An hour with Stanley Baxter was like a night at a party with a crowd of the most celebrated actors and aristocrats of the telly age.

As he reeled off streams of outrageous, delicious anecdotes, he didn’t simply imitate people – he embodied them. The Queen, or Kenneth Williams, would simply materialise in front of your eyes as you wiped away tears of laughter. It was almost literally magical.

But in one instant, like a change in the wind, he could become broken down with sadness. Melancholy swept over him. Once, in the middle of a story while I was interviewing him, he stopped and said in the gentlest voice: ‘I’m just grateful my wife and I couldn’t have children. Her schizophrenia and my nerves – what an awful combination.’

Stanley Baxter, who has died aged 99, was once the most admired comedian on television. His annual variety shows, in which he played dozens of characters, were the small screen’s most expensive extravaganzas.

But he spent the past 25 years as a virtual recluse in his first floor apartment in a Highgate Village art deco mansion. He dreaded going out – believing himself to be decrepit, he feared being recognised and, worse, pitied.

Stanley Baxter as the late Queen Elizabeth II. He was born in Glasgow in May 1926, the son of a timid insurance clerk called Fred and his wife Bessie – a blacksmith’s daughter with dreams of stardom for their only son from the time he could walk

Even the telephone filled him with horror. One afternoon, I saw him flinch when it rang. ‘What fresh hell is this?’ he muttered.

His greatest terror was that the public would discover what everyone already knew, the biggest open secret in showbusiness – that Stanley Baxter was gay.

The first time we met, he opened the door to me and, retreating three steps up the stairs to gain the advantage of height, roared: ‘Let me tell you this, you are not going to write about my f*****g sex life!’

What’s so heartbreaking is that he hid his sexuality all his life, preferring to turn his back on fame rather than risk humiliation. The brutal truth is that, when he did come out as gay in a biography in 2020, the only people shocked were the ones who assumed he had been dead for years.

‘There are many gay people these days who are fairly comfortable with their sexuality,’ he said. ‘I’m not. I never wanted to be gay. I still don’t. Anyone would be insane to choose to live such a very difficult life. The truth is, I don’t really want to be me.’

It was an unworthy fate for a man who should have been revered as the greatest jewel in Britain’s comedy crown. His breadth of talent was unmatched – satirist, stand-up comedian, singer, dancer, impressionist, wit, poet, panto dame, dramatic actor, writer and choreographer.

Bax couldn’t just do it all: he did all of it better than anyone else.

His starriest turn was as the Duchess of Brendah, in tiara and silk gloves up to his armpits… so much like the Queen that he could have taken her place for Trooping the Colour.

As Stanley Baxter reeled off streams of outrageous, delicious anecdotes, he didn’t simply imitate people – he embodied them. Here he plays the pantomime dame in Jack and the Beanstalk at the King’s Theatre, Glasgow in 1977

He was the first comedian to impersonate Her Majesty on TV. To add to the insolence of it, one Christmas show included a mock message from Buckingham Palace in which he described the Queen Mum as a ‘priceless antique’.

In lavishly produced sketch shows throughout the 1970s, Baxter sent up everyone from Hollywood superstars to pompous BBC pundits. He staged magnificent song-and-dance numbers that took months to film as he played every part – spoofing movie musicals, Oscar-winning blockbusters and TV rivals.

Donning outrageous drag costumes, Baxter announced himself as Joan Crawford, Bette Davis or Mae West. Often he gave their names mischievous twists – becoming Glandy (Glenda) Jackson, John Bitumen (Betjeman), Malcolm Gibberidge (Muggeridge) or Alan Wicked (Whicker).

But the splendour of the shows made them impossible to sustain. Baxter switched from the BBC to ITV and back again, eventually concentrating on just one mega-show a year, until even that became so costly it was impractical.

His epics became a byword for TV that was too ambitious for the confines of the small screen.  

Baxter was appalled by the open homosexuality in CSE – ‘all chiffon hankies and make-up and flouncing about,’ he said. ‘I thought, I really hate this. I don’t want to be involved in this kind of world’. Here he is with mother Bessie, left, and sister Alice, right, ast a Glasgow premiere in 1961

At the same time, his private life was so tortuous and painful that his nerves unravelled. Returning to the stage, he was tormented by a morbid fantasy of suffering a heart attack in his dressing room before the curtain went up and being discovered on the floor by a stage hand: ‘You’re awful cold, Mr Baxter…’

Miserable and afraid, he decided to retire – and for his last 30 years cut himself off from the one thing that had sustained him throughout his life, the adulation of audiences.

Stanley Baxter was born in Glasgow in May 1926, the son of a timid insurance clerk called Fred and his wife Bessie – a blacksmith’s daughter with dreams of stardom for their only son from the time he could walk.

Bessie and her sisters loved amateur dramatics. They staged their own vaudeville shows, performing hits of the day such as Baby Face and Bye Bye Blackbird, and smoking Russian cigarettes to cultivate an image as artsy Bohemians.

By the time he was four, Stanley was a regular with his mother at the music halls, and at six he was starring on the city’s talent circuit. Dressed in a sailor suit with his hair tonged into waves, he sang saucy music hall numbers… such as I’m One Of The Lads Of Valencia: ‘You can’t beat a Spaniard for kissing, Oh ladies, just think what you’re missing!’

His mother called him Sonny Boy and dinned a fear of failure into his head: ‘She probably felt if she praised me I’d try less hard. I began to be scared someone else would do better than me on stage, and my mother would clatter me.’

