• More than 100,000 operations and appointments may be cancelled from strike
• Walkouts will be repeated next month to coincide with Tory party conference 

By Kate Pickles Health Editor

Published: 19:57 EDT, 19 September 2023 | Updated: 02:47 EDT, 20 September 2023

A father of three says he was forced to pay £3,000 and drive more than 1,100 miles across six countries in order to join his family holiday after falling victim to a little-known passport rule. 

Peter Holt, 50, says he was one of three people turned away at the boarding gate for a flight to Croatia from the UK because his passport was out of date, despite it not expiring until next year. 

Before the UK left the EU, valid British passport holders could freely travel across the EU even if their passport expired the day after their return. 

But since 2021, UK passport holders travelling to any EU country will be denied entry if their passport was issued ten years previously, even if it still has extra months left.

Peter got his passport in July 2013 and was able to carry over unexpired months, giving the expiry of March 2024.

But post-Brexit rules, which he had no idea about, brought this forward to July 2023.

The financial planning consultant watched on in dismay as his wife Claire, 46, took their two sons Rocky, eight, and Axel and Hunter, both six, and flew to Croatia on an easyJet flight.

He says that no one had flagged his passport issue until he was at the airport.  

‘We had booked the holiday in February, and it said nothing about an issue with the passport then.

‘I had my boarding pass, been through bag check, passport control, yet now at the final stage I was turned away,

‘It just didn’t – and still doesn’t – make sense.’

The determined dad, from Surrey, was forced to drive his Mini Cooper 1,102 miles to Croatia, cutting through France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia before finally joining his family two days later in Croatia. 

‘I bought my ticket to pass through the Channel Tunnel and set off on my journey,

‘The crazy thing is both the English and French border control teams at the crossing accepted my passport adding further mystery to the tale.’

Peter drove around 500 miles on the first day of his journey stopping in Strasbourg, France at 10pm at a Hilton hotel.

He turned on Find My iPhone tracking services so his family could follow him on his continental journey.

He then drove the remaining 608 miles through Germany, Austria, and Slovenia in 12 hours to meet his family at their hotel in Pula at 8pm.

‘My kids, wife, and I were just elated that I had made it there in such a short period, of time’ he said.

‘And to only miss two days of our two-week holiday was just brilliant.’

While he missed out on some of his holiday, he managed to get a spot of sightseeing in. 

He said: ‘As sad as the situation was, the trip was fantastic, the roads were smooth, the scenery was fantastic, and driving through mainland Europe was just beautiful.

‘I saw signs for places I had seen on the TV like France’s Champagne regions and the Allianz Arena in Munich, I just wish I could have stopped off.’

He is now warning other holidaymakers to check the expiry dates on their passports, as his pan-continential journey cost him an additional £3,000 in crossing fees, food and hotels. 

‘I am glad to have made it, but the situation was just so unnecessary,’ he said.

‘I just wish someone, be it easyJet or the UK Passport Office, would have let me know.’

An easyJet spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Unfortunately Mr Holt was unable to fly to Pula due to their passport not meeting current validity rules. easyJet follows the rules on passport validity as set out by the authorities where we operate. 

‘We remind customers during booking and before they travel to ensure they are aware of the requirements for the destination they are flying to and it is customers’ responsibility to ensure they have valid documentation for travel.’

It all started innocently enough. I watched the testimony of a 19-year-old Californian, Chloe Cole, before a committee of the U.S. Congress last Thursday.

She was giving evidence about the experience she underwent in her transition to becoming a boy and it was pretty harrowing stuff.

Chloe revealed she had been given puberty blockers aged 13 and underwent a double mastectomy aged 15. Now de-transitioning, she fought back the tears as she revealed to the politicians before her that she had scars on her breast, her nipples weeped fluids, she would never be able to breastfeed, she struggled to look at herself in the mirror and when she did she saw a ‘monster’.

I fought to hold back my own tears.

Why had her parents gone along with all this? The doctors prescribing the drugs and proposing the mutilation, she explained, had asked them if they wanted a ‘dead daughter’ or a ‘live trans son’.

I decided to tweet to my 1.2 million followers an excerpt from her testimony, commenting that it was ‘heart-breaking’, ‘barbaric’ and asked: ‘What have we become?’

That’s when the balloon went up.

I’ve never commented publicly before on any of the issues swirling round the transgender debate. Readers of my columns and viewers of my TV shows will know I tend to stick to mainstream politics and economics, my areas of expertise. My tweet was a baptism of fire.

A Cabinet minister texted me: ‘Welcome to the dark side.’ They weren’t wrong. I was quickly denounced as a ‘Terf’.

