leaving

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, left state service with two things: a federal corruption investigation and more than $50,000 in pay for vacation time she accrued but never took.

State payroll records reviewed by The Times show Williamson used approximately $30,000 in unused vacation time to remain on California’s payroll through Jan. 31 — seven weeks after Newsom’s office indicated she had departed — before collecting an additional $22,000 lump-sum payout for the hours she had left.

Large cash-outs for departing state workers with hundreds of hours of time off on the books have been a recurring issue in California. The state’s unfunded liability for vacation and other leave owed to employees has ballooned in recent years to $5.6 billion, fueled by generous time-off provisions and a long-standing failure to enforce policies that cap most employees’ vacation balances at 640 hours.

Many state workers accumulate large balances of unused vacation after decades of being on the government payroll. The typical public employee retires with more than two decades in public service, according the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Their unused time off is paid when they leave state employment at their final rate of pay.

Williamson, however, amassed 462 hours of unused leave in less than two years on the job. She earned $19,612 a month as the governor’s chief of staff.

John Moorlach, director at the conservative think tank the Center for Public Accountability at the California Policy Center, said that a job like Williamson had probably involved incredibly long workdays but that the pace in which employees accumulate days off is a major financial burden.

“A normal blue-collar worker would say, ‘Really? Really?“” said Moorlach, a former Republican state senator from Orange County. “You don’t find this perk in the private sector.”

Williamson notified Newsom in November 2024 that she was under federal investigation and was put on paid administrative leave through Dec. 16, the governor’s office said.

Federal charges against Williamson, which were filed in November 2025, allege she siphoned $225,000 out of a dormant state campaign account belonging to gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra and illegally claimed $1 million in luxury handbags and travel as business expenses on her tax returns. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A status conference in Williamson’s case was moved to April 16 after she recently underwent a successful liver transplant and due to the large volume of discovery — more than 280,000 pages so far — according to court records filed last month.

Williamson’s attorney, McGregor Scott, did not respond to a request for comment.

State payroll records show Williamson earned $40,000 in regular pay in 2025, which the state controller’s office said included her December 2024 and January 2025 paychecks. The governor’s office said Williamson’s December 2024 paycheck included 11 days of paid administrative leave, and the remainder of both paychecks was covered by her unused leave.

With her final cash-out of $22,000 in remaining time off, she made a total of $62,000 last year — all tied to administrative leave and unused vacation time rather than time worked.

“That’s shocking, honestly,” said Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), adding that stockpiled vacation time overall is something the state Legislature should look into.

The state paid $453 million in unused leave benefits to state workers in 2025. That was an average of more than $20,000 to the 21,000 employees who received a lump-sum check. The amount paid to departing or retiring state workers has steadily increased each year. In 2024, the state paid $413 million for unused time off.

“Obviously, employees are an important part of our state and they accrue vacation time,” Hoover said. “But, if this is something being used to pad people’s salaries … we need to look into that and possibly reform that.”

Last year, 80 state employees took home at least $250,000 in unused time off, and 1,081 employees were paid more than $100,000. Those numbers have been increasing each year. For example, the state paid 16 state workers more than $250,000 for unused time off in 2010, and 309 employees were paid more than $100,000.

In 2024, the state paid out a record $1.2 million to a prison supervising dentist for unused time off. Last year, the top amount paid for unused leave was about $650,000 to an assistant fire chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The state owed nearly $5.6 billion to state workers for unused vacation and other leave benefits in 2024, according to the most recent financial accounting report issued by the state controller’s office. Although that unfunded liability held steady when compared with 2023, it has risen sharply from pre-pandemic amounts.

In 2019, the state owed $3.9 billion for employees’ unused time off before COVID-19 curtailed travel and work-from-home policies resulted in fewer workers taking time off. State employees have argued that under-staffing at state agencies can make it difficult to take vacations.

Nick Schroeder, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office, said the state has plans to reduce unfunded liabilities for pensions and retiree healthcare, but that isn’t the case with unused time off.

“There isn’t a plan to address it,” Schroeder said.

When an employee retires with a large leave balance, the department where that person worked last is on the hook for the amount.

“It can be a big effect on that individual department’s budget,” Schroeder said.

During budget deficits — including in the current fiscal year — the state has cut employee pay or deferred annual raises in exchange for additional days off, a strategy that helps balance budgets but also adds to workers’ growing vacation balances.

