
James Freedman: I stole a £300k bracelet (and the chancellor's wallet)
His show James Freedman: Man of Steal in London's West End was a sell-out success and his many TV appearances include presenting a regular slot on the Channel 5 series Police 5, demonstrating how to avoid scams. A consultant on many films, he has taught the secrets of deception to Helena Bonham-Carter, Sir Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellen, Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz, and was a scam consultant on the BBC drama Hustle.
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Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Johnny Depp makes surprise appearance at Alice Cooper's London gig as they perform Black Sabbath's Paranoid dedicated to Ozzy Osbourne
Johnny Depp joined Alice Cooper on stage at his gig in London's O2 Arena to honour the late Ozzy Osbourne in a special tribute on Friday night. Ozzy, nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, died on Tuesday at the age of 76 just weeks after he took to the stage for his final show with Black Sabbath, with his family confirming the devastating news. The Hollywood legend, 62, and rocker Vincent Damon Furnier, known by his stage name Alice Cooper, 77, paid tribute to the legendary musician as they performed Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Depp made a surprise appearance for the heartbreaking tribute, rocking out on his guitar to a medley of songs. Cooper screamed at the crowd 'Let's hear it for Ozzy!', before belting out some hits. Earlier this week, Cooper dedicated his Cardiff show to Ozzy as he took to the stage with his band in Wales. 'Well, we all know that time is going to take us rockers, but when the giants fall, it's really hard to accept,' he said on stage. 'Even though everybody saw it coming with Ozzy, it just took our breath away when it happened. 'So Ozzy and family - your records and your music and your legend and all that you brought - the humour to the rock business - will live on forever and we're gonna miss you man.' Elsewhere Cooper and his band said: 'The whole world is mourning Ozzy tonight. Over his long career, he earned immense respect among his peers and from fans around the world as an unmatched showman and cultural icon. 'I always saw Ozzy as a cross between the prince of darkness, which is the persona his fans saw, and the court jester. That was the side that his family and friends saw. 'He was and will continue to be a rock n roll legend. Rock n Roll is a family and a fraternity. When we lose one of our own it bleeds. I wish I would have gotten to know my brother Ozzy better. 'Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and the rest of the Ozzy brood - our prayers are with you tonight. A titanic boulder has crashed, but rock will roll on.' He signed off an Instagram post with: 'Rest easy Ozzy and we'll see you on the other side! - Alice, Sheryl, Chuck, Ryan, Tommy, Nita, Glen and our entire crew.' MailOnline revealed that an air ambulance was called to Ozzy's grand country home as paramedics battled to save his life for two hours. Friends told the Mail's Alison Boshoff that his heartbroken wife Sharon may now bury Ozzy in the gardens of the 350-acre estate in an intimate family funeral, as she is 'too frail' to go through a larger, public service, leaving friends 'terrified' for her. At the other end of London, Liam and Noel Gallagher paid homage to Ozzy at night one of Oasis gigs at London's Wembley Stadium on Friday. The Gallagher brothers respectfully honoured the legendary rock star by singing Rock 'N' Roll Star in front of a huge image of Ozzy. In videos shared across social media of the tribute, Liam said: 'Liam said: 'I want to dedicate this next one to Ozzy Osbourne, Rock 'N' Roll Star'.


Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island villa shaken up as 'THREE couples switch partners' in dramatic re-coupling just days before final
Love Island is heading for a complete shake-up as the final gets closer. The popular ITV2 series is nearing the end after a bunch of sexy singles have spent the last seven weeks getting to know each other. Things have heated up in the last few days, with the Grafties taking a toll on the remaining couples. And things are about to take a complete turn, according to reports. The Sun has claimed that three couples have switched their partners as that £50,000 prize gets closer. The villa's dynamic could be soon set to change after a brutal re-coupling ceremony. The couples have not yet been announced, but it's thought viewers will find out during Sunday's episode. A source told the publication: 'It's fair to say the fallout of the Grafties has had major repercussions. 'No one would've seen this re-coupling coming a week ago.' The final is fast-approaching, with it taking place on August 4. Daily Mail has reached out to ITV for comment. It comes after the very surprising casting method used by Love Island bosses to select contestants for the show has been revealed. It's been reported that ITV execs have admitted to using artificial intelligence as part of the casting process for the reality TV show. After the cast of the 2025 series was revealed earlier this year, fans were quick to mock the newbies as 'clones' of the previous stars, with the likes of Megan Forte Clarke being compared to 2019 islander Maura Higgins. The villa's dynamic could be soon set to change after a brutal re-coupling ceremony And now The Sun reports that automated technology has been used to whittle down the thousands of applicants for the show. Speaking as ITV announced its half-year results, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall shared: 'We will use AI in any way we can to make what we do more efficient. 'And a great example of that for me from (ITV) Studios is they're using a tool where it's a smart editing assistance and it's about speed and quality. And they used it for Love Island and casting this year.' An ITV spokesperson confirmed that AI was not directly used to make casting decisions, but rather to edit hundreds of hours of footage into highlight reels for the team to watch. They shared: 'It simply assists with the editing of audition tapes during the casting period. 'We get thousands and thousands of applications every year and we hold face to face auditions. 'When we get to the stage of narrowing it down to hundreds of prospective Islanders and we want to share audition highlights on a reel with the ITV commissioning team, to support the casting decision, we use the software (Quickture along with an Adobe editing programme) to edit the hundreds of hours of footage into highlight reels.' They added that the process means the casting team can 'spend more time researching' and looking for more prospective Islanders.


Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Two in every five phones thefts across Europe happen in the UK as government battles to get to grips with rise in county lines snatcher gang chaos
Two in every five phone thefts across Europe happen in the UK, new figures claim, as the government attempts to grapple with county line gangs turning to phone snatching. And harrowing figures show London is at the centre of the snatching chaos, with one in every six phones nabbed across the continent happening in the capital, according to American insurance firm, SquareTrade. After surveying data across its 12 European markets, it found despite Brits only accounting for 10 percent of their customers on the continent, they made up 39 percent of all phone loss claims. Nearly half of phone theft in the UK happened in London, according to the gadget insurance firm, with Birmingham following in second place. Phone snatching incidents also occurred more frequently in summer months and Christmas, aligning with busier travel months, shopping periods as well as festivals. Britain has become 'leading country for missing devices in Europe', the company told The Times, with claims of phone theft has quadrupling since June 2021. Latest statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales also indicated 'theft from a person' rose by half in the last year to 483,000 incidents, with the most common object snatched in the category being mobile phones. In 2024, 70,371 phones were stolen in London alone, and in 2020, around 20,000 phone thefts were reported, however, due to a lack of reporting from victims, the figures are likely to be higher. Last September, the Home Office promised to crackdown on phone thefts by increasing patrols in the most at risk areas, while adding Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit, would also be honing in on crooks. Phone thefts are estimated to cost Londoners and its visitors at least £ 70million, according to the Metropolitan Police. The mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan was also accused by City Hall Conservatives of 'virtually ignor[ing the problem, even though he remained adamant he was continuing to support the force with 'record funding' to tackle the epidemic. The most stolen devices were iPhones, SquareTrade reported, with claims on average totalling to £1,200. The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the most commonly stolen device, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max coming in second place, followed by the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Kevin Gillan, the managing director, of Square TradeEurope, told The Times: 'July creates a perfect storm — festivals, holidays, and crowded spaces increase the risk of theft. London is especially vulnerable, and the UK now leads Europe in phone theft claims.' It comes as county lines gangs have turned to snatching phones instead of dealing drugs to feed a growing £70m a year epidemic. Gang members are grooming vulnerable young people to steal mobiles on Britain's streets due to unprecedented overseas demand and softer sentences for those who are caught. Stolen phones are being shipped abroad in bulk and sold around the world, a police chief warned, with some 80 per cent of the 80,000 phones stolen every year in London ending up overseas. A Mail investigation tracked down a phone stolen from an estate agent on the capital's famous Baker Street across the globe to a high-rise block in Hong Kong, where it sat alongside hundreds of thousands of other handsets. And a police chief in charge suggested the likes of Apple and Google had the gift to stop the trade by making a phone worthless after being taken. At least 230 phones were stolen every day on average in the UK last year - twice as many as five years ago and rising all the time. London is the epicentre, making up roughly 75 per cent of phone thefts, but it is clear the problem is nationwide, with every major force recording thousands of stolen phones every year.