An Oxford-educated junior doctor has been banned from treating patients after he was caught moonlighting at a private cosmetic surgery clinic whilst pocketing paid sickness leave from his £35,000-a-year NHS job.

Dr Daniel Coventry, 33, was supposed to be off work at the taxpayer’s expense with a suspected virus, but instead he was offering facial fillers, thread facelifts, and anti-wrinkle injections at a privately run clinic in Brighton.

Coventry was reported to bosses at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex, after concerns were raised due to the amount of sick leave he was taking. 

In 2019, a probe was launched and investigators found social media posts showing he had undertaken private aesthetic work at A New You and his own medical practice DC Aesthetics.

Coventry claimed he hadn’t had time to read the NHS policies on sick leave and said he thought there was ‘no conflict of interest’ in doing private work whilst off sick and ‘not rostered’ to work NHS shifts.

He subsequently left his FY2 job before officials were able to give him a final written warning and he was reported to the General Medical Council.

Coventry was suspended from medical practice for six months after he was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal Service, in December 2019. 

The moonlighting occurred over a six-month period between April and October 2018 just a year after Coventry joined the Western Sussex NHS Trust. 

In the run-up to the ban he had been working full time in the private sector at the ‘A New You’ clinic in Brighton – where facelifts cost up to £8,000 and tummy tucks cost up to £6,000. 

A consultant surgeon had explained the HR procedures to Coventry and he was advised to access the hospital’s ‘StaffNet’ website to read the Trust’s policies regarding sick leave. 

In its determination, Tribunal chairman Samantha Gray said: ‘Dr Coventry chose not to read the policies despite being pointed in the right direction by the Trust. 

‘The Tribunal also considered there was an element of deception as Dr Coventry did not tell the management of A New You, or any of his private clients, that he had been off sick from work.’

Ms Gray added: ‘The Tribunal took into consideration Mr Coventry’s submission that there had been no financial gain in this case. The Tribunal did not accept this. 

‘Dr Coventry would have been paid for his sick leave from the public purse whilst also being paid for private work.

‘Furthermore, the NHS Trust may have had to fund further staffing to cover Dr Coventry’s absence. This further highlights that there is a way to go before Dr Coventry understands the consequences of his actions.’

Coventry was represented by his own father, Stuart, during the Manchester hearing. 

Stuart Coventry said: ‘Dr Coventry was initially clear in his mind that he did not know he was not permitted to work whilst on paid sick leave and he presented evidence to make his point.

‘Instead of the week-long induction most FY2 students received at the Trust, Dr Coventry received an informal HR induction and it was implied that he should find things out for himself. This was not sufficient and Dr Coventry was therefore ignorant of policies. In addition, Dr Coventry’s initial educational supervisor was unable to fulfil her role due to sickness.

‘But he now understands he should have taken steps to know the Trust’s policies. He accepts it was his responsibility to read the policies as instructed and, had he done so, he could have asked any questions of an appropriate person regarding the meaning and application of the sickness policies. He accepts his previous behaviours were against policy and he apologised for this in full.’

Mr Coventry added: ‘At the time of the events, Dr Coventry had the mindset of a newly qualified FY2 doctor and was naïve and inexperienced. He also wishes to emphasise there was no intention of deceiving or defrauding his employer or causing them any loss.

‘He did not take sick leave specifically in order to undertake private work and he did not make any financial net gain. Had he been knowingly dishonest, he would not have posted about his work on social media. There was zero financial benefit to Dr Coventry.

‘Notwithstanding that, Dr Coventry accepts his actions had contravened Trust policy. He understands and accepts his naivety and errors of judgement, has apologised and learned the lessons from the events of 2018. There were no clinical concerns in this case, and there was never a risk of harm to the public or patients.’

Counsel for the GMC Chloe Fairley told the tribunal: ‘Whilst this is not a case in which patients were at unwarranted risk of harm, there are questions to be asked in relation to the reputation of the medical profession.

