure and stopping developers dodging their environmental responsibilities should be clear priorities, not more carve-outs.

‘So far, this has been a Parliament of delay and relentless deregulatory threats to nature.’

Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: ‘The decision to exempt sites under 0.2 hectares from BNG flies in the face of the UK Government’s promise to be ‘the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had’.

‘It’s a blow for nature, for local communities and for business confidence in the future of BNG.

‘BNG was designed as a win-win for nature and development, ensuring more wildlife and green spaces where people live.

‘By diluting this policy, failing to close existing loopholes and signalling its plans to consult on further exemptions, the Government has chosen developers’ profits over public health and wellbeing.

‘People in nature-poor towns and cities will suffer most, with clean water, healthy soils, and flood protection all at risk.

‘It also undermines fair competition for developers committed to doing the right thing.’

Responding to questions in the House of Commons on the planning reforms, Mr Pennycook rejected an accusation that he is ‘pitting nature protection against house building’ from Green Party MP Ellie Chowns.

‘I have never, and I will not pit development against the environment. This Government has sought a win-win for both,’ Mr Pennycook said.

The issue is that we will never be completely satisfied with any party that wins.

They pledge things that they plan to do as part of their campaign, and then go back on it, and do the complete opposite, which means they are breaking a verbal contract that they made with the British people. Their manifesto is more like a PR stunt than anything else, and they should not promise what they cannot deliver.

It’s admirable that they want to construct homes for people, but the problem is that they will fill them with millions of undeserving third-world immigrants.

The number of immigrants is still skyrocketing, and many of them bring their cultures with them. Immigration must cease, and individuals who are eligible for deportation should be returned, along with their large families.

These homes should be for British people! There has been enough of this insanity – England is full, there is no more room at the Inn.

We now live in an extensive urban sprawl, and extremely soon our villages and towns will be completely interlinked by housing estates, with not a blade of grass to be seen, but we need green belts to oxygenate the air that we breathe and to cultivate things – undoubtedly Labour doesn’t think so!

Our government won’t rest until our once beautiful country has been totally paved over and full of migrant people. Gone are the days of surnames like ‘Smith or Jones’, and the British people will be eradicated.

And who will buy these homes? Gen Z don’t have a pot to p*ss in, and most people are on the dole because there are no jobs for them.

We have an immigration crisis, not a housing crisis. We wouldn’t have to damage our countryside if we stopped allowing migrants to enter and sent those who shouldn’t be here back.

If migrants come to our country and they don’t have a job to go to or any financial support, then they should be sent straight back from whence they came.

Strike By The Metropolitan Police On New Year’s Eve

Metropolitan Police call centre staff will strike on New Year’s Eve, causing ‘delays to emergency call-outs’ in a dispute over pay.

Trade union Unite said 175 of its members were expected to walk out on one of the busiest days of the year, in a 25-hour-long protest.

The group admitted Londoners will have ‘concerns’ – but insisted there is ‘no choice’.

Protesters include members of the office staff who service and dispatch vehicles, such as police cars and motorbikes, as well as employees who record crime reports and technicians.

The walkout, due to start at 6 am, follows complaints from staff that they have not received a pay increase from the Met for this financial year.

Unite regional officer Keith Henderson said: ‘We know Londoners will be concerned to hear of strikes on New Year’s Eve, but our members at the Met feel they have no choice but to strike in their fight for a fair pay rise.’

It follows the news that resident doctors will also strike this week – putting patients at risk of ‘dying’ – despite a last-ditch endeavour by the Government to avoid bringing hospitals to a standstill.

Health secretary Wes Streeting criticised the announcement as ‘self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous’, warning of ‘fatal harm’.

Unite anticipates its Met call centre strike action will be ‘very disruptive’, causing ‘delays to emergency call-outs’.

Members say the Met has paid a 4.2 per cent pay rise to police officers and all other forces in the UK – but not to them.

Last year, policing New Year’s Eve cost the Met almost £2.3 million, according to the union.

Meanwhile, Mr Streeting has anticipated this week’s resident doctors’ strike will be ‘most painful for the NHS’.

He said: ‘The BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at the moment of maximum danger, refusing to postpone them to January to help patients and other NHS staff cope over Christmas.

‘There is no need for these strikes to go ahead this week, and it reveals the BMA’s shocking disregard for patient safety and for other NHS staff.

