An asylum seeker who arranged the smuggling of thousands of African migrants into Europe while living in Hounslow has been jailed.

Ahmed Ebid, 42, started organising boats, crews and supplies for voyages across the Mediterranean Sea from Home Office-provided accommodation weeks after he arrived illegally in Britain.

The Egyptian national was found to have organised seven crossings of a total of 3,781 migrants on fishing boats from Libya to Italy between October 25, 2022, and April 16, 2023, Southwark crown court was told.

The National Crime Agency said that an average of £3,273 charged to each enger generated an estimated £12,375,213 in revenue in the illicit operation.

The NCA planted listening devices in Ebid’s flat in Isleworth, west London, which he was provided while his asylum claim was being processed.

A mobile phone linked to Ebid was used to call a satellite phone that ed the coastguard for rescue once in Italian waters, the court was told.

In a phone call, Ebid was recorded as saying: “Anyone caught with phones will be killed, thrown in the sea.”

He added: “I am the owner of the work, you do what I tell you to do.”

Frederick Hookway, the prosecuting barrister, said: “The defendant appears to have authority over others … [and] control of how the conspiracy is carried out.”

He added that Ebid instructed of the network to bribe Libyan authorities and quoted him as saying: “Put all the military under your arm. That’s what I used to do.”

A Newton hearing took place within the trial after Ebid pleaded guilty in October 2023 because his claim of being a low-ranking member of the crime network was disputed. The judge at Southwark crown court ruled that he held a “significant managerial role”.

Hookway added that a conviction in Italy for which Ebid was jailed for more than five years after being caught smuggling cannabis off the coast showed he had a record of using his “maritime knowledge to circumvent border controls”.

Bartholomew O’Toole said in mitigation that Ebid was a “committed family man” who had worked as a fisherman since about the age of 13.

The barrister quoted a prison chaplain as saying Ebid now “works really hard and regularly attends Friday prayers” and was “determined to change himself for the better” since he was arrested in June 2023. The offender had begun “mentoring young Islamic men who fall into depression within the prison system”, he added.

O’Toole said that Ebid “didn’t himself amass large quantities of money” and lived “in poverty” in his flat.

However, Judge Adam Hiddleston said: “You must be the beneficiary, even if hidden away in this country or abroad, of a considerable amount of that money.”

The judge said: “The risk of loss of life on a truly enormous scale was considerable.

“These were fishing boats, not ferries — they were not designed to carry many hundreds of people across a large stretch of water. They were not equipped for an emergency.”

He added: “That money [generated by the operation] came from the hard-earned savings of each of those desperate individuals. These were ordinary human beings — men, women and also children — who were ruthlessly and cynically exploited by you and the group that you were such a central and important part of.”

The judge sentenced Ebid to 25 years in custody and referenced the “need to impose deterrent sentences for this type of offending”.

He added: “There has to be a crystal clear message delivered to those engaged in this trade, that the protection of international borders … is taken very seriously indeed and reflected in a lengthy sentence being ed.”

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 increased the maximum sentence for assisting unlawful immigration to life imprisonment.

After the sentence was delivered, Ebid said: “This is unfair.”

Ebid’s wife, who was attending the hearing with their second son, broke down in tears as he was escorted from the courtroom.

The NCA regional head of investigation, Jacque Beer, said: “A proportion of those he moved to Italy would also have ended up in northern Europe, attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.

“People smuggling is an international crime and, working with our partners both home and abroad, we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved.”

The minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said the government would introduce counterterror-style powers for border enforcement in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

She said: “For too long our borders have been undermined by vile people smuggling gangs putting lives at risk for cash.

“Ebid and his associates preyed on vulnerable individuals, with hundreds being crammed onto dangerous boats and charged an extortionate fee for their transport.”

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After strong results in the local elections earlier this month, Reform UK are on the verge of becoming part of the UK’s political mainstream, new data from YouGov suggests.

The number of respondents who believe Reform is a mainstream party has more than doubled in less than a year, growing from 19% in July 2024 to 44% of respondents in May 2025.

The party’s increasing prominence within UK politics suggests a fundamental shift in the way politics takes place in the UK is underway.

Dr Alex Starling, the party’s candidate in Twickenham in the 2024 general election, said: “I think it’s reflective in the polls – there’s quite clearly a dissatisfaction with what previously were the mainstream parties.

“The public aren’t having that anymore, they’ve been fed untruths and they’re not happy with that.”

In its elections, the UK uses the first-past-the-post electoral system, a plurality voting system where the candidate who receives the most votes, rather than an absolute majority, is elected.

Duverger’s Law, the long-standing principle of political theory, suggests that a plurality system like first-past-the-post means only two parties will ever have legislative control.

The increasing receptiveness to Reform’s messaging may suggest a move towards a multi-party system, where multiple political parties form coalitions in order to form a majority within Parliament.

While the data shows that Labour and Conservatives are clearly above the rest, Reform’s rise over the past 10 months puts them on par with the Liberal Democrats, who have long been considered the country’s third party.

Just under half of the respondents believe the Liberal Democrats are a mainstream party at 47%, while Reform sit at 44%.

All three “mainstream” parties (Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats) saw slight decreases during the time period – Labour went from 93% to 89%, the Conservatives shifted from 85 to 84% while the Lib Dems fell from 50% to 47%.

