TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has revealed she is to undergo keyhole surgery in order to remove her ovaries. The 65-year-old said the operation was "all preventative" and thanked hospital staff for their care so far, having already undergone scans, in a post on Instagram.
Kelly said in the post: "I just wanted to let you know I'm having a wee procedure today. I've not been feeling all that well for a little while, so I had some scans and tests, and I have to have my ovaries and my tubes taken out.
"It's purely preventative, it's going to be with keyhole surgery, which is incredible, and I'm being very well looked after, and I'll obviously see you really soon, and I'm going to be totally fine. See you soon, bye."
In the post, she said she felt "very lucky to be treated so well" and received messages from celebrity friends such as Loose Women star Katie Piper, Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid and TV presenter Julia Bradbury.
Bradbury said on Instagram: "Wishing you a speedy recovery Lorraine, and good luck with the post op rehab."
Reid added: "Sending you all the love in the world." Piper commented: "Hope you make a speedy recovery."
Kelly celebrated her 40th year in television in 2024, with a special episode of her daytime talk show Lorraine, which she has featured on since 2010.
She began her journalism career on the East Kilbride News, turning down a university place to study English and Russian to join the newspaper, before joining BBC Scotland as a researcher in 1983.
In 1984, she joined TV-am as an on-screen reporter covering Scottish news and in 1990 she began her presenting career on Good Morning Britain, before getting her own show.
Conservative councillors claim that Bexley is being "discriminated against" and the tolls on the new Silvertown Tunnel are a "kick in the teeth" to their borough's residents. Speaking at a full Bexley Council meeting on April 30, one Tory councillor stated that London Mayor Sadiq Khan was giving Bexley a "particularly raw deal" compared to other boroughs south of the river when it came to transport funding.
At the meeting, Conservative Cllr Peter Craske posed a question about the Silvertown Tunnel tolls, and asked the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods Cllr Richard Diment to comment on "whether it is right" that those travelling northbound in a car through the tunnel in the morning—such as Bexley residents commuting for work—have to pay the peak charge of £4, while those travelling southbound at the exact same time only have to pay £1.50.
Fellow Tory Cllr Diment responded: "I think it's a real kick in the teeth for the residents of Bexley that they are charged a surcharge which does not apply to those that start their journeys north of the river. Simple mental arithmetic says that somebody who lives in this borough and works north of the borough travelling through that tunnel 200 times a year will end up with a bill of something like £2,000.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been accused of discriminating against Bexley and other South London boroughs over the higher charges for travelling northbound through the Silvertown Tunnel (Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
"For somebody making the journey the opposite direction, it'll be £750. That again is discrimination against the residents of this borough and those that live south of the river and it is what we have come to expect from Mayor Khan and TfL."
In a supplementary question, Cllr Craske stated that the tunnel charges were "not the only way that Bexley residents are discriminated against by the Labour Mayor" and he asked Cllr Diment to set out how much money Bexley was receiving from Transport for London (TfL) via local implementation plan (LIP) funding, a scheme that offers money to London councils to improve transport networks in line with the Mayor's transport strategy.
Cllr Diment replied: "In 2016/17, the last year when the LIP funding was set by the previous Mayor Boris Johnson, Bexley received £4 million, or about 3.3 per cent of the total funding that was available. In no year since then has it got anywhere near to 3.3 per cent, and in the latest year which has just been announced, of the £87 million that has been allocated by the Mayor, Bexley is getting just 1.9 per cent."
Cllr Diment then went on to list the amounts of money other councils had received from the LIP fund under Sadiq Khan, claiming that Greenwich and Lewisham had both received £18m, Lambeth had received £19m and Southwark £23m. In comparison, he said Bexley had received only £12.7m. Cllr Diment said: "I think that is clear evidence that Bexley is being discriminated against and our residents get a particularly raw deal from the administration in city hall."
In response, Labour Cllr Anna Day wanted to remind Tory councillors that the tunnel charges were in fact a "Boris tax" rather than a Labour one. She said: "The Silvertown plans were first developed in 2012, and plans to toll both crossings were confirmed by their government six-and-a-half years ago.
