Luke Alsford

I am a journalist covering politics, general news and human-interest stories for Metro.

Exclusives

Explore my exclusive scoops and stories while at Metro.

Metro •

'3G pitches are exposing children to harmful material - they need to banned'

A leading teachers’ union has called for artificial football pitches to be banned over fears the rubber material in them is causing cancer.
NASUWT said teachers and children are being exposed to harmful chemicals when playing on 3G sports surfaces.
The UK’s other largest teachers’ unions told Metro they are also worried about the health risks and called for further research.
Campaigners and public health experts have long sounded the alarm over carcinogens and chemicals in the rubber crumb infil...
Metro •

Thousands of Brits snitching on neighbours for watching TV without a licence

Thousands of ‘licence fee snitches’ have ratted out their neighbour for illegally watching broadcast TV, Metro can reveal.
More than 17,000 reports of snitching on people flouting TV Licensing rules have been submitted to the BBC since November 2023.
Anyone is able to report an address they suspect of illegally watching broadcast TV or BBC iPlayer through a form on the TV Licensing website.
But critics have labelled the scheme a ‘deeply unhealthy system that turns neighbours into informants’.
Da...
Metro •

Life on Russia's kill list: 'I don't touch door handles with my bare hands'

Being poisoned to death is not something most people have to think about.
But for Roman Dobrokhotov and his family, it’s a threat that is part of daily life.
The exiled Russian journalist, 42, fled his homeland through the forest in July 2021 and has been on Putin’s most wanted list ever since.
Speaking after the UK confirmed that opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a deadly frog toxin, Dobrokhotov revealed the precautions he still takes to make sure the same doesn’t happen to him...
Metro •

'My baby died at six-weeks-old - doctors took his brain and never told me'

‘Why could I not see my baby’s body before his funeral?’
For decades, that question haunted Jane Andrews after her six-week-old son’s death in January 1980.
When she laid him to rest days later, she didn’t know that his brain was missing.
It was another 20 years later that she found out that doctors at Southampton General Hospital had taken and disposed of it without telling her.
Now 81, Jane is telling her story for the first time and told Metro she is still seeking answers about what happened...
Metro •

Grooming gang survivors 'betrayed and distressed' after victims panel is axed

Survivors of the grooming gangs scandal feel ‘disrespected’ and ‘voiceless’ after the victims panel at the heart of the inquiry was scrapped by the government, Metro can reveal.
The victims and survivors liaison panel was shelved by the Home Office in January, a month after survivors criticised the appointment of then Labour peer Anne Longfield as chair of the future inquiry.
The decision to disband the panel, first reported by Metro in December, has sparked accusations that they are being ‘igno...
Metro •

First calls for a boycott of the World Cup over Trump's Greenland threats

Conservative and Labour MPs have become the first voices to call for a boycott of the World Cup this summer after Trump announced new tariffs on the UK.
Simon Hoare and Kate Osborne said the government needed to ‘push every button and pull every lever’ to show its objection to the US president’s threats towards Greenland.
Mr Hoare, a senior Conservative MP, told Metro that could include not going to the World Cup, a day after he called for the King’s state visit to the US to be cancelled.
Labour...
Metro •

Two Cabinet ministers 'stripped to a bikini' by Grok AI

Two Cabinet members have become the latest victims to be ‘undressed’ by Grok AI on Elon Musk’s X, Metro can reveal.
This newspaper has seen pictures of the senior politicians being shown in revealing bikinis at the request of members of the public.
A government source called the images ‘deeply disturbing’ and welcomed media regulator Ofcom’s announcement that they are in ‘urgent talks’ with X and xAI.
The Cabinet ministers are one of hundreds of examples of Grok generating images of partially-na...
Metro •

Asylum seeker supporters 'face rape threats' in town that aims to house migrants

If you chance across the East Sussex town of Crowborough on a Sunday morning, you will see hundreds of protesters waving Union Jacks and St George’s flags.
Every week, people have been marching against Home Office plans to house 540 male asylum seekers at a former army training camp just outside it.
The backlash against the arrival of these migrants has been a staple in the media for weeks – but Metro can reveal the darker side to these angry demos.
Those who have spoken out in support of the as...
Metro •

