Dylan Phelan, also 21, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty in March to encouraging the suicide of Travis Dyer in Louisiana on 30 October 2024.

During the call, which also involved two other people based in the US, Mr Dyer was encouraged to kill himself with a shotgun, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The pair had been communicating for several months in the lead up to his death on the online platform Discord.

Phelan's phone was also found to have an indecent image of a child and other extreme pornography images.

In May, Phelan, from Morley in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to one count of making an indecent image of a child in November 2024 and three counts of possessing extreme pornography in March 2025, neither of which were linked to Mr Dyer's death.

On Friday, Phelan also received a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Alex Johnson, a senior prosecutor in the CPS Special Crime Division, said the sentence was the result of a "deeply disturbing case involving the sustained exploitation of a vulnerable young man through an online platform".

"Dylan Phelan did not simply witness these events - he deliberately and persistently encouraged Travis Dyer to take his own life, intending that he would do so," he said.

"His actions were calculated, cruel, and had devastating consequences."

Phelan went to the helpdesk at the Leeds District Police Headquarters with his parents on 27 March 2025 and said he had assisted the suicide of a man in Louisiana in the US who he referred to as "Tyler".

The man was later identified as Mr Dyer.

After his arrest, Phelan made full admissions in an interview and said he had been drawn into darker groups on Discord.

In a police interview, Phelan told officers he had spoken to Mr Dyer via text messages and video calls in the months leading up to his death.

On a recording of the call in which Mr Dyer ended his life, Phelan can be heard encouraging him to pull the trigger and laughing afterwards.

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Detective Inspector Dan Ridgway, of Leeds Criminal Investigation Department, said Phelan's conviction was the result of a "complex investigation" which involved enquiries being made in the UK and with Homeland Security in the US.

"We were able to secure digital evidence of the video call as well as wider evidence of Phelan's communications with Travis and others prior to Travis' death," he said.

He added: "This case highlights the dangers that certain individuals can pose on an international level in these online communities.

"Whether in person or online, if someone is making you feel unsafe or encouraging you to harm yourself or others then please report it."

Phelan's parents took him to the police station after a woman he had initially met online and later in person told them about their son's involvement in Mr Dyer's death.

He had told the woman about Mr Dyer's death months after it happened.

Mr Johnson said: "Today's sentence reflects the seriousness of that offending. Those who use online spaces to encourage self-harm or suicide will be held to account.

"The anonymity of the internet does not place anyone beyond the reach of the law."

Mr Dyer was known to be vulnerable and struggling with his mental health and had lost his mother and younger sister in a car crash 10 years before his own death.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

His pitch to the voters of Makerfield in the North West is that he is for them. His proof point is how hard he fought for Greater Manchester during the COVID-19 crisis.

Burnham's fury - caught live on the cameras in the centre of Manchester - in 2020 when he learned that the Conservative government was cutting financial support and putting Manchester into a stricter lockdown, was immortalised in memes that spread all over social media as he launched a blistering attack on Westminster for trying to grind people down.

"It's brutal to be honest, isn't it? This is no way to run the country in a national crisis. It isn't. This is not right," he said.

His campaign slogan, "Vote Andy, for us", is borne from that period.

Now he wants to take that fight from Manchester to No 10, and is knocking on doors around the small towns and villages that make up the constituency, promising voters he will put their communities and others like them that have "been at the back of the queue" at the front of it.

I do understand where he is coming from and why his argument is potent and has appeal.

For someone who grew up in the south of England, went to Cambridge and now lives in north London, you might at first bundle me into that "Westminster elite bunch".

But my parents came from a very different place and background.

'I spent much of my childhood in Makerfield'

My late mum was born and grew up in Orrell, in the Makerfield constituency.

It was a place where I spent much of my childhood, visiting my grandparents, Ann and Bill, in their red-brick terraced house in Upholland Road.

It is a place surrounded by beautiful countryside, near the lakes, where we used to go camping as kids. The people are warm and look out for each other, the communities are proud, and there is a real sense of place.

It is also a place that my parents, like countless others of that post-war generation, left in order to pursue their careers. My sense as a child was that my mum and my dad, who grew up in Lancaster and won a scholarship to Cambridge, felt they had to move away from Wigan to get the sort of jobs they wanted.

When I was a teenager in the late 1980s and early 1990s, one of my family members came south to live with us to train to be a bricklayer - as my grandfather Bill was - because he couldn't get the training in Wigan. I still have family in Makerfield and Wigan.

Makerfield is a working-class place made up of former coalfield communities.

There is little immigration, not much social housing, and its population tend to be educated to GCSE level or have apprenticeships rather than higher education qualifications. Nearly 97% of the population is white, against an average of 82% across the country.

