An Anglican church in Dublin has been unable to reopen a historic crypt to the public since the remains of mummified bodies were damaged in an arson attack.

One of the damaged mummified bodies in St Michan’s Church of Ireland is that of a man, known as the Crusader, who died about 800 hundred years ago.

A 39-year-old man, Cristian Topiter, who had an address at Grand Canal House, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, was jailed for six years last month.

He had pleaded guilty to the 2024 arson attack which the church described as “an act of desecration and sacrilege”.

More than nine months after the attack last June, the crypt remains out of bounds to visitors and tourists.

The main entrance gates to the grounds of St Michan’s Church are closed and locked.

Inside the grounds, a heavy steel lid and a steel gate leading the crypt are also locked.

The church facilitated a visit to the site by BBC News NI.

“As a parish, as the vicar of the parish and as parishioners, we’re custodians of the whole church,” said Archdeacon David Pierpoint.

“Not just above the church, but what’s below the church, and it’s a rather heavy burden to bear.”

Speaking about the damage to the estimated 800-year-old remains of the Crusader.

He explained: “All his body has been charred, spine, his hands, one of his legs is completely missing, and there’s a huge amount of damage done to him.”

The vicar of St Michan’s said the damage caused to the remains of the Crusader and the remains of another man, who is believed to have been buried alive about 400 years ago, is “irreparable”.

The closure of the church for most of the past year has caused a significant drop in parish income because the church has had no option but to stop tour groups from visiting until the remains have been removed.

Thousands of people usually visit the church each year.

Archdeacon Pierpoint is hopeful the groups can return soon once permission is granted by the diocesan authorities and Dublin City Council for reinternment.

The vicar of St Michan’s says it’s important to reopen the crypts as soon as possible to ensure the church has sufficient funds to maintain the centuriesold church-

But, he said, it’s also important to allow visitors from home and abroad “to see the phenomenon of what this actually is”.

Most of the present St Michan’s building dates from the 17th Century, except for the 12th Century tower.

The arson attack last summer was one of several incidents in recent years during which the church and crypt were targeted.

In 2019, vandals broke in and decapitated the Crusader.

The skull was later recovered and reattached with the help of the nearby National Museum of Ireland, according to Archdeacon Pierpoint.

The crypt was also damaged during another break in, also in 2019, and the church said at the time that several mummified remains – including the 400-year-old remains of a nun – were desecrated.

The Church of Ireland crypts are also the resting place of Barristers Henry and John Sheares, two brothers who were leaders of the United Irishmen during the 1798 Rebellion.

The site includes a copy of their execution order issued by the English authorities in Ireland at the time.

All the mummified remains in the various crypts, apart from the Crusader are of people who died between 400 and 450 years ago, according to the Church.

Despite the current restricted access to the church grounds, St Michan’s remains open for worship every Sunday.

The first church on the site is believed to have been established in 1095, but the current church dates back to the 1680s with further renovations taking place between 1723 and 1725, in 1767 and in 1825.

It was restored in 1998.

The remains of many of Dublin’s most influential 17th, 18th and 19th Century families are also entombed in St Michan’s.

The limestone walls of the crypts and atmosphere within them is believed to have helped preserve the remains.

The church’s organ is housed within the case of an organ case constructed by John Baptiste Cuvillie around 1725.

The alarm is sounding in the UK’s first drug consumption room.

A man in his 30s has overdosed in the “using space” – a room in the Glasgow facility where nurses supervise injections in eight booths.

He had only arrived at The Thistle minutes earlier, animated about being searched by police on the Gallowgate.

Staff rush to help, bringing him from his seat to a crash mat on the floor.

Our film crew is ushered out of the area while an ambulance is called and staff work to save his life.

Eddie Kearney, a harm reduction worker, tells us that the man had already taken drugs three times that day.

“He’s using a ‘snowball’, he’s using heroin and cocaine,” he explains.

“He’s been in there two minutes and he’s on the floor.”

We are filming in the centre after being granted two days of exclusive access to the pioneering and controversial consumption room.

Less than an hour later, the alarm sounds again, for another man in his 30s.

He had been led to reception by workers from a charity, then made his way to the booths to inject heroin.

Lynn Macdonald, the service manager, tells us it is another medical emergency.

“The first four weeks, there were no medical emergencies, and then this week we’ve had five.

“It could be a batch of drug that is problematic. People are noticing a difference in the heroin when they making it up, saying they are noticing a green tinge to it.”

