What does the nation really think about the future of our monarchy?

Published

2 years ago

April 30, 2023

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With the passing of Elizabeth II, what is our relationship with the monarchy and the new King?

That was the question I hoped to answer as I travelled the length of the land for our documentary My King, My Country?

And I was as much seeking an answer from myself as I was from the rest of the kingdom.

Growing up in southwest Scotland I really didn’t have much of a relationship with the monarchy; partly, I presume, because of the distance between Buck House (as it is sometimes known in newsrooms) and Ayr; partly, because I really didn’t think about them that much.

I certainly was aware of their existence – I may have been in the kids’ room on Christmas Day but I knew my older relatives were next door watching the Queen deliver her message.

Later in life, the drama and tragedy of Princess Diana’s life and passing were obviously topics of conversation with friends and family.

But I didn’t feel the sense of loss that others clearly did at her passing, again most likely for the reasons mentioned above.

And while as an adult and a journalist (some will disagree with either or both of those descriptions) I’ve been tasked with reporting on “royal events”, most recently of course presenting aspects of our coverage of the Queen’s death, actively thinking about the Royal Family and its members, its institutions and practices, was a rarity.

Then I spent a month on the road thinking about little else.

Others have spent far longer.

‘This is not appropriate in a democratic society’

“Well, I’ve always been opposed to the monarchy,” says Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic.

“I remember I was 12 years old the year Andrew and Sarah Ferguson got married. And I objected to the idea of having to sit in the classroom and watch the wedding.

“And as I got older, it just made more sense that this is not appropriate in a democratic society.”

And there are more people who agree with Graham in Scotland than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.

I travelled to Edinburgh to speak to Tommy Sheppard, an SNP MP and prominent republican north of Gretna Green. In something of an irony, his constituency has not one but three royal palaces within it.

In the shadow of Craigmillar Castle, best known for its association with the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots, he explained his antipathy.

“I mean, I think it’s an anachronism,” he told me. “It’s a relic of bygone days that has no place in a modern democratic constitution, to be honest.

“You know, the question is, can we do better? And I think we can do better.”

For Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, there is an almost visceral dislike of both the institution and its figureheads.

He said: “It is entirely unreasonable to justify this almost exclusively white family. And we saw it when they put a black woman in the family because it is chaos.

“But how can we possibly justify this family being the representative not just of Britain, but of 13 other countries… which are almost exclusively black and brown?

“What that does psychically, what that does emotionally, is to put whiteness on a pedestal. That’s the role. So if you’re serious about it, you have to say we have to abandon this role.”

The level of affection for Charles and Camilla was a surprise

Yet for every Graham, Tommy and Kehinde, the clear majority of those who spoke to me around the country were far more positive about the monarchy as an institution.

The level of affection for the Queen was not a surprise. The level of affection for Charles and Camilla certainly was.

Take Kathy Lette, Aussie funny woman and self-proclaimed republican herself. She has known them both pretty well for years, and has not a bad word to say.

“Well, you take people as you find them,” purrs Kathy. “You know, princes are supposed to be charming and he is charming.

“And also, I think he was so prescient. I mean, he was way ahead of his time on all those environmental issues, which I can connect with him on that big time.

“So, you know, you can’t help liking them. I would say Charles’s charm is more disarming than a UN peacekeeping force.”

And make no mistake, Kathy is not alone in her view.

At every event to which Republic sent demonstrators, they were outnumbered by hundreds to one.

They spoke of feeling a personal connection to both King and crown; the outpouring of sympathy and emotion towards Charles, both in the immediate aftermath of his mother’s death and on every public appearance since, is unmissable.

Take the residents of Nansleden, Charles’s pet housing project in Cornwall.

It may all feel a little bit Truman Show to the cynical journalistic outsider with its perfect pastel-coloured houses, but they truly love living there.

It’s a similar tale in my own part of the world, where Charles’s saving of Dumfries House has been warmly welcomed by locals (many of whom, including some I know, you’d hardly describe as arch monarchists).

I will admit that the Duchy of Cornwall’s relationship with the Isles of Scilly did give me pause; the amounts of money being made from what are essentially feudal arrangements merits at the bare minimum wider knowledge and discussion.

So too the ability of the monarchy to intervene in law-making that directly affects their financial interests.

But as I type this, while the country feels like it is about to begin a proper conversation about the future of the monarchy – and the news that the public will be asked to swear an oath of fealty has prompted a furious reaction from far more than the usual suspects – it is clear there remains a majority in favour of the institution persisting.

As for me… well, I never quite got around to answering that question for myself.