Baxter was the first comedian to impersonate Her Majesty on TV. To add to the insolence of it, one Christmas show included a mock message from Buckingham Palace in which he described the Queen Mum as a ‘priceless antique’

In lavishly produced sketch shows throughout the 1970s, Baxter sent up everyone from Hollywood superstars to pompous BBC pundits 

Fiercely jealous, Bessie refused to allow her son to have female friends. She needn’t have worried – from the first time he saw a half-naked Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan at a Saturday cinema matinee, Stanley knew he was attracted to men.

Aged 18 in 1944, he received his call-up papers, but was deemed too short-sighted for active Army service. After months working in the coal pits as a Bevin Boy, he was grateful in June 1945 to be assigned to the Seaforth Highlanders and sent to India and then, as the war with Japan ended, to Burma.

A notice caught his eye, appealing for performers to join the Combined Service Entertainment [CSE] unit. A seaplane took him to his audition in Singapore, where he was sent to the stage door of the Victoria Theatre.

A crowd of CSE artistes was just leaving. Baxter asked if he could cadge a lift and was told there was no room in the truck, because some of the men had invited local women back with them.

Baxter with wife Moira. He once said: ‘I’m just grateful my wife and I couldn’t have children. Her schizophrenia and my nerves – what an awful combination’

A nasal voice cut through the throng: ‘Of course we can take him! Yesss! There’s room! We don’t want all you and your f*****g girlfriends!’

That was Baxter’s first meeting with Kenneth Williams. The pair formed a lifelong friendship, sharing a dormitory and a love of poetry, and spending their wages every Saturday night on fine dining and gin-and-tonics.

Soon they were topping the bill in a show called At Your Service, dancing onstage in yellow and blue uniforms, one hand on the hip and the other pointing to the lairy squaddies in the front row, defying a barrage of catcalls.

Yet Baxter was appalled by the open homosexuality in CSE – ‘all chiffon hankies and make-up and flouncing about,’ he said. ‘I thought, I really hate this. I don’t want to be involved in this kind of world.’

When he returned to Glasgow two years later, he joined the idealistic Citizen’s Theatre Company, performing Ibsen and Shaw to working class audiences in the Gorbals district.

Stanley Baxter’s life imploded when he was arrested in a public toilet in Holloway in 1962 and charged with soliciting for sex. Here he is in panto again, opposite Molly Urquhart

Determined to be heterosexual, he started courting an actress named Moira Robertson. She was 22 and highly strung, and he was taken aback by how heavily she fell for him.

When he warned her that all of his previous sexual experiences had been with men, she climbed out of their second storey window and stood on the ledge, threatening to jump. ‘If I can’t have you,’ she yelled, ‘I won’t settle for anyone else.’

Guilt-stricken and confused, Baxter relented. They were married in 1952. On their wedding night, he sat on the bed and sobbed.

The couple moved to London, and by the end of the decade he was starring in a BBC sketch show called On The Bright Side, with Ronnie Barker and Una Stubbs. Dashing and square-jawed, he was the leading man in light film comedies too, such as The Fast Lady.

But his life imploded when he was arrested in a public toilet in Holloway in 1962 and charged with soliciting for sex. At this time, sex between consenting adult males was still illegal. ‘I was going to top myself,’ he said. ‘I thought, my career will never survive this – and if I don’t have a career, what do I have?’

He was saved by the celebrity barrister David Jacobs, who argued in court that Baxter could not have been ‘soliciting’ – because, when he was arrested, there was no one in the gents’ apart from two policemen.

Psychiatric therapy for his sexual desires failed to help. The doctor, realising he was married, simply told him to return to his wife.

Baxter with wife Moira. In lavishly produced sketch shows throughout the 1970s, Baxter sent up everyone from Hollywood superstars to pompous BBC pundits

Stanley Baxter, who has died aged 99, was once the most admired comedians on television 

Instead, unable to cope with Moira’s pleas for a baby, he left her. They met for lunch every day in the 1970s, and she talked frequently of killing herself – but he was unprepared when a friend called at their old home to find the front door wide open and Moira in the bath, the water dark with blood.

She lived, but her mental health was tragically fragile for the rest of her life. ‘She told me she was hearing voices,’ Baxter said in despair. ‘She thought the television was talking to her.’

Though they never lived together again, he did his best to support her, emotionally as well as financially – wracked with guilt that he could not be the husband she needed.

In 1997, when he told her he was going on holiday for a few weeks, a row erupted. ‘She punched me,’ he said. ‘My glasses flew off. It was the one and only time she had ever reacted this way.’

On his return to Britain, he called her from the airport. She didn’t answer. He went straight to the house. When he discovered the door was unlocked again, he knew what he would find. Moira was in the bedroom, dead from an overdose. She was 69.

Baxter never recovered fully from the shock. He talked about her often, always with a note of self-loathing, and rejected all reassurance that it was not his fault.

Baxter with his wife Moira and solicitor David Jacobs at Clerkenwell Court.  Mr Jacobs successfully argued in court that the star could not have been ‘soliciting’ – because, when he was arrested, there was no one in the gents’ apart from two policemen

Though he made a few tentative trial comebacks over the next 20 years – a radio show here, a TV interview there – he lacked the confidence to revive his career, or even to accept the homage of generations of comedians who regarded him as a master.

His loneliness was made worse by his dread of the phone and a tendency to suspend friendships on the slightest pretext.

‘It’s purdah for him,’ he’d say. ‘The cold shoulder.’ He ceased speaking to Kenneth Williams on several occasions, though that always thawed.

Others were banished permanently and I was one of them. For years he’d leave me phone messages, and I’d send him a bottle of gin and a packet of Bensons on his birthday – two cigarettes a night were his last vice.

One year, the booze and the cigs were returned. I’d offended him, perhaps by a comment in my TV column about some actor he knew. He wouldn’t say why.

That was Stanley Baxter. The world offered him open arms, and he gave it the cold shoulder.

