Ben Ellery

EXC: Zack Polanski has admitted he did not vote in last week's local elections. He previously indicated he cast a postal vote in Hackney before spending polling day campaigning in Wales. However, the party confirmed that he had not registered because of fears for his safety.

EXC: The South East Water director overseeing executive pay also runs a business offering £180 “aura healing” and therapies linked to a “3,000-year-old lineage” from King Salomon. Celia Pronto chairs the remuneration committee at the scandal-hit utility. Story below

Multiverse, the apprenticeship company founded by Euan Blair, is under pressure over how its courses are delivered. Internal documents set out plans to offshore coaching roles to South Africa. It now faces being shut out of a new government training scheme. Full story 👇

I’ve been speaking to insiders at Euan Blair’s Multiverse as new figures show just 52.6% of apprentices complete their courses. For a £1.4bn “unicorn” and the largest provider, the numbers raise serious questions. Full story 👇 thetimes.com/uk/article/eua…

Exclusive: A victim of Jeffrey Epstein who spent time with Andrew speaks to The Times about what she witnessed inside his world. My piece: thetimes.com/article/49b49f…

Excl (w/@benellery) Gvt sources concede neighbourhood policing broken as major reforms planned - Local police forces "not equipped" to fight crime - "Crimes on our streets are going unpunished" news.sky.com/story/crimes-a…

EXC: Police Federation chief Mukund Krishna was paid a “staggeringly large” £1.4m in two years - including two 100% bonuses. The organisation has still not published its 2023 or 2024 accounts thetimes.com/uk/crime/artic…

And now @benellery reveals that Tim Horlick - behind Ayanda Capital, the PPE firm awarded £255m contract - has had his property frozen under proceeds of crime powers. thetimes.com/uk/crime/artic…

Some news: I’ve been appointed Crime Editor at @thetimes. Big thanks to my bosses for this opportunity. I've taken the reins from my buddy @benellery, and a new crime correspondent will join me soon. My DMs are open and contact details remain the same. Send me stories!🕵🏿‍♂️

Exclusive: The father-in-law of Grant Shapps was inside the synagogue. He said he'll "never ever forget being face to face with the terrorist". He and others saved worshippers from further carnage by barricading the doors. with @benellery thetimes.com/article/d6ea8a…

@MonkEmma @thetimes @NathanGillMEP Hi Emma, just to clarify - we did run a piece on Nathan Gill’s guilty plea in Saturday’s paper (see attached). Not every story that appears in the print edition also goes online, which is why you may not have seen it on the website.

@benellery, you write in @thetimes today that we likely already at war with Russia. Yet the Times has completely ignored the admission by @NathanGillMEP to accepting pro-Russian bribes, for which he is likely to serve jail time. The only mention of Gill on your website is @davidwoode ‘s piece in March saying Gill denied the charges. A long standing close ally of the man leading the polls, the man we’re constantly told may be our next PM, admits taking bribes to further the interests of a country we’re “already at war with” and……nothing? How is that not newsworthy at the Times? I don’t get it🤷🏼‍♀️ Feels like this timeline in particular needs to be known. 👇🏼 open.substack.com/pub/monkdebunk…

Do you have a co-worker who is hard to reach, keeps their camera off during calls, and isn't interested in a promotion? They might be a 'polygamous worker' - a new, possibly illegal, rising trend... 🎙️ The Story podcast 🗣️ @benellery | @LukeJones pod.fo/e/2d112f

EXCL: Pregnant women in prison give birth handcuffed to male officers, violating Ministry of Justice policy With @benellery for @thetimes Crime and Justice Commission thetimes.com/article/134bf2…

Female prisoners forced to give birth in handcuffs - shocking revelation from @daisyeastlake and @benellery as part of @thetimes Crime and Justice Commission thetimes.com/uk/crime/artic…

The Times: Missed chances to stop horrific murder of Sara #TomorrowsPapersToday

Sara Sharif’s father and stepmother guilty of her murder thetimes.com/article/e2d7c0…

EXCL: Police officer numbers will be cut and council tax hiked to plug government funding shortfall, police chiefs have told ministers The policing minister has also admitted that police forces face "challenging trade-offs" Big week ahead for police funding: thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…