We’ve finally settled the M&S cookie debate — this is the best flavour

Which flavour is your favourite? (Picture: M&S/Metro)

It’s no secret that as a nation, we can’t get enough of Marks & Spencer – especially when it comes to the food.

The retailer has become our go-to for picky bits, premium dine-in deals, and of course, many, many sweet snacks.

Over the last few years, one bakery treat has stood out among the rest, though, reaching cult status with shoppers and selling out time and time again: the cookies. 

So popular have they proved that M&S has even proclaimed itself ‘the home of cookies’ on its website, adding: ‘From classic gooey favourites to fully-loaded cookie cups, we’ve got every kind of cookie craving covered.’

New flavours are being added all the time – with the most recent being White Chocolate & Raspberry, which launched in Foodhalls on April 8.

Everyone has their favourites, and working out which one is the best of the bunch is no mean feat… but the team at Metro has given it a go and after fierce debate in the office, we’ve come up with a ranking.

Here are the results…

1. Milk Chocolate 

Milk chocolate was the crowd-pleaser (Picture: M&S)

The milk chocolate proved an all-around crowd-pleaser. Not a single soul at Metro had a bad word to say about it, which is why it claimed our top spot.

Lifestyle reporter Charlie Sawyer declared it her ‘favourite’, sharing: ‘They’re a luxury cupboard staple for a reason, and if you’re looking for an extra dose of sweetness, try dipping one in a mug of hot chocolate.’

Similarly, lifestyle reporter Eleanor Noyce agreed milk chocolate was ‘the GOAT’.

And specialist food writer, Courtney Pochin, added: ‘It’s wonderfully soft and chewy, with generous pieces of chocolate, and most importantly, the overall flavour isn’t too sweet.’

Her top tip is to nab a bag of these in summer, then grab yourself a tub of ice cream and put them together to create a glorious ice cream sandwich.

2. Triple Chocolate

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The triple chocolate went down a treat with the Metro team (Picture: M&S)

Courtney wanted to put this one firmly at the bottom of the list, but the suggestion sparked uproar, so up it climbed.

Newsletter producer, Dylan Mangan, said: ‘I often find chocolate a bit too rich for me – much prefer jellies if I am to have a sweet treat – but M&S have managed to create a cookie that manages to have the most incredibly chocolatey flavour without ever veering into being too rich.’

First person and opinion commissioning editor, Maicey Navarro Griffiths, agreed it was the ‘best’ M&S cookie choice because of the ‘fudgy and chewy’ texture and ‘intense flavour’ that manages not to be overpowering.

‘It’s like a brownie, and a cookie had a miracle baby,’ she adds.

3. Gingerbread & White Chocolate

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOVvJSQEVQS/

As it was only available for a limited time at Christmas, some will say this is a controversial choice for third place.

But lifestyle editor, Kristina Beanland, would heartily disagree.

‘I love the aggressive sweetness of the white chocolate, and how it’s complemented by the spiced gingerbread. It’s just a match made in heaven,’ she said.

‘The unsung hero of the cookie, though, is the salted caramel fudge pieces, which add a gooeyness too. I’ve been known to eat all five of the pack in one sitting.’

They might not have been around for long, but they made a big impression.

4. White Chocolate

Simple but stunning (Picture: M&S)

The white chocolate version of the cookie was hailed ‘simple but stunning’ by soaps reporter, Calli Kitson, and she wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

However, a few Metro journalists thought the cookie was ‘overly sweet’, which is why it just missed out on nabbing a spot in the top three.

POLL

Which M&S cookie is your favourite?

• Milk Chocolate
• Triple Chocolate
• White Chocolate
• White Chocolate & Raspberry
• Peppermint Bark
• Speckled Egg
• Gingerbread & White Chocolate
• I can't possibly pick just one...

5. Peppermint Bark

The festive flavour was popular in the newsroom (Picture: M&S)

Clearly, we’re big fans of Christmas treats at Metro, as this festive flavour also went down a storm with the team.