‘These strikes are self-indulgent, irresponsible and dangerous.

‘The government’s offer would have halved competition for jobs and put more money in resident doctors’ pockets, but the BMA has again rejected it because it doesn’t meet their ask of a further 26 per cent pay rise.

‘Resident doctors have already had a 28.9 per cent pay rise—there is no justification for striking just because this fantasy demand has not been met.

‘I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to go to work this week.’

Watch this space, next it will be Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves going on strike because it’s becoming a free-for-all under Labour.

The unfortunate reality is that there is no money – our government has spent it all, as they prefer to give it away on vanity projects, and I won’t even mention pensions!

Whether you believe in strike action or not, I believe that we can all agree that working people should receive a pay rise in line with inflation.

Anyone who’s paid by the taxpayer should not be allowed to strike!

Whatever their grievance, going on strike on such an important day merely demonstrates the unions’ lack of concern for public safety and services, and striking equates to blackmail.

THIS IS THE WINTER OF DISCONTENT!

Nick Reiner Charged With Parents’ Deaths

Famed director Rob Reiner admitted that he was ‘scared’ for his son Nick, who was reportedly causing a scene at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party over the weekend, asking people if they were famous.

Hours after the party, Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, were found dead inside their Los Angeles mansion.

Los Angeles police have since confirmed that their son, Nick, 32, is ‘responsible’ for their deaths, and he will now remain in jail without bail.

Although officials did not release any additional facts about the killings, a police source who spoke to the Associated Press believes the couple suffered brutal stab wounds and were found with their throats slit on Sunday night.

At the time of Nick’s arrest, his sister Romy, 28, who found their parents’ bodies, told investigators her brother ‘should be a suspect’ because he was ‘dangerous.’ 

In a 2018 podcast appearance, Nick once revealed that he destroyed the family’s guest home, where he was living while high on meth. ‘It’s not much of a story. I got totally spun out on uppers—I think it was Coke and something else—and I was up for days on end,’ he revealed, before adding that he ‘punched’ various appliances around the guest house. 

But President Donald Trump claimed Reiner and Singer’s murders were the result of what he called ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ in a post on Truth Social on Monday. 

Rob Reiner had told the other attendees at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party that he and his wife, Michele, were ‘scared for Nick and scared that his mental state was deteriorating,’ a longtime friend told the New York Post.

‘Nick was supposedly off drugs,’ but then speculation emerged that he was ‘not so much off them,’ the neighbour said, noting that when Nick was at his lowest point, he was ‘badly addicted to a combo of opiates and heroin.’

Another friend of the family said, ‘I know [Rob and Michele] wanted him to get help, go to rehab, but he wanted to get help while at home – he did not want to get treatment at a facility.’

The 32-year-old has been booked on felony murder and was initially being held in the Los Angeles jail on $4 million bail.

His bond has now been revoked, according to jail records.

Police announced on social media that the case against Nick will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration on Tuesday.

Donald Trump needs to take his post down on Truth Social. It’s beneath even him.

He’s a terrible piece of work. Trump wants to gain points after the poor man and his wife were slaughtered. The man has no class and is a total fraud, and I can never understand who would want to stand by him and what he does. Perhaps they have been completely brainwashed? Although, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to cause any divide where Trump is concerned, this is only my view of him.

Nick Reiner is a drug addict, and his parents likely spent millions on his 17 attempts at sobriety – some people are just beyond help, and Trump being Trump – no compassion, no finesse and no brains.

Hollywood Murder Probe

Police are looking into what appears to be a double homicide after Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were discovered dead in their Los Angeles home.

Police confirmed on Sunday night that the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman discovered inside the couple’s $13.5 million Brentwood mansion were those of Reiner and his wife.

Law enforcement sources said the couple’s bodies appeared to have suffered knife wounds.

Their daughter Romy, who lives just across the street, stumbled upon a grim scene inside the sprawling six-bedroom estate, People reports.

Earlier this month, Romy revealed she was thankful for ‘family and health’.

A Reiner family spokesman confirmed the deaths, saying: ‘It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,’ they said. ‘We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.’

Los Angeles Police Department detectives say the deaths are being investigated as homicides, and a heavy police presence was at the home on Sunday evening. 

A neighbour told ABC7 that Larry David and Billy Crystal—who starred in Reiner’s rom-com classic When Harry Met Sally—visited the crime scene separately, and Crystal allegedly ‘looked like he was about to cry’ before he left.

