As you descend into Charing Cross Tube Station, you are transported four years into a nightmare future.
The posters lining the escalators – usually advertising beauty products and theatre productions – have been replaced by newspaper front pages with the headline: ‘The UK declares war on Russia.’
The station’s tunnels, usually bustling with commuters, have been transformed into a top secret war bunker. British Army troops wearing camouflage sit at white fold-out tables, analysing data. Three enormous screens display maps of enemy movements.
Shorts
Scroll to previous short
Scroll to next short
news
How the bananas we all eat are at risk of extinction
A destructive disease is laying waste to banana crops across central and South America. The mission to save the world’s most popular fruit is concentrated in a research park in Norfolk.
Millions of growers at risk from ‘existential’ threat worldwide
Tropical Race 4 or TR4 is a soil-borne fungus which destroys banana plants from underground. It could soon reduce banana supplies globally, an industry worth £11.5bn.
Bananas are particularly vulnerable to disease as they are all genetically identical, tracing their DNA back to a single plant.
LIFESTYLE
2 min read
Explained
5 min read
UK scientists to the rescue?
Tropic Biosciences, a small British biotechnology company, has developed a gene-edited banana which is resistant to the fungus. Trial crops are currently being grown in Central America.
Tropic Bioscience, a UK company based in Norwich, has perfected a banana which it claims is resistant to Panama Disease – a fungus threatening to lay waste to global banana production. (Photo: Tropic Bioscience)
Image supplied by simon.middleton@tropic.bio
Caption: Produce from a container which has come ashore on Selsey beach in West Sussex. 16 containers went overboard from the cargo ship Baltic Klipper in the Solent on 6 December. Eight of the containers were reported as carrying bananas, two as carrying plantain, one as carrying avocados, and the remaining five as empty. Picture date: Sunday December 7, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jamie Lashmar/PA Wire
Photographer: Jamie Lashmar
Provider: Jamie Lashmar/PA Wire
Source: PA
This is not the first time banana production has been threatened – the Gros Michel banana was completely wiped out by TR1 in the 1960s, forcing growers to switch to the bananas we eat now.
Is this genetic modification?
Genetic modification means bringing in DNA from a completely different organism. Gene editing is not the same. We are repeating the natural process of evolution by introducing changes that can occur by breeding. We want to replace all the bananas that are grown globally with elite, new varieties. Made in Norwich.”
Dr Philip Zegerman, director of technology and research at tropic biosciences, norwich
Caption:
Gene editing Lab – Norwich
Bananas
Image supplied by simon.middleton@tropic.bio
Watch more from The i Paper
The scheme is being spearheaded by theme park operator Merlin Entertainments in partnership with Coca Cola. (Photo: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
news
All the summer attractions Reeves is cutting VAT on
Theme parks, cinema tickets and children’s meals out will all be cheaper this summer as the Chancellor slashed VAT in a bid to boost spending and businesses.
Rachel Reeves announced a cut in the rate of VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent on summer attractions over the holiday period.
What is getting cheaper?
Many families are keen to know when they can visit a soft play area again (Photo: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)
Children’s theatre and cinema tickets and meals in restaurants
Soft play, adventure centres and theme parks for everyone
Children aged five to 15 will get free bus travel in August
LIFESTYLE
6 min read
Who is paying for it?
VAT will be reduced from 20 per cent to 5 per cent from 25 June to 1 September.
The cuts are estimated to cost £300m and will be paid for by the Treasury as part of their Great British Summer Savings scheme.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (Photo: John Sibley / POOL / AFP)
Big Christmas blockbusters are about to hit the silver screen (Photo: Chaz Bharj/Getty)
The money is to be raised in part from changing the rules around how international companies pay tax in the UK, making it harder for them to take assets offshore.
Watch more from The i Paper
How to stay safe in the sun this bank holiday weekend
A leading cancer charity has issued warnings today of a rise in the most dangerous form of skin cancer, caused by over-exposure to the sun.
