The woman who received sex texts from Red Bull team boss Christian Horner accusing him of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ says she feels ‘let down’ by the F1 team’s decision to acquit him.

Red Bull announced last month that it is investigating 50-year-old Horner through an independent lawyer into claims of misconduct by his personal assistant.

But her complaint was rejected and just hours later, embarrassing text messages of a sexual nature involving the pair were leaked, leading to her suspension for what Red Bull said was ‘dishonesty’.

A friend of the university graduate at the center of the affair told MailOnline: ‘She is so disappointed with how it all went down, especially as she did everything by the book.

‘She has raised her concerns privately and has done everything right, but she feels very let down by the company.

“They suspended her because she followed the proper procedure carefully and correctly.

‘But despite everything, she was suspended from the job she loves and from a sport in which she is highly regarded.

‘The lack of support is noticed and she is so disappointed with the treatment by her employer.

‘Look what happened. She complained that a supposedly transparent, independent investigation had taken place, Horner was acquitted and subsequently suspended.’

The friend added: ‘Questions need to be asked about the Red Bull investigation, transparency would give confidence in what is happening to her.

‘Who at Red Bull was charged with establishing the facts? Who at Red Bull had access to all the confidential material used?

‘Who at Red Bull makes all these decisions and who at Red Bull does their best to determine the source of these leaks?

‘She just can’t get over the fact that she filed a complaint and was suspended. All she wants is transparency in the process.”

The friend revealed that the woman has been ‘inundated’ with offers to tell her story, but has decided to remain tight-lipped for the time being.

Last week, MailOnline revealed that Jos Verstappen, father of Red Bull’s lead driver Max, also backed her and said he ‘sympathised’ with the woman.

The friend added: ‘She has had many messages of support from friends, family and people in F1 and she remains stoic and respectful of the process.

‘Even though there are questions that need to be asked of Red Bull.’

An F1 source who knows the woman told MailOnline: ‘Look, everyone knows motor racing is a male-dominated sport.

‘I think fans will wonder what went wrong at Red Bull if a woman with concerns is suspended because raising concerns is simply not an option.

“All it will do is discourage other women who may have had similar problems in F1 from coming forward.”

The woman is appealing Red Bull’s decision and has appointed lawyers to fight her, but no timetable has been given for the trial.”

The woman had bravely held on to her job at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes headquarters for several weeks before being suspended.

The F1 source said: ‘She didn’t ask for this and now she has been suspended and the message is very clear: it means women should stay quiet and not speak out or you will lose your job.’

The woman’s plea for transparency echoes that of Red Bull Racing’s current engine partner Honda, which has called for clarity on the investigation that ultimately cleared Horner.

In a statement ahead of last week’s Saudi Arabian GP, ​​Honda said: ‘We do not have full details on the matter at this time, therefore Honda is not in a position to comment in detail.

‘We look forward to complete clarity as soon as possible.’

Honda is not the only team partner to have shared a public statement about the Horner investigation and its aftermath. Future engine supplier Ford said in February – while the investigation was still ongoing – that it expects ‘high standards of conduct’.

Mark Rushbrook, global head of Ford Performance Motorsport, said: “As a family-owned business and a company that adheres to very high standards of conduct and integrity, we expect the same from our partners.

‘It seems to us, and what we were told, was that Red Bull is taking the situation very seriously. And of course they are also concerned about their brand.

“And that’s why they have an independent investigation and until we see what truth comes out of that, it’s too early for us to comment on that.”

Horner – married to former Spice Girl Geri – has called for a line to be drawn under the controversy and for the focus to be on the team.

In the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Geri made a determined effort to show that she was behind Horner.

Red Bull remained tight-lipped about the woman’s suspension, saying simply: “The company cannot comment on this internal matter.”

They said they dismissed her complaint after an independent QC – who was not named – prepared a report into the allegations over several weeks.

The widow of dead Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny met EU chiefs in Brussels today hours after releasing a video in which she blamed Vladimir Putin for her husband’s death in prison and accused the Kremlin of hiding his body.

Yulia Navalnaya addressed foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 nations in Brussels after vowing to carry on her husband’s fight against the Russian president’s vicelike grip on Russia.

European diplomats said that she reiterated her determination to keep up the struggle and called on the bloc to do more to target Putin’s circle – drawing a standing ovation from the room.