In Newsom’s January budget proposal, which estimated a $3-billion deficit, the governor recommended providing $91 million in ongoing funding to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to help the prison system pay departing employees for their unused time off. The department said that from 2020 to 2025, it paid about $130 million annually on average to employees leaving state service, according to a Legislative Analyst’s Office report.

When employees cash out banked leave, the state pays them not only for the hours they have accumulated, but also for the additional vacation and holidays they would have earned had they taken that time off.

That means a person with 640 hours of vacation would also be paid for all of the vacation and holidays they would have earned had they taken those 80 days off. Each hour of leave is paid based on an employee’s final salary — not what they were earning when the time was accrued.

Most private-sector employers cap vacation accrual between 40 and 400 hours and stop employees from earning additional time once they reach those limits. Some companies have moved in the opposite direction, adopting “unlimited paid time off” policies. Under those systems, employees do not accumulate vacation days that can be banked or cashed out, but critics say the policies can lead to workers taking less time off because there is no guaranteed number of days and employees may feel pressure not to appear absent.

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., said there appears to be little appetite in the state Capitol to address California’s burgeoning vacation liability.

“This problem is systemic within California government and no one seems willing to take it on,” Coupal said. “At the same time, they are clamoring that there is a budget crisis. I suspect they will continue to kick the can down the road.”

Visits to the Balearic Islands dropped in January of this year, and restaurant bookings are also down causing concern in the industry. However, plans to cap visitor numbers on one island are going ahead

Tourism bosses in Spain have been left concerned over dropping numbers in the hospitality industry amid a ‘disastrous’ start to the year for the Balearic Islands.

The islands, which include the popular destinations of Majorca, Ibiza, and Menorca, saw a drop in international visitor numbers of 8.83% in January. While restaurants also saw a drop in footfall, attributed to rising prices, across 2025.

Overall, across the Balearic Islands there was a 3% drop in restaurant footfall across 2025. While the amount might sound small, the tight profit margins in hospitality and the islands’ heavy reliance on tourism mean that modest drops can have a substantial impact.

The decline in restaurant customer numbers is being partly attributed to rising prices across the islands, the Majorca Daily News previously reported. Data analysts pointed out that in areas where dining is the most affordable, such as the mainland regions of Castile-La Mancha and Extremadura, customer numbers grew.

The analysis concluded: “This behaviour suggests that consumers have reached a price ceiling, which limits price increases in the most expensive areas and reinforces the idea of a restraint in real spending, even in areas traditionally less price-sensitive.”

The restaurant industry is also concerned about the numbers for 2026. Juanmi Ferrer, president of the CAEB Restaurants Association, representing island outlets, remarked that the year kicked off with a “disastrous January” and predicted it would be “like last year, or at most a little worse”.

He explained: “The last thing a restaurant owner wants is to raise prices, because that means fewer customers. This year we’ll try to absorb those extra three to four percentage points of inflation as much as we can.”

One option being considered is a restaurant voucher scheme, similar to a recent initiative across the island that supported shops. The retail scheme gave all residents aged over 16 four vouchers worth €15 each, which could be used on purchases of €30 or more, to encourage people to shop locally.

During summer 2025, concerns emerged that certain Majorcan resorts had become “completely dead”, with Miguel PérezMarsá, chairman of the nightlife association, saying: “The tourists we’re interested in are being driven away; they don’t feel welcome and are going to other destinations.” His comments came as thousands took to the streets in overtourism protests.

At last year’s World Travel Market (WTM) in London, Ibiza’s Tourism Minister, Jaume Bauza, acknowledged declining visitor numbers, revealing that 20,000 fewer British tourists visited the renowned party destination during the 2025 peak season compared to the previous year. Industry experts have suggested this decline may reflect holidaymakers deliberately shifting their travel dates to October and November to capitalise on more affordable rates.

However, it should be noted that such a dip comes at the end of several record years for tourism on the island chain, with Brits and other Europeans flocking in huge numbers to the Balearics post-Covid.

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Despite the drop in numbers causing alarm, the islands are continuing with measures to tackle overtourism. Plans have been announced to slash the number of daily cruise ship berths from 8,500 to 7,500 between June and September in Palma, Majorca, meaning fewer cruise ship passengers arriving once the change is implemented between 2027 to 2039.