Holidaymakers on the main beach at Exmouth, where residents have launched a legal claim against South West Water (Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
Cancer on the rise
In 2022
20,980
people in the UK were diagnosed with melanoma, the most serious skin cancer.
By 2040 this could reach
26,500
if rates continue to rise.
The cases rose fastest among women, where they were linked to sun beds and sun bathing, especially in younger women.
Reducing your cancer risk
People enjoyed the hotter weather in London’s parks (Photo: James Manning/PA Wire)
Stay out of strong sun
Cancer Research UK advises seeking shade when the sun is at its strongest 11am-3pm.
Cover up
Use sunscreen (at least SPF30), clothing and hats to protect your skin when you go outside.
Caption: This is a generic photo of a woman squirting sun cream onto her hand at a beach. See PA Feature FAMILY Sunscreen. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA feature FAMILY Sunscreen. PA Photo. Picture credit should read: Alamy/PA.
NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FAMILY Sunscreen.
Photographer: Alamy/PA
Provider: Alamy/PA
Beautiful female doctor talking while explaining medical treatment with digital tablet to patient in the consultation. – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Check your skin
If you see anything unusual, like a new or changing mole or a sore that doesn’t heal, get it checked by your GP.
Watch more from The i Paper
Airlines have been warned not to book holidaymakers on flights that may be cancelled after a slew of offers for cheap deals to Spain, Greece and Portugal were released in a bid to boost bookings. Airlines are increasingly warning of looming flight cancellations over the peak summer holiday months due to rocketing jet fuel costs caused by conflict in the Middle East, the Civil Aviation Authority has said. You can read more of this article on The i Paper’s website. #holidays #vacation #iran
♬ original sound – The i Paper – The i Paper
news
Key takeaways as police widen Andrew inquiry
Police are widening the scope of their inquiry into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to include allegations of sexual misconduct.
He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February after emails in the Epstein files appeared to show him sharing confidential documents with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while serving as UK trade envoy.
Investigation underway
Andrew under scrutiny over misconduct in public office
Royal palaces searched
Police are still working through the evidence recovered from these
Files requested
The US Department of Justice has not responded to a request for the unredacted Epstein files
All lines of enquiry
The investigation is not just focused on Mountbatten-Windsor’s time as a trade envoy
OPINION
2 min read
Inquiry widens scope to sexual offences
A woman has told the BBC she was brought to Royal Lodge to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in 2010, before being given a tour of Buckingham Palace. She was in her twenties at the time.
Police say they have spoken to her legal team and will be led by her wishes should she choose to report the offence to them.
![Royal Lodge, Windsor: The Country Home of the Royal Family', 1937. A Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, known as the Royal Lodge since the late 1820s. From "George VI, King and Emperor", by Major J. T. Gorman [W. & G. Foyle Ltd., London, 1937]. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)](https://www.europesays.com/britain/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/SEI_287791586.jpg)
Caption: Royal Lodge, Windsor: The Country Home of the Royal Family’, 1937. A Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, known as the Royal Lodge since the late 1820s. From “George VI, King and Emperor”, by Major J. T. Gorman [W. & G. Foyle Ltd., London, 1937]. Artist Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)
Photographer: Print Collector
Provider: The Print Collector/Heritage Ima
Source: Hulton Archive
Copyright: The Print Collector/Heritage Images
Explained
5 min read
Public urged to help
We encourage anyone with information to get in touch with us through the normal non-urgent contact channels, such as the Thames Valley Police online portal. I understand the high level of interest in this work, but please be patient as we continue to actively progress our investigation.
Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright
Police officers walk near an entrance of the Royal Lodge, a former residence of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
(Photo: Jaimi Joy /Reuters)
Watch more from The i Paper
Navigating hot and sticky weather is often a sensory and social nightmare
With summer approaching,
Dr Adil Sheraz of the British Association of Dermatologists, explains why we sweat and
what we can do about it.
Monica Garcia, 65, swelters in Madrid’s first heatwave of the summer (Photo: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters)
Why do we sweat?
