world News

THE owners of historic Cutty Sark ship have come under fire over kids’ shows hosted by drag queens.

The taxpayer-backed London attraction’s half-term activities included drag story time and a doll-making session celebrating “cross-dressing”.

The activities were part of Greenwich Maritime Museums’ backing for LGBTQ+ History Month, which included the ship flying a Progress Pride flag.

Ray Collins

Cutty Sark tea clipper docked permanently in Greenwich[/caption]

Ray Collins

As part of LGBTQ+ History Month the progress pride flag flies from the ship[/caption]

Ray Collins

The Cutty Sark tea clipper docked permanently in Greenwich[/caption]

A series of events targeted at children over February half term include drag aerobics and a paper doll making session that promised to “touch upon the role of drag and cross-dressing within the context of historical polar exploration”.

Other sessions advertised include a map drawing session which says: “Your maps might not divided up by straight lines and right angles. They might have queer borders – or none!”

In a “Polari” session children could learn about the secret language used by LGBTQ+ sailors.

And they held a singing workshop led by a young trans choir.

Stuart Andrew, shadow culture secretary, said: “The Cutty Sark played an important part in our country’s history.

“You would hope that these publicly funded museums would focus on teaching children about the role it played in history rather than promoting gender ideology to them.”

Lucy Marsh from the Family Education Trust said: “Drag is completely inappropriate for children as highly sexualised, gross caricatures of women should not be performing to children.”

She said taxpayers should not fund the projects: “Nor should the Cutty Sark be flying the Pride Progess flag as it’s celebrating a highly contested political ideology that doesn’t safeguard women and children. It should be celebrating our country and flying the Union Jack.”

The museum group – which includes the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory – last year received a £21.4 million from the Government.

A spokesperson for the Royal Museums Greenwich: “The February half-term activities at Royal Museums Greenwich are a celebration of identity and inclusion for the national LGBT History Month established in 2005.

“The programmed family-friendly activities do not contain content or activities inappropriate to the age group to which they are promoted.  The programmes have been created in consultation with families and are very well received by our audiences.

“The Museum’s commitment to diversity and equality is a long standing one and in line with the Equality Act of 2010. 

“The Act requires cultural organisations to reflect the full range of backgrounds and perspectives found in our society.”

ASTON VILLA welcome Chelsea for a huge Premier League clash at Villa Park TONIGHT.

Enzo Maresca‘s side were beaten back-to-back by Brighton, exiting the FA Cup and getting hammered 3-0 a week later by the Seagulls.

Unai Emery’s Villa are winless in their last five games in the Premier League, picking up three points across those four games, including a draw at home to relegation-threatened Ipswich.

The Blues are hoping to keep pressure on the Champions League places, whereas Villa are looking to build momentum as they head into their mammoth round of 16 clash with Club Brugge in a few week’s time.

• Kick-off time: 5.30pm GMT
• TV channel: Sky Sports
• Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, McGinn, Tielmans, Asensio, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins.
• Chelsea XI: Jorgensen, Gusto, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Palmer, Neto, Nkunku.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Follow our live blog below…

A CREEPY UberEats driver bombarded a customer waiting for her food with messages asking for sex for £10,000.

The male delivery worker – who was posing as a woman on the app – is understood to be now under investigation but it’s unclear if they’re still working as a courier for the company.

STEVE ALLEN

Tia O’Reilly ordered food from UberEats and then began receiving creepy messages from the delivery driver[/caption]

SBA

He asked if she was single, home alone and if she would have sex[/caption]

Facebook

The UberEats driver was posing as a woman on the app[/caption]

Tia O’Reilly, 20, watched the pervert move closer to her home on the map tracker before he begged her not to report him to his bosses.

She told The Sun: “I’m thinking God, what am I going to do? If I lived alone it could’ve been very different.”

Tia said she has since had another UberEats driver appear as a woman on the app only to be a man when they showed up with the food.

“I don’t know how they get away with it,” she said, adding: “What exactly are the ID protocols in place to prove who they are?” 

She shared the ordeal on social media, with baffled food delivery drivers claiming they are required to take selfies every hour while on shift to confirm who they are.

‘WILL YOU REPORT ME?’

Tia had just finished work in the hospitality sector in the early hours of February 4 and headed back to her flat in Hyde, Greater Manchester.

Her and her boyfriend then ordered pizza and fries from a local restaurant.