Reiner and his wife reportedly lived in the home, and property records obtained by the Daily Mail indicate that they are the owners.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Reiner and the LAPD for comment.

In a press conference, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said a suspect in the murders had not yet been identified. He added that no one had yet been interviewed as a suspect and that no one was in custody.

‘We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation,’ Hamilton continued.

He noted that the bodies were still in the home, as police were waiting on a warrant to reenter the home and begin their investigation after determining that there was no further threat.

Hamilton added that the home was in the exact same state that it had been after police first arrived to find the bodies. 

Since the LA County Coroner will make the official announcement, the LAPD declined to identify the bodies.

LAFD paramedics were dispatched to the mansion on Chadbourne Avenue at 3.38 pm.

Just minutes after arriving, LAFD members on the scene reportedly called LAPD officers to the scene in an ‘ambulance death investigation’.

In a statement, LA Mayor Karen Bass said she was ‘heartbroken’ by the Reiners’ deaths, calling them ‘a devastating loss for our city and our country’.

‘Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,’ Bass said.

In September, Reiner released Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the sequel to his iconic 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which he co-wrote, directed and appeared in.

Reiner followed his father, the comic actor and filmmaker Carl Reiner — who died in 2020 at 98—into Hollywood, where he became known as an actor, director and a tenacious advocate of liberal politics.

Rob Reiner first emerged as an actor and is best known for his role as Michael ‘Meathead’ Stivic on All In The Family.

He won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for five Golden Globes during his time on the series from 1971 to 1978. 

Reiner helped reinvent his career in the 1980s with his forward-looking comedy This Is Spinal Tap, which would go on to inspire numerous mockumentaries. 

He became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand directors for the next two decades due to classics and box office hits such as Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), The American President (1995) and The Bucket List (2007). 

Despite concentrating his efforts on directing, Reiner continued to act in his later years, including a role as the father of Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead character in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013), as well as later roles in his own film And So It Goes (2014), the Adam Sandler–starring comedy Sandy Wexler (2017) and, most recently, his Spinal Tap sequel. 

Reiner’s 1989 film When Harry Met Sally is widely regarded as one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made.

It was on the set of that film that Reiner met his future wife, the photographer Michele Singer. The two were married in 1989 and went on to welcome three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.

Reiner was once married to the late actress and filmmaker Penny Marshall, and he adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Marshall died in 2018 at 75. 

Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, 32, has previously talked about his struggles with drug addiction and episodes of homelessness. 

In 2016, Rob directed the film Being Charlie, a semi-autobiographical drama written by Nick that he said was inspired by his numerous rehab visits, the first of which was around the time he turned 15. 

‘I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,’ Nick recalled while speaking about the film in a 2016 interview with People. ‘I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.’

Nick, who said he had gone to rehab 17 more times as of 2016, also claimed to have lived on the streets after he refused to go back to a rehab program.

In 2016, when he was 22, he said that his last rehab stint had been three years earlier.

He said at the time of Being Charlie’s release that he hoped to stay off drugs so that he would never be homeless again.

‘When I was out there, I could’ve died. It’s all luck. You roll the dice, and you hope you make it,’ he told People.

In an interview with the BUILD series while promoting Being Charlie in 2016, Nick said that he ‘didn’t bond’ well with his father, who sat by his side during the interview, when he was younger.

‘It really clicked for me because we didn’t bond a lot as a kid,’ Nick said. ‘He really liked baseball, I liked basketball, and he could watch that with my brother—baseball—but I just, when I saw [Rob Reiner direct Being Charlie], it was something that I’m interested in.

‘I was like, “Wow, he really knows a lot,” and it made me feel closer to him,’ Nick said at the time.

Romy, Reiner’s daughter, posted a life update and adorable photos of herself and her father earlier this month.

‘Thankful for family, health, and followers of any age. Not thankful for the president and the state of our country,’ she wrote on Instagram.

Her obvious swipe at Trump echoed Reiner’s own political views. The staunch Democrat had railed against a Trump presidency and frequently supported liberal candidates.

Democrats honouring Reiner on Sunday night included former president Barack Obama, former presidential contender Kamala Harris, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

‘Jen and I are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner,’ Newsom wrote.

He went on to describe the world-renowned director as ‘the big-hearted genius behind so many of the classic stories we love, with products as wide ranging as The Princess Bride to A Few Good Men.

