We are in danger of going backwards on child protection
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, being debated in the House of Lords, is an attempt to prevent such appalling cases from recurring. It contains some broad but welcome thinking about empowering those who work with children, including teachers, to break the cycle of late intervention, a repeated failing identified in child neglect cases. Welcome too is the pilot
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The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
I agreed to husband's request to try swinging – but now he wants divorce because I enjoyed it ‘too much'
DEAR DEIDRE: AGREEING to my husband's request to give wife-swapping a go has totally backfired. He is now threatening divorce because I enjoyed it 'too much'. I'm 34 and my husband is 42. We'd been blissfully married for eight years until setbacks affected our relationship. Last year, my husband was made redundant and his mum got very ill. Even when he found a new job and his mother recovered, he was still distant with me. Our sex life went from wild to mild, to non-existent. We argued. Life was depressing and it felt like we were bickering siblings. Eventually I demanded he talk to me and he admitted he'd been using porn to distract himself from his problems. In particular, he'd been watching swinging videos. He suggested we try wife-swapping to bridge the gap between his fantasies and our real-life marriage. I was desperate for us to be happy again, so I agreed. We found a good-looking couple through an app and met them at a hotel. We had dinner then all went upstairs. My husband had booked adjoining rooms. The other man calmed my nerves by stroking and kissing every inch of my body. I've never been so aroused. I pulled him on to me and we had incredible sex. I had multiple orgasms. Dear Deidre After Dark- Understanding open relationships We never saw them again. Back home the next day, I expected things to go back to normal, and our sex life to perk up, but my husband seemed cold and withdrawn. Then one night he came home drunk, ranting that I'd enjoyed it too much. He raged about a camera he'd hidden in the hotel room and how he'd watched me 'in ecstasy' over and over again, and he showed me the footage on his laptop. He's threatening divorce now because he can't trust me. What should I do? DEIDRE SAYS: Jealousy is always a risk when a relationship is opened up, as my Swapping And Swinging support pack explains. Your husband should never have filmed you without consent. That's a criminal offence and, if you reported him, could lead to up to two years in prison. Your relationship has come to a crisis point and you need to think very clearly about what you want. Counselling will help you work this through. You can go alone or with your husband to help you decide whether you want to stay together. (020 7380 1975) provides counselling for individuals and couples. He has become over-reliant on porn, which is having a huge impact on your marriage. My support pack, Pornography Worry, explains where he can get specialist help. I CAN'T BE AN ALCOHOLIC NEW FATHER DEAR DEIDRE: I WAS drunk when my wife told me she was pregnant but I don't want to be drunk at the birth. My parents were both alcoholics. I left home as soon as I could, getting a live-in job at a hotel, and I'm now a chef in a restaurant. I met my beautiful wife four years ago and I should be the happiest man on Earth, but I can't stop drinking. It started in the hotel where we'd all have a beer after work. It boosted my confidence and made me more talkative. I was soon drinking during my shift but nobody minded. I met my wife during a pub crawl and she loved my persona. She didn't realise it was down to the seven pints I'd had. When we moved in together, we'd 'share' a bottle of wine over dinner. She'd have one glass, I'd finish the rest. When I went for my job interview for my current restaurant, I held my hands under the desk to hide their shaking. The management was strict so there was no drinking during the shift. I started hiding vodka in the cisterns, taking a sip whenever I went to the loo. Soon I was drinking all day, even when I wasn't working. I don't even remember my wife telling me she was pregnant. But I do remember the look on her face when she found the empty bottles I'd stashed in the spare bedroom – the room I'm decorating to be a nursery. I can't be a drunk 33-year-old dad. Please