Idris Elba will join the prime minister to launch a new anti-knife crime coalition in Downing Street on Monday. 

The actor and musician, 52, will attend what is set to be the first annual knife crime summit with Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday morning.

As an anti-knife crime campaigner, he will help bring together community groups and victims’ families who have first-hand experience that can be used to change policy.

With the help of the coalition, which will include his Elba Hope Foundation, the government hopes to halve knife crime over the next 10 years.

It is currently in the process of banning ninja swords and strengthening the law on online knife sales.

As well as community leaders and grassroots organisations, the coalition will include tech companies, sports groups, and representatives from the NHS, education sector, and the police, the government said.

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Ahead of the summit, Elba described the coalition as a “positive step toward rehabilitating our communities from the inside out”.

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Earlier this year, he met the King to discuss more ways to reduce youth violence – particularly through the King’s Trust.

When the Luther star was a teenager, he received a £1,500 grant from what was then the Prince’s Trust to attend the National Youth Music Theatre.

In January, he launched his own initiative, Don’t Stop Your Future, when he called for an immediate ban on zombie knives to speed up the previous government’s plans for one later this year.

Review into online knife sales

As the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Keir says he “saw first-hand the devastating impact knife crime has on young people and their families”.

Describing it as a “national crisis that we will tackle head-on” he reiterated Labour’s promise to halve offences over the next decade.

A rapid review into how knives are sold and delivered to under-18s online is being led by Commander Stephen Clayman, the national policing lead for knife crime.

As part of the new coalition, he will report back to the home secretary by the end of the year.

He warned that “knives are far too easily accessible” and that he hopes to work with “government, retailer and the third sector to find ways we can bring meaningful, long-term change”.

Home Secretary Ms Cooper described the coalition as “crucial” and promised: “We will not sit back while precious lives are being lost and young people’s futures destroyed.”

The launch of the coalition and summit is part of the government’s 10-year plan on knife crime and builds on the Home Office’s Young Futures programme, which is working to offer young people a path away from violence.

Fans have started receiving invites to join a lottery to buy tickets for two extra Oasis concerts next year.

It follows a major backlash over ticketing issues for the UK and Ireland gigs, which sold out in less than a day and triggered an investigation by competition watchdogs.

A message posted on Oasis’s X account said they would be sending the invites out to “eligible fans we have been able to identify” who were signed into a Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August – when tickets initially went on sale.

Those who were able to join a queue for tickets “may be eligible to take part” and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.

Ticketmaster was widely criticised for dynamic pricing – a system used during high demand and limited supply – which caused the cost of a standard ticket to more than double from £148 to £355.

The Competition and Markets Authority has asked for evidence from fans, including website screenshots during the buying process, as it examines concerns over whether the policy is fair.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also promised a government review and the European Commission said it would examine the issue too.

Ticketmaster defended dynamic pricing and said concert prices are down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.

But dynamic ticket pricing has prompted strong criticism from other artists, including this year’s Mercury Prize winner, English Teacher.

Extra Wembley dates announced

Fans were also furious after being left empty-handed, despite waiting in an online queue for hours.

On Wednesday, Oasis announced they would play two more dates at Wembley Stadium on 27 and 28 September as part of next year’s Live ’25 tour using the new ticketing plan.

In a statement, the band said they hoped the strategy would make “the process far smoother for fans by reducing the stress and time it takes” to obtain tickets.

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Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher has been speaking about his brother Noel.

Liam will ‘blow kisses’ to Noel on stage

During a series of messages on X he said he “won’t have a bad word said” about him, and added he would be “blowing him kisses in between each song”.

He also addressed the chaos over ticketing: “I’m seriously gutted for people that can’t get tickets, I can’t even go there it hurts my heart and I know people will think I’m taking the piss, but I’m not.”

On Friday he had joked about the price of tickets.

Liam talks setlist for reunion gigs

Replying to one fan who was kicked off Ticketmaster’s website while trying to buy tickets for the band’s Cardiff gig, Liam replied: “If that’s what happened I’m sure someone will be in touch coz that ain’t cool, good luck.”

