POLL OF THE DAY

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of being a Leader in Name Only after No 10 sources told The Mail on Sunday the PM was being ‘bullied’ by the Treasury into introducing a mansion tax in the Budget. 

According to the source, the premier was opposed to introducing the measure, out of concerns it would generate negative headlines about ‘little old ladies’ being turfed out of their homes, but was ignored.

Torsten Bell, the Treasury minister who is effectively writing the Budget for Ms Reeves, is understood to have claimed that ‘some form of mansion tax has to happen’.

Sir Keir Starmer has been told that he needs to impose the charges on homes with £2 million or more so that they can placate the party’s Left-wing.

He has been told the move is necessary as a ‘distraction tactic’ to ‘sell’ the Budget on November 26 as an attack on the wealthy rather than ‘working people’.

A No 10 source said: ‘Keir argued privately that a mansion tax would be unfair on little old ladies who lived in large houses which have increased in value over decades but who did not have the disposable income to pay a new charge.

‘He also said that it would raise relatively little money in return for all the political hassle.

‘But Torsten was adamant that it has to happen in order to sell it to the backbenches, and Keir has basically been bullied into agreeing.’

However, Keir Starmer couldn’t have lost control because he would have needed it in the first place, which he apparently did not.

He is a dishonest and unprincipled politician who has consistently lied and used political ploys.

He never has any answers, but is content to lie through his teeth to get himself out of a sticky situation, but he was so frantic for power that he made pledges to get himself elected – but don’t they all do that?

Starmer made manifesto promises and systematically violated every one of them. He’s probably the worst Labour leader that there has ever been, and if there were a contest for the worst Labour leader, he would have succeeded, and to be honest, he probably couldn’t even work a TV remote controller.

From the beginning, he has been weak and cowardly, and now he is even more so.

It’s like a chimp’s tea party, and just when you believe it can’t get any worse, it does.

Living in the UK these days is a terrible experience. It’s not the UK where I grew up; immigrants who rape our women and children have wrecked our culture. Do you truly want to raise your kids here?

Every day Starmer is Prime Minister, he is destroying our country, and I dread to think how much worse it’s going to get with his stupidity over the next few years.

Why on earth did anyone believe that a British-hating, wimpy, human rights lawyer was good prime minister material? But people did, and that’s why a lying and wily fox has the job, and he’s now running the asylum along with all the other lunatics who are nodding and agreeing without a speck of common sense between them.

Keir Starmer needs to resign. Surely he must realise that people want him out, or is he really that stupid?

Let’s face it, Labour is a despicable party, with a despicable ideology, and with those two things put together, they are the British-hating party.

In France, Rachel Reeves’ Pay-Per-Mile Plan Will Tax British Motorists

British drivers travelling abroad will be effectively taxed twice under Rachel Reeves’ new pay-per-mile scheme.

The Chancellor is expected to announce a new levy for electric vehicle (EV) drivers in the upcoming budget.

I believed the idea of introducing electric vehicles was so that they would be more environmentally friendly, but now she wants to tax drivers as well, even more tax on top of more tax and more on top of that, and in France as well. I wasn’t aware that we were in the EU anymore, so how can she put a tax on our cars when they’re not even in the UK? Something’s not quite right here!

We already pay UK Vehicle Excise Duty, so why is she taxing us even more per mile? And how is she getting away with it? There is simply no justification for introducing an overreaching and bureaucratic charging regime, which is going to seriously inconvenience people.

The tariff will also apply to drivers when they are driving on foreign roads.

Motorists visiting France would pay the new tax on top of the ‘péage’ tolls, which exist on French motorways, effectively taxing them twice.

On average, a 1,530-mile trip from Calais to Nice would cost an additional £45.90. 

Critics of the new policy said that the fees applying on non-UK roads was ‘unfair and a huge flaw’.

The average EV driver will pay an extra £250 per year by 2028 under the new tax.

In the meantime, hybrid vehicles will also be subject to a new, albeit reduced, fee.

The Treasury will reportedly make the case that the new tax is required to cover falling fuel duty revenue as more and more vehicle owners go green, with up to six million extra EVs expected to be on the roads by the time the scheme is introduced.

Reeves will also argue the move will be fairer as petrol drivers already pay £600 a year on average in fuel duty.

It will also help the Treasury raise an estimated £1.8 billion by 2031 and help plug a fiscal hole caused by the green transition due to the loss of revenue from petrol cars. It seems like they want their cake and they want to eat it.

Edmund King, president of the AA, told The Telegraph: ‘You would effectively be paying tax twice – to both the French and UK Government.

‘I can’t really see any practical way around it. It would be pretty bureaucratic to have to check your mileage at Dover and have it stamped on some kind of certificate to say you’re leaving the country for two weeks.