Makerfield is also badly served by rail links, which means that, despite being nestled between Manchester and Liverpool, it has not become a commuter belt. Its town centres have become run-down and have become a big conversation in this election.

It is also now Labour's sixth most vulnerable seat in the North West.

So it has become not just a local election but a symbol, a test case of whether Andy Burnham's Labour Party can win back the red wall that in the 2019 general election turned to Boris Johnson and in the most recent local elections turned to Reform, as the party picked up 24 out of the 25 council seats contested in Wigan in May.

Voters thinking 'very carefully' who to vote for

We travelled up to Makerfield this week to talk to some of the people who will decide the by-election with the More in Common polling company.

The group of voters selected was made up of people who have, or are considering, voting for all the main parties standing. It was clear from the conversation I observed between them and pollster Luke Tryl that they are thinking very carefully about how to vote this time.

Our group all understood how important this by-election is and what the implications might be, not just for Makerfield but the entire country.

Mike Irving, a veteran who told us he had never voted Labour in his life, said he had been to a coffee morning hosted by Burnham and was considering lending Burnham his vote in this by-election.

"We've got a voice here to change the country," he told us. "We've got a chance of a lifetime here to impact the way we want it to be."

Gillian Reed was considering her vote against the other leadership options: "There's gonna be a leadership challenge regardless of the outcome. So your choices then are looking like Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting, Ed Miliband, and possibly David Lammy. They're the names that are being touted. I'd rather have Andy Burnham than any of them."

Andrew Gower said he thought Andy Burnham was "one of us".

"I like him more than Keir Starmer. I think he's more for the working class. That's how he just comes across, like he's one of us, you know, rather than one of these politicians, like the majority of them, who you can't trust," he explained.

Anthony Wood, a retired firearms officer, was less sold on Burnham as he spoke of the Manchester growth effect not spilling out to places like Makerfield, citing what he thought were poor transport links.

He said: "In my profession, quite a lot are anti-Andy Burnham… Just about what they feel he hasn't achieved or what he hasn't done for Manchester itself."

Laughing group dismissive of Starmer

When the group was asked what they thought of Keir Starmer, they looked at each other and laughed. There wasn't anger towards him; the mood was instead dismissive.

Leah Aldred told us:  "I don't know much about him, but I know that I don't like him. But when I'm actually asked that question, I can't tell you why I don't like him."

Others picked up on the U-turns, with some criticising Starmer's decision to reverse the two-child benefit cap and the Mandelson debacle.

Anthony Wood said: "All the U-turns they've done. [They say] we'll do this and everyone goes 'ooohhh' so they drop it and go back. And then they do something else and somebody else [says something]. How can they not have got this right with all the years they've had a chance to plan it?"

Gillian Reed said Starmer doesn't represent the Labour she grew up with, adding: "Just everything he does seems to be against the working people.

"Everybody might need help at some point in their life. But what about young families, young working families who are both going out to work? They've got a couple of kids and they are scraping by week to week. Where's the help for those people?"

This part of the North West voted Reform in May's local elections, with all the council seats in this constituency going to Nigel Farage's party.

Burnham's team know this is a high-risk race and it is flush or bust. They hope that Labour voters who have left the party will come back to give Burnham a chance.

One senior figure who knows Makerfield well explains that voters here think Labour has left them and they want Labour to be better. They want a leader who "represents the people to the system not the system to the people".

Welfare and immigration main topics for voters

One thing that struck me in the focus group was voters' approach to welfare and immigration.

These were clearly a group of people who believe in the social contract, but think the government has let them down on welfare and immigration.

They spoke often about fairness and their perception that political leaders are not being fair when it comes to people working hard and paying in and others - be those on long-term benefits or illegal migrants - who are not.

Mike Irving made the point that he thought some people "treat benefits as a salary and it shouldn't be, it's not affordable".

Tracey Lay also dived into the sense of fairness around welfare, saying: "I think we need to shake up the welfare system. I don't think it's about cutting the welfare bill, as in lowering the amount of money that people are paid.

"What people are currently paid is not liveable. It's disgraceful. But I think there are people that are being paid benefits that should not be entitled to benefits and I'm not necessarily talking about immigrants. I'm talking about the situation that you have with generational benefits claimants, of never having any intention of working regardless.

"I think if you've paid in, fine. If you've never paid in, then I think they should give them work in order to claim their benefits. Clean the streets, pick up the litter."

Gillian Reed spoke of a sense of unfairness about having to provide for those arriving in the country on small boats: " If you're a young couple, a single person with no children, and you're made homeless, then you're just left to fend for yourself. You won't be put up in a hotel or in temporary housing or anything.

