To many Americans, Catherine Wieland’s story may sound almost impossible. The 33-year-old from West Sussex claimed that debilitating “anxiety attacks” left her unable to leave home or manage basic tasks, including washing herself. As a result, she was awarded disability benefits worth roughly £700 a month.

Wieland also received Universal Credit while taking advantage of the controversial Motability scheme. The taxpayer-funded programme allows eligible disabled people to lease new vehicles after paying a relatively small deposit; in her case, the car was a brand-new BMW.

Yet during the two-and-a-half years in which she claimed Personal Independence Payments, Wieland attended 76 beauty appointments and visited 60 pubs, clubs and restaurants. She also travelled overseas, flying to Cancun in Mexico, where she shared photographs of herself zip-lining and surfing.

Wieland was convicted of benefit fraud in March. She received a suspended sentence and was ordered to repay £23,662 to the taxpayer.

Her case attracted relatively little attention in Britain, where allegations of benefit fraud and abuse of the welfare system have become a familiar feature of public debate.

This week, however, Wieland’s story appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, America’s biggest-selling newspaper, beneath a stark headline: “The Welfare State is Crushing Britain.”

The Journal is not alone. Hardly a week now passes without prominent figures in the American media highlighting what they see as a deepening crisis across the Atlantic.

Despite the chaos and alleged corruption surrounding the Trump administration, commentators, politicians, podcasters and news organisations on both the American Left and Right have increasingly portrayed Britain as a country in something approaching terminal decline.

When I moved to New York more than 20 years ago, Britain was generally viewed in the United States—particularly among liberals—as a stable and sensible country, whether governed by Labour or the Conservatives. It is difficult to recall a time when America’s view of its British ally was so bleak.

Critics point to the UK’s weak economic growth and expanding welfare bill, but also to what they describe as hypocrisy over free speech, underfunded Armed Forces and the government’s failure to tackle small-boat crossings and mass immigration more broadly.

Donald Trump had little enthusiasm for Labour governments even before Keir Starmer refused to support the President’s military misadventures in Iran. Trump sharply dismissed the former prime minister as “not Winston Churchill” and said the so-called “special relationship” was “not what it was”.

In reality, Trump’s criticism now reflects the views of millions of Americans. In the past, Democratic friends would often dismiss the latest Maga controversy and reassure me that, at least, Britain was spared the kind of political turmoil unfolding in the United States.

That is no longer the case. Increasingly, Americans believe they understand all too well what their British counterparts are facing.

As self-described socialists such as New York mayor Zohran Mamdani and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gain influence within the Democratic Party and threaten to pull it further to the Left, Republicans have increasingly presented Britain as a warning about what could happen if Democrats gain control of the United States.

At the heart of that argument are costly welfare payments—anathema to many Americans who favour self-reliance, limited government and lower taxes.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the number of working-age people in Britain claiming sickness or disability benefits has climbed to 4.7 million, increasing faster than in any other Western country. The equivalent figure in the United States is 10.6 million, but America has five times Britain’s population and a substantially stronger economy.

American scrutiny of Britain’s poor economic performance has also been growing for some time. In June, the liberal Atlantic magazine published an extensive investigation into how Britain “became as poor as Mississippi”, describing the country as “a case study in self-sabotage”.

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Output per person, a crucial measure of economic wellbeing, had slumped to the point that Britain’s was now only just above that of America’s most impoverished state, the Atlantic noted, adding: ‘Who broke Britain? Someone – or something – must have.’

Predictably, Brexit got some of the blame but the article’s American author (whose train out of London, needless to say, broke down) went on to note witheringly that the rapid succession of prime ministers ‘do not seem to be getting more talented over time’. Ultimately, the Atlantic concluded, the British themselves broke Britain.

Defence is another crucial issue. Back in March, many patriotic Americans were appalled at Britain’s underwhelming military response to a drone attack on a UK airbase in Cyprus. Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon took a week to be taken out of dry dock and get to the Mediterranean – only to develop power and propulsion problems on the way.

‘What happened to Britain’s Royal Navy?’ pondered a headline in the Washington Times.

Military sources in the US capital later revealed that America had ‘long-standing’ concerns about the UK’s ability to send warships to sea in an emergency.

Earlier this month, the sudden decision to withdraw all its heavy bombers from RAF Fairford after the confused response to a suspected Iran-backed terror plot suggested it wasn’t just Britain’s fleet but also its air bases that are worrying our American allies.

Britain’s respect, or lack of it, for free speech – a freedom that Americans take very seriously – was back in the news only last week.