Sarah Hooper, Metro’s US news reporter, felt they were ‘so addictive’, revealing she always had some at their desk last December.

‘I bought more than a dozen packs around the holidays,’ she confessed.

‘The chocolate and freshness of the peppermint is so perfectly indulgent, they just don’t compare to any other cookies M&S offers.’

Similarly, fellow news reporter, Brooke Davies, described them as ‘divine’.

6. Speckled Egg

This one is rather controversial… (Picture: M&S)

This one is going to get us some hate, as we know it’s a firm favourite among the general public. M&S shoppers were literally begging for its return.

However, at Metro, no one seemed particularly bothered by it, with hardly anyone proclaiming it their overall favourite, meaning it slipped down the list.

Charlie and Eleanor both agreed that it ‘slaps’, but only if you warm it up before eating.

7. White Chocolate & Raspberry

There’s a new cookie in town… (Picture: M&S)

As the newest flavour to be added to the range, most people haven’t had a chance to try this one yet, which is the only reason it’s in last place right now. Give it a few weeks, and we fully expect this one to become a firm favourite.

Courtney gave it a try and said: ‘I’m not always a fan of this flavour pairing, as sometimes it’s very artificially sweet, but M&S has got the balance right with this one. The sweetness of the white chocolate is offset nicely by the refreshing zing of the freeze-dried raspberry pieces.

‘It’s a tad underbaked, and the texture is slightly gritty, which I don’t personally love, but I can still see this one flying off the shelves.’

Honourable mention...

We can’t discuss M&S cookies without giving a shoutout to the Chocolate Button Shortbread.

These get their own special spot, as they’re a shortbread biscuit as opposed to a cookie, but they’re absolutely delicious nonetheless.

A biscuit or a cookie? (Picture: M&S)

Lifestyle reporter Eleanor Noyce said they’d have been her top choice if allowed in the official rankings.

‘I LOVE the crumbliness of the biscuit against the shape of the chocolate,’ she said.

‘I’m a big M&S chocolate button fan in general, but I think it makes a huge difference having those specifically in the biscuits rather than just pieces of chocolate. It feels a little more indulgent.’

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Bag thief didn’t realise he took £2,000,000 Faberge egg and swapped it for drugs

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A thief who stole a handbag containing a rare Faberge egg and watch set worth more than £2 million has been jailed for two years.

Enzo Conticello, 29, swiped the Givenchy handbag belonging to Rosie Dawson as she stood in the smoking area of the Dog and Duck pub in Bateman Street on November 7, 2024.

Inside the £1,600 bag was an emerald-encrusted Faberge egg and Faberge watch belonging to Ms Dawson’s employers at the Craft Irish Whiskey Company, as well as a £1,500 Apple laptop, Apple AirPods, a £350 store voucher, keys, Ms Dawson’s three bank cards, £200 worth of make-up, a Mulberry card holder worth £150, and £20 in cash.

Southwark Crown Court heard on Thursday that Conticello was after ‘easy money’, and he says he handed over the bag – complete with the Faberge egg and watch – to buy drugs.

At a hearing in February, Conticello – also known as Hakin Boudjenoune – pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud by false representation and one count of theft.

He was linked to the handbag theft after trying to use Ms Dawson’s stolen bank cards in a nearby shop within minutes of committing the crime.

Conticellowas jailed today for two years and three months.

Detectives are still trying to recover the Faberge egg.

The missing Faberge egg which police are still trying to recover (Picture: Met Police)

The watch forming part of the same set that was also stolen (Picture: Met Police)

It is around 10cm high and is green and gold in colour. The missing watch is rose gold with a brown leather strap.

The egg and watch are part of a limited edition run of matching items produced by Fabergé.

In 2024, a similar set of items was auctioned together with a rare bottle of whiskey for $2.8 million (£2 million).

