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President Trump extolls Israeli leader as a ‘warrior’, says the US will be the one that ‘saves Bibi Netanyahu’ amid corruption trial.
United States President Donald Trump has called for Israel to cancel the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or grant him a pardon, describing the case against the Israeli leader as a “witch-hunt”.
Trump issued the call on Wednesday on behalf of his close Israeli ally, who was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Netanyahu’s trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
“Bibi Netanyahu’s trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State (of Israel),” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform using the Israeli leader’s nickname, adding that he had learned that Netanyahu was due to appear in court on Monday.
“Such a WITCH HUNT, for a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” Trump added.
Israeli media have reported that cross-examination of Netanyahu began on June 3 in a Tel Aviv court and was expected to take about a year to complete.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has the power to pardon Netanyahu, but has been quoted by Israeli media as saying that a pardon is “not currently on the table”.
Herzog also said that “no such request had been made”, according to the reports.
Trump also said in his post: “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”
It was unclear what Trump or the US government could do to stop Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Trump’s words of support for Netanyahu contrasted with the rare public rebuke he issued against the Israeli leader on Tuesday over Israel’s post-ceasefire strikes on Iran.
“Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” Trump told reporters at the time.
Iran and Israel, he added, had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is “in denial” about the scale of Labour MPs’ welfare rebellion writes the Guardian. Some cabinet ministers “are now said to believe the welfare reform bill has no chance of passing in its current form”, it adds. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte grins at US President Donald Trump in a photo captioned “who is the daddy?” with the paper describing the pair’s “budding bromance” – Rutte called the president a “daddy” after the US bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Trump and Starmer look stony-faced as other world leaders grin around them in a group photo from the Nato summit splashed across the FT’s front page. Each country in the group has pledged to “meet Donald Trump’s demand” to spend 5% of its GDP on defence. In other front page news for the FT one “leftwinger’s bid to be New York mayor” has spurred a “Wall St hunt for a moderate rival”. Democratic candidate Zohan Mamdani has “unexpectedly clinched the party’s nomination” and financiers were “discussing who to back as a centrist candidate” within hours.
Starmer is “set to back down on benefits”, reports the Daily Telegraph, “as Labour rebellion grows”. More than 120 Labour MPs have now signed an amendment to block the cuts to disability and sickness-related payments. The Labour government also “wants to call time on adverts for alcohol” ahead of the watershed. Further from home, “Trump vents his fury at ‘scum’ who leaked Iran bombing intelligence”. A report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency “suggested Iran’s nuclear programme had not been destroyed, but set back by only a few months”.
The PM is “ready to retreat on benefit cuts to end rebellion” writes the i Paper, echoing the Telegraph. In an exclusive for the paper, it also carries an interview with Leon Panetta, the former head of the CIA. “I ran the CIA – Trump is making scary mistakes,” he is quoted as saying.
The Times runs with “rebel MPs want ‘regime change'”. An MP the paper describes as a “ringleader” tells the Times they “hoped the revolt would lead to a clear-out of staff in Downing Street”. The unnamed source added they think the PM “needs fewer over-excitable boys on his team”. Also on its front page, “US officials to visit Iran for talks on nuclear programme”. Trump announced the talks at the Nato summit.
The Sun’s lead story headlines on “from Russia with shove”, reporting the claim Vladimir Putin “is pushing migrants to the UK to overwhelm border defences and sow division”. The claim comes from an unnamed security source. Security Minister Dan Jarvis is quoted saying “national security is the first duty of any government and that means securing our borders”.
In a showbiz exclusive, the Daily Star says “it’s call over” for Call the Midwife as the programme ends “after 15 years with blockbuster film”.
The Daily Mirror reports “ten people have died after they reported a severe side effect of weight loss injections”. A new study will be led by Prof Matt Brown, who tells the Mirror “like all medicines, there can be a risk”.
The Daily Mail’s front page is taken up with the launch of a new campaign to keep the Legacy Act in place, legislation brought in by the last Conservative government. The law relates to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and offers conditional amnesties for some participants in the conflict. It has been criticised by unionist and nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, and Labour has committed to repealing it.
The Express leads on a story about a group of nurses in Darlington challenging their health trust’s policy over allowing a trans colleague to use the female changing rooms at work.
Crypto prices are surging after Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in the Middle East. Solana is a top gainer with an 8% pump.
It now trades at $145 and appears well on track to take local highs in the days ahead.
However, as the Solana price surges on renewed investor confidence, the newly launched Solana layer 2 blockchain, Solaxy ($SOLX), has gained 60% in the past 24 hours following its DEX launch on Uniswap and Raydium.
According to CoinMarketCap data, presale profit-taking ensued once $SOLX hit the open market on Monday, causing an initial crash to lows of $0.00059. However, the selling has stopped, and bulls have taken charge, with the $SOLX price rallying to a current valuation of $0.0011.
Solaxy is strategically positioned to extend Solana’s ecosystem with layer 2 scaling, removing the network’s long-standing congestion issue and replacing it with blistering speeds, lower fees, and reliability.
Investors looking to capitalize on Solana’s growth appear to be buying Solaxy in order to generate bigger gains. While Solana is worth $76 billion, Solaxy’s market cap is just $124 million, offering huge upside potential, especially since it solves a crucial ecosystem issue.
Solana’s rapid surge as geopolitical tensions soften
There has been an incredible vibe shift in the crypto market over the past 48 hours.
Chatter of ‘World War 3’ worryingly circulated social media sites as the United States and Israel traded airstrikes with Iran over the weekend and Monday. However, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on his social media site Truth Social, and then posted an update revealing that it is “now in effect.”
As a result, investors have begun retaking risk positions in the crypto market. Bitcoin is up 3.3% today, Ethereum is up 6%, and Solana is up 8%.
Solana has also seen a 28% rise in 24-hour trading volume, taking its total amount to $5.88 billion today.
Meanwhile, the Solana ecosystem is also catching fire.
Solaxy is a clear example of that, having gained a whopping 50% today.
Solaxy leads crypto gainers – but there’s room for more big gains
After raising $58 million to become the largest Solana presale in history, Solaxy is living up to expectations on its decentralized exchange (DEX) debut.