The announcement that the UK’s ‘police watchdog’ had found that comedy writer Graham Linehan may have been unfairly arrested at Heathrow Airport over remarks about trans issues on social media will have stirred memories of an incident that struck many Americans at the time as invidious.

Linehan’s original arrest in September last year created shockwaves in the US where many argued that it made a mockery of then Starmer’s blase assurance to his Oval Office hosts a few months earlier that ‘we’ve had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom, and it will last for a very, very long time’.

He gave this assurance shortly after Trump’s vice-president JD Vance attended the Munich Security Conference and rattled off various cases in the UK that he said proved free speech was ‘in retreat’ there.

The US State Department subsequently published a report claiming that human rights in Britain have ‘worsened’ over the past year, citing ‘serious restrictions’ on free speech.

The Linehan arrest rather bore out what the Trump administration had been saying.

A point reiterated by an influential historian and conservative commentator, Michael Barone, made clear days later in a widely-syndicated column headlined: ‘Britain, Land of the Unfree’.

‘Surely, many Americans reading this must be thinking this was some terrible mistake. A one-off as the British might say,’ said Barone of Linehan’s jaw-dropping treatment. ‘Actually not. It’s more like standard operating procedure.’

Barone also criticised UK officialdom’s controversial crackdown on displays of the St George’s flag – a policy that would be anathema in the US, where towns compete to fly the biggest Stars and Stripes.

It was part of a silencing of dissent over immigration, he said, that had led to the widespread rejection of both Labour and Conservative parties in favour of the more openly patriotic Reform.

Under Trump, on the other hand, America has succeeded in stemming the flood of illegal migrants over the Mexican border that got under way during the Democrats’ administration.

Consequently, Britain’s continued failure to stop small boats crossing the Channel – a policing operation covering a border a fraction of the nearly 2,000-mile-long US-Mexico boundary – is an issue that I have found ordinary Americans sometimes find puzzling.

Lacking even the excuse that it has Donald Trump in charge, Britain’s waning fortunes will continue to distract and alarm my friends and neighbours here – who don’t even need to try to take a British train to know that something’s gone badly wrong across the pond.

On Tuesday, Justice Natalie Adams told Beau Lamarre-Condon’s childhood friend that she would not face charges over her alleged involvement in the double murder case.

The woman, referred to in court as Elizabeth Kennedy under a legal pseudonym, began giving evidence via audiovisual link.

Crown prosecutors asked Ms Kennedy whether she was prepared to testify about her time with Lamarre-Condon on February 21, 22 and 23, 2024, in the days following the alleged murders.

Justice Adams warned Ms Kennedy that her evidence ‘may prove that she concealed a serious offence’—specifically, Lamarre-Condon’s first murder charge.

The judge said the evidence could also establish that Ms Kennedy was an accessory after the fact to his second murder charge and his break-and-enter charge.

Ms Kennedy was issued a certificate protecting her from prosecution for any offences arising from the evidence she gives.

Ms Kennedy told the court that Lamarre-Condon allegedly took Jesse Baird’s spare house key without his knowledge and had a copy made.

He allegedly used the copied key to enter Baird’s Paddington terrace while he was asleep, take his phone, carry it across the road and unlock it.

According to Ms Kennedy, Lamarre-Condon then blocked contacts, deleted photographs and activated Baird’s Snapchat location sharing so he could monitor Baird’s movements.

The court also heard that he switched off Baird’s morning alarms.

Ms Kennedy said Baird was about to start a new job and that she assumed Lamarre-Condon wanted him to miss his alarm and arrive late for work.

Lamarre-Condon allegedly returned the phone to Baird’s bedroom and reconnected it to its charger.

Ms Kennedy said Lamarre-Condon later went to her home, asked her to leave her phone in her bedroom while they talked outside, and told her about the alleged break-in.

‘He said, “I’ve got to tell you something crazy, please don’t judge me,” and this is when I heard about the first [alleged] break-in,’ she told the court.

‘He sounded excited, like happy, like he knew he’d [allegedly] gotten away with it but nervous, and said it was crazy and that I needed to stop him.’

‘I said how can I not let you do that again when you don’t tell me until after, but he knew it was wrong.’

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She said Lamarre-Condon allegedly entered Baird’s home a second time to steal his phone and wallet, but the plan unravelled when he dropped a phone charger and woke Baird.

Ms Kennedy told the court that the second alleged break-in occurred in August 2023.

She alleged that Lamarre-Condon said he pushed a bobby pin into the lock and took Baird’s wallet to ‘make it look like a robbery’.