Sweating is an important part of thermoregulation. When you sweat and it evaporates off the skin, it will take the latent heat with it.
We’re covered in three to four million sweat glands and the majority produce a sweat made up of just electrolytes and water. In other words, completely odourless.
These eccrine glands function from birth
to keep us cool.
When does sweat smell?
Oil in our sweat can suck in microplastics posing a health risk (Photo: Tom Williams/Getty)
Glands in the armpit, groin and scalp operate differently.
They’re under the control of hormones and the glands contain lipids and potentially fatty esters.
The bacteria on our skin will
feed off these fatty acids and
lipids and cause the odour.
LIFESTYLE
6 min read
Are we sweating more now?
It is not just the weather impacts how we sweat…
The bigger you are (in height, weight or muscle mass), the more surface area you will need to sweat on in order to cool down.
This is why men tend to sweat more than women and why you sweat
more when you gain weight.
Medical conditions like diabetes
and thyroid problems will also
cause increased sweating.
Certain dietary items, including caffeine, processed foods and spicy foods can also trigger the chemicals in our body which cause us to sweat more.
When does it matter?
If it’s impacting your daily life, you will likely have some form of hyperhidrosis and need
to speak to a doctor to determine further.
Primary hyperhidrosis is excessive sweating with no underlying cause.
Secondary hyperhidrosis means there’s a condition or illness causing the sweating.
There are two main ways to tell the difference.
Sweating with secondary causes tends to happen all over the body rather than just localised to your palms or armpits.
Primary hyperhidrosis tends to switch off when you’re sleeping as the neurons stop firing. This doesn’t happen with secondary hyperhidrosis.
How to manage sweat
Caption: Relaxed young woman in bright summer clothes is sitting on a bench on a city street with her eyes closed enjoying music through headphones from a smartphone.
Photographer: Tanja Ivanova
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Clothing
Wear natural or wicking fabrics that prevent sweat patches, or clothes that are cooling for the skin.
Antiperspirant
One that contains aliminimium is advised as it’s well known for blocking and plugging our sweat ducts.
Caption: Woman applying deodorant roll on under armpit
Photographer: wing-wing
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Britain’s best coffee shops have been revealed – spanning from the tip of Scotland to the bottom of England. (Photo: William Lailey / SWNS)
Dietary changes
Where possible
reduce dietary causes like caffeine and
spicy foods.
Can I save money without giving up fun?
When it comes to financial planning, I’ve always lived month to month, but recently I’ve wanted to be slightly more serious.
So I spoke to a range of financial experts for the easiest, idiot-proof ways to be savvier with money – without just hibernating.
The expert tips
Print out your bank statements
“This is the hardest step but you’ve got to know what’s coming in and out, down to the pound,” says financial coach Ian Dempsey. You’re more likely to remember what’s on there, and pay attention to it on paper.
Caption: Kasia Delgado reads old letters from her childhood.
A professor of happiness at Bristol University taught Kasia how adults can train themselves to be happier and find more joy, like when they were unencumbered children.
Photographer: mail@teripengilley.com
Provider: Teri Pengilley / i News
Source: Teri Pengilley
Caption: Kasia Delgado, Chief Features Writer, i News.
Photographer: Teri Pengilley
Provider: Teri Pengilley / i News
Source: Teri Pengilley
Draw an image of what you’re saving for
“Anything that requires discipline is much easier to achieve when you [can picture] the end goal,” says Ruth Power, from the Financial Management Bureau.
The expert tips
Experts are arguing that the UK should make greater use of existing government data
Photographer: Andrzej Rostek
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: andrzejrostek@gmail.com
Go on a money date
If you’re in a relationship, for 30 minutes once a month, take a notebook to the pub/cafe and talk about money with your partner.
Delete shopping apps…
They are designed to be compulsive. Removing them gives you an extra layer of resistance.