With a 60% pump over the past 24 hours, it’s one of the biggest gainers across all altcoins as seen on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.
Furthermore, its trading volume is also surging, having increased from $2 million 16 hours ago to over $6 million at press time.
As word spreads about Solaxy’s exchange listing, new investors are scrambling to buy. It’s important to note that Solaxy currently remains at a substantial discount compared to the price at which several top analysts anticipate it trading this cycle.
Something else worth noting is that Solaxy has locked $1.6 million in liquidity until June 2026. This doesn’t just ensure seamless buying and selling; it reflects Solaxy’s long-term approach and signals that the team isn’t going anywhere.
And the chart is starting to reflect that – $SOLX has broken all key resistance and now has room for an 59% uptick to the next important price point.
Solaxy mainnet launch and “massive exchanges” coming soon
Strap in because Solaxy’s gains may just be getting started.
The project aims to address Solana’s congestion issue by utilizing off-chain computation and transaction bundling technology, validating transactions on its layer 2 in batches and then reporting back to Solana for finality.
Its goal is to achieve 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), which will make it significantly faster than Solana, capable of 6,500 TPS.
The test network is now live, allowing developers to begin building Solaxy apps. The team has confirmed that the main network will go live on July 7. Other key launches include Solaxy’s meme coin launchpad Igniter Protocol and its native DEX Neptoon.
The team has also promised that Solaxy will list on “massive exchanges.” And although they have yet to confirm which ones, its ambitious use case, ties to Solana, and strong DEX debut all indicate that top tier 1 platforms will be interested.
There is no doubt that listings on such exchanges, coupled with the launch of major ecosystem features, will contribute to a strong uptrend continuation for Solaxy in the months ahead.
$SOLX is currently available on the Ethereum and Solana networks, so investors can purchase it from Uniswap or Raydium.
Holders can also transfer their tokens between networks using the Solaxy bridge.
You can also follow the project on X or join its Telegram for the latest news and updates. Alternatively, visit its website to learn more or stake $SOLX.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not received evidence to support claims against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels.
On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl.
It accused them of playing “a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl”.
The sanctions are part of a wider pressure campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump against Latin American gangs, criminal networks and drug traffickers.
That campaign has included designating several groups as “foreign terrorist organisations” and using tariffs to pressure Mexico’s government to increase enforcement of irregular traffic across the border.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said the banks were the first to be targeted under new pieces of legislation – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – passed to expand its ability to target money laundering related to opioid trafficking.
The sanctions would block transfers between the targeted Mexican banks and US banks, although it was not immediately clear how far-reaching the limits would be.
In a statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of “enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain”.
But Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit responded to the sanctions by saying it had yet to receive conclusive evidence justifying them.
“We want to be clear: If we have conclusive information proving illicit activities by these three financial institutions, we will act to the fullest extent of the law,” the Finance Ministry said.
“However, to date, we have no information in this regard.”
CIBanco did not immediately respond to the allegations. The US Treasury Department accused it of being connected to money laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.
Intercam, which is also accused of having connections to the CJNG cartel, also did not respond.
Meanwhile, the brokerage firm Vector, which was linked to money laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers were false.
“Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate to clarify the situation.
Ex-Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales will appeal at the Supreme Court after fine for forcibly kissing Jenni Hermoso is upheld.
Disgraced former Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales will appeal to the Supreme Court the confirmation of his $12,600 (10,800-euro) fine for forcibly kissing Jenni Hermoso, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
After a keenly awaited trial that gripped the country, Spain’s top criminal court in February found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for the kiss at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which generated global outrage.
The Audiencia Nacional also cleared him of a separate accusation of coercion for allegedly forcing Hermoso to downplay the incident afterwards.
Both parties contested the sentence, which fell short of the two-and-a-half-year prison term sought by prosecutors and infuriated feminist groups that condemned the punishment as too lenient.
Rubiales maintained that the kiss was a consensual “peck” between friends celebrating during a medal ceremony after star forward Hermoso had just helped Spain beat England in the final in Sydney, denying any coercion.
The court said in a statement on Wednesday that it had rejected the appeals of the defence team and prosecutors, maintaining the conviction and the fine.
“The kiss was not consensual”, and Hermoso “expressed her displeasure with what happened, as she herself confirmed in the trial, as well as her teammates”, the court wrote.
“It cannot be said that a kiss in those circumstances was frequent or common or usual.”
The court also confirmed that Rubiales, former women’s national team manager Jorge Vilda and two former senior federation officials, Albert Luque and Ruben Rivera, were cleared of the coercion charge.
Rubiales’s lawyer, Olga Tubau, told the AFP news agency that he would appeal the verdict at the Supreme Court.
A separate request by the prosecutors to rerun the trial, notably due to doubts over the judge’s impartiality, was dismissed.
The court also maintained a ban on Rubiales from going within a 200-metre (656-foot) radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for one year.
The kiss led to a global uproar that forced Rubiales to relinquish his post, saw him banned from all football-related activity for three years and plunged the federation into a prolonged period of turmoil.
The affair made Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the national women’s team, an icon of the fight against sexism and macho culture in sport.
Rubiales is also embroiled in an investigation into alleged financial irregularities totalling millions of euros related to the Spanish Super Cup’s relocation to Saudi Arabia, which involved a company owned by Barcelona great Gerard Pique.
Rubiales has dismissed the allegations as “falsehoods”.
Elliott made 18 league appearances under Arne Slot last season, but his only two starts came against Chelsea and Brighton, when Liverpool had already won the league.
That was in stark contrast to the previous season, with 11 starts in 34 league games for the Reds in Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign.
Elliott has made 147 appearances, scoring 15 goals, in his six years at Liverpool since joining from Fulham as a teenager, with a season on loan at Blackburn in 2020-21.
England Under-21 boss Carsley has only seen Elliott’s desire to succeed this summer.
“I’ve not seen a lot of the frustration,” he added. “What I have seen is someone who’s determined to play and to get the minutes. He wants to play every game and all of the minutes.
“He’s definitely built into the tournament. Not getting as much game time towards the end of the season, we’ve had to manage his minutes in terms of the amount he’s played and the intensity he plays at because he’s so explosive with the way he moves and his end product.
“We’re very lucky to have him.”
