Two buses crash on Rochdale Road with people taken to hospitals across region although none seriously hurt
A crash between two doubledecker buses in Manchester has left 17 people needing hospital treatment.
The buses collided on Rochdale Road at 8.34am on Saturday.
Continue reading...Martin and Eve Hibbert, who suffered life-changing injuries in attack, win harassment claim against Richard Hall
Two survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing have won a high court harassment case against a former television producer who claimed the attack had been staged.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall for harassment and data protection over his claims in several videos and a book that “there was no bomb”.
Continue reading...Andrew Talbot took drugs from a Greater Manchester police evidence store and supplied them to criminals
A cocaine-addicted detective who stole drugs with a retail value of almost £400,000 from a police evidence store and supplied them to criminals has been jailed for 19 years.
Andrew Talbot, formerly a Greater Manchester police (GMP) detective constable, conspired with convicted drug dealer Keith Bretherton, 50, to sell the stolen cocaine, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Continue reading...Building opened in 1904 and featured on Smiths album sleeve needs ‘urgent cash injection’ as grant income falls
Salford Lads Club, the youth centre immortalised by the Smiths on the sleeve of their third studio album The Queen Is Dead, is under threat of closure.
The rising costs of maintaining and running the Grade II-listed building, as well as a drop in grant funding, have left it with a shortfall of about £250,000.
Continue reading...Lilly, an 8.5-metre tall puppet designed to help children talk about the environment, provokes mixed response
They say it is rude to comment on a baby’s appearance but that has not stopped the residents of Rochdale, who awoke on Wednesday to a “freaky” new arrival.
Lilly, an 8.5-metre tall puppet designed to help children talk about the environment, went on display in the town centre to a somewhat bewildered response.
Continue reading...Inspired by Finnish success story, mayor Andy Burnham says unconditional homes policy ‘saves public money’
The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, has turned to Finland for bold lessons in how to tackle rough sleeping in the city.
Burnham has said he is committed to making the region “the first in the UK to adopt a ‘housing first’ philosophy like Finland”. A scheme launched there in 2008 that gives people homes when they need them, without conditions attached, has brought down homelessness by 70% and eradicated poverty-based homelessness completely.
Continue reading...Family of Paula Leeson sued Donald McPherson after criminal prosecution over fatal drowning collapsed
A man who stood to claim a £4.4m estate from his wealthy wife has had his inheritance blocked by a judge who ruled he killed her.
The family of Paula Leeson, 47, who was found dead in a swimming pool in a Denmark holiday home in 2017, sued her husband, Donald McPherson, 51, for unlawful killing after a criminal prosecution collapsed when there was not enough evidence.
Continue reading...Three others sentenced to up to five years in young offender institution for revenge attack against teenager
Four teenagers have been sentenced for killing a 16-year-old boy out of revenge in a fatal attack where a single stab “pierced his heart”.
Kennie Carter died after being stabbed in the chest once in Stretford, Greater Manchester, on the evening of 22 January 2022.
Continue reading...Akhmed Yakoob claims Muhammed Fahir, 19, is victim of police brutality after video shows arrest at airport
A teenager who was kicked in the face by an armed police officer while lying prone on the ground is “traumatised” and receiving hospital treatment after the “barbaric” assault, his solicitor has said.
Akhmed Yakoob said 19-year-old Muhammed Fahir was a victim of “police brutality” after footage showed an officer stamping on his head during an arrest at Manchester airport on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Dani says his £26,000 salary is not high enough to sponsor his wife so she can join him in Britain
A police officer working in Manchester says he has been forced to quit his job after Rishi Sunak raised the salary threshold to sponsor his Italian wife to live in the UK in the post-Brexit immigration scheme.
Campaigners have warned that his tale of Brexit anguish is being repeated up and down the country in low-paid public sectors where many EU citizens work.
