Articles by Neil Shaw

'I've had to quit spaghetti bolognese after starting popular drug'

A mum-of-two who switched from Mounjaro to Wegovy after prices skyrocketed claims she has now been left unable to eat spaghetti bolognese or beefburgers. Kennidee Cox started her weight loss jab journey just over a year ago and has since lost over five stone. But since swapping to Wegovy six weeks ago, the 27-year-old has been forced to give up spaghetti bolognese and hasn’t been able to stomach a beef burger – which was previously one of her favourite meals. Kenidee, from Oxford, says the drug has drastically improved her inflammation and hormones. “Whenever I eat a beef burger – one of my favourites – I tend to get a dodgy tummy, it just doesn’t sit right,” she said. “This has happened when I’ve eaten other beef meals too. I’ve got friends who have had a gastric band and are now on Wegovy and their doctors have told them to avoid beef as it sits in the stomach too long and takes longer to digest. “I can’t eat anything heavy in oils and or grease. I can’t have curry anymore, which I’m quite upset about as it’s been about a year now.” Before the price hike, the content creator previously paid £165 per month for Mounjaro. She now pays £30 less for Wegovy at £135 per month. The mum started her fat jab journey at 17 stone and is not far from her goal weight of 10 stone. Though Kenidee claims she is yet to see big weight loss on Wegovy, she has stayed pretty consistent since her first Friday jab six weeks ago. She said: “Some people are too quick to give up on Wegovy. I’m not ruling out going back to Mounjaro but I’m going to at least give it a try for a few months.” Kennidee says it is unlikely she will ever come off the jab. After having a four-week break before her wedding, she gained a bit of weight back. She said: “Because of the health benefits I think I’ll be one of those people on [GLP-1 jabs] for the long-term.” Kenidee admitted Wegovy and Mounjaro have left her brain wanting different things – she feels put off eating takeaways and the greasy foods she used to enjoy. Now she craves “comfort, home-cooked meals”. The influencer also shared a few things she prefers about Wegovy. She said the “shelf-life” of this drug lasts a full week before she needs to jab again – whereas on Mounjaro it only lasts five days, which saw her with increased hunger to battle for the remaining days of the week. Kenidee said: “On Mounjaro towards the end of the week, usually day five I would feel hungrier and more snacky. But on Wegovy it's more consistent throughout the week.” The mum also praised Wegovy’s user-friendly pen design, explaining that unlike Mounjaro, it doesn’t require a plunger or two hands - just the simple click of a button. Her husband and family are “really supportive [of her GLP-1 journey] as long as it makes me happy!” Kenidee has been sharing her top tips, tricks, and real-life lessons from her own fat jab journey with fans on TikTok.

Oct 21, 2025

Technology

Man sacked for saying 'top of the morning to ya' wins £16,000

A man sacked after saying “top the morning to ya” to a colleague in a mock Irish accent has won more than £16,000 for unfair dismissal. Karl Davies, then 57, was working at Wrexham ’s Oscar Mayer ready meal manufacturing site when, on August 13 2024, he greeted a manager, Scott Millward, in the accent while listening to Irish music, an employment tribunal heard. Mr Millward had been escorting a “red-headed” external auditor when the remark was made and he reported his colleague to the employer, who launched a probe into whether the comments amounted to racial harassment, the tribunal in Mold was told. The claimant repeated the phrase multiple times, with tribunal Judge Vincent Ryan accepting that he was “effectively channelling the musical vibe”. The judge said that Mr Davies adopted an accent in a “reprehensible” and “mocking” way and goaded Mr Millward by repeating the phrase “in a manner that Mr Millward was bound to find irritating and embarrassing”. He said that the claimant was trying to get on Mr Millward’s nerves to get a reaction from him and to cause him embarrassment. He added: “I find that the purpose was not to racially harass Mr Millward, and there is no evidence before me that it had the effect, either, on anyone. It was nevertheless blameworthy as (Mr Davies) was subordinate to Mr Millward. “It gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings and therefore contributed to the eventual sanction.” The claimant did not know and had not seen the auditor, who is not known or believed to be Irish, the tribunal heard. A manager, against whom Mr Davies had an unresolved grievance, conducted the investigation into Mr Davies’s comments, the tribunal was told. The judge wrote that Oscar Mayer’s disciplinary case was based on its perception that Mr Davies may have perceived that the auditor looked “typically Irish”. Mr Davies’s phrase was found by his employer to amount to harassment, but neither his clean disciplinary record or 27 years of employment for the firm were taken into account, the judge found. The tribunal ruled that the chosen investigator was not “appropriate”, witness statements were inconsistent and the probe was “largely based on assumptions”. The judge said: “The claimant was accused of using an employment ending, reputation damaging, loss-inducing, racially motivated slur, a slur which could have created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment; these are serious matters. “On the facts peculiar to this case, I found that the dismissal was unfair, which does not mean that I approve the use of the greeting in question or the use of mock accents.” He added that the case was “not an indication of wokeness or anti-wokeness”.

