A 19-year-old in New Mexico was charged after he arranged his parents’ murder believing their death would make him rich. 

On Monday, Darren Munoz and his friend Julio Zamora, 18, were arrested after the pair allegedly pulled off the killing of Munoz’s dad and step-mom.

According to the arrest affidavit obtained by ABC7, Munoz planned to have Oscar and Dina Munoz killed for ‘several weeks or months’ with the help of two friends.

Munoz had planned the murder to ‘take over the parents’ belongings/finances,’ per the affidavit.

He reportedly believed that his father owned the Allsups franchise, a brand of convenience stores in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. 

The plan was for Zamora to come in through the garage and shoot Munoz’s parents as they slept, per the report. Another friend had agreed to carry out the shooting if Zamora couldn’t. 

Around 4.50am on December 15, police responded to a call reporting a suspected burglary from the couple’s Clovis home, more than 200 miles east of Albuquerque.

When Clovis police arrived, Munoz was standing outside the opened garage and told officials that everything was fine. 

Darren Munoz, 19, was arrested after reportedly arranging his parents’ death for his inheritance

Oscar and Dina Munoz were each shot in the head as they slept in their beds on December 15

Police insisted on checking on Oscar, 58, and Dina, 71, but Munoz told them not to go inside because ‘his parents slept naked.’ 

Munoz led the responding officer into the home anyway and had him wait while he went into his parent’s bedroom. 

Per the affidavit, Munoz emerged with his hands ‘covered in blood.’

The couple had each been shot in the head. 

Police found Dina Munoz already dead from the gunshot wound. Oscar was taken to Lubbock hospital where he died from critical injuries. 

When they took him in for questioning, Munoz told police that the security alarm on the garage door woke him up. He denied hearing any gunshots. 

Munoz enlisted the help of his friend Julio Zamora, who reportedly carried out the shooting in exchange for some money

‘It made no sense that Munoz would hear the garage door alarm go off but not hear gunshots down the hall from him,’ countered police in the arrest affidavit.

Nothing was missing from the home and there was no sign of forced entry.

Munoz’s girlfriend spoke to police about the incident. 

She said that Munoz had planned to trade an AR rifle for a ghost Glock or pistol. 

He was seen in surveillance footage putting a 9mm Glock in his waistband just 12 hours before his parents were killed. 

His girlfriend also told police that she was with Munoz and Zamora when they bought 9mm ammunition.

According to police, Darren reported a suspected break in at their New Mexico home and met them outside the open garage

Police arrested Zamora outside of his home with the 9mm Glock, which he confirmed was the murder weapon. 

He admitted that Munoz had asked him to kill his parents. 

Munoz was charged with two counts of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and solicitation to commit first degree murder. 

Zamora was charged with two counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. 

According to Oscar Munoz’s LinkedIn, he was a supervisor at an Allsups store for almost 24 years.

The Allsups brand is owned by the convenience store operator Yesway, which is operated by the private equity firm Brookwood Financial Partners, LLC.

The Daily Mail contacted the Clovis police department for more information. 

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This drug is commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes, but the NHS says to seek immediate medical help for three side effects

If you take this drug and experience dehydration you should speak to a doctor as soon as possible(Image: Getty)

The NHS has advised people taking a widely prescribed drug to get urgent medical attention if they develop any of three particular symptoms. These are some of the severe complications associated with dapagliflozin.

Known commercially as Forxiga, dapagliflozin is primarily prescribed for managing type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, it’s also administered to those suffering from heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

Whilst precise statistics regarding annual dapagliflozin prescriptions across the UK aren’t readily accessible, it ranks among the most expensive treatments, costing the NHS approximately £300m annually in England alone.

Dapagliflozin may also be dispensed in combination with other diabetic medications. These include Xigduo (dapagliflozin combined with metformin) and Qtern (dapagliflozin paired with saxagliptin).

