Three weeks before Christmas, the Football Association (FA) could have to sanction a player’s devotion to Jesus.
There is little wriggle room having already formally reminded Crystal Palace player Marc Guehi that the laws of football were being breached by writing “I love Jesus” on his captain’s armband during a Premier League match on Saturday.
The request to keep the armband free of religious messaging was ignored.
A similar message appeared on Guehi’s armband for Palace’s match at Ipswich tonight – “Jesus loves you”.
There was no immediate comment from the FA, which could now have to charge Guehi.
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Armband rule break explained
That would undoubtedly plunge the governing body into a religious row and be accused of suppressing Christian expression.
But overlooking the rule breach is challenging given the FA has the privileged position of upholding the laws of football among the eight voters on the 138-year-old IFAB panel.
Complicating the matter is the fact the religious slogan did not appear on a standard-issue armband.
Special rainbow armbands for LGBTQ+ inclusion activism have been handed out by the Premier League to captains to wear during last weekend’s matches and this midweek fixture programme.
Players are not mandated to wear them.
And Guehi’s opposing captain on Tuesday night – Ipswich’s Sam Morsy – opted against wearing the rainbow-coloured garment as a practising Muslim.
The club backed the religious stance after Morsy went with the regular version in their weekend match.
The Egypt international can face no FA disciplinary action. But Guehi will be waiting to find out the FA’s next move.
It is one of the more problematic matters for the Wembley disciplinary department to consider.
How rigid should football’s rules be on expressions of religious allegiance? Even as stadiums, where matches are being played, prepare to mark Christmas.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her first budget at the end of October, providing the first chance for her to change the fiscal rules.
Upon entering government in July, the government said the Conservatives left it with a £22bn black hole, so the chancellor is expected to use the 30 October budget to raise some of that.
Ms Reeves said in November, when asked if she would consider changing the debt target, she was “not going to fiddle the figures or make something to get different results”.
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However, she is being urged to alter the rules to let the government access £57bn, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank.
And during Prime Minister’s Questions on 9 October, Sir Keir Starmer refused to answer if he agreed with the chancellor’s November statement, prompting some to speculate the government may change the fiscal rules.
Sky News looks at what a fiscal rule is, what the Labour government’s rules are and how they could change.
Image: Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves at the Labour conference. Pic: PA
What are fiscal rules?
A fiscal rule is a limit or restriction governments put in place to constrain how much they can borrow to fund public spending.
They can be set by an independent body but since 1997 UK governments have set their own constraints.
Rules apply to the fiscal deficit – the gap between public expenditure and tax revenues in a year – the public debt – the total amount borrowed to finance past deficits – or public spending relative to GDP.
In 2010, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was set up to remove the Treasury’s ultimate control over the forecasts that underpin fiscal policy.
The Economics Observatory said the OBR’s creation means fiscal rules should be seen as an “expression of a government’s objectives, not something that dictates those objectives”.
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What are the current fiscal rules?
The Labour Party’s manifesto laid out the new government’s fiscal rules, describing them as “non-negotiable”. They are:
1) The current budget must move into balance so day-to-day costs are met by revenues
2) Debt must be falling as a percentage of GDP by the fifth year of the forecast – this was carried over from the Conservative government.
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2:23
Will Rachel Reeves U-turn on her budget promise?
How could the fiscal rules change?
The rules themselves are not expected to change.
However, the chancellor could change how debt is calculated, which could in turn change how much debt the UK officially has and give Ms Reeves room to borrow more.
Ms Reeves told the Labour conference “borrowing for investment” is the only plausible solution to the UK’s productivity crisis.
By changing her definition of debt, she could find up to £50bn in additional headroom.
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned against borrowing that much money.
Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, said Labour’s pledge not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT, coupled with a promise to balance the current budget, means she will not be able to free up additional resources for day-to-day spending.