She also warned against striking any deals with the Russian leader or hoping that he would change, they said.

Hours earlier, Navalnaya had posted a striking video message on X in which she called on her husband’s supporters to keep fighting against the Kremlin’s oppression to construct a ‘peaceful, happy, beautiful Russia that Alexei envisioned’.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on X: ‘We expressed the EU’s deepest condolences to Yulia Navalnaya. Vladimir Putin and his regime will be held accountable for the death of Alexei Navalny.

‘As Yulia said, Putin is not Russia. Russia is not Putin. We will continue our support to Russia’s civil society and independent media.’

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for Putin, who was seen smirking as he held a meeting at the Kremlin with Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. 

Earlier today in a heartfelt video message Navalnya, 47, said: ‘Vladimir Putin killed my husband.’

Holding back tears, she pledged to carry on her husband’s work and fight for a free Russia with the help of its citizens.

‘I want to live in a free Russia, I want to build a free Russia,’ she said the video message entitled ‘I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny’.

Navalnaya accused the Russian authorities of hiding Navalny’s body and of waiting for traces of the Novichok nerve agent to disappear from his body.

‘Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband Alexei Navalny. Putin killed the father of my children.

‘Putin took away the most precious I had in my life – my most dear and the most loved man.

‘But Putin also took Navalny away from you, somewhere in a [penal] colony in the Far North, beyond the Arctic Circle, in eternal winter.

‘Putin didn’t just kill a man called Alexei Navalny. Together with him, Putin wanted to kill our hopes, our freedom, our future. To destroy and nullify it.

‘The best evidence that Russia can be different, that we are strong, brave, that we believe and desperately fight and want to live differently.’

‘By killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me – half of my heart and half of my soul,’ Navalnaya said.

‘But I still have the other half, and it tells me that I have no right to give up. I will continue the work of Alexei Navalny, continue to fight for our country.’

‘I urge you to stand next to me,’ she said. ‘I ask you to share the rage with me. Rage, anger, hatred towards those who dared to kill our future.’

‘I address you with the words of Alexei, which I strongly believe: ‘There’s no shame in doing a little. There is shame in doing nothing. There is shame in allowing yourself to be intimidated.’

‘Russia – the free, peaceful, happy, beautiful Russia of the future about which my husband dreamed… I want to live in that Russia. I want mine and Alexei’s children to live in that Russia.

‘I want to build that with you, that which Alexei Navalny set forth. It is only this way – and there is no other way – that the senseless death he suffered will not be in vain.

‘Fight, and don’t give up. I am not afraid – and you will not fear anything.’

Navalny’s allies say they know why her husband was killed and would soon reveal the details, including the names of the people involved in his murder. The Kremlin has denied involvement in his death. 

Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, has been unable to recover his body since his death on Friday. 

A close legal aide to the dissident, Kira Yarmysh, said Lyudmila, who was today seen at a regional office of Russia’s Investigative Committee, was told by authorities that his body would only be handed over following a full post-mortem examination. 

The prison service has been accused of delaying the return of his body.  

She was reportedly told that an initial post-mortem was inconclusive, and that a second one needed to be undertaken.

And today, Russian investigators told his family they will not hand over Navalny’s body to his relatives for 14 days ‘until a chemical examination is completed,’ said Ivan Zhdanov, head of the dead politician’s anti-corruption campaign. 

Lyudmila was initially told that his body had been taken to the town of Salekhard, near the penal colony he was being held in, but when she arrived the morgue was closed. 

Last night, CCTV footage that is believed to have shown a midnight motorcade made up of prison vehicles and two highway patrol cars that took Navalny’s corpse from the Polar Wolf prison was leaked. 

In the security footage of the midnight motorcade, the Soviet-designed Federal Penitentiary Service van believed to be carrying Navalny is clearly seen flanked by an unmarked car and several police vehicles.

The drive from the Polar Wolf jail in Kharp went first to Labytnangi, and then crossed the frozen Ob, the world’s seventh longest river, to Salekhard, according to independent news outlet Mediazona which obtained the footage of the macabre journey.

The journey across the thick ice may have ended at a hospital morgue, where paramedics revealed Navalny’s body was covered in bruises, according to another news outlet, Novaya Gazeta Europe.

Russia’s prison service announced Navalny’s death on Friday.