More paramedics are on their way, she says.

Both men are brought round using the overdose reversal drug Naloxone, before being seen by paramedics. The second is taken to hospital.

Lynn Macdonald later told us: “I am absolutely convinced that had we not been present during the overdoses we’ve seen within the Thistle, then people would not have survived.”

In the 12 weeks since The Thistle opened in the east end of Glasgow, there have been 16 such overdose incidents.

A total of 180 people have visited the unit and more than 1,200 injections of street-bought heroin and cocaine have been supervised.

A total of 27 people have been referred to other services, including housing, by staff.

The service, which follows similar programmes in 18 other countries, seeks to reduce drug-related harm in a hardcore population of injecting users in one of the most deprived communities in Glasgow.

It is hoped that by providing a safer space it will allow medical staff to prevent overdose deaths, reduce blood-borne viruses and clean-up a local area that, historically, has had a major issue with discarded needles and drug debris.

David Clark has been using drugs for 26 years and has spent long periods of his life on the streets.

He allowed BBC Scotland to follow his progress over a three-month period as he attempted to move on from a city centre hostel and stop using heroin and cocaine.

The 47-year-old told Disclosure he used The Thistle service to inject cocaine in February.

From there, staff referred him to new supported accommodation. At the time of his interview, he had been abstinent for two weeks.

He said: “When I went [to the consumption room], it wasn’t what I expected.

“I thought you would go in, do what you’re doing and out. But it’s not like that.

“The members of staff in there supported me and helped me get to where I’m at now.

“It’s helped me massively. I feel better in myself.”

During our visit in early March, we met James – not his real name – who has been injecting drugs for several years. Now in his mid-20s, he was among the first to attend The Thistle.

He says the facility is “brilliant”.

“It’s a lot safer. I was going to car parks, the side of the railway tracks, forests – anywhere I could feel safe enough to do it without getting caught.”

He admitted his drug use in public was dangerous. “Especially on my own, as well. I have OD’d umpteen times.”

The centre remains controversial in the nearby community of Calton.

During the consultation meetings which were held before the project was given the go-ahead, locals had expressed concerns about the area becoming a drug tolerance zone and fears that it would encourage increased drug dealing in the streets.

Linda Watson, one of the most vocal residents, said the centre was already attracting more people to the area to use drugs.

She took Disclosure on a tour of Calton’s known using spots and said there was evidence of freshly discarded needles.

Linda also expressed anger at a lack of investment in the area.

“When we were going to the meetings at first, the drug workers were: ‘We are providing a facility for your community, this will make your community better’.

“But it’s not for people who live in our community. It’s for people who come into our community to buy the drugs, take the drugs and leave all this stuff lying around.

“Why are they not helping us for this not to have happened in the first place? Why have we just got to accept that this is what this place is going to be like all the time?

“Do we not deserve more than that?”

Dr Saket Priyardarshi, associate medical director of drug services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said the drug consumption room was not just there to address the health needs of the people using the service.

“It will also improve the social environment for communities, residents, businesses and visitors to these areas,” he said.

“The Thistle will hopefully reduce the drug-related death rates for the population that it serves. But that is a relatively small population compared with Scotland as a whole.

“Its contribution to the national drug death figures won’t be very significant. We have to be honest about that.”

Dr Priyadarshi said much of the anger emanating from the community related to a lack of resources for other services in the area.

“Sometimes I worry that the focus on residential rehab or drug consumption rooms, a focus on debates and discussions about this, takes our eyes off the bigger picture,” he added.

“What are the key drivers here? The key drivers are communities who experience high levels of deprivation and inequality are the ones that experience the highest rates of drug-related deaths and drug-related harms.”

The consumption room was first proposed in 2017 as a response to an HIV outbreak among Glasgow’s injecting drug users, the worst seen in the UK for 30 years.

Health authorities had hoped that offering a sterile place for users to inject would reduce the risk of blood-borne viruses.

However, critics of the scheme said more money should be provided to other recovery services.

Then-Lord Advocate James Wolffe rejected the proposals, which were also turned down by the UK Home Office.

The plan was resurrected in 2021 when the Scottish government announced its national mission to reduce the country’s record drug death totals.

After changes to prosecution policy, which allowed users to bring drugs to the centre without fear of being charged, the centre was approved in September 2023.

It will cost £2.3m per year to run, with funds being provided by the Scottish government over a three-year pilot period.

