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Debbie Duncan thanked the Guardia Civil who had “worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced” and was continuing to investigate why Mr Slater had travelled so far away from his Tenerife accommodation.
A new photo of Jay Slater was released by his family (LBT Global / family)
In a statement issued through British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, she said: “My son, Jay Dean Slater, came to the holiday island of Tenerife on 13 June with his friend to attend a music festival. On 17 June after not returning to his apartment he was reported as a missing person.
“Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.
“We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance. Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.
Firefighters search near to the village of Masca, Tenerife (PA Wire)
“We do not have any information on his whereabouts. The Guardia Civil have worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced. They conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available.
“Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation.
“We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of enquiries.”
She added: “We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.
“We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe. It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
“As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time.”
A Spanish police officer looks over the village of Masca, Tenerife, during the search for missing British teenager Jay Slater (PA Wire)
On Friday, the Guardia Civil had appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a “busqueda masiva” – massive search – on Saturday.
The search in the village of Masca, near his last-known location, took in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.
He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca and the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled “not relevant” to the case, according to reports.
TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas flew out to Tenerife last week after claiming he could solve the mystery behind the 19-year-old’s disappearance in three days.
He said: “We still have a number of outstanding actions, but have given the family a preliminary breakdown of findings. In light of the police search ending I have suggested the family should use the GoFundMe money to continue the search using experts in searching.
“I would appeal again, if you have any ‘direct information’ having spoken to Jay or anyone that was with him overnight June 16 and 17 and have not yet been in contact, please do so.”
In his interview earlier, Sir Keir Starmer was asked by BBC political editor Chris Mason: "Will people pay income tax on the state pension under Labour?"
"The position for pensioners in relation to tax will be exactly as it is now," Starmer replied.
"That could mean yes, couldn’t it, in future?" Mason asked.
"That is the position set out in the last Budget under this government and that will remain the position," Starmer said.
BBC Verify has looked at this issue before. The position after the last Budget was that pensioners relying solely on the state pension were on course to potentially pay income tax in 2027-28, because the state pension in that year (£12,578) is forecast to marginally overtake the tax-free personal allowance (£12,570).
But at the end of May, the Conservatives pledged to raise this personal allowance for pensioners only to £13,710 by 2027-28 to protect them from paying this tax on their state pensions.
The policy is called "triple lock plus" and, in his BBC interview, the Labour leader did not commit to match it.
To crack the case of missing Jay Slater, an ex-British police officer is suggesting that Tenerife detectives need to take a dual approach. The missing persons expert, Charlie Hedges, has told Spanish authorities that there are two crucial next steps to take in their investigation, 15 days after Jay vanished on holiday.
Confirmation came on Sunday from the Civil Guard that they'd concluded the search for Jay after almost a fortnight scouring the rugged terrain in Tenerife near to where Jay went missing. The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared without leaving a trace on Monday, June 17.
The apprentice bricklayer had travelled to a Masca village Airbnb, roughly a 40-minute drive away from his tourist residence, alongside two British acquaintances who he connected with during his holiday. At approximately 8am on the missing Monday, Jay reached out to his pal Lucy Law, mentioning efforts to return by foot, an 11-hour walk, reports the Mirror.
Subsequent to their phone chat, Jay's mobile connection was lost and no one has seen or heard from him ever since. An extensive search campaign marshalled units including dog squads specialised in scent detection and aerial assistance scouring the remote terrains near his phone's last signal location.
No trace has been found of Jay Slater who disappeared over two weeks ago in Tenerife (Image: Men Media)
Despite two weeks of relentless searching yielding no results, and with the official search wound up, there are lingering questions about what steps should come next. A spokeswoman from the Civil Guard stated: "The search operation has now finished although the case remains open."
Charlie Hedges MBE has offered advice to Spanish police on the next steps in their investigation. Charlie, who has penned a book about his experiences with Thames Valley Police and the National Crime Agency, emphasised the importance of preventing Jay's disappearance from becoming a cold case, suggesting two crucial points.
1. Investigate all possibilities
Charlie advised Spanish detectives to consider every possible reason for Jay's disappearance, including potential foul play. "They should be keeping their minds open and examining all lines of inquiries," he told The Sun.