"As you are aware, in addition to recovering construction costs the tolls have been levied to reduce congestion and to spread traffic levels evenly, hence the different charges depending on the direction of travel."
Cllr Day then asked Cllr Diment: "Being that there is more traffic heading to opportunities of employment north of the river, what are we doing to bring people across to us? Is the cabinet member not confident that Bexley is open for business strategy, and ambitions to create a green cluster of tech and business here will in any case negate the need for many of our residents to travel elsewhere for work?"
Cllr Diment replied: "I'm really grateful to Cllr Day for telling us the briefing that they've been given by Sadiq Khan for how to respond to this debate. Of course Bexley would welcome people coming into Bexley in open arms, but our first responsibility is to look after the welfare and wellbeing of our residents and it is clear that the decisions being made with the unfair system of tolling that has been introduced is, as I have said in my original answer, a kick in the teeth for the residents of Bexley from the administration in City Hall."
In response to Cllr Diment's claims, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "The opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel last month is helping to transform travel in the South and East of our city. It means faster, more reliable journey times for thousands of Londoners during peak hours, reduced congestion and improved air quality, and enhanced public transport links through zero emission cross-river buses and an innovative cycle shuttle service.
"The original plans for the Silvertown Tunnel were developed in 2012 by the previous Mayor. We made a series of improvements to make the scheme greener and to include a package of measures to support Londoners and businesses. This includes ensuring there are discounts and concessions in place for local residents."
A man has suffered a potentially life-changing injury following a brawl in Finsbury Park on Wednesday night (April 30). Police and paramedics rushed to Tollington Park at 10.50pm yesterday.
Officers say a 31-year-old man suffered potentially life-changing injuries, while a 25-year-old man also remains in hospital after remains in hospital after the incident. A third man, aged 27, was taken to hospital as a precaution before being released.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed all three men were also arrested following the brawl.
The 31-year-old man, who suffered serious injuries, was arrested for theft, possession of criminal property and possession of class B drugs. The 25-year-old man was arrested for grievous bodily harm and theft, and the third man involved, aged 27, was arrested for theft and remains in custody.
Police are appealing for anyone with information to call police on 101 quoting CAD 8877/30Apr. An emergency cordon was in place outside Dexters estate agents on Tollington Road following the incident.
The road has since reopened.
A Met spokesperson said: "On Wednesday, April 30 at 10.50pm, police were called to reports of a fight between three men in Tollington Park, Finsbury Park.
"Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service. Two of those involved, aged 25 and 31, sustained injuries, with the 31-year-old suffering a potentially life changing injury. They remain in hospital. A third man aged 27 was taken to hospital as a precaution before being released.
"The 25-year-old man was arrested for grievous bodily harm and theft. The 31-year-old man was arrested for theft, possession of criminal property and possession of class B drugs.
"The 27-year-old man was arrested for theft and remains in custody. The road was initially closed and has since reopened.
"Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 8877/30Apr."
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A killer Colombian ‘porn performer’ said four words as he slashed the throat of his fetish slave during sex, hours after hammering the man’s civil partner to death and hiding him under a bed, a court has heard. Yostin Andres Mosquera, 35, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering Albert Alfonso, 62, originally from France, and Irishman Paul Longworth, 71, at their West London flat on July 8 last year.
Video footage of Mr Alfonso’s final moments, which was caught by cameras set up to film his sex session with Mosquera at the flat in Shepherd’s Bush, was played to jurors on Wednesday (April 30). It is alleged Mosquera asked Mr Alfonso ‘Do you like it?’ as he repeatedly stabbed him in the neck, face, and torso, moments after urinating on him while wearing a strap-on penis.
Mosquera - whose guilty plea to the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso was not accepted by the prosecution - is then alleged to have dismembered the bodies of the couple, storing their heads in a chest freezer, before taking the other remains in a pair of suitcases to the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.
