Good evening. The chairman of Tesco is to step down next month in the wake of a series of harassment allegations.
Meanwhile, an article that Prince Harry has alleged was obtained unlawfully had been published in a newspaper the previous day, the High Court has heard.
Tesco chairman quits after harassment allegations
John Allan is to step down next month after the supermarket said allegations over his behaviour risked becoming a “distraction” .
Mr Allan, who had been due to leave as chairman next year, will now quit at Tesco’s annual general meeting in June.
The decision follows several allegations in recent weeks over his behaviour , which representatives for the City grandee described as “simply untrue”.
In claims made in the Guardian, the Tesco chairman was accused of inappropriate behaviour on four separate occasions .
This included one incident in which he was alleged to have touched the bottom of a senior Tesco employee.
He was also accused of making inappropriate remarks to two other women on separate occasions between 2019 and 2022, and touching another woman’s bottom.
He denied all but one of the allegations, only admitting to having made comments about a worker’s appearance in 2019, which he apologised for.
Angry motorist throws Just Stop Oil protester to the ground
An eco-protester was thrown to the ground during a physical confrontation in London with a furious member of the public.
Around 18 environmental activists were marching near the Tower of London on Friday morning when they became involved in an altercation with a man, reported to be a motorist.
Video captured from a nearby building shows the man pushing several activists, one of whom fell to the ground, in an attempt to remove them from a bus lane where demonstrators were marching slowly.
Just Stop Oil insisted it understood how frustrating it can be to be disrupted, but warned it was nothing compared to the impact of new licences for oil, gas and coal projects.
You can read the full report here .
Prince Harry story in Mirror ‘taken from rival paper and not phone-hacked’
A tabloid newspaper article that the Duke of Sussex has alleged was obtained unlawfully had been published in a Sunday newspaper the previous day, the High Court has heard.
The 107-word story, which was published in the Daily Mirror in November 2004, identified Chelsy Davy as the “pretty blonde” with whom he had been on holiday in Argentina.
Prince Harry has claimed that the information came from phone hacking , blagging or another form of unlawful information gathering.
But Anthony Harwood, a former executive news editor who wrote the story, told the court that the Mail on Sunday had identified Ms Davy the previous day.
Our Royal Editor Victoria Ward has the full report .
Evening Briefing: Today’s essential headlines
Court | The brother of the TV presenter Phillip Schofield has been jailed for 12 years over child sexual offences.
Timothy Schofield shook his head as he was sentenced for 11 sexual offences involving a child, who he left “trapped and unable to escape”.
The civilian police worker was convicted of the offences between October 2016 and October 2019 after a trial at Exeter Crown Court in April. Read the full report here .
- Carrie Johnson | Former PM’s wife pregnant with third child
- Crime | Man mauled to death by dog as owner is arrested
- Rishi Sunak | PM addresses Harry and Meghan’s ‘paparazzi chase’
- GPs | The real reason you can’t get an appointment
- Turkey | Flying sofa hurtles across the sky in Ankara
Comment and analysis
- Bill Nighy | Aid cuts make a mockery of ‘Global Britain’
- Henry Hill | Labour is starting to panic. We should too
- Tom Sharpe | Putin has one deadly weapon left
- Judith Woods | Anything is justifiable to avoid childhood obesity
- Kate Andrews | The inflation disaster is only getting started
World news: Russia unlikely to capture Bakhmut in next two days, admits Wagner
Russian forces are unlikely to capture Bakhmut any time soon , the head of the Wagner mercenary group has said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose fighters have been spearheading the assault on the eastern city for several months, said Ukrainian forces were holed up in a makeshift “fortress” south of the city.
In a voice message uploaded to his Telegram channel, Prigozhin said: “Bakhmut has still not been taken. Bakhmut is unlikely to be taken either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
You can read all the developments from the day on our live blog .
Interview of the day
Hannah Arensman: ‘I’ve left cycling – losing to a trans rider hurts on a million different levels’
Despite giving up the sport she loves, Arensman refuses to be cowed by abuse women face for speaking out about the transgender crisis
Business news: Nationwide to pay millions of savers £100 loyalty bonus – every year
Millions of Nationwide customers will receive a £100 payment after the building society launched a new reward scheme for its most loyal savers .
Around 3.4 million members will benefit from the windfall, which will cost the lender £340m.
Payments will be sent out automatically to those holding both a Nationwide qualifying current account and either a savings product or mortgage in June, assuming they held them on March 31 this year.
It comes after the lender reported its strongest financial results on record.
Editor’s choice
National Portrait Gallery | Inside the museum’s £41m makeover
Second World War | The Lumberjills who chopped wood to keep Britain running
Ulez | ‘Sadiq Khan’s plans have forced me to sell my car’
Sport news: ‘Knollsy’, the West Ham fan who took on an army of ultras
A West Ham United fan was hailed as a “legend” after he held off a horde of violent AZ Alkmaar thugs following the team’s Europa Conference League semi-final victory.
West Ham fans, including the friends and families of the players, came under attack after the final whistle of their 1-0 victory at the AFAS Stadion in the Netherlands.
A group of black-shirted AZ ultras had torn down a gate within the stadium before charging towards the small section of West Ham supporters, seated behind the dugouts at the 20,000-seater arena.
Three things for you
- TV | Channel 4’s latest brainwave? An orgy at a country house
- Travel | How Turkey became ‘Moscow on the Med’
- Fashion | Summer trend that you already have in your wardrobe
And finally… for this evening’s downtime
The beautiful island with the world’s cleanest air | Visit Tasmania for astonishing beaches, stupendous hiking and bizarre creatures
