Is ‘an only child is a lonely child’ just an outdated myth? Readers discuss

Readers discuss if it is better for children to have siblings, whether the Clacton by-election is legit and whether the UK is facing a heatwave (Picture: Getty)

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

Only children are not lonely

Kate Lawler’s article about choosing to have just one child (Metro, Thu) had me shaking my head in disbelief.

I’m an only child who is a generation older than Kate and was so disappointed to learn she still had to contend with the same myths (‘an only child is a lonely child’) and proscriptive attitudes (‘without children, you’re not whole’) that were prevalent when I was young.

I lived contentedly with my mum, dad and grandma. I don’t recall being lonely and made friends easily enough. I recall adults feeling sorry for me and asking leading questions (‘but don’t you wish you a brother or sister?’), which could not have been further from my mind.

There is much research to suggest that we ‘onlies’ enjoy advanced verbal skills, do well academically, are confident and deal better with solitude.

So, good for Kate and her small-but-beautifully-formed family. And good for those who choose to remain childless and those who have several kids (assuming they can look after them all). Do what’s right for you!

And, please, can everyone else mind their own business? You can’t get inside someone else’s head and if you really believe life without procreation lacks purpose, I feel deeply sorry for you. William Buckley, Reading

Siblings aren’t always all that

Having siblings is not always what it’s cracked up to be. My older sister and I did play together as children but she would happily ditch me if she had something better to do. It didn’t help that my dad also played favourites, pitting us against each other for his affection.

For every person I know who has an amazing relationship with their siblings, 
I know another who has had major friction and/or become estranged from them. Tania, London

‘Heatwave is an official term, where the temperature is hotter than average for that time’

Sarah (MetroTalk, Fri) asks why we’re referring to our weather as a ‘heatwave’ rather than a ‘glorious summer’.

Heatwave is an official term, where the temperature is hotter than average for that time. The average temperature for July is usually around 17C so the fact it’s been 32C for an extended period is more than it just being a bit hot. Matt, Sheffield

Reader points out flaw with time off for World Cup…

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John (MetroTalk, Fri) says businesses should have allowed staff to knock off early to watch Saturday’s England match.

I’m a train driver who doesn’t follow football. I do, however, follow cycling – and with three Grand Tours lasting three weeks each, I look forward to the railway shutting for nine weeks. Paul, Braintree

‘The media is doing its job, reporting the fact of his undeclared £5million crypto-gift’

John Nightingale (MetroTalk, Thu) suggests Nigel Farage is the victim of a mainstream media witch-hunt and says he has been ‘found guilty of nothing’.

The media is doing its job, reporting the fact of his undeclared £5million crypto-gift, which has triggered an official probe.

Farage has built a career on ‘just asking questions’ to stir the populist pot, yet when Parliament asks entirely legitimate questions of him, this Dulwich College-educated former City broker cries foul and triggers a costly by-election to dodge scrutiny. Peter Brown, Cleckheaton

Clacton by-election should be suspended

Why isn’t the Clacton by-election postponed until after the investigation into Farage’s finances is concluded? Terry, Winnersh

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Noah’s exit ‘confirmed’ in Emmerdale as he makes a big announcement

Time for a change? (Picture: ITV)

As dramatic as the Emmerdale village is, it’s not the ideal place to live if you want your day-to-day life to consist of anything more than getting up, going to work, heading to the pub and going home.

It’s something that appears to be on Noah Dingle’s (Jack Downham) mind in upcoming episodes of the ITV soap, and it could well lead to his departure.

Son to Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins), Noah has faced his fair share of village chaos. A couple of years ago, he was sentenced to prison after stalking and harassing Chloe Harris. Noah was released, and thankfully managed to turn his life around.

Last year, Noah became one of the many victims impacted by Joe Tate’s (Ned Porteous) scheme. He was in need of a kidney transplant, but obviously went about finding a donor in a completely unethical way.

Joe drugged his brother Noah and took him to a private hosptial. Dodgy surgeon Doctor Crowley tested Noah’s blood against Joe’s, but discovered he wasn’t a match.

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With Noah being basically useless to him at that time, Joe dumped him at the side of the road. In his drugged state, Noah staggered in front of a limo that was being driven by Charity. The vehicle crashed onto a frozen lake, eventually leading to the deaths of Amy Wyatt, Suzy Merton and Leyla Harding.