‘There are already concerns about the extra checks at the borders, so I think it would be a nightmare. It seems EV drivers would have to pay double taxation.’

The scheme would be aligned to the annual payment of vehicle excise duty (VED), which affects all UK motorists and EV drivers have had to pay the charge since April. 

The new element is being described as ‘VED+’ and being framed as a way to get motorists of green cars to pay more each year.

EV drivers will have to calculate the number of miles they will drive in the year ahead and pay a fee.

If they fall short of that sum, drivers don’t have to fret because the funds can be carried over to the following year, and if they drive more miles than estimated, they would need to top up their payment.

Ministers have been debating pay-per-mile taxes as a long-term substitute for fuel duty for decades, but they now want you to pay extra.

The 52.95p per litre levy on petrol and diesel presently raises £25 billion a year, with an extra £5 billion made from the VAT. 

However, repeated polls have revealed that road-pricing is extremely unpopular among motorists and has been branded a ‘poll tax on wheels’ which amounts to an extra ‘stealth road tax’.

But critics warned any hikes on drivers would be ‘disastrous’ amid a cost-of-living squeeze and because it would threaten to stoke inflation.

The Treasury did not rule out a 3p tariff for overseas mileage.

A spokesman said: ‘Just as it is right to seek a tax system that fairly funds roads, infrastructure and public services, we will look at further support measures to make owning electric vehicles more convenient and more affordable.’

Concerns have also been raised that the tax could be extended to all cars.

On top of this, Reeves is also contemplating ditching the 5p a litre Fuel Duty relief in her Budget this month, in what would be a £2 billion to £3 billion raid on hard-pressed drivers.

This woman is totally mad, and she is the most despised Chancellor of all time. And she appears to want to destroy everyone’s livelihoods, except foreigners and illegal migrants. She needs to give her head a little wobble.

They just want your money. Everything they say is just some form of platitude or vilification, and all they care about is taking as much of people’s money as they can get, and they’re all sociopaths and thieves, and they are deplorable – in the end, you will own nothing and have no privacy.

What else is she going to tax? Perhaps she will tax our faeces – every time we plop one out in the toilet – we shouldn’t give her any ideas, but then at least she would have to pay for her own shite.

SHAMEFUL!

An 83-year-old grandfather was forced to lie on his family’s camp bed in A&E as he endured a ‘shameful’ 12-hour wait for help.

George Morris, from Torrance near Glasgow, started shivering and shaking as his health deteriorated during the arduous wait to be seen by ‘frazzled’ doctors.

The pensioner had been sent to hospital for blood tests by his GP last Sunday amid fears that he had a severe infection and heart ­problems.

Last Sunday, the pensioner’s general practitioner referred him to the hospital for blood tests due to concerns of a serious infection and cardiac issues.

In a last-ditch effort to alleviate the retired training manager’s agony, distressed relatives brought a camp bed to Hairmyres Hospital in North Lanarkshire after he spent hours sitting on a plastic chair in the waiting area.

It was Mr Morris’s second visit to the hospital in 10 days, having already spent nearly 20 hours on a chair at Glasgow Royal Infirmary the previous week for the same infection.

His enraged family has now challenged First Minister John Swinney regarding the condition of Scotland’s NHS.

Daughter Claire Leckie, who was with her father at Hairmyres, challenged the First Minister to come and spend the night in an A&E waiting room himself – and said her father’s experience is indicative of the health system’s sorry state.

She said: ‘I took this picture because it could be anybody – anybody’s grandpa, dad, mum… This is the face of the NHS. John Swinney needs to see for himself.

‘As a family, we feel very strongly that we don’t want our experience to turn into a political football. I really don’t care who’s in charge. It’s not about that. It’s about showing what is happening to people.

‘The staff there are working their socks off to keep people comfortable, but the nurses and the doctors are frazzled, and it was chaos. ‘When we arrived, it was like something out of a disaster film. There were people queuing out the doors and standing up against the walls because there were no seats.’

Secondary school teacher Ms Leckie, 53, managed to locate a wheelchair for her dad to sit in when they arrived about 8 pm, but he could not sit comfortably and was shivering and shaking.

After an initial blood pressure and temperature check at about 10 pm, they were returned to the waiting room. Eventually, Ms Leckie asked her sister to bring a camp bed as the grandfather of three could no longer sit down.

She said: ‘He was shaking so much they weren’t able to get blood from him, we had to hold him still.

‘They said we had to wait for it to be analysed, and the waiting time had gone up to 14 hours. Dad was so unwell. He couldn’t sit in the wheelchair or those plastic chairs any more. He already had to do it for almost 20 hours at the Royal Infirmary the week before.

‘My sister contacted the local MSP, who replied saying they had invested £22 ­million in the NHS. That’s all well and good, but I want to know what’s going to happen if your dad pitches up at A&E next weekend – how is it going to be any different?