Only three cruise ships would dock in Palma each day, with only one of these vessels allowed to transport more than 5,000 passengers. Opposition party PSOE – a socialist party for the Balearic Islands – also put forward a proposal recently for visitor numbers to be capped across the islands at 17.8 million a year. However, its proposal was rejected.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

A British man in Spain has shared one big difference between the UK and Spain, claiming it’s something you’ll only notice once you leave the UK – but not everyone agreed with him

Spain has remained a firm favourite amongst Brits seeking a sun-soaked getaway for several years in a row. And It’s not just the brief flight time that appeals for holidaymakers, as the country also enjoys glorious weather throughout the entire year.

Data from the Office of National Statistics reveals that Brits clocked up more than 17.8 million trips to the Mediterranean nation in 2024, with figures projected to have climbed to 19.1 million in 2025. These holidays included trips to the Canary Islands and Costa Blanca, home to Benidorm. Further hotspots include the various Costas, the Balearic Islands, whilst the Northern regions are also seeing a surge in popularity.

Whilst the prospect of swapping Britain’s bleak and overcast winter months for brighter, warmer climes is undeniably attractive, there are certain contrasts many travellers might not have considered.

A British expat has now highlighted one major distinction between Spain and the UK, which may well explain why countless Brits are lured to the southern European nation.

On TikTok, a man called Mark posted footage of himself strolling through British streets back in January, showcasing murky skies with the sun conspicuously absent.

“You don’t realise how depressing it is until you leave the UK,” he captioned the clip, which then switched to show him wandering through Spain’s bright streets, lined with palm trees along the pavements.

“Why does the UK have a grey filter?” he pondered in the post’s caption.

Is the UK weather more grey than Spain?

From March 2026, the UK is forecast to see average temperatures ranging between 9C and lows of 2C, though some regions might also benefit from sunny spells with temperatures reaching up to 17 degrees in Eastern England on 5 March, according to the Met Office’s long range forecast.

Northern parts of England and Scotland are anticipated to face rain and storms, and potentially even some snow on higher ground, with overnight frost still possible between 4-13 March.

In contrast, Spanish March days are typically sunny, offering 6-8 hours of sunshine daily, alongside average temperatures of between 12-18 degrees. However, occasional brief rain showers should be expected, according to Tui.

Southern regions like Andalusia and the Canary Islands are the warmest (up to 21°C), whilst central and northern areas are cooler, creating perfect conditions for exploring the spring-blooming countryside.

Despite Mark’s post, numerous people quickly flocked to the comment section of his video to argue the UK weather isn’t as ‘depressing’ as he suggested.

“will never understand why people think grey skies are depressing,” one viewer commented.

Multiple people also pointed out that the UK can be equally sunny and warm at times, and that it’s unfair to judge the weather based on cold and overcast winter days, as the sunny summer days we experience deserve recognition.

Bala Abubakar rises before dawn, fetching water and checking his irrigation canals. He grew up in Gurin, a community in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria, where rice cultivation has fed generations. To operate a thriving rice farm, Bala says he needs good seedlings, fertilisers, and perhaps a loan to tide him over. 

In 2024, members of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in the state got subsidy inputs through the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), a programme designed to de-risk agricultural lending for low-income farmers. Bala went to the nearest cybercafé to register, hoping to benefit from the initiative.

The registration required him to enter his National Identity Number (NIN) before he could access the loan. At the café, he entered his name and the NIN, but the system failed to verify him. The café attendant told him that his record was not found and advised him to try his bank’s verification number (BVN). He tried, but the system still failed him. Disappointed after visiting the cybercafé, Bala trudged back home. 

Like Bala, other farmers faced a similar problem. One farmer, Sani Bukar, tried to access the Growth Enhancement Support under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP),  an initiative designed to improve smallholder farmers’ access to agricultural inputs through an electronic, voucher-based system. He only received a “verification failed” message, despite having a phone number linked to his NIN.

“They have our pictures and fingerprints now,” Bala says, referring to the recent biometric enrollment drive. “But those pictures are in Abuja. Here in my village, what do I have?” 

His story reflects a deeper tension in Nigeria’s emerging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) ecosystem. Although Nigeria has made progress in several areas of DPI, alignment across them is uneven. The NIN, for instance, is managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) manages the BVN system to expand financial inclusion. In addition, SIM registration—conducted by mobile network operators—links phone numbers to individuals’ identities.

On paper, these systems should make agricultural targeting seamless, but in practice, they often operate in silos. 