Court drawing of Yostin Andres Mosquera appearing at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court (Image: Elizabeth Cook/PA)
There, Mosquera pretended he was a man called Juan dropping off mechanical parts for a client, and assured a pair of football fans that the red liquid leaking from one of the suitcases was just motor oil, the court was told.
But eventually, a cyclist and staff working on the bridge confronted Mosquera and asked to look inside the suitcase. Mosquera refused and ran away from the scene, but was arrested at Bristol Temple Meads station a few days later, wearing a single shoe and a t-shirt with Mr Alfonso’s blood on it.
Men hung out as friends
On Wednesday (April 30), jurors heard that Mosquera blames Mr Alfonso for Mr Longworth’s death, and denies murdering Mr Alfonso due to loss of control.
Prosecutor Deanne Heer KC told jurors how Mr Alfonso, a swimming instructor at a gym in Acton, was into ‘extreme’ sex, while his partner Mr Longworth, a handyman, was dyslexic and relied on Mr Alfonso for help in their ‘loving’ relationship.
Mr Alfonso sought other men, who he had sex with and posted films on specialist websites, including Mosquera, who went 'iamblackmaster' and 'mrd**k20cm' in his online pornographic content, and a man known as James Smith (a pseudonym used to protect his identity for the trial), who Mr Alfonso had known for around 18 years.
Mr Alfonso used both men to engage in acts of sexual domination, which included acts to degrade Mr Alfonso like urinating, defecating and vomiting on him.
As well as their sex sessions, the men hung out together as friends, and Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth visited Mosquera in his native Colombia.
But in the weeks before the men were killed, Ms Heer said Mosquera made a number of internet searches that showed he ‘had an interest in killing’, including for chest freezers and industrial blenders, house prices for the couple’s flat, 'Serial killers of London', and 'Jack the Ripper film'.
Defendant danced over victim's dead body
On the morning of Mr Longworth’s death on July 8, Mosquera searched for YouTube videos about how fatal a head knock is, and looked at an image of a chest freezer that prosecutors say is similar to the one the remains were later found in, the court heard.
Ms Heer said it was likely Mr Longworth was killed when the curtains were closed between 12.30pm and 1pm, and that post-mortem analysis had shown the injuries to the back and top of his skull were consistent with ‘forceful use of a hammer’.
The prosecutor also said DNA evidence showed it was likely his body was hidden in his own bed. In the evening, while Mr Alfonso was at the gym, Mosquera made searches about how long it takes for a body to decompose, the court heard.
Drawing on evidence from the video recording, Ms Heer said Mr Alfonso was likely killed at around 10.15pm that same night while he was having sex with Mosquera.
Ms Heer told jurors the footage showed Mr Alfonso on all floors with Mosquera penetrating him with a strap-on penis and urinating on him from behind, with the men apparently engaged in a master/slave fetish roleplay.
Mosquera then applied tape to Mr Alfonso’s bottom, cut it away with scissors, then reached for a knife on a table, and finally applied more tape to Mr Alfonso’s behind, the jury heard.
Then, as the sex continued, Mosquera reached around and pulled Mr Alfonso’s head back and ‘ quite deliberately, quite precisely’ inserted it into his neck, said Ms Heer. After that, a struggle ensued, and Mosquera came out on top.
“He begins to struggle but the defendant - younger, fitter and obviously stronger - manages to overpower him and repeatedly stabs him, at one point asking, ‘Do you like it?’ before he eventually pushes Alfonso onto the bed and cuts his throat,” said Ms Heer.
The footage then showed Mosquera dancing naked with Mr Alfonso’s body twitching on the floor next to him. Immediately, Mosquera set about attempting to drain money from the couple’s bank accounts by accessing spreadsheets with banking passwords on Mr Alfonso’s desktop computer, it is alleged.
Later, when Mr Alfonso’s boss asked why he was not at work, Mosquera posed as Mr Alfonso and claimed he had a family emergency in Costa Rica, the court heard. After dismembering the bodies and putting some of the remains in a newly delivered chest freezer, he agreed to pay a ‘man with a van’ to drive him to Bristol.