Survivors panel at centre of grooming gangs inquiry to be scrapped

The survivors panel at the heart of the grooming gangs inquiry will be ditched by the government, Metro can reveal.
The victims and survivors panel will be wound down in January, the Home Office has confirmed, just a year after it was set up to ‘ensure that victims’ voices remain at the very heart’ of the inquiry.
The decision was criticised as ‘disgusting’ by grooming gangs survivors, who said it proved the inquiry would not be victim-led.
The revelation comes on the same day the Home Secretary...
Metro •

Russian hackers target IVF clinics across UK used by thousands of couples

A prestigious IVF clinic has confirmed Russian hackers broke into their systems used by thousands of couples across the UK after Metro revealed the huge data breach.
The London Women’s Clinic, which offers IVF, egg freezing and other fertility treatments at 17 centres across the country, was compromised by the ransomware gang Qilin.
A number of NHS patients are among those who use the clinic and may have been at risk of having their private medical data exposed.
The ‘concerning’ data breach is b...
Mail Online •

Estate agent was NOT to blame for Reeves' house licence fiasco

00:27, 03 Nov 2025, updated

03:00, 03 Nov 2025



By

LUKE ALSFORD
and
CLAIRE ELLICOTT

An estate agent who failed to apply for a licence for Rachel Reeves to let her family home was not responsible for the oversight, his boss has revealed.

The property manager has found himself at the centre of a political scandal after he originally dealt with the Chancellor's case.

But questions were raised about why the agent had left the comp...
Mail Online •

College defies Supreme Court and lets in students who were born male

By LUKE ALSFORD Published: 23:19, 1 November 2025 | Updated: 01:52, 3 November 2025 Cambridge University's oldest women-only college has caused outrage by deciding to continue admitting biological men who 'self-identify' as female, in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling.Newnham College, which has feminist Germaine Greer, actress Emma Thompson and presenter Clare Balding among its alumni, has created a gender policy stating it is open to all 'female' applicants – including those born as me...
Metro •

Flotilla Brits claim they were held in 'torture position' in Israeli custody

British activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla have claimed they were zip-tied, held in insect-infested cells and deprived of sleep while in custody in Israel.
Evie Snedker and Sijaad Hussain told Metro they were allegedly left to drink filthy water and subjected to violent searches at a high-security prison in the Negev desert.
The pair were among more than 500 activists who were attempting to deliver aid to Gaza before their ships were intercepted by Israeli forces last week.
Dozens of parti...
Metro •

'Four kids screamed p*** at me on a packed London train - no-one came to help'

A mum who was called a ‘p***’ on the Elizabeth Line by four schoolkids says other passengers turned on her for trying to report them.
Mum-of-two Sophia was on the way home from an event when she heard the young children shouting racist abuse at her.
She told Metro that when she tried to stop the train and told other passengers, they merely shrugged ‘so what?’ and ‘they’re just kids’.
Sophia, whose parents came to the UK from Pakistan decades ago, said the confrontation left her paranoid and afra...
Metro •

Thousands of mice, rats and birds have plagued Parliament for the last five year

Thousands of pests have been caught in the corridors of Westminster, Metro can reveal.
Pest controllers have had to tackle over 3,000 reports of mice, rats, insects and birds in Parliament, data from the House of Commons and Lords shows.
Issues with unpleasant critters appear to be on the up as well, with the first six months of 2025 seeing almost as many call-outs as the whole of 2022.
Westminster’s pest team logged more than 3,000 reports of pests in the Parliamentary Estate since 2020.
An arm...
Metro •

Revealed: What Trump said to Putin that the cameras didn't catch

A lipreader has exclusively told Metro what she claims Donald Trump said to Vladimir Putin at the Alaskan summit that has seen the US President humiliated in the eyes of the world.
The leaders exchanged a warm greeting on the tarmac at Elmendorf-Richardson military base near Anchorage around 11am local time (8pm BST).
The pair met in the remote US state to discuss bringing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for more than three years.
Putin left Alaska without reaching an agr...
Metro •

