In a televised address, Charles said his "good news" was "thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors' orders". "This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years," he added. "Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50% of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives." The King announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatment. The monarch postponed all public-facing engagements, but continued with his duties as head of state behind palace walls, conducting audiences and Privy Council meetings. He returned to public duties in April last year and visited University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in central London with the Queen and discussed his "shock" at being diagnosed when he spoke to a fellow cancer patient. Sources suggested last December his treatment would continue in 2025 and was "moving in a positive direction". The King has chosen not to reveal what kind of cancer he has been treated for. Palace sources have partly put that down to the fact that he doesn't want one type of cancer to appear more significant or attract more attention than others. In a statement after the speech aired, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "His Majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase." Sir Keir Starmer praised the video message as "a powerful message," and said: "I know I speak for the entire country when I say how glad I am that his cancer treatment will be reduced in the new year. "Early cancer screening saves lives." Early detection can give 'the precious gift of hope' His message on Friday was broadcast at 8pm in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint campaign by Cancer Research UK and Channel 4. In an appeal to people to get screened for the disease early, the King said: "I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming. "Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams - and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope. These are gifts we can all help deliver." Charles noted that "at least nine million people in our country are not up to date with the cancer screenings available to them," adding: "That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed. "The statistics speak with stark clarity. To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in ten people survive for at least five years. "When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in ten. Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives." Minor inconvenience of screening 'a small price to pay' The King acknowledged that people often avoid screening "because they imagine it may be frightening, embarrassing or uncomfortable". But, he added: "If and when they do finally take up their invitation, they are glad they took part. "A few moments of minor inconvenience are a small price to pay for the reassurance that comes for most people when they are either told either they don't need further tests, or, for some, are given the chance to enable early detection, with the life-saving intervention that can follow." Read more from Sky News:Christmas tree chopped down hours after lights switch-onMore photos from Epstein's estate releasedTaylor Swift breaks down in tears over Southport attacks Giving his "most heartfelt thanks" to doctors, nurses, researchers and charity workers, the King added: "As I have observed before, the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion. But compassion must be paired with action. "This December, as we gather to reflect on the year past, I pray that we can each pledge, as part of our resolutions for the year ahead, to play our part in helping to catch cancer early. "Your life - or the life of someone you love - may depend upon it."

His son, Simon Cornwell, told Sky News: "I think there was only one thing that was more important to him than his family and that was his writing." First gaining attention in 1963 with his breakout novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, cementing his reputation 10 years later with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, his work is now enjoying a resurgence. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold has been adapted for the stage for the first time, with confirmation of a TV series to follow, while another of his works, The Night Manager, premieres its second season starring Tom Hiddleston in the new year. There are further productions waiting in the wings, plus an unfinished le Carré play with the potential to be developed. And archives of le Carré's work - containing over 1,200 boxes of material - have gone on display at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. Writing under a pen name, le Carré, who was born David Cornwell, died in December 2020. His elder sons, Simon and Stephen, now manage the film, TV and stage rights of his work through their studio The Ink Factory, while his youngest son, Nick, expands the George Smiley universe. Smiley's continuation 'could have gone horribly wrong' One of le Carré's most well-known creations, Smiley was the antidote to James Bond - bespectacled, balding and a little out of shape - and a recurring character in le Carré's books. Simon says Nick, who has two more Smiley books in the pipeline, was "taking on a big risk" developing the character, but insists, "he is the only person who could have done it and done it that well". He goes on: "He could find my father's voice… he grew up talking every day to my dad, as we did, and he just knows at an instinctive level what's important… "There are so many ways in which it could have gone horribly wrong, and it went brilliantly right." 