‘This was not a single isolated omission or error of judgement that could be quickly rectified, rather the misconduct involved repeated occasions of dishonest conduct over a period of six months, during which Dr Coventry had had a number of opportunities where he could have been honest. However, Dr Coventry has put his own personal and financial interests ahead of his duties to the Trust.’

Ms Fairley added: ‘At present, there is no real insight demonstrated by Dr Coventry and he is yet to take responsibility for his actions. Members of the public are entitled to place complete reliance upon a doctor’s honesty, and the relationship between the profession and the public is based on the expectation that doctors will act with integrity at all times.

‘Any insight that had appeared to be present at the Trust investigation in December 2019, when Dr Coventry stated that he accepted the investigation’s findings, has been undermined by his evidence during this hearing, when he stated that he had said those things merely for the sake of “moving things on”. This was a case involving deliberate deceit within a professional context.’  

Coventry studied medicine at Oxford after graduating with a first class degree in Biology at the university of Brighton.

Insiders reveal the food King Charles has BANNED from French state visit banquet – and the reasons why (but mushrooms are on the menu because they remind him of Queen Elizabeth II)

• Charles provided a strict list of culinary demands for meal at Palace of Versailles

By Peter Allen In Paris

Published: 03:03 EDT, 20 September 2023 | Updated: 04:56 EDT, 20 September 2023

Spanish prosecutors have requested that Luis Rubiales is banned from going within 500 metres of footballer Jenni Hermoso as he made his first court appearance for allegedly forcibly kissing her. 

Rubiales, 46, was summoned to Madrid’s Audencia Nacional court, where he denied allegations of sexual assault and coercion filed by Hermosa, the prosecutor leading the case said.

State prosecutors asked Judge Francisco de Jorge to consider issuing a restraining order to prohibit Rubiales from coming within 500 meters or Hermoso or trying to communicate with her, as well as a requirement for him to check in with a court every 15 days to ensure he does not flee the country. 

The judge will have to decide whether to apply those measures. 

Rubiales, wearing a navy suit and white shirt, did not speak when arriving or leaving the courthouse with his lawyer. He testified before Judge Francisco de Jorge – who is leading the investigation into the kiss. Hermoso will also be called to testify at a later date. 

Spanish state prosecutors formally accused Rubiales last week of alleged sexual assault and an act of coercion when, according to Hermoso, he pressured her to speak out in his defence immediately after the scandal erupted. 

The state prosecutors’ office said Rubiales denied both accusations when answering questions by the judge in an hour-long hearing that was closed to the public.

Rubiales sparked outrage when he grabbed the midfielder and kissed her on the lips in front of horrified spectators after Spain defeated England 1-0 in the World Cup final on August 20. 

Rubiales, who was head of Spain’s RFEF football federation at the time, has repeatedly insisted the kiss was consensual. 

But Hermoso has said it was not and left her feeling like the ‘victim of an assault’.

Neither Rubiales or his defence lawyer, Olga Tubau, spoke to the media outside the court.

Hermoso’s lawyer, Carla Vall i Duran, said they were satisfied with the hearing.

‘We can continue to affirm that the kiss was not consented to, which is what we have said from the very beginning,’ Vall i Duran said. 

‘Thanks to the (images of the kiss), the entire world, the entire country, has been able to observe there was no type of consent. And we are going to prove that in the courtroom.’

Jude De Jorge on Monday admitted a complaint against Rubiales filed the previous week by the public prosecutors’ office, citing alleged ‘offences of sexual assault’ and ‘coercion’.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

Judge De Jorge is carrying out the preliminary investigation into the accusations against Rubiales, and will then decide whether the case should go to trial. 

If found guilty of sexual assault, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors said they had included the offence of coercion because of Hermoso’s statement in which she said ‘she and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone’ his actions.

The global furore over the incident all but eclipsed the victory celebrations for Spain’s World Cup champions.

After three weeks of refusing to resign over the kiss, Rubiales, who was suspended by FIFA on August 26, stood down late on Sunday but continued to insist the kiss was consensual in a TV interview with Britain’s Piers Morgan.

‘What we had is a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was driven by the emotion of the moment,’ he said, describing the kiss as ‘100 percent non-sexual’.