"Now, if you come over on a boat, on a dinghy, immediately that night you've got a bed for the night, you've got a roof over your head and you've got all your basic things that you need. You'll get health care. You'll get dental care which is inaccessible to most people at the moment.

"And that's why people are up in arms about it, because that's fundamentally unfair."

Mixed views on Reform candidate

Reform's Robert Kenyon had mixed reviews from the group.

The local plumber has made his lack of political experience a virtue, but some voters picked up on that when he was placed against Burnham, with Gillian Reed calling him "a bit wet behind the ears".

"He's not going to be able to make any real changes for us or for the country," she added.

Mike Irving thought Kenyon would have "walked it" in a general election but was facing much greater scrutiny and pressure in the by-election.

Kenyon's disparaging remarks about women split the group.

Leah Aldred said Kenyon was "your average narcissistic, sexist man to be honest", while Gillian Reed and Tracey Lay were a little more forgiving.

"I've heard most of those comments from extended family members. It's the kind of thing people say. I don't think it necessarily represents exactly what you believe," Tracey said.

But Anthony Wood made the point that those comments could cost you your job in other professions and you wouldn't have got to your 30s or 40s in your career: "You'd have said that, and you'd have been binned."

'It's a two-horse race between Labour and Reform'

As for the other parties, our focus group had little to say about them.

Saxon Bright was positive about the Greens, but made the point that this was a two-horse race between Labour and Reform.

"I think if we could get the Green Party in there, I think they would do a lot of good. And I think in other areas they've done a lot of good," he said.

"But again, you've got to vote tactically. And I think if you vote for Green now, you kind of shoot yourself in the foot in a lot of ways."

Mike Irving thought Michael Winstanley for the Conservatives came across well on the BBC Question Time panel: He said: "He's used to public speaking as an ex-mayor of Wigan. When you're comparing him against the way the Reform candidate spoke, it's like chalk and cheese, but they've no chance round here."

The focus group didn't know much about the Lib Dems.

Read more: Who is standing in the Makerfield by-election?

But Rupert Lowe's Restore Party is getting some cut-through in this by-election.

When I asked Nigel Farage about why he thought the former Reform MP's new outfit was picking up support in Makerfield earlier this week, he was quite tetchy, saying it was being driven by Elon Musk's support for Restore and the amplification the world's richest man and owner of X gives you on social media platforms.

But the competitor on the right of Reform is causing difficulties for them in this race.

"I really like Rupert Lowe. I think he comes across a lot better than a lot of other politicians," Tracey Lay said. "I don't think he should have put his cap in the game for Makerfield. I think it's splitting the right vote and it's going to allow Andy Burnham to win. I think he's made a mistake."

Little love lost for Labour government

My main takeaway from the focus group is that there is very little love lost among these voters when it comes to the Labour government, and that they are fed up with politicians making promises that they don't keep.

There is genuine concern about the cost of living, welfare and immigration and a desire to put a sense of fairness and personal responsibility back into the social fabric of our country.

It was also pretty clear to me that if Burnham does win the Makerfield by-election next week, it will be his personal brand that carries it, and he will be able to go to Westminster emboldened as the politician that can beat Reform.

John Healey's resignation this week has only served to hasten Starmer's departure from No 10 should Burnham succeed in Makerfield next week.

Team Burnham would like an orderly transition, and the pressure will only build on Starmer if Burnham succeeds.

An election to be decided next week by 76,800 people living in this constituency nestled between Manchester and Liverpool will affect millions more.

The former MP insisted he made the remark when he met with the woman because he was "sorry if she felt uncomfortable".

He also denied a barrister's suggestion he had been "caught in the act" during a separate incident where he is accused of using a light to stare at another alleged victim.

The former DUP leader, 63, who is on trial at Newry Crown Court, pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences, including one count of rape and allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency between 1985 and 2008.

Two women, referred to as Complainant A and B, both allege they were abused as children and have given evidence at the trial for historic offences.

Donaldson's wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, 60, denies several charges of aiding and abetting her husband's alleged offending.

She is facing a trial of the facts on mental health grounds.

On Friday, prosecution barrister Rosemary Walsh KC continued to cross-examine Donaldson for a second day.

She referred to a meeting between Donaldson in the 1990s and 'Complainant B', which also involved David Hoy, the founder of the Christian Family Centre in Armoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The jury previously heard 'Complainant B' stayed at the centre in the 1990s after developing an issue with drugs, and told a church pastor about the alleged abuse.

The court previously heard Complainant B claim Donaldson apologised to her at that meeting. He said he was not apologising for any allegations of abuse.