Bala’s dilemma is built on concrete technical barriers. To access most federal or sub-national agricultural interventions today, a farmer must have a valid NIN,  a phone number linked to that NIN, a bank account linked to a BVN, and a registration in a state or federal farmer database.  If any link in that chain fails, the entire process most often collapses. 

A 2025 overview of Nigeria’s connectivity landscape notes that only about 38 per cent of Nigerians were online in 2024, with rural communities significantly lagging behind.

“Without stable internet, many agricultural tools are rendered ineffective,” said Tajudeen Yahaya, an agricultural extension expert. “Even simple SMS or app-based registration frequently fails in rural communities.”

Beyond connectivity, issues with identity and data persist. The NIN registry has enrolled over 120 million people, but reports indicate that many more Nigerians have yet to enrol, particularly those in rural areas. Bala’s village falls within that gap. 

The problem spans across multiple government programmes. Different states in Nigeria maintain their own farmer databases that conflict with federal government records. For instance, Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) offices may possess one list, while federal systems could have a different one. 

“We tell farmers to get on the portal, but many are not in our state ADP database,” says Victor Anthony, who spoke on behalf of the Chairperson of the ADP programme in Adamawa State. “And even if they are, the federal system says we’re not synced.” 

In 2025, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture officially launched a National Digital Farmers Registry. The minister, Abubakar Kyari, announced that it would be anchored and accessed through the NIN. According to Abubakar, the registry would eliminate ghost beneficiaries and ensure targeted delivery of inputs, extension services, credit, and insurance. The goal is a single unified platform that links NINs to farmlands, so that when a farmer applies, the system already “knows” him and his fields. 

However, a recent statement from the agriculture ministry noted duplications and inconsistencies in farmers’ records, making it difficult to support them.

Interventions

Many government parastatals and private institutions are working to improve digitalisation for farmers and rural communities. NIMC has expanded the number of enrolment centres under the World Bank–supported programme, aiming to register up to 150 million Nigerians. Mobile NIN vans now travel to rural markets and religious gatherings, reducing distance barriers.

In October 2025, the World Bank approved a $500 million Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE) project to lay fibre optics across Nigeria. Over the next five years, 90,000 km of fibre will be added, expanding the national backbone from 35,000 km to 125,000 km. When completed, this network will connect every local government, thousands of schools and clinics, and even remote agricultural research stations. 

In local communities, farming cooperatives and technology companies are also contributing. The Extension Africa network has provided training to many local extension agents in digital tools, enabling them to act as “digital ambassadors” in rural areas. Some platforms are testing offline kiosks that permit farmers to download guidance and transaction records whenever they visit town.

The federal government’s renewed Agric Infrastructure Fund and various projects with agencies aim to equip these hubs with basic internet as part of a broader “Digital Village” initiative.  However, these fixes are works in progress. 

An African challenge?

Nigeria’s struggles are shared across the Global South, and other countries’ experiences offer cautionary lessons. In India, billions of dollars in farmer subsidies are paid directly to bank accounts via Aadhaar ID. The country is now rolling out Agri Stack, a digital initiative that gives each farmer a unique digital ID linked to land records. 

When the government mandated e-KYC for OTPs in 2023, nearly 5 per cent of beneficiaries were flagged as “ineligible” when verification failed. Many older farmers lacked a working linked phone, had worn fingerprints, or ran into a buggy face-scan app. 

With 70 per cent of the population in rural areas, agriculture accounts for 33 per cent of GDP in Kenya, but the country has struggled with piecemeal data. A recent study notes that millions of Kenyan smallholders remain “invisible to formal agricultural programmes”. In 2023, Kenya launched a national digital registry for farmers, but poor connectivity and low smartphone ownership are barriers, as in Nigeria. 

On the positive side, Kenya has explored linking its digital ID (Huduma card) to farm cooperatives and training agents in the field. Rwanda goes even further by running the Smart Nkunganire e-voucher system, in which registered farmers receive digital coupons for seeds and fertilisers based on precise plots. These programmes suggest that pairing farmer IDs with geotagged land data can dramatically improve targeting, but only if the data are entered correctly, experts said.

Ethiopia has introduced a National ID requirement for various services. The newly established National Agricultural Finance Implementation Roadmap (NAFIR) incorporates a Fayda ID, which is a 12-digit unique identification number provided by the National ID Programme (NIDP) to residents who meet the necessary criteria set by NIDP. This system is designed for farmers associated with a land registry containing 18 million plots. The World Bank highlights that digital identity could unlock rural finance at scale in Ethiopia, but warns that without addressing its infrastructure gaps, digital solutions risk remaining pilots.