He claimed the fury over the kiss is due to a misunderstanding of Latin culture and insisted he would have done the same to a male player. 

Rubiales said: ‘We were both emotional. We congratulated each other, I asked her ‘can I give you a quick peck?’ – which is normal in our country – I give her a quick peck, I think she gave me one or two slaps in my side and that was it.

‘No intention of course, no sexual connotation or anything, just a moment of happiness, just great joy in that moment.’

The hearing comes with new coach Montse Tome, the first woman to lead the team, set to announce her squad on Friday for UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland on September 22 and 26.

Her first job will be to try and convince the 23 world champions to don the red jersey again after they and dozens of others said they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

The players have not yet said what they will do following Rubiales’ resignation although the situation has changed since the RFEF sacked their controversial coach Jorge Vilda, named Tome in his stead and pledged further internal reforms.

‘We have had discussions.. I don’t think there will be any problem,’ Rafael del Amo, head of the RFEF’s women’s football committee told Cope radio on Tuesday.

‘I think things will move forward.’

Apple has been ordered to stop selling its iPhone 12 in France after tests showed the model produced radiation levels above the EU safety threshold.

The tech giant was also told to fix existing smartphones via an update or recall every iPhone 12 ever sold in the country.

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s digital minister, played down fears that the radiation levels detected were a cancer risk, but the announcement has once again reignited the debate about the safety of mobile phone use.

The World Health Organization has previously sought to quell fears about radiation emitted by mobiles, stressing that there is no evidence to suggest it is harmful to humans. 

However, scientists have cautioned that very little is known about safety risks beyond 20 years, because most people did not use mobile phones until the late 1990s.

So might your iPhone be causing you harm? 

‘Currently there is no strong evidence that exposure to electromagnetic fields during mobile phone use is associated with adverse health effects,’ Maria Feychting, a professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, told MailOnline.

‘However, there are still some uncertainties and further research is needed, especially regarding the higher frequencies that will be used by 5G.’

She added: ‘The guidelines are set with considerable safety margins, and health effects are unlikely to occur even if guidelines are somewhat exceeded. 

‘However, the safety margins of the guidelines are applied to consider the uncertainty in the scientific knowledge.’

It is worth pointing out that the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is an offshoot of the WHO, has previously claimed that certain radio frequencies at extreme levels are ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’.

However, this is thought to be unlikely.

There have also been studies suggesting mobile phone use can increase the risk of cancer and impact fertility.

In 2014, researchers at the University of Exeter suggested a possible link between mobile phone exposure and poorer sperm quality.

They said the number of sperm and their movement could be affected by keeping phones in a pocket, but admitted that more research was needed because the evidence was sketchy.

A separate study in 2020 also claimed that using a mobile phone for as little as 17 minutes per day over 10 years increases the risk of developing cancerous tumours by up to 60 per cent.

The controversial research involved statistical analysis of 46 different studies into mobile phone use and health around the world, by experts from UC Berkeley. 

One of the researchers involved in the study, Joel Moskowitz, said: ‘Our main takeaway is that approximately 1,000 hours of lifetime cellphone use, or about 17 minutes per day over a 10-year period, is associated with a statistically significant 60 per cent increase in brain cancer.’

However, the charity Cancer Research UK is adamant this is not the case.

‘Using mobile phones does not increase the risk of cancer,’ its website states.

‘There aren’t any good explanations for how mobile phones could cause cancer.

‘The radiation that mobile phones or phone masts transmit and receive is very weak. It does not have enough energy to damage DNA so is highly unlikely to be able to cause cancer.’ 

On top of this, 10 years ago the UK’s now defunct Health Protection Agency said a major safety review had revealed no evidence that mobile phones harm human health. 

Scientists looked at hundreds of studies and found no conclusive links that exposure caused brain tumours, other types of cancer, or harm to fertility or cardiovascular health.

The general consensus in the scientific community is that there is no suggestion mobile phones are a risk to human health, but that more research is needed into any potential long-term effects related to decades-long use of the devices.

What did France’s tests actually show?