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The UK is facing the “greatest military threat in a generation,” experts have urged, with the NATO Chief warning that within the next five years, Russia could attack a member state

Putin has warned Europe they are ‘ready to fight’(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Fighting for your country in the event of WW3 remains hypothetical, but could become an unpleasant reality sooner than Brits might hope. NATO Chief Mark Rutte has issued a warning that member states must “prepare for war”.

“We are Russia’s next target,” Rutte said, “And we are already in harm’s way. Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.” He urged member states to ensure that Ukraine does not end up “under the boot of Russian occupation,” which would leave Putin’s “forces pressing against a longer border with NATO, and the significantly increased risk of an armed attack against us.”

Putin and his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, have said they have no desire to go to war with Europe, but that if two major “red lines” were crossed, they would not hesitate to attack – which includes the UK sending boots on the ground in Ukraine. After reports emerged that a 28-year-old British paratrooper, George Hooley, died in Ukraine during a defensive test away from the front line, a Kremlin mouthpiece called a nuclear strike against the UK “inevitable” on Russian state TV.

READ MORE: Chilling first signs of war with Russia – loss of phone signal and card failureREAD MORE: Safest areas in UK if WW3 broke out as Putin mouthpiece warns ‘nuke strike is inevitable’

The idea of nuclear powers going to war is a chilling one. Posturing by Russian state media is nothing new, but international relations experts have warned that Russia poses a “grave threat” to the UK and its European allies.

A major part of the scale of that threat lies with US President Donald Trump, who recently dubbed Europe a “decaying” and “weak” continent in an interview. His National Security Strategy indicates the US is looking to take a hands-off approach to its traditional Western allies, and the peace framework recently proposed by Washington to end the Russia-Ukraine war would see huge parts of Ukraine ceded to Putin, and limits put on the size of Kyiv’s military. If you can’t see the poll below, click here.

Germany and France have both moved to introduce voluntary military training for 18-year-olds, with the German government hoping to keep this as volunteers only as long as possible, but from mid-2027, all men turning 18 will have to take a medical exam to see if they are fit for service.

The UK government have announced this year a significant increase in defence spending, with it making up 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027. This year, the government spent £62.2 billion on defence, including £15bn of investment into upgrading the country’s nuclear capabilities.

Russia is a “grave threat” to the UK warns expert(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

However, some experts are worried that it could be too little too late, and that a failure to act quickly to the threat posed by Russia to the UK would be potentially fatal. Dr Arnab Basu, CEO of Kormek, explains, “The UK MOD is saying all the right things about its defensive strategy, as outlined earlier this year in the Strategic Defence Review, but the gears of government and the bureaucracy grind so slowly, that it’s difficult to see much real progress as CEO of a British company.

“They have promised more defence spending but we are yet to see the benefits. The reality is that the UK, and by extension, the world, faces its greatest military threat of a generation. Failure to take definitive action to prepare for a worst-case scenario could be our greatest mistake.”

Another expert, Professor Anthony Glees of the University of Buckingham, said that the “days are over, full stop” when the UK can rely upon the US to stand with them, and that the “weak” state of the military leaves a lot to be desired.

“We are too weak right now, with more parking enforcement officers than troops in the UK,” he said, adding, “We in Europe know that this is our gravest hour since the 1930s.”

What do you think? Would you fight to defend the UK? Take our poll and have your say in the comments.

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Who: Liverpool vs Brighton
What: English Premier League
Where: Anfield in Liverpool, United Kingdom
When: Saturday, December 9, at 3pm (15:00)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 12:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

All eyes will be on the Liverpool team sheet when it is released at roughly the same time the bus carrying the squad will arrive at Anfield for the Brighton match on Saturday.

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Speculation is rife that the Premier League match could be Mohamed Salah’s last for the defending champions, following the public fallout with the club.

The Reds, and their beleaguered manager Arne Slot, will hope the focus is very much on the football and turning around a form book that has seen the Merseyside club fall to 10th in the table.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at a game that will be the focus of the Saturday agenda in the English top flight, and beyond.

What is the latest on Salah’s future at Liverpool?

Salah has not started a game for Liverpool since the 4-1 defeat at PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League on November 26.

The Egyptian forward was benched for the following three Premier League games and, following fierce criticism of the club’s treatment of him, was then dropped from the squad that travelled to Italy to face Inter Milan on Tuesday – a game the Reds won 1-0.

Speculation has mounted surrounding a move to the Saudi Pro League since Salah’s outburst following last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds United, when the 33-year-old claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” for their recent woes on the field.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said on Friday morning that he would speak with Salah to decide whether the forward would return to the match-day squad for the Brighton game.

The eyes and ears of the world, and in particular in Saudi Arabia, will be on the Anfield club for news of the team and the squad before kickoff against Brighton on Saturday.

What has Liverpool’s form been in the Premier League this season?

The Reds have lost six of their games in the Premier League this season – part of a run that saw them lose nine of 12 games in all competitions.

The struggling title holders have taken five points from their last three league games, however, starting with a 2-0 win at West Ham – the first game of Salah’s exile from the starting lineup.

The last two matches, though, have seen the Reds held to a 1-1 home draw by newly promoted Sunderland, before the draw at Leeds that led to Salah’s outburst.

What has Brighton’s form been in the Premier League this season?

Brighton’s solid season sees them sit two places above Liverpool on goal difference.

A win for either side could result in them climbing as high as fourth.

One league win in five to begin the season left the Seagulls sitting slightly perilously, but a run of only two defeats in 11 in the English top flight followed, with six wins in that time.

That form had expectations flying high on the south coast before two home games, but a 4-3 defeat by Aston Villa was followed by a 1-1 draw with West Ham in their last match.

