Putin agreed to 'robust' security guarantees for Ukraine, US envoy says

4 hours ago Share Save Asya Robins and George Wright BBC News Share Save

Reuters

Donald Trump's special envoy said Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine "robust" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal. Steve Witkoff told CNN it was agreed at the Alaska summit that the US and Europe could "effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee", referring to Nato's principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Putin has long opposed Ukraine joining Nato, and Witkoff said the arrangement could be an alternative if the Ukrainians "can live with it". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky described the US's security guarantee offer as "historic" ahead of talks with Trump and European leaders on Monday.

Speaking ahead of his visit to Washington DC, Zelensky said any guarantee "must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe's participation". Meanwhile, following a meeting on Sunday of the "coalition of the willing" - a group of nations including the UK, France and Germany that have pledged to protect peace in Ukraine once it is achieved - a No10 spokesman said leaders had commended Trump's "commitment" to providing security guarantees. The leaders also "re-emphasised the readiness to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces", the spokesman added. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte are set to join Zelensky in Washington on Monday. Macron said the group would challenge Trump on how far he was willing to go in terms of security guarantees. "If we're not strong today, we'll pay dearly tomorrow," he said, adding the group's plan was to "present a united front".

EPA

Witkoff also told CNN on Sunday that Russia had made "some concessions at the table" about territory, noting Donetsk would be part of an "important discussion" on Monday. It comes after Putin reportedly presented Trump with a peace offer in Alaska on Friday that would require Ukraine withdrawing from the Donetsk region of the Donbas, in return for Russia freezing the front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The BBC's US partner CBS cited diplomatic sources as saying that European officials were concerned Trump may try to press Zelensky to agree to the terms. Russia claims the Donbas as Russian territory, controlling most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk. It also illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, eight years before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky on Tuesday said Ukraine would reject any Russian proposal to give up the Donbas region, warning it could be used as a springboard for future attacks. He has also pointed to the country's constitution, which requires a referendum before a change in its territory.

Watch: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded... in under 2 minutes

Monday's White House meeting will be Zelensky's first since an acrimonious public exchange in the Oval Office in February, when Trump told him to be more "thankful" for US support and accused him of "gambling with World War Three". Zelensky was then told to leave the White House. He appeared to reconcile with Trump in April, in what the White House described as a "very productive" 15-minute meeting before they attended Pope Francis's funeral. Ukraine has also signed a minerals deal that gave the US a financial stake in the country, and Kyiv made it clear they were willing to pay for US arms. But there will have been concern in Kyiv and other European capitals following the Trump-Putin meeting on Friday. The Russian president, who is facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, stepped off his jet and onto a red carpet to be warmly received by Trump, who later said they had a "fantastic relationship".

Resignation and betrayal: What handing Donbas to Putin would mean for Ukraine

5 hours ago Share Save Joel Gunter Reporting from Kyiv Share Save

Anadolu via Getty Images Life for those living close to the front lines in the Donbas region face a daily struggle for survival

Days before meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Donald Trump referred to what he called "land swaps" as a condition for peace. For Ukrainians, it was a confusing turn of phrase. What land was to be swapped? Was Ukraine to be offered part of Russia, in exchange for the land Russia had taken by force? As Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to travel to Washington on Monday to meet Trump, there is likely no "swap" element to the US president's thinking. Instead, he is reportedly planning to press Zelensky to surrender the entirety of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in return for Russia freezing the rest of the front line – a proposal put forward by Putin in Alaska. Luhansk is already almost entirely under Russian control. But Ukraine is estimated to have held onto about 30% of Donetsk, including several key cities and fortifications, at a cost of tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives. Both regions – known together as Donbas – are rich in minerals and industry. To surrender them to Russia now would be a "tragedy", said the Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak.

"This is Ukrainian territory," Mr Hrytsak said. "And the people of these regions – particularly the miners – played a huge role in the strengthening of the Ukrainian identity." The region had also produced "famous politicians, poets and dissidents", he said. "And now refugees who will not be able to return home if it becomes Russian." At least 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled the Donbas since Russian aggression began in 2014. More than three million are estimated to be living under Russian occupation. A further 300,000 are estimated to be in the parts where Ukraine still has control. In areas closest to the front line, life is already a dangerous struggle. Andriy Borylo, a 55-year-old military chaplain in the badly hit city of Sloviansk, said in a phone interview that shells had landed next to his house over the weekend. "It is a very difficult situation here," he said. "There is a feeling of resignation and abandonment. I don't know how much we have the strength to endure. Someone has to protect us. But who?" Mr Borylo had been following the news from Alaska, he said. "I put this on Trump, not Zelensky. But they are taking everything from me, and it is a betrayal." Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine would not hand over the Donbas in exchange for peace. And confidence in Russia to abide by any such arrangement – rather than simply use the annexed land for future attacks – is low. For that and other reasons, about 75% of Ukrainians object to any formal cessation of land to Russia, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