Image: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey introduced quantitative tightening in 2022
Quantitative Easing
An idea the chancellor is said to be weighing up is excluding the £20bn to £50bn annual losses being incurred by the Bank of England winding down its quantitative easing (QE) bond-buying programme.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Bank of England has repeatedly used QE to stimulate the economy and meet the 2% inflation target – creating £875bn of new money in 13 years.
During QE, the Bank buys bonds (debt security issued by the government) to push up their prices and bring down long-term interest rates on savings and loans.
Read more: How fiscal rules are impeding long-term investments – and what Rachel Reeves can do about it Abolishing national insurance ‘could take several parliaments’
Since November 2022, the Bank has been carrying out quantitative tightening, where it does not buy other bonds when bonds it holds mature, or by actively selling bonds to investors, or a combination of the two.
The aim is not to affect interest rates or inflation but to ensure it is possible QE can happen again in the future, if needed.
In February, the cross-party Treasury committee raised concerns quantitative tightening could have losses of between £50bn and £130bn and said it could have “huge implications” for public spending over the next decade.
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What will the budget include?
Exclude new institutions
There are suggestions the chancellor could move GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund, both created by Labour, off the government’s books.
Andy King, a former senior official at the OBR, estimates that could unlock a further £15bn for borrowing.
Exclude projects
Another option would be to exclude certain projects from the debt calculation.
Government officials have said they are working on a plan to publish estimates for how much new capital projects could stimulate growth and how much money they would generate directly for the Treasury.
The death of a five-year-old boy who drowned in a holiday park swimming pool after becoming separated from his parents was an accident, an inquest jury has ruled.
Robin Caliskan was found at the bottom of the indoor pool at the Atlantic Reach Holiday Park, near Newquay in Cornwall, by members of the public, after going for a swim with his family in July last year.
After becoming separated from his parents, he was discovered face down in the pool and died, despite the efforts of members of the public and paramedics to resuscitate him.
A post-mortem found Robin, from Plymouth in Devon, died from drowning, and an inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
The jury said frosted glass separating the baby pool from the main pool “misled each parent to believe the deceased was safe with the other parent”.
Robin’s father, Cemal Caliskan, told the inquest he thought his son was with his mother in the larger pool, while he was in the baby pool with his other child.
Mr Caliskan, originally from Turkey, said: “Robin was just playing there, my wife was heading to the big pool and Robin said ‘Can I go please?’
“He wanted to go with my wife, his mum, and I said ‘OK, but you need to stay with your mum, go with your mum’.”
The larger pool was too crowded for him to be “100% sure” if they were together, he said, adding: “I could just see my wife and there was a child next to my wife and I thought that was Robin. I was sure he was with her.”
The jury said Robin was unsupervised for a “brief period” following “a miscommunication between the parents”.
No lifeguards were employed at the swimming pool and the holiday park had no legal obligation to have any, Anne Marie Jameson, a health and safety enforcement officer at Cornwall Council, told the inquest.
However, Ms Jameson said the park met only the current minimum standards and she believed “there is the risk of future deaths”.
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The boy died on the first day of a three-day camping stay at the resort in July last year. The inquest heard the family went to the pool soon after arriving and setting up their tent.
The hearing heard there had been a near miss previously when an elderly man suffered a medical episode while using the swimming pool.
Andrew Cox, the senior coroner for Cornwall, said he would be writing a preventing future deaths report to Atlantic Reach because of his “ongoing concerns”.
Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation for a possible breach of parliamentary rules after failing to declare that some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli.
The Labour peer paid for a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer, reportedly both before and after the Labour leader became prime minister in July, according to The Sunday Times.
This year, Sir Keir has received – and disclosed – nearly £19,000 worth of work clothes and several pairs of glasses from Lord Alli, the former chairman of online fashion retailer Asos, The Times reports.
In addition, the peer, whose personal wealth is estimated at £200m, spent £20,000 on accommodation for the now prime minister during the election and a similar sum on “private office” costs, which was also disclosed, the paper says.