We go again. pic.twitter.com/2tFFXx1Bh9

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 12, 2025

What happened the last time Liverpool played Brighton?

Brighton were 3-2 winners in a Premier League fixture on May 19, in the last encounter between the sides.

Liverpool twice took the lead in the first half of the game at Amex Stadium through Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Yasin Ayari’s 31st-minute goal kept the Seagulls in the game at the break before Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood, who netted five minutes from time, turned the game around in the second period.

What happened in the corresponding fixture between Liverpool and Brighton last season?

Liverpool were 2-1 winners in the preceding match at Anfield last season, but were forced to come from behind after Ferdi Kadioglu gave the away team the lead in the 14th minute.

The Seagulls held the lead until the 70th minute, when Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored twice in three minutes to set up the win.

Head-to-head

This is the 44th meeting between the sides, with Liverpool winning 23 of those encounters and Brighton emerging victorious on 8 occasions.

The fixture dates back to 1907 and an FA Cup tie at Anfield, where Brighton secured a 1-1 draw. Liverpool made no mistake in the reply, however, winning 3-0 on the south coast.

Brighton would have to wait a further six games for their first win against Liverpool, a 3-1 victory in the old second division of English football (now known as the Championship).

Liverpool team news

There is a question mark over Alexander Isak’s status for Saturday, with Slot saying the forward picked up a knock in the first half against Inter Milan, and that he will be evaluated on Friday before they decide whether or not he can start.

Slot is pleased with how Isak and Hugo Ekitike have played together, saying their partnership will continue to improve.

“The more they play together, the more they will adapt to each other and the better they will cooperate,” Slot said. “I saw promising things from the both of them, it’s only the second time they’ve played together. We will see more of them playing together in the future.”

Slot will have Federico Chiesa available on Saturday after he recovered from illness, while Wataru Endo and Cody Gakpo are expected to be out for a “few weeks”.

Brighton team news

Stefanos Tzimas, Solly March, Adam Webster are all absent with knee injuries, while James Milner is also out for several months with a muscle problem.

Kaoru Mitoma will have a fitness test as he attempts a comeback from an ankle problem which has kept him out since September.

Yasin Ayari and Tom Watson could both return from knocks, but both are still being monitored at this stage.

Predicted Liverpool starting lineup:

Alisson; Gomez, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Isak, Wirtz

Predicted Brighton starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Wieffer, Dunk, van Hecke, Kadioglu; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, De Cuyper; Welbeck

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Top Democrat says latest photos ‘raise even more questions’ about Epstein’s relationship with high profile figures

Upon releasing the most recent trove of photos from the Epstein estate, the oversight committee’s top Democrat – Robert Garcia – said “it is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends”.

The California congressman added that the 19 photos published today “raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.”

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Updated at 17.41 CET

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Bannon appears frequently throughout latest Epstein picture drop

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon appears in several of the pictures released by House Democrats on the oversight committee.

As I reported earlier, in one of the photos Bannon is seen having a conversation while sitting across a desk from Epstein.

In another, Epstein is taking a selfie of the pair in front of a full-length mirror. Bannon, who was Donald Trump’s top White House strategist until he was fired less than a year into the president’s first term in office, is also pictured speaking with film director Woody Allen in one photograph.

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Several explicit pictures as part of new tranche of photos from Epstein estate

Included in this latest batch of pictures from the Epstein estate are explicit photos of sex toys. One appears to show a black latex glove with ridges on the fingers, and another features ropes, restraints and a book on “shibari” – a type of Japanese bondage.

Another picture features a bowl of “Trump condoms” selling for $4.50. On the parody packaging it makes fun of the president’s style of speech, reading: “I’m HUUUUGE!”

A photograph of Trump-themed condoms was among the Jeffrey Epstein images released by Democrats on Friday. Photograph: House Oversight DemocratsShare

Updated at 17.21 CET

Included in the latest batch of photos from House oversight Democrats today, are several pictures of high profile individuals at public events.

The picture of former prince Andrew and Microsoft founder Bill Gates appears to be from at a summit in London, where the former’s brother – King Charles III – was in attendance. The image in the House oversight batch appears to be a cropped version of a picture available on the photo agency Getty.

Here’s the image from the news wires:

Bill Gates, then prince Andrew and his brother Charles in 2018 at a malaria summit in London. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images

Similarly, a picture of Epstein and his former lawyer Alan Dershowitz is included in the drop of photos, but appears to be an older photo of the pair back in 2004 that was already published.

Here is the news wire image:

Jeffrey Epstein with Alan Dershowitz in a photo taken in 2004. Photograph: Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty ImagesShare

Updated at 17.06 CET

In the new batch of photos released by House oversight Democrats, there is also a picture of Donald Trump surrounded by women, some of whom are wearing leis around their necks. All of their faces have been obscured, but the president appears in the middle holding the waists of two of the women.

Donald Trump in a partially-redacted photo released by House Oversight Democrats. Photograph: House Oversight DemocratsShare

Updated at 16.51 CET

Oversight Democrats publish new tranche of Epstein estate photos featuring Trump, Clinton and former prince Andrew

Democrats on the House oversight committee have published 19 new photos from the 95,000 they have received from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate today. In the latest drop, there are pictures of Bill Clinton alongside the late sex-offender and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. There are also pictures of Donald Trump and Epstein at social events, and even a picture of the president on board a plane, sitting beside a woman whose face has been redacted.

Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein in a photo released by House Oversight Democrats. Photograph: House Oversight Democrats

There are several pictures in the drop which include billionaire Bill Gates.

Another notable face is former Trump adviser and noted ally, Steve Bannon, who appears in one picture sitting across a desk, engaged in conversation with Epstein.