Getty Images Ukraine is estimated to have held onto about 30% of the Donetsk region, including several key cities and fortifications

But Ukraine is also deeply fatigued by war. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and wounded since the full-scale invasion began. People are craving an end to suffering, particularly in the Donbas. "You ask about the surrender of the Donetsk region, well, I measure this war not in kilometres but in human lives," said Yevhen Tkachov, 56, an emergency rescue worker in the Donetsk city of Kramatorsk. "I'm not ready to give tens of thousands of lives for several thousand square kilometres," he said. "Life is more important than territory." For some, this is what it comes down to in the end. Land versus life. It leaves President Zelensky "at a crossroads with no good route in front of him", said Volodmyr Ariev, a Ukrainian MP from the opposition European Solidarity party. "We don't have enough forces to continue the war for an unlimited time," Ariev said. "But if Zelensky were to concede this land it would be not only a breakdown of our constitution, it could have the hallmarks of treason." And yet, it is not clear in Ukraine by what mechanism such an agreement could even be reached. Any formal handover of the nation's territory requires the approval of the parliament and a referendum of the people. More likely would be a de-facto surrender of control, with no formal recognition of the territory as Russian. But even in that event, the process is not well understood, said Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun. "There is no real understanding as to what the procedure should be," she said. "Does the president simply sign the agreement? Does it have to be the government? The parliament? There is no legal procedure set up because, you know, the constitution writers didn't think about this." Things may become more clear after Zelensky speaks with Trump in Washington on Monday – the Ukrainian leader's first visit to the White House since a disastrous clash in the Oval Office in February. Amid the unhappiness left by the Alaska summit, there was one possible glimmer of good news for Ukraine. Trump appeared to reverse his position on security guarantees after the summit, suggesting he was ready to join Europe in offering Ukraine military protection from future Russian attacks.

Watch: How the Trump-Putin summit unfolded... in under 2 minutes

Huge crowds gather in Israel calling for hostage deal and end to Gaza war

1 hour ago Share Save Asya Robins BBC News Share Save

Getty Images "Hostages Square" on Sunday in Tel Aviv

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Israel to call for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. The largest crowd was seen in Tel Aviv's "Hostages Square" on Sunday, with the organisers saying the government's plans to seize control of Gaza City risked the lives of around 20 hostages still being held by Hamas. A one-day national strike - part of wider protests - closed roads, offices and universities in some areas. Nearly 40 people were arrested during the day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the protests, saying they would "harden Hamas's stance" and would only slow down the release of the hostages.

Watch: Protesters block Israeli road demanding hostage deal and war end

Far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich also denounced the protests, describing them as a "harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas". The national strike was demanded by the families of hostages and others opposed to the expansion of the war. Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and a leading figure in the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, said the group demanded "a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war". "We demand what is rightfully ours - our children," she told the crowd in Tel Aviv. "The Israeli government has transformed a just war into a pointless war." She was speaking after a video was released of her son. "My heart burns with longing. My whole heart is scorched because of my Matan. Matan, I, an entire nation, we are doing everything we can for you, for all the hostages," she said. The protests came a week after Israel's war cabinet voted to occupy Gaza City, the territory's largest city, and displace its population, in a move condemned by the UN Security Council. Thousands of residents have since fled Gaza City's southern Zeitoun neighbourhood, where days of continuous Israeli bombardment have created a "catastrophic" situation, the city's Hamas-run municipality told the BBC.

Reuters Protesters filled main roads on the way to Hostages Square in Tel Aviv

At least 40 people were killed by Israeli attacks across the territory on Saturday, Gaza's civil defence agency said. Hamas said in a statement that Israeli forces had been carrying out a "sustained offensive in the eastern and southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, particularly in Zeitoun". The Israeli military said it would begin allowing tents to be brought into Gaza by aid agencies again. "As part of the preparations to move the population from combat zones to the southern Gaza Strip for their protection, the supply of tents and shelter equipment to Gaza will resume," the Israeli military body Cogat said.

Getty Images Protesters block a road in Tel Aviv

Actor Terence Stamp, who starred as Superman villain, dies aged 87

2 hours ago Share Save Jessica Rawnsley BBC News Share Save

Oscar-nominated actor Terence Stamp had a film career that spanned six decades

Terence Stamp, the English actor who played the arch-villain General Zod in the original Superman films, has died at the age of 87. In a career that spanned six decades, the Oscar-nominated actor starred in films including The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Far From the Madding Crowd and Valkyrie. Stamp died on Sunday morning, his family said in a statement to Reuters news agency. "He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and a writer that will continue to touch people for years to come," they said.