‘I understand there’s a log jam for beds, but there needs to be some system whereby dad and others like him can be made comfortable until we can get them where they need to be.

‘There were four ambulances waiting to offload patients, and there’s nowhere for those patients to go. The system is completely broken.’

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, Jackie Baillie, said: ‘John Swinney should not need an invitation to see this crisis for himself – it should keep him up at night.

‘This is a heartbreaking and utterly shameful story.

‘No one, least of all an 83-year-old man sent to hospital on the advice of his doctor, should be left lying on a camp bed for 12 hours because our NHS is at breaking point.

‘Frontline staff are doing their very best in impossible circumstances, but they are being failed by a government that has allowed our health service to fall into chaos. Scots deserve a health service that treats them with dignity and care, not the scenes from a horror movie the SNP think is acceptable.’

Scottish Tories health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘This harrowing case is the clearest possible evidence of the SNP’s catastrophic failure to run Scotland’s NHS.

‘An 83-year-old man forced to lie on a camp bed in A&E is not just unacceptable – it is a national ­disgrace. I’m truly upset to see this, and it is shameful that after 18 years in charge, this is how the SNP treats our elderly. John ­Swinney and [Health Secretary] Neil Gray should hang their heads in shame and see for themselves the misery their neglect has caused.’

Lise Axford, chief of nursing ­services at University Hospital Hairmyres, said: ‘We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mr Morris and his family for the length of time he waited.’

She said NHS Lanarkshire’s emergency departments were ­facing ‘sustained pressure…with exceptionally high numbers of people attending A&E, resulting in longer waits for patients.’

Ms Axford added: ‘We fully recognise these challenges and remain committed to improving patient experience, supporting our staff and reducing waiting times.’

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: ‘I am sorry that George Morris and his family’s experience fell short of the standards we expect. 

‘We are doing everything we can to reduce long waits of this nature.’

Unfortunately, the reason our NHS Health Service is in this state is because there are currently too many foreigners living in our nation, and we just cannot accommodate them. A visit to any A&E department will demonstrate this, but we dare to complain, well, that’s another story.

It’s truly disgusting, and going to visit your A&E department now seems like a death sentence, and it definitely is if you’re over 65. And some people might laugh at my remark, but it does appear that when you reach a certain age, nobody gives a damn about it. You’ve done your bit for society, and you are of no use anymore.

However, it’s evident that our government only serve themselves, and we peasants mean nothing to them.

This man was fortunate to have family members who could provide him with something to lie on, but many would have died while they waited.

However, our health sector is unable to handle the hundreds of additional migrants that Keir Starmer is bringing into our nation. All illegals should be evacuated in large numbers by our government, beginning with those without documentation, but Starmer must go first!

Parents Do Not Want Their Children To Learn About Islam In Religious Education

Parents are pulling their children out of school religious education lessons because they do not want them taught about Islam, the Church of England said yesterday.

Some Church officials said they hope to shield their children from learning about any faith but Christianity, and others have a particular intention to keep children from any knowledge of Islam.

They pointed towards far-right political groups and some minority faith denominations as activists who are attempting to ‘exploit’ the legal right of parents to remove their children from school RE.

In order to encourage students to understand how to coexist with people from all backgrounds, CofE officials asked for the removal of the right of withdrawal and the mandatory inclusion of RE in school schedules.

The accusation against parents who remove children from RE classes comes against a backdrop of heightening arguments about the future of religious education teaching.

The subject is not part of the compulsory National Curriculum and, alongside sex education, is the only subject from which parents can withdraw pupils.

CofE school inspection chief Derek Holloway said: ‘Through RE teacher social media forums and feedback from our RE advisers, I am aware that some parents have sought to exploit the right to withdraw children from RE lessons.

‘This is seemingly because they do not want their children exposed to other faiths and world views, in particular Islam. Anecdotally, there have also been some cases in different parts of the country of parents with fundamentalist religious beliefs also taking a similar course.

‘This is not confined to any one particular religion or area of the country.’

Mr Holloway added: ‘To enable all to live well together, there is a need for all pupils from all backgrounds to receive a broad and balanced curriculum that includes high-quality RE.

‘Sadly, and dangerously, the right of withdrawal from RE is now being exploited by a range of interest groups, often using a dubious interpretation of human rights legislation. The right of withdrawal from RE now gives comfort to those who are breaking the law and seeking to incite religious hatred.’

School RE lessons are supposed to teach children not just about Christianity, but also to provide them with a background on the beliefs and history of all the major faiths.

Parents have a legal right to withdraw their children from RE under a 1998 education law.

The CofE, which has 4,700 schools including 200 secondary schools, strives to encourage ‘deep respect for the integrity of other traditions’ in RE.