When he isn’t stuck in the middle of some Dingle or Tate based drama, Noah works as an eletrician. He enjoys it, it provides him with good money – but Noah wants more.

In scenes that will air soon, Noah tells Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) that he’s considering applying for jobs abroad.

It would be a great opportunity for Noah to experience what life outside of the village has to offer – but will he actually leave?

Noah is one of the many who could end up killing Doctor Todd (Picture: ITV)

Could Noah kill Todd and then make a run for it? (Picture: ITV/YouTube)

Interestingly, Noah is one of the many people who could end up killing Doctor Caitlin Todd (Caroline Harker) in the near future.

He currently doesn’t know about everything Caitlin put his mum through, but is that going to change?

Will he murder Doctor Todd, and make a run for it afterwards?

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Body in suitcase found during children’s ‘teddy bear hunt’

A body was discovered in a suitcase at a park, close to where a children’s teddy bear hunt event had been taking place (Picture: Cover Images)

A mother taking her children on a teddy bear hunt was shocked to find a suitcase with human remains inside.

The mother had been at the park attending a teddy bear hunt organised as a fundraiser for a local nursery when she saw flies emanating from the case in a wooded area on Friday.

She told KentOnline: ‘I saw the luggage before the police. I was with my niece and nephew, so I was busy keeping them from seeing it.

‘What I saw was the suitcase covered in hundreds of flies. I actually heard the buzzing from them first. I noticed that it was a large suitcase and had a snow sledge next to it.’

The day before, police had been tipped off to potential murder at a flat on Kingfisher Court in Wandsworth, more than 30 miles away from Borstal Recreation Ground, Kent where the discovery was made.

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No-one was found in the property but after carrying out a search, officers believed ‘someone had come to harm’ and a murder investigation was launched.

Shortly after two men, aged 27 and 32, living 30 miles away in Wandsworth went to a police station where they were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Ivan Tsvetkov, 38, had been playing with his child at the park when he noticed the police presence at around 7.30pm.

The warehouse worker said: ‘I can’t imagine something like this happening at the park. I play there with my child.

‘There are always loads of people there, so I am shocked by it. It’s a nice quiet area and I wouldn’t expect something like that here.’

Detectives charged Joshua Miller, 32, of Kingfisher Court, Wandsworth, with murder and preventing a lawful and decent burial.

Jamie Cooper, 27, of the same address, has been charged with preventing a lawful and decent burial.

The Met said the victim and both men charged were known to each other.

Both suspects will appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

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Law & Order star says grieving husband begged show to change wife’s murder storyline

Jesse L. Martin has revealed that a grieving widower once visited him on set with a heartbreaking plea (Picture: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

Law & Order built an empire on its famous ‘ripped from the headlines’ formula, but for one grieving husband, seeing his family’s tragedy turned into primetime television was simply too much.

Former star Jesse L. Martin has revealed that a widower once turned up at his trailer in tears, begging the long-running crime drama to change an episode inspired by his wife’s murder because he feared it could affect the ongoing court case.

Martin, 57, played Detective Ed Green on the NBC series between 1999 and 2008, during one of the show’s most successful eras, when it regularly adapted real-life crimes into fictional storylines.

Looking back on his time filming, the actor admitted there was one encounter he has never forgotten.

Speaking to People, Martin explained that the case involved a woman who had been murdered in Manhattan while legal proceedings were still ongoing.

Although he declined to identify the victim or the case, he recalled that her husband somehow became aware the programme was developing an episode based on the events.

The actor was on the NBC series between 1999 and 2008(Picture: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

‘Someone knocked on my trailer door, and it was the husband of the person who was killed,’ Martin remembered.

‘He was there with his child — a little baby — and he was in tears.

‘He was like, “This could mess up the case for us. I need your help. I don’t want this to happen.”‘

The unexpected confrontation left Martin feeling powerless.

‘I felt absolutely useless,’ he admitted. ‘I had no idea what to do.’ Instead, the actor immediately fetched one of the show’s producers, hoping they could reassure the grieving father.

Law & Order has long insisted its episodes are inspired by real events rather than direct recreations, often combining multiple cases or substantially altering details to avoid identifying those involved.

