Days after his 18th birthday, Johannes Natland travelled alone from his home country, Norway, to the UK. The purpose of his visit was not, as he told the Border Force officers who interviewed him at Manchester Airport, to visit friends he had met through online gaming.
It was to carry out an assassination on the streets of Britain on behalf of the Foxtrot network. This powerful Swedish crime group acts as a proxy for the Iranian state and has become a growing concern for the UK Government.
Natland is just one of several teenagers the group has hired to commit murder and violent attacks on its targets, mainly in Sweden and Norway.
Following a pattern seen in other Foxtrot cases, Natland was recruited by a boy he had met in a children’s care home, and made an easy target owing to his mental health issues and addiction to drugs from the age of 13.
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football
Leeds, Forest and Everton enter race for Chelsea’s £40m Liam Delap
Caption: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 28: Liam Delap of Chelsea FC looks on during the Sydney Super Cup match between Western Sydney Wanderers and Chelsea FC at Accor Stadium on July 28, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ayush Kumar/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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Chelsea’s Liam Delap is seeing interest from three Premier League teams as Chelsea look to offload a number of unwanted stars.
Questions have been raised over their ability to keep splashing the cash in a world of tighter financial regulations.
However, the club continue to generate significant income through player sales, bringing in £300m through departures last season and £120m already this summer.
The clubs after Delap
Caption: NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – JULY 18: Oliver Glasner, head coach of Nottingham Forest, looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Notts County and Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane on July 18, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Nottingham Forest
Manager Oliver Glasner is understood to be a big fan of the 23-year-old, who would provide support for Chris Wood.
Everton
The Toffees are in desperate need of firepower with sources saying Delap is an ideal focal point.
Caption: BOLTON, ENGLAND – JULY 25: David Moyes, Manager of Everton looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Bolton Wanderers and Everton at Toughsheet Community Stadium on July 25, 2026 in Bolton, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
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Caption: Daniel Farke, manager of Leeds United, speaks to the press during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leeds United at the London Stadium in Stratford, United Kingdom, on May 24, 2026. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Leeds United
The club are seeking competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, however, funds are tight after signing James Trafford from Manchester City.
Limited opportunities for Delap at Chelsea
Delap only managed one goal in an injury-hit debut campaign for The Blues last season.
With Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha also set to be integrated into the squad, Delap is unlikely to get the chance to challenge Joao Pedro for the central striking role.
Caption: Joao Pedro of Chelsea FC during the Premier League match between Sunderland and Chelsea at the Stadium Of Light in Sunderland, United Kingdom, on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Scott Llewellyn/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Explained
3 min read
The Beatles’ unheard recordings from Rubber Soul to be released
Previously unreleased session recordings and home demos will be included as part of a special edition of The Beatles’ album Rubber Soul.
Caption: The Beatles posing together. From left to right: musicians George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, circa 1965.
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When will it be released?
Caption: The Beatles performing on stage, circa 1963. Left to right: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison (1943 – 2001) and John Lennon (1940 – 1980). (Photo by King Collection/Avalon/Getty Images)
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The new edition, mixed by producer Giles Martin and engineer Sam Okell, will be released in October.
The band’s media agency said it “presents the album in stunning new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes, alongside the original mono mix, the original Capitol US Album version, and expanded with previously unreleased session recordings and home demos”.
What can fans expect to get?
Included is the contemporary double A-side single, Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out.
The reissue brings together all 14 new stereo mixes, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes.
Across the Super Deluxe collections, fans can hear 24 early session recordings, including 20 previously unreleased takes and three previously unreleased demos, including Little Girl, a John Lennon song that was never released.
The collections also feature the original mono album, the original Capitol US album version and the 1965 double A-side single.
A classic album
The original was released in December 1965 and features songs including Drive My Car, Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), Nowhere Man, Michelle, Girl and In My Life. It was recorded over four weeks following the band’s record-breaking concert to more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York.
Caption: CIRCA 1964: Rock and roll band “The Beatles” pose for a portrait wearing suits in circa 1964. (L-R) Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Interview
5 min read
news
Britain’s ‘loneliest dog’ finds his forever home
Caption: BRITAIN?S ?LONELIEST? DOG FINDS FOREVER HOME AFTER 550 DAYS AT RESCUE
5-year-old Greyhound, Danny, has finally found his forever home after spending over 550 days in Battersea?s care – making him one of the longest stays at the rescue.