However, the three “outsider” parties (Reform, Green Party and the Scottish National Party) had increases – Reform shot up from 19% to 44%, while the Greens had minimal increases from 11% to 13% and the SNP’s share increased from 22 to 25%.

While inconsequential at the moment, it may suggest the beginnings of a political revolution in the UK.

Supplementary data showing voting intention in a general election shows both the growing for Reform alongside the growing dissatisfaction for the Conservatives and Labour.

Labour’s share of votes has decreased from 26% in January, the leading party, to 22% in May, seven percent behind Reform.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives share has decreased from 22% to just 16% over the same time period, falling to be the fourth largest party behind Reform, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

For Starling, the party’s ability to appeal to voters from across the establishment who are disillusioned with the status quo is key to the party’s growth.

He added: “We’ve got a situation where Reform is appealing to people who have previously voted Conservative, you’re seeing it appeal to people who previously would have voted Labour, but are realising that the leadership aren’t thinking about the people and what’s in the best interest of people in this country.

“More and more people are listening to the BBC or watching the Today programme or reading the mainstream press and going ‘do you know what, these guys are lying to me, this is ridiculous’.

“I think the Reform message, or an alternative approach, is resonating with people.”

Feature image “2024 General Election in Kingston upon Hull East Reform UK Poster” by Hullian111 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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A 19th century Grade 1 listed glass house once used by the Beatles will become the heartbeat of community innovation in West London.

Designed in 1813 by renowned architect Samuel Ware of Burlington Arcade fame, the conservatory has been closed to the public since a 2022 report revealed its wooden structure was rotting.

This delicate situation was the undertaking of the Chiswick House & Gardens Trust, who operate the building, and the London Borough of Hounslow Council, who own it.

The back of the building, shielded from public view but of great historical interest, will undergo £6.3m of work to reshape the space for a modern audience.  

In May this year, 19 studios will be made available, providing a ‘Creative Campus’ to between 40 and 50 artists in the nurtured haven of its surrounding gardens and 18th century neo-Palladian villa.

Head of Gardens at Chiswick House, Rosie Fyles, 54, said: “What we’re doing here is giving it (the conservatory) a contemporary use with artists studios, but also protecting the original features.

“It’s a bit of a sweet spot from a conservation point of view and a contemporary point of view.”

The opening of these studios encomes phase one of a three-part programme to restore the rear of the conservatory, the areas surrounding it, and taking steps toward the goal of reopening the glass house in its entirety.

Developed in collaboration with ASC (Artist Studio Company), the studio spaces have been backed by the Mayor of London’s Creative Enterprise Zone, ing artists and creative businesses across west London.

Other has come from Hounslow Council, The Lansbury Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.

With 67% of all affordable workspaces in London closing since 2014 and the waiting list for studios currently sat at over 3,000, these studios represent a vital injection of opportunity to artists across London.

As one project concludes, another starts, and phase two of plans to revitalise Chiswick House with a new ‘Leaning Hub’ are set to begin in September.

An entirely new facility that will allow the gardens to host over 7,000 horticultural and creative learning activities each year furthers efforts to bring more educational opportunities into the garden.

Director of Chiswick House and Gardens Trust Xanthe Arvanitakis, 54, says of the project: “It’s new income, its new s, its increased schools programming, increased community program and increased gardening.

“It’s incredible return for the investment in of what we’re switching on for £6.3m.”  

Once complete, the number of schools the hub will host every year will jump from three to 90, and the number of schoolchildren using the garden will rise from 300 to 5,500.

Married up with the studios, these innovations are projected to produce an additional £400,000 of annual turnover once completed, and net £100,000 of new income for the Trust every year.

Once the studios and hub complete, the Trust will plan to fundraise for the opening of the glass house.

Safety concerns about the structural integrity of its wooden frame forced the grade-1 listed conservatory’s closure in 2022, and since has led to questions as to how or when it can be re-opened.

Arvanitakis stressed the contemporary approaches the Trust wish to take to the glass house renovations.

She added: “We want to be more bold and imaginative in of future uses.

“Can the glass be solar led? Can we use photo-voltaic glass? These are all sorts of things we’d love to explore, and we’re already having these sorts of conversations with historic England.

“It was amazing, and it will be again.”

To walk around Chiswick House in a year’s time, with all the community projects installed, marks a significant departure from how the gardens has looked in the past.

Arvanitakis said: “In the early 2000s to late 90s there was quite a lot of antisocial behaviour.

“If you were a teenager at the time this is where you would have come to score your drugs, it was quite a dark and overgrown environment.”

Historic interest in the maintenance of Chiswick Gardens is understandably high, but equally so is horticultural intrigue, since the conservatory’s primary purpose is to house an environment for its camellia collection.

The Trust has been working hand in glove with RBG Kew to establish duplicate collections whilst the glass house is under review.

Arvanitakis said: “Kew have been incredible. The team there are really ive and helpful.”

Councillor Amy Croft, of the London Borough of Hounslow, said: “I am thrilled that this project is opening up and repurposing some of the areas of this beautiful community asset, previously closed to the public.

“The Educational Centre will allow us to get more children across West London and beyond to learn from the beautiful surroundings about biodiversity and conservation.”