EU law sets limits for the specific absorption rate (Sar), which measures the amount of energy absorbed by the body when exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves from electronic devices such as mobile phones. 

The limit is 2 watts per kilogram when a handset is held next to the ear or torso and 4 watts per kilogram when held or kept in a pocket.

ANFR, the French watchdog which governs radio frequencies, said the Sar for Apple’s iPhone 12 when carried was 5.74 watts per kilogram.

What has Apple said?

The tech giant has said it is contesting the results published by ANFR.

Apple added that it has provided the regulator with both its own lab results and those from third parties, showing that the iPhone is compliant with the EU safety threshold.

Its website states that the iPhone 12 has a Sar of 0.98 watts per kilogram when held next to the ear and 0.99 watts per kilogram when carried or kept in a pocket – far below what the French claim.

This is also not the first time Apple has faced questions over the Sar limits of its iPhones.

In 2019, the Chicago Tribune published a story saying its tests had shown that the iPhone 7 and iPhone X exceeded radiation levels set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US.

However, when the FCC repeated its own analysis in the wake of the claims officials found that the phones both complied with limits set.

France’s decision to temporarily ban the sale of the iPhone 12 came on the same day Apple officially unveiled its iPhone 15.

CEO Tim Cook said the new range included the ‘best and most capable iPhones we’ve ever made’. 

So has France made a mistake?

There no evidence of that. However, experts say Sar testing is extremely sensitive to small changes in methodology.

‘You can get almost any value you want by tiny variations in how you do the test,’ Professor Kenneth Foster, of the University of Pennsylvania, told MailOnline.

‘The Sar values change depending on which of a number of available bands the phone is transmitting on during the tests.’

He also said he had ‘no reason to doubt’ the radio frequency exposure levels that Apple publishes on its website for each of its devices.

‘The Sar values reported by Apple for the iPhone refer to tests done by a certified test lab done strictly according to FCC protocol. 

‘They concur with test reports the company filed with FCC and are on the FCC website.’ 

France is standing firm, however. It has stressed that Apple would be ill advised to ignore its warning to reduce the iPhone 12’s radiation to acceptable levels. 

The Californian company is not the first firm to face such a ban in France.

Since 2017, the ANFR has banned the sale of 42 smartphones for giving off too much radiation, while on six of these occasions there was a recall of the models.

Which smartphones have the highest radiation levels?

Last year the website Digital Information World compiled a list of the smartphones emitting the most and least radiation.

Among the worst offenders were the Motorola Edge ( 1.79 w/kg); OnePlus 6T (1.55 w/kg); Sony Xperia XA2 Plus (1.41 w/kg); Google Pixel 3 XL (1.39 w/kg); and the Google Pixel 4a (1.37 w/kg). 

Not far behind were the Google Pixel 3 (1.33 w/kg), Huawei’s P Smart (1.27 w/kg) and the OnePlus 9 (1.26 w/kg). 

On the opposite end of the scale, among the least radiation-emitting phones were the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G (0.19 w/kg); Samsung’s Galaxy Note10 (0.21 w/kg); the Samsung Galaxy A80 (0.22 w/kg); LG G7 ThinQ (0.24 w/kg); and the Motorola Razr 5G (0.27 w/kg). 

Data from the German Federal Office for Radiation was used to compile the two lists.

Disposable vapes are set to be axed to prevent children from becoming addicted to the devices under new Government plans. 

Campaigners have long called for much tougher regulations on marketing to children and a tax on disposable vapes, which are most popular among teens. 

But concerns have mounted in recent weeks with ministers urged to ban predatory firms selling vapes in brightly-coloured packaging and in kid-friendly favours like bubblegum. 

While sales of e-cigarettes to under-18s are banned, latest data suggests 11.6 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds in the UK have already tried vaping. 

The proposals — which follow in the footsteps of countries including France and New Zealand — could be unveiled as early as next week, reports suggest.  

A senior Whitehall source told The Telegraph today: ‘Disposable vapes are almost entirely aimed at kids and they are environmentally damaging. 