The government says it is part of a range of measures being introduced to tackle drug deaths in Scotland, which has the highest recorded death rate in Europe.

A final report on the overall impact of the unit is due after the end of the pilot period in 2028.

• Additional reporting by Kevin Anderson and Katie McEvinney

Recruitment agents who scam foreign nationals applying to work in the UK care sector have been exposed by BBC secret filming.

One of the rogue agents is a Nigerian doctor who has worked for the NHS in the field of psychiatry.

The Home Office has acknowledged the system is open to abuse, but the BBC World Service’s investigation shows the apparent ease with which these agents can scam people, avoid detection, and continue to profit.

Our secret filming reveals agents’ tactics, including:

• Illegally selling jobs in UK care companies
• Devising fake payroll schemes to conceal that some jobs do not exist
• Shifting from care to other sectors, like construction, that also face staff shortages

Reports of immigration scams have increased since a government visa scheme – originally designed to let foreign medical professionals work in the UK – was broadened in 2022 to include care workers.

To apply for the visa, candidates must first obtain a “Certificate of Sponsorship” (CoS) from a UK employer who is licensed by the Home Office. It is the need for CoS documents that is being exploited by rogue relocation agents.

“The scale of exploitation under the Health and Care Work visa is significant,” says Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, a charity that helps migrants and disadvantaged people in the UK access employment justice.

“I think it has turned into a national crisis.”

She says there is “systemic risk inherent” in the sponsorship system, because it “puts the employer in a position of incredible power” and has “enabled this predatory market of middlemen to mushroom”.

The BBC sent two undercover journalists to approach relocation agents working in the UK.

One met Dr Kelvin Alaneme, a Nigerian doctor and founder of the agency, CareerEdu, based in Harlow, Essex.

His website states his business is a “launchpad for global opportunities catering to young Africans”, claiming to have 9,800 “happy clients”.

Believing the BBC undercover journalist was well connected in the UK care sector, Dr Alaneme tried to recruit her to become an agent for his business, saying it would be very lucrative.

“Just get me care homes. I can make you a millionaire,” he said.

As a potential business partner, our journalist was then given unprecedented insight into how immigration scams by agents like Dr Alaneme actually work. Dr Alaneme said he would pay £2,000 ($2,600) for each care home vacancy she was able to procure, and offered £500 ($650) commission on top.

He then said he would sell the vacancies to candidates back in Nigeria.

Charging candidates for a job is illegal in the UK.

“They [the candidates] are not supposed to be paying because it’s free. It should be free,” he said, lowering his voice.

“They are paying because they know it’s most likely the only way.”

The BBC began investigating him following a series of online complaints about his relocation services.

Praise – from south-east Nigeria and in his mid 30s – was one of those who complained, claiming he paid Dr Alaneme more than £10,000 ($13,000) for a job in the UK. He says he was told he was going to be working with a care company called Efficiency for Care, based in Clacton-on-Sea. It was only when he arrived that he realised the job didn’t exist.

“If I had known there was no job, I would have not come here,” he says. “At least back home in Nigeria, if you go broke, I can find my sister or my parents and go and eat free food. It’s not the same here. You will go hungry.”

Praise says he messaged Efficiency for Care and Dr Alaneme for months, asking when he could start working. Despite promises of assistance from Dr Alaneme, the job never materialised. Almost a year later, he found a position with another care provider willing to sponsor him to remain in the UK.

Our investigation found that Efficiency for Care employed – on average – 16 people in 2022, and 152 in 2023. Yet a letter sent from the Home Office to the company dated May 2023 – and seen by the BBC – showed it had issued 1,234 Certificates of Sponsorship to foreign workers between March 2022 and May 2023.

Efficiency for Care’s sponsorship licence was revoked in July 2023. The care company can no longer recruit from abroad, but continues to operate.

It told the BBC it strongly refutes the allegation it colluded with Dr Alaneme. It said it believed it lawfully recruited staff from Nigeria and other countries. It has challenged the Home Office’s revocation of its sponsorship licence, it said, and the matter is now in court.

In another secretly filmed meeting, Dr Alaneme shared an even more sophisticated scam involving sponsorship documents for jobs that did not exist.

He said the “advantage” of having a CoS that is unconnected to a job “is that you can choose any city you want”.

“You can go to Glasgow. You can stay in London. You can live anywhere,” he told us.

This is not true. If a migrant arrives in the UK on a Health and Care Work visa and does not work in the role they have been assigned, their visa could be cancelled and they risk being deported.