It was most recently reported that Navalny died of ‘sudden death syndrome’, but no details were given to back this claim up.

Just two minutes after the time Navalny was reported to have died – 2.17pm – Russia’s prison service put out a statement revealing his passing.

Four minutes after this, a Telegram channel controlled by the Kremlin claimed he had died of a blood clot, and just seven minutes later Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, was talking to the media about it.

Since reports of his death were published, his family and allies have accused the Kremlin of deliberately hiding his body. 

Independent outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe yesterday reported that Navalny’s body shows signs of bruising that were caused by being held down while he suffered a seizure. 

The news outlet spoke to a paramedic in the Salekhard ambulance service, close to the IK-3 penal colony, also known as ‘Polar Wolf’, in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, where Navalny was being held.

Paramedics found bruises on Navalny’s body, which is now under police guard in a morgue at Salekhard district clinical hospital, according to the independent news outlet.

‘Usually the bodies of people who die in prison are taken straight to the Bureau of Forensic Medicine on Glazkova Street, but in this case it was taken to the clinical hospital for some reason,’ the anonymous paramedic told the outlet.

‘As an experienced paramedic, I can say that the injuries described by those who saw them appeared to be from convulsions.

‘If a person is convulsing and others try to hold him down but the convulsions are very strong, then bruising appears. They also said he had a bruise on his chest — the kind that comes from indirect cardiac massage. 

‘So they did try to resuscitate him, and he probably died of cardiac arrest,’ the paramedic said, adding: ‘But nobody is saying anything about why he had a cardiac arrest.’ 

Yesterday, the British and American ambassadors to Russia laid flowers at a memorial to Navalny set up in Moscow, as hundreds of Russian citizens have been arrested for paying tribute to the dead dissident. 

US ambassador Lynne Tracy and Britain’s Nigel Casey both paid their respects to Navalny at the Solovetsky Stone monument in Moscow, which was created to pay tribute to the victims of political repression. 

The stone is made with a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, and can be found near the historical the Federal Security Service building in Moscow. 

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, employs thousands of people and provides essential aid and services to millions of people in the Middle East.

What is UNRWA: Israel's claims that 12 U.N. agency employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack have prompted several Western countries to cut funding and reignited debate over Gaza's largest humanitarian aid provider.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, employs thousands of people and provides essential aid and services to millions of people in the Middle East. In Gaza, it was the main provider of food, water and shelter to civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has long spoken out against the agency, accusing it of tolerating or even collaborating with Hamas and perpetuating the 75-year-old Palestinian refugee crisis. The Israeli government has accused Hamas and other militant groups of siphoning aid and using UN facilities for military purposes.

UNRWA denies these allegations and says it has taken swift action against the workers accused of taking part in the attack. The United States and eight other Western countries that together accounted for more than half of UNRWA's 2022 budget have nevertheless suspended funding to the organization.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, or 87% of the population, rely on UNRWA services, which will be cut as early as February if funding is not restored.

WHAT IS UNRWA AND WHY WAS IT CREATED?

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East was established to provide assistance to the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country's founding.

Palestinians say the refugees and their descendants, who now number nearly six million in the Middle East, have the right to return to their homes.

Israel has refused to do this because if the right of return were fully implemented it would result in a Palestinian majority within its borders. The fate of refugees and their descendants has been one of the thorniest issues in the peace process, which stalled in 2009.

UNRWA runs schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps that now resemble dense urban neighborhoods in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. In Gaza alone, the organization has 13,000 employees, the vast majority of whom are Palestinians.

In Gaza, where some 85% of the 2.3 million inhabitants have fled their homes, more than 1 million people are sheltering in UNRWA schools and other facilities.

WHAT DO ISRAEL AND OTHER CRITICS SAY ABOUT UNRWA?

Israel accuses UNRWA of turning a blind eye as Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, diverts aid intended for civilians and fighting from and around UN facilities, several of which were hit during the war. It has also exposed Hamas tunnels running next to or under UNRWA facilities and accuses the agency of teaching hatred of Israel in its schools.

UNRWA denies these allegations. It says it has no ties to Hamas or other militant groups, and that it thoroughly investigates all allegations of misconduct and holds staff accountable. It says it shares lists of all its personnel with Israel and other host countries.