The barrister asked Donaldson if he did not see "anything strange" about the approach from Mr Hoy, to which Donaldson said it was "not unusual" for him to get a phone call from someone he had never met before.

Ms Walsh suggested Donaldson needed to meet Mr Hoy because "he was going to be talking to you about a sensitive matter".

Donaldson said: "That is absolutely not true," adding that he had not tried to "avoid the meeting", and was happy to meet Mr Hoy.

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Ms Walsh pointed out that Mr Hoy's evidence to the court was that an "allegation" had been made.

Donaldson answered: "The word allegation was never mentioned to me. If it had been mentioned I would have immediately asked what it was about."

Ms Walsh said Donaldson attended the meeting in Amoy as he "knew this was something you needed to nip in the bud", but the defendant replied: "That is not true at all."

Questioned over apology

When asked about the apology at the meeting, the former MP told the court he had said he was "sorry if she felt uncomfortable".

The barrister asked: "What were you apologising for?"

He said: "That she felt uncomfortable."

Donaldson also denied suggestions from Ms Walsh that he did not want Complainant B "going through allegations" and attempted to "shut her down".

Donaldson denies touching girl

Ms Walsh then moved on to allegations against Donaldson made by Complainant A, to which Donaldson denied any sexual abuse started when she was of primary school age.

The barrister asked about the allegations of abuse, including "touching outside of clothing", putting his tongue in her mouth, and using a light, possibly a torch, to look at her genitals.

In each case, he strongly denied the allegations.

He also denied the barrister's suggestion that he was "panicking" over claims he was "caught in the act".

The trial continues on Monday.

The decision to move the match from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin comes amid the prospect of major demonstrations around the Nations League fixture on 4 October because of Israel's military operations in the Middle East.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said: "Operational challenges could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil, so the fixture will be played away from the Aviva Stadium.

"The Association understands and respects the views expressed by players and staff, supporters, its members, campaigners, members of the public and the Irish footballing community in relation to this fixture."

It said the Palestinian Football Association had expressed its "appreciation for the principled positions taken by the Football Association of Ireland in support of the rights of the Palestinian people and Palestinian athletes".

Some Irish ​footballers, fans and celebrities had launched a campaign calling for a boycott of the game. The FAI said it was "deeply conscious of the suffering and devastation being endured by civilians in Gaza".

It added that it continued to "reflect the sentiment" of a motion of its general assembly last year to issue a formal request to the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Executive Committee for the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from its competitions.

The association recognised that if it did not fulfil the fixtures with Israel, the immediate result would be the forfeiture of six points which could lead to relegation to League C in the Nations League and weaken its qualifying potential for Euro 2028.

It would also impact on Ireland's UEFA and FIFA rankings, which could affect future qualification to European Championships and World Cups.

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It pointed out the "converse" would apply for Israel, increasing its prospects of promotion.

Ireland has been one of the European Union's most outspoken critics of Israel's war in ⁠Gaza, and FAI members voted overwhelmingly in late 2025 ​for its board to request that UEFA immediately ​suspend the Israel Football Association from European competitions.

Nearly 73,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the war began, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel launched its action ‌after Hamas-led militants stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 Israeli and foreign hostages on 7 October, 2023.

A multi-Grammy-winning artist, in 2023 Swift smashed touring records when her Eras Tour became the first to take over $1bn (£745m).

Her success inspired the coining of the term "Swiftonomics" to describe the boost in local spending which would accompany each of her gigs as she travelled around the globe.

Accepting the honour, Swift told the audience: "It was instinctual. No one taught me how to do it".

She went on to thank her family for their sacrifices, moving from Pennsylvania to Nashville, Tennessee, to support her music career when she was just 14.

Just last year, Swift officially bought back the rights to her first six albums, after re-recording them as "Taylor's Versions".

Swift also offered young songwriters advice: "You really have to prioritise what you love, down to your very core. Because you'll need that."

The prize was introduced by Disclosure Day director Steven Spielberg, who said of Swift's songwriting prowess: "Somehow Taylor knows us all too well".

Although making history as the youngest woman to be inducted, the overall record for the youngest songwriter ever inducted is held by Stevie Wonder, who started his recording career at just 13.

Others taking awards on the night included Kiss founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Footloose writer Kenny Loggins, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart - who's the songwriter behind Rihanna's Umbrella - and Alanis Morissette.

Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honours those creating popular music. A songwriter with a notable catalogue of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.

In recent years, the trend of established artists selling off their back catalogues for large sums has put the business value of songwriting firmly in the public eye.

Stars already in the hall include Elton John, Gloria Estefan, Carole King, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Olivia Newton-John and Phil Collins.