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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What to watch on TV and streaming today: Under the Vines, The Miseducation of Bindu and Fear Street: Prom Queen
Under the Vines BBC One, 2pm & 2.45pm Drama starring Rebecca Gibney and Charles Edwards as a former Sydney socialite and an ex-London lawyer who inherit a failing vineyard in New Zealand. Live UEFA Women's Nations League RTÉ2, 5.30pm Turkiye v Republic of Ireland (kick-off 6pm). Marie Crowe presents both teams' penultimate Group B2 match. The Republic claimed a 1-0 win when the teams met at Tallaght Stadium in February. RugbaÍ Beo TG4, 7.20pm Live coverage of one of the quarter-finals in this season's United Rugby Championship (kick-off 7.35pm). The Zoo RTÉ One, 8.30pm Karen welcomes a new cheetah arrival, below. Anto and Daragh pair up Asian lions, and Sarah and Grechen continue their work with rescued chimpanzees. The Power of Parker BBC One, 9.30pm The comedy series starring Conleth Hill returns for a second run. Martin's growing debts and the needs of his wife and mistress have left him at rock bottom. Learn more The Boys in the Boat RTÉ One, 9.30pm As the 1936 Berlin Olympics approaches, rowing coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton) is recruited by the University of Washington to train working-class oarsmen to represent the USA at the Games. Callum Turner also stars in this drama directed by George Clooney. Brave New World Disney+, streaming now Meeting newly elected President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) must race against time to uncover a sinister plot before the world plunges into chaos. The Miseducation of Bindu RTÉ2, 9.40pm Priyanka Bose plays a bullied Indian teenager in America, who forges her mother's signature to get out of school. However, when she discovers she has to pay a test fee, Bindu has no option but to turn to the students she dislikes. F1: The Academy Netflix, streaming now In the struggle to reinstate a female driver on the Formula 1 grid, 15 young women are pushing the envelope. For similar viewing, but dramatised, we have Gran Turismo, which landed yesterday on Netflix, while Motorheads is now available via Prime Video. Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders Netflix, streaming now Chicago, 1982. Several cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules randomly resulted in at least seven deaths. Understandably, it ignited a countrywide panic in the United States, leading to one of the biggest criminal investigations in the nation's history. This striking documentary, from executive producer Joe Berlinger (Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes) and directors Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines (Shadow of Truth, Buried), revisits the terrifying crime that destroyed the country's faith in the safety of commonplace brands. Were these horrifying fatalities the work of a single psychopath, or was it just a convenient scapegoat in a larger conspiracy and possible cover-up? The case that transformed the bestselling medication in the world into a terrible symbol and permanently altered public perception of the items in people's medicine cabinets is revisited through this three-part series. Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack Prime Video, streaming now In 2015, a single shooter killed 38 people in less than 40 minutes. Ten years later, survivors talk about their struggle for survival and the tragedy's lingering effects. Clarkson's Farm Prime Video, streaming now Be it for inheritance tax purposes or just a pure latent love of land, Clarkson is back. After wrapping up series three, the Diddly Squat crew return to find Kaleb touring the country and Lisa launching a new product line. This means Clarkson is left to 'manage it all'. Poor lamb. Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds Netflix, streaming now Experience the thrill (albeit second-hand) of flying with the US Air Force's Thunderbirds, witnessing the intense training, risks and dedication required to be part of this elite American institution who, essentially, do doughnuts in the sky and make Mother Nature cry. That's my two cents, anyway. Fountain of Youth AppleTV+, streaming now Estranged siblings John Krasinski and Natalie Portman go on a high-stakes global heist to find the legendary fountain, unlocking secrets that could grant immortality. Yep, you read that correctly. It also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Eiza González and Stanley Tucci. Also on Apple, we have Deaf President Now, which explores a pivotal but often overlooked civil rights movement. Bit of an arbitrary time of year for slasher fare, but here we are. The 1988 prom at Shadyside High is a battleground as the dominant It Girls plot to win the title. However, the competition becomes lethal as candidates begin to die. Forget You Not Netflix, streaming now As a stand-up comedian and part-time convenience store employee, Cheng Le-le (Hsieh Ying-xuan) is finding that work/life balance tricky. If you throw her marital woes and her father's memory lapses into the mix, she's a woman on the brink.