Brighton have been linked with a move for Elliott, as have former club Fulham, and while Wolves have been mentioned they have already signed Spaniard Fer Lopez and any fee is likely to be too high for the Molineux outfit.
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, part of BBC 5 Live’s commentary team in Slovakia, believes Elliott has done well to ignore talk about his future and impress at the Euros.
“There’s a lot of speculation about ‘will he be at Liverpool next year?’,” said Warnock, who made 67 appearances after coming through the youth ranks at Anfield.
“That’s not easy. There will be phone calls with his agent about who’s talking, where are we looking at going and what are the potential avenues, am I going to stay at Liverpool? It’s very much a rollercoaster as the tournament goes on.
“Because of the amount of games he has played for Liverpool, and the impact he had coming in, I think we all thought he would catapult and play for a long time in the first team.
“But he has a World Cup winner in Alexis Mac Allister in front of him, [Ryan] Gravenberch had an unbelievable season and [Dominik] Szoboszlai was brought in for big money.
“He has responded well in this tournament. Mo Salah talks about moments in games and Harvey Elliott is one of those players for the moment. When the moment presents itself he is calm and composed.”
Bullish sentiment has returned to the crypto market in the past 24 hours. With Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire in the Middle East, as well as the United States Federal Reserve retracting its “reputational risk” scrutiny, which had previously blocked banking access for crypto firms, crypto prices are surging.
Bitcoin has gained 3% today, Ethereum is up 6%, XRP 8%, and Solana 7%. However, as seasoned investors are well aware, the biggest gains often come from under-the-radar low-cap altcoins.
Pick the right one, and there is an opportunity for life-changing wealth. It’s not uncommon for projects to yield 1,000x gains in a bull market. Let’s explore 5 top picks that could prove to be the best cryptos to buy now.
BTC Bull Token
BTC Bull Token is the new Bitcoin-themed meme coin with a twist: it’ll be the first-ever cryptocurrency to pay its holders real Bitcoin rewards.
The project will track Bitcoin’s price and run airdrops at key milestones. The first will be when it reaches $150,000, and there will be another at $200,000. There will also be a $BTCBULL airdrop when the price reaches $250,000.
It’s no secret that meme coins can yield huge returns in bullish periods. Some even form cult-like communities that insist on not selling. But what if a community was incentivized not to sell with real Bitcoin rewards?
It’s never been done before, so we don’t know the outcome, but there may be no willing sellers, and then incoming demand would drive the price up significantly.
BTC Bull Token is currently undergoing a presale and has raised $7.3 million to date, showing incredible investor appeal.
However, the presale will end in six days, and then $BTCBULL will list on exchanges. It’s at that point that the price could explode. Visit BTC Bull Token.
Snorter
Snorter is the new meme coin trading bot that could help its users find the next 10x-1,000x trade. But as the platform’s native token, it might just be $SNORT itself that yields the biggest gains.
It’s like the investment adage that those who sold picks and shovels made more than those who mined for the gold themselves during the US gold rush era.
That said, Snorter offers powerful features that help its users identify profitable trades. Automated token sniping, copy trading, dynamic stop-losses, rug-pull detection, and advanced charting are all available.
The project is built on Telegram and supports Solana, Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, and Base – all the top chains for meme coin opportunities.
Currently, the project is in the early stages of its presale, having raised $1.2 million to date. The combination of a powerful use case and early stage could well send Snorter to up to 1,000x higher this year. Visit Snorter.
Useless Coin
Useless Coin is a trending meme coin created on Solana meme coin launchpad Bonk.fun.
Bonk.fun was launched in April 2025 and has direct ties to Bonk. It operates a Bonk buyback scheme using platform revenue. This creates a direct incentive for Bonk community members to support the app.
Currently, Useless Coin is the top meme coin to emerge from Bonk.fun.
It has also been picked up by top Bonk community member Bonk guy, who believes it’s poised for substantial gains. He nodded to metrics such as steady growth in holders, rising trading volume, and the fact that whales and smart money are investing.
– holders growing – volume improving and at ATHs – big sells are being gobbled – whales and smart money keep accumulating – core group of early holders holding strong and believing in multi-billion dollar targets
— Unipcs (aka ‘Bonk Guy’) 🎒 (@theunipcs) June 24, 2025
Bonk.fun is a direct competitor to Pump.fun. Currently, Fartcoin is the top meme coin to emerge on Pump.fun, having reached a market cap of over $2 billion at its peak. Meanwhile, Useless Coin is worth just $120 million.
If the bull market continues and Bonk.fun surpasses Pump.fun’s adoption due to its ties to Bonk, we could well see its top meme coin (Useless Coin) surpass Pump.fun’s top meme coin.
CreatorBid
CreatorBid is a new AI crypto that allows users to create and tokenize AI agents in just one minute. The AI agents are social media personas that can create content, interact with other accounts, and generate revenue for their creators.
It’s a multichain project operating on the BSC and Base chains. The $BID token offers benefits, including a 2% sell tax on certain trades, as well as utilities such as endorsing agents, staking, and paying for platform services.
CreatorBid is currently trading at $0.12 with a $34 million. It’s the best-performing AI cryptocurrency this week with a 58% pump, signifying that it has momentum on its side.
The project recently launched its Launchpad V2. One of its new features is project screening, which means users must lock $BID to vote on which agents should be approved to launch on the platform.
CreatorBid has a unique use case that lands somewhere between Pump.fun and Virtuals Protocol. It’s for that reason that it could have real potential this year.
Bitcoin Hyper
What happens when Bitcoin’s security meets Solana’s speed and programmability? You get Bitcoin Hyper – the Bitcoin layer 2 blockchain built using the Solana Virtual Machine.
It’s fast and supports smart contracts like Solana. It’s even interoperable with Solana and Ethereum tokens and apps. Yet, it reports transactions back to Bitcoin for finality, providing users with the same security and permanence as if they had transacted directly on the Bitcoin layer 1 chain.
Something else is that the project currently offers huge staking rewards at 498%. However, these rewards will decrease as the staking pool grows.
Bitcoin Hyper is currently undergoing a presale and has raised $1.5 million in under three weeks, showing massive early momentum.
As the word spreads about its promising use case, there is every chance that the $HYPER price will explode. Visit Bitcoin Hyper.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from standing for president for five years by French courts.