Law & Order is one of the longest running and most successful TV franchises in history (Picture: Ralph Bavaro/NBC via Getty Images)

Martin said the production team always tried to change stories enough to create distance from the original crimes.

But in this case, the husband believed the similarities were simply too close.

‘He was convinced we were literally just telling that story,’ Martin said.

Although the actor stressed he wasn’t personally responsible for the script, the encounter changed how he viewed the show’s famous storytelling approach.

‘It’s the first time I felt like, even though I wasn’t responsible, I had felt totally responsible for what this story actually turns out to be,’ he said.

‘I didn’t want it to affect him, obviously, or his family, or the story, the legacy.’

Law & Order has been borrowing elements from real criminal cases since it first premiered in 1990, with creator Dick Wolf making the ‘ripped from the headlines’ approach one of the franchise’s defining trademarks.

For millions of viewers it’s become part of the appeal. For one devastated husband standing outside an actor’s trailer with his young child, however, the line between fact and fiction suddenly felt far too thin.

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Should workers get time off to watch England in the World Cup? Readers weigh in

Readers discuss making exceptions for the World Cup, whether Count Binface should win the Clacton by-election and why current UK temperatures are being called a ‘heatwave’ (Photo: Christian Brunskill/UPI/Shutterstock)

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

'It would be great for retail venues and businesses in general to close early and give staff some'

With England focused on the World Cup quarter-final against Norway tomorrow night, it would be great for retail venues and businesses in general to close early and give staff some paid time off to prepare for the match – or just chill out.

Indeed, more goods would be bought as customers bring forward their shopping. A win-win situation, one could say.

The hottest weather since 1976 is another reason for earlier closure. It would be good for safety and morale likely rise and much respect be gained.

Retail work is very ‘around the clock’ and a bit of paid time off for the match would allow staff to touch base with their local communities and their neighbours. And to make memories.

In the meantime, my best wishes to all fellow Metro readers and their families for their enjoyment of the match in their communities. John Barstow, Pulborough

What does ‘British tennis players not being born in Britain’ mean?

British tennis has had many great players, past and present, who were never actually born in Britain. To name a few – Cameron Norrie, Johanna Konta, Greg Rusedski and Emma Raducanu.

They have now been joined by new boy, Arthur Fery, who was born in France and has made the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Is this a sign of desperation by the sport’s governing body, which has a small pool of players to choose from that reflects a lack of training and development in this country and of the elitism and high costs in tennis, from top to bottom? Steve, Harrow

Reader questions why UK heat is called a heatwave…

Many countries in Europe have long summers with temperatures similar to those we in the UK are currently experiencing. So why is ours called a ‘heatwave’? Surely we’re simply having a glorious summer for once! Sarah Howes, Mortlake

Should Count Binface be elected?

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.

What a heaven-sent opportunity Nigel Farage has given the people of Clacton in forcing a by-election in his constituency. Not only can they send Farage to the political abyss, they can liven up Westminster by electing Count Binface. So, not only is it sticking up two fingers to Farage but also to the establishment – a win-win situation! Go for it Clacton! Steven Collett, Birmingham

Farage ‘cares little for real democracy’

Nigel Farage is a loud-mouthed self-publicist who doesn’t work well with others in his party and seems to be in the business – rather like Donald Trump – of maximising personal financial gain, caring little for real democracy. Lester May, Camden Town

This reader things Farage will win the by-election

It’s amazing how so many of the letters printed in MetroTalk about Farage are from people who hate him and think or hope that he is going to fail to win his by-election. But Reform have been leading the polls for months and are still well in the front – so I just hope they are not too upset when he wins.

And the fact that all the major parties have refused to take part in the by-election simply proves how scared they are of losing to him. Leslie, Stourbridge

Nothing loveable about Farage

Alan (MetroTalk, Wed) compares Farage with television wheeler-dealer Arthur Daley – but 
I remember the Minder character as being portrayed by George Cole as a loveable rogue. I fail to see anything remotely loveable about Farage, who is every bit as much a part of the establishment as those he himself claims to despise so much. 
Roger Smith, Witham

Should the public be asked which form of energy they want?