Bafta said it was "saddened" to hear of Stamp's death and highlighted his two Bafta nominations in 1963 and 1995. His Superman co-star Sarah Douglas described him as "beyond gorgeous and talented". "So saddened to learn that Terence has left us," she wrote on Instagram. "I learnt so very much from him. What a start to my career to have spent so many months in his company. "My love and heartfelt condolences to all who cared for him. What a loss." Born in Stepney, east London, to working-class parents on 22 July 1938, Stamp attended grammar school before pursuing a career in advertising. After securing a scholarship for drama school, he shot to fame in the 1960s, making his debut playing the titular role in Billy Budd, a 1962 film about a naive young seaman in the 18th century. His performance earnt him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor and a Golden Globe for best newcomer. He went on to make a name for himself as a villain, with stand-out performances in Superman and Superman II as General Zod, kidnapper Freddie Clegg in The Collector, and Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd. During his heyday in the 1960s, Stamp was known for his good looks, fashion sense and high-profile girlfriends, including actress Julie Christie - who he later starred alongside in Far From the Madding Crowd - and supermodel Jean Shrimpton. His relationship with Christie only lasted a year but was immortalised by the Kinks in the song Waterloo Sunset with the line "Terry meets Julie", believed to reference the pair.

Getty Images Stamp with Jean Shrimpton at the British premiere of The Collector in 1965

Stamp was approached to replace Sean Connery when he relinquished his role as James Bond, but said his radical ideas about how he could interpret the character put off producer Harry Saltzman. "I think my ideas about it put the frighteners on Harry," he said. "I didn't get a second call from him." He spent some time in Italy, working with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Federico Fellini, but found his star had faded when he returned to London at the end of the 1960s. "When the 1960s ended, I think because I'd been so identified with it, I kind of ended as well," he later told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. "I thought if I could be good looking, and I could be successful and I could be famous, everything would be solved. And when it all kind of came to an end, I thought to myself there's been a lot of fun but there hasn't been any real, deep internal satisfaction." He moved away from acting for a while, buying a round-the-world ticket and ending up in India where he studied yoga and spent time living in a spiritual retreat. Despite describing the decision as "epic", Stamp admitted he was "distraught". "I never imagined this would happen," he told Desert Island Discs. "I always thought after six months or so some great part would come up and nothing did."

The Green Party is at a crossroads. Is it time they get angry?

15 minutes ago Share Save Helen Catt Political correspondent Share Save

BBC

Warning: This article contains strong language The video opens with some white cliffs and a politician standing on a beach. This isn't Dover, and it's not Nigel Farage (although the echoes with Reform UK are deliberate). Rather, it's a campaign video for the Green Party's leadership hopeful, Zack Polanski. Amid slick filming and a moody orchestral soundtrack, he delivers an animated and uncompromising message. Small boats, he declares, are an "obsession that has gripped the country," blamed for a "crumbling" NHS and "obscene" rents, while people are told there's no money left. "Well," he says, looking into the camera, "I call bullshit." The real problem, he continues, are the "super-rich and their yachts".

Zack Polanski Zack Polanski, a former actor who is the party's deputy leader, has turbo-charged the race

The Green Party is on the brink of choosing its new leader. It usually does it once every two years and the contest can go fairly unnoticed. Not this year. Polanski, a former actor who is the party's deputy leader, has turbo-charged the race, the result of which will be announced on 2 September. He calls his approach "eco-populism" and says it's about being "bolder" and more clearly anti-elite in communicating social and economic issues, as well as environmental ones. This, he argues, is the style of messaging that the Green party needs to embrace. He wants to "connect with people's anger" and then offer solutions, something the Greens are, in his view, often "too nice" to do. He worries it leaves them looking "out of touch". "I think far too often in the past we've equivocated or we've been too worried to challenge wealth and power in as blunt a way as possible. This isn't about shouting, it isn't about being louder, it's about being more effective."

Tried and tested vs a radical approach

The Greens had record success at the General Election last summer, going from one to four seats in Parliament and overturning large Labour and Conservative majorities. Together with the Scottish Greens and the Green Party of Northern Ireland, they won 6.7% of the vote. Now, the party is at a crossroads: does it stick with what it knows has worked or pick something more radical? And, given the candidates don't really differ on policy, just how big a difference could new leadership make to the party's national chances?

Polanski, who is a member of the London Assembly, wants the Greens to replace Labour as the "party of the left". But his opponents, the current co-leader Adrian Ramsay and new MP Ellie Chowns, who are running on a joint-ticket, believe Polanski would explode a winning formula that has brought them their greatest ever electoral success. Ramsay and Chowns were elected to Parliament in last year's general election. Their style is, mostly, less combative - they believe it's important that the Greens have broad appeal and that the party is seen to be at the heart of Westminster if it wants to bring about change.

Ellie and Adrian 2025/PA Wire The current co-leader Adrian Ramsay and new MP Ellie Chowns are running on a joint-ticket

Chowns says many voters already have a "generalised warm feeling" towards the Greens, they just need convincing they're a credible option. "It's really the difference between populism and popularity," she says. "What they need to know is that if they put their vote in the Green box on the ballot paper that's got a really, really good chance of electing somebody."

Time to capitalise on discontent?