‘He told me over [encrypted messaging app] Signal that Jesse had woken up because he dropped a phone charger,’ she told the court.

Baird woke up and chased Lamarre-Condon down the street but didn’t catch up to him, the court heard.

The court previously heard that Baird called police and made a statement, but he couldn’t identify the alleged thief.

Ms Kennedy told the court: ‘[Lamarre-Condon] said that if Jesse caught up to him, he would have had to assault him because [Baird] couldn’t find out who he was.’

‘He said he would have to assault him so he could get away. He said he felt bad if he had to assault him.’

Ms Kennedy said Lamarre-Condon allegedly told her that he turned Baird’s phone on flight mode and dropped it down a drain.

Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to one count of break and enter.

She told the court that Lamarre-Condon told her about other occasions when he went to Baird’s house.

‘He said he was going back and was creeping out the front window, but he didn’t go in because Jesse was having intercourse with another man,’ she said.

She told the court it happened twice.

On the first occasion, she said Lamarre-Condon took photos of Baird having sex with another man and sent them to her.

‘There were blinds but you could see through and it was two men, one on top of the other,’ she said.

Britain’s largest private parking companies collect an estimated £537 million a year, with motorists receiving a ticket roughly every two seconds.

Government figures show that 16.9 million parking fines were issued in the year to the end of March—an increase of 96.5 per cent compared with 2021/22.

With individual penalties reaching as much as £100, drivers could collectively face bills of more than £4.6 million a day at the current rate.

The parking industry has attributed the surge to the growing number of car parks now under private management.

Andy Burnham today unveiled a series of measures aimed at putting an end to motorists being “ripped off”.

The Prime Minister said: “We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off.”

An analysis by the Daily Mail of DVLA figures reveals how often the country’s biggest private parking operators requested motorists’ details.

More than 12.5 million requests were made during the financial year ending in March, up from 10.3 million in 2024/25.

Did YOU get a parking fine overturned? Email matt.strudwick@dailymail.co.uk

APCOA Parking, Euro Car Parks and ParkingEye were responsible for just over half of the requests. Accounts filed at Companies House in 2025 show that the three firms had a combined turnover of £281.9 million.

Operators pay £2.50 for each request, which provides the vehicle owner’s name and address. The information is sought when a company intends to issue a parking charge notice (PCN) to a driver accused of overstaying.

Last year, pensioner Nigel Richardson finally won a five-year dispute with Euro Car Parks over a £1 parking fee he had already paid.

The company continued pursuing him for the alleged debt, despite him sending a receipt that showed he had paid the correct amount.

Mr Richardson, from Rearsby in Leicestershire, parked his VW Golf in nearby Syston in 2020. He had no change, while the card payment machines were out of order.

He attempted to pay through a mobile phone app but received no confirmation, leaving him worried that the transaction had failed.

In an effort to resolve the matter, Mr Richardson contacted the company and explained that he might still owe the £1 fee. Euro Car Parks instead immediately issued him with a £100 penalty.

He later discovered the online payment receipt in his junk email folder and forwarded it to the company as evidence that he had paid.

Mr Richardson refused to give up and eventually took the case to court, seeking £2,480 in compensation for the ordeal.

A judge agreed that he had been unfairly fined and owed nothing, but awarded him £200 in compensation.

After £180 in court costs were deducted, Mr Richardson was left just £20 better off.

The new private parking code of practice, set to come into force by the end of this year, will give drivers rights to challenge unfair private parking charges, including a guaranteed five minutes to decide whether to park. 

Under the new code, motorists will be given 10 minutes to leave car parks without facing a penalty once their session ends.

The code will give drivers the right to have charges cancelled on appeal for honest mistakes, such as stopping briefly to check directions, and for issues they cannot control, including a vehicle breakdown in a car park, a medical emergency or a broken ticket machine, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.

For drivers who make mistakes such as forgetting parking permits, entering a vehicle registration wrong or forgetting to confirm it in a parking machine, they will face a maximum charge of £20 on appeal under the new rules.

Mr Burnham said: ‘Being a few minutes late back to your car or typing one digit of your numberplate wrong shouldn’t end with a hefty fine landing on your doormat.

‘These charges leave people feeling ripped off and out of pocket, so I’m putting a stop to them.

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‘We are introducing clearer rules, longer grace periods and lower charges for genuine mistakes, while going after the deliberate scams that rip drivers off.’

The code will mean private parking charges are frozen at a maximum of £100, while operators who do not comply risk losing access to DVLA data, the Government said.

Currently, private parking companies use vehicle keeper information from the DVLA to pursue parking charges.