Dapagliflozin is mainly used to treat type 2 diabetes(Image: Getty)

Nevertheless, the NHS has cautioned on its website that “like all medicines”, dapagliflozin may trigger certain adverse reactions. The health authority stated you should “call your doctor or call 111 now” if:

• You have a very dry or sticky mouth, feel very thirsty, sleepy or tired, are not peeing (or peeing very little), and have a fast heartbeat – these can be signs of dehydration
• You have a high temperature (or feel hot, cold or shivery), get a burning feeling when peeing, have pain in your back or side, or blood in your urine – these can be signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI)
• You get severe pain, tenderness, redness, or swelling in the groin or perineal area accompanied by a high temperature or feeling unwell – this may be a sign of a serious infection called Fournier’s gangrene

However, these side effects are categorised as “rare”, affecting fewer than one in 10,000 people. There are more common side effects, which occur in more than one in 100 people.

The NHS stated: “They’re usually mild and do not last long. There are things you can do to help cope with them.”

The drug is also given to patients with heart failure and chronic kidney disease(Image: getty)

These side effects include:

• Thrush
• Back pain
• Increased frequency of urination
• Dizziness
• Mild skin rash

The NHS advised: “Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if the advice on how to cope does not help and a side effect is still bothering you or does not go away.”

Combining dapagliflozin with other diabetes medications, including insulin or sulfonylureas like gliclazide, can sometimes cause your blood sugar to drop too low. Some people taking dapagliflozin may also experience diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

This condition occurs when your body starts to run low on insulin and harmful substances, known as ketones, accumulate in the body. Indicators of DKA may encompass:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Experiencing extreme thirst
• Feeling disorientated or exceptionally fatigued
• Abdominal discomfort
• Breath with a fruity odour (resembling pear drop confectionery or nail varnish)
• Deeper or more rapid breathing patterns

The NHS states: “Symptoms usually develop over 24 hours, but can come on faster. Your doctor will show you how to monitor your ketone and blood sugar levels, and what to do if this happens.

“You’ll learn how to recognise the symptoms of DKA and what to do about it.” Emergency services should be contacted by dialling 999 if you experience a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to dapagliflozin.

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Welcome to the new world dis-order.

The world has self-evidently been moving towards a “new global dis-order” for at least a decade, but the election of Donald Trump in November 2024 supercharged the process and made it seem almost cataclysmic.

It was already a world which at once seemed to be at the mercy of strong-man politics; but which was everywhere fragmented and smaller regional powers exerted their own coercive tactics; where international organisations count for little but the “tech-bros” throw their own weight around the global stage, intervening in domestic politics when it suited them; where international law was derided and the United Nations insulted, but still everyone still ran to the UN to claim legitimacy for what they want.

All this had been happening for some time, but the arrival of a vengeful Mr Trump for a second term in the White House – this time, a man with a plan – has made disorder the new norm.

Image:
Donald Trump Junior visited Greenland in January. Pic: Reuters

President Trump has his own domestic agenda, which aims to change US politics forever, and he may not appreciate the fundamental importance to the rest of the world of the two international trends he has thereby embraced.

One is the legitimisation of conquest through force against sovereign nations.

He was, and is, serious about incorporating Greenland into the US, even though it belongs to Denmark.

He was, and is, serious about taking the Panama Canal back into US hands, by whatever means necessary.

He may or may not be serious about incorporating Canada into the US.

Above all, he has been deadly serious about recognising, even officially legitimising, the brutal conquest of eastern Ukraine by Russia.

All this is music to the ears in Moscow, which has an ongoing agenda to restore the power of the old Soviet Union by force.

Image:
Tanks line up during a military parade in China

So too, in Beijing, which is already seizing areas in the South China Sea and intends to snuff out any independence for Taiwan.

It’s music to the ears, too, of the hardline Zionists in Israel who see this as the moment to seize and annex all the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza; to those Serbian leaders who still want to carve up Bosnia in the western Balkans; to those Gulf monarchies who dabble in the incipient breaking up (perhaps very soon) of states like Yemen and Sudan.

