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“If it gets much colder, I am thinking of doing something, just to go back to prison,” says Leon Lear, 43, as he sits next to the remnants of his failed fire on the edge of a playground in Bridgend, South Wales.

The wood was too damp to burn; the only ash is from cardboard from a nearby recycling bin. A damp sleeping bag hangs over the railings.

Leon Lear
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Leon Lear says he has considered committing more offences in order to get sent back to jail

Leon is on early release from jail, but he’d rather have stayed in. He says instead of celebrating he began to get anxious as his release date approached, knowing he would be homeless and that the outside meant literally that – outside.

He says: “Because I was released five weeks early, the probation, and housing didn’t have an inkling I was going to be released. They told me that I’d be on a waiting list for housing. So, since then, I’ve been living on the streets.”

Leon was jailed for affray in June this year, released five weeks early but homeless in July. He was recalled on breach of licence for shoplifting in September and released again two weeks ago. How much longer before he is back inside?

He is one of 13% of prisoners in England and Wales who are released without a home and the chief inspector of probation says homelessness is the biggest driving factor for people reoffending or breaching their licence.

Recalled prisoners are the fastest-growing element of our overcrowded prison population, doubling in a decade.

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Leon is wearing two t-shirts that he stole that morning. He says he’s not proud of it but it’s what he must do to survive. “I don’t even have underwear,” he says, “I know it’s embarrassing, but this is how I got to live.”

His only possessions are a toothbrush and toothpaste in the pocket of a tracksuit given to him by a local charity.

For a while, he bunked down with some heroin addicts, but that got him back on the drug after three years clean. So now he is on the streets and makes a daily trip to the drug clinic for methadone, to keep him off the habit.

“I’ve done a winter [homeless] before and it’s horrific,” he says. “Last night I was thinking of smashing a window or acting drunk, just to go to the police station to get a hot meal in on the blanket to stay somewhere safe. I’d rather be in jail than live like this much longer.”

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That’s despite the fact he describes prison as being locked up 23 hours a day with mice in his cell.

Leon visits an outreach centre in town called BARC. As well as hot drinks and meals, they provide clothes, tents and help with doctors’ appointments and courses.

Demand for the services here has doubled in a year – a lot due to the early release scheme.

Founder Becky Lloyd, 45, says: “A lot of these guys are re-offending deliberately now to go back to prison because they’ve got nowhere to go. At least if we can try and support them, we can try and avoid that. But the winter is coming, they don’t want to be in a tent. They’d rather be in jail.”

Rebecca Lloyd from the BARC community centre
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Becky Lloyd from the BARC community centre

We meet another man just out on early release who has been living in a tent for the last three weeks.

He told us: “It’s harder out here than being in there [prison]. Because you’ve got three meals a day in there and a roof over your head. Out here, you’ve got to come to places like this to get fed, you know, beg, borrow or steal.”

The centre relies on donations and much of the work is self-funded by Becky and co-founder Teresa Wilkie. While it seems a somewhat hopeless endeavour, success is personified by one of the workers.

Ffion Evans, 25, was on crack for three years and heroin for seven. When released from jail in December last year, she became homeless and turned back to her addiction. But when she became pregnant, she managed to turn her life around.

Ffion Evans, a released prisoner
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Ffion Evans, a released prisoner who now works as a volunteer support worker

Wearing a T-shirt with the words “actually, I can”, she says: “I started coming here, they supported me and showed me I’m worth it and I can do it.

“Now I’ve been clean for months, I’m a support volunteer worker so I’ve got a career ahead of me. It’s brilliant. This is the best version of me I have ever been. I couldn’t have done it without these lot.”

The chief inspector of probation, Martin Jones, told Sky News: “What we know is that if people do not have a safe accommodation at the point of release, they are more likely to be recalled to custody as a result of breaching their licence conditions or indeed to re-offend. I think it [providing a home] is probably the most critically important part of a prisoner’s release.”

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Tom Hollick from The Wallich, which offers council-funded support for the homeless in Bridgend, said: “There’s over 11,000 people, in the latest data across the whole of Wales, who are in temporary accommodation with more people presenting all the time.

“So, it’s kind of that bottleneck in the system, and people coming out of prison are adding to the existing crisis.”

A Ministry of Justice Spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a justice system in crisis, with levels of homelessness which were far too high and an early release scheme that did not give probation staff enough time to get prisoners ready for their release.