'A family enterprise' Explaining how they all work together - calling it a "family enterprise in the best of ways" - Simon explains: "A lot of authors, when they die, they leave very strict instructions to their children, their estate as to how things should be managed and lots of rules and restrictions and everything else. My dad didn't do that." Le Carré's fourth son, Tim, sadly died aged 59 in 2022, shortly after editing a collection of his father's letters, titled A Private Spy. Le Carré is by no means the only author whose legacy lives on via others. Announcing a staggered retirement, Lee Child passed his hit creation Jack Reacher on to his younger brother Andrew in 2020. PG Wodehouse's much-loved Jeeves and Wooster stories have been rewritten this Christmas by celebrity fans including Frank Skinner and Alan Titchmarsh, half a century after his death. Staying part of the conversation is key While Ian Fleming's James Bond has been continued by 15 authors so far, and spilling into the young adult genre, capturing a whole new generation of readers. Mark Edlitz, intellectual expert and author of The Many Lives Of James Bond, told Sky News such continuations are essential to the survival of the work. "We have seen all these detectives and spies who don't have a movie series or a TV series to bolster their eyeballs, and then they fade from public view. "These books and movies help keep the author's work present and viable and part of the public conversation." Sarah Baxter, senior contracts advisor for The Society of Authors, says remaining relevant and visible has another big benefit too. "That kind of partnership can go on to give a whole new lease of life to works that may have been written many, many years ago, and it can go on to generate a lot of income for a literary estate." 'An enigma' More than 60 million copies of Le Carré's books have been sold worldwide, with new adaptations likely to boost those sales further. But Simon Cornwell says the investment in his father's work is about more than just profits. "We became very, very close as a family because he was very keen to be a proper dad and we were working with him and his material as well, so it was particularly towards the end of his life. It was a beautiful, thrilling thing." A master storyteller, the moral ambiguity of the fictional world he constructed reflected back on to its creator. Simon says: "He remained an enigma. I think in some ways he was probably an enigma to himself… "He was an extraordinary man to be close with, but do you ever understand somebody like that? Probably not." His work more widespread than ever, but the man himself - still a mystery. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is at @sohoplace in London's West End to 21 February before embarking on a UK Tour. John le Carré: Tradecraft is at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford until 6 April.

Mr Polanski distanced himself from his party's "long-range vision" for open borders, saying it was not in his party's manifesto and was an "attack line used by opponents" to question his credibility. It came as Mr Polanski, who has overseen a spike in support in the polls to double figures, refused to apologise over controversial comments he made about care workers on BBC Question Time that were criticised across the political spectrum. Mr Polanski was speaking to Sky News earlier this week while in Calais, where he joined volunteers and charities to witness how French police handle the arrival of migrants in the town that is used as a departure point for those wanting to make the journey to the UK. He told Sky News he had made the journey to the French town - once home to the "Jungle" refugee camp before it was demolished in 2016 - to tackle "misinformation" about migration and to make the case for a "compassionate, fair and managed response" to the small boats crisis. He said that "no manifesto ever said anything about open borders" and that the Greens had never stood at a general election advocating for them. "Clearly when the world is in political turmoil and we have deep inequality, that is not a situation we can move to right now," he said. "That would also involve massive international agreements and cooperation. That clearly is not a pragmatic conversation to have right now. And very often the government try to push that attack line to make us look not pragmatic." The party's manifesto last year did not mention open borders, but it did call for an end to the "hostile environment", more safe and legal routes and for the Home Office to be abolished and replaced with a department of migration. Asked why the policy of minimal restrictions on migration had been attributed to his party, Mr Polanski said open borders was part of a "long-range vision of what society could look like if there was a Green government and if we'd had a long time to fix some of the systemic problems". 