It even suggests to Indian hardliners that this might be the time to “resolve” the Kashmir issue in India’s favour.

When the US, in other words, embraces an imperialist mission for itself, it has the effect of legitimising it for everyone else.

Image:
Apartment buildings damaged by a Russian military strike in Donetsk region, Ukraine. Pic: Reuters

Read more from Sky News:
I’ve had a chat with MI6 boss, claims Putin’s spy chief
Israel attacking Lebanon every four hours as ceasefire frays

And in a world where law and international institutions are in steep retreat, there are a lot of imperialists around – not just in Moscow and Beijing, but in many of the world’s most troubled regions.

The second fundamental trend is the retreat of the US into isolationism.

In the past, the US has been “isolationist” more often and for longer than it has ever been “universalist”.

But Washington’s embrace of universalism after 1945 created a dominant “Western world” that provided a social and economic anchor around which all other global military and political competition revolved.

Of course, the “Western world” was never the whole world, but the international order it promoted tried to build international institutions, it restrained nuclear proliferation, it tried to promote international law, and until the economic crisis of 2008, it thought it had the best general model for economic development.

All that is reversed by US isolationism.

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Michael Clarke discusses meeting between Russia and Britain’s head of intelligence services

We do not yet know how the Trump version of it will play out, but the publication of the National Security Strategy in early December made it very clear that the core of that “Western world” – the transatlantic relationship – had fundamentally changed in Washington’s eyes.

The US has a different vision from its European allies over Russia, over what is at stake in Ukraine, of economic relations, indeed of the nature and culture of liberal democracy itself.

We do not know if this is temporary or permanent. But with the central building block of transatlantic relations pushed so obviously to one side, the subtle influence the “Western world” had on global politics over the last 80 years will be largely absent.

The year 2025 may go down as the moment when the slide away from a global order we had too easily taken for granted suddenly became a cliff edge. And that is down to one man who acts more on instinct than foresight.

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Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 21:

Fighting

• The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa rose from seven to eight, with at least 30 others wounded, according to Ukrainian authorities.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in Odesa as “harsh” and accused Russia of trying to block Kyiv’s access to the Black Sea.
• The Ukrainian leader also said that he is looking to replace the head of the Southern Air Command, Dmytro Karpenko, over the Russian strikes on Odesa.
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian forces also attacked the nearby port of Pivdennyi on Saturday, hitting several reservoirs.
• Ukraine’s military said its special forces carried out a drone attack on a Lukoil oil rig in the Caspian Sea on Friday, along with the Russian military patrol ship Okhotnik. The military also said that the Filanovsky oil rig, which had been targeted twice this month, was damaged in the strike.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces took control of the villages of Svitle and Vysoke, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and the northeastern Luhansk region, respectively.

Diplomacy and ceasefire talks

• Zelenskyy said the United States proposed a new format for talks with Russia, comprised of three-way talks at the level of national security advisers from Ukraine, Russia, and the US.
• The Ukrainian leader expressed scepticism that the talks would result in “anything new”, but added that he believes that US-led talks have the best chance of success.
• He added that he would support trilateral discussions if they led to progress in areas such as prisoner swaps or a meeting of national leaders. “If such a ‍meeting could be ⁠held now to allow for swaps of prisoners of war, or if a meeting of national security advisers achieves agreement on a leaders’ meeting… I cannot be opposed. We would support such a US proposal. Let’s see how things go,” he said.
• Zelenskyy also pushed back against calls for Ukraine to hold elections as the war drags on, stating that voting cannot take place in Russian-occupied areas and that security conditions must first improve. “It is not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who decides when and in what format the elections in Ukraine will take place,” Zelenskyy said.
• Zelenskyy urged European leaders to approve a measure to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to fund Ukraine’s war effort, saying that doing so will strengthen Ukraine’s leverage at the negotiating table. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that Ukraine will need about 137 billion euros ($161bn) in 2026 and 2027, as the demands of the war continue to strain the country’s economy.
• Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev held talks with his US counterpart, Steve Witkoff, and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the city of Miami.
• “The ‌discussions are proceeding constructively. They began earlier and ‌will continue ⁠today, and will also continue tomorrow,” ‌Dmitriev said
• Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov attended a summit in Cairo, held to advance closer cooperation between Russia and African nations, and attended by more than 50 countries. Lavrov pitched Russia as a “reliable partner” to African countries in areas such as security and national sovereignty.

