Broadcast timeline
ITV — ITV Lunchtime News
Friday 31 July 2026 · 13:00 BST · 20m · 7 stories · 15 annotated moments · 14 of 20 min on news stories (71%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
The lunchtime news began with the sentencing of disgraced funeral director Robert Bush at Hull Crown Court. The judge told the court that Bush took every opportunity to dishonestly enrich himself at the expense of those who used his services, and that he behaved as he did for financial greed. Police had found 35 bodies and more than a hundred sets of ashes at his premises, with some families given the ashes of strangers and others defrauded out of money for funeral plans. The court heard over 200 victim impact statements, and Bush remained mostly emotionless throughout the hearing.
Next, the government announced that English mayors will receive a share of income tax generated in their areas for the first time, as part of reforms to give communities greater control over transport, housing, and jobs. The Prime Minister made the announcement in Sheffield, but exact details of the proportion of income tax have not been given. A Labour MP from Cornwall criticised the plans, saying areas without mayors might miss out, a criticism rejected by Andy Burnham. The programme then reported on a large wildfire on the Suffolk coast that has stabilised but is not under control, with around 120 firefighters tackling the blaze. Another fire broke out on a nature reserve near Colchester, where residents prepared to protect their properties. The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been charged with three assaults on prison staff at Belmarsh, and Sainsbury's announced it is selling Argos in a deal worth at least 120 million pounds.
Nearly 50,000 migrants crossed into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta from Morocco in the last 24 hours, with at least 18 people thought to have died. Spain deployed its military to the border, and the Italian prime minister threatened to suspend Spain from the Schengen area. The YouTuber and rapper Young Filly was found not guilty of raping a woman in Australia but guilty of two counts of assault. Research shared exclusively with ITV News by the University of Leeds found that South Asian heritage children are significantly less likely to receive a diagnosis of autism or ADHD than their white British peers, with South Asian girls the least likely to be diagnosed. Finally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino's senior advisor resigned over plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, describing the proposals as a bad deal for football. All 55 UEFA members voted to boycott the World Cup if the plans go ahead, and the Asian Football Confederation released a statement calling for an urgent review of FIFA's governance.
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- 0:32
Claim Robert Bush sentenced to 20 years for fraud and preventing burial
Robert Bush admitted 67 charges including preventing a lawful burial and fraud, took over £869,000 for funerals he never delivered, and police recovered 35 bodies and ashes linked to 163 families from his funeral home.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 0:32-0:41
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- 5:12
- 7:16
- 7:16
Claim Axel Rudakubana charged with assaults on prison staff
Axel Rudakubana was charged with multiple assaults on prison staff.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 7:16-7:30
- 7:56
- 7:56
Claim Spain imposes border controls on Italian travellers amid immigration row
Broadcasters reported between 49,000 and 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco in a 24-hour period.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 7:56-8:13
- 7:56
Claim Spain imposes border controls on Italian travellers amid immigration row
Broadcasters reported between 49,000 and 60,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco in a 24-hour period.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 7:56-8:13
- 8:07
Claim Spain imposes border controls on Italian travellers amid immigration row
Thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, with nine reported dead.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 8:07-8:13
- 8:07
Claim Spain imposes border controls on Italian travellers amid immigration row
Thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, with nine reported dead.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 8:07-8:13
- 10:12
- 12:41
- 12:41
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
Carlos Cordeiro resigned in opposition to the plan.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 12:41-12:58
- 12:41
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
Carlos Cordeiro resigned in opposition to the plan.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 12:41-12:58
- 12:41
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
The Football Association expressed deep concern and said it was unaware of the proposal.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 12:41-12:58
- 12:52
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
All 55 UEFA member nations agreed to back a World Cup boycott if FIFA sells a stake to private investors.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 12:52-13:08
- 13:12
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
The Asian Football Confederation said they were not consulted and were disappointed.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 13:12-13:37
- 13:18
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
The first test of the boycott could be the Women's World Cup playoffs in October.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 13:18-13:29
- 13:24
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
The first test of the boycott could be the Women's World Cup playoffs in October.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 13:24-13:42
- 14:34
Charged quote European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
He points out that FIFA already has access to extraordinary financial resources so selling a stake he says in football's most valuable asset to raise a few billion dollars makes little sense it is in his words mortgaging football's future without compelling justification. So life Romilly is coming pretty fast at Gianni Infantino this next time. This time yesterday it looked
ITV1, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 14:34-14:41
- 14:51
Claim European federations seek to oust FIFA president Infantino
Victor Montagliani was reportedly considering running against Infantino in the presidential election.
ITV1 HD, ITV Lunchtime News, 31 July 2026, 14:51-15:04
- 15:04 ~5 min without annotations
Source: ITV1, "ITV Lunchtime News", Friday 31 July 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.