'We should recognise the contribution migrants make' Mr Polanski, who was elected Green Party leader in September and has been compared to Nigel Farage over his populist economic policies, said his position was one of a "fair and managed" migration system - although he did not specify whether that included a cap on numbers. He acknowledged that there needed to be a "separate conversation" about economic migration but that he did not believe any person who boarded a small boat was in a "good situation". While Mr Polanski stressed that he believed asylum seekers should be able to work in Britain and pay taxes, he also said he believed in the need to train British workers in sectors such as care, where one in five are foreign nationals. Asked what his proposals for a fair and managed migration system looked like, and whether he supported a cap on numbers, Mr Polanski said: "We have 100,000 vacancies in the National Health Service. One in five care workers in the care sector are foreign nationals. "Now, of course, that is both British workers and we should be training British workers, but we should recognise the contribution that migrants and people who come over here make." 'I'm not going to apologise' Mr Polanski also responded to the criticism he attracted over his comments about care workers on Question Time last week, where he told the audience: "I don't know about you, but I don't particularly want to wipe someone's bum" - before adding: "I'm very grateful for the people who do this work." His comments have been criticised by a number of Labour MPs, including Wes Streeting, the health secretary, who said: "Social care isn't just 'wiping someone's bum'. It is a hard, rewarding, skilled professional job. "This is immigration as exploitation." Read more:The Greens leader who wants to be the Farage of the leftWill Farage racism allegations deter voters? Asked whether he could understand why some care workers might feel he had talked down to them, the Greens leader replied: "I care deeply about care workers. When I made those comments, it's important to give a full context. I said 'I'm very grateful to people who do this important work' and absolutely repeat that it's vital work. "Of course, it is not part of the whole job, and I never pretended it was part of the whole job." Mr Polanski said he "totally" rejected the suggestion that he had denigrated the role of care workers in the eyes of the public and said his remarks were made in the context of a "hostile Question Time" where he had "three right-wing panellists shouting at me". Pressed on whether he wanted to apologise, he replied: "I'm not going to apologise for being really clear that I'm really grateful to the people who do this really vital work. And yes, we should be paying them properly, too."

World No 7 Van Veen remarkably entered night two at the Palace without a win on the big stage to his name having lost to Man Lok Leung and Ricardo Pietreczko on his two previous appearances, but this time he managed to battle to victory. The Dutchman did not have to reach particularly dizzy heights to wrap up the opening set, his 92.26 average enough to keep Reyes at bay. World Darts Championship: Latest schedule and resultsWorld Darts Championship 2026: Day two as it happened!Got Sky? Watch on the Sky Sports app 📱Not got Sky? Get instant access with NOW 📺 The second set was where Van Veen really came into his own and he showed his form of late with a staggering 107 average helping him to canter 2-0 ahead. However, Reyes would not back down and found a brilliant 167 checkout on the bullseye, plus two breaks of throw, to get a set on the board before taking the fourth set all the way, Van Veen eventually clinching his monumental win on D16. "Finally across that line! The last few years have been a massive struggle here on this stage but today I felt right at home. Luckily it paid off," Van Veen told Sky Sports. "Two years ago when I was 2-0 up against Man Lok Leung and he won 3-2. When Cristo took the third set I went 'oh no, don't go back to 2-2 and get nervy'. "Luckily, in the last set at 2-1 down I started playing well, so I'm very happy." Meanwhile, Ross Smith became the first seed to tumble at this year's World Championship as he squandered six match darts in a surprise defeat to 50-year-old Swedish debutant Andreas Harrysson. Smith, seeded 12th, led 2-1 but failed to take his chance in the fourth set after fighting off the Ally Pally wasp and was punished by Harrysson who won five legs in a row on his way to taking the match to a deciding set and winning the fifth set itself. Evans and Heta show class and showmanship in first-round wins Ricky Evans put in a solid display to pick up a 3-0 win over Lok Leung in the first round. Lok Leung made his mark on Ally Pally back in 2024 when he beat Van Veen on his debut but could not replicate such a feat on his return. Evans delighted the crowd with his festive walk-on to Shakin' Stevens' 'Merry Christmas Everyone' and then excited them with his darts, a sensational 134 checkout the highlight in the first set as he romped into a 1-0 lead. Evans did not let his level drop in the second set, but Lok Leung met him to turn it into a real battle, the Englishman eventually surviving the scare and pinning tops to move 2-0 ahead. Despite Lok Leung breaking the Evans throw to take the third set to a fifth deciding leg, Evans fired in his 11th 140 on the way to leaving 84, nailing D12 for the match. Damon Heta put in a comprehensive display to claim a 3-1 victory over Steve Lennon. 