Image: Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer arrive at No 10 Downing Street after Labour’s election victory. Pic: PA
A Labour Party spokesperson told Sky News it was an oversight that had been corrected after it “sought advice from the authorities on coming to office”. They added: “We believed we’d been compliant, however, following further interrogation this month, we’ve declared further items.”
The Tories called for a “full investigation” following The Sunday Times report.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “It’s taken just 10 weeks for Keir Starmer to face an investigation for his conduct.
“After facing allegations of cronyism and now apparent serious breaches of parliamentary rules there must be a full investigation into the passes for glasses scandal.
“No doubt the millions of vulnerable pensioners across the country who face choosing between heating and eating would jump at the chance for free clothes just to keep warm in the face of Labour’s cruel cut.”
Read more from Sky News: Tax the rich and spare pensioners, Davey says No assessment carried out on winter fuel payment cut Starmer talks up US-UK relationship after White House meeting
Image: Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria campaigning in London. Pic: PA
Lord Alli’s involvement with the Labour leader has already proved controversial after it emerged he had been given a Downing Street security pass without apparently having a government role.
The revelations are awkward for the prime minister, who has promised to clean up politics.
Image: Lord Alli in 2014. Pic: Rex
Sir Keir, like all MPs, must declare any of his relevant interests under rules set up to protect politics from improper influence and uphold transparency.
The Times said the prime minister’s office approached the parliamentary authorities to make the late declarations last Tuesday.
His advisers were already in touch with them by then after several designers had approached Lady Starmer asking if she was interested in free products such as clothes, jewellery and make-up.
Staff had asked if the prime minister would need to declare his wife being given those items if she accepted and were told he would.
Image: Starmer and his wife at his general election count. Pic: PA
That prompted his team to ask if the previous gifts from Lord Alli should also have been declared on the same basis and it was decided they did.
They then wrote to the authorities to update the prime minister’s register of interests, which is scheduled to be published next month. Lady Starmer has separately declined to accept the offers from designers.
The requirement to bring photo identification to vote in the general election “discouraged some people” from casting their ballot, a watchdog has said.
The rule came into force in 2023 after Boris Johnson’s Conservative government introduced the new law to parliament.
But the first time the impact was tested at a general election came in July this year.
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While the Electoral Commission said “almost everyone” was able to take part “successfully”, around 16,000 people could not vote because of the ID requirement and others were put off from voting entirely.
Research carried out by the watchdog showed 0.25% of the public were turned away initially due to not having the right documents, with two-thirds of them later returning with the correct ID – but 0.08% were unable to do so.
Its polling also showed 4% of those who chose not to vote said the law was part of their reason for not participating – with those from poorer backgrounds most likely to cite not having accepted ID.
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Why do you need ID to vote?
The commission’s chief executive Vijay Rangarajan said: “This was the first time all voters across the UK were required to show photographic ID at a general election, and the data shows almost everyone was able to do so successfully.
“However, our research shows that the need for ID discouraged some people from voting – and we don’t want to see any voters lose their say.
“Public awareness of the need for voter ID is high across the UK, but there are still groups of voters that are less likely to be aware of the need to show ID or that do not have an accepted form.
“Everyone eligible should have the opportunity to vote, which is why we are recommending changes that will support those who do not currently have ID and improve the accessibility of elections, while maintaining the security of the process.”
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Among the recommendations suggested by the watchdog was a review of the list of accepted IDs, calling for it to include student Oyster cards and the Veteran card, as well as a review of the free voter authority certificate to see if issuing it digitally could increase take up.
The commission said it would review how its own public campaigns could offer more help to “minimise the barriers to voting”.
Labour voted against the law when it was brought into force by the Tories.
However, it has not committed to revoking it, pledging in its manifesto to instead “address the inconsistencies in voter ID rules that prevent legitimate voters from voting”.