'His head, hands and feet had been removed'
Unable to lift the heavy suitcase over the side of the bridge, it was here bridge staff and a passing cyclist confronted Mosquera about the red liquid leaking from the case, prompting him to flee the scene and leave behind the remains of Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth, it is alleged.
When police arrived and looked inside the suitcases, they found the remains of Mr Longworth in the silver suitcase, 'with attached arms and two detached legs… His head, hands and feet had been removed’. Mr Alfonso’s remains were in the red suitcase ‘with attached arms and hands and two detached legs with attached feet… his head had been removed’.
The remaining body parts and heads were found in the chest freezer at the victims’ London flat. A pathologist who looked at all the remains found some of the cuts were consistent with the use of a knife, while others had been done with a saw or power tool.
At the flat, forensics found Mr Alfonso’s blood splattered around his bedroom, while there were towels drenched with Mr Longworth’s blood in his own room, and his hair on the edge of the bed. Police also recovered strap-on prosthetic penises, sex toys, a bloodstained knife, and the couple’s electronic devices in the communal bins.
Ms Heer said Mosquera 'remained at large' until he was arrested sitting on a bench outside Bristol Temple Meads station at 2.15am on July 13. The defendant had with him a rucksack with a wallet, passport, and phone, wearing only one shoe and a red t-shirt stained with Albert Alfonso's blood.
Under questioning the next day, he said he injured his foot running away the day before his arrest when his shoe came off, and that he cut his elbow in Colombia when he was carrying bricks. To the other questions, he made no comment.
'A deliberate and calculated act of killing'
“The defendant is guilty of nothing less than the murder of both Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso,” Ms Heer told jurors, adding: “Albert Alfonso simply had no reason to kill his lifelong friend and partner, Paul Longworth. Their relationship was unconventional, but whatever you may think about the way Albert Alfonso conducted his sex life, the evidence suggests that they accepted one another and cared for one another.”
Ms Heer said the evidence pointed towards Mosquera as Mr Longworth’s killer, particularly his internet searches for how to kill someone by striking their head, and the sameness of the chest freezer he was researching and the one the remains were found in.
Ms Heer said that the footage of Mosquera killing Mr Alfonso showed he was ‘in complete control’ of his actions, which she described as ‘strategic and premeditated’.
“He armed himself with the knife and waited for the opportunity to use it to cut Mr Alfonso’s throat in a deliberate and calculated act of killing. And having done so, as Albert Alfonso lay dying at his feet, the defendant immediately went to his computer and set about stealing, or trying to steal, from him,” she said.
A builder has been banned as a company director for fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of pounds that his business was not entitled to claim.
Ioan Marcu, 38, of Lindfield Road, Romford, inflated his company's turnover figures to secure the maximum £50,000 available under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme in 2020 as part of the Covid support fund.
Following investigations by the Insolvency Service, Marcu was disqualified as a director for 10 years in January 2025. He has now signed a formal agreement to repay more than £38,000 - the difference between what his company legitimately qualified for and what it actually received.
Marcu was the sole director of Imbusi Ltd, a company incorporated in August 2014. In July 2020, he applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan, claiming his company had a turnover of £280,000.
Investigation of the company's accounts revealed this figure was overstated by more than £230,000, and that Imbusi was only entitled to a loan of £11,451.
Ann Oliver, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Ioan Marcu significantly overstated his company's turnover in order to receive the maximum amount of money businesses were entitled to under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
"This was clearly an inaccurate declaration which has resulted in him being banned as a director until the start of 2035.
"Marcu has now signed a compensation undertaking which legally requires him to pay back all the public money the company should never have received in the first place."
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a compensation undertaking from Marcu on Thursday 24 April, committing him to repay £38,549 in monthly instalments.
His disqualification prevents him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of any company until 2035 without court permission.
Imbusi Ltd went into liquidation in July 2022 with liabilities exceeding £63,000.
A new design for priority seating on London Underground trains has been unveiled by Transport for London. The new priority seating on the Tube will feature a 'This is a priority seat' message, as well as a more distinctive colour contrast.