'The Heat' lived up to his nickname in the opening set as he took all three legs, landing silky 144 and 110 checkouts on the way to the 1-0 lead. Lennon then rallied as the pair shared breaks in the opening legs of the second set but the Aussie came good with a 100 checkout to seal the deal, putting on a show for the Ally Pally faithful. Heta's clinical finishing display was brought to a halt as Lennon battled back in a deciding leg to bring the score line to 2-1 but from there he came out firing again to take three legs on the bounce to wrap up the fourth set for victory. Cross signs off win with 'The Big Fish' as White, Searle make winning starts Former world champion Rob Cross made a strong start his bid for a second world title after thrashing Norway's Cor Dekker in straight sets on Friday afternoon at Alexandra Palace. The 2018 winner of the Sid Waddell Trophy only dropped two legs during a one-sided contest against Dekker, who struggled on the outer ring on his World Championship debut. Cross breezed through the first set in straight legs and took the second in a final-leg decider, then produced a showstopping finish as he closed out victory by nailing the first 'Big Fish' 170 checkout of this year's tournament. "I was a little bit edgy today," Cross told Sky Sports. "I thought I was going to come out and be brand new but I wasn't. I'm really proud of myself. Glad to get through and there's a lot more in the tank. Lots of fire in the belly. I think I'll be better in the next game - I'm back!" 'Voltage' will next face Ian White, who squandered a two-set lead against fellow veteran Mervyn King before claiming a dramatic 3-2 victory, while Neils Zonneveld set up a second-round meeting with former world champion Michael Smith after a 3-0 win over Haupai Puha. The other match of the session saw Ryan Searle thrash Chris Landman in straight sets, with 'Heavy Metal' - the 17th seed - now facing Brendan Dolan or Tavis Dudeney in the next round. What's next? Mario Vandenbogaerde faces David Davies in the opening match of Saturday's afternoon session, live from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts, with reigning world champion Luke Littler awaiting the winner. Andrew Gilding plays Cam Crabtree, Luke Woodhouse takes on Boris Krcmar and Gary Anderson begins his bid for a third world title against Adam Hunt, before Luke Humphries headlines the evening session from 7pm. Jeffrey de Graaf is up against the legendary Paul Lim and Wessel Nijman plays Karel Sedlacek ahead of Humphries' opener with Ted Evetts, while the final match sees former semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens face Alex Spellman. Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407). Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.

In August, around 50,000 people demonstrated in towns and cities across the country. There were clashes at separate rallies between far-right and far-left protesters in Melbourne. In October, there were more protests. This time police accused the far left of attacking officers and trying to confront right-wing protesters. Tension on both sides is running high. Sydney protester Fran Grant has attended all the rallies. "I love Australia and I'm not happy with what's happening now," she explained. "It looks like the Labour government are continuing to bring in immigrants. I have no problem with that if we have the infrastructure to support it, but we don't." Migration levels now falling During the COVID crisis, Australia introduced strict border closures and migration plummeted. Then, in the years following the pandemic, there was a migration boom. A total of 1.4 million people entered Australia. These were huge numbers. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows net overseas migration has since fallen by almost 40% since its post-COVID peak. But many Australians still believe the numbers are still too high. 