It’s worth noting that appearing in pictures from the estate doesn’t imply any wrongdoing.

Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein in a photo released by House Oversight Democrats. Photograph: House Oversight DemocratsShare

Updated at 17.25 CET

Navy sends report to Pentagon about senator Kelly’s participation in video to troops – reports

According to multiple outlets, the navy has sent a report to the Pentagon about senator Mark Kelly’s role in a video published to social media last month, where six Democratic members of Congress urged active service members to “refuse illegal orders”.

The video sparked fury from the president, who said the lawmakers were guilty of “seditious behavior” that was “punishable by death”. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he would launch an investigation into Kelly – a decorated former navy captain – for possible breaches of military law. This included a memorandum to John Phelan asking the navy secretary to review Kelly and a group of fellow Democrats’ comments in the video.

According to the New York Times, the Pentagon’s office of general xounsel is “providing a legal review and input” of the navy’s report, per a Department of Defense official, who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation.

In response, a spokesperson for senator Kelly told the Hill that “it defies belief that with all of the threats facing our country, Pete Hegseth initiated this ridiculous process to try to intimidate senator Kelly for saying something Pete Hegseth himself has said repeatedly.”

A reminder that footage from 2016, of the defense secretary repeatedly saying that service members should refuse “unlawful” orders from a potential president Trump on Fox News, was unearthed by CNN earlier this month.

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Judge issues temporary order to block officials from detaining Kilmar Ábrego García

Per our earlier post, a federal judge on Friday morning issued a temporary restraining order to prohibit immigration officials from detaining Kilmar Ábrego García just hours before he was scheduled to appear at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Baltimore.

Kilmar Ábrego García leaves a check-in at an ICE field office in Baltimore, the day after a federal judge ordered his release from a detention center in Pennsylvania, 2 December 2025. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

His lawyers asked the judge to block authorities from detaining him again. The judge says officials cannot re-detain him until the court conducts a hearing on the motion for the temporary restraining order.

Ábrego had been freed from an immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania early on Thursday evening not long after a federal judge in Maryland ordered his release.

On Friday morning, Paula Xinis, a US district judge in Maryland, said that Ábrego cannot be re-detained and in her ruling she wrote that he was likely to succeed in further requests of “relief” from ICE detention, citing the merits of his case.

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Trump announces pardon for jailed election clerk, despite convictions on state charges

Donald Trump announced he would pardon former Colorado election clerk Tina Peters. In a post on Truth Social the president wrote that Peters – who is currently serving a nine year state sentence for her attempts to overturn the 2020 election results – is a “Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest”.

Trump added that “Democrats have been relentless in their targeting” of Peters, who served as the clerk for Mesa County. She was found guilty on state charges of election interference, including four felony counts.

In response to Trump’s announcement, several Democratic officials decried his efforts to overturn a state conviction. A reminder that the constitution grants the president pardon power for federal crimes.

“Tina Peters is rightfully in Colorado state prison,” said senator Michael Bennet. “Trump’s corrupt and political attempts at a pardon won’t work here. Once again, if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

Tina Peters speaks during a debate for the state leadership position Saturday in Hudson, Colorado, 25 February 2023. Photograph: David Zalubowski/APShare

Donald Trump is in Washington today. We’ll see him at 3pm ET for a bill signing in the Oval Office. We’ll make sure to bring you the latest lines.

Earlier, he’ll take part in a swearing-in ceremony for Ben Black, the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, and John Jovanovic, who serves as the chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

A reminder that Jovanovic is married to the daughter of Trump’s administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz.

That ceremony is currently closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that changes.

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Paul KirbyEurope digital editor

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Ukraine’s president says it is right for Russia’s frozen assets to be used to rebuild his country

Russia is taking legal action in response to moves by Ukraine’s European allies to use Moscow’s frozen assets to help Kyiv fund its military and economy.

The Russian Central Bank is suing Belgian bank Euroclear in a Moscow court, and Russian officials accuse the EU of an act of theft.

Ukraine is running out of cash, after almost four years of Russia’s full-scale war.

For Europe, the solution to plugging Kyiv’s budget hole of €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) for the next two years lies in frozen cash held by Euroclear, and EU leaders hope to sign that off at their Brussels summit next week.

‘Only fair’ to use Russia’s assets

In total, Russia had about €210bn of its assets frozen in the EU within days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.

The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a “reparations loan” and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine’s economy to the tune of €90bn.

“It’s only fair that Russia’s frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours,” says Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will “enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks”.

Russia’s court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.

Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could “destabilise the international financial system”.

Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has set the EU a series of “rational, reasonable, and justified conditions” before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it “poses significant risks” for his country.

EPA/Shutterstock

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever discussed Europe’s frozen assets plan with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday

What is the EU’s plan?

The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday’s summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.

Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the “windfall profits” from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.

But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.

There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.

One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium’s preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine’s military.

That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.

The EU’s executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.

The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.

Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia’s own clearing house which are in the EU.

If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.

In a key development, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to immobilise Russia’s central bank assets held in Europe indefinitely.

Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.

The EU ambassadors are set to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an “immediate threat to the economic interests of the union” continues.

Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

The German chancellor (L) says the EU’s plan will enable Ukraine to defend itself

Why Belgium is not yet satisfied

Belgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.

A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues.

“Very important decisions” would be made by the EU in the coming week, he said during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday. He added that Belgium and the UK would work together to “get the certainty that we can support Ukraine to stay a free, democratic and sovereign country”.

The EU believes it can secure sufficient guarantees for the loan itself, but Belgium fears an added risk of being exposed to extra damages or penalties.