Read more from Sky News: Starmer under pressure on two issues Government ‘picking pockets of pensioners’
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The government is committed to strengthening our democracy and making sure every legitimate voter can exercise their democratic right to vote.
“The government will carefully consider the report as part of our thorough evaluation of voter ID rules, to understand how they impacted voters, before bringing forward proposals in due course.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson also defended the law, saying: “Voter identification has been tried and tested in Northern Ireland since it was introduced by the last Labour government.
“In last year’s local elections in England, 99.75% cast their vote successfully, and these new figures for the general election in Great Britain show that 99.92% did so too.
“One would expect these figures to rise further as the practice is embedded, and public awareness increases yet further.”
Andrew Tate will be allowed to leave Romania while awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, a court has ruled.
The controversial influencer and his brother Tristan can travel within the EU without restrictions while awaiting the trial, the Bucharest Tribunal ruled. Until Friday, the Tates had been banned from leaving Romania where he is awaiting trial.
The decision is not final and can be appealed by prosecutors.
Read more: Who is Andrew Tate?
Tate, 37, was charged in mid-2023 along with his brother for human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.
Two female suspects from Romania have also been charged as part of the case.
They have all denied the allegations against them.
In a post on X on Friday, Tate wrote: “I’m free. For the first time in three years I can leave Romania.”
He also referred to the charges as a “sham case” before advertising a platform that says it teaches the skill of money-making.
Image: Andrew Tate (right) and his brother Tristan in Bucharest in May. Pic: AP
Tate, who has almost 10 million followers on X, repeated these sentiments in a video that accompanies the post and adds: “The process is the punishment, in the end I’ll be innocent.
“My judges decided… I’m allowed to leave Romania, so do we take the (Ferrari) SF90 to Italy, the (Maserati) MC20 to Cannes, the (Ferrari) 812 Competition to Paris, where do I go?”
The Tate brothers, both former kickboxers with dual US and British citizenship, were held in police custody during the criminal investigation from late December 2022 until April 2023 to prevent them from fleeing the country or tampering with evidence.
They were then placed under house arrest until August, when courts put them under judicial control, a lighter preventative measure.
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From March: What next for the Tate brothers?
“Andrew and Tristan are still determined to clear their name and reputation; however, they are grateful to the courts for placing this trust in them,” the brothers’ lead defence lawyer Eugen Vidineac said in a statement.
Romanian prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.
Read more: Football club defends decision to refund Tate donation Tate to regain access to supercars and properties Tate’s request for ’emergency visit’ to London rejected
They said the victims were then taken to properties outside the capital Bucharest, and through physical violence and mental intimidation were sexually exploited by being forced to produce pornographic content for social media sites that generated large financial gain.
In a separate case, Tate was served at his home in Romania with a civil lawsuit lodged by four British women after a claim was issued by the High Court in London, according to a statement released in May by McCue Jury & Partners, the law firm representing the four women.
The four allege Tate sexually and physically assaulted them and reported him to British authorities in 2014 and 2015.
After a four-year investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service decided in 2019 not to prosecute him.
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The alleged victims then turned to crowdfunding to pursue a civil case against him.
In a third case, the Tate brothers also appeared in March at the Bucharest Court of Appeal after British authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression in a UK case dating back to 2012 to 2015.
The appeals court granted the British request to extradite the Tates to the UK, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
Tate, a self-described misogynist, has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.
The sun rising every day is a moment that will always stick in the back of the throat of Harvey’s mum.
Her 17-year-old son was killed in a crash in Gwynedd last November, and now a daily occurrence has become a constant reminder of her loss.
“Harvey in his diary wrote that he was looking forward to the summer, spending more time with his family and friends,” Crystal Owen told Sky News.
“As soon as the sun comes out, you’re just in tears because you think he’s never going to see the sun again. It’s just all the little things that you don’t even think about.”