'We can't keep going like this' Australia's multicultural heart is in suburbs like Auburn in Sydney, where almost 80% of families use a language other than English at home. Steve Christou is a Cumberland City councillor and the son of Greek-Cypriot migrants. "All we're saying is put a stop to excess immigration until the country's infrastructure can keep up," he said. "We can't keep going like this." He added: "We're not blaming the migrants in the country, let's be very clear about that. The government is being blamed for letting in 1.4 million migrants in the last three years to the point where the country can't cope." Mr Christou spoke to protesters at the rally in October. There were families, students and seniors in the crowd, flying Australian flags and singing Australian songs. Critics have called these protests racist, inflammatory and dangerous, but many people attending said they were there to show their pride for Australia and its way of life. Others were demonstrating against the country's housing shortage and the increasing cost of living. Australia's neo-Nazis emboldened In August, dozens of Australia's neo-Nazis also attended the Melbourne and Sydney protests and addressed the crowds. In Melbourne, migration demonstrations and counter-protests turned violent. Neo-Nazis allegedly attacked an indigenous camp in the city. Speaking at an anti-racism rally in Sydney, deputy leader of the Australian Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, told Sky News: "The far right are emboldened in a way that I have never seen before." Senator Faruqi was born in Pakistan but has lived in Australia for more than 30 years. "They [far right] are coming out on the streets, they have signs and slogans and chants that are white supremacists, white nationalists, and of course, this is happening across the world." Terrorism and far-right expert, Dr Josh Roose, from Deakin University in Melbourne, said: "We know that the Nazis see this as their time to capitalise. "They're not only attending these rallies, but they're seeking to position themselves at the front, to mobilise people and shape the public conversation by normalising extreme ideas." At the "March for Australia" rally in October, organiser Bec "Freedom" told Sky News that the neo-Nazis are "proud Australians .. standing up for our country against mass immigration. So long as they're not violent, they're welcome here. "While they're at my event, they've been told to keep it respectful. No hate speech, no violence, no Hitler talk," she said. Read more from Sky News:UK sanctions paramilitary commanders in Sudan over 'mass killings'Belgian PM 'sceptical' about Ukraine loan using Russian assets Ms Freedom said she's "definitely not" coordinating with the neo-Nazis, that she has spoken with them and "that's as far as it goes". Asked if she was worried that the presence of the neo-Nazis at the August rally would give the March for Australia movement a bad name, she replied: "The thing is we've been abused, and name-called by the media for so long… If you want to call me a Nazi, then fine, call me a Nazi." Other demonstrators said they wanted nothing to do with the neo-Nazis and had no time for the group and its messages. On 8 November, more than 60 neo-Nazis gathered on the steps of the New South Wales state parliament, holding a banner reading "Abolish the Jewish Lobby". The brazen stunt shocked the public and was widely condemned by the state government. The government is now strengthening laws against public displays of neo-Nazi ideology. A bill to ban the burqa There's been political controversy too. In November, Australian senator and leader of the far-right One Nation party, Pauline Hanson, created a political storm when she wore a burqa (a full-face Islamic covering) inside federal parliament. Ms Hanson is calling for the burqa to be banned in public places. Her party is rising in the polls and drawing disaffected Coalition (or Conservative) voters to its ranks. At home with Fran Grant and her reptiles Ms Grant's home is where she can really express her pride in Australia. She has an Australian flag flying out the front, an Australian-map-shaped coffee, and a collection of native goannas and snakes. Ms Grant said being born in Australia, she's won the "lottery of life" but believes there are too many "economic migrants" coming in. "I'm very happy for people to come here. My mum was a 10-pound pom (British migrant)," she explained. "At the moment where the cost of living and housing is so high, instead of just saying 'racism, racism' let's look at what's best for people who live here now."

He was found dead at his New York City apartment on Friday, his manager confirmed. A cause of death has not been disclosed. Greene drew praise for the various villains and criminals he played in his acting career, which began in his 20s. "Nobody played a bad guy better than Peter," manager Gregg Edwards told Sky News' US sister outlet NBC News. "But he also had, you know, a gentle side that most people never saw, and a heart as big as gold." Greene played the character Zed, a sadistic rapist security guard in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction. He also portrayed the villain Dorian in the Jim Carrey movie The Mask in the same year. In addition to his supporting roles, Greene starred in the 1993 film Clean, Shaven, in which he played a man with schizophrenia who is suspected in a murder. He is also remembered for his role in Training Day alongside Denzel Washington. Greene also appeared in The Usual Suspects. Greene was born in Montclair, New Jersey, and leaves behind a sister and a brother.