The new code of practice will apply in England, Scotland and Wales and will bring in a fully independent scrutiny and oversight board for the first time.

Private operators will be required to report data on the charges they issue and how appeals are handled which will then be scrutinised by the board.

The Government has said it will consult on private parking debt recovery fees, including whether to cut the existing £70 cap or scrap the fees entirely.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the code was a ‘step in the right direction’ to protect drivers from the practices of some private parking companies, but ‘not the leap’ the motoring services company had been campaigning for.

He said: ‘We’ve long called for the banning of debt recovery fees being added on top of parking charge notices (PCNs) and a single independent appeals body to replace the two industry-run ones, but neither have been included, which is disappointing.

‘That said, the fact we finally have a code seven years on from the Private Parking Code of Practice Act becoming law is positive.

‘Car park management companies will now have to conform to a new set of rules or risk losing access to the DVLA’s database which they depend on to issue PCNs to drivers.

‘This will hopefully prevent many drivers wrongly being issued tickets in the first place.’

Mr Williams added: ‘While this isn’t quite the Christmas present we wanted for drivers, it should hopefully save many the stress of having to challenge unfair tickets.’

Director of policy for charity IAM RoadSmart, Nicholas Lyes, said: ‘It is welcome to see new protections put in place for drivers through a single code of practice; however, we would have liked to see a single appeals system and action against debt recovery organisations as part of the package.

‘Ultimately, we need to get to a place where parking on private land is a seamless, straightforward, and clear process, not one fraught with potential traps which leaves drivers unfairly out of pocket.’

Alison Tooze, chief policy officer at the British Parking Association, said her organisation ‘welcomes’ the new code, which is an ‘important step forward for motorists, communities and responsible parking operators’.

‘The code builds on many of the principles already established through the sector’s existing voluntary code, helping create a more consistent, transparent and trusted framework,’ she said.

‘Overall, the code strikes the right balance between stronger protections for motorists and effective parking management, helping keep communities, businesses and local economies moving,’ she added.

The Government also announced a crackdown on second-hand car dealers who wind back mileage clocks on vehicles.

While fraudulently selling a ‘clocked car’ is already illegal, it will be added to an official list of banned practices, making it easier for enforcers to address it.

Greg Smith, a shadow transport minister, said: ‘Andy Burnham posing as the driver’s friend is a joke. This is the same Labour Government that is doubling parking fines right across England. Five minutes’ grace in a supermarket car park will not fool anyone.

‘The £100 maximum stays exactly where it is and Labour has ducked banning the debt recovery fees piled on top. Labour’s war on drivers carries on regardless.

‘Only the Conservatives, with our Plan for Drivers, will back the people who keep this country moving.’

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: ‘Parking should be straightforward, not another everyday hassle. These changes mean drivers get a fairer deal, protected time to park and leave without fear of being unfairly charged, and confidence that private parking providers are held to a higher standard.

‘It’s yet another step forward in this government’s plan to take the stress out of everyday life and ease the pressure on people’s pockets.’

Did YOU get a parking fine overturned? Email matt.strudwick@dailymail.co.uk 

Prince Harry reignited tensions with his family on Tuesday as his latest public intervention coincided with a major State Visit in Windsor.

His first interview since returning to Britain risked eclipsing a significant day for King Charles and the Prince of Wales, who hosted the Sultan of Oman at Windsor Castle.

Although Harry said repairing relations with his family was “the most important thing” to him, the Duke of Sussex appeared to criticize his estranged brother by suggesting that “some people don’t want it to work out.”

The timing of Harry’s latest comments prompted visible skepticism in royal circles.

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace declined to comment, but senior royal figures are understood to have grown tired of Harry’s repeated appeals for “peace.”

“Does he really think everyone has collective amnesia after the last few years?” one source said last week, following the first public appearance in Britain by Harry and his wife, Meghan, since their unexpected return.

The 42-minute conversation with GQ magazine was published as King Charles, Queen Camilla, William and Kate met the Sultan at Windsor Castle for a private lunch after his formal ceremonial welcome to Britain.

Yet Harry quickly became the focus of attention after saying that, “with everything else going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile.”

Harry told interviewer Zach Baron that “sibling disagreements” and fractured relationships between children and their parents were “massively relatable” subjects that frequently arose in conversations with members of the public.

“People look at us and go, ‘How are you going to work it out?’” he said. “Some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out.”