I’d seen this term used to smear JK Rowling and other critics of the transgender lobby but, I explained, it wasn’t effective abuse against me since I didn’t really know what it meant. Someone helpfully explained that it stood for ‘Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist’ (meaning, I think, advocating feminist rights at the expense of trans rights).

I’ve always regarded myself as something of a feminist, having appointed the first-ever female editor of The Scotsman, for example, and the first female editor of The Sunday Times colour magazine in the days when these things didn’t really happen. But a ‘radical feminist?’ I can’t wait to tell Germaine Greer, I tweeted in jest. In truth, there is nothing funny about the trans debate.

A number of fellow ‘Terfs’ posted tweets welcoming me to the cause but pointing out, correctly, I was something of a johnny-come-lately.

Times columnist Janice Turner said she and other women had been writing about the use of drugs and surgery on transitioning teenagers for at least six years and taking no notice was a lesson for me ‘not to tune out women’.

I replied that it was usually wiser to welcome converts to the cause rather than upbraid them. But I now see that was ungracious. Women like Janice (and it’s nearly always been women) who’ve been in the vanguard of exposing the horrors of this scandal have experienced the vilest abuse — and received precious little support or comfort from the rest of us.

They have been vilified by the more extreme elements in the transgender lobby as ‘hysterical bigots’ and regularly threatened with violence, including rape and murder.

One woman showed me evidence of threats to ‘come to your house’ and ‘rip the nipples off your bare chest’. Another was promised a ‘night of the long knives’. And there’s much worse than this. It’s simply unrepeatable in a newspaper.

It’s not just threats. Women who’ve dared to question the trans consensus have lost their jobs or been sidelined. A senior Arts Council England official was driven to resign (she later won her harassment claim before an employment tribunal).

Journalists, such as Suzanne Moore from the Guardian, have quit after being shunned by colleagues. Even academics, such as Professor Kathleen Stock, have been hounded out of their university posts by aggressive student campaigns.

These injustices happened under my nose. Either I took no notice, or didn’t think it was my fight — when it should be everybody’s fight.

Of course, journalists like me were not entirely unaware of transgender controversies. We watched, shaking our heads, as men who had transitioned to women started winning events in women’s sports.

Lia Thomas, who’d once competed in American university male swimming teams, became one of the most notorious causes celebres as her tall, muscular body towered above women swimmers on the female winner’s podium.

That seemed simply unfair to all the women who’d given up so much of their youth to become champion swimmers.

Then there was the case of Adam Graham, sentenced to eight years for raping two women, but who — between arrest and sentence — decided to transition to a woman and become Isla Bryson.

At one stage it looked like the rapist’s jail-time time would be served in a woman’s prison and that the SNP government in Scotland would uphold that — until there was an outcry and common sense prevailed. That episode contributed to the downfall of Nicola Sturgeon so, as a Scot, it naturally appeared on my radar.

But I didn’t know the half of it. Fortunately, the brave women standing up against extreme transgender ideology did. And with precious little support from the rest of us, they have had their victories.

London’s Tavistock NHS Trust is closing its Gender Identity Development Service, the main English clinic responsible for treating teenagers similar to Chloe Cole.

The use of puberty blockers has been curtailed, which is just as well since, despite claims they’re ‘life-saving’ and ‘reversible’, a study into their use in the NHS concluded they could disrupt the long-term brain development of youngsters.

Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of disinformation floating around. My attention was brought to a Swedish study which, relying on information stretching back over 50 years, found that less than 3 per cent of individuals who transitioned ever de-transitioned.

But even a cursory look revealed that the study ended in 2010, covered only adults and mainly natal males. So it tells us nothing about the recent explosion of teenagers, mainly girls, seeking to dissociate themselves from the bodies with which they were born.

There is a growing suspicion that many of the young people currently suffering from what’s called gender dysphoria are simply gay and that, if allowed to come to terms with their sexuality with help and counselling, will turn out just fine.

Instead they are being subject to barbarous treatment much like, in more intolerant times, gay people were subjected to electric shock treatment to ‘cure’ them.

If this analysis proves broadly right, we’re living through a medical and societal scandal of massive proportions.

I have merely reached the foothills of all the issues involved in the transgender debate. I now have a new summer reading list whose authors represent a roll call of honour to those who have fought in the trenches, often at great personal cost: Helen Lewis, Julie Bindel, Sarah Ditum, Hannah Barnes, Helen Joyce, Labour MP Rosie Duffield, Hadley Freeman and others too numerous to mention (and, yes, you’ve noticed — there are no men on this list, which only underlines who’s been doing the heavy lifting).