The Civil Guard has previously stated that they are considering all possibilities regarding Jay's disappearance, including questioning the two men he was last seen with. Cipriano Martin, who led the mountain search, confirmed last week that detectives had spoken to, and ruled out, these two individuals.
British detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife to assist the family, suggested last week that Jay may have suffered a "natural harm", but did not dismiss the possibility of third-party involvement. The TV investigator stated: "A strong working hypothesis remains that Jay has come to natural harm in the terrain as he took the rugged course back down the hill from the point of his location drop , where I am confident now that he was at 8.50am last Monday morning."
Mark Williams-Thomas said Jay either had befallen an accident or met foul play (Image: Stan Kujawa)
During a press briefing last Wednesday, Mark outlined "two scenarios", remarking: "He has either come to harm by his own accident, up in the hills somewhere, but not directly by the rental. Or, there is a third party involvement. I cannot rule that out at the moment."
2. Go back and search other areas
The extensive two-week search for Jay involved mountain rescue teams and volunteers combing through ravines, caves, and vast stretches of scrub and rugged terrain. A source close to the Civil Guard later indicated that "nothing of relevance" had been uncovered.
Charlie acknowledged that while the police in Tenerife can't continue the search indefinitely, it remains crucial to keep the area under surveillance to prevent the case from going cold. "I had been wondering for a few days whether we were approaching [the search being called off]," he admitted.
"There is only so much you can search."
The Civil Guard called off the search on Sunday - 24 hours after commandeering a huge search with volunteers (Image: Stan Kujawa)
However, he suggested that "But it may be appropriate to go back and search some areas based on the information they're seeking at the moment."
Brad Hargreaves, Jay's best friend, previously stated he believed he heard Jay "slip on rocks" during their last phone conversation, and Lucy Law, another friend, mentioned that Jay had informed her he'd cut his leg on a cactus. These accounts imply he was navigating off-trail when the incident occurred.
The Civil Guard has committed to continuing the investigation as new information or tips emerge.
The meta we now take for granted. Events that take place purely because people expect events to take place. Hours of planning for each one. A venue to be booked. Activists to be bussed in to provide local colour. All of whom will become part of the background so we could be almost anywhere. The meta tipping into the surreal. Events that will be forgotten even before they are over. Unlikely to make much more than a 20-second clip on the rolling news channels.
But elections abhor a vacuum. Without a daily stream of events, the politicians would be lost. Lose their sense of purpose. Just imagine if none of the broadcasters turned up. It would throw everyone into a deeper than usual existential crisis. The crumbling of the fragile ego. Was anyone really here? Did it even happen? The metaphysical world would be in chaos.
All for that most elusive of creatures: the undecided voter. We all know they are out there somewhere. It’s possible that one or two may even have nothing better to do than watch Sky News round the clock and have caught the soundbite of the day. But would that really be enough to change anyone’s mind? Really?
After nearly six weeks on the election campaign, how likely is it that anyone will hear something they’ve heard countless times before and say to themselves: “That’s it. I’ve now made up my mind. Thank God that bloke kept repeating himself.” More realistically, these people will make up their minds on the day. How they vote will depend on how they feel once they are in the polling station. Here all the party leaders can hope is that somehow they’ve buried their message in the nation’s subconscious. The subliminal campaign.
So at a presentational level, all we’re left with is the symbolism. And in this, Keir Starmer’s lunchtime visit to a pub in rural Buckinghamshire came with flashing lights. When was the last time a Labour leader made a fleeting pit stop deep in the traditional Tory heartlands with just three days until the polls open? Or at any time during a campaign for that matter? Normally at this stage it’s all about shoring up the core vote.
Nor was this a one-off. Monday morning had started off in Hitchin and would end in a farm near Chipping Norton. No, not Jeremy Clarkson’s. Things aren’t quite that bad for the Tories yet. Though Rishi Sunak may not agree. Starmer planting his flag on Lord Big Dave’s back lawn is quite the fuck you. Who knows, maybe Sam Cam had suggested it herself. I’ve always suspected that her support for Big Dave was conditional. The only person left who thinks the Tories have a prayer is Michael Gove. And he’s out of his head on drugs. Whatever he’s taking, it’s best avoided.
