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Among prominent economists, no one was more explicit than former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers in warning that President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve Board risked igniting inflation by overstimulating the economy in 2021. Soaring prices over the next few years proved Summers correct.

Now Summers sees the risk of another price shock in the economic plans of former President Donald Trump. There has never been a presidential platform so self-evidently inflationary as the one put forward by President Trump, Summers told me in an interview this week. I have little doubt that with the Trump program, we will see a substantial acceleration in inflation, unless somehow we get a major recession first.

Summers is far from alone in raising that alarm. Trumps greatest asset in the 2024 campaign may be the widespread belief among voters that the cost of living was more affordable when he was president and would be so again if hes reelected to a second term. But a growing number of economists and policy analysts are warning that Trumps second-term agenda of sweeping tariffs, mass deportation of undocumented migrants, and enormous tax cuts would accelerate, rather than alleviate, inflation.

Rog Karma: The great normalization

In an upcoming analysis shared exclusively with The Atlantic, Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moodys Analytics, forecasts that compared with current policies, Trumps economic plans would increase the inflation rate and force the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates higher than they would be otherwise. If he got what he wanted, Zandi told me, you add it all up and it feels highly inflationary to me.

In a study released last month, the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics calculated that the tariffs Trump says he will impose on imports would dramatically raise costs for consumers. Trump is promising a no-holds-barred, all-out protectionist spree that will affect every single thing that people buy that is either an import or in competition with imports, Kimberly Clausing, a co-author of the study and a professor of tax policy at the UCLA Law School, told me.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the center-right American Action Forum and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, is sympathetic to many elements of Trumps agenda and critical of Bidens. But Holtz-Eakin agrees that Trumps economic plan doesnt bode well for the cost of living, as he told me.

Summers, who served as Treasury secretary for Bill Clinton and the top White House economic adviser for Barack Obama, took substantial flak from fellow Democrats when he repeatedly warned that Biden was risking high inflation by pushing through Congress another massive COVID-relief package in 2021, while the Federal Reserve Board was still maintaining interest rates at historically low levels. The Biden administration and the Fed both did make consequential errors of failing to do macroeconomic arithmetic for which the economy is still paying, he told me.

Summers told me he remains unsure that the policies Biden and the Fed are pursuing will push inflation all the way down to the Feds 2 percent target. But he said he is confident that Trumps blueprint would make inflation worse.

Summers identified multiple pillars of Trumps economic agenda that could accelerate inflation. These included compromising the independence of the Federal Reserve Board, enlarging the federal budget deficit by extending his 2017 tax cuts, raising tariffs, rescinding Biden policies designed to promote competition and reduce junk fees, and squeezing the labor supply by restricting new immigration and deporting undocumented migrants already here. Others note that top Trump advisers have also hinted that in a second term, he would seek to devalue the dollar, which would boost exports but further raise the cost of imported goods.

For many economists, Trumps plans to impose 10 percent tariffs on imported products from all countries and 60 percent tariffs on imports from China are the most concerning entries on that list.

These new levies go far beyond any of the tariffs Trump raised while in office, several of which Biden maintained, said Clausing, who served as the Treasury Departments deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis for Bidens first two years. Trumps proposed tariffs also dwarf the levies Biden recently imposed on electric vehicles and assorted other products from China: Bidens new measures affect about $18 billion in Chinese imports, she said, whereas Trump proposes to raise tariffs on $3.1 trillion in imported goods, more than 150 times as much. Trump has been quite clear that he is envisioning something quite a bit larger than he did last time, Clausing told me.

In the Peterson study, Clausing and her co-author, Mary Lovely, calculated that Trumps tariffs would raise prices for consumers on the goods they purchase by at least $500 billion a year, or about $1,700 annually for a middle-income family. The cost for consumers, she told me, could be about twice as high if domestic manufacturers increase their own prices on the goods that compete with imports.

When you make foreign wine more expensive, domestic manufacturers can sell their wine at a higher price, Clausing told me. The same with washing machines and solar panels and chairs. Anything that is in competition with an import will also get more expensive.

