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Family of man killed by tiger at wildlife park say he suffered from 'significant mental illness'
The man who was mauled to death by a tiger at a wildlife park suffered from a "significant mental illness", his family have said in a statement as they paid tribute to him.

The family of William Chapman, who was killed after entering the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster on Saturday, described him as a "bright, warm and engaging young man".

It has emerged on Tuesday that Mr Chapman was a child actor who had appeared in ITV's May Contain Nuts in 2009, alongside Harry Potter star Shirley Henderson, and in the BBC's True Stories series in 2012.

The Jackie Palmer Stage School, where Mr Chapman was a former student, paid tribute to him on Instagram, saying he "will be remembered with great fondness".

Mr Chapman appears to have filmed himself approaching the animal in the moments before the attack, according to footage posted on his personal social media and seen by Sky News.

The footage shows him apparently approaching the tiger, which can be seen lying on top of a wooden platform, a few metres in front of the camera.

The person filming can be heard breathing heavily as distant voices shout "Oh my God" and "seriously".

Earlier this week, South Yorkshire Police confirmed that he was visiting the park alone on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses nearby the enclosure said people were frantically telling Mr Chapman to "play dead", but it appeared he did not understand. He was heard telling the tiger to "stop being naughty".

The park remained closed for a fourth day on Tuesday after it was evacuated on Saturday.

City of Doncaster Council has said it has launched a health and safety investigation into the incident.

In a statement on social media on Saturday, the park said its "emergency response procedures were immediately activated".

Another statement posted later said that "many, many people" had contacted them about the tiger, called Altai, and confirmed that the animal is "safe and well" and will not be euthanised.

Witnesses 'shaken up'

One witness said they had seen Mr Chapman "dancing with headphones on" shortly before he climbed into the enclosure.

Anthony Hunt, who had been at the wildlife park with his girlfriend, Scarlet, said they had been taking pictures of the tiger when they saw its composure change and its head turn.

"Its eyes locked on to something in the enclosure. We thought maybe he's getting fed. When Scarlett was taking photos - we suddenly saw in the camera lens that a guy had entered the enclosure," said Anthony.

The victim "bowed down, on all fours, started praying, and looking up at the sky," he said.

"The tiger was still on the landing at this point" but then "leapt off the landing, and sniffed the guy".

Anthony added that he and Scarlet had later spoken to a woman who said she'd "tried to stop" Mr Chapman from entering the enclosure, claiming she'd "tried to pull him back" but was unable to stop him.

"She was shaken up," said Anthony.

Another witness, Alex Underwood, who had also been at the wildlife park with his girlfriend, said: "We were on the tiger bridge and I spotted him - he was dancing with his earphones on."

"He said, 'can you take a photo of me, please?'. She [my girlfriend] said 'yes'. Then he said 'another one, another one'. He didn't look into the camera.

"He looked at us both and said thank you."

Alex, who said he left the bridge with his girlfriend soon after, added: "We heard someone had jumped in and thought of him for some reason."

Tiger used 'predatory instinct'

Videos circulating online appear to show a man being pawed at and grappled by the tiger inside the enclosure.

Speaking to Sky News, animal keeper Reece Oliver said the 30-stone (200kg) tiger was probably "just playing" when it began pawing the victim.

"If it really wanted to kill him, it would have probably killed him within 10 seconds," he said.

"I don't think it knew what he was going to do, because the only thing that goes into that enclosure normally would be enrichment toys or food.

"So, I think he was probably just playing, using his predatory instinct, seeing what it was, what he was, and unfortunately it ended up being a fatal attack."

Tribute from drama school

Jackie Palmer Stage School said on Instagram: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former student, William Chapman.

"Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with William's family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.

"We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us. It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.

"William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts.

"Rest in peace, William."

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In a social media post, Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary and MP for Doncaster North, said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident, and that he was sending "my thoughts and deepest condolences to the family of the individual who died".

Yorkshire Wildlife Park opened in 2009, with the Land of the Tigers attraction opening in 2011. The park also houses lions, giraffes, tigers, leopards and black rhinos.

A 300-metre-long raised walkway runs through the attraction, which is a purpose-built, two-acre reserve for Amur tigers, an endangered subspecies with a population of around 500 left in the wild.


Cancer found after Pope had part of his lung removed during 'successful' surgery
The Pope has undergone surgery to treat lung cancer.

The Vatican confirmed the pontiff had a lower lobe of his right lung removed during the procedure which was described as successful and which went as planned.

An examination of the lung revealed a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, a common form of lung cancer.

The operation lasted around 90 minutes, said the Vatican.

It is the first major health issue of his 17-month tenure.

Pope Leo XIV was originally sent for treatment at Rome's Gemelli hospital for the removal of the small nodule, which he said on Sunday was spotted early during a recent check-up.

The Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday: "The Holy Father underwent thoracic surgery as scheduled.

"To ensure a complete resection, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique.

"Intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, as suspected from preoperative tests.

"Following the surgery, the Pope woke up normally and, after a brief period of observation, returned to his room on the 10th floor.

"The procedure was completed successfully, within the expected timeframe and as planned."

Professor Stefano Margaritora, the hospital's chief thoracic surgeon, led the operation.

Pope Leo left the Vatican ahead of the surgery shortly before 1pm local time, and shook hands with several officials after arriving at the hospital.

Some well-wishers shouted 'auguri' (best wishes) as he headed in via the main entrance.

The pontiff is expected to recover in hospital for about a week, the Vatican said - with all of his public events cancelled until 20 October.