Plenty of analysts, and Green party members themselves, have questioned why the party hasn't already capitalised more on left-wing discontent with Labour, or why it hasn't pitched itself more effectively as an alternative to the traditional parties, in the way Reform UK has. Matt Zarb-Cousin, a former spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn who joined the Greens in 2022, is a founding member of Greens Organise, a group that wants the party to take a more socialist stance. He argues that it is "inexcusable" that the party hasn't made a breakthrough in the polls since the election. Like Polanski, he believes that voters understand the party's environmental credentials and so it needs to highlight its policies on the cost of living, inequality and taxing wealth over work. "It's not just about saying we support those things, it's about how you frame that argument: who are the enemies? Whose side are you on?"

Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Ramsay and Chowns have secured endorsement from the former Green MP Caroline Lucas

Former Green party councillor Rupert Read, who is an environmental philosopher and a co-director of the campaign group Climate Majority Project, says a lot of Green party policy is left-wing, but adds that this is often the result of "making green policies that work for ordinary people". "You need to come from a starting point that is not dogmatically and self-avowedly left. If you do there'll be a strict ceiling on the level of support which is possible." Ramsay and Chowns make a similar argument. Ramsay says that Polanski is "about appealing to a narrow base of activists," which he and Chowns argue isn't enough to win in the UK's first past the past electoral system.

Chowns also believes that Polanski's approach is too similar to strategies that have failed in the past. "We spent years as the Green party engaging in the sort of politics where we stood on street corners and told people why we were very passionate about things... "It's all well and good but it's not the way to win people over."

Return of the 'Green surge'?

The Green Peer Baroness Bennett, who led the party between 2012 and 2016, said there had been "a level of excitement and interest around this leadership election more than I've ever seen before by a very large scale". It is reporting a "significant increase" in members in the past few months, although it won't yet give an exact figure. (The cut-off date to join and be able to vote in the leadership contest was July 31.) Baroness Bennett also points to "organic growth in the grassroots" since the general election. The party has held 12 seats in council by-elections since 4 July 2024, and won another 14 - mostly at the expense of Labour, while losing four to the Conservatives. This all marks a significant change from the past - the so-called "Green Surge" in 2015, under Baroness Bennett's leadership, saw the party's membership and vote share grow but still only returned Caroline Lucas to Parliament.

Jonathan Brady/PA Wire Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns with Sian Berry and current co-leader Carla Denyer (second left)

Prof Neil Carter from the University of York, a long-time observer of environmental politics, says he can see an argument for following Polanski's strategy, as the Greens have traditionally had the greatest success with "metropolitan, liberal-minded, young, professionals". The sort of voters who are key to Chowns and Ramsay's approach could be harder to win over, he argues. "The trouble is you can reach out to a sort of middle-class Tory rural voter to some extent, if you just talk Green, but as soon as you start to talk about all of those other issues that the Greens like to talk about, you're going to alienate those voters." But Chowns, who, like Ramsay, won a formerly Conservative seat, says that's not her experience. "People across the political spectrum find a lot to like in what we stand for."

Attracting 'anti-system' voters

Getting noticed is often a struggle for smaller political parties. For that reason, Luke Tryl, who is UK director of the political research organisation More in Common, believes that Polanski's approach might be the Greens' quickest route to boosting its numbers. "If you are trying to get 10 to 15%, it's probably what gets you noticed." But he argues it would net the party far fewer seats than the 40 that Polanski believes he can win.

Mark Kerrison via Getty Images Polanski calls his approach "eco-populism" and says it's about being "bolder"

He says that the party is rarely brought up in the focus groups which he runs outside of Green areas and that a charismatic leader could help the party cut through. There is a segment of the population that is "anti-system", he says, to whom a more radical pitch from the Greens might appeal. Mr Tryl, however, believes that while eco-populism could be a good way of getting known, the Greens would then need to "moderate" to become a "genuine mass movement party with potential for power". On getting into government, he says: "The Adrian and Ellie approach is right because you need to win over more of the North Herefordshires and Waveney Valleys (Chowns' and Ramsay's seats) and actually places like the Isle of Wight - but they are a long way from that".

Where Corbyn's new party fits in

There is another challenge facing all candidates: the new party that will soon be launched by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, a former Labour MP. Both Prof Carter and Mr Tryl warn that Polanski's strategy could be crowded out by this new party that has yet to be named but which, according to Corbyn, had 600,000 people sign up by early August.

Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire A new party is set to be launched by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, a former Labour MP

Ramsay goes further. He believes the new Corbyn party would blow Polanski's pitch "out of the water". Research carried out in June by More in Common suggested that the establishment of a Corbyn led-party could cut the Green's nationwide vote share from 9% to 5%. (This did not take into account who would be leading the Greens). Polanski has signalled he would be willing to co-operate with a possible Corbyn-led project and believes the Greens' position as an already established party will mean he can succeed. It is Ramsay and Chowns who have secured what could be considered the "OG" of Green endorsements: the former MP Caroline Lucas. The strategy they propose sticking with is based on the one she used to get elected as the first ever Green MP in 2010, and focuses on intensive local campaigning.