“Belgium is a small economy. Belgian GDP is about €565bn – imagine if it would need to shoulder a €185bn bill,” says Veerle Colaert, professor of financial law at KU Leuven University.

She also believes the requirement for Euroclear to grant a loan to the EU would violate EU banking regulations.

“Banks need to comply with capital and liquidity requirements and shouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. Now the EU is telling Euroclear to do just that.

“Why do we have these bank rules? It’s because we want banks to be stable. And if things go wrong it would fall to Belgium to bail out Euroclear. That’s another reason why it’s so important for Belgium to secure water-tight guarantees for Euroclear.”

Europe under pressure from every direction

There is no time to lose, warn seven EU member states including those closest geographically to Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They believe the frozen assets plan is “the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution”.

“It’s a matter of destiny for us,” says leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. “If we fail, I don’t know what we’ll do afterwards. That’s why we have to succeed in a week’s time”.

While Russia is adamant its money should not be touched, there are added concerns among European figures that the US may want to use Russia’s frozen billions differently, as part of its own peace plan.

Zelensky has said Ukraine is working with Europe and the US on a reconstruction fund, but he is also aware the US has been talking to Russia about future co-operation.

An early draft of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia’s frozen assets being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US taking 50% of the profits and Europe adding another $100bn. The remaining assets would then be used in some kind of US-Russia joint investment project.

An EU source said the added advantage of Friday’s expected vote to immobilise Russia’s assets indefinitely made it harder for anyone to take the money away. Implicit is that the US would then have to win over a majority of EU member states to vote for a plan that would financially cost them an enormous sum.

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­”America first”—that is the first impression that stands out from the data on so-called foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Since 2012, China had consistently been ahead, investing continuously, while US companies in some years even withdrew more capital than they transferred to Africa. The figures for 2023 paint a different picture: US companies invested just under $8 billion (€6.8 billion) in Africa, almost twice as much as their Chinese competitors.

The dataset published in May by the China Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins University does not yet reflect the subsequent development of the situation. This is because national governments and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) need time to evaluate the statistics and make valid assessments. 

Unadjusted figures on foreign direct investment can be quite treacherous: in the current UNCTAD report, the Netherlands emerges as the largest investor in Africa.

As a so-called “conduit” or transit country, the Netherlands often finds itself at the center of a complex financial network, with capital originating from other countries.

Analysts worldwide are likely to be eagerly awaiting the new figures. This is because economic rivalry between the US and China is intensifying, and there have been several recent examples of potentially significant investments in Africa. 

America invests for profit, China invests strategically

Has the US really “overtaken” China as the largest investor in Africa, as recent media reports have claimed?

“Even if you look at the chart, you notice the fluctuations. It’s like spasms, says James Shikwati, founder and director of the Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

China, US and EU all want to do business in Africa

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“America shoots up and then disappears, shoots up and disappears. That is purely because it’s a private, profit-minded approach. These are private companies and they’re not giving money just for charity,” Shikwati told DW.

In contrast, Chinese direct investment is ultimately backed by the government, which pursues long-term strategic goals.

According to Shikwati, American companies rely on well-trained workers who can turn their investments into profits. “And therefore, Africa gains from the highly trained Africans who are looking for jobs. And then, for the Chinese side, the average construction work, which is mostly hands-on skills, they cater to that kind of population. So, I would say both sides, Africa wins.”

However, Africa has so far failed to reap sufficient benefits from its wealth of critical raw materials: these are often exported unprocessed, with the actual value creation occurring in other regions of the world.

Zimbabwe has one of the world’s largest lithium deposits and China is bringing in capital and infrastructure to exploit themImage: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Photo/picture alliance

Just under a year ago, the African Union (AU) presented its “Green Commodities Strategy,” which provides for export tariffs of 10%. The aim is to give countries a share of the actual value of their mineral resources or to encourage investors to process them directly in Africa.

The continent accounts for the majority of the world’s production of platinum, cobalt, tantalum, and manganese. The mining sector is traditionally an industry with particularly high foreign direct investment.

Western companies have scaled back their activities, especially in politically sensitive mining countries. At the same time, China has become indispensable in many places through sustained investment. 

China invests billions in Africa’s mining industry

“Experience in Africa shows that China is not afraid of political or economic instability,” Jimmy Munguriek, lawyer and country director of the NGO Resource Matters in the DR Congo, told DW. “China is investing, and that is why many mining sectors in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are now largely controlled by Chinese companies.”

In 2023 alone, China invested nearly $8 billion in Africa, according to figures from the US think tank Brookings Institution, including lithium projects in Zimbabwe and Mali.

In eastern Congo, there are large open-pit coltan mines, which the US considers of strategic importanceImage: Moses Sawasawa/AP Photo/picture alliance

However, these individual investments can be compared with CARI’s FDI flows only to a limited extent, as these flows reflect the balance of all capital movements by foreign investors. According to the data, particularly high individual investments were made in copper projects in Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Trump’s pivot from aid to trade with African countries

There are growing signs that the US is adopting a more strategic, rather than purely profit-oriented, approach to Africa’s raw material resources.

In 2019, during Donald Trump’s first term as US president, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was created, a government agency that merged the previously separate areas of private investment and development loans.

The DFC website bluntly states that the aim is to promote US interests, “expanding US global leadership and countering China’s presence in strategic regions.”

At the start of his second term in office this spring, Trump halted numerous development aid projects and withdrew substantial funding from the development agency, USAID.

“We’re shifting from aid to trade,” Trump told several African heads of state at the White House this summer. “There’s great economic potential in Africa, like few other places. In many ways, in the long run, this will be far more effective and sustainable and beneficial than anything else that we can be doing together.”