The privilege of being a broadcast journalist is never having to make your mind up on a topic – publicly, at least.

Yet the privileges of being royal, of being King, are of a different order.

And for all that there is a clear majority in favour of the institution, I suspect that the number for whom that privilege sits uneasily is growing. And growing rapidly.

Sky’s special My King, My Country? coronation documentary airs at 8pm tonight on Sky News.

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex – as abuse victim issues warning

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2 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex - as abuse victim issues warning

Schoolchildren are asking teachers how to strangle a partner during sex safely, a charity says, while official figures show an alarming rise in the crime related to domestic abuse cases.

Warning: This article contains references to strangulation, domestic abuse and distressing images.

It comes as a woman whose former partner almost strangled her to death in a rage has advised anyone in an abusive relationship to seek help.

Bernie Ryan, chief executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, has been running the charity since its inception in 2022 after non-fatal strangulation became a standalone offence.

“It’s the ultimate form of control,” she says.

She says perpetrators and victims are getting younger, while the reason is unclear, but strangulation has seeped into popular culture and social media.

“We hear lots of sex education providers, teachers saying that they’re hearing it in schools.

“We know teachers have been asked, ‘how do I teach somebody to strangle safely?’

“Our message is there is no safe way to strangle – the anatomy is the anatomy. Reduction in oxygen to the brain or blood flow will result in the same medical consequences, regardless of context.”

A recent review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin recommended banning “degrading, violent and misogynistic content” online.

Violent pornography showing women being choked during sex she found was “rife on mainstream platforms”.

Ms Ryan says she “wants to make sure that young people don’t have access to activities that demonstrate that this is normal behaviour”.

Strangulation is a violent act that is often committed in abusive relationships.

It is the second most common method used by men to kill women, the first is stabbing.

According to statistics shared by the Crown Prosecution Service, in 2024 there was an almost 50% rise in incidents of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation – compared to the year before.

Domestic abuse victim Kerry Allan has a message for anyone who is in an abusive relationship.

Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022. While she said “at the beginning it was really good”, within months he became physically abusive.

In August last year her friends found his profile on a dating app.

“I confronted him and he denied it. I knew we were going to get into a big argument and I couldn’t face it, so I said I was going to my mum’s for a few days and take myself away from the situation.

“I came back a few days later and stupidly I agreed we could try again and everything escalated from that.”

In the early hours of 25 August the pair had come in from a night out at a concert and got into an argument.

“He was having a go at me, accusing me of flirting with other people, and I was angry. I told him he had a nerve after what he’d done to me in the week and how he humiliated me.

“I told him that I wanted to leave, that we were done and that I wanted to go to my mum’s and that’s when it got bad.

“He pinned me to the bed and that’s when he first strangled me.”

Kerry says this was the first time she’d ever been violently assaulted. Cosgrove was eerily silent as he eventually let go and Kerry gasped for air.

“I remember trying to get my breath back, I was crying and hyperventilating… I was sick on the bedroom floor and I was asking him to go.”

Cosgrove strangled her for a second time before letting go again.

“He was saying I wasn’t getting out of this bedroom alive. I was dead tonight, he hoped that I knew that. Just kept saying how I’d ruined his life.”

“I remember feeling a sort of shock thinking at this point, I’m not going to get out of this bedroom, he’s actually going to kill me.”

Kerry began screaming and shouting for help as loud as she could.

Her neighbours heard the commotion and called the police. While they were en route, Kerry was once again being assaulted.

“I ran over to the bedroom window and tried to jump out, he grabbed me as I went to open the window, and we struggled. And then I was back in the same position, he was on top of me on the bed, and his hands were round the throat again. But this time it didn’t stop.

“I remember trying to struggle and trying to kick out and hit him and I just kept thinking that I definitely was going to die, because at this point, it wasn’t stopping.”

The next memory Kerry has is opening her eyes to see police and paramedics in the bedroom.

Cosgrove had heard the sirens, jumped out of the bedroom window and went to hide in Kerry’s car.

Kerry remembers opening her eyes to paramedics caring for her: “I remember thinking, I’m alive. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that I was alive and I wasn’t dead. My last memory is him being on top of me with his hands on my throat.”

She gives this advice to anyone who is in an abusive relationship: “Please speak to somebody, whether it’s friends, family, a work colleague, whether it’s somebody online, whether it’s a charity that you’re directed to, any sort of abuse is not okay.

“Whether it starts off emotional, they often start off that way, and they escalate, and they can escalate badly.

“Take what happened to me as a huge warning sign, because I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in the position I’ve been in the last eight months.”

Cosgrove was found guilty of attempting to murder Kerry and intentional strangulation.