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Prosecutor Julian Winship told the sentencing hearing: ‘On November 7, 2024, at just before 10pm, (Ms Dawson) went to the Dog and Duck pub in Soho.

‘She was outside the premises in the designated smoking area, she put her handbag on the ground in between her legs, and a few minutes later she noticed her handbag was no longer there.’

The court heard Ms Dawson had the Faberge items in her handbag after she had taken them for display at a work event earlier that evening.

Mr Winship said Conticello ‘wanted to obtain some easy cash’, and prosecutors accept he did not intend to steal the Faberge egg and accompanying watch.

Algerian Enzo Conticello, 29, targeted Rosie Dawson, Director of Premium Brands at Craft Irish Whiskey in Bateman Street, Soho (Picture: Central News/Met Police)

Insurers have paid out £106,700 to the drinks company for the loss, but the prosecutor said there are only seven Faberge sets – containing a jewelled egg, watch, cigars and humidor – in existence.

Three had been sold for between two to three million dollars, and the company was seeking similar amounts for the remaining four sets.

Conticello’s barrister, Katie Porter-Windley, told the court he previously worked as a chef but lost his job in the Covid pandemic and slipped into cocaine addiction.

‘On the night in question, it was a moment of opportunity which he took, and he is genuinely remorseful for his behaviour,’ she said.

‘He gave the bag to someone to purchase drugs. He had a cocaine addiction at the time.’

Within minutes of her handbag being stolen, Ms Dawson received a fraud alert on her phone at 10.12pm, showing Conticello had tried to use one of her bank cards for a £33.48 purchase at a shop in nearby Berwick Street.

Two further attempts were made to use her cards, at 11.30pm and 12.30am, but they had already been cancelled with the banks.

‘Early on Friday morning, the complainant received a message on social media from someone who had found her bank card on the ground between Soho and Charing Cross,’ Mr Winship said.

Conticello was arrested for separate theft offences in Belfast in November 2025, more than a year after the handbag theft, and was then linked to the 2024 crime.

The court heard the Faberge egg and watch have not been recovered, and Mr Winship said efforts to seek confiscation or compensation from Conticello will not be pursued.

‘It appears to me unlikely that the defendant is a person of means able to satisfy either of these particular prosecutorial routes available to us,’ said Mr Winship.

Ms Porter-Windley told the court Conticello did not realise how valuable the items were that he had stolen.

When the judge remarked the egg is ‘quite extraordinary looking’, with an emerald forming part of its exterior, the defence barrister replied: ‘It is so extraordinary that he wouldn’t know on the face of it whether that was high value or not.’

She said Conticello was homeless at the time, and he is currently a ‘man of no means’.

The judge said Conticello, of no fixed address, would ordinarily have been ordered to pay £3,000 in compensation to Ms Dawson, but she would not make the order as he has no way of paying it.

He is set to serve up to half the prison term before being released on licence.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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Long Island serial killer confesses to strangling eight women in 17 year spree ended by pizza crust

Rex Heuermann pleads guilty in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings during a hearing at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead (Picture: AFP)

An unassuming architect living a secret life as a serial killer has finally admitted to killing eight women in a spree that haunted families and detectives for nearly two decades.

Rex Heuermann, 62, strangled all his victims and dismembered some of them, after using he used burner phones to contact them. He then wrapped their bodies in burlap before dumping them.

Heuermann’s guilty pleas — to three counts of first-degree murder and four of intentional murder — bring finality to a case that bedevilled investigators, tormented victims’ relatives and tantalised a true-crime obsessed public for years.

The women, many of them sex workers, were killed over a 17-year span and buried in remote locations, including along an isolated beach highway across the bay from where he lived, authorities said.

Although he wasn’t charged in her death, he also admitted that he killed Karen Vergata in 1996.

