President Donald Trump complimented Sir Keir Starmer on his ‘beautiful accent’ in the White House while refusing to apologize for calling Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator.

Trump gave the Prime Minister the bizarre compliment after Sir Keir said the UK looks forward to welcoming him for what would be an ‘unprecedented’ second state visit.

‘What a beautiful accent,’ Trump told Sir Keir in a press conference this afternoon.

‘I would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.’

Sir Keir laughed as Trump left his podium to shake hands with him.

Trump wasn’t as complimentary in regards to Zelensky – who is set to visit him tomorrow morning – but less harsh toward him than last week when he called him a dictator.

In an earlier presser alongside Sir Keir in the Oval Office today, Trump was asked if he would still use that word for his Ukrainian counterpart.

The US president said he ‘can’t believe’ he described Zelensky as a dictator.

Appearing surprised, he replied: ‘Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.’

The post from February 19 in which he called Zelensky a ‘dictator without elections’ remains on his Truth Social account.

When another reporter later asked Trump if he will apologise to Zelensky in person for calling him a dictator while praising Putin who is a dictator, the US president did not say he would.

‘I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning, we’re going to get along really well, OK? Trump said of Zelensky.

‘We have a lot of respect – I have a lot of respect for him.

‘We’ve given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money but they have fought very bravely, no matter how you figure it.

‘Somebody has to use that equipment and they have been very brave in that sense.’

In a raucous West Wing meeting where questions were shouted by US and British journalists:

• Trump said he was ‘very impressed’ with Sir Keir’s wife Victoria, describing her as a ‘beautiful, great woman’ and saying the PM is ‘very lucky’
• The President said he did not think Vladimir Putin would be likely to invade Ukraine again, saying: ‘When we have a deal, it’s going to be the deal’
• Sir Keir contradicted both Trump – by saying European countries would not be repaid their Ukraine support – and his vice president JD Vance – by saying the UK was proud of its tradition of free speech – with little pushback from either
• Trump jokingly asked the PM: ‘Could you take on Russia by yourselves?’ – Sir Keir muttered ‘well’, and laughed
• The President appeared not to recognise Aukus, the name of a security alliance between the US, UK and Australia
• Asked about whether Kyiv would regain control of areas taken over by Russia, Trump said: ‘We’re going to see if we can get it back, or get a lot of it back, for Ukraine if that’s possible’

Trump accepted the offer to visit the UK, which was presented in the form of a letter from King Charles, and said he would be coming over in the ‘near future’.

As he greeted Sir Keir at the White House Trump said it is a ‘great honour’ to have the PM visit.

He added: ‘It’s a very special place and he’s a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.

‘I’ll be going there and we expect to see each other in the near future – we’ll be announcing it.’

Today’s meeting is a high-stakes encounter, which Sir Keir and his team have spent weeks preparing for.

European security is top of the agenda after two weeks in which the postwar transatlantic alliance was shaken.

The PM has said repeatedly that if the US does not provide a security ‘backstop’ of some kind as part of a Ukraine peace deal, Russia could launch another assault.

However, Trump has signalled he may be more sympathetic to the Russian side, suggesting Kyiv was responsible for the 2022 invasion.

In the meeting today, he suggested he had a kinship with Putin as they ‘went through the Russia hoax together’ – his term for the allegations that the Kremlin interfered with the 2016 US election with his team’s knowledge.

There was an early positive sign from the bilateral meeting, with Trump indicating he could support the Labour government’s Chagos Islands deal.

The deal, which would hand over control of the strategically important archipelago to Mauritius, has been the subject of furious criticism by politicians from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

But at the White House today, the president said: ‘We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.

‘I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.’

In a second press conference in the afternoon, both Trump and Sir Keir said the meetings were very productive and that the US and UK stand side by side in working to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end.

‘You created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace (deal), a deal I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world,’ Sir Keir said.

‘But we have to get it right.’

Trump said that he has had ‘back-to-back’ and ‘very successful’ calls with Putin and that his team has spoken with the NATO secretary general to end the ‘spiral of death’ that has senselessly killed about one million Ukrainians and Russians.

‘I think we’ve made a lot of progress and I think it’s moving along very rapidly,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll let you know what happens. It will either be fairly soon or it won’t be at all.’

Sir Keir became the fourth world leader to meet with Trump since his second inauguration, arriving two days after French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to the White House.