I’m ready for the further abuse that awaits me for siding with such company. Frankly, it’s water off a duck’s back. And it’s never as brutal against men as it is women, which speaks volumes for those dishing out the abuse.

Who cares? If it means I’m a JK Rowling ally and that makes it harder for what happened to Chloe Cole to happen to other young, vulnerable teenagers, then I’m delighted to be a foot soldier in a just cause.

Queen Letizia of Spain couldn’t resist joining in with her team’s celebrations after they won the women’s World Cup final today. 

The glamorous royal, 50, dressed in a scarlet trouser suit (in honour of her team the Rojas – which means red), was filmed jumping for joy with her daughter Infanta Sofía, 16, alongside the triumphant footballer players. 

Prior to kick-off, Letizia, who travelled to Sydney to cheer on the squad, said: ‘It’s a joy and it’s exciting to be here to support the Spanish Football team. They are already champions.’ 

Indeed, after winning the tense match, which ended 1-0 in Spain’s favour, the team were true world champions, and they celebrated in style, dancing on the pitch – with even the Spanish Queen joining in, as she jumped and pumped her fist into the air. 

But while the Spanish team’s efforts (and ultimately victory) were keenly watched by the country’s royals, no member of the British Royal Family went to Australia to cheer on the Lionesses.

Yesterday, Prince William apologised for not attending the World Cup final to cheer on England – as palace sources claim he was concerned about his carbon footprint and the diplomatic ramifications of going to Australia. 

In a video posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media account ahead of the match, William wished the Lionesses luck alongside his daughter Princess Charlotte, who held a football. 

Conversely, Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, Infanta Sofia, had travelled to Sydney, ‘to show, once again, the royal household’s support for national football’, as confirmed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

The pair sat in the presidential box at the Accor Stadium, but weren’t joined by King Felipe, who was busy with other official duties.

Letizia visited the Spanish team in Madrid before they travelled to the tournament, watching them train and being presented with a personalised jersey.

She ended the visit with ‘a motivational speech that resonated deeply with the players and coaching staff’, the federation said.

The Prince of Wales shared his well wishes in the clip that was released ahead of the game. 

During the video, the royal says: ‘Lionesses, I want to send you a huge good luck for tomorrow. We’re sorry we can’t be there in person but we’re so proud of everything you have achieved and the millions you’ve inspired here and around the world. 

‘So go out there tomorrow and really enjoy yourselves.’ Meanwhile, a beaming Charlotte, adds: ‘Good luck Lionesses!’

The Prince did come under some fire for his decision not to travel to Australia to watch the match in person. 

Kensington Palace sources cited several reasons why he decided to watch the game at home in Anmer Hall, Norfolk, instead. 

One is carbon footprint, particularly because he will travel to the US next month to support his green campaign, Earthshot. 

It was also considered not to be a diplomatically sound move – both on a family and political level. 

William’s father Charles has still not visited Australia as King, a country where he is also monarch, and it was thought a short visit from his son would not be diplomatically astute.

A source added: ‘It was a finely balanced decision.  The Prince of Wales hasn’t visited since 2014 so he would wish his next trip to Australia to be a substantial visit. 

‘He met them [the Lionesses] in St George’s Park before they flew out and he has been supporting them throughout the tournament by sending private good luck messages to the manager and team.’

TRANSFER GOSSIP: Man City star Bernardo Silva is ‘desperate’ to join Barcelona, Everton ‘could swoop for West Ham forward Michail Antonio’ and Spurs flop Tanguy Ndombele ‘is set to join Galatasaray’

• The Man City star is keen to join Barcelona despite their financial issues 
• Everton could push for Michail Antonio, while Demarai Gray is set to leave 
• Premier League transfer window: Club-by-club list of all the summer moves

By Kieran Lynch For Mailonline

Updated: 01:49 EDT, 2 August 2023

Man City ‘seek assurances from Declan Rice’ that he wants to join them this summer before they rival Arsenal with a £100m bid for the West Ham captain

• Man City want assurances from Declan Rice that he wants to move to the club 
• City are set to enter the race to sign the England midfielder from West Ham 
• Arsenal have already had two bids rejected by the Hammers so far this summer  

By Ash Rose For Mailonline

Published: 03:32 EDT, 26 June 2023 | Updated: 03:41 EDT, 26 June 2023

Texas Senator Ted Cruz and dozens of other Republicans have backed tech workers who want the Supreme Court to scrap a visa scheme that lets some 200,000 foreigners compete against them for US jobs.

Cruz is one of five senators and 31 congressmen who have filed papers backing the case, which lawyers for the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (Washtech) say is a powerful endorsement.

