The 80-year-old, like all pensioners in England and Wales, was given the winter fuel payment (WFP) automatically – until this week when
Over the years, I had to keep quiet as the police investigation carried on.I received anonymous tip-offs and one of the criminals even sent me text messages from prison.
Three years after the trial, in April 2022, I was behind the scenes at the British Museum where the hoard was taken to be studied and valued.The jewellery is beautiful but it is the coins that have changed what we know about the history of England.One of them is double-headed, showing two rulers of England in the Ninth Century.
Alfred the Great, who ruled Wessex, is on one side and Ceolwulf II, of Mercia, is on the other.Alfred the Great is famous, we know a lot about him, but Ceolwulf II is a mystery, he appears to disappear without a trace at about AD879.
Historians believe that he was written out of history by Alfred's followers.
Thanks to the double-headed coin, we now know that Ceolwulf was as important as Alfred, that they ruled side by side for many years.Officers from the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) - which is equipped to respond to serious incidents in jails - were sent to reports of a disturbance at Lowdham Grange prison on Tuesday.
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said it was the "latest in a long line of violent incidents in our prisons" and was of such a nature that it demanded a response from the NTRG.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said no prisoners or staff were injured at the jail in Nottinghamshire.
Lowdham Grange, a category B prison, operated privately until December 2023, when the government took over before making the move permanent in the summer of 2024.The POA has demanded an urgent meeting with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood to discuss how those on the front line are protected, said Geoff Willetts, from the POA national executive committee.