Harvey was one of four teenagers from the Shrewsbury area who died in a crash in the rural village of Garreg.
The inquest into their deaths has been opened and adjourned pending further inquiries.
Image: Crystal Owen with her son Harvey. Pic: Crystal Owen
Crystal Owen, 39, has launched a petition calling on the UK government to introduce a graduate licensing scheme.
It would mean drivers under the age of 25 would not be able to travel with passengers in the first 12 months after passing their test.
“I know he would still be here if this law was in place, that’s what angers me so much,” Ms Owen told Sky News.
“Before any of this happened with Harvey, I hadn’t really looked into road safety as such because Harvey was not even interested in taking his lessons. It wasn’t on our list of things to worry about at that time.”
‘Majorly overlooked’
Ms Owen said that people should listen to the evidence when it comes to road safety.
“I remember at work, us all talking about this 20mph [default speed limit in Wales] thinking it was over the top. One of my staff actually lives in Wales and she was joking about how long it was going to take to get to work,” she said.
“The evidence speaks for itself, so I think we all just need to learn to trust it and not think we know best.”
But rural roads are “majorly overlooked” in current legislation, according to Ms Owen.
That’s why she’s calling for young drivers to have to take a minimum of 40 hours of lessons before taking their test.
Image: Harvey was killed in a crash with three others in Gwynedd last year. Pic: Crystal Owen
‘Loveliest young man’
Ms Owen said Harvey was the “loveliest young man”.
“He’d never even had a detention, he was just a lovely, lovely lad,” she added.
“He loved his little sisters, absolutely adored them. He was just a real thoughtful, very calm, laid back sort of boy.”
Ms Owen said her family’s lives, and that of thousands of others, had been “devastated” by road traffic collisions.
“In any other way these deaths were occurring in such high numbers, there’d be an absolute outcry, but they just seem to be accepted because it’s a car crash.”
Image: His mother said he was the ‘loveliest young man’. Pic: Crystal Owen
Image: Ben with mum Carla (left) and sister Ashleigh (right). Pic: Ashleigh Rogers
‘They see it as fun’
Ben Rogers was 19 when he was killed in a crash in Swansea in May 2022.
Owain Hammett-George, who was 17 at the time of the crash, was jailed for six years last month for causing death by dangerous driving.
The court heard he had been driving at speeds of up to 78mph on a 30mph stretch of the B4436 in Bishopston.
Both Ben and Kaitlyn Davies, also 19, died instantly and another passenger sustained life-changing injuries.
Ben’s mum Carla King told Sky News she hoped tougher rules for young drivers, including a mandatory black box, would mean they’re more aware of their responsibility.
Image: Ben with family dog Hudson. Pic: Ashleigh Rogers
“They just go out and see it as fun, don’t they? They show off and they speed, inexperienced, they think they’re invincible,” she said.
“I don’t recall anybody ever saying to me you’re responsible for this. You’re driving, you’re responsible for all your passengers, you’re responsible for anybody in the car you hit. It’s a weapon, I don’t think that’s drilled in enough.”
Image: Ben on his 18th birthday. Pic: Ashleigh Rogers
‘Keep Ben’s name alive’
Ben’s sister, Ashleigh Rogers, 27, said he was “just a happy, bubbly person”.
“He was with me throughout everything. All my dark days and all through my happy times, he would be one of the first people I would tell. He was the first person who found out I was having a little boy,” she added.
“He was there a lot and it’s taunting that he won’t be there for the rest of my life, like my wedding and other things like that. But you’ve just got to remember the person that he was when he was here.”
Ben’s loss has been “heartbreaking”, Ms King added.
“I’m actually still in my bed because some days I just can’t get out of bed. It is difficult,” she said.
“Even Easter, not being able to buy his favourite chocolate and have him up for Easter lunch and Christmas lunch and buy him gifts and everything.”
Ben’s mum hopes their calls for change will help to “honour” his name.