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Attendances in the National League South and the Isthmian Premier Division have hit a 10-year record high for the 2024/25 season.

This campaign the average attendance in National League South was ​​1,221, a rise of 134% from that figure for the 2014/15 season.

The National League South is one of the two divisions, along with the National League North, that makes up the sixth-tier of English football and ‘step two’ of the non-league football pyramid.

Similarly, a step below in the Isthmian Premier Division, 2024/25 saw average attendances hit 764, this is 94% higher than a decade ago,

Several of London’s non-league teams play in the National League South and the Isthmian Premier Division, including Enfield Town FC and Dulwich Hamlet.

Paul Reed, chairman of Enfield Town, said: “I think what we’ve seen is a perfect storm of people disenfranchised with the Premier League and modern football generally.”

He added: “I think what non-league has done is it’s been able to carve a niche for itself in of affordable, family friendly football that’s entertaining. You don’t get all the histrionics of the Premier League.

“People can have a beer, watch the game, all the stuff that I think people associated with football in the past, and the enjoyment of that at a price that is affordable for people to bring their family along.”

Enfield Town FC were formed in 2001 following a fan led breakaway from Enfield FC and they proudly call themselves ‘The Country’s First Fan-Owned Club’.

This year they finished 19th in the National League South, their highest ever finish, and had an average of 978 people at their games.

Another non-league side with a strong fanbase in the capital are Dulwich Hamlet.

They regularly saw crowds of over 3,000 people this season despite playing in the seventh tier of English football.

Former MD and owner of Dulwich Hamlet, Tom Cullen thinks that affordability is a key reason for the increased attendances.

He said: “We have very cheap tickets compared to other people in our league or the league above and alongside that, the widest ranging concessions in football. We have concessions for pretty much everyone.”

The Hamlet offer reduced prices for blue light workers, of the armed forces, and council workers, as well as a pay your age season ticket scheme for fans between the ages of 13 and 19.

Praising this initiative, Cullen said: “It’s a way to get young people to come to the club, and then it becomes their club.”

The club has also benefited from Premier League fans ‘downsizing’ and turning towards their local non-league team.

Cullen said: “When fans walk through any turnstile of any non-league club, they immediately feel part of the club. They feel part of the family.”

He added: “I think for a lot of people in this country, they lack community.

“Non-league football allows people from all walks of life to find somewhere they can call home and feel like they’re part of something bigger.”

Matt Badcock, editor of The Non-League Paper, agreed with Tom’s sentiment.

He said: “When you go through a non-league turnstile, you know that £10 or £12, whatever you’re putting into the pot, actually really, really matters, and that if you’re not there, then it’s not like someone else is just going to take your season ticket.”

Improvements in technology have also been touted as another reason for non-league’s popularity.

Matt stressed the importance of social media for modern non-league clubs.

He said: “Every club has got it, every club uses it. You’re getting live updates throughout the games. That has massively changed it, I think.

“The impact of Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, that’s been massive for the growth and the exposure of non-league football.”

Tom agreed, saying how important social media had been for Dulwich’s growth.

He said: “We went from getting an average of about 1,000 to selling out 10 to 15 games a year, 3,500 and a lot of that was driven from social media. A lot of that was through Twitter.”

“A really important part of any non-league club’s overall strategy should be social media, how you can use it, how you can amplify what you do and try and get yourself into the feeds of people who might share those values, or might be looking for something to do to get involved in or for that connection. So I think it’s absolutely vital.”

Non-league football is going from strength to strength as more and more fans turn towards their local team in search of better value and connections.

Both Enfield Town and Dulwich Hamlet will be hoping that trend continues for the 2025/26 season.

Statistics sourced from Football Web Pages.

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Calamity Jane just blew into New Wimbledon Theatre, bringing a gust of Western whimsy rootin’-tootin’ hilarity to South West London. 

All fringed jackets, firearms and foolery, this touring production is a hearty homage to the Old West, which brings a dash of (potentially) feminist subtext to a bar full of western folk who certainly needed it.

The ever-engrossing Grammy nominated Carrie Hope Fletcher leads the charge as the irrepressible Calamity Jane, delivering a performance that is both feisty and sincerely endearing. 

Her believable charm anchors a show that otherwise leans heavily on style over substance. 

She’s ed by a tight-knit, talent-rich ensemble of actor-musicians, whose live instrumental work – particularly the rustic twang of their banjos – adds texture and authenticity to the frontier-town atmosphere.

Based on the real-life Martha Jane Canary, a hard-drinking, gun-slinging frontierswoman who defied 19th century norms of femininity, this Calamity Jane reimagines the legend of a woman who lived far outside the constraints of her time. 

Fletcher’s performance hints at this subversion, though the script never fully explores the complexities of Calamity’s historical legacy.

Fans of the 1953 film starring Doris Day will be pleased: this revival leans into nostalgia, and several moments invite audience singalongs, including a rousing chorus of “The Deadwood Stage” that filled the theatre with joy.

The musical numbers are where the show does best, particularly Molly-Grace Cutler’s delightfully sultry turn as stage star Adelaid Adams, whose rendition of “’Tis Harry I’m Planning to Marry” is a highlight.

