Summary

Media caption,

How much will President Trump's visit cost the UK?

  1. Identifying the hotel apparently used for Trump-Epstein projection at Windsorpublished at 14:14 BST

    Kayleen Devlin
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    Graphic of Google Earth 3D aerial image of Windsor Castle and area surrounding it. It highlights the tower onto which the images were projected, as well as the location of the Harte and Garter Hotel, with a beam of light linking the two. There is also an embedded image of the tower showing Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein next to each other on the projection.

    A number of security measures have been implemented for US President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK - including today's meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle.

    These include a heightened security presence, airspace restrictions over and around the castle, as well as local road, path and river closures.

    However, it appears the projection was broadcast on to one of the castle’s towers from the Harte and Garter Hotel which is directly opposite.

    An image posted on X shows a window from the top floor of the hotel illuminated by what appears to be a bright projector light shining from inside a room.

    The Harte & Garter Hotel front, a US and UK flag are visible - and one of the hotel windows on the top floor is brightly illuminatedImage source, Finlay Duncan/Deutsche Welle

    We ran a search on the image to confirm it was new and contacted Deutsche Welle journalist Finlay Duncan, who posted the picture. He told us that it was taken last night at 21:42 BST - around the same time the video projection was playing on the castle wall.

    The hotel in question is not currently accepting reservations. We got in touch with them to ask for comment, but haven’t yet heard back.

    Thames Valley Police has confirmed four men have been arrested on suspicion of "malicious communications following a public stunt in Windsor".

  2. Last Trump state visit to the UK cost nearly £4mpublished at 13:38 BST

    Tom Edgington
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    Police officers seen carrying out security checks in Windsor on Monday ahead of Trump's visitImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Police officers were seen carrying out security checks in Windsor on Monday ahead of Trump's visit

    While the official cost of US President Donald Trump’s unpreceded second state visit won’t be released for some time, the bill for his first in 2019 is available on the Foreign Office’s website, external.

    It reveals a total cost of just over £427,000, including:

    • £99,668 on entertainment
    • £32,816 on transport
    • £31,732 on accommodation

    Crucially, however, the figures exclude key costs like policing and security - and that’s where the bill really climbs.

    Last time the Metropolitan Police spent £3.4m, including £800,000 on overtime alone, according to a Freedom of Information release, external.

    A former Met commander told BBC Verify that state visits often require road closures and officers carrying out full checks on street furniture - including inspecting street lamps and drains. This is added to the cost of policing protests and other operational duties.

    He explained that forces are normally expected to pay out of their existing budget, but can apply for a Home Office grant if additional costs are incurred.

    However, unlike French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit in July, Trump won’t be taking part in a parade - and is not expected to appear in public at all.

    Despite the cost, some say state visits help improve diplomatic and trade relations - making them a price worth paying.

  3. Video shows Sudan paramiltary force advancing on besieged citypublished at 13:05 BST

    Peter Mwai
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    A video screenshot of a man in desert camouflage uniform aiming an assault rifle down a road, he is wearing a green turbanImage source, X

    We have verified a video showing fighters from the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) apparently attacking the headquarters of the Sudanese army in the besieged city of el-Fasher.

    The footage, posted online yesterday, shows a group of about six men firing down two roads - one heading north and another to the west - at an intersection in the capital of North Darfur.

    The fighters seen in the footage are shooting towards areas believed to be controlled by the army and armed groups fighting alongside them.

    We can tell they belong to the RSF from the uniforms they are wearing, while landmarks like a shipping container, buildings and the road layout match a location in the heart of el-Fasher.

    The video has been filmed about 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the 6th Infantry Division Command, the headquarters of the military there. The men firing to the north appear to be firing at this key base - and the video indicates the RSF may have made progress in their grinding advance in el-Fasher.

    RSF fighters have laid siege to the city for the past 15 months and it remains the last major Sudanese government stronghold in Darfur. The army has issued a statement, external saying its forces launched a counter-attack and defeated the RSF, but it did not specify where this occurred.

  4. Is Davey right to blame Brexit for small boat crossings?published at 12:31 BST

    Tamara Kovacevic
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    This morning we’ve been listening to the UK Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey’s round of broadcast interviews on BBC local radio stations, ahead of his party’s annual conference later this week.

    On BBC Radio Solent he said: “He [Nigel Farage] caused the small boats problem… because we came out of the EU, because of Brexit we weren’t able to return people.”

    Davey appeared to be referencing an EU scheme, known as the Dublin III Regulation, which the UK was part of until the end of the Brexit transition in 2020 when it formally left the bloc.

    The scheme determined which EU country was responsible for processing asylum claims, taking into account factors such as family reunion and the country where applicants first tried to enter without permission.

    However, the number of migrants returned to the EU under this scheme was never very high.

    According to Home Office figures, external in 2015 – the year before the Brexit vote – 131 people were transferred to the UK from the rest of the EU and 510 went the other way.

    In the last two years of the scheme, between 2018 and 2020, the UK returned 577 and received 2,811 people under the scheme.

