Latest news with #Runcorn
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kerry Katona's daughter Heidi recalls watching her dad HIT Atomic Kitten star while she defends mum's OnlyFans career and praises her for overcoming abuse and drug addiction
Heidi Katona has revealed she witnessed her late dad hit her mum as she praised Kerry for overcoming her battles as she now cashes in on OnlyFans. Atomic Kitten star Kerry, 44, has battled bankruptcies, abusive relationships and drug addictions throughout her long-lasting career. Kerry has reinvented herself and completely turned her life around, pulling in a healthy income on adult picture-sharing website OnlyFans. The mum-of-five shares oldest daughters Molly, 23, and Lilly Sue, 22, with first husband Brian McFadden from boyband Westlife. Heidi, 18, and Max, 17, are from her relationship with second husband Mark Croft. She also has an 11-year-old daughter called Dylan-Jorge, better known as DJ, with her late third husband George Kay. Her third born Heidi - who saw George (pictured) as her dad - has recalled the time she witnessed his abuse towards her mother Her third born Heidi - who saw George as her dad - has recalled the time she witnessed his abuse towards her mother. Speaking to The Sun, the 18-year-old said: 'I am grieving for him. But I also saw my dad hitting my mum. She didn't realise at the time how much I saw. 'That is not nice, it was horrid, and has an effect on who I am now. I saw things as a child I should not have seen. 'Mum sent me to a therapist but I don't see the point of it. 'I try to be tough. Like mum I use humour to cover things up, but it's not always easy.' George died aged 39, after eating 'a quantity of cocaine' at a Holiday Inn hotel in Runcorn, Cheshire on July 6, 2019. Kerry previously told MailOnline how he was a 'very very poorly man' and scarier when he wasn't on drugs. Meanwhile Heidi has defended her mum's career path, but admitted she will never the same route. She told The Sun: 'I couldn't do OnlyFans. Mum has said I can't do it either. 'It is not the route in life I want to take, I want to be a lawyer or a property developer.' The teenager added that Kerry has shared with her how she struggles when men on there see her in a sexual way. With Heidi aware of her mum's previous battle with drugs, she is 'very anti-drugs' as a result, however, she admits she's been subjected to nasty remarks made about her mum, such as 'prostitute' and 'trollop'. Recalling one incident at school, Heidi heard her mum be branded a 'coke head' by another pupil. 'I was upset, it was cruel; of course I've never seen mum doing drugs,' she said. Former topless model Kerry joined OnlyFans during the Coronavirus lockdown after consulting with her children first. Beaming with pride for her mum, Heidi boasted: 'They should realise Kerry Katona is now rolling in it - she drives a Lamborghini.' She added: 'She has never stopped. She put us through private school, we go on amazing holidays, she just bought me clothes for the weekend.' Recalling another incident where she bravely stood up for her mum, Heidi said: 'There was one time I was walking through Alderley Edge when a group of lads started shouting, 'Your mum is a sl*g...a prostitute'. 'They started following me. I wasn't scared, I was angry. Mum has always told me to tell people like that where to go. 'I respond to abuse by saying, "Tell your dad to unsubscribe then!", or, "You know that Lamborghini my mum drives… your dad helped pay for that".' Earlier this month Heidi praised her mum for Father's Day as she made a light-hearted joke to her fans. She posted a photo of a car park filled with cars, which she captioned: 'Outside my house on Father's Day.' In a sweet reply, Heidi then penned: 'The woman who did both jobs @kerrykatona7 Happy Father's Day.' Meanwhile, it recently emerged that Kerry had moved on from her ex Ryan Mahony with Paolo Magaglione after meeting while filming Celebs Go Dating. The couple were seen holding hands and kissing as they made their first public outing together in photographs obtained by The Sun. The age gap between Kerry and Paolo has now been revealed, with the singer's new flame reportedly 11 years her junior.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
The prime minister's welfare U-turn is welcome – but not the end of the matter
No doubt there is much relief in No 10, in the Treasury, at the Department for Work and Pensions and in the whips' office, that the welfare reforms crisis is over. That, however, is as nothing to the emotions being felt by the estimated 800,000 people who had been traumatised by the thought of losing around £3,850 in their annual income. The government's own assessment was that some 250,000 of them would thereby be pushed into relative poverty. Many were in despair. Behind the official impact assessments was an unmeasurable quantity of prospective human misery. While the fates of Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Liz Kendall, Morgan McSweeney and various other Labour figures have, understandably, been the subject of much media attention, it is not too sanctimonious to point out that this whole debate should not be all about the careers of frankly well-heeled politicians and advisers – but those who need help simply to survive. This is about them – and it is a matter of some embarrassment, and shame, that Labour MPs only roused themselves to do anything about the coming disaster when they themselves had been given a shock of their own after their party's dismal performance at the local elections and the Runcorn by-election. Mass redundancies at the next general election loomed into view. Suddenly, their consciences emerged from the inner recesses of their brains, ready for a wrestling match. For a change, the consciences won. It need not have been like this. It is, indeed, incomprehensible that the government was proposing such legislation without concluding their consultations with groups representing disabled people. Despite Ms Kendall's efforts to keep the focus on improving their quality of life by giving people with disabilities the job opportunities they yearn for, the Treasury's rush to find some quick savings in public expenditure gave the exercise a mean-spirited vibe. This was never a promising background for a sensible and sensitive reform of the social security system. There were never any estimates, let alone guarantees, about how many disabled people would be lifted out of poverty into jobs, and the risks were far too great. That is why ministers lost the argument. The result is the messy compromise that has