The new Data (Use and Access) Act, which criminalises intimate image abuse, is a huge victory won fast in a space where progress is often glacially slow

For Jodie*, watching the conviction of her best friend, and knowing she helped secure it, felt at first like a kind of victory. It was certainly more than most survivors of deepfake image-based abuse could expect.

They had met as students and bonded over their shared love of music. In the years since graduation, he’d also become her support system, the friend she reached for each time she learned that her images and personal details had been posted online without her consent. Jodie’s pictures, along with her real name and correct bio, were used on many platforms for fake dating profiles, then adverts for sex work, then posted on to Reddit and other online forums with invitations to deepfake them into pornography. The results ended up on porn sites. All this continued for almost two years, until Jodie finally worked out who was doing it — her best friend – identified more of his victims, compiled 60 pages of evidence, and presented it to police. She had to try two police stations, having been told at the first that no crime had been committed. Ultimately he admitted to 15 charges of “sending messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing nature� and received a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years.

AVS Group, which runs 18 websites, has 72 hours to make changes required by UK’s Online Safety Act

A pornography company that runs 18 adult websites has been fined £1m by the watchdog Ofcom for not having strong enough age checks.

AVS Group Ltd has been hit with the fine, plus a further £50,000 for failing to respond to information requests.

Exclusive: Pilot schemes for bodycams, knife arches and metal detectors in probation offices also approved after attacks in Oxford and Preston

Probation officers will be given self-defence training, bleed kits and body-worn cameras for the first time under plans before ministers in the wake of two stabbings, the Guardian has learned.

Knife arches and handheld metal-detecting wands, which can be used to search people for weapons, have been approved for pilot schemes in selected offices.

Exclusive: Senior minister raises ‘significant concerns’ over one of UK’s biggest property managers

A senior minister has said he has “significant concerns� about one of Britain’s biggest property managers after dozens of residents complained of high charges, slow repairs and aggressive debt collection techniques.

It is the latest sign of growing anger in Westminster over the behaviour of FirstPort, which manages properties on behalf of 1 million people, and other leasehold management companies.

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’

The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports.

Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported.

He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised�, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit.

The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period.

Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be for people who face poor mental health, have ADHD or autism and can’t get a diagnosis or the right support�.

He added: “I also know, from speaking to clinicians, how the diagnosis of these conditions is sharply rising.

“We must look at this through a strictly clinical lens to get an evidence-based understanding of what we know, what we don’t know, and what these patterns tell us about our mental health system, autism and ADHD services.

“That’s the only way we can ensure everyone gets timely access to accurate diagnosis and effective support.�

The review, which is expected to be launched on Thursday, is set to be led by Prof Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist at University College London specialising in child mental health, with Sir Simon Wessely, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatry, acting as vice-chair.

Data from Australia shows women told about density had more anxiety and confusion, as measure considered in UK

Telling women whether they have dense breasts as part of their breast cancer screening results may leave them feeling unnecessarily anxious and confused, according to a study.

Breast density refers to the level of glandular and fibrous tissue relative to fat in breasts. Dense breast tissue is a risk factor for breast cancer, and can also make mammograms more difficult to read.

Survey shows rise in GPs using tools such as ChatGPT to produce appointment summaries and assist with diagnosis

Almost three in 10 GPs in the UK are using AI tools such as ChatGPT in consultations with patients, even though it could lead to them making mistakes and being sued, a study reveals.

The rapid adoption of AI to ease workloads is happening alongside a “wild west� lack of regulation of the technology, which is leaving GPs unaware which tools are safe to use. That is the conclusion of research by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, based on a survey of 2,108 family doctors by the Royal College of GPs about AI and on focus groups of GPs.

When his book Notes on Being a Man was released last month, it raced to the top of the bestseller lists. The US author, tech entrepreneur and podcaster explains his theories on dating, crying – and the rise of Donald Trump

It takes balls to title your book Notes on Being a Man. And, superficially, Scott Galloway could easily be lumped in with a dozen other manosphere-friendly alpha-bros promising to teach young men how to find their inner wolf. He is, after all, a wealthy, healthy, white, heterosexual, shaven-headed, 61-year-old Californian who made his name and fortune as a successful investor and podcaster.

But in reality, he is almost the opposite: liberal, left-leaning and surprisingly sensitive. The guy who advises his readers on “how to address the masculinity crisis, build mental strength and raise good sons� has been described as a “progressive Jordan Peterson�, or “Gordon Gekko with a social conscience�.