Harry and William have not spoken for four years. The rift deepened after Harry and Meghan stepped down as frontline royals in 2020 and later accused members of the Royal Family of racism during their interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Relations deteriorated further after the publication of Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare. In the book, he described his brother as his “archnemesis” and alleged that William, whom he referred to as “Willy,” pushed him to the floor during an argument over Meghan being “difficult.”

On Tuesday, Harry, 42, acknowledged that “scars stick around forever” but called for people to “let go of the past.” He added: “That’s something that I would encourage everybody to do. For me, there’s enough drama in the world and enough drama in people’s lives than to continue with issues with family.” The duke said he was grieving his “complicated relationships” with the King and the Prince of Wales, while making clear that he still wanted reconciliation.

Hours after the interview appeared, a spokesman for the Sussexes said Harry had not been referring to William when he remarked that “some people” did not want reconciliation. The clarification came as speculation intensified over the target of the apparent criticism.

The spokesman said: “It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family.

“The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way.”

Harry’s call for reconciliation came as the King and Queen, William and Catherine, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries gathered in Windsor for a lavish state banquet honoring the Sultan of Oman on Tuesday night.

The Duke of Sussex is on speaking terms with the King, and said in the interview regarding Charles’s battle with cancer: ‘He’s getting better.’

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Harry said he still misses his mother, Princess Diana, every day but does not ‘sit there and go really deep into how I’m feeling’.

He said: ‘It’s just a quick, ‘Well, I miss you. I wonder what the world would be like if you were still here. I wonder what my family would be like if you were still here’.’

He revealed he sometimes asks her questions, ‘looking for some kind of response – and sometimes, I do get a response’.

Harry said: ‘There is a connection still with my mum that I do feel her energy at certain times.’ Reflecting on her death when he was 12, Harry said: ‘Back then, I didn’t know myself. The grief, the trauma, the loss, the fact that I was 12, I had no idea who I really was.’

The duke insisted he ‘certainly doesn’t want any sympathy’, telling his interviewer: ‘Why? Because I’m a prince. I’ve got a support network around me, I’ve done different forms of therapy, and I put in the work.’

On Tuesday night the Princess of Wales arrived at the state banquet wearing one of Princess Diana’s favourite tiaras – the Lover’s Knot.

It is one of the Royal Family’s most famous headpieces, originally created for Queen Mary in 1914.

The tiara was passed down to the late Queen Elizabeth before she reportedly loaned it to Diana as a wedding gift.

Kate also donned diamond earrings and a bracelet from the late Queen on Tuesday night. The princess chose a flowing yellow Elie Saab dress coupled with a gold box clutch for the event in honour of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

She wore the King Charles III Royal Family Order and her Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Sash and Star.

Prince William was no slouch in the style stakes in white tie and the Windsor tail coat, his Most Noble Order of the Garter Sash with the Lesser George and other medals and decorations.

Queen Camilla was regal in royal blue and jewels, while the King sported the Sash of the Order of Al Said – an honour given to him by the Sultan earlier in the day.

In his speech, Charles spoke of the importance of the friendship between Britain and Oman at a time of ‘painful’ conflict in the Middle East.

And amid the continuing drama around Prince Harry, he told the Sultan of Oman of his pride that both ‘our sons’ – Prince William and the Crown Prince of Oman – had been joint patrons of the Jewel of Arabia expedition, a cultural and environmental trek through the region last year.

Harry’s interview, which was recorded in late September but released on Tuesday, focused on grief, a subject on which he recently released an online MasterClass, for which some estimate he may have been paid up to $100,000 (£75,000). The Royal Family traditionally dislike speaking out about anything personal, and the fact that Harry is continuing to do so will do little to soothe family relations.

The duke said it was ‘nice to be back’ after he and Meghan’s shock return to the UK six years after fleeing to North America.

He said the move ‘wasn’t something that we planned for a long time’ but it was an opportunity to ‘be outside of the US for the next few months’.

At the magazine’s New York office, in Manhattan, he told how the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet, were ‘loving’ their new school in Britain, adding: ‘It’s just giving them a whole different experience.

‘For kids at seven and five, to be able to have that comparison, and to have two completely different cultural experiences, is so important today.’

Prince Harry also said he wanted to ‘draw a line’ after his battles with the Press.

In July, he and others lost a £50million court case after a judge threw out allegations they had made against Associated Newspapers, the Daily Mail’s publisher.

Harry now said he was ‘doing the best that I can, doing everything I can, to try to uplift and support journalism.’

READ MORE: Prince and Princess of Wales dazzle as they join King hosting Sultan of Oman at glittering State Banquet – with royals bidding to put ‘distraction’ of Harry’s latest interview behind them