While Trumps proposed tariffs would increase the cost of goods, his pledge to undertake a mass deportation of undocumented migrants would put pressure on the cost of both goods and services. Undocumented migrants are central to the workforce in an array of service industries, such as hospitality, child care, and elder care. But they also fill many jobs in construction, agricultural harvesting, and food production. Removing millions of undocumented workers from the economy at once would create massive labor shortages in lots of different industries, Zandi told me. That would force employers to either raise wages to find replacements or, more likely, disrupt production and distribution; both options would raise the prices consumers pay. If you are talking about kicking 50 percent of the farm labor force out, that is not going to do wonders for agricultural food prices, David Bier, director of immigration-policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told me.

Removing so many workers simultaneously would be disruptive under any circumstances, many economists agree. But it could be especially tumultuous for the U.S. now because the native-born population has grown so slowly in recent years. Bier pointed out that immigrants and their children already account for almost all the growth in the population of working-age adults ages 18 to 64. If Trump in fact extracts millions of undocumented migrants from the workforce, there is no replacement [available] even at a theoretical level, Bier said.

More difficult to quantify but potentially equally significant are the frequent indications from Trump that, as with all other federal agencies, he wants to tighten his personal control over the Federal Reserve Board. During his first term, Trump complained that the Fed was slowing economic growth by keeping interest rates too high, and any second-term move to erode the Feds independencefor instance, by seeking to fire or demote the boards chair, Jay Powellwould be aimed at pressuring the board into prematurely cutting interest rates, predicts Alan Blinder, a former Fed vice chair who is advising Bidens reelection campaign. That would become another source of inflationary pressure, he says, likely spooking financial markets.

In the upcoming Moodys analysis, Zandi estimates the cumulative impact of all these possible changes. He compares a scenario in which Trump can implement his entire agenda with one in which power remains divided between Biden in the White House and Republicans controlling at least one congressional chamber. Inflation, Zandi projects, would be nearly a full pecentage point higher (0.8 percent, to be exact) under the scenario of Trump and Republicans in control than in the alternative of Biden presiding over a divided government. Inflation would be about that much higher under Trump even compared with the less likely scenario of Democrats winning the White House and both congressional chambers, Zandi projects.

Zandi said the only reason he does not anticipate prices rising even faster under Trump is that the Federal Reserve Board would inevitably raise interest rates to offset the inflationary impact of Trumps proposals.

But those higher interest rates would come with their own cost: Zandi projects they would depress the growth in total economic output and personal income below current policy, and raise the unemployment rate over the next few years by as much as a full percentage pointeven as inflation rises. Raising the specter of the slow-growth, high-inflation pattern that hobbled the American economy through much of the 1970s, Zandi told me, It is really a stagflation scenario.

Summers sees the same danger. It is difficult to predict the timing and the precise dynamics, he told me, but it is hard to imagine a policy package more likely to create stagflation than measures that directly raise prices (through tariffs), undermine competition, enlarge deficits, and excessively expand the money supply. There is a real risk during a Trump presidency that we would again see mortgage rates above 10 percent as inflation expectations rose and long-term interest rates increased, he predicted.

Holtz-Eakin, the former CBO director, also worries that Trumps agenda would make it much tougher for the Federal Reserve Board to moderate prices without precipitating a recession. Unlike Zandi and Summers, though, Holtz-Eakin believes that a second-term Biden agenda would also increase upward pressure on prices. Thats partly because of the cost of environmental and other regulations that the administration would impose, but also because he believes a reelected Biden would face enormous pressure to restore new spending programs that the Senate blocked from his Build Back Better agenda in 2021. He also believes that Trumps plans to increase domestic energy production could eventually offset some of the inflationary impact of his other agenda elements.

Kevin Hassett, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Trump administration, has argued that any inflationary impact from Trumps tariff and immigration agenda would be offset by other elements of his planincluding cutting government spending and taxes, increasing energy production, and slashing regulations. Those four effects would dwarf the effects of any other policy proposals, Hassett maintained in an interview with The Washington Post earlier this year.