Wearing a black suit coat and white button-down shirt, Heuermann appeared matter-of-fact and unemotional as he answered questions from the judge. He never looked back at the packed courtroom gallery, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead.

The court room was packed with reporters and detectives who cracked the case with the help of DNA lifted from a discarded pizza crust

Gilgo Beach murders victims Tanya Denise Jackson (right) and her daughter Tatiana Marie Dykes (left) have been identified (Pictures: Nassau County Police Department)

Killer’s ex-wife calls it a ‘difficult time’

Investigators and members of the public packed the hearing. Reporters and camera operators swarmed Heuermann’s ex-wife, Asa Ellerup, and their daughter as they entered and left the courthouse.

‘My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” Ellerup said afterward. ‘Their loss is immeasurable and the focus should be on them at this time and moment. I ask that you give some privacy to my family as they navigate through this very difficult time.’

Ellerup and her daughter, Victoria, had no knowledge of or involvement in the killings, said their lawyer, Robert Macedonio. Ellerup has said she found it very difficult to believe her husband was serial killer, because he never gave off warning signs during their time together.

Asked about Heuermann’s admissions, his defence attorney, Michael Brown told reporters, ‘There came a point in this defence where Rex said, ‘I want to plead guilty,’ noting that one of Heuermann’s concerns was sparing the victims’ families and his own family from the ordeal of the case going to trial.

In response to a question about whether Heuermann was sorry, Brown responded, ‘I would hope so. … I would expect at sentencing he would have something to say.’

As part of his guilty plea, Heuermann agreed to cooperate fully with the FBI’s behavioural analysis unit.

Rex Heuermann admitted to strangling an eighth woman (Picture: AFP)

The case began in earnest in 2010 after police found numerous sets of human remains while searching for a missing woman, Shannan Gilbert, along Long Island’s South Shore, setting off a search for a potential serial killer that attracted global interest and spawned a Hollywood movie.

Although her relatives disputed the finding, authorities eventually determined that Gilbert drowned, and Brown said Wednesday that Heuermann ‘had nothing to do with Shannan Gilbert.’

Investigators used DNA analysis and other evidence to identify victims. In some cases, they were able to connect them to remains found elsewhere on Long Island years earlier.

Up Next

Remains of six victims — Melissa Barthelemy, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Lynn Costello, Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and Megan Waterman — were found in the scrub along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach. The remains of another victim, Sandra Costilla, were found more than 60 miles away in the Hamptons.

Police also identified the remains of Vergata, which were found on Fire Island, more than 20 miles west, in 1996, and near Gilgo Beach in 2011.

But despite the attention, including a documentary series and the 2020 Netflix film, “Lost Girls,” the investigation dragged on for more than a decade, punctuated by fleeting leads and dashed hopes.

A fresh look yields results

In 2022, six weeks after a new police commissioner formed the Gilgo Beach task force, detectives identified Heuermann as a suspect by using a vehicle registration database to connect him to a pickup truck that a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010.

Heuermann lived for decades in Massapequa Park, about a 25-minute drive across a causeway spanning South Oyster Bay to the sandy stretch where the women’s remains were found. Some of the victims were believed to have disappeared from that community and their cellphones were found to have pinged towers in the area, authorities said.

After the truck discovery, a grand jury authorised more than 300 subpoenas and search warrants, allowing the task force to dig into Heuermann’s life.

Detectives collected billing records for burner phones he allegedly used to arrange meetings with the victims, retested DNA found with the bodies and scoured Heuermann’s internet search history, which showed that he had viewed violent torture pornography and exhibited an intense interest in the Gilgo Beach killings and the renewed investigation. Cellphone data showed Heuermann was in contact with some victims just before they disappeared, investigators said.

To obtain Heuermann’s DNA, a task force surveillance team tailed him in Manhattan, where he worked, and watched as he threw the remnants of his lunch — a box of partially eaten pizza crusts — into a sidewalk garbage can.