In their briefs, they say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lets tens of thousands of foreign students stay in the US for years after their course has ended, competing with US citizens and driving down wages.

‘President Biden’s DHS is circumventing the law Congress has established regarding non-immigration visas, and it’s hurting American workers,’ Cruz said.

‘This is a broken visa program that needs to be fixed.’

Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Mike Braun of Indiana, and Katie Britt of Alabama also signed the papers, which were filed by America First Legal, a campaign group headed by former Trump Administration advisor Stephen Miller.

In those files, the senators point to research showing how Disney, AT&T, Walmart, and other big US firms have used the scheme to ‘use low wage foreigners to displace American workers.’

Washtech wants the court to tear up an Obama-era expansion of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) scheme that lets foreign student visa holders work in the US for a year after graduating.

Defenders of the DHS program say it lets migrants get real-world work experience in their field of study, while letting US tech firms bag fresh talent. Without it, they would simply study in a more welcoming country, they say.

The case highlights two key concerns of conservatives — that Americans are losing jobs to foreigners, and that federal government agencies exceed their powers by making rules that should be passed by Congress.

Washtech’s lawyer, John Miano, from the conservative Immigration Reform Law Institute, said the ‘case has attracted an unusual amount of interest’ from some of America’s best-known politicians.

This visa program ‘strips from Congress the power to set terms for non-immigrant visas’ and therefore ‘naturally attracted the attention of members of Congress,’ Miano told DailyMail.com.

Miano says DHS officials agreed to expand the scheme at a private dinner with representatives of the tech sector because other foreign worker programs, such as the H-1B, were capped. 

Washtech, a union of some 300 West Coast tech workers, last month filed its appeal to the Supreme Court after a lower court in February kicked out its previous request.

The top US judicial body is expected to decide whether to hear the case within weeks.

The court only hears about 5 percent of the thousands of cases it is asked to review each year.

The case is being assessed by one of the court’s most conservative configurations in generations, and comes amid a wave of layoffs by Meta, Microsoft, and many other major US technology firms.

The OPT has existed in some form since 1947.

Washtech challenged it after it was tweaked by the Obama administration in 2016, by letting students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields get work permits for up to two years beyond the typical one-year period.

The original lawsuit says federal immigration law only lets international students remain in the US while they are enrolled in school.

David North, a fellow of the Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative think tank, says it incentivizes hiring migrants because an OPT tax break makes them about 8 percent cheaper than American workers.

The union is pitted against DHS, which oversees the OPT program. The department did not answer our request for comment.

Major business groups including the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have intervened in the case to defend the OPT scheme.

They say it helps companies address a lack of qualified US workers.

Wolfsdorf Rosenthal, an immigration law firm, says the OPT scheme buys some time for foreigners who study in the US to find an employer, when otherwise they would have to leave.

‘If we don’t retain international students in the US after they complete their courses of study, they’ll take their skills elsewhere and go to work for our competitors,’ the firm said in a statement.

The US would then lose out to Australia, Canada, China, and India, which have post-graduate work programs, they added.

The number of OPT participants has risen from about 30,000 in the early 2000s to more than 200,000 in recent years, though numbers dipped in the pandemic, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors report. 

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday aimed at giving Puerto Rico freedom to choose whether it becomes a U.S. state or breaks off from the country completely. 

Sixteen Republicans joined 217 Democrats for a final vote tally of 233 to 191.

The vast majority of GOP lawmakers were opposed to the bill. Several shared concerns directly with DailyMail.com just before the final vote.

The legislation would allow Puerto Rico to hold its first-ever binding referendum on its sovereignty status.

Puerto Ricans could choose to become America’s 51st state, break off in total independence or an independent country with ties to the U.S.

But its Thursday passage was largely symbolic. The bill now advances to the Senate, where it is unlikely to get 10 Republican votes that are needed to pass. 

The GOP has long been opposed to Puerto Rico gaining statehood. 

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said at a public event recently that the territory gaining statehood ‘dilutes our power.’

But among the Republicans to celebrate the bill’s passage was Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon, Puerto Rico’s at-large representative in the House.

‘Today is a truly historic day for Puerto Rico. Ironically, it is also a perfect example of the island’s colonial reality,’ Gonzalez Colon said on the House floor just before the vote.

She noted that she represents a territory of 3.2 American citizens – ‘more constituents than anybody in this chamber.’

‘And yet, while we consider a bill I helped write, a bill that will directly impact the life of every citizen I represent, I still must rely and depend on everybody here because I cannot vote on the floor,’ Gonzalez Colon said.

‘Today Congress takes a step towards finally assuming its responsibility…to provide the people of Puerto Rico with an opportunity, a federally binding choice, to democratically decide our future.’

