To British firearms officers, it could be a tempting recruitment offer from police in Australia: ‘We’ve got your backs, mate.’

The authorities Down Under yesterday stepped up their pitch to hire UK officers – pledging they wouldn’t drag them through years of hell if they shot someone.

The message will not be lost amid the current furore over a Met policeman charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, who was shot in south London last year.

Western Australia is pursuing an audacious bid to ‘steal’ hundreds of police officers by luring them from Britain to work in the sunshine.

It can be revealed that more than 1,400 applied to make the move after the huge recruitment drive was launched in February promoting the area’s wine regions, coral reefs and culinary scene.

Are you a UK police officer who has moved to Australia? Please email your story, with photos, to rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk 

And as the first cohort of 23 Brits was sworn in this week – in a ceremony under ‘magnificent clear blue skies’ – the message from Aussie police chiefs was clear: ‘We protect our officers.’

Western Australia’s minister for police Paul Papalia told the Mail: ‘It’s very topical because yesterday we had a fatal shooting by police in Kalgoorlie. 

‘Without speaking in advance of the full investigation, I can tell you that our police officers behaved incredibly well. I’ve seen the body-worn camera footage. 

‘They acted entirely in accordance with their protocols, responsibly and properly. Sadly, they’ve had to shoot someone for their own protection. They did it absolutely correctly.’

Mr Papalia said that within an hour of the fatal shooting – of a 58-year-old man who had charged at officers with a gun – the commissioner of police and a local senator had publicly backed the officers.

Anna Miller, a 38-year-old recruited from West Yorkshire Police, said moving to Australia had made her feel ‘supported and appreciated’.

Speaking from Perth, Western Australia, where she moved with her family seven weeks ago, she told the Mail: ‘The biggest thing we like here is the appreciation for the police. I did not feel at all appreciated in the UK. In Australia, the community support their cops and they trust them.

‘The feeling among myself and colleagues [in the UK] was that officers weren’t backed… it feels a little bit, as police officers, they will happily throw you under a bus to present a [more positive] picture to the public. 

‘Don’t get me wrong, I had some fantastic supervisors, but I think policing as a whole, I don’t think they feel supported.’

Ms Miller worked at West Yorkshire Police for 15 years. She moved to Australia with her husband Andrew and their children Isabelle, seven, Tom, six, and Emma, three, for ‘an adventure’, saying: ‘It gives us the outdoor active lifestyle we wanted. 

‘It’s fantastic. There is so much to do on your doorstep – we went kayaking and saw seals, there is snorkelling, fantastic cycle paths and the Australian people are so chilled, friendly and have an enthusiasm for life.’

Ben Woods, a 33-year-old sergeant from Sussex Police, added: ‘My colleagues were naturally sad to see me go, but are now sick of my social media – “can you stop posting beautiful beaches, and posting views with koalas”.’

He said: ‘[Perth] is one of the cleanest, tidiest cities I’ve ever been to. The sunrises and sunsets are just phenomenal. The crime rates are clearly lower, there’s no graffiti, no gangs of kids – it feels like a nice safe place to be.’

The pair were sworn in as constables of the Western Australia Police Force on Monday, giving their allegiance to King Charles III, in a ceremony with an aboriginal theme. 

Mr Woods said: ‘An aboriginal lady came in and read scripture welcoming us, giving us strength and good spirits.’ 

Peppermint leaves were lit to create aromatic smoke, and Ms Miller said: ‘The smoke and the ceremony was around wishing us well, good luck and keeping us safe. It was lovely.’

All police officers in Western Australia are armed, meaning most UK recruits will need firearms training. 

Ms Miller said: ‘I don’t have a strong feeling. It’s just a piece of kit that officers have. I’ll learn how to use it.’

The police minster told the Mail: ‘We protect our officers. They’ve all got tasers, Glocks [pistols] and body armour.’

Mr Papalia said: ‘I’m intent on stealing your best people. Unashamedly. You guys have been taking our best for decades, it’s a rite of passage for Australians to go to the UK.

‘We’re aiming for 150 police officers this month, and 150 every year thereafter for five years. They come from a variety of forces. I’ve met all of them. They’re a good crowd. 