Danny was at Battersea?s Old Windsor centre fifteen times longer than most dogs, with the average length of stay being 38 days. Danny celebrated multiple milestones at the rescue, with Battersea staff doing everything in their power to make him feel special – from throwing him birthday parties to even hosting a Valentine?s Day themed photoshoot with Danny – while he patiently waited for his perfect match. Sadly, misconceptions around Greyhounds? energy levels and exercise requirements often deter many owners from giving these gentle souls a chance.
As an ex-racing Greyhound, Danny found aspects of the outside world quite frightening at first. To help him get used to living in a home environment, he spent some time in a foster home, where he discovered a love of garden zoomies, quiet nature?reserve walks and even the occasional paddle in a stream. His confidence started growing and he slowly learned that the world wasn?t quite as scary as he once thought. After over 16 months in Battersea?s care, Danny finally found his forever home and now spends his time exploring his new garden, taking naps around the house and keeping a watchful eye over the comings and goings of his new family.
Copyright: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Danny the Greyhound was labelled “Britain’s loneliest” dog after he spent more than 550 days at a rescue centre – 15 times longer than most dogs at the Battersea Old Windsor centre in Berkshire.
He found aspects of the outside world frightening when he first arrived, so spent time in a foster home to become accustomed to everyday life.
A new owner
After 16 months, the ex-racing greyhound found a new home with Year 6 teacher Sandra.
She said: “It was heartbreaking, I could not stop thinking why this beautiful dog had not found a home. I felt an instant connection with him.”
Analysis
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Explained
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Capturing hearts
From the moment we met him, there was something incredibly special about him and we just knew that we would be his forever family… It felt really natural. My husband initially was very reluctant to have a dog but I knew once he saw him there would be no going back.
Sandra – danny’s owner
Caption: BRITAIN?S ?LONELIEST? DOG FINDS FOREVER HOME AFTER 550 DAYS AT RESCUE
5-year-old Greyhound, Danny, has finally found his forever home after spending over 550 days in Battersea?s care – making him one of the longest stays at the rescue.
Danny was at Battersea?s Old Windsor centre fifteen times longer than most dogs, with the average length of stay being 38 days. Danny celebrated multiple milestones at the rescue, with Battersea staff doing everything in their power to make him feel special – from throwing him birthday parties to even hosting a Valentine?s Day themed photoshoot with Danny – while he patiently waited for his perfect match. Sadly, misconceptions around Greyhounds? energy levels and exercise requirements often deter many owners from giving these gentle souls a chance.
As an ex-racing Greyhound, Danny found aspects of the outside world quite frightening at first. To help him get used to living in a home environment, he spent some time in a foster home, where he discovered a love of garden zoomies, quiet nature?reserve walks and even the occasional paddle in a stream. His confidence started growing and he slowly learned that the world wasn?t quite as scary as he once thought. After over 16 months in Battersea?s care, Danny finally found his forever home and now spends his time exploring his new garden, taking naps around the house and keeping a watchful eye over the comings and goings of his new family.
Copyright: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
How has he settled so far?
Danny has now been at his new home for two months and Sandra has said that he settled in far more quickly than expected.
He now spends his time exploring his new garden and taking naps around the house.
MONEY
3 min read
weather
More than half of England officially in drought, Environment Agency says
Caption: WOLDINGHAM, UNTIED KINGDOM – JULY 25: Golfers on the green at Woldingham Golf Club on July 25, 2026 in Woldingham, United Kingdom. According to the the National Drought Group, eight areas across southern, central, and eastern England are verging on drought, following a period of “prolonged dry weather,” including three heatwaves to hit the region this season. Water companies report seeing a 30% increase in demand for water on the hottest days of the year so far, with more than 20 million households facing hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Swathes of England are suffering from a “flash drought” as a result of very low rainfall and high temperatures, the Environment Agency has said.
The government agency said seven areas of central, eastern and southern England – around half of the country – have been declared as officially in drought.
