With the release of his new biography, the British designer talks about leaving school at 15, the real reason he won’t retire and why no one wears velvet trousers any more

Go for a browse in the Paul Smith shop in Mayfair, London, on any given Saturday and you’ll likely find an older shop assistant, straight-backed in fine tailoring, approaching to help you with a new shirt, or a suit for a special occasion, perhaps a jaunty pair of socks. There aren’t many global fashion brands, Paul Smith points out, perhaps unnecessarily, “where the owner is a Saturday boy”. But working in his shop, one of more than 130 around the world, is probably Smith’s favourite part of the job. “It’s fantastic, you meet so many interesting people,” he says, smiling broadly. Smith’s whole career, he says, has always been about doing things in a different way. He’s the untrained fashion designer who created a global British brand, who put a bright lining or some stripes into classic tailoring, and who has turned down multiple substantial offers to buy his company, in order to remain in control.

Sir Paul Smith has just turned 80 – and he has the enviable energy of someone more than half his age, swimming each day before 6am. He’s about to publish his memoir, Threads: My Life in Style. It’s been a good opportunity to do a stocktake. His has undoubtedly been a lucky life – right place, right time, right people (not least his wife, Pauline, whom he met at the age of 21 and who has been integral to his success) – but it’s also a story of hard work, integrity and modesty. We’ll get to whether those values are still relevant in a harsher, more competitive world, and whether Paul Smith can survive.

Schemes to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza are not being promoted by fringe voices. But the international community continues to avert its eyes

The gap between what is being inflicted on Palestinians and the appropriate reaction on the part of the international community has always been vast. But now it yawns so wide that it swallows reality itself. As arms export licences for Israel from states such as Germany surge, talk of harsher measures and sanctions on the part of other European countries remains talk. People continue to be killed in Gaza, Palestinian families remain besieged in the West Bank, and the Israeli political right has been removing all doubt that these violations are intentional, by telling the world of its hopes and plans.

A sample from only the past few days. On Thursday, Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, detailed a scheme for the illegal ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. He also posted an AI-generated video, now deleted, of Palestinian men entering a conveyor belt into detention, emerging emaciated and tearful. Also a few days ago, the defence minister, Israel Katz, stated that the country was “organised and prepared” to expel Palestinians from Gaza “by every way possible”.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

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The ‘hugely important artefact’ that’s followed 14 children since they were seven is set to air its final instalment. The now-septuagenarians and director Asif Kapadia talk about breaking new ground for 63 years – and changing TV forever

Described as the Bayeux tapestry of television, the groundbreaking ITV documentary series Seven Up is coming to its final conclusion.

In 1964, a group of randomly chosen seven-year-olds from different backgrounds were brought together and filmed in an attempt to answer questions about the effect of fate, class and environment on people’s aspirations and outcomes.

Elise Burns and Keith Williams appeared in campaign filmed by Rankin this year – both were denied their wishes, but their relatives are picking up the baton

The feeling, said Sarah Burns of her sister’s last days, is one of overwhelming guilt.

“You feel really guilty, and helpless,” she says. “Because we knew what she wanted. We really did know. But we couldn’t do anything.”

Fulham need a win, Tottenham show some spirit and Jack Grealish offers Everton much-needed energy

With 25 minutes to go against Manchester United, the Everton supporters had something to roar about as Jack Grealish made his return after rejoining on loan. The attacking midfielder remains universally popular thanks to his desire to entertain, getting the hosts back on their feet by creating dangerous situations within seconds of his arrival. Everton were limited in the final third for long periods as Thierno Barry sat on the periphery. If David Moyes is to keep his side pushing for a top-half finish, he will need Grealish to be a creative focal point. Will Unwin

Epic plankton blooms make filming in the North Sea notoriously difficult. But a new documentary gives a rare glimpse of the kaleidoscopic life – seals, sharks, tuna, orcas and shorthorn sculpins – lurking beneath its waves

The North Sea, as even its greatest admirers will concede, often glowers an unappetising grey or brown. And we assume that its dull exterior is matched by sediment-filled waters where little life dwells. For years, the friends and family of Peter van Rodijnen wondered why the Dutch cinematographer and diving fanatic spent so much time exploring “this murky bowl of soup”. But, inspired by a childhood of watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures in rather more enticingly temperate waters, Van Rodijnen’s dedication to North Sea diving gradually revealed its hidden wonders.

Over 20 years, as camera technology improved, Van Rodijnen obtained more and more amazing footage of marine life near his home on the Netherlands coast. Nearly a decade ago, he teamed up with director Mark Verkerk. “We started with the idea,” says Van Rodijnen, “that if somebody can make a movie about the North Sea, it’s got to be us.”

Hundreds of men, some wearing balaclavas, attempted to prevent asylum seekers being transported for processing

• UK politics live – latest updates

The government has condemned the “thuggish and intimidating behaviour” of far-right activists who blocked roads in Portsmouth after a boat carrying asylum seekers arrived in the city, two days after similar scenes in Dover.

Hundreds of men, some dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, tried to stop the arrivals from being transported for processing until 3am, when police removed them with threats of arrest. A witness said two police car windscreens were smashed.

Group fail to secure majority in Saxony-Anhalt state parliament leaving uncertainty over next steps

• Far-right AfD wins key German state election but falls just short of majority

AfD’s Chrupalla continues in this vein, saying the German public wants to see a change in direction, and specifically saying the electorate is “fed up” as the government keeps “transferring billions of our tax money to Ukraine … instead of using it for our own population.”

He says the party has “a clear mandate” to rule in Saxony-Anhalt and will hold discussions with others about what can be done.

Chancellor says growth requires ‘a fundamental shift that starts with putting power in the right places’

• Chancellor to argue UK economy can ‘turn corner’ despite bond market turmoil

John Healey is just starting his speech. He is in the West Midlands, and he says he is pleased Richard Parker, the Labour West Midlands mayor, is in the audience. Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, is there too, along with Healey’s fellow Treasury ministers.

This is from Faisal Islam, the BBC’s economics editor, on John Healey’s speech.

New Chancellor John Healey about to give his debut speech in West Midlands setting the scene for the Budget trying to sustain an upbeat tone on the economy, given upticks in consumer and business confidence and decent comparative GDP figures so far in 2026, but faced with turmoil in global bond markets and just a few miles away biggest manufacturer JLR shedding jobs… tricky balancing act. One term to look out for - “Pufin” which means Public Finance institutions such as the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund, which have room to expand investments, while less constrained by borrowing rules.

bottom line - this doesn’t seem to be laying ground for significant tax rises as the equivalent speeches in 2024/2025 did… but he’s just about to start…

Dispute centres on stake held by Patarkatsishvili family in bottled water firm it jointly owns with Russian oligarch

A British theatre impresario and her billionaire family are embroiled in a bitter dispute with Ukrainian authorities seeking to seize a water company they jointly own with a Russian oligarch.

The row centres on a 34% stake held in the producer of Ukraine’s biggest bottled water brands by the Patarkatsishvili family, including Liana Patarkatsishvili, who recently worked on an immersive show with Toby Jones and Meera Syal.