France’s far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, has openly suggested that her political heir apparent, Jordan Bardella, could take her place in the 2027 presidential election, as a court ruling threatens to derail her candidacy.
In an interview published on Wednesday by French magazine Valeurs Actuelles, the leader of the National Rally (RN) party said: “I accept that I cannot run. Jordan accepts that he must step in. I myself have asked him to think about it and prepare for this possibility.”
Le Pen’s statement is the clearest sign yet that the three-time presidential contender is preparing for the real possibility of being sidelined. In March, a French court convicted her of embezzling European Union funds and banned her from holding public office for five years. She has appealed.
While Le Pen has denounced the ruling as a “witch hunt” and a “political decision”, the consequences are far-reaching. A Paris appeals court is expected to rule on the case in 2026, just a year before the election. If Le Pen’s sentence is overturned or reduced, she could still return to the race.
“Jordan and I will enter the presidential primary race until the court case is decided,” Le Pen said.
“Of course, the situation is not ideal. But what else do you suggest? That I commit suicide before I’m murdered?”
Le Pen warned that blocking her from running could further alienate voters and destabilise the political landscape. “Many French people, regardless of their political convictions, would then understand that the rules of the game have been manipulated,” she said.
Bardella has not yet commented publicly about Le Pen’s endorsement, and the two have long brushed off reports of internal power struggles. Still, as Bardella’s profile grows, speculation persists about their working relationship.
Bardella, 29, was elected president of the National Rally in 2022, while Le Pen assumed a parliamentary role. His rise has been meteoric, thanks in part to his media savvy and polished image — though critics question how he’d hold up in a high-pressure debate.
In April, Le Pen jokingly downplayed the idea of Bardella running, saying he’d be the party’s candidate “if I were hit by a truck”.
President Emmanuel Macron, who helms the liberal centrist Renaissance party, is barred from seeking a third term under the country’s electoral laws. Aside from centre-right former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, few major figures have formally declared they are running in 2027.
A recent poll found Bardella edging out Le Pen in popularity, with 28 percent of respondents saying they’d prefer to holiday with him, compared to 22 percent for his mentor.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced that the United States will no longer contribute to Gavi, a global health programme that has vaccinated more than one billion of the world’s poorest children.
In a video that aired at a Gavi fundraising event in Brussels on Wednesday, Kennedy said the group had made questionable recommendations around COVID-19 vaccines. He also raised concerns about the diphtheria-tetanus-whole cell pertussis vaccine, known by the acronym DTPw, though he provided no evidence to support those fears.
“I call on Gavi today to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8bn that America has provided in funding since 2001,” Kennedy said in the video.
Kennedy added that Gavi should consider all available science before investing in vaccines. “Until that happens, the United States won’t contribute more,” he said.
The details of the video were first reported by the publication Politico and later by the news outlet Reuters.
Gavi said in a detailed statement that safety was one of its top priorities and that it acts in line with World Health Organization recommendations.
The statement also indicated that Gavi has full confidence in the DTPw vaccine, which it credits with having helped to cut child mortality in half in the countries it supports since 2000.
“The DTPw vaccine has been administered to millions of children around the world for decades, and is estimated to have saved more than 40 million lives over the past 50 years,” the statement notes.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has previously indicated that it planned to cut US funding for Gavi, representing around $300m annually, as part of a wider pullback from international aid.
Advocacy groups called on the US to reverse its decision.
“Kennedy claims that Gavi ignored science are entirely false,” nonprofit consumer advocacy organisation Public Citizen wrote in a statement.
“Gavi’s recommendations are grounded in global evidence and reviewed by independent experts. His suggestion otherwise fuels the same disinformation that has already led to deadly measles outbreaks and the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio.”
A longtime vaccine sceptic, Kennedy has upended the US medical establishment since taking office in February. He has raised questions about possible ties between autism and vaccines, though numerous studies have shown there is no link.
Earlier this month, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the expert panel on vaccines at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Created 60 years ago, the committee serves as an independent government body to review data and make recommendations about who should get vaccines. Those recommendations, in turn, can affect which vaccines health insurance plans may cover.
Of Kennedy’s initial eight replacement members, about half have advocated against vaccines.
Kennedy’s new vaccine advisers hold inaugural meeting
The newly revamped committee met for the first time on Wednesday, under intense scrutiny from medical experts worried about Americans’ access to lifesaving shots.
But already, conflicts are starting to simmer in and around the panel.
Ahead of the two-day gathering, government scientists prepared meeting materials calling vaccination “the best protection” during pregnancy — and said most children hospitalised for COVID-19 over the past year were unvaccinated.
That advice, however, conflicts with Kennedy’s. The health secretary already announced COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, and his new advisers are not scheduled to vote this week on whether they agree.
COVID-19 remains a public health threat, resulting in 32,000 to 51,000 US deaths and more than 250,000 hospitalizations since last fall, according to the CDC.
Kennedy’s newly reconstituted panel also lost one of its eight members shortly before Wednesday’s meeting.
Michael Ross, a Virginia-based obstetrician and gynecologist, stepped down from the committee, bringing the panel’s number to just seven. The Trump administration said Ross withdrew during a customary review of members’ financial holdings.
The meeting opened as the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that it will continue publishing its own vaccine schedule for children, but now will do so independently of the ACIP, calling it “no longer a credible process”.
ACIP’s recommendations traditionally go to the director of the CDC. Historically, nearly all are accepted and then used by insurance companies in deciding what vaccines to cover.
But the CDC currently has no director, so the committee’s recommendations have been going to Kennedy, and he has yet to act on a couple of recommendations ACIP made in April.
Separately, on Wednesday, Senate hearings began for Trump’s nominee for CDC director, Susan Monarez.
During the hearings, she said she has not seen evidence linking vaccines and autism and said she would look into the decision to cut Gavi funding.
“I believe the global health security preparedness is a critical and vital activity for the United States,” she said.
“I think that we need to continue to support promotion of utilisation of vaccines.”
A leaked intelligence report has cast doubt on Trump and Netanyahu’s claims that their attacks on Iran destroyed its nuclear programme. Analysts say some facilities weren’t even hit, while 400kg of uranium is unaccounted for. Soraya Lennie takes a look.