Metro
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Metro
Former Wes Streeting aide avoids jail after indecent exposure
An ex-London councillor who previously worked as one of Wes Streeting's top aides has been handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to indecent exposure. Sam Gould, 33, stepped down from Redbridge Council in north-east London last month after admitting two counts of the crime. According to the Sun, he exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl who banged on doors asking for help after he followed her into a cul-de-sac. The teenager's mother said she was scared to leave the house after the incident. Streeting, the health secretary, said there were 'no words to express my horror that a mother and her daughter have been put through this ordeal'. More Trending He added: 'As soon as I was made aware of his arrest he was suspended, and as soon as the guilty plea was entered I took immediate steps to sack him through official HR processes. 'There are no excuses for his appalling behaviour.' Redbridge Council leader Kam Rai said he was shocked by the 'inexcusable betrayal of [Gould's] residents'. At Barkingside Magistrates' Court this afternoon, Gould was sentenced to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Prescription charges frozen to keep them under a tenner MORE: Sadiq Khan outlines plan for London to host 'brilliant' and 'very cheap' Olympics MORE: First picture of architect stabbed to death weeks before marrying 'love of his life'
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Reality TV star ordered to pay £250k after ‘building work killed neighbours' prize falcons'
A former reality TV star has been left with a £250,000 court bill after a dispute with his bird-breeding neighbours in a West Country hamlet. Barnes Thomas, a 29-year-old ex-London art dealer who appeared on Bear Grylls ' The Island in 2018, clashed with brothers Martin and Scott Nicholas, 32 and 31 respectively, over noisy building work on his farm in St Just, Cornwall. The Nicholas brothers, who operate a falcon-breeding business called Raptors of Penwith Ltd next to Mr Thomas's property, claimed the noise resulted in the death of three valuable falcons, including a prize-winning bird worth £150,000. They also alleged harassment, citing incidents such as caged peacocks being left outside Scott Nicholas's home and silage bales obstructing his sea view. Mr Thomas, who described himself as possibly "the most hated man" in the village, denied the accusations and countered with his own harassment claims, including being pursued by a Raptors of Penwith employee in a van. The "bitter" row sparked a case that went before the High Court in Bristol, with Judge Jonathan Russen KC now ruling in the brothers' favour and awarding Raptors of Penwith £258,500 damages from Mr Thomas and his company. He said the noisy work constituted "nuisance and negligence" and had resulted in the deaths of three birds, including a race-winning gyr falcon, lost eggs and reduced breeding in the aviary. However, although he accepted some incidents occurred, he rejected the claims of harassment from both sides. Cornish-born Mr Barnes is a former London art dealer who in 2018 appeared as a contestant on Bear Grylls ' The Island, in which participants' survival skills are put to the test on remote, uninhabited islands. He then moved to St Just, a picturesque hamlet close to Land's End, where in 2020 through his company he bought land, along with pigs, sheep and cows, and now runs a small farm, while living in a house he built on the site of a bungalow inherited from his grandmother. The Nicholas brothers run their raptor business on adjoining land, breeding mostly gyr and peregrine falcons, which they mainly sell to be used in falcon races in the UAE. Giving judgment on the dispute, Judge Russen said the "bitter" row which erupted between the three had "acquired real a relatively short space of time." He said Mr Thomas, who he described as "prone to overreacting to events," had "proved to be a controversial neighbour," creating a lake on his land and temporarily removing a stile on a public footpath, causing "opposition within the wider neighbourhood." "Mr Thomas himself accepted that, before they fell out, he had told Martin and (his wife) Karen Nicholas in October 2020 that he may have been the most hated man in Mousehole - he had previously lived in Mousehole - and went on to say that he may now be the most hated man in St Just," he said. "This was a reference to Mr Thomas pre-empting the switching on of the village's Christmas lights in Mousehole by him and his immediate neighbours illuminating their own decorations shortly before the village switch-on after a full countdown." Setting out the case, he said the Nicholas brothers complained of numerous acts of harassment by Mr Thomas, constituting a "vendetta" against them, while he had countered, blaming them or their employees. In one specific incident, Mr Thomas had based a peacock pen next to Scott Nicholas' house, causing disturbance, before leaving their carcasses in place after they were killed by foxes. As well as excessive noise from his land, he was also accused of stacking silage bales in such a way as to block Scott Nicholas' sea views from his home. Mr Thomas also complained of "frequent acts of harassment," complaining that Scott had destroyed signs and shouted aggressively at him, while he had also been chased in a van by one of the brothers' employees. The brothers sued for nuisance and negligence, arguing that noisy work on Mr Thomas' land during their birds' breeding seasons had caused the death of three birds, reduced overall breeding and also resulted in egg loss, with some birds damaging them. For three days, a JCB bucket had at one point been raised in the birds' line of sight, which Scott Nicholas said had caused them to "go mental at the sight of this alien object." Through their company, they claimed the acts breached a duty of care 'not to cause or permit the falcons to suffer excessive noise or visual threats, in particular during the breeding season.' Giving judgment on the nuisance and negligence claims, Judge