Zelensky will make the trip as the US and Ukraine hammer out a deal relating to valuable rare-earth minerals that Trump has argued should repay the cost of the support given by the US in the war.

Michelle Trachtenberg responded to fans after they expressed concerns over her appearance before her death.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the actress, best-known for her roles in TV Shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, and films including Ice Princess, had died at the age of 39.

Trachtenberg was reportedly found by her mother around 8am local time in a luxury apartment complex in New York. She was found ‘unconscious and unresponsive’ by police, who said that her death is not being investigated as suspicious.

Stars who worked with her including Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Alyson Hannigan, Kim Cattrall and Rosie O’Donnell have paid tribute, with Lively – who worked with her on teen drama Gossip Girl – writing: ‘She was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.’

According to People, Trachtenberg underwent a liver transplant months before her death.

In January last year, the Hollywood star fired back at ‘haters’ after facing frequent comments about her appearance on social media.

After posting a selfie, she wrote in her caption: ‘Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have [to] hate? Get a calendar.’

The previous week, she posted another picture of herself on Instagram while getting her hair done at a salon in Beverly Hills, which prompted some of her fans to question if she was ‘sick’.

An Instagram user called @catchy_critz wrote at the time: ‘Michelle [you] look sick. [Are you] ok?’

The actress responded to the comment directly, writing: ‘@cathy_critz explain to me how I look sick. Did you lose a calendar and not realize I’m not 14? I’m 38. How sad for you to leave such a comment.’

The following day, she uploaded another image with her newly-dyed pink-tipped hairstyle, along with a defiant caption.

‘I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery. I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters,’ she penned.

However, as she shared more photos, fans insisted they weren’t concerned about plastic surgery or malnutrition, but instead they were worried about the star’s ‘thinning hair and eyes’.

As detailed by the NHS, the whites of someone’s eyes (or their skin) turning yellow is a symptom of jaundice.

The organisation added that it ‘can be a sign of something serious, such as liver disease’.

‘I really don’t think anyone was implying you had plastic surgery. We are generally concerned about you. Your eyes are yellow, your hair is [thinning] majorly, you look sick,’ wrote fan @heather_mcgillick.

‘Nobody is talking about plastic surgery. They are talking about your liver shutting down,’ added @efm850916, while @go.lden7541 said: ‘People are just worried that your eyes are yellow and all your hair is falling out. I think they are worried for your health.’

Others came to Trachtenberg’s defence, urging people to ‘stop’ commenting on her appearance.

She was later cast as socialite Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl, a role she played for four years, and went on to reprise in the recent reboot.

One of her most celebrated film roles was in the 2005 movie Ice Princess, while she also appeared in EuroTrip and 17 Again.

An earlier version of this article was originally published on January 22 2024.

President Donald Trump complimented Sir Keir Starmer on his ‘beautiful accent’ in the White House while refusing to apologize for calling Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator.

Trump gave the Prime Minister the bizarre compliment after Sir Keir said the UK looks forward to welcoming him for what would be an ‘unprecedented’ second state visit.

‘What a beautiful accent,’ Trump told Sir Keir in a press conference this afternoon.

‘I would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.’

Appearing surprised, he replied: ‘Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.’

The post from February 19 in which he called Zelensky a ‘dictator without elections’ remains on his Truth Social account.

When another reporter later asked Trump if he will apologise to Zelensky in person for calling him a dictator while praising Putin who is a dictator, the US president did not say he would.

‘I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning, we’re going to get along really well, OK? Trump said of Zelensky.

‘We have a lot of respect – I have a lot of respect for him.

‘We’ve given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money but they have fought very bravely, no matter how you figure it.

‘Somebody has to use that equipment and they have been very brave in that sense.’

In a raucous West Wing meeting where questions were shouted by US and British journalists:

• Trump said he was ‘very impressed’ with Sir Keir’s wife Victoria, describing her as a ‘beautiful, great woman’ and saying the PM is ‘very lucky’
• The President said he did not think Vladimir Putin would be likely to invade Ukraine again, saying: ‘When we have a deal, it’s going to be the deal’
• Sir Keir contradicted both Trump – by saying European countries would not be repaid their Ukraine support – and his vice president JD Vance – by saying the UK was proud of its tradition of free speech – with little pushback from either
• Trump jokingly asked the PM: ‘Could you take on Russia by yourselves?’ – Sir Keir muttered ‘well’, and laughed
• The President appeared not to recognise Aukus, the name of a security alliance between the US, UK and Australia
• Asked about whether Kyiv would regain control of areas taken over by Russia, Trump said: ‘We’re going to see if we can get it back, or get a lot of it back, for Ukraine if that’s possible’

Trump accepted the offer to visit the UK, which was presented in the form of a letter from King Charles, and said he would be coming over in the ‘near future’.