A significant number of Labour MPs are threatening to vote against the government’s working-age welfare reform plan when it comes before the House of Commons next week.
The rebel MPs have signed an amendment to the legislation that makes a series of objections, including a lack of official consultation and impact assessments.
BBC Verify explains the detail of the reforms and their possible impact.
Which benefits would be cut?
The government wants to save money by:
making it harder for people to access Personal Independence Payments (Pip)
cutting the rate of incapacity benefit
Incapacity benefit – which is mainly paid through the health element of Universal Credit – goes to those deemed to be unable to work for health reasons.
This benefit is set to be reduced by 50% in cash terms for new claimants from April 2026. For existing claimants, it is due to be held flat in cash terms until 2029-30 – meaning payments will not rise in line with inflation.
The government estimates these two changes will save £3bn a year by the end of the decade.
Pip is paid to people with a long-term physical or mental health condition or a disability and who need support. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has acknowledged that almost 20% of recipients are in work.
The government plans to make it more difficult for people to claim the “daily living” element of Pip from 2026-27.
Under the current assessment system, claimants are scored on a zero to 12 scale by a health professional on everyday tasks such as washing, getting dressed and preparing food.
Under the proposed change, people would need to score at least four on one task, ruling out people with lower scores who would previously have qualified for the benefit.
The government estimates this will save an additional £4.5bn a year from the welfare bill by the end of the decade.
Why is the government trying to cut welfare spending?
It is concerned about the rise in the number of people claiming working-age benefits in recent years and the implications of this trend for the public finances.
At that time, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government’s official forecaster, projected that the overall cost of the working-age benefit system would rise from £48.5bn in 2024 to £75.7bn by 2030.
That would have represented an increase from 1.7% of the size of the UK economy to 2.2%, roughly the size of current spending on defence.
Ministers argue that this rising bill needs to be brought under control and that changes to the welfare system are part of that effort.
It is worth noting though that – even after factoring in the planned cuts – the OBR still projected this bill to continue to rise in cash terms to £72.3bn by 2030.
And the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) still projected the total number of working-age Pip recipients to rise by 1.2 million between 2023-24 and 2029-30 – after the cuts.
In this sense, the main effect of the Pip cuts would be to reduce the increase in claimants that would otherwise have occurred.
What would the impact of the reforms be?
The government’s official impact assessment estimates that about 250,000 additional people (including 50,000 children) will be left in “relative poverty” (after housing costs) by 2030 because of the reforms.
However, that assessment included the impact of the government deciding not to proceed with welfare reforms planned by the previous Conservative administration, which government analysts had judged would have pushed an additional 150,000 people into poverty.
Some charities and research organisations have suggested this means the government’s 250,000 estimate understates the impact of its own reforms, since the previous administration’s reforms were never actually implemented.
Iain Porter from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has suggested the actual poverty impact of the government’s changes could therefore be up to 400,000 (adding the 250,000 figure to the 150,000 figure to generate an estimate of the total numbers affected).
However, the government’s impact assessment cautions against simply adding the two figures together, noting that “some people are affected by more than one [reform] measure”, meaning this approach risks double counting individuals.
Taking account of this, the Resolution Foundation think tank has estimated that the net effect of the government’s reforms would mean “at least 300,000” people entering relative poverty by 2030.
What about the impact on employment?
The government has claimed that its reforms are not just about saving money, but helping people into work.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sky News in March 2025 that: “I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work. And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty.”
To this end, the government is gradually increasing the standard allowance in Universal Credit – the basic sum paid to cover recipients’ living costs – by £5 a week by 2029-30.
This is projected to be a net benefit to 3.8 million households and the government argues it will also increase the incentives for people to work rather than claim incapacity benefits.
The government is also investing an extra £1bn a year by 2029-30 in additional support to get people out of inactivity and into employment.
What are the rebels’ objections?
The rebel MPs say disabled people have not been consulted on the proposed reforms.
They also say there has been no evaluation of the overall employment impacts by the OBR.
It is true that the government has not consulted disabled people on the specific cuts to Pip and incapacity benefits, though it is now consulting on the broader reform package.
It is also the case that the OBR has not yet done a full employment impact assessment, though the forecaster says it will do one before the Autumn Budget.
Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation has done its own estimate of the employment impact of the overall reform package.
It estimates the total increase in employment could be between 60,000 and 105,000, although it stressed that these figures are highly uncertain.
This positive employment figure contrasts with the 800,000 people who are projected to lose part of their Pip payments by 2029-30 and the 3 million people families who will see a cut in their incapacity benefits.
Bitcoin has hit $105,000 less than 48 hours after tapping $98,900, reflecting a growing sense of optimism among investors today.
The market rally comes as Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and crypto prices have risen across the board as a result.
As Bitcoin surges, a new Bitcoin-themed meme coin called BTC Bull Token (BTCBULL) is gaining momentum in its presale, having raised over $7.3 million so far.
With less than a week to go in the presale, BTCBULL is shaping up to be one of 2025’s hottest new coins. The project will release Bitcoin airdrops when BTC hits new all time highs, fueling excitement among investors.
Bitcoin Rallies 3.8% on Ceasefire Announcement, Rate Cut Hopes
A ceasefire in the Middle East, alongside an increasing bet on incoming interest rate cuts, is driving Bitcoin and the broader crypto market higher.
US President Donald Trump announced a “total ceasefire” between Israel and Iran. This eased investors’ concerns about the conflict, which had seriously escalated in recent weeks.
Watcher Guru highlighted that $50 million worth of Bitcoin shorts were liquidated in a 60-minute window following the announcement, reflecting that the market views it as a highly bullish development.
JUST IN: $50,000,000 worth of Bitcoin shorts liquidated in the past 60 minutes.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller says that rate cuts could be implemented in July to address the US’s weakening labor market. He also cited that inflation is under control, which is what the Fed has been holding off on thus far.
The 🇺🇸 Fed expects rate cuts in July:
Wednesday: Powell says he is concerned that jobs could break down soon.
Friday: Waller expects a cut in July due to labor market weakening & low inflation.