‘They all love policing and had their expectations met when doing swearing in – the skies in Perth were magnificent clear blue skies. Everything they had hoped for.

‘Western Australia is a great place to live and work. Compared to the UK, we have higher wages, a lower cost of living and the perfect climate for year-round adventure.

‘The response has been extremely positive, meaning WA Police can handpick the best of the best.’

In a nod to the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ scheme introduced after the Second World War, Western Australia’s shameless ambition is to grab 31,000 British workers, with police joining doctors, nurses and construction workers. 

They can ‘have it all’, with energy bills almost half in Australia, allowing the savings to be spent on 183 pints of beer, 110 roast dinners or 500 jars of Marmite, boasted Mr Papalia.

The British Medical Association revealed before Christmas that a third of junior doctors are planning to leave the UK – with the majority choosing Australia or New Zealand.

The NHS is battling shortfalls of 12,000 hospital doctors and more than 50,000 nurses and midwives.

An Australian delegation arrived in the UK on February 25 and held jobs fairs in London, Edinburgh and Bristol. 

The scheme also targeted those in other professions hit by labour shortages including miners, plumbers, mechanics and builders.

Almost 25,000 applications to get documents needed to secure a job overseas were made to UK healthcare regulators in 2022. The vast majority represent NHS workers. 

The toll, uncovered by a MailOnline investigation, dwarfs the 10,000 figure seen before Covid struck. 

Senior leaders in the health service warned ‘the exodus is only just beginning’ and said the stats should ‘stun ministers into action’. 

Disgruntled NHS medics say the pandemic has shone a light on how poorly they are valued in the UK, a factor that helped launched a wave of strike action across the UK to boost their pay. 

Australia has also launched a wave of ‘cheeky’ tactics touting the merits of a move Down Under, such as deploying mobile billboards to NHS strike picket lines to recruit disenfranchised medics. 

Yet some medics who’ve made the move Down Under have complained that it’s not exactly the dream some are selling.  

British health staff wanting to apply for a job overseas need to get documents from their UK regulator as part of the application.

These prove to their potential employers they don’t have any marks on their record, their training is up to date, and they can be trusted with patients. 

Figures obtained by MailOnline reveal nearly 7,000 doctors applied for documents to support an application to work abroad from the British medical regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), in 2022.

This was up from 6,100 in 2019. 

Separate figures for 2023, which only go up until May, suggest this year will see an even bigger exodus, with almost 3,500 applying for their documents so far. 

For nurses and midwives, the figures are even starker. 

Nearly 16,000 similar applications were made in 2022/23 — compared to just under 5,500 in 2018, according to the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). 

Pristine beaches and sunny weather appear to have convinced many to seek a job in Australia.

Australia topped the charts for total applications in both professional groups. 

Nearly 9,000 doctors have applied to work Down Under in the last five years. A third of these were made in 2022/23.

And Australian efforts to lure medics Down Under appear to be paying off. 

Data from the Australian Medical Council, the Aussie equivalent of the GMC, show almost 1,000 British medics signed up in 2021/22, the latest data available, up 16 per cent on the year before, and the biggest number of any nation. 

This is equivalent to roughly half the UK medics who applied to work Down Under getting a job there. 

For nurses and midwives, 11,000 applications were made to Australia since 2017/18.

But the number has accelerated in recent years, with 4,000 making an application in the last financial year alone. 

Are you a UK police officer who has moved to Australia? Please email your story, with photos, to rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk 

German who chopped off his 100-year-old grandmother’s head with an axe as she tried to fend him off with a vacuum cleaner is jailed for seven years

• Artur B, 37,  looked after his grandmother but killed her in March with an axe
• He was considered the ‘black sheep’ of his family, according to a relative
• The former soldier has been given a sentence of seven years in prison

By Perkin Amalaraj

Published: 05:51 EDT, 22 September 2023 | Updated: 06:00 EDT, 22 September 2023

By Britney Nguyen For Dailymail.Com

Published: 18:10 EDT, 22 September 2023 | Updated: 02:03 EDT, 23 September 2023

Thrilling gang warfare drama Top Boy came to an explosive conclusion earlier this month after more than a decade – with Netflix and Canadian rapper Drake helping to see the series to a satisfying conclusion after it was dropped by Channel 4.