As he greeted Sir Keir at the White House Trump said it is a ‘great honour’ to have the PM visit.

He added: ‘It’s a very special place and he’s a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.

‘I’ll be going there and we expect to see each other in the near future – we’ll be announcing it.’

Today’s meeting is a high-stakes encounter, which Sir Keir and his team have spent weeks preparing for.

European security is top of the agenda after two weeks in which the postwar transatlantic alliance was shaken.

The PM has said repeatedly that if the US does not provide a security ‘backstop’ of some kind as part of a Ukraine peace deal, Russia could launch another assault.

However, Trump has signalled he may be more sympathetic to the Russian side, suggesting Kyiv was responsible for the 2022 invasion.

In the meeting today, he suggested he had a kinship with Putin as they ‘went through the Russia hoax together’ – his term for the allegations that the Kremlin interfered with the 2016 US election with his team’s knowledge.

There was an early positive sign from the bilateral meeting, with Trump indicating he could support the Labour government’s Chagos Islands deal.

The deal, which would hand over control of the strategically important archipelago to Mauritius, has been the subject of furious criticism by politicians from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

But at the White House today, the president said: ‘We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.

‘I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.’

In a second press conference in the afternoon, both Trump and Sir Keir said the meetings were very productive and that the US and UK stand side by side in working to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end.

‘You created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace (deal), a deal I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world,’ Sir Keir said.

Trump said that he has had ‘back-to-back’ and ‘very successful’ calls with Putin and that his team has spoken with the NATO secretary general to end the ‘spiral of death’ that has senselessly killed about one million Ukrainians and Russians.

‘I think we’ve made a lot of progress and I think it’s moving along very rapidly,’ Trump said. ‘We’ll let you know what happens. It will either be fairly soon or it won’t be at all.’

Sir Keir became the fourth world leader to meet with Trump since his second inauguration, arriving two days after French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to the White House.

Zelensky will make the trip as the US and Ukraine hammer out a deal relating to valuable rare-earth minerals that Trump has argued should repay the cost of the support given by the US in the war.

EastEnders’ Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) left behind a ticking timebomb for ex-wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) as he exited Walford once again on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the former couple rekindled their old flame and ended up in bed together.

However, immediately afterwards, Sharon insisted it was a mistake and said they needed to think about Grant’s brother and Sharon’s ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who is currently receiving treatment in a mental health facility after a suicide attempt last week.

Hurt, Grant stormed out and bumped into his old foe Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) in the laundrette, where she was having a panic attack over her recent trauma at the hands of twisted Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman).

After he managed to calm her down, the pair reminisced about old times and some former Walford faces, putting to bed their long-running feud over Grant’s late wife and Bianca’s best mate Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon).

Grant then confessed to a shocked Bianca he had slept with Sharon – and their secret looks set to explode next week, when Sharon’s rivalry with current partner Teddy Mitchell’s (Roland Manookian) ex-wife Nicola (Laura Doddington) flares up again.

But just how does this information fall into Nicola’s lap?

Meanwhile, Grant made plans to leave Walford, inviting Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) to come and join him in Portugal so he could care for him as his dementia worsens.

He then paid a visit to his brother Phil, apologising for not being around for him.

As the brothers reconciled, Grant promised Phil he would make more effort to keep in touch going forward.

There was then another emotional goodbye between Grant and Sharon at the Tube station, where Nigel later arrived to tell him he would be sticking around in Walford to support Phil when he is discharged.

The two men broke down in tears as Nigel said he wanted to be able to remember saying goodbye.

Grant then took one last look around Walford and headed inside the Tube station, bringing an end to Ross Kemp’s latest EastEnders stint.

Michelle Trachtenberg‘s cause of death will remain undetermined after her family declined an autopsy.

Earlier this week it was announced the actress, best-known for appearing in shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, had died aged 39.

She was reportedly found ‘by her mother around 8am local time on Wednesday in a luxury apartment complex in New York.

Police then said she had been ‘unconscious and unresponsive’ and her death was not being investigated as suspicious.