The question of who to target

Both leadership pitches include carrying on with local targeting but Polanski believes it can't be scaled up sufficiently to get large numbers of seats on its own. Chowns dismisses this idea: "My vision at the next general election is that we will have multiple large numbers of target seats and definitely more than one in every region."

Dan Kitwood / Cameron Smith, Getty During the election period, the Green Party raised just £160,000 compared with more than £1.6m for Reform UK

With either approach, the Greens face other obstacles, such as funding. The party's principle of not being funded by large donors means they lack the financial resources of other political parties. During the election period, the party raised just £160,000, compared with more than £1.6m for both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats, and £9.5m by Labour. The Green leader has also little direct control over policy, as it is set by the members - not that there is much difference between the candidates. Polanski has gone further than current party policy by suggesting the UK should leave Nato, but there are only a few differences between the candidates' public positions.

Dan Kitwood /Getty Images All three candidates back a wealth tax, which has been the Greens' major campaigning issue for several years

Ultimately, whoever is chosen to lead the party this time will likely face re-election again before the next general election. The political landscape may have changed further but there is certainly an opportunity for the Greens if they land on the right strategy. As Mr Tryl puts it, "In the age of very fragmented multi party politics, small vote shares can deliver outsized results". Top picture credit: Dan Kitwood / Leon Neal via Getty

Police investigating Strictly 'drug use' claims

The BBC said it had "clear protocols and policies in place" for dealing with any serious complaints raised with it.

"Police are assessing the information and further enquiries are taking place to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence being committed," it said.

In a statement, the Met said it had "received an allegation about drug related offences".

The Metropolitan Police has said it is investigating allegations of drug use on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Met's involvement comes after the the BBC launched an investigation earlier this month into alleged drug use by two stars of the show, who have not been named.

It followed a report in the Sun on Sunday, which said the alleged drug use by the stars was widely talked about on the show.

BBC News understands the corporation has hired a law firm to help it carry out the probe.

On Sunday, the Sun reported that the BBC had referred the matter to police.

A Met spokesperson later confirmed that the force had "received an allegation about drug related offences" on Tuesday 12 August.

The BBC said it would not comment on any police investigation.

But it highlighted a previous statement which read: "We have clear protocols and policies in place for dealing with any serious complaint raised with us.

"We would always encourage people to speak to us if they have concerns. It would not be appropriate for us to comment further."

Strictly, which has been airing since 2004, has faced multiple controversies over the past few years relating to the behaviour of some of its professionals and celebrity guests.

It is believed, however, that this is the first time the BBC has been in contact with the police over allegations linked to the show.

Boy, 2, dies after car hits pedestrians

Flowers and soft toys have been left at the scene

A two-year-old boy has died and a man is seriously injured after a crash in a car park in Kent, police have said.

Officers said they were called to the junction of Harbour Street and Cromwell Road, Whitstable, at 20:24 BST on Saturday, after a crash involving a car and multiple pedestrians.

The boy was pronounced dead at the scene and a man was taken to hospital with serious injuries, said police. The child's next of kin has been informed.

Police said a man in his 20s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Terence Stamp: 1960s icon who was the 'master of the brooding silence'

8 hours ago Share Save Share Save

BBC

Terence Stamp's dashing good looks and smouldering glare made him a star of 1960s cinema. One of the stalwarts of Swinging London, the working class actor's first film earned him an Oscar nomination. With actress Julie Christie or supermodel Jean Shrimpton on his arm, he specialised in playing sophisticated villains: including Superman's arch nemesis, General Zod, and the petulant Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd. The Guardian called him the "master of the brooding silence", but Stamp's acting proved to have range as well as depth. Thirty years after his career began, he shocked his fans - but picked up a Golden Globe nomination - as transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Getty Images 1960's icons: Terence Stamp and the supermodel, Jean Shrimpton

Terence Henry Stamp was born in Stepney, east London, on 22 July 1938. He died aged 87 on 17 August, his family said. His father, a man Stamp once described as "emotionally closed down", was a ship's stoker and often away from home.

Young Terence's interest in acting began to blossom when his mother took him to the local cinema to see Gary Cooper in Beau Geste, a film that left a deep impression on him. After enduring the Blitz in the east end of London, the Stamp family moved to the more genteel Plaistow - where Terence attended grammar school before getting the first of a series of jobs in advertising agencies. In his autobiography, Stamp Album, he recalled how he loved the life, but he could not shake off the feeling he wanted to be an actor.

Getty Images Terence Stamp photographed at home with his parents and siblings, after being cast in the film, Billy Budd.

Having been turned down for National Service because of problems with his feet, he won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art - which got rid of his cockney accent. After completing his studies, he set out on the grinding local repertory circuit that was the training ground for all aspiring actors in the 1950s. On one occasion, he found himself in a touring production of The Long and the Short and the Tall alongside another budding actor named Michael Caine, with whom he would later share a flat. Stamp's leap to stardom came when he was cast in the title role of a 1962 film, Billy Budd, based on the Herman Melville novella. His performance as the naïve young seaman, hanged for killing an officer in self-defence, won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer.