Close up of an unrecognizable woman shopping online with credit card via mobile phone – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
An image of a hand that quickly sends an email – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
…and unsubscribe
Marketing emails are designed to reach you when you’re likely to spend money.
How it went when Kasia followed the expert advice
I delete Vinted and only re-download it when I actively want to replace something for my son that he’s grown out of.
I’m no longer buring my head in the sand. Sections of my bank statement flash into my mind when I go to use the Uber app.
Money dates have been uncomfortable. We did have a small argument about buying own-brand beans versus Heinz for example, but scribbling down numbers we want to save has also been exciting.
I have found it easier to be mindful about spending and broke some unhelpful habits, like associating walks with always getting a coffee.
How the UK currently saves
The average person in the UK has £16,067 in savings in 2025.
39%
However, 2 in 5 Britons have £1,000 or less in savings. A quarter have £200 or less.
1 in 6 UK adults (16 per cent) have no savings at all, equating to around 8.4 million people.
82%
Men are estimated to have 82 per cent more in savings than women.
Almost three in 10 (28 per cent) of adults state saving money is a habit.
The final verdict
The truth is, I’m never going to be someone with five side hustles and the financial savvy to become a bitcoin billionaire. But I’m no longer thinking, “where did my salary go?”. The small changes have, over time, made a difference to my bank account, but also my mind and self confidence.
KASIA DELGADO
‘I’ve found greater joy in spending money in an active, more conscious way – on things that felt worth it such as a massage, a cocktail with a friend, a comedy gig, a tricycle for my son,’ says Delgado (Photo: Teri Pengilley/The i Paper)
Six easy swaps to increase your fibre intake
We asked the experts why it’s so important to include enough fibre in our diets, and how to do it without totally overhauling our diets…
Why fibre is important
Fibre isn’t a fad nutrient. It’s been consistently linked to better health outcomes for decades. Unlike protein, which the majority of people already get enough of, fibre is something most of us (96 per cent) are significantly lacking.
NICHOLA LUDLAM-RAINE, SPECICIALIST REGISTERED DIETITIAN AND AUTHOR
The small diet tweaks to make
Beans, lentils and chickpeas are fibre powerhouses, with around 6-8g per half-tin. If you find beans tricky to digest, start with microdosing them for a week and gradually build it up to half a can at a time.
Bread is the category of food that is most thrown away, survey finds (d3sign
Provider: Getty Images)
Caption: Green vegetable salad with chickpea, spinach, cucumber, red onions, and greens on a wooden table. Top view
Photographer: Qwart
Provider: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Source: iStockphoto
One of the simplest changes you can make is to switch to wholegrain versions of everyday carbs. Swapping two slices of white bread for wholemeal adds around 3g of fibre.
How to add fibre to your diet
When you cook potatoes the right way they go from being a health burden to a health hero (Photo: Getty)
Keep some skin
The skin of some foods can contain up to 50 per cent of the total fibre. Just make sure it’s safe to eat.
Level up the snacks
Berries, raw vegetables with hummus, or a small handful of nuts are all easy fibre wins.
Yoghurt and frozen berry crunch in a glass jar – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Breakfast cereals can be swapped out for overnight oats (Photo: Jogy Abraham/ Getty Images)
Don’t skip seeds
Ludlam-Raine adds a spoon of mixed seeds to porridge, cereal, yoghurts, soups and salads.
EASY WAYS TO ADD FIBRE TO YOUR DIET
Add in, don’t take away
Plant-Based Anti-Inflammatory Diet Ingredients Flat Lay – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
A few extra handfuls of fibre-rich ingredients might be all that’s needed to take your meals from average to fibre-full.
Small changes are key because they’re more sustainable and better tolerated by the gut. Increasing fibre too quickly can cause bloating or discomfort.
One in four people in the UK is living with mould and/or damp in their home…
David Prince, a leading damp surveyor who travels across the country treating mould, spends the day with The i Paper writer Eleanor Peake.
Surveyor David Prince warns people are being overcharged by rogue companies for unnecessary treatment (Photo: Teri Pengilley)
The UK
Britain’s damp problem is one of the worst in Europe.