Now, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has announced that an autopsy will not be done to investigate her cause and manner of death.

The New York Post has reported that the actress’ family requested an autopsy was not conducted.

The medical examiner’s office would have automatically undertaken an autopsy if foul play or criminality had been suspected, but as there was none, it did not overrule the family’s objections.

The publication also reported the office said it was ‘obligated to honour the family’s request due to the state’s public health law’, which confined the medical examiner to conducting an external examination, which limits what can be determined.

Police sources had previously told ABC News Trachtenberg had recently undergone a liver transplant and may have suffered complications.

However she never publicly spoke about these claims.

Soon after her death, a spokesperson for the family released the following statement: ‘It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss. There are no further details at this time.’

Last year the actress hit back at ‘haters’ after she faced frequent comments about her appearance on social media.

After posting a selfie, she wrote in her caption: ‘Fun fact. This is my face. Not malnutrition no problems. Why do you have [to] hate? Get a calendar.’

In another instance, she wrote: ‘I’ve received several comments recently about my appearance. I have never had plastic surgery. I am happy and healthy. Check yourself haters.’

After making her acting debut as a child star on Nickelodeon, including in The Adventure of Pete & Pete and Harriet the Spy.

She went on to play Dawn Summers in Buffy,Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl and also starred in the 2005 movie Ice Princess.

Gene Hackman, whose shock death aged 95 alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa has left Hollywood reeling, was an acting legend who will be remembered for his impressive career as a badass on screen.

The actor had an incredible run as an actor, spanning more than sixty years and appearing in a wide range of critically acclaimed films.

Hackman received two Academy Awards, two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award and is remembered as an actor who had no bad films.

‘He’s incapable of bad work,’ said Alan Parker, who directed the civil rights drama Mississippi Burning in 1988 which earned Hackman an Oscar nomination.

‘Every director has a short list of actors he’d die to work with, and I’ll bet Gene’s on every one,’ he told Film Comment Magazine at the time.

After appearing in numerous critically acclaimed films as gun-toting baddies or no-nonsense tough men, the actor became known for creating sensational roles that showed off his gritty acting chops.

After appearing in over 70 films during his six-decade-long career, he captured the attention of audiences from almost every generation.

Many of his fans will remember him as the criminal mastermind in Superman Lex Luthor, while older fans might remember some for his role in The French Connection as the bad cop Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle.

Hackman was also known for his disdain for the press and his prickly public persona – which he didn’t deny.

‘It’s probably accurate. The movie business is very stressful, and a lot of times people doing interviews hang around sometimes for a couple of days before they talk to you, or even after they talk to you,’ he said when asked 1992 interview with All About Actors.

‘You just forget they’re there, and you say something, or you’re impatient or tired or whatever else. Then they write that. That’s all right. I don’t care. Sure, I get frustrated and angry or upset and all that.’

In stark contrast to the roles he played on screen, Hackman has been remembered by Hollywood as a kind mentor and inspiration to fellow actors.

What did Gene Hackman do before acting?

The actor didn’t pursue a career in acting until 1956 and had various jobs before becoming a film star.

At 16, Hackman joined the Marine Corps and served for four and a half years as a field radio operator in China, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hawai’i and Japan.

He was discharged in 1951 and later studied journalism and television production, but left Illinois to move back to California.

In 1956, he joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he met his friend and fellow actor Dustin Hoffman.

Reflecting on their early career, competing for jobs, Hoffman told the PA news agency in 2017: ‘I never thought that I would get hired when I was starting out.

‘Bob Duvall, Gene Hackman and myself, we were hoping just to make a living, off-off Broadway, off Broadway, we never thought any of this would happen.’

In a BBC interview, he once spoke about his early life: ‘I suppose I wanted to be an actor from the time I was about ten, maybe even younger than that. Recollections of early movies that I had seen and actors that I admired like Jimmy Cagney, Errol Flynn, those kind of romantic action guys.

‘When I saw those actors, I felt I could do that. But I was in New York for about eight years before I had a job. I sold ladies shoes, polished leather furniture, drove a truck. I think that if you have it in you and you want it bad enough you can do it.’

What are some of his most famous roles?

In his early career, he appeared in various TV shows and Broadway productions, but his breakthrough didn’t come until 1970 when he appeared in I Never Sang for My Father.

The film shoved him straight into the spotlight, and he is best remembered for his roles including The French Connection, Unforgiven, Bonnie and Clyde, the Superman franchise, The Firm, and Behind Enemy Lines.