Weapons

• Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksandr Kamyshin announced a deal with Portugal on the joint production of maritime drones, saying it would help “defend Europe from the sea”.

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Seven wild Asian elephants, including calves, were killed when a high-speed train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in north-eastern India, local officials say.

They say another calf was injured in the incident early on Saturday in Hojai district, Assam state.

The Northeast Frontier Railway says the train driver spotted dozens of elephants and used the emergency brakes – but some animals were still hit.

Five carriages derailed after the collision, but no injuries were reported among passengers and staff on the Delhi-bound express. Train cancellations and diversions were reported in the area during the day.

The killed elephants were later examined by veterinarians and buried.

Assam has one of the biggest elephant populations in India, with nearly 6,000 animals recorded in the state.

Local railway tracks are often crossed by elephant herds – but Saturday’s incident happened at a location that was not a designated elephant corridor, the Northeast Frontier Railway says.

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The Department of Homeland Security recently released a holiday ad relaying a familiar message with a tinge of festive nostalgia.

Accompanied by crooner Perry Como’s Christmas classic, “Home for the Holidays,” a black-and-white montage showed people grabbing what appeared to be gifts for loved ones — stuffed animals and playing cards — before they stepped onto planes.

“This holiday season, give yourself the gift of home with the CBP Home app,” read the ad’s caption.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House — and implemented his mass deportation agenda — the CBP Home app has been touted by administration officials as a “dignified” way for immigrants to self-deport.

Immigrants without criminal convictions are eligible to use the app in exchange for a $1,000 “stipend,” free airfare, and avoiding encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to DHS.

open image in gallery

An immigrant from Venezuela tries to access CBP Home App. The government spends less on self-deportations compared to involuntary deportations. But for migrants, the reality of leaving voluntarily is not risk-free (Getty Images)

Once a user downloads the CBP Home app, they choose the language they want to use, and then can select on one of two choices: “I’m Ready to Leave the U.S.” or “Verify I Left the U.S.” The user then fills out their personal information, takes a selfie, and then submits that information. The app then asks users if they want to add others to their “group.” At the end of the prompts, a message pops up saying “someone will reach out to you soon” and that the user will receive an email about next steps. The app also touts the $1,000 “exit bonus.”

But immigration law experts warn that many migrants are being directed towards the app without a full understanding that self-deportation is not risk-free.

Desires to avoid “horrific” conditions at detention centers, uncertain outcomes in lengthy immigration cases, and unpredictable, frightening ICE raids appear to be fueling self-deportations, but using the app may still result in immigrants being detained by federal agents and separated from family members for long periods, legal experts say.

In some cases, immigrants may never be allowed to return to the U.S.

The government has spent more than $200 million to advertise CBP Home — and nearly 38,000 people have used the app to leave the U.S. from March, when the self-deportation feature launched, up to November 25, according to internal DHS data seen by The Independent.

“Self-deportation is a safe and dignified way for lawbreakers who are here illegally to leave,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

Not only do self-deportations boost Trump’s numbers – he has said he wants 1 million immigrants out of the country each year – but the administration has argued that the strategy is saving taxpayers money. The government spends $3,500 per individual self-deportation, the DHS spokesperson said. That marks “80 percent savings” on the $17,000 that the government spends on arresting, detaining and removing a person, the official added.

But critics argue there are other prices attached, both financial and personal, that the administration’s cost analysis doesn’t appear to take into account.

For one, immigrants are thought to contribute nearly $580 billion per year in taxes.

Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that Trump’s mass deportation plan could significantly impact the U.S. economy, reducing the employment rate by as much as 7 percent and lowering GDP by as much as 7.4 percent by 2028. The researchers noted that these deportations would not only result in losing workers, but also losing consumers.

“In addition to the moral issue of rounding up millions of people, and disrupting their families, workplaces, and livelihoods, Trump’s ‘America first’ proposal for mass deportations would raise prices, cost jobs, and harm the US economy,” the researchers said.

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Shackled immigrants board a plane to be removed from the U.S. The Trump administration has branded self-deportations as a ‘dignified’ way to leave the U.S., compared to law enforcement action (REUTERS)

Since Trump took office, 2.5 million immigrants have left the U.S., DHS said. Some 605,000 people were involuntarily deported while 1.9 million have voluntarily self-deported.

It is unclear whether that figure includes self-deportations through the CBP Home app as well as voluntary departures — a court-approved process that allows immigrants to leave the U.S. at their own expense to avoid a deportation order, making it easier to return. The Independent has asked DHS for more information.

So far this year, judges have granted more than 28,000 voluntary departure applications, according to data from nonprofit TRAC. Over the Biden administration’s four years, just over 29,000 people left the U.S. via voluntary departures.

Experts say immigrants using the app to self-deport potentially face another, more personal cost.

In May, Homeland Security announced the $1,000 stipend for “travel assistance” — which the American Immigration Lawyers Association described as “deceptive.” The association labeled the government’s self-deportation offer as a “deeply misleading and unethical trick.”

“[It] gives people the impression there are no consequences, such as being barred from returning in the future. No one should accept this without first obtaining good legal advice from an immigration attorney or other qualified representative,” the American Immigration Lawyers Association said in a statement at the time.

The National Immigration Project, a nonprofit that provides legal representation and support to immigrants, warned that in order to be able to return to the U.S. after self-deporting, one must have a “basis for returning,” like a spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

“For many people, there may be no basis for returning to the United States on a permanent basis; even for those who do have a qualifying relative, the backlogs for these visas are very long for some countries and family relationships,” the group warned.

Once leaving the country, undocumented immigrants face 3-year or 10-year bars from entering the U.S. depending on how long they lived in there.

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Protesters clash with federal immigration agents in Chicago (REUTERS)

Others — including those who have returned to the U.S. without permission after being deported — face a permanent bar, according to the nonprofit.

Advocacy groups have also warned that immigrants with ongoing cases could still be given a deportation order even if they opt to self-deport, making it more difficult to return to the U.S.

“Even if you use the CBP Home app to tell DHS that you are leaving, you are at risk of receiving a deportation order from immigration court in your absence after you have left that will bar you from returning to the United States. Leaving the country will mean immigration applications you have submitted will be considered abandoned and will make it harder for you to gain future immigration benefits,” nonprofit Refugees International said on its website.

There are also reportedly instances in which immigrants, who have used the CBP Home app to self-deport, were still detained by federal immigration agents.

“We’ve heard of a couple cases of people using the app to try to facilitate their return to their home country, but they still end up getting detained, either while they’re waiting for their flight out of the country or while they are physically trying to leave the country,” Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, an attorney with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told Wired.

In Chicago, one Venezuelan asylum seeker said they had struggled to leave the U.S. after opting to self-deport using the app, fearing the worst from the increasingly aggressive ICE raids in the city.

The migrant, a 25-year-old mother of two, told ProPublica that she was told by someone working at the CBP Home app program that if she used the app she could be on a flight to Venezuela the following month. When her departure date passed, she made several calls to the program, with one program worker eventually telling her there could be a delay obtaining her travel documents.

Waiting with packed bags, she said she registered on the app twice more. She said she still hadn’t been given any flight information.

“I feel so scared, always looking around in every direction,” she told ProPublica. “I was trying to leave voluntarily, like the president said.”

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Welcome to The Blueprint, where we break down the celebrity looks we want to wear right now and build them back up, piece by piece.