Continue reading...Report by Vera Baird reveals lack of care, with vulnerable women strip-searched or left to bleed through clothes
An inquiry into the experiences of women and girls in police custody in Greater Manchester has called for an end to the inappropriate use of strip-searches amid allegations they have been used to punish and “degrade” women.
The Baird report, which was commissioned by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and released on Thursday morning, examined 14 cases of 11 women and three men who had been treated unfairly by Greater Manchester police (GMP). It found wrongful arrests, a lack of care for domestic and sexual abuse survivors, and strip-searches being conducted forcefully on vulnerable women.
Continue reading...Outage causes major delays as officials advise people due to travel from terminals one and two not to come to airport
All flights out of terminals one and two at Manchester airport have been cancelled after a “significant power cut” in the early hours of Sunday morning, leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded.
The airport told all passengers due to travel from its two biggest terminals on Sunday not to come to the airport, and warned passengers on the few flights that were able to leave that they may not have their luggage with them.
Continue reading...Ability to preserve tissue in a special gel solution for at least a week will help doctors identify most effective drug treatments
Scientists say they have a made a potentially “gamechanging” breakthrough in breast cancer research after discovering how to preserve breast tissue outside the body for at least a week.
The study, which was funded by the Prevent Breast Cancer charity, found tissue could be preserved in a special gel solution, which will help scientists identify the most effective drug treatments for patients.
Continue reading...Stephen Watson says process will be carried out ‘fairly and impartially’ in his most extensive public comments on the claims
The chief constable of the police force examining claims against Angela Rayner has defended the decision to investigate the Labour party deputy leader, vowing it would be done “fairly and impartially” and would establish whether “culpability is proven or otherwise”.
Stephen Watson, who leads Greater Manchester police (GMP), gave his most extensive public comments so far on the investigation, which was triggered by a complaint from a senior Conservative.
Continue reading...Some fans of A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie were already at the arena, which has been beset by delays, when the gig was called off
The troubled Co-op Live arena has again cancelled its opening concert at the last minute because of a “technical issue”.
The US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s show was supposed to be the first official event at the 23,500-capacity Manchester venue, after several shows were cancelled or postponed in the past two weeks.
Continue reading...Labour deputy leader being investigated over whether she gave false information a decade ago
Angela Rayner has handled the controversy over her living arrangements “in the right way”, Yvette Cooper has insisted after a former aide contradicted Rayner’s account.
The shadow home secretary said Rayner was “very keen to be able to provide the facts to the relevant authorities”.
Continue reading...More than 250 people join group action claiming security service failed to take steps that could have prevented 2017 bombing
Hundreds of the Manchester Arena bombing survivors, along with relatives of the victims, have launched legal action against MI5, claiming it failed to take action that could have stopped the attack.
More than 250 people have joined the group action against MI5 and have submitted their claim to the investigatory powers tribunal, which hears complaints against the intelligence services.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester police, who have launched murder inquiry, say victim was likely to be older than 40
Human remains found wrapped in plastic at a nature reserve in Greater Manchester are those of a man older than 40 and who had been dead for only a matter of days, police said.
A human torso was found on the Kersel Wetlands, former home of the Manchester racecourse, on Thursday evening, Greater Manchester police said.
Continue reading...Greater Manchester police say they are working to identify victim after body part found in Kersal Wetlands
Police have launched a murder investigation after human remains were found at a nature reserve in Greater Manchester.
A body part believed to be a torso was found by passersby in Kersal Wetlands in the Salford area on Thursday evening. Greater Manchester police (GMP) confirmed on Friday afternoon the body was in a state that meant it was “not possible for the victim to have survived”.
Continue reading...More than 300 artists and cultural workers write open letter to Home venue over cancellation of Voices of Resilience event
More than 300 cultural workers, theatre and film artists, including Maxine Peake and Asif Kapadia, have called for a Manchester arts venue to reinstate an event celebrating Palestinian voices.
Home Manchester last week cancelled the Voices of Resilience evening, scheduled for 22 April, citing “recent publicity” and safety concerns for audiences and artists.
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