Liam also gave away some details about their tracks for their reunion gigs, telling one fan Don’t Go Away from their 1997 album Be Here Now was “not on the list”.

Formed in the early 1990s, Oasis rose to fame with songs such as Supersonic, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Live Forever, before second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory gave them their first number one single, Some Might Say.

As film festival season gathers pace, the 68th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) has announced its full 2024 programme, featuring a whopping 39 world premieres.

Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig and Sir Elton John are among the stars to head up the 255-strong collection of movies from around the world.

Here are seven LFF films to look out for – with some hotly tipped for the coming awards season.

Blitz

London-born director Steve McQueen opens the festival for the third time, with the world premiere of his World War Two drama Blitz. The movie re-creates a war-torn London, bombarded by nightly air raids, as battle rages all around.

Saoirse Ronan stars as Rita, an East End mother who makes the heartbreaking decision to send her young son George, played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan, to safety in the countryside. But, George has other ideas, and is determined to return home despite the many dangers ahead.

The ensemble cast includes Kathy Burke, Benjamin Clementine, Harris Dickinson and Stephen Graham, with a score by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.

Maria

Angelina Jolie makes a return to the big screen after several years away, starring in the biopic about famed opera singer Maria Callas, one of the greatest sopranos of all time.

While the majority of the vocals we hear in the movie are from original recordings of Callas in her prime, the depictions of singing at the end of her life are mostly Jolie’s own voice. The Oscar-winning actress, who spent seven months training for the role, has called it the most demanding of her career.

Directed by Pablo Larrain, it depicts Callas’s final days in Paris when she was addicted to anti-anxiety drugs, looking back to the peak of her career when she wowed audiences around the world. Larrain has said he hopes it will encourage people to listen to more opera.

Queer

Bond star Daniel Craig plays a drug-addicted American living in 1950s Mexico, in the historical drama Queer.

Based on the 1985 semi-autobiographical novel by Beat Generation author William Burroughs, the film delves into the nightlife of Mexico City, in an immersive flood of colour, and doesn’t shy away from full-on sex scenes.

With some reviewers praising it as Craig’s best performance to date, it also stars Jason Schwartzman, Lesley Manville and newcomer Drew Starkey.

Nightbitch

A comedy horror starring the ever-adaptable Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mother who slowly thinks she may be turning into a dog.

Based on the 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder, it’s pitched as a modern feminist fable, examining a society in which women are told they can “have it all”.

The movie is directed by Marielle Heller, who in 2020 was one of the female filmmakers many felt were snubbed by the Oscars and Golden Globes when she failed to get a nomination for her movie A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. Heller will no doubt be hoping this film – as offbeat as it is – is a different story.

The Apprentice

One of the most polarizing political figures of the 21st century, this film unpacks the young Donald Trump, examining his life before politics, and his career in real estate in New York in the 1970s and 1980s.

Directed by Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi, it stars Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, with Succession actor Jeremy Strong (aka Kendall Roy) playing attorney Roy Cohn.

Possibly the most controversial film of the year, it’s been beset with legal issues, not least of which include a cease-and-desist letter from Mr Trump’s legal team.

With a US election due in November, this one will at least be topical when it finally makes it to cinemas.

Twiggy

This is the first fully approved documentary to tell British model Twiggy’s life story.

Directed by actor-turned-director Sadie Frost it tells the story of the fashion icon – whose real name is Lesley Lawson – going back to her working-class childhood in northwest London, through to her international stardom as a celebrity model, and her career as an actor, singer, fashion designer, writer and TV presenter.

Other noteworthy documentaries screening at LFF include Elton John: Never Too Late, about the singer’s final US live shows, and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which looks back at the late actor’s rise to fame as the superhero and his life following a horse-riding accident that left him paralysed from the neck down.

Piece By Piece

A movie about the life of musician Pharrell Williams will close the festival – but told entirely using Lego.

Directed by Morgan Neville, and produced by Williams himself, it depicts the Happy singer’s early life in Virginia, through to his rise to fame as he tops the charts.

Williams recorded five new songs for the soundtrack, and many think it’s a likely contender for best animated feature and best original song come awards season.

LFF takes place from Wednesday 9 October to Sunday 20 October.