But two members of her caucus told DailyMail.com that they were opposed to the bill, accusing it of being rushed through the House at the end of Democrats’ lame duck majority. 

A third, Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, simply told DailyMail.com that he opposed the bill – but would not say why. 

Both Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana told DailyMail.com that House Democrats should focus on other issues like the southwestern border crisis with their final days in the majority.

‘First of all, have we even deliberated Puerto Rican statehood here? No. Once again, Speaker Pelosi just tosses stuff on the floor at the last minute,’ Donalds said just before entering the House chamber.

‘There’s been no deliberation…I just think that’s the wrong way to go. Why are we doing this at the 11th hour of the 117th Congress?’

Asked what Democrats should focus on instead, Donalds said: ‘Securing the border.’

Banks spoke to DailyMail.com immediately after casting his ‘no’ vote. While he was in favor of Puerto Rican statehood on principal, the Indiana Republican shared reservations about how the bill was put together – and its implications for US taxpayers.

‘I’ve supported Puerto Rico- Puerto Rican statehood before. I’m concerned though, about how this is written – it would allow, for the way the vote would take place, to allow for Puerto Rico to become independent,’ Banks explained

‘And then the U.S. taxpayer obligation if that would happen.’

He instead urged the majority party to work on solutions to the growing border crisis – just as a COVID-era expulsion policy is on the cusp of expiring.

‘There’s a lot more that should be focusing on…Most importantly, the crisis at the border and the repealing of Title 42,’ he said.

Banks called the surging number of migrants trying to cross the border the ‘biggest humanitarian crisis in American history, that [Democrats’] policies are directly responsible for, and they’ve continued to completely ignore it and act like it’s not happening.’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement lauding the bill’s passage.

‘Today’s historic vote is a key step toward ensuring that Puerto Rico’s future is one of its own choosing,’ Pelosi said.

‘For more than a century, Puerto Rico has been governed under a political system imposed by outside forces rather than established by its own people.’ 

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tina Fey spoke out on behalf of screenwriters and TV writers everywhere, and were joined by some of Broadway’s best and brightest.

The 43-year-old Miranda – who recently attended the Tony Awards – and 53-year-old Fey were among the more prominent speakers during the WGA Strike Broadway Day Rally in Times Square on Thursday.

They were joined by Sara Bareilles, Sharon Catherine Brown, Lauren Patten, Paula Pell, Christine Pedi, Alex Edelman and Nicole Parker, along with Rent stars Norbert Leo Butz, Adam Pascal.

Miranda was wearing a black baseball cap that read ‘Words’ three times, along with a dark grey t-shirt for the Broadway musical Hadestown.

After his time on stage, he was seen petting Sara Bareilles’ dog, a schnauzer named Louie, at the event.

Fey was spotted wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans along with black sunglasses for the rally.

She also had a brown purse slung from her shoulders, and was seen with John Lutz and Paula Pell during the rally.

The 30 Rock creator was also seen giving Miranda a hug during the rally, which attracted writers and supporters from all over to Manhattan. 

Bareilles also took to the stage donning a white and violet striped shirt during the rally for writers everywhere.

Sharon Catherine Brown donned a grey WGA strike t-shirt plus a black baseball cap and black sunglasses. 

Actress Nicole Parker also wore the same grey WGA strike t-shirt while she took the stage as well. 

Alex Edelman opted for a light grey suit while taking to the stage during the WGA strike rally. 

Christine Pedi opted for a black ensemble with a black and white scarf while speaking on stage. 

Rent stars Norbert Leo Butz and Adam Pascal also both took the stage on Thursday, decades after starring in the hit Broadway musical.

Lauren Patten also belted out a few tunes while taking the stage in a sleeveless black tank top and a black baseball hat. 

Paula Pell also took to the stage in a black ensemble, sharing one of her old headshots with the crowd. 

The Writers Guild of America strike is wrapping up its seventh full week, with picket lines and rallies taking place in various locations in New York and Los Angeles and many other places in between.

‘Maybe he’s thinking about Arsenal’: Dutch wonderkid Xavi Simons ‘could join the Gunners’, claims a former PSV boss, after the young midfielder hired a new agent who ‘has a lot of contacts at the Emirates’

• PSV Eindhoven’s rising star Xavi Simons has been linked with a move to Arsenal
• The 20-year-old has starred during a breakthrough year at the Dutch club
• Simons, previously of PSG, has reportedly recently changed to English agents

By Ryan Walker For Mailonline

Published: 04:37 EDT, 17 May 2023 | Updated: 07:43 EDT, 17 May 2023