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Drivers are being warned of massive delays when the M25 shuts in both directions this weekend in an unprecedented move.

The closure between junctions 10 and 11 in Surrey on the UK’s busiest motorway could cause chaos.

When exactly is it going to be shut, where are the diversion routes and why is it happening? Here’s everything you need to know.

When is the closure and how long will it last?

It’s from 9pm on Friday 15 March to 6am on Monday 18 March and covers the five-mile stretch between junction 10 and 11.

What is the diversion route?

Here’s the diversion route that’s been outlined by National Highways, which maintains England’s motorways:

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  • Junction 10 to junction 11: Northbound A3 to Painshill Junction, A245 towards Woking, and then A320 to M25 junction 11
  • Junction 11 to junction 10: A320 south towards Woking, A245 towards Byfleet and Painshill junction, Southbound A3 to junction 10.

You can see it on the map below:

A map showing the M25 closure and the diversion route
Image:
Map showing the M25 closure and the diversion route

And here are some Google Maps screenshots showing roads that are part of the diversion route:

M25 junction 10 towards A3 northbound
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M25 junction 10 towards A3 northbound

A3 northbound towards Painshill junction
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A3 northbound towards Painshill Junction

A245 towards Woking
Image:
A245 towards Woking

A320 towards M25 junction 11
Image:
A320 towards M25 junction 11

A320 towards M25 Junction 11
Image:
A320 towards M25 junction 11

Satnav warnings

Drivers are being urged to ignore satnavs and only follow official diversion routes to prevent causing gridlock during an “unprecedented” closure.

Jonathan Wade, National Highways project lead, said the amount of disruption will partly depend on whether drivers stick to official diversions.

“How many people are going to take the initiative and try and use satnavs?”, he told PA news agency.

“There’s probably a greater risk of congestion by people just doing their own thing and thinking they can perhaps beat the signs and find a shorter or quicker route.

“That will cause further congestion on some of the key junctions so please avoid doing that if at all possible.”

National Highways senior project manager Daniel Kittredge said: “If people move away from diversion routes that we prescribe, it creates additional issues in different parts of the road network.

“The majority of the time that will be local roads, so that really impacts residents in those particular areas.

“That’s why we’re trying to encourage people to not follow the satnav.

“Stick on the prescribed diversion route. It’s going to be more suitable for your journey.”

How bad could it be?

It’s the first scheduled daytime all-lanes shutdown on the M25 since it opened, so it’s not yet known exactly how bad delays are going to be.

This section of the M25 normally carries between 4,000 and 6,000 vehicles in each direction per hour from 10am until 9pm at weekends, so the disruption caused by the works is expected to be significant.

More than 200,000 vehicles are expected to be affected, including many travelling in and out of London, and to and from Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Channel ports.

What advice has been issued?

“Drivers should only use the M25 if their journey is absolutely necessary,” says Jonathan Wade, National Highways project lead.

“This is the first of five full closures of one of the busiest junctions on our road network,” he adds.

“We have spent months planning for these closures and making sure there are diversion routes in place, but there will still be heavy congestion and delays.”

‘Motorists should decorate the bathroom’

The government-owned company’s chief also advises motorists to find something to do at home like “decorate the bathroom” or “play in the garden” ahead of the closure.

Mr Wade says how well the area copes with the closure will partly depend on whether drivers stick to official diversions – but urges people to avoid travelling altogether.

“Avoid the area totally if you can,” he told The Independent’s daily travel podcast.

“Either avoid travelling completely or find something to do at home, decorate the bathroom or something, I don’t know, or play in the garden.

“If you must go, travel by train, walk, use your bicycle.

“If you can, avoid driving anywhere around those diversionary routes.”

Airport warnings

People due to travel to Gatwick and Heathrow could also be affected by the closure.

Heathrow Airport is advising passengers planning to use this part of the M25 to allow for extra time before their flight.

“Passengers using public transport should also be aware that The Airline (between Heathrow and Gatwick) and RailAir (RA2), will be running amended timetables over this weekend, please check with your operator for the latest information,” their statement adds.

A London Gatwick Airport spokesperson told Sky News: “Passengers driving to the airport are advised to check diversion routes before they travel and allow extra time for potential delays.

“Gatwick’s train station is well connected and is a great alternative option for people travelling to the airport this weekend.”

‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, says: “For drivers who’ve already had their patience tried by the queues at the junction 10 works, the phrase ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’ springs to mind.”

“National Highways’ plea for people to avoid driving in the area applies not just to trips on the M25, but also to those on surrounding local roads onto which the M25 traffic will be diverted,” he adds.

“The hope must be that drivers take great care, however frustrating the delays and disruption might be.

“The last thing we need is shunts or crashes, however minor, because the slightest mishap will compound the misery.”

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Why is it happening?

Government-owned company National Highways said the action is necessary to enable a bridge to be demolished and a new gantry to be installed as part of a £317m improvement project.

National Highways says the project will increase the number of lanes and make it easier to enter and exit the M25 at junction 10, which is one of the UK’s busiest and most dangerous motorway junctions.

“These improvements will bring long-term benefits to drivers who pass through this stretch of the M25, not to mention pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders who will also see positive changes in the area,” says its project lead Jonathan Wade.

Is the closure a one-off?

No – it’s just one of five planned full closures between the junctions. The other dates have not yet been confirmed.

“Three of those closures will be between junctions 10 and 11 – the A320 at Chertsey… and two of them will be between junction 9 at Leatherhead to junction 10 at Wisley,” Mr Wade said.

He said the dates of the later stages would be released in due course with motorists given plenty of notice.

“We will not just spring them on people,” he said, adding they would take place between May and December.

The project began in summer 2022 and is expected to last three years in total.

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Man charged with murder of 16-year-old boy in Huddersfield

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Man charged with murder of 16-year-old boy in Huddersfield

A man has been charged with the murder of a 16-year-old boy in Huddersfield.

Alfie Franco, 20, will appear before Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, West Yorkshire Police said.

The suspect, from Kirkburton in West Yorkshire, is also charged with possessing a knife in a public place.

Police were called to a stabbing in Ramsden Street, Huddersfield, at about 2.45pm on Thursday.

The victim suffered a single knife wound to the neck and died later in hospital.

Police said “multiple” enquiries into the stabbing are still ongoing.

A male and a female were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, and have been released on bail.

Anyone with information about the incident or footage that could be helpful is urged to contact West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team.

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‘We will see closures’: The industries hit hardest by national insurance hike

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'We will see closures': The industries hit hardest by national insurance hike

The cost of having staff is going up this Sunday as the increase in employers’ national insurance kicks in.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the October budget employers will have to pay a 15% rate of national insurance contributions (NIC) on their employees from 6 April – up from 13.8%.

She also lowered the threshold at which employers pay NIC from £9,100 a year to £5,000 a year, meaning they start paying at an earlier point on staff salaries.

This is on top of the national minimum wage rising, the business relief rate for hospitality, retail and leisure reducing from 75% to 40% and the rising cost of ingredients and services.

Sky News spoke to people working in some of the industries that will be hardest hit by the rise in NIC: Nurseries, hospitality, retail, small businesses and care.

NURSERIES

Nearly all (96% of 728) nurseries surveyed by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said they will have no choice but to put up fees because of the NIC rise, leaving parents to pick up the shortfall.

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The NDNA has warned nurseries could close due to the rise, with 14% saying their business is at risk, 69% reducing spending on resources and 39% considering offering fewer places with government-funded hours as 92% said they do not cover their costs.

Sarah has two children, with her youngest starting later this month, but they were just informed fees will now be £92 a day – compared with £59 at the same nursery when her eldest started five years ago.

“I’m not sure how we will afford this. Our salaries haven’t increased by 50% during this time,” she said.

“We’re stuck as there aren’t enough nursery spaces in our area, so we will have to struggle.”

Karen Richards, director of the Wolds Childcare group in Nottinghamshire, has started a petition to get the government to exempt private nurseries – the majority of providers – from the NIC changes as she said it is unfair nurseries in schools do not have to pay the NIC.

She told Sky News she will have to find about £183,000 next year to cover the increase across her five nurseries and reducing staff numbers is “not off the table” but it is more likely they will reduce the number of children they have.

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said parents are yet again having to pay for the price for the government's actions. Pic: Pregnant Then Screwed
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Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said parents are yet again having to pay the price for the government’s actions. Pic: Pregnant Then Screwed

Joeli Brearley, founder of the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign group, told Sky News: “Parents are already drowning in childcare costs, and now, thanks to the national insurance hike, nurseries are passing even more fees on to families who simply can’t afford it.