What needs to change

Experts argue that Nigeria must double down on making its digital agriculture ecosystem inclusive and resilient. Frank Akabueze, a Nigerian-based digital identity expert, noted that IDs should be flexible to ensure seamless registration. He said the NIN may be central, but alternative pathways should exist. For instance, cooperative leaders should be allowed to register farmers offline (paper intake by trusted agents) and synchronise later, rather than requiring each individual’s smartphone.” 

“Voter card numbers should be made acceptable as interim IDs,” Frank said, noting the importance of equipping extension workers with portable biometric devices so they can register farmers on the spot, as some countries do. In India, the option of offline Aadhaar verification was eventually introduced to help offline farmers. 

The digital expert noted that all of Nigeria’s data siloes – NIMC, BVN, SIM records and databases should be harmonised. He stressed that legal frameworks like the new digital ID policy can mandate data sharing between agencies (with privacy safeguards). 

“Spelling mismatches and duplicates should be proactively cleaned: one approach is to use biometric deduplication, as India did at scale for Aadhaar,” he added. 

He also said the proposed National Digital Farmers Registry should connect to the NIN and verify existing records, such as the national farmers’ census, to minimise errors, such as listing the same farmer in multiple states or with different ages.

This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.

AN AMERICAN rock star has quit an iconic emo band after nine years with the group.

It has been confirmed that rockers Dashboard Confessional will be losing a group member – nine years after he was first drafted into the band.

Drummer Chris Kamrada took to Instagram to confirm that he would be parting ways with his group in an emotional online message.

Writing his statement, the star penned: “After an incredible run together, Dashboard Confessional and I are parting ways.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the eight years spent travelling the world, playing and creating music together, and contributing to moments that I believe fans will never forget.

“After 20 years of doing this professionally, this chapter of a musician’s career will forever be bittersweet.

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“With that said, I simply want to say thank you to Chris, everyone in the band, family and close friends in our circle, our touring crew, and everyone involved behind the scenes.

“I’ll see you out there.”

Reacting to the news, he had a slew of fans replying to him in the comments to wish him luck in his next ventures.

One fan said: “I feel honored I was able to see you twice and then meet and hang out with you.”

Another added: “Absolute legend.”

With a third penning: “Amazing run. Cant wait to hear what’s next, friend.”

Before a fourth went on to write: “An incredible drummer in my favourite band.

“Still remember being handed a drumstick by you after a gig in London!”

The band were first formed in 1999 and have been performing ever since with various different members coming and going over the years.

Frontman Chris Carrabba had led the band since it’s inception.

The band achieved most of their success Stateside with their third and fourth albums both charting at number two on the US Billboard 200.

Chris previously played the drums for band There For Tomorrow for over a decade.

MYSTERY continues to surround Katie Price and new husband Lee Andrews after the pair STILL haven’t returned to the UK.

It came after speculation the businessman, who is now based in Dubai, was banned from touching down on home turf after “taking out a £200K loan in his ex’s name”.

Lee, 41, married the mum-of-five in Dubai last month, with the former glamour model returning back to the UK on her own just days later – as her husband explained she needed to return for her children.

After Katie returned to the UK to face her “horrified” family following her shock nuptials, Lee vowed he would soon be on a flight from the UAE to join her.

Sadly, her new spouse was a no-show in the UK and last week, we exclusively reported how Katie appeared to confirm her move to the UAE after splashing cash on luxury resorts.

In her latest Instagram video, Katie was seen wearing a grey vest as she stretched out on a bed.

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She propped herself on her headboard for the clip and told fans: “Hey guys, so I’m still in Dubai”.

She told how she was “really missing” her CBD products which assist with her sleep.

At the end of her clip, she zoomed in on her face as she demanded: “Get me back to the UK for CBD”.

In her caption, she added further detail and wrote: “I miss my sleeping pattern.

“I couldn’t bring my products over to Dubai due to the laws but wow… this is when you realise it most, I miss taking my oil before bed and sleeping through the night”.

The Sun exclusively revealed the former glamour model said I Do with businessman Lee Andrews in a plush ceremony in Dubai last month.

The shock engagement news came only a matter of weeks after Katie and former partner JJ, 32, called time on their two year romance.

In another video, which saw Lee brand Katie his “sweet little wife” and the TV star reply: “So we are still in Dubai but we are coming to England very soon”.

