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In the UK around 14 million people are still paying ‘too much’

Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has told anyone with an iPhone or Android mobile to text a four-letter word. In a new video on Youtube, the ITV and BBC star said millions of people continue paying sky-high prices on contracts which are no longer binding.

He said that in the UK around 14 million people are still paying too much – often for deals which got them a new handset – and can save hundreds. People were told to check their contract status by texting ‘INFO’ for free to 85075.

Mr Lewis explained: “There’s a way to find out if you can save on your mobile bill just by typing five digits into your phone. All you got to do is text the word info info to 85075. This is a service the regulator mandates mobile phone networks to offer. It’s totally free. They then have to reply with whether you have any early termination or early cancellation charges.

“If it says you don’t, so 0 early termination, it means one of 14 million people who are out of contract and you’re therefore free to ditch and switch and the vast majority of people who are out of contract are seriously overpaying on their phones. So what do you then do? Well, just go on to a comparison site like money-saving experts cheap simfinder and see what’s available.

“Couple of quick notes. If you’re on three smarty or ID mobile, then when you do the text, it will reply back asking you for your date of birth, which is just an ID check. And I should Also note if you’re on a multiple phone contract like couple of different handsets on the contact on the contract it can’t do this. So then simple rule of thumb if you’ve been on the same deal for more than two years you’re almost certainly out of contract. Do check it out.”

If the “Early Termination” or “Cancellation Charge” reads £0, meaning your contract has run out, the MoneySavingExpert founder said, “go to a cheap SIM comparison site”, where a selection of suppliers will offer the same SIM allowance for a fraction of the price.

“If you’re on a multiple-phone contract, you won’t be able to do this”, he added.

He has previously explained how the cost of getting a new SIM has plunged – meaning people could get the full service on their handset for a lot less. He said previously: “Prices have been going up and up. At the same time the cost of new customer SIM deals have been plummeting. For 50gb two years ago you’d have been paying £9. Now you can get it as cheap as about £3 a month.”

Pointing to a diagram on screen Mr Lewis said: “Look at that dispersal – you’ve got existing customers going up and up and up and new customers going down and down and down.”

Mr Lewis went on to explain his three steps for mobile customers to cut costs. He said: “14 million people are out of contract on their mobile phone bill which means you are free to switch.”

He said there is an ‘easy’ way to find out if you are one of those out of contract. Mr Lewis explained: “You text ‘info’ for free to 85075 to check.” He added that people on Three would need to then enter their date of birth. He said that those in contract would still have to pay a termination fee, but otherwise people are free to switch: “You’re a free agent – you can go and get the cheapest deals, you can cut your costs.”

He added that once people decide to switch if they want to keep their number, all they have to do is text PAC (Porting Authorisation Code) to 85075 and give that code to your new provider which will than be able to take the number. According to the MSE founder, the best deals aren’t found by going directly to the big operators – instead he said that if someone is out of contract they should go to comparison sites.

Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday was found dead at his home in South London last wee

Jason Arday’s friend has reflected on his heartbreaking death at the age of 41.

The former University of Cambridge professor was pronounced dead following emergency services being called to an address in London on Friday evening (August 14) after reports that a man was ‘unresponsive’ in the property.

The week prior, he had resigned from his position at the university following allegations of plagiarism, which he denied. On Monday (August 17) morning, Jason’s friend and professor Kehinde Andrews spoke to Good Morning Britain’s Richard Madeley and Ranvir Singh about Jason’s death and their devastating final exchange.

Richard informed ITV viewers that in the wake of his death, there have been calls for a public enquiry into the press, which has been signed by many figures, including Professor Kehinde Andrews.

Speaking to Richard and Ranvir, he explained that the last time he had seen Jason was on the previous Monday, highlighting that when he had seen him, he’d lost weight.

He added: “He was just completely overwhelmed, I think. One of the last texts he said to me was that he just couldn’t see a way out; he couldn’t see a way forward.”

While an official cause of death is yet to be announced, the ITV star noted that people are already making assumptions about how he died.

The guest then reflected on how media and social media coverage had put “so much pressure” on the academic, adding: “Losing his job at Cambridge, having to resign, putting financial pressure on his family. This is somebody who has two children, with one child going into university.

“Imagine all that pressure on you, and you feel stuck and can’t go ahead.”

In a statement issued by his publisher, Simon & Schuster UK, Jason’s family said they are “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”.

The statement said: “Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.

“The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone. We are in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son.”

Good Morning Britain is available to watch weekdays on ITV from 6am

Mayor Karen Bass’ press relations office communicates through WhatsApp messages that auto-delete every 24 hours, potentially shielding the messages from public records requests, according to three sources familiar with the office.

The press office is under scrutiny over its use of an unpaid consultant as a spokesperson for the first half of the year. Just weeks after the consultant, Yusef Robb, ceased working as a spokesperson for the city, he took a job doing crisis communications for Lineage, whose cold food storage facility in Boyle Heights caught fire last month, spreading smoke and foul odors. Robb continued to work for Bass as an informal advisor until The Times and other outlets reported his dual roles.