But strip away the toe-tapping tunes and Western costuming, and the narrative begins to languish. 

Character arcs feel undercooked, with relationships that develop abruptly or lack emotional payoff. 

By the time the final scene wraps with a neat double (potentially triple?) wedding, I couldn’t help but feel the show has missed a trick – particularly in the case of Calamity and Katie Brown (Seren Sandham-Davies), whose connection and shared domesticity suggest a far more compelling pairing than their designated male partners.

Katie’s mistaken-identity plot – she’s actually Adelaid Adams’ maid  – sets the stage for some classic musical theatre farce. 

But when she and Calamity decide to live together and sing about “a woman’s touch,” the subtext practically screams. 

A subsequent number, “Secret Love,” sung by Calamity, only deepens the sense that the show flirts with queer themes but it isn’t willing to fully embrace them.

In the end, the men win out, despite their often juvenile or incel-adjacent attitudes, condemning the women’s clothing choices and undermining their supposedly “female thinking”.

Calamity herself isn’t much better when it comes to gender stereotypes, singing “mule-headed men who act like they’re ten” – though in fairness, is she wrong?

Calamity Jane is a fun-filled gallop through the Wild West, with catchy tunes and charismatic performances. 

But as a two-act musical, it occasionally feels stretched, and you can’t help but wish it had the courage to explore the radical potential of its legendary leading lady.

Picture credit: Mark Senior

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The job market for 16-25-year-olds in Kingston has continued to struggle post-Brexit.

Kingston as a borough has one of the lowest rates of youth employment in general so the figures are comparable to more deprived areas in London and the UK.

Trends have shown that since 2013 rates of unemployment have gone down, under 200 per year up until the point of COVID-19 which saw a lot of individuals placed on furlough. 

The reason this is more detrimental to younger persons appears to be that they generally find themselves in more dispensable areas of employment due to their perceived lack of experience to employers.  

Youth employment has entered an unstable period in the last ten years as the post-brexit and COVID effects on the economy has seen employment based figures to significantly fluctuate. 

Clive Lissaman, the careers officer at Kingston College, explained the difficulties the youth face in seeking vast employment stems from a lack of funding as well as poor governmental management in the post-pandemic period.

He said: “London is far eclipsed by the number of students that want to do those apprenticeships. 

“In London, only 7% of employers, according to a report commissioned by the Great London Authority that was published in August, only 7% of employers are prepared to offer apprenticeships for young people so the numbers just don’t add up.

“The pandemic has resulted in a lot of businesses actually going under, however, it was a lot of the small businesses, but when the economy kind of picks up again, new companies actually fill the gaps.

“I don’t think that had an impact. I think the deeper problem would actually be Brexit, it had a much, much deeper impact on the labour market.

“The notion was that there was sort of like a romantic idea that somehow if you sort of stopped immigrants coming in or people from Europe coming in, that there would be loads more jobs.”

There is no simple explanation as to why this is the case but a myriad of problems through several top-down decisions and the changing economic climate seem to have eroded current career opportunities for the youth of today. 

Kingston Council has attempted to do something to mitigate the figures that we have seen, through a variety of schemes and initiatives such as Kingston Council’s £2 million investment during the pandemic to help swerve growing rates of unemployment. 

The borough proves an informative case-study in that it shows how even the most affluent of areas have been affected in of making use of education services to influence job prosperity.

This can be attributed to the economic crisis the country faced at the time as a prolonged effect of the pandemic, but the data really lies in the fact that 2022 marked the lowest amount of youth unemployment in 30 years until we saw substantial change be initiated. 

What the data tells us 6v233s

Claimants for unemployment reached their lowest point of the last ten years in 2016, but slowly saw a steady increase up until the pandemic, that even now is failing to stagnate and is simply getting worse again. 

(Source – ONS Claimant count by age)

NB : out-of-work claimants are usually for individuals seeking employment but cannot find it, separate allowances are given to those who cannot work for other reasons (Universal Credit e.g)

NB: numbers are averages of out of work claimants as a proportion of resident population of the specified

The lineage of out-of-work claimant statistical averages suggests that the decline of employment prospects for young persons happened a lot sooner than the start of the pandemic, specially the post-Brexit period.

Though there have been peaks and troughs in unemployment rates, we seem to be in a worse financial position than ten years ago, with the lowest out of work claimant averages coming pre-2019.

When the job market declines there is an inevitable dip in the availability of small businesses which we see decline at a gradual rate rather than being immediate.

This is demonstrated by the averages produced by the claimant averages which are split into two groups respectively – 16-18 year old’s and 18-24 year old’s.

The rationale behind using these two groups is that the ages of 16-18 can evidence the struggles of those who leave school to do apprenticeships or seek full time employment. 

The 18-24 year old statistical averages paint a clearer picture of the longer term effects of those who have struggled to either utalise their studies or who have gone down the employment route at an earlier stage.

Lissman feels as if local councils could play more of a part in funding colleges and universities in the area, while new educational schemes have not run as smoothly as anticipated.

He added: “Councils have either creamed off the money for other projects or for whatever reason, have just not sort of invested that money into skills.

“For example, in Kingston, Unilever is a multi-multi-million pound project, and it’s opposite the college, and during the construction process, 10,000 students would through the college, yet only one student ended up with a job with a contractor on that project.”

