Latest news with #JustEat
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Rio Ferdinand hits out at BBC over coverage of England Lionesses' Euro 2025 triumph with Man Utd icon left stunned
RIO FERDINAND was stunned by the absence of one ex-Lioness on BBC Sport's coverage of the Euro 2025 final. The former England international was watching the Lionesses beat World Cup winners Spain on penalties and be crowned back-to-back European champions on Sunday. 3 3 3 While the country were getting settled to witness the Lionesses claim silverware once again, Ferdinand took to social media to question the BBC's coverage choices. With three shocked-face emojis, he wrote on X: "How's @fara_williams47 not on the @BBCSport coverage." The ex-Manchester United defender is of course referring to former Lioness Fara Williams. Williams, who made 172 appearances for her country between 2001 and 2019, has become one of the most prominent pundits in the women's game since she hung up her boots. She had featured regularly on the BBC's coverage of the tournament over the summer. Williams' Instagram posts from Sunday show she was covering the final as part of the tournament's sponsors Just Eat's promo. She was on a panel for their pre-match show alongside ex-Lionesses and BBC pundits Alex Scott and Jill Scott. She also posted clips of herself in the stands, celebrating wildly when her former team became European champions for the second tournament in a row. Instead of Williams, the BBC had other Lionesses on their panel in Switzerland. Gabby Logan was put in to present, while former England captain Steph Houghton and Euro 2022 winner Ellen White also got the call up. Women's Super League commentator Seb Hutchinson was also selected. Plenty of fans switched from BBC to ITV's coverage on Sunday, with Arsenal legend and ex-England international Ian Wright being part of the latter's panel. The former Gunner went wild as England saw off Spain from the spot, with England's stars following suit and partying until the early hours afterwards. The Lionesses beat La Roja 3-1 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 after extra time.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Horrendous images are tipping point for outrage over Gaza
But not until it was confronted with the jutting out shoulder blades and shrivelled heads of emaciated children did the government sit up and take notice of a situation it had the power and the responsibility to prevent. And even then it's mostly been empty words, with little action behind them. Keir Starmer described the suffering as 'unspeakable and indefensible'; but it is 'unspeakable' only in the sense that he has chosen not to speak about it (and tried to prevent others doing so). And, by finding excuses for [[Israel]] – by declaring it had the right to switch off water and electricity, for example – he has himself defended it. Wilful ignorance is a form of complicity, but the Prime Minister has done worse than this: he has been an apologist for war crimes. Read more Dani Garavelli: For all his apparent disgust at the plight of malnourished babies, Starmer was last week focused on another bug bear: takeaway delivery drivers. In a dog-whistle tweet, he pledged to hand over the addresses of asylum seeker hotels – already lightning rods for racist attacks – so the likes of Deliveroo and Just Eat can make sure they don't pay their low wages to anyone who has fled here from other countries. Asylum seekers are not here illegally (whatever the subtext of the policy might be). It is just that, under our laws, they are not allowed to earn a living. Still, unlike a crackdown on Israel, it's likely to raise a smile on the Reform crowd's faces. No wonder some of Starmer's own party are embarrassed to be associated with him. Others have raised their voices, of course: charities, human rights organisations, the tens of thousands who have taken to the streets with their placards, powerless in the face of establishment apathy, but desperate to do their bit. The UK government has demonised those protesters, portraying them as violent anti-Semites in an attempt to shut them down. Even as the Express newspaper — the right-wing Express, for God's sake — was publishing a splash headline that read: The Suffering of Little Muhammad Clinging to Life Shames Us All, police officers were arresting pensioners under the Terrorism Act for carrying placards and, in one case, a copy of Private Eye magazine. This they justified by alleging those protesters were supporting Palestine Action, an organisation which has been proscribed for trying to draw attention to the very humanitarian catastrophe Starmer has deemed 'unspeakable'. No Western leader has done enough. They have tutted at outrageous statements from the likes of former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin, who said 'every child in Gaza is the enemy', they have called for a ceasefire and issued joint condemnatory statements. But they have failed to follow through on threats of concrete action, or at least they have failed to do so to any degree likely to have an impact. Earlier this month, EU ministers