Further to complaints about a 132,000-panel solar farm, Michael (MetroTalk, Wed) suggests we ask people whether they’d prefer to live with ‘a vast expanse of solar panels or with a nuclear power plant nearby’.

Yes, we absolutely should ask people whether they would prefer cheap, reliable energy produced by nuclear power or the alternative of expensive and unreliable energy from solar panels. Will Podmore, London

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

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Hero officer tackles man with lighter and stops petrol station explosion

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Shocking footage has shown the moment a police officer tackled a man threatening to set himself on fire with a lighter at a petrol station.

Sgt Charlie Thompson wrestled the unnamed man to the ground after he had doused himself in petrol in October last year.

The man was just inches away from the pumps at the Tesco petrol station forecourt, running the risk of a ‘catastrophic’ explosion.

Footage from the tense stand-off shows the man demanding to speak to several people, including the mayor.

He could be heard threatening to ignite himself and gave emergency services ’15 minutes’ to act.

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Sgt Thompson could be heard pleading with the man, asking him to come and talk to the officers.

Sgt Thompson has been nominated for a bravery award (Picture: SWNS)

He tells him: ‘I will try and do what I can. I won’t talk to you while you are holding a lighter. I will talk to you, but not here.

‘We need to get you away from here. Tell me what’s going on. You don’t need to be doing this. What is this about? You need to be very careful.’

The man then poured more petrol over his head before quick-thinking Sgt Thompson dashed at him, risking his own life before tackling him to the ground.

Other officers pile on top while firemen hose the man down with foam to prevent the risk of a fire.

Sgt Thompson has now been nominated for an award at the Police Federation National Police Bravery Awards 2026.

Another rescue worker sprayed him with a fire extinguisher to prevent any potential fire (Picture: SWNS)

Acting Chief Constable David Gardner, of Warwickshire Police, said: ‘We are extremely proud of Sgt Thompson, who demonstrated incredible fortitude, empathy, and quick-thinking in his actions that day.

‘It is thanks to him, and the other officers on the ground, that there wasn’t a tragedy that day in Stratford-upon-Avon. He is more than worthy of the Bravery Award.’

Sgt Thompson said: ‘I couldn’t have done it without the team behind me – we co-ordinated, we worked together, and it was together that we stopped what could have been a terrible loss of life.

‘I’m overwhelmed to have been nominated for a Bravery Award – it’s always a good day when our hard work in the police is recognised like this.

‘I hope that the chap I tackled is doing better now – it will have been a very low moment for him, and we hope he’s managed to pick himself back up and get the support he needed.’

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

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Andy Burnham cruises through Labour leadership contest and apologises for Gaza response

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Prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has distanced himself from Sir Keir Starmer’s response over Gaza as he awaits being crowned leader of the country uncontested.

A total of 322 Labour MPs have formally backed Burnham to be the next party leader on the first day of nominations.

The former Manchester mayor, who returned to Parliament winning a by-election in Makerfield,is expected to become prime minister on 20 July.

As the deadline passes for other candidates to challenge him, he will be declared Labour leader at a party event at the end of next week.

He took the opportunity to back deeper sanctions against Israeli figures involved in settler violence as he apologised for Labour’s initial response to the country’s actions in Gaza.

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Andy Burnham is on course to become Labour’s new leader, with no other candidate running against him.
(Picture: AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

The likely next prime minister said the UK should be ‘clear in our criticism of what has happened in Gaza’, while also condemning Hamas’s attack on October 7 2023 and subsequent acts of antisemitic violence in Britain.

In a video posted to social media, he said: ‘I know many people feel that at the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, my party didn’t get it right and I am sorry about that.

‘The response has too often not been good enough. We need to do better.’

Palestinian children watch on as families dig through the rubble after an Israeli strike
(Picture: EPA)

While he acknowledged Labour had subsequently recognised a Palestinian state, imposed restrictions on arms exports and sanctioned some Israeli ministers, he suggested a government under his leadership would go further.

Mr Burnham said: ‘Let’s be honest, the UK was too slow to call for a ceasefire and we must now do more to strengthen our approach.’

He added that action would include ‘looking at further sanctions, both on those involved in the violence in Gaza, but also looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements’.