Oct 9, 2025

Technology

Dolly Parton four-word health update after sister 'up all night praying'

Dolly Parton has posted on social media that “I ain’t dead yet!” after her sister raised concerns by saying she had been “up all night praying” for the country singer. Last month, Parton, 79, postponed a scheduled Las Vegas residency, citing unspecified “health challenges”. The country star had been due to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for Dolly: Live In Las Vegas in December, but rescheduled for September 2026. In a post on Facebook , Freida Parton said: “Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. “Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. “Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!” Now Parton has responded by posting a video on X in which she says: “I know lately, everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease. Those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate, and I appreciate your prayers, because I’m a person of faith. “I can always use the prayers for anything and everything, but I want you to know that I’m okay. I’ve got some problems, as I mentioned back when my husband Carl was very sick. That was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. “So I let a lot of things go that I should have taken care of. So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that’. “Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, you know, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there, but I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.” She went on to refer to an artificial intelligence photo that had been created of actress Reba McEntire at her “deathbed”. She said: “Oh, lordy. I mean, they had Reba at my deathbed, and we both looked like we need to be buried. But I thought, ‘Oh, my Lord’. But if, if I was really dying, I don’t think Reba would be the one at my death bed, she would come visit me earlier. “But anyway, there are just a lot of rumours flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK. So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to say, and I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me, and I ain’t done working. So I love you for caring and keep praying for me.” Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died aged 82 in March this year. Announcing the postponement of what would have been her first Vegas residency in more than 30 years, the Jolene singer wrote on Instagram on September 29: “As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures.”

Oct 9, 2025

Technology

Digital ID could be mandatory for anyone on benefits, PM suggests

Sir Keir Starmer has met the architect of India’s national identification system, as he seeks to expand his plans for a digital ID. The Prime Minister announced in September that the new digital ID system would be introduced in 2029, and would be mandatory for people working in the UK as part of a bid to tackle illegal migration. But during his trade mission to Mumbai, Sir Keir has suggested he wants to expand beyond the current plans to a voluntary national ID which could help manage public services such as benefits and bill payments. Under the original mandatory scheme, photo IDs would be stored on smartphones in a similar way to digital bank cards and would contain information on the holder’s name, residency status, date of birth and nationality. The plans have faced a wave of opposition since Sir Keir announced them, and support for digital ID has plummeted in the polls. As he led the India trade mission, the Prime Minister met Nandan Nilekani, a founder of the Indian technology company Infosys, to discuss India’s voluntary digital ID. Mr Nilekani left tech giant Infosys in 2006 to help set up Aadhaar, India’s digital identification authority. The biometric system is the largest of its kind in the world, and covers all but a fraction of India’s population. While it is technically a voluntary system, some have raised concerns that those without an Aadhaar number have been left locked out of access to benefits, while others have highlighted security and privacy concerns within the system. Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister told reporters he believed the Government’s work on mandatory ID was “really important” for tackling migration. But he added: “I think there is a case to be made about the benefits for voluntary ID into other areas, and obviously we need to make that case. “I think it’s a really important discussion for us to have. So on the one hand, it’s mandatory for work, but I actually think it would be a good passport. You know, I don’t know how many times the rest of you have had to look in the bottom drawer for three bills when you want to get your kids into school or apply for this or apply for that. Drives me to frustration.” The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters the half-hour meeting had given Sir Keir a chance to hear about how the Indian system had been “useful” for managing services such as welfare. The private sector has also managed to “dock” into India’s system, the spokesman said, but signalled a UK system would be run by the public sector. Britain’s digital ID would not necessarily copy India’s biometric data usage, he added, as it was not “directly applicable nor comparable” with the UK. The spokesman also defended the Government’s plans amid the growing public backlash, after being asked about the 2.8 million people who have now signed a petition against the measures. “When you set out radical, ambitious public service reform it is natural for people to have thoughts and we obviously acknowledge them,” he said.