Investigators rushed in, grabbed the box, and sent it to the crime lab, which matched DNA from the crust to a male hair found on burlap used to restrain one of the victims. He was arrested in July 2023.

After Heuermann’s arrest, detectives spent more than 12 days searching his yard and home, where they found a basement vault that contained 279 weapons. On his computer, investigators said, they found what they described as a ‘blueprint’ for the killings, including a series of checklists with reminders to limit noise, clean the bodies and destroy evidence.

He will be sentenced in June to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Farage’s friendship with Trump comes under scrutiny: Readers discuss

Readers discuss US and UK relations, drilling for oil and whether Trump wants to colonise the Moon (Picture: Supplied)

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

Is Farage's friendship with Trump a bad look?

Following Donald Trump’s frankly deranged comment to Iran – ‘Open the f****’ Strait you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell’ (Metro, Tue), it is worth noting what our own Nigel Farage has said in the past about his hero.

‘I respect him for his courage. The guy has got guts, the guy’s got balls – he stands up and fights for the right values.’

‘I have never ever waivered in thinking that… this man [Trump] was a good thing, not just for America but actually for peace in the world.’

‘I am proud to call him a friend.’

‘[Trump] is, by instinct, a peacemaker.’

Being such an impeccable judge of character, could you really see Farage as prime minister of Great Britain? Mike Baldwin, Thorverton

Drilling for oil and stopping the boats can’t go hand in hand…

Reform UK and the Tories want us to ‘drill, baby, drill’ for North Sea oil.

They also want to ‘stop the boats’. But using more fossil fuels will make the climate crisis worse, which will leave more land uninhabitable and cause more extreme weather such as droughts and floods – all of which will cause huge increases in the number of refugees and asylum seekers coming on small boats. I feel like Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch really haven’t thought this through… Caitlyn, Beeston

‘I grew up on a council estate and don’t believe in socialist policies’

This reader says they will never vote for Labour (Picture: Jaimi Joy-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

I would like to redress the balance of letters on MetroTalk, where the majority are from readers who are anti-Donald Trump and Nigel Farage.

I always voted Conservative before Reform. Most people like me, who grew up on a council estate, were expected to vote for Labour but I never have or will because of their ‘socialist policies’ that really don’t align with my beliefs – they seem very much to speak to a dystopian world, whereas I believe in meritocracy.

Got a question about UK politics?

Send in yours and Metro's Senior Politics Reporter Craig Munro will answer it in an upcoming edition of our weekly politics newsletter. Email alrightgov@metro.co.uk or submit your question here.

I also believe Reform will absolutely punish Labour at the ballot box in the local council elections in May. Garry Taylor, Harrogate

Is Starmer ‘unable to make a prompt reply’ on war in Iran

What a wonderful comment Donald Trump made in comparing Sir Keir Starmer with Neville Chamberlain over our prime minister’s refusing to join the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

This is what the British public get when electing a human rights lawyer as our leader. He is unable to make a decision when a prompt reply is required regarding war. Molly Neville, Sheffield

Don’t use our bases, says reader

Keir Starmer is mistaken to allow the US to use our air bases to launch what it calls ‘defensive strikes’ against Iranian missile sites and against those targeting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Unfortunately, unlike Spain and France, who don’t even allow the US to use their air space, our PM has fallen for Trump’s bullying tactics and the president continues to see Starmer as easily manipulated. By allowing the use of British territory, Starmer is in effect complicit with war crimes.

The PM must stop allowing the use of our airfields for killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure immediately. Sally Wilton, Bournemouth

‘A convicted criminal sacks the head of the department of justice’

So, Donald Trump has sacked his attorney general, Pam Bondi. This is a first even for the US – a convicted criminal sacks the head of the department of justice. Martin Hyde, Brighton

Space exploration is ‘romantic’

This reader says people know of the risks of the Artemis II Mission (Picture: NASA via Getty Images)

Peter says that, amid all the excitement about the Artemis II lunar mission, nobody appears to have given any thought to the exploitation of the moon that will surely follow (MetroTalk, Tue).