In the secret filming, Dr Alaneme also described how to set up a fake payroll system to mask the fact the jobs are not real.

“That [a money trail] is what the government needs to see,” he said.

Dr Alaneme told the BBC he strenuously denied services offered by CareerEdu were a scam or that it acted as a recruitment agency or provided jobs for cash. He said his company only offered legitimate services, adding that the money Praise gave him was passed on to a recruitment agent for Praise’s transport, accommodation and training. He said he offered to help Praise find another employer free of charge.

The BBC also carried out undercover filming with another UK-based recruitment agent, Nana Akwasi Agyemang-Prempeh, after several people told the BBC they had collectively paid tens of thousands of pounds for care worker positions for their friends and family that, it transpired, did not exist.

They said some of the Certificates of Sponsorship Mr Agyemang-Prempeh gave them had turned out to be fakes – replicas of real CoS issued by care companies.

We discovered Mr Agyemang-Prempeh had then begun offering CoS for UK jobs in construction – another industry that allows employers to recruit foreign workers. He was able to set up his own construction company and obtain a sponsorship licence from the Home Office.

Our journalist, posing as a UK-based Ugandan businessman wanting to bring Ugandan construction workers over to join him, asked Mr Agyemang-Prempeh if this was possible.

He replied it was – for the price of £42,000 ($54,000) for three people.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told us he had moved into construction because rules are being “tightened” in the care sector – and claimed agents were eyeing other industries.

“People are now diverting to IT,” Mr Agyemang-Prempeh told the undercover journalist.

More than 470 licences in the UK care sector were revoked by the government between July 2022 and December 2024. Those licensed sponsors were responsible for the recruitment of more than 39,000 medical professionals and care workers from October 2020.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh later asked for a downpayment for the Certificates of Sponsorship, which the BBC did not make.

The Home Office has now revoked his sponsorship licence. Mr Agyemang-Prempeh’s defence, when challenged by the BBC, was that he had himself been duped by other agents and did not realise he was selling fake CoS documents.

In a statement to the BBC, the Home Office said it has “robust new action against shameless employers who abuse the visa system” and will “ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers”.

BBC investigations have previously uncovered similar visa scams targeting people in Kerala, India, and international students living in the UK who want to work in the care sector.

In November 2024, the government announced a clampdown on “rogue” employers hiring workers from overseas. Additionally, from 9 April, care providers in England will be required to prioritise recruiting international care workers already in the UK before recruiting from overseas.

Investigation team: Olaronke Alo, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Sucheera Maguire, Nyasha Michelle, and Chiara Francavilla

The UK is hosting a two-day international meeting to tackle what it calls the global threat of illegal migration.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to urge the summit, which will welcome representatives from more than 40 countries, to disrupt the “vile trade” of people-smuggling gangs and avoid pitting “nations against one another”.

The talks, which begin on Monday and are seen as the first of their kind, will aim to deliver “concrete outcomes” and increase international co-operation.

Immigration is seen as a key issue for the government politically, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK accusing Labour of failing to get a grip on the issue.

Ahead of the summit, the Home Office announced that £33m would be spent to disrupt people-smuggling networks and boost prosecutions.

Officials from Vietnam, Albania and Iraq – countries from which many migrants have travelled to the UK – will attend the summit at London’s Lancaster House, alongside French, Chinese and US representatives.

Delegations from the Kurdish Regional Government, Interpol and social media companies including Meta, X and TikTok, are also involved in discussions on how to disrupt a criminal trade worth an estimated $10bn (£7.7bn) a year.

More than 6,000 people have crossed the Channel so far in 2025, making it a record start to a year for small boat arrivals.

The UK has previously announced a series of agreements with other countries in an effort to tackle the number of such arrivals.

Sir Keir wants the UK to be seen as leading the global response to irregular migration and the summit underlines the government’s conviction that only international co-operation along the smuggling routes can tackle the issue.

The PM is set to suggest the event will strengthen UK borders and take the burden away from British public services, while “giving hotels back to the local economy”.

In comments expected to be delivered at the summit, the prime minister will refer to working across borders when he was director of public prosecutions to “foil numerous plots”, including preventing planes from being “blown up over the Atlantic”.

“I believe we should treat organised immigration crime in the same way,” he will add.

He is also expected to say: “This vile trade exploits the cracks between our institutions, pits nations against one another and profits from our inability at the political level to come together.”

The summit will deliver “concrete outcomes” for nations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and North America, according to the Home Office.