Pope Leo, who is originally from the US, has no previously known health problems and is physically active, with weekly games of tennis and swimming at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo.

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The pontiff told pilgrims during his weekly Sunday noon blessing from St Peter's Square in the Vatican City: "The doctors consider it appropriate to intervene, and so, following their advice, I have decided to undergo surgery to have it removed.

"I thank you and entrust myself to your prayers."


Saudi national charged with allegedly installing a hidden recording device at OpenAI
A Saudi national has been charged with allegedly installing a hidden recording device at OpenAI.

The Justice Department said that 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan had been arrested and charged with using or endeavouring to use an electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept oral communications.

He was initially detained on 9 October and made an appearance in federal court on Tuesday.

Alfozan allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside OpenAI's executive conference room in San Francisco to capture "sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology", FBI Director Kash Patel said.

He had been working at the company as an engineer since July 2025, according to the Justice Department.

Around 30 September, staff discovered the alleged recording device in a USB port on the back of a TV in the conference room wrapped in toilet paper.

Alfozan was allegedly spotted near the executive conference room in CCTV footage on multiple dates before the device was discovered.

Conversations in the conference room "frequently involved discussions of highly confidential technical, commercial, and strategic information", the Justice Department said.

Before 28 September, Alfozan allegedly made multiple inquiries covering Open AI's building addresses, meeting rooms, and calendars.

A chatbot account associated with his spouse also submitted prompts between 24-30 September related to audio recording, along with building and remote accessing a device.

On 5 October, Alfozan allegedly went into the conference room and appeared to look behind the TV where the device was found. He also left a bag unattended, in which security found another recording device, it is claimed.

He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 (£188,000) fine followed by three years of supervised release if convicted.

OpenAI used its internal AI models to identify Alfozan and trace the device's origins.

A statement earlier released by the company said: "The FBI's investigation is ongoing and we will continue to support their work.

"At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data. The employee was terminated.

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"We take protecting our technology, data, and people seriously, and as a matter of national importance. Our security programme is designed to protect against a wide range of threat actors, from insider risks to cybercriminals to nation states, and this case is an example of how AI can help address these sophisticated security threats."

Jay Clayton, director of national intelligence, said: "This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative - and why President Trump's leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force is so important.

"I thank Director Patel and our FBI partners for their diligence and swift action. The intelligence community remains committed to safeguarding America's cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats."


Brexit result 'not in dispute' despite PM's Russia meddling claim, MI5 chief says
The head of MI5 has said the result of the Brexit referendum "is not in dispute" after the prime minister said Russia had interfered in the 2016 vote.

Sir Ken McCallum was speaking to broadcasters after he delivered an annual threat assessment on Tuesday.

Asked whether Russia had meddled in the Brexit campaign and - if it did - whether the interference had had an impact, the director general of the Security Service said: "As per what I think the prime minister said in the House of Commons yesterday, the Brexit referendum result is not in dispute.

"And as per the way you framed your question, there is a difference here between interference attempted and ... outcome achieved.

"And routinely today in 2026, we see attempts by the Russians and by others to sow division or more particularly to opportunistically exploit any divisions they perceive in UK public debate.

"And so we routinely see attempts by the Russians to sow that kind of dissension and division."

Sir Ken also pointed to a confirmed Russian attempt to meddle in the 2019 general election.

He then pointed to how, in the run-up to the Brexit referendum three years earlier, Russian state TV outlets such as Russia Today and Sputnik were broadcasting and publishing articles in favour of the UK leaving the European Union.

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"It is also a matter of public record that there was a certain amount of activity by so-called internet trolls and bot farms and so forth," he said.

"So that's not new news. This has been gone over before. The 2026 problem that my teams are focused on, with others, is dealing proportionately and professionally and calmly with the kinds of attempts we should expect to see to influence our national debate.

"And … we shouldn't all be kind of wobbled by attempts by our adversaries to sway us. It's up to us to respond in a calm, proportionate sort of British fashion. That's what national resilience kind of means."


Tech firms promise to take down AI platforms if British secret services show they are unsafe
OpenAI and Anthropic have promised to take down their AIs if the British secret services show them they are unsafe - activating what some describe as a "kill switch".

Representatives from the two firms told MPs they would respond immediately to evidence of harm from MI5, MI6 or GCHQ, as well as the AI Security Institute (AISI).

"If either AISI or MI5, MI6, GCHQ or any of these authorities came to us and said, 'We think your model is unsafe, we think it's being used by a bad actor', we would obviously look at that immediately with the utmost urgency," said Tom Duff Gordon, head of EMEA policy at OpenAI.

"If we are in control of the model, we would then stop the deployment of that model, or we would pause the training model, or we wouldn't deploy it."

Lord Booth Smith, representing Anthropic, made the same commitment.

"If any agency came forward with demonstrable evidence that the model was not safe or dangerous, we would of course take it off the market," he told MPs at the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee.

However, both men cautioned that they could only do this if they had control of the model, something that isn't always possible.

"There are some nuances with regard to how models in general are deployed because we don't always have control if they're hosted by somebody else," said Mr Duff Gordon.

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It comes as the head of MI5 warned that AI is "supercharging" security threats to the UK.

Sir Ken McCallum said: "It can produce propaganda and radicalising material tailored to the individual. We've caught terrorists seeking to exploit AI to improve their reconnaissance and attack methodologies, with AI-enabled drones adding a new twist.

"Not yet realised - but the misuse case to which I'd attach greatest weight - is AI's potential to change the stakes on existing or even new bioweapons."


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