Mr Holloway said the subject ‘does have a contribution to make to combating extremism and to community cohesion, but these are not its core purpose nor its main aims.’

He said the teaching of RE should not be confused with the daily act of worship, which schools are required to offer to pupils. In most schools, this is a Christian assembly, and parents are entitled to withdraw their children from the act of worship.

There are no figures on how many parents remove their children from RE classes, although CofE officials said the figure is thought to be small. The subject is popular at GCSE, with more than 250,000 children taking the exam at 16.

Critics of religious education said parents should continue to be able to remove their children from classes.

Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society said: ‘The fundamental problem is that RE is a confused subject area, still sometimes taught in a biased or partisan way.

‘If the subject was reformed to be genuinely educational and non-partisan study of religious and non-religious worldviews, the right to withdraw may no longer be necessary. But until such time, the right of withdrawal is required to protect parental rights and freedoms.’

There is undoubtedly a compelling case against religious instruction in schools, but if it does occur, it should be honest and refrain from indoctrinating kids into thinking that all religions encourage harmony and love.

Although I don’t practise religion myself, I admire others who do. However, I only have a little time on this planet; therefore, I would prefer to live my life as I see fit. All that counts is that I am a nice and decent person, and that holds for everyone, regardless of background.

Religious education is not part of a child’s curriculum at school. Faith is a private belief, and not a mythical God like creature that will send you to burn in hell if you misbehave, but if you want to frighten a young child half to death, that would be the way to go!

Everyone has the right to practise their religion, but as time has gone on, I’ve realised that it’s most likely all fiction because of our incapacity to deal with death. As a result, we must believe in something. However, anybody who sermonises outlandish claims and uses religion as a justification for carnage, cruelty, or slavery does not have a sound mental footing, but then history is a gory place, and it seems that all the problems in the world stem from religion. Perhaps it’s time to ditch it altogether and maybe introduce core values closer to home.

Prisoner Release Backfires On Lammy

David Lammy is encountering a Cabinet backlash over his ‘cowardly’ and ‘incompetent’ handling of a mistaken prisoner release.

The Justice Secretary’s unwillingness to respond to questions in the House of Commons about the release of an Algerian national has drawn criticism from other ministers.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was incarcerated at HMP Wandsworth for trespassing with the intent to steal. He was previously found guilty of indecent exposure.

It is known that Kaddour-Cherif, who is currently at large, is being deported since he overstayed his visa and is not an asylum applicant.

During Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, declined to confirm Kaddour-Cherif’s release.

He has also been criticised for not returning to Parliament later to state the details of Kaddour-Cherif’s mistaken release.

During a round of radio and television appearances on Thursday morning, Alex Davies-Jones, a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice, was left to answer questions on the scandal.

One Cabinet minister told The Times of Mr Lammy’s response to the mistaken prisoner release: ‘It’s cowardly. He should have fronted up and owned it.

‘I still don’t understand why he didn’t confirm it or make a statement in the Commons. He left it to a junior minister to do the broadcast round. The handling is terrible.’

Another Cabinet minister told the newspaper the row had brought into question Mr Lammy’s political ‘judgment’ and his ‘aggressive manner’ in the Commons.

A third minister said: ‘The PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] are deeply unhappy. They think the way he has handled this is awful. Why can’t he just hold his hands up?’

A senior Government source said: ‘It feels less like a contempt [of Parliament] issue, more just rank incompetence and frankly pretty dodgy.’

A manhunt for Kaddour-Cherif is ongoing. But another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35, who was also accidentally released from the same prison on Monday, has handed himself back in.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that he was ‘angry and frustrated’ by ‘intolerable’ wrongful prisoner releases, although he defended Mr Lammy.

On Thursday afternoon, the Justice Secretary made an appearance in front of television cameras to answer questions on the prisoner release controversy.

But Mr Lammy raised additional questions when he said Kaddour-Cherif was mistakenly released before new checks were implemented.

This is despite him telling MPs last Monday that those checks were effective immediately, two days before the wrongful release on October 29.

Whitehall sources later said the Ministry of Justice was investigating evidence that the mistakes that triggered Kaddour-Cherif’s release took place in September.

Mr Lammy continually declined to demonstrate at PMQs on Wednesday, when he was standing in for Sir Keir, whether any more asylum seekers had been mistakenly released since Hadush Kebatu, the now-deported migrant at the heart of protests in Epping, Essex.

He told reporters on Thursday he was ‘not equipped with all the details’ about Kaddour-Cherif’s release when he appeared in the Commons.

‘We have found out that the release that has caused concern this week was actually before I introduced those checks just a few weeks ago, following the release of Kebatu, and the other prisoner was a court mistake, not, in fact, a prison mistake,’ Mr Lammy added.

The Justice Secretary had confirmed on October 27 that stronger release checks would come into force immediately, two days before Kaddour-Cherif was released.