Hackman once said his role in the 1973 film Scarecrow, alongside Al Pacino, was his favourite role of his career.

He also starred in the hit movies Runaway Jury and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conservation, which won the Palm d’Or, as well as Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

How many Oscars did he win?

Hackman won two Academy Awards and was nominated for five in total across his bursting-at-the-seams career.

He won the best actor gong for his role in the 1971 film The French Connection.

He also won the best supporting actor accolade for his role in Clint Eastwood’s Western film Unforgiven in 1992, in which he starred as Little Bill Daggett.

He was nominated three other times for Academy Awards, including for best supporting actor in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.

He was also nominated for best-supporting actor in the 1970 film I Never Sang for My Father, and for best actor in Mississippi Burning in 1988.

When did he quit acting and why?

Hackman’s final film role was Welcome to Mooseport opposite the actor Ray Romano.

The film was released in 2004 when he was 74. Following this project he quietly retired from acting, confirming he was no longer working in an interview while promoting his book in 2008.

In 2008, he told Reuters: ‘I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer.

‘I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.’

He added that he would spend the next portion of his life focusing on his passion for writing novels and added that he no longer enjoyed seeing his aged face on screen.

‘I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press,’ he once said.

‘It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen. I think of myself, and feel like I’m quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.’

Hackman also commented in 2004 that heart problems were also a factor in retirement. Hackman told Empire: ‘The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.’

In an interview with GQ in 2011, the actor said he could consider coming out of retirement – if he could do it in his own home.

‘I don’t know. If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people,’ he told GQ.

Who was his wife and did he have any children?

Hackman was married to his first wife, Faye Maltese, for almost 30 years and raised three children before divorcing in 1986.

In the 20 years after his retirement, the actor spent much of his time writing and staying out of the spotlight with his wife Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist who he married in 1991.

Hackman released five novels in the later portion of his life: Wake of the Perdido Star (1999), Justice for None (2004), Escape from Andersonville (2008), Payback at Morning Peak (2011), and Pursuit (2013).

Hackman and Arakawa were found dead on Wednesday afternoon in their New Mexico home in the US, the Santa Fe County Sheriff confirmed.

A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff in New Mexico said: ‘We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.

‘This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor.’

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Trans US troops will be separated from their fellow cisgender service members unless they receive an exception, a new memo has revealed.

The note to the Pentagon effectively bans trans people from joining or serving in the military.

Defence officials have been tasked to create a procedure that can identify personnel diagnosed with gender dysphoria and expel them by June 25.

Those separated from the army will include service members receiving hormone therapy or have undergone gender-affirming surgery.

‘It is the policy of the United States Government to establish high standards for service member readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,’ the memo dated February 26 said.

‘This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria or who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.’

But this goes one step further, giving trans troops only two options. They must either serve under their ‘birth sex’ or obtain a waiver.

It states: ‘The Department only recognises two sexes: male and female. An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life. All service members will only serve in accordance with their sex.’

An exemption will only be provided if ‘there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities’.

Personnel must meet strict criteria, the memo added, including that they ‘demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability in the service member’s sex without clinically significant distress’.

Separated service members will receive an honourable discharge unless their record indicates they should receive a lower-level discharge.

Trump’s directive, ‘Prioritising military excellence and readiness’, does not use the word ‘transgender’ but says the military has been ‘afflicted with radical gender ideology’.

The president gave the Department of Defence powers to bar trans soldiers by considering identifying as a gender other than the one assigned at birth as grounds for disqualification.

The order came after another directive pushed federal agencies to only recognise two genders, male and female, as assigned at birth.

Shannon Minter of the National Center For Lesbian Rights (NCLR) said: ‘The scope and severity of this ban is unprecedented. It is a complete purge of all transgender individuals from military service’.

The Pentagon memo was filed as an exhibit by the DoD in Talbott v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order banning trans troops.

‘My being transgender has no bearing on my dedication to the mission, my commitment to my unit, or my ability to perform my duties in accordance with the high standards expected of me and every servicemember,’ one of the plaintiffs, Second Lieutenant Nicolas Talbott, said.

An estimated 8,000 trans people served in the US military in 2015, though the figure can vary between around 4,000 and 10,000.

The figure is likely higher, however, as not all trans people may be open about their gender identity. The Pentagon does not require trans troops to self-identify.