I think plenty of people have given it a thought, myself included. However, I prefer to concentrate on the more romantic angle of further space exploration. It makes total sense to think of future Mars missions being launched from the Moon rather than Earth.

And don’t be too sure about there being ‘no natives’ to ‘cheat and murder’ as happened to those at the hands of the Conquistadors of the 15th and 16th centuries. I mean, have you never watched Star Trek? It’s life, Peter, but not as we know it. Dec, Essex

The US wants to colonise the Moon and Mars’

Nobody who cares about the Earth, the Moon and Mars should be celebrating the launch of Artemis II.

The US wants to colonise the Moon and Mars. That is an outrage.

The US doesn’t own the Moon or Mars and it has no right to step foot on either one or do anything with them. It won’t be satisfied until a McDonald’s is on both.

Who wants to look up at the Moon and know that humans are living on it, looking back at us? Certainly not me.

And how much damage to the ozone layer are those rockets doing every time they burn their way through the atmosphere? The whole thing is wrong and shouldn’t be happening. Stefan Badham, Portsmouth

Extortionate world cup tickets

So, only £8,333 for a ticket for the World Cup Final. In 1966, I bought a book of tickets for just under £10 for ten games (six London group stage matches, a quarter final, semi-final, the third and fourth place play-off and the final) –about £1 per game. Taking inflation into account, my book of tickets today would have cost £250 (£25 per game). Thus, a ticket for this year’s final is going to cost 333 times more than the 1966 final.

Fifa should be ashamed and, in my opinion, all real football fans should boycott this year’s World Cup. Eric, York

This reader says inflation has a lot to answer for (Picture: Getty Images/Getty Images)

Trevor Oaks tribute touched reader

Thank you for the piece on Showaddywaddy guitarist Trevor Oakes dying (Metro paper, Mar 30). The media don’t seem to consider them relevant now, so it was a welcome surprise to see you feature it – appreciated.

I don’t mean to be pernickety but Under The Moon Of Love was No.1 in 1976 not 1979. Paul Milburn, Newcastle

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Olympics’ banning of trans athletes goes against their mission: Readers discuss

Readers discuss goal of the Olympics, Artemis II and Iran’s politics (Picture: Yves Herman/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

Olympics does not represent 'hope for all', reader says

Tuesday was International Transgender Day of Visibility, which makes what is happening to the Olympics bitterly ironic. With its new ruling limiting women’s sports to ‘biological females’ (whatever that means), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is sending out a clear message – trans, 
non-binary and intersex women are not welcome at the Olympic Games.

Due to a mere accident of birth – one that will have already caused them a huge amount of suffering – a small minority of women are being excluded from the world of sport. IOC president Kirsty Coventry said ‘the Olympic flame shines as a beacon of hope for all’. Unless you’re a trans, non-binary or intersex woman, it seems. Helen Shaw, Liverpool

‘Iran has proxies everywhere’, says reader

Kevin (MetroTalk, Wed) is worried about civilians losing their lives in the Middle East and asks how the US, Israel and Iran can be held accountable.

Many don’t seem to want to understand that Iran has proxies everywhere, funds Hezbollah and Hamas and is responsible for the deaths and torture of thousands of innocent people, including its own, across the world.

What may be worth noting are the famous (and not-so famous) Iranians in the UK supporting this move to decimate the evil Iranian regime and who say their family and friends support the US and Israel. Sara, London

Is launch of Artemis II paving the way for ‘exploitation of Mars’?

This reader says sending Artemis II to the moon could be a bad thing (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock)

Amid the excitement of the launch of the manned Artemis II mission to circle the moon, nobody seems to have given a thought to the fact that its mission is to explore the possibilities of exploiting the moon’s natural resources and for it to be a stepping stone for a similar future exploitative mission to Mars.