The new design has already been introduced on the Elizabeth line and is set to rolled out on new DLR and Piccadilly line trains, as well as refurbished Central line and Waterloo & City line trains. New seating will match the appearance of the 'Please offer me a seat' badges and the Government's Blue Badge scheme, as well as aligning with priority seating design already in place on the Jubilee line.
Those travelling on the Elizabeth line will recognise the same distinct striped pattern that is associated with the line, but priority seating will instead be blue rather than purple. TfL hopes this will help those will help people differentiate between the seating, especially for those with visual impairments.
TfL hope the new design will help people differentiate the seating (Image: TfL)
As part of its Priority Seating Week, Transport for London is hosting a range of activities including public announcements on its transport services and 'Travel Kind – Please offer your seat’ posters which will be displayed across the network. Badges reading 'Please offer me a seat' will be handed out on the DLR and London Overground and there will also be 'Here to help' stalls on the Elizabeth line.
Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “Making the public transport network accessible for all is a top priority for the Mayor, and Londoners can play their part by staying aware of those around them and offering their seat to someone who may need it.
“TfL’s striking new seat design will make priority seating easier to spot, and act as a reminder for everyone to consider their fellow passengers. Not all disabilities are visible so, as TfL launches Priority Seating Week, we're asking all Londoners to keep this in mind, and offer their seat to those who may need it more than them."
Transport for London say it is taking other steps to make the transport network more accessible (Image: TfL)
Research by TfL showed that in some cases that those who needed priority seating were not always getting it as their needs aren't always recognised or people may not be paying attention. More than 152,000 'Please offer me a seat badges' have been issued since 2017 - now available to all addresses across the UK.
Transport for London say it is taking other steps to make the transport network more accessible. Knightsbridge Underground Station today became the latest to become step-free. A new accessible toilet also opened last week at White Hart Lane station on the London Overground’s Weaver line
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Crystal Palace fans raised more than £13k to turn the stands of Wembley Stadium into a sea of red and blue during yesterday's FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa. The display - created using hundreds of paper boards - included the phrase 'Take my hand, take my whole life too' and a photo of a young boy clutching a club strip - but why?
Well, the story begins in Croydon many years ago, when decades-long Palace fan Mr Sithole-Sadler bought his grandson Ethan his first season ticket at just three years old. Soon, trips to Selhurst Park become a ritual for the pair.
Ethan's Grandma Jane said: "His grandad took him, even though he was a gentleman who was born here in Croydon. He was white. But that colour never showed. He was Grandad to Ethan from the day he was born, and they had a very strong bond.”
Soon Ethan was the Palace-obsessed boy that his Grandad had always longed for. He and his wife had taken on their then 5-year-old grandson full-time after Ethan's mother struggled to cope.
The youngster was often sent to school late, unbathed and hungry, moving his grandparents to apply for guardianship. Sadly, Grandad died from lung cancer before the application was approved.
During his final days, the South Londoner thought of the child who had come to see him as a father figure. Grandma Jane told Crystal Palace FC during an interview: "When he was dying, he asked me: ‘Can you continue to take Ethan to the football?’
The family have kept their promise and continue to buy season tickets every year, occupying the same seats Mr Sithole-Sadler first landed 56 years before his death. It was here former Palace player Andros Townsend spotted the football-loving youngster in the crowd during the famous 2019 match against Manchester City.
At full-time, still celebrating his winning strike, Townsend handed Ethan his top. The televised moment - showing Ethan clutching it in disbelief - quickly went viral and has become a symbol of what Crystal Palace means to fans. Grandma Jane added: “It’s lovely, it just fulfils. I’m sure wherever my husband is he’s very happy to see that.”
And so, with the FA Cup semi-final looming, long-running fan club Holmesdale Fanatics got to work putting together a special project honouring the iconic photo and it's heart-warming meaning. One successful fundraiser later and the impressive display was seen by football fans around the world last night.
They're now attempting to "finish what they started" during the final at Wembley Stadium on May 17. You can donate to the final fan display on GoFundMe.