‘There is a wide consensus emerging on the need to act.’ 

But ministers are understood to have stopped short of a ban on all vaping without a prescription, with e-cigarettes still seen as a good alternative to help smokers quit. 

Earlier today science and technology secretary Michelle Donelan did also not deny the reports.

She told Sky News: ‘We have been looking into this and have been doing a review because this is a very worrying trend that we’re seeing of young children taking up vaping that had never smoked before, and it is extremely dangerous to their health and their wellbeing.

‘It’s something that we do need to act on and, as a Government, what we’re trying to do is recognise what are the key challenges and grip them.’

Asked whether the Government will be banning single-use vapes next week, she said: ‘We’ll be making further announcements on that.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We are concerned about the rise in youth vaping and the environmental impacts of disposable vapes.

‘That is why we launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products – and explore where the Government can go further.

‘We will set out our response in due course.’

Last week the French government vowed to push ahead with its own plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes over claims they encourage smoking among young people.

Both Germany and Ireland have outlined their own plans to place restrictions on vapes, with the German government currently considering an outright ban on disposable e-cigarettes.

Separately, Australia has put in place measures to make vapes available only to those who have prescriptions.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has also put in place restrictions that ban vape shops from being within 300 metres of a school and which ensure all vapes must have removable batteries.

Colourful displays of the gadgets, sold for as little as £5, currently litter high streets across the UK. 

Predatory manufacturers lure kids in with flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy and some shops even sell the devices next to sweets.

Other experts have also demanded a total ban on disposable vapes such as Elf bars, popular with teenagers. 

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics last week revealed that the number of young women who have tried e-cigarettes has surged to one in eight.

The data, labelled ‘worrying’ by experts found a 3.5-fold increase in 16 to 24-year-old females taking up the habit. 

Some 15.5 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds vaped daily or occasionally, up from 11.1 per cent in 2021. 

Around 4.5million Brits were also found to have vaped daily or occasionally — a rise of some 500,000 in just 12 months. 

NHS figures also show a rise in the number of children admitted to hospital due to vaping.

Forty children and young people were admitted to hospital in England last year due to ‘vaping-related disorders’, which could include lung damage or worsening asthma symptoms, up from 11 two years earlier, the NHS said.

E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour — which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and other chemicals.

Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon — two of the most dangerous elements.

Although widely viewed as safer than smoking, the long-term effects of vaping still remain a mystery.

Doctors have expressed fear there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age.

Earlier this year leading paediatricians also warned children were being hospitalised with vaping-induced breathing difficulties amid a ‘disturbing’ youth vaping epidemic.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) warned that e-cigarettes ‘are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so than traditional cigarettes’.

It called for urgent action to protect youngsters, saying experts agree that longer-term data is needed on the effects of vaping, particularly in regard to cardiovascular disease.

Under an anti-smoking push, health minister Neil O’Brien revealed in May that a £3million taskforce would be established to enforce the current rules of selling of vapes.

But one million cigarette addicts will also get e-cigarette ‘starter kits’ as part of a ‘swap to stop’ scheme.

The free kits are set to be offered to almost one in five of all smokers in England at an estimated cost of £45million over two years. 

Health chiefs hope the world-first policy will make England smoke-free.

It comes as MailOnline revealed in June that e-cigarettes have been linked to five deaths in Britain.

None of the fatalities, which have all occurred since 2010, are proven to have been caused directly by vaping. No ages were mentioned for any of the deaths.

But health chiefs tasked with policing the safety of e-cigs admit there is ‘a suspicion’ the gadgets may have been to blame.

Two were put down to heart disorders, including one cardiac arrest.

Respiratory complications were blamed for the other three deaths, with one caused by inhalation of fat — a known potential consequence of vaping.

Almost 1,000 serious adverse reactions to e-cigs have also been logged by Britain’s health watchdog including blood, nervous system and respiratory disorders, as well as cancer and injuries such as burns. 

Angry locals of a tiny Cornish town have blasted the arrival of a massive cruise ship that increased the local population by 50 per cent on the day.