‘His boundless empathy made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see goodness and righteousness in others – and encouraging us to dream bigger.’

Newsom praised his continued advocacy for ‘children and civil rights,’ spotlighting some of the causes he was most passionate about.

‘From taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality to serving as a powerful voice in early education, he made California a better place through his good works.’

He said Reiner ‘will be remembered for his remarkable filmography and for his extraordinary contribution to humanity.’

Obama said his ‘achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen.

‘But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.

‘Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for their values they championed and the countless people they inspired. We send our deepest condolences to all who loved them.’

Actor-filmmaker Ben Stiller, who has been on record calling Reiner a major influence in his career, called the deaths ‘a huge loss’. 

He added, ‘Rob Reiner was one of my favourite directors. He made some of the most formative movies for my generation. He came out from behind a huge comedic shadow of the great Carl Reiner, and being a TV actor to being a great director who made an incredible run of movies.’

Stiller said he felt that ‘Spinal Tap is one of the best comedies ever made – and the list goes on.’

He ended by saying of Reiner, ‘He was a kind, caring person who was really, really funny. I didn’t know him well but was always a fan, and I feel a real sadness for those who did, and his family.’

Corey Feldman, who appeared in 1986’s Stand By Me, directed by Reiner, voiced his sadness at the death of the filmmaker.

Stand By Me’s John Cusack said, ‘Shocked by the death of Rob Reiner – a great man.’ 

The actor and Monty Python member Eric Idle announced that he had spoken to Reiner the night before his body was discovered. 

‘Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour,’ Idle shared on X. ‘I always enjoyed his company.

He recalled having met Reiner at his father Carl Reiner’s home in 1975.

‘He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future,’ he wrote. ‘This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.’

Many individuals in the US and Australia have had a difficult weekend thus far, and I’m sure that many prayers will be offered for the deceased.

Rob Reiner was Jewish, which makes you wonder if this was political, and Jewishness virtually created Hollywood. It’s Hannukkah, and every Jewish person should be on red alert.

No matter our political views, Rob and his wife did not deserve this. He gave the world a lot of amazing entertainment over the years.

Sadly, Rob Reiner and his wife had stab wounds, which are generally thought to be personal. So, perhaps it was done by somebody they knew.

There has now been an update that the late director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle allegedly had their throats cut after a frenzied argument with a family member boiled over.

As police look into the sad double murder, Nick, the couple’s son, is reportedly a person of interest.

TMZ reported that the pair’s daughter told cops a family member “should be a suspect” because they’re “dangerous”.

The LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division is currently looking into what caused the alleged altercation.

According to several people who have met with the family, investigators will talk to son Nick about the horrifying stabbing.

Nick, who reportedly lives in LA, has seldom been seen publicly since he opened up about his struggles with drug addiction in 2016.

Toffee Crisp And Blue Riband BANNED From Calling Themselves Chocolate

Chocolate makers Nestlé have been stopped from calling two favoured bars chocolate – forced into a change of descriptions following recipe overhauls.

Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband products are now officially described as ‘encased’ in a ‘milk chocolate flavour coating’ – having previously been ‘covered in milk chocolate’.

This action comes after cocoa, the primary ingredient in chocolate, was reduced in many other confections and replaced with more vegetable oil.

Club and Penguin bars are now being labelled ‘chocolate flavoured’ – a watered-down description, with palm oil and shea oil increasingly filling in.

Price-cutting measures have been blamed, amid the rising cost of living, as well as failed harvests in key supplier nations such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast, reducing supplies and pushing up wholesale prices.

Other mainstream snacks affected include white chocolate digestives and mini rolls, as shown in a Daily Mail graphic illustrating the variations between various goodies.

British regulations deem that any product described as milk chocolate must have at least 20 per cent cocoa solids and 20 per cent milk solids -though these are less stringent than European Union equivalents.

With more of a less expensive vegetable fat used in place of cocoa, Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband bars have now dropped below those home-based levels.

Nestlé said the new ‘reformulations’ to Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband bars were due to ‘higher input costs’, though it insisted they were ‘carefully developed and sensory tested’ and no other products would be similarly affected.

Both items are now being promoted as having ‘chocolate flavoured coating’ rather than the previous description, ‘milk chocolate’, the Grocer reported.

A Nestlé spokesman said: ‘We’d like to assure shoppers that these changes have been carefully developed and sensory tested with taste and quality remaining a top priority.