now emerged. Politically, it has averted a parliamentary nightmare, and it will mean that the government gets much of its reforms through. However, the partial U-turn still leaves the government looking foolish, even callous. It is not only the vulnerable people terrified by the now-ditched reforms who will have lost trust in Sir Keir's administration, but the electorate as a whole. Almost a year ago Labour campaigned on 'Change'; no one interpreted that as an assault on the welfare state, with the deeply unpopular means-testing of the pensioners' winter fuel allowance and clumsy changes to universal credit and personal independence payments (PIP). Sir Keir and his colleagues promised an end to the 'chaos and confusion' that reigned under the Conservatives. With three panicky volte-faces in as many weeks (including on winter fuel allowance and the national grooming gangs inquiry), the government is looking incompetent, not in control of events, and divided. In the revised package of measures there are, nonetheless, very welcome improvements. A reform of the points-based system for assessing PIP, a rather crude and dehumanising process, led by the social security minister Sir Stephen Timms, will now be 'co-produced' with disability rights organisations – a major breakthrough. Ms Kendall's excellent schemes to provide personal assistance, coaching and advice to open up job opportunities are to be brought forward. Another valuable enhancement. The 'right to try', widely welcomed and reiterated, will also be a great source of reassurance to people nervous about losing their hard-fought benefits if taking a particular job doesn't work out for them. This also means they don't have to go through another gruelling reassessment for PIP eligibility. What remains, however, is a two-tier regime, where existing claimants have a guarantee that none of their income will be lost, but new applicants for PIP and the health element of universal credit face a potentially much more difficult time. Ms Kendall is right to point out that such a situation is not so unusual when changes to social security are made, such as when the two-child benefit cap was introduced, or the successive postponements in the qualifying age for the state pension. However, that does not make such a system right. If it is unacceptable to drive people with certain types of disability into poverty in 2025, why is it the right thing to do in, say, 2028 or 2029? Ms Kendall also says she wants a system that is fair to people who cannot work, and fair to the taxpayer. That is a fine ideal, but, perhaps through no fault of hers, the right balance is yet to be struck. Clearly, much more serious work remains if the social security system is to be placed on a sustainable basis. It is perfectly true that it must command the confidence of the tax-paying public, who pay for it as well as benefit from it. It will also have to include the biggest single element in the system by far, the state pension. Unavoidably, it also has to be joined to a new approach to paying for adult social care, a challenge successive governments of all parties have ducked for decades. The UK's demographics demand a more comprehensive review of the welfare state, and the creation of something much closer to the cross-party consensus that prevailed for so long after the Beveridge report laid the foundations for social protections in 1942. As yet, there's no sign of that. Just some chaos and confusion.
The Independent
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Lammy urges Reform's newest MP to ‘get some help' over ‘conspiracy theories'
David Lammy has urged a Reform UK MP to 'get some help' because she is 'swallowing conspiracy theories'. Sarah Pochin had asked the Foreign Secretary whether the US felt unable to use the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, following the Government's deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands. Responding during a statement on the Middle East, Mr Lammy said the MP for Runcorn and Helsby should 'get off social media'. The UK-operated base in the Chagos Islands was not used in the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty has said. He added that the US did not ask to use it, as he answered questions from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday. Speaking in the Commons, Ms Pochin said: 'Is he (Mr Lammy) able to explain to the House whether the United States felt unable to use the Diego Garcia base and have to refuel, in a highly dangerous operation three times because of that, because of your deal that you did with the with the Mauritians, that would then tell the Chinese, that would then tell the Iranians?' Mr Lammy replied: 'The honourable lady has got (to) get off social media, has got to get some help… because she is swallowing conspiracy theories that should not be repeated in this House.' The deal over the Chagos Islands follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice which says the islands should be handed over to Mauritius. As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least £13 billion in cash terms. During the statement on Monday, Mr Lammy was pressed by MPs on the UK's position following the US military action. Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) said: 'Does His Majesty's Government support or oppose US military action against Iran at the weekend?' Mr Lammy replied: 'His Majesty's Government will continue to work with our closest ally, as I was last week in Washington DC.' Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) said: 'What is UK Government policy on whether regime change should be pursued in Iran?' Mr Lammy replied: 'It is not our belief that it's for us to change the regime of any country, that it must be for the people themselves.' SNP MP Brendan O'Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) said: 'We've been here for an hour, and still the Foreign Secretary appears incapable of saying whether he supports or condemns America's actions, or whether he regards them as being legal or not. 'And nowhere in this statement does the role of international law even merit a mention. So will the Foreign Secretary take this opportunity now to tell us whether he believes that America's unilateral action was compliant with international law?' Mr Lammy replied: 'I've got to tell (Mr O'Hara), I qualified and was called to the bar in 1995, I haven't practised for the last 25 years. 'It is not for me to comment on the United States' legal validity. I would refer him to article 51 and article two of the UN Charter, and he can seek his own advice.'