The 58,000 ton Spirit of Adventure cruise ship stopped in Fowey, Cornwall, on Friday. While some admired its size, others weren’t happy about the 775ft ship docking at Fowey Harbour.

Local residents said on social media the ship coming to the town was ‘awful’ and ‘shouldn’t be allowed’. Some also highlighted how the fumes being pumped into the air by the Spirit of Adventure was impacting the air quality in the coastal town. 

This comes after it was revealed that Fowey residents are being priced out of their homes due to an influx of second home buyers, which has pushed house prices up by more than £100,000 in just a year, according to the Sunday Times. 

Just three years ago residents in the coastal town voted in favour of banning new-builds being sold as second homes in a referendum, adding fuel to the fire in the long-running dispute between local residents and second-home owners.

Under the new rules, homeowners now have to prove the house is used as a primary and not a secondary residence.

Fowey has 1,461 homes in total and 239 of them – which makes up 16 per cent of all houses in Fowey – are being used as second homes, according to data by Cornwall Live from last year.

Many second home owners also come to the town without knowing how to properly pronounce the name – much to the dismay of local residents. The town is correctly pronounced ‘foy’ – like ‘joy’.  

In the most recent controversy in Fowey, local residents took to Twitter to share their outrage.

Reactions on X (formerly Twitter) include author Sasha Swire saying: ‘Awful. Shouldn’t be allowed,’ and another user adding: ‘With a very low tide it looked far too big for Fowey.’ 

A third said: ‘Madness! And they want to attract more like this in Fowey!’ 

‘That’s a lot of filth being pumped into the atmosphere in the heart of Fowey then. Impressive scale though’, a fourth commented. 

This sentiment was shared by another resident, who wrote: ‘How awful. It’s so horrible when you find someone’s parked one of those floating blocks of flats, blocking the view, never mind all the pollution they chuck out.’

The 775ft-long cruise ship Spirit of Adventure weighing nearly 60,000 tonnes is the longest and heaviest ever to dock in Fowey, according to harbourmaster Paul Thomas.

He said the arrival of the Spirit of Adventure was a ‘big deal’ for tourism in the Cornish town and surrounding area, but its arrival had to be carefully prepared to guarantee a successful docking.

The massive cruise ship Spirit of Adventure towered over St Fimbarrus, Fowey’s parish church and Place House’s grade I listed tower. 

‘What we are trying to do is attract this size of ship, which is just on our limit, but it means we can have those passengers going to visit the town and nearby destinations,’ harbourmaster Thomas told the BBC and added that another pilot even travelled to Germany to use a simulator to test how the ship would dock in different weather conditions.

Polruan Coastwach station manage Ray Wrigg said the ship’s size was impressive and even hid most of the houses opposite of it, saying that ‘gives you an idea of how high she is.’ 

Fowey’s deep-water port is a popular destination for cruise ships due to its strong Celtic connection, maritime history and literary involvement. 

The town of about 2,200 residents offers various shops and eateries for day trip tourists to enjoy, as well as several historic buildings.

The Spirit of Adventure, described as a ’boutique cruise ship’ by operator Saga, has an impressive, modern interior and offers a private balcony for every guest, all-inclusive drinks and speciality dining. It also has several luxurious restaurants and offers a wide selection of shows, a spa and a selection of bars. 

The outrage over the massive ship anchoring in the tiny Cornish town comes after the Mail discovered that hordes of selfie-obsessed tourists from huge cruise ships similar to the Spirit of Adventure ruin La Dolce Vita in the Italian Riviera’s most exquisite gem Portofino. 

On a typical summer day in the Italian port town, two colossal cruise ships sit on the horizon, black smoke billowing from their funnels. Together, they carry more than 4,000 passengers from the United States, Britain and several European countries.

And, thanks to a local law allowing these behemoths to anchor as close as 600 metres from the protected bay, a swarm of visitors can hop on tenders from the mothership to reach Portofino in just minutes.

Several mornings a week, the cruise-ship hordes descend on the town — just as other tourists are alighting from packed ferries from the neighbouring coastal towns of Rapallo and Santa Margherita.

