Team GB has won the gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics.
Their stellar performance at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre is a new world record – coming in at three minutes, 37.58 seconds.
Kathleen Dawson, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin finished 1.28 seconds ahead of China who took silver, with Australia picking up bronze.
Image: Adam Peaty in action during the 4x100m medley relay
It comes as Team GB also won gold on Saturday in the first-ever mixed triathlon relay, and Emma Wilson won bronze in the RS:X windsurfing.
Great Britain’s win in the 4x100m medley is all the more remarkable considering Dawson slipped on the wall at the start of the race.
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Team GB has now secured seven medals in the swimming at Tokyo 2020 – four gold, two silver, and one bronze – matching a tally last seen at the 1908 Olympics in London.
The 4x100m medley relay is a new event at the Games – featuring teams consisting of two women and two men.
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Each team member swims a 100m leg in one the four main swimming strokes: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Image: Guy and Peaty celebrate after being part of the team that cemented a new world record in the 4x100m medley relay
Great Britain made a stunning comeback as the race unfolded – and when Peaty jumped into the pool, Team GB was in sixth place.
The breaststroke gold medallist pushed Team GB up to fourth with a time of 56.78 seconds – and the team went into first after Guy, who won his first gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay earlier this week, clocked 50 seconds in the butterfly.
There was a jubilant atmosphere in the aquatics centre after Hopkin completed the final leg in 52 seconds flat.
Image: Adam Peaty, James Guy, Anna Hopkin and Kathleen Dawson celebrate after winning the inaugural 4×100 medley relay. Pic: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
The medley relay has shaped up to be one of these most unpredictable events in the pool, with the frontrunners continually chopping and changing.
Dawson said after the race: “I had a little bit of an issue at the start. I couldn’t quite feel my hands and then somehow, I slipped when I went in – I wasn’t sure what I did when I did it!
“I managed to keep calm, focus on getting the best performance out of myself I could.”
The race also gave Peaty his second gold of the Games and means he now has four Olympic medals in all.
“More to go on the wall at home for George [his young son] to look up to,” said the 26-year-old.
“I never thought I’d have four Olympic medals. It’s more inspiring to be part of this team than anything.”
Eirianedd Munro, Peaty’s partner, wrote on Instagram: “I’m in tears! What an incredible race. So proud!!!”
Earlier in the week Andy Guy, brother of James, spoke of his pride at the “best team swimmer ever” after James dropped his 100m butterfly to concentrate on the mixed medley relay.
After the race, he posted: “We did it Olympic gold medal & world record !! What a team.”
It was the second team medal for Team GB in the early hours of Saturday after Jess Learmonth, Jonny Brownlee, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee secured first place in the mixed triathlon relay.
It was a decisive victory for Great Britain – finishing with a time of one hour, 23 minutes and 41 seconds.
The US secured silver, finishing 14 seconds later – while France picked up bronze and was 23 seconds behind.
Image: Emma Wilson, from Dorset, won bronze in the windusrfing
Since triathlons were introduced to the Olympics in 2000, Britain has won eight medals – including three golds.
In the windsurfing RS:X, Team GB’s Wilson was edged into the bronze medal by Charline Picon of France, with China’s Yungxiu Lu winning the gold.
The trio entered the medal race knowing they would be on the podium, but Lu needed a top-four finish to clinch the gold, with Picon crossing the line first ahead of Wilson.
Wilson, 22, from Christchurch, Dorset, said: “Those conditions were so physical, I gave it everything and I’m super happy to get that medal. I just emptied my body out there, it’s amazing.
“I’ve come fourth so many times it means so much to finally get on the podium and to do it at the Olympics is great.”
Sophisticated drones sending “overwhelming amounts” of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog.
HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a “vulnerable and bored” prison population.
The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold “the most dangerous men in the country”, including terrorists.
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Ex-convict: Prison is ‘birthing bigger criminals’
Mr Taylor said “the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace” above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the “safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public”.
“The possibility now whereby we’re seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available,” he said. “Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine.”
“Drone technology is moving fast… there is a level of risk that’s posed by drones that I think is different from what we’ve seen in the past,” warned the chief inspector – who also said there’s a “theoretical risk” that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.
He urged the prison service to “get a grip” of the issue, stating: “We’d like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn’t materialise.”
Image: The report highlights disrepair at prisons around the country
The report makes clear that physical security – such as netting, windows and CCTV – is “inadequate” in some jails, including Manchester, with “inexperienced staff” being “manipulated”.
Mr Taylor said there are “basic” measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, “so we don’t get packages disguised as things like astro turf”.
Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: “The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation.”
Mr Taylor’s report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a “major issue”, with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity.
Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.
“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives.”
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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%
The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces.
Those measures won’t come into effect until spring 2026.
Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor’s findings show “the scale of the crisis” the government “inherited”, with “prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence”.
He said: “After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.
“We’re also investing £40m to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.”
