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Good morning. After a short hiatus, the US overnight carried out a \u201cheavy wave of strikes\u201d against Iran, which the American military said was a \u201cpowerful response\u201d to attempted missile attacks on its forces in the region. \u201cIt\u2019s our turn to hit them. They know it\u2019s coming,\u201d Donald Trump told reporters. The Guardian has lots of coverage of these recent developments, including of the US joining forces with the Saudis to launch strikes in Iraq, which experts warn are pushing the region into \u201cuncharted territory\u201d.<\/p>\n
But today we\u2019re bringing you a different story about the US military. For the last six months, the Guardian\u2019s investigations team has been reporting on the secretive world of US military bases in Britain. Base justice, their investigation, has uncovered how military servicemen accused of raping and sexually assaulting women in the UK have successfully avoided the British justice system.<\/p>\n
These servicemen have been tried at court martial by their peers, who have appeared to hand down lesser sentences than they would have potentially received under British law. Harry Davies<\/strong>,<\/em> an investigations correspondent at the Guardian, <\/strong>is one of a team working on this. He relayed the story behind the investigation, and what it tells us about the \u201cspecial relationship\u201d between the US and Britain. That\u2019s after the headlines.<\/p>\n UK news <\/strong><\/em>| Half of England is officially in drought, with July set to be the driest on record after winter floods, the Environment Agency has said.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Middle East <\/strong><\/em>| The US military has launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to Tehran\u2019s attack on American forces in Jordan on Wednesday, raising the risk of a return to all-out-war in the region.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n UK politics <\/strong><\/em>| The convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred a total of more than $2m to his mother, Fiona Cottrell, in the days before her 2024 donations to Reform UK, the Guardian understands.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ukraine <\/strong><\/em>| Russian air strikes killed at least 13 people in Ukraine on Thursday, including one in Kyiv, as attacks that extended as far \u2060as the western city of Lviv forced neighbouring Poland to scramble \u200bfighter jets to secure its airspace.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Europe news <\/strong><\/em>| Three Greek firefighters have died while tackling wildfires on the island of Crete and in the south of the mainland, the Greek fire department has said, as extreme heat hinders efforts to control blazes ravaging southern Europe.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/span>The conduct of the US forces is governed by their own set of laws which apply wherever they are stationed.<\/span> Photograph: Joshua Bright\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The US military bases are slices of Americana in rural England. Lakenheath, in the Suffolk countryside, has its own shopping mall, a drive-thru Taco Bell and a miniature Statue of Liberty. The bases are closed to the public, so when Harry and Rob Evans, a Guardian investigative reporter, applied to visit Lakenheath to sit in on a court martial in April this year, they were unsure what to expect. It was the first time to their knowledge that British journalists had attended a court martial on a US base. The courtroom had a distinctly American feel (at one point, the NHS was misnamed). \u201cIt was like stepping into an entirely unfamiliar world,\u201d Harry recalled.<\/p>\n Harry and Rob watched as Jacob Wulfson, a fighter pilot, was tried for sexually assaulting Sarah Steele, a British academic. Steele accused Wulfson of drugging and strangling her in his apartment, and penetrating her without consent. An all-male panel of eight uniformed US air force officers heard the case, and Steele was subjected to six hours of gruelling questions. Wulfson\u2019s lawyer, an imposing man sporting a crew-cut and pinstripe suit, relentlessly sought to discredit Steele, claiming she had fabricated her allegations for money, and had abused prescription drugs.<\/p>\n The jury were allowed to consider Wulfson\u2019s combat record when deciding his sentence. Three of his former colleagues relayed tales of his military adventures in Afghanistan. \u201cThe irony was that a man\u2019s track record in killing people was being used as mitigation for a sentence for committing a violent crime,\u201d Harry said.<\/p>\n Under British law, Wulfson would probably have been tried for rape. Instead, he was acquitted of drugging and sexual offences, and convicted of strangling an intimate partner. The panel formally reprimanded Wulfson and confined him to a corrections facility at Lakenheath for six months (he was also dismissed from the air force). Had Harry and Rob not been there, the only public record of his trial would be a brief entry on an obscure US air force webpage.