The council is rolling back Thatcher’s flagship policy by buying stock from private landlords. Other local authorities should take note

On a windswept housing estate by the Channel, Jacob Taylor surveys the latest addition to his property empire: a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, built on the playing fields of an old private school.

They might not look like much but these neat rows of redbrick homes are an important acquisition – not for an offshore investor or a real-estate mogul, but for the Labour-run Brighton and Hove city council, where Taylor, its deputy leader, is taking a trailblazing approach.

Economists on all sides agree: rather than incremental changes, this deeply unfair market needs a ‘big bang’ moment

• Josh Ryan-Collins is professor of economics and finance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

The UK’s property tax system is both inefficient and unfair. There is consensus among all political parties that something needs to be done. On the efficiency side, stamp duty is the main culprit: as a lump sum tax on property wealth paid at point of purchase, it discourages people to move as frequently as they should. It prevents people from realising their full economic potential by finding the right job, in the right area, or moving into a home suitable for their household size.

In combination with high interest rates and sluggish growth, tax is contributing to UK property transactions reaching near record lows. Meanwhile, over a third of English households live in homes defined by the government as “under-occupied�, with two or more spare bedrooms; 90% of these are homeowners. Reforming stamp duty to free up some of these under-occupied properties – mainly concentrated in the baby-boomer generation now hitting retirement – could enhance growth, productivity and, potentially, the affordability crisis.

Josh Ryan-Collins is professor of economics and finance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Many autistic people face barriers due to stereotypes and ableist assumptions, including the belief that the neurotypical way of working is the only right way

Although I started my first full-time job when I was 15, it was more than three decades before I asked for an accommodation at work. This was not because I didn’t want or need changes in my workplace.

I had struggled with aspects of the workplace since my first job at the age of 15. I knew that the bright lights in my office and in meeting rooms made it difficult to concentrate and gave me severe migraines. I knew that the artificial air blowing through the air conditioning vents caused my skin to itch and made me feel ill. I knew that I struggled to shut out the background noise and focus on important conversations. But the idea that it didn’t have to be that way – or that it wasn’t that way for everyone else – was beyond my imagination.

A law has come into effect in Texas that will allow individuals in the state to sue abortion pill providers in other states. Proponents say it is a way to enforce abortion restrictions in Texas. Opponents worry about the methods complainants might use to find their evidence.

In this special episode, the Guardian US reproductive health and justice reporter Carter Sherman speaks to people who are using, providing and protecting abortion pills and those fighting against them in Texas

Archive: CBS Mornings, NBC News, MS Now, Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, News 8 WROC New York, ABC News, CBS Evening News, PBS

I can forgive shabby hospitals, confusion over appointments, even doctors’ poor bedside manner, but all the apps in the world can’t replace a real person

I had this thing on the back of my shoulder, which a dermatologist at an NHS hospital looked at. He was brisk, verging on brusque. He said it was either one complicated-sounding thing or the other, but I distinctly heard the word “carcinoma� in there somewhere. He said I’d have to come back and have it taken out, and then they would see whether or not it was a carcinoma. Great. When? We’ll write to you, he said. I suggested that, if cancer was a possibility, then a bit of hurry-up might be called for. To which he said: “Oh, it won’t make any difference now. The only thing that would have made any difference was if you’d come sooner.� To me, this sentence argued against itself somewhat. Time was either of the essence, or it wasn’t. I even flirted with the idea of interpreting “won’t make any difference now� as his way of saying I was doomed anyway.

I called the dermatologist I had previously seen about it privately, and she told me not to be silly, it would be fine. A GP I know said the same. I thanked my lucky stars that I’m privileged to have access to such people.

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our UK political coverage here

This is from Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, on Nigel Farage’s denial of the FT story. (See 9.33am.)

A handy reminder that in 2019 Farage did a deal to put Boris Johnson in No10 and push through his disastrous Brexit deal.

But instead of taking responsibility, of course Farage plays the victim.

Researchers find children who own dogs score lower for social problems, aggressive behaviour and delinquency

Having a dog in the home could help boost teenagers’ mental health, research suggests, with scientists adding this could in part be down to the sharing of microbes.

Prof Takefumi Kikusui, of Azabu University in Japan, who led the work, said being with dogs could reduce owners’ stress and stimulate the release of the bonding hormone oxytocin.