The daughter of a Post Office victim has told Sky News she suffered “dark thoughts of suicide” in the years after her mother was accused of stealing.
Kate Burrows was 14 years old when her mother, Elaine Hood, was prosecuted and subsequently convicted in 2003.
The first public inquiry report on the Post Office – examining redress and the “human impact” of the scandal – is due to be published today.
“I’ve suffered with panic attacks from about 14, 15 years old, and I still have them to this day,” Kate said.
“I’ve been in and out of therapy for what feels like most of my adult life and it absolutely categorically goes back to [what happened].”
Image: Kate and Rebecca with their mother, Elaine
Kate, along with others, helped set up the charity Lost Chances, supporting the children of Post Office victims. She hopes the inquiry will recognise their suffering.
“It’s important that our voices are heard,” she said. “Not only within the report, but in law actually.
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“And then maybe that would be a deterrent for any future cover-ups, that it’s not just the one person it’s the whole family [affected].”
Her sister, Rebecca Richards, who was 18 when their mother was accused, described how an eating disorder “escalated” after what happened.
“When my mum was going through everything, my only control of that situation was what food I put in my body,” she said.
Image: Elaine with her husband
She also said that seeing her mother at court when she was convicted, would “stay with me forever”.
“The two investigators were sat in front of my dad and I, sniggering and saying ‘we’ve got this one’.
“To watch my mum in the docks handcuffed to a guard… not knowing if she was going to be coming home… that is the most standout memory for me.”
The sisters are hoping the inquiry findings will push Fujitsu into fulfilling a promise they made nearly a year ago – to try and help the children of victims.
Image: The siblings were teenagers when their mum was unfairly prosecuted
Last summer, Kate met with the European boss of the company, Paul Patterson, who said he would look at ways they could support Lost Chances.
Despite appearing at the inquiry in November last year and saying he would not “stay silent” on the issue, Kate said there has been little movement in terms of support.
“It’s very much a line of ‘we’re going to wait until the end of the inquiry report to decide’,” she said.
“But Mr Patterson met us in person, looked us in the eye, and we shared the most deeply personal stories and he said we will do something… they need to make a difference.”
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2024: Paula Vennells breaks down in tears
Fujitsu, who developed the faulty Horizon software, has said it is in discussions with the government regarding a contribution to compensation.
The inquiry will delve in detail into redress schemes, of which four exist, three controlled by the government and one by the Post Office.
Victims of the scandal say they are hoping Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the inquiry, will recommend that the government and the Post Office are removed from the redress schemes as thousands still wait for full and fair redress.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said they were “grateful” for the inquiry’s work, describing “the immeasurable suffering” victims endured and saying the government has “quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters”, with more than £1bn having now been paid to thousands of claimants.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
CCTV and police bodycam footage allegedly showing three police officers being assaulted at Manchester Airport has been played to jurors.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to the airport on 23 July last year, following Amaaz allegedly headbutting a customer at a Starbucks in Terminal 2.
Minutes later, three police officers approached the defendants at the paystation in the terminal’s car park.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court today watched CCTV footage from opposite angles, which captured what the prosecution says was a “high level of violence” being used by the siblings.
The prosecution says Amaaz resisted as officers tried to move him to arrest him, and Amaad then intervened.
Junior counsel Adam Birkby suggested Amaaz threw 10 punches, including one to the face of PC Lydia Ward, which knocked her to the floor.
His brother Amaad is then said to have aimed six punches at firearms officer PC Zachary Marsden.
Amaaz also allegedly kicked PC Marsden and struck firearms officer PC Ellie Cook twice with his elbow.
He is said to have punched PC Marsden from behind and had a hold of him, before PC Cook discharged her Taser.
Image: Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammed Amaad (right) arrive at the court with their lawyer. Pic: PA
The bodycam and CCTV footage, submitted as evidence by the prosecution, allegedly shows the officers’ arrival in the Terminal 2 car park and their attempts to arrest the siblings, as well as their exchanges with them.
PC Ward can be heard saying “Oi, you b*****d” in footage from her bodycam, the prosecution evidence appears to show.
She then appears to fall to the floor and screams.
PC Cook, who is pointing her Taser at one of the defendants, then allegedly says: “Stay on the floor, stay on the floor whatever you do.”
“Get back, get back,” PC Ward appears to say.
The bodycam footage, shown to the jury by the prosecution, shows PC Marsden, who is also pointing his Taser, appear to approach the defendant who is lying on the ground and kick out at him.
Mr Birkby said: “Mr Amaaz, while prone, lifts his head towards the officers. PC Marsden kicks Mr Amaaz around the head area.
“PC Marsden stamps his foot towards the crown of Mr Amaaz’s head area but doesn’t appear to connect with Mr Amaaz.”
Amaaz denies three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to the three police officers and one count of assault to Abdulkareem Ismaeil, the customer at Starbucks.
Amaad denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to PC Marsden.