“All we can do now is… try to keep Ben’s name alive,” she added.
Image: Olivia Alkir. Pic: Jo Alkir
‘Help them help themselves’
Jo Alkir, 54, has been campaigning on road safety for the last five years.
Her daughter Olivia was 17 when she died in a crash less than a mile from her home in Denbighshire in June 2019.
She was killed after the driver – who had only passed his test the day before – hit an oncoming vehicle while racing with another boy.
A three-part lesson based on Olivia’s story has been taught in schools across North Wales, to make pupils aware of the potential consequences of dangerous driving.
In the years since her daughter’s death, Ms Alkir has taken the campaign both to the Senedd and to Westminster.
She told Sky News a graduated driver’s licence “would have saved Olivia’s life”.
“It’s not controls as in you want to be in control of them, it’s controls to help them help themselves.”
The newly-appointed deputy head girl of her school was described by her mum as “really hard-working”.
“She and I were incredibly close. She was my only child,” Ms Alkir added.
“She was lovely company for me to be with. I loved every single second, every minute I spent with her. She was a joy to be around.”
Image: Olivia, 17, with her mother, Jo. Pic: Jo Alkir
‘Constant grief’
Ms Alkir said the loss of Olivia had left her feeling “constant grief”.
“It’s the most tiring thing a human could have because you’re just constantly battling to get out of bed and go to work. It’s a battle because all the different emotions that you’re feeling,” she said.
“She was such a bright, beautiful girl… and what her future could have been. She could have been anything.”
While it’s “frustrating” that five years on from Olivia’s death, the government is yet to act, focusing on the campaign has “really helped” Ms Alkir.
“It’s just really important for me to help her be remembered as well, because she was meant to achieve, but she is through her legacy,” she added.
“And I’m sure all the other parents who are in my shoes as well. It’s a very similar feeling I’m sure of not letting it just be in vain, not wasting what happened. Using the opportunity to make some changes.”
‘No plans’
In response to the petition, the Department for Transport said there are “no plans to introduce tougher restrictions on new drivers” but added that it is keeping licensing requirements “under review”.
“Every death on our roads is a tragedy and we continue to work tirelessly to improve road safety,” a DfT spokesperson said.
“We’ve commissioned research designed to help learner and newly qualified drivers improve their skills and safety, while our THINK! campaign is specifically targeted at young drivers.”
Angela Rayner has “played by the rules” when it comes to her tax affairs, her shadow cabinet colleague has said, amid further claims around her former living arrangements.
Labour’s deputy leader has come under the spotlight in recent weeks over the sale of an ex-council house she previously owned in Stockport, having been accused of avoiding capital gains tax on it – something she has denied.
The allegations centre around whether the property was her primary residence, as she claims, or whether she was actually living at her then husband’s address nearby, making her liable for capital gains after the sale of the property.
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The Mail on Sunday has now claimed to have seen dozens of social media posts from the Labour MP between 2010 and 2015, which it said showed her now ex’s address was her main property.
But shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told Sky News that all the report showed was “like so many families across the country [Ms Rayner] had and has a blended family,” adding: “Like everybody else, she had a complicated life and spent time in her husband’s place but also her place. Lots of families do that.”
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the fellow Labour MP said Ms Rayner had “done nothing wrong” and had the “full support” of the party.
But challenged over why she would not publish her tax returns, having called on Rishi Sunak to do so, Mr Lammy said: “I think there’s a different arrangement and expectation for the prime minister than there is in this context and we are not yet in government.”
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Lammy: ‘I don’t think this is a story’
He added: “We are in a political season, we all know there is an election in May, we know why these smears are being run.
“It is to detract from the £870 that average families are less well off in this country as a result of the tax burden from the Tories. That’s what this is really about.
“It is not about Angela Rayner and her blended family. It is about Tory chaos, ‘let’s distract and focus on this non-story’.”
