Former medical director of Countess of Chester hospital says he is ‘truly sorry’ if he failed bereaved families
A boss at the hospital where Lucy Letby murdered babies has said he “sincerely regrets” not calling police sooner and is “truly sorry” if he failed the bereaved families.
Ian Harvey, a former medical director at the Countess of Chester hospital, told the Thirlwall inquiry he wished he had contacted the police nearly a year before they were informed.
Continue reading...GP in inheritance row aimed to kill his mother’s partner by wearing disguise to administer a fake Covid booster jab
“Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction,” said the prosecuting barrister, Peter Makepeace KC, as he outlined a case which reads like the plot of an airport thriller. Think of an Agatha Christie-inspired Columbo episode with a splash of Breaking Bad.
The story of the outwardly respectable GP Thomas Kwan and his plot to kill a man he greedily saw as standing in the way of his inheritance is a wild one.
Continue reading...Thomas Kwan tried to murder Patrick O’Hara with fake jab while dressed as nurse in attempt to protect his inheritance
A “money obsessed” GP who poisoned his mother’s partner while disguised as a nurse administering a fake Covid booster jab has been jailed for 31 years and five months.
Thomas Kwan, 53, had denied attempting to murder Patrick O’Hara but changed his plea to guilty after one day of evidence at his trial at Newcastle crown court.
Continue reading...Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, killed by family pet in attack police said was out of character
An XL bully dog has been put down after fatally attacking a 10-year-old girl in North Yorkshire last week.
Savannah Bentham, from the Malton area, was fatally attacked by her family’s pet dog at home on Friday. On Tuesday, the dog was identified as an XL bully and was euthanised by a vet, North Yorkshire police said.
Continue reading...Experts call for consumption rooms and wider testing of substances, as number of people dying hits new high
Experts in drug addiction have warned the government must take a different approach towards illegal substance use, or risk an increasing number of deaths from drug poisonings.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics last week showed that the number of people dying as a result of drug poisoning had reached the highest level on record.
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...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...One mother told Thirlwall inquiry she was unaware for six years anything had happened
Parents of babies attacked by Lucy Letby were not told their children had suffered life-threatening collapses until they were contacted by the police years later, an inquiry has heard.
The parents of one newborn boy said it was “disgusting” they were “kept in the dark” by staff at the Countess of Chester hospital after their son’s health suffered a serious deterioration in June 2016.
Continue reading...West Yorkshire city to host magic, music, film and theatre performances celebrating local talent, plus Turner prize
A city centre magic show, the Brontës as you’ve never seen them before, and a bassline house symphony are all part of Bradford’s City of Culture lineup, which its organisers call a celebration of everything that makes the West Yorkshire city great.
Shanaz Gulzar, the creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said the whole of the country was invited to come next year to a place she billed as young, diverse, creative and “the heart of the UK”.
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...Group including neonatal experts and statistics professors question its setup amid concerns about conviction
A group including some of the UK’s leading neonatal experts and professors of statistics is calling on the government to postpone or change the terms of a public inquiry over concerns about the conviction of the neonatal nurse Lucy Letby.
In a private letter to ministers, seen by the Guardian, the 24 experts said they were concerned that the inquiry’s narrow terms could prevent lessons being learned about “possible negligent deaths that were presumed to be murders” in the neonatal ward of the Countess of Chester hospital (CoC).
Continue reading...Paul and Luke Sissons among those sentenced over disorder earlier this month in English towns and cities
Two brothers have each been jailed for three years after being convicted of being at the forefront of a riot outside a hotel housing more than 200 asylum seekers in Rotherham.
Sheffield crown court heard that Luke and Paul Sissons were involved in several violent incidents at the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, on 4 August, including confrontations with riot police and an attack on a police dog van.
Continue reading...Michelle Charters urges more recognition and reconciliation on Unesco’s Slavery Remembrance Day
Liverpool must not “shy away” from its historic involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, the organiser of the city’s 25th Slavery Remembrance Day commemoration has said.
Michelle Charters, who is leading Liverpool’s events for Unesco’s Slavery Remembrance Day, said it was important to address and recognise the city’s tarnished history.
Continue reading...There are stark contrasts between north and south England, in Northern Ireland and Wales, and between private and state schools
Many students in England receiving their A-level grades on Thursday will be happy after overall results showed an increase in the number of As and A*s, exceeding not only last year’s results, but those recorded before the disruption caused by the pandemic. Nevertheless, disparities remain between northern and southern England, and in Northern Ireland and Wales where results fell compared with last year, as well as between private and state schools.
It is the second year in England that A-level and GCSE assessment has returned to pre-pandemic norms. Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 after Covid closed schools for long periods, and A-level grades based on teachers’ predictions led to a sharp spike in top results.
Continue reading...Lewis Atkinson says rioters do not represent city and praises residents gathering to clear up debris
• Police brace for more disorder – latest updates
“Far-right racists” who brought violent disorder to the streets of Sunderland will not be allowed to win, the city’s MP has said as residents gathered to help clean up.
About 500 people, including some parents and their children, came together in the city centre on Friday evening, responding to far-right social media posts to turn up and demonstrate.
Continue reading...A group of Muslim men put themselves in danger to calm unrest in Harehills over children being taken into care
Nadsy Qurban bent his neck to show how the crown of his head was covered in a number of burns, each the size of coins. “The smell was like I’m burning some goat or something, like I’m cooking some goat. That’s how bad it was,” he said.
Needless to say, it hurt. But a week on, the burns he gained while putting out fires during unrest in the Harehills area of Leeds are starting to heal.
Continue reading...Shane Roller, Shannen Morgan and their daughters Lillie and Rubie died in collision between two vehicles
A couple who died in a crash with two children in West Yorkshire on Sunday that also killed two other adults have been named by police as Shane Roller and Shannen Morgan.
The collision between two vehicles, which also left an 11-year-old girl orphaned, happened on the A61 Barnsley Road between Staincross in Barnsley and Newmillerdam, Wakefield, on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...Northumbrian village was named as nation’s favourite, just ahead of Portmeirion and St Andrews
Bamburgh, the Northumbrian village known for its sprawling sand dunes and imposing castle, has retained its title as the UK’s best seaside destination for the fourth consecutive year.
A survey of 4,700 people by the consumer group Which? placed the Northumberland coastal village as the nation’s favourite, ahead of Portmeirion in Gwynedd and St Andrews in Fife.
Continue reading...Police patrols stepped up in area after man, 36, killed in Kirkby on Wednesday evening
A murder investigation has been launched after a 36-year-old man was shot dead on the streets of Merseyside.
Police said they received a report at 6.35pm on Wednesday from the North West ambulance service that a man had been shot in Kirkby.
Continue reading...Labour lost seats including Jonathan Ashworth’s in Leicester, where angry voters say they felt ignored
When Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth lost his Leicester South seat to the pro-Palestine independent candidate Shockat Adam, it was widely seen as one of the biggest upsets of election night.
But a walk along Evington Road, a busy shopping street with a large Muslim population in the constituency, showed that all the signs were there.
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