© John Tully for The New York Times
Turnaround initiated by Andy Burnham and led by Steve Coogan could provide blueprint for other neglected areas
The former England footballer Paul Scholes and the actor Steve Coogan stare out from beside a fish and chip shop in Middleton, near Manchester. Looming over a mural of the pair – and the whole town – is an enormous former cotton mill that powered its economy a century ago.
The deafening looms and spindles of Warwick Mill fell silent decades ago, replaced in recent years by TikTok “urban explorers” who share videos of themselves crawling through its abandoned shell.
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© Composite: Guardian Design
© Composite: Guardian Design
© Composite: Guardian Design
Grocer launches Cricklewood store as part of £1bn investment plan, with Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, to follow next month
As part of a £1bn investment plan, Waitrose has chosen Cricklewood in north London as the location for its first supermarket in eight years.
The upmarket grocer will open the store on Thursday and another supermarket in Hale Barns, Greater Manchester, next month. It also plans four smaller stores next year, including a supermarket in Oakham, Rutland, and three convenience stores in Bedminster (Bristol), Chalk Farm (London) and Springstead Village (Cambridge).
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© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images
© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images
© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images
Selina Cartmell announces season including Stockport-set version of Phaedra myth by Simon Stephens
A theatre boss has promised to channel the “pioneering spirit of Manchester” and be “brave and fearless” as she unveiled a new season of work, two years after a deeply damaging censorship row.
Selina Cartmell, the artistic director of the Royal Exchange in Manchester, revealed details of 2027-28 productions that include a retelling of the Munich air disaster and a modern Stockport-set version of the ancient Greek myth Phaedra.
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© Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
© Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
© Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Scrutiny committee looks into financing of Manchester Life project as PM promises ‘full transparency’
A £55m loan to Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owner will be investigated as part of a review into a fund for housing projects while Andy Burnham was mayor.
The prime minister has faced weeks of scrutiny over his links to Manchester City’s super-rich owners after the club was found guilty of boosting its income by £900m in a nine-year breach of financial rules.
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© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
Rahman Salehi, of Salford, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, of Liverpool, were charged on Friday, 2 October, with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
According to the Metropolitan Police announcement detailing the charges, both men are Iranian nationals and were arrested in Manchester on Sunday, 20 September.
They have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 3 October.
The arrests followed what police described as a long-running counter-terrorism investigation into a suspected plot directed against the Jewish community in the Manchester area.
Police allege that the two men were communicating with a third person overseas who may have been in Iran. No allegation has been made in the charges released so far that the Iranian government directed the suspected plot.
The particulars published by Counter Terrorism Policing allege that Salehi and Ahmadyan used encrypted communications and obtained material containing instructions for manufacturing an explosive device.
Investigators say the men acquired instructions relating to a device using powdered chlorine and vehicle brake fluid, along with video material concerning the manufacture or assembly of an improvised explosive device.
They are further accused of acquiring liquids, components and equipment, researching potential targets, obtaining images, maps and plans, and carrying out reconnaissance at locations considered as possible targets.
The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that prosecutors had authorised charges after reviewing evidence gathered during the investigation.
Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said prosecutors had concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the case to be put before a court.
The CPS stressed that the proceedings are now active and that both men have the right to a fair trial. The charges are allegations and no finding of guilt has been made.
The arrests took place shortly before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and came amid heightened security surrounding Jewish institutions in Britain.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said the investigation had disrupted what police believed to be a plot targeting Manchester’s Jewish community.
The timing is particularly sensitive because it comes one year after the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester on 2 October 2025.
Two worshippers were killed in that attack, which took place on Yom Kippur. EU Today reported at the time on the Manchester synagogue attack and the security concerns facing Britain’s Jewish population.
The latest case also comes against the background of a series of alleged Iranian-linked threats and attacks involving Jewish and Israeli targets in Britain.
British security agencies have repeatedly warned about Iranian activity on UK territory. The government said earlier this year that more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots had been tracked by British security agencies over the preceding year.
Concerns intensified following attacks on Jewish-linked premises during 2026. In July, the government imposed sanctions on an Iran-linked organisation that had claimed responsibility for attacks on Jewish and Israeli-linked locations.
The group, the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, was subsequently designated under Britain’s new state-threat legislation alongside Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
EU Today has previously examined Iran-linked security threats in Britain following counter-terrorism arrests involving Iranian nationals, as well as alleged Iranian-linked plots targeting Jewish institutions elsewhere in Europe and North America.
The Manchester case comes as the British government increases security around synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres.
In July, ministers announced more than £250 million in additional funding over three years to strengthen protection for Jewish communities.
The package includes funding for more than 500 additional police officers across England and Wales, including around 80 officers in Greater Manchester, as well as additional resources for Counter Terrorism Policing.
The UK’s national terrorism threat level was raised to severe in April, meaning that an attack is considered highly likely. The government said the decision reflected both an increased threat from Islamist and extreme-right terrorism and a wider background of state-linked physical threats against the Jewish community.
EU Today has also reported on the government’s £250 million programme to strengthen Jewish community security and the broader increase in antisemitic incidents and violence affecting Jewish communities across Britain.
The allegations against Salehi and Ahmadyan will now be considered by the courts. Prosecutors have warned against publishing material that could prejudice the proceedings.
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