It reflects a long standing structural problem in the educational pyramid doubled down by an uncertain post-Brexit and post-COVID economy. 

The figures Lissaman provided on behalf of the college are consistent with the government’s out-of-work claimants statistics, subject to the economic patterns across the last ten years.

He fears, however, that this situation will get worse before it gets better.

He explained: “We’re all invested in this, we should be invested in it. It’s vital that we’re invested in this.

“We’re kind of in that sort of really weird moment in of the broader psychology of we’re at a cul-de-sac with a lot of these things.”

Economic inactivity totals proved unsuitable for this analysis as many borough-based figures are uned for because sample sizes are considered too small for a reliable estimate.

However, economic inactivity totals for students and young persons across the borough and the city last year paint a broader picture of the challenges in seeking employment compared to pre-Brexit totals. 

While we see figures drop for the total population, student population unemployment has grown massively and works against the general notion that as time advances job sectors have created more jobs for all.

Brexit seems to be the catalyst for this change as the economic inactivity totals have incrementally climbed since the referendum succeeded, in line with Lissaman’s claims.

Featured image credit: wwphotos via Flickr under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 licence

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For prisoners in the UK, life after incarceration is difficult to navigate with a stiff public attitude and troubles finding employment.

Strains on relationships, loneliness, and mental health struggles are all commonplace for former inmates.

But there are ways back into public life, and a single lifeline can often be the difference between successful reintegration and a path back to reoffending.

That is what Fulham Reach Boat Club (FBRC) is hoping to provide.

Located next to Hammersmith Bridge, FBRC launched Boats Not Bars in 2019, offering prisoners an opportunity for regular exercise and a route back into society.

Teaching basic rowing skills and offering fitness sessions, associated prisons run courses between six to eight weeks in length, with a FBRC coach visiting at least once a week as well as additional sessions often run by former participants.

FBRC CEO Adam Freeman-Pask said: “When people are released from prison, we help them to find employment, and feel part of a club and part of a community again, when quite often they are marginalized and excluded unfortunately. 

“The idea there is to give people something inspiring, motivating, and good for their health while they are in prison. It has really good impacts, helping people when they are unfortunately being forgotten about.”

Ministry of Justice research has shown that the likelihood of prisoners reoffending once released is significantly lower if they are exposed to physical activity, particularly team sports that prioritise relationships and collaboration.

Covering a mixture of adult and youth prisons around the south east, Boats Not Bars offers social skills like team-building and cooperation, as well as the chance to connect with future employers once inmates reach the end of their sentence.

Those that have previously taken part in programmes but still have time left to serve can train for such coaching certificates, enabling progression from a role as a participant to a mentor.

But the scheme’s flagship offering is the chance to race with FBRC and former professionals along the Thames, experiencing the benefits of the sport first-hand.

In March, the club held the first of several planned races between adult and the Boats Not Bars participants, a four-boat head-to-head from Hammersmith to Barnes Bridge.

With good behaviour and security clearance permitting, prisoners from HMP Huntercombe and HMP Springhill were able to benefit from ‘Release on Temporary License’, meaning they were let out of confinement in order to transfer their indoor rowing skills to the water.

Programme co-ordinator Imogen Walsh said: “It’s an opportunity to bring people together. It’s the power of sport, where those different people probably would never have the chance to sit down for a cup of tea otherwise.

“But you go out and you race and then once everybody is back off the water, you sit down, you have something to eat and a chat and brag about who won and who lost. And all of a sudden there are no barriers.”

Walsh herself is a former World and European Champion, having rowed for Team GB in the lightweight category until her retirement in 2016.

But after being hugely influenced by a friendship with former armed robber John McAvoy, who ed her rowing club in 2012, she decided to use her ion for the sport as a way to give back to her local community.

Walsh said: “I wanted to use sport for wellbeing and social welfare, rather than strictly hunting for Olympic medals.

“We [FBRC] wanted to look at extending our reach to underserved groups of the population that could really benefit, and reaching out to those that would otherwise really struggle to come to us.”

For the participants of the race, applying their theory to the boats is not only a way to garner social skills and practice team bonding, but it is also a way to rebuff the stereotypes that are often associated with the sport.

One of the rowers, who chose to stay anonymous, said: “I probably would have byed something like this, thinking ‘oh it’s posh’.

“When I first went to the club, I actually said ‘I thought this was some posh geezer sport!’

“But now I’ve done it, I want to be an ambassador for it and get my friends involved.”

FRBC have more races planned across the summer, and hope to expand the scheme to more prisons across the country in the future.

But for the meantime, Walsh is focused on building a deeper relationship with those who already on the scheme, given the impression that Boats not Bars is having on inmates and the wide community.

Walsh said: “I think it has quite a powerful effect on that person’s psyche around what they can or can’t do. I’m just trying to get people out of a way of thinking that now they’ve committed a crime, they’ll always be a criminal. 

“And I think that’s the individual’s thought process, largely because that’s what the public often thinks.

“If we are more open about the good things, then not only the public but the prisoners themselves will change their outlook on what’s possible post-release.”

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The government continues to rollout initiatives to curb the growing crisis of childhood obesity as figures remain high, the latest Health Survey England (HSE) data shows.