45%
Private renters are disproportionately affected, with 45 per cent currently battling symptoms of damp.
30%
From 2015 to 2024, British winters were 16 per cent wetter than in previous years.
By 2070, UK winters are projected to be up to 30 per cent wetter.
The house I visited with David Prince – a private rental
Renters are desperate for a resolution to their ongoing damp issue.
David notes that although the bathroom has an extractor fan, the room wasn’t being ventilated efficiently.
The hot air from the bathroom was floating towards the coldest part of the building (the bedroom) and turning into water as it hit the cold bedroom walls.
This was an internal ventilation issue, other houses have an external issue. When the guttering is overgrown the water has to go somewhere else, sometimes seeping back into the brick.
The houses most at risk
Victorian terraces, or those built in the 1910s, are more likely to have rising damp – where the water seeps through the foundation of the house.
Caption: David Prince, Director of Abbott Property Care Ltd.
For a feature on damp by Eleanor Peake, Senior Features Writer at The i Paper.
Photographer: Teri Pengilley
Provider: Teri Pengilley / The i Paper
Source: Teri Pengilley
Caption: David Prince, Director of Abbott Property Care Ltd.
For a feature on damp by Eleanor Peake, Senior Features Writer at The i Paper.
Photographer: Teri Pengilley
Provider: Teri Pengilley / The i Paper
Source: Teri Pengilley
Modern houses are often built with concrete ring beams, one of the coldest materials to build with. The damp turns to condensation just by hitting the walls.
Damp specialists
Caption: Eleanor Peake, Senior Features Writer at The i Paper, meets David Prince, Director of Abbott Property Care Ltd, to examine the issue of damp in rental properties.
Photographer: Teri Pengilley
Provider: Teri Pengilley / The i Paper
Source: Teri Pengilley
Only a small number of damp specialists – around 250 – are registered with the Property Care Association (PCA) in the whole of the UK.
This means that a majority of people in the UK are receiving quotes and recommendations about damp from building surveyors who aren’t qualified to give a diagnosis, says Prince.
The golden rules for managing damp
The most common issues can be solved by simple tweaks.
Start with the outside. When it’s raining, have a walk around your building to see if the gutters are pouring water down the wall, or water is being trapped in some way.
Make sure you have good ventilation in key wet rooms: kitchen, bathroom, utility, and toilets.
Open all your windows every day for a short period of time to force natural ventilation – even on cold days.
Never place furniture, or even pictures, on an external wall if it suffers from mould. It helps retain moisture.
This is a war drill, designed to simulate how the force would respond to an attack on mainland Europe, which would see the entire Nato alliance- including the UK – at war.
A group of 120 soldiers from the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), a UK-commanded Nato high-readiness force based in Gloucester, have set up a command post on two disused London Underground platforms.
Every few minutes, chatter among the troops is disrupted by the rumble of a Tube train carrying oblivious tourists and commuters nearby.
Over three weeks, the soldiers have been learning how to run operations from below ground, a critical skill to keep them safe from drones and missiles that would be searching for command posts in order to take out the brains of the operation.
The i Paper has been granted access to the secretive site as the exercise, known as Arrcade Strike, enters its final days.
Over three weeks, soldiers from the special force have been learning how to run operations from below ground in the event of a war (Photo: Richard Pohle/Pool)
The exercise is set in 2030, when Russia is anticipated to have ended operations in Ukraine and used the time since to rebuild its forces.
In the scenario – which officials see as highly plausible – Russia has invaded Estonia, and the whole Nato alliance, including the UK, is now at war. ARRC troops have been deployed to Estonia to help push back the Russian invaders.
The soldiers working in this simulation are in live contact with British troops that are actually deployed in Estonia – the largest contingent of UK personnel anywhere overseas.
Troops are learning lessons from Ukraine, where drone operators and commanders are forced to operate deep underground to avoid aerial attacks.