<\/p>\n An even bigger story<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBoth Rob and I had a hunch that there were potentially other cases like this, and a bigger story to tell,\u201d Harry said. He began sifting through documents from US military courts to identify cases involving UK nationals. After tracking down their addresses, Harry, Rob and Emine Sinmaz, a senior reporter, went out and knocked on doors, trying to find people willing to speak.<\/p>\n Together, they identified cases where US service members in the UK had been convicted by US courts martial <\/strong>of sexual assault, paedophilia, indecent exposure and violent attacks. A number of these crimes involved British victims and were committed while the US military personnel were off duty. \u201cWe began to realise that this had been going on for a very long time,\u201d Harry told me. \u201cThere seemed to be quite a lot of cases where people in the UK have been harmed by visiting US military, who come here for a few years, and then move on.\u201d<\/p>\n You can read their detailed findings, and an analysis by Louisa Loveluck and Harry. Three of the cases they uncovered were particularly disturbing: one involved a US airman who allegedly exposed himself to a 16-year-old girl and four young women in Cambridgeshire, another involved a former senior airman who two women accused of rape, and a third involved a man accused of raping women in England while they were asleep. The US military had taken jurisdiction of all three cases from UK police, meaning that, like Wulfson, these men were tried by US court martial rather than UK courts. None of them were convicted for rape.<\/p>\n The US military is a guest on British soil and has an interest in maintaining tight control over crimes committed by its servicemen. As Harry put it: \u201cif there were a whole series of cases going through the English Crown courts about American service personnel abusing women \u2026 would the local population feel differently about their guests?\u201d<\/p>\n Questions to answer<\/strong><\/p>\n The use of these bases is governed by an agreement that the US and Britain signed in 1951, which stipulates that the US government prosecutes its own personnel if they commit offences while they\u2019re on duty, or against other members of US armed forces. In all other cases, British police are supposed to make the first call on whether to launch a prosecution. So why did the police willingly cede control of these cases to the US military?<\/p>\n Harry mentioned that the US armed forces had been \u201caggressively\u201d trying to expand their jurisdiction over cases. There\u2019s also ambiguity about who actually <\/strong>has jurisdiction over cases, with a patchwork of different constabularies seemingly interpreting this differently.<\/p>\n Rape victims in England and Wales now wait an average of 417 days for their cases to be heard; in this context, a US military court might seem like a fast-track route to justice. One alleged rape victim told the Guardian that an ISVA, a specialist who provides advice to victims of sexual violence in England and Wales, had advised her that the CPS might not opt to prosecute her case, and that even if it did, the American military would provide a quicker resolution. Clearly, police forces have questions to answer.<\/p>\n What happens next?<\/strong><\/p>\n The sensitivity of their reporting means the investigations team often has to be circumspect about what they\u2019re working on, and other Guardian staff don\u2019t tend to hear about these stories until they\u2019re published (this professional secrecy extends to the team\u2019s biscuit tin, carefully disguised as a box file). When we spoke on the phone, Harry told me that he was about to fly to a foreign city for a story. He wouldn\u2019t say any more.<\/p>\n Harry\u2019s work has exposed the ties between the Israeli military and big tech, and uncovered the Mossad\u2019s secret plot to pressure the ICC into dropping a war crimes investigation in Palestine. But of all the stories he\u2019s worked on, this one has generated the most correspondence from readers. It\u2019s also resonated with the government. Today, we\u2019ve published a story revealing that ministers and police chiefs have now pledged to examine why UK police forces have so often handed cases like these to the US military. <\/strong><\/p>\n Investigative journalism is expensive, and the Guardian devotes significant resources to bringing you stories like these. If you want to read more of them, please do consider supporting us. They don\u2019t happen without your help.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u2018We need to get together and take back power\u2019 \u2026 swimmers in the empty Grade II-listed Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham.<\/span> Photograph: \u00a9 Attilio Fiumarella. Courtesy of The Royal Photographic Society<\/p>\n I love our weekly My Best Shot<\/strong> column, where photographers share the story behind their favourite image. This week it\u2019s Attilio Fiumarella on 118 swimsuit-clad Brummies. Michael<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n In the US, more people than ever are choosing to cremate rather than bury their loved ones. I enjoyed John Semley\u2019s piece about the dying art of America\u2019s last morticians. Hettie<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Watch the video footage of a cricket player<\/strong> in the north-east tricking an umpire into giving batters out with cheeky finger-clicking, then enjoy Mark Brown meeting his unimpressed neighbours. Michael<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Guardian\u2019s Opinion section has been experimenting with reels, and this short video essay by Aditya Chakrabortty on how UK graduates<\/strong> got swindled is terrific. Hettie<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n I know this was broadcast back in April, but I only listened to (Hairy Biker) Si King<\/strong> on Desert Island Discs last night. It\u2019s a beautiful, moving and funny interview. In case you missed it. Michael<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to First Edition<\/span><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n <\/span>Aziz Abdul (left) was disqualified for head-butting Damar Thomas.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Commonwealth Games <\/strong><\/em>| The debut of Idi Amin\u2019s grandson ended in ignominy and disgrace as the boxer was disqualified in the third round for head-butting his English opponent \u2013 and then launched a bitter verbal assault on the referee.<\/p>\n Football <\/strong><\/em>| Manchester City are leading the opposition to the Premier League\u2019s plans to offer \u00a31.5bn to the English Football League in a landmark financial settlement.<\/p>\n Football <\/strong><\/em>| Uefa has accused Fifa of \u201cusing our sport to enrich themselves and their friends\u201d since news of its plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors became public.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cCottrell transferred $2m to mother days before her Reform donations\u201d, is the Guardian<\/strong>\u2019s front page today. The Times<\/strong> leads with \u201cGet tax rebate from your mayor\u201d, the Mail<\/strong> splashes \u201cStill say your boats plan is working, Andy?\u201d, and the Sun<\/strong> on the same topic writes \u201cHow\u2019s that plan going, PM?\u201d.<\/p>\n The Telegraph<\/strong> has \u201cCalls grow for England to boycott World Cup\u201d, the Express<\/strong> splashes \u201cDying tell PM: We don\u2019t have time for these delays\u201d, and the Mirror<\/strong>\u2019s headline is \u201cWhere are our babies?\u201d. The FT<\/strong> writes \u201cFed holds rates despite fears of price pressures from renewed Iran conflict\u201d. On the heatwave, the i Paper<\/strong> says \u201cTake a shorter shower to save water in drought, public urged\u201d, and Metro<\/strong> writes \u201cFuture looking droughtful for baking Britain\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n Fifa and Infantino face backlash over plan to cash in World Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n Fifa president Gianni Infantino has announced plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors in a new commercial entity worth $20bn. One of the leading would-be investors is Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared. The plans have prompted an immediate backlash \u2013 with Uefa accusing Fifa of trying to \u2018sell football\u2019s soul\u2019. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian reporter, Paul MacInnes.<\/p>\n <\/span> Illustration: Ben Jennings\/The Guardian<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>\u2018I was going through a second puberty\u2019 \u2026 Mel Hudson.<\/span> Photograph: Jake Walters<\/p>\n After her kids flew the nest, 56-year-old Mel Hudson was basking in the peaceful glow of single life \u2013 until she realised something (her libido) was missing. Cue her sexual reawakening, thanks to a famous rockstar.<\/p>\n In the weeks after reluctantly attending his gig, Mel had a realisation: \u201cI had fallen in love with Richard Ashcroft.\u201d<\/p>\n Her obsession became more than an unrequited celebrity crush. It was a reminder of the joys of fancying someone; a catalyst for more passionate experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an older person, you discount desire at your peril,\u201d Mel writes. \u201cThe story of it may ebb and flow \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t have to end.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally, the Guardian\u2019s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.<\/p>\nFive big stories<\/h2>\n
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In depth: \u2018An entirely unfamiliar world\u2019<\/h2>\n
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