Lee then replied: “Within a day”.

Katie Price’s relationship history

We take a look back at the highs and lows of Katie Price’s relationship history.

1996-1998: Katie got engaged to Gladiators star Warren Furman – aka Ace – with a £3,000 ring. But their relationship didn’t make it as far as ‘I do’.

1998-2000: Katie described Dane Bowers as ‘the love of her life’ but she broke up with the singer after he allegedly cheated on her.

2001: Footballer Dwight Yorke is the father of Katie’s eldest child Harvey. He has had very little to do with his son throughout his life.

2002: Rebounding from Dwight, Katie famously had one night of passion with Pop Idol star Gareth Gates, allegedly taking his virginity.

2002-2004: Katie was dating Scott Sullivan when she entered the jungle for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!. He threatened to “punch Peter’s lights out” when chemistry blossomed between her and Peter Andre.

2004-2009: The jungle romance resulted in Katie marrying Aussie pop star Peter. They had two kids, Junior and Princess, before their bitter split in 2009.

2010-2011: Fresh from her break-up with Peter, Katie enjoyed a whirlwind relationship and marriage with cage fighter Alex Reid. They split 20 months after their Las Vegas wedding.

2011: Katie briefly dated model Danny Cipriani… but it ended as quickly as it begun.

2011-2012: They didn’t speak the same language, but Katie got engaged to Argentinian model Leandro Penna in 2011. He later fled home to South America.

2012-2018: Wedding bells rang once more after Katie met Kieran Hayler in 2013. They eventually called it quits after a rocky marriage.

2018-2019: Katie moved on quickly with Kris Boyson. They had an on-off romance for one year and even got engaged. They split for good in 2019.

2019: Katie was linked to Charles Drury during her on-off relationship with Kris. Charles, who also dated Lauren Goodger, has always denied being in “official relationship” with her.

2020-2023: Car salesman Carl Woods took a shine to Katie in 2020. Their relationship was up and down for three years. They broke up for a final time last year.

2024-2026: After weeks of rumours, Katie confirmed her relationship with Married At First Sight star JJ Slater in February 2024. The pair split in January 2026 after two years together.

2026: Katie shocked fans when she revealed she had married Dubai-based businessman Lee Andrews after a 48-hour engagement and only knowing him a week.

It remains to be seen if the pair will touch down on home turf any time soon.

After the pair became man and wife, reports – which Lee has denied – suggested he had been banned from leaving the country after he forged his ex’s signature for a £200,000 loan.

Lee allegedly applied for a mortgage in personal trainer Dina Taji’s name last year without her knowledge.

When she received a call from the bank about the application, she took legal action.

He spent three weeks inside the notorious Al-Awir central prison shortly before meeting Katie. It is unclear at what stage the investigation is at.

The city’s law prevents people involved in active criminal and civil cases from leaving the country, though Lee told the Mail it was “complete b******s” that he couldn’t leave.

Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?

KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?

• Katie Price has married businessman fiancé Lee Andrews in a whirlwind wedding
• It is the fourth time Katie, 47, has been a bride. She has also been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler
• Katie and Lee met just after being introduced on social media
• Lee claimed he is a billionaire in a failed clip from his acting career
• He now claims to be a Dubai-based businessman
• Yet The Sun has unmasked him as a fantasist who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women
• Failed actor is just another title to add to Lee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
• Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
• It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
• But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
• His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
• Lee was also mocked for repeating the exact same wedding proposal on Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.

He went on to say: “First of all, I’ve been travelling all over Christmas, prior to January, and I’m actually travelling tonight to the UK so no, I don’t have a travel ban. 

“And the Dina Taji issue was something else, but I don’t have a mortgage either for £200,000, that’s completely not right.”

He added that he has been house-hunting for a new home for him and Katie.

We revealed over the weekend how Lee was arrested at his home in the emirate over allegations of obtaining money by deception.

The Mail also reports that Andrews “begged” other inmates for £5,966 to help secure his release, before turning to one of his ex-wives.

The Sun contacted Lee for comment at the time.

During his three weeks in the overcrowded prison – where violence and infections are rife – Lee shared a huge cell with 65 other inmates.

Lee, whose fantasist online claims were exposed by The Sun, was finally freed after apparently paying court fines.

Just weeks after his release last November, he struck up an online romance with Katie – before the pair stunned relatives by tying the knot in Dubai.