“It’s the same story every time – parents pay the price while the government looks the other way. How exactly are we meant to ‘boost the economy’ when we can’t even afford to go to work?”

Purnima Tanuku, executive chair of the NDNA, said staffing costs make up about 75% of nurseries’ costs and they will have to find £2,600 more per employee to pay for the NIC rise – £47,000 for an average nursery.

“The government says it wants to offer ‘cheaper childcare’ for parents on the one hand but then with the other expects nurseries to absorb the costs of National Insurance Contributions themselves,” she told Sky News.

“High-quality early education and care gives children the best start in life and enables parents to work. The government must invest in this vital infrastructure to make sure nurseries can continue to deliver this social and economic good.”

HOSPITALITY

The hospitality industry has warned of closures, price rises, lack of growth and shorter opening hours.

Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, a small southwest England restaurant and country pub/hotel group, said the economic situation now is “much worse” than during COVID.

The group has put plans for two more projects on hold and Mr Brod said the only option is to put up prices, but with the rising supplier costs, wages, business rates and NIC hike they will “stay still” financially.

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Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, said the government does not value hospitality as an industry. Pic: The Beckford Group
Image:
Dan Brod, co-owner of The Beckford Group, said the government does not value hospitality as an industry. Pic: The Beckford Group

He told Sky News: “What we’re nervous about is we’re still in the cost of living crisis and even though our places are in very wealthy areas of the country, Wiltshire, Somerset and Bath, people are feeling the situation in their pockets, people are going out less.”

Mr Brod said they are not getting rid of any staff as their business strongly depends on the quality of their hospitality so they are having to make savings elsewhere.

“I’m still optimistic, I still feel that humans need hospitality but we’re not valued as an industry and the social benefit is never taken into account by government.”

Chef/owner Aktar Islam, who runs two Michelin starred Opheem in Birmingham, said the rise will cost him up to £120,000 more this year. Pic: Opheem
Image:
Chef/owner Aktar Islam, who runs Opheem in Birmingham, said the rise will cost him up to £120,000 more this year. Pic: Opheem

Aktar Islam, owner/chef at two Michelin-starred Opheem in Birmingham, said the NIC rise will cost him up to £120,000 more in staff costs a year and to maintain the financial position he is in now they would have to make “another million pounds”.

He got emails from eight suppliers on Thursday saying they were raising their costs, and said he will have to raise prices but is concerned about the impact on diners.

The restaurateur hires four commis chefs to train each year but will not be able to this year, or the next few.

“It’s very short-sighted of the government, you’re not going to grow the economy by taxing hospitality out of existence, these sort of businesses are the lifeblood of our economy,” he said.

“They think if a hospitality business closes another will open but people know it’s tough, why would they want to do that? It’s not going to happen.”

The chef sent hundreds of his “at home” kits to fellow chefs this week for their staff as an acknowledgement of how much of a “s*** show” the situation is – “a little hug from us”.

RETAIL

Some of the UK’s biggest retailers, including Tesco, Boots, Marks & Spencer and Next, wrote to Rachel Reeves after the budget to say the NIC hike would lead to higher consumer prices, smaller pay rises, job cuts and store closures.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), representing more than 200 major retailers and brands, said the costs are so significant neither small or large retailers will be able to absorb them.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, told the Treasury committee in November that job losses due to the NIC changes were likely to be higher than the 50,000 forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

Big retailers have warned the NIC rise will lead to higher prices, job cuts and store closures. File pic: PA
Image:
Big retailers have warned the NIC rise will lead to higher prices, job cuts and store closures. File pic: PA

Nick Stowe, chief executive of Monsoon and Accessorize, said retailers had the choice of protecting staff numbers or cancelling investment plans.

He said they were trying to protect staff numbers and would be increasing prices but they would likely have to halt plans to increase store numbers.

Helen Dickinson, head of the BRC, told Sky News the national living wage rise and NIC increase will cost businesses £5bn, adding more than 10% to the cost of hiring someone in an entry-level role.

A further tax on packaging coming in October means retailers will face £7bn in extra costs this year, she said.

