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Sir Keir Starmer has rejected the idea of creating a minister for men to combat some of the issues raised in the hit Netflix drama Adolescence.

Sir Keir said he was “worried” about the “crisis in masculinity” raised in the programme, which centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl and the rise of incel culture.

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The themes touched upon in the show have led to suggestions that the government introduce a minister for men to mirror the women and equalities minister that currently exists in the cabinet.

But speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the prime minister said he did not think appointing a new minister was “the answer” to the problems affecting young boys today, including negative and harmful social media content and a lack of visible role models.

“I am worried about this; I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl,” he said.

“There’s a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life on this and that’s because I think a lot of parents, a lot of people who work with young people at school or elsewhere, recognise that we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address.”

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Sir Keir said he was more persuaded by arguments put forward by former England manger Gareth Southgate, who argued in a recent lecture that young men lacked positive role models, making them vulnerable to online influencers who promoted negative ideologies about the world and women.

“I’ve been in touch with Gareth,” the prime minister said. “I know Gareth. I thought his lecture, what he was saying, was really powerful, will have resonated with a lot of parents.

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Pic:Netflix
Image:
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Pic:Netflix

“And I do think this is something that we have to take seriously, we have to address. We can’t shrug our shoulders at it.”

Asked whether a minister for men would help, Sir Keir said: “No, I don’t think that’s the answer.

“I think it is time for listening carefully to what Gareth Southgate was saying and responding to it.

“I want to have that further discussion with him. We’ve already had a bit of a discussion about this, but I do think it’s important we pick this challenge up and see it for what it is.”

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Stephen Graham says he wanted to bring the issue

Delivering the BBC’s annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Mr Southgate revealed how his experience of missing a penalty at Euro 96 “still haunts me today”.

And he warned that “callous” influencers online were tricking young men into thinking women and the world were against them, causing them to “withdraw” into the online world and express their emotions there rather than in “real-world communities.

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He said a “void” in their search for direction is often now being filled by some influencers who “willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance”.

In his interview with the BBC, Sir Keir suggested footballers and athletes could be role models for boys and young men but said there was also a need for inspirational people in communities.

Asked who the British male role models were, Sir Keir told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I always go to sport for this. Footballers, athletes, I think they are role models.

“But I also think if you actually ask a young person, they’re more likely to identify somebody who’s in their school, a teacher, or somebody who maybe is a sports coach, something like that.

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“So we need to make sure that – this is something that dads do, dad would reach for a sort of sporting hero – I think children, young people, are more likely to reach someone closer to them, within their school, within their community.

“And that’s, I think, where we need to do some of the work.”

The UK has never had a minister for men but previous Conservative MPs, including former Doncaster MP Nick Fletcher, have called for one in the past to tackle high rates of suicide among men.

The position of minister for women was created by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair as a means of prioritising women’s issues across government.

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Oasis gig death: Witness saw similar incident and asks ‘were lessons learned’?

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Oasis gig death: Witness saw similar incident and asks 'were lessons learned'?

A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium says a similar incident at an Oasis concert over the weekend in which a fan died makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.

Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia at Wembley in June 2021.

He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.

Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.

Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.

Oasis, meanwhile, said they were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley concert on Saturday.

The man reportedly fell from the stadium’s upper tier.

In his 40s, he was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said.

Ms Good, an NHS manager from east London, said what happened at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?

Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
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Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans

During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.

She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.

She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.

“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.

“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.

“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”

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Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.

She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.

“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”

She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.

A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.

“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”

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TV presenter Jay Blades charged with two counts of rape 

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TV presenter Jay Blades charged with two counts of rape 

TV presenter Jay Blades has been charged with two counts of rape, police have confirmed.

West Mercia Police said the 55-year-old is due to appear in court next week.

The force said: “Jason Blades, 55, of Claverley in Shropshire, has been charged with two counts of rape.

“He is due to appear at Telford Magistrates’ Court on 13 August 2025.”

Blades found fame on the furniture restoration programme The Repair Shop after he started presenting in 2017.

A furniture restorer, he was the face of the popular BBC show that featured people having their treasured objects repaired and rejuvenated.

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Blades was also the presenter of the BBC’s Money For Nothing until 2020 and took part in Celebrity Masterchef, Celebrity Bake Off, and Comic Relief.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs denied bail again ahead of sentencing

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail again ahead of sentencing

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.

Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.

Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.

During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.

Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts after verdicts are read of the five counts against him, during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New
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Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg

In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.

The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.

After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.

In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”

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U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian gives legal instructions to the jury, during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City
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Judge Arun Subramanian heard Diddy’s trial and will also sentence the rapper

He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.

“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”

As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.

The judge has not yet responded to this application.

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How the Diddy trial unfolded

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Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.

However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.

On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.

The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.

Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.

As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.

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