declined to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and visa-free travel, or to block imports from Israeli settlements. After the Labour Party came to power last year, it suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licences, but exempted parts for the F-35 fighter jet, used extensively in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. It suspended talks to upgrade its free trade agreement with Israel, but it has yet to impose any direct sanctions. Foreign Secretary David Lammy does appear to want more; but he is running up against the intractability of his leader, who is refusing to commit to the most basic act of solidarity: the recognition of a Palestinian state. Across the Channel, Emmanuel Macron has been pushing the G7 leaders to make a joint declaration. In the absence of support, he has decided to go it alone, and has promised to formalise his decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Keir Starmer has shown more interest in going after protesters. (Image: James Manning) Starmer, on the other hand, says that, while Palestinians have an unalienable right to statehood, a formal recognition must be made 'at the right time'. Half a million people in Gaza are considered to be facing catastrophe while a further one million fall into the 'emergency risk' category. The US has just withdrawn from ceasefire talks in Qatar. So when will the right time be, Keir? When the last Palestinian is dead? The Labour government has been out of touch with public opinion on Gaza for a long time. Now, it appears to be out of touch with its own backbenchers and Westminster at large. Early last week, 60 cross party MPs and peers called for a full embargo on arms exports to Israel and for the government to be more transparent about the licences it grants for military exports. And on Thursday 100, led by the chair of the International Development Committee Sarah Champion, demanded Starmer formally recognise Palestine. Perhaps the Prime Minister will buckle under the pressure. Perhaps something substantial will come out of his emergency phone call with France and Germany. It does feel as if the world has woken up to what is happening. In the short-term, we need to build on that momentum; to ensure something is actually done. But in the long-term there must be a reckoning in a way there was not in the wake of Iraq. It has been clear for so long what Israel's endgame is, and that they would stop at nothing to achieve it. Yet western governments allowed it to act with impunity, and, sure enough, here is Gaza, tipping into an abyss. Read more: In 2016, I travelled to Srebrenica courtesy of a charity that exists to ensure we do not forget what happens when the world turns a blind eye to genocide. At Potočari cemetery there are 7,000 white pillars like upended chalk pieces: one for each Muslim whose body has been recovered from mass graves in Bosnia Herzegovina (although another 7,000 are still missing, and the remains of 2,000 others lie unidentified in mortuaries). Under a simple pavilion, survivors tell how they fled the safe haven when the UN failed to protect them; how – captured on the roadside – they were loaded into lorries, then taken in batches into barns to be shot. More than 60,000 have died in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The UN, Amnesty and Médecins Sans Frontières have all declared it a genocide. And yet some people are still quibbling over the word. Perhaps, in 25 years' time, a charity will take journalists and politicians to a graveyard on the strip. Perhaps people like me will force themselves to confront the ranks of the dead, in the stupid, misguided belief that simply bearing witness will help prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Scotsman
New Edinburgh cycle hire scheme set for 'soft' launch during Festival
Edinburgh's new cycle hire scheme is set for a "soft" launch during the Festival. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The deadline for bids from operators hoping to run the scheme is next Friday, August 1, the day the Festival begins. But the council says the selection of a contractor for the two-year trial scheme can be completed quickly. And the companies which have so far signalled an interest have all said they can start operating the electric bike hire without delay. The last cycle hire scheme ended in September 2021. Photo by Greg Macvean Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is thought the soft launch, with a limited number of bikes, could take place during the week beginning August 11. Edinburgh's previous cycle hire scheme, which was run by Serco and sponsored by Just Eat, came to an end in September 2021 after thefts and vandalism made it unaffordable. The new scheme will be run by a commercial operator at no cost to the council, using e-bikes only and a dockless system for parking them. It will focus first on the city centre, but with the hope of spreading it across the Capital in due course. The original deadline for bids for the new scheme was July 18, but it was extended to August 1 at the request of one of the potential providers. Bids will then be evaluated the following week and a winner announced, with the potential for the scheme to start the week after. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson said: 'Our initial target was to launch the trial cycle hire scheme during the month of August, and I remain confident that we'll deliver this. As ever, we'll work closely with summer festival operators and our other partners to minimise disruption during this busy period. 'However, the tender process is still underway, and a contract has not yet been awarded. We're actively working to finalise arrangements and remain committed to making the scheme operational as soon as possible. 'We're determined that any cycle hire scheme is implemented diligently and in the right way for the specific needs of Edinburgh. I'm confident that once a scheme is operational it will greatly benefit our residents and visitors alike.' Cllr Jenkinson acknowledged the August timescale he set had put council officers under pressure. But he said it would mean there were bikes for hire at the city's busiest time of year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And he added: 'It benefits not only us as a council, but also the provider who is going to deliver the service because they're never going to get a better opportunity of launching a product than in the middle of the Edinburgh Festival.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DAME ANGELA EAGLE: Breakthrough on illegal work is latest step to get asylum system under control
Dame Angela Eagle, Labour's Ministerfor BorderSecurity and Asylum, writes in The Mirror that an agreement with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat is the latest step in stopping trafficking gangs Illegal working benefits no one, other than the ruthless criminals profiting from exploiting desperate people. It undermines honest businesses, exploits vulnerable people and fuels organised immigration crime. We are taking strong and decisive action to close loopholes being exploited by illegal workers. It is wrong for anyone to bypass our laws and systems and expect to get away with it, and it is our job to stop them. Last month I hosted a roundtable with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat where they committed to new security measures to prevent accounts being shared with those who have no right to work in the UK. Now we are going further still with this joined-up approach, by enhancing our data sharing with the three firms and improving our capabilities to track down those who flout our rules by working on these platforms. This data matching between us and the platforms will spot where abuse is happening and put a stop to it. Delivery firms can take swifter action to remove accounts suspected of breaking immigration rules. But this not a silver bullet. These changes are happening alongside wider action under our Plan for Change, including a 50% increase in enforcement activity by operational teams across the country, resulting in over 7,000 arrests, as well as the removal of 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK since government came into power. And just this week we have sanctioned 25 individuals at the heart of people-smuggling networks, from a small boat supplier in Asia, to gang leaders based in the Balkans and North Africa. We are also changing the law. Our Borders Bill will expand right to work checks to the gig economy, meaning more action can be taken against employers breaking the rules. It will also protect our borders with new counterterror-style powers which can disrupt illegality or prevent abuse happening in the first place. And we must uphold an immigration system that is functional and fair. That's why anyone caught abusing the system by benefiting from support and accommodation under false pretences will face having that support discontinued. It's what the public expect of us – and I know we will deliver.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Asylum seekers ‘gambling away tax-payer funded cash cards' meant for food and clothing ‘on slot machines and casinos'
OVER 6,000 asylum seekers have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos. Pre-paid cards given out to pay for basics including food and clothing are being used in gambling venues, Home Office data reveals. 9 An Anti-Migrant Hotel protest was held in Canary Wharf outside the Britannia International Hotel Credit: George Cracknell Wright 9 Over 6,000 asylum seekers have used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos Credit: PA 9 Growing tension saw chaos erupt outside a migrant hotel in Epping, Essex, last week Credit: Story Picture Agency While attempts to gamble online using the cards had been made, they were blocked each time so they were forced to use them in physical sites, as reported by This is because they can only be activated by using the chip and pin. There are currently around 80,000 ASPEN card users in the UK. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told PoliticsHome: 'It is shocking that over 6,000 illegal immigrants have attempted to use hard-working British taxpayers' money to gamble. Read More "They have illegally entered this country without needing to – France is safe, and no one needs to flee from there. 