WHAT THEY SAY

The strikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there

– Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, says that some people who fled the north of Gaza appear to be returning.

I had the huge pleasure of sharing the stage with her, in the play The Audience where, much like the original characters (Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher) we danced a delicate dance together. She was both funny and serious at the same time, a brilliant balancing act that her whole career exemplified. We will miss her very much –

Dame Helen Mirren paying tribute to actress Haydn Gwynne following her death aged 66 after a recent cancer diagnosis.

Last year’s school strikes were some of the most disruptive on record for children, and their parents. We cannot afford a repeat of that disruption - particularly as schools and teachers continue to work so hard to help children recover from the pandemic. I am asking the teaching unions to engage with us and agree to put children and young people’s education first - and above and beyond any dispute – Education Secretary Gillian Keegan announcing that minimum levels of service are to be introduced during education strikes.

We know that voters here have voted for us and they’ve put their trust and their confidence in a changed Labour Party, and we will repay them for that trust and confidence. We do so humbly – Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer after his party’s remarkable double by-election triumphs.

> Dame Helen Mirren