help. DEIDRE SAYS: It is great that you've had a wake-up call. Children who grow up with alcoholic parents often develop drinking problems themselves. But there is hope, especially if you want to break the cycle with your own family. Your GP is your first port of call for alcohol problems. They can provide confidential advice and refer you to the many NHS alcohol support services for further help. You can see what's available at You can also contact the charity It offers free, confidential support to people in England and Scotland who have challenges with drugs, alcohol or mental health. It runs local support centres and an online chat service. My Drink Problem support pack will also help. DEAR DEIDRE: HOW can my wife and I revive our sex life when we have teenage kids at home? I'm 45, my wife is 42. We've been married for 20 years and we have two kids, 15 and 14. Aside from a bit of moodiness, they're both great teenagers and doing well at school. But with the long holidays, one or the other of them is always around and it's putting a dampener on our sex life. My wife and I are both quite noisy in bed and prefer spontaneous sex to a sedate fumble under the duvet. We both work from home, so in theory there should be plenty of moments when we could grab each other for some fun. But, in practice, a teenager usually wanders into the room as soon as we start snogging. We've never been caught in the act but several times I've had to hastily pull up my trousers or jump in front of my wife to protect her dignity. We can't afford to book hotels or jet off for a dirty weekend. DEIDRE SAYS: In fact, holidays are even worse, as our teenagers still want to come with us and often bring along a friend. Is there a way to boost our sex life without alienating our kids? You might need to channel your sense of adventure into finding different ways of satisfying your desires, at least until your kids leave home. Try morning sex. Most teenagers prefer to wake up late, so set your alarm an hour earlier and use that time to reconnect. If you don't have them already, install a lock on your bedroom door and bathroom. You could also explore making love in the bathroom with the shower running – it can drown out a lot of moans and whimpers. You obviously need privacy but it won't traumatise your children to know you still have an active sex life. They'll just jam on their headphones or turn the TV volume up. There are lots more ideas in my support pack 50 Ways To Add Fun to Sex. I suggest that you read it together. SON IS OUT OF CONTROL DEAR DEIDRE: I AM losing control of my son's behaviour. He's 11. I'm a single mum to him and his 14-year-old sister. Their father isn't involved. If I ask my son to do something 'boring' like tidy his room or clear up his plates, he kicks off, shouting and swearing. Punishments like grounding, or no Xbox, improve things for a while but then he reverts. Recently I heard him having a row with my daughter, telling her to kill herself. What can I do? DEIDRE SAYS: Your son sounds unhappy. He might be missing his dad or struggling at school but you can't help until he opens up. Activities such as building, cooking, going for walks or drives usually encourage kids to chat. It's unacceptable for him to tell your daughter to kill herself. That's a frequent insult on social media – he might be spending too much time online so set stricter screen-time limits. This is a lot to cope with alone. Talk to (0808 800 2222) for free, impartial support. Are we right for each other? DEAR DEIDRE: MY partner spends every evening in bed watching telly. We're both 32 and have been together for 12 years. We possibly rushed into things as we moved in together three months after we met. She got pregnant a year later and we now have two kids. We were happy so I never questioned if we were right for each other. But I'm questioning it now. I have a busy job but in the evenings I'd like us to connect with a family game, a walk or a nice meal. Her response? 'I'm tired.' She goes to bed early and watches TV until she falls asleep. I feel trapped. DEIDRE SAYS: Try not to nag her into changing. Instead let her know you're worried about her and miss her company. Her lifestyle suggests she might be depressed, or suffering from fatigue. A GP check-up would be an idea, then counselling. My support pack, Looking After Your Relationship, would be good to read together. It can be a talking point to help you make changes as a team.