Got a question about UK politics?

Send in yours and Metro's Senior Politics Reporter Craig Munro will answer it in an upcoming edition of our weekly politics newsletter. Email alrightgov@metro.co.uk or submit your question here.

Have we really not learnt anything from the exploitation of our own planet? I’ve no doubt the eyes of the Conquistadors of the 15th and 16th centuries gleamed with greed and their hearts quickened at the prospect of the riches in store from the new world spread out before them. At least this time there will be no natives to cheat and murder.
Peter, Bradford-on-Avon

Trans girl banned from girl guiding: reader says she is a ‘boy’

Regarding the ‘anguish’ of the ten-year-old trans girl excluded from Girlguiding (Metro, Wed). It’s because he’s a boy. He can still maintain the kind friendship he experienced from the girls and maybe joining a mixed-sex youth organisation, such as Woodcraft Folk, would bring him equal happiness.
Patricia Baker-Cassidy, Oxford

‘Trans ideology does not benefit the individual’, says reader

Why does your report refer to a ten-year-old boy as ‘she’?

Colluding with someone’s desires, delusions and fantasies is not kind, and puts pressure on others to go along with the lie. Trans ideology must not be allowed to trump reality. In the long run, it benefits neither the individual nor society. Trevor Sidnell, Uxbridge

‘If people don’t like certain laws and customs then they shouldn’t go to that country’

J Smyth (MetroTalk, Wed) says countries such as the UAE like to give a rose-tinted view of life there but the reality is that their human rights records are ‘abysmal’ and people can get sent to prison for kissing in public.

If people don’t like certain laws and customs then they shouldn’t go to that country. Matt, Sheffield

This reader says stay away from countries you don’t agree with (Picture: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Is UK government copying tactics of Social Democratic Party in Denmark?

To try to combat Reform UK and the rise of the far-right, the government is planning to copy the tactics of the Social Democratic Party in Denmark by toughening rules on immigration.

And yet in the Danish general election last month, the Social Democrats recorded their worst result since 1903, while far-right parties more than doubled their seats.

The same thing will happen to Labour if they keep trying to ‘out-Reform Reform’. Appeasement never works. JWA Caley, St Pancras

Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments

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FA Cup semi-final draw: Chelsea, Leeds, Man City and Southampton learn their fate

Four teams remain in the hunt for this year’s FA Cup (Picture: Getty)

Manchester City will do battle with Championship outfit Southampton for a place in this year’s FA Cup final after their emphatic quarter-final victory over Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola’s side hope to go one better after falling at the final hurdle last season, with the Spaniard looking to lift the famous trophy for a third time in his tenth year at the Etihad.

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo also netted as City breezed past the eight-time winners to ramp up the pressure on Arne Slot and reach the semi-finals on Saturday.

Their opponents, Southampton, secured a spot in the last four after stunning Premier League leaders Arsenal in front of a rapturous St Mary’s crowd.

In this year’s other semi-final at Wembley, Leeds will face off against Chelsea after getting the better of West Ham on penalties at the London Stadium.

Lucas Perri was the hero for Leeds, making two big saves in a nerve-shredding shootout, to seal the club an FA Cup semi-final place for the first time in 39 years.

Crystal Palace, the holders, saw their defence come crashing to a halt in the third round as they suffered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition at the hands of Macclesfield.

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FA Cup semi-final draw

Chelsea vs Leeds

Manchester City vs Southampton

Crystal Palace are the current holders after beating Manchester City in last year’s final (Picture: Getty)

When will the FA Cup semi-finals and final be played?

The two semi-final ties will take place on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26 at Wembley.

The two winning teams will return to the famous, 90,000-capacity stadium for this year’s final on May 16.

Ball numbers for FA Cup semi-final draw

Guardiola is looking to win a third FA Cup with City this season (Picture: Getty)

1. Southampton
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester City
4. Leeds United

Are there replays in the FA Cup this year?