Holtz-Eakin isnt convinced. He told me that any moderating impact from Trumps energy and deregulatory agenda would take time to develop, while the inflationary effect of his tariffs and deportation plans would be felt immediately. Tariffs happen fast, Holtz-Eakin said. Deportations happen fast.

Rog Karma: What would it take to convince Americans that the economy is fine?

Zandi is even more skeptical. He told me that with domestic oil and gas production already at record levels, Trump has little room to open the spigot even further, or to affect prices much if he does. On regulation, Zandi said he is hard-pressed to see how Trumps plans would translate through to less inflation, at least in a meaningful way.

As with many issues, the potential impact of Trumps second-term plans for inflation has drawn little attention in the presidential race. Instead, the former president so far is benefiting from voters awareness that prices increased much faster under Biden, as the American and global economies emerged from the pandemics disruptions, than they did while Trump was in office.

Apart from concerns about Bidens age, that discontent over inflation appears to be the greatest threat to his reelection. In a recent survey across the seven most closely contested swing states published by the Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, a majority of voters said they considered their cost of living the most important measure of the economys performance. But a daunting three-fifths of voters in the poll, conducted by a bipartisan team of Republican and Democratic pollsters, said inflation is unlikely to be brought under control if Biden is reelected. In contrast, nearly three-fifths of voters said they believed that the cost of living would improve under Trump.

Even though experts such as Summers and Zandi are warning that Trumps economic agenda would have precisely the opposite effect, it wont be easy for Biden to convince voters to weigh those prospective risks more heavily than their retrospective judgments about prices under each mans tenure. But Biden may have no choice but to try. Raising awareness of the inflationary dangers in Trumps agenda may be Bidens best chance of winning a second look from the voters who are now moving toward the former president primarily because they remember gas, groceries, and other necessities costing less while he sat in the Oval Office.

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Kiley McDaniel’s favorite Day 1 draft picks, biggest surprises and best available Day 2 prospects

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July 14, 2025

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Kiley McDaniel's favorite Day 1 draft picks, biggest surprises and best available Day 2 prospects

  • Kiley McDanielJul 14, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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    • ESPN MLB Insider
    • Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency.
    • Has worked for three MLB teams.
      • Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’

With Day 1 of the 2025 MLB draft complete, it’s time to look at which picks in the first round stood out most.

After weeks of speculation about the various directions the Washington Nationals could go with the No. 1 pick, they surprised the industry by taking Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits — and the Los Angeles Angels followed up with a surprising pick of their own at No. 2 by taking UC Santa Barbara pitcher Tyler Bremner

Though the nature of the baseball draft means that some of the picks we aren’t quite sure about on Day 1 will become clearer when we see how teams spread their bonus allotment around later in the draft, here are the early picks I liked the most and some eye-opening selections along with the top players still available entering Day 2.

Five favorite moves

Mariners and Pirates get their guys

The buzz leading up to the draft was that Kade Anderson was atop the Mariners’ draft board and Seth Hernandez was the top target (after Willits, who wasn’t going to get there) of the Pirates. Seattle was the other team taking a long look at Hernandez, but the shenanigans at the top two picks (more on that later) means that both Seattle and Pittsburgh got their preferred arms.

A’s select Arnold and Taylor

The Athletics had only two picks on Day 1 but received excellent values at each. Jamie Arnold was the top prospect in the draft entering the season and seemed primed to go somewhere between No. 2 and No. 8 after an uneven season. He somehow was the prospect left holding the short straw, falling to the 11th pick. Devin Taylor was in the mix at multiple picks in the comp round but lasted five selections into the second round.

Twins embrace risk with Quick and Young

The Twins took two hit-first college infielders as their first picks last year (Kaelen Culpepper and Kyle DeBarge), took another one in the 2023 second round (Luke Keaschall), and two more in the top two rounds in 2022 (Brooks Lee, Tanner Schobel) — and also took one with their first pick this year in Marek Houston.