Among developments aimed at tackling illegal migration ahead of the gathering:

• £30m of funding for the Border Security Command will be used to tackle supply chains, finance and trafficking routes across Europe, the Balkans, Asia and Africa. A further £3m will help the Crown Prosecution Service increase its ability to deal with people-smuggling cases, the government said
• The government is expanding right-to-work checks to cover gig economy workers by making amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Businesses that do not carry out the checks could be fined up to £60,000, or face closures, director disqualifications and up to five years in prison
• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper signalled she wanted to crack down on the number of people who had arrived in the UK on a student or work visa and had gone on to claim asylum
• The Government is reviewing how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to family life, applies to migration cases, Cooper said. Several deportation attempts have been halted by how the ECHR clause has been interpreted in UK law
• Some £1 million in UK funding will go towards strengthened efforts to root out people-smuggling kingpins in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the Home Office announced
• The UK has launched an advertising campaign on Vietnamese social media and messenger app Zalo, warning people about trusting people-smuggling gangs

On Sunday, Tory shadow minister Alex Burghart told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that Labour should never have scrapped the Rwanda deportation plan.

Earlier, Cooper told the show that plans for new checks on unauthorised working would help cut levels of illegal migration.

Donald Trump has said he is “very angry” and “pissed off” with Russian President Vladimir Putin after weeks of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.

In an NBC News interview, the US president said he was angry with Putin for attacking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s credibility, and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if he did not agree to a ceasefire.

“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault – which it might not be… I am going to put secondary tariffs… on all oil coming out of Russia,” he said.

The comments mark a shift in Trump’s tone toward Putin and Russia.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

European leaders had worried that Trump was cosying up to Putin as negotiations on a ceasefire in Ukraine continued.

Over the past six weeks, Trump has harangued Zelensky in the Oval Office and demanded numerous concessions from Ukraine’s president. In turn, he has flattered Putin and largely given in to the Russian president’s demands.

This appears to be a departure from that dynamic. It is the first time the US has seriously threatened Russia with consequences for dragging its feet in ceasefire negotiations, which would seem to put the diplomatic ball back in Moscow’s court.

NBC News reported that, in a 10-minute phone interview, Trump said he was very angry and “pissed off” when Putin criticised the credibility of Zelensky’s leadership, although the president has himself called Ukraine’s leader a dictator and demanded that he hold elections.

“You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when… Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location,” Trump said.

“New leadership means you’re not gonna have a deal for a long time,” he added.

When speaking about Putin, Trump said that the Kremlin knew of his anger, but noted that he had “a very good relationship” with the Russian leader and “the anger dissipates quickly… if he does the right thing”.

If Russia does not follow through with a ceasefire, Trump threatened to target its economy further if he thought it was Putin’s fault.

“There will be a 25% tariff on oil and other products sold in the United States, secondary tariffs,” Trump said, noting that the tariffs on Russia would come in a month without a ceasefire deal.

Secondary tariffs are sanctions on countries that do business with another country. They could constitute up to 50% on goods entering the US from countries still buying oil from Russia. The biggest such buyers by a long margin are China and India.

Zelensky wrote on social media following the interview that “Russia continues looking for excuses to drag this war out even further”.

He said that “Putin is playing the same game he has since 2014”, when Russia unilaterally annexed the Crimean peninsula.

“This is dangerous for everyone – and there should be an appropriate response from the United States, Europe, and all our global partners who seek peace.”

Trump said he would speak to Putin later in the week.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine, in February 2022. It currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Over 100,000 people fighting for Russia’s military have now died as the war in Ukraine enters the fourth year, according to data analysed by BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers who have been counting deaths since February 2022.

Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.

Also in the NBC interview on Sunday, Trump said he was “not joking” when he said he would not rule out seeking a third term in the White House, despite it being prohibited by the US Constitution.

“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go.”

During the call with NBC, he also again threatened to bomb Iran if it did not agree to a nuclear deal. Trump earlier this month sent a letter to the regime demanding negotiations.

“It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” he said, noting he would also impose secondary tariffs.

On Sunday, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said the country would not enter into direct negotiations with Washington concerning their nuclear programme, but indirect talks were possible.

“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” he said. “They must prove that they can build trust.”

It is being dubbed “awful April” with a range of household bills set to go up in the next few days.

There is nothing much you can do if your council tax is increasing, or you are buying a house and facing a higher stamp duty bill.