Monday: Bowman AND Goolsbee expects a cut in July due to labor market weakening… pic.twitter.com/ZTDNh6OKkF
Lower interest rates have historically been beneficial for risk markets, prompting investors to shift away from risk-off assets, such as treasuries, and into risk-on assets, like stocks, commodities, and digital assets.
Coupled with what appears to be cooling tensions in the Middle East, this creates a favorable environment for the growth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin currently trades at $105,300 and is up 3.8% today. It remains down 0.5% this week, 1.8% this month, and 5.95% from its May 2025 all-time high (ATH).
There has been a 7% surge in Bitcoin’s trading volume today, taking it to $67.2 billion.
Analyst Says Bitcoin to Reclaim M2 Trajectory
The M2 money supply has historically proven an accurate lead indicator for Bitcoin’s price performance. Bitcoin followed the rising M2 money supply throughout its 2021 bullish trajectory, and then crashed as the M2 growth slowed in 2022.
This cycle, it’s following the M2 growth once again, with additional tailwinds from spot ETFs and institutional adoption.
However, Bitcoin recently decoupled from the M2 supply, which some skeptics argued invalidates the correlation. However, analyst Merijn noted that Bitcoin currently follows an identical pattern to in April, shortly before it exploded to a new ATH.
Both times, the Bitcoin price fell only to find support and then start bouncing. Merlijn calls this a “bear trap” and suggests that the next breakout is coming soon.
M2 leads. Bitcoin follows.
Global liquidity is rising and $BTC is breaking free from the bear trap.
Just like April, just like before the last breakout.
Considering its strength in recent days, this certainly can’t be ruled out. However, as Bitcoin shows promising potential, analysts have pointed to the new Bitcoin-themed meme coin, BTC Bull Token, as an alternative for those seeking to maximize their gains.
Viral Presale $BTCBULL Raises $7.3M as Analyst Forecasts 10X ROI
What happens when you pay a meme coin community Bitcoin rewards if they don’t sell? It has never happened, so don’t know the answer yet. But we’re about to find out.
BTC Bull Token is a Bitcoin-themed meme coin that will airdrop its holders real Bitcoin at key price milestones.
The first airdrop will occur when Bitcoin hits $150,000, and another will follow at $200,000. There’ll also be a $BTCBULL airdrop when Bitcoin reaches $250,000.
This airdrop mechanism directly ties BTC Bull Token to Bitcoin’s performance. And not only that, but it also creates an environment in which there will be minimal willing sellers.
As such, incoming demand will be concentrated in a small pool of tokens, which could cause the $BTCBULL price to skyrocket.
Analyst Jacob Bury recently said it could give 10x gains and that it might even be the best cryptocurrency to buy now.
The project is currently undergoing a presale. It has raised $7.3 million to date, demonstrating strong market appeal.
However, the presale will end in just six days, leaving investors with limited time to secure the current fixed and discounted price.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
In a political win for US President Donald Trump, NATO member states have endorsed a big new defence spending target.
In what marks a major shift for NATO, the bloc’s member states have agreed to raise defence spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The move will inject billions more dollars into armies and weapons, raising questions over how governments will foot the bill.
With public budgets under strain, many European politicians dismissed the target as unachievable earlier this year, when US President Donald Trump demanded it.
Europe’s priorities now appear to be shifting to security, citing growing threats from Russia.
And Chinese goods are flooding markets from Southeast Asia to Europe.
Plus, top economists call for debt relief in developing nations.
Thousands have taken to the streets in Kenya to mark a year since antigovernment protests culminated in the storming of Parliament, despite fears they would be confronted by state-backed gangs and police violence.
According to rights groups, at least 60 people were killed last year by security forces during weeks of protests over tax increases and the dire economic situation facing young Kenyans, reaching a climax when thousands stormed Parliament on June 25.
Activists and families of victims had called for peaceful anniversary marches, but some instead urged people to “occupy State House” – a reference to the official residence of President William Ruto – and many schools and businesses were closed amid fears of unrest.
Police blocked main roads leading to the capital’s business district, and government buildings were barricaded with razor wire.
The marches were largely peaceful early on Wednesday, with protesters – mostly young men – waving Kenyan flags, roses, and placards bearing pictures of those killed last year, while chanting “Ruto must go”.
In Nairobi, there were signs of violence, with some protesters throwing stones and police firing tear gas.
Protests were also reported in Mombasa and several other counties.
Anger has intensified over police brutality, especially after a teacher was killed in custody earlier this month.
A group of peaceful protesters was also attacked last week by a gang of motorbike-riding “goons”, as they are known in Kenya, armed with whips and clubs and acting in tandem with the police.
President Trump during his previous state visit in 2019
Donald Trump will make a full state visit to the UK later this year after King Charles and the US president’s schedules meant they would be unable to meet informally over the summer, it is understood.
Buckingham Palace confirmed an invitation signed by the King, called the “Manu Regia”, was taken to the White House by representatives from the British Embassy in Washington last week.
The dates of Trump’s visit are yet to be confirmed but September is said to be the most likely.
It is also understood that there will not be a private meeting between Trump and King Charles this summer ahead of the state visit.
The diary issues come despite the King heading to Scotland for his summer break each year, and Trump being expected to visit his new golf course in Aberdeenshire when it opens this summer.
“His Majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the First Lady later this year,” a Buckingham Palace aide told the BBC.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Parliament on Wednesday: “We are really pleased the US president is coming for a second state visit.”
Formal planning for the second official state visit has now begun.
In February during a visit to the White House, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump a letter from the King.
Traditionally, second-term US presidents are not offered a state visit and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle.
King Charles’ letter proposed a meeting to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland, a country to which Trump has connections.
Speaking in April, Trump said: “They’re going to do a second, as you know, a second fest… that’s what it is: a fest, and it’s beautiful, and it’s the first time it’s ever happened to one person.
“And the reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honour… I’m a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William, we have really just a great respect for the family.
“And I think they’re setting a date for September.”
The Times reported that Buckingham Palace raised concerns about Trump’s “threats to Canada, seeing it as a reason not to rush into a state visit”.
According to the newspaper, a senior source said that a senior Palace aide told government officials that the King did not want to fête Trump with a state visit while the US president was “impugning his sovereignty” over Canada.
It added that senior government sources said the King wished to have a state visit at a later date in Trump’s second term.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “It’s a matter for the Palace.”