Fan missed entire Oasis gig after 'security guards knocked him unconscious'

An Oasis super fan said he was ‘knocked out by security guards who lunged into him’ as they tried to tackle a gate-jumper at the band’s sold-out concert.
Joel Garner, 34, needed to go to A&E and ended up missing the entire concert at Heaton Park in Manchester on July 16.
His sister Evie Barker, 23, who was with Joel and three others at the gig, claims the security guards referred to him as ‘collateral damage’ before walking off while he suffered a seizure.
Joel, who works in media, is now pleadi...
Metro •

The alarming health problem forcing children to miss school

Scientists are warning about a simple health issue causing hundreds of thousands of children to miss extra days of school.
Tooth decay and other dental issues mean pupils lose hours of valuable lesson time – with the poorest kids worst affected.
The problem has been revealed by researchers in Scotland, but they warn that the tooth fairy could be even busier in England.
Their study of over 260,000 Scottish children found that children with tooth decay missed on average five more half-days of scho...
Metro •

Banksy's right-hand man reveals moment artist was 'seconds' from being exposed

Banksy’s former manager has revealed when the anonymous graffiti artist was inches away from being caught in the act.
Steve Lazarides, who was Banksy’s manager from 1997 to 2008, told Metro the graffiti legend was ‘seconds’ away from being arrested and revealing his name.
The graffitist’s identity has been a well-kept secret since he rose to prominence in the 1990s, leading to wild speculation and rumours as to who the Bristol artist could be.
The world almost found out back in 2004, when Banksy...
Metro •

UK health warning after cases of bacteria causing 'worst diarrhoea ever' soar

Experts are warning about soaring new cases of a deadly bacteria which leaves patients scared with the ‘worst diarrhoea ever’.
Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, infections killed more than one in 10 cases in 2023/4 and costs the NHS tens of thousands of pounds.
Doctors are now also warning that cases and deaths could continue to rise across the UK if more is not done to reduce numbers to pre-pandemic levels.
The highly contagious bacterium is found in people’s bowel and can cause infection w...
Metro •

Experts reveal how worried we should be about sleeper cells in the UK

An underground network of Iranian sleeper cells poses an unlikely but credible threat to the UK, defense and security experts have told Metro.
The warning comes as British Iranians told us efforts to recruit them are commonplace when they visit Iran.
While highly unlikely, analysts say opponents of the Iranian regime and Britain’s Jewish community would be the most probable targets of hostile spying operations in the UK.
War between Israel and Iran erupted last week after Israel attacked Iranian...
Metro •

‘We spent the hottest day of the year with no water - our landlords don't care'

A mother was ‘cut off from water’ for more than ten hours in an East London tower on the hottest day of the year.
Rebecca Monero, 36, says her two children had no access to running water and were left without emergency water supplies, as temperatures hit 34°C in Saturday’s heatwave.
Her kids, 13 and 9, fought to keep cool inside Kotata House, in East Village, formerly the 2012 Olympic Village.
The communications officer said Southern Housing, who jointly own her landlord Triathlon Homes, ‘couldn...
Metro •

Grandma, 71, sacked as a cleaner at London university over ‘misplaced bracelet'

A grandma is fighting to clear her name after being sacked where she has worked for 13 years over a ‘misplaced bracelet’.
Janet Olufunke Damiro, 71, has been accused of stealing a bracelet she claims she found on a shift at the London School of Economics.
Now over 70 of her colleagues have written to the university to defend her character after Janet said it was an ‘innocent case of forgetfulness.’
The cleaner, who came to the UK from Nigeria in 1971, told Metro she forgot about the gold bracele...
Metro •

Family business 'loses £10,000' after Meta blocks their accounts for 12 weeks

A family photography business feel like ‘nobody cares’ after Meta locked them out of their social media accounts for more than three months.
Couple Gavin and Jenni Rolph estimate their business has lost £10,000 because their crucial Instagram account have been down since March 6.
They have attempted to contact Meta three times a week but have hit a brick wall, with even legal letters going unanswered.
The nightmare began on March 6 when the pair, who planned their Rolph and Co Photography busine...
Load More