Since 2017, a railway line built by China has connected Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with the port city of MombasaImage: Dong Jianghui/Xinhua/picture alliance

In the same appearance, Trump vowed that the US would treat Africa “far better than China or anyone else.”

As patron of the fragile peace agreement between the DR Congo and Rwanda, Trump has promised the US economy preferential access to Congolese raw materials. But despite the signing of the peace deal, more than 400 civilians have been killed following the recent surge of fighting as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group continues its offensive in South Kivu province in eastern Congo.

Battle of mega infrastructure projects

China’s current strength in the field of critical raw materials is also linked to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure project comprising ports, roads, and railways, which, in some places, has opened transport routes for raw materials for the first time.

“They are tending to look at cross-country infrastructure strategies,” economist Shikwati said. “So even if they put a standard gauge railway in Kenya, their aim is not to really make it reach Nairobi, and say, thank you, congratulations. They want to take it to Congo. They want to take it to Sudan. They want to take it to the west coast of Africa.”

In the final weeks of his term in office, former US President Joe Biden put funding for the Lobito Corridor on track, a project that can certainly compete with individual measures of the BRI: roads and railways connect Congo’s copper belt with Angola’s Atlantic coast.

The European Union(EU) is also supporting infrastructure projects in the Lobito Corridor under its Global Gateway initiative. Angola has become a key partner for Europe, as underscored by the recent summit of EU and AU leaders in Luanda. 

This article was translated from German

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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is crediting President Donald Trump for helping sustain Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement while dedicating her Nobel Peace Prize to him, telling Fox News Digital that he provided critical support at a moment when Venezuelans felt abandoned by the international community.

“I am absolutely grateful to President Trump for every gesture, every signal and every moment that he has stood with the Venezuelan people. I have watched it very closely, and I know what it has meant for those who are fighting to reclaim democracy and freedom in our country,” she stated.

“A free and democratic Venezuela is not only possible — it is closer than ever. And that free Venezuela is breathing louder than ever before,” Machado said, adding that her Nobel Peace Prize is also dedicated to Trump. “This Nobel Prize is symbolic of that fight for freedom and is dedicated to the Venezuelan people and to President Trump for showing what strong leadership looks like in the moments that matter most.”

EXPERT REVEALS WHAT IT WOULD TAKE FOR TRUMP TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO VENEZUELA: ‘POSSIBILITY OF ESCALATION’

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado waves at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, early Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

An official familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Machado hopes to visit the U.S. and meet the president to formally honor him for what she views as his support for the Venezuelan people.

Machado’s remarks come as she re-emerged publicly in Oslo, Norway, after spending 11 months in hiding. After a brief detention during an anti-government protest in Caracas, she went underground as pressure from the Maduro government intensified.

Her return to the public eye coincided with the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, where her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her behalf. The Associated Press reported that Machado waved to cheering supporters from a hotel balcony — her first public appearance in nearly a year.

SCHUMER ACCUSES TRUMP OF PUSHING US TOWARD ‘FOREIGN WAR’ WITH VENEZUELA

The daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ana Corina Sosa, accepts the award on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall, Norway, on Dec. 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool via AP)

Machado was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election despite winning the opposition primary by a wide margin, a move that drew strong criticism from Western governments.

Roxanna Vigil, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Fox News Digital that Machado remains “the most popular political figure in Venezuela,” adding that she secured “over 90% of the vote” in the opposition primary before being blocked by Maduro. “She became a real threat… and so they disqualified her from running,” Vigil said. Machado ultimately endorsed Edmundo González, who went on to win the election.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Machado ultimately endorsed González, who was widely regarded by independent tallies of the result as having won the 2024 election, but who did not assume the presidency after Venezuela’s official National Electoral Council, controlled by Maduro allies, declared Nicolás Maduro the winner and inaugurated him for another term.

Machado has signaled she intends to return to Venezuela when conditions allow and continues to call for a peaceful transition away from Maduro’s rule.

Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.

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Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a new batch of photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including an image of Donald Trump surrounded by six women.

Trump has distanced himself from Epstein and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

One photo shows Trump with six women, whose faces have been blurred out. A grinning Trump is sporting a suit while the women are wearing leis around their necks.

Another image shows a collection of condoms — going for $4.50 each — depicting a caricature of Trump’s face above the phrase: “I’m HUUUUGE!”

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The House Oversight committee released a photo of Trump surrounded by six women (House Oversight Committee)

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Steve Bannon meeting with Epstein (House Oversight Committee)

“Oversight Dems received 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate,” House Oversight Committee Democrats wrote in a social media post Friday.

“These disturbing images raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. Time to end this White House cover-up. Release the files!”

But Republicans on the panel have called the batch of photos “cherry-picked.”

“Once again, Oversight Democrats are chasing headlines by releasing a handful of selectively censored and cherry-picked photos from the Epstein Estate. Democrats’ hoax against President Trump has been completely debunked,” the GOP-led Oversight Committee wrote on X.

“Nothing in the documents we’ve received shows any wrongdoing. Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Oversight Democrats should be ashamed of this disgusting behavior of putting politics above justice for the survivors.”

The new tranche also includes an image of Trump ally Steve Bannon meeting with Epstein in what appears to be his office and a photograph — signed by former President Bill Clinton — capturing him linking arms with Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein. Clinton has vehemently denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in a sex trafficking scheme to abuse girls with Epstein.

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Former President Bill Clinton was pictured linking arms with Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein. (House Oversight Committee)

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An image of Bill Gates and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was also released (House Oversight Committee)

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Another image released by the committee showed a box full of novelty Trump condoms (House Oversight Committee)

Former Harvard President Larry Summers and lawyer Alan Dershowitz also made appearances in the newly-released photos.

It’s not clear when the photos were taken, as they are undated.