Referring to the driver, who picked up the order around 2.30am, Tia explained: “It started off when he was saying he was tired, ‘if I don’t give you the order will you report me?’

“I said ‘you accepted the order, if you’re tired don’t accept the order, go home. You can clock off at any time’. 

“Then it went straight away to ‘are you married? Are you home alone? I want to sleep with you’, offering me money.”

The messages show the man offering £5,000 and then £10,000 for sex.

Tia added: “He said ‘I am a boy, can I f*** you if you break up with your boyfriend?’ 

“It’s there in writing that he’s admitting that he’s a man.”

Little did the man know, Tia was with her partner who was actually the one responding much of the time, saying “leave me alone”. 

“As this person was texting me they were moving towards us on the map,” said Tia. 

“We could track where they’re going. I live in an apartment building, so it wouldn’t have been that easy to get to my flat, necessarily. 

“But if I lived in a house it could’ve been very different.”

She went on to say: “If I was a couple of young girls at a sleepover using my mum’s phone to order food what could’ve happened then? 

“They don’t understand what he’s asking for and he doesn’t know who they are – then suddenly he’s at the door.”

Tia added: “I had another one the other day – he wasn’t messaging me or anything but it said he was a lady on a motorbike and it was a man that showed up in a car.”

She had reported the creepy driver to UberEats and is disappointed they haven’t given her a definitive answer about what the company is doing. 

“They are going to investigate it further and I won’t be matched with that driver again,” she explained. 

“Obviously, my response was ‘I don’t think anybody should be matched with that driver again’.

“They said they’re going to escalate it to a higher team and investigate it further. That was nearly two weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything since.

“I quite easily screenshot everything, all the information I was given about the driver, so he could’ve quite easily screenshot all of my information, my name, my address, my number.”

After she shared the messages on Facebook, commenters said they had similarly had men posing as women on the app.

Tia said: “I had UberEats drivers comment on my post and say they don’t really understand how he’s got away with it because they get face ID’d every hour, just to check in that it’s them doing the deliveries. 

“How true that is I don’t know. But that would make more sense.”

Tia said she has reported the incident to police and she was told an officer has asked the restaurant for CCTV of the driver.

An Uber Eats spokesperson said: “We take a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence and harassment.

“Any reports we receive are investigated thoroughly and we have a dedicated support team who is available 24/7.

” Couriers who use the Uber Eats app are required to follow our Community Guidelines and any courier found to be in breach of these guidelines will face appropriate action, including the possibility of losing access to the app.”

The Sun has contacted Greater Manchester Police for comment.

SBA

Tia has questioned the company’s screening policies[/caption]

STEVE ALLEN

The driver offered her £10,000 for sex[/caption]

Getty

UberEats says it is investigating (stock image)[/caption]

BRENNAN Johnson further eased the pressure off Ange Postecoglou with a brace for Tottenham Hotspur.

The former Nottingham Forest forward’s first half brace was enough to see off Ipswich Town.

Reuters

Brennan Johnson was hero for Spurs – scoring twice to down Ipswich Town[/caption]

The home side thought they had got back into it with Omari Hutchinson’s goal before half-time.

However, a resilient Spurs added two late strikes from Djed Spence and Dejan Kulusevski to seal the win.

*MORE TO FOLLOW*

A THIRD-DIVISION game in Germany has been suspended after wild scenes both on and off the field.

Rostock’s 3. Liga showdown with Dynamo Dresden was halted for almost half an hour as riot police struggled to gain control.

Getty

Police and fans clashed during a German third-division match on Saturday[/caption]

Getty

Fans of both Rostock and Dresden were seen sending fireworks into each other’s sections[/caption]

Getty

Fans also clashed with police during the bad-tempered game[/caption]

Getty

Play was suspended for almost half an hour as riot police battled to regain control[/caption]

Nils Froling gave Rostock an early lead in the contest, with Dresden arriving chasing an automatic promotion spot.

But it was events off the field which derailed the bad-tempered clash at the Ostseestadion.

During halftime, Dresden fans unveiled a banner which led to police heading into the visiting supporters, per Welt.

Various videos circulating on social media showed fireworks being fired at riot police from the away section.

Police stood firm as various pyrotechnics were sent their way.

Fans from both teams then began sending pyrotechnics towards each other on the terraces.

Dynamo captain Stefan Kutschke attempted to calm proceedings, only for a brawl to break out on the field.