Russen said he was convinced that the actions of Mr Thomas and his company, Upper Cot Estate Ltd (UCE), had caused the three birds' deaths. "On my assessment of the evidence, Mr Thomas was made aware that March to the beginning of June was the time to avoid excessive noise and visual disturbances near the aviary," he said. "I am satisfied by reference to the evidence identified above that Mr Thomas knew that both excessive noise and visual disturbances on UCE's land were to be avoided during the period March to May of 2022." He said he had viewed videos taken in May within the incubation room of the brothers' aviary while building work was done on Mr Thomas' barn, which showed the "noise upsetting the birds." "These activities, related to the building of the barn, cannot be said to be outside the ordinary and common use of agricultural land - but they were carried out without proper consideration of Raptors of Penwith's breeding season," he said. In relation to the raising of the digger bucket, he added: "For the purpose of on-site inspection by an engineer, the bucket was raised. "With the bucket raised next to the aviary for those three days, the machine broke the line of sight of at least some birds in the western pens. "Scott's evidence was that the birds were 'going mental' at the sight of this alien object. "Placing the digger on the birds' line of sight on 7 April, 2022, was entirely at odds with ensuring that no undue inconvenience was caused to Raptors of Penwith." However, he went on to find it was not proven that the actions on Mr Thomas' land involved "malice, as opposed to carelessness." "That reflects my assessment of Mr Thomas's evidence taken as a whole. The activity which gives rise to those findings was farming or farm-building related activity," he said. "Even though malice has not been established, the proven acts of nuisance are in my judgment actionable because they were undertaken without proper consideration of the sensitivity of ROP's birds during the breeding season. "Mr Thomas was previously aware of the need to avoid disturbances during the breeding season, and appears to have accepted that could be done, and yet the activities were undertaken regardless. "I also find that those same tortious acts under the law of nuisance support a finding of negligence." In relation to the harassment claims, the judge found that the brothers knew Mr Thomas intended to have a peacock house on his land and that they had to be confined due to bird flu restrictions. "As Scott confirmed, because the peacocks were killed soon after their arrival they were not there long enough to cause a problem," he said. "The factual allegation of stacking of silage bales has been proved - and not disputed - but I do not accept this was an act of harassment, done with the purpose of blocking a sea view from Scott's family home," he added. In relation to Mr Thomas' claims, he found it "not proven" that anything amounted to harassment, including "the hot pursuit suggested by Mr Thomas." He rejected the harassment damages claims, but ordered that Mr Thomas and his company are liable to pay the Nicholas brothers' company £258,500 damages for the impact on their birds.
The Independent
08-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The Rupert Lowe row has exposed Reform UK's dysfunction under Nigel Farage
When Elon Musk had his epiphany in January and publicly endorsed Rupert Lowe to replace Nigel Farage as leader of Reform UK, I received a message within minutes. 'That's the end of Rupert. Nigel won't tolerate that,' said a former ally of Mr Farage. Two months later, Mr Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth and former Southampton football club chair, finds himself suspended from the party. He is facing serious allegations of bullying towards female staff and claims that he made threats of physical violence against the party's chair. Reform has even referred the matter to the police. In terms of timing, the ousting came after 48 hours of Mr Lowe creating headlines questioning Mr Farage's leadership and complaining about the dysfunction in Reform UK. It did not take long for a number of senior former Reform figures who have been forced out in recent months, including ex-deputy leader Ben Habib and ex-London mayor candidate Howard Cox, to allege that Mr Lowe had been framed. While investigations will now determine the truth about Mr Lowe's behaviour, the row has blown open a problem within Reform that has been bubbling below the surface for months now. Reform dysfunction The Independent understands that late last month, a senior national campaign organiser who was poached by Reform from the Tories decided to quit because they could no longer put up with the way the party is being run. They summarise that the surge to the top of the polls by Reform UK has masked a civil war going on behind the scenes, fuelled by competing egos. And it is noticeable that this is already being picked up in the US. Musk is now not the lone voice questioning whether Mr Farage is the one to deliver a Trump-style right wing election revolution in the UK. Indeed, a number of eyes had been wandering to Mr Lowe's posts on X and contributions in parliament with increasingly hardline messages on migration and law and order. Beyond this, conspicuously Mr Farage did not get an effusive reception from Trump and his inner circle for the inauguration. Apart from Mr Farage himself, the target for those angry with what is going on is the increasingly controversial party chair Zia Yusuf, who in many ways is being seen as the de facto leader of Reform. Mr Lowe on Saturday morning after the allegations against him went public, pointed to communication issues being at the core of the chaos. He said: 'I've run businesses all my life. Some successful, some not. The one thing in common from all of the successful ones? Communication. Clear, honest communication. 'Does requesting regular meetings of MPs make me a monster? Is asking to even just see policy before it's made public unreasonable? Is it fair to be insulted because I want people to finally talk to each other? 