The areas affected
The areas are East Anglia, Hertfordshire and the whole of London, Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex – covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 23: A man practises his ball control on the drought-damaged grass of Hackney Marshes on July 23, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. According to the the National Drought Group, eight areas across southern, central, and eastern England are verging on drought, following a period of “prolonged dry weather,” including three heatwaves to hit the region this season. Water companies report seeing a 30% increase in demand for water on the hottest days of the year so far, with more than 20 million households facing hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal
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NEWS
4 min read
A closer look at the detail
July is set to be the driest month on record, with England having just 7 per cent of expected rainfall, and southern England seeing just 1 per cent.
Caption: BRAY, UNTIED KINGDOM – JULY 25: In this aerial view the Maidenhead & Bray CC 1st XI take on the Boyne Hill CC 1st XI on a bone dry field at the Maidenhead & Bray County Cricket club on July 25, 2026 in Bray, United Kingdom. According to the the National Drought Group, eight areas across southern, central, and eastern England are verging on drought, following a period of “prolonged dry weather,” including three heatwaves to hit the region this season. Water companies report seeing a 30% increase in demand for water on the hottest days of the year so far, with more than 20 million households facing hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Photographer: Dan Kitwood
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Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 23: A man practises his ball control on the drought-damaged grass of Hackney Marshes on July 23, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. According to the the National Drought Group, eight areas across southern, central, and eastern England are verging on drought, following a period of “prolonged dry weather,” including three heatwaves to hit the region this season. Water companies report seeing a 30% increase in demand for water on the hottest days of the year so far, with more than 20 million households facing hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal
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Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
As a result, much of the country is experiencing a flash drought – one which has come on quickly despite a very wet winter. The announcement was made as parts of the UK experience their fourth heatwave of the summer, with temperatures reaching into the 30s in some places.
The expert view
The hot and dry weather means we are currently using water faster than nature can replenish it. “A second consecutive summer drought is an exceptionally serious situation and one that will have long-lasting impacts on our environment, wildlife and the economy.
Helen Wakeham, director of water at the Environment Agency and chairwoman of the National Drought Group
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 23: In this aerial view drought-damaged football pitches are seen on Hackney Marshes on July 23, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. According to the the National Drought Group, eight areas across southern, central, and eastern England are verging on drought, following a period of “prolonged dry weather,” including three heatwaves to hit the region this season. Water companies report seeing a 30% increase in demand for water on the hottest days of the year so far, with more than 20 million households facing hosepipe bans in parts of England and Wales. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal
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Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
Why organic free-range eggs are ‘worst for the environment’
Organic eggs are twice as bad for the climate as eggs produced by caged chickens, a new study indicates.
Caption: Asian woman holding a shopping basket, Grocery shopping in supermarket. Woman choosing fresh organic egg. Fruits and vegetables shopping. Healthy eating lifestyle. Pesticide Safe food and vegetable selection for life.
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Organic or caged chicken egg model?
Tonnes of CO2 predicted
2.36m
Greenhouse emissions expected if all the UK’s egg production is switched to organic.
Free range eggs are laid by hens that are fed organic feed,
1.184m
The equivalent in tonnes of CO2 if all egg production was from caged chickens.
More organic chickens are required to produce the same number of free-range eggs.
Facts and figures
Organic egg production needs significantly more land.
Deaths in free range chickens were higher, the study published in Royal Society Open Science found.
The study used data from 2009-2010 from UK poultry farms, The Guardian reports.
Egg consumption across the world is growing.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Go deeper on this subject
To some people, an egg is an egg, but the variety in appearance, size and the colours of shells and yolks varies a great deal.
LIFESTYLE
6 min read
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Ariana Grande sues hackers who ‘leaked music online’
Ariana Grande is suing hackers who she alleges stole her unreleased music as well as private photos and video.
Caption: US singer actress Ariana Grande attends the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on January 4, 2026. (Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP via Getty Images)
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Hacked off: what we know
The singer alleges two unidentified hackers stole material from her collaborators’ computers, court papers filed in LA show.
Caption: LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 09: Singer Ariana Grande performs at the IPOP! Concert Series an Evening with Make-A-Wish Foundation and Starlight Children’s Foundation at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on January 9, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
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Caption: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 11: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Ariana Grande attends the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
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It led to 45 songs being leaked in 2023 alone, Grande claims. Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place, the court documents say.
