Global Trade

A historic Lake District cinema is set to reopen as a multi-event venue.

The Royalty in Bowness closed in August, ending an association with the town going back to the 1920s.

Redevelopment means that as well as screening films, it will be able to host live music, comedy and theatre.

It will reopen on 14 June with a concert by a Beatles tribute band, and the next day there will be a tea dance, attended by dignitaries including the local mayor.

The project is the work of Mark Naunton and his business partner Bryn Tyson, both of whom have a keen interest in music and films and were seeking a venue.

Dating from 1926 when it was built by public description, it also chimed with their love of old buildings and "quirky things".

The former-three screen cinema has now been stripped back to one screen to take it "back to its roots".

However, the seats will also be removeable to allow standing at concerts.

To return it to its original art deco theme, the foyer has been redecorated with wallpaper in that style.

And the former hair salon incorporated into one side of the building has become an ice cream parlour, also in art deco style.

An investigation has been launched following a disorder that involved machetes in Wolverhampton.

West Midlands Police said they were called to a pub on Moseley Road in Bilston at about 14:45 BST on Monday.

When officers arrived, those involved were no longer at the scene, they added.

A 38-year-old woman was later taken into custody on suspicion of assisting an offender, and officers were sent to two nearby schools to provide reassurance.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the force.

A team from a council agency will be visiting homes to raise awareness of the risk of flash flooding.

Cheltenham Borough Council, the Environment Agency and Charlton Kings Parish Council will share information with residents on what to do during flash floods.

Some of the properties in Charlton Kings are in a rapid response catchment which means rivers and tributaries near their homes are prone to flooding after heavy rain, even before flood warnings are issued.

Louis Krog, head of public protection for the borough council, said: "Within these areas, the advanced notice doesn't often happen, so these wardens will help give them an action plan so they can do what they can to prepare."

A newly elected councillor said it was an "honour and a privilege" to be chosen to lead a local authority.

Reform UK members on North Northamptonshire Council selected Martin Griffiths for the top job after the party seized control from the Conservatives in the local elections.

Griffiths, who once led the now defunct Wellingborough Borough Council as a Conservative, will have his position confirmed on 22 May.

"The people of this county have given us a clear mandate for serious change and we fully intend to deliver that," he said.

Reform UK made history during the elections, winning 39 of the 66 seats up for grabs at North Northamptonshire Council.

The unitary authority had previously been run by the Tories, who saw their 50 councillors slashed to 13.

Griffiths left the Conservative Party in 2021 to sit as an independent in North Northamptonshire, before joining Reform in December.

He now represents the Croyland and Swanspool ward, and was selected to lead his new party after a group meeting.

Edward McDonald, councillor for Gretton and Weldon, was chosen as his deputy.

Reform UK won 677 of about 1,600 seats contested at last week's local elections.

Griffiths said: "We have an incredible team of councillors with professional experience from all walks of life.

"It's the most experienced team I've ever worked with in my time in local government, and I am excited by what we can deliver for local people."

Griffiths said what his party achieved was "incredible", after it also won West Northamptonshire Council.

"From a standing start we now have full control of both Northamptonshire councils," he added.

Curators are putting together an exhibition that aims to show people how William Shakespeare came to write his plays.

The exhibition, called Becoming Shakespeare, opens in Stratford-upon-Avon later this month.

It has been described as a look at the influences that helped to shape the dramatist when he was young, and what inspired him to create his work.

Rachael North, chief executive of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said it would focus on the playwright's "formative years".

She said visitors would be able to "feel a personal connection to the beginnings of his extraordinary journey".

Bradley Wynne, creative director at Sarner International, which has been working on designs for the exhibition, said Shakespeare's Birthplace, in the Warwickshire town, was "one of the most literary heritage sites in the world".

The exhibition opens on 24 May and organisers said prebooking was recommended.

The Shakespeare's Birthplace website describes how the bard was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.

His father was a glove-maker, holding civic positions in the town, which meant he was likely to have sent his children to the local grammar school.

The young writer would have lived with his family at their Henley Street house, until he turned 18.

He then married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him and already pregnant when they tied the knot.

Experts have said it is a mystery how he got to London, but by 1592 his reputation in the capital was established.

His success made him "considerably wealthy" and he went on to buy the largest house in the borough of Stratford.

Researchers now believe Shakespeare spent more time in Stratford than previously thought, lodging in London and dividing his time between his hometown and the capital, in what could have been a two or three-day commute.

A shoe fetishist who raped and murdered a woman in her own home will not be moved to an open prison, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.

Christopher Farrow was jailed for life in 2000 for the murder of mother-of-two Wendy Speakes in Wakefield six years previously.

Last month the Parole Board said Farrow, who received a minimum term of 18 years, should not be freed but instead moved to a Category D facility, the least secure.

But the government has blocked the proposal, saying public protection was its "number one priority".

'Horrific crime'

A spokesperson added: "Wendy Speakes' murder was a horrific crime and our thoughts remain with her friends and family."

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood was required to make the final decision whether to accept the recommendation.

Farrow raped Ms Speakes, 51, in 1994 after breaking into her home, raiding her shoe drawer and tying her up with black tights. He then stabbed her 11 times.

It took police six years to catch him after advances were made in fingerprint technology.