He will be sentenced in July.

If you suspect you are being abused and need to speak to someone, there are people who can help you.

The National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Women’s Aid

Respect , the helpline for male domestic abuse victims: 0808 8010327

Galop, the LGBT+ anti-violence charity: 0800 999 5428

UK

Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

Two men have been found guilty of cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree that stood for more than 150 years.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were convicted of causing more than £620,000 worth of damage to the tree and more than £1,000 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.

On 27 September 2023, the pair drove 30 miles through a storm to Northumberland from Cumbria, where they both lived, before felling the tree overnight in a matter of minutes.

The pair each denied two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it, but were convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday.

The Sycamore Gap tree sat in a dip in the landscape and held a place in pop culture, featuring in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

It also formed part of people’s personal lives, as the scene of wedding proposals, ashes being scattered and countless photographs.

Footage of the moment the tree was felled was played during the trial.

In the clip, the sound of a chainsaw can be heard, and the silhouette of a person can be seen, before the trunk eventually tumbled.

The footage was shot on Graham’s iPhone 13, with the metadata providing the coordinates of the tree.

Part of tree kept as ‘trophy’

Over the course of the trial, the pair blamed one another, but the prosecution argued they were both responsible for what the court heard was a “mindless act of vandalism”.

As well as the video footage of the felling, an image of a piece of wood and a chainsaw was found on Graham’s phone.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court: “This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in.”

Voice notes played in court

The jury was also played voice notes the pair had sent one another, commenting on the media coverage the incident was receiving.

In one of them, Graham, 39, said to 32-year-old Carruthers: “Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like News News News”, before adding: “I think it’s going to go wild.”

Another piece of evidence was a photo of the defendants felling a different tree, about a month before the Sycamore Gap was cut down.

The prosecution said Graham, who owned a groundworks company and Carruthers, who worked in property management and mechanics, were “friends with knowledge and experience in chainsaws and tree felling”.

From the beginning, much of the trial focused on the significance of the tree, with Judge Mrs Justice Lambert telling the jury to put their “emotion to one side” before proceedings began.

‘Mindless acts of violence’

Northumberland Superintendent Kevin Waring, of Northumbria Police, said: “We often hear references made to mindless acts of vandalism – but that term has never been more relevant than today in describing the actions of those individuals”.

Graham and Carruthers gave no explanation for why they targeted the tree, he said, “and there never could be a justifiable one”.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, called the felling of the tree “unfathomable” and said, although “there was no remorse [from the defendants], there was compelling evidence, and now there will be justice”.

Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for CPS North East, said Graham and Carruthers took “under three minutes” to bring down the “iconic landmark” in a “deliberate and mindless act of destruction”.

She said she hoped the community “can take some measure of comfort in seeing those responsible convicted”.

‘Enormity of the loss’

Reflecting on the verdict and the actions of the pair, Tony Gates, chief executive of Northumberland National Parks Authority, said: “It just took a few days to sink in – I think because of the enormity of the loss.

“We knew how important that location was for many people at an emotional level, almost at a spiritual level in terms of people’s connection to this case.”

The tree’s stump still sits by Hadrian’s Wall, where new shoots have been emerging.

Its largest remaining section will go on display at the National Landscape Discovery Centre in the Northumberland National Park later this year.

The effort to preserve the tree’s legacy also goes beyond the region where it stood.

Forty-nine saplings taken from the tree have been conserved by the National Trust. They will be planted in accessible public spaces across the country as “trees of hope”, which will allow parts of the Sycamore Gap to live on.

The defendants, who didn’t react when the verdicts were delivered, will be sentenced in July.

UK

Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

Published

4 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

An art dealer who featured on the television show Bargain Hunt has pleaded guilty following a police investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko “Ochuko” Ojiri, 53, admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he sold art to a known Hezbollah financier to a value of about £140,000.

Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri sold art to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected financier of Hezbollah.

“At the time of the transactions, Mr Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,” Mr Harris told the court.

“Mr Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad’s designation and engaged in discussions with others about his designation.”

“There is one discussion where Mr Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links.”

Ojiri “dealt with Mr Ahmed directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales,” according to Mr Harris.

Each count Ojiri faced related to an individual sale of artworks, which were sent to Dubai, UAE and Beirut.

Ojiri, from west London, who has also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, was bailed ahead of his sentencing at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

He was ordered to surrender his passport and not apply for international travel documents.

“He is not a flight risk,” Gavin Irwin, mitigating, told the court.

“The fact that he is here – he has left the UK and has always returned knowing he may be charged with offences – he will be here on the next occasion.”