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The King accepted the offer to enjoy “a slurp” of beer after pulling himself a pint during a visit to a brewery in Staffordshire.

The 76-year-old was at the family-owned Tower Brewery in Burton Upon Trent.

After the King pulled a pint called Gone For A Burton, a traditional mid-strength beer brewed by Tower, brewery owner John Mills cheekily asked him: “Going to have a slurp of that, sir?”

The King replied that if he was not, he was in the “wrong place”.

Then, as he held up his pint, he said “to your very good health,” before joking “I could pass the rest on to them”, as he looked at the gathered media.

Mr Mills joined the King at the brewery’s bar, pulling himself a pint of his Imperial IPA in the town from where India Pale Ale was first exported in the 1820s.

He then suggested they try something stronger.

King Charles III pulls a pint alongside Tower Brewery owner John Mills, during a visit to Tower Brewery in Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire, an independent, family run small brewery that has been in the local area for twenty four years. Picture date: Monday February 24, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL King. Photo credit should read: Jaimi Joy/PA Wire
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The King with Tower Brewery owner John Mills. Pic: PA

Behind them was a bottle of The Spirit Of Burton, a 41% proof Tower spirit distilled from IPA which, if left to mature, would be the basis of whisky.

After taking a sip, the King, who is known to like whisky, seemed to approve and said “interesting – yes, it’s supercharged”.

King Charles III visit to Staffordshire
King Charles III fits a tyre to a backhoe loader during a visit to JCB World headquarters in Rocester, Uttoxeter, to meet employees and apprentices as they celebrate the 80th anniversary of JCB. Picture date: Monday February 24, 2025.

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The King fits a tyre to a backhoe loader during his visit to JCB. Pic: Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA

The monarch also visited the world headquarters of JCB in Staffordshire to mark the construction equipment company’s 80th birthday.

He met employees, apprentices and their families and toured the factory in Rocester.

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The King helped to fit a tyre to a backhoe loader, a digger invented by JCB’s founder, the late Joseph Cyril Bamford CBE.

The visit also marked the production of the one millionth backhoe digger, which is said to have replaced men with shovels and pickaxes.

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

Pic: LNP
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Pic: LNP

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

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There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

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Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform

Pic: LNP
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Pic: LNP

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

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A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.

Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.

The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Officers guard one of the crime scenes in Leeds
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Officers guard one of the crime scenes

Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
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Officers inside the cordon in Leeds

Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.

“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.

“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”

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