“Our new system allows staff to better prepare offenders for life after prison and we are working with partners, including local councils and charities, to avoid them being released onto the street.”

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Newcastle United beat Liverpool to win Carabao Cup – ending 70-year wait for domestic trophy

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Newcastle United beat Liverpool to win Carabao Cup - ending 70-year wait for domestic trophy

Newcastle United have won their first domestic trophy in 70 years after beating Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.

Tens of thousands of Magpies fans flooded the capital to watch their team end their drought against last year’s winners at Wembley.

TV presenters Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin were among fans rejoicing in the stands, while celebrations erupted across Newcastle.

The club lifted the European Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969 but haven’t won a domestic trophy since their 1955 FA Cup victory.

Newcastle win Carabao Cup. Pic: PA
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Newcastle win Carabao Cup. Pic: PA

TV presenters Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin celebrate in the stands. Pic: Reuters
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TV presenters Declan Donnelly and Ant McPartlin celebrate in the stands. Pic: Reuters

Fans celebrate in a pub in Newcastle. Pic: Reuters
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Fans celebrate in a pub in Newcastle. Pic: Reuters

Liverpool, who have won 38 major trophies since the Black and Whites last got their hands on any silverware, went into the match as heavy favourites.

The last time the teams met, in the league last month, Liverpool eased to a 2-0 win – and they sit comfortably top of the Premier League table, seemingly headed for the title.

But Newcastle had the best of the first half and got their reward as local hero Dan Burn headed home from a corner just before half time, sending supporters into dreamland.

They found the back of the net again early in the second half, but the celebrations were cut short as the goal was disallowed for offside.

Dan Burn (left) and Fabian Schar celebrate winning the Carabao Cup. Pic: PA
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Dan Burn (left) and Fabian Schar celebrate winning the Carabao Cup. Pic: PA

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Minutes later, Alexander Isak struck and this time it did count, doubling Newcastle’s lead and sending the Geordie faithful in the crowd wild once more.

Liverpool gave themselves a lifeline in stoppage time with a goal from Federico Chiesa – after a tense VAR check – but Newcastle held on to secure the win.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe celebrates. Pic: PA
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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe celebrates. Pic: PA

Bruno Guimaraes (left) and Anthony Gordon celebrate. Pic: PA
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Bruno Guimaraes (left) and Anthony Gordon celebrate. Pic: PA

‘For them it’s like the World Cup’

Eddie Howe, who became the first English manager to win a domestic trophy since Harry Redknapp in 2008 in front of a crowd of 88,513, told Sky Sports he was “very emotional”.

“We just knew what was at stake today for all the people here, all the people back in Newcastle and we just wanted to do them proud,” he said.

“We were desperate to try and win the trophy after all the years of hurt. I’m so pleased not just with the result, but with the performance. I thought we deserved the win today.”

Bruno Guimaraes described his side’s win as “one of the best days” of his life, telling Sky Sports: “It’s a lot for these fans, they deserve everything.”

“For them this is like the World Cup. People have not seen Newcastle as champions. We are here to make history and I’m very happy. We deserve this, this is unbelievable.”

Liverpool’s League Cup loss comes just days after the Premier League leaders were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris St Germain (PSG) on penalties.

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Prince Harry immigration files must be made public next week, US court rules

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Prince Harry immigration files must be made public next week, US court rules

Prince Harry’s immigration files must be made public by this Tuesday, a US court has ruled.

Judge Carl Nichols ordered documents relating to the Duke of Sussex‘s US visa application to be released as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The FOI request was brought by conservative US think-tank the Heritage Foundation, which alleges the duke may have concealed past drug use and that should have disqualified him from obtaining a US visa.

Judge Nichols ordered the US Department of Homeland Security to release a redacted version of the documents no later than Tuesday, according to court filings dated 15 March.

However, in September 2024, the same judge previously said that the public did not have a strong interest in the disclosure of Harry’s immigration records.

But the Heritage Foundation wanted the judgment changed.

It questioned why Harry was allowed into the US in 2020 after the royal referenced taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in his book Spare.

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In his memoir, Harry said cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”

The foundation also said that answers about his prior drug use in his visa application could raise questions over the US government’s integrity.

Despite refusing the previous FOI request, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security agreed in February to release redacted versions of the forms.

“Specifically, Defendant would propose redacting all information in these items that would reveal information that the Court has determined Defendant can withhold,” department lawyer John Bardo wrote in a court filing.

In February, President Donald Trump ruled out deporting Harry from the US, telling The New York Post: “I’ll leave him alone.”

