It’s the end of another busy week, a hectic month and yet again there’s been a lot going on.

Perhaps you’re still getting over that Oscars moment, how can anything else have possibly happened?

Maybe you decided to take a break from the news, or perhaps there was just too much to keep up with.

Well, fear not, it’s the Metro.co.uk team here again to ease you into the weekend and give you a rundown of all you need to know about this week’s news.

Bills, bills, bills

Life just got a lot harder for thousands of people.

The cost of living crisis is a phrase you’ve probably noticed being mentioned a lot in the news over the past couple of months.

Hear it enough and it starts to become one of those abstract terms which politicians and media outlets seem to use a lot.

But in real terms, it means the average person is paying a lot more for basic everyday products and services – all while the taxman takes a bigger slice of their wages.

Yesterday, a hike in energy prices, an increase in National Insurance, council tax and other bills such as subscription services all came into force.

The jump in household bills is the biggest in living memory and has seen costs rocket by 54% to just under £2,000 a year.

The energy price cap for those on default tariffs who pay by direct debit rose by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 yesterday.

While prepayment customers saw an even bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.

Ahead of the rise, a number of energy suppliers’ websites crashed as people tried to submit metre readings to show exactly how much energy they had used ahead of the hike.

To add insult to injury the hikes have coincided with a drop in temperatures which means many will be forced to make tough decisions over whether or not to heat their homes.

TLDR: Yesterday the long-feared hike in energy prices, National Insurance and Council Tax all came into force. Bills are soaring, wages are not.

Prince Phillip’s memorial

Never far from a headline, the Windsors were back in the news this week.

The royal family gathered in Westminster Abbey on Tuesday for Prince Philip’s memorial service.

It was the first time the Queen has been seen in public outside of a royal residence for almost six months, after a number of health scares, including catching Covid-19.

The day was a sombre affair and gave the family a chance to say goodbye to the Duke of Edinburgh in a way they weren’t able to when he died last April.

Members of the family wore green in a tribute to Prince Philip and several got noticeably upset during the service.

But heads were turned when disgraced Prince Andrew took a central role in proceedings – reportedly much to the dismay of several high profile members of the family.

The Duke of York accompanied Her Majesty from Windsor Castle to Westminster Abbey before escorting her to her seat.

It is the first time the Duke of York had appeared alongside his 95-year-old mother since he settled his US sex abuse case with a reported £12 million payout.

TLDR: The royal family said goodbye to Prince Philip this week, but Prince Andrew played a central role much to the dismay of other royals.

A Tory MP comes out as trans

Conservative MP Jamie Wallis became the first British MP to publically come out as transgender this week.

In a deeply personal statement posted on Twitter, the Bridgend Tory explained he had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and said: ‘I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be.’

Mr Wallis also revealed he had been blackmailed over his sexuality, with the offender being jailed and that he had been raped by another individual.

Colleagues from across the political spectrum were quick to offer support to Mr Wallis following his statement, including the prime minister.

But it later emerged that just hours before offering his support Boris Johnson had opened a dinner for Tory MPs with a joke about gender identity.

To many, the prime minister’s show of support, which comes after a number of offensive remarks about the LGBT+ community and minority groups will make his support sound hollow.

The government has also shown it is not doing enough to support LGBT+ rights when it emerged it had quietly shelved plans to outlaw conversion therapy.

There was a furious backlash to the news, leading Mr Johnson to panic and quickly u-turned on the decision with the government saying it would go ahead with legislation to ban the practice.

But it then emerged the government’s legal crackdown will not protect trans people.

TLDR: In the same week Jamie Wallis became the first British MP to publically come out as trans, the government tried to shelve plans to ban conversion therapy and no longer plans to protect trans people from the practice.

Ukraine – Russia in retreat or preparing for worse?

As we get into April the conflict in Ukraine has entered its sixth week.

Thousands of people have been killed, millions have been forced to leave their homes and cities have been flattened.

However, it appears Russia may be faltering.

The Kremlin has said it may pull troops back from the Ukrainian capital and there have been reports of demoralised Russian troops refusing to carry out orders.

Elsewhere Moscow handed back control of Chernobyl to the Ukrainians, much to the relief of the international community.

But unsurprisingly, there’s a fair amount of scepticism over Russia’s claims and it remains to be seen as to whether Vladimir Putin will follow through.

There’s also speculation Moscow may be winding operations down in some areas to enable it to gather energy for a fresh assaults.

Another speculation is that the Kremlin is staging false flag operations to justify its assault on Ukraine.

TLDR: The war in Ukraine is about to enter its sixth week and while Russia is faltering the conflict is far from over.

April Fool’s hits and misses

You did it, made it to the end of the week’s ICYMI and hopefully, that also means you’re savvy enough not to have fallen for an April Fool’s this year.

As is traditionally a flurry of April Fools’ gags hit the headlines yesterday to test the gullibility of Brits.

The Sun teased readers with the headlines purporting to reveal a 10ft statue of Piers Morgan could loom over Trafalgar Square. No thank you.

The Guardian reported a lobbying effort was underway to let the Queen and her family use yachts seized from oligarchs.

While The Mirror’s morning exclusive came in the shape of the latest ‘levelling up’ plans from the UK government.

The paper claimed Londoners were ‘distraught’ at the news Marble Arch mound in would be used to rebuild Hadrian’s Wall in the North of England.

TLDR: In the year 2022 – it’s getting harder to tell the truth from a lie, not sure about you but we’re exhausted.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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