What interested me though is what Minnesota did after that, taking big swings with the upside of Riley Quick (four potential plus pitches but below-average command) and Quentin Young (80-grade power potential with big questions on contact rate).

Phillies try to jump the reliever trade market?

Gage Wood has a chance to start long term but can also go straight to the upper minors — if not the big leagues — and potentially help the bullpen later this season, like a trade deadline addition. The Phillies’ next pick, Cade Obermueller, is another possible starter who also could move quickly as a lefty turning 22 later this month with two knockout pitches in his fastball/slider combo. Odds are good that at least one of them can provide big league value in the next 12 months if Philly wants to utilize them that way.

The Red Sox land Witherspoon, Phillips and Eyanson

The Red Sox are interested in creating more pitching depth and selected a number of interesting arms on Day 1. Kyson Witherspoon had a lot of interest in the top 10, but the Red Sox got him at No. 15.

He’ll need to sharpen his execution a notch and his short arm action is unique, but there’s midrotation upside. Marcus Phillips has a chance to start but could also bring another distinctive look as a late-inning arm with four plus pitches from a low slot and a triple-digit fastball. Anthony Eyanson is a different sort, with fringy fastball velocity but standout command along with a slider and splitter that keep hitters off-balance.

Five eye-openers

Eli Willits at No. 1

The buzz ahead of the draft was that there were three players in play for the top pick and Willits was my third-ranked player in the class, so the same group is what I would’ve been considering — and I love Willits as a player. The bonus will be a factor in evaluating how successful this pick will be viewed — I’ll guess it starts with an eight — but I think this will be seen as a solid decision, as long as Kade Anderson or Ethan Holliday don’t become stars.

Tyler Bremner at No. 2

The biggest piece of late buzz I was hearing is that Bremner was in play at No. 3 to the Mariners. I didn’t hear his name at all at No. 2 so that made this pick the first shocker in the draft.

Bremner was considered in this area (on a deal) because he could easily be the best pitcher in this class — but only if he can develop a better slider, which isn’t a small if. The Angels seem to have a thought about how to solve this, and how he progresses will be one of the more followed storylines of this draft.

Tigers take Yost and Oliveto

I like both players, but it’s fascinating that these two and the most-rumored prep hitter tied to Detroit that they didn’t take (Coy James, who had a tough summer) were all missing strong 2024 summer performances.

Jordan Yost and Michael Oliveto were the only two prep position players in the first-round mix who weren’t in the major national events on the summer circuit, thus creating a lot of uncertainty about how to project them.

The Tigers are right to assume this could create a potential quick gain in value if Yost and Oliveto can perform early in their pro careers, but I don’t remember seeing a team double down on lack of summer exposure in the early rounds.

Orioles take two catchers in the first round, and two pitchers in the second

It’s certainly a bit odd that the Orioles took two college catchers with their first two picks after taking another one (Ethan Anderson) in the second round last year. Obviously, teams don’t draft for big league need — the O’s already have Adley Rutschman — and they need at least two catchers at all four full season minor league affiliates, it’s just odd to see them invest in this position early multiple times. And after all of the position players they have drafted under Mike Elias, they did sneak in two arms on Day 1 with Joseph Dzierwa (a command-forward lefty) and J.T. Quinn (one of my favorite college relievers with the traits to start in pro ball).

Guardians lean into power

The Guardians often draft, or sign internationally, hit-first players who are often underpowered, with Steven Kwan a prominent example. They swerved a lot this year, taking Jace LaViolette with their first pick (I compare him to Cody Bellinger or Joey Gallo; he hit .258 this season) and Nolan Schubart (24% strikeout rate, 22% in-zone whiff rate) with their fifth pick on Day 1. Those two have big power and strong pull/lift rates, and LaViolette has the athleticism to play center field, so there’s real talent, it’s just not usually the type that the Guardians have targeted.