Figures from the 2022 HSE report showed that more than one in four children were considered overweight or obese.

The prevalence of childhood obesity, including overweight, in the period covered was 28%, up slightly from 2016’s figure of 27%.

Since becoming Mayor of London nine years ago, Sadiq Khan has implemented many initiatives designed to improve childhood obesity, namely strengthening council powers to ban takeaways from opening near schools and restricting junk food adverts on the TfL (Transport for London) network.

A Mayor of London spokesperson said: “The mayor continues to take bold action to improve the health of children and tackle inequalities in the capital. 

“This includes his unprecedented funding for free school meals for all London’s state primary schoolchildren, which is ensuring young Londoners are offered a healthy meal at school each day. 

“In addition, Sadiq’s Healthy Schools and Early Years programmes are ing schools and nurseries to improve child health and wellbeing. 

“The mayor has also increased the number of water fountains in the capital, and encouraged primary and secondary schools to go water only to health and learning, as we build a healthier London for everyone.”

Moreover, schemes like the Labour government’s successful Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme are ing schools and nurseries to improve child health and wellbeing. 

The Mayor has provided funding for free school meals for all London’s state primary school children since 2023-24. 

More than 43million free school meals were funded in the first year of the scheme, with up to 287,000 children benefitting and families saving more than £1,000 per child over the first two years of the scheme. 

An independent evaluation of free school meals found that the scheme significantly improved the lives of children and their families across London.

This was done not only by alleviating financial pressures on households, but by positively influencing the health and wellbeing of children, and strengthening school communities as well.

The HSE report also revealed children aged 11-15 were more likely to be overweight, including obese, with 39% prevalence in 2019.

This figure dropped by 11% to 28% prevalence in 2022, while data for overweight including obese prevalence remained stable at 25% in 2019 and 26% in 2022.

In 2024, the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP) foundchildren living in more deprived areas were substantially more likely to be obese, with those in the most deprived being approximately twice as likely to be obese than those in the least deprived.

The 2022 report concluded those in those in the most deprived areas were most at risk of being overweight or obese.

Only 11% of children in the least deprived areas were considered obese, a figure which almost doubled in the most deprived areas where 21% of children were considered obese.

Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, children in the most deprived areas of the UK are extremely susceptible to obesity and other conditions such as diabetes.

Diabetes UK are increasingly worried as National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) data shows type two diabetes is disproportionately affecting children living in deprived areas.

There is an alarming wealth disparity in the data, with four in 10 children and young people living with type two diabetes from the most deprived areas, compared to only one in 19 from the least deprived areas.

Almost four million children in the UK live in households which would struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods to meet official nutrition guidelines.

Diabetes UK chief executive Chris Askew OBE said: “The UK Government is letting our children down.

“We are facing a perfect storm which risks irreversible harm to the health of young people.”

Families in deprived areas are more likely to live in inadequate accommodation, and less able to afford healthy food, which means that they might not be able to prepare and cook healthy food at home. 

People in deprived areas are also less likely to have access to nearby outdoor green space and are more often targeted by adverts for unhealthy food.

Feature image credit: Free to use from Freepik

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The rise of social media has reshaped childhood, but a growing body of evidence reveals a devastating cost to young people’s mental health.

Research, personal s, and expert insights converge on the troubling reality of excessive social media use driving a surge in anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other emotional challenges among children and teenagers.

A 2018 Parliamentary Committee report first sounded the alarm, linking a decade-long rise in children’s mental health issues to the proliferation of social media, and Vanessa Stock is just one of those whose life was nearly destroyed by social media.

The 23-year-old university student became addicted to TikTok as a teenager, spending hours daily on the platform and during the Covid-19 lockdown, algorithms bombarded her with calorie-counting and fitness trends.

Stock said: “It was relentless – every video pushed me to be thinner, fitter, better. 

“I was isolated, and TikTok became my reality. It felt like the app was controlling my mind.”

This obsession spiralled into a life-threatening eating disorder, leading to two hospitalisations and being sectioned under mental health services.

Stock said: “I was starving myself to death because of what I saw online.

“I almost died because of TikTok.”

The statistics show children spending over three hours daily on social media are more than twice as likely to show signs of poor mental health (27%) compared to non-s (12%).

The World Health Organisation’s 2024 report adds further weight, noting 11% of adolescents exhibit “problematic social media behaviour,” struggling to curb their use despite clear harm.

Girls are particularly affected, with 13% reporting problematic use compared to 9% of boys, a disparity tied to online pressures around appearance and social comparison.

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) found while moderate social media use can be benign or even beneficial, excessive ive scrolling and toxic interactions inflict the most damage.

The Child Mind Institute explained how platforms built on likes, shares, and relentless loops cultivate feelings of inadequacy and addiction-like behaviours, especially in emotionally developing children.

A December 2024 Forbes article called out tech companies for deploying manipulative tactics, such as infinite scrolling and algorithmic content, to keep s, including children, hooked, often at the expense of their wellbeing.

Sleep disruption compounds the issue and Office Practicum reported heavy screen use before bed disrupts sleep patterns, leading to fatigue, poor focus, and emotional instability.

With many children glued to phones late into the night, this sleep deprivation may be a key factor in the rising tide of mental health challenges in schools.