‘Like every manufacturer, we’ve seen significant increases in the cost of cocoa over the past years, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products.’

They added that the firm’s aims were ‘to be more efficient and absorb increasing costs where possible’ – but it was ‘sometimes necessary to adjust the recipes of some of our products’. 

The firm’s online description of Toffee Crisp now calls it a ‘bar of delicious soft caramel and crispy cereal pieces, all encased in a smooth milk chocolate flavour coating’. 

Nestlé’s site also encourages potential buyers: ‘Delight your senses with our Blue Riband biscuit bar, consisting of four layers of crisp wafer and creamy praline covered in smooth milk chocolate flavour coating.’

In recent analysis of authentic chocolate content, Mars-owned Galaxy Minstrels top the charts with 75 per cent, according to officially listed ingredient rundowns, followed by the same firm’s Maltesers at 73 per cent. 

Nestlé’s Smarties place next on 65 per cent, ahead of Club orange bars, which have 49 per cent of chocolate content, Tesco listings show.

Yet there are subtle descriptions involved, with the top three classified as ‘milk chocolate’ – while Clubs are labelled as having ‘chocolate flavoured coating’.

Others shown, which opt for similar labels, include Penguin bars at 29 per cent, which have a ‘chocolate flavoured coating’.

Others listed include McVitie’s White Digestives (35 per cent) and with ‘white chocolate flavour coating’, while Wagon Wheels (24 per cent) are believed to have been ‘chocolate flavoured coating’ for some time.

Both Club and Penguin bars are made by McVitie’s, whose parent firm, Pladis, confirmed they now contain more palm oil and shea oil than cocoa solids in coatings.

Other items now described by the same producer as ‘chocolate flavoured’ include Mini BN and BN Mini Rolls.

And the changing circumstances have also forced an overhaul of the long-running Club advertising catchphrase, previously ‘If you like a lot of chocolate on your biscuit, join our Club’ but now ‘If you like a lot of biscuit in your break, join our Club’.

They said that they had made some modifications, essentially translated as ‘we have found another way to mug you off and boost our profits.’ However, this is capitalism for you!

Not to mention the shrinkage—all chocolates used to be much larger than they are now.

The tip here is, if the taste changes and you don’t like it, quit buying it. After all, it’s hardly a staple food, and if you allow something to pull the wool over your eyes more than once, it’s not on the company, it’s on you!

Some GCSE And A-Level Exams Could Be Taken On Laptops By 2030

GCSE and A-level exams could be taken on laptops as early as 2030, after students complained of writing fatigue because their hand muscles ‘aren’t strong enough’.

Exams watchdog, Ofqual, is launching a three-month public consultation about the intro of on-screen assessments as teachers say students who habitually use keyboards have ‘lost handwriting stamina’.

Under the recommendations, exam boards will not be able to put forward on-screen exams in subjects taken by more than 100,000 pupils in a year.

This means some GCSE exams in smaller-entry subjects, including some languages and in any A-level exams except maths, could move onto screens from around 2030.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ofqual chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham said: ‘You do hear people say: “I don’t handwrite very much so my handwriting is poor” or “I feel I can’t hold the pen for long enough” or “My hand muscles are not strong enough.”

Under the proposals, Ofqual will ask four exam boards to put forward two new specifications, each to include an on-screen assessment component rather than the traditional pen and paper. 

So if accepted, a total of eight new GCSE, AS or A-level exams with at least one component assessed digitally could be in place by as early as 2030.

Since schools are required to supply the infrastructure for the proposed changes, questions have been raised regarding the fairness of the new proposals, given the disparities in the technology capabilities of schools across the nation.

While the regulator will prohibit students from using their own personal phones, laptops, or tablets, concerns about cybersecurity risks and the possibility of technical failure have also been voiced.

‘If any more on-screen assessment is going to happen, it needs to be done in a way which is managed and in the interests of students, commands public confidence and is deliverable, importantly, for schools and colleges,’ said Sir Bauckham.

‘Letting pupils use their own devices would be unfair.

‘You’d have some that had state-of-the-art, fancy Apple Macs, and you’d have some that would have very slow, potentially vulnerable devices,’ he added.

A-level and GCSE maths, as well as GCSE English language, literature, combined science, biology, chemistry, physics, history, geography, religious studies, French, Spanish, and business, are currently ineligible for on-screen exams.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘Technology is at the forefront of this Government’s mission to spread opportunity and modernise our education system.