Labour peer Harriet Harman told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she thinks the government may not rejoin the current customs union, but will be part of elements of it. On Tuesday, 13 Labour MPs backed a Liberal Democrat bill calling on the government to begin negotiations on joining a bespoke customs union with the EU. Sir Keir recently said such a move was "not currently our policy", but the vote, which has gone through to a second reading, has prompted suggestions the UK could join a new personalised trading partnership with the EU. Baroness Harman said: "In the run-up to the election, Keir Starmer made it quite clear that, if he was in government, he would not be rejoining the single market or rejoining the customs union." But she said he could get around that by doing something similar to what the chancellor did with income tax at the budget. Rachel Reeves extended the freeze on income tax, allowing her to stick to her manifesto promise not to raise income tax, while pulling more people into paying higher rates of the tax. Read more: David Lammy suggests UK would benefit from rejoining customs union Baroness Harman said: "I think we might get into a little bit of that with the customs union, because we're not rejoining the customs union, but we could have a customs union which is better - i.e. elements of it, which smooth the path of better trading relations." But Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, warned that could cause "some political problems for Labour". "This is the sort of thing that completely arms Reform," she said. "And it would take months, into years to get done. "It would just be complete fuel for Reform. "I think, politically, it's too hard to do, even if economically it looks like a lever that could be beneficial to the country."

The decision comes after conversations between Salah and Arne Slot on Friday, with the decision to recall the forward being made by the head coach. Saturday's game will be Salah's last chance to play for Liverpool this year before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. The forward has not started any of Liverpool's last four games, with Sky Sports News understanding he was dropped for football reasons. Salah was an unused substitute against Leeds last weekend, after which he said he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club and that his relationship with Slot had become non-existent. Liverpool news & transfers🔴| Liverpool fixtures & scoresGot Sky? Watch Liverpool games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 The club subsequently decided to drop him from the travelling squad which won 1-0 at Inter Milan on Tuesday, the same day Salah posted a photograph on Instagram of himself training alone at the training-ground gym. Despite long-standing interest from Saudi Arabia in Salah, Liverpool have not received any official registration of interest from a Saudi club. When asked on Friday whether Salah had played his final game for the club, Slot said: "I will have a conversation with Mo this morning. The outcome of that conversation determines how it will look tomorrow. "What I need is a conversation with him and the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. There's not much more to say about it. I will speak to him today and the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow. "You can try it in multiple ways, the next time I speak should be with him. We've spoken a lot in the last week, after the Sunderland game, there have been a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, between him and me. "And today I will speak with him again." Analysis: What Salah's return could mean Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol: "I think we've got a peace deal, but I'm not sure how long this peace deal is going to last. It could be something that is very short-term. "My understanding is that Arne Slot's made this decision because he's putting the team and the club first. "The reason why I say I'm not sure whether this is a long-term peace deal is because after Saturday's game, Salah will be flying off to play for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations. "My feeling is that the break will give the key people involved more time to try and tackle the situation, to come to a resolution. So I don't think Saturday is the resolution, but I think it's an important step. "The reason I say Slot's doing it for the best interests of Liverpool is, I think if he was just thinking about himself and his authority, he would think that Salah doesn't deserve to be back in the squad for what he did. "I think Slot's looking at the bigger picture and thinking what's best for the side and the club is to bring him back in. "It'll be really interesting to see whether Salah's in the starting XI tomorrow or whether he plays at all. And there is still the possibility that