The hedge fund founder and schools reformer has some unexpected friends and is more complex than his Brexit credentials suggest

We all know it’s filthy lucre that makes the world go round, but what’s less clear is why the very rich so often want to further dirty their hands in the news business? If anyone knows the answer it could be Sir Paul Marshall . The hedge fund founder was an early investor in GB News and is being touted in Conservative circles as a media mogul-in-waiting, with a bid in the works for a venerable British newspaper group.

Marshall, who is worth £680m according to the Sunday Times Rich List, already has a public record for transformational zeal in the education system that is equalled only by his campaigning enthusiasm for Britain’s future outside Europe. One of his fans is Baroness Morgan, a former chair of Ofsted and one-time political secretary to Tony Blair. As adviser to Marshall’s academy schools chain, Ark, she has praised his “single-minded obsession” with changing the lives of poor children through education, adding that he “commits brain, time and money to making that happen”.

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Lord Justice Clive Lewis, whose manner amounted to ‘judicial bullying’ in court, has apologised for behaviour

One of the country’s most senior judges has received a formal warning for misconduct after an investigation found he had behaved in “a rude and hostile way” amounting to “judicial bullying” in court.

Lord Justice Clive Lewis , one of the two judges who ruled in the high court that the home secretary had acted lawfully in her decision to send asylum seekers to Rwanda – a decision later overturned in the court of appeal by a majority of two to one, and due to be further considered by the supreme court in October – has apologised for his behaviour.

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The five-year rule, which puts time limit on reporting sex assaults and rape, allows doctors who may be guilty to continue practising

More than one in 10 sexual harassment complaints against doctors are not investigated by the General Medical Council because of an “arbitary” rule, the Observer can reveal.

According to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 13% of sexual misconduct complaints made between the years 2017-18 and 2021-22 were closed without investigation because the GMC is prevented from considering alleged incidents more than five years after the event.

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The dithering over HS2 has added to anger in the Midlands town and Sunak’s party will be hard pressed to hold on to Chris Pincher’s former seat

If Rishi Sunak hopes his refusal to commit to the second phase of the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester will boost his popularity, voters in the Midlands town of Tamworth may have other ideas.

The track has already carved a chunk out of the countryside as it runs past Birmingham to meet the west coast mainline. “It’s devastated some of the areas around here,” says Tamworth resident and bookbinder Bev Munnerley. “And nobody is going to be able to afford to go on the damn thing – all for the sake of 20 minutes faster to get to London.”

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After 1,284 days, I’m only just recovering from the coronavirus but there’s no vaccine for the likes of me

Covid cases are rising, new variants are spreading ; there is a horrible sense of deja vu. Only this time there are no vaccines on the horizon for the majority of the population.

This is especially concerning for long Covid patients, who have never been eligible for early access to vaccines or additional boosters. Yet a study has shown that 60% of recovered long Covid patients will see a recurrence of symptoms if reinfected; another suggested that the condition can have a more damaging impact on quality of life than stage 4 lung cancer.

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Stephen Pennington, who was jailed in 2009 for the rape of a child, wanted by police after being recalled to prison

Police have appealed for information on the whereabouts of a sex offender who “presents a real risk to children and women”.

Stephen Pennington, 35, is wanted by Lancashire constabulary after failing to comply with licence conditions and being recalled to prison, the force said.

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Harriet Bolland offers reward and Nottinghamshire police appeal for information over incident at Grade II-listed Mucky Duck

The owner of a Grade II-listed restaurant that was damaged by a stolen digger has offered a reward for information about the incident.

The Mucky Duck in Drakeholes, Nottinghamshire, was rammed repeatedly by a digger at about 11.50pm on Wednesday, police said.

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Tory former leader criticises Rishi Sunak’s potential plans to scrap Manchester leg and change London terminus

Theresa May has become the third Conservative former prime minister to criticise Rishi Sunak’s potential plans to scale back HS2.

As Tory MPs head to Manchester for their annual conference with the fate of the northern leg of the high-speed rail line hanging in the balance , May said it was vital to boost capacity on the west coast mainline.

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Home secretary endorsed by former BNP protegee as she claims ‘more than one in five births are to foreign-born mothers’

Prominent figures on the far right have praised Suella Braverman’s speech in which she warned of the “existential challenge” posed by illegal migration, and vowed to “capitalise” on her intervention.

The home secretary has already caused concern among liberal Tory MPs over her apparent threats to leave the European convention on human rights (ECHR). In the speech in Washington DC last week, she suggested that being gay or a woman and fearful of discrimination should not be enough to qualify as a refugee in the UK.

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