‘We know interest in on-screen exams is growing, and aligning assessment with an increasingly digital world could bring valuable benefits, including for children with SEND.

‘But it’s also important that any shift is phased, controlled and above all, fair. We will continue to work closely with Ofqual and the wider sector to make sure we protect the high standards and integrity of our exam system and retain the confidence of schools, families and employers.’

Exam boards can submit their potential qualifications after the consultation for on-screen exams closes on March 5.

If approved, the new specifications would ideally be in schools three years before the first exams happen, meaning the first exams could take place in 2030.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘We’re really pleased that Ofqual is exploring the potential for on-screen assessment in the future, as there are several possible benefits to utilising digital technology for exams.

‘This would represent a significant change, with many practical issues, and a measured approach is the right way to proceed.’

Exam boards have previously tried to introduce on-screen assessments, but to no avail.

What on earth are these kids going to do if they’re required to do a job which requires some form of manual labour?

It does, however, make you giggle. These children have no problem holding a cell phone for extended periods of time, yet they struggle to write with a pen, and there won’t be much manual labour being executed by humans in the end; it will all be done by AI. All there will be are a load of influencers or people on benefits. They don’t seem to have enough mental motivation to enable them to work.

Not only that, if these kids are not permitted to do their exams on their own laptops, it would mean that funds would have to go into purchasing new laptops for pupils; it would cost millions of pounds to do this, which I’m guessing the taxpayer will have to fork out for.

Antisemitic Images Allegedly Shown By Primal Scream In London

Primal Scream has faced criticism for reportedly displaying antisemitic imagery while performing in London.

The rock band, whose frontman Bobby Gillespie has long been an outspoken criticiser of Israel, displayed images of a Jewish Star of David merged with a Swastika – the symbol of the Nazis, who exterminated 6 million Jewish people during the holocaust.

The Jewish charity Community Security Trust said it had reported the band to police for antisemitism, while The Roundhouse music venue told The Daily Mail it would be launching an investigation.

The images came on screen during the already controversial song ‘Swastika Eyes’, which was written in 1999 about American foreign policy.

As the band played the song, footage of a devastated Gaza was displayed on screen. Then images of a Star of David – made up of two triangles and representing the Jewish people for centuries – were shown, incorporated with a Swastika.

Pictures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, other Israeli politicians, Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer then appeared with the Star of David/Swastika image twirling in their eyes. The segment concluded with the words, ‘Our Government is complicit in genocide.’

One 47-year-old Jewish fan of the band, who requested not to be named, said he had to leave the concert temporarily as the images so chilled him.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I knew it would be a political concert and that there would likely to be something on Gaza because Bobby Gillespie is sympathetic towards the Palestinians, so I was already a bit nervous.

‘But when I saw this image – pure racism – I felt sick.

‘Obviously, there are a million conversations about what is and what isn’t antisemitism, and I know some people get frustrated because they feel they can’t show any sympathy with Palestinians without being called antisemitic.

‘But using the Jewish star, not even in Israel’s colours, with a Swastika, isn’t even vaguely a grey area. It is pure antisemitism.

‘I just thought about my grandparents, who were both Holocaust survivors, and what they would think about me paying money to see a band that would do this. There are a lot of things they could say about the war which would be powerful, but this belittles any argument they might have.

‘When I saw the image, I had to go out of the concert hall for a bit. It killed the whole gig for me. I have been a fan of their music for a long time – no longer.’

Equating Jews and the Nazis, who wiped out two-thirds of Europe’s Jews, is antisemitism according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which is used by the UK government.

Any political beliefs should be kept out of entertainment venues, and if they are shown for any reason. They should carry a mandatory prison policy, and it just goes to show how many ordinary people support terrorism.

We should not be supporting this kind of thing because that’s when wars carry on and never stop.

I’m not a Primal Scream buff, and never have been. It’s not my style of music, but they apparently have a political agenda, particularly when they’re showing racist imagery.

In addition to being extremely mind-controlling and inciting hatred, they are failing to present a positive image to children whose minds are like sponges.

If Israel and Palestine want to fight a war that neither will ever win, let them, but it’s not everyone else’s fight – everybody else should keep out of it, and as for Primal Scream, we really shouldn’t give them the attention they crave.

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