Mr Lammy concluded: “She has played by the rules. There is an investigation going on, let’s see where we get on that, but I am confident that Angela has done nothing wrong here at all.”
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However, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, James Daly, called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to “show some leadership and open a full, transparent and independent investigation into the Rayner scandal”.
He said: “As more evidence that Rayner appears to have lied comes to light, it is increasingly clear that the British people cannot trust Labour’s deputy leader. She should stop dismissing and distracting and come clean now.
“If Rayner has lied but Sir Keir Starmer refuses to sack her, it will show yet again that Keir Starmer is just a weak leader whose claim that Labour have changed is rubbish.”
In response to the Mail’s claims, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “Angela and her husband mutually decided to maintain their existing residences to reflect their family’s circumstances and they shared childcare responsibilities.
“Angela has always made clear she also spent time at her husband’s property when they had children and got married. She was perfectly entitled to do so.”
A comedian has been forced to remove a picture of a hot dog from posters promoting his stand-up tour after falling foul of Transport for London’s (TfL) advertising policies.
Ed Gamble used an image of the popular barbecue staple in advertising posters for his upcoming Hot Diggity Dog tour.
But when the billboards were sent to TfL for display on the London Underground, the stand-up comic was told to alter the poster because it failed to comply with the organisation’s advertising policy on junk foods.
So the 38-year-old, who recently starred as the host of the Traitors: Uncloaked, improvised by offering to replace the hot dog with a cucumber.
“I actually don’t have a problem with the TfL regulations, they make sense to me,” he said.
“But the new posters promote something way more harmful – the idea that cucumbers pair well with ketchup and mustard.
“I’m not sad to have to remove the hot dog, it was only featured on the poster because I wanted to eat during the photoshoot.
“Hopefully it’s not too late to change the title of the show to Cu Diggity Cucumber?”
Image: Pic: PA
In a post on Instagram, he described the incident as a “career highlight” and added: “TfL told me I couldn’t have a hot dog on my poster to promote my @hackneyempire shows in June.
“I guess I’m dangerous? So I’ve replaced it with a cucumber. Eat your greens, Kids!”
A spokesperson for TfL said: “We welcome all advertising on our network that complies with our published guidance.
“Following a review of the advert, we advised that elements would need to be removed or obscured to ensure it complied with our policy.
“A revised advert is now running on the network and we are always happy to work with people to ensure adverts follow our policy.”
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The ban on junk food advertising across London’s public transport network came into force in 2019.
Regulations forbid posters for food and drink high in fat, salt and sugar on the Underground and Overground, as well as buses and bus shelters.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the rules would help tackle child obesity rates in the capital.
The organisation uses a model developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to define foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
New Brexit border controls will leave British consumers and businesses facing more than £500m in increased costs and possible delays – as well as shortages of food and fresh flowers imported from the European Union.
The new rules are intended to protect biosecurity by imposing controls on plant and animal products considered a “medium” risk. These include five categories of cut flowers, cheese and other dairy produce, chilled and frozen meat, and fish.
From 31 January, each shipment will have to be accompanied by a health certificate, provided by a local vet in the case of animal produce, and, from 30 April, shipments will be subject to physical checks at the British border.
The government’s modelling says the new controls will cost industry £330m, while the grocery industry has warned that £200m could be added to fresh fruit and vegetable prices should checks be introduced in the future.
There is also the prospect of delays caused by inspections of faulty paperwork, which could derail supply chains that rely entirely on fast turnaround of goods.
British importers have told Sky News that the new rules, which have already been delayed five times in three years, will add up to 17% to shipping costs, leading to higher prices for consumers.
European companies and industry groups say the controls are unnecessary as they replicate checks already made in the EU, and that Brexit is adding bureaucracy and cost to dealing with the UK.
The new import controls are a consequence of Britain having left both the single market and the customs union when the trade and co-operation deal with the EU came into force in January 2021.