Coaches and players from both sides were involved in the fracas, with the game in total suspended for 28 minutes.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

Pleas were made over the tannoy for fans to stop firing fireworks into their respective sections.

And the game was even threatened with abandonment if the crowd continued.

Tempers eventually cooled enough to resume the game, with Rostock holding on for a 1-0 victory.

The result leaves Dresden second in the table, three points behind leaders Cottbus.

Rostock meanwhile are now 7th and within just four points of the playoff spot.

Police in the city were stretched on Saturday due to huge demonstrations taking place in Rostock city centre.

Elections are taking place in Germany on Sunday, with an AfD rally and a counter-demonstration being held ahead of the polls.

MYLES Lewis-Skelly’s second red card of 2025 put the final nail in Arsenal’s title dreams and any chances of them catching Liverpool.

The Gunners simply didn’t turn up and failed to respond to Jarrod’s Bowen’s opener on the brink of half-time.

PA

Jarrod Bowen gave the visitors the lead with a diving header[/caption]

And Liverpool fans will breathe a sigh of relief given their recent dip in form as Arsenal remain EIGHT points off Arne Slot’s men.

The Hammers wall stood firm as Arsenal registered just two shots on target before Lewis-Skelly’s last-man foul on Mohammed Kudus was upgraded to a red after ref Craig Pawson went to the monitor.

Mikel Arteta looked heartbroken to see the 18-year-old given his marching orders again – just weeks after he was kicked off at Wolves.

That one was rescinded by the Prem a few days later, but today’s incident won’t be.

Here SunSport’s Charlie Wyett rates every Arsenal player from the Emirates Stadium.

DAVID RAYA – 5

Declan Rice indicated to Raya that he expected him to come off his line to deal with the cross for the goal.

Maybe he had a point but ultimately, Raya was let down by his defenders.

JURRIEN TIMBER – 6

West Ham did not offer much of a threat down their left so Timber had a reasonably comfortable game while he did try and get forward. 

WILLIAM SALIBA – 6

Was ordered by Arteta to push forward more in the second half when Arsenal had possession and in the closing stages, seemed to spend more of his time in West Ham’s area

GABRIEL MAGALHAES – 5

Switched off for the Bowen goal but he was not the only one. 

Also found the impressive Mohammed Kudus tough to handle when he cut inside.

Guilty of delivering an abysmal cross late in the game when Arsenal needed a bit of quality.

RICCARDO CALAFIORI – 4

A poor performance. Given the nod ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly but badly at fault for the opening goal as he did not get close enough to Aaron Wan-Bissaka who delivered the cross to Jarrod Bowen.

Was replaced after he kept losing the ball.

DECLAN RICE – 5

Not a day he will want to remember against his former club and plenty of stick from West Ham’s fans, as you would expect.

Wasted one chance before the break and failed to track Bowen for the goal.

Substituted shortly into the second half which was a surprise

THOMAS PARTEY – 5

A sluggish performance from Partey whose passing was also poor. Lucky not to be replaced.

ETHAN NWANERI – 6

Had a fascinating battle with West Ham  teenager Ollie Scaries, who  was making his first Premier League start.

Nwaneri was excellent at Leicester but had less success against his fellow youngster although still had some bright moments.

But, at least he has a bit of a spark unlike some of his more experienced team-mates

MARTIN ODEGAARD – 5

Not having his best season at Arsenal.

This was the sort of game Arsenal needed their captain to deliver a moment of inspiration but he failed to do so. 

LEANDRO TROSSARD – 5

Not a surprise that he was not used as a false nine like that disastrous experiment against Leicester.

But he had no joy against the impressive Wan-Bissaka.

MIKEL MERINO – 5

Was the two-goal hero in his first ever appearance as a substitute striker at Leicester but had no success against West Ham’s well-drilled defence.

He looked lost.

Subs:

Zinchenko (for Rice 56 minutes) – 6

Lewis-Skelly (for Calafiori 56 minutes) – 4

Sterling (for Nwaneri 81 minutes) – N/A

White (for Saliba 87 minutes) – 5.

Subs not used: Neto, Tierney, Kiwior, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji.

WEST HAM have beaten Arsenal 1-0 to secure the bragging rights on derby day.