The Parole Board said that, at the time of the murder, he had a sexual interest in rape, sexual violence, stockings and high-heeled shoes, along with issues in relationships and managing his emotions.

Farrow has been denied release on four occasions, following hearings in 2018, 2020 and 2023.

Ms Speakes' daughter Tracey Millington-Jones said: "It is reassuring that victims are being heard and put first.

"The fact we victims should not have to go through this every two years is another concern which needs to be heard.

"But for now, I am very grateful that women will be safe from Christopher Farrow."

Ms Millington-Jones thanked Ms Mahmood, her MP Sir John Whittingdale and the media for supporting her campaign to keep Farrow in prison, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She added: "Justice should be served for the pre-meditated horrific murder of my innocent lovely mum."

Farrow, now aged 63, has spent almost 25 years in prison since being sentenced.

On 27 February, at his fourth parole hearing since his minimum term ended, the board heard he had completed an accredited programme last year to address "offence-related sexual thoughts".

A decision summary from the board said he had completed "extensive" work in custody including sessions with a psychologist, but only recent work had allowed professionals to say he showed insight into his offending.

Farrow, originally from Cookridge in Leeds, was moved to an open prison in 2018 but was returned to a closed jail the next year due to a number of cold case investigations taking place.

The Parole Board confirmed he was no longer a person of interest to police.

West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds

A popular footbridge in Exmoor has been shut over safety fears.

The Hinds Pitt bridge, near the Tarr Steps circular walk, in Somerset, has been deemed unsafe after structural failures.

Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) said it was working on a plan for a long-term replacement, reinstating public access.

ENPA access and recreation manager, Dan Barnett, said: "The bridge has been there since the 1950s and some key parts of the steel structure have deteriorated to a point where they are no longer safe."

Six Bulgarians have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for spying for the Kremlin in the UK and across Europe.

During a trial in London, the Old Bailey court heard the cell was paid handsomely for their services, which included spying on two journalists who had exposed nerve agent attacks on Russian dissidents Alexei Navalny and Sergei Skripal.

The sentencing judge said the group's activities had posed a serious risk to the UK's national security.

Ringleader Orlin Roussev, 47, was jailed for 10 years and eight months. His deputy, Biser Dzhambazov, 44, was sentenced to 10 years and two months.

Dzhambazov's former partner, Katrin Ivanova, 33, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison. Three others – Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, Ivan Stoyanov, 33, and Vanya Gaberova, 30 – were jailed for between six and eight years.

Roussev, Dzhambazov and Stoyanov all pleaded guilty to the spying charges, while the other three were convicted at a trial in March.

Prosecutors had told the court they had conducted operations in the UK, Austria, Spain, Germany and Montenegro.

They targeted investigative journalists Christo Grozev and Roman Dobrokhotov, as well as Russian dissidents, political figures and Ukrainian soldiers training at a military base in Germany.

The case against them was described as "one of the largest" foreign intelligence operations in the UK and focused on six of their assignments.

It presented, for the first time in a UK criminal court, the inner workings of a Russian operational spy cell – exposing their thousands of messages organising surveillance, photos and videos of their targets, and talk of plans to kidnap and kill.

Evidence presented to the court this week also revealed new details about Jan Marsalek, an overseas fugitive who directed the unit for Russian intelligence services.

Marsalek, an Austrian, is currently wanted in Germany for fraud allegations linked to the financial services company Wirecard. He is believed to be hiding in Moscow.

The court heard the spy ring referred to themselves as the "minions", inspired by the yellow sidekicks of the villain Gru in the Despicable Me children's film franchise.

The group also frequently referred to the Russian GRU agency – its military intelligence service – in Telegram messages.

Police raided the Norfolk guesthouse housing the operation in 2023 where they found a "treasure trove" of gadgets, including a Minion cuddly toy containing a camera.

In sentencing on Monday, Judge Nicholas Hilliard singled out Roussev as the boss but said all were "motivated by money". Sums of up to €1m (£840,000) were discussed by the gang, demonstrating the "value" of their covert activities to Russia.

Mr Justice Hilliard said using the UK as a base to plan spy operations was a "very serious offence" which "undermines this country's standing with allies".

"Targeting journalists… undermines freedom of the press, one of our core democratic values," he added.

Russia's embassy in London has not responded to the case. The Kremlin has previously always rejected allegations of spying.

Conspiracy to spy carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, but Roussev, Dzhambazov and Stoyanov were afforded some credit for their guilty pleas.

Roussev was ordered to pay a confiscation order of £180,768 in ill-gotten gains by August 2025.

Meanwhile, Gaberova's sentenced was reduced to six years, eight months and three weeks following mitigation.

Her barrister Anthony Metzer KC said she had been "controlled, coerced into this conspiracy by Mr Dzhambazov," who was her lover while also being involved with Ivanova.

The court was told Gaberova had been diagnosed with depression, panic disorder, claustrophobia and anxiety.

The Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command said the case was "a clear example" of the increasing threat of state espionage.

Commander Dominic Murphy said it "highlights a relatively new phenomenon whereby espionage is being 'outsourced' by certain states".

Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: "These substantial sentences should send a clear warning to anyone seeking to threaten our security, harm the UK, and compromise the safety of the public."