He added: “He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump and called him “divisive” and a “misogynist”.

Mr Trump, in a GB News interview with Nigel Farage in March last year, also said Harry should not receive preferential treatment.

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He said: “No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”

The royal moved to the US in 2020, following a brief spell in Canada, with his wife Meghan, after the couple’s split from the rest of the Royal Family. They have lived in California ever since.

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‘We take nothing for granted’: Falkland Islanders on UK support amid Argentina threat

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'We take nothing for granted': Falkland Islanders on UK support amid Argentina threat

It’s more than 40 years since British forces fought a brief but bloody campaign to retake the Falkland Islands after their invasion by Argentina.

On the windswept hills around the capital Port Stanley you can still see evidence of battle.

The wreckage of destroyed helicopters, discarded military hardware and shell casings scattered on once strategically important rocky outcrops and boggy valleys.

These relics are quietly rusting away.

But for the few thousand residents of an island archipelago half the size of Wales, memories of the conflict don’t fade.

The wreckage of an Argentine chinook
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The wreckage of an Argentinian Chinook

‘I’m not going to speak with a gun at my back’

On 1 April 1982, Patrick Watts was broadcasting news of the unfolding invasion from the studio of Falklands Radio when jubilant Argentinian soldiers burst in.

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The live recording of his exchange with the invaders is now part of the historical record of the invasion.

“I’m not going to speak with a gun in my back,” says Watts to the Argentinian commander.

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Sky's Tom Clarke with former DJ Patrick Watts
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Sky’s Tom Clarke with former DJ Patrick Watts

Speaking to us 43 years later in the same studio, Patrick clearly recalls his mood that morning.

“For them, the islands, they have always said belong to them. And it’s expressed in their emotions when they come up the passage shouting at each other and they open the door and they come in, they have guns,” he says.

“I then become quite belligerent.”

On the recording, he can be heard ordering the Argentinian commander to tell his men to take their guns outside, to stop shouting and smoking.

“I hate smoking. No smoking in my studio. And he tells them and of course, they’re still shouting and screaming. And then you can hear him shouting, ‘Silencio, silencio’.”

Mr Watts’s calm defiance has come to define the collective attitude of this British Overseas Territory ever since.

A bust of Margaret Thatcher in Stanley
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A bust of Margaret Thatcher in Port Stanley

But given Argentina has never relinquished its territorial claim to the Falklands, it’s not necessarily the population’s overwhelming desire to remain British that has kept them that way.

‘The threat hasn’t changed’

Since the end of the conflict there has been a UK military presence on the islands.

A 2,000-strong garrison of troops and a squadron of fighter jets and transport aircraft based around the main airport at Mount Pleasant.

A deterrent to Argentina – little more than 200 miles away – not to exercise its continued claim over the Falklands.

Leona Roberts
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Leona Roberts

However, the UK is more than 7,000 miles away and in a world newly dominated by strong men with territorial ambitions.

And the UK’s expensive military commitment to the Falklands comes at a time when the government is under pressure to prioritise defence, and defence spending closer to home.

Walking across the rugged landscape you get a sense of how remote and, to an outsider at least, how inhospitable these islands are.

With military tensions escalating in Europe as US President Donald Trump presses for an end to the war in Ukraine, it’s reasonable to ask whether Falkland Islanders feel less secure than they have done for the past 40 years.

Tributes on the hill at Mount Longdon
Image:
Tributes on the hill at Mount Longdon

“Argentina is always a bit of a shadow over our shoulder,” says Leona Roberts, a member of the Falkland Islands legislative assembly.

“The threat and the situation… has not changed.”

But she is confident the UK will continue its protection of the Falklands. Successive governments, including Sir Keir Starmer‘s, have continued to support the current military presence.

‘We take nothing for granted’

But could it change?

“We take nothing for granted,” she says. “We’re very grateful for the UK’s continuing support.”

Though remote, the Falkland Islands, she argues, are strategically important as a gateway for research and maritime operations around Antarctica and the vast South Atlantic region, as well as politically stable in an increasingly unstable world.

“A little rock of democracy and stability in what is otherwise a pretty volatile region,” she says.

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The perils of chasing penguins

Argentina’s President Javier Milei, an ally of Mr Trump, has said he will not relinquish the claim to sovereignty over the Falklands, but nor will he seek conflict with the UK.

People here hope their strong desire to remain British will always outweigh the physical distance between them and their protector.

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