Next quarter could be an opportunity to make serious money if you’re willing to look beyond the usual altcoin plays. We’ve highlighted five projects that ChatGPT thinks are about to take off – each with catalysts in the works and upside potential that goes far beyond BTC and ETH.
Here’s the AI model’s picks for the best cryptos to buy in Q3:
1. Story (IP)
ChatGPT thinksStory (IP) is building something we’ll all need eventually: a proper system for determining ownership in the age of AI. Think about it – when AI agents are churning out content 24/7, someone needs to track the rights and royalties. That’s precisely what Story does.
Currently, IP is trading at around $3.09, which is 58% below its February all-time high of $7.33. But something has just caught ChatGPT’s attention: two whale wallets purchased16 million IP tokens for $47.5 million. That kind of accumulation is a bullish signal.
What’s also interesting is Story’s Agent TCP/IP framework. This framework lets AI agents trade IP rights automatically – no humans required. So, as AI content explodes everywhere, ChatGPT believes that having a trusted blockchain for this stuff is essential, and Story is the first mover.
2. Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER)
ChatGPT identifiedBitcoin Hyper (HYPER) as targeting Bitcoin’s biggest weakness: its slow and expensive nature. They’re building a Layer-2 network that uses Solana’s tech to get sub-second transactions while keeping Bitcoin’s security model intact.
Since mid-May, Bitcoin Hyperhas raised $1.5 million in presale. Currently, HYPER tokens are priced at $0.012 each. Plus, the team is offering 504% staking yields for early supporters – and more than104 million HYPER have been locked up already.
ChatGPT notes that timing matters here. Bitcoin’s been trading above $100,000 for weeks, with regulatory conditions looking positive. That means everyone’s looking for scalable Bitcoin solutions. Lightning Network exists, but it doesn’t do smart contracts or cross-chain tasks like Bitcoin Hyper promises.
Analysts likeCilinix Crypto are bullish on HYPER. And ChatGPT suggests that if Bitcoin stays strong and the team delivers what they’re promising, presale investors could cash in big.Visit Bitcoin Hyper Presale.
3. Hyperliquid (HYPE)
ChatGPT flagged a problem that has bugged traders for years: why does DeFi trading still feel clunky compared to platforms like Binance or Coinbase?Hyperliquid (HYPE) has solved this issue. They built a Layer-1 that delivers real on-chain order books with the speed and features you’d expect from a CEX.
The tokenomics are what ChatGPT found fascinating. Hyperliquid captures 97% of all trading revenue and uses it to repurchase HYPE tokens. There’s beenover $1 billion in buybacks already. More volume means more revenue – which means more buybacks.
ChatGPT highlighted that the developers airdropped HYPE to 100,000 early users with zero VC money involved. Plus, there are only 334 million tokens in circulation out of the 1 billion supply. That’s a good sign – fewer tokens are available on the open market, so sustained volume could lead to another massive rally soon.
4. Snorter (SNORT)
ChatGPT seesSnorter (SNORT) as what happens when someone builds proper infrastructure for a meme coin project. It’s a Telegram trading bot that automates everything – sniping new tokens, detecting rug pulls, copy trading, and portfolio tracking. It’s built on Solana but has multi-chain expansion planned.
ChatGPT emphasized not to mistake this for just another silly meme coin. You need SNORT tokens to access the bot’s features, plus you get enormous staking rewards, governance rights, and fee discounts. Snorter’s presalehas raised over $1.1 million so far, with tokens priced at $0.0959.
What ChatGPT also found notable is the infrastructure angle. As meme coin trading gets more intense, automation becomes essential. The bot delivers sub-second Solana execution and MEV protection – all inside Telegram, where meme coin communities live.
The full bot launch is coming soon, followed by expansion to Ethereum and other chains, ultimately leading to DAO governance. Analysts likeApex Syndicate think SNORT could 100x thanks to these plans. So, if you’re seeking a meme coin with real substance, Snorter is worth a look.Visit Snorter Presale.
5. Sei (SEI)
ChatGPT pickedSei (SEI) for building itself to be the fastest Layer-1 blockchain out there, with sub-400 millisecond finality. Most chains feel sluggish compared to this. They use Cosmos SDK with their own “Twin-Turbo” consensus, specifically designed for high-frequency trading and gaming where speed matters.
Sei’s growth numbers are what impressed ChatGPT. TVL went from $85 million last Augustto $500 million at the time of writing. And earlier this month, it reached a peak of $553 million. Also, Sei is processing over 30 million transactions weekly now – that’s more than XRP.
ChatGPT also highlighted Sei’s upcomingGiga Engine launch as a big catalyst. The May testnet showed they can handle over five gigagas per second. That’s enterprise-level performance for DEXs and games that need instant execution – making Sei one of the best cryptos to buy for Q3.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and the market can be unpredictable. Always perform thorough research before making any cryptocurrency-related decisions.
The death sentence has been removed from eight criminal offences in Vietnamese law and replaced with life imprisonment for offenders.
Vietnam will end capital punishment for eight categories of serious crime – including embezzlement, attempts to overthrow the government and sabotaging state infrastructure, state media has reported.
The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday that the country’s National Assembly unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that abolished the death penalty for eight criminal offences.
Starting from next month, people will no longer face a death sentence for bribery, embezzlement, producing and trading counterfeit medicines, illegally transporting narcotics, espionage, “the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war”, as well as sabotage and trying to topple the government.
The maximum sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the news agency said.
Those who were sentenced to death for capital offences before July 1, but have not yet been executed, will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report said.
The death penalty will remain for 10 other criminal offences under Vietnamese law, including murder, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of children, according to the report.
During a National Assembly debate on the proposed criminal code amendment last month, the issue of dropping the death sentence for drug trafficking was the most contentious.
“Whether it’s a few grammes or a few tonnes, the harm caused by drug transport is immense,” one legislator said, while another said removing the death sentence for drugs would send the wrong signal at a time when drug cases were increasing in the country.
Capital punishment data is a state secret in Vietnam and it is not known how many people are currently on death row in the country.
Execution by firing squad in Vietnam was abolished in 2011 and replaced by the administration of a lethal injection.
The US bombed Iran’s nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on June 22.