Lawsuit allegations
The lawsuit aims to reveal the hackers’ identities.
Grande alleges one hacker impersonated a photographer to gain access to material.
Studio footage and music videos were also allegedly stolen.
It’s claimed the material was sold on the dark web.
MUSIC
4 min read
What has she said previously?
In 2024, the pop star and actress. after her song Fantsize was leaked, said: “Before I left for Wicked – [there were] a few studio sessions that I did which are all over TikTok, thank you so much, I’ll see you in jail.
“Those were all written for a TV show.”
FILM
2 min read
MUSIC
4 min read
CULTure
Netflix neck and neck with BBC when British viewers switch on TV
Caption: (FILES) In this file photo illustration a computer screen and mobile phone display the Netflix logo on March 31, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. – Bridgerton has become Netflix’s most popular new series, with more than 82 million households tuning in to watch the period drama, the streaming service has announced. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
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TV viewers are now as likely to watch Netflix as the BBC, a survey for Ofcom suggests.
Netflix is the first choice for 26 per cent of viewers compared to 25 per cent who favour the BBC.
What the study tells us
Caption: FILE PHOTO: The YouTube logo is seen at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles, California, United States October 21, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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YouTube viewing surges
The amount of time people watch YouTube on TV sets has doubled since 2022 to an average 19 minutes a day.
Netflix standouts
Netflix hits Adolescence and K-Pop Demon Hunters were two of the top 10 most streamed shows in 2025.
Caption: Adolescence. Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix ?? 2024
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Beeb’s biggest draws
The BBC showed the other eight, including The Night Manager and Run Away.
24 million watch England on BBC
Celebrity Traitors and its video podcast Traitors Uncloaked was the BBC’s biggest title last year, with the finale attracting an average audience of 14.9 million viewers across BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina attracted a peak audience of 24 million viewers across BBC platforms.
LIVE
1 min read
Big Read
3 min read
Battle of the broadcasters
Last year, 70 per cent of people in the UK watched content from traditional broadcasters – including live TV, recorded playback and on-demand services – for at least 15 minutes in an average week, down from 73 per cent in 2024 and 78 per cent in 2022.
Netflix and Disney subscribers could be asked to contribute to the BBC licence fee (Photo: Getty)
The BBC will start showing EastEnders again (Photo: BBC)
At the Old Bailey, Natland, now 19, denied conspiracy to murder and claimed he was planning to shoot himself in the foot instead of going through with his mission, but he was convicted on Wednesday. The teenager had previously admitted charges of possessing two handguns and ammunition, and will be sentenced later this year.
Over the two days following his arrival in Britain on 17 March 2025, anonymous handlers directed Natland to pick up the stolen car, handguns and ammunition to be used in the crime.
The murder was prevented by a tip-off from Norwegian police, who alerted their British counterparts in time for them to find Natland in a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, armed and ready to complete the hit. He was awaiting the location and details of the person he was to kill.
The UK Government sanctioned Foxtrot in April last year for its involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe, but because Natland was never given the details of his target, it is not known whether the planned assassination related to the group’s drug-trafficking enterprises or tasking from Iran.
It is the first publicly disclosed case linked to the Foxtrot network in Britain. However, when announcing last year’s sanctions, the Foreign Office pointed to dozens of “Iran-backed plots, presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents”.
The warning comes amid a growing trend of paid proxies of the Iranian state carrying out violence and intimidation on the streets of Britain, often targeting political dissidents and the Jewish community.
The US Treasury said Foxtrot was part of Iran’s wider use of criminal proxies to “maintain plausible deniability for its external operations”, and that its leader had been co-ordinating with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
As well as numerous contract killings, assaults and other forms of violence in Scandinavia, Foxtrot orchestrated an attempted hand grenade attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm in January 2024.
The ‘General’
Natland’s instructions were coming from a figure who called himself the “General” on the Signal messaging app and was in direct contact with Foxtrot leaders in Iraq. The “General” was himself just 16 at the time and had already commissioned at least two fatal shootings by teenagers in Sweden.