Oct 9, 2025

Technology

Energy operators say alerts will have to be sent this winter

Great Britain’s energy system operator has said there could be “tight days” for energy supply over winter but stressed that new battery storage will help to meet national demand. The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said imported electricity supply from Europe could be used “when required” to help power homes and businesses. The electricity grid operator and National Gas have published their latest energy outlook reports for this winter after prices ticked higher at the start of the month with a rise in the price cap. Neso said on Thursday that electricity margins, which reflect the cushion of spare power supply available to meet customer needs, have risen to their strongest level since 2020. But it added there could still be some “tighter periods” which could need support from the energy industry. “We expect a sufficient operational surplus throughout winter, although there may still be tight days that require us to use our standard operating tools, including system notices,” the report said. System notices are how the grid operator informs the wider energy industry that electricity supply has not matched demand, allowing for production to increase if needed. Early data from electricity firms and forecasters has suggested that “tight days” are most likely to take place in early December or mid-January. Neso added that imports will be available when needed to help cover demand, supported by “adequate electricity supply across Europe”. Deborah Petterson, director of resilience and emergency management at Neso, said: “A resilient and reliable energy supply is fundamental to our way of life. “At Neso we are looking at the upcoming winter and can report this year’s winter outlook sets out the strongest electricity margins in six years. It is critical that we continue our work with the wider energy industry to prepare for the coming months to build on this foundation and maintain our world-leading track record of reliability.” Meanwhile, the latest analysis from National Gas indicated that Great Britain has enough gas supply capability to meet peak demand. It indicated supply can meet demand, even “even accounting for unforeseen network outage scenarios”. The gas network operator said gas demand is expected to be 3% lower than last winter, easing pressure on supply. It said high-demand days are still expected but it stressed that it is “confident” the market will operate as needed. Glenn Bryn-Jacobsen, director of energy systems and resilience at National Gas, said: “As we head into winter, we remain confident in the resilience of our gas system and our ability to meet Britain’s energy needs during periods of peak demand. The energy landscape is evolving, with a growing reliance on imports and the continued decline of UK continental shelf supplies. “Meeting these challenges requires a co-ordinated, forward-looking approach, and we’re working closely with Government, industry, and regulators to develop the right solutions that safeguard security of supply for the future.” But the report from National Gas shows a fall in Britain’s gas storage capabilities, thanks to the Rough storage site off the coast of Yorkshire no longer storing gas, which means there is an increased reliability on importing liquified natural gas (LNG) to plug the gap in times of high demand. The facility in the North Sea is the largest of its kind in the UK, but owner Centrica has stopped filling it with natural gas amid concerns over its financial viability. The Rough site comprises about half of Britain’s storage capacity, and acts as a buffer when the weather is especially cold and demand for gas spikes. Centrica has long warned it will be decommissioned without government support to allow investment in the site.

Oct 9, 2025