    BBC graphic showing transfers in and out of the UK of asylum seekers under the Dublin agreement
  5. Video of Uganda leader saying next election will be his last is AI fakepublished at 12:01 BST

    Peter Mwai
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    A screengrab from the AI-generated video with the words "AI-generated" added by BBC VerifyImage source, BBC/TikTok

    Uganda’s 81-year-old President, Yoweri Museveni, has been in power for almost 40 years and will be standing for re-election in January, but he has not said whether this would be his last term of office should he win.

    An AI-generated video appearing to show Museveni urging people to vote for him next year with a promise that it will be his last election has been viewed close to a million times on TikTok where we believe it was first posted. But it has all been faked.

    In the video, Museveni purportedly says he has some unfinished projects: “I will never vie again after 2026. So, I urge all Ugandans to come out in large numbers and vote for me for the very last time.”

    Online users including local media outlets in Kenya have fallen for the clip which uses visuals from a news briefing the 81-year-old gave during a trip to Egypt last month.

    The lectern Museveni is speaking at has Arabic writing and a reverse image search led me me to a video on YouTube of an address he gave, external , externalin Cairo, external which matches the setting of the fake including the doors and Ugandan flag.

    Listening closely to the audio in the two videos and Museveni’s voice in the AI-generated one is hoarse and his facial expressions and gestures seem clumsy.

    On the TikTok account we believe the clip was first posted, we’ve also found another video featuring Museveni this time making fun of opposition politician Bobi Wine. In the other clip, he makes exactly the same hand movements towards the microphone which indicates they were both generated using the same AI tool.

  6. Israel opens temporary new route out of Gaza Citypublished at 11:31 BST

    Paul Brown
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has declared a temporary alternative route out of Gaza City as their renewed ground operation intensifies.

    Earlier today, spokesman Avichay Adraee announced a 48-hour period where residents will be able to leave the city "via Salah al-Din Street" - Gaza’s main road which runs north to south.

    Previously, residents have been ordered to head south out of Gaza’s largest city via al-Rashid Street on the Mediterranean coast.

    Annotated satellite imagery showing the newest IDF-mandated evacuation route from Gaza City

    However, the accompanying map shared by Adraee shows a significant diversion from Salah al-Din as the route traverses the Netzarim Corridor, a militarised zone established by the IDF in 2024 which split the territory in two.

    The diversion uses a track that was dug during the establishment of the corridor and adds around 1.6km (1 mile) to the journey south.

    Israeli troops withdrew from the corridor in January as part of a now-defunct ceasefire deal, but satellite imagery taken on Monday shows military vehicles have returned to the area.

    The new route will be open from midday local time today (10:00 BST), according to the IDF.

    Map showing the two north-south routes in Gaza
  7. Investigating social media accounts linked to Tyler Robinson’s roommatepublished at 11:00 BST

    Shayan Sardarizadeh
    BBC Verify senior journalist

    During a news conference yesterday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said Tyler Robinson – who is accused of murdering Charlie Kirk - was in a “romantic relationship” with his roommate, a “biological male… undergoing a gender transition”.

    Over the weekend, the Daily Mail said it had found, external a number of social media accounts allegedly linked to the roommate. It mentioned a specific username. We used this to search online and found accounts in this name on Steam, a platform popular with online gamers, Discord, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok.

    While most of the posts from those accounts were related to gaming and online culture, the user did engage in some politics-related discussion on Reddit, including comments on forums dedicated to transgender people, religion and capitalism. In one comment, the user spoke about their personal experience of transitioning, describing how they had been told they were “possessed by a demon” and “kicked out of the house”.

    Using the friends lists associated with those accounts, some online sleuths claim to have found Tyler Robinson’s profiles on platforms like Steam, Reddit and Venmo, a mobile payment app.

    Comments posted by the accounts allegedly owned by Robinson were mostly linked to gaming.

    BBC Verify has reviewed all of the accounts, but is unable to confirm that they belong to Robinson and his roommate.

    The BBC has contacted Reddit, Discord and Steam for comment on the ownership of the profiles.

  8. Wednesday on BBC Verifypublished at 10:14 BST

    Rob Corp
    BBC Verify Live editor

    Good morning.

    As thousands of people flee Gaza City, a day after Israel began its ground offensive there, we’re investigating a new route the Israeli military says it has opened for those fleeing towards the coast to what it calls “humanitarian zones”.

    We’re also monitoring footage that’s being posted online from Gaza City to get an idea about how the offensive in the Strip’s largest urban area is progressing.

    BBC Verify has been investigating a video that has been circulating among Ugandan social media users that purports to show the country’s president saying next year’s elections will be his last. Yoweri Museveni has been in power for 40 years - but the video in which he made his “pledge” has been created using artificial intelligence.

    Here in the UK it’s the first full day of US President Donald Trump’s state visit. But how much is this visit going to cost the UK government? We’ve been looking at the numbers from the last time Trump was here in 2019.

    We’ll bring you updates on our work verifying video, checking facts and interpreting data across the day - and you can get in touch with us by following this link.

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