The twelve employees are believed to have taken part in the surprise attack on October 7, in which Hamas fighters from Gaza overran Israel's extensive border defenses. Other militants joined in the subsequent destruction through nearby communities, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians. About 250 others, including children, were captured and dragged into Gaza.

UN chief Guterres said nine of the accused UNRWA staff had been immediately dismissed, one had been confirmed dead and the other two had yet to be identified. He said everyone will be held accountable, including through criminal charges.

Neither the details of the allegations nor the evidence supporting them have been made public.

UNRWA condemned the October 7 attack and called for the release of all hostages. Earlier this month, before the latest allegations, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini announced an external review of the agency to determine which allegations are “true or false” and “what is politically motivated.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the agency should be closed. But his government has continued to allow UNRWA to operate in the West Bank and Gaza, providing basic services that might otherwise be Israel's responsibility as an occupying power. No other entity could quickly fill the gap if UNRWA were to cease operations.

WHAT DO THE FUNDING SAVINGS MEAN FOR GAZA?

The United States, the first country to suspend funding, is UNRWA's largest donor, providing the country with $340 million in 2022. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland have also provided assistance suspended .

The nine countries together provided almost 60% of UNRWA's budget in 2022. It was not immediately clear when and how the suspension of aid would affect the organization's day-to-day operations. Norway and Ireland said they would continue to fund UNRWA, while other donors have not yet made a decision.

The war has plunged Gaza into a serious humanitarian crisis. One in four Palestinians in the area faces famine, according to UN officials, who say relief operations are being hampered by the fighting and Israeli restrictions.

“Our humanitarian operation, on which two million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing,” Lazzarini wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He was shocked that countries would suspend aid “based on alleged behavior of a few individuals, and as the war continues, needs increase and famine threatens.”

According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, most of them women and children, and more than 64,400 others have been injured. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its toll, but says most of the dead were women and children.

The death toll includes more than 150 UNWRA staff, the largest number of aid workers the UN has lost in a single conflict.

• Combs dismissed the lawsuit after suing Diageo in May 2023
• In a joint statement from the spirits giant, shared with DailyMail.com, he has 'withdrawn all his allegations'
• He previously accused Diageo of neglecting its marketing partnerships with brands DeLeón Tequila and Ciroc Vodka due to racing concerns.

By Sharon Mai for Dailymail.Com

Published: 1:21 PM EST, January 16, 2024 | Updated: 6:28 PM EST, January 16, 2024

The judge said in a recent email exchange with Mr. Trump’s lawyers that while he was inclined to let Mr. Trump speak, the former president, like any lawyer, would be limited to discussing the facts of the case and the relevant law, and barred from attacking the judge, the judge’s staff or the New York attorney general, whose lawsuit against Mr. Trump led to the trial.

These circumstances may have defeated Mr. Trump’s purpose in his speech. As he runs for the White House again while facing a civil lawsuit and four criminal charges, Mr. Trump has sought to turn his legal liabilities into political assets, labeling his accusers as enemies of democracy and labeled things as a coordinated witch hunt.

Judge Engoron – who has repeatedly attacked the former president – ​​warned that he wanted to take his campaign to court and warned that he would immediately silence Trump if he tried to do so again.

“If Mr. Trump violates any of these rules, I will not hesitate to cut him off mid-sentence and admonish him,” Judge Engoron, a Democrat, wrote in an email late last week. “If he continues to break the rules, I will terminate his closing argument and prevent him from making further statements in court.”

Judge Engoron, who has already imposed a limited silence order to prevent Trump and his lawyers from attacking court staff, threatened a fine of at least $50,000 if the former president violated it. The judge also warned that he would “immediately remove him from the courtroom.”

A lawyer for Mr. Trump, Christopher M. Kise, declined to agree, saying the terms were “full of ambiguities” and that barring Mr. Trump from attacking the Democratic attorney general, Letitia James, was ‘simply untenable’.

After several more conversations, Judge Engoron wrote in an email on Wednesday that he assumed Mr. Trump would not agree to the limits, “and therefore he will not speak in court tomorrow.”

Mr. Trump, who planned to testify in his own defense last month but canceled the day before, is still expected to attend closing arguments on Thursday. Judge Engoron’s decision could add significant tension to the proceedings, with lawyers for Mr Trump and Ms James set to outline their respective cases.