Best available for Day 2

Listed by top 250 draft rankings

43. Mason Neville, OF, Oregon
44. Matthew Fisher, RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (Ind.)
53. Josiah Hartshorn, LF, Orange Lutheran HS (Calif.)
55. Brock Sell, CF, Tokay HS (Calif.)
61. Jack Bauer, LHP, Lincoln Way East HS (Ill.)
69. Coy James, SS, Davie County HS (N.C.)
70. Alec Blair, CF, De La Salle HS (Calif.)
71. Mason Pike, RHP, Puyallup HS (Wash.)
72. Cam Appenzeller, LHP, Glenwood HS (Ill.)
73. Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Corinth Holders HS (N.C.)

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Gregg Wallace: Over half of allegations against MasterChef presenter upheld, including one of unwanted physical contact

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July 14, 2025

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Gregg Wallace: Over half of allegations against MasterChef presenter upheld, including one of unwanted physical contact

An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.

MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.

The report said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.

Last week it emerged Wallace had been sacked as MasterChef presenter, with reports of more than 50 fresh allegations against him.

The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants. The investigations team spoke to Wallace three times for the report, conducting 14 hours of interviews with him.

There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were upheld. All were related to MasterChef.

The upheld allegations were:

• Twelve claims he made inappropriate jokes and innuendo;

• Sixteen reports he made sexually explicit comments;

• Two allegations that he made sexualised comments to or about someone;

• Four complaints that he made culturally insensitive or racist comments;

• Three claims that he was in a state of undress;

• Seven allegations of bullying;

• One allegation of unwanted touching.

Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place after 2018.

Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
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Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014

Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

He also said his neurodiversity had “now formally (been) diagnosed as autism”, saying in the social media post that it was “suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef”.

BBC held no ‘central’ information over Wallace concerns

Additionally, the report summary found there were 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. These were unrelated to Wallace, and those people were not named in the summary.

The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.

Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
Image:
Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024

While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures before 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.

The investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, but it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.

Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace today.

Gregg Wallace after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Princess Royal in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. Picture date: Tuesday February 28, 2023. Read less Picture by: Andrew Matthews/PA Archive/PA Images Date taken: 28-Feb-2023
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Gregg Wallace after being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Princess Royal in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. Picture date: Tuesday February 28, 2023.
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Picture by: Andrew Matthews/PA Archive/PA Images


Responding to the findings of the report, the BBC said the corporation had “no plans to work with [Wallace] in future”, saying his behaviour “falls below the values of the BBC”.

The BBC said “opportunities were missed” to address Wallace’s behaviour, adding, “We accept more could and should have been done sooner”.

Concerning the allegations against other individuals flagged in the report, the BBC said they had asked Banijay UK to take action to address these issues, and said it would “be completed as a priority”.

The corporation has yet to decide if the unseen MasterChef series that was filmed with Wallace last year will still be aired.

Production staff deserve ‘much, much better’

Banijay UK chief executive Patrick Holland called the report “uncomfortable reading”, but said its findings provided “valuable insight” for production teams moving forward.

In a nod to Wallace’s recent autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, Mr Holland said Wallace’s neurodiversity was “relevant to certain behaviours identified in the report”, admitting “the production could have done more to identify, manage and communicate patterns of inappropriate behaviour”.

Philippa Childs, head of creative industries union Bectu, said the report findings made it clear that “inappropriate behaviour has gone unchecked for far too long,” adding: “This is a real failure by Banijay to take these issues seriously and act accordingly”.

Ms Childs said the report highlighted the precarious position of production staff, the majority of whom are freelance workers, who she said deserve “much, much better”.

Wallace was the original presenter of the BBC show Saturday Kitchen in 2002 and has also featured on Eat Well For Less?, Inside The Factory, Turn Back Time, Harvest and Supermarket Secrets.

He was best known, however, for presenting MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, and Celebrity MasterChef.

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Postman who murdered and beheaded girlfriend jailed for at least 23 years

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July 14, 2025

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Postman who murdered and beheaded girlfriend jailed for at least 23 years

Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing.