Nearly six in 10 Americans favour allowing openly transgender people to serve in the military, a poll this month found, but the support had drooped from 71% in 2019.

Parents accused of ‘abandoning’ their 14-year-old son at a boarding school in Ghana over fears he was ‘joining a London gang’ can leave him there, a judge has ruled.

The teenager took his parents to court to try and return to his home in London, and claimed they ‘physically and emotionally abandoned’ him.

His parents suspected he became involved with a gang, but the boy’s lawyers described him as ‘very polite and articulate’ and a keen fan of football and cooking.

The boy, who cannot be named, contacted the British Consulate and a child welfare organisation after his parents enrolled him at the school and flew home to England without him.

They took him to the country under the lie they were going to care for an ill relative, and only bothered to pack just a few of his possessions.

The boy claims he is receiving ‘inadequate’ food and tuition at the school, and is being ‘mistreated’ while there.

However in a judgment today, Mr Justice Hayden said that the teenager ‘is at real risk of suffering greater harm in returning to the UK than if he were to remain in Ghana’.

‘I recognise that this is, in many ways, both a sobering and rather depressing conclusion,’ the judge added, finding the decision to relocate the boy was within ‘the generous ambit of parental decision taking’.

This is despite the court accepting the boy’s home was in London and his views ‘should be afforded significant weight’.

Barrister Amean Elgadhy, barrister at 4PB which represented the parties in the case, told Metro: ‘This case is interesting because in this instance, it was accepted that the boy’s home was in London, but they decided he should remain in Ghana anyway.

‘It highlights the very real risks of potential gang involvement in London, and it directly engages the tensions between the rights of the child and the views of the parents.’

The High court heard the boy had poor school attendance, was aggressive, susceptible to being groomed, an allegation of stealing phones, and worrying Snapchat conversations.

Rebecca Foulkes, for the boy’s father, said social workers had outlined that, before the boy left the UK, there was ‘difficulty in managing (his) behaviours and in trying to manage them the mother was using physical aggression on occasion to do so’.

Social workers had reported that he was frequently late to class, would sometimes stay out late and that his school claimed it had ‘suspicions about him engaging in criminal activities’ and made ‘observations of him in expensive clothes and possession of phones’.

Ms Foulkes said: ‘From the father’s perspective, there was a clear deterioration in his son’s behaviours with a move towards criminal behaviours.

‘There is no real acceptance from him of the risks to which he was exposing himself.’

Gary Barlow is one of the most beloved songwriters of a generation, but in the early days of Take That, his songs weren’t always a hit.

While appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room, the Back for Good hitmaker, 54, told Vernon Kay how cover songs allowed the band to shine.

‘It took us a minute to work out what we were really,’ Gary shared while performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra live for the 100th episode.

He continued: ‘It took us a second to get the music. We had about three misses before we eventually had a hit.

‘It was at the point where the label had kind of given up on my songs and they said: “We’re going to go with a cover version first as we believe this will give you the platform to get on to then get your own music through”.’

That track was It Only Takes A Minute by Tavares, which charted in the UK top 10 and landed the group a Brit Award nomination in 1993.

‘It put us on that stage, and then we started to introduce the music slowly,’ added Gary.

And he certainly has proven his songwriting talent ever since, with 13 number one singles to his name, including Back For Good.

He performed the beloved song – which turns 30 next month – for his Piano Room set as well as a new song If There’s Not A Song About It.

Co-written and performed live with special guest Colbie Caillat, Gary said the track came from him feeling like he’s ‘played every love song’.

He revealed: ‘[This song] is a different kind of break-up, and it’s [about] someone who is quite close to me. I don’t need to say who it is, but they had a very happy break-up.

‘They’d realised this is the end of the road and let’s leave on great terms. And I don’t think there’s a song about that, but there is now; there you go!’

After the duet, the These Days hitmaker then covered Sam Fender’s People Watching and praised the 30-year-old singer as one of his favourite artists.

‘[I] went to see him live last year,’ Gary said. ‘Love the new record. Of course, I really want to try and do this justice because it’s a brand new song, we thought, why rethink something that’s so new, so I’m kind of copying his version, but it’s a wonderful track.’

Gary’s performance was the last for this Piano Room series, marking 100 episodes and 314 songs sung at the studio.

He’s the only artist other than Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant to appear on the show twice, previously performing as a guest with Delta Goodrem last year.