Hammers skipper Jarrod Bowen gave the Irons a shock lead just before half time, heading in from close range after great work from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Myles Lewis-Skelly saw red on 73 minutes after a lengthy VAR check saw his initial booking upgraded to a red for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

• TV/Stream: Not available in the UK
• Arsenal team: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino
• West Ham team: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Scarles, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Alvarez, Bowen, Kudus

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Follow our live blog below…

A SPY who escaped jail by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck will have his sentence reviewed for being too soft, The Sun can reveal.

Ex-soldier Daniel Khalife was jailed for more than 14 years at the start of the month after he was found to have passed secrets to Iran.

Rex

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, escaped prison by clinging to the underside of a food delivery van[/caption]

PA

PA

Khalife got six years for two spying charges[/caption]

His case has now been referred to the Attorney General Lord Hermer who could send it to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration if he deems the sentence to be unduly lenient.

Law officers now have 28 days to decide if the term handed to him was tough enough.

An AGO Spokesperson said: “We have received a request for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

“The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”

There is a high threshold to increase the sentence, with the judge either needing to have made an error when sentencing or have imposed a term outside of the range.

Khalife had launched a “hare-brained” scheme to become a British double agent, it emerged.

After being paid thousands of pounds to reveal details – including a list of serving soldiers – he told MI6 and MI5 he was working for Iranian agents in the apparent hope he would be turned back against Tehran to fulfil his fantasy.

His solicitor described his actions as more “Scooby Doo” than “007“.
Spooks initially ignored him before passing concerns to cops, who nicked Khalife.

He later escaped jail while on remand by fixing a home-made sling to the truck and was nabbed three days later.

Khalife, 23, of Kingston, South West London, got six years each for two spying charges plus two years and three months for the jailbreak, to be served consecutively.

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema- Grubb called him a “dangerous fool” at his sentencing at Woolwich crown court on February 3.

She told him: “The oath you took bound you to comply with the Official Secrets Act and compelled you to put the interests of the UK first.

“What a shame, then, you spent more than two years in contact with agents of Iran, a country whose interests do not align with — and at times threaten — those of the UK.

“Deterring others from similar behaviour must be the primary aim of sentencing in this case.”

Referring to his attempt to work as a double agent, she said: “The mere fact that you started on this dangerous and fantastical plan demonstrates your immaturity and lack of wisdom.”

Police had called him the “ultimate Walter Mitty character that was having a significant impact on the real world”.

PA

Khalife was given two years and three months for the jailbreak[/caption]

Unpixs

The ex-soldier escaped jail by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck[/caption]

PA

Khalife went to a branch of McDonalds after his prison escape[/caption]

LOOKING around the room I felt excited, if not a little apprehensive, for my 15-year-old daughter, Janey. 

After three months of asking, I’d finally given into her pleas for a party and she had thrown herself into decorating it with fairy lights and drapes.

Getty

Jennifer allowed her daughter to have a house party in their home, and has blamed herself for what happened that night ever since (stock image)[/caption]

A few of her friends had already had them and they’d gone smoothly, the houses left in tact.

One friend did tell me to watch for alcohol being sneakily brought in and although we agreed as a group to turn a blind eye to vaping, no cigarettes were allowed.

I prepared a buffet and made a big bowl of sangria, which was heavy on the lemonade and very light on the red wine. 

I’d agonised over whether to allow alcohol.

Janey’s young for her year, yet many of her friends were 16.

After phoning around the other parents of the 20 or so children Janey had invited, we agreed on the sangria and beers – also provided by me – and spirits were strictly forbidden. 

But while I worried about booze, the mess, and whether anyone would turn up, one thing didn’t cross my mind.

That a child could be raped under my roof – while I was there.

Getty

Every parent’s worst nightmare

I wish I’d known then what I know now I’ve dug deeper.

Nearly a third of all rape victims are under 18 and that police are receiving more reports of rape from 14-year-old girls than any other age group.

But I was clueless about those facts.

The party started at 7pm when Janey’s friends turned up with their sleeping bags.

We live in the Yorkshire countryside so most parties are sleepovers, meaning the parents drop their teens off before collecting them the next day. 

I kept an eye from a distance and it all seemed to be going well. But by about 10pm I was worried a few of them seemed tipsy.

One girl, Olivia, seemed particularly inebriated so I went to talk to her.

She was definitely drunk and I told my daughter that I was going to call her mum. 

Janey begged me not to. She was worried her friend would get into trouble and said she’d make sure she didn’t drink anything more. 

‘I shudder when I think about it’

To my eternal regret I went against my better judgement and didn’t get her mum to pick her up. That decision haunts me to this day. 