An “evil” postman who moaned about being lonely hours before he severed his girlfriend’s head and tried to dismember her body has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years.

Ewan Methven murdered 21-year-old Phoenix Spencer-Horn in the flat they shared in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, in November last year.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the killer dumped his partner’s body parts in their hallway and failed to call emergency services for two days.

Phoenix Spencer-Horn
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Phoenix Spencer-Horn was murdered in November

The 27-year-old then bought drugs, watched pornography and sent sickening texts to Phoenix’s worried mum pretending she was still alive.

Phoenix was stabbed 20 times – including 10 times in the face – using three knives in an attack that unfolded after she returned from her waitressing job in Lanarkshire.

The 21-year-old had described Methven as her “soulmate” on social media, saying in one TikTok video: “Life is so much more beautiful and full of colour with you.”

A few months later she was murdered by the same man she had been in a relationship with for two years.

Ewan Methven. Pic Police Scotland/PA
Image:
Ewan Methven was jailed on Monday. Pic: Police Scotland

Methven received a life sentence with at least 23 years behind bars when he retuned to the dock on Monday.

The judge, Lord Matthews, described it as a “dreadful crime”.

He told Methven: “You were a trusted member of her family, but you betrayed that trust and robbed her of life in the cruellest way.

“Not content with what you had done to her, you robbed her of all dignity in death by decapitating her and trying to dismember her in an attempt to defeat the ends of justice.”

The pair had been in a relationship for two years.
Image:
The pair had been in a relationship for two years

Lord Matthews highlighted victim impact statements supplied by Phoenix’s family and said he had “rarely read such outpourings of grief”.

The judge said: “The way you treated this innocent young woman after her death meant that her family did not even have the comfort of saying goodbye to her.”

He added: “I have this morning seen a letter written by you, but it answers none of the questions which must be plaguing the family. You blame the effect of substances but that is no excuse.”

‘Personification of evil’

Sky News has interviewed the couple’s neighbour who lives directly next door.

Toni Brown, 25, described the horror of discovering what happened.

She said: “I think I stayed out of the house for about a week after that. I couldn’t even sit.

“It’s horrific. It gives me shivers thinking about it. It is crazy to think I stayed next door to a monster like that.

“What scares me the most is knowing she was lay there and I was in here oblivious.”

Toni Brown
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Neighbour Toni Brown spoke to Sky News

Asked whether she heard any noises or violence around the time of the murder, Ms Brown said: “There was a bad smell in my house in the early hours of the morning she was found.

“There was a bad smell in my kitchen basically where the walls join together.”

Methven’s own defence lawyer told the court that society will see the killer as the “personification of evil”.

When he eventually called 999, he claimed to have suffered a drug-induced blackout during the violent killing.

Phoenix Spencer-Horn was murdered by the man she once called her "soulmate"
Image:
Ms Spencer-Horn was murdered by the man she once called her ‘soulmate’

Another life lost to gender-based violence

The case has raised questions once again about the growing prevalence of gender-based violence.

Fiona Drouet’s daughter Emily was 18 when she took her own life at university in Aberdeen in 2016, days after being choked and slapped by her ex-boyfriend.

Angus Milligan was later convicted of physical and psychological abuse.

Fiona Drouet
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Fiona Drouet’s daughter was a victim of physical abuse from an ex-boyfriend

Ms Drouet, who now campaigns on violence against women across the UK and Ireland, has set up a charity called Emily’s Test in her daughter’s name.

Reacting to the death of Ms Spencer-Horn, Ms Drouet told Sky News: “There is another mother and father that have just been plunged into utter hell.

“Somebody once said to me that if God came to you and said, ‘I am going to give you this beautiful daughter, but you’ll only have her for 18 years and then we need to take her back, would you still want her?’ and I would take those 18 years and go through the pain rather than have nothing.

“Although just now that probably offers no words of comfort for Phoenix’s parents, maybe one day it can.”

If you suspect you are being abused and need to speak to someone, there are people who can help you, including The National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or Women’s Aid online.

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