“Please, please, please” — take notes from Sabrina Carpenter’s cold-weather fashion playbook.

The “Manchild” singer turned a casual lunch in New York into a whole winter vibe. She wore a slouchy black wool coat with a cable-knit sweater, and relaxed, light-wash jeans, then pulled it all together with sleek gloves and a luxe Balenciaga bag.

The second I saw this photo, I pinned it for style inspiration. There’s something about the coat‑and‑turtleneck combo that feels effortless but still dressed up. And it’s easy to pull off with just a few wardrobe staples, so I found similar pieces on Amazon — prices start at just $20.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Outfit Blueprint

Wool Coats:

Cable-Knit Sweaters:

Relaxed Jeans:

BACKGRID

Chouyatou Winter Wool Coat

Amazon

I’ve had a wool coat in my closet for years, and it’s something I reach for every winter because it truly goes with everything. I’ll throw it over a sweatshirt and jeans for a casual day look, or layer it with a sweater dress and boots when I’m heading out to dinner.

This one looks a lot like the oversized style Carpenter wore, and a reviewer noted that it feels “super soft and comfy,” with deep pockets and double layering that adds warmth without feeling bulky.

Trendy Queen Oversized Cable-Knit Crewneck Sweater

Amazon

Amazon’s best-selling sweater has a timeless cable-knit pattern and cozy feel, according to shoppers. One reviewer shared that the “oversized fit is perfect for layering.” They added, “The cable-knit detailing adds texture and style without being overwhelming, and the material is soft, warm, and comfortable all day.”

Levi’s Cinch Baggy Jeans

Amazon

Over the past few years, I’ve slowly replaced my old skinny jeans with more relaxed, wide-leg styles that feel effortless but still look modern and flattering. And these Levi’s remind me so much of the classic light-wash of Carpenter’s denim. 

One shopper called them “pure perfection,” which enhanced their hourglass figure.

“They are slightly loose in the hip and backside area, which I love. They fall perfectly on my legs and make them look so long,” they wrote. “The fabric is thick, a small bit of stretch, but it keeps its shape when you wear it.”

Complete Carpenter’s Look with Similar Accessories:

A few basic wardrobe staples can build a winter outfit that looks polished with little effort. 

Keep scrolling for more Carpenter-inspired picks at Amazon… and maybe sip an espresso while you’re at it.

Hooever Single-Breasted Peacoat

Amazon

Tanming Notch Lapel Wool-Blend Coat

Amazon

Amazon Essentials Fisherman Cable Turtleneck Sweater

Amazon

Anrabess Oversized Turtleneck Cable-Knit Sweater

Amazon

Grapent Wide-Leg Baggy Jeans

Amazon

Levi’s 94 Baggy Jeans

Amazon

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Scotland’s growing numbers of public inquiries are too expensive, ‘poorly defined’ and are damaging front-line services, a scathing new report has found.

Since the country first gained the legal powers to hold public inquiries in 2007, the cost to taxpayers has reached a staggering £258 million.

Several of the probes, including investigations into the Edinburgh trams fiasco and the death of Sheku Bayoh, have been widely criticised for dragging on for years.

Now a Holyrood committee has recommended that ministers fix budgets to stop costs spiralling – and also set definite timetables.

MSPs on the finance and public administration committee said inquiries are a valuable tool for ‘holding public bodies to account, reviewing past wrongs, identifying solutions and recommending changes to policy’.

But they concluded that the system is ‘overstretched and poorly defined’, with some inquiries lacking a ‘core objective’.

Sheku Bayoh and his partner Collette Bell. The inquiry into his death has been criticised for the length of time it has taken

Despite so far costing £26.2 million, the inquiry into Mr Bayoh’s death faces an uncertain future after its chairman Lord Bracadale resigned in October

Their report also warns that, in some cases, participation in long-running inquiries is preventing judges and police officers from doing their core jobs.

In October, The Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed that Police Scotland had warned the MSPs preparing the report that sending so many officers to take part in inquiries was hampering the force’s efforts to fight crime.

Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr said: ‘Scotland is being governed by an SNP administration that is simply not up to the job.

‘£258 million has been blown on public inquiries because ministers can’t set clear objectives, control costs or take responsibility.

‘This is a second‑rate government in action – endless drift, no grip, and a taxpayer‑funded gravy train that’s draining money away from frontline services.’

Committee convener Kenneth Gibson, a Nationalist MSP, said: ‘There is currently limited ability for ministers to control expenditure and stop costs spiralling – or to stop an inquiry dragging on for years.

‘We are also concerned at the impact on existing public services if resources are redirected to inquiries that may last for years.’

The committee concluded other countries use systems that provide ‘better alternatives for cost effectiveness and effective delivery’.

Mr Gibson added: ‘For example, Sweden normally requires its public inquiries to conclude within two years and within a set budget.’

The first public inquiry of the Holyrood era examined the 2004 ICL Stockline tragedy – in which nine people died when a plastics factory in Glasgow exploded. It published its report in 2009, exposing a series of failings and made recommendations for improving industry safety – all for the relatively modest cost of £1.9 million.

Other completed probes include the Campbell Inquiry into a police fingerprinting scandal, costing £4.8 million, the Vale of Leven Inquiry into hospital-acquired infections, costing £10.7 million and the £12.1 million Penrose Inquiry into the ‘tainted blood scandal’ that saw NHS patients infected with hepatitis C and HIV.

The inquiry into delays and costs during the construction of Edinburgh’s tram system was itself years late and massively over budget – finally producing a report in 2023 at a cost of £13.1 million.

The probe into the death of Sheku Bayoh – a 31-year-old who died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, while being restrained by police in 2015 – has been running for five years.

Despite so far costing £26.2 million, it faces an uncertain future after its chairman Lord Bracadale resigned in October amid claims he had not remained impartial.

The Holyrood report found the cost of inquiries overall was £258.8 million since 2007 – including £30 million this year alone.

Six public inquiries are ongoing. Two have only just started – investigating rogue surgeon Sam Eljamel and the death of sex worker Emma Caldwell – while four others, looking into Covid, child abuse, Scottish hospitals and the death of Mr Bayoh, have been running for more than four years.

The most expensive is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which started in 2014 and has so far cost more than £102 million.

The report concluded that some inquiries drag on because ministers were too vague in spelling out what they hoped to achieve.

Last night the Scottish Government said the chair of an inquiry is already legally obliged to avoid unnecessary costs – but also said ministers would consider the report’s recommendations.

A spokesman added: ‘We welcome this report. The proposals will be responded to in due course. Inquiries operate independently of government and are set up when no other avenue is deemed sufficient.’

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Sam Wilder decided to eat at the popular pub chain every day for a week

23:06, 20 Dec 2025Updated 23:06, 20 Dec 2025

Sam Wilder ate at Wetherspoons for a week

A British food influencer has shared the one thing which let him down after eating at Wetherspoons every day for a week.

Sam Wilder is a creator who is known for carrying out challenges where he tries to eat just one type of food for a week. He’s previously done food from other popular chains, but this time decided to try out Wetherspoons.

The pub chain is best known for its cheap booze and toilets you need a map, compass, and flaming torch to find, but Sam found it also offers a surprisingly wide selection of budget food. But there was one thing which simply did not work out.

READ MORE: Two Australians visit Wetherspoons with £20 to see how many drinks they can actually getREAD MORE: Wetherspoon’s rules that could see you turned away or charged to enterSam tried a variety of items over the week

Sam’s clip racked up some 100,000 views online, and he shared: “It’s 100% great for people that are on a budget. Somewhere like Spoons, you know what you’re getting and you can’t really argue with the price.

“The quality is definitely varied among the dishes they serve. But if you’re looking to eat out cheap and cheerfully, then it’s a good place to go.”

The dishes that Sam tried included pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup, as well as nachos, halloumi fries and southern fried chicken strips. Other days included a ramen noodle bowl, as well as a gourmet burger.