'I have torn out what remaining hair I have left over the last few months trying to talk. That's it. Just talk. I have tried, and tried, and tried to resolve all of this behind closed doors. I can only smash my head against a brick wall for so long.' The Nigel Farage problem Mr Farage is in many ways one of the most successful and charismatic politicians of the 21st century, at least in the UK. But his Achilles heel is his repeated inability to work with well with a team; particularly if that team causes him to share the limelight or to cope with potential rivals. As one figure put it: 'It's Nigel's way or the highway.' Mr Lowe is not the only one to feel unheard, unconsulted or set aside. Some, like Mr Habib and Mr Cox, have gone public with their frustration and criticism. Both have left the party. Others have been quieter, but many of those are now working on helping the Tories put together an anti-Reform unit with the aid of Conservative Party grandee Sir Bill Cash. Meanwhile the chaos has meant former Tory MPs who are considering following their ex-colleagues Andrea Jenkyns and Marco Longhi as defectors have put their decisions on hold. The treatment of Mr Lowe is also now making several potential defectors think twice about joining Reform. As Tory peer Lord Hayward said, this is the 'peak time for defections', with councillors potentially looking to switch ahead of the local elections. Current Reform candidates have opened up privately as well, complaining they feel isolated and undervalued with little support even in areas they might win. The lack of communication is a common theme. The power of Zia Yusuf It is noticeable that the only person to regularly get top billing on Reform events along with Mr Farage is Mr Yusuf. The speculation is that Mr Farage tolerates sharing the limelight with him because Mr Yusuf is the only one to bring serious money to the party despite the much-heralded arrival of property developer Nick Candy. Press notices for their mini conferences state that people will hear from 'Nigel Farage, Zia Yusuf and many more'. No mention of MPs. It was noticeable at a recent press conference that Mr Yusuf, who is a peripheral political figure at best, was the only one to sit on the platform with Mr Farage. A relegated deputy leader Richard Tice had to sit in the audience and was allowed up briefly to answer a question on policy before being sent back down again. Mr Yusuf's power is already troubling some in the party, and there are even questions over whether he is positioning himself to replace Mr Farage. Interestingly, his Wikipedia entry notes: 'Nigel Farage has suggested that Yusuf might one day lead Reform UK.' He runs the operation 'with an iron rod' but apart from an announcement on the party's change of constitution, there seems to be no serious leadership network across the country. One senior member has told The Independent they are convinced Mr Yusuf is actually plotting a leadership coup 'in plain sight'. Dire communications To say that Reform's response to criticism is thin-skinned would be somewhat of an understatement. When The Independent recently revealed the apparent hypocrisy of Mr Tice attacking Rachel Reeves for exaggerating her CV when he had overblown some of his achievements, the party's response was extraordinary. There were threats of legal action, banning The Independent from events, and 'this is a story really not worth The Independent completely ruining its relationship with a party leading in the polls'. The story ran and, as Kemi Badenoch discovered when Reform made threats to sue her over membership figures, the threats were entirely empty. But it underlined a certain degree of hubris for a party which has just five MPs and has only been at the top of the polls for a few weeks with no serious evidence that it is about to seize power. More of a problem is that its 'professionalised' press office seems completely unable to answer basic questions or respond to emails. So questions like, 'Who will chair the party board?' simply go unanswered. Mr Yusuf sacked the well-known and highly respected Westminster operator Gawain Towler while Mr Farage was abroad, and things seem to have gone from bad to worse ever since. Victory in Wales More concerning is that the press office and leadership are unable to say who is leading the party in Wales. This is an issue because the Welsh parliament elections next year are meant to be a springboard for the party to win power in 2029. Polls suggest they are in the top two and could even potentially hold power, but nobody seems to know what is going on in Wales. There is a suggestion former Ukip defector Mark Reckless may be a point of contact - he first came to public attention as a Tory MP in 2010 who fell asleep on the terrace in parliament and missed a crucial Budget vote. Future prospects The real issue is whether a political party as dysfunctional as Reform UK can continue to surge in the polls. The polling for The Independent by Techne UK appears to suggest that it has reached a plateau at about 25 per cent. This could be because of the limits of Mr Farage's appeal or because people are not yet convinced it is a serious party of government - Mr Lowe himself described it as 'a party of protest'. Veteran pollster Lord Robert Hayward told The Independent the support for Reform is based on Mr Farage as a 'credible political figure' but also 'a general despair with 'old' politics'. He noted: 'The Tories are deemed to be incompetent, which is why they left them, and the old Labour base plus ex-Tories now take the same view of Labour!' In council by-elections, Reform has picked up two seats in England from Labour and two from the Tories. The party appears to be picking up Labour and Tory voters equally but also people who stayed at home in the general election. Lord Hayward, a Tory peer, questions whether the current trajectory is sustainable based purely on 'dislike of Labour and the Conservatives'. But he added: 'The business with Lowe will hurt them a little, but it will only cause significant damage if it damages Farage himself.' The issue then is whether Mr Lowe will try to take Mr Farage down with him if Reform presses ahead with its allegations.