But when it comes to other bills, such as energy, water or broadband, here are three strategies that could help ease the pressure.

For some services you can often get a better deal simply by calling the company you are with and saying you are considering leaving.

“Shop around for better deals, and haggle with your existing provider,” says Alice Haine, from professional services group Evelyn Partners.

“It’s always worth haggling. Haggle for everything.”

That applies to a whole range of bills, including insurance, energy, and broadband.

“Our research shows that switching providers if you’re out of contract can slash broadband, pay TV and mobile bills by up to £235,” says Emily Seymour, from consumer group Which?

Gas and electricity are often the biggest bills people face and the price cap set by the regulator is rising by 6%, so it is worth finding the best deal for you.

That may include choosing a fixed rate deal, says Ms Seymour. If you charge an electric vehicle or use appliances overnight, look for a deal with a cheaper night tariff.

“We’d also recommend taking a meter reading as close to 31 March as possible to ensure you’re billed the correct amount for your energy usage,” she says.

One surefire way to keep your bills down is to reduce what you use.

Taking shorter showers and putting in a showerhead with a slower flow will save money on your water and energy bills.

“You have to treat water as an expensive resource,” Ms Haine says.

Getting a water meter fitted may save you money, she adds.

Smart meters for electricity and gas can also help you keep tabs on what is pushing up your energy bills most, the Energy Saving Trust says.

The trust advises draught-proofing your home, including round floorboards, pipework and old extractor fans, and setting the thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature. For most people, it says, that is between 18°C and 21°C.

MoneySavingExpert says you can save money by using the principle: “heat the human, not the home”. Using hot water bottles and electric blankets should work out cheaper than turning up the radiators.

You can also change the settings on combi or conventional boilers to save money, says Martin Lewis at MoneySavingExpert.

When it comes to transport bills, you can’t avoid the vehicle tax rise unless you ditch the car altogether.

But if you are taking the train it is also worth checking whether a railcard will help, points out Ms Seymour.

“To cut costs on rail fares, we’d recommend booking tickets in advance and splitting fares where possible,” she says.

If you are struggling to pay your household bills, don’t panic, says Richard Lane, chief client officer at the StepChange Debt Charity. He suggests creating a detailed budget that captures all your income and expenditure.

“This will allow you to get a clear picture of your finances and see how much you have leftover to pay toward any debts or make savings,” he says.

Then check what support you are entitled to.

Water companies offer lower “social” and hardship tariffs for people on very low incomes, so it is worth calling your provider. People claiming benefits can often also get lower tariffs for broadband.

“These organisations have a regulatory responsibility to treat customers fairly and will be able to offer you tailored support,” Mr Lane added.

There is the government’s Warm Home Discount, for people with high energy costs on a very low income, including Pension Credit. And people on low incomes are also eligible for a reduction in council tax.

Check if you qualify for a free TV licence. If you are over 75 and on Pension Credit or live with someone who is, then you will.

You may also be able to boost your income. Check which benefits you are entitled to on the independent MoneyHelper website, backed by the government, or using benefits calculators run by Policy in Practice and charities Entitledto and Turn2us.

If you are struggling with debt here are some other organisations that may be able to help.

The construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast is a key part of the government’s growth programme. But some locals fear being forced out, accusing landlords of cashing in on a jobs boom by evicting tenants and raising rents to unaffordable levels.

The plant is due to open in 2031, and although a final investment decision has not yet been made, groundwork is already well under way.

The construction project will require a predicted workforce of 7,900, of which about two-thirds will be from outside the area.

About 2,400 workers will be based on site with 500 others living at the former Pontins holiday park at Pakefield, near Lowestoft.

The remaining contractors, however, will have to move into properties in or around the town of Leiston – population 5,508 – where some rents have doubled to more than £3,000 a month.

The government hopes to ban evictions without a reason as part of its new Renters’ Rights Bill, but this will not be in place until summer at the earliest.

Until then, John Stevens, who rents in Leiston, believes some landlords will look to move current tenants on in order to make use of East Suffolk Council’s Sizewell C housing grants scheme.

Aiming to provide an additional 1,200 beds, it offers property owners up to £7,000 if they agree to turn their spare rooms or spaces into suitable accommodation.

The council told the BBC it had so far “received significant interest” and expected to “see a significant uptake in awards” over the coming months.

Mr Stevens, 72, says: “[The landlords] are thinking, ‘Let’s evict these people and get the money, plus bigger rents’, so why wouldn’t landlords take advantage of it?”