tomorrow could be his final game for Liverpool. "This situation hasn't been resolved. It's going to be resolved by talks held between his representatives and also senior executives at Liverpool during the time when Salah is at the Africa Cup of Nations. "What I find quite interesting is, this has all happened against the backdrop of the fact that the January transfer window is opening and clubs in Saudi Arabia have been targeting signing Salah in January. "Perhaps Salah feels that he's been dropped because Liverpool want to sell him in January. "When he made that comment that he made last Saturday that he feels there are certain people at the club who want him out, maybe there is this potential deal with a Saudi Arabian club like Al Ittihad on the table and he is suggesting that there are some people at Liverpool who want him to go. "Whereas I think Salah's feeling is that he doesn't want to go to Saudi Arabia yet - he wants to stay and play at Liverpool." Slot: I have no reason to not want Salah to stay Slot was quizzed on his personal desire about Salah's future at Anfield and the head coach also clarified the decision-making process behind omitting Salah from Tuesday's win in Milan, which was made jointly between himself and the club. He said: "[Who decides] if he's in the squad, yes or no? We've decided as a club, I was part of that decision not to take Mo to Inter Milan. "I'm always in conversation [with the Liverpool board], but when it comes to the decision-making of the squad or the line-up, that is always left to me. "That's not to say I don't talk to Richard [Hughes, sporting director]. I talk to Richard about many things. But to play a player is entirely up to me." Asked specifically if he wanted Salah to stay, Slot replied: "I have no reasons not to want him to stay. This club has won a lot of games with him." Nev: Salah saga similar to Ronaldo exit - a player of less talent would be out Gary Neville says he sympathises with both Salah and Liverpool over their dispute, likening the situation to Cristiano Ronaldo's acrimonious exit from Manchester United in 2022. Three years ago, Ronaldo left United for a second time after hitting out at the club's standards and criticising then-boss Erik ten Hag. "I see it from both sides," Neville told Sky Sports News. "I wouldn't see it from an ordinary player's side. But when you have this level of player that's almost the best in the world, which I'd put Mo Salah up there with, you sometimes… not have to accept what he's done because Cristiano Ronaldo did it [at United] and I didn't take to it too kindly at all because I think those players have an expectancy to bring everybody along with them. "But it is not unusual behaviour for a player of that level of quality and talent. They often have a different outlook on things. "It's easy for me when it's at Liverpool because I can sit back and relax a little bit. I wouldn't like it if it was at my club Manchester United and I didn't a few years ago when Cristiano did it and he went and did the big interview. "I thought it was wrong, I thought the timing was wrong and the way it was delivered was wrong, so I can see why Liverpool fans would be upset. "But I was doing the game [against Leeds], I thought [Salah] should have come on the pitch, I said it on commentary. "I can see why he was upset but I can also see it from Liverpool's perspective - they feel let down and that he's put a lot of attention on them that wasn't needed in a moment of challenge and difficulty." "If it was a player that didn't have the level of talent, experience or success of Mo Salah I think they'd be kicked out pretty quickly," Neville continued. "But when you're that exceptional and that talented and have the presence of a great player you don't accept being put on the bench and not being put on. "I played with players who were exactly the same and left the club as soon as that was the case." Merse: Liverpool owe trophy debt to Salah Paul Merson defended Salah following his claims that Liverpool have "thrown him under the bus", suggesting the club's trophy cabinet would be a lot emptier without the Egyptian. "I'm on Mo Salah's side. I think he's gotten too much stick," said Merson. "Maybe he shouldn't have done what he did, but he's a human being. He's a winner. He's a legend. The figures he's put up on the wing - goals and assists - is off the charts. We'll never see that again in my opinion. "All he's done is say he wants to play football. He's got the hump because he's not playing. How could you be slaughtered for that? "There are other players in the team that could've been dropped and he's probably thinking 'we're not very good and I'm not playing'. I just think it's wrong. "Liverpool wouldn't have won anything if it wasn't for Mo Salah. You take away his goals and assists and I don't think there's any trophies in that cabinet for a while."