He was charged by the Tories with possibly deceiving the public.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘David Lammy has either lied or has absolutely no clue what’s going on in his department.

‘How can the public have confidence in the Justice Secretary when he can’t establish a timeline of events or answer basic questions?’

Housing Secretary Steve Reed on Friday morning dismissed criticism of Mr Lammy from fellow ministers as ‘anonymous tittle tattle’.

He told Times Radio: ‘The problem is we’ve got a broken system, and you are going to see failings when you have a broken system.

‘The key is to make sure we have a digital system so that no prisoner is ever released by mistake.

‘There is not an acceptable number for this, but the way to fix it is not tittle tattle about David Lammy in the newspapers, it’s to get on and do the work and put in the investment that will digitise the system.

‘David has already had the prison governors in his office yesterday, I imagine they felt pretty hauled over the coals given what’s been going on.

‘But he was also making sure that they’re getting all the support they need to carry out the much tougher checks that will be required to make sure that the repeats of this are at an absolute minimum.’

Incompetent and cowardly are descriptions that are far too courteous for this clown. He needs to be sacked immediately.

To be honest, I could think of a few more choice words for not only this fool, but the entire cabinet. I believe it’s time for them to stop sharing a brain cell, and they are all puppets for the elite. We need some fresh meat! Instead of stewing steak, we need sirloin.

Our government may claim that we require a digital system, but we don’t. They just want digital so they can monitor everyone, but you can be sure that those who actually need to be watched won’t be.

We are turning into a communist state without anyone even recognising it. Ultimately, one party will rule over all significant facets of our nation, including the ownership of all industries, enterprises, and property on behalf of the populace.

The objective is to create a society with no private property or social classes, where wealth will be shared equally among citizens, although in practice, these states have frequently been authoritarian and governed by a powerful central government – terrifying, isn’t it?

Folks, the state will own you. It will own our means of production, like factories and land. We will become a classless society. Not even the King can overrule the government because the King must act on the advice of the government, not override it – seems pointless him being here!

What should happen is that we should oust our UK government, but to do that, we would require a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons, and most of them are napping for most of the time.

So, now for the most important question. Who owns England? Behind this simple question lies the country’s oldest and best-kept secret, but now there’s a book by Guy Shrubsole called ‘Who Owns England?: How We Lost Our Land and How to Take It Back.’

We are all pawns in the grand scheme of things, and I guess we will always be, and then the worker ants are just above us – then there’s the elite, you need to watch out for them! Do you want to be the pawn? Because this is the cage they have you ensnared in.

Battered By The Barriers

There’s a newly opened kosher fish and chip shop in town. The new fish and chip shop is the first to open in half a century, and it has sparked excitement in the local Jewish Community.

There are three Orthodox synagogues within half a mile, but Marlow’s British Kitchen on Street Lane is delighting the 8,000 Jews in the area, with them no longer having to travel for kashrut versions of the traditional British dish.

It’s great because Jews will no longer need to go across the Pennines to Manchester in order to obtain kosher fish and chips, which will benefit both their community and the local economy.

Rabbi Anthony Gilbert looks extremely excited – He is the leader of the nearby Etz Chaim Synagogue. He definitely won’t have to travel far for fish and chips.

But the establishment, which opened in September right after Rosh Hashanah, benefits more than just the local Jewish community. It was started by business partners Jenade Yamin and Arabaab Munir, who are both Muslim and originate from Bradford. Because Marlows is 100% halal, it will draw both Muslims and Hindus, demonstrating that people can coexist peacefully and without hostility.

The idea for an interreligious chippy originated when Rabbi Gilbert, the rabbinical registrar of the Leeds Beth Din, observed the fish and chip shop under construction one morning while travelling to a bakery. Originally, the establishment was solely supposed to be halal.

That’s when Rabbi Gilbert first met Yamin and Munir, who he said were really warm, welcoming and respectful, and they informed him that they were opening a fish and chip shop using the old Yorkshire remedies, such as beef dripping, and he said that it was a pity because they hadn’t had a kosher fish and chip since about 1975.

Almost two weeks later, Rabbi Gilbert received a phone call from Yamin and Munir asking if they could arrange an initial meeting to discuss the feasibility of making it kosher. Rabbi Gilbert warned them it would be extremely costly and aggravating, but they seemed extremely enthusiastic.

Among the requirements of making the shop acceptable under both Jewish and Islamic dietary law is to have separate designated fryers – to ensure no cross-contamination, and to have plastic disposable cutlery and paper mats.

The kosher bakery directly behind the store will supply the flour, and all vegetable oil and seasonings will be halal and kosher.

Shared solutions will be utilised where applicable, such as adhering to classic white fish with fins and scales visible with no alcohol used during preparation, along with a full-time kosher supervisor (mashgiach), which is required on site when the shop is open, except for Friday, Shabbat, fast days and during Yom Tov.