Women in Ireland and the UK linked to Free Birth Society among scores around world to have suffered loss or serious harm after births

• Full story: How the FBS is linked to baby deaths around the world

Over a weekend in late June 2024, Emilee Saldaya, the leader of the Free Birth Society, hosted a festival on her 21-hectare (53-acre) property in North Carolina. It was a celebratory gathering for FBS, a multimillion-dollar business that promotes a radical approach to giving birth without medical support.

Promotional footage from the Matriarch Rising festival shows Saldaya dancing beside her private lake, wearing a crown. That same weekend, more than 3,000 miles away, in Dundalk, a town on the east coast of Ireland, Naomi James, bled to death after freebirthing her son.

Watchdog says trend of care homes being registered in cheap areas, not where need is greatest, is ‘national scandal’

The number of registered children’s homes in England has risen to a record high, but providers are increasingly prioritising profit over care needs, Ofsted has warned.

The watchdog said new children’s homes were proliferating in areas of the country where housing was cheapest, suggesting the rise was driven mostly by profit and this was “bending the system out of shape�.

An honest debate is needed on this polarising topic as sectors such as social care struggle with recruitment

Keir Starmer’s response to the 69% fall in net migration revealed in official figures last week was to remark: “That’s a step in the right direction.�

Describing a reduction of more than two-thirds of any indicator in a single year as a “step� would be a creative use of statistics, putting it kindly.

Dysfunctional DWP failed to notify some carers that they were accruing enormous debt for years, Liz Sayce’s damning report reveals

• Full story: Ministers urged to apologise after review finds systemic failures led to carer’s allowance crisis

Of all the devastating passages in Liz Sayce’s 146-page criticism of the government’s failing carer’s allowance system, one above all leaps out. It describes how some felt so “overwhelmed�, ashamed and criminalised they considered killing themselves.

One even investigated whether their fine would be cancelled if they died, only to find the government would still chase their family.

Unpaid carers were pushed into debt and distress and hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money wasted

• ‘Outdated and ever less fit for purpose’: five takeaways from the carer’s allowance report

Ministers are facing calls to apologise and pay compensation to hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers after a damning review of the benefit system revealed some considered suicide to escape their debts.

A report ordered by the government on the longstanding failures within the carer’s allowance found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) inflicted avoidable hardship and distress on carers and led to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being misused.

The writing off and refunding of potentially hundreds of millions of pounds of overpayments that were issued as a result of flawed and unclear DWP guidance.

An end to the criminal prosecution for fraud of all but the most serious cases.

Ministers should consider a full review of carer’s allowance, an outdated benefit that is “ever less fit for purpose�.

It comes after major policies such as freeze on income tax thresholds were reported in chaotic build-up to budget

• Business live – latest updates

The Treasury has launched an inquiry into autumn budget leaks after a chaotic buildup to Rachel Reeves’s economic statement last week.

The Treasury minister James Murray said the department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, would review “security processes� to inform future events.

Ministers will argue that newly created mayoralties need more time to complete reorganisation

Ministers are to postpone elections for new mayors in four parts of England, triggering accusations from opposition parties that Downing Street is “cancelling democracy�.

Newly created mayoralties in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton will be first contested in 2028, ministers are expected to announce on Thursday.

Ian Cooper allegedly called Khan ‘narcissistic Pakistani’ and made comments about lawyer Shola Mos-Shogbamimu

A Reform UK council leader has been accused of racism after allegedly describing Sadiq Khan as a “narcissistic Pakistani� and saying a black British lawyer should have “F’d off back to Nigeria�.

Ian Cooper, the leader of Staffordshire county council, is also said to have attacked the justice secretary, David Lammy, in a social media post that said: “No foreign national or first generation migrant should be allowed to sit in parliament.�

James Binks suspended by council only after details of inquiry published in local press

Rochdale council is facing claims it sat on the results of a disciplinary inquiry into its chief executive over unwanted sexual advances towards a young female employee.

James Binks was suspended from his £200,000 a year job at the council on Monday after he was found to have inappropriately touched a junior colleague, who was a care leaver, in his previous role.