“But it’s ridiculous and it’s changing the landscape because different people I know are going through murder because of Sizewell; they are being evicted.

“A friend of mine is [being evicted] and she is a single parent and has one kid – where is she going to go now?”

Rent hikes have proved particularly controversial in Leiston, traditionally seen as more affordable than the affluent coastal towns of Aldeburgh and Southwold.

The current average monthly rent in the town, once a thriving manufacturing centre, is £773, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But last month, the BBC found one three-bedroom semi-detached property in Carr Avenue advertised at £3,000 a month, including bills and cleaning costs.

Another three-bedroom home was going for £3,100, including bills, while a two-bedroom apartment was being let for £3,045, including bills.

Since then, some rents have increased even further, with one three-bedroom house currently being advertised for the “attention of Sizewell workers” at £4,500 per month.

Daniela Delfino, 31, returned to Leiston in November 2023 to reconnect with her friends and stepfather.

She rents a one-bedroom flat that her landlord, with whom she has a “good relationship”, is looking to sell within the next few years.

“I really love living here and I don’t want to leave, because then I will just be running around like a headless chicken, looking for somewhere affordable,” she says.

“I did see a one-bedroom flat the other day but it was going for [nearly] three times as much as what I am paying now. The greed that is going around is not fair.

“No normal person can afford the current prices in Leiston or Saxmundham. It’s not feasible, even if you are working full-time – it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Tina Ashford, 53, rents a detached property in the nearby village of Sudbourne with her two children for £1,000 a month.

But she has been served a no-fault eviction notice, which her landlord says is unrelated to Sizewell C.

He says he simply plans to retire, and reduce his outgoings by selling the property.

Nevertheless, it has left Ms Ashford, a single mother who works in holiday lettings and cares for an elderly couple, looking for a new home and worried about what she can afford.

Ms Ashford says: “My whole life depends on me being here, but the greedy prices and extortionate rents are affecting the rest of the market.

“I feel very angry and I think what is happening in Leiston is criminal. Landlords are cashing in and the good days are way behind us.”

According to the ONS, 79.1% of people in East Suffolk aged between 16 and 64 are in paid work.

The average weekly wage in the district is £545, equivalent to a £26,705 salary.

But Toby Lindsay-White, who runs the Leiston Pantry food bank, is seeing a steady increase in members, and says locals no longer “have the money to live in the area”.

He says he knows of someone evicted from a four-bedroom bungalow that is being turned into an eight-bedroom home.

“It’s a bit of a double-edged sword because we have a number of people who have finally secured employment with Sizewell C, so they are now on good pay,” he says.

“But there has been a larger proportion of people who have had to move out of the area because their rent has increased or they’ve been served with a notice.”

Software engineer May Hall, 39, is also concerned.

She rents a two-bedroom property in Leiston for £850 a month and has recently been offered a six-month tenancy.

“I don’t know why they didn’t offer me a one-year contract, but I’m hoping if they had wanted to rent it to a contractor for double or more, they’d have done so,” she says.

“But I am still afraid that ‘the market’ will trend upward quickly and they will just follow it or change their mind.

“So yeah, it feels like Sizewell is the feudal lord of the land here with landlords as vassals and we’re at their total mercy. ‘Uncertainty’ is the word.”

However, the employment boom has helped save one struggling village pub.

Sarah Hartman, 66, runs The Butchers Arms in Knodishall, offering bed and breakfast, a 10-minute drive from Sizewell.

She estimates about 75% of guests are Sizewell workers, bringing in an extra £10,000 a month.

“It makes a lot of difference to us and keeps us open because, as just a pub, it is not sustainable. So if it wasn’t for Sizewell, we would not survive,” she says.

“It has done us a brilliant turn and come at just the right time, really. But I don’t want to be greedy, so I haven’t put the prices up. I just want to keep the place open.”

Tim Day, director of Suffolk Coastal Estate Agents and Sizewell Lettings, says much of the current demand is for “a service solution” – a short-term option including bills and cleaning, “not dissimilar to a holiday letting”.

Although quoted prices may state, for example, £3,000 a month, the tenant may not actually have to stay that long, says Mr Day, 55.

“There’s not much difference between offering a service solution to Sizewell workers and doing Airbnb.

“We’re in the accommodation business and we are responding to demand. But when one looks at that headline rate, it might not tell the true story.”