Yamin and Munir are keen to ensure that everything is kept to a heightened standard. “When they see me now, it’s all ‘good morning rabbi, how are you, rabbi?’ and ‘is there anything we can improve on?” Rabbi Gilbert says.

The takeaway, which also features seating for diners, is proving to be a social hotspot, offering both the elderly and younger members of the community a place to gather with their families in the evenings. Rabbi Gilbert said, ‘That for some of the younger members of the community, this will be a new experience for them.’

Yamin, 31, and Munir, 30, originally debated the proposal for kosher facilities, uncertain if the undertaking would be a worthwhile investment.

Speaking to the JC, Yamin explains: “When it became clear that there was local interest in making it kosher, and we had this offer from Rabbi Gilbert to help make it happen, we said to ourselves, ‘You know what, let’s go for it’.

“And, honestly, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.”

He says the shop “has had such great feedback from the Jewish community, particularly. All the rabbis in the area have been so wonderful, especially Rabbi Gilbert.

“We’ve developed a real friendship with him and become so close to the point that I’m proud to say we’re on a first-name basis.”

Alongside Yamin’s hijab-wearing wife, the store employs a few local non-Orthodox Jewish guys as servers and Rabbi Gilbert’s son Ben as a fryer and kosher supervisor.

The Jewish community adores Yamin’s wife and tells him how wonderful she is when she helps out.

This fish and chip shop will turn into a miniature melting pot; in addition to providing jobs for young people in the area, it will boost the local economy. They should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished, and given what is happening in the Middle East, this will bring positivity closer to home and their local community. It’s also wonderful to see that they are coexisting peacefully.

Rabbi Gilbert adds that it’s the “best example I know of Muslims and Jewish people, Christians, all different faiths and none coming together organically, and all over good old-fashioned British fish and chips.”

Judi Dench, 90, Reveals She Can No Longer Go Out Alone

According to Judi Dench, her vision loss has progressed to the point where she requires a guide when she leaves her home.

The veteran actress, 90, first announced in 2012 that she was suffering from macular degeneration in her eyes, which can cause permanent and rapid central vision loss, and is the number one cause of vision loss in people over 50.

Judi has now shared a heartbreaking update on her condition, admitting on the new episode of Trinny Woodall’s Fearless podcast: ‘Somebody will always be with me. I have to now because I can’t see, and I will walk into something or fall over.

‘I’m always nervous before going to something.

‘I have no idea why… I’m not good at being on my own at all, nor would I be now.

‘And fortunately, I don’t have to now because I pretend to have no eyesight.’

During a 2021 event for the London-based Vision Foundation, Judi opened up about how she struggles to read scripts due to her rapidly fading vision.

She said: ‘You find a way of just getting about and getting over the things that you find very difficult.

‘I’ve had to find another way of learning lines and things, which is having great friends of mine repeat them to me over and over and over again.

‘So I have to learn through repetition, and I just hope that people won’t notice too much if all the lines are completely hopeless!’

Judi also told The Graham Norton Show about how she battles to memorise lines, as she used to rely on her photographic memory.

She added: ‘I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page.

‘I used to find it very easy to learn lines and remember them. I could do the whole of Twelfth Night right now.’

It comes after Judi cast doubt over the future of her film career amid her battle with age-related macular degeneration of her eyes.

The veteran actress has not appeared on the big screen since 2022’s Allelujah, limiting her screen appearances in recent years to documentaries, where she has appeared as herself.

And in May, she admitted that she has no future projects in the pipeline while struggling with her ailing sight.

Asked if she has any plans for more acting jobs, Judi told a journalist at the Chelsea Flower show: ‘No, no, I can’t even see!’

But towards the end of 2022, she had refused to give up and insisted she wouldn’t be retiring anytime soon, despite admitting the condition was ‘bad’ even then.

She told Louis Theroux on his BBC show: ‘I don’t want to retire. I’m not doing much at the moment because I can’t see. It’s bad.

‘I have a photographic memory, so a person saying to me, ”This is your line…” I can do that.’

Around the same time, Judi revealed that while out for dinner with her partner, David Mills, he had to cut up her food for her as she couldn’t see it on her plate.

‘He cut it up and handed something to me on a fork, and that’s the way I ate it,’ she explained.

Sadly, old age really is a massacre, but at 90 years old, apart from failing eyesight, she looks absolutely fabulous and sounds fantastic, and still has all her faculties. Sadly, there will be no stage or film work, but I do love her interviews because they’re mesmerising to watch and listen to – she really is an incredible lady.

You lose your independence when you lose your vision, which can make you feel extremely vulnerable and dependent on someone else.