But the visitors do not just arrive by sea. By 10am, the main public car park has already reached its 250-vehicle capacity. 

Motorists are being turned away as buses from Genoa, 22 miles away, bring their own crowds. 

Cruise ships, ferries and day-trippers: by 11am, this tiny village is under siege. Hundreds of tourists are approaching from every direction.

Portofino now finds itself caught in a battle between those wanting to protect its charm and those who argue that anyone has a right to visit it whenever they choose.

As the throngs arrive, the residents are forced to retreat from the mayhem, while luxury holidaymakers withdraw to their yachts and five-star hotels.

An experienced manager who works within the hospitality industry in Portofino said: ‘We of course want people to see Portofino. 

It’s an iconic place and everyone is welcome. But for safety reasons, in terms of crowds and preserving the village, we should look at attracting smaller ships as it’s a small place.’

By now, the cobbles are barely visible under the sandals and trainers of ‘hit and run’ tourists, as the locals call them.

Holidaymakers wielding selfie sticks ignore signs warning they risk a £240 fine if caught lingering in ‘no waiting’ and ‘red zones’. 

The town’s mayor, Matteo Viacava, introduced the policy earlier this year to prevent what he called the ‘anarchic chaos’ caused by tourists blocking the narrow streets when they stop to take pictures for Instagram or film videos for TikTok. 

The decree states it is necessary to prevent ‘serious obstacles and potential danger’ — not least on the quay which has no safety barriers. 

US boxing star Alycia Baumgardner tested positive for a banned steroid ahead of her victory over Christina Linardatou last month

• Alycia Baumgardner beat Christina Linardatou by unanimous decision on July 15
• But the undisputed super featherweight champion failed a test a few days earlier
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news 

By Daniel Matthews For Dailymail.Com

Published: 14:40 EDT, 16 August 2023 | Updated: 14:57 EDT, 16 August 2023

Breakfast cereals and yogurts containing high amounts of sugar should remove any packaging that appeals to children, a health group says.

Action on Sugar warned the products, which contain up to 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving, are designed to attract the attention of a child and exploit ‘pester power’.

It wants firms to remove cartoon characters, animations and vibrant colours from food graded as high or medium for sugar, salt or saturated fat, based on the Department for Health’s nutrition guidelines.

Research by the group, based at Queen Mary University of London, compared cereals and yogurts offered by different companies in the UK.

It found 47 per cent of cereals and 65 per cent of yogurts contained a third of the recommended daily maximum sugar intake for a four to six-year-old, excluding the milk.

Of these, products by supermarket chains Lidl and Aldi and international brand Nestle had the highest average sugar levels with packaging targeted at children.

By contrast, healthier products tended to be sold in more plain packaging targeted towards adults.

Only nine cereals and six yogurts surveyed were found to be low in sugars and only four cereals were low in both sugars and salt.

Health officials advise that 4 to 6-year-olds should consume no more than 19g of sugar each day, equivalent to five teaspoons.

However, the Lidl Crownfield Choco Hazelnut Pillows cereal contained 28.5g sugars per 100g, equal to 8.6 grams of sugar or 2 teaspoons per serving.

And the Nestlé Smarties Vanilla yogurt contained 14.6g of sugars per 100g, equal to 15.6g of sugars or 4 teaspoons sugar per serving.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: ‘Obesity is estimated to cost the UK £58billion each year, having a huge impact on economic productivity and the NHS.

‘Drastic changes are needed to the food system and that includes responsible marketing of food and drink, especially to children.’

There are restrictions on the advertising of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar during peak TV viewing times for children but there are no specific rules governing the visual appeal and design of packaging which influences children’s preferences.

Action on Sugar said this marketing tactic, known as ‘pester power’, is ‘intentionally designed to attract the attention of children and influence their caregivers’ purchasing’.

Lidl announced in 2020 that it would remove cartoon characters from all its own-brand cereal packaging in Britain.

Breakfast cereals and yogurts saw significant reductions in sugar levels between 2015 and 2020, at 14.9 per cent and 13.5 per cent respectively.