'The British taxpayer has put them up in hotels, and now they slap us in the face by using the money they are given to fund gambling. "These illegal immigrants clearly don't need the money they are given if they are squandering it at casinos and arcades.' When asylum seekers are placed in fully catered hotels, the ASPEN card is loaded with roughly £9.95 per week. Most read in The Sun Meanwhile, in self-catered set ups, they are given around £49.18 per week. Data revealed, 227 migrants successfully used the cards to gamble in a week in November last year. Farage fury as cops admit ESCORTING pro-migrant protesters to Essex asylum hotel This month, were 40 incidents is the lowest recorded amount in one week. It is understood the Home Office is working on a solution to prevent this happening. Prepaid Financial Services and the Home Office have been contacted for comment. This comes as we revealed how 9 Outrage was sparked this week after workers were spotted hauling beds into a posh London hotel Credit: SelwynPics 9 It has been confirmed that no asylum seekers are currently living there 9 Housing asylum seekers in hotels costs the taxpayer £5.77million a day Credit: Ray Collins The raid was sparked after the Government gave out the locations of asylum hotels. We revealed how platforms like Just Eat and Deliveroo would be able Yesterday Immigration Enforcement officers questioned a number of delivery riders in Wood Green, North London, where at least one man was detained. A photo shows officers talking to the men, including some wearing Just Eat uniforms. One rider suspected of And just two weeks ago, there was another Immigration Enforcement raid on the Thistle City Hotel in Islington, Central London, which had been used as a hub for illicit gig economy jobs . When The Sun returned to the And we saw a steady stream of riders coming and going despite pledges by the Home Office to Outrage was also sparked this week after workers were spotted hauling beds into Labourers wheeled in the new furniture at the four-star Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf this morning, following an anti-migrant protest outside the property last night. Around 150 activists had surrounded the hotel - in London's eastern financial centre - last night after false reports claimed asylum seekers were being transferred there from The rumours, circulated on X by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, claimed migrants would be moved from The Bell Hotel in Epping to the Canary Wharf building. While the Home Office later debunked these claims, it has been revealed that the hotel - where rooms cost up to £460 a night - will be repurposed as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. A spokesman for the Tower Hamlets Council said: 'We are aware of the Government's decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. 'It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel. 'We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place.' It has been confirmed that no asylum seekers are currently living there - the Home Office reserves beds in empty hotel rooms in case of a surge in crossings over the summer period. Home Office sources revealed to The Sun that the average cost per night for a hotel room for a migrant is now £118.87, down from £162.16 in March 2023. Housing asylum seekers in hotels costs the taxpayer £5.77million a day. Some 23,534 migrants have already arrived on GROWING UNREST Chaos was sparked outside the hotel in Epping last week after an asylum seeker appeared in court charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. The unrest saw One thug was even run over while attempting to stop a police van gaining access to the hotel. Another man Cops arrested two men, aged 36, and 47, on suspicion of violent disorder under Section 2 of the Public Order Act. A 51-year-old has also now been charged with violent disorder. A 34-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of breaching Section 60AA of the Public Order Act. Meanwhile, two teens aged 17 and 16, were also arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and going equipped to cause criminal damage, respectively. The force confirmed eight officers were injured in the clashes. The protest was sparked by a 38-year-old Ethiopian asylum seeker who was arrested and later charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who had been living at the Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, denies sexual assault. He appeared at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Thursday, July 10, where he denied all charges. His arrest led to multiple protests in the region, culminating in the violent clashes. Since tensions reached boiling point, violent demonstrations have cost the force £100,000. 9 A man jumping on a police riot van in Essex Credit: no credit 9 One protester was knocked down while trying to stop a police vehicle Credit: Newsflare 9 Since tensions reached boiling point, violent demonstrations have cost the force £100,000 Credit: LNP