The show became one of Netflix’s most-viewed shows in the week that its third and final season post-renewal went out.

Viewers tuned in to see what became of Ashley Walters’ Dushane and Kane Robinson’s Sully as their warfare with other drug gangs in the fictional Summerhouse estate in Hackney, London, reached a dramatic climax.

But the show had humble beginnings on Channel 4 when it first aired in 2011 – and featured a number of actors who were relative unknowns at the time, and have since gone on to appear in huge Hollywood productions.

Michaela Coel, Letitia Wright and Benedict Wong are among the stars to have used Top Boy as a springboard to launch themselves into Marvel movies, while others have since starred in big dramas, Netflix films and other blockbusters. 

It bodes well for the breakout stars of the rebooted series such as Micheal Ward – some of whom are already picking up plaudits across the industry.

Michaela Coel 

The Ghanaian-British actress, 35, appeared in series two of the show in its Channel 4 era, as Kayla – a woman charged with killing her own boyfriend. 

Her 2013 appearance was brief – across just two episodes – but Coel went on to star in E4 sitcom Chewing Gum and Black Earth Rising before writing and starring in I May Destroy You – a powerful BBC drama about a woman seeking to rebuild her life after being raped on a night out that won BAFTAs and a Primetime Emmy.

She famously turned down $1million from Netflix for rights to the show after it refused to let her retain the ownership rights, and was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people. It noted: ‘You don’t just watch Michaela Coel shows; you experience them.’

She published a book, Misfits, based on her experiences of racism and misogyny, in 2021. And since then, she has appeared in Marvel blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Aneka, a member of the royal family’s bodyguards in the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

Letitia Wright

Letitia Wright, 29, appeared in the first series of Top Boy as Chantelle, a drug dealer on the Summerhouse estate. She left after the first series as her character goes to work for a rival gangster.

She also made other early career appearances in the likes of Casualty and Doctor Who – but came to the fore as the star of coming-of-age drama Urban Hymn, set against the backdrop of the 2011 London riots. 

An appearance in the Netflix reboot of Black Mirror was then followed by the role that many know her best for – as Shuri, the quick-witted inventor sister of superhero T’Chala in Marvel flick Black Panther. 

She made appearances in subsequent comic crossover films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame – but she was unexpectedly thrust into the lead role of Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever when star Chadwick Boseman died of cancer and Shuri was written into an expanded role.

Benedict Wong

Wong, 52, was a prolific actor before appearing on Top Boy – in radio and on stage, with a role in 2002 thriller Dirty Pretty Things. His profile grew as he appeared in sitcom 15 Storeys High opposite the late Sean Lock with guest appearances on programmes such as The Bill and comedies like The Peter Serafinowicz Show and The IT Crowd.

But it was after his role in Top Boy, as scheming rival drug dealer Vincent, that he was catapulted into stardom and became a fan favourite with Marvel moviegoers as Wong, the sardonic and deadly serious sorcerer who befriends Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and helps him to master mystical powers.

Appearing in both seasons of the original Channel 4 programme, he recruited characters including Letitia Wright’s to run a cannabis farm.  

Around the same time, he began making appearances in big films like Johnny English: Reborn and Alien sci-fi prequel Prometheus. But it is his appearances as Wong in Doctor Strange, its sequel, and other interconnected Marvel films and TV shows that have brought him a huge new audience of adoring fans.

Micheal Ward 

The young actor first appeared in Top Boy in the rebooted Netflix series as Jamie – a fearsome rival gangster on the Summerhouse estate – in 2019, at the same time that he appeared in controversial crime drama Blue Story.

The film was at the centre of an incident in Birmingham in which police were attacked by a group armed with machetes; cinema chain Vue later said that 25 incidents of violence were reported in screenings on the first day.

However, Ward was praised for his performances in both Top Boy and the music-led gang film – the latter of which earned him a Rising Star BAFTA – and since then he has appeared opposite Colin Firth and Olivia Coleman in Sam Mendes’ racial drama Empire of Light, and worked with Steve McQueen on his BBC anthology series Small Axe.

Next year, he will appear in The Book of Clarence as part of a star-studded ensemble cast including the likes of David Oyelowo and James McAvoy, and will feature opposite Bill Nighy in sports drama The Beautiful Game.