Messages presented to Natland’s trial showed that the “General” and his boss, who went by the name Agent 47, cared little for the age of their footsoldiers.
When discussing who to recruit for the mission Natland would later be selected for, the “General” asked whether someone aged 16 would work. Agent 47 confirmed it would, while ordering: “Get a new guy. Quickly. People are waiting for us.”
Natland obtained an emergency passport allowing him to leave Norway, and boarded a flight from Stavanger to Manchester (Photo: Met Police)
And so on 15 March 2025, Natland received a message from a boy he had met in a children’s care facility in his hometown of Stavanger. “Jappning [murder] in England,” it read, offering 270,000 Norwegian krone (£21,000) along with organised transport and a promise that “nothing can go wrong”.
Within 10 minutes of receiving the offer, Natland had indicated his interest, and over the course of that evening he began discussing flights and logistics.
By the end of the following day, he had obtained an emergency passport allowing him to leave Norway, and on 17 March he boarded a flight from Stavanger to Manchester with a small amount of clothing, £40 in cash and the phone through which he would receive his instructions.
A close call
The mode of Natland’s arrival immediately raised the suspicions of Border Force officers, who detained him for interview at Manchester airport and were wary of his vague account of visiting gamer friends with a one-way ticket with no hotel reservation.
Border Force formally refused Natland entry to the UK, but could not book him on a flight home until 21 March and released the teenager on bail under “removal directions”.
Agent 47 then directed him to get a taxi to a hotel, where he collected an envelope of cash, and onwards to a second hotel that would be his base for the mission.
Natland was stopped by Border Force but released on bail because there was no return flight to Stavanger (Photo: Met Police)
An unidentified affiliate of the Foxtrot network, who was based in England and went by the codename “1”, took over the instructions on 18 March and led Natland to a Huddersfield housing estate, where a plastic bag containing two handguns and ammunition was hidden at the base of a tree and a stolen car was left parked for his use.
Messages indicated the assassination was to take place the following day, with Agent 47 telling Natland: “We have much to do tomorrow.”
But at 5.15am on 19 March, armed police burst into Natland’s room at the Briar Court Hotel and arrested him.
‘The European mission’
Unknown to the teenager, a cascade of events in Norway had led police to the “General” and to the discovery of the UK mission just in time.
John Ivar Johansen, a police prosecutor from Norway’s Kripos agency, told The i Paper how the case had begun unravelling six days earlier, when a 14-year-old boy walked into a police station in Stavanger and told police that Swedish criminals had tried to hire him to stab the son of a local police chief.
The person behind the plot was the “General” and when investigators seized his phone, they discovered he was at the same time recruiting for a “European mission”.
“We were obviously surprised because we had thought this Stavanger case was just a local thing,” Johansen said.
Investigators could find no further clues on what the “European mission” was until one of Natland’s friends told a teacher that he had boasted of becoming an assassin for the Foxtrot network and the school alerted police on 18 March.
Natland filmed himself handling one of the handguns he collected (Photo: Met Police)
After interviewing Natland’s friend, Norwegian police traced the teenager’s phone and, to their shock, found that he was in Huddersfield.
“The Stavanger police sent a message to Interpol in Manchester and warned them about Natland – that he was in the UK, probably on a mission to shoot somebody,” Johansen said.
Teenage assassins
For Johansen and his colleagues, the Natland case is the continuation of a disturbing trend with the Foxtrot network. “Almost every time, the perpetrators are young vulnerable children that have problems with drugs or are in child protection,” he said. “There are cases from Sweden where they are younger than 15.”
The youth and inexperience of such recruits has made them difficult for authorities to detect or predict. In Stockholm, another 18-year-old recruited by the “General” shot dead the wrong person in February last year.
Swedish court documents obtained by The i Paper show the teenager had asked ChatGPT questions including “If I kill someone, how do I avoid getting caught by the police?” before shooting an innocent passerby multiple times in the head.
Johansen said that, in addition to contacting children through existing friendship networks, Foxtrot posts advertisements in social media groups offering money for missions.
“They see the adverts and then they can connect with people directly, and they start to lure them in with promises of protection and money,” he added. “Vulnerable kids who may not have a family start to feel important.”