Getty Images Stamp shot to fame as Billy Budd - a 1962 film about a heroic, stammering 18th century seaman

In the same year, he appeared in Term of Trial alongside Laurence Olivier. Stamp was hailed as one of the new wave of actors from working-class backgrounds, such as Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay, who were also making a name for themselves. In 1965, Stamp starred in an adaptation of the John Fowles novel The Collector, as the repressed Frederick Clegg who kidnaps a girl and imprisons her in his cellar. By now, he was regularly seen at the most fashionable 1960's gatherings, and his good looks brought him plenty of female attention. There was a relationship with the actress Julie Christie, who he'd approached after seeing her holding a gun on a magazine cover in 1962. The affair only lasted a year, but was thought to be later immortalised by the Kinks in the song Waterloo Sunset: with a line referencing Terry and Julie crossing over the river.

Getty Images Terence Stamp on set while filming Modesty Blaise in 1965

He turned down the chance to star in Alfie, having played the part on stage. His flatmate, Michael Caine, took the role instead and it launched his career. In 1966, Stamp appeared as Willie Garvin - a rough Cockney diamond - in the film version of Peter O'Donnell's comic strip, Modesty Blaise. And, a year later, he starred as a bank-robber-with-a-soft-heart in Ken Loach's kitchen sink drama, Poor Cow. Stamp found Loach difficult. The director, he felt, was too political and hid the script from the cast - preferring to feed them lines while shooting each scene. "Before a take, he'd say something to (co-star Carol White)," he complained, "and then he would say something to me, and we only discovered once the camera was rolling that he'd given us completely different directions. That's why he needed two cameras, because he needed the confusion and the spontaneity."

Getty Images Terence Stamp and Julie Christie - as Sergeant Troy and Bathsheba Everdene - in Far From the Madding Crowd

He was reunited with Julie Christie in Far From the Madding Crowd. He was dating Jean Shrimpton by then, but their on-screen chemistry was still evident. "On the set, the fact that she had been my girlfriend just never came up," he told The Guardian in 2015. "I saw her as Bathsheba, the character she was playing, who all the men in the film fell in love with. But it wasn't hard, with somebody like Julie." With cinematographer Nicholas Roeg, Stamp helped choreograph the famous fencing demonstration scene: in which Sergeant Troy's sword skills captivate - and eventually seduce - Bathsheba Everdene. But the film got poor reviews and failed at the box office. And Stamp fell out with the director, John Schlesinger. "He didn't strike me as a guy who was particularly interested in film," the actor recalled. "Plus I wasn't his first choice: he really wanted Jon Voight."

Getty Images Terence Stamp and Julie Christie on the poster for Far From the Madding Crowd

But Stamp's star was beginning to fade. An outing in Blue - a "pretentious, self-conscious, literary Western without much zest", according to one critic - didn't help. He was approached to play James Bond when Sean Connery relinquished the role, but his radical ideas of how he should interpret the character did not impress producer Harry Saltzman. Stamp suggested that he might start a Bond film disguised as a Japanese warrior - and slowly reveal himself to be 007. "I think my ideas about it put the frighteners on Harry," he speculated. "I didn't get a second call from him."

Getty Images Terence Stamp's star faded as the 1960s came to a close

There was a spell in Italy where he worked with the directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Federico Fellini but, by the time he returned to London, the 60s were drawing to a close and he was no longer in fashion. "When the 1960s ended, I just ended with it. I remember my agent telling me: 'They are all looking for a young Terence Stamp.'" He was still only 31. Disillusioned, he bought a round-the-world ticket and found himself in India - experimenting with vegetarianism, yoga and living in a spiritual retreat. It was there, in 1976, that he received a message addressed to 'Clarence' Stamp, offering him the part of General Zod in Superman.

Alamy Terence Stamp as the evil General Zod in Superman

With his leading man days behind him, Stamp discovered that playing villains was liberating. Superman and the sequel, Superman II, put him firmly back on the public stage - and he appeared in a bewildering variety of genres. There were Westerns like Young Guns, crime dramas like The Hit and The Real McCoy - and even a gothic thriller in Neil Jordan's fantasy, The Company of Wolves. But his most unlikely - and celebrated - performance was as transgender woman in the Australian film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994. Stamp was not keen to do the film - in fact, he thought the initial offer was a joke. But a female friend persuaded him to take the part - which saw his character journey across the outback with two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. "It was a challenge, a challenge I couldn't resist because otherwise my life would have been a lie", said Stamp.

Alamy Stamp starred in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994

Over the next 10 years, Stamp appeared in two dozen films - playing a wide variety of parts. In 1999, he entered the Star Wars canon: playing a politician battling corruption in Episode I: the Phantom Menace - an experience he later described as "dull". More satisfyingly, he starred in The Limey: as a career English criminal hunting for his missing daughter. A decade later, he was nominated for a Bafta for his role as the grumpy husband of a dying woman in A Song for Marion. In 2002, he married for the first time at the age of 64. Stamp had met Elizabeth O'Rourke in a chemist shop in Australia. She was 35 years younger, and the marriage lasted six years.

