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 

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By Shayne Bugden For Daily Mail Australia and George Clarke For Australian Associated Press

Published: 01:22 EDT, 20 September 2023 | Updated: 03:21 EDT, 20 September 2023

Lily Allen had plenty to smile about as she was joined by her husband David Harbour after her West End performance on Thursday night.

The singer, 38, appeared in very high spirits as she stopped with fans outside of the Duke Of York Theatre to sign some autographs.

She was joined by her famous husband and Hollywood star David Harbour, who donned an all-black ensemble.

Lily – who is starring in the new West End production of The Pillowman – donned a typically casual look following her gruelling performance.

The Smile singer opted for oversized black trousers and a bloused grey top with long sleeves.

The hitmaker kept it cosy in a pair of open camel sandals, and carried the essentials in a black large tote bag.

The actress kept her platinum tresses tied in a low bun and sported a brown cap from ELLE.

Meanwhile David, 48, looked low-key in black shirt, jacket and matching trousers.

He teamed the look with also black trainers, and hid behind a black cap.

The Stranger Things star was captured flashing a smile as he made his way out of the building while Lily stopped to chat with some fans.

Lily and the Hollywood star started dating in 2019 and got married in September 2020 in Las Vegas. 

David has become a stepfather to Lily’s daughters Ethel, 11, and Marnie, 10, who she shares with ex-husband Sam Cooper.

He portrays father figure Jim Hopper in Stranger Things and has previously said the role helped prepare him to be a stepfather to Lily’s daughters.

The family enjoyed a vacation to St Barts together in December.

In July last year, David opened up about his marriage to Lily and gushed about his wife admitting to People: ‘I’m so grateful that I’m not alone anymore, and that I have someone that I can tell everything to and who can tell me everything.

‘We can share this experience of walking through life together.’

He added: ‘I’m always so overcome with gratitude for that, because I’ve been alone for most of my life.’

The Not Fair hitmaker looked radiant after the revival of Martin McDonagh’s play The Pillowman  received tepid reviews after its press night last week.

The singer has taken on the gender-swapped role of Katurian in the play, which follows the fiction writer as she is imprisoned by a totalitarian state.

But despite ditching her typically stylish looks for a more bloodied and bruised appearance, there was a mixed reaction to the revival.

One wrote that they were ‘mildly bored’ watching the show, while others branded the her talents too ‘limited’ for the complex character.

Lily sported a bloodied face as she took a bow at the end of her press night debut after starring opposite Steve Pemberton and Paul Kaye in the play, taking on the role that had been previously played by David Tennant in the 2003 original.

Writing in The Telegraph, Claire Allfree awarded the show three stars, writing: ‘[The] production lacks psychological conviction and a certain atmospheric pungency, while Allen is all at sea amid the play’s daring shifts in tone. 

‘I went expecting to be shaken and sickened. Instead I found myself often mildly bored.’

The Times gave the play two stars, with Clive Davis writing: ‘Is Allen up to the task? It’s true that she didn’t disgrace herself in that immensely popular supernatural thriller, 2:22: A Ghost Story.

‘But here, her limitations are more exposed. There’s precious little variation in her voice and gestures; sometimes she seems almost a spectator at her own ordeal. 

‘It’s Steve Pemberton and Paul Kaye — as the sadistic Tupolski and Ariel respectively – who command your attention.’

However, The Evening Standard’s Nick Curtis awarded the play four stars, writing: ‘Allen, who made an impressive stage-acting debut in Dunster’s ongoing 2:22 A Ghost Story, is compulsively watchable: drawn, intense, angular. 

‘But this show requires a juggling of emotional states she can’t quite muster.’

Meanwhile The Stage awarded the show three stars, with Sam Marlow writing: ‘There’s a pallid blankness about Allen that may be intentional, but makes her difficult to engage with.

‘McDonagh glances at, rather than interrogates, the myth of the tortured artist, as well as the notion of creative immortality, yet in mischievously refusing to commit to a point of view, he repeatedly undercuts his own arguments, with the result that the play feels flimsy and nebulous.’

Writing for Theatre Mania, Alex Wood said: ‘As she did in her West End debut 2:22 A Ghost Story (also directed by Dunster), Allen fares well on stage – sincere, eloquent and never overly maniacal in a role that could easily slip into histrionics in the wrong hands. 

‘She most certainly has better material to work with here than in her freshman stage outing, to the extent that you can trace a quite definite character arc as Katurian moves from bewilderment to assured catharsis.’

After the press night show, Lily appeared to be in jovial spirits as she appeared on stage at the Duke of York Theatre alongside her co-star Steve Pemberton.

Bowing to the crowds, Lily showed off her character’s injuries as blood trickled down her face and stained her jumper, hinting at the tragic ending of the production.

Lily appeared pleased with the debut press night run of The Pillowman as she flashed a huge smile and waved at the crowds while taking a bow.

She was joined on stage by her co-stars Steve, who plays Tupolski, and Matthew Tennyson, who stars as Michal, for the curtain call.

Lily is the first woman to play Katurian, after David Tennant portrayed the leading character in the original Olivier award-winning play.

Speaking about the decision to cast a woman in the role, Lily told The Telegraph: ‘I think it will add an extra layer of horror, because we’re not used to seeing women being beaten up. 

‘It will be shocking, in that sense. I also feel that men don’t necessarily get the same c**p for their artistic output that women do.’

The Pillowman follows Katurian as she is brutally questioned by authorities after a spate of murders bear similarities to her short stories.

The black comedy ‘examines the role of the artist in society and asks what price do we pay for freedom of expression’, according to a synopsis on the play’s website.

Speaking about The Pillowman’s discussions around censorship, Lily said the play raises a lot of questions about freedom of speech and the internet.

The production will run at the Duke of York Theatre until September 2, with its hotly-anticipated opening night on Friday having already sold out. 

By Ed Carruthers For Mailonline

Published: 03:57 EDT, 23 June 2023 | Updated: 15:35 EDT, 23 June 2023

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Trump confirms he DID back Ron DeSantis as he votes with Melania in Florida: Ex-president and his first lady appear together in Palm Beach – and says he ‘looks forward’ to his Mar-a-Lago announcement next week

By MailOnline Reporter

Published: 12:51 EDT, 8 November 2022 | Updated: 12:51 EDT, 8 November 2022

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