Sharon Duncan-Brewster 

Duncan-Brewster, 47, was an established TV actor before appearing in Top Boy – appearing as central character Crystal in ITV prison drama Bad Girls, with parts in EastEnders as Trina as well as appearances on Holby City, Waking the Dead and Doctors.

But after appearing in Top Boy as Lisa, mum of central character Ra’Nell in seasons one and two, the actress has appeared in Sex Education, Star Wars prequel Rogue One and even the FIFA series of football games, where she appears as the mother of fictional footballer Alex Hunter as he dreams of making it big in the game.

But she has received high praise following her appearance in Denis Villeneuve’s rebooted Dune as scientist Liet-Kynes. Her performance in the sci-fi flick led to Vanity Fair branding her ‘Dune’s secret weapon’ that ‘brings (her role) to life’. 

This year, she has continued her intergalactic ascension with a voice role in Disney+ sci-fi series Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Nicholas Pinnock

Pinnock, 50, had long established himself as a stage actor but prior to Top Boy had made only guest appearances in UK programmes such as Casualty, Doctors, EastEnders and Holby City.

But it was when he appeared as central character Leon in series one of Top Boy that his career found new energy. His reformed gangster spent his episodes trying to warn others off of a life of drug-dealing, with tragic consequences. He then went on to appear in The Ice Cream Girls on ITV.

In 2020, he starred in legal drama For Life, as a man who obtains a law degree behind bars while serving time for a crime he didn’t commit, which was produced by rapper Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson. Pinnock previously told Hollywood news website Gold Derby that Top Boy won him the role – because the musician was a fan.

He is currently appearing in Sky Atlantic series Django, a reimagining of the classic Italian spaghetti western from the 1960s.

Paul Anderson

Anderson, 44, appeared in Top Boy in 2013.as Mike, a psychotic would-be rival drug dealer to main character Dushane, fresh out of prison after committing armed robbery.

A year later, he starred in Troubles drama ’71 before appearing in The Revenant alongside Leonardo Di Caprio.

Now, he’s best known for starring opposite Cillian Murphy as his right-hand man, Arthur Shelby, in Peaky Blinders, and appeared in the modernised 2018 Hollywood retelling of Robin Hood.

Weruche Opia

Weruche Opia appeared in the second series of Top Boy as drug dealer Nafisa – before landing roles in hits like Bad Education and surreal BBC anthology series Inside No. 9.

These led to a leading role in Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You as Terry, the best friend of Coel’s character Arabella, who tries to help her piece together the events of the night that she was raped. Opia has since appeared in Netflix film Slumberland, and appeared as herself in an episode of the most recent series of Black Mirror.

Opia has since distanced herself from her Top Boy role as well as her appearance on Bad Education, disparaging the parts as ‘stereotypical young black girl’ roles. She told The Observer in 2020: ‘I did it for a while – in [the TV series] Bad Education, in Top Boy – but then I made a conscious decision and told my team I didn’t want to do those roles any more.’

Saffron Hocking  

Up-and-coming actress Hocking, 31, appeared in the rebooted Netflix series of Top Boy as Lauryn, a pregnant mum-to-be who suffers domestic abuse before taking matters into her own hands. She has been nominated for a TV BAFTA for her role.

Prior to her role in the series, she appeared in Strangeways Here We Come – but since taking to the Netflix drama she has appeared in Marvel Disney+ series Moon Knight as well as Prime Video series Riches and The Devil’s Hour. 

She also appeared as the cover star on the digital edition of this month’s Cosmopolitan UK, speaking about how she has become an ambassador for domestic abuse charity Refuge after consulting the non-profit while researching for her Top Boy role.

