Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we’ll be pulling together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Politics teams and more. This Wednesday, we’ll be bringing you the biggest headlines from the heart of the newsroom, with coverage on the soaring 26C sunshine that will soon hit Britain to the sea rescue tragedy off the coast of Brighton.
Our Showbiz team has been working overtime following Trisha Goddard’s eviction on last night’s Celebrity Big Brother, speaking to the star’s daughter about the crowd’s frosty reaction. Meanwhile, our Politics team has been covering the UK Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman and sex in the Equality Act.
After a brief cool spell, the balmy weather is on track to return in the coming weeks, with temperatures expected to surpass those in Hawaii. This morning, our News team reported that Brits will soon be basking in 26C sunshine on what will be the hottest day of the year, as warm air moves east from the Atlantic this month.
The warmest day of the sweltering period will be Sunday, April 27, with the East of England, notably Norfolk, seeing the best of the weather. Beautiful highs of 26C are anticipated across Norfolk and Cambridgeshire that afternoon – while the mercury in many places in Hawaii, nearly 7,000 miles away, will struggle to hit 20C.
These forecasts have been published by Metdesk, meteorologists which give data to weather service Ventusky. Writing on its website as part of its long-range forecast, the Met Office says: “Some drier and brighter interludes are likely… Later next week and into the following week, settled weather is expected to become more prevalent, with more in the way of dry, sunny weather developing. Temperatures will probably be around or slightly above average.”
Following Trisha Goddard’s eviction on last night’s Celebrity Big Brother, our Showbiz team spoke exclusively to the daughter of the former chat show host about the star’s frosty crowd reaction. After emotionally sharing how her terminal cancer had impacted her experience earlier in the show, Trisha was met with a chorus of boos from some of those in the crowd outside.
Speaking to the Mirror, Trisha’s daughter Billie said: “To boo at a woman living with incurable cancer because you didn’t like how she appeared on a heavily edited reality TV show – whilst she is receiving treatment – is pretty sad.
“You can disagree with someone or dislike someone without being hateful or hurtful. I actually feel really sorry for those people – it can’t be nice carrying all of that hate and bitterness around. I’m immensely proud of mum. She did incredibly well in challenging circumstances – and she really enjoyed it – which makes me so happy.”
Meanwhile, our Politics team broke the news this morning that the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of a woman and sex in the Equality Act relates to “a biological woman and biological sex”. UK Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge, who announced the decision, made clear that this was not a victory for either side, stressing that the law gives trans people protection against discrimination.
He said: “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another.”
The ruling follows a series of challenges brought by the campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), over the definition of “woman” in Scottish legislation mandating 50% female representation on public boards. But the outcome of the case will have an impact on the whole of the UK after the years-long legal battle ascended to the Supreme Court.
A young woman who had been found in the sea off Brighton has tragically died after being taken to hospital, our News team covered today. The woman in her 20s, from Lewes, was reportedly in the water in the early hours of this morning sparking a major rescue operation but sadly she did not survive.
HM Coastguard and Sussex Police said crews were called to the area near Brighton Palace Pier at about 3am on Wednesday morning. A helicopter and lifeboats from Shoreham and Brighton were sent to the scene as well as coastguard rescue teams from Newhaven and Shoreham.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “Police were called following concerns for a woman in the sea off the coast of Brighton just before 3am on Wednesday, April 16. Emergency services responded to the scene and the woman, in her 20s and from Lewes, was taken to hospital where she was sadly pronounced deceased.”
Finally, our Sports team has been following the latest on tennis player Harriet Dart after footage showed her telling an umpire that her opponent “smells really bad”. The British number four complained about her opponent, French player Lois Boisson, during a defeat in the first round of the Rouen Open on Tuesday.
The Brit rose from her chair and then told the official: “Can you tell her to wear deodorant?” She then repeated the question, saying: “Because the smell. Can you tell her to wear deodorant? She smells really bad.”
Dart later apologised for her actions, which could well land her in hot water with the Women’s Tennis Association. In a statement posted on Instagram, Dart wrote: “Hey everyone, I want to apologise for what I said on court today. It was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret.
“That’s not how I want to carry myself and I take full responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today. I’ll learn from this and move forward.”
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