Getty Images Terence Stamp photographed in 2019

Met urged to scrap Carnival facial recognition plan

6 hours ago Share Save James W Kelly BBC News Share Save

Getty Images The Met is one of two police forces in England and Wales to deploy LFR widely in recent years - this has now expanded

Civil liberty and anti-racism groups have called on the Metropolitan Police to drop plans to use live facial recognition (LFR) technology at this year's Notting Hill Carnival. In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, 11 organisations described LFR as "a mass surveillance tool that treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects and has no place at one of London's biggest cultural celebrations". They said the decision to reintroduce the technology at Carnival was "deeply disappointing" and argued it could be "less accurate for women and people of colour". The Met Police says LFR is accurate and balanced across ethnicity and gender, and insists it will help keep people safe.

The groups - which include Liberty, Big Brother Watch and the Runnymede Trust - highlighted an ongoing judicial review brought by Shaun Thompson, a black Londoner who says he was wrongly identified by the system and detained. The letter states: "There is no clear legal basis for your force's use of LFR. No law mentions facial recognition technology and Parliament has never considered or scrutinised its use. "Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community, yet the [Metropolitan Police] is choosing to use a technology with a well-documented history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias."

Getty Images The Met says it will deploy 7,000 officers a day to police Carnival

The letter also raised concerns over a 2023 National Physical Laboratory study, which found the NeoFace system used by the Met was less accurate for women and people of colour depending on the algorithm that has been set. The study's authors found the system could show bias at lower thresholds, though at the higher settings the Met says it uses, performance was found to be equitable across ethnicity and gender. These thresholds are confidence levels the system uses to decide a match - lower ones flag more people but risk more mistakes and bias, while higher ones are stricter and more balanced. Campaigners said there was no legal obligation for the force to avoid the lower thresholds, and argued policing resources would be better spent on safety measures at the carnival. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, who is leading this year's policing operation at the carnival, said LFR had led to more than 1,000 arrests since the start of 2024 and that independent testing showed the system was "accurate and balanced with regard to ethnicity and gender" at the thresholds used by the Met.

Getty Images Notting Hill Carnival can attract up to two million over the weekend

Notting Hill Carnival takes place next weekend and has previously attracted up to two million people. It has come under increased scrutiny after two people were murdered at last year's event.

Mr Ward said the force had received the letter and would respond in due course. "Carnival's growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day," he said. "Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls. "It is right that we make the best use of available technology to support officers to do their job more effectively." Mr Ward said the LFR cameras will be used on the approach to and from Carnival and not within the event boundaries. He said they will "help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets". BBC News has contacted the carnival's organisers for comment.

Ruben Amorim made a goalkeeping gamble on Sunday - and in the eyes of most it backfired spectacularly.

The Manchester United boss selected Altay Bayindir instead of the fit-again Andre Onana and it was the Turkey keeper's early error that proved the difference in Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

Onana's future at the club has been the subject of much debate this summer and, despite Amorim's fierce defence of his keepers, the number-one position at United is again the talking point.

A United official privately offered a basic truth about the club's rebuild much earlier in the summer though.

"If we buy forwards, people will ask why we didn't get midfielders, if we get midfielders, they will ask why we didn't get a goalkeeper. We can't do everything in one go," the official said.

As it turns out, United focused their £200m summer spend on forwards as they felt that area of the pitch was the one that required the most substantial improvement.

And their attack looked far more of a threat on Sunday than it did for much of last season - with Matheus Cunha's battling style endearing him to the crowd and Bryan Mbeumo exhibiting all the attributes that helped him score 20 league goals for Brentford in 2024-25.

While United could not find an equaliser, despite their attacking toil, Bayindir's error meant it was almost inevitable the focus after this opening day defeat would be the goalkeeper.

Bayindir failed to get a strong hand to Declan Rice's 13th-minute corner, only managing to palm the ball back towards to the goalline where Riccardo Calafiori nodded home.

Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Manchester United have a problem.

"There [are] rumours of [a move for] the Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez. Now [PSG's] Gianluigi Donnarumma has become available. If I'm United I am going to get a top-quality goalkeeper.

"Andre Onana has made some big mistakes last season. Goalkeepers are the last line of defence and they can't afford to make mistakes like that."

Scottie Scheffler reeled in overnight leader Robert MacIntyre to win the BMW Championship, taking advantage of the Scot's shaky start in Maryland.

The world number one began the final day four shots behind but was in front by the seventh hole and finished two clear, chipping in at the 17th during a rollercoaster climax of frayed nerves.

MacIntyre opened with back-to-back bogeys and dropped a further stroke at the fifth. Another shot would go before a solitary birdie on the third-last green.

Struggling to find the fairways at Caves Valley, the chance of a third PGA Tour victory for the left-hander slipped away as Open champion Scheffler showed his mettle and class - despite a few uncharacteristic slips on his way to a three-under-par 67, taking him to 15 under for the week.

