Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we’ll be pulling together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Wednesday, we’re featuring everything from Freddie Flintoff’s ‘vivid’ memories of his shocking car crash to King Charles‘ Easter messge to the UK.
This morning, our Showbiz team revealed the first images from Flintoff‘s horrific Top Gear crash after they were released ahead of the former cricket star’s upcoming documentary. Elsewhere, our News team have been working on heartbreaking stories about a woman probed by police after her husband died at Dignitas and one mum’s extraordinary gesture to cops who killed her son.
After clips of Freddie Flintoff’s new documentary were released today, our Showbiz team broke the first images of the former cricket star’s horrific Top Gear crash. In the Disney+ teaser, Flintoff said: “I remember everything about it. It’s so vivid. This is what I’m left with… I wouldn’t say I’m embracing them but I’m not trying to hide my scars.”
Speaking about his decision to release a tell-all documentary now, the sportsman said: “I’d lived under the radar for seven months, one of the real frustrations was the speculation, that’s why I’m doing this now. What actually happened?”
In one image, medics are seen attending to the injured sportsman by the road with tyre skids showing how the three-wheeled car he was driving had veered catastrophically off track. The documentary will air on April 25 on Disney+.
Today, our News team told the story of a wife under police investigation after assisting the suicide of her husband at Dignitas in Switzerland. Louise Shackleton, whose husband Anthony was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, said she has “no regrets” as he had a “beautiful death”.
Louise, from North Yorkshire, has spoken publicly for the first time since her husband’s death in December, saying: “It took four people to get him on the plane and he turned and looked at me and said ‘they can’t stop us now can they love?
“We talked at length over two years about this and what he said to me on many occasions is ‘look at my options’…’Look at what my options are. I can either go there and I can die peacefully, with grace, without pain, without suffering or I could be laid in a bed not being able to move, not even being able to look at something unless you move my head.’ What he wanted, nothing more but a good death.”
In the run up to the weekend, our Royal team awoke to the King’s Easter message to the nation. In the emotional address to mark Maundy Thursday, Charles III spoke of humanity’s “great cruelty and kindness”.
The King’s Easter message reads: “One of the puzzles of our humanity is how we are capable of both great cruelty and great kindness. This paradox of human life runs through the Easter story and in the scenes that daily come before our eyes — at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others.”
The King and Queen met specially invited guests and handed out Maundy money this Wednesday to commemorate the Last Supper, Jesus’ final meal with his 12 disciples before he was killed the following day. According to Durham Cathedral: “Each recipient of Maundy money is given two small leather purses by The King, one red and one white.”
Our Mirror front page today featured one mum’s incredible gesture and read, ‘I forgive cops who killed my son’. In a moving interview 20 years on from the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, his mum, Maria, revealed she has now found it in her heard to forgive those who killed her son, despite the years of agony his senseless death caused.
Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by police on the Tube 20 years ago in a fatal blunder after they thought he was an alleged terrorist. Instead, accounts about a man jumping station barriers in a bulky jacket became unravelled and it emerged that the victim was actually Brazilian electrician, de Menezes.
Now, his mum Maria has told how she does not want her final years to be consumed by hatred, choosing to forgive the officers who killed her son. Maria also paid an emotional tribute to her son and said she hopes a new TV drama about that fateful day in Stockwell, South London, on July 22, 2005 will let people see the real Jean Charles.
This Good Friday long queues are expected across the UK as people enjoy the tradition of a fish supper before Easter. So, with one of the busiest days for fish and chips in the whole year on the horizon, we’ve pulled together an interactive map of the 40 best chippies across the UK.
This week, the National Federation of Fish Friers has released the top 40 fish and chip shops around the country – with the top chippie being named as Yarm Road Fish and Chips in Darlington. In second place was the Fish Works in Largs, Scotland and Kellaway’s Fish and Chips in Cornwall was placed third.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers said: “Good Friday is a huge trading day on the fish and chip shop calendar when businesses across the country welcome hundreds of customers through their doors keen to enjoy this holiday staple.”
Check out our interactive map here.
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