While UK exporters to Europe were immediately subject to customs rules, the British government waived import controls to avoid damaging the economy and food supply.
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On five occasions since 2021 ministers planned and then cancelled their introduction, in part because of fears that interrupting food supplies from the EU would exacerbate the cost of living crisis.
Almost 80% of UK vegetable imports and 40% of fruit comes from Europe.
In the Netherlands, the horticulture industry has called for a further delay to controls that will impact its £1bn-a-year trade with the UK, the second largest in Europe behind Germany, which accounts for around 90% of our cut flower and plant imports.
‘We’re going back in time’
Dutch flower wholesaler Heemskerk has been exporting to the UK since before it joined the common market.
The UK now requires that five types of flowers, including orchids and carnations, be checked in factories by a local inspector for two species of leaf mites that destroy foliage.
Managing director Nick van Bommel points out that the checks replicate the same processes made at the Dutch border if the plants are imported to Europe, and by his staff for trade within the EU.
Image: Managing director of Dutch flower wholesaler Heemskerk Nick van Bommel
“We’re going back in time. They want to have health inspections that we haven’t carried out for more than thirty years, and now from next week on we start again,” he said.
“It won’t help anybody, but it will make an awful lot of costs and somebody has to pay the bill at the end. I’m 100% sure that the last customer, the British consumer, has to pay for this.”
The Dutch association of floriculture wholesalers has asked the British government to delay the changes by another year.
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Its spokesperson Tim Rozendaal told Sky News: “If Brexit was about cutting down Brussels’s red tape and bringing down costs, I don’t see the point.
“Anything that our industry has been facing since Brexit is longer red tape, additional costs and bureaucracy.”
At New Covent Garden Market in London, which receives shipments from the Netherlands within hours of flowers being cut, wholesalers are equally sceptical.
Freddie Heathcote, owner of Green & Bloom, calculates his shipping costs will rise by up to 17% – and the knock-on to consumers could be increases of 20% to 50% once the physical inspection regime is in place.
Image: Freddie Heathcote, owner of Green & Bloom
“We have been told the charge for consignments crossing at Dover or Folkestone will be £20 to £43 per category item listed on the consignment.
“We imported 28 different consignment lines tonight from one supplier, which would be £560 to £1,204 to clear the border control point on a total invoice of £7,000. That’s between 8% and 17% additional cost on an average import for us.”
The food industry is concerned too.
Patricia Michelson, founder of London cheese chain La Fromagerie, has been importing artisan cheese from across Europe for more than 40 years. She is concerned that the cost and hassle of sourcing veterinary checks in Europe will dissuade some suppliers.
Image: Patricia Michelson, founder of London cheese chain La Fromagerie
“We deal with suppliers who are one or two guys in a dairy with 50 or 100 sheep or 20 cows. Do they want to be paying for this new certificate to send to us?
“I assure you that most of them will say no. So the onus is on us… that means another extra cost, on top of all the costs so far to bring the produce in.”
Image: La Fromagerie
‘Disturbing confusion’
After months of preparation this week the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added a host of common fruit and vegetables to the list of medium risk produce.
It initially said the produce would only face physical checks from October, but 48 hours later changed the rules again, saying they would give three months notice when health declarations and physical checks are required.
The late change attracted criticism from leading trade body the Institute of Export and International Trade.
“The confusion caused by the announcement… is disturbing, particularly at a point when significant changes are being planned for the general operation of the UK border,” said its general secretary Marco Forgione.
A government spokesman said: “We are committed to delivering the most advanced border in the world. The Border Target Operating Model is key to delivering this, protecting the UK’s biosecurity from potentially harmful pests and diseases and maintaining trust in our exports.
“We are taking a phased approach – including initially not requiring pre-notification and inspections for EU medium risk fruit and vegetables and other medium risk goods – to support businesses and ensure the efficient trade is maintained between the EU and Great Britain.”