They are adapting to Russian tactics and technologies, including electronic warfare that Russia has used in Ukraine to take out drones by blocking the signal between operator and aircraft.
The exercise also evokes some of the most famous scenes in British history; of civilians sheltering on the Tube network during the Blitz, and Winston Churchill running operations from his underground war rooms.
A total 120 troops were deployed at the secretive site as part of exercise Arrcade Strike, currently in its final days (Photo: Richard Pohle/Pool)
Today’s setup is far more advanced, with AI at its heart. A £1bn system known as Asgard uses a network of sensors to detect enemy targets or incoming attacks, and machine learning to identify them and recommend a course of action.
Traditionally, information on targets and threats is collected and inputted manually, which can be a lengthy process. Now, the information is gathered by AI, which then provide options for military action to officers. The system is said to reduce the decision-making cycle from 72 hours to two.
The command post crunches 10 terabytes of data every day – the equivalent of continuously streaming Netflix for three months in 4K format.
The Ukrainians are already using AI and software to speed up the process of identifying and hitting Russian targets, and British soldiers are following their example.
When The i Paper visited the command post, chatter among the troops was disrupted every few minutes by the rumble of nearby Tube trains carrying oblivious tourists and commuters (Photo: Richard Pohle/Pool)
“In both Ukraine and the Middle East, innovation is now a requirement,” said General Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, in a briefing to the command post.
“The rapid evolution of unmanned systems, real-time battlefield software updates, and data-driven targeting have compressed kill chains and reward those who learn and adapt the fastest.”
“The character of war is changing,” he added. “Failure to learn, adapt, and apply the lessons we observe on the modern battlefield, and failure to do this faster than our adversaries puts both our deterrence posture and our defence plans at risk.”
Unmanned systems, commonplace in Ukraine, are central to military plans.
General Christopher Donahue, commander of Allied Land Command and US Army Europe and Africa, said drones “have extended the battlefield horizontally and vertically”.
“Inexpensive uncrewed aerial systems and one-way attack drones now give every combat leader an unprecedented reconnaissance and precision munition capability,” he said. “Legacy forms of mobilisation and movement are no longer a given Nato advantage, and a lack of protection in depth will be used against us.”
Using AI for target analysis and selection, the command post crunches 10 terabytes of data every day – the equivalent of continuously streaming ultra HD Netflix for three months (Photo: Richard Pohle/Pool)
Exercise Arrcade Strike is intended to “push the envelope of what this looks like in a training environment, training and rehearsing our ability to reinforce forward at scale and speed from end to end”, Donahue added.
But there is a catch. The Army needs more money to use the technology to its maximum potential. Asgard is operational, but is still going through accreditation to be able to hold secret data, and it is understood that a further multibillion pound investment is required to make the system they are testing ready to succeed in combat.
There is also a shortage of weapons that this command post would direct, with drone stocks in the Army’s arsenal understood to be falling far below the amount needed to sustain a conflict.
There are long-standing concerns about defence funding, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reportedly discovering a £28bn financial black hole earlier this year.
The war game is set in 2030, with Russia, having ended the Ukraine war and rebuilt its forces, invading Nato member Estonia and bringing the Western alliance, including the UK, in direct conflict with Moscow (Photo: Richard Pohle/Pool)
The Government has pledged to raise defence spending to 3 per cent by the next Parliament, and has laid out a comprehensive vision for the future of the Armed Forces in its Strategic Defence Review.
But it has so far failed to release the funding which underpins this, with the Defence Investment Plan already delayed by several months and no publication date in mind.
The MoD is set to confirm a £18bn increase in defence spending, which military insiders said would help plug urgent gaps, but would not provide the growth the forces needed. It is also spending £4bn on drone development.
But to meet the scale and urgency of the Russian threat, insiders warn that defence must go further and faster, with one suggesting the UK explore ways to get private equity funding into the military.
Down in this historic, abandoned Underground station is a vision of the Army’s future. But only if the Government is willing to fund it.