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lammy urges Reform's newest MP to ‘get some help' over ‘conspiracy theories'
David Lammy has urged a Reform UK MP to 'get some help' because she is 'swallowing conspiracy theories'. Sarah Pochin had asked the Foreign Secretary whether the US felt unable to use the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, following the Government's deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands. Responding during a statement on the Middle East, Mr Lammy said the MP for Runcorn and Helsby should 'get off social media'. The UK-operated base in the Chagos Islands was not used in the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty has said. He added that the US did not ask to use it, as he answered questions from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday. Speaking in the Commons, Ms Pochin said: 'Is he (Mr Lammy) able to explain to the House whether the United States felt unable to use the Diego Garcia base and have to refuel, in a highly dangerous operation three times because of that, because of your deal that you did with the with the Mauritians, that would then tell the Chinese, that would then tell the Iranians?' Mr Lammy replied: 'The honourable lady has got (to) get off social media, has got to get some help… because she is swallowing conspiracy theories that should not be repeated in this House.' The deal over the Chagos Islands follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice which says the islands should be handed over to Mauritius. As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least £13 billion in cash terms. During the statement on Monday, Mr Lammy was pressed by MPs on the UK's position following the US military action. Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) said: 'Does His Majesty's Government support or oppose US military action against Iran at the weekend?' Mr Lammy replied: 'His Majesty's Government will continue to work with our closest ally, as I was last week in Washington DC.' Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) said: 'What is UK Government policy on whether regime change should be pursued in Iran?' Mr Lammy replied: 'It is not our belief that it's for us to change the regime of any country, that it must be for the people themselves.' SNP MP Brendan O'Hara (Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber) said: 'We've been here for an hour, and still the Foreign Secretary appears incapable of saying whether he supports or condemns America's actions, or whether he regards them as being legal or not. 'And nowhere in this statement does the role of international law even merit a mention. So will the Foreign Secretary take this opportunity now to tell us whether he believes that America's unilateral action was compliant with international law?' Mr Lammy replied: 'I've got to tell (Mr O'Hara), I qualified and was called to the bar in 1995, I haven't practised for the last 25 years. 'It is not for me to comment on the United States' legal validity. I would refer him to article 51 and article two of the UN Charter, and he can seek his own advice.'
Telegraph
23-06-2025
- Telegraph
Lawyer had estranged husband arrested after relationship with younger woman
A lawyer harassed her estranged husband and had him arrested after he began a relationship with a younger woman. Susilla Mercer, 44, posted vitriolic messages on social media about Gerard Flynn's South American girlfriend, calling her 'flat-chested, scruffy and trampy', adding: 'Penthouse to s---house does not even cut it.' Mercer made unfounded allegations of assault against her husband, which resulted in him being arrested and questioned by police, a court heard. When he was released without charge, Mercer messaged him saying: 'I am sorry I got you arrested but I did not want to spend £200 to £300 an hour on a watertight divorce. 'The copper then took it out of my hands and I spent the time with two barristers trying to get you out to make sure that the CPS did not take it further.' She denied the harassment of 42-year-old Mr Flynn and the racially aggravated harassment of Shelina Kurz, who is in her 30s. Mercer, whose Runcorn-based firm Mercer Law was shut down in 2023 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after allegations of dishonesty, was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Warrington magistrates' court. She was also banned from contacting the couple for 12 months under the terms of a restraining order and ordered to pay £804 in cost and a victim surcharge. The couple were together for seven years before separating in October 2022. Mr Flynn said the marriage broke down as a result of Mercer's alcoholism. Her harassment of the couple was said to have taken place between January 2023 and July last year. Kassem Noureddine, prosecuting, said Mr Flynn had received multiple voice notes and direct messages since January 2023 that he described as 'rambling' and 'derogatory'. In online posts, Mercer said of Ms Kurz: 'So the divorce proceedings are down to a scrote getting a visa. F--- me. Her forehead is so big you could draw a picture on it.' 'It affected my life massively' Mr Flynn, 42, who lives in Liverpool, said he had suffered from constant anxiety that prevented him from leaving the house for fear of being arrested again. In a statement, he said: 'My mental health declined rapidly and my friend had to pick me otherwise I would not go to work. After speaking with people, I believe I have a form of PTSD. It affected my life massively.' In the run-up to the court hearing, Mercer, who married Mr Flynn at Peckforton Castle, Cheshire, in 2020, posted pictures online of her wedding invitations with the caption: ''What a waste of £60,000. Cheating lying f-----.' Sarah Bailey, defending, said: ''This is an acrimonious divorce, and a new partner has been introduced. This has affected the defendant quite significantly and there are concerns about her mental health, but she does have support... 'She wants to put across that the allegations were of a serious nature along with some assaults that she told police he had committed against her but there was not enough evidence to convict, and she is quite upset that nothing was done about that. She is here for what she says is just a couple of Facebook messages.'