Photographer Owen Harvey explores belonging and identity in his work, and as the pearlies reach a major milestone, he decided to capture their traditions and discuss their future

The first time I saw a pearly, I was sitting on a fairly empty midday Northern Line train. As it screeched to a standstill and the doors opened, an elderly gentleman appeared, head to toe in shimmering buttons that were sewn into his black suit. I was fascinated by this man and his bold clothing choice, and I was intrigued to find out more about what this outfit represented.

I later learned he was a member of the pearly kings and queens.

Shannon Crowe, the pearly queen of Haggerston

For op shops, setting prices is a delicate balance. Too high and they risk pricing out customers, too low and it becomes difficult to cover costs

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I was at a tip shop looking for a whisk, expecting to find one for $1, maybe $2, when a small pair of tongs caught my eye. The price, written on the metal with permanent marker, was $10.

I snapped a photo and sent it to a group of op-shopping friends. “Tip shop pricing!� I wrote. “Tell ’em they’re dreamin’,� one quipped. After all, a pair on Kmart’s website that looked the same – but cleaner – cost $1.75.

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‘The world thinks Palestinians don’t need help any more,’ aid organiser says, despite desperate need as winter nears

Fundraisers collecting for Palestinian civilians in Gaza are seeing a “catastrophic� drop-off in donations since the ceasefire was announced in October.

Donations collected by volunteers and funnelled to needy families living in temporary shelters and struggling with illness, hunger and malnutrition have been harder to raise since then, according to organisers, many of whom have been running volunteer initiatives for Palestinians in Gaza on third-party crowdfunding platforms over the past two years.

My mother, Pamela Zinkin, who has died aged 94, was a consultant paediatrician credited with saving the lives of children all over the world. She was also a lifelong campaigner for the NHS.

In 1977, by then a single parent with two young sons, Pam moved to newly independent Mozambique to work as a senior paediatrician, then head of paediatrics, at Maputo central hospital. The country’s healthcare was in a precarious state, with 80% of its doctors having left after independence in 1975. Within five years, Pam and her team had reduced mortality among the 8,000 annual child admissions from 25% to 4%.

Naccom members accommodated record 4,434 refugees and migrants in 2024-25 but could not house another 3,450

Thousands of refugees are facing a growing homelessness crisis, according to a network of more than 100 organisations across the UK who say homelessness has more than doubled among refugees in the last two years.

Naccom, the national charity of 140 frontline refugee and migrant organisations, blames the increase on “near-constant government policy changes� and the introduction of eVisas, which some refugees have not been able to activate in order to access vital services and support.

Contrast the furious reaction to Rachel Reeves’s ‘mansion tax’ to the response offered to those living with real housing injustice: indifference

The new “mansion tax� announced by Rachel Reeves in last week’s budget is estimated to affect around 165,000 property owners, and on current trends the British media is forecast to have interviewed every single one of them by the end of the year. How else to explain the chorus of squeals we’ve been exposed to from the impoverished victims of Esher and Pimlico, whose only crime was to own a house worth over £2m in an era of egregious wealth inequality?

We hear, for example, from Philippa in Kensington, who tells the Telegraph that the new council tax surcharge on her two small mews houses will “wipe me out�. We hear from Paul, who owns a £2.5m house in Cobham, who tells the same newspaper that the move has wreaked havoc with his retirement plans. We hear in the Times from a property investor called Mark in Wimbledon, whose £9.5m house has been on the market for over a year, and gripes that he has had “almost no viewings in the last five or six months�. The Sun, for its part, evokes the spectre of “grannies being forced to sell up�, and condemns the levy as “a back-door way to seize chunks of family homes when hard-working Brits pass away�.

Jonathan Liew is a Guardian columnist

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Exclusive: Letter says L&Q appears to have systematically failed in its duty to provide adequate standard of living

UN experts have said that one of England’s biggest social landlords appears to have systematically failed to ensure the habitability of its rental properties.

In a letter to the UK government, they cite the case of a disabled tenant, Sanjay Ramburn, 55, who they say lived with his family of five in an L&Q group property in Forest Gate, east London for several years with no electricity. They experienced four ceiling collapses, as well as severe damp and mould that affected their health.

Exclusive: Pollution targets set out alongside nature recovery projects to allay concerns over housebuilding

Wood-burning stoves are likely to face tighter restrictions in England under new pollution targets set as part of an updated environmental plan released by ministers on Monday.

Speaking to the Guardian before the publication of the updated environmental improvement plan (EIP), the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, said it would boost nature recovery in a number of areas, replacing an EIP under the last government she said was “not credible�.