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Starmer's gesture politics on Palestine and why a vote for Corbyn's new party will put Nigel Farage in Downing Street
JEREMY Corbyn's party hasn't even launched yet and it is already calling the shots with this government – starting with the recognition of Palestine. Keir Starmer is terrified Jeremy and his band of pro-Gaza MPs will hoover up the Muslim vote and cost Labour the next election. 6 6 So in a jaw-dropping speech on Tuesday, he announced the UK will recognise an independent state of Palestine unless Israel signs up to a ceasefire and long-term peace process. It was an astonishing change in position from Keir, who just days earlier dismissed the stance as gesture politics. So what changed? The grim facts on the ground in the Middle East remained the same. Hamas is still refusing to release the Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7 and held in cold, dank tunnels buried deep underneath Gaza. They have been there for more than 660 days. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu still shows no signs of being willing to accept a two-state solution. And innocent civilians in Gaza are paying the price for Hamas' reign of terror. Appalling images of starving children desperately queuing for food have haunted our TV screens and newspaper pages. The only thing that has changed is the news Corbyn is launching a new party to challenge Labour. No10 denies Keir is tearing up 75 years of foreign policy because he is running scared of Jezza. Moved by appalling images of emaciated children, he is launching a last-ditch bid to get Netanyahu to re-engage with the peace process, they say. But recognising the state of Palestine will not put food into the belly of a single hungry child in Gaza. It will not release a single hostage snatched by Hamas as they slept in their beds or danced at a music festival. And it will not bring the Middle East a single step closer to peace. It is the very essence of gesture politics Keir Starmer claims to despise. Biggest danger There is no doubt the new Corbyn party poses a massive challenge for Keir. They plan to target seats with big Muslim populations. There are fears inside Labour that 'London could fall'. Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner are being targeted. Zarah Sultana — a former Labour MP who has switched to Corbyn's party — will run against Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood in Birmingham Ladywood. The loss of all three of these Cabinet big beasts would be a catastrophe for Labour. Sources close to Jeremy say the party could win around ten seats at the next election. Others reckon the number could be higher — more like 20. But the biggest danger to Labour is not the number of seats the party takes, but the number of votes. Pollsters More In Common say the new party could get ten per cent of the vote, mainly from current Labour and Green supporters. By nibbling at Labour's vote, Corbyn and his crew could hand Nigel Farage's Reform Party a seven-point lead — and a majority in Parliament. So vote Jeremy, get Nigel Farage in No10. Labour Party chiefs are expected to hammer this attack line on a Corbyn-led party. Keir Starmer was also under huge pressure from his own party and base to recognise Palestine. Over 100 Labour MPs had signed a letter demanding he do it. A large chunk of the Cabinet had urged him to do the same. But Keir has spent years painting himself as morally upright and principled standing loftily above the self-interest that motivates others. Now the Prime Minister looks like he is recognising Palestine to save his own political skin. As one party insider put it: 'Keir used to say country first, party second. Where does this decision leave that?' How Ozzy helped Jacob to rock up on reality TV AT first glance Jacob Rees-Mogg and Ozzy Osbourne do not have much in common. One is a pinstripe-suit-wearing former Tory MP best known for his love of Brexit and devout Catholicism. 6 The other was a heavy metal wildman famous for biting the head off a bat on stage and being so desperate for drugs he once snorted a line of ants off the roadside. So it was a bit surprising to see the Moggster dedicate a whole section of his GB News show to tributes to the late, great Prince of Darkness. But Jacob actually owes much of his success to Ozzy. The Osbournes was the original family reality TV show – featuring Ozzy, wife Sharon and children Kelly and Jack. Their lives were slightly bonkers, very loving – and made for intoxicating viewing. Twenty years later, Jacob followed in Ozzy's footsteps with Meet The Rees-Moggs, a reality TV show about his equally eccentric and loving family. Paying tribute to the Brummie rocker on telly, Mogg hailed him as 'a charismatic figure who had great charm and was at the top of his field'. He added: 'We will pray for his soul.' Judging by the rocker's hell-raising antics, I reckon that will take quite a few Hail Marys, Jacob. CUT OFF PHONE THEFTS STRICTLY dancer Michelle Tsiakkas has become the latest victim of mobile phone thieves to go public. The ballroom dancer was walking through London's Covent Garden in June when a thug on an e-bike snatched her phone. 