Top Boy’s Adwoa Aboah stuns in a scarlet latex dress while on-screen girlfriend Jasmine Jobson wows in plunging blue jumpsuit at the Perfect Magazine x Valentino LFW party

By Summer Goodkind For Mailonline

Published: 08:51 EDT, 19 September 2023 | Updated: 08:53 EDT, 19 September 2023

Peso Pluma faces drug cartel threats not to perform at Tijuana’s Caliente Stadium: ‘It will be your last show’

• Three banners found in Tijuana with warnings to singer initialed by cartel 
• The warning read, ‘Refrain from presenting yourself on October 14’ 
• The singer, 24, performed at the MTV Video Music Awards Tuesday  

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 21:45 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 02:30 EDT, 14 September 2023

You can have your own jailhouse rock! Two-bed flat with prison basement inside converted courthouse is available to rent for £750-a-month

• The property is converted from Wakefield’s old Magistrates Court 
• Original prison cells are available to rent as storage space for an additional cost 

By Ryan Prosser

Updated: 11:32 EDT, 12 September 2023

Fame, as some self-pitying stars routinely complain, comes with plenty of drawbacks. The wealth, glamour and adoration tempered by the dreary pressure of relentless public interest.

So it was refreshing to discover on our trip to Wallingford in Oxfordshire that when Dame Agatha Christie sought sanctuary from the attention triggered by her stellar career, the author didn’t moan about her lot.

Instead, in 1934 and at the height of her fame — Murder On The Orient Express had just been published — the Queen of Crime simply bought herself a bolthole in this quiet Thameside market town.

It was here, happily bunkered in Winterbrook House, a five-bedroom, Grade II-listed property, close to the river, Christie lived a life of relative anonymity as she wrote more best-selling novels. In fact, she would only use her married name here — her husband was the archaeologist Max Mallowan.

But as we amble around the tranquil cobbled streets and through the market square, with its 17th-century town hall and mid-19th-century Corn Exchange, we learn that Wallingford is no longer keeping its famous resident under wraps.

A corner of the town’s deceptively capacious museum, housed on two floors of a medieval oak-beamed building, is devoted to Christie’s life. Dawdling over the glass cases, there’s something poignant about reading handwritten letters in which she declares her love of pantomimes and frustration at her declining health.

Christie’s presence in the town is tasteful — there’s nothing Graceland about the way she is celebrated. Sure, there are themed walking tours and visits to her local church and grave. And next Saturday, a bronze, life-size statue of the writer will be unveiled during a Murder Mystery Weekend.

Otherwise, ‘low key’ appears to endure as Wallingford’s default position. When I ask a cheery lady in one of the shops that fan around the square for directions to the museum, she wrinkles her brow and suggests I Google it. Sleuth-like — or rather Christie-like — we do as she says.

We show our ignorance when visiting the Five Little Pigs restaurant.

My husband, Martin, wonders whether this is a mistake — surely it should be three little pigs? We’re both a bit sheepish after discovering it has been named after the 1942 Poirot story. Mind you, Christie isn’t the only hidden celebrity we encounter in Wallingford. The Springs Resort, where we are staying, is a golf and spa hotel once owned by Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan, who installed a guitar-shaped swimming pool (since filled in). It’s not very rock star these days. Our chintzy bedroom looks out over the river. Forget the scream of electric guitars — it’s the honk of geese now.

From the hotel, it’s a 40-minute walk into town along a footpath. The Thames here is at its straightest, and there’s even a little sandy beach. For those who prefer a more conservative approach to taking a dip, the town has a riverside open-air pool.

Wallingford began life as a Saxon fortified town, built by King Alfred in the 9th century as a defence against Viking attacks.

Meanwhile, ruins of a castle built in 1067 by William the Conqueror, who crossed the Thames at Wallingford after the Battle of Hastings on his way to London to take the throne, lie across gardens and meadows near the centre of town.

It’s not hard to see why Christie chose to live here. Wallingford has a prevailing quiet gentleness — a panacea for the pressures of fame. And for ordinary folk like us with our ordinary issues, it’s a special place to escape and reset.

Federal prosecutors plan to indict Hunter Biden by end of September

By Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Published: 16:49 EDT, 6 September 2023 | Updated: 16:49 EDT, 6 September 2023

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Cryptocurrency boss is jailed for 11,196 years in Turkey after defrauding investors of millions of dollars – after prosecutors called for a 40,562-year sentence

•  Faruk Faith Ozer, 29, founder of Thodex, was found guilty of money laundering, fraud, and organised crime

By Shivalika Puri

Published: 12:12 EDT, 8 September 2023 | Updated: 21:17 EDT, 8 September 2023