Now in recovery from her own social media addiction, Stock is a fierce advocate for change.

She said: “These platforms don’t care if you’re a kid or if you’re falling apart. They just want your attention. 

“There need to be strict regulations to stop algorithms from targeting vulnerable young people with harmful content.

“No one should have to fight for their life because of an app.”

Ellie Hodges, a 16-year-old Year 12 student at Haileybury School with a growing social media presence, acknowledged the pervasive impact of social media on her peers and younger children.

Hodges said: “I think social media really does affect children and teenagers.

“It affects children because it stunts their development, they lack social skills if they have an iPad stuck in their face instead of communicating with adults.

“Young children are not learning those social skills which can later affect their mental health. 

“For teenagers, social media can become addicting, it can promote unrealistic beauty standards – especially for young girls. 

“They are being exposed to harmful content online.”

Hodges also highlighted the toxic culture fostered by influencers and online interactions.

She said: “Social media pushes the idea of influencers, which is really unhealthy.

“Social media can lead to high levels of anxiety and depression. 

“We’ve got online bullying, hate comments, you’ve got all of that side to it which is very nasty because people say all of this behind a screen, they’re not to your face. 

“Anxiety can also come from doom-scrolling, and this can lead to depression as well, as people get addicted from scrolling endlessly on their phone.”

NHS psychological wellbeing practitioner Sam Collett, 27, identified body image issues, attention deficit disorders, and pornography exposure as key psychological effects of prolonged social media use.

Collett said: “Pornography, which is actively being promoted on social media platforms, can dysregulate the dopamine pathway, leading to depression, anxiety, and low mood.

“For some kids, social media can be the biggest factor shaping their mental health, especially if they’re addicted. 

“Parental oversight can make a difference, but without it, social media dominates their lives.

“Children are exposed to traumatic content – pornography, violence, extremist ideologies – that they’re too young to process. 

“Aggressive algorithms feed shocking material because it exploits our morbid curiosity, driving engagement but also aggression, poor social skills, and mental health disorders.”

He added that online time erodes real-world interactions, weakening emotional resilience.

Social media’s role in anxiety and depression is particularly acute.

Collett said: “Platforms thrive on comparison – children see AI-enhanced images and curated lives that aren’t real, breeding insecurity.

“Young girls posting selfies are bombarded with pressure to look perfect, often comparing themselves to unattainable ideals.”

In treating affected children, Collett advocates for education and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

He listed withdrawal, low mood, anxiety, insomnia, and fixation on appearance as warning signs.

Collett said: “We need to educate parents to prevent issues early.

“CBT encourages real-world socialising, exercise, sleep, and challenging negative beliefs shaped online.”

“If a child is always on their phone, especially at meals or bedtime, or talks about cosmetic surgery, that’s a red flag.

“Parents should talk empathetically, listen, and consider s or blocking harmful platforms.”

Hodges echoed the need for proactive measures, particularly for younger children and teenagers.

She also pointed to the pressure to project a flawless image online.

She said: “If you have young children, don’t shove an iPad in their face – let them learn, let them develop.

“When they’re a teenager, make sure they’re aware of the dangers of social media, making sure that they follow good role models, people who they can ire.

“I would definitely say that the pressure of having a perfect life is there, you’re always comparing yourself to other people on social media.”

Hodges questioned the ability of social media companies, too.

She said: “I don’t think social media companies do enough, but also, what can they do?

“This is the problem with the internet, the problem with influencers is that they get brand deals and then these brands promote them, which has a knock-on effect.”

Despite the risks, Collett underlined social media can have benefits. 

However, he advised parents to set time limits, promote offline activities, and discuss online content to foster critical thinking. 

Collett said: “In moderation, it helps kids connect and express themselves, especially those who struggle socially.

“Encourage face-to-face activities like sports or clubs, model healthy screen habits and build their confidence in real-world connections gradually.”

Stock, Hodges, and Collett all called for stricter regulations.

Hodges said: “There should be stricter controls from social media companies, especially for TikTok.”

Collett proposed a social media ban for under-18s, citing the profound impact on developing brains.

He said: “We need rigorous age verification, like port ID, to protect kids from this unprecedented harm.”

Stock is in no doubt regulation is needed sooner rather than later to prevent others from suffering the same harrowing journey.

She said: “Kids shouldn’t be on these platforms – the damage is too real.

“I lost years of my life to an algorithm that didn’t care if I lived or died.

“How many more kids have to suffer before something changes?”

Feature image credit: Vanessa Stock

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There is a 30-fold difference in smoking cessation spending across London boroughs, according to new NHS England data.

The latest figures from the Clinical Outcomes and Indicators show Westminster, in the period of April to December of 2024, invested (excluding stop smoking aids) £8,196 per quitter while Brent allocated just £273.

This massive spending gap isn’t simply about money, however, but rather about access, and the fundamental right to health interventions. 

Paul Baker is global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway, a drug-free, clinically proven, award-winning method to freedom from addiction, which has been integrated into smoking cessation programmes across London, including in Southwark, Lambeth, Kingston, Sutton and Redbridge.

He said: “In of quitting successfully, with our method, it works for everybody, no matter how long you’ve been smoking or your background or your education levels or ethnicity, it doesn’t matter.