6 When will this criminal scourge end? As a Londoner, I'm appalled to see how muggers are terrorising the capital on their green e-bikes. A phone is stolen in London every six minutes. That is a shameful statistic. When victims call the police they are just fobbed off and told officers are too busy to investigate – even when the phone has a tracker on it. Within days these mobiles are sold on by criminal gangs and end up around the world in places like China. Enough is enough. Police must take a zero-tolerance approach to these phone snatchers. I don't mind the rental e-bikes which have popped up all over the capital. But they are too easy for thugs to fiddle so they can ride them without paying – and to carry out their muggings. These businesses must step up and improve security. And if London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants a legacy he should hurry up and clean up the streets of our capital. Or his time in City Hall will go down in history as one of failure. MENUS JABBED HESTON BLUMENTHAL has revealed he is on the fat jab, and he's not the only one. The celebrity chef says so many Brits are on Ozempic and Wegovy it risks wrecking the restaurant trade. The days of charging diners through the nose for giant tasting menus might be over, he warns. It costs £395 per person to tuck into the 11-course tasting menu at Blumenthal's own restaurant, The Fat Duck. Looks like the fat jab will shrink Heston's bank balance as well as his waistline. POPE'S BLACK MAGIC Pope Leo XIV is said to have toasted St Patrick's Day this year with a pint of the black stuff. 6 Perhaps the pontiff's love of Irish stout should come as no surprise. He is a Yank after all – and they are known to be huge fans of the Irish tipple. We were always big fans of Guinness in my family. My grandad, Jim O'Sullivan (no awards for guessing where he came from), swore by the medicinal qualities of a pint of Guinness. Whenever me or my brother were feeling sick when we were kids he would suggest taking a long glug of Guinness. It is packed full of iron and would get our strength up, he said in his thick Cork accent. It sounds like The Pope agrees. Drinking Guinness is God for you! The mega-rich Brits are said to be part of a consortium trying to take over the controversial porn site. The property tycoons are considering pumping hundreds of millions of pounds in the project. Well, no one ever became poor overestimating our interest in sex. CHEAP AS LIPS CLOBBERED by the cost-of-living crisis, us girls are turning to small treats like lipstick to give ourselves a little lift. Britain's 'prestige lip market' has grown by 16 per cent in the past six months, according to the market research company Circana. I never leave my flat without a full face of make-up. But last time I bought a lippy it set me back £30, which isn't exactly cheap as chips. Although I guess it's cheaper than a week in Marbella.
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Signs for a migrant hotel should not have been covered up & Govt must be open about crisis
Why such secrecy at hotel for migrants? BRITAIN'S migrant hotel crisis gets more bizarre by the day. It is outrageous that signs for a four-star Hilton Hotel have been covered up after asylum seekers moved in. Is it to deter protests from a furious local community or to hide the embarrassment of offering luxury lodgings beyond the reach of many taxpayers to all-male illegal arrivals? The turreted Doubletree by Hilton in West London was converted into migrant accommodation in November as part of a deal with the Home Office. Its website shows pictures of luxury rooms which in other Hiltons could go for up to £260 a night and boasts of a gym and top-class restaurant. But of course they are no longer available to the public. Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to close down migrant hotels, used by roughly 32,000 asylum seekers, by the end of the current Parliament in 2029. The policy, first introduced by the Tories, has caused national outrage, as yesterday's protests up and down the country showed. But the Government needs to be open about this crisis. Peter Kyle complained to social media firms about posts critical of asylum hotels. Now we see hotel signs being covered. Secrecy is never the right policy in the face of enormous costs to the taxpayer. And the legitimate concerns of voters footing the £4million-a-day bill cannot be covered up as easily as a hotel sign. Moment bus full of asylum seekers are 'snuck into' 4-star London hotel under cover of darkness despite UK-wide protests 1 Glorifying terror This is the grim reality of the war-torn territory that Sir Keir Starmer is proposing to recognise as a state — without even insisting Hamas disarms. These fanatics are not only entrenched in Palestinian life but they are bringing up the next generation to revere Israeli-hating terrorists. They are determined to wipe their neighbour off the map. Why should Britain give them sovereign status? Think again, Sir Keir. Our goalden girls OUR Lionesses have been a beacon of light amidst the summer's economic gloom. The PM is right to hint at honours for their stunning Euros triumph. Last week they each got a winner's medal. Now give them some bling from the King.
