WPP accused of breaching its climate policy after report reveals firm linked to twice as much oil advertising as US rivals

A British advertising conglomerate has helped the oil companies ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP spend an estimated $1.5bn (£1.1bn) on adverts in the US since the 2015 Paris agreement to tackle the climate crisis, a report shows.

London-based WPP was the leading advertising group serving the US’s oil industry over the past decade, according to analysis by the climate investigations platform DeSmog. The figure is nearly twice the respective amounts linked to its US rivals Omnicom and Interpublic Group (IPG), which merged in November.

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Taiwanese officials have accused firms in China of attempting to evade import restrictions by rerouting vegetables through neighbouring Vietnam

Taipei has accused China of smuggling vegetables into Taiwan via Vietnam in a bid to evade import restrictions, with officials vowing to crack down on a practice they say amounts to “origin washing”.

Taiwan, which bans the importation of more than 1,000 Chinese agricultural and fishery products, said firms in China were evading restrictions by rerouting vegetables like Napa cabbage and shiitake mushrooms through neighbouring Vietnam.

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What’s not to love about Izuka Hoyle and Tahar Rahim’s action-packed drama Prisoner? Plus, the Indian version of The Traitors. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Atlantic
A lean, Line of Duty-esque police drama finds a fresh-out-of-idyllic-maternity-leave prison officer Amber (Big Boys’ Izuka Hoyle) on her way to pick up Tibor Stone (The Serpent’s Tahar Rahim). He plays a prisoner so dangerous he can’t even be trusted with his own insulin pump. Despite his heinous crimes, the police need his testimony to bring down an organised crime syndicate. Sleek storytelling, plus Eddie Marsan playing against type – what’s not to love? Priya Elan

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Jeff Pope, whose ITV drama Believe Me tells the story of survivors of the ‘black-cab rapist,’ says police must change how sexual assault cases are dealt with

Violence against women is “at breaking point” and the justice system needs to change, according to the writer of new ITV drama Believe Me about the survivors of “black-cab rapist” John Worboys.

Jeff Pope , who is also writing a BBC drama about the murder of Sarah Everard, said he wanted to tell these stories because “something needs to happen” and the “police just won’t seem to me to change”.

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Some travellers spent hours in lines at airport, with kiosks not working, little seating and few staff on hand to help

Some travellers passing through the new EU entry-exit system (EES) have faced huge delays at border checks, with some waiting for up to three hours , airports say.

The new rules have gradually been introduced in Europe since October 2025, and came into effect on Friday in the Schengen countries – 25 of the EU’s 27 states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

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Consumer insight tracker shows 85% are worried about food prices and a majority think the economy will deteriorate

Three million UK households are being forced to skip meals as consumers resort to drastic measures to deal with rising costs, according to a Which? report published on Thursday.

The conflict in the Middle East and subsequent surge in oil and raw material prices has led to businesses preparing to raise prices , putting more pressure on household finances and hitting consumer confidence.

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In the 1980s, Labour-controlled London built 52,000 council homes. During the Tony Blair decade, just 280. It’s brought this local-election catastrophe on itself

Over the week to come, journalists will repeat three things until they, and you, are sick: that local elections fall next Thursday; that the results will decide the fate of Keir Starmer; and that he is set to do badly. But just how badly, and where? Last week, Starmer’s own party dropped a big clue.

The most popular politician in Britain came down from Manchester to spend the whole day campaigning in London. As Andy Burnham went from Haringey to Brixton, he rallied Labour’s footsoldiers. “Don’t go into the last two weeks with your shoulders down,” he told them. “Get your shoulders up.”

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

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In this week’s newsletter: the murder of Iraqi feminist Yanar Mohammed; how war has changed ordinary Iranians; and democracy under threat from climate breakdown

I remember the exact moment my colleague said: “Yanar has been assassinated .”

Our editor-in-chief immediately replied: “Is this confirmed?”

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It showcased the biggest stars of the day, including Stan Laurel, Harry Houdini, Morecambe and Wise and Shirley Bassey, before becoming a bingo hall, a church and a squat. It was almost turned into flats. What next for Manchester’s forgotten music hall?

It doesn’t look like much from the outside. An inelegant, industrial redbrick block; if you didn’t know, you might guess it’s a biscuit factory. Make that a former biscuit factory, because this is clearly somewhere that was rather than is : entrances are bricked up, drainpipes hang loose, shrubs sprout from crumbling masonry, pigeons come and go from holes in the roof. Pretty much everything within reach of a spray can has been reached; there are tags, Marvel characters, the perhaps surprising news that “God is dead and sheep killed him”.

You know those rocks, though, that look like any old rocks, but when you smash them open they have amazing, sparkling, coloured crystals inside? Amethyst and the like. Well, this building is a bit like them. If you took a wrecking ball to it (and it’s not inconceivable that this will happen), inside you’d find a splendid Edwardian galleried auditorium with gilded rococo plasterwork and plush red velvet seats … albeit covered in pigeon shit.

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