Sam said the food was good for the price

Sam generally felt lukewarm with the food, though said it was good for a budget. He said: “All of the food wasn’t too bad, but I couldn’t help but think this might be meant for more than one person.”

But there was one dish which stuck out for all the wrong reasons. This was the bangers and mash.

You might think bangers and mash would be a pub staple – you can scarcely get more British than that, after all. But sadly, Sam was left less than impressed with what he was given.

The bangers and mash was a let down

“It’s not good,” he said. “Whoever cooked this definitely left it in the microwave a bit too long.

“It’s way too hot that it has any right to be. It’s a microwave job; it wasn’t properly cooked.”

But it wasn’t all bad, with Sam praising a pasta alfredo with bacon as his favourite dish. “It was the prettiest looking meal I’d had so far,” he said.

The pasta alfreddo was a high point for Sam

“[It] looked absolutely delightful. Zero complaints. The best thing I’ve had.”

He added: “The sauce was really tasty, I like how the bacon is cooked and mixed with it. The bacon is slightly crisp to give it some texture and the rocket helps give it that pepperiness.

“It’s seasoned well. I was honestly happily surprised.”

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The talks between the four countries lauded the first stage of the truce, including expanded humanitarian assistance, return of captives, force withdrawals and reduction in hostilities.

The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye have urged the parties to the Gaza ceasefire to honour their commitments and show restraint, the chief US envoy says after talks in the US city of Miami.

Senior officials from the four mediator countries met Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, on Friday to review the first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on October 10, according to a joint statement released on Saturday.

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The meeting was held against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli attacks on the enclave. The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza said that six people were killed on Friday when an Israeli strike hit a school housing displaced people, raising the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the deal took effect to about 400.

“We reaffirm our full commitment to the entirety of the President’s [Trump’s] 20-point peace plan and call on all parties to uphold their obligations, exercise restraint, and cooperate with monitoring arrangements,” Witkoff said in a statement posted on X.

First phase of truce

Saturday’s statement cited progress yielded in the first stage of the peace agreement, including expanded humanitarian assistance, the return of captives’ bodies, partial force withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities.

It called for “the near-term establishment and operationalisation” of a transitional administration, which is due to happen in the second phase of the agreement, and said that consultations would continue in the coming weeks over its implementation.

Under the truce deal’s terms, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilisation force is to be deployed.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that countries would contribute troops for the stabilisation force, but also urged the disarmament of Hamas, warning the process would unravel unless that happened.

Hamas statement

A meeting was also held between Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in Istanbul on Saturday.

In a statement from Hamas after the meeting, the group said it was committed to abiding by the ceasefire agreement, despite Israeli violations.

“The delegation stressed the urgent need to halt these continuous violations,” the statement added.

“The delegation also reviewed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip with the onset of winter, emphasising the critical priority of urgently bringing in tents, caravans, and heavy equipment to save our people from death by cold and drowning, given the destruction of infrastructure and homes.”

Winter storms have been worsening the conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza, as aid agencies warn that Israeli restrictions are preventing lifesaving assistance from reaching people across the besieged enclave.

Bodies recovered, Israeli strikes continue

On Saturday, an Israeli air strike targeted two people in northern Gaza, according to a statement from the military, which alleged that they “posed an immediate threat” to Israeli troops after crossing the so-called yellow line, which separates areas under Israeli army control from those where Palestinians are permitted to move.

No details were yet available on whether the two people were killed or injured.

Gaza’s Civil Defence on Saturday also said it recovered the bodies of 94 Palestinians from the rubble in the enclave.

The bodies were retrieved in central Gaza City and transferred to the forensic department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex to arrange their burial in the Martyrs’ Cemetery in the central city of Deir el-Balah, according to a statement from the Civil Defence.

Thousands of Palestinians are believed to still be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza.

The Israeli army has killed more than 70,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 others since it began its genocidal war on the enclave in October 2023.

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