I honestly didn’t realise that Judy had turned 90 years old – I just envision her as this young, vibrant woman – there should have been a huge media extravaganza of her life’s work because she is one of the most amazing working Dames still alive, but somehow I don’t believe she would have wanted that much media attention.

Even her more sombre performances were captivating; she is fascinating, hilarious, and always makes me laugh.

Miranda Hart Reveals Details Of Wedding To Richard Fairs: ‘People Got So Emotional’

Miranda Hart delighted fans when she announced that she had got married in secret at 52.

But the Call The Midwife star gave no particulars about the wedding or her husband, later named as Richard Fairs, 60, a surveyor.

She has now disclosed that the Sound of Music classic Climb Every Mountain was sung by the guests during the wedding.

Speaking to Radio 3 show Private Passions, she said: ‘We sang it at our very small wedding. ‘Initially, it was, like, ‘Are we really going to do this? It’s such a naff idea.’

‘And the minute everyone started singing, people got so emotional and were really going for it with the beauty of the song.’

She added: ‘Now it just makes me cry, and makes me think of the happiest day of my life as well.’

Miranda admitted that before meeting Richard, she had ‘given up’ on the idea of ever tying the knot.

She said: ‘It makes me think of the recent joy of getting married, which I had sort of given up on the possibility of, and also the young me dreaming. I’ve always been a dreamer. It’s very emotional.’ 

MailOnline announced in October that Miranda and Richard had exchanged vows last July at a 1,000-year-old church in the scenic Hampshire village of Hambledon, attended only by a handful of family and close friends, all of whom were sworn to secrecy.

‘Miranda Hart did get married in St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church,’ the vicar of the 11th-century church, Reverend Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Quinn said. ‘But I am not going to discuss anything about it because Miranda has released everything she wants to be known about her marriage and her wedding in her book. And I am not going to go against her wishes.’

Recognised as one of the most stunning villages in the South Downs National Park, Hambledon has become the base of Miranda’s close-knit family.

Seven years ago, her mother, Diana and father, retired Royal Navy Commander David Hart Dyke, purchased a stunning mansion there. Later, her sister Alice, with whom she is very close, moved in next door.

Miranda shocked fans when she revealed that she had got married over the summer – after she started dating a mystery man who removed mould from her home in 2020. 

He was subsequently revealed to be a divorcee, Richard, after he was shown picking her up from the Cheltenham Literature Festival in October, 24 hours after she revealed his first name on The Graham Norton Show.

Miranda admitted she immediately ‘fell in love’ with Richard ‘there and then,’ just moments after they first met in real life.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast in December, she said: ‘The way we met was quite extraordinary. At the beginning of the book [her autobiography], I had this real longing not to be alone anymore, and I admitted that to myself.

‘It was quite a pain because when we long for what we want, it’s at a time where we don’t have it, so admitting that to yourself is a painful time. I was in my forties and single.

‘And then we met because part of my illness was that I was allergic to mould in my house. You couldn’t write it. I lost my house, I had to leave my house.’

She explained that Richard was the project manager coming to sort out the building works and remove the mould.

Miranda said: ‘I was out of the house and a friend was dealing with it all because I couldn’t be there, and we met on the final day of the works being done. I think I could say we fell in love there and then.’

She remained tight-lipped about her husband’s identity before it was announced, referring to him only as ‘The Boy’ or ‘The Mould Man’ in her new book, I Haven’t Been Completely Honest With You.

But she revealed that they got engaged in January during a trip to Kew Gardens in west London after admitting they had ‘fallen hopelessly in love with each other’.

Miranda hinted slightly at his appearance, describing her new husband as a ‘salt-and-pepper greying hair look on a fine-featured man’.

Admittedly, I enjoy Miranda Hart; she’s hilarious, and I’m delighted that she’s finally found true happiness, but on saying that, there have been some terrible comments made about her, and those who have made inappropriate comments about her should remember that she’s someone’s daughter, someone’s wife, and they all have feelings.

It just goes to show that you can find your better half at any time, it doesn’t matter how old you are.

Historic Windmill To Be Converted Into 12-Bed HMO

A plan to transform a historic Grade II listed windmill into a 12-bed HMO has caused concern.

The redbrick edifice in Preston was constructed in 1760 and is the last of its kind in the Lancashire town.

Since it ceased milling in the late 19th century, it has seen numerous other uses as an overflow prison, garage, piano workshop, World War Two-era cinema and a merchant’s storage warehouse.

However, the Cragg’s Row mill has been abandoned for decades now.

In January 2024, Preston City Council approved plans to convert the landmark, on Cragg’s Row, into a 10-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO) over seven floors.

But now property-firm Simca Investments has submitted new plans requesting 12 bedrooms, sparking worries that the move could see the historic location turned into another crowded rental block.

The property firm is calling for the demolition of an adjoining annexe and the construction of a three-floor extension. 