“So, it looks like the same success rate on every single one.

“So that’s the good news, there is a method out there that’s drug-free that helps everybody.

“But in of what we’re seeing now, you are seeing higher smoking prevalence in certain deprived areas and things like that.”

The numbers demonstrate a teenager in Brent faces significantly greater odds of breaking free from nicotine addiction compared to their counterpart in Westminster.

This is a difference which is measured in potential life span, reduced healthcare costs, and personal opportunity, as well as pounds.

Yet Westminster, as a relatively afluent borough, has a particulalry high spend, albeit for several reasons.

It has far fewer permanent residents than most outer London boroughs, and uniquely large daily influx of workers and tourists, meaning fewer total quitters or referrals despite high program costs.

According to the City of Westminster‘s figures, the borough is home to around 211,500 people, with 22% not having lived at the same address the year before, and 43% of households in the borough being private rentals. 

However, the inequality displayed by the cost per smoker becomes even more stark when considering the borough’s respective total spends.

Westminster totalled £5,023,987 (excluding stop smoking aids) between April and December of 2024 alone, while Brent spent a mere £4,643.

This £5,023,987 is nine times larger than the next highest spender, Camden, despite the northern borough having almost twice the number of people initially referred compared to its central counterpart.

In spite of its incredibly high total spend, Westminster also only recorded 613 successful quitters, while Tower Hamlets recorded almost double, with 1,178.

This high spend could be, in part, due to the introduction of the Healthy Communities Fund, a £5million programme which aims to reduce the borough’s health inequality gap. 

However, this funding is spread across 42 community organisations, allowing them to run free community-led activities including fitness classes for teenage girls, health education sessions and social sessions for isolated residents, and does not for the £5,023,987 spent, according to NHS data, on smoking cessation services alone.

Westminster Council and d smoking cessation programme Smokeless were approached for comment.

But beyond Westminster’s high spend, authorities such as Brent seem to fail to spend anywhere near their full allocation, with the borough spending only 1.4% of its £321,133 allocation.

Of the 31 London boroughs with available data, around a fifth spent under 50% of their allocation, while nationwide, 23 local authorities also spent under 50%, increasing to 71 when considering a spend of under 75%.  

There are several reasons local authorities may be falling short on smoking cessation spending though, the most obvious being low rates of subscription to programmes.

Baker said: “When we speak to the councils and start to work with them, they say ‘You’re never going to fill the places, we want you to target the deprived areas and the manual workers’, and we go ‘We will’.

“In Kent, for example, they’re blown away by how many people we’re getting through the door and its because were able to reach those people, which you say you aren’t able to reach?

“All we’re doing is speaking to them and saying ‘Here’s a method you haven’t tried before maybe, give it a go’.”

Baker also questioned the validity of the number of successful quitters due to the time frame within which the NHS collects this data rather than the low proportion of those who were carbon monoxide verified.

He said: “The success rate that’s being talked about is a crazy success rate because it’s based on four weeks.

“Except, if you read the details, it’s about people who haven’t smoked in the last two weeks. 

“That’s how it is for NRT (nicotine replacement therapy), etc, but for us, people attend and then we wait four weeks and speak to them.

“Four weeks is too short, so what we do is we follow people all the way through, checking in at four weeks, 12 weeks, six months and a year, so that we can actually see the results.

“That’s what they should be doing, they need to do it long term, because a lot of people at weeks on NRT or vaping will have drifted back to smoking, and it just doesn’t work, so its too short a time frame.

“That’s my opinion but I know its also the opinion of a lot of people in the NHS as well, but it’s just the metric that they use.”

Finn Stephenson, 23, recently quit smoking after reading Allen Carr’s The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which he regards as a lifesaver.

However, he had not considered any NHS services to help him stop.

Stephenson said: “No, it never really occurred to me.

“I think the NHS could do a lot more to their stop smoking services, everyone that I know who’s recently quit has either read Allen Carr’s book or has tried on their own.”

In spite of the struggle of many local authorities to reach their allocations and Baker’s scepticism about the success rates validity, the UK government announced at the end of 2024 it would be investing an additional £70million in 2025 to 2026 to local authority stop smoking services.

This comes in tandem with the introduction of The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, set to come into force on 1 January 2027, which will see an increase the legal age of using tobacco by one year every year, making anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 unable to legally buy tobacco or have it bought by others on their behalf.

This follows the New Zealand government’s attempt to implement a similar scheme, which, following a change in istration, was repealed due to economic concerns, autonomy, and the potential for illicit tobacco trade, according to Science Direct.

The bill will also provide powers to ban smoking in certain outdoor areas, with children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals all being considered.

It will also ban the advertising and sponsorship of vapes and nicotine products, and allow ministers to regulate the flavours, display, and packaging of vapes so they are less appealing to children.

This comes after a survey by charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that in March-April 2023, the proportion of children experimenting with vaping had grown by 50% year on year, from one in 13 to one in nine.

Anyone struggling to quit smoking can be referred by their GP, pharmacist or health visitor, or can phone their local stop smoking service to make an appointment with an adviser.

They can also call the free Smokefree National Helpline on 0300 123 1044.

Feature image: Free to use from Unsplash

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