Ms. James has argued that Mr. Trump fraudulently inflated his net worth to gain favorable treatment from banks and insurers, and is asking that the former president be fined $370 million and permanently barred from doing business in New York. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have argued that the evidence failed to link the former president to the financial statements that disclosed his net worth, and that the banks benefited from their relationship with him.

This week, Mr. Trump, who is leading the race to become the Republican nominee for president, has sought to turn his legal appearances into de facto campaign stops. But both attempts appear to have failed.

When Trump appeared Tuesday at oral arguments before a federal appeals court on whether he is immune from prosecution, he was unable to attract the attention he has become accustomed to. And Judge Engoron’s proposed limits appear to have prevented him from turning the closing arguments in Ms. James’ case into the kind of spectacle he hoped for.

On Tuesday, Mr. Kise alerted the court to the death of Mr. Trump’s mother-in-law and asked for closing arguments to be postponed until Jan. 29 or later. But Judge Engoron denied the request while expressing his condolences.

The next day, Mr. Kise told the judge that Mr. Trump still planned to speak despite the death of his mother-in-law. When the judge asked whether the former president would adhere to his proposed limits, Mr. Kise responded: “This is very unfair, your honor,” adding that the order would ban Mr. Trump from speaking “about the things that need to be talked about . .”

In the penultimate email in the publicly posted exchange, Judge Engoron said he would not discuss the matter again.

“Take it or leave it,” he wrote in an email at 11:54 a.m., imposing a noon deadline.

Mr Kise missed the deadline.

A married gay couple had a massive meltdown at the airport and swore at a wheelchair-bound woman after she accused American Airlines staff of keeping them away from their dogs.

Crazy Dustin Miller, 42, was seen shouting: “American Airlines fooled us!” as his Louis Vuitton husband Anthony Thorne, 40, begged him to think of their “girls” – the couple’s dogs Shelby and Dolly.

The drama started earlier this week at Charlotte Douglas Airport, where Miller also shouted “F**k off, bitch!” to a woman in a wheelchair who was also waiting to board the flight to Fort Lauderdale, where the couple lives.

“You’re not getting on a plane to see your girls,” Thorne squeaked as he aggressively dragged his husband away from the American Airlines staff member he was berating at for some unknown reason. It is unclear what sparked the drama, which was initially shared on TikTok. DailyMail.com has contacted the couple and AA for further comment.

‘Think of your girls! You don’t care about the girls, you don’t care about the girls,” Thorne kept repeating, seemingly manic.

The ‘girls’, later identified as Shelby and Dolly, are actually the two dogs linking shares, their social media revealed.

Miller – who works as an accountant at Sykes & Company – wasn’t afraid to draw attention to their chaotic dispute.

‘Hello everyone! American Airlines fooled us,” Miller shouted to the stunned crowd in the lounge.

‘Shelby and Dolly. Shelby and Dolly. Shelby and Dolly, remember them. Shelby and Dolly. Shelby and Dolly,” Thorne said slurred to his man as Miller pointed to the crowd and staggered around the gate.

“I’m just trying to get home to the girls,” Miller’s fed-up husband begged him.

Just as the situation was de-escalating, a woman sitting in a wheelchair made an inaudible comment that set Miller off again.

“F*** off, b*tch,” he shouted at the woman after speaking incoherently about his “most favorite dogs.”

According to social media, the couple recently celebrated their nine-year wedding anniversary.

“Who would have thought Anthony could (just kidding) turn this man into a husband,” Miller jokingly posted on his anniversary Facebook page in honor of his husband.

In a separate social media post, Miller joked, “Please pray for my husband. There’s nothing wrong with him. He just married me and there’s a lot of me.’

Records show the couple lives in an apartment complex in the popular gay neighborhood of Wilton Manors, Florida.

Their building features a large swimming pool and their approximately $800,000 apartment has a large balcony.

Before working as an accountant, Miller worked as a manager of the Longhorn Steakhouse restaurant chain in Greenville, North Carolina, according to his Linkedin profile.

Commenters on the TikTok video that captured the dramatic meltdown were quick to joke about the couple’s obsession with “their girls.”

“Gurls Shelby and Dolly are definitely Pomeranians,” said one user.

“I tell my kids this is Cam and Mitchell,” another commenter joked, referring to the gay couple on Modern Family.