Leeds won at West Ham to advance to the semi-finals (Picture: Getty)

There are no replays in any of the full rounds of this season’s FA Cup.

The FA made the decision to scrap all replays from the first round onwards in last year’s competition and that has continued into the 2025/26 campaign.

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Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder LIVE: Fight updates and latest undercard results

Chisora and Wilder collide with their careers likely to be on the line (Picture: Getty)

Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder collide in what could be a brutal heavyweight showdown in the capital tonight.

It is fight no50 for both men as they approach the end of long careers that have delivered some unforgettable nights in boxing.

For Chisora, who counts a trilogy with Tyson Fury and two wars with Dillian Whyte among his past battles, he has already insisted tonight will be his last dance. But one more victory could have him reconsidering those plans after the final bell.

For Wilder, defeat is not an option. Damaging losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang have already pushed him out of the world title picture, and another to ‘Del Boy’ could signal the end of the road for ‘The Bronze Bomber’.

Metro’s LIVE blog will bring you all the undercard action, fight analysis and minute-by-minute coverage of the main event in London tonight.

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‘So poor’ – Liverpool legend slams £34m star after Man City FA Cup loss

Liverpool were thumped by Manchester City (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol slammed the performance of Mohamed Salah after the Reds were thumped 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup.

A hat-trick from Erling Haaland and a well-taken finish from Antoine Semenyo saw Arne Slot’s side dumped out of the cup competition on Saturday.

There was plenty of attention on Salah pre-match, with the Egyptian making his first appearance since announcing his decision to leave Anfield at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old, who signed for £34million from Roma back in 2017, has struggled for form this season and turned in another disappointing display on Saturday, spurning a great opportunity early on before seeing a penalty saved by James Trafford in the second half.

And former defender Nicol, a five-time league champion with Liverpool, admitted he is flummoxed by how much Salah’s levels of performance have declined this season.

‘This is unprecedented,’ Nicol told ESPN. ‘How can you go from almost winning the Player of the Year last year to this? To the fact that now you don’t look as though you know where the goal is.’

Analysing Salah’s early miss, he added: ‘The fact is, he had plenty of time to get it under control and pick his spot. But his touch is so poor.

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Salah saw his penalty saved by James Trafford (Picture: Getty)

‘Where’s the power? He’s obviously, his whole body shape’s wrong.

‘And even the penalty kick. He doesn’t have his head up. You watch the majority of people take penalty kicks nowadays.

‘They’re all watching where the goalie is. But Mo is so concentrated and so unsure that he has to concentrate on the ball and make sure he gets a good strike.

Virgil van Dijk’s performance was also criticised (Picture: Getty)

‘And so all that other stuff that you would normally do with your head up, because you’re confident, has completely and utterly disappeared.’

Elsewhere, former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley called into question the form of Virgil van Dijk after the Dutchman gave away the penalty which opened the floodgates in Manchester.

‘He’s been poor as well,’ Burley said of the Liverpool captain. ‘Two guys that were paid a King’s ransom in the summer, two leaders, he’s the captain, two guys that have taken this Liverpool team on their shoulders in different aspects, have been two of the worst performers.

‘Obviously, [Ibrahima] Konate has had a very, very bad season, but in terms of leadership, positioning and defending with Van Dijk’s quality, he’s been poor.’

Asked about the performances of experienced players like Salah and Van Dijk post-match, Slot said: ‘I wouldn’t like to point out to individuals after a loss like this or after a disappointing season that we are having. I think it’s about the team.

‘Mo [Salah] had a few good chances, which is always important because you want players like him to get chances, and I think that’s what in general we did this season, getting him or other players in good positions.

‘Unfortunately, if you look at not only today but the whole season, the amount of goals we scored is far too low for the amount of chances we created, but definitely for the Liverpool standard.’

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