Nor did the symbolism stop there. There was a time when Labour’s election planning was decidedly amateur hour. A bit endearingly like the Liberal Democrats. You’d all pitch up, no one would much care who you were or why you were there and the event would take on a laid-back feel.
Now the Labour operation runs a tight ship. First you get an operational note. You then get a second email confirming you have been accredited. But no location, so you can’t book a train or make travel arrangements. The venue will only be divulged at 6am on the day of the event. So you wake up at 6 only to get another email giving the nearest town but no more. The final destination will be sent later by dead letter drop. This for a bog standard stump speech lasting no more than 10 minutes. It’s almost as if they don’t want you there.
Not that the Labour staffers aren’t unfailingly polite and chatty when you do get there. We even get offered the Labour merch du jour. A pillow case with Sunak’s face alongside the slogan “Don’t wake up to five more years of the Tories”. The stuff of nightmares. The Brave New World starts here.
Labour is winning the ground war hands down. But there are strict rules. To wait where we are told to wait. Not to go wandering. The security is that tight. Five men with earpieces and who knows what else under their jackets. The police clearly think they are dealing with the next prime minister. Then, only the Govester doesn’t believe that.
The event starts with an introduction from Callum Anderson, the Labour candidate for the new constituency of Buckingham and Bletchley. He looks and sounds impressive. If slightly scarily on message. Even his dreams are Labour party-approved. He will be an asset in Westminster if elected. The choice is change or more of the same, he says. Which do we want?
“Change,” barks Snoopy the lakeland terrier.
“Quite right,” says Callum.
Though it was possible Snoopy may have been thinking of last night’s football. Starmer smiles. The football has been another part of his long-term planning. Persuade Gareth Southgate to get his squad to play like a bunch of halfwits for the first four games so everyone blames the Tories. Then switch into overdrive for the quarter-finals onwards. The Swiss don’t have a prayer. England only win trophies under a Labour government.
Then Keir takes over. Repeating the same stump speech he has been making for the last five and a half weeks. You know the drill. Cost of living. Tory chaos. You can only get change if you vote for it. Apart from Labour itself. That has managed to change precisely because no one voted for it. Fourteen years of division and chaos. Take nothing for granted.
There is even, for once, just a glimmer of hope in what he says. Normally he doesn’t allow this to creep in. Anything that the Tory media could portray as triumphalism is strictly off limits. It’s not over till it’s over. Obviously joy is a no-no. This isn’t an election in which anyone is meant to feel positive. What’s on offer is that things will be a little less shit than they otherwise would have been. That’ll do, I suppose. But we are now allowed some unenthusiastic hope. My kind of message.
Still, why interrupt your opponent when he’s making mistakes? Sunak appears to be in meltdown. Becoming less and less classy as time goes on. Now he’s just clutching at straws. Making up all sorts of nonsense that he knows to be untrue. The latest is that Starmer will appease Putin. Not even Rish! believes that. Not even willing to lose with grace. At this rate he will have no legacy left to protect.
Guardian Newsroom: Election results special. On Friday 5 July, 7.30pm-9pm BST, join Hugh Muir, Gaby Hinsliff, John Crace, Jonathan Freedland and Zoe Williams for unrivalled analysis of the general election results. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live.
A Reform candidate has suspended her campaign and endorsed the Conservative Party.
Georgie David, who was standing for Reform in the seat of West Ham and Beckton, said she was quitting with “immediate effect”.
Ms David said in a statement first issued to the BBC: “I am hereby announcing my decision to leave the Reform Party and stand down as their candidate for West Ham and Beckton, with immediate effect.
“I am in no doubt that the party and its senior leadership are not racist. However, as the vast majority of candidates are indeed racist, misogynistic, and bigoted, I do not wish to be directly associated with people who hold such views that are so vastly opposing to my own and what I stand for.”
Ms David said she had “now suspended my campaign with Reform, and I am endorsing the Conservative Party – I would encourage all of my fellow patriots to do the same”.