“This huge cost burden will undoubtedly reduce investment in stores and jobs and is likely to lead to higher prices,” she added.

SMALL BUSINESSES

A massive 85% of 1,400 small business owners surveyed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in March reported rising costs compared with the same time last year, with 47% citing tax as the main barrier to growth – the highest level in more than a decade.

Just 8% of those businesses saw an increase in staff numbers over the last quarter, while 21% had to reduce their workforce.

Kate Rumsey, whose family has run Rumsey’s Chocolates in Wendover, Buckinghamshire and Thame, Oxfordshire, for 21 years, said the NIC rise, minimum wage increase and business relief rate reduction will push her staff costs up by 15 to 17% – £70,000 to £80,000 annually.

To offset those costs, she has had to reduce opening hours, including closing on Sundays and bank holidays in one shop for the first time ever, make one person redundant, not replace short-term staff and introduce a hiring freeze.

The soaring price of cocoa has added to her woes and she has had to increase prices by about 10% and will raise them further.

Kate Rumsey, who runs Rumsey's Chocolates in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, said they are being forced to take a short-term view to survive. Pic: Rumsey's Chocolates
Image:
Kate Rumsey, who runs Rumsey’s Chocolates in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, said they are being forced to take a short-term view to survive. Pic: Rumsey’s Chocolates

She told Sky News: “We’re very much taking more of a short-term view at the moment, it’s so seasonal in this business so I said to the team we’ll just get through Q1 then re-evaluate.

“I feel this is a bit about the survival of the fittest and many businesses won’t survive.”

Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the FSB, said the NIC rise “holds back growth” and has seen small business confidence drop to its lowest point since the first year of the pandemic.

With the “highest tax burden for 70 years”, she called on the chancellor to introduce a “raft of pro-small business measures” in the autumn budget so it can deliver on its pledge for growth.

She reminded employers they can claim the Employment Allowance, which has doubled after an FSB campaign to take the first £10,500 off an employer’s annual bill.

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National Insurance rise impacts carers

CARE

The care sector has been warning the government since the October that budget care homes will be forced to close due to the financial pressures the employers’ national insurance rise will place on them.

Care homes receive funding from councils as well as from private fees, but as local authorities feel the squeeze more and more their contributions are not keeping up with rising costs.

The industry has argued without it the NHS would be crippled.

Raj Sehgal, founding director of ArmsCare, a family-run group of six care homes in Norfolk, said the NIC increase means a £360,000 annual impact on the group’s £3.6m payroll.

In an attempt to offset those costs, the group is scrapping staff bonuses and freezing management salaries.

It is also considering reducing day hours, where there are more staff on, so the fewer numbers of night staff work longer hours and with no paid break.

Raj Sehgal said his family-owned group of care homes will need £360,000 extra this year for the NIC hike
Image:
Raj Sehgal said his family-owned group of care homes will need £360,000 extra this year for the NIC hike

Mr Sehgal said: “But what that does do unfortunately, is impact the quality you’re going to be able to provide, at a time when we need to be improving quality, but something has to give.

“The government just doesn’t seem to understand that the funding needs to be there. You cannot keep enforcing higher costs on businesses and not be able to fund those without actually finding the money from somewhere.”

He said the issue is exacerbated by the fact local authority funding, despite increasing to 5%, will not cover the 10% rise.

“It’s going to be a really, really tough ride. And we are going to see a number of providers close their doors,” he warned.

Nadra Ahmed, executive co-chair of the National Care Association, said those who receive, or are waiting to access, care as well as staff will feel the impact the hardest.

“As providers see further shortfalls in the commissioning of care services, they will start to limit what they can do to ensure their viability or, as a last resort exit the market,” she said.

“This is very short-sighted, with serious consequences, which alludes to the understanding of this government.”

Government decided to ‘wipe the slate clean’

A Treasury spokesperson told Sky News the government is “pro-business” but has “taken the difficult but necessary decisions to wipe the slate clean and properly fund our public services after years of declines”.

“Our budget choices have already delivered an NHS with falling waiting lists, a £3.7bn rescue package for social care, and vital protection for Britain’s small businesses,” they said.

“We’re making tough choices today to secure a better tomorrow through our Plan for Change. By investing in economic growth and early years education while capping corporation tax, we’re putting more money in working people’s pockets and giving every child the best start in life.”

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

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