But at the time most of them weren’t drunk and my daughter said that Olivia would stay in the sitting room and her friend Liam would look after her. 

Olivia had a boyfriend so I didn’t have any concerns that something sexual would happen.

I made her drink plenty of water and left her with Liam in the sitting room while I checked on the others.

And 45 minutes later I went back to check on Olivia again. She was laying on her side whilst Liam was scrolling on his phone.

Now, I live with the regret of not going back to check on them sooner.

Getty

‘She was a virgin when it happened’

The rest of the party went smoothly and by 2am, everyone was asleep, including Olivia.

But the following morning Olivia wasn’t her usual bubbly self. She was very quiet, which I put down to her being hungover and embarrassed.

If only – the truth was she was already experiencing flashbacks to the night before and the realisation that she’d been raped by a boy who had meant to be looking after her.

A week later she and her mum went to the police and a physical examination revealed bad bruising which was consistent with her claims.

She was a virgin when it happened.

‘I got off the phone & threw up’

The first I heard about it was when her mum phoned me ten days after the party. 

It was the most devastating and sickening call I’ve ever had.

This poor girl had been raped while under my roof while I was in charge.

What sort of mum did that make me? I instantly blamed myself.

I’m still overwhelmed by how kind her mum was – she didn’t blame me and in fact comforted me.

She told me it wasn’t my fault, the blame lay wholly with Olivia’s rapist. I don’t know where she found the strength to be so forgiving. 

I got off the phone and threw up.

I questioned every part of my life, I even thought I shouldn’t be allowed to have my children. I couldn’t keep another child safe, so how could I look after my own? 

Jennifer

I was devastated for Olivia. I knew her well, she and Janey had been through school together from nursery and she was a lovely girl, kind, sweet and funny.

I couldn’t bear that someone had violated her like that. 

Reporting the rape was just the start of it.

There were endless questions from the police, both for poor Olivia, all her friends and me.

Thankfully all the mums pulled together, we all just wanted to protect and help look after our children at such a dreadful time – they were understandably devastated and confused.

‘It still haunts me’

The boy aged 16 at the time, was taken in for questioning and later charged.

But even now, over two years on, it still hasn’t come to court as there are so many delays in the justice system due to Covid.

He has now left the school, but I heard he was ostracised because everyone believed Olivia’s version of events.

My feelings are unimportant compared to Olivia’s and her parents, but I think it’s important to talk about how traumatic it was.

I need parents to understand so that some good can come from this and my story acts as a warning that the unthinkable can, and does, happen.

Because even now, two years on, I find it hard. At first I was traumatised.

I questioned every part of my life, I even thought I shouldn’t be allowed to have my children. I couldn’t keep another child safe, so how could I look after my own? 

I thought I was doing everything right and other mums have said they’d have done the same.

But it still haunts me. I couldn’t sleep for months, playing it over and over in my head, what I should and could have done differently.

I still feel physically sick talking about it.

‘You can never be too careful’

I was just so naïve – it never occurred to me that a boy that I knew and my daughter was friends with, would rape his best friend. 

I now realise that you can’t make any such assumptions and that you can never be too careful. 

However well you think you know your children’s friends, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Make sure they all stay together in the ‘party’ room and that they know you might pop in at any time, and do, often.

I also wish I’d invited a couple of the other mums, the more adults around the better.

I’m not excusing the boy who did what he did. But I do think the teenage generation has suffered horribly from the pandemic.

They missed key times to socialise, they had more online access than ever before, which I suspect means more watching of pornography. Their emotional health and growth was stunted by it. 

I just hope other parents will read this and won’t make the same mistakes as I did. 

• All names have been changed.

Getty

JARROD BOWEN put another dent in Arsenal’s title hopes as the Gunners suffered their first home Prem defeat of the season.

West Ham made it back-to-back wins at the Emirates and were helped by Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card with 20 minutes to go.

Reuters

Myles Lewis-Skelly was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity[/caption]

Getty

Jarrod Bowen celebrates his first goal since returning from injury[/caption]

The left-back was initially yellow carded by Craig Pawson but the referee changed his mind and upped his punishment to a red after watching the replay, judging the Arsenal star to have denied a goalscoring opportunity.

Even with 11 men the Gunners struggled to break down their opponents, with their lack of striker proving costly once again.

Arsenal are now eight points off league leaders Liverpool having played the same number of matches.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS