Fury

When Anduril’s YFQ-44A drone flies for the first time, it will do so in a semi-autonomous fashion as part of a broader plan to get the design to an actual operational state as fast as possible. The company says this self-imposed requirement is why the type, one of two currently being developed for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, has yet to take to the skies. A first flight for the YFQ-44A, also known as Fury, is expected soon, and more of the drones are in production to help steadily expand the future testing regimen.

Diem Salmon, Vice President of Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril, and Jason Levin, the company’s Senior Vice President of Engineering for Air Dominance and Strike shared updates on the state of Fury’s development to TWZ and others today at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2025 Air, Space, and Cyber Conference. Fury’s story traces back to the late 2010s and an aggressor drone concept from a company called Blue Force Technologies, which Anduril acquired in 2023, as you can read about in extensive detail in this past War Zone feature. The Air Force picked Fury, as well as a design from General Atomics now designated the YFQ-42A, to proceed in the first phase, or Increment 1, of the CCA program last year. The YFQ-42A flew for the first time in August.

“We have multiple vehicles at our test facility in ground testing right now, and we’re in the final stages before first flight,” Anduril’s Salmon said. “All in all, we’re still well ahead of the program schedule in terms of getting YFQ-44A into the air. [We] feel really confident in our ability to do so and still feel really good about the program schedule.”

Anduril’s Levin indicated that the plan is for all of the “vehicles ” currently undergoing ground testing to eventually fly, rather than some of them staying non-flying test articles.

Neither Salmon nor Levin would offer a specific timeline for when the YFQ-44A’s first flight is now set to occur. At a separate roundtable on the sidelines of the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink told TWZ and others that the service was hoping to see the drone fly by the middle of October. In a keynote address at the conference earlier today, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin described the testing milestone as “imminent.”

“We also have several vehicles currently in various stages of manufacturing,” Salmon continued. We are “working on multiple tails right now to support the more expansive flight test profile that we’re getting into in the next year.”

Anduril’s Salmon also provided some more specific details on developmental goals for the YFQ-44A around its first flight, especially when it comes to autonomy. Semi-autonomous takeoff and recovery of uncrewed aircraft is not new, with other U.S. and foreign designs, like Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk and General Atomics Reaper, having this capability to varying degrees. Anduril’s position is that it is something of a first for a clean-sheet design to make its initial takeoff, flight, and recovery in this mode.

“The goal for Anduril has always [been] to make this an actual semi-autonomous CCA, and so that’s been the emphasis since day one,” she said. “Taxi has been semi-autonomous, which basically means, we hit a button, it goes to the points that’s been designated by that vehicle, completes a taxi, [and] returns.”

“The goal is to also [to] get to a semi-autonomous first flight, which means takeoff and landing will be done by a push of a button. There is no stick and throttle,” Salmon added. “It will be able to execute the actual first flight profile, pre-planned, using autonomy software on the vehicle.”

Further software development to enable that level of autonomy is currently the main schedule driver when it comes to YFQ-44A’s first flight.

“I think that’s going to allow us to kind of leapfrog the overall test plan, because we are kind of tackling that hard part first, which is getting to a semi-autonomous first light,” Salmon noted.

“So the aircraft’s been moving very fast, from PDR [Preliminary Design Review] last year to getting into ground testing a year later, and then same as the software as well,” Anduril’s Levin added. “So the software’s had to be clean-sheet to get to the semi-autonomous capability. We’re able to leverage a lot of the work you see on other products that are flying similar software, but to get to the level of rigor and complexity needed for CCA has just been a different piece to kind of handle.”

Levin further explained that Anduril is currently developing what he called the “platform autonomy” package for the YFQ-44A, which will handle things like taxing and takeoff and landing, in-house. The company plans to work with other vendors on the “mission autonomy” side, which will enable the drone to perform various tasks once airborne. Anduril’s own Lattice proprietary artificial intelligence-enabled autonomy software package is expected to factor into the mission autonomy equation, as well.

“So it’s really been a parallel effort. Both the hardware team’s working everything from [the] electrical system, avionics, fuel system, and the jet itself, and then, as well as the software in parallel,” he continued. “And then rigging that out through “iron bird,” hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and then all the actual aircraft itself.”

The iron bird is a non-flying test article that Anduril, and Blue Force Technologies before it, have been using for years to support the development of Fury.

“We have very high fidelity simulations where we develop the software, we put it through software-in-the-loop, but then once we put it on the actual hardware, in the integration, there’s always something that maybe didn’t match correctly, and then we have to go back and validate that as we update it,” Levin explained. “There’s not a lot of playbooks on how you go from basically clean sheet to a semi-autonomous capability right off the bat. I don’t know if there’s any aircraft that have really done that. So basically, figuring out how we’re going to do this. We’ve had to kind of create some of the path there.”

TWZ has repeatedly highlighted that the Air Force’s CCA program, as well as parallel efforts ongoing within the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, still have many questions to answer about how drones in this category will be deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, as well as utilized during actual tactical operations. Building trust among the human aviators that will be expected to operate with these uncrewed wingmen will also be vital, as you can read more about here.

“For Anduril, since we did not have a ground control station takeoff and landing, we would have to develop that capability,” he also noted when asked to further explain the decision to pursue a semi-autonomous first flight. “And so that would have had to be a new capability to develop. And actually, we thought it would have been a step backwards, because we really want to get to the semi-autonomous thing and bring out that problem.”

“Just to clarify terms, there is gonna be a control element for [our] CCA, where there will be humans on the ground, some kind of oversight of the platforms,” Salmon said. “The distinction here is that they’re not going to be remotely piloted.”

Anduril’s Salmon also said that the company’s focus has been on meeting the Air Force’s aggressive timeline for fielding an actual CCA capability, not just getting YFQ-44A into the air. The current stated goal is for Increment 1 CCAs to be at least starting to enter operational service before the end of the decade. The Air Force has said it is looking to acquire between 100 and 150 Increment 1 CCAs, and hundreds more through further increments. It remains unclear whether the service expects to pick a single winning design in the program’s first phase or pursue production of both the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A.

“It was not a race to get to first flight as fast as humanly possible. It was, how do we field this really advanced and novel capability as fast as we can,” she said. “And with that comes the recognition that the autonomy is the hard part here, and so that’s the thing that you actually need to burn down from a technical development, testing, and risk perspective. And so that’s how we’ve approached our program.”

Levin pointed out that achieving a semi-autonomous first flight is not a hard Air Force requirement, but also that the service has “very few hard requirements” for the CCA program. He also said that Anduril’s development schedule

Once the YFQ-44A does makes its maiden flight, the initial testing plan is set to include things like checking out the drone’s handling qualities, avionics, and other systems, as well as starting to expand its performance envelope, according to Levin. He would not provide any specific timeline for when Anduril might get to munition testing or more advanced systems integration.

Salmon and Levin were also asked about what plans Anduril might have in regard to the expected follow-on Increment 2 of the Air Force’s CCA program, as well as the Navy’s separate CCA efforts, but declined to provide hard specifics. The Navy just disclosed earlier this month that it had hired Anduril, as well as Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, to work on conceptual carrier-based CCA designs, as you can read more about here. Lockheed Martin has received a separate contract to provide the Navy with an accompanying common command and control architecture.

“The way we would approach other air vehicle development efforts is they would not be Fury derivatives, but instead they would use a lot of the capabilities inside Fury, which might be some of the avionics boxes, maybe some of the software, and then basically the design process and build process we would leverage. But if we were to build a Navy CCA, it would probably look nothing like a Fury … a future CCA that had a different mission, it probably would not be a Fury derivative.”

When pressed on this in light of Anduril’s recently disclosed contract with the Navy, Levin further stressed that any carrier-based design the company might develop would not be a direct Fury derivative.

Levin did say that Anduril is pursuing export sales of Fury variants, including in Europe, as part of a partnership with Rheinmetall in Germany that was announced back in June.

Regardless, “if there’s any autonomous air vehicle program, we’ll compete. If there are any autonomous software program [sic], we will compete on that as well, whether it’s for the Air Force, the Navy, or for whoever, you can imagine that we’re going to compete.”

When it comes to the YFQ-44A, the drone now looks set to fly for the first time within a matter weeks, and in a semi-autonomous mode that Anduril hopes will help put it on a path to being a real operational asset within the next few years.

Contact the author: [email protected]

On Friday night, Channel 4 viewers tuned in for a brand new instalment of the beloved show, Gogglebox

It looks as though Channel 4 viewers were less than impressed with the latest episode of Gogglebox as more new faces were introduced to the show.

Last week saw the introduction of several newcomers, including Mother and daughter-in-law Sara and Lara, friends Jake and Calum and family Andre, Sarah and daughter Chee, following one recently axed star breaking their silence on being dropped.

However, during the latest episode, another new duo made their debut on the popular show, sisters Rosie and Susie.

Although it looks as though fans of the long-running programme haven’t been blown away with the new additions, with some believing they’re not being genuine.

Taking to X, one person said: “Why so much air time for those Scottish sisters, left one is totally over acting and playing to the camera. So fake, while point is to be normal and react to what your watching. Too much.”

Someone else added: “There is a lot of desperate over acting from the new peeps, making it less authentic. If it wasn’t broken, why ‘fix’ it?”

While a third demanded: “Stop all this performative nonsense and be authentic #Gogglebox”

In agreement, someone else said: “No offence but these new Goggleboxers are not natural they know what #gogglebox fans like and their trying too hard. Not naturally funny [sic] forced.”

Although there were some people who were thrilled with the newcomers, with one person commenting: “Liking the new Scottish sisters already #gogglebox”

The new families on Gogglebox come after Scottish duo Roisin and Joe were axed from the show. The couple first appeared on the Channel 4 show back in 2022 and quickly became fan-favourites of the series.

However, announcing their exit, the duo commented: “”After three and a half years of sitting on the sofa Channel 4 have decided it’s time for Joe and I to stretch out legs and have not asked us back for season 26.

“Therefore we are leaving the Gogglebox family. We couldn’t be more grateful to Studio Lambert for the opportunity, the experience has actually been so mad and we will miss watching TV with you all on Friday nights!

“It’s been an honour to represent Scotland as some of the first Scottish people on the show and prove we don’t actually need subtitles.”

Gogglebox is available to watch on My4.

A COMPETITOR who was shoved by Tommy Fury in the Great North Run has challenged him to a race.

Diarmaid Warner, 38, was on the last bend when he felt a hand on his arm.

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He recognised the boxer and reality star and later told his wife: “You’ll never guess what — Tommy Fury’s pushed me out of the way.”

The plumber said yesterday: “I was a bit upset and thought, ‘That’s not on’.”

The dad from Dumbarton, who raises money for muscular dystrophy research, is up for a race with him.

But he added: “Not a boxing match, unless he has one hand tied behind his back.”

Fury, 26, was mocked after nearly colliding with an elderly woman at a run in Cheshire in January.

He also allegedly failed to complete a triathlon last month.

Diarmaid told The Sun yesterday: “As you get to the end you think the finish line is straight in front of you.

“It’s only at the last few metres you realise you’ve got one more right turn to make.

“It was as I was going around it that I felt this hand on my shoulder which pushed me to the side for him to run through.

“I was a bit upset and thought that’s not on – it’s not really race etiquette.

“I started with thousands of people who were slower than me but you just weave your way around them.

“You don’t push them out of the way.”

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SIR Keir Starmer was under fresh fire last night after it emerged 3,567 dinghy migrants have arrived since he signed a “one-in, one-out” deal with France — but NONE have been kicked out.

The news overshadowed the Government’s latest attempt to get a grip on the illegal migration crisis.

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Yesterday, ministers put a temporary halt on refugees bringing in partners and children.

Sir Keir also said he wanted to bring forward his 2029 deadline for closing asylum hotels because he “completely gets” the public’s anger.

But his positive slant was derailed by the news of the failure of the “one-in, one-out” deal with France’s Emmanuel Macron.

More than 100 people are understood to have been detained — with videos shared by No10 showing people being escorted by staff after arriving across the Channel.

Yet none has actually gone yet, officials confirmed.

The PM and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had gone on the offensive yesterday after a summer of dismal headlines.

Sir Keir slammed Reform leader Nigel Farage’s sweeping deportation plans.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five, the PM said: “It’s a really serious issue. We have to have control of our borders, and I completely get it.

“I’m determined that whether it’s people crossing in the first place, people in asylum hotels, or it’s returning people, we absolutely have to deal with this.”

Pressed on when illegal migrant hotels will finally shut, Sir Keir replied: “We’ve said we’ll get rid of them by the end of the Parliament. I would like to bring that forward, I think it is a good challenge.”

Nationwide protests over the summer pushed the PM to finally act as public anger over hotel use reached boiling point.

The Home Office currently houses around 32,000 asylum seekers in over 200 hotels across Britain.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said accommodation for illegal migrants would be dealt with “not just by shifting individuals from hotels to other sites, but by driving down the numbers in supported accommodation overall”.

Hotels would be “reconfigured” to increase room-sharing and the test for accommodation would be “tightened”.

She said the Home Office would try to “identify alternative cheaper and more appropriate accommodation”.

Last month, Mr Farage unveiled his radical mass deportation blueprint, dubbed “Operation Restoring Justice”, aiming to expel up to 600,000 undocumented migrants over five years.

Scrap ECHR

His plan includes withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights and scrapping the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

He also wants to establish detention centres with compulsory deportations, even for women and children.

Sir Keir said: “The difference here is between an orderly sensible way of actually fixing a problem we inherited from the Tories or fanciful arrangements that are just not going to work.

“Nigel Farage and Reform are just the politics of grievance. They feed on grievance. They don’t want the problem solved because they’ve got no reason to exist if the problems are solved.”

The PM added that Mr Farage’s plan is “not fair to put forward to the public” because it is an idea that “just isn’t going to work”.

It came as Ms Cooper announced refugees will be banned from bringing their families to the UK as part of “radical” asylum reforms announced by the Home Secretary yesterday.

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The Home Secretary vowed that new immigration rules will temporarily suspend new applications from dependents of refugees already in Britain.

She also said that the controversial Article 8 of the ECHR — which guarantees a right to family life — should be interpreted differently.

Around 20,000 people come to the UK on refugee family reunion visas per year, according to Home Office figures.

Ms Cooper told the House of Commons yesterday: “Our reforms will also address the overly complex system for family migration, including changes to the way Article 8 of the ECHR is interpreted.

“We should be clear that international law is important.

“But we also need the interpretation of international law to keep up with the realities and challenges of today’s world.”

‘Living in a parallel universe’

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Ms Cooper of “living in a parallel universe”.

Labour’s own Graham Stringer said the measures “don’t really deal with the fact that many migrants are not coming from war-torn countries, they’re coming from France, which isn’t persecuting them”.

And Reform MP Lee Anderson said: “Starmer continues to open the floodgates for hundreds of illegals each day.”

The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, became a flash point for discontent this summer after two of its guests were charged with sexual offences.

Epping Forest District Council won a bid at the High Court to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.

But the Court of Appeal last week overturned the injunction after an Home Office appeal.

Lee Anderson added: “Starmer makes hollow claims while refusing to close Epping. Hypocrite.”

Carpenter Jimmy Hillard, 52, of Loughton, Essex, has been handed an eight-week suspended prison sentence by Chelmsford JPs after admitting assaulting a police officer at a Bell Hotel demo on Friday.

PM’S ‘PRIDE’ IN FLAG

PM SIR Keir Starmer yesterday declared himself a “supporter of flags” — and revealed he still proudly displays a St George’s Cross in his flat.

He dismissed claims that showing off England’s ensign should be seen as racist, telling BBC Five Live: “I am the leader of the Labour Party who put the Union Jack on membership cards.

“I always sit in front of the Union Jack. I’ve been doing it for years, and it attracted a lot of comment when I started doing it.” He said he bought his England flag for last year’s Euros football.

The flag debate reignited after councils in the West Midlands and Tower Hamlets tried to remove the St George’s Cross from lamp posts and motorway bridges over claims they intimidated minorities.

The PM added: “They’re patriotic and a great symbol of our nation. I don’t think they should be devalued and belittled.”

Murder accused can stay

EXCLUSIVE by MIKE SULLIVAN

A CAKE shop owner can remain in Britain despite being wanted for murder in his home country.

Carlos Kassimo Dos Santos, 33, was jailed for 14 years in his absence in 2016 over a gang killing in Portugal.

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An extradition bid failed when the High Court upheld a decision by a district judge to allow Santos to remain here.

It was deemed Santos, who denies involvement in the 2010 murder, could not be guaranteed a retrial and it could not be proved he fled justice to come here.

He is now co-owner of Kings & Queens Dessert outlet, set up three years ago in Leeds.

It recently won The Best Dessert Shop in West Yorkshire award.

Santos was 18 when he was accused of being part of a group who killed a gang rival near Lisbon.

He then spent two years in the army before coming to Britain, where his dad lives.

He said he was unaware he was jailed and did not know he had to notify authorities of his address change.

He refused to comment when approached.

Plus-sized passengers make have to fork out hundreds extra if trying to fly thanks to a popular airlines new policy that sees plane seat restrictions tighten in the coming months

A popular airline has made huge changes for plus sized passengers – and people aren’t happy. Southwest Airlines has announced a new role for larger passengers, which could see their ticket prices more expensive.

Southwest is a major airline in the United States, and for those who can’t find within the armrests of their seat will need to soon book an additional seat before they fly.

It comes as a rollout of new changes coming into effect on January 27 2026, including pre-assigned seats. At the moment, plus-sized travellers who may need extra room can purchase an additional seat upfront and apply for a refund after flying, or request a complimentary seat at the airport.

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One of the biggest changes to this will mean refunds may still be possible, but not always guaranteed which could result in passengers facing higher upfront costs without the certainty of getting their money back.

In a statement released by the airline, they said: “To ensure space, we are communicating to customers who have previously used the extra seat policy that they should purchase it at booking.” It goes against what the airline was previously known for as being traveller-friendly and operating a ‘customer-first approach’ according to Metro.

These perks, which also included open seating at boarding and a generous free baggage allowance are slowly disappearing as the free baggage was stopped in May, and the rules around seats getting stricter.

The refunds for plus-sized passengers will only be granted if at least one seat on the flight was empty at departure and if both tickets were purchased in the same booking class. In other words, passengers can no longer assume that an extra seat will automatically qualify for a refund.

In order to get their money back, passengers will need to request a refund within 90 days of their flight. In a bid to still protect the promise for flexibility for passengers, it may still hike up costs for people being asked to pay hundreds upfront without the certainty of getting it reimbursed – and if it’s a fully booked flight, they will be turned away and booked onto the next available flight.

Jason Vaughn, an Orlando-based travel agent who posts travel tips for plus-size people on social media and his website, Fat Travel Tested, told AP: “I think it’s going to make the flying experience worse for everybody.”

Tigress Osborn, chair of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance told the New York Times: “Southwest was the only beacon of hope for many fat people who otherwise wouldn’t have been flying. And now that beacon has gone out.”

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A SEASIDE town made famous by former world heavy-weight boxing champ Tyson Fury is on the ropes.

Gritty ITV cop drama ‘The Bay’ attracts five million viewers, but has done nothing to restore Morecambe’s fortunes as a tourist and holidaying hotspot.

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Dilapidated buildings, boarded up shops, closed hotels, and vandalised shopping arcades blight the Lancashire seaside resort.

And homeless down-and-outs, swigging cans during the day, plague the streets.

Morecambe FC has been besieged with talks of going under after 105 years, with the beleaguered club enduring a chaotic summer since being relegated from League Two, with staff and players not even paid.

Some football club workers have been offered food parcels. As it stands, the National League club is on the brink of extinction, though takeover talks continue.

Eden Project Morecambe – a sister to the popular Eden bio-spheres in Cornwall – is hoped to breath new life into the area and bring tourists flocking back to the resort. But that is at least three years away.

Brother and sister Liam, 14, and Lola, nine, were visiting Morecambe from their native Canada and were drawn to the vandalised and graffitied former shopping arcade, which is fenced off to the public due to a rusted and collapsing roof.

They were accompanied by their aunt and nan Kay Robinson, 73, who remembers the good old days of the seaside resort.

It used to boast such attractions as the Super Swimming Stadium lido, the pleasure park Frontierland and sea life centre Marineland.

“It’s gone down hill since the 1970s,” said Kay.

“There used to be fairgrounds, illuminations, an amazing swimming pool, there used to be everything. We liked coming here better than Blackpool.

“Even the outdoor market has gone now. Everything has gone or is going now.

“You can’t go round the pubs like you used to, it used to be a great night out around Morecambe, but not now.”

Visitors love taking selfies beside the statue of the late comedian Eric Morecambe, which was unveiled on the promenade by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.

Holidaymakers Paul and Alison Johnson, from Glossop, posed with grandson Ralphie, eight, as they enjoyed the summer sunshine.

Paul, 59, who has visited Morecambe over the years, said: “It seems to be getting cleaner, now this sea front has been done up.

“We have a caravan near here.”

Alison, 51 said: “It’s lovely in the sunshine.”

But directly opposite the iconic bronze tourist attraction stands reminders of the resort’s decline.

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Standing side-by-side, Eric’s Cafe and the Tivoli Bar, are closed down at what should be the height of the summer season.

And the town centre, just a streets from the prom, is lined with abandoned shops, closed down pubs and eateries and empty banks.

A homeless rough sleeper was slouched by the entrance to the tired Arndale Centre, which stands beside a boarded-up pawnbrokers and opposite empty shops and the shell of the former Santander bank.

In a shaded doorway down a run-down street a couple of scruff-looking men, one sitting beside his crutches, were swigging from cans of super-strength Oranjeboom beers, as parents and kids walked past.

Back on the sunny promenade where the popular outdoor swimming pool, which used to be home of the Miss Great Britain beauty contest between 1956 and 1989, John and Lynda Ritchie were taking a stroll.

“This is where they are going to build the Eden centre, if it ever gets off the ground,” said John, 80, visiting with wife Lynda, 80, from Kendal.

“It can’t come soon enough. It’ll hopefully save the town.”

“We used to bring our lads here to swim in the pool, but it is such a shame what it is like now,” said Lynda.

“Hopefully things will change when the Eden Project comes, but I wish they’d hurry up, I’d like to see it.

“The place has very much gone down hill, as many seaside towns have since people started to go abroad.”

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First-time visitors David and Lynn Buswell, from Leicestershire, were walking their Staffie Tyson – aptly named as Morecambe is the home town of former world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury – along the prom after parking up their motorhome.

“Never been here before. I’m here because my mum and dad had a photo taken with the Eric Morecambe statue and we want to recreate it,” said David, 64, a music producer.

“It looks like an average, typical English seaside town, nothing special. Okay for the kids, but not us.

“We will be parking up the motorhome for one night – not for two though. I think we will be moving on.”

Lynn, 69, said: “We have just come down from the Lake District, which was beautiful. This is a stark contrast.”

South of the town centre, the Cumberland View pub is boarded up.

Beside the former almost seafront railway station – closed now and turned into a pub – is the Festival Market.

Trains, no longer full or excited holiday makers and day trippers from West Yorkshire, now pull in to a dowdy wooden platform next to a boarded up former restaurant 500 yards of more inland.

Festival Market trader Karen Brown, 66, has been running her stall The Beauty Box for 50 years, and has seen the decline of the town.
“The place has gone really down hill since the glory days. The job is tougher now,” said Karen.

“I don’t do too bad in summer with the tourists. They come to buy things. But, in winter, the locals don’t tend to to use the market. They should do, they’ll whinge if it goes.

“The visitors come round saying what a lovely market it is and they appreciate it, but the locals, not so much.”

Fellow market trader Julie Norris, 58, has run sweet stall, Sweet Tweets, for five years.

“I’m finding trading in Morecambe alright because all the other sweet shops are shutting down,” said Julie.

“The kids are coming here for their holiday treats. And we also do well from people coming here to buy snacks and sweets before going to the cinema next door.

“They don’t want to pay rip-off cinema prices so stock up here before going to see a film.

“I love working here and if the Eden Project comes it will be fantastic. It’ll be very family orientated.”

Tyson Fury

Fury is arguably the town’s biggest name, living in the area with his wife Paris and their seven children there.

And today, it was revealed that he had sold a property in the area – for a knockdown price of £700,000.

Speaking last year, he told TNT: “17 years, it’s become my home. A new home, away from home. I actually cast myself now as from Morecambe, I don’t say I’m from Manchester anymore.

“It’s been keeping me grounded – I have always likened Morecambe to Alcatraz island… because if you go 200m that way you hit the sea, and if you go a couple of miles that way you hit the M6 motorway, and you’ve got to drive an hour to get to any city.

“It’s a big island, there’s not much distractions, there’s not much stuff to do, you can’t spend your money here because there’s nothing to spend it on, apart from Asda… That’s it, really, it’s a good place for a fighter…

“It’s kept me grounded, away from all the limelight.”

He added that locals are very respectful and leave him alone when he goes for runs. “If I go to any other city in the world, oomph Elvis has landed.”

The “Gypsy King” has previously expressed interest in buying Morecambe FC and told talkSPORT: “I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them. Basically throw it at them and keep them going up. I’ve been offered to buy Morecambe Football Club.

“I own all the training facilities anyway and the training gym. So who knows? You might be looking at a football club owner.”

The Tyson Fury Foundation sits in the north-east corner of the football club’s Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

However, the Telegraph has claimed that Fury currently has no interest in buying the Shrimps.

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One resident of the coastal village said the demolition plans amount to ‘social cleansing’ as the regeneration project gathers pace

Plans to demolish historic homes in the UK’s most affordable seaside village have been labelled as ‘social cleansing’ as a local authority pushes forward with its proposals.

Durham County Council has submitted a planning application to tear down 100 properties in Horden’s ‘Numbered Streets’, an area that was established in the early 1900s and originally provided housing for the coal mining community.

Horden, along with neighbouring Peterlee, was recently named as the UK’s cheapest place to live by the sea in a ranking by Rightmove. It has also frequently ranked among the nation’s most deprived areas.

The proposed demolition zone stretches from First Street to 13th Street and is part of a £10.7 million regeneration project that it is hoped will breathe new life into the area. Homeowners have been asked to sell their properties to the council so new housing can be built.

However, local residents are resisting the plans, which they claim to have largely opposed since a consultation was first launched in 2019, according to the Express, reports Chronicle Live.

Joe, a community organiser for Shelter, said it was “immediately obvious it wasn’t what people wanted” when he first arrived in the area, adding that there was palpable anger at a parish council meeting.

Campaign group Fair Deal For Horden found that 72 percent of the community preferred refurbishment, with only 2pc supporting demolition.

Joe added: “The council says there’s widespread support. I beg to differ.”

Shelter’s research shows that buying and renovating empty properties for social rent can require roughly 20pc less grant funding than new builds, when clearance and compensation costs are taken into account.

Raymond Bellingham has lived with his sister in a mortgage-free home on Third Street since he was nine years old. This year marks his 60th anniversary at the address.

He opposes the plans, saying locals want restoration to breathe new life into the area rather than bulldozing people’s homes. A similar scheme was implemented in The Green in Hartlepool, restoring crumbling Victorian houses rather than knocking them down.

Raymond said: “There was originally talk of other plans – renovation, refurbishment, etc. But all of a sudden, all other options disappeared, and the council has gone down the path of total demolition. They’re totally ignoring the people living here, refusing to do another consultation.”

He insisted the streets’ terrible reputation is baseless, “a misrepresentation”, saying people view it as “gang-laden – people carrying machetes with dangerous dogs” – but this “couldn’t be further from the truth”.

Joe pointed out the irony that this year marks the 125th anniversary of Horden as a village: “What better way to celebrate than by wiping out the historic homes of the people who built that community, the people who contributed to British industrial progress?”. Raymond said “there’s not much to celebrate”, declaring: “The council wants to wipe out this community, to build new houses and obliterate heritage and history.

“It’s affecting people who still live here. They want to clear the area, trying to buy homes for £30,000-£35,000, way below market price. That’s what actually makes the area undesirable. Exactly what they’re supposed to be avoiding.

“It might sound drastic, but it’s a form of social cleansing. Good people live here, and they’re being driven out of their own homes, their village, their community. They don’t care about the people here; they have no sentiment for this community.”

Joe revealed that Horden features amongst the nation’s most deprived areas, explaining: “Locals do need something to happen. It does need regeneration, but what cost does that come at?”.

“This plan shouldn’t come at the cost of people’s lives being torn apart. If the council went the refurb route, it could do more for the Numbered Streets.”

Although a relocation package is available for residents selling their properties to the council, Joe insists “many feel they’ll be financially worse off”.

Leaving Horden would prove expensive, he said, alongside the heartbreaking impact of breaking community bonds and family ties.

Joe contended this simply “perpetuates a cycle of instability for lots of people”.

Durham County Council claimed the Horden Masterplan had attracted “strong support” throughout several years of comprehensive consultation. Michael Kelleher, the head of planning and housing, stated: “We have worked hard throughout the process to ensure residents feel heard and represented.

“Following our consultations in 2018, 2019 and 2022, the demolition, clearance and provision of new housing was consistently ranked higher than refurbishment by residents.

“The aim of the masterplan is to regenerate the village and improve life for local people by tackling issues such as the high number of empty properties in the Numbered Streets, supporting those with housing needs, enhancing community facilities and paving the way for new council housing that is truly affordable. All while respecting the history and heritage of Horden.

“We understand this is an unsettling time, and we are working closely with owners and landlords to negotiate the purchase of their properties and help people to find alternative accommodation should they need it.”

FAILED asylum seekers and foreign offenders are being left in Britain for up to a year because their governments are dragging their feet over travel papers, a Home Office file reveals.

The official guide, published by the department, shows deportations are crippled by delays from overseas embassies.

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Egypt, Guinea and Burkina Faso are among the worst offenders — taking six to 12 months to issue the documents needed to put its citizens on a plane home.

By contrast, Italy, Belgium and Sri Lanka can turn the paperwork around in less than two weeks, while India averages one month.

But the file also shows no reliable timescale is available at all for dozens of countries — leaving removals at the mercy of slow or unpredictable foreign bureaucracies.

The delays mean some migrants remain in Britain long after their claims have failed, with taxpayers footing the bill for hotel rooms, benefits and legal fees while they wait.

Yesterday, fed-up protesters raised St George’s Cross and Union flags outside some of the 210 hotels being used to house migrants — as PM Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to overhaul the failing asylum system.

Among those targeted was the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in Birmingham.

Outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, East London, a group of protesters gathered with one holding a banner that read: “Enough is enough protect our women and girls.”

Another said: “Tower Hamlets council house homeless Brits first.”

There were also protests outside the Holiday Inn in Solihull, West Midlands, and the Manchester South Hotel.