The Labour leader of Preston Council, Councillor Matthew Brown, said he’d welcome the windmill being brought back into use.

But he added: ‘I’d prefer to have no more HMOs within the ward. We’ve got an oversaturation – that’s the reality of it.

‘As a council, we’ve been looking at introducing a policy to ban any new HMOs, unless there is a very clear planning reason.’

Councillor Pav Akhtar, Labour, who also represents the Plungington ward where the windmill stands, said: ‘The building is an important part of Preston’s industrial heritage.

‘Understandably, there is local concern about its future use, the intensity of the proposed development, and the potential impact on the character of the area.

‘As one of the local ward councillors, my priority is ensuring that any development is appropriate for the community, respects the historic value of the site, and aligns with local planning policy.

‘Residents rightly expect developments in Plungington to contribute positively to the area rather than add to existing pressures around housing density, parking, and community cohesion.’

Previous developers put forward strategies to convert the listed building into holiday homes with 12 en-suite units spread across six floors.

If this project is allowed to go ahead, then the accommodation will likely be given to migrants, but how about spending our money on our citizens, such as veterans, many of whom have been on the front line?

That won’t happen, of course, because our politicians are signalling to the world just how good and woke they are by doing this, and why spoil all their attention because that’s all that they want so that they can get a vote.

Even though many women and children are being raped, killed, and mistreated, our government continues to provide housing for them in our towns. They genuinely don’t care that it’s so repulsive.

Tchéky Karyo Dies Aged 72

Celebrated actor Tchéky Karyo, who starred in the BBC hit drama The Missing and James Bond’s GoldenEye, has died aged 72.

Born in Istanbul but raised in Paris, Karyo acted in films for almost forty years before transitioning to television in his later years.

His wife, actress Valérie Keruzoré, and their children announced he had ‘succumbed to cancer this Friday, October 31’. 

Karyo starred as Dmitri Mishkin in GoldenEye (1995), but numerous Brits will remember his outstanding role as detective Julien Baptiste in The Missing.

The series, which was heralded at the time as ‘hauntingly brilliant television’, followed the search for a five-year-old British boy who disappeared during a family holiday in France.

He starred alongside James Nesbitt, Keeley Hawes, and David Morrissey in two series between 2014 and 2016, before the show’s success led to his own spin-off, Baptiste, in 2019. 

At the time, the beloved actor said about his reprisal: ‘I didn’t expect it, but it’s flattering. This has made me feel young again.’ 

Discussing the joy of playing Baptiste, he told Hello in 2021: ‘It’s fantastic…. It’s a fantastic adventure this, The Missing and Baptiste.’

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, told the publication: ‘We are so sad to learn of the passing of Tchéky Karyo. 

‘He was a truly brilliant and much-loved actor, and he will be fondly remembered by BBC viewers for his roles in The Missing, Baptiste and most recently Boat Story. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this time.’

Born in 1953, Karyo began in French cinema in the 1980s, earning some early awards and nominations. 

He was the hunter in Jean Jacques Annaud’s 1988 wilderness adventure ‘The Bear’. 

Then, in 1990, he got attention for his turn as the hard-nosed secret agent handling Anne Parillaud’s female assassin Nikita, in Besson’s hit film of the same name. 

He was gifted in several languages, including French, English, and Spanish.

It meant he was soon appearing in international productions, such as Ridley Scott’s historical epic ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’.

He performed regularly in cinema and television in France and abroad, appearing in films as varied as Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 whimsical comedy ‘Amelie’, to Brazilian director Walter Salles’ 1995 thriller ‘Foreign Land’.

Tcheky was also an acclaimed musician and songwriter.

He released an album, Ce lien qui nous unit (English translation, The Link That Binds Us) in 2006, and another titled Credo in 2013 to mark his 60th birthday.

His death comes just seven months after another The Missing star, Emile Dequenne, died aged 43 of a rare cancer.

The celebrated actress who costarred with Karyo died at a hospital outside of Paris in March.

She announced in October 2023 that she was suffering from adrenocortical carcinoma, a cancer of the adrenal gland.

By April 2024, Dequenne shared the uplifting news of her complete remission, expressing her decision to return to her career and to life as she knew it.

‘I was close to forgetting because I was leaving the hospital today after 13 days… What a tough battle,’ she wrote on social media.

But tragically, her health took a turn for the worse when she suffered a deterioration of her condition at the end of last year.

On December 1, she told French television show TF1 she was focusing on her health, and publicly acknowledged her deteriorating condition.

Death is such a horrible thing. In addition to being a great actor and a charming man, he was exceptionally talented in Baptiste. He had a real talent and was extremely charismatic on screen.

He was a great actor – so good that you felt he wasn’t acting at all – that you were watching a real-life situation evolving before your very eyes.

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