United States President Donald Trump has insisted that the strikes on several of Iran’s nuclear sites last week “completely destroyed” the facilities, rejecting US media reports citing a Pentagon assessment that the attacks only set Tehran’s nuclear programme back by a few months.
An initial intelligence evaluation suggested that the US bombardment failed to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the military intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Two people familiar with the assessment had told CNN that Iran’s “enriched uranium was not destroyed” and the centrifuges were “largely intact”.
Another source told the US broadcaster that, according to the assessment, enriched uranium had been moved before the US strikes on Sunday.
Trump has maintained that the US strikes destroyed nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
“Fake news CNN, together with the failing New York Times, have teamed up in an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!” he wrote.
When reporters asked him about Iran rebuilding its nuclear programme on Tuesday, Trump said: “That place is under rock. That place is demolished.”
The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat-out wrong”.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement: “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, also dismissed the intelligence report.
“All three of those had most, if not all, the centrifuges damaged or destroyed in a way that it will be almost impossible for them to resurrect that programme,” Witkoff told Fox News on Monday night.
“In my view, and in many other experts’ views who have seen the raw data, it will take a period of years.”
Witkoff also called the leaking of the report “treasonous”.
“It ought to be investigated. And whoever did it, whoever is responsible for it, should be held accountable,” he added.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi said an information war is under way.
“There are clearly figures in Washington who are very keen to leak a very preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency bombing assessment,” he said.
He noted that White House reporters received a press statement, saying the “leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme”.
“This is the first moment we are seeing, post-bombing, of the information landscape and how this information will be used and what effect it might have on Donald Trump going forward,” Rattansi said.
The government feared that victims of the Post Office scandal who had not yet sought compensation would feel “harassed” if officials chased them to apply, MPs have been told.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of MPs, which has scrutinised payments, found that many of the wrongly-accused or convicted sub-postmasters were yet to receive “fair and timely” redress.
In a report, it said the government had taken “insufficient action” to ensure people entitled to compensation had applied for it.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it had paid out more £1bn in compensation to date.
The committee revealed the government had no current plans to follow up with people eligible for compensation, after just one in five letters sent to sub-postmasters about restitution received a response.
MPs said they were “concerned about the potential for further delay of settlements if letters which had not yet received a reply were not being followed up”.
Chris Head, who ran a Post Office in West Boldon, South Tyneside, said the current compensation processes were not working.
Mr Head, who was made an OBE last year for services to justice, was wrongly accused of stealing £88,000 and when the criminal investigation against him was dropped, the Post Office later launched a civil case.
“You have Sir Alan Bates, offered less than 50% of his claim… you have other people on the Overturned Convictions Scheme, who are the worst affected people… not been fully compensated.
“How can you tell people to come forward, to make a claim when the worst people affected are not being paid?”
The DBT said it was “concerned that individuals receiving letters would feel harassed if they had a series of letters asking the same thing”.
However, the DBT did agree to consult the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board on the suggestion that follow-up letters should be sent to potential Horizon Shortfall Scheme applicants who have not yet applied for redress.
Alamy
Former sub-postmaster Chris Head said clear it was “clear the system isn’t working”
There are four main schemes that sub-postmasters can apply to for compensation, and individual eligibility depends on the circumstances of each case.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT system made it look like money was missing from branch accounts.
Some sub-postmasters ended up going to prison, while many more were financially ruined and lost their livelihoods. Some died while waiting for justice.
The scandal has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, but many victims are still waiting for financial redress, despite government pledges to speed up payouts.
The Department for Business and Trade said the PAC report was based on a “period before last year’s election”.
However, the committee said that while the report did scrutinise the annual accounts for the Department for Business and Trade from April 2023 to March 2024, while the Conservatives were in power, the report also reflected the record of the current government.
The report includes evidence heard in April this year and reflected some figures as recent as May.
The committee said:
By March this year, the Post Office, which is owned by the government, had written to 18,500 people, regarding applications for the Horizon ShortfallScheme (HSS), but the majority had not responded.
The Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS), which offers 800 eligible people a choice between applying for a £600,000 flat-rate settlement or the option to pursue a “full claim assessment”, had received 536 applications by May this year. Of those, 339 had chosen the flat payout sum. The report said the government had yet to receive any full claim assessment applications
In relation to the Overturned Convictions Scheme, 25 eligible individuals out of 111 people had not yet submitted a claim. Some 86 had submitted full and final claims, of which 69 had been paid.
The PAC report said the government had “no plans for following up with people who are, or may be, eligible to claim under the schemes but who have not yet applied”.
It added the government did not yet have clarity on the value of claims expected through the HSS and HCRS schemes.
Latest figures showed a total of £1.039bn has been awarded to just over 7,300 sub-postmasters across all the redress schemes.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the committee, said it was “deeply dissatisfactory” to find that the compensation schemes were still moving “far too slowly, with no government plans to track down the majority of potential claimants who may not yet be aware of their proper entitlements”.
“It is entirely unacceptable that those affected by this scandal, some of whom have had to go through the courts to clear their names, are being forced to relitigate their cases,” he added.
The committee has made several recommendations to the government with the broad message that every postmaster be made fully aware of the options for claiming compensation.
The Department for Business said: “We will consider the recommendations and work with the Post Office, who have already written to over 24,000 postmasters, to ensure that everyone who may be eligible for redress is given the opportunity to apply for it.”
The long-running public inquiry into the Post Office scandal, which has examined the treatment of thousands of sub-postmasters and sought to establish who was to blame for the wrongful prosecutions, will publish its final report on 8 July.
‘No incentive’ to recover fraudulent Covid loans
As part of its annual report, which was compiled in April this year, but covers the period from April 2023 to March 2024, the PAC also found that the government’s efforts to recover fraud losses incurred through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme introduced to help businesses recover from Covid-induced losses had been “largely unsuccessful”.
It said it was estimated at least £1.9bn had been lost to fraud through the scheme, with just £130m in payouts from lenders recovered, though it is unconfirmed how much of the amount related to fraud.
The report said the government had been “too passive by placing primary responsibility on lenders to recover losses”.
“As lenders’ losses are 100% underwritten by government, there is no commercial incentive to assist with recovery of taxpayers’ money,” it added.