The new batch of photos comes weeks after the committee released thousands of documents, including shocking emails sent by Epstein to several powerful figures from 2011 to 2019. Those figures included attorneys, journalists, author Michael Wolff, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Deepak Chopra, among many others.

In the messages, Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours at my house” with a victim of sex trafficking.

“I know how dirty donald is,” Epstein wrote in another email.

Trump did not send or receive any of the emails.

Last month, the president signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. In her first act as Congresswoman, Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva provided the 218th — and final — signature on a discharge petition that forced a vote on the release of Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession. The House and Senate swiftly passed the legislation and Trump signed it, giving the DOJ a December 19 deadline to release all of the Epstein Files.

The DOJ then asked federal judges overseeing Epstein’s and Maxwell’s criminal cases to make public the grand jury transcripts and relevant records to comply with the act.

This week, a federal judge ordered that grand jury records in the sex trafficking case against Epstein must be unsealed, marking the third and final ruling to unseal grand jury materials in the three federal cases against Epstein and his associate.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Atropia, starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner, is in theaters now, and PEOPLE has an exclusive clip
• From writer-director Hailey Benton Gates, it follows a group of performers in a town designed as a warfare simulation to prepare U.S. soldiers
• “To play an Iraqi struggling actress is right up my alley,” Shawkat says

Alia Shawkat is going to war — sort of — in her timely new comedy. 

Atropia, from writer-director Hailey Benton Gates, stars Shawkat, 36, as Fayruz, an actress in the titular nation — except it’s not a real nation. Atropia is an immersive warfare simulation in the California desert designed to train U.S. soldiers before deployment. 

When Shawkat’s Fayruz falls in love with Callum Turner’s veteran-turned-performer Abu Dice, according to a synopsis, “their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance. What unfolds is an audaciously funny satire that asks: In the performance of war, who are the winners and who are the losers?”

Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner in “Atropia”.

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“To play an Iraqi struggling actress is right up my alley,” Shawkat jokes to PEOPLE. “Fayruz is also so determined and bold. I loved living in her timing of comedy and physicality. We are one.”

A winner of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, Atropia has earned raves for its slapstick humor and satirization of the American military.

“It’s a smart satire,” says Shawkat, “that is incredibly relevant to what is happening now in our world politically.” 

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The Hollywood-fueled community training soldiers — based on the real-life “The Box” at the military base in Fort Irwin, California — is a “beautiful” world, she adds, “that deserves to be seen and somewhat understood.”

A clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE shows Fayruz trying to wheedle information out of a fellow Atropia performer, who hints at “movie people” coming to visit. “Movie movie? Or TV movie?” asks Shawkat’s eager character. 

Tony Shawkat, father of the Search Party actress, also plays a key role in the movie. Joining them are costars Turner, Zahra Alzubaidi, Jane Levy, Tim Heidecker, Lola Kirke, Chloë Sevigny and more. 

Working with the ensemble was “a real dream,” says Shawkat. “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner [than] Callum: a true old-fashioned movie star with an accessible heart. And the rest of the cast are so talented and were so game to come on this journey.”

Atropia is in select theaters now.

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By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER and HARRY HOWARD

Published: 10:11 EST, 12 December 2025 | Updated: 10:18 EST, 12 December 2025

Andrew Marr has sparked concerns amongst fans after he began struggling while live on radio last night.

The former BBC political editor has been inundated with goodwill messages over an incident while he was presenting his LBC show at around 6.30pm yesterday.

Listeners feared he was struggling for breath but some sources have claimed it was caused by a heavy cold and he was fine to continue after a few minutes break.

In the concerning clip, shared on social media, Mr Marr is heard faltering while talking about podcasts made by LBC’s owner, Global.

Mr Marr continued to speak quickly about a feature on the ‘hell’ living of in prisons in Alabama and struggled to finish each sentence. 

The Daily Mail understands that despite the glitch, Mr Marr was able to continue and finished the show, which is not yet available on LBC’s catch-up service, Global Player.

Listeners reacted with concern while listening live to the show. 

Andrew Marr sparked concern amongst listeners on LBC last night when he sounded unwell on air

One fan said: ‘I hope Andrew Marr is ok? Currently broadcasting recorded piece’.

‘Andrew Marr doesn’t sound well’, another listener said. 

A third person who tuned in live said: ‘Is Andrew Marr ok?’.

A fourth person said: ‘I was listening live, it was really horrible to hear, but thankfully he seemed okay afterwards’.

A further LBC listener said he was not a fan of Mr Marr but added: ‘This is heartbreaking, I really hope he’s OK’. 

The Daily Mail has asked Mr Marr and LBC to comment. 

Andrew was struggling for breath with around 30 minutes left of his show.

‘Now, something momentous I need to take the time to tell you about – the winners of the Global Player Awards 2025 have been announced, and I’m speaking as the only white man, I think, in the south of England without my own podcast’, he said.

Mr Marr spoke about prisons in America but was audibly struggling. He was able to continue.

In 2013, Marr suffered a stroke while working out on his rowing machine.

Andrew Marr, pictured reacting to the budget on November 26 at Westminster, was struggling

His family was told he was going to die, but after two months in hospital and extensive physiotherapy, he recovered enough to return to work.

It left him partially paralysed on his left side and he admitted in 2023 that he can no longer tie his laces, cycle, run or swim.

The presenter had previously suffered two ‘mini strokes’ – known as transient ischaemic attacks – which he had dismissed at the time as ‘funny turns’.

In 2018, Marr had to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumour on his kidney.

He again took time off presenting his BBC show, but has not spoken publicly about his treatment.

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Andrew Marr sparks health concerns as he appears to struggle for breath while presenting his live LBC radio show

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