But the Sugar Reduction Programme announced in the Government’s obesity plan in 2016 set a target of 20 per cent in that timeframe.

Dr Kawther Hashem, campaign lead at Action on Sugar, said: ‘It’s ludicrous that whilst breakfast cereals and yogurts celebrate the largest reductions in sugars during the Sugar Reduction Programme, those same products with child-appealing packaging still have excessive amounts of sugars, unsuitable for regular intake by children.

‘Given the soaring numbers of under-18s suffering weight-related health problems and tooth decay being the leading cause of child hospitalisation, now is the time for companies to be forced to remove child-appealing packaging from products that are misleading parents and making our children unhealthy and sick.’

Zoe Davies, nutritionist at Action on Sugar, said: ‘There is no reason why products with high or medium levels of salt or sugar should be marketed as “suitable for children”.

‘If we are to protect the health of our future generation, then bold action is required now from both government and companies alike and this must include child-friendly packaging only being placed on healthier products.’

TikTok has been banned from all devices owned and managed by US House of Representatives in a move that mimics a law that will soon prohibit the Chinese-owned app from all government devices.

Lawmakers and their staff received an email Tuesday mandating they delete the Chinese-owned video app because it is considered ‘high risk due to a number of security issues.’

The memo, obtained by Reuters, tells House staff that they are ‘not allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices.

‘If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.’

Approximately 19 states have at least partially blocked the app from state-managed devices over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans and censor content. 

The announcement comes as the $1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill was passed last week, which will fund the US government through September 20, 2023 and includes a provision to ban the app on federally managed devices.

The bill will take effect once President Joe Biden signs the legislation into law.

‘With the passage of the Omnibus that banned TikTok on executive branch devices, the CAO worked with the Committee on House Administration to implement a similar policy for the House,’ a spokesperson for the Chief Administrative Officer told Reuters on Tuesday. 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who introduced the bill in Senate, said Chinese law meant the app’s owner, ByteDance, was required to hand data to the Chinese Communist Party.

‘The federal government has yet to take a single meaningful action to protect American users from the threat of TikTok,’ he said.

‘This isn’t about creative videos — this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day. We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China.’

The bill includes several sections that ban operations by any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia.

These include: Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act). 

However, the ban on TikTok has been a long-held discussion among government officials.

In August 2020, Trump signed an executive order to ban TikTok and the Chinese chat app WeChat in the US.

The order stated TikTok’s ‘data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.’

President Joe Biden last year revoked executive orders from Trump. 

Biden produced a new executive order that nixed the unimplemented ban on TikTok and called for ‘an evidence-based analysis to address the risks’ from internet applications controlled by foreign entities.

In June 2022, Brendan Carr, commissioner of the FCC, posted an open letter on Twitter urging Apple and Google to remove the video-sharing platform ‘from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices.’

Carr included a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, expressing why TikTok needs to be removed, citing a report from Buzzfeed that ‘shed fresh light on the serious national security threats posed by TikTok. 

The report highlights leaked audio from more than 80 internal TikTok meetings that reveal China-based employees have repeatedly accessed US user data.

‘It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to its extensive data harvesting being combined with Beijing’s unchecked access it that sensitive data, Carr wrote in the letter.

‘But it is also clear that TikTok’s pattern of conduct and misrepresentation regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have to sensitive US user data puts it out of compliance with the policies that both of your companies require every app to adhere to as a condition of remaining available on your app store.’ 

If you enjoyed this article…

Texas Governor Abbott orders all state agencies to ban use of TikTok on government-issued devices because it is data harvesting for the Chinese Communist Party 

Also, China-owned TikTok will be banned on ALL government phones under measure in $1.7T omnibus spending bill – but efforts to regulate tech fail after $230M lobbying campaign

Why I stopped hanging out with Donald Trump: Rod Stewart reveals wife Penny Lancaster banned them from being friends because she thought the former President’s attitude towards women was a ‘disgrace’

By Stuart Macdonald

Published: 20:08 EDT, 11 June 2023 | Updated: 20:55 EDT, 11 June 2023