MacIntyre, runner-up at the US Open and tied for seventh at the Open, had been 16 under after rounds of 62, 64 and 68, but came home in 73 for the runner-up spot, two shots ahead of Maverick McNealy.

Chelsea used six attackers signed for a combined £250m in their Premier League opener, but could not find a way to score against Crystal Palace.

Joao Pedro, signed from Brighton this summer for £55m, started up front. Winger Jamie Gittens, who joined from Borussia Dortmund for £52m last month, made his debut on one flank, with £45m man Pedro Neto on the other.

Cole Palmer, the £40m attacking midfielder, played in behind as a number 10 - but despite Chelsea's attacking riches it was Palace who dominated the early stages and almost opened the scoring.

Midfielder Eberechi Eze rifled home a 13th-minute free-kick, but the goal was subsequently ruled out by VAR because Palace captain Marc Guehi was less than one metre away from the hosts' defensive wall.

Chelsea responded in the second half by bringing on two more new attacking signings - £29m winger Estevao Willian, who joined from Palmeiras, and £30m former Ipswich striker Liam Delap.

They both missed big chances, as did fellow substitute Andrey Santos, as the Blues were held to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in a disappointing start to the new season.

While this was only one match, and no titles are decided on the opening weekend, there will be ongoing scrutiny around Chelsea if they fail to build on their Club World Cup victory in the summer.

Some have tipped the Blues to mount a title challenge, but they will need to improve both creativity and goal-scoring to challenge champions Liverpool and the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City over a 38-game season.

That said, Chelsea's internal target remains to qualify for next season's Champions League through a top-four finish.

Jon Rahm has been crowned as the LIV Golf individual champion for the second consecutive year, despite losing in a play-off to Sebastian Munoz in Indiana.

The Spaniard shot an 11-under 60 to finish at 22 under alongside Colombia's Munoz, who made headlines when he fired a 59 in Friday's first round.

Munoz made a birdie on the first extra hole on Sunday, while Rahm was only able to make a par.

However, the result was good enough for Rahm to beat Chile's Joaquin Niemann - who finished in a tie for fourth on 17 under at the Club at Chatham Hills - to the season-long award, as he did in 2024, and top prize of $18m (£13.3m).

There was also good news for two of Rahm's former European Ryder Cup team-mates, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who both avoided being relegated and dumped by LIV for 2026.

Westwood birdied four of his first five holes to finish in a tie for 17th on 12 under along with fellow Englishman Poulter, who birdied four of his last five holes to push his Majesticks co-captain Henrik Stenson into the relegation zone.

Sonny Baker marked his first England call-up with a hat-trick as Manchester Originals boosted their men's Hundred hopes by beating rivals Northern Superchargers by 57 runs at Old Trafford.

Baker, called up for England's white-ball squads to play South Africa and Ireland next month on Friday, bowled Dawid Malan with a clever slower ball to reduce the Superchargers to 63-5 and returned at the death to wrap up the innings by dismissing Tom Lawes and Jacob Duffy.

Baker's first and second wickets may have been separated by 35 balls but his 3-21 continued a steady rise for the 22-year-old seamer who is having a breakout tournament.

His third wicket, which ensured Superchargers were all out for 114, was a perfect 88mph yorker to Duffy and was his seventh dismissal in the tournament.

The visitors were chasing 172 after Jos Buttler stroked 64 not out - his second fifty in as many innings - in Originals' 171-3.

When reaching his fifty he again looked to the sky in tribute to his father who died earlier this month.

While Buttler's innings provided the backbone of Originals' score, Heinrich Klaasen took the game away from Superchargers at the death by hitting 30 runs from the final seven balls.

The South Africa international had only 20 after 18 balls but ended 50 not out from 25 in a timely return to form.

The hosts only won one of their first four matches but join Southern Brave and London Spirit on eight points. Superchargers are four better off in third.

World number three Iga Swiatek powered to a straight-set win over Elena Rybakina to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open where she will face Jasmine Paolini.

Their meeting will be a repeat of last year's French Open final - won by Poland's Swiatek in dominant fashion.

Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion, swept past Kazakhstan's Rybakina 7-5 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati showpiece.

Rybakina - who beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals - started brightly but failed to exploit an early break in the first set before Swiatek took control.

"That was a tough match," said Swiatek. "At the beginning it was pretty crazy, we played so fast that sometimes we couldn't even run to the second ball.

"I was there to play with intensity and good quality and I am super happy with the performance.

"It will be super tough in the final. I will have to prepare tactically but I will focus on myself and try to continue the work I have been doing."

Italy's Paolini battled past Russian Veronika Kudermetova in her semi-final 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.

Paolini served for the match in the second set only to see her advantage slip away, but the story of the encounter was Kudermetova's tally of 75 unforced errors.

The final takes place on Monday night.

Riccardo Calafiori scores the only goal of the game after an error by goalkeeper Altay Bayindir as Arsenal start their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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