Even though he was no longer a spokesperson, Robb remained in several WhatsApp group channels with mayoral press staffers, all set to auto-delete, until at least a week after he started working for Lineage, said two sources, who requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions. L.A. Material first reported Robb’s presence in the channels.

The Times has filed a public records request for all messages that Robb received or sent to the mayor or her press office between June 1 and July 10, including WhatsApp messages. The city administrative code requires records to be retained for at least two years.

The Bass administration declined to comment on the press office’s use of disappearing messages on WhatsApp.

Bass herself has also communicated through disappearing messages.

In response to a public records request from The Times for Bass’ texts in the aftermath of the January 2025 Palisades fire, her office initially declined to turn over any messages. City lawyer David Michaelson told The Times that “texts are ephemeral types of electronic communication” that aren’t subject to the city record retention requirement.

He also said Bass’ phone was “set not to save text messages.”

The city ultimately recovered more than 100 messages to and from Bass during that period and released them to The Times.

The Times still sued the city, alleging that it unlawfully withheld and deleted the mayor’s text messages and other public records from the catastrophic wildfire.

“Their contention is they don’t have to retain them, and our contention is they do,” said Kelly Aviles, outside counsel for The Times in the lawsuit, in an interview Thursday.

In a court filing, attorneys representing the city argued that keeping work-related messages for up to two years was “absurdly impractical.”

“The Times’ proposed rule requires a degree of intrusion into City employees’ personal sphere that is, at the very least, offensive if not violative of California and federal constitutional rights,” wrote Reuben Camper Cahn, an attorney for the city.

In the past, some city employees communicated with each other each other through Google Chat messages that auto-deleted after a day.

In January 2025, the city stopped that practice and required that Google Chats be saved “indefinitely.”

Retention of messages has also been an issue in the federal government, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio setting some of his Signal chats to auto-delete.

Following is independent counsel Lawrence Walsh’ statement on the presidential pardon of former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and others charged in the Iran-Contra scandal:

President Bush’s pardon of Caspar Weinberger and other Iran-Contra defendants undermines the principle that no man is above the law. It demonstrates that powerful people with powerful allies can commit serious crimes in high office–deliberately abusing the public trust–without consequence.

Weinberger, who faced four felony charges, deserved to be tried by a jury of citizens. Although it is the President’s prerogative to grant pardons, it is every American’s right that the criminal justice system be administered fairly, regardless of a person’s rank and connections.

The Iran-Contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed with the pardon of Caspar Weinberger. We will make a full report on our findings to Congress and the public describing the details and extent of this cover-up.

Weinberger’s early and deliberate decision to conceal and withhold extensive contemporaneous notes of the Iran-Contra matter radically altered the official investigations and possibly forestalled timely impeachment proceedings against President Reagan and other officials. Weinberger’s notes contain evidence of a conspiracy among the highest-ranking Reagan Administration officials to lie to Congress and the American public. Because the notes were withheld from investigators for years, many of the leads were impossible to follow, key witnesses had purportedly forgotten what was said and done, and statutes of limitation had expired.

Weinberger’s concealment of notes is part of a disturbing pattern of deception and obstruction that permeated the highest levels of the Reagan and Bush administrations. This office was informed only within the past two weeks, on December 11, 1992, that President Bush had failed to produce to investigators his own highly relevant contemporaneous notes, despite repeated requests for such documents. The production of these notes is still ongoing and will lead to appropriate action.

In light of President Bush’s own misconduct, we are gravely concerned about his decision to pardon others who lied to Congress and obstructed official investigations.

For UFC boss Dana White, heavyweight Josh Hokit’s post-fight behavior at UFC Freedom 250 on Sunday crossed a line.

On Monday, the mixed martial arts promotion’s president and chief executive told Time reporter Sean Gregory via text he is “completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families” in reference to Hokit’s tasteless comment about Michelle Obama. During the White House spectacle in front of President Trump and others, Hokit was interviewed after his technical-knockout victory over Derrick Lewis and propped up a false conspiracy about the former first lady, declaring “Michelle Obama is a man.”

Hokit, who has a history of making tasteless comments after his fights, including the same Obama jab, drew mixed reaction from the UFC Freedom 250 crowd — and also from social media users, with some repeating the false claim in the comments on Hokit’s Instagram page and others chiding it. White, who has panned Hokit’s remarks in the past, did so again.

“Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense,” White’s text added.

Hokit insulted Obama months after Trump faced backlash in February for a racist social media video that depicted President Obama and the former first lady as apes. Amid mounting public criticism, the White House took down the video and blamed an unnamed aide.

Michelle Obama, clearly on Hokit’s mind on Sunday, was busy with other matters over the weekend: preparing with her husband to open their Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The museum and library hosts its grand opening Thursday and will be open to the public Friday.

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.