Vanessa Brown called police response in Cobham, Surrey, ‘a complete overreaction’ that left her ‘catatonic’
A history teacher has said she was arrested and blocked from seeing her daughters after she confiscated their iPads.
Vanessa Brown, 50, described her “unspeakable devastation and trauma” after spending seven-and-a-half hours in a cell on 26 March after a claim that she had stolen two iPads.
Continue reading...Elzbieta Olszewska had previously been told she faced deportation after mistakenly filling in form online
A Polish woman who had her application to remain in the UK rejected because she mistakenly filled in a form online instead of on paper has been granted permission to stay in Britain after a change of mind by the Home Office.
Elzbieta Olszewska, 80, had been living alone in her flat in Warsaw before arriving in the UK last September. Her only child, Michal Olszewski, 52, an aeronautical engineer and dual British-Polish citizen, who lives in Lincoln with his wife, had been travelling regularly to the Polish capital to support his mother.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Government source confirms action at nine establishments including one near Windsor Castle
Hundreds of people seeking asylum are to be removed from nine hotels across England within weeks as the Home Office attempts to show it has got to grips with the issue.
The crackdown will remove asylum seekers from a hotel in a village near Windsor Castle after claims of community tensions and racism, and hotels in the West Midlands and Cheshire that have been targeted by far-right activists.
Continue reading...Philippa Baskwill, who worked on child protection, found to have weighed down laptop keys with phone
A detective working on child protection, who was found to have weighed down the keys on her laptop to give the impression she was working at home, has been sacked without notice for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing.
Suspicions were raised when keystroke data – the record of the number of times the keys had been struck on the keyboard – revealed DC Philippa Baskwill had pressed the keys on her laptop nearly 3 million times in a single month – compared with the 80,000 to 200,000 average of her colleagues, the hearing was told.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Racial disparities highlighted as researchers estimate 10 million women have conditions such as fibroids or endometriosis
More than a quarter of women in England are living with a serious reproductive health issue, according to the largest survey of its kind, and experts say “systemic, operational, structural and cultural issues” prevent women from accessing care.
The survey of 60,000 women across England in 2023, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and analysed by academics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that 28% of respondents were living with a reproductive morbidity, such as pelvic organ prolapse, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, or cervical, uterine, ovarian or breast cancer.
Continue reading...Investigators find coordination failures between NHS and care bodies causing delays, distress and burnout
Navigating England’s “complex” health and care system is “extremely difficult” and carers and patients are experiencing burnout, distress and harm as a result, a damning report says.
There were frequent failures by NHS and care organisations in coordinating care for people with long-term health conditions, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) found. Figures show 41% of adults and 17% of children have at least one long-term health issue.
Continue reading...AA says ‘cash-guzzling’ councils are adding clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits
Drivers are being caught out by hefty price rises to park their cars, as councils across England impose parking surcharges on petrol and diesel vehicles.
An estimated one in five councils now add clean-air levies to parking tariffs and resident parking permits to deter polluting vehicles.
Continue reading...Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes threatened co-worker after reporting ‘finger-sized holes’ in his sandwiches
A garage apprentice who threatened a colleague he thought had pranked him by poking “finger-sized holes through his sandwiches” has lost an unfair dismissal claim.
Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes accused a fellow apprentice of “tampering with his lunch” as well as “smashing his crisps”, an employment tribunal was told.
Continue reading...William Mitchell artwork saved but Blackheath community centre in which it was housed will be torn down
A rare piece of postwar art that was under threat of being demolished along with the south London building it was housed in has been saved.
The work, a mural by William Mitchell, was created for a community centre in Blackheath that is to be torn down to make way for social housing. The mural will now be preserved by Heritage of London Trust (Holt).
Continue reading...Grace Davidson gives birth to baby Amy Isabel after receiving her sister’s womb in 2023
Surgeons are hailing an “astonishing” medical breakthrough as a woman became the first in the UK to give birth after a womb transplant.
Grace Davidson, 36, who was a teenager when diagnosed with a rare condition that meant she did not have a uterus, said she and her husband, Angus, 37, had been given “the greatest gift we could ever have asked for”.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...Her introduction to politics began as the child of the chair of Birmingham Labour party and as justice secretary she’s made tough decisions from day one
Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home.
Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room.
Continue reading...Survey says queues outside emergency departments are leading to ‘car park care’ and fatalities
Paramedics across England are watching patients die in the back of ambulances because of delays outside emergency departments, according to a survey by Unison.
The gridlock of patients in some of the country’s hospitals has led to queues of up to 20 ambulances outside casualty departments in certain areas. In a number of cases, crews have been forced to wait more than 12 hours before handing over patients.
Continue reading...Police called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells in early hours of Saturday
Two people have died after a caravan fire at a holiday park, police have said.
Lincolnshire police said they were called to Golden Beach Holiday Park in Ingoldmells at 3.53am on Saturday.
Continue reading...Labour accuses Nigel Farage’s party of ‘mass rebrand’ after research into nominations of former Conservatives
More than 60 of Reform UK’s council candidates standing in this year’s elections are defectors from the Conservative party, according to research from the Labour party.
Reform has also selected an ex-Conservative for its candidate in the upcoming Runcorn and Helsby byelection, while the party’s mayoral candidate for Greater Lincolnshire is the former Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who lost her parliamentary seat in West Yorkshire last July.
Continue reading...Ladies Day visitors happy to make financial sacrifices to wear spectacular outfits at annual Liverpool event
The tradition of fascinators and hats during Ladies Day is usually more about showcasing excellent style than being practical. But this year, spectators at Aintree had good need for their headwear, as the sun shone at the racecourse for the first time in almost a decade.
A crowd of 45,000 people had been predicted, and as temperatures reached 19C on Friday, the Met Office said it was just short of being the warmest Aintree festival this century.
Continue reading...Temperature could hit 24C in central England on Friday with ‘very high to extreme’ risk of wildfires across Britain
The UK could experience its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures higher than European holiday hotspots.
The Met Office said much of the country would be dry and sunny on Friday, and some of central England could hit 24C (75F) as weather “nearer to what we’d expect in July” continued.
Continue reading...Lead signatory of letter to Church Times says it is ‘moral and Christian imperative’ to ensure dignified retirement
Church of England vicars are demanding an increase in pensions amid claims that many face an impoverished old age, with some forced to rely on food banks or move in with adult children.
Almost 2,000 C of E clergy have joined an action group on Facebook in the past few weeks and 700 signed a letter to the Church Times calling for “urgent and decisive action”.
Continue reading...Richard Hermer has responded to Robert Jenrick’s calls for a senior judge to be sacked over sentencing guidelines row
Political attacks on judges are “dangerous” and “a huge threat to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary”, the attorney general has said in a direct rebuke to the shadow justice secretary.
Richard Hermer said politics was entering a “dangerous moment” where politicians were “attacking judges on a personal basis” on the floor of the House of Commons.
Continue reading...Nine-hectare site home to 57 species including rhino, zebras and ostriches in UK’s biggest such development
“Although we are trying to replicate Uganda and Kenya we are actually in Cheshire so the weather is slightly different,” admits Chester zoo boss, Jamie Christon, on a fresh and very grey Monday morning.
But ignore the chilliness and screw your eyes and you could well be transported to a sweeping African savannah where, one day, there will be giraffes, zebras, antelopes and ostriches roaming majestically side by side.
Continue reading...