But he stopped short of accusing Israel of perpetrating a genocide against Palestinians, as some Labour MPs have demanded Sir Keir Starmer should.

Mr Burnham said there was ‘increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed’, but added it was ultimately a matter for international courts rather than politicians to determine.

He said he was ‘appalled by what I have seen and read about the destruction of Gaza’, describing the experience of Palestinians in the territory as ‘a scar on our collective conscience’.

And he stressed his condemnation of both the October 7 attacks by Hamas and antisemitic violence in Britain, saying: ‘We must continue to stamp out antisemitism across the UK.’

Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, including resisting demands to call for an immediate ceasefire, drew strong criticism from some of the party’s supporters, with the issue driving a significant shift of particularly younger voters towards the Green Party.

Andy Burnham has said Labour “didn’t get it right” in its initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza, and signalled a shift in the UK’s approach including further sanctions and a possible ban on trade in settlement goods.

Responding, Karla McLaren from Amnesty International said: ‘These violations require urgent responses from the UK government, so we agree the UK should, at a minimum, end trade in settlement goods without delay and impose further sanctions on the Israeli officials most implicated in abuses.

‘Mr Burnham’s words point in the right direction, now we need to see this translated into action.’

Burnham has offered some other details for what his premiership could look like in a speech in Manchester last week.

He plans to establish a new No 10 unit in the north which will be tasked with handing local government more control in areas including housing and transport.

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He also pledged to give all parts of the UK ‘greater public control’ of the water and energy sectors but other details remain scant.

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What Queen Camilla told Arthur Fery after his stunning Wimbledon quarter-final win

Queen Camilla during Arthur Fery’s Wimbledon win (Picture: Getty)

Arthur Fery has revealed he shared a ‘special’ exchange with Queen Camilla after his stunning Wimbledon quarter-final win.

Britain’s new number one, who received a wildcard to play at his home Grand Slam, thrashed Flavio Cobolli to storm into the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Fery, 23, had to overcome two five-set battles in the previous two rounds but blew away Cobolli, the world number 10, winning the final set to love.

Queen Camilla was a guest in the Royal Box on Centre Court on Wednesday and bumped into both Fery and Cobolli as they prepared to walk onto court.

The Queen was keen to personally congratulate Fery after the one-sided quarter-final and told the 23-year-old to ‘keep going’ ahead of his semi-final against French Open champion Alexander Zverev.

‘We were getting ready to come on and she came to say hello, she introduced herself to both me and Flavio,’ Fery said in his post-match press conference.

‘It’s obviously an honour to play in front of her and it was great to meet her. She had some really kind words to me at the end, as well.

British wildcard Fery stormed into the semi-finals (Picture: Getty)

‘So yeah, playing in front of tennis legends and now the Queen… it’s really special.’

Asked what the Queen said to him after the biggest win of his career, Fery added: ‘She was waiting for me at the end of the match and she congratulated me.

‘I told her how much of an honour it was for me to play in front of her and she said, “congratulations, keep going!”

Fery produced an inspired performance on Centre Court (Picture: Getty)

‘I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.’

Fery had never gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam before his remarkable run at the All England Club.

But a straight-sets victory over Cobolli, who competed in the recent French Open final, saw Fery become the first men’s wildcard to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for 25 years.

It's not every day Her Majesty The Queen sneaks up on you…😅👑 pic.twitter.com/CRgVG7NUAj

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 8, 2026

‘I felt emotions that I’ve never experienced before in my life in that last game, and I’m sure it is the same up there [in my coaching box],’ Fery said in his on-court interview.

‘I don’t know what I’ll do over the next couple of days, I’ve never been in this position before! I guess we will figure it all out as we go.

‘I’m just going to keep going. I’ve been doing a great job for the past 10 days, so I’m just going to do the same thing and see where that takes me.’

Fery will face world number four Zverev for a place in the Wimbledon final after the current French Open champion beat Taylor Fritz in straight sets.

‘Zverev is a step up again,’ Fery admitted. ‘But I’m ready for it. I have nothing to lose.

‘I’m just going to go out there and, yeah, just put my game on the court, do what I’ve done, believe in myself. We’ll see where that takes me.’

Defending champion Jannik Sinner faces seven-time winner Novak Djokovic in the other Wimbledon semi-final.

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