Mr Day believes the demand for accommodation will soon spread far beyond Leiston as workers begin to travel in on park-and-ride buses from Wickham Market or Darsham.

“So… the catchment area for accommodation for contractors is going to be absolutely vast, stretching from Lowestoft to Ipswich to Felixstowe.

“With time, the reach for properties is going to be huge, and that might well mean that Leiston becomes less relevant.”

Sizewell C, partly funded by EDF, says it will support up to 70,000 jobs and provide energy for about six million homes for 60 years.

Those behind the project, in which the government has an 85% stake, previously said they were working “closely with the housing team at East Suffolk Council” to ensure “no negative impacts” on the private housing sector and the local area.

They also suggested it was “unlikely” that many workers involved in the project would have to pay the higher rents.

David Beavan, independent cabinet member for housing at the council, says the authority is “proactively engaging with landlords to ensure rental prices remain as affordable as possible” and monitoring the number of people presenting as homeless locally.

“We have a dedicated team working to mitigate any negative housing impacts from the construction,” he adds.

The housing situation is “concerning”, says Suffolk Coastal’s Labour MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter.

She says Sizewell C and the council need to work together to ensure that people in Leiston, rather than just private landlords, benefit from the opportunities of the new plant.

“I am in touch with Sizewell C, East Suffolk Council and relevant ministers, and will continue to make this point clearly,” she says.

The BBC contacted four landlords advertising homes for rents of at least £3,000 per month in Leiston, but they either declined to comment or failed to respond.

A spokesperson for the National Residential Landlords Association says “fluctuations” in rental prices reflect the increasing costs of providing quality accommodation and the scarcity of available homes.

“Landlords’ costs have increased significantly, which has unfortunately meant that many landlords have been forced to increase rents to ensure their businesses remain viable,” they say.

“These financial pressures include hiked interest rates, significant tax increases, and the rising cost of maintenance which has forced many landlords out of the market.

“We continue to urge the government to introduce measures which will help stimulate growth across the UK’s rental market.

“A failure to do so will mean rents remain high and may continue to rise as the shortage of housing becomes more acute due to landlords exiting the market, reducing overall supply.”

Billionaire Elon Musk has given away $1m (£770,000) cheques to voters in Wisconsin after the state supreme court refused to intervene.

Musk announced the prize earlier this week, ahead of Wisconsin’s tightly contested Supreme Court election to be held on Tuesday.

Wisconsin Attorney General and Democrat Josh Kaul had sued to stop the giveaway, arguing that Musk was violating a state law that bans gifts in exchange for votes.

The race, which could flip control of the state’s supreme court to the Republicans, has become a flash point and the most expensive judicial election in American history.

Speaking at a rally Sunday night, Musk said “we just want judges to be judges”, before handing out two $1m (£750,000) cheques to voters who had signed a petition to stop “activist” judges.

Kaul had tried to argue the giveaway was an illegal attempt buy votes. Musk’s lawyers, in response, argued that Kaul is “restraining Mr Musk’s political speech and curtailing his First Amendment rights”.

Musk’s lawyers added that the payments were “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate”.

After two lower courts sided with Musk, Kaul begged the state’s supreme court for an 11th hour reprieve. But the top court unanimously declined to hear the case.

Musk and President Donald Trump have endorsed a conservative candidate, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, in hopes of flipping the liberal-leaning court.

Judge Schimel is running against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, who has been endorsed by the state Supreme Court’s liberal justices.

Lawyers for the tech titan also argued that judges who have publicly endorsed Judge Crawford in the Supreme Court race should be barred from ruling on the matter, arguing that it is a matter of bias.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race is being seen by political watchers as a referendum on Trump’s second term, just months after his inauguration.

It also comes ahead of consequential cases that will land before the court on abortion rights, congressional redistricting and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterm elections.

Musk himself has framed the election as a chance to stop redistricting which could give Democrats favour in Congress.

He has donated $14m to Judge Schimel’s campaign, as the race proves to be the most expensive judicial race in the country’s history, with $81m in total spending.

Despite his support, Judge Schimel appeared to distance himself from Musk in recent days, telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday he had no plans to be at the rally.

“I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea what this rally is,” Judge Schimel told the newspaper.

This is not the first time Musk has announced a giveaway to voters. Last year, he similarly offered a cash prize of $1m a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states if they signed a petition supporting First and Second Amendment rights.

A judge in Pennsylvania later ruled that the giveaway was legal, saying prosecutors failed to prove it was an unlawful lottery.