At least 15 people were arrested at protests relating to migrant hotels on Saturday.

Following the release of the Home Office file, Reform UK demanded ministers get tough.

Deputy party leader Richard Tice said: “Foreign countries know Starmer’s Britain is a pushover, so it’s no wonder they are dragging their feet when it comes to accepting deportations.

“Britain needs to start using its diplomatic and economic power.

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“Countries that refuse to take their criminals back should not get off scot-free but instead face serious sanctions.

“Unfortunately, with this meek Labour Government, we will continue to be seen as a meek nation on the global stage.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also hit out, saying: “Countries that do not fully and promptly co-operate should suffer visa sanctions — where we don’t give visas to citizens of those countries to come here.

‘TOO WEAK’

“Then, they would pretty soon fall into line.

“The legal power exists to do that but this Labour Government is too weak to use it.”

There is currently a 106,000-strong backlog of asylum claim cases, including at least 51,000 appeals.

Last week, official statistics showed a record 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK during the first year of Labour coming to power.

The Government has said its latest plans would introduce independent panels to hear appeal cases to speed up the process and deport failed asylum seekers quicker.

A new commission will prioritise cases of those living in costly asylum hotels and foreign national offenders.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited, which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer.”

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She added: “Overhauling the appeals system so that it is swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place, is a central part of our Plan for Change.”

But the new scheme could take months to implement and record numbers of people continue to cross the Channel on small boats.

Tory Mr Philp said: “The Government is too weak to do what’s really needed — such as repeal the Human Rights Act for all immigration matters and deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival.”

The Home Office said: “For some countries receiving returnees from the UK, establishing their identities and nationalities can take time.

“Where that is the case, we work with their respective governments closely to drive timings down to the minimum possible.”

Tommy Fury spoke about co-parenting his daughter Bambi with Molly-Mae Hague in the second episode of his new BBC Three series Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury

Former Love Island star Tommy Fury has revealed that he has a different approach to parenting compared to Molly-Mae Hague. He’s said that their daughter Bambi “knows she can’t get away” with anything when she’s with her mother.

The boxer, 26, spoke about being a parent in his reality TV show Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury, which launched on BBC Three earlier tonight. In the second episode, filmed towards the end of last year following his split from Molly-Mae, now 26, he opened up about co-parenting whilst living separately from the content creator and Bambi, now two.

Tommy, who has since reconciled with Molly-Mae, said that it had proved “tricky” to co-parent since she moved out of the home they shared with their daughter. He then teased that Molly-Mae offered more discipline as a parent than him.

Amid scenes of Bambi staying at Tommy’s house with him, he said on the show: “Obviously it’s tricky because Molly’s at her house and I’m here at the minute. When Bambi’s here, it’s all me, and when she’s there, it’s all her, so it is tricky.”

Tommy continued by saying: “I’m wrapped around her little finger ten times so I’ll literally do anything for her. But at least with Molly she knows she can’t get away with it But with me, she definitely can. She can get away with murder.”

The release of the episode comes after Molly-Mae has spoken about challenges as a parent in recent months, with her suggesting recently that Bambi is “testing boundaries” at the moment. She was seen in tears in one vlog, released last month.

She told fans at the time: “I feel like I need to keep my camera running all day so you guys like actually just see … it’s like every single thing is a huge problem. Like [Bambi is] screams and can’t even get like socks and shoes on.”

Molly-Mae also addressed the suggestion that she’s “out of touch,” after complaining about struggling with parenting lately, in the same vlog. She said: “I don’t care who tells me I’m out of touch with reality or like all this stuff that’s going on on TikTok at the minute. […] I don’t care like I’m not gonna not talk about it.”

In the second episode of his show, Tommy also spoke about hoping to live with Molly-Mae and Bambi again in the future. He said: “You just dream of one day, y’know, them coming back and the house to be filled with joy again. Y’know, I hope that one day everything can sort itself out and we can live here as a family again.”

And in the first episode, Tommy spoke about them having moved out as he once again dismissed previous speculation that cheating had led to him splitting up from Molly-Mae. He said: “The reason for our end in the relationship was alcohol.” He said that he had been “drinking a lot” whilst unable to train after injuring one of his hands.

Tommy later said that he didn’t expect Molly-Mae to leave him. He went on to say that he was “drunk” when his fiancée and Bambi left their home, adding: “So I don’t actually remember it that well, which was even more upsetting.”

Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury continues on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer next Tuesday from 9pm. The first six episodes are available through BBC iPlayer now.

If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, advice and support can be found at alcoholchange.org.uk.

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